Darkness covered my vision, and I shivered as I felt a strong gust of frigid freezing wind crash into my skin. I was cold, so very cold, and my body shook and my teeth chattered as the winds rushed by, stealing all of my warmth. Cautiously, I took a step forward, and frowned as I felt my foot sink deep into the ground before it finally stopped, an ice cold sensation flowing up my leg. Why was I so cold? Where was I? And why did this cold feel so… familiar?
Confusion rocked through my body, and I opened my eyes to look around at my surroundings. As my eyes opened, glittering white filled my view and a harsh cold wind blew straight into my face, blinding me and forcing me to shut them again, tears forming at the pain. I flinched at the sudden pain and cursed aloud, my confusion not even being slated a little. Ouch, well fuck that! Where the hell was I? And why did it feel like I had been doing something? Why did it feel like I shouldn’t even be here right now? Slowly, and very carefully, I allowed my eyes to open again. I learned my lesson the first time, and made sure to squint as I looked out at my surroundings and gave my eyes time to actually adjust.
The first thing I noticed, as I had thought before, was that I was knee deep in a sea of snow. As the sun shined down on it all, it glinted and glittered, blinding me… again. I groaned and shook my head, rubbing my eyes and cursing to myself. Why did everything have to be so gods damned bright? Slowly, I opened my eyes again and I turned to the left, cautiously checking for anything new. There, I saw a snow covered forest, full of pine trees with branches covered in white pine needles. There were huge ice boulders, and the light shone through the clear cores, making a gorgeous light display. A white bird flew over the top of the trees, its eyes scanning the forest for its next meal. After a moment it dove, and in its wake a white and blue trail of frost was left behind, sparkling in the morning sun.
I shook my head in amazement and then I looked to my right. There, only about 10 feet away from me, I saw a huge, terrifying, snow covered cliff edge. It blended in scarily well with the surrounding snow, and if I hadn’t been so close, I doubted that I would have seen it in the first place. I crunched through the snow and got closer to the edge, nervously looking down once I got close enough.
As I peered down, I couldn’t help but to gulp hard, my throat crushing itself and protesting at the pain. There below me was a dazzling drop into a deep ravine, the sides chock full of jagged rocks and boulders, and the bottom of the ravine full of a glistening sea of icy stalactites. I quickly looked up, the sight sending even more shivers through my body as I scrambled backwards.
Instead of focusing on the ravine and the drop, I took a moment to scan the rest of my surroundings. There in front of me, I gasped as I saw an absolutely gorgeous view in front of me. There was a bright and clear mountain range stretched out, each of their snow capped peaks piercing upwards into the icy blue sky. I shivered again and my eyes scanned the neverending snowy plains. The snow really was everywhere, and even as the sun beat down on everything I could see, I still couldn’t feel a lick of heat. It was… nostalgic. I laughed and spread my arms out, my body grumbling as it got reaccustomed to the icy cold again. This was just amazing… and it made me feel like I was back home again, hiking up the side of a mountain and camping out with my family. I remembered this… this was what I lived for. What I missed. The joy of exploring a forest. The feeling of my breath coming harder as I hiked up the side of mountains. And the final glorious view once I had finally ascended to the top. Watching the snowy peaks in winter when I was a kid… They were a special kind of memory. A sweet nostalgia, and one that made me smile with my whole soul. I had missed this. More than I could have ever known.
I turned around, and rubbed my hands together. Maybe I should go check out the forest again? That had been such a cool bird, maybe I could find some other wildlife or a safe place to sleep and set up camp? As I finished turning though, I was startled by what I saw right in front of me.
All of the trees nearest where I had been were… moving? They swayed back and forth, and snow fell from their branches, thumping with muffled impacts as they crashed into the snow covered ground beneath them. A flock of those same ice white birds exploded from the forest, shooting upwards and flying away, screeching at the gall of the forest to interrupt their nests. Still, the trees shook and shivered, and the icy boulders rumbled and clacked each other as the ground heaved upwards, sending them tumbling and rolling towards the cliffs edge. I cautiously took a step backwards, careful not to get too close to the edge and pursed my lips. Well fuck, what was I going to do now? I swirled around, looking for a place to hide, but groaned when I realized there was nowhere for me to hide. I was straight and simply just screwed!
I whipped around as I heard the rumbling from the ground get louder, and gasped as the ice expanse suddenly cracked with a roar. Then, a great ice white and blue hand punched out of the snow, its seven fingers curled into a fist. I yelped at the sight, and had to force myself not to take yet another step backwards, remembering the drop off behind me at the last second. The hand really was massive, and almost blended into all the glittering white snow and ice around it. It almost seemed to be made of those same icy boulders that had just tumbled off of the edge of the mountain. The hand grasped in the air, almost as if it was searching for something to grab onto. Then, it suddenly lashed out and latched onto one of the nearby tree trunks. With a loud groan, the tree protested as the great hand pulled. The tree bent and creaked and cracked, but somehow, it held. Then, after only a few moments, it began to straighten itself out. As the tree straightened, almost as if to spite the giant hands attempt to break it, I watched as an utterly massive figure was pulled out of the snow.
