"This is problematic" Zyro suddenly mumbled and halted amidst their travel.
The pale moon hangs above the night sky bathing the forest tops with subtle radiance. In a certain area within the luxuriant greeneries, a ragged looking warrior and a youthful blonde archer hid in verdant bushes.
Pert, whose walking behind him stopped. And whispered.
"What's problematic?"
Zyro eyes were drawn on the holographic, digital clock Aizra manifested. That only he can see. It's an artificial optical hallucination of his mind, after all. He quietly sighed.
"We're running out of time. At this rate, we won't reach the Mine before daybreak. If we continue circling this area to avoid those things, it would take multiple hours. Not much time is left before dawn."
With Zyro's condition fulfilled, which was visiting the colossal cloudy wall to fill his air tank with gasses as final preparation. They could now start prepping for their main journey to Log Wall. Before that, they decided to gather the necessary supplies. Those crucial items were not something they could acquire in a Mine. Thankfully, the vampire village offers a lot of them. Zyro and Pert planned to accompany the caravan that will transport mana stones once again. Which will depart tomorrow morning. Guarding the carriages was a risky job - they almost died without knowing what killed them last time. But with their present strength unlike before. As long as everything goes naturally, their chances of coming back are high.
However, despite the Mine stony mountain being in sight. Zyro doubted reaching it in time. It wasn't an instinctive dubiousness alone, but a meticulously calculated assumption judging by their remaining time and distance left to traverse.
Apparently, their trip back consumed more time than expected. Everything changes, after all. The lurking beasts they have to avoid constantly roam around in different places. Passing them took a while or more depending on the circumstances. It just so happens they were delayed more timely compared to yesterday. And now, they are conflicted whether to continue on the original path despite being caught in daytime. When the majority of monsters actively prowl around to prey on each other. Or take the risk of heading straight without detour. That way, they won't be caught up in beasts morning brawls.
Both options endanger their life, anyway. It's up to them what choice to take. Rather, to Zyro. Among the two of them, he holds the highest authority. Pert is free to give suggestions, but the final decisions are made by Zyro. It was more of an instinctive order, Pert being the youngest in the two subconsciously respected him. Not to mention Zyro's notorious title indicating his achievement.
Zyro sighed in dismay.
"Like it or not, we're forcing our way straight. Forget about the detour."
Zyro demandingly said, which Pert accepted without a tint of objection.
"Yeah, I agree. I'm not walking here in daylight."
Both of them had experienced the horrors of this accursed woods. Years for the kid, weeks for Zyro. He once tried sneaking into the forest during the day. Only a few minutes had passed, he already encountered a couple of terrifying terrors making it impossible to traverse unnoticed. Fortunately, his near the mine allowing him to return rather quickly. Zyro strongly doubt they could evade battles when the sun rises and they're still here. Sure, they can win a few. However, fights for survival tends to produce noises that will attract nearby dwellers, prompting the following brawls. If that happens, Zyro didn't know what to do.
Pert knew this too, perhaps more well than Zyro.
With that, the duo dismissed going around the area. Instead, directly headed towards the towering mountain afar. If the dire situation didn't demand it, Zyro did not want to cross this region. For it was a danger zone, claimed by appalling reptilian species as their nest. After a minute or two, Zyro already sees one of their kind.
On a tree's branch, a snake-like creature coiled around. It's tail and head hanging down. What's creepy about it is that, the snake had no scales, but browny bare skin. Added, to its eeriness. The snake body structure was flat, like a flat wire with two slumbered eyes and a wide mouth. Similar to that of a crocodile.
'So that's a flat-biter. It's scarier in personal'
Zyro was not a noob in this world anymore. In fact, his knowledge of this planet surpassed the majority. So he knew beastial races such as these repulsive snakes and many more from various resources.
What they just saw was a single flat-biter among the many inhabiting this region. Fortunately, flat-biters were not nocturnal creatures so these appalling snakes slept at night. However, that did not make crossing them safe. The reason why Pert and Zyro rather circle around their gaping territory was due to this repulsive snakes troublesome nature especially at tranquil night. Not only did they live in numerous packs, they're also known for their ear-piercing shrieks. Accidentally awakening one of them is equivalent to triggering a noisy alarm at midnight. One wrong move here may wake their numerous kinds, swarming on the two invaders in retaliation.
'I wish I could at least keep my corpse intact.'
As they stealthily resume treading through flat-biters territory. The eventual sighting of the snaky dweller grew in frequency. To the point of seeing them all-around. Either hanging on trees, hidden in bushes or slumbering on grasses. Flat-biters had weak hearing sense, but sneaking past them was still a difficult task because of their quantity. At first, the two could still walk through them while maintaining a few meters of distance. However, the closer they are to the center, the resting flat-biters keep increasing in numbers.
Pert and Zyro suppress their palpitating hearts and cold sweats from dripping. Even Zyro was having second thoughts, regretting his life choices upon the sight of what they have to pass. The overgrown forest was riddled with skinned snakes, each was plumpy, as wide as Zyro's legs. They're like trashed rugs laying everywhere in the woods. Hundreds, no, thousands of them. Crowded together in peaceful slumber. What made the horror littered path more abhorrent was the handful, fully matured flat-biters. Their length and size was equivalent to a line of ten adults laying flat on the floor.
Pert looked at him with a rather comical face. It was a mix of dark grimace and anxiousness. Yet, wore a stiff smile. The kid seemed to be struggling to breathe.
