"Anyway, we still have a long journey ahead of us, so let's get a move on!"
Both Nickoli and Faith cheered nonchalantly, clearly not wanting to move any further but knowing they had to.
We were able to quickly put out the fire that was still going by Faith simply stepping on the small flames that were still left. We each grabbed a piece or two of the tac fruit we love eating for the past five days or so. My goodness, it feels like a month has already passed with the troubles we are having in this new world.
We trudged along, wanting to rest but knowing we have to make use of the sunlight, as we can actually see where we are going compared to it being pitch black at night. Then again, it has been pretty cloudy at night for the past couple of days, so that might be a reason why it's like that.
The trip, as always, was uneventful. Only small groups of monsters attacked us, which, while they were a potential threat when we first arrived, now died rather easily for us approaching level 25. I have begun to absorb the remains of the monsters that were non-tac, of course, mostly just in case we can use them down the line.
However, the trees were starting to become sparse, with rarely any trunks of some being left unremoved. While the trees were not sparse enough for it to still be considered a forest, it was definitely starting to become more open in some areas.
This does mean, however, that some settlement of sorts is nearby. This is both good and bad. They could be friendlier compared to the other small village we found, however, they could also have the same attitude as them and try to fight us. While we have gotten stronger, the encounter with the lizard men showed how we can only win if we outnumber the enemy.
"I assume you are all thinking the same thing I am," I announced to the other two while walking alongside them.
"Huh, what?" Nickoli stammered out, confused inside his tankette.
"Yeah, I was just wondering when you were going to bring it up," Faith snarkily responded.
Again, Faith with that bitchy attitude. I really have to confront her about it down the line whenever we are not being pressured by potentially being captured.
I gave a small sigh before continuing, "There is most likely a settlement nearby."
At the same time, Faith said, "We are being followed."
"Wait, what?" we both said, confused.
"What do you mean we are being followed?" I asked Faith with a small tone of panic.
"So, are you going to explain what you brought up or?" Faith asked nonchalantly.
"I was, but it seems like we have more pressing issues than I thought," I shook my head before continuing, "Explain."
"You first," Faith said smugly.
"This isn't the time to be joking. This is life or death," I told her rather irritably.
She just stopped walking and crossed her arms. She clearly wasn't going to tell me anything before I explained.
"Fine," I said with an exasperated sigh before explaining, "While at first, I took the lack of trees may be due to a change in the environment, it now looks like someone is purposely cutting them down and has not had enough time to remove the trunks. Which means that most likely a settlement is nearby."
She gave me a skeptical look, but she uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips.
"Are you happy? Now tell me who or what is following us," I asked her, annoyed.
"Well, for the last day or so, we have been followed by something, not sure what, but it's a group of things. Even now, they are following us. It's just that they keep their distance during the daytime. They become bolder at night, as I can see shifting figures in the dark darting from place to place," she explained.
"I see… Wait a minute, they have been following us for the last day, but you have not told us?!" I exclaimed.
"I assumed you also noticed, so I didn't bother telling you," she said with a shrug.
I gave her a dumbfounded look before asking her another question, "So, are the lizardmen coming back with friends this time to take us down or?"
"No, no, it's not the lizard men. It's something else. There are also more of them," Faith continued explaining.
Again, her withholding this amount of information is just stupid. We could have been attacked at night without any warning of what is coming after us.
"What or who is trailing us?" I asked her.
"No idea. The night sky being covered in clouds isn't exactly helping either," she explained.
Well, she does bring up a good point. I was not able to notice anything moving or shifting in the night. She must be used to the dark environment, but still, she should not expect all of us to be that adept in that category.
"Whatever, the real question is why they have not attacked us yet," I said.
"Well, it's more likely they are assessing our strength before attacking. After all, a hunter won't go after prey that is stronger than them, especially a group of them," she explained.
"I see… Do you have anything to add, Nickoli?" I asked him.
I turned to see him peeking out of his tankette, clearly shaking a little. Judging from his reaction to this information, I can assume he did not notice it as well.
