Devi leaned against a tree, catching her breath, as Mat and Mars did the same. The dead squirrel lay on the ground between them, its beady eyes no less disturbing in death than when it had been alive and actively trying to kill them.
“Let’s not do that again,” Matt said between heavy breaths. “We could have died.”
“But we didn’t die,” countered Mars as they wiped their sword off and slid it back into its sheath. “And we got XP for it. I call that a win-win.”
“So you also got the notification?” Devi asked as she dismissed hers.
“Yup, says I defeated my opponent, and got XP,” Mars replied before waving their hand through the air. “Kind of odd it didn’t say kill or something though.”
Devi let out a low growl of frustration.
“I know,” was all she said. Looks like the notifications are the same for all of us. Interesting.
“Did any of you level up?” Matt asked.
“I did not, though I am at level one for my Class,” Devi answered. “Could be because of that. I did level last time I fought a squirrel.”
“I didn’t level either, though I’m also level one,” Mars said. “I used some of the credits to get XP, seemed like a good idea to do.”
“Well, I’m still at level zero, and also didn’t level,” Matt said. “Maybe it’s because we killed the squirrel as a group?”
“We should go fight two more squirrels and see what happens,” Devi proposed. The XP might not be split evenly, but if it is, then if we fight two more, then everyone will have had the same amount of XP that I did when I leveled up both my Race and my Class. She thought some more. But it could be that the XP is given more to lower leveled people, or to higher levels, or just distributed based on contribution somehow?
“You want to go find two more of those monsters, on purpose?” Matt asked, incredulous. “That one almost sliced me to ribbons, and you want to go out and find more?”
“We are more than likely going to run into more of them just by exploring the forest, it has not even been half an hour and we were attacked,” Devi explained. “If we go hunting instead of letting the squirrels ambush us, we will have an easier time. Besides, we only got scrapped up a little bit. Mars bore the brunt of everything, and they do not look too bad.”
“My leg is a bit tender, but I’m good,” Mars said as they shrugged. “I feel like I could take on a few more of those bastards. Good way to get payback and to level up. Two squirrels with one stone as it were.”
Matt groaned at the not so good pun but cambered to his feet anyways.
“If they’re just going to attack anyways, I guess it’s smart to hunt them instead.” He turned to the corpse of the squirrel. “What do you want to do with that?”
Devi gave the squirrel a glare. She knew they should probably bring it with them, it represented food, but she really didn’t want to lug around a dead animal through the forest.
“We could take a short trip back to the clearing and leave it there?” she suggested. “Bring back some wood too, and ask around if anyone knows how to cook and clean a kill?”
They all considered the idea. Leaving it with some random person did mean that they could just take the squirrel for themselves, but also, it didn’t really matter if they did. The three of them were going to hunt more in just a little bit.
The three of them trekked back through the forest, Mars having been elected to hold the dead squirrel. They went a lot quicker than before, mainly since they weren’t stopping to look at every plant and interesting thing, but also because Mars was almost jogging, anxious to stop needing to carry the corpse.
Devi was the one guiding them, since her memory was the best out of the three, though Matt keep an eye on the surrounding, making sure there weren’t any more squirrels laying in wait to ambush them.
They made it safely back to the clearing, seeing the multicolored barrier in front of them through the gaps in the trees.
“Finally,” Mars said as they walked through the barrier, setting the squirrel down. “Let's go find someone who could help.”
Devi nodded along, staring intently at the barrier where Mars had walked through. She had expected it to do something when the dead squirrel had been brought in, but nothing unusual happened.
Maybe the barrier did not do anything because the squirrel was dead, Devi thought to herself. She made a note to herself to figure out if a live creature other than a human was allowed inside the barrier.
Matt and Mars had both gone off to see if they could find anyone willing to help with prepping the squirrel, and Devi had no illusions that she could do a good job at that. So she plopped herself down in the general vicinity of the squirrel to keep an eye on it.
As soon as she sat down, she felt something snap. It wasn’t anything physical but a sort of connection she had not even realized she had. She felt her mana quiver slightly at the sensation.
Frowning, Devi tried to think of what the connection could have been until it hit her. She had been keeping up the [Attribute Enhanmcneet] on Mars ever since the squirrel fight but hadn’t noticed the slight connection she had with the Skill until it suddenly broke.
I will have to see if it was distance or time that made the Skill fail, she thought. Would not want any surprises during a fight.