It had a humanoid figure, but much like how the hand wasn’t exactly human, it was very dissimilar. From its shoulders sprouted three other arms, each one different from the other. There was one that was long and thin, its slender fingers gently searching around it. Another was almost like a tree branch, and as the main ‘branch’ continued on, a multitude of smaller arms and hands sprouted out of either side, almost as if it was a feather. Then, the last arm was thick and muscular, ending in a massive and thick club, it being split into three sections that were each of them covered in rotating spikes. Its body was wide and thick, reminiscent of a mobile brick wall. A brick wall that was studded in boulders and icy spines. It had eight legs, almost as if it was a spider. Though, each of them were short and stout, probably so that they could feasibly support the massive frame of the creature. It had an almost nonexistent head, and it looked as if it had been squished down into the top of its chest. There was no neck, no facial features, and no ears. All it had to replace all of that, was just a lump with two shallow holes dug out of the middle. I had no real idea what those could have been, but as a sharp blue glow shot forth from each one, I couldn’t help but imagine that they might have been eyes.
It stretched its arms into the sky and a huge crack formed in its chest, the icy chest splitting up and down until it formed a massive deep blue maw. It roared, and a deep grumbling and grating noise issuing forth. It shook the snow and the trees around it, causing an avalanche of snow to fall from the tree’s branches. My eyes widened, and I winced, my hands shooting up to cover my ears at the noise.
Fuck me! I’m pretty sure that every animal in a fifty mile radius had just made a beeline for safety anywhere but here! As I took in more of the beast, I felt a cold, rock hard feeling develop in my gut. This was by far one of the most terrifying things I’d ever seen, and I had no fucking clue what to do about it! I know that it hadn’t noticed me yet, otherwise I would probably be dead by now. But I had no doubt in my mind that if, and when, it did, I was dead. Hell, my only option would be to jump, and be safe for as long as I sailed through the air, on a first class ticket to the bottom of the ravine. There was something distinctively terrifying about a rock monster with no facial features y'know? I sighed and looked up at the sky. Maybe I should pray to whatever gods and goddesses were watching? What else was I going to do? I eyed the creature and sighed. Oh well, I mean I guess it had been a good run right?
I was about to close my eyes as it turned its lump head towards me, but then shock screamed through my body as it suddenly staggered back. A gigantic red flame shot out from the trees, impacting the creature straight in the chest with enough force and heat that a huge circle of snow and ice melted around and in the creature's chest. It rumbled and roared, rage echoing from it as it staggered backwards, its eight legs struggling to keep the creature upright.
As I watched its arms wildly sway about, I whistled in surprise. I even thought for a moment that it was going to fall, that whole saying about ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall,’ echoing through my mind. But I knew that was just hopeful thinking, and I wasn’t surprised when its arms grasped the nearby trees, forcefully stopping its aggressive teetering. Then it turned that lump head towards the forest where the fire beam had come from, and another grating rumbling noise erupting from it, its massive blue maw opening up once more, though this time being lopsided from the first strike.
The forest didn’t even shake, and instead almost as if to respond, it sent four absolutely massive arrows, each one slamming straight into its icy noggin. Then, just to throw even more salt onto the wound, another massive roar of flame exploded out of the icy forest, crashing into the beast's shoulder and shearing off the club arm.
If the other roars had been loud, this next one was absolutely deafening, even with my hands covering my ears. I screamed in pain as I felt my bones rattle and shake in my body, and I’m pretty sure I saw an avalanche form on every single mountain that I could see. The beast turned and dug its three remaining massive hands into the snow, and ice, gathering up a massive amount of snow and ice and hefting it into the air. Each of its many hands quickly got to work, and compressed it all into an icy, dark blue, and deadly ice ball, long sharp shards poking out of the sides. Its arms gripped it, and faster than I would have ever given it credit for, it whipped around, its chest cracking at the force of the turn, and several of its legs breaking off at its hip. It viciously catapulted the ice ball towards the forest, and as it crashed into the first tree I-
gasped, sitting up so fast I got a blood rush. I groaned as the sudden blood flow made me woozy, and my vision blacked out for a brief moment and gave me a deep sense of nausea. Ah fuck me, those dreams really were getting so realistic. I sighed and shook my head, feeling the rush of blood slowly fade away. Damn, I remember when I used to try and see the end of those dreams. Back when I was stuck in the monotony of my home world that is. But now? It was like I was stuck in my very own dream! Except this one was very real, and I wasn’t just watching from the side lines. Now, I am an active participant, and every single move I did could end up with injury, or my actual death.
I groaned and flopped backwards. I had been so excited for the future last night too… so excited for my potential. But there was something about having to wake up on the cold hard ground that always managed to bring me back to reality. I stretched out and let out a sigh. Damn, I really did miss having an actual bed. Well, it’s not like I was going to do anything right here. I might as well sit up and get to work. There were traps to check, my workouts from Xi, and then a breakfast of berries and oatmeal again… Oh joy…
I slowly wrapped up my bedroll and placed it with my pack, eyeing the others sleeping figures. I’d really have to make sure not to wake them up, they deserved a bit more sleep this morning. I carefully dodged around the others sleeping figures, a smile creeping up over my features. Well, at least they were able to sleep in. I was always a little grouchy having to wake up so early, but I was happy to do it. Checking traps really wasn’t the worst thing, and I had to do my workouts that Xi had given me anyway. I gave a nod to Diane who had the last shift that night, and made my way into the forest.
