Chapter 5

Since I am not an owl and thus cannot turn my head in a near 360-degree rotation, I have to settle for shuffling around on my bottom while craning my neck to its limit. And I feel like an idiot doing so, not just because of the stupid looking actions, though that's bad enough on its own. The real problem is not that, nor is it embarrassment at being the 'scared one', the coward. As a matter of fact, I feel incredibly foolish for not immediately getting my back against a tree and drawing that sword of mine. There is something big out there! If it does happen to be a werewolf I am reevaluating my luck stat. It shouldn't be possible or permissible to think of a particular monster and have one appear! That's horror movie logic at its finest!

Every sound is a potential threat, even when it's created by me. The snapping of a twig as I get to my feet results in chills down my spine. So scary... The night breeze ruffles through my hair, surprisingly, unnaturally warm? Throwing myself back to the ground there is a visible snap from overhead, a glimpse of fangs glinting off the moonlight revealing the monster’s presence. Keep moving, I have to keep moving!

I roll my body in the general direction of 'away from monster which wants to eat me', which succeeds, rather well actually. I know that as soon as the second lunge takes place, and claw and fang crash down on where I had lain, where I would still be lying now if not for my quick reaction. As it is the force of the clawed foot, paw, whatever it's got claws, is more than sufficient to cause a vibration which I can feel travel through the ground.

A second gleam of reflected moonlight brings bad news, highlighting the fact that sharp claws are now clamped over my only weapon. The weapon that I had been sleeping next to in case of a situation like this, and which I had completely forgotten about when the time came for that course of action. I just had to, didn't I? The clawed appendage strikes repeatedly, making getting to my feet hard enough, that the idea of sword recovery is very quickly buried under the large pile of mental screams and pleas of help. Basically all the useless thoughts that are not going to aid me in the slightest.

Cat and mouse is what's going on right now, and it is one of the most nerve wracking experiences ever. Normally I would be the one scooping up the cat, removing mouse from mouth of said cat and letting the traumatized rodent get to safety while giving said cat some water to remove mouse breath. The role that matches my part in all this is that of the mouse the cat caught earlier, and left wounded outside as a snack for later, on the off chance that the cruel human would confiscate its main meal. Or in other words, and not using an extended metaphor, I'm toast!

The next awkward shuffle backwards sees my head collide with something hard and rough. Thank goodness it's a tree, because I don't know what I'd do if I felt scales instead of bark. Panic? Or be too dead to panic? At least going around the tree has given me a moments break, enough for me to get to my feet and open the mini-map. Running in a forest, in a race against a creature adapted to the darkness sounds pretty bad. But if I can circle around and get to my sword, or even get some space to catch a breather or chant a spell. I'd even settle simply for a clear line of vision to my attacker, so that I could see just what I'm up against.

While moving, I do my best to have my ears filter out the noise I know I am responsible for. All the better to focus on the unknown factor that the enemy presents. Footsteps are heavy, maybe it's strength based? Big too, it is slower in the trees than out in the open. If I squint at the shadows moving back and forth it's hard to distinguish what is simply a low hanging branch and what is not –they are so closely packed that even my Night Vision is struggling to locate the beast.

Then the constant thud of its feet stops, I lunge to the left immediately. The snapping sound of jaws closing on thin air follows. Well if it had stopped moving it had either given up or was preparing another sudden attack, and I am not so stupid as to believe the former. As I am now, looking my enemy in the eyes, slatted pupils narrow further until a fine line is all that remains, focused in my direction. And yet somehow the eyes seem to be getting bigger, or rather closer. Though this time I do manage to keep my balance when beating a hasty retreat.

It really is hideous, a stocky scaled body and a long snake-like neck. Seriously, that thing could rival a giraffe. Only giraffes aren't carnivorous. Another lunge, another dodge and the neck coils into something resembling a spring. It really is like a snake has been attached to a crocodile. At least all the dodging hasn't been wasted as I have been able to retrieve my sword. That one moment of inaction is almost my undoing; I should have expected that it would launch another strike to the still me who must seem like the perfect target.

After evading the lightning fast lunge, the head of the creature pauses slightly, swiveling in my direction. Then it retracts back towards the main body, which begins to plod closer. Why am I still alive? I was less than a meter away from those yellowed fangs, and the neck clearly hadn't quite extended itself fully. And given that, observing its actions just now I have finally figured out the weakness that is present in the beasts every move.

