4 minutes, 23 seconds. Can you still reach it?
“Yes… I think… I might be faster.” For the past minute, the girl ran after the leaping form of her assailant. She could feel her breathing starting to pick up, but she felt like she was slightly faster than the creature, so maybe, just maybe, it would work.
Try to get to it! Let’s go through your other resources.
“Okay… Other resources?” She asked between breaths.
Your other cards. They are Healing Salve, Plain Knife, and Shield.
Claim the Knife.
The girl looked at the card with an image of a simple kitchen knife, and without taking the time to read it, she simply pointed it forward and exclaimed “Claim!”
As if by magic the card blinked out of existence. And even in the situation she was currently in, she couldn't help herself but feel amazed by it.
Now extend your hand and call for it.
“Plain Knife!” It took a few seconds, but from the empty space between her fingers, a knife appeared. It shone in the light, looking extremely sharp and clearly new. But still, just a regular knife.
Now claim the other two cards.
This is very important, so pay attention. The Shield card can be used to block one attack from whatever you are facing, and one attack only. So call it at the right moment. And the Healing Salve may help you if you are severely wounded, but only use it if you are in a safe location and have enough time.
With a loud gulp, the girl nodded, making sure to remember the instructions. Up ahead, the monster seemed to have lost his breath. He was slowly stopping in what appeared to be a large room that ended in a tall, wide, open window.
“This is… It.” She stopped, slightly out of breath. But the creature looked worse. He was deeply wounded and clearly spent, as if moving with that much mass was a chore for his smaller body. The girl felt bad for him; even though moments before he tried to kill her for no apparent reason, he just looked too vulnerable at this moment.
“Do I… Really have to?” she asked, cleaning her face from the sweat that had started forming on her forehead.
It's you or him.
With a long sigh, she took one last deep breath and tightened her grip on the knife. There was no going back now.
“Okay… I can do this!” Kicking the stone floor, she bolted towards the monster.
2 minutes 14 seconds.
Even in his wounded state, the monster still had a bigger reach than the girl, and as she approached, he was clearly waiting, prepared to pounce at any moment. So it wasn’t a surprise to her that his attack came first. It was a surprise to her how fast that one cumbersome arm was.
Before she could even get within reach to stab him, to her surprise, the arm shot in her direction. At the last moment she managed to jump backwards, but the thing still hit her with a glancing blow, only barely grazing her shoulder but it still felt like a hammer hitting her body. The impact spun her sideways and she almost lost her footing; her whole arm turning momentarily numb with pain.
Quickly recovering her movement, she continued to jump backwards, staying out of his reach. She was searching for a breach to attack, at the same time as she tried to control her panic, as the creature swung his arm widely, trying to get her with a crude slam. Ducking and dodging, she managed to avoid his attacks so far, but the back wall of the room was closing by. She needed to come up with a new strategy fast, or she will run out of space to escape to.
Perhaps I should just wait until he runs out of breath?
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
It might work. But we only have 1 minute and 40 seconds left.
Wide-eyed, she was suddenly startled by the voice responding to her thoughts and almost got hit by a slam attack from the creature. But tumbling backwards, she managed to avoid the hit, throwing her body’s weight towards the wall. She felt her back hit the hard stone block moments before the monster came falling towards her like a meteor; his massive fist aimed directly at her head.
Gasping in panic, she almost used the Shield card right there, but at the last moment, she noticed the gap she was looking for. With a thunderous crash, the fist cracked against the wall as the girl ducked and dodged under the creature’s arm, slicing through his already burnt rib. Deep red blood poured and the monster screeched in pain, quickly reaching with his right hand to the wound.
The girl turned towards his back to deliver a finishing blow, but the monster suddenly spun on his axis, his massive arm moving with his body’s momentum. Wide-eyed, she tried to jump out of his reach but was hit by the back of his spinning fist. Raising an arm at the last moment, she managed to block the hit, but the sheer force of the impact was enough to throw her backwards, hitting the floor with a loud thump.
She was expecting the creature to jump at her with a following attack. So as soon as her body hit the ground, she rolled sideways, to avoid the blow. But it never came. She slowly got up and noticed the creature was breathing heavily, much like her, and holding his injured side.
He was trying to buy time, she realized. But what was he waiting for?
It could be his ability, the Fire Bolt he threw at you earlier. Perhaps it needs time to recover.
