Leo woke to screams and shouts. He almost fell off the branch as the sounds jarred him from sleep, and he looked around frantically.
An arrow flew past the tree into the distance, and Leo saw the long, winding shape of a massive snake. It was reeling back, and he saw a shape in white robes, splattered with blood, hanging limp from the snake’s mouth.
“Paul!” Leo exclaimed in recognition. “Fuck! Mana Bolt!”
A thin bolt of blue mana shot from his fingers and struck the snake below the jaw. It dug slightly through the scales but didn’t do much damage.
He repeated the casting as arrows flew. Several arrows now pierced the snake’s skin, but it didn’t weaken much.
“Fuck! What do I do?!” Leo looked around and saw Ethan scrambling along a branch before leaping toward the snake. His swords dug into the snake’s flesh as he made contact and slid down its length before he dropped and fell to the ground.
Mana Bolts flew from his fingers as Leo desperately tried to devise a solution but found only frustration.
“Come on!” he shouted, and something clicked with him. His next Mana Bolt turned into a beam. Like a laser, it continued to burn through the snake, at a significant cost to his mana, and with a movement of Leo’s writs, it cut the snake in twain.
[Your party has slain a Megaconda. Experience awarded.]
[Level up!]*3
[Skill(s) learned: Mana Control, Mana Beam.]
[Mana Bolt has reached level 3.]
“Fucking hell,” Leo grimaced as he watched Paul’s body fall to the ground with a dull thump. “What happened?”
He glanced around and saw Leandra's pale face gazing down on the prone form of their companion. Ethan soon rushed up to Paul’s body but shook his head after a few seconds. Leo felt a lump form in his throat before he jerked to the side and threw up. There was only bile; they hadn’t eaten much more than some berries they’d found.
Ethan scrambled back up the tree, thrusting his swords into it to use for climbing.
“What happened, Leandra?” he hissed. “That thing came from your direction!”
“I-I,” she stumbled over her words. She was still staring at Paul’s body.
“Fuck!” Ethan groaned through gritted teeth as his hands clenched around his swords. “You said it was safe here!”
“She didn’t, though,” Leo said, sighing. “We don’t know anything about what to expect. She implied this was our best option. Not that it was guaranteed to be safe.”
“No,” Leandra shook her head as tears began streaming down her cheeks. “It’s my fault. I fell asleep. I should have been watching, but I didn’t.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Leandra,” Leo sighed as he climbed to her branch and sat close to her. “It might not have made a difference. It was nearly invisible. I only really saw it due to Paul’s white robe. I-uhh. It sucks. It’s fucking tragic, I know. But we can’t lose our heads now. We need to stick together and not fuck up like this again, alright? Next time, we secure the area around us. We find a way to set up a warning system.”
“How do you expect us to do that, Leo?” Ethan sneered. “There’s three of us now. We lost our healer, for fucks’ sake! We’re dead meat.”
“With that attitude, you might as well lay down and die,” Leo growled and glared at the rogue. “I refuse to die here. We’re getting through this. Do you hear me? Now, get your shit together, and let’s survive the night.”
He settled back on the branch as he watched the area around them.
“No way I’m falling asleep again tonight,” Leo grumbled as Ethan muttered something under his breath. Leandra drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Leo frowned and sighed. “I hope we can get through this.”
His eyes fell to the ground, and he felt bile rise in his throat again but kept it down this time. The white robe, splattered with red, stood out in the jungle's darkness, drawing Leo’s eyes.
“Fuck, Paul,” Leo lamented. “I hope it was quick, at least. Perhaps you’re in a far better place now, free from this fear. Who know if we’ll envy you in the days to come.”
Leo closed his eyes and sent some mental words Paul’s way before he returned to his vigil.
He eventually heard soft snoring behind him and looked back to see Leandra sleeping. Her tear-stained face looked haunted, stricken in a pained expression even in sleep.
“How can she sleep now?” Leo frowned but shook his head. “Could be shock, I guess? I don’t know. We’ll discuss things in the morning, but first, we must survive the night.”
I took a moment to look around and saw Ethan brooding on a separate branch.
“We don’t have a choice,” Leo thought as his eyes returned to the forest. “We’re dead on our own. We’re better off together. We’ll be fine. We’re fine. We’ll get through this.”
He kept repeating the words as a mantra throughout the night.
Eventually, after what felt like days, the first streams of sunlight broke through the canopy above them. Under the light, the amount of blood on the ground and in the trees around them became staggering. The snake’s body hung from another tree's branch, slumping toward the ground.
Its head lay some distance away, near Paul’s body.
Leo reached back and nudged Leandra awake.
“We need to move,” he said as she groaned.
“Why?” she asked, her tone dull. “It’s no use. We’re dead anyway.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Leo said through gritted teeth as he met her eyes. “It could have gotten any of us, but it took Paul. We owe it to Paul to make the most of it. So snap out of it, and let’s get going!”
She didn’t look convinced, but she sighed and nodded, and they climbed down the tree. They found Ethan standing over Paul’s body.
“He was a friend, you know?” Ethan said, his voice low and barely audible above the increasing noise of the forest. “From before, I mean. We knew each other. We didn’t make a fuss about it, a sort of silent agreement.”
He turned and faced Leo and Leandra, and Leo saw tears in the rogue’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Leandra,” he sighed. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I fell asleep, too. We’re in over our heads here and doing the best we can in a messed up situation. But I won’t allow you to throw it all away. My friend is dead, and I refuse to let his death be in vain. I heard you, Leo. I agree. We owe it to him to thrive in this fucked up world.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Leo nodded and finally saw some life return to Leandra’s eyes.
“We need to put some distance between us and this place,” Leo said softly. “The blood will attract other monsters. I’m surprised it hasn’t already.”
