Saiyan Gamer

Chapter 6: Great Escape

"Are you sure that you know what you're talking about?"

We'd been running through the cave for what felt like an hour before I spoke up. In front of me, Leeku strutted forward so quickly that it was as if she was gliding across the rock. At my question, she looked over her shoulder at me and rolled her eyes.

"Mostly," She said, while also increasing her speed.

"But what if it isn't real?" I asked. Meanwhile, I was practically running to catch up with her, with No Name was hot on my tail.

The idea of an escape did sound good right now, but being trapped, deep in a cave wasn't a great thought either. Granted, there was no way that Raphalos could fit in here himself, but those little Wyverns sure could. I didn't get a proper look at them, so I didn't know how strong they were, but I would bet stronger than a Meta-Wolf.

"If it isn't real, then we'll figure something out," She replied simply.

I didn't say anything in response, instead, using all of my efforts to run side by side with her. As we went, my eyes roamed the surface of the golden object in her arms, finally able to get a good look at it.

Its color was deep, rich gold, and it had strange markings on it that were the darkest shade of black that I'd ever seen. I wasn't sure if the markings meant anything, but they formed a mesmerizing pattern. Said markings looked as if they were engraved in the shell of the egg itself.

Heir of Raphalos

Extremely Rare

Description: A beautiful egg, which inside holds the heir to the throne of Atross. Because it is so early in its development, copious amounts of unstable energy surround the fletching Wyvern. If this egg is damaged before it's ready to hatch, the resulting explosion could wipe out a portion of Planet Plant.

The desire to take this egg back with us was squashed very quickly. I stared at it with a newfound understanding and fear. With uncertain eyes, I looked sideways at Leeku and then back down to the egg.

"I know that you don't believe in the words, but you have to listen to me when I say, do not break this egg!" I warned her seriously, only to be met with a rather irritated side-eye.

"Do you really think that I came all this way, just to break it? I'm going to die before anything happens to this egg!" She growled in response.

My ears began to pick up a sound after some more running. It was behind us, far, far, behind us, but I could hear something approaching. It was moving quickly, and behind it, many more followed. By the sounds of it, and the gentle rumble of the floor underneath me, whatever the main beast was, it wasn't nearly as big as Raphalos, and that gave me great comfort.

"Our time must have run out because they're following us," I told Leeku, who didn't look surprised.

"Looks like the tunnel does exist," She said, much to my relief. I looked around us as we came to a skidding halt, and two new paths came into view. We could either keep going straight or go to the left or right. Right would seem like the right answer, but considering that this 'straight' looking cave tunnel probably was going anything but in a straight direction, I wasn't sure.

"Which way do we go?" I asked as I briefly looked down both paths. They were completely empty and devoid of any helpful wall writings. They were both much wider than the tunnel that we were currently going down, and a little taller too.

"I'm not sure," She grumbled under her breath. After a few long seconds, she turned to me in desperation, asking, "Not saying that I believe in them or anything, but are your 'words' saying anything?"

"Not right now," I replied. "It usually tells me stuff. What we need right now is a map!"

Map Unlocked!

Mini-Map Unlocked!

I did not expect the giant map that appeared out of nowhere. It formed out of the rocks closest to me, taking up a large portion of space. Most of the map was unclear, but I could make out some things. On one side of the Great Divide, there was a large mountain. This map had it labeled Coronett mountain.

An entire mountain range was on the other side of the Great Divide, and that's where I saw a flashing, Saiyan-shaped marker, standing next to a Meta-Wolf-shaped marker. That's me…

Clearly, this map wasn't the entire planet, but it was big enough to cover between here and where we intended to return to. And according to the map, we needed to go left.

"We need to go left," I informed Leeku, who looked at me with a critical stare.

"So you're telling me your words are saying something now?" She asked, clearly unsure.

"And you're telling me you don't see the giant map on the wall?" I asked, this time a little hopefully. She didn't even give the wall a second glance, before turning away and looking down the left tunnel.

"Are you sure?" She asked sharply.

"They haven't been wrong yet," I informed her, before taking off down the left tunnel on my own. I knew that she'd follow, and even if she didn't, I didn't plan to be standing around when the Wyverns caught up.

She was running side by side with me a few seconds later. Before I could speak to her further, I noticed something in the corner of my eyes. Or rather, it was in an odd space that was just out of reach of my normal eyesight but still somehow insight. When I focused on it, I realized that it was a smaller version of the previous map. Mini-map...

