The pair walked over to the end of the room and stair down the new stairs. They appeared similar to the stairs at the entrance except that they traveled on for a much longer way. The light beside the stairway looked to be coming from some sort of patterned circle in the stone. It was surrounded with a strange glow and looked more childish than he would have expected with weird sigils around an unsymmetrical circle.
https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FrWtwv9d.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/rWtwv9d.jpg]
“Hey Nurgle, go and step in the middle of that thing.” The small creature looked hesitant to listen but forged on to the strange formation anyway. He made it all the way to the center and turned back around to his master, waiting for his next command.
Assured of the safety, Drew approached the circle to get a closer look. It really did look rather rudimentary compared to even the failed summoning he attempted earlier. Nothing changed as he got within the inner circle until he stepped on the innermost symbol.
A bright light burst from the ground, engulfing the air completely. Before either could get out of the circle, they landed just outside of where the permeable wall had been in the beginning. In its place was an opening to the dungeon without the previous camouflage.
Drew looked around his feet and found his sack of goods lying on the ground with only the torches of the nearby entrance offering the light to see. The sun had set and the forest was alive with noises that had been suppressed during the day.
It was dark for a long distance until some dull green lightsource illuminated the water and tree tops. The cliff hid them from the source of light well and the stars were vibrant in the sky as the greenish sun had fully disappeared in their absence.
The adrenaline was leaving Drew rapidly now that all immediate danger was gone and the dungeon wasn’t always on his mind. He drank some of the water from the bottles and flopped onto the ground quickly followed by Nurgle. The ache of his finger and emptiness of his stomach did nothing to hold off the sleep that quickly overtook him.
Dreams of horrible monsters and skeletal abominations filled his mind. A small gremlin rapidly hit a rock against another rock ad nauseum. Aggressive bugs swarmed him with every turn he made through a green maze. A flurry of strange nightmares filled in with confusing loading screen type views.
He startled awake when his head hit the stone floor. His body was sore from the hours of fighting and abuse from continued adrenaline, his hand still ached ungodly amounts, and his stomach cried to be filled.
Light blinded him completely when he opened his eyes and took many seconds to adjust while shuffling noises kept him aware something was happening.
Drew looked to the side to see Nurgle going through the bindle he had used as a pillow where he uncapped a bottle and ingested its entire contents, a volume greater than half of the diminutive beast.
“Really Nurgle? You couldn't just wait for me to wake up? Little bastard.” A headache he was not yet ready for assaulted his sense as he finished waking up.” I feel like complete shit, what the hell? Is this what adventuring is actually like?”
The little monster plopped down after having his fill and zoned out of attention. He focused back down onto his finger and decided on his next action.
“Nurgle, I need you to firmly hold my finger while I try to set it, I think it's just dislocated.” He held his finger forward for the small monster to grab and started controlling his breathing. Nurgle grabbed his finger unceremoniously which caused a great deal of discomfort, but kept it firmly in place.
A few more deep breaths and Drew yanked his hand back and tried not to bite his tongue off in pain at the new sensation. He almost felt ill as the pain hit him hard and fast. Nurgle still held onto his finger while Drew looked back down at his aching hand. The finger moved slightly but was still obviously damaged.
“Oh god, come on.” He repeated his jerking two more times until his pinky finally looked usable once again.
“I don't think I can keep doing this. How am I going to keep fighting like a superhuman without the superhuman strength, endurance, or resilience to back it up?” A loud rumble startled him from his musings and he rubbed his stomach that was as empty as a pit mine. He drank more water to fend off the hunger and looked back down into the jungle.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Frogs with weird arms sat in large groups around the bank of the pond while the crocodile-like creatures swam around carefree. The turtles that stood around the right side had yet to make any move and the sun cast long shadows on the larger lake.
A peaceful picture regardless of the lens he looked at it through. Animals frolicking about, unaware of his burning hunger. A lot of meat for him to hopefully feast on. He made his decision. If he was going to get any better, he needed time, sustenance, and experience.
