"Aaahh! The wonderful breeze! I've missed you!"
Neo spread his arms wide and smiled gleefully. He had indeed missed the surface.
In the underground world, there was no sky, no breeze! It was like being stuck indoors for months and finally stepping outside!
But then, as his gaze settled on the massive c*cks on the trees, and he remembered the chaos that would erupt in this zone at night, Neo's smile slowly faded.
He frowned.
Judging by the sunlight, it would soon be nightfall.
He needed to get out of here—and fast!
Even though he'd grown a lot stronger, there was nothing he could do if those deadly tree beings cornered him!
The smartest move was to leave the area, and quickly.
Neo began making plans. The problem? He had no clue where the nearest shelter was.
Shelters in the Spirit Realm were like huge, protected cities where adventurers—or basically anyone—could rest, restock on supplies, have fun, and, most importantly, use the gate to return to Earth.
It was obvious why Neo needed to get there. He just didn't know where it was.
With his rotten luck, he was 100% certain to pick the wrong direction and end up heading towards the farthest shelter.
Not only was that way more dangerous, but time was also no longer on his side.
He had spent seven Spirit Realm months here—equivalent to almost a month and a half back on Earth. His two-month deadline was approaching fast!
Neo ruffled his hair with a sigh.
He could only hope to stumble upon some adventurers or farmers to ask for directions. For now, he'd just have to wing it.
There wasn't much else he could do.
With that thought, Neo reached for Bouncy to head into the forest—only to grab thin air.
He froze.
Looking around, he realised the rabbit was nowhere to be found.
"F*ck!"
Where had that little idiot run off to? Didn't it know to stay in one place when you're in unfamiliar territory?!
Neo scanned the area for tracks and spotted the unmistakable trail of Bouncy heading into the forest.
In a way, hadn't that stupid rabbit already decided which direction they were going?
Neo just hoped it hadn't caused any trouble before he found it.
"That rabbit's getting a spanking for sure..."
_____
It was a brutal, exhausting battle.
The team leader wiped the sweat from his brow and looked around.
Everywhere he glanced, his teammates were being overwhelmed and pushed back by the explosive speed of the goats.
Seriously, why were these beasts so powerful?
Weren't they supposed to be common grade?!
A pure white goat with blue hooves bleated loudly and charged straight at the leader.
Its speed was unreal!
It covered the ten-metre distance in an instant, smashing into the leader's shield with bone-shaking force.
Boom!
The leader stumbled back, shaking his arms to rid them of the numbing impact.
That charge had nearly broken his arm—and he was a Body Spiritual!
Aura bloomed around him as he activated his art.
Supreme Splitting Axe!
A red glow coated the blade of his axe, a sharp whistle piercing the air as he swung it at the goat's legs, putting all his strength into the blow.
Boom!
A yellow barrier appeared around the goat, absorbing the impact. Although the shield cracked and the goat was flung backwards, it wasn't seriously hurt.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The real problem was that now the goat had enough space to charge again!
Bang!
The battle raged on, neither side willing to back down.
The team's healer clutched her sphere, casting healing spells over and over, mixing in stronger spells to mend the more severe wounds.
The fight was too brutal. Too fast-paced. Too deadly.
Boom!
Suddenly, a goat broke through the defences of her two guards and bolted straight for her!
Her already pale face turned ghostly white as the beast rushed at her.
Still, she was not a rookie, and it took her only a moment to recover and channel the fastest attacking spell in her arsenal; the purifying bullet.
Twoom!
The attack was a pure white bullet that purified it's target upon contact. In other words, the goat would literally disintegrate if it got hit.
Whoosh!
Her face paled even more.
She missed! She didn't hit!
The goat had accelerated mid-charge, catching her off-guard!
Just as its sharp horns were about to impale her, a massive grey shield smashed into the goat's side, sending it flying.
The healer clutched her chest, gasping for air. She'd survived!
She looked at the tired team leader and saw the reluctance in his eyes.
After a brief hesitation, he finally gave the order.
"Retreat!"
The team didn't need to be told twice. They quickly disengaged from the furious goats and took off.
But the goats were relentless! Their explosive speed made it impossible to outrun them in a straight line, so the group zigzagged through the terrain, desperately trying to shake them off.
After hours of running, they finally succeeded.
Collapsing on the ground, the group sat there, exhausted and traumatised, their eyes bloodshot, gasping for breath.
This had been their first mission in a long time.
They'd taken a break after one of their members had died and had only recently mustered up the motivation to go out again.
And this was their reward? Savage, freakishly strong goats on their first mission back?!
Were they cursed?
Should they quit and open a bakery instead?
As the party rested, contemplating life choices and the leader struggled to come up with something to say, a strange sound reached their ears.
Pat pat toop, pat pat toop, pat pat toop!
They exchanged curious glances.
That definitely wasn't the sound of hooves... What could it be?
Despite their exhaustion, they prepared for battle. After all, in the Spirit Realm, it was always better to be ready for the worst.
When the source of the noise finally appeared, the party members were left speechless.
A tall, young man with long purple hair, clutching a black spear and glowing faintly with a grey aura, was sprinting towards them like his life depended on it.
Beside him, a tiny, pure white rabbit was keeping pace, wearing a distinctly wronged expression on its face.
Within seconds, the pair were close enough for the party to clearly see the absolute panic on the young man's face.
The entire group shared a single thought:
'What the hell is going on?!'