ALL NOVEL Chapter 27 – The hunt begins
Another long day of journey was coming to an end. Not much had changed in the environment, which made me wonder how big this place was.
Kaya, who was in the front leading the way, came to a stop. She looked around before turning to me and said, "I think we will stop here for today."
"Why? There is still light out. I think we can cover some more ground," I said. By the looks of it, I guess it was late evening, maybe six in the evening?
"Yes. We are close to the Labyrinth too, but beyond this point, we will be facing a lot of danger. Our best move would be to start the journey down to the Labyrinth early morning," Kaya said.
That is not a bad idea at all. "Alright then. You are the expert."
***
We cleared the ground and set up camp. As the darkness of the night grew, I felt the temperature drop. It felt good to embrace the warmth of the fire. The forest, however, was quiet, unusually so. There was no chirping of crickets, or hooting of owls, or the cackling of a fox. The surrounding darkness felt even more haunting.
"There are no usual sounds of the forest," I commented.
"Yes. With monsters prowling through these woods, your usual beasts don't like to make much noise. But if you are afraid, there is no need. I have scouted our surroundings, nothing will attack us for the night," Kaya said.
"Thanks. But I must ask. What is the story of the Labyrinth?"
"Story?"
"You know. Where did it come from? Who made it?"
Kaya looked at the fire as she thought for a good few seconds. "I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. It has been here forever. It just exists."
"Have Goblins always lived in it?"
"I guess. They are the only monsters, I know, to share territory with other monsters," Kaya said.
"They seem to be devilishly intelligent."
Kaya seemed to have found that amusing for some reason. "They are. Not unlike us humans... or you players..."
"Hey, I am a human too," I said reassuringly.
"Well... That is good to know." She turned back to the fire and fell silent.
There was a part of me that wondered if she hated me, just because I was a player. "Kaya. I have a question if you don't mind."
She looked at me curiously. "Go ahead."
"Do you hate us... players?"
"No. Nothing like that... But I can't deny that I am jealous... of your skills," she said, with a faint frown on her face. "I am just... upset that no matter how hard I try, I will never match to you."
It is quite odd hearing somebody say that. Usually, the player character is a part of the world. The occupants of the world never acknowledge that the playable character is different. But here, things are different. We have our own rules. This world feels like it was made to serve us.
She looked at the scar on the back of her hand and continued, "I am over forty monsoons old. I have trained every day of my life. Yet, a player who arrived just a few weeks ago can outclass me. I do not know if others feel this way. Maybe it is something that I need to come to terms with."
It is unfair how powerful we can get with our abilities, items, skills, and whatnot. "I get that. Privilege is something everyone envies. Back in my world, privilege came in the form of money. Everything and anything needs money. Everyone wants it, everyone needs it. But only a few can afford it. Others have to work their asses off to keep up with it."
"Sounds like a terrible place to be in," Kaya replied.
"It can be. From what I know, those who came here were done with their old lives. So, here they find themselves to be at the top, and well... when you have power arrogance follows. Most of the time."
"We are all the same, huh?" Kaya said. Her face was expressionless.
“Pretty much,” I replied.
I hoped my little story would bring a new perspective, but it didn’t seem to have had any effect. Maybe I am not cut out for these kind of motivational stuff.
***
We were up before the first rays of the sun struck the forest. Dense cold air flooded our surroundings, making me shudder every once in a while.
"You ready?" Kaya asked as she pulled the string of the bow back as far as she could before releasing it.
I exhaled and replied, "Yes."
Suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew past us. We looked up to the stars in the sky that had disappeared. "Rain clouds? When did they come?"
"The weather around the Labyrinth can be a little freaky. Don't pay much attention to it. Come on. Let's go."
Kaya proceeded deeper into the forest, and I followed. She was light on her feet and weaved through the dense foliage pretty quickly. I struggled to keep pace with her, falling behind every now and then. When I did, Kaya too slowed down, giving me enough time to catch up to her. She held her bow in her left arm with a steady grip, while using her right arm to clear the way forward if something stood in the way. Her fingers twitched constantly as if they had a strong urge to reach for an arrow and shoot.
I, meanwhile, focused on keeping myself calm and tried to clear my head of any thoughts. My stamina appeared to have improved quite a bit, though my speed and balance could get a little boost.
"How far are we from the Labyrinth?" I asked.
"Close. In a little distance, we will come up on a rocky descent. Once we get down and cross a small ruin, we will be at the entrance to the Labyrinth."
Kaya came to a sudden stop and quickly took aim at a bush in front of her. Out of it, several glowing eyes appeared followed by subtle growling. Wolves.
I placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "If you don't mind, could I take them on? I could use the XP."
She lowered her bow and turned back. "You sure?"
I simply nodded and she stepped aside. One... two... four... no. Five wolves appeared in the darkness of the undergrowth. I guess that is a full pack.
The wind picked up and trees swayed to the tune of the gust. The pack approached me carefully, their fierce eyes locked on to me. I pulled out my dagger ready to battle the beasts. The last time I fought them, Urvi was by my side. Her speed and strength outclassed the beasts. Though I knew Kaya wouldn't let even one lay their claws on me, I was still a little nervous taking them on my own.
I tightened my grip on the hilt as the first of the pack pounced on me. At that moment, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Its jaws opened wide, and its sharp claws spread out and ready to strike. I dodged to my left while rolling away from the beast. As it landed before me, I quickly drove the dagger into the side of its neck before dragging it up and through. The wolf howled in pain as it flew to its left and crashed onto the ground. This made way for the rest four beasts to gang up on me.
They were fast, but at the moment, it looked like I was faster. One after the other, they ran and leapt into the air, trying to bring down their teeth and claws onto me. I dodged their attacks with relative ease, waiting for the window where they tried to recover before landing a jab in their critical spots.
Two of them proved to be clever, avoiding my jab by either ducking lower when landing or breaking away from their attack just before landing them. My jabs also proved to be weaker than expected as it took multiple hits to put them down.
As I was caught up in the heat of the battle, I felt my Mana well grow hot. It filled my chest with energy which I redirected to my arms. Streams of the Mana extended through my arm and down to the blade. The blade then began to turn hot and glow red.
Three more of them, wounded from my previous jabs began to get desperate. They pounced on me and tried to bite me frantically. But this time, they went down with just one strike from a burning hot blade.
As the five wolves lay around me motionless, I fell onto my knees, breathing heavily. I exhaled when suddenly an arrow whizzed past me. I turned around to see a sixth wolf lying down on the ground soaking in blood.
"You missed one," Kaya said.
I nodded in response. "Time to move on."
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