Emerging from the jungle opposite the cute creature was one far less so. A massive crocodilian monster. Dave had taught them about cipactli as well, but this looked a lot different from any of the ones Wyatt had seen in class.
Its body was armored in scales that glistened with an iridescent sheen like oil on water, a patchwork of textures and hues, ranging from the deep green of forest moss to the murky brown of feces. The scales had razor-sharp ridges, giving the creature the appearance of being shrouded in a coat of thorns.
The head was a thing of nightmares, disproportionate and malformed, the jaws overly wide and looking large enough to swallow a man whole.
Well, he wouldn’t be whole for long, since the mouth was lined with multiple rows of teeth, each one the size of a man's finger.
Its bulbous, unblinking eyes glowed with yellow light, and were fixed on their group.
Then it did something even more horrifying: it stood up on its muscular hind legs, balanced on a tail as thick as two men, now at least ten-feet tall.
Wyatt felt as though he was looking at something that wasn’t just a physical being, but a manifestation of some dark, unexplored corner of existence, a relic of some truth that humanity was never meant to encounter.
Then the feeling was broken as it let out a roar that made Wyatt’s head hurt.
Screams erupted from around him as the rest of the group caught wind of the monster’s presence.
“It’s only level three,” Wyatt said, trying to reassure them.
But they were all level zero, and the thing was so massive.
“Yeah!” Tyler shouted with false confidence, brandishing his sand-filled sock. “We can take it. You just need a really big purse.”
Maria clutched her giant purse to her chest.
The air was filled with the sound of snapping branches and guttural growls.
A scent like death washed over Wyatt, and text appeared just as more monsters emerged from the jungle in response to the cipactli’s roar.
Seven enemies total counting the level three, against twenty humans. Only two of which have any skills.
He surveyed their meager weapons. One absurdly large purse, a couple smaller ones, two backpacks, a pocketknife, Tyler’s sock—
Yeah, this will be interesting.
The cipactli leader fell to the ground and Wyatt thought he felt the earth shake.
Impossible.
But that’s what it felt like.
He took Maria’s purse from her, which she didn’t even respond to.
With a final synchronized roar, the monsters charged, kicking up sand as they closed the distance to the group.
People around him panicking and screaming, Wyatt focused on the monsters, making a plan.
At their current speed, they would reach the group in thirty, maybe thirty-five seconds.
He looked at the opposite jungle where that small creature had been. It was gone now, and who knew what else lurked there. And they wouldn’t make it in time anyway. Even if they did, the cipactli were tall enough that those trees wouldn’t provide any safety.
He looked up the steps of the pyramid.
The monsters were large, but the steps were narrow.
“Up the steps!” he shouted to be heard over the screams. “They’re too big to follow.”
He actually wasn’t sure of this, but it was the best option they had.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Most of the group listened, but a few ran in other directions.
What are they thinking?
They’re not thinking, simply running on instinct. Literally.
Luckily for them, Camila shouted at them to stop and follow her, and maybe because of being used to listening to her for the past week, they did.
The group slipped and scrambled up the steps, leaving only two people at the bottom of the temple.
To his surprise, Emma was still by his side.
She didn’t look at him, just held out her hand, which began glowing.
Light washed out from her and the level 3 stumbled as it was affected by her skill, but kept coming.
Emma grimaced, but kept pushing.
Wyatt gripped Maria’s purse. It had worked okay before, but this time he was planning on it not coming to that.
In his other hand, he had Akira’s knife.
Time to finally test out my skill on a real enemy.
He tamped down on his excitement and focused on the task.
Letting Emma deal with the level 3, Wyatt used [Debuffer] on the closest monster, which was level 1. Then the second level 1, and a level 2.
It was deeply satisfying, like he’d taken a bite of something vital from each of them.
He grinned as all three spasmed and stumbled, though only the two level 1s stopped, vomiting up partially digested corpses of small, unidentifiable animals.
Maybe twenty seconds until the closest reached them, a level 2 since the level 3 was being slowed by whatever Emma’s skill was doing to it.
Level two wasn’t taken out. Let’s find out if the skill stacks.
But when he went to use [Debuffer] on the level 2 again, he felt that dry heaving sensation in his spine.
Does that mean it doesn’t stack or that I’m out of Energy?
He dumped another point into Energy to find out.
