My head pounded as my eyes fluttered open, sunlight glowing through the opened window where Lonni stood. Looking down, I found myself laying on a bed placed awkwardly in the Pylon room.
…the fuck?
“Good mornin’, Tom. I was starting to worry you wouldn’t wake up.” Lonni said smiling, seeing me conscious.
“God forbid the overpowered conqueror died.” Terra added, walking into the room.
“I’ll have you know I’m hardly the most overpowered. And among them? Probably the ni-well…” I pondered the top 10, remembering the monsters that dwell, including Korbin. Still, that archer seemed morally inclined, even if she did totally brutalize that pompous prince.
“…I’m a nice one. I swear.” I finally added.
“Cool. There’s more of you.” She said in a monotone.
Checking my resource pools, I was pleasantly surprised to find all of them being completely refilled, even though my head still hurt. However, after some time wondering why logically it would still hurt, the pain subsided.
I swear, this new multiversal living shit just gets better and worse by the day.
Sitting up from the bed, my eyes locked onto my notifications, seeing as I had so many unchecked. It was mostly the Canis-Pantheris kills and zombie ones. The Canis-Pantheris were both level 3, with the zombies being measly level 1’s. I’d even gotten experience for having Terra and Zach sign the contracts, too.
The boss, however, was a different story entirely.
You have slain [Canis-Tigris Nonpareil level 5]
Additional experience rewarded for felling a stronger foe.
…
*Congratulations!* You’ve leveled up your class!
(Rogue [level 2])
->
(Rogue [Level 3])
+1 agility +1 endurance added to your stats
…
Congratulations!* You’ve leveled up your class!
(Rogue [level 3])
->
(Rogue [Level 4])
+1 agility +1 endurance added to your stats
Holy shit, three levels in one fucking day?!
Now, one could argue, ‘Tom, you’ve accomplished so much such little time? Soul binding contracts, Pylon userption, slaying giant rats, giant spiders, giant wolf-tigers, zombies, and two bosses to top it off. Of course you leveled up!’ I’d say sure, yeah you’re right, except the levels came only after the last boss. Implying the oversized dog-cat was responsible for a metric fuck-ton of experience, even if I sat at the brink of a level up already.
Reviewing my stat list, I noticed a boost in perception by one point, with a ‘+10%’ symbol marked next to it. The same symbol could be seen next to agility, but it didn’t manifest until I’d willed to search for the same symbol on other stats. That wolf tiger boss clearly had a much higher perception than me, which didn’t come to a surprise. Those animals have only appeared at night so far, meaning they were most likely nocturnal hunters who needed great vision.
Now, the agility boost on the other hand was a hit to my pride. After all the buffs, my titles, and items, that thing was still faster?! As much as I enjoyed the huge experience boost having slain the beast, one huge factor bothered the shit out of me.
I’m an outlier here. No two ways about it, the armor and insane weapon boosts alone made this so. How could any normal human being possibly survive fighting that thing?! To me, the only logical explanation was, it wasn’t supposed to be there. Why it was I don’t know, nor about the source of the zombies.
Wait, the zombies…fuck KORBIN.
My arms thrusted myself off the bed as I scrambled to grab my twinblade that rested against the wall in the corner and darted for the door.
Lonni extended his arm across my chest.
“Woah woah, Tom. You should be resting man, I spent good TP for that bed. You hit your head real hard out there, it was bleeding a l-“
“Doesn’t matter, and I’m fine. But I have to check on my people. We leave now, all of us.” I told them, now with finally putting my striders back on. Finding out who stripped me to my undershirt will be an argument for another time.
“O-ok. You two heard the man. Let’s get going.” Lonni said to the Terra and Zach.
The three of them struggled to keep up with me, even when I’d limited myself to a brisk jog to get my muscles loose. Frankly, these guys were slow. Especially Lonni. That didn’t mean they shouldn’t be useful. Still, I have no time to wait around while they huff and puff through the increasingly humid woods under the hot sun. So, what better opportunity for them to prove their worth than today.
