“Are we in hell?” asked Emma
“Don’t be rude, this place is awesome” protested Johnny.
Luke was fully in agreement with Johnny but he had to admit that the dark woods in front of them made a bad first impression. It looked like it was plucked out of a cheesy horror movie, the trees were dead and rotting, the grass was brown and there was always a dark cloud above it.
“Are you sure we won’t get possessed by demons?” muttered Emma as they walked into the woods.
“It’s only happened to us once so we should be fine” said Luke.
“It was really scary though” said Matt with an involuntary shiver.
“I already regret this” sighed Emma.
“On the bright side, there’s a million zombies in here so we’ll definitely level up” said Jim.
“Yeah, the last time we were here our levels were too low but now we’ll kill a lot” agreed Luke.
As they walked deeper into the woods, the zombies they spoke of appeared. The good thing about zombies was that they always give you ample time to react. Luke heard the moans and groans before they even came in to sight.
“All yours, Emma” he said.
“Gee thanks” she said sarcastically before running up to the five zombies.
“Isn’t it weird that a Rogue uses a spear” commented Matt.
“Yeah, you’d expect her to use a knife coated in poison or something” agreed Johnny.
“It’s certainly a unique choice” said Jim.
“You’re all being too nice, she’s just a moron” said Luke.
Said moron was frowning as she came back, holding her bloody spear.
“It’s very little EXP” she complained.
“Don’t worry, there are stronger undead in the woods” said Jim.
“Yep, some of them are as ugly as you” said Matt.
“You wanna face a real weapon, knife boy?” asked Emma with a scowl.
“Oh no, the spear wielding rogue is angry” said Johnny with a laugh.
“Did you guys just invite me so you’d have someone to bully?!”
“Yes” said Jim, Matt and Johnny in sync.
Luke urged them to keep moving, he really wanted to reach level 15 by the end of the day. They walked for a few more minutes, occasionally killing a zombie here and there until at last, a more worthy foe appeared.
[Undead Troll (Lvl.12)]
*Your ability [Analyze] has reached level 2*
Finally thought Luke. [Analyze] had been at level 1 for way too long, though he supposed he hadn’t really used it much. Before he could spend too long thinking about [Analyze], the ten foot tall creature was almost upon them.
Everyone scrunched up their noses as it approached, the grey rotting flesh smelled worse than it looked. Emma looked like she’d puke at the sight of the disgusting creature but now that Luke had seen the hobgoblins, an undead troll looked kinda cute.
Jim was the first to attack and like always, his arrows didn’t do much. As Jim nocked another arrow, Luke shot a mana bolt at the monster. The troll released a hollow cry as it clutched its heavily bleeding gut.
“I’m so much better than the rest of you” declared Luke smugly as they all retreated.
His smug smile was soon wiped off his face when one of Jim’s arrows struck the troll’s chest and went straight through it, prompting another hollow cry.
“What the hell?!”
“Supercharged arrows, Luke. When in doubt, use even more mana” answered Jim with a grin.
“Can I borrow a spirit potion, though?” he continued.
“…”
In the time they’d been bragging to each other, the other three had already finished off the monster. Luke sighed at the disappointing amount of EXP.
*You have helped slay [Undead troll (Lvl.12)], 2400 EXP received*
“Do you think we receive less EXP for killing things under our level?” asked Jim.
“Definitely” muttered Luke.
The five of them continued their journey, taking out any zombies they ran into with ease. Soon enough, they reached a part of the woods that Luke had never been to before. Everyone stopped before the field of white flowers, feeling a sense of foreboding.
“I don’t think we should keep going” said Emma.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Let’s not be too hasty” said Luke, even though he felt the same urge.
“It’s cold” murmured Johnny as he rubbed his hands together.
“This could be magic, maybe something’s trying to scare us away” said Jim.
“Seems like it. The only question is if it’s weak or just can’t be bothered to fight” said Luke.
They waited at the edge of the field for a while, none of them dared to step inside. As time went on, the oppressive feeling of fear grew stronger and stronger. Luke was about to suggest that they leave when all of a sudden, Johnny used his claws to cut himself.
His blood was split on the ground and as soon as it touched the earth, a strong warmth spread out from it. Luke felt a hot gust of wind hit him, destroying the frosty fear that had crept up on him. The others looked at Johnny in shock and he grinned.
“I didn’t think that would actually work” he said with a laugh.
“What the hell does your bloodline actually do?” asked Matt.
“I don’t know, I just felt like something inside me was fighting against the cold” said Johnny.
“Alright, let’s go check this place out.” said Luke.
They stepped into the field, looking around cautiously as they did so. A few seconds later, the sense of fear returned but this time, Luke was able to shake it off. In fact, he received a surprising notification for doing so.
*+5 to soul, +3 to spirit*
*Gained Ability [Spiritual shield]*
Luke focused on the ability, to see if it was what he thought it was.
[Spiritual Shield (Lvl.1)]- A mighty body may resist a thousand cuts but a weak soul will still doom you… [Spiritual shield] allows you to resist attacks and intrusions of your mind and soul.
“Did you guys get the ability?” asked Emma before Luke could do the same.
They had all received it so they just nodded and kept walking. For the next ten minutes, the five of them searched the field without seeing anything unusual. Luke let out a sigh of frustration, he was just about done with this when suddenly, a thought struck him.
Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way he thought and activated [Spiritual sense]. His mana spread out, giving him a vague sense of his surroundings. The more he spread it out, the less clear his perception got. Things got duller and duller but eventually, something came into his “vision” that was extremely clear.
Luke gasped as he felt the entity watching them, it was dozens of feet away but its malice was palpable. The shadowy figure turned to look at him, sending a chill down his spine. Before he could do anything else, it shot out towards him, flying at an incredible speed.
Luke used [Cut] on the figure but unsurprisingly, his sword passed through it and did no damage. The ghostly entity extended its arm through Luke’s chest, making him shiver uncontrollably. It felt like he’d been stabbed by an icicle.
The phantom removed its appendage and was ready to stab him again but Luke shot a mana bolt at it and this time, his attack was effective. The strange creature flew back just as the others ran over to him.
“It’s here, you have to use spiritual sense” he said, trying to shake off the cold.
Jim and Matt both activated [Spiritual sense] and shocked expressions appeared on their faces. Unfortunately, Emma and Johnny didn’t have the skill and just looked around confusedly.
“You two should leave the field” said Luke.
The two of them obliged reluctantly, they weren’t happy about it but they saw the folly in fighting an enemy they couldn’t perceive.
“Physical attacks don’t work on it” said Luke as he observed the erratic movements of the phantom.
“I haven’t learned [Mana bolt] yet but I can blast my mana at it” said Jim.
“Can you do the same, Matt?” asked Luke.
“Even better. I learned [Mana bolt] today morning” said Matt with a grin.
Luke nodded and the three of them started walking towards the shadowy creature. As they got close, it stopped its strange movements and flew straight at them.
Luke, Matt and Jim each shot a blast of mana at the phantom but it dodged all of them. The figure was now right in front of them and extended its arm towards Matt but luckily, Luke was able to hit it with a mana bolt.
“That was close” muttered Matt as the phantom flew back a few feet.
Once again, it started moving about erratically. Luke, Matt and Jim watched it cautiously as it started to spin like a top. Luke charged up another mana bolt but before he could release it, the creature stopped spinning and shot into the ground.
As soon as it entered the earth, Luke could no longer perceive it. He finally decided that this thing was more trouble than it was worth and said as much.
“Yeah, let’s just go” agreed Matt.
The three of them walked over to Emma and Johnny and gave them the rundown of what had happened. As they talked about whether they should keep hunting or return to the village, the ground started to shake.
Luke turned towards the field, where a large sinkhole had appeared in its center. He had a bad feeling as he watched it get bigger and indeed, he was right to. A second later, a massive creature burst out of the ground.
Fuck around and find out, Luke. You really need to stop fucking around he thought to himself.
The thirty foot tall giant let out a ghastly wail. Its voice alone dropped the temperature to zero, Luke once again felt cold and scared. He took deep breaths, repeating in his head that the fear was just an illusion.
Luke was the first to recover and so, he was the first to attack. He shot a mana bolt at the creature’s leg but it only left a scratch on its scaly black skin. The giant was covered in such scales everywhere except its face, a face that was completely empty with no eyes, mouth or nose.
“Jim, shoot at its face!” shouted Luke, startling Jim out of his fear.
A few seconds later, an arrow struck the lower half of the giant’s face, making it release another horrid cry. Even in its weakest spot, the arrow didn’t do much. Their only saving grace was the fact that the dark giant was abysmally slow.
It had burst out of the earth half a minute ago, yet it was only a few feet closer to them. Still, that didn’t mean it was harmless. The creature raised its arms in the air before abruptly bringing them down. As soon as it did, a crushing weight descended on its five opponents.
It wasn’t a physical force, just a horrible sea of sadness. Luke fell to his knees with a gasp but he was doing far better than the rest. Matt, Johnny and Jim were shaking and shivering. Emma, who had the lowest stats, started sobbing uncontrollably.
As the creature drew closer and closer, Luke knew he had to do something. Once it reached them, their deaths were guaranteed but even that thought didn’t give him the strength to rise. He felt like a mountain of grief, hatred and fear was pressing down on him.
Happiness, love, warmth thought Luke. He tried desperately to think of those things to fight the sadness. As he thought about warmth, about campfires, pizza ovens and fireplaces, he felt something within him. The more he thought about warmth, the more he felt like there was a fire burning inside of him.
Luke could feel its heat, he could feel the tongues of flame warm up his body. The fire seemed to grow, it went from a spark to an inferno. The warmth and light washed over Luke, giving him the strength to stand up.
The dreadful giant was now just a dozen feet ahead. Luke didn’t know if there was any hope left but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. He stepped forward and used every last bit of mana he had to shoot a mana bolt at the creature’s face.
But it wasn’t a mana bolt, far from it. What shot out of Luke’s hand wasn’t an invisible rod of mana, it was a mighty sword of fire. The brilliant light flew towards the giant’s face and struck true. There was no scream, no struggle, no final attack. As soon as Luke’s fire hit the creature, it burst apart, turning into a cloud of ashes and smoke.
With its death, the crushing sadness disappeared. The others were brought out of their miserable states and started talking at Luke but he wasn’t paying any attention to them. He wasn’t paying any attention to the many notifications from the system either.
All he could focus on was the small fire floating on top of his finger, it was no bigger than a candle flame but it could hold all of his attention. There was just something about it that brought Luke an immense amount of joy.