I casually walked to each of the spots that Mason and Cyan had shown me, and kept an eye out for any monsters while I checked each of them. How odd… they were… empty. Each and every one of them. I frowned as I checked the last one, and then hesitantly added it to the bag with the others. It wasn’t necessarily unusual for them to be empty, but every morning I had checked them there had been at least a field mouse or a squam (similar to a chipmunk, but they had wings to fly with). It was always nice to supplement our breakfasts with, but they weren’t necessarily needed. The berries, jerky, and oatmeal that Cylkia had given each of us would be enough to cover our breakfast. Still… the others would be disappointed.
I sighed, and cracked my knuckles. Again, it wasn’t like any of this was unusual, but I still had this weird but ominous feeling. I eyed the suspiciously quiet forest and pursed my lips. Back home, I remembered learning how animals fled before a storm or natural disaster. I wonder if that was what was happening here? Shit… I’d have to bring it up with Sam… hmm… Maybe after my workout, I would tell the others and make sure we moved on. Let them get a bit more sleep and grab a bite to eat. I wasn’t sure what exactly gave me such a worried feeling, but I couldn’t just stand around and let something happen to my new friends.
I finished up with the workouts, cutting them short as soon as I heard the others starting to wake up. I raced over to the river and washed off, sighing as the cool water passed over my body. Then I slung the bag of traps over my shoulder and headed back to the others. I sighed with relief as I made my way into the clearing where the others had been sleeping. It looked like the others had just finished getting up, and they were in the middle of making breakfast. The others were half awake, but Sam, as always, noticed me first.
She grinned and waved at me, “Hey Matt! Any luck with the traps? We still have a bit of leftover zhaarst, so no worries if not!”
I shook my head and sat down on a log across from Sarah. I pursed my lips and thanked her as she handed me a bowl of oatmeal. “No luck this morning unfortunately… but there was something about this morning that really threw me off. There weren’t any animals in the traps, but when I was out doing my workouts, I didn't even see any animals or birds. It was… Worrying, to say the least. I know I might just be going crazy, but I feel like we should head out right after breakfast.”
Sam frowned at that, and cocked her head to the side. She actually looked like she was considering what I'd said, which was honestly very new to me. She took a moment before she responded, but when she did she looked up at me, pursed her lips, and then gave me a nod. I let out a sigh of relief and nodded back. I know that usually we would all just hang out for an hour or so after we woke up, but that small feeling in my gut had just kept on getting bigger this whole time. I really didn't want to stick around for too long, and thankfully it seemed Sam agreed with that.
She warily eyed the forest and tapped her spoon on her empty bowl, “I hadn’t noticed it before, but you're right. I haven't heard a single chirp, or even a chitter from a squam all morning. Good call Matt, let's head out soon. Mason and Cyan already left to do their drills and do some reconnaissance, so we should be good for now. Though, as soon as they check back, I'll tell everyone to head on out.” She leaned back on the log she was sitting on, and then looked around, her eyes finally resting on Sarah, who looked like she was struggling to stay upright on the log she was sitting on, “Hey Sarah! Would you mind helping me kick some dirt over the fire pit? Kai and Sylphie! Could you please start rolling up everyone's bags? Feel free to eat Matt, you’ve done a lot this morning already.”
I looked from my bowl to Sam, “You sure? I don’t mind helping out with cleaning up camp…”
Diane laughed as she walked out of the forest, slinging her axe over her shoulder, “You're fine Matt, we can clean up camp. Just hurry up and finish your bowl already, so I can go and wash everything off in the river.”
I thanked them all and made sure to eat the rest of the bowl quickly, inhaling it more than tasting it. I had been really worried earlier, especially after checking the traps, but thankfully it seemed that Sam and the others were going to listen to my advice. I quickly took my last bite and handed the bowl to Diane, and gave her a nod of thanks again. She rolled her eyes and gave me a smirk before she grumbled to herself and headed off towards the river. I turned to help the others, but there was nothing left to do. They’d already finished wrapping everything up. I frowned and let out a sigh, which made Sarah laugh. I rolled my eyes at her and headed over to my bag and picked it up. Eh, might as well just be ready at this point.
A little while after Diane came back, Mason dropped down out of the trees, startling me at the sight. I whipped around to him, and as my eyes locked onto his face, I noticed a concerned look on his face. Oh no… what now?
Before his feet even hit the ground, Mason began speaking, his voice laced with worry, “Hey everyone, I don't wanna alarm you, but…”
“We should really leave, like now.” Cyan finished, appearing out of nowhere. She had a flustered look in her eyes, and her hands were waving around her wildly as she talked.
Sam laughed and turned towards them, “Two steps ahead of y'all, we were just waiting for you to come back before we did anything.” Sam flung her bag over her shoulder, and then turned back to the rest of us, “Okay everyone, let's head on out! I'm really starting to get a bad feeling about this…”
We all nervously looked at each other before nodding and following after Sam. Mason and Cyan gave each other a look, and then vanished to keep up reconnaissance around us. Sam, Kai, and Sylphie nervously shouldered their packs, and kept close together, making sure to walk in between Sarah, Diane, and I. Like that, we forged through the forest, all of our senses on high alert. I wasn’t sure what exactly might have been out there, but it had no chance of escaping our notice now.