She didn’t want to waste any mana she might need by crafting things, so she started making a small fire pit. Using a few tree branches, Devi began digging out a small pit, making sure there wasn’t any vegetation that could catch on fire. A few trips just outside of the barrier got her some stones to line the pit.
By the time she had placed the last rock to make the ring around the pit, Mars and Matt were walking towards her with two other people in tow.
“Oh nice!” Mars exclaimed as they walked up. “The fire pit looks really good. Good thinking there.”
Devi stood up, admiring the fire pit she had just finished. It was pretty simple, just a dug out patch of dirt with stones lining the outside, but it looked nice. She had even piled up a few dead branches and twigs next to it so she could get a fire going in the future.
“This is Brenda and Tobias Myers,” Matt said as he gestured to each of the two older-looking folks following him in turn. “They said they could both help us.”
Tobias snorted at Devi’s fire pit and began moving around stones without so much of a word.
“You’ve got to forgive him, honey, he just likes seeing things done right,” Brenda said while Devi stood there unsure of what to do.
“I knew what I was doing,” she protested at Tobias.
The aging man snorted dismissively and kept working on the fire pit, dismantling the entire circle of stones Devi had stacked around the outside.
“I’m sure you did dear,” Breda said and patted Devi on the arm. “But it just isn’t quite as good as it could be. Don’t worry, Tobias has been doing things like this for as long as he can remember.”
Brenda leaned close and whispered conspiratorially.
“Which isn’t all that long, memory isn’t what it used to be.”
“My hearing is just fine though, thank you very much,” Tobias huffed as he stood up and dusted his hands off. “I’ll need some better rocks than what you got here. Where did you find these?”
My fire pit would have been perfectly serviceable, she grumbled to herself. This man did not have to come in and tear it all down. We have more important things to be doing than making the fire pit perfect.
“What was wrong with the fire pit?” Devi asked a little aggressively.
“Wasn’t built right,” was all she got from him before Tobias turned to Matt. “Did you get those stones from outside this clearing?”
“I didn’t get them,” Matt spluttered out, put on the spot. “Devi was the one who made the pit.”
“Yes, those stones came from outside the barrier, just like this squirrel,” Devi said, gesturing to the dead monster with her foot. “So you think you guys can do anything with it?”
“That sure is one big squirrel,” Brenda said as they leaned over the corpse, inspecting it. “But it shouldn’t be nothing my Tobias can’t handle.”
Devi blinked a few times, trying to parse through the double negatives. The should not means that is not nothing, so it is something, but then the can not is there, so does that negate the first one, or is it a separate part of the sentence?
“I’ll need some more wood,” Tobias’ response snapped Devi out of her train of thought. Guess that answers that.
The three younger people went and collected a few armfuls of wood, and a couple more stones so Toibas had a bit to work with. Devi even left one of the metal bowls she had received as part of the Tinkerer’s tools in case he needed it.
Then they left to go explore the forest some more, leaving Tobias and Brenda to fuss around with the squirrel.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Where did you find them anyways?” Devi asked the others once they had gotten a bit into the forest. “They seemed oddly eager to help.”
“I think they’re just lonely,” Matt said as he kept his eyes searching the underbrush. “Brenda told me she and her husband came up to the city to visit their son and grandkids, but never made it to them. The whole end of the world started before they got to his house apparently.”
“They seem like they just want to be helpful, they seem harmless enough,” Mars added.
The three of them lapsed into silence, all of them scanning the forest around them for any signs of movement. They moved slowly, not exploring as much as they did before, the fight with the giant squirrel had given everyone a bit more appreciation for the dangers that lurked beneath the dark treetops.
A rustling of leaves behind them made everyone whip around, weapons pointed at where they thought the noise had been coming from. That is until they realized it was just a small breeze that had caused the bush to shake, not a bloodthirsty monster.
Devi gave out a low chuckle, and everyone relaxed a bit.
“Who should I enhance?” Devi asked, the prospect of getting into a fight, even if it didn’t happen, reminding her of her Skill.
“How does it work again?” Matt asked.
“I can boost a single Attribute by one for a single person,” Devi explained. “Though I do not know if there is a time or distance limit. The Skill ended on Mars while you guys were bringing back Tobias and Brenda.”
“So that’s what it was,” Mars explained. “I suddenly felt off for a bit while we were walking around and couldn’t figure out why.”
The three of them debated for a while as to who should get an Attribute boost, and what Attribute. Matt didn’t want to be enhanced, even though his attributes were the lowest out of the group because he was the lowest leveled. He argued that since Mars would be the one up close and personal with the squirrel, then they should be the one enhanced.
