It was darker up here.
My eyes had adjusted, but it was still difficult to make out any finer details of the world around me. It looked as if a war between the shadows was taking place to determine which was the darkest. I could still make out the overlapping shadows from the branches above, and the occasional… skulking shadow - a few of which sent a chill down my spine.
Nira was close by, moving her head about in a manner that suggested she could see a lot clearer than I. In fact, she seemed to be tracking something.
I was getting nervous.
'She'll warn me if there's danger this time… right?' I wasn't so sure.
Nira turned to look at me, her eyes even seemed to be slightly… glowing? It was an extremely dim glow, but with the all-encompassing night around us, they stood out.
She whispered, "Stay here."
I started to open my mouth in protest, but she was already gone. Her silhouette faded into the shadows… and I was alone.
'Nope, she can't be trusted.' I thought, shaking my head.
This situation was unsettling. I had no idea what kind of vile creatures lurked in the umbra, nor if I even had the ability to deal with them.
I unsheathed my new dagger and attempted to scan the darkness above nervously. Then, my ears picked something up. It started off quiet, barely audible over the giant leaves rustling in the wind. At first I almost thought my ears were playing tricks on me.
But they weren't, unfortunately.
It sounded similar to the hundred footfalls of the Arkos. The thought of facing the beast again… in the dark… caused my heart to pound as if it wanted to escape out of my chest and leave me behind. But then I noticed there was a slight difference. It wasn't hundreds… it was thousands. The noise was off too, similar to a river current - but I knew there was no such river nearby.
'Bugs?' I didn't want to be right about that thought… but if there was a giant centipede-like creature…
Then, I saw it. A gorgeous torrent of twisting green light swimming through the darkness of the canopy… in my direction. It stretched on as far as I could see with each light moving in perfect harmony with its neighbor.
'Wait, are those the locals?!' I guessed in horror.
'Why would we even-' My thoughts were suddenly cut off when I heard a thud behind me. I unconsciously held my breath and slowly turned to look at the source.
Two dull yellow rings of light hovered in the shadows - it was Nira.
I felt her hand wrap around my arm guard and she pulled, causing me to stumble.
"We need to go." I could hear the urgency in her voice and allowed her to pull me along.
Soon, we came before the largest, darkest shadow - which I assumed was the tree. Nira guided my hand over her shoulder and said, "Hold on tight."
I felt a bit embarrassed, but sheathed my dagger and pressed my body against her back. Bending my knees and reaching over her other shoulder as well, I held my elbows in an armlock.
"Okay, ready." I signaled.
Soon, I felt my feet lifting off the ground and I tightened my grip.
'She's strong.' I thought.
Fifteen seconds later, I felt my body sway forward and my shins banged against something before being dragged onto a flat surface.
Nira tapped my arms, "Get ready."
"For?" I released my hold.
"Enemies." She stated.
I noticed now that the thundering flood of insects was incredibly near.
Looking nervously behind me, I could see a narrow scar of softer darkness - the entrance. A couple seconds later, the sound of thousands of stampeding monsters was all-encompassing… and an eerie green light lit up our hollow. I unsheathed my weapon in a hurry and retreated backwards.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to be able to make it through the entrance. There were simply too many of them crowding and competing to… well, eat us.
The insects were much larger than I was expecting. In fact, calling them insects was an injustice. The monsters were four to five feet long, their bodies segmented into four armored sections. I could see the source of the light now, as each insect sported a foot and a half long glowing green horn. The horns at least, were beautiful. The rest of the creature though, not so much. Along the body of the monster were six sets of hammer-like feet, two for each section. Gnarly looking spines sprouted from its back ending in a long, thin, shark-like tail.
Nira rushed forward - spearhead pointed with purpose - and a second later the monsters began screeching in anger, overwhelming my senses.
"Abel, heads up!" A few seconds later, Nira shouted at me as a comparatively smaller monster managed to squeeze itself into our hollow and past Nira.
I tried to swipe at it, but missed - I wasn't used to the short range of the dagger. It lunged at me and I instantly felt sharp pricks from both sides of my right knee.
[Damage Received: 18]
I gnashed my teeth in pain and reversed my grip on my dagger. Tensing my arm, I stabbed downwards at its head. I felt my weapon bite into the armored shell, but it only sank a few inches deep.
[Damage Dealt - 31]
The monster screeched in pain and released my leg - pulling against my arm as it attempted to free itself from the dagger. The pain from my knee ignited my mind with rage as I ripped out my dagger and sent it stabbing down into the monster's head once again. This time, I felt it sink as it pierced through - to the hilt.
[Damage Dealt - 62. Critical hit!]
Ding!
[You have slain a Paruven Ek Shade Guardian! EXP gained: 50]
The green text of Orion was practically shining.
Giving the corpse an angry kick, I turned my attention back towards the entrance. I could hear the sounds of Nira's spear stabbing through the thick shells of the Shade Guardians. They were still desperately trying to force their huge bodies into our small shelter. Each time she thrust her spear, I could hear the shrieking of her target stutter and cease.