"I'll take that as a no. So, do you think they will try anything then?" I asked Faith.
"Probably. I mean, we aren't particularly strong, and I have not seen them yet, so I can't really see what they are capable of or how many there are exactly," she said while shaking her head.
Well, this kind of throws a wrench in our plans. While we could continue traveling, we usually end the day very tired, so fighting this mysterious threat won't be good to do while exhausted. That, along with the fact that we may come across more guards or lizard men (still not sure if they are similar), would just complicate things even further.
"Are you thinking of an amazing plan now, General Alex?" Faith mocked.
"Shut it, and yes, for your information, I did. I think we might have to change our direction and pace. As I don't think heading towards a settlement will do us any good, and with these monsters or people trailing us, I think we should handle them first before doing anything else," I explained to both of them.
After a bit more explaining, I was able to give them a rough idea of what we were planning to do. We were first going to switch up our path and no longer head towards wherever we were originally going, as the settlement would just add unnecessary troubles. Next, we would slow down our pace so that we would not end up too tired by the time nightfall arrived.
That way, hopefully, we would be able to fight whatever comes at us at night, if they try to. That, in turn, would have to make us stay up all night, which again is not optimal, but it is what we might have to do.
We continued on, now heading to a more forested part of the forest we were in. While I did have that anxiety at the back of my head, wondering if a faraway tree branch snapping is just a random monster wandering by or the pursuers, either way, I knew I would probably not sleep due to it.
After moving for practically the whole day, we decided to rest by a group of three trees that were close together. Not much was said other than the question of who was eating most of the tac fruit, which I was pretty sure was Nickoli, but it's not like it affected us that much anyway.
I got some sticks and other flammable stuff so that Faith could light it with her special lighter of sorts. She never did answer my question on why it was so important, but the mystery to it is alluring, I will admit. The symbols on the sides also pique my curiosity, but I'd rather not take my chances on asking to see it.
We did try a while back to heat up a tac fruit to see if it would taste better if it was hot or cooked. It did not taste good at all. I can say that with confidence, considering Nickoli began to throw up after one bite.
Anyway, returning to the present, not much has happened a couple of hours into the night. Nickoli decided to sleep instead of staking out like me and Faith were. However, the longer this drags on, the heavier and more tired my body feels.
I've done all-nighters, don't get me wrong, but I mostly just stayed still in one place, not walking around looking for any potential attackers. However, even if I tried to sleep, my mind would not want me to with the lurking threat of these monsters.
To our luck, the environment got much worse after a bit.
"Well, isn't this amazing? Now I'm tired AND wet," I exclaimed, irritated.
"Well, we can't do anything about it. If anything, this helps you stay up," Faith remarked while she looked at the struggling fire.
Well, she did have a point. While some areas near the trees were relatively dry, the fire was not having it as it began to be put out by the rain.
"Do you, by chance, have a weapon form to illuminate the area?" I asked Faith sheepishly.
"Nope, guess we will have to go dark for this," Faith said while she put her hood on her robe.
"That isn't exactly reassuring. I don't have that night vision you apparently have," I responded.
"Well, it isn't supposed to be. And also, I don't have night vision. It's just that after being in the dark for a good part of your life, you get used to it," she responded with a nonchalant shrug.
Guess it's like I guessed. I guess probably staring at a computer screen every day after school doesn't exactly do you any good, huh? Well, either way, this is bad, as now those hidden figures might use this opportunity to strike.
As the last few embers of the fire went out, I was filled with a small sense of dread, as we might be attacked. To my surprise, nothing happened for a while. Nickoli did not wake from the rain as he decided to sleep inside his tankette for once.
I was tempted to wake him up, though knowing him, he would most likely say to wake him if something comes up, that lazy bum. Whatever, I can handle it later.
I was not exactly sure what time it was, as the moon was nowhere to be seen among the dark clouds pouring rain on top of us. I can assume an hour has passed since the fire went out, with only the sound of the rain pattering on us and the ground being heard.
