[You have hit level 25. This area is restricted to level 24 and below. You will be removed from the area. The countdown has started.]
“What?” The notification didn’t make sense, and it vanished as Cass practically tackled me in a hug, her momentum carrying her forward. She barley missed hitting my spear.
“You’re alive!” she yelled.
I flinched from her yelling in my ear, but my joy damped as a countdown appeared near the upper corner of my vision. It started at 300 seconds and was counting down.
“Alex, I told you not to attack or kill anything else!” My father’s voice came out as a growl and Cass yanked back from me. Several instances of Insight were used on me all at once, causing me to tense up. My fingers tightened around my spear.
“She didn’t…” mumbled Benny, the smile falling from his face as his eyebrows drew together.
“She did,” answered my father as he ran his fingers over his eyes. He let out a sigh before his hands settled on my shoulders, spinning me in place to face him. “When you vanish, it will be to somewhere outside of here. Don’t panic.” His dark eyes stared into me. “We will be on our way to you. It might take a few days.”
“Vanish? What do you know?” The numbers kept ticking down, and panic rose inside me. How did he know that the area was limited? Noseen had mentioned it before, but I didn't realize I'd literally vanish. I figured I'd be ordered to leave, like a quest or something. Then again, Noseen had suddenly vanished during the fight when he’d broken the rules of his vacation, so I really should have considered it an option.
“Wait for us. Don’t go exploring the jungle.”
Laughter broke out from John, and I couldn’t help but smirk, but I didn't get a chance to say anything.
“I promise, we will find you.”
The number dropped to less than 100. “Dad, don’t worry. I got this. Just ask John.” I'd already survived, and even thrived, in the jungle before. At least this time I didn't need to rescue anyone, not to mention this time my level was freaking 25. I couldn’t wait to see what I could do, or the things I might be able to fight.
My fingers tingled, before suddenly, as soon as the countdown hit zero, I teleported away.
***
She vanished from beneath my fingertips. One second, Alex stood there, then poof, gone. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, but some of the others gasped. My hands fell to my side as my mind raced through everything we needed to do.
“What the…” whispered Maggie, taking a step forward. “Where did she go?”
My head snapped around toward the others. “Load up. We need to leave, now.” I kept my voice low, but firm. If we wanted to make it to Alex within a reasonable timeframe, we needed to get in the air as soon as possible. At least this time we wouldn't be hiking through the jungle.
“Leave, to where?” asked Maggie, her eyes narrowed. Sang stood near John, who was explaining a few things to her in a quiet voice. Hopefully, she'd join us. Her crystal singing class was invaluable.
“Out of here.” I motioned to where Alex had vanished. “That’s what happens at level 25. You can wait till then, or leave with us. Your choice.”
Benny and Cass, along with Abby, boarded the shuttle. Benny should be carrying several duffel bags and a cart with a crate inside his inventory crystal, hiding it from view. He gave me a thumbs up; that was one more thing off the list. The plan for everyone who didn’t want to be under Xander’s rule to leave was on track.
Jas arrived back, with Mary and Randy. I motioned for them to hurry onboard, my eyes scanning the trees.
“It’s your choice,” I added, toward Maggie. While I hadn’t expected Maggie or Sang to be involved, or even be here, they were part of the list I’d hoped to talk to after we left the colony. Maggie turned and went back up the ramp with a shrug. Jas, Mary and Randy also raced up the ramp, leaving me at the bottom.
The hum of the engine started, and I turned to go up.
“Hellion! What is the meaning of this?” Xander’s voice rolled out of the darkness. Next to him stood Mars and several others. I shifted my gun from over my shoulder into my hands.
“I warned you,” I called out, making sure to not point my weapon at them. “People were always going to complete that quest.” I’d completed it several weeks ago, and since then I’d been very careful to not do anything to raise my class level, unlike Alex.
His eyes grew wide. “We can talk about this.” Xander motioned into the darkness. “The colony needs you, it needs everyone to keep standing.”
“It’s too late now.” I chuckled to myself, thinking of the greater creature that had attacked the fence. The one that several of the hunters helped kill, completing the quest that capped people at level 20. “I warned you again and again what would happen, Xander, but you didn’t want to listen. Good luck. We’ll see people on the other side.”
The ramp shifted upward slowly, but I didn’t dare move. The only hunter next to him gave me a nod. While not everyone wanted to leave early, I’d made sure to spread the word about what happened as soon as you reached level 25. Jaxon stood next to Xander and took a step forward, but the other hunter placed a hand on his shoulder. At least the boy hadn't been hurt too badly during the fight.
“Get him!” ordered Xander. Yet, no one moved toward me as I stood there holding my weapon.
The sight disappeared as the ramp closed and I turned toward the others in the shuttle, slinging my gun over my shoulder on its strap. “John, get us in the air before daybreak.” The shuttle flew upward as I marched toward the cockpit. Sang and Maggie sat in the two chairs to the left, while Abby sat on the right. Abby stopped talking as I marched into view.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“Did we get all the supplies on the list?” I asked, running my checklist through my head. First supplies, then the various stops, then finally heading outside the mountain range to the north. We’d fly over the tunnel that led to the other side. The South had another exit, but as far as my information went, people always ported to the northern tunnel.
“Yes, we have enough food and water to last us a week with Ben,” answered Abby. "Not to mention some trade supplies for the scientists if you still plan on stopping there.”
I nodded in relief, glad that she was able to do her thing. With everything that had happened with the fence going down, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get enough to keep us going until we could establish a new base outside of the Sanctuary. Now, we’d have some runway near the other drop ship. I pulled out the note that Alex had passed to me before she vanished and opened it. Two words were all it contained.
We’re in.
