"Finally, they give us rewards for quests." Kai said.
"If this is really like a game, aren't we supposed to get coins for the kills we made so far?" James reasoned.
"Maybe we have been receiving..." Koby drawled on as he sat on a tree branch and activated his windows. At the bottom left corner he saw it, the coin balance. He had accumulated fifty thousand coins. He guessed that they were from the shoggoths they had killed so he turned to the others.
"Check your windows for your coin balances."
They opened their windows as suggested by Koby and confirmed their coin balances. They could also view their available skills and equipments in inventory.
"You'd think that there would be an evaluation of strength, speed, and the rest." James observed.
"I suppose it's going to be easy leveling up as we thought." Kai said.
"Let's take note of the weapons we have." Koby said as everyone gathered together.
"We all have weapons besides Raya." James confirmed.
"It seems the system divided us into brawlers and casters." Koby suggested.
"Meaning I'm a caster?." Raya asked as she scrolled through her window.
"I think so. You should have skills though."
"I have only two healing skills."
"No offensive skills?" Kai asked.
" None at all." Raya still at her window.
"Run through them." Koby said moving towards Raya.
While Koby and Raya talked. Kai leaned on James as they watched them.
"You think we might survive this?" Kai asked.
"The odds are definitely not in our favor. We've been lucky but I don't think this was a right call." James said as he checked out the surroundings.
"We didn't actually have much of a choice. It was either this or be killed by a bunch of angry people at the mansion." Kai replied.
"Still would have taken my chances with the people. But we're already here, so let's get it over with." James said.
"Such emotion. I can feel the energy filling me up." Kai said sarcastically.
"I hate your sarcasm." James said as he held Kai's shoulder.
"I know." Kai said smiling as they watched Koby and Raya approach them to lay out the plans.
" We'll head east and we need to move fast. Time's not with us." Koby said as he looked at the timer for the next shoggoth attack.
"Why east?" James asked.
Koby answered by pointing at the smoke rising from the far east.
"That could mean anything. Bad or good." Kai said.
"And it's our only clue to getting out of here." Raya replied.
"Okay then but in less than thirty minutes, shoggoths are gonna crawl out of these holes and head in the direction of the mansion." Kai noted.
"Stating the obvious.- James said before turning to Koby- " We're not going to make it to that smoke in time."
"And what do you suggest?" Koby asked.
"We camp here on this tree branch. It's wide enough for us to take cover from the shoggoths seeing as they'll all be heading for the mansion anyway."
"Seems like a solid plan." Kai said.
"Is that sarcasm?" James side-eyed Kai.
"No, I actually think it's a solid plan." Kai smirked
"Okay then, let's do it." Koby said. With that they prepared themselves to spend the night on the tree branch.
As the time drew nearer for the shoggoths to spawn, Kai and James were resting while Koby was on guard duty. Sitting on the edge of the branch, Koby watched the forest. All seemed quiet, quiet enough to notice Raya moving towards him.
"Trouble sleeping?" He asked.
"A bit scared." she said as she sat next to him. He could see that she was more scared than she let on. The way she fidgeted with her and shook slightly at the mere sound of leaves rustling in the wind.
"It's understandable." Koby said as he watched the ground closely.
"Are you scared?"
"I'm terrified. I would be stupid not to be." he replied.
"How can you be so calm then?"
" I have to keep calm so as not to make a mistake cause that would cost us our lives. And I have responsibility of it since you all chose to follow me."
"Do you think we'll be able to get back home?" Raya asked looking at the night sky. It was a beautiful night. The forest made it look dreamy, besides the fact that it was still a death trap.
"Forgot to feed your cat?" Koby joked trying to ease the tension.
"Mr Snuggles can survive. He's fat but tough, also my mum is with him." she laughed.
Koby paused for a while before responding.
" I don't know if we'll make it home. But I do know that whatever surprises we come across, we'll face them together." he said as he faced her.
Just then a shriek was heard. The time limit had been reached and the shoggoths were now on the move. They came out in hordes from the holes in the ground. Koby quietly signaled for Raya to go alert the others while he brought out his hatchets. Everyone was up instantly, as predicted the shoggoths didn't notice them up in the trees as they were all charging in the direction of the mansion as if programmed.
They all held their breath as they watched with fearful eyes. By now most of the hordes had already moved towards the mansion with some strays lurking around the forest. Cold seering fear gripped everyone and then, Raya felt something liquid and sticky drop on her shoulder. She brushed it off as just water from leaves or maybe sap. The slime then started dropping steadily on her arm, it no longer felt like water. Raising her head up slowly, her gaze met the most terrifying creature she had ever seen.
It emerged like a nightmare peeled from the earth itself—an enormous serpent, easily the size of a house, its body coiled and uncoiled with the slow menace of something that knew it could kill without rushing. Its head, shaped like that of a dragon, was crowned with jagged, bone-like ridges that swept back like natural armor, each ridge stained with old blood and chipped from ancient battles. Two glowing slits served as eyes, burning with a deep, hateful intelligence—this creature wasn't a mindless beast. It knew what fear was, and it enjoyed feeding it.
Its jaw opened slowly, revealing twin rows of curved fangs, not just for biting, but for tearing, sawing, breaking. A thick, viscous venom dripped from its fangs, hissing as it hit the ground, burning holes into the dirt. The stench that came from its breath was a vile mixture of rotting flesh and something older—something unnatural, as if death itself clung to its tongue.The scales covering its body were like slabs of dark iron, layered and rough, etched with scars and cracks that told stories of ancient wars and things it had outlived. Each time it shifted, the sound of its body grinding against itself was like boulders scraping together, and the ground trembled beneath its massive coils.
Its tongue flicked out, long and forked, tasting the air with a sickening eagerness. And then it hissed—a deep, bone-shaking sound that vibrated through the air like thunder trapped underground. When it bared its fangs and surged forward, it didn't just move—it lunged like a strike of darkness itself, a force of nature that had no reason, no mercy, and no god to answer to.
Raya held onto Koby's arm tightly, which caused Koby to turn to face the giant predator. Fear instantly engulfed him, causing him to forget about the threat of shoggoths temporarily.
"Move!!" James shouted as he dragged Koby and Raya out of the way, dodging the serpents strike by mere inches.