While beforehand, I was wielding my Konus anti-armor rifle so I could get some practice in, I decided to switch to my Ore viper submachine gun, as I had more experience using it.
I know power is a large factor in deciding a fight, but experience also matters, and I trust myself using my submachine gun more than my heavy recoil and hard-to-aim rifle. Either way, this submachine gun, while practically a machine pistol, does increase my mobility a bit, as shown by my sparring with Faith and my handling of the rifle slowing down my movements.
"So, Faith, what do you think our chances of surviving are?" I asked her sheepishly, breaking the long-held silence we had.
I saw what I assumed to be her figure turn around and respond, "Well, that depends if Nickoli wakes up, but as long as we are not heavily outnumbered, I say we have a pretty decent chance."
"I see, so should I wake him up or?"
"No, let him sleep. You and I are competent enough to hold our own," she said as she turned around again.
"Was that a compliment?" I asked her questioningly.
She just continued to walk around, ignoring my question entirely. Well, not like I can blame her, well, I can, but still, this weather and circumstances would make anyone dreary. Also, the fact that the small group of monsters that do attack us at night have not done anything yet is also worrying.
However, it became ever so apparent when I heard the sound of a howl in the distance. Not the same as the one I heard before, this time louder... almost as if it was nearby. My suspicions were confirmed as I heard the sounds of the leaves and some of the shrubbery rustling through the patter of the rain.
"Hey, uh, Faith, have they done this before?" I walked up and asked her anxiously.
"No, this is the first time they announced their presence. I can guess that they are planning something soon," Faith remarked.
"I see, are you sure we don't need to wake Nickoli?" I asked her, feeling worried.
"Probably not. We don't want them to open the hatch inside his tankette and attack him, now do we?" she said before returning to patrolling around.
Well, earlier she did say to keep him asleep, but I guess the howl did at least make her consider that we might need the extra help.
I hurriedly shuffled over to where Nickoli's tankette was, and I began to shake it. It was surprisingly light as well, probably because it has similar properties to my weapon, being very lightweight. No response, I guess I'll have to resort to something more direct.
I opened the hatch and pushed his tankette a little over to where the rain fell. As expected, the rain was able to wake him up easily.
"Huh! What... What's going on?" Nickoli said in a groggy panic.
"We might have danger incoming, so I woke you up so you would be ready," I responded.
He closed the hatch before responding, sounding irritated, "You could have just yelled at me or something to wake me up."
"Well, if I did, then the monsters or whatever they are might attack us," I explained.
There was a moment of silence as he seemed to understand and did not push the issue further.
"Anyways, just keep an eye out and don't fall asleep. I don't like the look of things," I said before walking back to where Faith was.
She turned her head a bit to face me, the sounds of what previously was dirt now turning into mud sloshing under my feet.
"Did you wake him?" she asked me.
"Yeah, I did. Anything new?" I asked her.
"I mean, other sounds of movement a little bit away from here, nothing direct. I can assume that they are probably going to take their chances on attacking soon," she said while crossing her arms.
Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of Nickoli's tankette rolling next to us, and he promptly asked, "So where are these monsters or whatever?"
"A small distance away, probably near that tree somewhat far away," Faith said while pointing at a semi-faraway figure that looked like a tree.
"What time is it, anyway?" Nickoli said while giving a small yawn.
"No idea. The only real indicator of the time is the wave counter, which, now checking it..."
[Willowing Fields: 18:22:12:40]
"Well, a couple of hours have definitely passed since I..."
"Shush," Faith said, lowering her voice.
"Huh, what?" I asked, confused, only to be interrupted by Faith before I could continue.
"Do you hear that?" she said while she seemed to be concentrating.
"Hear what?" both Nickoli and I asked, confused.
"I hear movement... but it's different than before," she continued.
"In what way is it different?" I asked, still pretty confused.
"It's almost as if..."