The handwriting belonged to Denver, and I let out a sigh. “First stop, the compound. Then, the scientists…” At least Denver and Hawk would be assets in the new base. They’d handle themselves just fine, unlike several people we’d left behind. “I’m worried about Alex.” She’d need to last a few days out in the jungle by herself. Maybe she’d find the drop ship and Hampton.
Sang chuckled, along with John.
“Dad, Alex will be fine. She’s level 25, and to be honest she saved my life more than once.”
“Same here,” added Sang. My head snapped in her direction.
Maggie nodded as well. “She saved everyone at the Mines.”
“Okay, someone needs to start at the beginning…”
***
I appeared a few inches above the ground and landed softly on my feet. A flash of pain rippled up my spine, then vanished. The smell of damp soil filled my nose as I froze, trying to see around me. Tall trees formed a clearing in front of me, but behind me, a flat rock face was only broken by the mouth of a tunnel.
[You have been teleported outside of the Sanctuary.]
[You have reached 100 points in your first stat, congratulations on your growth.]
I peeked at my stat sheet, noting Quickness had passed 100. The flash of pain made sense as I’d passed another milestone. Though, this was the first time I’d gotten congratulations from the system. My surroundings drew my attention back, and I began to study the tunnel opening, but another notification popped up.
[You may not return to the Sanctuary without the necessary permit and debuff.]
I turned to face the dark jungle, spotting the stars and moon overhead. The night sky hadn’t changed much. First things first, I needed to get cleaned up. My stomach rumbled and I took a few steps toward the edge of the trees. Nothing moved in the darkness, or the deeper shadows from the ferns. Still, standing in the middle of the clearing made me uncomfortable.
The two hearts in my inventory called out to me, and once nothing moved around me, I yanked the first out, starting with the Dimetrodon. The first bite quickly led to me gobbling the rest of it down. The flavor reminded me of some sort of berry, but I couldn’t tell which. Slightly sweet, but also tart. Dimetrodon needed to go on the tasty list. Also, my stomach confirmed my priorities with that first few bites of food: eating first, then I’d get cleaned up after.
[You have devoured a Dimetrodon and gained insight into Venomous Bite. Venomous Bite II: You have glands behind your jaw that create a sedative in your saliva. Increase your knowledge of biological venom and poisons.]
From what I remembered, last time it had said a minor sedative, so the bump was gone. Hopefully, the skill would be more useful now. I’d need to test it in a fight. A surge of desire for more crashed over me. I snagged the Allosoaur's heart and scarfed it down, blinking at the sudden flavor. Dark, spicy hot chocolate, yet I chewed it. It contrasted with the berry from before, and reminded me of the Microraptors heart, but better, so much better. I wished I’d eaten it slower. The rumbling in my stomach reduced a bit, at least.
[You have devoured an Allosaurus and gained the potential skill: Chomp. Chomp: Your teeth strengthen, increasing the damage from bite attacks. You have the maximum number of skills. Would you like to merge Chomp into Venomous Bite II?]
This notification made me pause. The thought of literally biting into something made me uneasy. I wasn’t an animal, and I preferred my spear. If I merged it, it wouldn’t take up a skill slot, but still. Uncertainty flickered through me as I snacked on a piece of meat from the Dimetrodon.
Why not?
I accepted the merge. Pain danced along my jawline and mouth and almost knocked me to my knees. I dropped the meat in my hand as my fingers shook. After shuddering for several seconds I regained control of myself, panting in the night air.
[Chomp has merged into Venomous Bite II creating Venomous Chomp. Venomous Chomp: Your teeth have been strengthened along with your jawbone, increasing the damage from bite attacks. You have glands behind your jaw that create a sedative in your saliva. Increase your knowledge of biological venom and poisons.]
I ran my tongue over my teeth, finding my canines pointed more than before. Without a mirror, I couldn’t tell what other changes it’d caused to my mouth, but nothing else felt out of place. No longer hungry, I cleaned up using a rag from my inventory along with some water from my canteen.
Then I spotted a tree to climb for the rest of the night. I circled around the clearing twice using my stealth before making my way up the trunk. It only took seconds to reach the upper branches, where I could still spot any changes in the clearing. Nothing came up as I reached out with my prey sense, and I relaxed in the branches.
Yet, before I could get some sleep, one more task remained, my stat sheet. 36 free stat points mocked me, and I needed to allocate them. Hesitating, I glanced at my inventory spotting the eggs. The thought of eating them raw made my mind want to gag while my mouth watered. Tonight wasn’t a night for a fire, but maybe in the morning I’d build one before exploring the surrounding jungle. I added stat points to strength, quickness, and flexibility. Then three points into Charisma. The pointed teeth weighed on me. As I accepted the changes, another flash of pain rippled up my spine from getting flexibility to 100.
Name: Alex
Level: 25
Race: Human
Traits: Survivability, Adaptation, Hangry
Class: Devourer, level 25
Profession: Crystal Singer, level 5
Stats:
STR: 68(90)
DEX:
>QUICK - I: 93(107)
>FLEX: 78(100)
CON/TOUGH: 66(90)
INT: 59(74)
WIS:
>FORT: 59(74)
>WILL: 59(74)
CHA: 54(69)
FREE: 0
Monstrosity: 5%
Titles & Achievements:
Jack-of-all-Trades
Lucky Stars
Badass
Skill: 10/10
Improved Body - II
Crystal Singing and Attunement
Insight
Augmented Senses
Stealthy Camouflage
Blades and Polearms
Free Spirit
Venomous Chomp
Claw Strike
Field Dressing
Skills Categories: +
The changes from the last several levels made for a ton of growth. One thing stood out to me: Monstrosity had increased by 1 % point, even with the stat increases to charisma. Maybe that didn’t affect it at all. At what point would I be more monster than human?