After entering the portal, the three friends found themselves in a new realm. It was different than anything they had ever seen. A plain biome that went all the way through the horizon; a forest at the west, which was full of different tree species and animals; everything was so unique that they wondered for a while, Where the hell are they?
After some thoughts in both parties, Harper finally broke the silence and asked
"Alex. This is amazing, indeed, but where the hell are we, bro?"
"Well, I actually don't know yet; that's why I brought you guys here to find out."
Alex answered Harper with a dubious tone.
They were in a place with almost nothing but green fields that meet with the horizon and a forest that doesn't seem dense, but when you look deeply at it, the forest actually starts to feel denser. Everyone had a fishy expression on their faces, and things started to feel less like a trip and more like a battlefield.
"So, what are we expected to do here?"
Michael said
"We are here to explore this place. We don't know where or even when it is, but things are a lot different here, and we can make good money with this. Aren't you guys in a bad state also?"
Alex replied. Both Michael and Harper were uncertain of the conditions of this place, but they will do what it takes to escape from their personal hell called finances.
Harper then said
"We are supposed to explore this place, and then? Would we just start selling flowers that glow or a fucking giant mushroom that has at least 20 feet??"
"Actually, I never thought about it so far..."
Alex replied
"So, what about we register a transgenics company and say that the mushrooms, glowing flowers, and whatever we find here are nothing but modified plants we made in a laboratory?"
Michael, who was responsible for managing the squad back in the day, proposed.
"We are in the US. Michael, how are we supposed to sell modified animals? Do you want NGOs and the FDA to knock on our fucking doors?"
Harper gently noted
"Well, what about registering a shell company in Africa or something alike? We can actually give part of our money to their people and buy their support."
"Yes, Michael, it may work. I know the perfect place for this! Give me 3 days and consider it done and ready for business! I have access to some kind of black market where the elites from California and New York—even the Russians and Chinese—meet to sell and buy things that aren't 'usually' sold in normal places."
"Harper, as always, you do know how to surprise us!"
Alex was surprised by how the little Harper they usually played with as kids grew into a proper mercenary with shady contacts.
"Surprise? Hahaha, you know me for a long time, Alex; we literally trusted our lives and still trust each other's shoulders."
"Yes, you are right."
They both laughed as they were deciding what to do.
..
.
Some time later...
"Ok guys, it's decided. We will enter the forest, mark our entrance with a signal beacon, then walk 5 miles in a straight line to the west, then go another 10 miles north and set up a temporary base. After that, we can start harvesting the environment."
"Roger"
Both Michael and Harper agreed to Alex's plan.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached the forest borders, and Alex silently gulped. He still had vivid memories about that lion, and he even gave that entity a name, 'griffin'. Either Michael or Harper noted it, but they didn't say anything. They already knew that Alex had a bad experience only by looking at how bruised Alex's body was.
The three friends entered the forest after some hesitation; they were as curious as they were afraid of this place—a true mix of wonder and fear.
The soil was humid; it was like this place had rained hours ago, and due to the lack of sunlight in the dense forest, it still hadn't completely evaporated like in the plains.
After 10 minutes of walking, Michael found a blueish, glowing flower. It was a real beauty. Nothing he had ever set his gaze on. Afraid of killing this magnifying plant, he asked Alex if it was safe to harvest.
"Hey Alex, are there any special ways to take this off? Won't I kill it if I just take it from the soil?"
"Good question, actually. I cut this plant in half and gave it to my wife. So far, it hasn't died, but if you want to 100% safely take it off, I recommend you take a chunk of dirt with it."
"Well, better safe than sorrow."
Michael started to pick the flower. He cut the soil around into a perfect cube; it was almost 1 liter in volume, as Michael was pretty good at precision work. When he was almost done, they heard a loud roar. Michael and Harper quickly made themselves ready for battle. Alex knew what was coming. He was afraid, and he had a reason.
"Lemme get my revenge, you fucking griffin."
"You know who is making this noise?"
"Yes, I do."
Alex replied to Harper.
As the noise intensified, Alex started a fire, climbed a tree, and camouflaged himself, bending in with the leaves. Michael and Harper also climbed the other two trees, making a triangle formation around the fire spot Alex had started. They were waiting for the beast to come at them.