Now, focusing on my surroundings more, I did hear the sound of something... something moving, but different. It was almost as if it was sneaking up on us. But from where? That's the question.
However, suddenly Faith grabbed the small biplane on her back, then turned around and began shooting its pellets with the small turret on it right behind us.
"What the... What are you doing?!" I asked in a panic.
However, my question was soon answered by the sounds of the pellets hitting something, followed by fast movement straight toward us. Right as that happened, more movement was heard where we were originally facing, also sounding like fast movement towards us.
"Oh shit, everybody get ready for combat!" I yelled out before aiming my weapon straight ahead.
I couldn't make out where these enemies were, but I could see some dark figures beginning to close in. So I did what any sensible person would do in my situation, and I began firing in small bursts at them. Nickoli followed by shooting his tankette cannon. It was loud, but I had gotten used to it by now.
The figures coming at us did not waver, as they just began rapidly changing directions to avoid the attacks. Some did connect, though with little effect. Before I could continue, I heard growling behind me. I turned to see a wolf-like monster leaping straight toward Faith.
However, being nimble on her feet, she was able to quickly dodge. The wolf-lookalike turned around and bared its fangs at us, but it did not continue attacking. I was confused at first; however, it was explained when the figures, numbering four, finally got close enough for us to get a good look at them.
There were five wolves, bigger than the wolves I remember from where I was. They were up to my neck in height, with the one that attacked Faith being larger than the others. So I assumed it was the leader or something. Either way, they seemed to be preparing to pounce, now that they were all together.
"Alright, Nickoli, handle two. I can handle two more. Faith, take care of one of them, then help whenever you're done!" I commanded both of them.
"Roger that," Faith obliged.
"Alright," Nickoli responded.
Right as they finished responding, the wolves leaped at us, three of them targeting me and the other two attacking Nickoli and Faith, respectively.
I was able to move to the side to dodge one of them; however, the other two then followed up, with one ramming into my legs, sending me flying backward as I rolled, trying to recover.
"Shit!" I got up while holding my chest, as the hit knocked the wind out of me.
I had no time to rest, as the wolves continued their assault, with one of them attempting to bite my face off. I aimed at the one attempting to bite me, unleashing a flurry of bullets into its exposed mouth. It seemed to have worked, as the leader wolf quickly moved back, seemingly to recover.
His other two friends, however, were now closing in, dashing towards me.
"Hey, there are three of me. Someone get one's attention!" I yelled in a panic, as I prepared to dodge once again.
I aimed in, while the weapon lacked sights, there wasn't much to aim for as the enemy was heading straight toward me. I shot more bursts in quick succession at the wolves closing in on me. They seemed to have little effect as they continued their charge.
They leaped at me again, attempting to bite or slash me with their claws, but I narrowly evaded. However, the leader—the one that I shot inside its mouth—seemingly predicted where I was going to dodge. It rushed behind me and delivered a slash across my back with its claws.
In a panic, I turned around and began to wildly shoot at the attacking wolf, which made it back away again.
"Fuck... Backed into a corner," I swore to myself as I recovered a little, facing back to the other two wolves who were coming back for another round.
I felt the aching feeling of my now bleeding back, with the warm sensation of liquid, presumably blood, flowing down my body. I was panicking. It was three against one, and I was barely holding out. At this rate, I'll get caught off guard.
Right as I finished the sentence, the two wolves returned and attempted to slash at me. I was only able to dodge one, as the second slash grazed my left arm. They didn't stop, as one of them attempted to bite me again. I was able to dodge, but I felt my movements beginning to slow down from the injuries.
While I was tolerant to pain and able to endure a good amount, thanks to soccer, after a certain threshold, even if I didn't want to, my body would begin to give out. I'm pretty sure I'm approaching that threshold, especially with my slow movement.
My saving grace came from Nickoli. He was able to take out his wolf and was now firing on the pair that was directly attacking me. One of them turned around and rushed towards him, while the other refocused on me. I took the opportunity to gain a little more distance between us.