As we travelled through the forest, the rest of the day became incredibly tense. We didn't stop moving if we could help it, only pausing for quick bathroom breaks and to gather and cleanse water to drink. Every once and a while, Mason and Cyan would check back with us, giving us all updates on any possible monsters and our surroundings, before leaving quickly after, their forms melting into the forest as if they were spirits. We were all on edge, and the joyful talk I had grown accustomed to hearing was entirely squashed, causing silence to reign over the forest. So quiet, that you could’ve heard a pin drop. That was probably how I was able to hear it so quickly when it finally did echo through the forest. Was that…
Sarah whipped around, a massive and relieved smile on her face, “Did you all hear that? I think it was a squam!”
Kai laughed and let out a long sigh, “I never thought I’d be so relieved to hear a squam…”
We all laughed at that, and I could see us all visibly relax, a heavy weight being lifted from our soldiers. We were still on edge for sure, and Mason and Cyan kept up the recon around us, but as we heard more and more squam chitters and saw the colorful birds flitting through the forest and singing to each other again, I couldn’t help but smile. That heavy feeling that had been developing in my gut finally, thankfully, lightened, but… it didn’t exactly go away either. It stayed in my gut, slinking to the back and glowering at everything. Everyone else began to laugh and joke with each other again, but my eyes still scanned the forest around me, my eyes narrowing at every last thing. I pursed my lips and gripped the handle of my sword, my knuckles going white after a moment.
We had ended up skipping lunch, opting to snack throughout the day instead of taking a long break and exposing ourselves to danger again. So when Sam finally called for us to break for dinner, we all let out a sigh of relief at the thought of some real food. We didn't have much left from the zhaarst yesterday, but there was enough to supplement dinner thankfully. Cyan and Mason appeared out of nowhere, and put together a quick and delicious dinner. At the sight, the rest of us bowed our heads and thanked them with all of our hearts, our mouths watering at the sight.
Dinner was leftover zhaarst with some root vegetables in a stew. They procured some thick hard bread that Baern had made for each of the groups, and warmed it up in the fire in order to soften it. We all sat down, and relaxed, listening to the sound of the birds and squam’s chirping and chattering in the trees slowly quiet down as the sun began to set. It was unbelievably peaceful, and after we put away the bowls after finishing our food, we all went to our respective areas to sleep.
Thankfully, Sarah had first guard shift tonight, and I had the second night shift duty, so I made sure to curl up as fast as I could. I closed my eyes and tried to forcefully put my mind to rest like always, trying to quiet down all the extra noises and thoughts but struggling more than usual after the kind of day I had just had. I pursed my lips and let my body relax as I tried to quiet my mind. It helped that I was unbelievably exhausted after a full day of travel and being on edge, but still my mind was full of thoughts. The worries over what could have happened earlier that day rushing through me. I did my best to ignore them, and focused on finally falling asleep, quieting my mind over and over until finally, the darkness overtook me.
I groaned as I felt a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me to and fro. I frowned and rolled over, but the shakes increased in frequency and I sighed, rolling onto my back and grunting. What the fuck was going on? Can’t a guy just get some sleep before he has to get up and do his night… shift… Oh, wait…
My eyes fluttered open, and I blushed as I saw that it was Sarah gently shaking me, “Oh fuck me, I’m sorry Sarah. You didn’t have to shake me for long to wake me up, did you?”
She smiled blearily and shook her head, “Hey Matt, no worries… I didn’t have to shake you for long tonight. You should have a pretty easy shift, besides for some little ewins boinging off of some trees. Besides that, it was pretty quiet out there, hell, I didn’t even hear any owls tonight, which was pretty odd,” She stretched and stood up, a yawn shaking her body as she blearily shook her head back and forth, “Man, I am so tired actually… I’m gonna go hit the hay, you gonna be okay to do the next shift?”
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I sighed and stood up, groaning as I stretched out. I hadn’t had the best sleep, despite all of my attempts to get comfortable and go to sleep quickly, but that's okay. Sarah deserved her sleep either way so I wasn’t going to just sit here and complain about it. Though going on the second night shift was by far the worst shift, I didn’t usually mind. Hell, most nights I usually ended up volunteering for it. It was the least I could do since they had been protecting me on the way to Cylkia’s mansion.
I smiled at Sarah and whispered, mindful of the sleeping forms of the others, “Nah I’ll be good Sarah, don’t worry about it. Thanks for coming and grabbing me, though. Enjoy your rest, hopefully Mason and Cyan’s traps might catch a rabbit or something by the morning!”
She smiled blearily and nodded, giving me a little wave before heading over to where the others were sleeping. I stretched out and rolled my shoulders, picking up my sword. It was going to be a long night tonight, might as well start it off right. I took a drink of water from my canteen, and stared off into the woods, scanning for anything. The world here had two moons, which I had found to my great pleasure when we had started our journey and begun my night guard shifts. It meant that there was always so much light at night, and even though I had to let my eyes adjust at first, I could still see everything clearly all night. I cracked my knuckles and reached into the void, grabbing it tightly and pulling. My legs roared to life, energy exploding through my body as if my engine had just been revved. I had to hold back a laugh as I felt that exhilaration I had come to love, and cracked my neck, dashing off into the forest, as exhilaration raced through my body.
