I looked at the impossible creature quietly grazing on the grass, spellbound by its visual appearance that seemed like something straight out of a dream.
The creature was meters away from my position but our paths would eventually cross when it came out of the grass.
Somehow, as large and heavy as the creature looked, its footsteps made very little sound. I could only hear the loud thumping of what I assumed was its heart.
'What's really happening here?' I wondered.
And as I did, things began to click. Either the creature was much lighter than it looked or it simply wasn't there. A mere figment of my imagination conjured under the influence of the mushrooms.
It would explain my overly enhanced senses, the erratic emotions and everything odd that was happening to me. I wondered if the effects of the mushrooms included memory loss.
I was unsure if I was witnessing an unusual Labyrinth creature or if its appearance was just the result of my muddled mind.
It could very well be a smaller creature that only appeared large in my eyes due to the delirious effect of the mushroom's toxins. It would explain why its steps were unusually light.
However, the movement of its sinuous plant-like body seemed all too real and natural to be delusive and the sharp horns that glimmered in the colours of the light spectrum were far too vivid to merely be a hallucination.
«What are you talking about?»
Sensei answered calmly.
«Besides your overly erratic emotions, everything is just as it should be.»
This meant I wasn't hallucinating and the creature was real?
I came out of my hiding hole, drawn towards the grazing creature and its shimmering horns. Not for their beauty but out of curiosity. How was it able to move like that? If I successfully hunted it, would I get that trait too?
It didn't look like a predator that would attack and seemed quite docile, but that was just my wishful thinking. Anything that had managed to live in the Labyrinth for so long was certainly not something I could tame.
I appraised it and as I thought its level was higher than mine.
______________________
LV12 Melior Arkhor
Specie: Ailith Oryx
HP: ??/?? Defence: ??
MP: ??/?? Intellect: ??
SP: ??/?? Magic: ??
Attack: ?? Agility: ??
______________________
The Arkhor looked up from the grass as if sensing my ill intent. Its black orb-like eyes scanning over its shoulder for predators.
As I approached, I picked up some unusual vibrations, a disturbance in the air as something slender slipped through it.
Eyes transfixed, I stared up in alarm to see a single silver arrow whizzing through the air. Originating from somewhere within the forest, the arrow came flying in my direction at an insane speed that was fast even in my eyes. My enhanced eyesight tracked its path frame by frame, but in contrast to my sharpened vision, my body crawled at a sluggish pace when I tried to evade it.
It all happened in a fraction of a second. The arrow I feared was coming towards me slipped right over my head, depositing itself in the right eye of the Arkhor with enough force to break out from behind its skull, killing it instantly.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Dust clouds of golden pollen rose through the air as the glorious creature staggered and fell.
The lights of the fireflies seemed to shine directly on it, reflecting a myriad of colour on its horns, like a rainbow paying homage to the once great beast. The stunning visuals only made its sudden death all the more frightening to me who was still out in the open.
The arrow had been shot with startling accuracy giving the Arkhor no chance at all to react or resist. All I could think of was that at any moment another arrow could come down at me.
Without hesitation I entered the grass to conceal myself as I scanned my surroundings.
Where was the archer?
The arrow's path was at an angle descending downwards, meaning the archer had to be somewhere up in the trees. Curious to their identity, I peered up at the forest to see what would appear.
But before anything could happen I heard a rustling in my vicinity as a group of fiery red ants appeared from within the tall grass.
There were seven monster ants in total, each one three feet tall in height, covered in spindly black hairs all over their bodies, with fearsome gnashing mandibles and jagged teeth. They quickly swarmed the body of the fallen beast, each ant grasping a separate limb and horn in an attempt to carry off its corpse. Together they lifted the body of the Arkhor with ease.
I quickly appraised them.
______________________
LV3 Novus Ignis Formica
Specie: Ailith Ictus
HP: 16/20 Defence: 12
MP: 08/08 Intellect: 4
SP: 14/14 Magic: 8
Attack: 15 Agility: 26
Skills:
[Formic Acid: LV1] [Scent: LV1]
[Bite: LV1] [Grip: LV2] [Dig: LV1]
Title:
[Colony Member]
_______________________
The ants moved quite quickly and would have disappeared into the tall grass as quickly as they came if not for the arrival of two more contenders.
Emerging from the tall grass was a swift figure dressed in dark green clothes brandishing a long sword that cleaved the nearest ant cleanly in two.
What the heck!
I warily peered through the grass at the newcomer to find two more figures approaching from behind him. Another male and a female.
The man was dressed similarly to the first but he carried two short swords which he used to attack the nearest ant. The girl who remained behind was dressed in white and gold flowing robes.
With her eyes closed she chanted verses in words I could not understand. And as she repeated them, the long wooden staff she held glowed a white light that covered the bodies of the two male fighters.
I stared at the three transfixed, was this magic?
They had long flowing silvery white hair and eyes that shone a brilliant green, the shade of freshly budded leaves. Elaborate silver patterns of leaves on vines were etched onto their high cheekbones, extending down past their necks to their shoulders in intricate shimmering designs.
Their appearance was somewhat ethereal, their lithe nimble bodies moving with otherworldly speed as they fought off the ants with supposed ease. I was convinced they were human until I noticed their elongated ears.
Elves!
Neither of them carried a bow which meant the archer was still somewhere in the trees.
I wanted to appraise them, but I was stopped by Sensei.
«I wouldn't do that if I were you. High level magic users can sense when they are being appraised. If you do, you will immediately reveal your location, breaking the effect of [Stealth].»
I was curious about their statuses, but it was too risky for me to reveal myself in front of so many formidable beings. Especially with my current confused state. I wasn't convinced I could take them on. But if there was a chance, I wanted to claim the body of the Arkhor for myself while they were distracted.
Burying myself in the sand I snaked across the battlefield, weaving paths that avoided their footsteps. There were only five ants left, one dying after being shot by an arrow and another cut apart by the sword wielder. I approached the corpse of a dead ant, quickly pulling it into the tall grass to hide it.
My movements were slow but with [Stealth] and [Silence] activated I navigated the sea of grass unnoticed. Taking full advantage that the elves were busy fighting I was able to bite one of the weakened ants just as its HP bar was about to run out, earning a kill.
〚You have defeated LV4 Novus Ignis Formica〛
〚You have earned 8XP〛
As the ant died from my venom, it crossed my mind to also bite the Elf swordsman that fought it.
In the battle the two sword wielding elves kept bickering with each other in their foreign language, it sounded like they were arguing about which ant monster to kill first. With their backs to me, I could easily crawl through the ground and bite the nearest elf before they could react. Especially the elf girl who had her eyes closed chanting a mantra.
But, I hesitated. They looked far too human and I couldn't get myself to follow through.
It was not so easy for me to kill them as compared to the monsters of the Labyrinth. I was a former human after all.
I was about to decide my next action, when a silver arrow veered out from inside the forest striking with scary accuracy at an ant not too far from me. It struck its eye and just like the Arkhor, it barely had any time to resist. It died instantly leaving the swordsman who fought it without a target.
He grunted disapprovingly before switching to fight another ant. The decision was out of my hands.
The hidden archer who kept firing supporting arrows was an issue. I wasn't sure my body could move fast enough in its current sluggish state to attack the elves without getting caught.
The moment any of them noticed me, I was done for.