However, despite being smaller, it was definitely more detailed. I could see the width of the cave and even Leeku next to me, although she didn't flash like No Name and I. Also, instead of being smaller versions of ourselves, No Name and I were now flashing green dots. Leeku was also a green dot, and all around us, in what looked like other sections of the cave systems, red dots were everywhere.

"Listen, I've been slowing down so that you can catch up, but if you pick up No Name, we can fly and go much faster," Leeku said, and I complied immediately. No Name didn't resist, comfortably hopping onto my back and laying across it as I flew horizontally down the cave tunnel.

Flying, obviously being faster than walking, meant that returning was a lot faster than our journey here. Flying as fast as we both were now, we'd make it back in a little less than an hour.

Unfortunately, half an hour into that, a large shriek called out from behind us.

I looked at the mini-map and saw a very fast approaching red dot. I barely managed to move out of the way before a large Wyvern tore past me, aimed at Leeku. She was much more flexible than me, curving her body to the side in time to dodge a sharp claw that would have definitely tore right through her chest.

The Wyvern's claws dug into the ground ahead of us, scrapping harshly until its large, purple body came to a screeching halt. It wasn't anywhere close to the size of Raphalos, but it was still bigger than twice my size, not including its wings. Its golden eyes were piercing and fast, moving from Leeku, to No Name, and then to me.

It looked to be thinking, much more so than the normal animal would. That was confirmed when it craned its head to the side and slowly turned back to Leeku, and began to speak.

"You've upset King Raphalos. I'm afraid that I'll have to relieve you of your miserable lives as a result," Its voice was clear and low; casual even. "Hand over the Heir and I'll make your death painle-"

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before!" Leeku growled in response. In the blink of an eye, the egg was on the floor behind her and she had two arrows drawn back on her bow, both shimmering in her pink energy. "Get out of our way!"

On my small map, I noticed another red dot speeding towards me from the same way that the bigger Wyvern came from. I turned down the tunnel in panic, quickly opening my mouth and shooting out a mouth beam at the roof. The roof collapsed partially, leading into a tunnel that ran above and away from us. Unfortunately, to my shock, it made it through just in time.

The beast was a little bigger than me length-wise, but its wingspan was massive. It was the same purple color as the other one, but immediately I noticed that it had a strange look to it.

It looked at me, and in its eyes, I could see it thinking too. It didn't have the same look that the other one had, of lurking intelligence, but it definitely was smarter than any random creature that I'd encountered outside. I held the sword in front of my body, while also staring at the beast and the words above its head.

Wyvern Hatchling

Level 11

HP - 2,566

Ki - 4,950

Power Level - 550

Born just hours ago, this Wyvern Hatchling was given the order to find the heir, and kill the thieves who took it. It is eager to fulfill its King's orders.

It is currently ready to kill you.

It doesn't have a lot of health. I scanned over it for a second, a smirk coming onto my face when I realized that I had a slight advantage. The cave wasn't very big, so the hatchling didn't have much room to maneuver in. Plus, they didn't have arms, so their sharp, blade-like claws were only on their feet, and on the edges of their wings. Said wings were far too big to use in this cave, so it didn't have many options on how to attack. Well, me on the other hand…

Jumping forward with a roar, I shoved my sword forward, aiming to pierce it right in it's chest. The creature moved left, but because of its size, my sword was able to cut it ever-so-slightly across the side of its body. Its scales provided a little bit of resistance, but not enough. I didn't have time to read the damage numbers before it shrieked and swung its body at me.

-30 HP

I swung my arm up in defense, taking the attack head-on. It was strong, but compared to being hit by Brussel and her friends, it felt like being tickled. I recovered from being knocked back quickly, sword ready for combat. As long as I dodge its claws and I'll be fi-

My eyes widened in alarm; the hair all over my body picking up in an instant. Something was coming. When I looked into the Wyvern's eyes, I knew that it was the cause. Starting from its chest, blue energy rippled and spread, reaching all the way down to the tip of its tail, before bouncing back up and heading to its head. When the energy arrived, it opened its mouth and-

I jumped to my left before the attack even went off, fearing for the worst. When I turned back to see it, my heart shivered in fear. A lightning bolt shot out of the Wyvern's mouth and in the direction that I'd just been in. It was easily bigger than my entire body, and when it hit the ground where I'd just been, the resulting explosion sent everything into chaos.