“Alright, listen. I got to get back, like ASAP. Lonni, I’m leaving you in charge of these three. You’re going to lead them to the Pylon, you remember the way right?” I asked him, the group looking at one another in concern.
“Uh, yeah. I remember the way but, you sure were going to be okay?” Lonni said, his eyes flashing toward the other two. I patted his shoulder, then swung it around his neck as we walked a bit from the other two.
“You’re strong Lonni. In more ways than one. A quality that should get you three to the next Pylon just fine. I know what you can do. But, these two have to be more than just ex-military to fit in right now. So let them prove themselves. Now, I gotta go. Be safe bud.”
Lonni’s lips opened with the intent to speak, but I wasn’t about to listen. My feet quickly pivoted around launching into full sprint, finding my legs pumping faster than ever before. Sure, I noticed my unmistakable speed increase during combat already, but this was my first time simply just running.
A smile emerged across my face being thoroughly amused in my massive increase in athleticism. I leapt over the outstretching roots of the massive sequoias that peppered the forest like wood skyscrapers, passing the spot where me and Lonni killed those Canis-Pantheris’ yesterday.
A chilly mourning fog suddenly enveloped the forest in what felt like a single step, the air pressure shifting violently causing popping in my ear. My feet felt incredibly light, my heart rate nearly unchanged as I sped through the forest. Within 12 minutes of nonstop sprinting, I found myself just outside the gate of the Korbin’s Pylon, the magma cannons now accompanied by a wall of orange energy that covered the perimeter walls of our… I suppose it’s fitting to call it a city at this point, minus the population.
There were far more buildings peaking atop the walls of the perimeter, all equipped with their own set of magma cannons and watchtowers. Approaching the gate, the metal wall now opened from the middle like double doors, rather than rising like a garage. Behind stood Korbin, holding his rat companion, Randy.
“Hey buddy! You’re back early, and you look sweaty?” Korbin peered behind me, his cheery attitude quickly dropping noticing I was alone.
“Tom, did they fucking die already?”
“What? No, no are you good though? Is Kaitlyn and Anna okay?”
Korbin’s face contorted from his very familiar disappointed self to a look of concern.
“Yeah, why?”
“The zombies? You didn’t have any issue killing them then?” I answered.
“Zombies?! What zombies?” Korbin questioned, looking completely lost.
“Y-…you didn’t have any?!”
“No, not last time I checked. Shit, I take it you did?”
He asked, looking a little excited.
“Yeah, it was the folks that died at that Pylon. They got up at night, let in a big ass boss and damn near killed the other two.”
Korbin’s eyes ignited as his excitement grew.
“Okay, so wait because, I saw the notification that you finished the contracts last night. I figured, ‘oh okay, he just went there, gave it and went to bed’ type deal. You said a fuckin’ boss snuck in there?”
Sighing, I gave Korbin the rundown of last night's horrifyingly thrilling trials and tribulations. Everything from the dog-cats, zombies, the boss, even my brief run in with guilt having slain Terra’s brother.
Korbin was like a little kid at story time, his face gleaming with wonder as I shared.
“Damn, so you just left them back there to figure it out, for lil old me?” He asked, spinning his toe in the dirt.
“Shut up. I thought you might be rotting flesh, and was gonna do you the decency of a quick death.”
“Please, the only thing rotting is your companions in a tree stump somewhere right now.”
“Ha-ha, Lonni’s capable. He’ll get them there.” Korbin looked taken aback at this.
“Lonni? The ‘cowardly giant’ Lonni?”
“Yes, well no. He switched up on me yesterday. Just snapped out of his little PTSD state I guess. He’s a really cool dude now honestly.” I answered. What exactly caused him to switch was a mystery, but when was easy to figure; after killing zombie Nathan. He must’ve really fucking hated that guy or something, because he finally showed an edge about him after handling the zombie of his ex’s brother. Whatever it was, I could only rejoice he was so solid.