“Whatever is lurking out there is waiting,” Leandra mumbled. “I think. It would wait for whatever killed the snake to move on.”
“Right,” Leo nodded. “So, let’s do that.”
He approached Ethan and the body on the ground and grimaced.
“I’m sorry, Ethan,” Leo said in a low voice. “But-.”
“I know,” Ethan sighed and turned away. “Take it. If you can use the staff, if it provides any help, it’s better for you to have it than to leave it here.”
“Thank you,” Leo said and picked the staff up. He had to pry it from Paul’s fingers, which had grown stiff. “I’m sorry, Paul. You deserved better than this. To choose the Healer class means you cared. You cared and trusted in others enough to put your safety in their hands.”
The trio stood silently for a minute before heading off into the jungle. Leo took the time to allocate his stats and look over his character screen.
“Focus on Intelligence and Wisdom, but spread the stats out more to the physical stats,” Leo thought. “Yesterday was tiring and more strength and dexterity would be good. It would also help if we had to climb another tree.”
Putting thoughts into action, he allocated his stats.
Name
Leo Raynor
Race
Human
Class
Mage
Level
5
Stats
Strength
12
Dexterity
12
Constitution
14
Intelligence
16
Wisdom
16
Charisma
10
Skills
Mana Bolt
3
Mana Barrier
1
Mana Control
1
Mana Beam
1
As they walked, Leandra seemed to snap out of it and led them through the jungle, winding around areas she wanted to avoid so they didn’t have to fight at all.
“Strange,” Leo frowned. “Did our fight last night scare off all the dangerous monsters?”
Leo used the staff to push twigs and bushes away but felt no different while holding it.
“So,” he thought. “There are no stat boosts, I think. Does it help channel mana, or is it just for Healers?”
There was a rustly to their right, and Leo reacted without thought and cast Mana Bolt. It shot from the tip of his staff straight into the bush. A sharp squeal sounded, followed by silence and a System notification.
[Your party has slain Young Boar. Experience awarded.]
“Hmm,” Leo frowned. “Didn’t feel any different than before.”
He shook his head and turned to his party.
They walked on, and nothing happened for several hours. As they walked, the day grew hotter and damper, and everyone was panting and sweating.
They didn’t dare slow down or take a break, so they pushed through.
The sun was setting again, and they began to despair. They’d talked a bit over the day, but none had any good ideas for a defensive measure for the night.
They were searching for a decent tree to rest in when Leo saw a flash in the distance.
“Wait,” he said and pointed. “There’s something in that direction. Something tall, I think. I saw a reflection or something.
“Fine,” Leandra sighed. “Let’s check it out.”
They walked for an hour before they broke through the forest. It was sudden and caught them off guard. One second, they were pushing through dense underbrush, and the next, they stumbled into a wide field.
Ahead of them stood a towering pyramid looking like an old Aztec structure. At the top of the pyramid, Leo saw a large, golden crystal.
“That’s something,” he mumbled, and the others nodded. “Well, uhm. I think it’s better than a tree. Maybe? Should we check it out?”
“Yeah,” Ethan nodded and started walking. “If there’s some internal space, then it should be easier to fortify and guard than a tree, right?”
“Yeah,” Leandra nodded, frowning. “Let’s check it out.”
They approached. Nothing happened as they climbed the stairs, and once they reached the top, they saw the crystal was spinning slowly. There was a staircase to the side, but Leo’s eyes were drawn to the crystal as he stepped closer.
His hand met the crystal, and Leo found it cool to the touch.
“What is this thing?” he wondered but was snapped out of his thoughts by Ethan clearing his thoughts.
“Leo, dude,” he said. “The sun will set in a few hours, and we must find a safe place to fortify. Let’s go.”
Leo took a last look behind himself as he followed the group down the stairs. The crystal still turned slowly.
***
“Light,” Lunara sighed and rubbed her forehead. “What was that?”
“What?” Light responded, staring at the screen.
“The flash of light,” she said through gritted teeth. “That Leo saw through trees and whatever else was in their way. What was that?”
“Well,” Light brought a hand up to his mouth and cleared his throat. “They did well, considering. That snake was strong for its level. They deserved a break.”
“Right,” Lunara rolled her eyes. “Sure. Whatever.”
“Oh, come off it, Luny,” Brimstone snickered and reached for some snacks. He continued speaking with his mouth full. “Like you didn’t interfere. No monsters all day? Yeah, right. That jungle is infested with critters that should have been happy to throw themselves at the group. Get off your high horse.”
“Uhh,” Lunara blinked and looked away, blushing softly. “Well. Fine, alright. So, I helped them out, too! What’s it to you, Brim?”
“Well,” Brimstone smirked. “This gives me a precedence to help my own Candidate.”
“Wh-” Lunara’s eyes widened as Light bent forward to peer around her, looking at Brimstone. “Wait. Have you chosen a Canditate? Who?”
“Oh, you know,” Brimstone grinned at them. “A certain hot-headed fighter we met previously.”
“Who?” Lunara narrowed her eyes before widening them in realisation. “No! Not Rourke?! Why?”
“Hah!” Brimstone laughed. “He’s been pretty fun to watch. He’s an utter moron, though, so I should thank you for this. He’ll need all the help he can get.”
“Then, why?” Light asked.
“To prove you wrong,” Brimstone smirked and looked at his fingernails. “And to prove me right. I’ll take the worst of the group and turn him into the best. Just you wait.”
“Fine, then,” Light grunted. “Then, I’ll make my choice too!”
“Me, three!” Lunara exclaimed.
They all turned to the screen as two images appeared.
“I choose you!” Lunara and Light said simultaneously.