Several minutes later, Nira must have killed hundreds of the shrieking Guardians. I didn't want to get in her way, so I held back and waited. Eventually, she seemed to tire and she fell back towards me.
She shoved the spear shaft against my free arm and shouted, "You're up!"
Wasting no time, I grasped the spear and took a deep breath.
There was only one thing on my mind at this point: 'EXP!'
Lowering the spear head, I stepped forward with measured steps. Once I was in range, I picked at target at random - and thrusted.
[Damage Dealt - 20]
The monster's shriek didn't stutter and stop the way they did when Nira stabbed them though. Still, I pulled the spear back to stab again.
[Damage Dealt - 20]
And again…
[Damage Dealt - 21]
Ding!
[You have slain a Paruven Ek Shade Guardian! EXP gained: 50]
My eyes gleamed. This was practically free EXP.
With renewed vigor, I flexed my muscles and kept a steady rhythm. Thrust… And thrust some more.
[You have slain a Paruven Ek Shade Guardian! EXP gained: 50]
[You have slain a Paruven Ek Shade Guardian! EXP gained: 50]
[You have slain a Paruven Ek…
Ding!
[You have leveled up! You grow stronger.]
The green system message and the warmth spreading throughout my body cooperated to cheer me on. I redoubled my efforts, trying to kill as many of the Guardians as I could.
[Damage Dealt - 22]
'It's finally twenty-two!' I exclaimed.
The increased damage did not go unnoticed. I had been wondering why my damage never increased, so when I saw twenty-two, I couldn't help but excitedly stab a few more times just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
[Damage Dealt - 20]
[Damage Dealt - 22]
[You have slain a Paruven Ek Shade Guardian! EXP gained: 50]
'It's real! But why now?' I was curious, but I still had work to do.
I was about to continue… farming EXP, but before I could, Nira shouted from behind me, "Why are you thrusting the spear around randomly?! Aim for their mouths!"
[Damage Dealt - 21]
I grunted as I pulled back the spear and shouted back, "Easier said than done!" The monsters were constantly moving around after all.
"Just take your time!" She immediately retorted.
I paused.
Although the monsters were moving around non-stop from several different directions, if I paid close enough attention, I could still take my time and be more deliberate with my aim.
This time, I focused, waited, and stabbed directly at the mouth of a nearby monster when it got caught between two of its companions.
[Damage Dealt - 40. Critical Hit!]
'She's right!' I thought, 'It's better to make my strikes count!' It seemed so obvious now.
If I deliberately aimed for their mouths, I could kill them in two strikes instead of three.
I grinned. Despite the perilous situation, I was happy. I could feel myself getting stronger, both physically and mentally. It felt great. I knew I needed to get much, much stronger if my first day was any indication, so every discovery and every inch of progress felt incredibly important.
With that in mind, I happily continued to reap the lives of the Ek Guardians as fast as I could.
A few minutes later though, the Guardians let out a different sound. It was low and vibrated the air around me. Startled by the change, I backed up, not that I needed to... The Guardians were retreating, and fast. The river of green light swam away as quickly as it came. Actually, perhaps a bit quicker.
The hollow was bathed in darkness once again, looming before me was a softer shade of black in the shape of a narrow scar.
I heard Nira's steps as she walked forward to stand next to me.
"I guess it's nearby." She commented softly.
Pulling my arm, she walked further into the burrow and sat down against the back wall.
"We should be safe here." She added once I sat down next to her.
I looked over at the glowing rings of her eyes and asked, "From what now?"
"The Arkos."
I instantly frowned.
Thinking back to when I had come across that cave, I couldn't help but compare its size to the burrow's entrance.
'Well, it is quite a bit smaller.' I sighed in relief. 'Not to mention we're up in the Shade.'
'Wait, does that matter?'
"Uhh, Nira?" I whispered.
"What?"
"The Arkos… It can't climb up here, can it?"
"..."
I looked back at her.
"Can it?"
"Well… It can. Why do you think the Guardians retreated?" She replied, then continued, "But like I said, we should be safe here. The Arkos shouldn't be interested in our scent."
"Our… scent?"
I saw her eyes move up and down as she nodded, "Right, it's hunting after all. The Darkhearts discovered that the Arkos hunts by scent. It usually only goes for prey that can satisfy its large appetite. Efficiency and all."
I exhaled in relief.
"Thank god. I never want to see that thing again." I relaxed my body against the wall and finally felt relatively safe.
"You've… seen the Arkos?" Her tone was strained.
"Well yea, those other four guards chased me into the forest back then when you… Well you know." I felt a bit strange remembering that incident. To be sitting here next to Nira after that… Strange world.
"Anyway," I brushed it off, "I came across a cave, tried to hide in it, and nearly died a few times running away from that nightmare."
Just remembering that incident made me shudder with worry considering that same beast could be crawling up our tree at any moment.
"...Abel… The Arkos… It-" She suddenly stopped as a distinctly terrible noise trickled into our hollow. I could never forget that sound… a low-pitched growl - like the rumble of distant thunder - could barely be heard in the distance below. Soon, high pitched clicking noise joined in.
The entire tree shook.
Hundreds of footfalls could be heard slowly getting closer.
A chill ran down my spine.