Briefly coming up with a strategy, the four friends stepped out of hiding, with Jaspreth leading the way.
Boom!
A loud eruption had them putting a hand over their heads. They didn't see it but after crossing the magic barrier; it triggered the beginning of their arduous journey towards the golden gate.
"Whoa." Jaspreth followed with his gaze the red flame that shot out towards the purplish sky. With it, their surroundings shifted. They no longer saw the other four who were, minutes ago, dancing and fighting their way towards the golden gate.
"Was that some sort of initiatory rite?" Beatrix mused, her eyes appreciating the purplish color of the horizon.
However, the warmth touching her skin didn't delight her. It crawled at her the moment they left the safety behind the tower.
Ping!
[Warning! Danger ahead. Please equip yourself with a weapon from the Weaponry. A generous gift awaits beyond The Golden Pass. The Priestess wishes you good fortune!]
Their translucent screen disappeared unanimously, placing the focus of the four friends on their reddish surroundings.
Zera placed a hand over her nose. The heat suffocated her.
"Now what?" she mumbled over her covered mouth. The four of them turned and found that even the tower had disappeared from their view.
All that lay before them was a vast field with red sand. Across from where they were standing, the Golden Gate stood, shining against the colors that played in each of their visions.
To answer her query, a rumble came from their left, causing the four to grip the weapons in their hands, bracing themselves for the worse.
Zera felt her heartbeat picking up speed.
Among her friends, she knew she was the weakest link. It didn't surprise her that the game's system placed her in the support class.
It was what she was good at.
Jaspreth was always in charge of leading the fight. He was the pro player in their rag tag team. Second to him, Astherielle was unbeatable in stealth and sneaking attacks towards the enemy.
Most of their opponents would try to kill her first after figuring out what she was capable of doing.
Beatrix may not look like it, but she's an excellent combination of Jaspreth and Astherielle. It was how they won that tournament too easily.
Zera felt useless now. If only this was just some other game. She wouldn't have her heart in her throat.
Still uncertain about how they got inside Priestess Online, her friends were right. Their only ticket out was to play the game itself.
Although, knowing how the game works would have been a great heads-up. Like some kind of trial which would allow them to learn what commands to use and which agents or heroes to pick.
With the rumbling, the ground beneath their feet shook. It started mildly, bringing Zera's focus back to the present.
Gradually, the terrible shaking had brought the ground to crack, the sand on their feet falling as a small line appeared in the middle of where they were standing.
"I hate to repeat what the other team said, but…" Astherielle eyed each of her friends. "Run!"
Bolting in the opposite direction where the sand was not moving, the four put much effort into making their legs work.
Running through the sand was like running with added weights on one's shoes. They haven't even made it way halfway through when the four found themselves panting, almost out of breath.
"Would taking off our shoes make us run faster?" Astherielle wondered aloud.
"Trying to take it off would eat time. We don't have that!" Jaspreth stressed out. He was trying to keep pace with the three girls, even though he could have run ahead if he chose to.
"I'm regretting not coming with your dad when he offered us to train in their camp! I heard they were running in sand dunes!" Zera glanced towards Jaspreth. The latter shrugged.
When their school break started, his father offered to take them to the training camp. He was going to teach a few kids some basic fighting techniques before getting swamped with his assignments in their office.
"It's too late for that now!" Beatrix expressed, sweat already broke out from her forehead.
EEEEEHH!
A loud screech had them looking towards the sky.
"What on earth is that? A huge crow?" Jaspreth squinted.
Its enormous wings flapped and hovered over them, opening its wide pointed beak.
EEEHHHH!
The screech intensified, having the four of them cover their ears.
"What the hell is that?" Zera repeated Jaspreth's query, merely glancing at the gigantic bird whose beady eyes scanned the ground, probably looking for them.
[VenX Gen2300; HP: 50,000]
Bang!
EEEEHHHH!
The creature flew a little way off, almost losing its balance. But it recovered just as quickly. On its feet, a small screen appeared, showing the same message Zera received on her screen earlier on.
[VenX Gen2300; HP: 49,000]
"I get it now!" Jaspreth shouted, noticing the change in its health points. He pointed at the flying beast, its flapping wings scattered the surrounding sand.
The group had to shield their eyes from the dust, still pushing their tired legs to keep running.
"We need to hit it until we depleted its health points!"
"Sounds easy!" Beatrix shouted back, firing another bullet and missed. The creature anticipated her attack this time.
EEEEEEH!
It screeched, slowly folding its wings, aggressively swooping in Beatrix's direction.
Beatrix cursed loudly. Zera's eyes widened, pushing forward, unsheathing the sword in her hand.
"HEY!" she called out, distracting it a little. Beatrix fired her guns unstoppably, hitting and missing the monstrous bird at the same time.
[VenX Gen2300; HP: 37,000]
Still, the monster lunged for Beatrix.
Infuriated, Zera pushed forward. She calculated that if she ran faster, she and the enormous bird would meet halfway. She had time to save Beatrix.
But the word 'if' made her heart thunder against her chest.
"Back me up, Z!" Jaspreth called out, gaining momentum. He must be thinking about what Zera had in mind.
Nodding, Zera looked at Astherielle.
"I'm gonna be on the lookout. Hurry!"
"Prepare to taste your death, ugly monster! Rah!" Jaspreth ran with his might. Zera followed behind.
Against the ground continuously cracking and chasing after them, the wind gathered with dust particles from the sand and the threat of Beatrix's life, the four stood their ground.
"Die you ugly bird!"