“Oh, well that was fast.” Korbin said.
“I don’t know man. Hey I sort of had this whole empowerment moment with Lonni about their trip so, I’m just gonna go meditate for a bit until they get here, that cool?”
Korbin smiled as he crossed his arms.
“Sure buddy, enjoy it actually. Whenever they do arrive, you all are going to start pulling your fuckin’ weight around here.” He said, gesturing to the city.
“Um, okay? That sounds fair I suppose but, how?” I asked.
“Professions, you lazy shit. Now go look at your eyelids, and bring them into my office at the Pylon building when they arrive.” Korbin said, walking back into the city, the massive doors shutting behind him.
Oh, no, I’m not hungry or anything but, thanks for asking.
Finding a nice spot along the beach by the water, my eyes basked in the natural beauty before me. 8-foot blue waves crashed within themselves before washing towards me up the sand, seaweed piles being left in its wake. The birds above soared higher than they ever had before this Tutorial shit, their outlines looking much larger as well. Even the little crabs under big rocks along the shore were bigger, but were still small enough to fall under ‘cute’ on the danger scale.
Closing my eyes, I focused on the sounds of the water, along with very blood flow circulating within me. Drifting into a meditative slumber, a final thought flashed through my mind.
Man, I bet Lonni’s doing so well right now.
———————————————————
“…Now, I gotta go. Be safe bud.”
“But T-“ dust flew in my face as Tom took off at inhuman speeds toward the beach Pylon, leaving me alone to lead Terra and Zach. Tom was definitely an interesting guy, secondary to being an absolute monster that is. First seeing him fight, handling Anthony so handily should’ve been the first tell.
It was only after he blew up Carl and Cole’s heads like a needle to a pair of balloons that the implications of what power meant nowadays. It scared the piss out of me. For hours, thoughts of being powerless to his speed, the energy that swirled around both him and that Korbin fellow tormented me. I couldn’t see the energy, but it was thick and palpable. It made my knees buckle, though I felt no pain, not even weakness. It was more involuntary than either.
All my strength, my combat experience, it meant nothing against these half-decently built dudes. True, I chose a mechanics role when I signed up, but that didn’t mean my hands were clean with how often shit hit the fan where it shouldn’t have. Not by a long shot. Best I could do was defend myself like prey and survive like a roach. Death constantly looming in every direction.
Then, last night, we got back to the Pylon. Seeing the bodies of my friends had hurt me in a way I was familiar with but not ever truly ready for. But to fight them? One would think it would be terrible, like you just bring yourself to do couldn’t do it. Then Nathan rounded the corner. Nathan, that fucking rat. In over 25 years I’ve never once understood why we kept that shit stain around.
The man was just evil, there was no denying it. Soon as the tournament opened up, he was taking his time hurting people at the fire arena. Including the women he’d be matched up with. A sick fuck quite honestly, but he was great at killing and hid his intentions well in public. Every tour, he’d be tucked somewhere a football field away, veiled under a ghillie suit. One by one, he’d ‘watermelonize’ the target's heads as he put it. Didn’t change how fucked up he was in the head.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Uh, Lonni? Shouldn’t we just head inside and stay here, where it’s safe?” Zach asked from behind me, breaking my train of thought.
“No, not at all. I know the way, and daylight is much safer. Just don’t be a coward, and you’ll be fine.” I answered, focusing my gaze mainly on Zach at that last part.
“Why do you trust this guy so much? He’s a total stranger, why follow his orders?” Terra asked, looking annoyed with me.