“I don’t think enhancing my Agility really did anything though,” Mars pointed out. “They were so much faster than me, and just a single point really didn’t do much.”
In the end, they agreed that Devi should enhance Mar’s Strength so that they could play to their strengths, the pun contributed by Mars.
They resumed their walk, going as quietly as they could so they could be the ones surprising the squirrel, not the other way around. Matt tried to put the two Skills he had to use, looking for any tracks he could follow.
It took a while, but he eventually found some plants that appeared to have been trampled by a small creature, creating a sort of path through the undergrowth. Not seeing any other leads, Matt lead as they all followed the tracks.
Suddenly, Matt stopped, looking at something ground.
“Hey guys?” he called back. “Squirrels don’t have hooves, right?”
He moved to the side so Devi and Mars could get a look at the track he had been inspecting. In the damp dirt, there were a few tracks that looked like hoofprints.
“Maybe it’s a deer,” Mars said excitedly as they looked over at the track. “I’ve heard deer steak is actually pretty good.”
“Probably better than squirrel steaks,” Devi said.
They followed the tracks, relying mainly on Matt to spot more places where the deer had passed through. Even Matt was surprised at how easily he was able to follow the trail, until Devi remind him that both of his Skills were related to tracking, one literally called [Track].
Continuing to let Matt lead, they soon started hearing something fairly large moving about in the underbrush just up ahead. They all looked at each other, and nodded, before sprinting the last few meters to where their prey lay unaware.
They had come up with a loose plan while they had been tracking, Devi would fire the first shot, hopefully wounding the deer, before Mars would rush up and get its attention while Matt tried to flank it. Everyone agreed that it sounded like a great plan.
Seeing something moving in the underbrush up ahead, Devi raised her crossbow, came to a standstill, and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew true, striking the side of the deer, just as they had planned.
But that was as far as the plan got.
Instead of the cry of a wounded deer, the animal let out an enraged squeal, turning to face Devi. Two large tusks jutted out from its mouth as it flung the half-chewed squirrel it had been in the middle of eating to the side. Its eyes seemed to glow as it started charging at her.
All six of the monstrous boar's hoofs thudded into the forest floor as it closed the distance between it and the one who had stuck a bolt it in.
Devi quickly threw herself to the side, just in time for the boar to barrel past her and slam into a tree, bark spraying everywhere.
“That’s not a deer!” Matt called out from her left.
“I can see that,” Devi yelled back as she quickly rolled to her feet.
The boar shook its head and spun around, facing Devi again. It let out an angry squeal and charged at her for a second time.
Why did it have to go after me?
She dove out of its way a second time as she heard a loud crash behind her, this time managing to tuck into a ball and roll instead of eating dirt face first.
Devi spun around to see the boar slam into another tree before righting itself and preparing for yet another charge. As it stomped on the ground, digging large furrows into the dirt, an armored figure slammed into its side, making it stumble.
Mars followed up with a heavy downward swing of their sword, cutting deep into the boar's flank. Its tusks glowed a deep red as it swung them sideways, catching Mars off guard and sending them crashing into a bush.
A yell rang out as Matt charged in, slamming his spear into its side as the boar was distracted, only to have it ripped from his hands as the monstrous boar spun around to face him. Matt was left weaponless, only barely managing to raise his shield in time to block another glowing red tusk aimed his way.
He stumbled back, the force from the blow still enough to throw him off balance even though the simple wooden shield prevented Matt from becoming a shish kabob.
By this time, Devi had managed to load another bolt and wasted no time in firing it off at the enraged boar. It wasn’t hard to hit the large creature, the bolt sinking into its large frame as it advanced toward Matt.
Well, that got its attention, she thought as the boar charged at her with an angry squeal.
As she tried to dodge out of the way, the boar swung its head sideways, catching her as it thundered past. A line of pain sprung into existence across Devi’s side and she was knocked to the ground in a heap.
She struggled to her feet as she hear the boar crash into another tree, its charge taking it well past where Devi lay. Groaning, she clambered to her feet and started pulling back her crossbow for another shot.
As the boar righted itself and got ready for another charge a Devi, Mars charged past her, meeting the monster head-on.
The boar let out an enraged snort and savagely tore upwards with its tusk. Mars deflected it with her shield, the strike gouging a long line through the metal, but leaving Mars unharmed. The strike left the boar open, and Mars didn’t waste it, stabbing down at its face with a yell.
The sword narrowly missed its eye, bouncing off the monster's thick skull. It still let out a shrill shriek and head-butted Mars, making them stumble back.
