When soft desert sand slowly gave way to hard packed earth, Henry assured Carl they were heading the right way. The sun had begun to set and the heat became more bearable, though their throats were still thoroughly parched and the hunger for water had become almost unbearable.
“We’re close, I can smell it.”
“You can smell the town?”
“Yeah, enhanced senses come with reaching Spark rank.”
“Showoff,” Carl replied. “My senses are good too. I can taste something.”
“And what would that be?”
“Sand.”
“Sounds about right.”
As the sun dipped lower into the horizon, they began to pick up the pace until finally, far off in the horizon, a few buildings stood out amongst a small town. When Carl spotted it, he let out a sigh of relief but Henry was quick to point out that they still had about an hour to go.
“Think we’ll make it before the crawlers show up?” Carl asked, eyeing the ground warily.
“We should make it in time if we stay at this pace. They generally don’t go within a mile radius of cities so we don’t need to make it all the way there.”
“Gotcha. Um, Henry?”
“Yes?”
“Are you doing some magic trick right now and tickling my foot?”
“No, I’ve got a collar on. Remember?”
“So, whatever is touching the bottom of my foot right now isn’t you?”
They both looked down at Carl’s feet and he took a step backward, revealing a freakishly ugly monster’s face whose tongue was sticking out and waving about as if to get a better taste of Carl’s soles.
“Oh god that’s disgusting! Is that a crawler?” Carl asked.
“SHIT! RUN!” Henry screamed as he grabbed Carl’s arm and pulled him into a sprint.
Carl looked over his shoulder and to his horror, a giant humanoid monster with freakishly long and necrotic limbs was pulling itself out of the ground. Carl’s legs pumped even harder.
“It’s a dreadclaw!” Henry shouted as they ran. “Don’t let it get close to you, it can kill you with just its claws, they’re stronger than iron!”
“Fantastic advice, mate! I thought maybe I would give it a hug!”
The dreadclaw had by that point pulled itself free from the ground and started ambling to catch up to the two. The terrifying monster slowly picked up its pace into a sprint and in a few seconds it was already closing the gap.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! It’s too fast, we’ve gotta kill it!” screamed Henry, and he stopped running to face the monster.
Carl looked back, horrified. “The fuck you mean we gotta kill it!? With what!? My handsomeness!?”
“Dreadclaws have weak points near their vitals. Aim for the neck or the stomach,” Henry said unhelpfully.
Carl could only stare at him in bewilderment as their impending deaths marched closer.
“Let me do most of the fighting, I’ve got thicker skin than you.”
“Wow, thanks!” Carl retorted.
“No, literally, I’m a Spark. My skin is thicker and harder.”
“Oh, in that case, break a leg.”
The beast was only a few strides away and Henry stepped in front of Carl.
“When I say ‘now,’ dive to your left!”
Carl grunted in acknowledgement.
“NOW!” Henry yelled, just as the monster was upon them.
Carl threw himself to his left as hard as he could, narrowly avoiding being decapitated as a long and curled claw shot over his head. Henry had done the same, except in the opposite direction, and he yelled out to the monster to get its attention off Carl.
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Henry sprinted at the dreadclaw and dodged another wild swing, attempting to land blows of his own. He didn’t have much luck as the beast was at least a meter taller than him and had immense reach with its long limbs. Its claws blurred with speed as it took fast and haphazard strikes at Henry who was doing his best to avoid.
Carl marveled at Henry’s equally impressive display of speed and agility, matching that of the beast. Unfortunately, he couldn’t infuse any mana into any of his punches because of the collar, and Carl knew Henry was in a losing battle.
Without thinking, Carl snuck up behind the monster, taking the opportunity to land a blow into the side of the dreadclaw’s knee while it was distracted. He felt the monster buckle, but it regained its balance in a split-second. Carl had felt something in his hand break, and he clutched it to his chest in pain, looking up just in time to receive a brutal backhand. He flew off his feet and tumbled backward as his head smashed against the ground and his vision blurred.
Carl shook it off and sat up with a groan, touching the back of his head. His fingers were coated in blood. That’s no good. He looked towards the fight where Henry was still skirmishing with the monster. Carl needed to get back into the fight.
He summoned his willpower and charged into the fray, landing a few hits while the monster’s back was turned, but nothing was substantial. His hand was now thoroughly broken, and he could feel the grinding of the bones in his hand. Carl pushed the pain away, and willed his body back into the fight.