“He’s strong, Terra. Not just physically, but here,” I tapped my chest, “and, kind of here.” I touched my head. “There’s no reason to doubt his word, because he keeps his own to himself from what I’ve seen. I launched him across the forest like loose change Terra, and he came right back and damn near wiped us all out. The beast we killed last night? It was mainly all him. I just kept it busy until he could touch the thing.” Terra’s eyes fluttered in disbelief hearing my piece.
“I just don’t understand. His way of thinking is soo…ruthless.”
“Maybe, but look around you. Everything has the freedom to be ruthless. If you want any peace, you must be able to be ruthless to defend it. He’s just doing what he feels he must.” A grin taking my face after so much serious talk before I continued.
“Come on, the other Pylon’s way nicer. It’s right on the beach too, real serene you’ll love it.” I told Terra, hoping she’d have enough hope to get going.
She sighed in annoyance before she spoke.
“Alright, fine. Come on, Zack.” Zach looked utterly shocked we weren’t abandoning the instruction of the guy who just disappeared into the forest.
Zach wasn’t always a whiny fucking moron. Most of the time, he was rather capable. It’s when stress and unanticipated variables on missions came about that he lost his wits. Unfortunately, none of this was predictable for any of us, which is probably why he’s so useless. With any luck, he’ll get used to this place a bit like I did, and soon.
After 30 minutes of fast walking through the many sequoia trees and clusters of foliage below while headed east, the wildlife showing less prevalent almost all at once as we crossed into a low hanging fog. The temperature dropped substantially as the mist contacted my skin.
A tinge of disappointment blossomed in my chest no longer seeing the dog sized squirrels and peaceful cow sized Capybaras roaming the woods anymore. Growing up a farm hand for my pops, I knew if animals cleared it meant a predator’s scent was in the air.
“Just so you guys know, there’s giant spiders out here. So, be ready.” My head not turning all the way to face the other two.
“OH. Oh ok. ‘Giant Spiders by the way’, thanks for the heads up Lonni.” Zach exclaimed frustratedly. More will to avert my attention, I turned to face Zach seeking eye contact. His shoulders rose with his hands.
“I-I mean let’s keep an eye out, y-you know?”
Coward.
Shaking my head, I continued forward along our journey. The trees along forest grew much closer in this section, which made me feel quite claustrophobic in truth. Of course, this area I recognized as the quarter way point back to the beach. 2 hours isn’t a terrible pace, at the very least survivable.
After a few more minutes, rustling behind some large bushes a few yards away from us snatched our attention. Zach and Terra froze, dropping their head down to remain hidden. I crept toward the sound, peering through the bushes to locate the cause.
My shield ahead, I separated the foliage I’d felt made the noise, readying my flail for any monster that lay ahead. Of course, initially I saw nothing. That was until additional rustling brought my attention down to the baby cub sat on its rear below me, its head at about my belly button. It looked up at me, fear encompassing its body language as it whimpered scooting back.
“Shit, hey guys we got to get moving.” I said quickly reverting to our previous route.
“What? Why what’s wrong?” Terra asked, pacing beside me.
“Nothing yet, let’s keep it that way.” I answered, maintaining speed.
“Okay, you can’t just keep us out of the loop on this trip.” Terra demanded, slowing her strides.
“All I have to do is make sure you live on this trip” I snapped, annoyed with her constant prodding.
“That’s rich from the guy who was pissing his pants not 24 hours ag-“
“Don’t fucking start with me Terra.”
“Hey guys?! Why the fuck did you pass this by, this things pelt and meats will last us a few days?!” Zach asked, dragging a lifeless oversized cub by its fur behind us.
“Zach, you fuckin’ IDIOT!?” I yelled, walking towards him now. His eyes widened as he began backing up before flipping around as if reacting to a noise behind him. He sprawled toward me out of nowhere, followed by the thundering crashing of snapping bush limbs as the momma bear had apparently returned home.
Throwing Zach to the side, I raised my shield to block the charging behemoth of a bear. It crashed into the front, causing me to slide across the grass on my heels. Swinging my flail did no good, as the position I held my shield blocked the short chain from wrapping around enough for any real force, my arm unable to would reach around the shield.
