"Come on, guys! We can do it!"
"Archie! To your right!"
"I need a heal! Where's our support?!"
"YAAAH!"
Gortum Fields. The lush green grass moves with the gentle breeze, making the land look alive and breathing. People of all ages and power tiers run around, chasing their targets or being chased in turn. Government issued guards patrol the landscape, chatting and laughing at the newer visitors to the Outer Lands, reminiscing of the days when they were exactly the same as them.
Emily and I have already been here for a couple of hours, hunting the armoured rabbits near the neighbouring forest. Not unlike humanity, animals have also developed powers of their own - some more dangerous than others - the characteristics of which seeming to change with every new area one visits. DOLA makes use of the communications network on our MVIs to keep Supers, students and trainees alike up-to-date with the latest information regarding anything outside of The Wall.
My own MVI is currently set to broadcast any news updates regarding Gortum Fields. Part of being a Super is always being prepared for the worst case scenario. Normally, during party raids, MVIs would have live communications connected at all times. If there is already a map outlining of the area that the party is raiding, then every member of the party will have it showing on their holographic displays.
Gortum Fields is a fully explored area, with half-hourly patrols going both up and down the landscape, and has been rated at the lowest of Danger tiers: DT-1.
Although not always completely accurate, Danger tier ratings act as a guide for Supers venturing into the areas. As the rated number increases, so does the level of difficulty that a Super may face increase. Currently, the highest rating for any area - fully explored or not - is DT-8. There are three such areas: Typhoon Peaks, a mountainous area to the far north of The Wall, Lake Trident, an underwater ruin to the south east of The Wall, and a seemingly man-made structure to the far east of The Wall, what the DOLA has named the 'Dark Lord's Castle'.
Emily's dagger punctures the rock-hard armour of the rabbit, one she had already knocked unconscious before, dealing the killing blow. "I'm done over here, Marc. Do you wanna stop for a bit?"
"Up to you," I chuckle in reply, bleeding another armoured rabbit to take back with us into The Wall. "I'm already used to following everyone else's pace. It's not often the other party members will ask me if I'm tired or not."
"Then let's go rest over there," Emily says, pointing to the slope not too far from where we are. "We'll be able to see any monsters coming easily!"
"Good idea, Em," I say, securing the bag of rabbits that we had hunted. "I'll race you there! No chea-- Hey!"
Before I can even take one step forward, Emily Rushes ahead of me. Though, I can't help but forgive her. As soon as I see her innocent and carefree beaming face, when she turns around to laugh at me from atop the slope, I blank out. In my mind, I know that I don't have the time and money to be falling in love with anyone, but the green fields, bright sunlight, and the gentle breeze waving through her pink hair only accentuates her most charming points.
"You know," she mumbles, chewing on her meat jerky rations. "As soon as university starts, I probably won't have much of a chance to come out to see you."
Not bothering about how I look as I eat my own meat jerky, I also talk with my mouth full. "Probably."
"And," she continues, after gulping down her mouthful of my water. "It's not like I'm gonna be worried about you, but you gotta look after yourself when you come out here in the future, yeah?"
"Yeah," I reply absentmindedly.
Emily's face scrunches up in frustration, and she punches me on the arm. "Are you listening, Marc? I'm trying to talk with you, here!"
BIP-BIP
"New alert," a monotonous female voice rings out, the vibration coming from my MVI matching every word she says. "Monster mutation. Gortum Fields section M-21. Armoured rabbit. Level two mutation. Calling all nearby Supers. Possible casualties. Please assist if able. End alert."
"Marc!" Emily exclaims, a tinge of fear coming through her voice. "It's not close to us, is it?"
"It is," I reply, having already checked the Gortum Fields map on my MVI for our current location. "We're only a couple of sections away from it."
Emily's eyes look to me, as she unconsciously holds her breath in panic. "Em," I call to her softly, trying to calm her down. "I need you to go find the patrol."
"Okay," she nods in reply. "What about you?"
"I'm going to go see if I can help in any way," I say, as I throw the bag of rabbits we had collected to the ground. "You heard the alert. It said there were possible casualties!"
I sprint off toward the reported location, leaving Emily to pick up our bags and find the nearest guard patrol. "Be careful, Marc..."