In the fray, Henry had taken a few devastating slashes and blood was pouring forth from multiple wounds on his chest and abdomen.
“I can’t hold much longer,” Henry shouted through gasped breaths. “You’ve gotta end this now!”
Carl picked up a small baseball sized chunk of compacted dirt and rock and hurled it at the monster. His aim was true and the beast swung around to face him. It roared and charged, and with a surge of instinct, Carl slid under the beast's legs and threw a punch with his uninjured hand to the inside of the monster’s knee. It buckled and this time, the monster fell to both knees. Before the dreadclaw could turn, he leapt onto its back and grasped its neck in a chokehold. Carl had learned this one while watching a mixed martial arts video.
The beast thrashed about, desperate to throw Carl off, but he held strong and tightened his hold on the monster’s neck, effectively choking it. Please don’t fall on me. Please don’t fall on me. Thankfully, the monster was too frenzied to notice that if it just landed onto its back, Carl would become human paste. It swung its arms wildly and shook its back, looking very much like a wild breakdance, but Carl still held on.
Carl could hear the beast’s labored breathing, and its strength was beginning to give out after being deprived of air by his chokehold. In a heave, the dreadclaw made one final and desperate attempt to grab him, but its long arms were its undoing, and it crashed forward in a dead heap.
Carl rolled off the monster’s back in an undignified manner, and slumped to the ground in exhaustion, staring up at the sky. Suddenly, a translucent blue text box filled his vision like some kind of video game.
Congratulations! First blood made! System Activated
Quest: Slay the Dreadclaw (Welter Class)
Reward: Dinosaur Pajamas x2
Special Properties: None
Equip: Yes or No
Yes? The air surrounding Carl shifted, and cool black mist swirled around him for a couple seconds before it suddenly vanished. He now found himself fully clothed in a pair of blue dinosaur print pajamas. Neat.
He tilted his head around, attempting to remove the box from his view but it was fixed to the center of his vision. Carl mentally dismissed the textbox and it abruptly vanished from his view. Henry never mentioned this. Could this be a realmwalker ability? Something to explore later.
He rolled over and lifted his head to see Henry laying on his back, blood seeping from his many wounds. With a groan, Carl picked himself up and limped towards the young man.
Two large gashes stretched across his torso and a few more ran down his sides. His eyes were glazed over, and Carl knew he wasn’t very far from death. But what could he do? He’d bleed out in minutes.
Carl paced around Henry’s body, thinking of anything that might save him. He glanced towards the town. Too far, Henry would die before he’d make it halfway. He knelt down next to Henry and clasped his bloody hand in his.
“Henry, can you hear me?”
A grunt of acknowledgement was all he got and Henry closed his eyes, his breath labored.
“Henry,” Carl said, gently shaking him, but no response this time. He pressed a finger to his neck and felt a faint but diminishing pulse.
He stood up, once again pacing around Henry’s body. There was nothing he could do. The town was three or four miles away. He racked his brain again and again, trying to remember anything Henry had told him that might be useful.
It can kill you with just its claws, they’re stronger than iron.
An idea sprung into Carl’s mind and he scrambled back to where the dreadclaw lay. Putting his foot on the monster’s hand as leverage, he grasped a claw and pulled with all his might. He felt it give slightly, and with a twist and a yank, it broke free.
He hurried over to where Henry lay, checking his pulse again. Faint, but there. Carl tilted the metal collar so that he could wedge the curved claw in and placed the circlet between his legs, careful to leave enough space for Henry’s neck. Making sure the locking mechanism was against the claw, Carl grabbed both ends of it and twisted as hard as he could. He gritted his teeth as the pain in his hand flared up, but pushed through as he felt the circlet warp slightly. Henry wasn’t kidding, the claw was stronger than iron.
With a sudden snap, the locking mechanism tore off and Henry, previously comatose, inhaled deeply. His eyes flew open and the air surrounding them suddenly grew very dense. Carl felt the atmosphere thicken and all at once, it rushed into Henry who soaked it up like a sponge.
The wounds that were covering Henry slowly knitted themselves and within seconds there was no trace left of any injury. Carl watched in fascination.
“I think I just hallucinated,” said Henry, deadpan. “I could’ve sworn you just choked a dreadclaw to death.”
“And saved your life,” Carl added.
“Hey, where'd the clothes come from? And why are there monsters on them?”
“Would you believe me if I said magic?”
“Nope, where’d you get them?” he asked again.
“Fine. I got them from your sister.”
“Hey!”