The floor all around me shook before the entire tunnel started to collapse. Underneath us, there was a larger chamber, and as we fell into it, my eyes snapped around in search of the Heir. Leeku was clearly preoccupied, because I found it slowly falling amidst broken crystal, and quickly flew over to it as fast as I could, catching it seconds before impact. . .

Rolling across the ground, I sprung to my feet, egg under one arm and sword in the other. Examine the new surroundings, I noticed that we were now in a much bigger area, so the Wyverns now had more room to maneuver and fly. Shit...

Slowly, dust scattered due to the explosion, making it difficult to see more than a foot in front of me. Thankfully, I didn't rely only on my sight. Closing my eyes, I focused on my hearing.

Behind me, somewhere further away, I could hear a battle raging. Leeku and the stronger Wyvern had moved their fight further away from us, I'm guessing so that they weren't fighting near the Heir. Close to me, I could hear No Name running around, probably looking for me. Most importantly, above me, I could hear the Wyvern hovering. It didn't attack me, so I assumed that it probably couldn't see me either. The same popping sound as before made an appearance, but I ignored it.

Carefully and silently, I flew up and behind it. It didn't attack me, and when I was close enough, I opened my eyes. I could barely make out it's shadow against the dust, but I took my chance and swung my sword down powerfully down at the hatchlings wing, hoping to cut it off completely. At the last moment, it seemed to notice and try to move out of the way, but it was too late.

I didn't manage to cut the wing off, due to the sudden movement, but I cut right into the thin skin and when it tried to escape, I dragged my sword downward, allowing the teeth to do their work and tear through a chunk of it. The creature fell from the air like a rock, hitting the ground so hard that the area shook.

The attack itself brought it to about half health, and as I watched it flail, its HP bar was slowly but surely going down, probably because its purple blood was gushing out of the torn wing like a tap. At the rate that it was going, it would die within half an hour, probably going unconscious before that.

The dust settled shortly after, and the Wyvern looked at me, its eyes frantic. The hair on my body stuck up and I immediately dodged to the right. An explosion rocked the cave again, but this one wasn't nearly as powerful as the last. I looked up at it in confusion, only to see that another blast was already waiting in its mouth. It's rapid firing!

I barely dodged the next one by rolling onto my back. The bolt whizzed over my head the moment that I moved, hitting the wall behind me with a thunderous clap. I rolled back onto my feet, ready for the next attack. However, this time when the Wyvern opened its mouth to attack, No Name came from behind it, running up its back towards its head. I watched in pleasant surprise as she slashed her claws into one of the Wyvern's eyes, before flipping off and skidding so that she was in front of me.

"Wow," I whistled, looking down at my growling partner. "Good girl."

The Wyvern, in its pain, reared its head and the lightning bolt of energy sailed way above my head, hitting the wall behind me. Rocks came tumbling down at No Name and I, but we dodged in time. I wasn't sure if I could survive being hit by one of those attacks, and I wasn't ready to find out. This fight has to end quickly!

No Name was running at the Wyvern from the left, so I flew at it from the right, its blind spot. It looked between us, not sure which one to engage, before turning to me and letting out another desperate shot of energy. I flew higher to avoid it, before coming down with as much power and momentum that I could manage. Swinging down at its neck, I was sure that it would cut right through.

Instead of cutting through its neck, however, its much thicker tail shot out of nowhere and blocked my path. My sword only made it halfway through the tail, before something hard halted its path. With a powerful swing, it whipped its tail towards the wall; sending me flying towards it without my sword. My skull sang upon impact.

"Damn…" I grumbled under my breath. Looking up, I watched as No Name tried to run up the Wyvern's body again, only for the Wyvern to swipe her off of its back, a second before she would have reached its head.

I thought back to the beast that Leeku had killed earlier, but more importantly, the way that it died. If I could use my energy the way that Leeku had, I'd be able to kill it with one hit, even if it does block…

Skill Unlocked!

Basic Ki Manipulation LV1 - You can now run your Ki through your body, with very little control. Due to your lack of control, you have no idea how to dial down how much energy you use in a single attack, or when shielding your own body.