The three were so focused that the waiting felt like hours, when just 5 minutes had passed so far. The three were so high in adrenaline that they no longer felt the pain of their positions or the discomfort the dirt in their clothes gave them. Nothing mattered at that point, only victory.
Another minute passed, and the beast finally showed itself. It was a lion with long eagle wings and feet, a crocodile tail, and extremely sharp nails and teeth.
The entity, which Alex named Griffin, ran towards the fire. The bait worked perfectly. The three friends then shot the entity. three bullets, one of which hit the right eye, another hit the neck, and the last was shot in the middle of the two eyes. That last shot was probably from Alex, and even though his accuracy was perfect, it wasn't enough. The entity survived and roared in pain.
The roar was so loud that the group felt a little numb, but they were high in adrenaline, so they didn't care much. They continued to shoot.
The Griffin then started to look after them; it somehow knew that his fate was already sealed, but it would at least bring one of them together, straight to the underworld.
This lion-based animal was smart; it knew what it was doing and even developed skills to have a decent strategy—nothing you would expect from an animal. The Griffin rushed straight into the tree Harper were. Alex shot a bullet that cut off the left ear of the griffin, and Michael damaged one of its wings. It could no longer fly.
But the entity still insisted and shocked itself against the tree. He felt the impact and rapidly fell to the ground. He knew that his situation was unsustainable, so he quickly ran away from the beast. Alex and Michael noted it, and somehow Alex sensed and told him that the beast had already given up; it was only killing one of them to put a scar in their hearts forever.
Alex, fueled by anger, went down to the ground and started to shoot the lion with his SMG. The bullets alone weren't strong, but with many of them, the Griffin roared in pain and rolled down.
Harper, who was running away from the beast, heard its groans of pain. He instantly turned back and saw Alex, with his machete, running at an incredible speed towards the griffin. He knew Alex was an ex-military who had his body trained every day, but even so, it was almost like a professional runner and a Japanese samurai holding a katana. Where in hell did Alex turn out to be so good at it? His accuracy was already among the best, but that was now a godlike aim. It's almost like an aimbot in a game.
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..
Alex had already shot all of the comb and now had to go into close-quarter combat. He took his machete; it was a 1'2''-sized blade with two sharp sides, one straight and the other serrated. Alex ran toward the best with anger. It was trying to kill one of his friends; he couldn't afford to have another lose; he couldn't bear that responsibility. He couldn't look at Jenifer's face, as her brother was killed because of him. He was set to be the best man at Michael and Jenifer's wedding, so he would save her brother, even if it cost his life.
The lion was extremely injured, but it still had strength. His endurance was fit for a king. Alex rushed over it and placed his machete into the Griffin's chest, but the Griffin still had a card under its sleeve, so it launched a fireball at him. The ball had hit Alex's chest, and he started to burn. But it didn't stop him. Alex was so high in adrenaline that he didn't feel his skin burning. He took off the machete and again stabbed it, but now it was in his right eye that Michael's bullet had hit. The machete entered its brain, but the beast was still moving. Alex then turned the machete into the brain, causing the lion to finally die against its will. But the body was in post-mortem movement; the beast's sharp nails scratched Alex's torso, which was on fire.
Alex was screwed; his consciousness was starting to fade away; he was already giving up.
Harper quickly came after Alex; he was down. After watching that spectacular fight scene, he was amazed, but now that his friend was on the ground, burning down, a lot of blood was escaping his body, and he was dying quickly.
Michael descended from his tree to medicate Alex. They were more concerned about their friend than the fact that if he died, they wouldn't come back home.
Harper was crying above Alex's chest, and Michael was desperately putting bandages on all of Alex's body. He was looking like a mummy. He will die if they continue to go this way. They can't have their friend die here, so they start to desperately search for ways to cure Alex.
"AAAAAA, FUCK IT, WHY DID WE ACCEPT IT? FOR A FUCKING GLOW FLOWER THAT I ACTUALLY DON'T GIVE A FUCK DESPISTE ITS BEAUTY?"
