"Holy shit!" Mark let out an unmanly yelp, his hair rose, and his muscles tensed.
He turned, stopping himself from falling by pushing himself back up with his arms in his crouched position.
Adrenaline flowed into his bloodstream giving him newfound strength in the moment of desperation. His chest inflated from holding his breath, and his eyes strained in the struggle.
Yet, the orcs and the cow got closer, and closer, they were much larger and Mark's strength couldn't compensate for their vigor, he was only human after all. It was only a matter of time before their feet would get to him and turn him into a mush of blood and soil.
Mark's legs zoomed, surpassing their limits as they ignored the pricks they stomped on, there was only one message his brain relayed, and that was to get out and survive.
"You're going to die at this rate." A tiny young feminine voice spoke in his mind.
Under normal circumstances, that would have caught his attention, but the world has been greatly far from normal since his short arrival.
"To your left!" It let out a shriek and he was close to ignoring it when his eyes drifted to the side.
A way out of his misery?
The agitated orcs were tightly packed and only occupied a large vertical space, it was possible to scoot to the side just in time to escape them.
He turned his neck a little and saw the frenzied faces of the large ugly creatures, their large legs that sent vibrations to the earth, and the majestic cow that seemed to be running for its life.
Mark swiftly turned, defying his instincts to just run forward in hopes of outrunning them. He then sprinted, throwing his arms and legs with all of his might and once he saw that he was close to getting out of harm's way, he jumped with his mouth agape and his limbs stretched out in relief and then he fell.
"Oogh."
Immediately he crashed, he hurriedly turned and sat up ensuring that he was meters away from getting plummeted.
He let out a sigh, "That was the scariest thing ever, what was that about?" He said under his breath.
"You survived this time." The strange feminine voice reckoned.
Taking deep breaths, Mark responded "Yes I did… wait what was that?" he scooted in fear turning his eyes to his behind, not hopeful for a presence.
"Was that just me imagining things?" He turned to the crazy orcs still chasing their target, none of them seeming close to getting a hold of it.
"I almost got stomped to death by those ugly things, I don't know what to believe anymore."
He released his hold on the ground and fell back on the grasses that adorned the land.
'I am tired, maybe going back to sleep will set right all this bullshit, I mustn't have slept well.'
His eyelids fought to stay open, they slowly pulled over his eyes and he was close to losing himself to sleep when…
*Ding
His red eyes shot open, he stood up with excitement.
"That must be my phone, where is it?"
He was however met with the disappointing sight he had left to go to sleep.
"What's this? Am I dreaming? Wasn't that my phone?" He questioned, bowing his head in frustration and fear–the creeping fear of the unknown.
"It wasn't a prank? Tom isn't nearby and that voice was real? Oh God, I'm going crazy." His voice cracked, his lips trembled as he uttered the statement and he laid his hands on his face trying to fight away tears.
In his moment of angst, a sound called to him, pulling him from despair.
[You've achieved the main objective]
[You've received the reward for completing the main objective]
[The master of tongues- Unique Skill]
[Unique Skill:The master of tongues- this skill grants the ability to understand and communicate in all languages, both written and spoken.
- Speak and comprehend any language, including ancient dialects and forgotten tongues.
- Read and write in any language, deciphering even the most obscure scripts.
- Negotiate, persuade, and intimidate with ease, regardless of language barriers.
- Uncover hidden secrets and decipher ancient texts with newfound understanding]
The notification rang through his mind calling his attention to it. A blue image of the written messages in tabs replaced his vision.
His eyes shone a blue glow as soon as his body acknowledged the image.
'This is…'
'Unique skill?'
The messages had drowned his surfacing feeling of dread, the messages posed questions which he couldn't dream of answering in his condition.
"Main objective…" he read the messages out loud trying to absorb their meanings.
He was in the middle of ruminating over the messages when another shot into his mind.
[Bonus Objective withdrawn, the Arcadi cow has fallen at the hand of another]
"Okayyy… dramatic much." He turned to the direction where the orcs went, but he saw them no more, they had gone beyond his horizon.
"Poor cow."
Mark stood up and beat his hands on his boxers, beating away the soot that stuck to it, at least some of it.
He placed his right hand on his forehead like a salute abating the sun's bright glare on his eyes as he looked around.
"Grass as far as I can see."
He dropped his hand and held his knees as he bent.
"I survived whatever that was, I'll survive the next."
"That's the spirit!" The voice shot from within his mind once more, startling Mark.
"Stop that!" He yelled, unsure of who he was directing the command to.
He turned his head around, but there was no one, just him on a large patch of grass.
"I better start moving, I'll dry up if I stay too long under this sun."