This let him use [Debuffer] three more times before he ran out, halting the level 2 with a second stack as it vomited and tagging all but one level 2 and the level 3, slowing but not stopping them.
So stacking it costs more than the initial use, and each point in Energy seems to give slightly more than three uses. I wonder if Nervous System would change that.
But he couldn’t risk not being able to use the skill, so he put another point into Energy.
Three uses this time, even though two were a second stack.
Each point in Energy must be slightly more than three non-stacked uses then, and I’ve gained enough to use it again.
All but one level 2 and the level 3 were incapacitated, vomiting up everything they’d ever eaten, and probably things they hadn’t. Kevin had gone on for a good ten minutes, vomiting up more than could have possibly been inside his stomach, but these were higher level so they might not be affected for as long.
Another point, but only two uses this time.
The final level 2 stumbled and rolled, propelled by its vomit.
Only the level 3 remained.
The level twos took a double-dose to make them puke and halt their charge. Would the level 3 take three?
He only had one stat point left to use.
Well, it won’t do me any good if I’m dead. And there will be a lot of corpses to cut orbs from after this.
He dumped his final point into Energy and hit the level 3 again.
It stumbled and roared, but kept coming through two stacks of [Debuffer] and Emma’s continued use of [Willbreaker].
Even with its slow speed, it was almost on them.
Well, slower, anyway. Human walking pace.
Looks like I’m going to be meleeing after all. Let’s just hope this last [Debuffer] makes it puke at least.
If his math was right, he had three normal uses of [Debuffer] left, but at most that would be two second stacks, and if the increase in cost between stacks was non-linear, he might not have enough at all for a third stack.
Wishing [Debuffer] worked like a root, he cast a third stack on the level 3.
[Debuffer] permutation discovered
[Debuffer] has reached D-Grade
2 of 3 [Debuffer] permutations active
What was that?
He didn’t have time to consider, despite the level 3 cipactli now looking like it was moving through molasses, because with a roar and a flash of black-green light, the monster seemed to vanish.
But it hadn’t vanished, just used a skill of its own to close the distance between them faster than Wyatt could react.
The monster crashed into him, slamming him into the temple steps.
Wyatt’s head cracked against stone and his thoughts blanked out as the giant mutated crocodile bit into his neck.
🞠
Wyatt came to vomiting.
He was on his face, and he pushed himself up.
His brain wasn’t working right, but he forced his thoughts in order.
Dizzy, he looked around. It was dark, barely enough light to see by, not clear where it was coming from.
Quiet.
No immediate danger.
He felt his neck. No wound.
What happened? Did I heal, or did it not actually bite me?
He’d felt teeth against his neck, he remembered that much, but had the steps prevented it from fully closing its jaw?
How long had he been unconscious?
Experimental time remaining: 4096 days
Trial 1 time remaining: 2 days
Less than a day, at least.
Where am I?
It was a corridor wide enough to stretch his arms out without touching the sides, the ceiling high enough to stand easily, but not exactly high. The floor was dark rough-polished stone, the walls and ceiling a lighter color like sandstone. There was light, but not much, and its source wasn’t apparent. It was like it came from the walls themselves.
He was at a dead end, nothing but solid wall behind him. Ahead lay the dimly lit unknown.
He sat, staring at the pile of vomit.
Then he registered what he was looking at.
⦗Empty Orb (Bonded), Level 1⦘
He reached out and picked it up, wiping it clean then studying it.
No inventory items
That’s weird. Is it some kind of storage expander? Did I throw it up? Is it the same one I ate earlier?
He quickly checked his stats, but he still had five points in Energy.
He went to shove the golf-ball-sized orb into his pocket, which was when he remembered he didn’t have any. He was still in his boxers and t-shirt. He’d completely forgotten. With the Mexican heat, it was easy not to notice.
But his boxers were boxer briefs. Which meant they kind of did have a pocket.
He shrugged. “What’s one more ball?”
Orb safely stowed away, he turned his attention to his present situation.
Am I inside the pyramid?
It kind of looked like it.
How did I end up in here? Where is everyone else?
A message appeared.
Split the Tour (Redemption Task)
• Goal: Find Hunter
• Reward: Foundation Skill
• Failure: 1 hour of torture, ?
Wyatt frowned. Who the hell’s Hunter?