Speed, and the flexibility of the main body. It possesses neither of those. Even if it was perusing me through the forest, that was due to the length of its neck. Even if it had stamped down with its claws, it was only able to get that close due to my complete inattention and its stealth. From what I can tell its feet are only a few steps away from the position it stood at when it issued the first strike, indicative of slow movement. And as for just now? And the time before? Whenever its neck has been fully stretched it has halted the attack and retracted it. So if I could sprint to the main body when the monster has reached the limit of how much it can bend its neck, there will be an opening.

And it is now or never. I only have a score of six in stamina, and as a result am running purely on adrenaline. Keeping this going longer? Impossible. I’ll collapse from exhaustion. So I run towards it, ignoring internal screams to ‘run the other direction you fool!’. The instinctual course of action can be drastically different at times from the intelligent course of action. Just keep going, just keep going. I reach the carnivorous snake-necked giraffe before it can recover, and chant as quickly as I can while keeping my words audible.

"Magic merge with wind and meld unto. Arc over the skies [Wind Arrow]!"

A bit garbled, and I think it weakened the spell, because it only fractured a chunk of the hardened skin off the back of said monsters neck. Bad? I guess not since a loud roar just sounded out, and it seemed distinctly pained. Better yet, the pain caused the neck to extend involuntarily, buying me what might seem like a meager few seconds, but that’s enough, more than enough.

Right in front of me is the currently unprotected mass of flesh and muscle, within which lies the spinal cord. So I stab it, aiming for the center. Not that I know that’s where it’ll do the worst damage, but I’m aiming to paralyze the thing. Thinking logically, if I can’t kill a Hallowcrow with a single blow, I’m hardly going to kill something much bigger with one. Especially something armored.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

A thick gelatinous substance spurts out as I push the blade in with all my might, and I am covered in it, in this creature’s blood. I don’t even need my night vision to confirm this, the stuff is luminous red!  Disgusting… Forcing the sword to penetrate further, only leads to more bloody spurts. Eventually though, it hits something solid, and a strangled scream once again rips through the dark. A good sign.

Since my strength is unable to stab through the bony obstruction, and since the energy is fading from my limbs, I lock my legs in place so they don’t collapse on me. Then I begin to rotate my now sickly scarlet weapon, drilling as deep as I can. No noise this time. Just a spasm rippling through the monster’s body, limbs twitching slightly before they buckle.

I just have enough power to throw myself backwards and out of the way. No more. Thank goodness that my opponent is similarly devoid of the ability to move. Okay, breath in and out, in and out, keep it steady – regaining enough air to speak is the current priority. After all, I have only used a single spell so far, I should have enough magic for another casting.

The wind arrow is launched at the spot I had been targeting before, setting off one last spray of red, which slowly peters out. This time that wonderful, wonderful screen comes up, proclaiming my victory and the monster’s death. I’m alive! I’m so exhausted I’m going to have to crawl over in a few minutes, so I can actually get to whatever drop I got. But that’s then. For now, I’m alive!

I would indulge in the beauty of this, but it would be stupid to stay in a dark and hostile forest while covered in a sparkling substance that makes me glow. Aka monster blood. So yeah, plan of action now involves checking the screen first, resting until able to move second, and getting the hell out of this place third.

1 Giraffon: Level 3: Defeated

You have gained [Small Scale Bottle] x1

You have gained 60 XP

You have gained 0.04 Character Points

Alright, I am 7% of the way to getting a Character Point. But… the fact that I have lost count of the number of near death experiences that I have been through in this life is disturbing to say the least. I mean, I probably could count them up one by one if I put my mind to it… Not really any point though, keeping a tally would almost be tempting fate.

And yes, the creature was a Giraffon, or giraffe-griffin hybrid I suppose, and so not a werewolf. My luck is apparently not quite that bad yet. Still, I must acknowledge the existence of the supernatural in whatever this world is known as, magic is kind of a giveaway. Until I have researched further whether fate/luck will actively interfere in my life I will not be suggesting specific monsters appear in the vicinity.

Now, onwards to greater things, or at least non-blood-soaked clothes. I scrape off of my body, and gather up from the ground, as much blood as I can fit in my latest drop – a translucent bottle the size of my fist. Once filled to maximum capacity, and stoppered to avoid spillage, it gives off a mild light. It is hardly as strong as a torch, and is even lacking brightness compared to a few minutes ago, but that hardly matters. What is relevant is that I have a lantern, albeit of the heavily improvised sort.