Using sprint was one of the most amazing feelings I had felt since coming here, and running cross country and track back home just paled in comparison. Honestly, I would even go so far as to say it was the best feeling I had experienced here. Though, that euphoria I had felt when I had killed those goblins put even that to shame if I was being honest.
As I finally dashed around my friends and made it into the forest, I let out a loud sigh of air. Finally! Haha! As my legs pumped, slamming into the ground and propelling me forward, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Fuck yes I had missed this! Absolutely amazing! HAHA! I flew forward, dodging trees and bouncing from rock to rock as I made my first few rounds. I made sure to keep an eye on my surroundings and looked around for any new tracks or if any of Cyan and Masons traps had been sprung, but thankfully it seemed as if Sarah was right, this really was going to be a quiet night. As I finally made my way around the clearing that they were all sleeping in, I let out a hard breath of air, my hot breath misting in the cool night air.
I put my hands on my hips and gasped for air, my eyes wide as I felt my heart racing along at a million miles a minute. I was sort of glad that Sarah had been right when she had woken me up though. I had no clue what I would even be able to do if a monster group really attacked, and I didn’t even know what to look for as a warning sign! I pursed my lips and held my breath until my lungs finally screamed for air. With my enduring heart ability, it took a long time before I needed to breathe, but after about five minutes, my lungs painfully clenched, and I was forced to take in a gasp of air. I blinked hard and grinned, staggering as my breathing came hard and fast. Now this was the best way to start my training regimen!
I laughed, and gripped my sword, taking a few experimental swings in order to warm up my muscles. This… was really going to hurt. I sighed, and after a moment, I gripped my sword and walked forward, dodging around the branches and trees as I let my eyes roam around. The forest had changed once again, and this time it was all big maple trees, their wide leaves providing bountiful shade, and dampening my foot falls as I made my way around each massive tree trunk. It was perfect, and I hummed to myself as I walked around, attacking trees in the same form and strikes that Xi had drilled into my very soul.
I dropped down and did a hundred quick push ups, my shoulders, chest, and arms shaking for the last ten. It was better than when I first got here, but not good enough. Xi had insisted that even the weakest adventurers could do 200 before they had to stop. I needed to get stronger, and because of the ability the goddess had fucked me with, I couldn’t just let up early. I needed to just keep moving forward, and fight until I could stand tall with my classmates. I couldn’t just let them leave me behind in the dust, even if it made my sweat blood and throw up! I roared and snatched up my blade, swinging at the tree again, viciously stabbing, slashing, and carving, creating gash after gash in its trunk.
As I went through my drills, I let my mind wander as it always yearned to. We were about four days into the trip, so I had the feeling that we would start to get close to nearby settlements here soon. Cylkia had warned us from going into any towns, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be safer once we got near them. Each town had its own adventurer guild and quest system right? So any nearby animals would likely be whittled down or decreased just because of that alone. Thank the gods really, because I was getting a little tired by all this high stress stuff. Maybe I could even sneak into one of the towns real early in the day and grab something from a bakery or butcher? That would be a nice treat for everyone… and I did have some money from that first goblin I had killed. Besides, I’d rather spend it on everyone else than keep it for myself anyways,
I stepped over a branch and paused for a brief moment, cocking my head to the side, my sword freezing at my side for a moment. Hmm… there had definitely been an echo there… I narrowed my eyes after I didn’t hear anything for a moment, and kept on walking forward, letting my sword casually hang by my side as I paused my drills. No… I had definitely heard something. I had been much too busy drilling to really hear it, but this time though, I was more cautious. I made my way through the forest, my heart racing as I made sure to keep a watchful eye and ear out. My eyes darted around, my muscles tensed, and my ears strained, but still, I didn’t hear anything. Just the normal boinging of the ewin’s and a hoot from a night owl, but… No, I definitely had heard something.
I bared my teeth, and patiently waited, and after a long moment, I was finally awarded. From the dark forest, I heard a crack from a broken twig being stepped on, and my eyes darted towards it. Then a light thud from a footfall echoed from the same direction. There… it was only one of them, thank the gods. Should I go warn the others? Or should I just handle it myself? I pursed my lips and tensed my muscles, my heart racing now that I knew for a fact what was going on.
I was being followed, and it wasn’t one of the others, it was a beast or a monster. And definitely not a small one. Yeah… it was definitely something big, and something that definitely didn’t want me to know it was there. I squeezed the handle of my sword and strained my eyes, struggling to seem relaxed still and not give away the fact that I had heard the creature or whatever it was that was tailing me. I focused my ears towards the sound, and strained every fiber and sense of my being outwards, trying to pick up that noise again. I knew that it was behind me, to my left, and I could tell it was slowly picking up its pace, but still trying to be discreet.