I aimed my weapon at the wolf... actually, I never really checked their proper name, so let me just... Focusing on the wolf more intently, a name appeared above its head.
Dire Wolf
I wasn't given much time to dwell on its naming choice, as it began to charge directly at me. In response, I began to shoot a flurry of bullets at the Dire Wolf. While my aim still needed practice, a good amount hit it, but it didn't appear to do any apparent damage.
The wolf then leaped at me again, trying to slash me. This time, instead of dodging, I had a risky idea. I changed my weapon form to the Konus Anti-Armor Rifle and held it like a staff to block. Surprisingly, it worked, and I was able to block the initial slash. However, like most clashes, I began to be pushed back.
The Dire Wolf used its hind legs to push me backward, forcing me to try to dig my feet in to hopefully stop its advance, but to no avail. The mud wasn't helping either, making it really slippery and hard to get a grip on the ground without slipping.
"I swear I'm getting déjà vu..." I grunted out between attempts to stop the wolf's push, trying to make light of the situation.
However, to my right, I was able to see the other wolf—the leader that slashed my back—now returning to try to finish me off.
"If things couldn't get any worse."
I had another really dumb, risky idea, but anything would work at this point.
I moved one of my hands to the trigger of the rifle and waited for the other wolf to get closer. Right before it was about to jump at me, I pulled the trigger, launching the rifle to the right from the recoil. The wolf that was pushing me was caught off balance, so it released its grip on me.
Using the momentum, I moved alongside it, pushing forward with all my remaining strength to slam the butt of the rifle into the head of the rushing wolf. The hit seemed to have concussed the wolf, as it stopped completely and fell flat onto the ground.
The adrenaline was now pumping through my body again as I felt my muscles feeling just a little better, probably numbing the pain of my previous injuries. I quickly turned the rifle on the wolf that had been attempting to claw at me earlier and began firing at it.
While normally I could only fire one shot before needing a few seconds to recover from the recoil, this time, I was somehow able to miraculously hold the weapon recoil down by tightly gripping it and firing every second or so.
The wolf tried to turn and run, but I continued firing, my shots now seemingly always landing. It was able to get away as it ran into the darkness of the night. However, the battle was not over yet.
The concussed Dire Wolf began to recover, trying to get back up. However, I was having none of it as I stomped on its head, slamming it to the ground. I changed my weapon form to the Viper Body Submachine Gun, then pressed the muzzle against the wolf's head.
While normally you would never catch me as a person who hates animals, at this moment, I will say I had a burning fury against these wolves. As I held down the pistol and continuously fired into the wolf's head, it yelped in pain and struggled, but eventually stopped.
It was a good five seconds of just gunfire before my hand, holding down the weapon's recoil, gave out. I backed away from the wolf, a visible hole seen where I had been shooting. There was no time to dwell on it as I had to help the other two. I began moving back toward where I heard the sound of Nickoli's Tankette.
I got close enough to see the bodies of the two Dire Wolves that had tried to attack him near him, presumably dead.
"Looks like you have it handled here," I said, impressed.
"Yeah, not much they could do as long as I held the hatch down to not let them in. They did somehow leave some scratches and bite marks, though they are pretty shallow and only hurt a little. What about you?" He said before turning to face me. "You don't look so good."
"Yeah, I got scratched a little. Don't worry about it," I said, looking at my now bleeding left arm.
"A little? You're bleeding pretty badly," Nickoli said with a tone of worry.
"Yeah, I'm alright, I think... Let's just help Faith," I said, heading towards where she was last spotted.
I arrived first compared to Nickoli, who had to use his slow tankette to move. I heard yelping and struggling as I moved towards it. I found Faith somehow riding atop the Dire Wolf while simultaneously shooting it by pressing the turret of her biplane onto it.
The wolf was trying to attack her, but couldn't, which made it look sorta like she was bull riding.
Nickoli pulled his tankette next to me before saying, "What are you doing? Are we not fighting?"
