The level four suspy startled just as bad as I did. It belched out a red dust cloud and tipped backwards, wings beating frantically to keep it afloat.
I blanched, my face covered in powdery phlegm. It was so sudden and gross that my brain fried. Then my battle instincts kicked in. If the suspy notified the other monsters, I would be in trouble. Since I didn’t know how many there were in this gorge, I simply treated it like there were a lot.
My miao dao appeared in my hand and I lunged forward, swinging.
The monster was quick enough – or wobbly enough? – to dodge my first swing, its body practically upside down and wings flapping manically. I stopped the attack inches before the blade hit the hoodoo.
The suspy opened its mouth and spit out a torrent of tiny pebbles like bullets. Wishing I had a shield, I flicked my sword and knocked half of them to the ground. The rest pelted my body with enough force that left agonizing welts, even with my armor. A handful of rock shards pierced my under armor, cutting into my skin before they were stopped. A tenth of my HP dropped off just like that. My body instinctively wanted to freeze with shock and pain, but I refused to let it.
The monster lunged at me, mouth open to bite while I was stunned.
I thrust my left hand out and cast Bubble.
The monster collided with the magic just as it appeared. The water bomb exploded and flung the monster back. It landed on the ground five feet away, twitching and one wing still flapping uselessly. The HP gauge below its title bar was in the red.
I rushed up and stabbed at the suspy. Just before I landed, the monster rolled away and lugged back into the air. The tip of my dao hit the sandstone ground, sending an uncomfortable vibration through my palm. I tsked and looked up as the monster wobbled through the air – fleeing.
A shrill grunt emitted from its gaping mouth.
My stomach dropped. I couldn’t let it notify the rest of the monsters. The dao disappeared from my hand, replaced with a bow and arrow. I drew the arrow back and released it. The arrow pierced its chest and the squeal cut off. The monster thudded to the ground.
Ding! [+9 EXP]
[Daily Task: Kill Two Monsters. (1/2)]
Instead of celebrating, I stood still, breathing shallowly. Every single welt and cut pulsed painfully, reminding me of the dozens of injuries all over my body. As well as the handful of rocks embedded in my skin. I ignored the feeling as much as I could as I strained my ears, listening. My heart stuttered, each beat pounding in my ear.
Somewhere to my right, I could hear stones being crunched. It didn’t sound frantic or agitated. Did the monsters not hear the suspy’s cry?
Carefully, I snuck over to the carcass and touched it.
Ding! [Would you like the System to harvest the carcass for the optimal drop items? Y/N?]
As soon as the System message popped up, I hit yes. The suspy carcass disappeared in a flurry of light snowflakes, leaving two drop item orbs. I flinched at the sight of the light show and looked around. What if a monster saw it? Something like that was bound to attack attention.
The System seemed to know my concern because another message popped up. Ding! [System actions are invisible to those without a System.]
So, the light show couldn’t reveal my location, because the monsters couldn’t see it without a System?
Are there … people who could?
I shook my head and banished the thought. Right now wasn’t the time to get distracted. I touched the drop orbs and was rewarded with a suspy tail and pair of wings. I had no idea what their value was – these monsters were only found in Colorado – but since the System said they were the most valuable resource, I took it for face value. Since my actual mission today was monster turds and gaining EXP, anything else was icing on the cake.
With the drop items squared away, I leaned against the closest hoodoo and listened. The munching sound was still coming from my right. Slowly, I crept around the sandstone pillar and searched.
There, just ten feet away, was a suspy gnawing on a hoodoo, pink piggy tail wagging in my direction.
One Bubble attack and an arrow killed the last one. It was surprising that Bubble did so much damage, but then I remembered what the monster’s lair looked like and the rocks the suspy spat at me. These monsters had to be earth elements, so water was their weakness – just like fire was weak against ice, and water was weak to plant elements.
Right now I had the element of surprise, but how could I kill the suspy quickly without letting all the other monsters know? Bubble was effective, but as a long ranged attack, it was slow. Not to mention, I only had so much MP, so there was a strict number of times I could use Bubble. I only had five more shots left. I couldn’t waste any of them.
I gripped my bow in my left hand and lifted my right hand, facing the monster. A Bubble grew in my palm, getting bigger and bigger. When it was the size of a softball, I launched the magic attack at the suspy. As soon as it left my hand, I took an arrow from my Items Bag and drew it back. I watched the Bubble vault towards the suspy, all the while worried about how sluggish the magic was. I wish there was a way to speed it up.
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When Bubble was most of the way to the suspy, just before it reached the monster’s possible awareness, I loosed my arrow. It shot past the glowing blue globe and pierced the suspy’s back flank, sinking deep. The monster jerked with a startled squeal and turned in my direction. It had barely moved sideways when the Bubble smashed into its side and exploded with a flurry of water magic.
The monster thudded to the ground without another sound, dead.
Ding! [+9 EXP]
[Daily Task: Kill Two Monsters Complete!]
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. That plan actually worked. Thank god. Now I just needed to find some more suspy turds–
Suddenly, I felt something coming at me from behind — fast. A split second later, dozens of tiny pebbles peppered my back, dropping my HP by twenty percent. I gasped and stumbled forward from the momentum and pain.
