CHAPTER 32: 32: MOONLESS WALK

The sky was black, the stars twinkling faintly, barely visible in the moonless sky. The moon was in its dark phase, casting no light on their path, making it difficult to see the road ahead.

The darkness of the night sky made the trees along the road look haunted and twisted as their branches reached toward the road, as if trying to grab their prey. Everything around them felt sinister.

Drake walked down the packed dirt road; his friends were close behind him. Their weapons were out as they made their way in the dark of night. The only light was the small lantern that was given to him less than an hour ago. It was the lantern of truth.

He didn’t know what all the little lantern could do, just yet. When he asked his system what it could do, it gave no response. It was as if he no longer had his system to help him. Drake knew he had to wait until he fought another beast to know for sure. He tried everything to get his system to respond. It remained silent.

Sounds of insects echoed through the night as Drake and his friends made their way past the clearing that led to the gargoyle’s lair. They didn’t want to stay anywhere near it. It gave them the creeps.

"Keep an eye out for a place to stay the night. I need it large enough to place the cabin," Drake stated quietly. He didn’t want the beasts in the forest to hear him. It was bad enough that they needed the little lantern to see. It was like a beacon in the darkness, letting beasts and bandits know exactly where they were.

Chad spoke softly, his tone subdued. "After we’ve been here for a while, I kind of thought it was cool. We were gaining awesome weapons with magical powers. Now I’m not so sure. You almost died, Drake. So did I during the battle at Draco Town. I don’t know how you saved me, but I would have died if it weren’t for you. I want to get this quest over with and go home. It’s much safer."

"I used a life token. I know I have two left. There was a total of three. They seem to be part of my system. When you were near death, it asked me if I wanted to save you. When I got stabbed, it never gave me the option. I don’t know why it didn’t. I haven’t been able to access my system since I got attacked by that assassin. I don’t know why that is either," Drake stated. "It would have been much easier to use a life token. It just never gave me the opportunity."

"Have you tried to use any of your powers?" Mike asked. He worried that if Drake couldn’t use his system, then he might not be able to use his powers either.

Drake held his emerald sword up, filling the blade with his soft green light. It filled the blade, causing the elegant runes to glow. "Yep, I can use my power. Just no system." Drake let the energy fade from his blade as they continued their journey.

"We need to make it a point to find a place for the night before it gets dark. This sucks," Chad complained.

Just as Chad spoke, glowing orange eyes appeared in the distance, not far from where they were. The beast was directly in front of them, and it was too dark to see. "Damn it, we can’t get a break," Mike complained, igniting the electrical current in his sword.

Drake looked at the approaching beast, letting his eyes glow brightly as he looked into the dark. He quickly looked around them, making sure there was only one. He even looked in the trees. There was nothing.

Chad pulled his bow, a white ethereal arrow forming. He shot it toward the beast. The beast dodged sideways, easily avoiding the arrow. A low growl echoed through the darkness the glowing orange eyes came closer.

Drake uncoiled his whip, filling its length with energy as the beast approached. He kept his sight active, seeing the outline of the beast. It was the same as the last wolf beast. "It’s a level 2 wolf beast like the one we fought near Draco. Be careful, the saliva is acidic," Drake warned.

Chad kept pulling his bow, releasing arrow after arrow, trying to get a hit. The beast kept dodging like the arrows were going in slow motion.

Drake slashed his whip, releasing the energy. The ethereal whip sliced through the beast’s thick fur. The thin metal blade of his whip followed, cutting long gashes through its maw. Acidic saliva dripped from the long fangs, dripping onto the road. Whisps of smoke billowed up as the acid burned patches of grass that were on the road.

The beast stalked closer, its head low as it growled. Blood seeped from the wounds where their weapons had cut. The blood glistened in the light of the little lantern, shining like stars.

As the beast approached, its taloned claws scraped the dirt. Mike thrust his sword, releasing its lightning blade. The bolt shot out from the blade and sped toward the beast, hitting it cleanly in the face. Blue current spread around the beast, making its body glow. The fur twitched with the electrical current, but it still moved forward, as if the electricity surrounding it was merely a nuisance.

Chad was still firing arrows in quick succession. Each arrow hit with precision, and the beast was too close for it to dodge the arrows. The beast remained unaffected as if the arrows were made of air. Realizing this, Chad pulled out his new sword.

Mike filled his own with white energy; unlike the electrical current, this one gave the blade a soft glow. The power sharpened the blade.

Drake raised his hand, forming his explosive whirlwind. As it flew, he willed it to hit the beast’s eyes. If he could at least blind the beast, they might have a chance. The whirlwind shot out of his hand, the fire growing as it flew. The spell made contact with the beast; it exploded. The beast roared in pain.

When the explosion subsided, the creature was unharmed. The only thing that seemed to do any damage was the whip.

Pulling his whip behind him, Drake filled the thin blade with razor-sharp energy. He swung it toward the beast as hard as he could. The beast howled in pain as the blade slashed, a large gash cutting through flesh and bone from eye to snout.

Playing on the momentum as the whip soared through the air, Drake slashed the whip again, a backhanded slash tearing through the air, the thin blade cutting through fur, flesh, and bone. The beast howled. Blood dripped from its eyes, the glowing eyes gone. The blade of the whip had taken out both of the beast’s eyes.

As the beast shook its massive head, unable to see its prey, Drake, Mike, and Chad ran forward, swords in hand. Their blades gleamed with light; Drake’s was an emerald green, the other’s a soft white.

Piercing the monster from all sides, blood spilled, puddles forming on the dirt. They didn’t stop, not until the light particles formed. The beast refused to die.

As they pierced its thick fur with their enchanted swords, the beast whipped its rat-like tail. It caught Mike in the chest, throwing him back. He slammed against the tree, knocked out. His sword fell beside him, the soft white glow fading.

Drake pushed power into his whip. His sword was already glowing a brilliant emerald green. With one hand, he stabbed down, aiming for the creature’s head; with the other, he slashed his whip. The ethereal blade sliced through the beast’s tail, severing it at its base. The metallic blade followed, hitting its hide. A thin streak of blood seeped through its fur; The orange patches of the beast, distorted with black blood. The orange veins of its taloned claws, fading.

Chad was stabbing at the beast, chipping away at the long gash on its side, trying to make it deeper. The hide was too thick, difficult to penetrate to get to the flesh below. Drake kept swinging, with each blow his elegant runes on the thin blade grew brighter, when suddenly. The blade went dark, and the beast glowed briefly before exploding in a rain of flesh, blood, and fur. The familiar light particles burst, cleaning everything of the beast as if it never existed at all.

{You have slain a level 2 beast}

{Strength +1}

As Drake was hearing the soft voice in his mind, Chad was running to Mike. Drake looked over at Mike, just as Chad reached him.

"He’s fine, just knocked out," Drake stated. "See if your sword can wake him. It’s too dangerous out here to be left vulnerable like that."

Chad bent down, pressing the flat of his sword on his friend, letting the soft glow of the blade do its work. After a few minutes, Mike shifted, slowly opening his eyes. He looked around. "Did we win?"