I took a deep breath and tried to force myself to relax, at least on the outside. I couldn’t just let the thing know that I knew it was there, I’d need to act like normal. I relaxed my shoulders and whistled to myself, casually holding my blade at my side as I kept on walking, trying to look like I was just on a regular guard shift. The footfalls sped up, slowly getting close, but still, I didn’t stop walking, my whole body screaming as I tried my best to put on a facade of ignorance for the creature. Calmly, patiently, I walked forward, waiting for it to get closer, and in the perfect range for a counterattack. My heart slammed in my chest, beating a million miles a minute as sweat coated my palms. I swallowed hard as they slightly shook as I held onto the blade's handle, the blade itself rattling back and forth.
The thuds slowed again, and I narrowed my eyes, grinding my teeth together as I realized it must be getting ready to strike finally. I would strike at it right as it got close, and make sure to activate sword slash halfway through the strike. Just like Xi had taught me to do. I’d have to make sure to swipe diagonally, in order to try and ward it off while still getting the best defense out of the slash. After all, I knew functionally nothing about the beast, besides that it was trying to be stealthy and was relatively large. It was agony waiting, but I knew that it would all be worth it in the end. As Xi had drilled into me those first days, pounding the knowledge into me verbally and physically, the best surprise attack is when you can make the enemy think that you are the unsuspecting victim of their own surprise attack. The beast was good at stalking, whatever the hell it was, but since I had tagged it earlier, I knew it was coming. So when I heard the low growl, and then the crunch of the leaves as it prepared to pounce, I readied myself to strike back.
I narrowed my eyes, and remembered my fight with the second goblin. I had failed then, taking too long to activate my skill, and because of that, I had almost died. I hadn’t forgotten that, and while training, I had made sure to burn the ability to activate sword slash into my very body. As I heard the snarl of the beast, and the feel of its hot breath smacking into my back, I reached into the void. It hissed and bit at my attempts to take from it, but I growled back, snapping at it and causing it to reluctantly back off for a moment. I dug into the void and tore, demanding that it do what I wanted and gave me the strength to attack. It acquiesced, and my arms burned as if they had been pumped full of electricity, charging me up as I whipped around and brought my sword over and down. It arced around as I slashed horizontally, just like Xi had trained me to do.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as my blade sliced down, cutting through the air until it impacted into the side of a giant furry beast. The darkness cast by the trees cloaked most of its features, but I still could hear it as it let out a loud, surprised yelp as it was knocked to the side. It slammed into the forest floor hard, but that barely seemed to affect it as it wriggled about and crawled to its feet, turning and snapping at me. I leaped backwards, trying to make room while also trying to force it into the moon light in order for me to see it better. It darted forward, snapping and swiping at me, rage rolling off of it as its glowing yellow eyes glared at me, forcing me to gulp as I had to look up to see them eye to eye. I slashed again, forcing it to leap back again, but not before the moonlight finally showed its true form to me.
It looked like a wolf, but that was a massive understatement. I had seen a wolf before, at a sanctuary, and though I had been amazed by how large it was, it was nothing compared to this beast. It looked like a wolf, sure, but it was much, much larger. It loomed over me, its head easily being a foot or so over my head. Its shoulders were at my shoulder height, but it was much more filled out, its sides being at least a foot wider than my chest. I paled as it bared its long, yellow-white, dagger sharp teeth at me, the moonlight glinting off of them. I couldn’t believe it… it was a dire wolf, one of the ones Xi had warned us all about. The ones that they had told us we should avoid at all costs… FUCK! These were by far one of the most dangerous beasts in the woods here, but it wasn’t even because of their massive size, it was because of how they traveled in packs, just like the ones back home.
I cursed under my breath, and began to slowly circle the beast, looking for an opening as it did the same to me. It was like we were mirrors of each other, though one side was a massive, calculating beast, and the other was but a small, scared, and young teenager. We both bared our teeth at each other, and eyed each other warily. I really needed to get back to the others quickly, but I had no clue if I was going to survive this. It was huge! And it didn’t even look like it was that phased by my sword slash. Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! I needed to tell the others!
I narrowed my eyes, and let my breath hiss through my teeth as I attacked the problem in my head. I needed it to make an opening for me, and the only way that was going to happen was if I could get it to attack. But not only that, I needed it to rush the attack. To attack without thinking, guided more out of instinct and emotion than that calculating intelligence I could see in its bright yellow eyes. I needed to… haha… yeah that’d work.
I took in a big, deep breath and then yelled at it, my voice cracking as I tried to taunt it, “Oh come on you overgrown fur ball! What, are you the runt of the litter or something? My dog back home was scarier than you! And gods damn, your breath fucking stinks, you ever heard of mouth wash and dental hygiene!?”
I don’t know if it understood that, or if it just picked up on my tone, but it definitely did not like me yelling. It snarled and shook itself, seemingly gaining another foot as its hackles raised on its neck. I yelped as it crouched, and then pounced at me again, its dagger teeth flashing in the moonlight as it flew through the air. I focused on the void again, and roared at it, surprising it into submission as I stabbed into the dark and pulled, activating sword slash again and calling forth as much strength as I had. I gripped my sword with both hands, planted my feet in the ground, and swung my sword, activating sword slash before I even had started to swing, surprise tactics being thrown to the side in favor of pure, raw, power.