Terra’s magic purplish-light flew into the beast from behind, hitting its front leg. The bear hardly winced, but the leg itself gave out under the pressure. Pushing with all my might, I shoved hard off the beast, creating just an inch more of space to get a swing off. As my flail swung around however, the bear stood on its hind legs, affectingly slipping the spiked ball entirely as my weapon whiffed completely past it.
Zach closed in from behind the beast for a stab with his sword, only to be paw’d back through the air, smashing into a tree before falling limp to the ground. I’d found my footing just in time to step to the side of its falling paws as it returned to all fours.
Terra sent out another ball of purple energy toward the raging beast from its side, working her way to Zach from a distance. The magic puffed into its side, causing its head to whip toward her with an angry snarl. Its body twisted toward her as it switched targets. My shield bashed into the bears thick skull as it began its charge, pumping my legs as it fought tireless ti reach Terra, pushing us away from them at a curved angle. Once at a comfortable distance away, my leg stomped down as I shoved off the beast.
Seeing more space developed, my flail flew from over top, headed for its rear as it struggled to stop its forward momentum. The bears legs shuffled to the side, my spiked ball grazing one of its hairs as it avoided my attack. A paw came flying toward me, its talons shining a chrome color in the light as I blocked. The paw smashed my shield, its claws piercing into the wood in front of my face before being torn from my hand.
“Fine, KEEP IT!” I yelled in frustration, swinging my flail in front of me in a downward circular motion to each side. The bear began reeling a bit, staying just outside my flails range. The bear roared in anger from not getting to attack, then charged at me with reckless abandon.
The elusive bear timed its attacks well, slipping between my swings, forcing me to turn and push off its head before it could wrap an arm around me. Its massive metal tipped claw came down on my side, ripping through skin in the gap of my armor and denting the portion it did hit.
Pain shot through my body like a cold plunge, a wave of energy surging through me. My arm strained undert the force of unleashing a second flail barrage. The bear still somehow staying just out of my reach. Every few swings the bear would stab forward with a paw, clipping my shoulder then leg. Blood dripped down my armor.
If this fucking chain was a little longer.
Tom’s double sword thing had a chain, an adjustable one too. I’d seen him make it a bit longer, or shorter, within just a few fights with it. Sure the lightning stuff was crazy strong, but that’s not what I needed right now. Tom could reach this fucking thing. After all, it’s not all that fast. I’m just…well, slow. My agility was dwarfed by my strength stat, at a 10:25 ratio, my strength had never felt more awkward than after the weird guy in the white room gave me a class.
Speed wasn’t a necessity here either, though. Just range. My rapid continuity of swings continued, as did the monster’s savvy awareness of where the damn flail was. It felt calculated, like it was actually aware of my strikes rather than reacting like a beast. Its counter swipes were beginning to hurt more than my hate could will, only infuriating me further.
Come on..
I swung for its exposed leg, only for it to be raised away just before contact.
Come ON…
Doing my best Tom impression, I shuffled my feet closer toward it for another swing, this time for the bears ribs. It raised its second leg, standing tall on its hind legs before moving its torso just far enough back, turning its hips to land away from me.
I stepped forward for an overhead smash with the flail, aimed for its head.
Fucking REACH!
The animal leaned on its four shoulders to duck its head away from the trajectory of my flail, setting its feet for another counter swipe. A *clunk* sound and feeling shifted in my flail, however, followed by the spikes bashing into its skull, the smack echoing through the forest. Looking at my flail, the chain looked longer, by a decent margin.
Not willing to consider my newfound advantage, I pressed again. The beast was rocked, wobbling on its feet trying to defend itself. A claw would swipe in much slower, giving me time to bash its chest while its weight was forward. The sound of metal on metal exploded from the impact as my flail tinked off it's hard midsection. The bear roared as it stood up once more, its teeth the same shiny chrome as its claws, a gap in its fur where my weapon had hit revealing the same chromatic texture on its stomach.