After screaming these words loudly, he threw the flower away. Coincidentally, a wind came at the right time, redirecting the flower into Alex's chest. The flower touched him, and it started to glow even more. It was extremely bright; a blueish white emanated from the direction. Harper and Michael were overwhelmed by such light.
After some seconds, the light dissipated, and the two turned to see Alex. His chest was 100%, and even his old scars disappeared. It was almost unreal for them. A 10-year-old scar on his body simply disappeared. His rubber skin softened, and a life-threatening injury healed itself in seconds. They had won!
"I don't know what happened, but that flower saved Alex's life! This place is surely amazing, isn't it, Harper?"
After saying this, Michael stared at the flower, but its glow disappeared. It was blank, but normal white. Even though this was smoother than normal camellia, it looked almost similar. A beautiful yet empty color. It was like a universe full of life that, with time, lost all of it. And now, just blank and nothing... This feeling of emptiness ran through Michael's body, as the flower that saved his friend is now not even close to its prime. He looked gloomy for a while, but the joy of his friends survival was stronger than the emptiness he felt.
"Yes, it is sure amazing... All the medicine we know, all the scars left by surgeons, the beauty procedures that went wrong, everything we could just get rid of... I actually have to restart the thought of registering the company and creating a whole hospital."
Harper noted that he and Michael saw an amazing thing. The view of that flower losing its brightness was somehow vicious; they could stare at it with joy and fault for an eternity.
As they were having a philosophical insight, Alex woke up.
"Aww, my head is hurting as hell... It's like those days you have a hangover, but three times worse."
The two of them started to cry at Alex, almost like their friend was dead and had now returned to life.
After a few seconds of hugging, Alex went away.
"How bad were I?"
"You were extremely messed up... Your chest was burning, and a scratch of three straight lines was also there.
Michael replied.
"And why don't I see anything? Even my war trophies have disappeared."
"Actually, you were healed by that blue plant... It regenerated your skin, and everything closed... Even your scars disappeared."
"That's why my skin is so soft now? Well, this plant may have saved my life, but it didn't replace the blood I lost."
"Well, glad we know it by now."
Said Michael.
Harper, who was worried, calmed down, started to rationalize, and said
"Well, what do we do with this lion or beast, whatever it may be?"
"I don't know; probably bring it back home... I have an empty room in my basement. This room is filled with ice."
"Alex, WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE A FUCKING ICE ROOM IN YOUR BASEMENT?"
"Well, you know, right, Harper? I actually enjoy having free time in a cold room to read.
"I won't question why, but is that room large enough to put this entity inside?"
"Yes, it is."
After that, Alex opened a portal and transported the body into the basement of his house.
..
.
Some time later...
After finally finishing putting the lion in the ice room to preserve its body, Alex spoke
"Well, it's done by now... Let's go back, try to find more than two or three of these flowers, and call it a day."
"Yes. If we spend more time than this, Jenifer will start to chase me."
As Michael replied, they went back to the portal.
The three were now sharper than before. After almost losing their friend's life, Michael and Harper were paying more attention than ever. It almost felt like the old days in the Middle East...
They were teleported 10 miles away from where they were before. The spatial gap of the portal explains why the portal was opened in the plains instead of the forest, where Alex was before going back to Earth.
As they walked, they heard some howls. They were loud, but after hearing the roar of that fucking griffin, they were already used to this kind of noise. But one thing remained unclear: if the probable wolves were howling that hard, they were probably hunting prey. That prey can be a human, so they have to hurry and check.
As the three ran in the direction of the wolves, they finally set their gazes on the five wolves. There were four of them approaching a blond-haired person.
Only Alex could see it perfectly somehow; it was a person with extremely white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. But something was different; this person had pointy ears. Well, Alex didn't care much; they already said a lion, with eagle wings and hands, even had a crocodile tail to make it scarier... At least this 'human' is civilized, as he has clothes and a scepter.
Alex then called that man 'elf', referring to the classical beings on earth that were exactly the same as this man. It was almost like the creator of such a species had already traveled to see them. Alex didn't care much, though; he took his sniper and killed two wolves in a single shot. He shot at the head of one, but the bullet was so powerful that it actually crossed the wolf's head and headed towards the other, hitting directly into the eyes, killing it instantly.