I roared as I felt my arms alight with a burning flame, and I let my knees buckle, falling to the ground and twisting my slash upwards. As its massive maw snapped shut where my throat had been just a moment before, I couldn’t help but grin as my blade rocketed through the air, biting into the edge of the beast's neck with so much power I almost thought I’d overestimated. But as the blade's edge bit through the massive ruff of fur, it slashed into the flesh of the wolf’s neck, and then cut straight through, barely encountering any resistance. As the dire wolf's body continued forward, impacting into me and crushing me into the ground, red, hot, and wet blood exploded from its neck, coating me from head to toe.
I gasped at the impact, all of the air in my lungs being knocked out of me as its form crushed me into the ground. It gurgled as it doubtless felt the gaping wound in its neck, but it wasn’t dead yet, and now it had its target pinned. It bit its teeth down, tearing into my shoulder as its paws smacked into my exposed stomach, its sharp nails tearing into my gut. I screamed as I felt them tear through my shirt, and then dig into my skin, tearing across my stomach. My whole body shook, but I still gripped my sword, twisting it towards the wolf’s neck and stabbing again, but without the power of my sword slash, it barely even pierced the wolf’s hide.
The wolf arced its back, and bit down even harder, shaking itself aggressively. I could feel the muscle fibers and cartilage in my shoulder shiver as the wolf tore, and I almost blacked out from the pain. But, somehow, the darkness rolled away, and I realized my other hand was still somehow holding onto the blade. I roared in pain, but managed to shakily turn it towards the beast again. I screamed, and locked eyes with the wolf, watching as the rage was suddenly replaced by pain and surprise as I drove the blade into the side of its neck, right below its skull. It wheezed, trying to drag in more air through its torn neck, but it all escaped out of the two gashes that I’d just created. The surprise in its eyes slowly turned to respect, and then nothing as it slumped on top of me, its body going limp as the last of its life left it. The weight crushed the last bit of air out of my lungs, and my vision went black as the pain failed to keep me conscious for any longer. Then, my vision lit up with familiar words, and relief surged through me as I felt a wave of healing bliss and euphoria crash over me.
LEVEL UP
Name: ???
Race: Human
Level: Four (New!)
Title: Wolf Slayer (New!)
Abilities:
Enduring Heart (INCOMPLETE)
Skills:
Sprint (Veteran)
Sword Slash (Trainee)(New!)
As I felt the rush of a level up I gasped, my vision filling back in for a brief second. I was still covered by that damn wolf, and with a roar, I pushed with every muscle I had, slowly shoving the heavy body off of me. The healing wave continued crashing through me, and I couldn't help but grin as I felt that amazing sensation rush through my body again. Damn, I had missed that!
I laughed and slowly got to my feet, stumbling as I did and falling onto a tree for support. I had other things to think about right now, and I needed to get back to the others, like now. I gritted my teeth and turned towards where my blade had fallen out of my hands, and scooped it up, surprised by how light it felt now. That must have been because of the level up… Dam, I wish I could see how much stronger I got each time, but I guess knowing that didn't matter right now. Right now, I just need to get back to the others. I growled, and reached into that void again, searching for that specific spot, and once I did, I pulled. My body revved as ‘sprint’ activated again and I stretched out my legs, dashing off into the woods, my eyes locked on where I knew the others were. I needed to get back, and fast. Once the pack really mobilized, I had no idea if the others would even have a chance of surviving, even with their strong skills.
I dashed through the trees, slamming through the underbrush and knocking aside branch after branch as I flew through the forest. I had decided to ignore using any form of stealth in favor of just pure speed. Even if there were other wolves between me and the others, I’d just have to risk it and try to outrun them.
Fuck fuck fuck, I needed to go faster! I reached into that void and pulled again, and again, but nothing happened. No no no… I can’t just let you give up on me! I need to get faster! I growled and pulled again, but this time I felt the void rumble. It roiled and growled, and even I could feel that I had pissed it off. It amassed near where I was pulling and growled at me, shooting out and snapping at my attempts to get faster. I pulled back, just narrowly avoiding it and shook my head. Fucking shit, I guess I can’t just rely on a sudden burst of speed from the void this time.
I focused back on reality, my hearing full of the sound of my footfalls echoing through the forest, and the sound of my ragged breathing as I tried to drag in as much air as I could. Forcefully, I slammed through even the piles of leaves covering the floor, and snapped branch after branch as they smacked into my arms, chest, and even my face. I struggled to move faster and faster, knowing that I needed to get to the others as soon as I possibly could. Blood, sweat, and tears, none of that mattered. Even if my stomach and torn shoulder still screamed in agony, it didn’t fucking matter. I didn’t care, I couldn’t care about any of that! My mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only! And that was getting back to the others in time!
I headbutted a branch out of the way, and leaped over a boulder, dashing forward as a tear traced its way down my cheek at the impact. They would all still be fast asleep, and literally just sitting ducks if the wolves struck! But… if I could get Kai and Sylphie awake, I knew we would stand a fighting chance. I hadn’t seen them use their strongest spells, but I had seen the after effects of them practicing when I had still been training with Xi and the others. The trees made into a pile of cinders, and the sky full of smoke and ash. But they were also the weakest of us all. I needed to protect them, even if it cost my life!
