Year 0003, The Imperium
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During the last few days, the remaining slaves who managed to escape and still have their lives intact have now dwindled down to six; Donna and Andy are two of those who remained.
They were all of mixed age and gender, and clearly this ragtag group of slave survivors still has lady luck on their side and a bit of resilience to be still alive this long.
In the past few days they have encountered a new unknown beast, and that beast actually took out some of their remaining companions, and ever since they have been constantly running for their lives; they are already dead tired and exhausted as they haven't eaten or drunk any fluids for a while.
It was even a miracle they were still alive all this time, and time wasn't on their side either; it is all about to collapse on their heads like a tidal wave, whose sole existence was to kill them.
Unless some divine miracle is about to occur, then they surely wouldn't last any longer than this.
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Today the group has all gone out of the village to take a breather and relax inside the forest.
It was actually quite beautiful, if not for the dangers that dwelled in it, but they are currently strolling on that very same forest floor without a care in the world.
They already knew no dangerous beasts were lurking around this place ever since Aetherwing and his flock stayed at their village; even better yet, one of the chicks was following Bren all around as of late.
They noticed a few days ago that the two of them have started to have a familiar bond, and maybe in time they would have their souls bound together.
Aetherwing didn't seem to mind; this chick of his has inherited the power of wind from his father and has been practicing rigorously on its uses alongside August.
They were both students of their great master, Aetherwing.
Bren actually named it 'Kirpy.'
The chick seems to have accepted its new name, and Aetherwing didn't seem offended about it at all when August curiously asked his opinion of it.
Aetherwing even seemed proud that at the early age of his chick, it already had someone it could bond with and maybe become soulbound in the future.
He even approved and gave his blessing to Bren to actually do so, so that if the time would come and his son would actually become soulbound to him until death, then he would be there to witness it.
The chick has already grown 6 feet tall, while Bren was still a little bit shorter at 5 feet 8, but it didn't matter at all; they still played a lot during their free time.
And today was one of those free times; we were actually all out in the forest.
The first reason for this was to have a relaxing day, and the second was for the group to familiarize themselves with each other and have a bit of a training session.
The atmosphere was all filled with giggles and laughter; it was all smiles and fun, as families got to bond with each other and friends got to know each other even more.
Even the terrifying Aunt Theressa, who became our group manager, was having a bit of fun with her family.
Meanwhile, August was also giving tips and hints on what to look out for when they were out in the forest area, which could potentially save their lives if they ever got lost in it or an unexpected emergency arose and they couldn't possibly return directly to the village.
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Hours have passed, and the sun was about to set.
Suddenly, rumblings can be heard from a little bit of distance from where they are at; it was towards the outside perimeter of Aetherwing's influence on the forest; it was still quite a bit of distance, but the disturbance caught everyone to be on guard.
The once friendly and fun atmosphere has now turned tense, and a bit of hostility could be felt from the people who were standing on guard to whatever was fast approaching them.
They have taken a defensive stance, and Aunt Theressa, who was their only support unit, was being shielded by team 2.
while team 1 was up front and center bracing for whatever that thing is that is fast approaching them.
Several moments later, they saw people. Are those people running towards them?
They all looked like death and would collapse at any moment from exhaustion, hunger, and all sorts of affliction.
But luckily for them, the gods haven't abandoned them yet; they were actually able to meet their saviors and ran towards their direction.
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Not a moment later, the thing that was chasing them came into view.
It was a solitary, giant, carnivorous, mantis-like creature. It stood at 10 feet tall with forelimbs that looked like giant serrated scythes. One slash of it could probably cut down even the hardest trees in this forest, and it uses it as its main weapon for when it kills or immobilizes its prey.
It also has a set of huge gaping mandibles sticking to its face, and it uses them to crush the bones of its prey and tear its thick flesh when it is about to consume its meal.
This unknown creature is actually named 'Scythe Stalker' in the local tongue or 'K'tharr' as its official name on the beast index.
Uniquely, this creature dwells deep in the darkness of the forest floor; it actually had strayed away from its original habitat that was from another great forest.
It was another one of those dark and depressing places that no light could seep through.
It was a perfect habitat for this creature to dwell in, as its eyes are multifaceted and it has hundreds of them, and it also served as one of its primary and apparent weaknesses; it can be blinded with light.
But it had a counter to it; it had two antennae sticking on its triangular head that is constantly twitching to sense and feel the air around it.
Although it didn't normally use it as its sight and detect its prey or foe, it was still a useful substitute that it would use when it would lose its ability to actually see, although it would drop down its sight tremendously.
It is also the reason why Donna and Andy's group could still run away from and evade it; despite its formidable nature, the antennae are not all-seeing or all mighty; they could only detect at least 10 meters in front of it.
It also has a pair of translucent wings that it uses for short bursts of flight to cover a short distance and catch its prey, and this is its secondary weakness, as it can be easily damaged in a fight or when it is unfurled and used during flight, although it is still more mobile than whatever prey or predator it faces.
It would lose its ability to cover and shorten the distance from its foe.
Although it can be negated by its exoskeleton being too thick and too hard, as it would be able to deflect most common weapons, it is also mobile and agile due to its springy feet, especially in this environment where it can use its camouflage skin tone to blend in with the fauna and tree foliage and its mobility to jump from one tree to another.
The forest, especially dark places, is its main battlefield.
And it doesn't matter how good you are; it is bound to kill you anyway, either sooner or later.
It is also resilient, strong, and has only a few restrictions; overall, it was a very solid and formidable opponent to face.
But sadly, though this one has its eyesight restricted since the Lonelywood Forest isn't all covered by darkness, there are still lights seeping through it here and there, and it is also currently facing a formidable team that is made to hunt inside the forest.
This creature has common ranks with rarity of novice to advance and levels 15-20, soldier ranks with rarity of advance to expert with levels ranging from 21-30, commander ranks with rarity of expert to hero rank and levels ranging from 31-35, and boss ranks with legendary rarity are mostly level 40.
It gives an average of 1,000 - 5,000 XP points.
And the one before them is a common rank novice rarity, at Level 15 Scythe Stalker.
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[DING! EMERGENCY MISSION! DEFEAT AND HUNT THE SCYTHE STALKER THAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU!
REWARDS:
+5,000 XP POINTS
+EQUIPMENT UPGRADE AND LEVEL UP TO ADVANCED CRAFTSMANSHIP.
+LEARN A NEW SKILL! ]
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It was perfect timing; the boars that he had been hunting the previous days had now become rather insufficient, and he was stuck on level 14 for a while.
Maybe after this fight he would finally reach level 15!
"Prepare for combat! Slowly retreat towards the village walls; we must not let this one have other advantages!
With that many eyes, I'm sure it is very sensitive to light, and those wings seem rather flimsy, not like a hard-looking exoskeleton! "
August bellowed his orders towards the group.
"You heard the kid move now and protect the newcomers; send them back towards Theressa.
We will hold it off while you retreat back to the village! "
Jonathan also repeated the command so that everyone was in order and wouldn't panic.
"Oh, and one more thing: please call my master over here. It's just for extra precaution; this one seems rather formidable. It's 10x stronger than all our previous Grimfang encounters combined."
Adam, Isabel, and Theressa took the new group back home; the baby Kirpy' also stayed behind beside Bren.
The two tanks took a forward position, and the archers stepped back; a fierce battle was about to commence.