"I'd rather not risk Faith getting hurt, plus she seems to have it under control," I explained. Looking at the Dire Wolf she was riding, it began to slow down.
It eventually stopped trying to jump around before collapsing onto the ground, presumably dead. She then got off it and began to dust off her robe before noticing us and walking over.
"Looks like you two survived," she then turned to face me directly. "You look like you barely survived, however."
"What do you mean? I'm perfectly-"
I felt my knees start to give out as my injuries began to ache worse and worse. I think that's a sign that the adrenaline numbing the pain was wearing off.
I managed to catch myself before I fell. Trying to stand up straight hurt pretty badly, but I was able to manage for now.
"Alright, I think that's all of them. One of them did run away; however, they are badly injured, so I doubt they will try anything," I grunted out before continuing. "I need to lay down somewhere. I'm going to where the fire was."
"Alright then, we're going to go get these new weapon forms from these wolves. Want some?" Faith asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get them on the way," I said, while beginning to limp back to where the fire was.
"Are you sure you don't want a healing potion or something to drink?" Faith asked me as I was moving away.
"Oh, right. Yeah, please," I responded.
She ran up next to me and handed me a potion that I assumed she took out of her inventory or storage or whatever. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket for now. I'll drink it once I sit down somewhere to rest.
She walked away, and I resumed walking toward where the fire used to be. We had all gotten pretty far from where it was due to the fighting, but not too far luckily. Speaking of which, I brought up my menu and checked my level, and sure enough, I had somehow reached level 25 from those wolves. I wasn't sure how much experience each one gave, and I didn't really care. It kinda reminded me of playing those mobile games on my phone.
Oh shit, my phone. I slightly panicked as I checked my pockets for my phone. Luckily, it was still there and seemingly undamaged. I guess the bulkiness of the case led to it being lodged inside my pocket. Still, though, I really have to be more careful. I can't have it breaking now. Kind of sad that I prioritize the phone over resting after a battle, but I care at this point.
Checking my status, I could see my health was pretty low and slowly ticking down. Hopefully, this healing potion will help me. I decided to hurry up and get the monster materials from the Dire Wolf on the way, which unlocked a new weapon form.
Dire Wolf Submachine Gun LV 1
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +5 Agility
Equip Effect: Night Vision (Weak)
[O,O]
Switching to the form was different than normal. Firstly, the weapon seemed to resemble an Uzi with some distinct features added. The most noticeable of which was the mold of a wolf's eyes and ears on its muzzle, which was pretty cool.
However, the other thing was the night vision. When I equipped it, everything seemed more clear. I couldn't explain it very well, but I could see clearer in the dark. While not pure night vision, it was definitely useful.
There was no time to dwell on it as my body began to ache, so I headed to where the fire used to be, which, maybe as a sign of good grace from the world, the rain started to let up. I was too tired to complain about the muddy ground, so I just leaned my back against the tree and waited for the others to arrive.
I grabbed the potion out of my pocket and chugged it quickly, letting the strong flavor affect me. The aching felt a little better but was still evident, though now it felt sort of comforting beyond all the pain in my body. The rain was starting to almost stop but not enough to keep me awake, but more to calm me. I could feel my body involuntarily beginning to shut down as I felt my eyes start to close.
I was able to whisper one last thing before falling asleep.
"Let's just hope that tomorrow I can get a full night's rest."
End of Chapter 8
[Other World Index]
[Vassal Tank Stats]
The Vassal Tank has nearly the exact opposite stat specialization compared to the Vassal Plane. The Vassal Tank specializes in high health and defense alongside strong attacks. The one downside however is its lack of mobility and fire rate, which makes it the slowest out of the trio of heroes.
Authors Note:
Hello everyone, this time more action followed Alex and co as they continue their travels to level up. Alex finally reached level 25 and unlocked a new weapon form from the wolves that ambushed them. Again I'm working on improving my writing skills as I go so please bear with some issues you might spot. Be sure to come back next week to see where the trio ends up next!