Well that was e-

My body froze solid before I felt energy rushing through my entire body in a way that I'd never felt before. It was sort of similar to how I feel when flying but turned up to a thousand. My body vibrated and bounced, and my vision was tinted with orange. I can end this now!

With power flowing from every inch of my body, I flew up as high as I could, to the top of the expanded cave tunnel, before shooting down at high speeds down at the Wyvern, who simply snarled. That was its final mistake. I reared my fist as I bore down, swinging it once I was in range.

[Meteor Fist!]

It tried to bring its tail up to block me, but my fist went right through it like butter. I pressed onward until I felt the sweet crunch of my fist sliding into my enemy's skull and out the back of its head. The energy around my body immediately disappeared and I was overcome with the desire to sleep not even a moment later.

Enemy Defeated!

10,000 EXP!

Level Up! X2

12 Stat Points Awarded!

Stat Sheet

HP - 960

KI - 1584

Strength: 22 +

Endurance: 10 +

Charisma: 2 +

Intelligence: 10 [Basic] +

Available Stat Points: 12

Power Level: 224

Air rushed into me suddenly as I came back to the waking world. The cave around me was blurry and tinged with pink light. It took me a few seconds to actually wake up and realize that I was armpit deep in a corpse. With a newfound urgency, I stood up and yanked my arm out of the body.

"Sprout!" A loud voice next to me made me turn. It was Leeku, who was standing next to me looking relatively panicked. There was a large gash from under her left armpit down to her lower leg, and the blood from the wound soaked her clothes so thoroughly that I wondered if they'd been red all along. The fact that her left shoulder was no longer pinkish-white, but an ashy black couldn't be good either.

The longer that I looked over her body, the more wounds that I found. Once I managed to find my voice, I asked, "Are you okay?"

"It doesn't matter!" She hissed through her teeth. "Where's the egg?!"

"Oh…" I looked down at my arm, where I last remembered seeing it, before realizing that there was no way that I was holding it during that entire fight with the Wyvern. Where did it go?

"Sprout, if you lost the egg, I'll fucking kill you!" Leeku took a step towards me and glared daggers at me. She walked with a limp, but that didn't matter much considering that the egg was now missing.

"I didn't lose it!" I countered, not sure if it was a lie or not. I remembered something from earlier, quickly adding, "And it definitely isn't destroyed, or else we'd both be dead!"

"Sprout... Where. Is. It?"

I gulped loudly, before looking around for it. If it doesn't appear soon, she might just kill me...

It was while I was thinking about the egg intensity, that I heard the strange popping sound again, and weight suddenly shifted in my hands. I looked down at my hands, very surprised to see that Raphalos' egg was now in my arms. So that's where the berries really go...

"How did you…?" Leeku drawled slowly. When I turned back to her, she was staring at the egg with wide eyes full of confusion.

"I have no idea…" I answered truthfully.

"Can you do it again?" She asked.

I held the egg in one hand, before thinking about putting the egg wherever it just was. The popping sound happened again, and the egg just disappeared. Leeku glared at my empty hands for a few seconds, before putting a hand on her head and groaning.

"That fight really must have fucked with my brain…" She looked away from me and at a smaller tunnel near us. "Anyway, let's go before I pass out."

"Hold on!" I flew up slightly so that I could get better surveillance of the room. "No Name, where are you?"

On my small map, I could see her small dot in the room, near the corpse of the Wyvern. I was very surprised when a much bigger Meta-Wolf than No Name stood up and revealed itself from behind the body. In its mouth, it had a piece of meat clearly taken from the Wyvern.

"Okay, did your Meta-Wolf get bigger?" Leeku said in disbelief, now sounding a little dizzy.

I wouldn't have believed that the large Meta-Wolf was No Name if it wasn't for the fact that its sheet popped up after a second of me staring at her.

Partner Status Sheet

Name: [Undecided] [Previously, No Name]

Species: Meta-Wolf

Gender: Female

Reputation: Unbreakably Loyal

Age: 6 Months

Level: 8 (0/8000)

HP: 800

Ki: 1200

Strength: 20

Endurance: 10

Intelligence: 13 [Basic]

Available Stat Points: 0

Power Level: 240

Description: [Undecided] is a Meta-Wolf, a species that survives by devouring metal. Due to their diet, their fur is tough and shiny like armor, giving them extra protection. This also transforms their claws and teeth into metal.