Just a few finishing touches remain to be seen to. After some foraging I come across the exact object I was looking for. A straight stick a little bit longer than my arm. So, anybody probably could have found one, but at least not everybody can do this! Ripping a thin strip of cloth from the bottom of my tunic yields a makeshift cord long enough to tie the top of the bottle and the end of the stick together. Not much length leftover after finishing the knots, just barely enough for the bottle to dangle from when I raise the stick into a comfortable carrying position.

So not only do I now have a lantern to illuminate the way, it is also ahead of my body. Hopefully any surprise attacks by ­monsters attracted to the light will be directed over there instead of at me. Well, I would rather not encounter any monsters at all, but preparing for the worst is probably par for the course in this world… Let’s just get out of here.

As I walk further and further away from the scene of the battle, the glimmer of the remaining blood on me gets fainter with each passing minute. The good news is that my lantern remains functional. Maybe the blood reacts with air and loses its glow that way. Or the fading could be explained simply by the fact that it has dried out. I don’t know. I never was particularly talented at science back on earth, so a different universe’s alchemy is beyond my capabilities.

Walking alone in the dark is creepy. Particularly when there are far too many bugs attracted to the light. Like moths to a flame, or in this case, like giant mosquito monsters attracted to the lantern and deciding to stay for a meal of preferably fresh blood. The first time I saw one I did not gape at the bug which was the size of a wine bottle, but that was only due to a traumatic childhood incident involving a mosquito flying into my mouth. Lesson learnt the hard way.

So, I smashed it against the nearest tree. And the whole time it was buzzing and buzzing and twisting around to try and suck my blood. Yuck. The outer shell was oily as well, but slightly soft. Which was another yuck, as the greasiness transferred to my palms. It would not be an understatement to say that I much preferred being coated with glow in the dark blood, at least that stuff improved with time, losing the luminosity and flaking off. The sliminess of the grease does no such thing. Rather it builds up layer by layer, congealing on my hand to the extent that rubbing my hands repeatedly on the grass only met with slight improvement.

All of this made the killing of them an exhausting task to do at first, but that was because I didn’t know where to target to give maximum damage. Turns out that the eyes pop like balloons once enough pressure is put on them. They sound like a deflating balloon too, with a sad but painfully high pitched whine. Once I knew that, I could minimize the time spent holding the giant mosquitos. I just wish the grease disappeared along with the corpses.

But the most annoying thing? They keep on coming and just do not know when to stop. The second most irritating factor now, by the way, is the measly 1XP per bug. In this case, it seems like my enemies are favoring quantity over quality, though I would honestly prefer neither! It was only when the tenth bug had finally died, and vanished, not even having the courtesy to leave an item drop – this appeared.

10 Blood Pestilences: Level 0: Defeated

You have gained 0.01 Character Points

I suppose that makes the chore more palatable. I might grumble about that oh-so-annoying greasiness, but if it is a toss-up between getting Character Points through risking my life, and getting them by squishing slightly disgusting though far less lethal bugs… I know which one will be chosen. I mean ten bugs are equal to two Hallowcrows. Bring it on bugs! Only nine hundred and twenty more until my first full character point!

…That’s going to take ages. I’ll have reached Yarrow before then. Why can’t I just get some points through levelling up? And why haven’t I levelled up? I’ve gained over 100XP by quite a margin, so that cannot be the benchmark for a level. But does that mean that I must hit 1000XP for Level 1? That is quite the task. I wonder, does everyone in this world take so long to improve? Though they might not get the same video game experience that I do. For all I know they might not even get item drops. There’s so much I am clueless about…

As I approach the main road the number of bugs, or Blood Pestilences as they are officially dubbed, get fewer and fewer. I've killed another ten and that's it. Though whether this is because the sun is rising or because I am less than a mile away from the main road is uncertain. Still, with a lack of threats I might as well get a couple of hours’ sleep. I haven’t rested since the encounter with the Giraffon, haven’t felt safe enough. But I really will collapse if I keep on pushing myself, and if I camp by the side of the main road I could get robbed. Even if I put everything of value in my inventory, a passing robber won’t know that and could try and attack me in my sleep.

So yeah, going to rest. After eating another of the herb flatbreads, and washing it down with some water I feel somewhat satisfied. Then settling down on a mossy section of the grass, I cover myself with my cloak and shut my eyes. So tired… tonight let’s try to reach a inn… with a bed… and a hot meal… and a bed.