When he glanced down at the oasis below, he saw at least two of those things ripe for the picking.
“Its seal clubbing time.”
The pair walked down the stone path still in full armor. They had explored the jungle without any way to protect themselves or armor to block attacks and now they were ready to take the fight back to the wilderness.
Despite the soreness he felt, Drew felt the need to not stagnate and do nothing in fear of the inaction getting him lost in his own head. The fighting kept him present, aware of his goals and needs in this world.
The world seemed full of violence and violence felt like only the answer they could respond with. The idle walk down was cut just short of the path’s end. Trees cracking in the forest took their attention away from the pond and they crouched down where they stood.
After 30 seconds of noise filtering through the jungle, the monster finally breached the tree line. A melted mess of a creature stomped over a stream that fed into the pond. Dripping viscera sloughed off its sides and rapidly disappeared on contact with the ground. Its massive mouth gaped, showing off its bloody kitchen knife teeth.
https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6wm8LJR.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/6wm8LJR.jpg]
It looked like a horrid combination of a dead monster and slime mold. The pair waited for a few minutes while the beast carried on through the jungle, toppling more and more trees.
“I swear, I steel my resolve then something just knocks me back on my ass.” The animals that had been silenced by the behemoth's approach slowly awakened. The noises came back in full force and the pair continued on their journey.
Drew held his sack of water bottles with his aching hand and the ax with the other. The only thing that would lessen his discomfort was getting some food and going to sleep. His exhausted state did nothing else to aid this challenge.
They approached the side with the deceptively large frogs after the coast was completely clear. From up above they appeared smaller than Nurgle, but up close they looked to be large enough to swallow him in a few bites. The strange combination of frog, lizard, and turtle did very little to dissuade them from picking the fight.
https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLm3VAv9.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/Lm3VAv9.jpg]
The pair took a route through the forest to sneak up on them and hopefully keep them from running. They stood ten feet from the shoreline and where the frogs lounged about. Five of the beasts laid in wait for something to get close enough to eat. With a quick charge, they rushed the monsters in hopes of getting the jump on one of them before it could flee.
Instead of the cat size frogs scattering at the noise of their rapid approach, the monsters raised their backs and stood their ground. The show of confidence made the hungry pair halt their charge. Drew dropped his bottles and readied his ax in a defensive position while Nurgle put up his guard.
The frogs burst into motion as Drew fully entered the sandy bank. He raised his injured arm to take one of the monster's attacks while swiping another out of the air. Two others latched onto other body parts of his. The final frog went after Nurgle which ended as one would expect from two large blades hitting a frog.
Drew looked ridiculous as the creatures writhed on his body. Their teeth and weird hands allowed them to stay attached despite his struggling, but were not large enough to actually cause any damage.
“Nurgle, help me!” He had forgone his ax once the monster was attached. The fear of cutting into his flesh was at the forefront of his mind. His little friend shared no such worries. Nurgle hacked at the frog attached to Drew’s leg while he bashed the one hanging from the loose fitting bodysuit with the pommel.
With the final two frogs out of Nurgles reach, the creature began climbing Drew like a jungle gym to reach the enemies with the kitchen cleaver in his mouth. The body suit was ripping more and more as the struggle went on. Drew Dropped his ax and tried prying open the beast's jaws in hopes of lessening his burden.
Nugle grabbed onto the frog's back and started hacking into its head, barely missing Drew’s fingers in the process causing him to withdraw his hands immediately and focus the last frog attached to his injured arm. It jerked around on the leather bracers he had looted from the skeletons like a police dog on a criminal.
The frog attached to his torso fell off with Nurgle which allowed Drew to put his full attention on his final hitchhiker. He ran over to a tree and slammed the smaller monster into its bark repeatedly. After the twentieth or so blow, the frog finally dropped off the leather.
+40xp for defeating Sqwertul toads [Summon small monster] has inherited the xp in your place. 370/800 xp
“We finally get to eat, Nurgle....... Wait, how am I gonna cook it?”