While [Undecided] was once part of a pack that was ordered by her Queen to drag the parts of your ship back to their cave, she is now your loyal partner. She has grown much stronger, and smarter at your side, to which she is grateful.

She is currently happy because her entire outlook on the world has shifted, and also her increase in size, but annoyed because she was so starving that she had to resort to eating something non-metal.

"Wow…" I said as I examined her again after I read through her new sheet. Her name had changed, which was weird, but she was still the same No Name as before, but better. And it wasn't just her size that changed either. She made eye contact with me and I could feel something different than before. Like the Wyvern I'd just fought, she was smarter now.

"Alright, I'm going to…" Leeku's voice trailed off slowly, and by the time I looked over at her, she collapsed to the ground. I rushed to her side and lifted her up into my arms. She wasn't dead, her health bar said as much, but it was extremely low and lowering as time went on.

"Try this," I reached into nothingness and pulled out a Bizel Berry. I looked down at my small map for a split second, figuring out which way to go, before flying off down the smaller tunnel that Leeku had looked at earlier. Undecided, or No Name, followed behind me at a growing distance.

"What's…" She tried to speak, but her voice faded quickly. I shoved the berry down her throat and thankfully she had the energy to chew it.

I waited and waited, but her HP didn't go up. Confused, I reached for the next one and tried to put it in her mouth, but she closed her lips and wouldn't let me.

"Tastes…" She breathed slowly as she spoke. "Like shit…"

I grumbled under my breath, before putting it back where it was before. "I don't know why it isn't healing you but I'll get you home before you die, I promise!"

Without even thinking about it, I opened up my sheet and applied all twelve attribute points to the strength stat, knowing that it would increase how much energy that I had, which meant that I could fly faster.

With the boost in speed, it took me about fifteen more minutes before the tunnel ended. When I looked up, I noticed that where there would have normally been ground, there was something flat and metal. Without hesitation, I screamed up at it and my energy beam tore it to shreds, along with whatever was on the other end. Once my beam ended, I could see the sky above me.

I hoisted Leeku through the hole, before flying out myself. I realized immediately that this tunnel didn't bring us into the forest, or somewhere private. Looking around slowly, I saw several Saiyans, who were staring at me with various expressions on their faces.

Territory Alert!

You Have Now Entered Territory Ruled by War Chief Omato.

So this is Omato village.

They were all adults and looked more confused than angry, which calmed my nerves just a little bit. The town looked different than I imagined that it would, although I'd never actually given it much thought. It wasn't small for one, and the buildings varied in size, shape, and texture. Some were small, and some were large. Some were made with what looked like mud, others with some kind of red stone, and the rest were made with metal.

The three Saiyans that were watching me started to break out of their confusion. The one closest to me was an older woman, and she started to approach me. In response, I quickly turned and picked up Leeku, holding her close to me.

Chief Chef

Level - 15

Mareen

HP - 12,950

Ki - 8,662

Power Level - 1,050

Mareen has spent the majority of her life as a chef, even working as the primary chef for the War Council during the Tuffle-Saiyan war.

She is currently concerned for Leeku, and confused as to your behavior.

"Who are you, boy?" She asked me once she got close enough to speak without yelling. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my breathing.

I watched her muscles and her hands, trying to figure out if she was planning on attacking me or not. After a few seconds, she didn't look very threatening, and the words sunk in finally. She isn't going to hurt me.

"I'm…" I stumbled on my words for a few seconds, before managing to catch myself. "My name's Sprout. We were fighting some Wyverns and she got hurt badly."

Mareen took a step closer to me and put her arms out. I hesitated for a second, before gently giving Leeku to her. The woman smiled at me, which made me feel a little better about handing Leeku over before she took a step back.

"Thank you for bringing her back safely," Mareen said as she backed up some more. "I'll bring her to the medics. You'd better be off. I'm not sure what your sister would do if she saw you hanging around here."

I frowned at the statement, but I knew that it was true. I nodded my head at her, before leaving immediately after.

Flying through the air, back to my cave, the adrenaline of the entire situation started to wear off, to be replaced with an exhilarating tingle that ran down my spine. I couldn't force down the smile that broke out on my face. Despite all of the fear and craziness over the last day, the overruling emotion surging through me was pure pleasure. Just this one experience was more fun than my entire purge!

I returned to my cave, a new sense of drive in me. The time to relax was over.

Little did I know, those words would become more true than I ever expected.