The cloud of fear intensified as I stared at the fourteen glowing eyes baring down on me. Twelve of them glowed red and the other two green but they all belonged to a singular creature. Something that shouldn’t exist in any world. A leopard with six snakes growing from its sharp shoulder blades.

The combination of growls and hisses was enough to make a grown man wet his trousers. I didn’t of course, but I was sure as hell close to it.

“Nice kitty,” I said as I backed up to the tree trunk. “Very nice kitty.”

*Dinner*

I blanched as the creature's voice sounded inside my head. It wasn’t like the phantom voices at all. With the voice came pictures or visions clearer than even my own memories. This one brought an image of a steak fresh from the grill.

“Not dinner, just passing through.”

*Dinner*

This time it was an image of a crispy roast pork.

The creature pounced, its snake collar fanning out with fangs exposed. I swung my sword at the thing as I awkwardly dove to the side. My blade barely scratched the beast. One of the many snakes sunk its venom-beaded teeth into my arm.

My health bar dropped by a third, the poisoned icon flashing up beside it. My stomach flipped and my head swam even with my poison resistance. Without that, I might be dead already. If one head could do this much damage, what would six do let alone the leopard attached to them?

Its health bar was stacked into seven lines; six of them only half as long as the other. The scratch I’d landed had lowered the leopard’s health by the barest of margins.

Fighting the nausea I grabbed onto a vine and used it to sing away from the monster like a monkey. It worked a little but the vine wasn’t strong enough to hold my weight. It snapped, sending me crashing through the branches until the ground stopped me.

My health bar dropped even more as I groaned and forced myself up again. I was on the path I had been trying to avoid now with corpses all around me. Up in the canopy above my head, the unseen animals were screaming out warnings of the monster in our midst.

The leopard beast dropped down beside me letting out a bone-chilling roar. Its name flashed above its massive health bar.

Serpardus

I started running. The path was lined with ferns and upraised roots that seemed determined to trip me in my wild rush. Up ahead a large five-petalled flower with orange spots unfurled, the space between the splotches glowing a dull blue. I followed the curve of the path past the flower and yelped as the thing snapped at me, trying to incase me inside the petals.

I skidded on the damp ground and tumbled into the shrubbery. I tried to scramble back up but my feet kept slipping. I could hear the leopard snake monster coming.

Silver sparkles lit up a dark hole in a thick tree trunk. I rushed to it, ducking inside and holding my breath as the monster charged past. My legs shook as I crouched, holding my hands over my mouth to keep from hurling.

I kept quiet for a few minutes, listening carefully for the sounds of the beast. Just as I thought it might be safe to leave the sound of hissing and snuffling returned.

I pressed against the hard bark of the inner tree, watching as the Serpardus tried to follow my trail. The snakes on its back tasted the air relentlessly, looking for my heat signature. Thankfully, for whatever reason, the silver sparkles were snake-proof.

I don’t know how long I waited in the trunk of the tree until the Serpardus got bored and climbed back into the treetops. I listened to the warning calls of the wild creatures. The noise of animal panic got further and further away.

Cautiously I slunk from my hiding place and back toward the path. I would have preferred to climb back into the trees but this deep into the forest I was no longer sure where I was. It’s a little too easy to get turned around when you can’t see where the hell you’re supposed to go.

The further I crept along the path the more often I ran into the corpses of my fellow players. The large sentient flowers became more abundant, all of them swinging around and flaring their petals at me. I kept my distance from them, not wanting to become a set of bones like the piles clustered at the base of the flower stems. I looted as many bodies as I could but none of them had much to take. I got a lot more bolts and a second Crossbow of Umbra. I hoarded every health potion and stamina potion that I could but neither were plentiful, probably because the holders had used them all to try and survive. I did get a nice chunk of gold which made my coffers look real nice but that number was useless without a place to spend it.

The stairwell was in view when the sounds of pained screaming sounded behind me. I spun around just in time to see a Nox Warrior toss his broken sword into the shrubbery as he tried to run at full speed toward the exit. The Serpardus was on his heels, snapping and hissing.

“Swerve,” I shouted.

I lifted my crossbow and fired a bolt, a little thrill of success washing through me as it struck the monster in the chest. The Serpardus recoiled at the shot but only for a moment before continuing its murderous charge.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Help me!” the Nox Warrior shouted.

“I’m trying.”

My next bolt whizzed past the beast's head. I swore and rushed to load another, dousing it with poison before taking aim and firing again. This time the shot landed, digging deep into the leopard's foreleg. It snarled and tumbled to the ground, its health still half full while the six serpents were entirely full.

The Nox Warrior stopped his mindless charge, his face covered in blotchy red spots. He was still moving quickly toward me, his armor-clad feet thudding hard on the dirt path. I could see his shoulders trembling and knew the fear he must have been feeling.

“Thank you,” the warrior shouted.

