"Is this it? Am I going to meet my end again?"
Arlo's heart pounded in his chest, the memory of his past deaths, the bone-crushing pain and the tearing of his skin, flooded his mind. He remembered he only had two lives left.
"No, I refuse to die again. It's absurd, how could I even contemplate death when I've barely scratched the surface of my journey?"
The Stone Lions, now fully materialized, exuded an aura of ferocity. Arlo wanted to confront them directly, but their glowing eyes sent chills down his spine. He knew that without his shield, his death would be far more gruesome than his previous ones.
With his left arm, Arlo formed a shield, his fist clenched tight. Sensing his intent, the lions charged at him, their leaps swift and powerful, quickly encircling him.
Arlo tightened his grip, and in an instant, a transparent field enveloped him.
[Protector of Yedlin Clan.]
[Activated Period: 30 minutes.]
[Consumed:
Endurance 1 per use
Defense 2 per use
SP 5 per use]
Arlo was oblivious to the window prompt, his entire focus was on the stone lions.
"THUD!" "THUD!"
Each lion that lunged at him crashed into the field, the force repelling them, yet they persisted in their assault.
Arlo's breath came in ragged gasps. This was an encounter unlike any he had ever faced.
"If I had been even a moment late, I would be a goner," Arlo swallowed hard. But he didn't lose hope, he knew he had no choice but to retaliate.
He scanned his surroundings for the pine tree woods he had gathered in the Haven, but they were nowhere in sight. Instead, he noticed dust on the ground.
Arlo was taken aback, "Wait… Is that the pine wood I brought here? How did it turn into dust? What's happening?"
As his mind raced with questions, the lions continued their relentless attack.
Each of the lions looked identical, but their behavior varied, as if each had its own unique thought process.
They didn't all attack simultaneously. The lions targeted a specific spot, the front of Arlo, and charged at it with a certain rhythm, attempting to breach the field.
In no time, they deduced that if they kept striking the same spot, the field would eventually give way.
"THUD!" "THUD!"
Their pounding echoed around the field. Arlo could feel it in his gut, as if the lions were thinking,
'I will end you,'
'I will tear you apart,'
'Let us in, we want to see your insides, let us in.'
Arlo felt like a cornered animal, surrounded by predators, his fate uncertain.
Arlo took slow, deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. Something shifted within him. He noticed the rhythm and pattern of the stone lions' attacks.
He observed that when a single stone lion leaped forward, as soon as that lion hit the field, it was momentarily repelled. Immediately after, another lion would leap towards the field.
Spotting this, Arlo quickly clenched his right fist. When a lion leaped towards the field, he simply released his left fist from the shield. As the shield was transparent, the lions couldn't discern the difference. The leaping lion entered Arlo's range.
With all the strength he could muster, Arlo landed a punch on the stone lion's face, sending it sprawling to the ground.
As soon as Arlo struck, he reactivated the field. He felt a searing pain in his fist and his movements became sluggish.
Looking at his hand, he saw his fist was bloody and torn from the impact on the stone lion. But Arlo grinned, this was the first time he felt like he had given it his all.
The stone lions halted their attack, and one lion had blood smeared on its face. Arlo knew it was his blood.
Unexpectedly, a red bar appeared above the stone lion he had punched. Seeing the red bar, his heart sank.
[Health: 99.7%]
His punch had barely made a dent in the lion's health. He fell to his knees, disbelief washing over him.
"DING!"
A distinct sound echoed from inside the shield. He tapped the red stone on the shield, and a prompt appeared on the field.
[Protector of Yedlin Clan.]
[Activated. 10 minutes is over
20 minutes remaining for shield depletion.]
Seeing this, fear gripped him. He gritted his teeth, the last vestiges of his fighting spirit fading away.
Arlo started to run towards the Haven, hoping that the lions wouldn't be able to enter the resting areas, like in the game he used to play when he was younger.
"THUD!"
Suddenly, the Stone Lions became more aggressive and kept ramming into him. It was hard for him to see where he was going, but he kept running.
As Arlo ran, the pain in his fist subsided. Looking down, he saw his fist had completely healed. But he didn't have time to marvel at its regenerative power.
Arlo's heart leaped when he saw the pine trees in the distance. With every ounce of energy left in him, he sprinted towards the Haven.
Just as he was a few meters away, a stone lion leaped over another and dove from above the field.
"CRACK!"
Hearing that, Arlo looked up in shock. A large crack had formed, and the stone lion had broken through the field, hurtling towards him.
"Is the field breaking from the top? Am I going to die again when I'm this close to safety?"
The last time, he was killed by a crocodile when he was near land; history seemed to be repeating itself. The Haven was within sight, yet out of reach.
The stone lion entered the field, its movements appearing to slow down. Arlo's final words were,
"Please, let it be a quick death."
The stone lion swiped at Arlo with its massive front paw, sending him flying back. He rolled a few times, his bones crunching with the impact, and landed on his back. In his dying moment, a window prompt appeared:
[A new info added:]
[Protector of Yedlin Clan]
[Activated. 25 minutes are over
5 minutes remaining for shield depletion.]
[Weakness: Top of the field is its weak spot; Weakness will decrease upon Player Level increment.]
Arlo smirked, blood pooling around him. The pack of stone lions charged at him, each eager to deliver the killing blow.
Arlo couldn't even scream as his throat was crushed.
"GRRRR..." As they roared and lunged at Arlo, he braced himself for the end.
"CRACK!"
The stone lions disintegrated into sand before Arlo. Confused by the sudden turn of events, a window prompt appeared:
[Welcome again to the Haven, a resting area for players.
Rebooting player's health and status.]
As Arlo narrowly escaped death by a whisker, he couldn't help but wonder, was he saved, or was he destined to endure another ordeal, to suffer even more?
[End of Chapter]