Every muscle in my back screamed as I turned and faced the suspy that snuck up unnoticed. An arrow appeared in my trembling fingers and I shot at the monster. Just the act of drawing the arrow made me groan in pain. The suspy veered to the side and the arrow went wide, deflecting off a hoodoo and clattering uselessly to the ground.
Another arrow appeared in my fingers and I drew it back, ready to shoot again. The suspy darted to the side behind a hoodoo. A second later, a shrill and horribly loud pig squeal echoed, amplifying every time the sound bounced off the surfaces of the hoodoos.
My stomach dropped to the ground like a chunk of lead. Did the suspy just call out…?
From the other end of the gorge, a loud, low hog screamed. There was nothing thin or delicate about the sound in the slightest. A pressure grew from that direction, as an angry aura of whatever that was bled out between the hoodoos, reaching for me.
The breath in my lungs stuttered, as fear settled in. Oh my god, what just answered?
I staggered back, my already fatigued muscles going weak as the looming aura suppressed me. I could almost see the invisible effect, like a brown cloud of dust spilling across the sandstone.
Several other suspy squeals rose up from around the gorge, answering the larger call. The sounds reverberated so much I couldn't pinpoint the location of the monsters. There was only one thing that was certain – I was surrounded.
I was in deep shit. Forget the task, I needed to survive first.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, warding off the fear and muscle pain. The tiny pebbles embedded in my skin didn’t hold a candle to the prospect of dying. Shiva’s thin, silver whistle appeared in my hand. I stuffed it in my mouth as I drew the arrow back. I blew the silent whistle as hard as I could as I turned, ready to shoot anything that moved.
A shadow flashed across a hoodoo out of the corner of my eyes. I turned and released the arrow as soon as I spotted the smallish brown body. The arrow snagged the corner of a suspy’s wing, causing the monster to flop out of the air and squeal in pain.
Another loud hog roar echoed from the top of the gorge. A rumble of boulders falling over boulders echoed out, and a dust cloud rose where the sound came from. Hoodoos wobbled and crumbled in order, steadily getting closer to me. All the while, the pressure of a powerful monster thickened, making each second harder and harder to breathe.
I gasped for air, trying to keep an eye out for other suspies getting too close, while paying attention to the huge threat close in on me. I blew on Shiva’s whistle again, barely mustering enough breath to make it work.
A hoodoo fifteen feet from me exploded, raining rocks everywhere. I ducked and raised my hand, blocking the shrapnel that fell on me. Then gasped in horror.
I thought suspies were pig-like monsters — ugly and more gross than scary. Over all, a perfect fit for a low leveled puke like me. I didn’t know they could be scary as hell.
This new suspy was the size of a fat horse. Long, scraggly hair hung on its round hog-ish body. Its face was more contorted than the smaller versions, the dark round eyes set far apart and a wide mouth nearly splitting the head in half. Five inch long tusks protruded out of the corners of its mouth. The noseless monster huffed out clouds of red dust, as fury turned its already distorted expression vicious. A red title above its head flashed: Suspy Sow Lv 27.
“Oh shit,” I mouthed. Its presence was so strong, I couldn’t even move enough to talk properly.
It was like being in that mud golem pit all over again. No matter how much I wanted to move, I couldn’t seem to. I hated the feeling. Hated not being in complete control over my body. I’d spent so many years letting others control my actions and decisions – after all, Dad really did want what was best for me – now that I was free of that pressure, I never wanted to feel it again. Yet here I was, unable to move again.
My hand tightened around my bow’s grip ever so slightly. It was the most I could manage. Move, I ordered my body. Move!
The sow opened its mouth. Dozens of rocks shot out of the gaping hole and shot at me.
All I could do was hopelessly watch as the attack got closer and closer.
Suddenly, silver darts – no, icicles – rained down, slashing the air just feet in front of me. The red rocks hit the icicles and exploded in a magical cluster of red dust and ice fragments. The force pushed me back, my boots skidding across the dry sandstone. A rock fragment shot through the mess of magic and grazed the side of my thigh, leaving a long gash. My HP bar flashed as it dropped down to thirty percent.
I gasped in agony and stumbled back, the whistle nearly slipping from my numbed lips. A smooth, cool body appeared under my flailing hand, giving me something solid to steady myself with. I recognized the feel of hair and looked up into Shiva’s calm blue eyes.
She let out a huff of cold air, as if asking if I was okay. Then she lifted her head and majestically stared at the suspy sow in anger. Her aura rushed out, counterattacking the sow’s malicious threat. I could almost see the colorless auras clash, like a sandstorm against a blizzard, pushing and fighting without the owners moving a muscle.
Dozens of weak suspy squeals sounded around us, coming from the weaker monsters instinctively reacting to Shiva’s stronger aura. The hiding monsters fled the battle area in terror.
As aggressive as Shiva’s aura was towards the sow was how gentle it was to me, like a shield. I could finally move – and even breathe. I couldn’t put weight on my bleeding leg, but I could properly grip my weapon now.
I hopped onto Shiva’s back and braced against her saddle for battle. I was still scared of the suspy sow. It was over twenty levels higher than I was, but with Shiva here – who was the same level as the monster – I wasn’t incapacitated anymore. And I didn’t want to run away. I wanted to face my fear and conquer it. I was a Hunter, not the hunted.
Shiva’s whistle was put back in the Items Bag and an arrow materialized in my hand. “Let’s put all the practice we did this morning to good use,” I said softly into her waiting ear. “Go.”
*****