Swinging upward, the bear lurched down for a double paw strike, only for its jaw to be met by my flail. Its jaw cracked and shattered, hanging vertically under its crooked nose. Swinging from the side, its attempted to drop its legs and turn tail back into the woods, its head dropping out of range.
Oh FUCK no.
Heat radiated throughout my body, burning with the ambition to kill this monster of a bear. I willed for my chain to extend as it fled, the familiar thump in my handle now tenfold as the spiked ball flew out like a hammer throw in the Olympics. As it loomed over the bear's shoulder, it turned in surprise, only for its head to be caved in as my arm finished its swing, the chain locking in place.
The beast crumbled to the forest floor, blood splattered on the trees surrounding. My legs felt like paper under me, my whole body aching.
*ding*
You have slain [Iron Ursid Level-3]
*Congratulations!* You’ve leveled your class!
(Warrior [Level 1])
->
(Warrior [Level 2])
+1 strength and +1 toughness has been added to your stat sheet.
Oh, oh good.
Falling to my ass, I sat on the fallen foliage below me, still 5 feet from the bear. My hand still gripped my flail, the chain running all the way to the bear’s skull where the spike ball rested. My mind was a bit of a haze, trying to recall how I’d even changed the length of my chain.
It was eery, recalling how in touch I’d felt for a split second to the metals in my chain. I’d willed them to duplicate, as if they’d always been there. What makes me feel absolutely insane is, I swear it responded. Not with words, but affirmation. Of course, the length it rested at now more than quadrupled its prior giving confirmation of what happened.
I tried willing it back shorter, but the weakness I’d felt flared in my stomach, with a caution flashing in my notifications.
WARNING!
Attempting to use mana when completely depleted can result in long term damage, including some to other resource pools. This is the only warning you will receive. Good luck!
Confused, I checked my status, and noticed my mana was completely empty.
Health: 87/151
Mana: 0/52
Stamina: 34/104
Holy shit, I’m tired.
“Lonni!?” Terra yelled, running over to me.
“Hi, please don-“ Terra began moving me all around, inspecting my wounds to make sure nothing was fatal. The pain forced a grunt from me, cutting my pleas short.
“How the hell did you do that?! Your chain went out like a harpoon or something?” She asked, ripping her cloth undershirt to cover a claw wound on my side.
“No clue, besides a little wishful thinking to be honest. Costed me all my mana though.”
“Well, from what you shared when we got here, that ain’t much to miss.” Terra joked back as she tightened some torn cloth around my arm.
Seeing Terra brought back memory of Zach’s existence, swiftly followed by rage for having provoked the bear.
“Where’s the dipshit at?” I asked, only remembering his tumble after speaking. Peering over to the tree he’d fell under, he was gone.
“He’s fine, for now. I might kill him myself. He ran off to skin that cub, said he’d come get the momma afterwards.” Terra said in disgust.
“Fuckin’ heathen, he better prove his brass on this fucking trip.” I said, resentment building for the idiot.
“Well…none of your wounds are mortal. And we all lived to bring these home…” Terra began, straying from eye contact..
“…you’re saying he wasn’t wrong.” Terra smiled meekly.
“I mean the pelt and claws on those things are pretty crazy, Lonni. He might not have meant for us to win like we did but, we still came out on top?” Her shoulders lifted as she pitched the man’s incidental accolade of endangering us just enough for good rewards. I was going to dismiss it until the memory of leveling popped up, and I knew this fight had a lot to do with that.
Sure, I got some credit for the wolf fight with Tom, but I soloed this beast. It was all me. Honestly, it felt damn good, and I’d be blind not to see Zach’s stupidity was the catalyst.
“…alright, but he can’t fuck up. Not on this trip, or I’m leaving him for spiders.”