Devi let another bolt fly towards the monster, trying to aim for one of its eyes, but missing as it swung its head at Mars again.
“Hey, watch it,” Mars called out as the bolt flew past them, a little too close to comfort.
“It is a bit hard,” she called back as she loaded her crossbow for another shot.
The boar didn’t have the decency to let them finish their banter as it slammed into the distracted Mars, sending them flying, before charging at Devi.
None of the multiple wounds across its body seemed to have done anything, as it boar thundered at Devi. Even the literal spear stuck out of its flank didn’t even slow it down.
Feeling like something had to change, Devi pulled out her original fire-starting magic tool and got ready.
As the boar charged in, Devi nimbly danced to the side, avoiding both the charge and the savage tusk swing that came after. She pointed the tool at the boar's unprotected side and channeled her mana through it.
A torrent of flames sprung into existence, roaring down at the boar as it squealed in pain for the first time. She didn’t let up, keeping the flames pointed at the monster, as it tried to get away. Suddenly, she heard a loud snapping sound as the flames petered out.
She looked down at the tool in her hands only to see the wood split and cracked along the lines of the symbols she had drawn.
Devi muttered a curse as the boar felt the flames stop and spun around to retaliate. She didn’t let it do that, as she fired the crossbow she had loaded, this time not bothering to try and hit its eye.
The boar squealed as the bolt hit it, but didn’t slow down its angered charge at her, and she had to throw herself to the side to avoid being skewered.
She rolled to her knees to see the boar skid to a stop instead of crashing into another tree. It spun around and charged back at Devi, who was still on the ground from her latest dive.
As the boar got closer, Mars made a charge of her own, shield outstretched, slamming into the boar's head, sending it careening off course, and into a tree.
Devi gave them a thankful nod before scrambling to her feet.
Matt took the opportunity to slam his dagger into its side as the tried to right itself, and hastily backed away as it swung around to attack.
As it was distracted by Matt, Devi loaded her crossbow and shot a bolt. It was pretty hard to miss, as the monster was massive, and the bolt sank into its body.
It squealed in pain and turned to face her, only to be slammed into by Mars again, distracting it. Matt came up behind it and stabbed its ass with his dagger again, before backpedaling as its tusks glowed red.
The boar savagely whipped its head around, trying to catch Matt, but he was already well outside of its range, the red tusks leaving a glowing trail through the air.
Devi loosed another bolt at it, catching it in its side.
The three of them got into a bit of a pattern, taking turns to attack the enraged beast, always backing away before it could do any real harm. Even as they took precautions to not get hit, they still did. The boar caught Matt unaware and left a deep gash on his leg, and Mars got thrown into quite a few trees.
Devi herself sprouted a number of new cuts from the things razor-sharp tusks, but the boar itself wasn’t looking so good either. Its hide was peppered with bolts and cuts, the spear having been knocked loose a while back.
As the latest bolt sunk into its body, it gave out a snarl as it turned to face Devi. Then, it did something new.
It let out a loud shriek, as tiny red whisps started coming off its body. The beady eyes that had stared at them with so much malice turned bright red, and its single remaining tusk started to glow.
“Hey guys, that isn’t good, right?” Matt called out.
“What do you think,” Mars replied back, as they gripped their sword tighter.
It charged at Devi, and she prepared to dive out of the way, only to be caught off guard at the monster’s newfound speed. It raced towards her faster than it had, and before she had time to move, slammed into her.
She was sent flying, the boar charging straight through her before it dug its hooves into the ground and came to a stop, spinning around for another charge.
Devi groaned weakly from the ground, her vision was spinning and filled with stars. She saw the boar barreling down on her, and weakly tried to move, but wasn’t in any condition to do anything.
Before the monster could ram into her, Mars lept in front of her, shield and sword abandoned. Clenched in their hands was the discarded spear, butt wedged into the ground, tip facing the charging boar. Devi tried to yell out for them to move, but the boar was on top of them too quickly.
There was a sickening crunch as the boar collided forcibly with Mars, burying them with its body.
The boar’s legs dug into the ground, trying to raise its body off of the spear that protruded from its back, only to fail. Its legs fell limply to the ground, the red whisps evaporated off its body.
Devi rushed over to it and frantically started pushing it off of Mars. Matt joined in, and together they managed to slowly shift the large beast, revealing the limp form of their friend.
As they were moving the boar, Mars started to cough, eyes fluttering open.
“Did I kill it?”