Gortum Fields, section M-21, is a popular area for those with powers related to high-speed movement. The mostly flat and empty landscape makes it easy for zipping around, to and fro. Standing at the top of the bank bordering sections M-21 and N-21, I can easily spot the mutated armoured rabbit bearing down on four people. The armoured rabbit's mutation, this time, has caused it to grow in size exponentially - making the four people in front of it look like elementary school children.
Rabbits, as animals, are already quick-witted. Normal people would have a hard time of catching one. Armoured rabbits are no different. Hopping here and there quickly, the only difference between them is that these rabbits will hop their way over to you with intentions of killing you if you get too close to them. Being slammed into by the smaller rabbits can put a normal person into hospital, so one can easily imagine the damage a much bigger rabbit can do.
Jumping toward the small group of people, and sliding down the other half of the bank, I raise my MVI to my face. "Super ID Marc, Accelerated Reactions, low-tier," I speak into my wrist. "Gortum Fields section M-21 update. Four individuals surrounding level two mutation armoured rabbit, class giantification. No casualty. I'm currently making my way from section N-21 to intercept."
"Clarification needed," the monotonous female voice once again rings out from my MVI. "Number of casualties."
"No casualty," I report. "I repeat. No casual--"
As I get closer to the group, and the scene becomes clearer, I notice a fifth person that is being pinned down by the armoured rabbit. "One casualty," I yell back to the MVI. "I repeat. One casualty."
"Update received," the monotonous voice confirms, continuing to announce the now updated information. "Alert Update. Monster mutation. Class giantification. Gortum Fields section M-21. Armoured rabbit. Level two mutation. One Super on scene. One confirmed casualty. Please assist if able. End alert."
Sprinting over to the group of exhausted and injured people, I can start to hear what they are saying to each other. Their impatient and frustrated voices come through between each puff and huff. I've seen numerous newly formed parties go through this kind of predicament, most of which do not end in everyone going home. I try to push my body to get to them faster, just in case another member of their party gets pinned down by the hulking armoured rabbit.
"We can't just leave her!" the robed party member in the back exclaims, with beads of sweat causing her hair to stick to her face. "She's still alive! Aaron, we can still save her!"
"Shut up, Lucy!" the tallest of the two men shouts back. "Don't listen to her, Aaron! There's no way we can fight this thing! We can still barely get away if we start running now, but, even if we were to save Cecilia, she'd only slow us down!"
"Brock," the one named Aaron utters. "You heard the alert update. There's a Super in the area, and he's coming to save us soon. We need to hold out until he gets here, then we can save Cecilia."
"You're nuts, Aaron!" Brock spits out angrily. "You're all nuts! The only Supers in this place are low-tier power holders like Lucy! Why would any Super strong enough to fight this monster hang around Gortum Fields!?"
As the other party members bicker about whether to save the girl being pinned down, or to run, a 'Shapeshifter' power holder steps up to stand beside Aaron. "Aaron, you and I are both mid-tier power holders. We've gotten out of jams like this plenty of times. Let's do it again!"
"Yeah," Aaron replies, his furry companion's words bringing back his fighting spirit. "We can do this, guys! We still need to save Cecilia, so raise your weapons and let's kill this mother fu--!"
CHIIING!
The crisp sound of metal scraping against metal rings through the fields. I stand alone in front of the armoured rabbit, panting as I try to catch my breath. The wide and heavy greatsword in my hands is still vibrating from being struck against an iron-like body. The armoured rabbit switches its focus onto me, snarling and twitching its metal rod-like whiskers in agitation.
Rearing its giant body back, the armoured rabbit pounces at its new prey - me. Accelerated Reactions activates and everything around me seems to slow down all at once. Using my power, I have an excessive amount of time to process whatever is happening within my immediate vicinity. The armoured rabbit's body slowly floats toward where I'm standing, but I'm already diving to the side just as slowly.
CRASH!
The armoured rabbit's huge body slams into the ground where I had just been standing, knocking a couple of Aaron's party members off their feet. I throw the greatsword with all my might, before the hulking beast even registers that I'm not underneath its paws, and another loud impact sounds as it hits the side of its body.
"Leave this to me," I say, not looking back at the party behind me. "I'm going to lead this bad-boy away, so go save your friend!"