“Fair enough. He’s our friend, you know?” Terra said with a smile, clearly not understanding where my priorities are.
“Let’s just get moving, help me get this shit out of its head.”
After freeing my weapon, and Zach taking his time skinning the half metal hide from the momma bear, we set off again for the beach Pylon, my body throbbing with each step. The flail chain was stuck being ridiculously long until could get some mana back, so Zach was on both pelt and spike ball carrying duty behind me.
“Hey!…aren’t y-you like…super strong or whatever?” He whined from behind, his feet dragging under him.
“Aren’t you, like, the guy that almost got me killed or whatever? Keep walking, we’re getting there.” I snarled back, fighting the urge to bash his head with my good arm.
Fucking Zach.
Another 30 or so minutes passed, and the group had effectively run out of conversation. Zach would bitch every so often, but now even Terra was annoyed enough to shut that down, allowing me to save my strength for the journey. It felt necessary considering the mangled giant spider corpses that littered some areas of the forest as we trucked on.
At first I figured this was Tom’s work, however the scratches, bite marks and chucks ripped off implied this was another animal’s doing. All the same, my senses remained keen on our environment. Traveling further, my legs began failing beneath me.
“Lonni man please, let’s hold up a second. We’ve been walking for so. Long.” Zach moaned from the back.
“Yeah I’m not gonna lie, Lonni. I’m pretty fucking tired right now.” Terra added.
“Me too guys. I did fight a fucking bear today. Bitch when we're there, it’s close.” I replied through huffs. Kindness was a luxury for the comfortable right now, which wasn’t me. Besides, the clearing to the beach was visible now, just around 40 years in front of us.
“Lonni, please I’m be-“
“No, Zach.”
“Bro my fucking legs are on f-“
“No, Zach.”
Pelts and the flail end fell to the floor all at once, making me turn to see why. Zach dropped to a knee.
“I’m fucking exhausted dude! Let me rest for just a min-“ my hand was already on his throat pulling him to eye level with me.
“I have had about ENOUGH of your constant complaining, Zach. Either keep up, or stay behind. No one is waiting around for you.” I said, dropping him and turning back toward the clearing.
Zach lay there coughing before he caught his breath.
“Man, you’re just fuckin’ like him now you know?”
Zach yelled to me through gasps.
Like who?
Turning, I was about to ask when the site of a large snake slithering down the tree toward him distracted me.
“ZACH WATCH OUT!” I leapt forward at the snake, pain firing throughout my bones as I moved. Zach just ducked, but thankfully I’d grabbed the large viper by its neck. Landing, I spun around a few times holding its head away from me, before launching it deep into the forest.
My arm cracked and screamed with pain as I did, making me fall to a knee a moment. A cacophony of horrible hissing sounded from the foliage around us.
“East, to the light, just book it!” I yelled while beginning the mad dash for my life. My body wasn’t functioning, my shield was gone, my weapon was compromised, my companions were too weak, I had to run. They quickly passed me, only for Zach to slow up a bit, holding my arm and pulling me a bit quicker.
“Come on jarhead?” He yelled, only to trip on a branch and begin falling. My hand snatched his arm, and I yanked him to his feet before he could slow us down too much.
The snakes weren’t as fast as the spiders, but they were definitely on our tail by the sounds of their hungry hisses. A few strikes had touched my heels when we broke through the treeline onto the beach. Seeing the massive super city surrounded by fiery walls, I pointed to it and beelined for the door.
A few snakes kept chasing as we approached, until a cannon fired a giant ball of fire expertly over us, instantly frying the pursuing snakes in a burst. Seeing no reason to sprint anymore, we stopped, all catching our breath.
The front doors began opening, revealing Tom, looking completely the same as he’d left us a few hours earlier, maybe a little more rested.
“Oh! You made it. What’s up guys? How was your trip?”
——————————————————————