Fuck! I cursed and slammed my fist into the trunk of a tree as I was flying by, my eyes glaring in the distance. Of all the fucking things, dire wolves!? Really!? The only thing worse would have been a Dire Bear! And Xi said that it was hibernating for the next year or so, so that wasn’t even a possibility! I shot a glare at the silent forest. No wonder it had been so quiet earlier today, the damn wolves must have scared away all of the wildlife! They must have been hunting us last night, marking out their prey. The animals in that section of the forest had known better than to hang out around us and become casualties, so they had all just evacuated.
I roared, smacking aside a branch and sailing through the air as I suddenly exploded into a clearing, but… something about it was familiar. My eyes dashed around, and then shock rocketed through me as I realized where I was. I’d finally made it back to the clearing! Fuck yes!I dropped out of sprint, collapsing to me knees as I gasped for air and wildly looked around. Oh thank god! They were all still here!
I let out a massive sigh and struggled to my feet, turning in a circle and yelling at the top of my voice, “EVERYONE GET UP!!!! DIRE WOLF ATTACK!!!!”
As I collapsed to my knees again, my energy spent, I couldn’t help but smile as I heard everyone start moving. I really couldn’t have asked for a better response. Sam and a couple of the others, who had already been partially awakened by me barging into the clearing, snapped up, blearily looking around and reaching for their weapons from where they laid. After a moment, Kai and Sylphie rushed to the center of the clearing, clutching their staves and scanning the forest around us, their eyes narrowed. Mason and Cyan jumped into the trees, vanishing quickly as they went to scan our immediate surroundings.
Sam noticed where I was laying, and rushed up to me, her eyes worried, but alert, “Dire wolves, Matt? Are you sure? Xi said that they don’t normally hunt on this path, was it maybe a coy-” as she froze as her eyes finally rested on me, the moonlight falling over my features, “Holy shit Matt… Never mind that, did one ambush you? Are you okay? Here, let me heal you, that looks painful!”
I shook my head and glared at the forest, gripping my sword tightly, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll be okay. You should save your spells for the others, I have a feeling we’ll need them.”
She sighed, and wrung out her hands, but nodded after a moment, “... Fine, but when we make it through this, you’re going to let me heal you, either you like it or not! Now, let's get over to the others, and tell me everything that happened while you were on guard!”
I chuckled weakly, and walked forward, trying to hide my wince as my stomach screamed at me again, “While I was patrolling, I noticed that there was something stalking me, and that I wouldn’t be able to just run away. So I lured it in, and attacked and killed it, though not before it managed to claw me pretty good.” Her eyes worriedly darted over to me, and I rushed on, trying to cut her off before she demanded to heal me again, “But the level up from killing it healed me all up, so I’m feeling fine now! After that, I rushed here so I could raise the alarm and wake everyone up! I’m hoping that it was just some lone wolf, but if it was a scout… then that means the rest of the pack is nearby, and we need to get out of here asap.”
Sam cursed, and clenched her warmace tightly, her white knuckles standing out in the moonlight, “Damn it all! Of course it’s dire wolves! It’s probably why the animals were so quiet earlier, the wolves had marked us as their prey! Damn it… We’ll just have to hold out till daylight or until they get tired, because there’s no outrunning a dire wolf pack. Besides, that’d just leave us ripe for the pickings… Ugh, I think I remember Xi telling us that they dislike the sun… maybe we can set the forest around us on fire if we need to.” Sam grumbled to herself, her eyes narrowing as she glanced around at the forest, her lips forming into a fine line, “Damn it! Alright everybody, get ready for a long night! Diane, Sarah, and Matt let's make sure to protect Kai and Sylphie! And you two, just make sure to burn them up if more than three rush us at a time, otherwise let the rest of us deal with them. Everyone, I’m the only healer, so please try to make your wounds minimal!”
We all nodded, all of the others fully awake now that we all knew that it wasn’t a drill. We all formed up, circling around Kai and Sylphie and pointing our weapons out into the woods, silently staring as we white knuckled our weapons. I wasn’t sure how we were all going to make it through this, but I wasn't about to just roll over and die. I bared my teeth, and looked at the others. Sarah was on my right, Sam on my left, and Diane was behind us. Kai and Sylphie were standing together, and as I locked eyes with Sylphie, I faltered.
For the first time since I’d met her, I saw real fear in her eyes. She smiled at me, and I tried to confidently smile back at her, but as she took in my scratched up face and shirt and her face paled, I blushed. Damn it, I think I just worried her more than she had been before. Kai, on the other hand, was grinning, staring off into the woods, his eyes flashing about as he spun his staff with two hands. Oh gods… I’d have to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t go and get abducted and dragged off by the wolves… jeez.
I shook my head and turned back to the woods, my hands tightening on my sword handle as I heard a rustle from the trees. That must have been Mason or Cyan. I knew that they were getting ready in the woods, silently setting up traps like Halfi had taught them, and patrolling so they could give us a heads up when the wolves finally got close enough. Though, as a piercing howl ripped through the night, I realized they might not have to warn us at all. As the forest lit up with bright yellow and green eyes, I swallowed hard. They were here.