..
Comoron, an elf who was in the demonic forest looking for the sacred flower meant to cure everything, the true panacea, was surrounded by wolves. He could kill these guys in a single spell, but all of his mana was drained by a parasitic tree that drains mana and leaves the target with no magic power left.
"This cursed traint, if this shitty tree hadn't appeared here, I could have already killed these wolves and picked myself the panacea! Why does this have to happen to me? FUCK"
As Comoron screamed, the wolves were still approaching him. He wouldn't let these guys kill him; at least one would fall into his hands. In this world, the people have in their culture that, in an impossible situation with many enemies, you could die in peace if you took one enemy with you. He was already ready to die and have the honor of killing one of these wolves, saddening the entire pack. When he heard a loud explosion
*SPLASH
As he looked at the wolves, two of them died instantly. Who in the world has this strength? Comoron thought.
"What the hell just happene-
*SPLASH
As he was wondering what happened, another two wolves died, and the leader of them was heavily injured. Blood was spilling through its body. Comoron only wondered what happened. Was he saved by the gods? What actually happened here?
As he was thinking hard about it, three strange men in green vests approached. They were strangers, and they were talking in a language he didn't understand. Were they from the Twilight Empire? No, that language is something different. Even though they might be the guys who killed those wolves, he had a life debt with them.
"Hey there! You! What is your name?"
One of these men shouted out loud, but Comoron didn't understand a single word. This was an alien language for him.
Even though he didn't understand, he had to make it clear that they couldn't communicate.
"Wait, don't release your powerful spells on me. My name is Comoron Asgard, and I am an elf looking for panacea. Just one of them is enough; it is a flower that glows in blue."
As Comoron was speaking, the three looked at each other.
They didn't understand the language. Of course, they were in a different world; obviously, the fucking language barrier would be there to mess with them!
"Fuck, how do we communicate with this guy?"
"I don't know; first, let's introduce ourselves."
As Alex said it, he pointed to himself and said,
"Alex Argent"
Then he pointed to the elf in front of him.
The elf understood the message. He pointed to himself and said,
"Comoron Asgard"
They know the names of each other, which is at least a good thing.
When they were introducing themselves, Comoron sat down in the soil and supported his hands into a purple grass. It was mana grass, and he recovered 10% of his mana by only doing it so. The Demonic Forest was overpowered for a reason, but almost anyone is willing to go there because of the king of the forest.
Comoron remembered that he had a spell to convert languages and speak in the language of spirits, converting the speech into information and then giving it to the people around him. He instantly started to work on the spell.
..
As the three friends looked at the elf, he was doing some strange dance positions. They struggled to not laugh; it was almost like a social media dance. At the time they were thinking about sh*t, a light started to emanate from the top of that stick the elf had, and then he spoke.
"Hello, my saviors, can you understand me?"
The elf spoke, and they understood. It wasn't English, neither Arabic, nor Russian, nor Chinese. It was an unknown language he was speaking, but they could understand it well.
"Hello, we are foreigners in this place. Where are wee exactly and what exactly are you?"
Said Alex
The elf was confused about how the powerful people didn't know they were in the Demonic Forest, the most dangerous place on the continent.
"Err, don't you guys know that we are in the Demonic Forest? The most dangerous place in the kingdom?"
"So, this shitty place had this name... No wonder we suffered here."
As Alex said this, the elf continued
"How did you guys enter here? We better run to the plains in the east; there we are safe. Let's hurry before the king of the forest appears here."
"Oh, that plain actually led somewhere."
"Yes, if you go straight to the east, you will find a river. Follow that river course for 5 kilometers, and you will be in the capital city."
"Oh, it is nice to know; we actually killed a lion, and we want to sell its body; it's not like we can do it from where we are."
"Oh, yes, you can sell animal and monster bodies in the city."
"monsters? Well, it makes sense, hahaha."
Comoron laughed, but he didn't know what the term 'Lion' meant or that it actually was the King of the Forest. Little does he know that these guys are more amazing than he thought.
As Comoron led the way, the three of them went straight for the capital city.