I gave a hard nod before leaning to the side and firing again at the struggling beast. The bolt sunk deep into its side, taking another solid chunk of its health.

Don’t waste your bolts.

I frowned. The voices were all over the place today.

“Hurry up,” I snapped as I loaded another arrow. “It won’t stay down for long.”

The warrior drew near, his face morphing from one of fear to something dangerously blank. He drew a dagger from his belt and grabbed at me.

I dodged backward. “The fuck dude?”

“Think I’m gonna let you live just ‘cause you saved me? Dream on, bastard. The prize is mine,” the warrior snarled, lashing out with the sharp blade.

I deflected the vicious swing with the thick leather bracers on my wrists, using the man's momentum to shove him away from me. I reached up, yanking my own sword free from the scabbard on my back. I didn’t bother with the dagger. I caught the Nox Warrior’s next swing on the hard steel of my sword and dodged to the side, breathing heavily already.

The Serpardus roared and climbed back to its feet, starting toward us in a limping run. The snakes fanned out as far as they could stretch, hissing their rage at us. The Nox Warrior blanched when he saw the leopard, the same look of fear flickering over his face that had been there before. I charged, slamming all my body weight into the man's chest, sending him reeling backward.

I heard the air in his lungs rush out as he failed to catch himself and tumbled into the damp shrubbery to the side of the path. I turned and ran for the stairs. I didn’t care if the warrior lived. I didn’t care if the Serpardus lived. All I cared about is that I lived.

“Get back here you prick,” the warrior shouted giving chase.

The dull blue glow on the edge of the forest caught my eye. I skidded to a halt just before the end of the path and turned to face the monsters barrelling down on me. That was what the Nox Warrior was, just another monster. No better than the Serpardus behind him.

The Nox Warrior's eyes glowed with murderous intent, mirroring the look in the leopard's eyes. I waited as the man lifted his dagger above his head for a powerful blow before dodging to the side. The Leopard caught the warrior, leaping with claws outstretched as it wrapped its body around the man.

The Nox warrior screamed as the pair of them tumbled forward. The snakes on the Serpardus's shoulders lashed out, pumping the warrior full of poison. I watched apathetically as his health bar plummeted before my eyes.

The blue glow brightened as the large spotted flower turned, its petals flaring wide as it lunged forward on its thick fuzzy green stem. The Serpardus screamed as the petals closed around it and the warrior, lifting them both into the air as the flower faced the ceiling. Its petals undulated like a pelican's throat pouch as it fed on the monsters.

I didn’t wait to see what else would happen. I ran from the forest and up the stairs, pausing in the hallway on the next floor. I slammed my back against the cold stone wall and slid down it until I was on the ground. I closed my eyes, forcing myself into a semi-meditative state as I waited for my health to replenish.

I wasn’t ready to face the next test. Not now that I knew there were still stragglers behind me who wanted to slaughter me as quickly as the Goddess’ monster pets did. It was too much. The Toilet Crocs had been bad enough let alone this other realm with its battle to the death bullcrap. I was sitting in front of the third beautifully carved door. My body grew heavy under the force of my gloom as I thought of how high the tower climbed. There were so many monsters left for me to face.

I was still uncertain that all this bother and the near-death experiences would lead me to a way out. I held my shortsword and rolled it in my hands. It was by far my favorite weapon but its effectiveness was beginning to fall. I needed something stronger.

Eugene and the Serpardus had been the easy monsters. Every floor would lead me to stronger and more deadly beasts. That was the idea of the game, right?

I sighed and looked at the counter, trying to gauge where I stood.

Three months, fifteen days, and 27 minutes.

Disciples remaining: 169

Only seven players down since the last time I checked. The death count was slowing now that the weaker members of the herd had been picked off. I wasn’t sure I belonged among the strongest seventeen percent. It felt a lot more like I’d lucked into my spot here than actually earning it.

I looked at the door ahead of me, admiring the minotaur depicted in the wood. I needed some sort of plan going forward. A way to actually reliably sneak past the unknown monsters.

I ran through my list of skills, trying to find one that would help me in this situation.

Animal charmer

Magic Resistance (I)

Pickpocket

Shadow Eye

Golden Tongue (I)

Gnome tongue

Evasion

Identify

Shadow Phantom

Poison Resistance (I)

Alchemy (VII)

Rift

Void Vortex

Phantom Whispers

Flicker

Fifteen skills in total but none of them were Shadow Rush; by far the most useful skill I’d had until it was stolen from me.

Void Vortex and Evasion were great in combat but that was what I was trying to avoid. The phantom voices were just as snarky but less helpful than Nigel. Flicker was good for light but left me exposed. Rift was unreliable at best. My crafting and charisma skills were just as useless against a dungeon crawl like this. There were no pockets around for me to pick. The sparkles were helpful but completely sporadic so I couldn’t rely solely on Shadow Eye. That left only one skill that might help me; Identify.