For a moment they were just staring, measuring each other amidst their exhaustion, trying to find a second breath.
This is your chance, strike him down while he is tired!
It was easier said than done. The girl herself was breathless. Her arm was trembling, and she could barely hold a fist. She only got glancing blows, but it was enough to hurt her. She did not want to be hit with his full force.
42 seconds. Finish this, now!
She couldn’t hear anything beyond her breath. Her throat and chest burned as she distressedly forced the air in and out; the outskirts of her vision starting to go dark. But she couldn’t stop here. Screaming, she forced her body to move forward out of pure desperation, holding the knife close to her face with both hands, using all her strength to maintain her weakened grip on the blade. Noticing her lurching forward, the monster let a tired, pained growl and twisted his body, using his weight to throw his hand towards her, going for one last big hit.
If this was to work she had to time it right! She moved forward, going all in with her last breath, jumping directly at the creature and putting herself in the line of his attack. She saw the massive hand coming for her, and as it was centimeters away from smashing her head against the wall, she called.
“Shield!”
With a thrumming sound, a translucent shield of blue energy formed out of nowhere, blocking the monster’s attack. His hand bounced back in the opposite direction as if it had just hit a steel wall. A bell-like sound echoed in the room as the impact made him stumble backwards, momentarily losing his balance. It only lasted for a second, but it was all that she needed.
With one precise movement, the girl felt her knife lodge deep into the creature’s neck, pushing his body back at the wall. She screamed and before the monster could ever react, she punched the dull side of the blade with her other palm, putting all the weight of her body on it. A disgusting gurgling noise left the creature’s throat, and she felt something dislodge in his neck; the weight of her body pushed her arm forward, and in one quick motion, the blade went all the way through the other side, slicing his neck horizontally. Blood poured out on her, as muscles and arteries ruptured; her knife flying from her unsteady hands, clinking somewhere on the floor up ahead as she stumbled forward.
The creature’s legs immediately gave in, and his body slid to the ground. He squirmed and tried to reach for his neck to desperately try to stop the blood from flowing, to no avail. His body no longer responding to him.
From the ground, he stared at the girl; eyes wide and hopeless in his last moments, full of anger and desperation. Until the light left them to darkness.
With two unsteady steps, the girl let herself collapse, panting heavily. And for a moment the sound of her rapid breathing was all that could be heard.
60 minutes, 2 seconds.
You did it.
Then relief hit her. Like she had never felt before.
She survived. She just killed a monster and survived.
She started laughing.
“Okay… I can… Fight”
“...Sorta,” She said, looking at her still trembling hand. Opening and closing it, tentatively, and then letting it fall back to the ground. A single blow was enough to destroy her grip. She couldn’t help but think what would have happened if that thing had hit her directly. In fact, she was surprised nothing was broken at all and that her last move worked, risky as it was. Her heart was still jumping from that.
That you do. Congratulations, girl.
Between breaths, she lifted a finger, as if to make a statement “Ya know… I have… A name.” But then, to her surprise, she suddenly realized that she didn’t quite remember what her name was.
“I just have to… Remember it… Give me a moment.” She let herself fall back to the ground and rest. For a while she just stayed there, recovering her breath, waiting for the burning sensation on her chest to subside. But she was still on counted time, so grunting, she started hauling herself up, using the far wall as a support to lift her body.
It was when she finally managed to stand, her face at last at the same level as the window, that she saw.
Fire and monsters.
As far as her eyes went; up in the sky and down at the ground, reddish yellow fire seemed to float, like a pair of immense burning oceans, stretching endlessly in the horizon. And between them, something that seemed to defy all laws of physics.
Floating in thin air, countless buildings seemed to span as far as she could see; massive blocks of stone, tunnels, and towers, all connected by bridges, floating at random angles, as if the idea of up and down was purely optional. And marching through it, a legion of monsters from different shapes and sizes. From a small rodent-like creature crawling on a wall, to colossal monsters, carrying miniature castles on their backs.
One of these giants passed a few dozen meters from the window, ghostly silent for his size. Quickly, the girl ducked and almost yelped, startled by the sudden appearance of the creature. As it hovered from one side to the other, steadily moving away as some kind of diligent drone, the girl could think of one thing and one thing only—
“Where in the hell am I?”