Both dare not speak, afraid of disturbing these fearsome snakes. Not like they needed to, It wasn't hard to figure what the young Aster desired to imply. Because Zyro shared his fear.
His already imagining Pert, complaining.
'We're going to cross this hell, are you kidding me? It's not too late to turn back. We could still live.'
Unfortunately, braving this gruesome path was inevitable. They simply lack the luxury of time and choices. Making a mistake here meant death, cowering means certain death, too. What's there to consider.
Quietly gritting his teeth, Zyro made his way forward. Pert froze for a moment, but reluctantly followed. In the next tense hour, the duo carefully sneaks through the flocked bed of repulsive monsters. It was so crowded, Zyro struggled to find safe spots to step on between napping bodies. The kid carefully traced his tracks as if his dear life depended on it, because it really is. The fright and pressure of seeing the hideous flat-biters closely while navigating pass thousands of them was immense. However, with their life at stake. The two fight against the overwhelming discomfort to preserve their composure amidst this task. Making sure no slipups were made, such as unintentionally lossing balance and bumping into one of them. Or accidentally stepping on one of the laying body. With full concentration, the dou successfully executed meticulous movements, maneuvering with silent grace through the flat-biters without missteps.
Eventually, they successfully passed the crowded area after what felt like an eternal hurdle.
Zyro silently heaved a sigh of relief.
'Finally...'
On his right, the paled Pert hastily moves away from his sight. Finding a place to let out some water due to excessive nervousness.
They're not completely out of the flat-biters danger zone. Luckily, the scaleless snakes left ahead were few, traveling through them unnoticed was easy enough to offer them respite. The past challenge was not physically demanding, but mentally tiring. They at least deserve short respite.
However...
Eeeyyhackkk!!!
Eeeyyhackkk!!!
Just as Zyro was about to sit beside a tree to wait for Pert, an ear piercing cry was heard behind. Echoing in the surroundings. It was a sound no human vocal could ever produce. He recognized that typical shrieks - The flat-biters.
He grunted, uttering a curse as he got up to run. There's no point shouting to inform the kid what to do, his smart enough to know without instruction. And indeed, soon enough. Pert caught off to him.
Seeing the kid at the corner of his eyes, Zyro slightly grinned.
"You smell like piss."
"Cause I'm pissing when those freakish worms suddenly cry!"
Standing lumbers blurred in their passing. The cold morning breeze brush against their hair as they run with all their might. Hearing distant horrid howls from behind, as if the hordes of slumbering flat-biters was being massacred. Whatever caused those noisy snakes to howl in despair, none of them care. They needed to get out from this screaming area as soon as possible, before other disturbed abominations get here.
Zyro panted, bone-tired due to excessive running from that damned place. The distance they dashed was not short, but with the suit support, Zyro speed was superior to Earth top athletes. However, Zyro did not fully rely on the cybernetic armor augmentation. Limiting its effects by halve, and pressured his muscles at the same time. His armor batteries are not unlimited, and the electrical lake that he charged from was not easy to reach. Zyro rather not go there frequently by saving his suit power reserves as much as possible.
"That's tiring. I thought we were gonna die, what the heck cause that creepy noises, anyway." A youthful voice said, a bit tired with a smile.
Near him, Pert was standing with beads of sweat rolling on his face. Yet, despite undergoing the same struggle as Zyro, the kid does not look that exhausted. Zyro rolls his eyes internally. Unlike him, the kid possesses both potent endurance of Aster and the body of an Alpha.
"By the sound of it, something terrible must have invaded the flat-biters. As for what it is, I don't know. So let's move into that tunnel of yours quickly, or do you wanna know what that thing is?"
Said Zyro with a joke.
Hearing his last words, Pert shivered and prompted forward. Saying.
"Yeah, let's move. I don't wanna meet whatever that thing is!"
The kid seemed to be walking at a hasted pace, leading ahead of Zyro a few meters away.
Soon enough, they arrived at a bushy mountain side. Boulders and grasses mixed together, littering everywhere. It was where the hidden tunnel entrance was located. Obscured by rocks and luxuriant bushes.
As Pert removed the camouflaging covers, Zyro stood as watchman. His eyes observing the surroundings woods with attentive eyes.
The forest here was not that different from earth - full of green with tints of myriads of colorful plants. Except that it's many times more dangerous. Whether it's a beast or plants, both were bizarrely hazardous. Zyro once saw a leafless tree move its pointy limbs to butcher a poor, careless creature. Different colored barks, And many more stranger things and new plant species. What he found interesting, though. Was that, there are plants here that exist on earth.
Freezing his idle thoughts, a subtle movement afar suddenly caught his attention. Zyro abruptly turns to see. There, between the verdant woods a distance away. A black creature was standing still. The figure was small due to separating distance, but he could identify it have six segmented legs, hunched body and possess a single large eye. If that thing can even be called an eye. It looked like a simple, lightless hole, lusterless and bottomless. Zyro was directly staring at that terrible hole, his eyes were wide but remained clarity. The creature isn't moving, just glaring at him motionlessly. Hence, Zyro did the same. Who knew if that thing could actually see. Studying the black beast in that instant, a sense of deja Vu dawned upon him.
'Six legs, hunched. Why does it look familiar.'
Zyro was just about to blink. However... His eyes constricted again. Remembering what occurred in the caravan.
'Gods. Of all monstrosities... Why does it have to be that freak.'
If he was not mistaken, what Zyro was staring at was the legendary Blinker. A creature no man was supposed to see.