Chapter Thirty Five – Rescued

I blew on my whistle as hard as I could, all while running as fast as my human body could move towards Dungeon Home. I would have loved to have gone back to the jungle, but getting to where those high-level adventurers had been was hard enough with my gear. Without it, I stood no chance. I could however go to where he might appear if he were killed by a player.

Had he been hiding in the jungle this whole time? What had they called that monster they were hunting? Liqheist? Maybe… maybe Bugbear had sought other NPC’s for protection.

‘He attacked me. Why did he attack me?’ I thought, horrified. ‘Could he have forgotten me?’

It was more than possible. He’d only seen my human form once, but then he’d had no way to know I was Gell. What had been different?

Perhaps he wasn’t as free from the Instinct as I’d thought.

I’d been summoning the developers with my whistle ever since I’d awoken after my death at my homepoint in the Shady Woods Copse, but they hadn’t come yet. I didn’t know what time it was in the real world but I knew that at night time they wouldn’t be around to respond.

Regardless, I had to find him. I couldn’t get back to him in the Jungle but if those adventurers had followed through on their plan to kill him then he would respawn…

I arrived at Dungeon Home faster than I could ever remember getting anywhere. Unwilling to wait for a Developer when Bugbear might be just a few floors below me, I transformed into my Fae form and flew down the halls of Dungeon Home, a parade of yipping Bugbears following at my tendrils.

I glowed an anticipatory yellow and orange. Excitement mixed with trepidation. I didn’t know what to feel. Would he remember me if I met him face to face? Would he attack me like the other bugbears? How had he escaped when I’d had to break the world and be transformed into an adventurer to do the same?

Could he… tell me? Would he be able to speak?

I arrived at his spawn location but again found it empty. Either he hadn’t died or I’d been wrong about where he would respawn on death.

It took the bugbears a single cycle to respawn though. It could just be that I needed to wait for the cycle to shift, but that would be quite some time yet.

If I could, I would do my best to save him from the pain of dying. I had first-hand experience with how much it hurt before becoming an adventurer. I’d give him the same transformation if I could. Even if we were both stuck in this dead world, we could be together. I could teach him to speak and he could learn to be real.

It… it would be great. I hoped. But now that I knew he was still here, I’d been filled with a renewed sense of purpose. Dead or alive, we’d be reunited at last.

I scanned Bugbear’s entire route in what felt like hours before finally confirming that he was not in Dungeon Home. Either they hadn’t killed him or he hadn’t respawned yet.

Back to the jungle for me. I drew the attention of what felt like hundreds of my kin below as I rapidly crossed the expanse of terrain between Dungeon Home and the Shady Woods Copse. From there I continued south until I hit the jungle, blasting right through the zone edge while ignoring Miss Tutorial’s level difference warning.

I might be eaten by a dinosaur, but that would be a small price to pay to keep bugbear safe and sound. I just really hoped one of the developers was on their way because I doubted I could do much more than flail at those other players. Even less than I’d been able to do before considering I now didn’t even have the boosts granted by my equipment.

I flew over the trees, following my map more than the actual land as I closed in on the spot where I’d been killed. Upon growing close, I saw a glorious shining angel in the distance and I knew that my gravestone lay beneath it. Touching it would recover my equipment, automatically reequipping everything I could wear.

Long before reaching the angel, I heard the sounds of shouts and frantic adventurers.

A great roar burst through the trees, the sheer pressure of the sound buffeting me into a mid-flight tumble. I righted myself before slowing to a halt.

The gorgeous angel hovered above the tree line, enormous and melancholic in her solemn vigil over my gravesite. Shouts of distress and terror accompanied the snarls and growls of the huge beast. I only caught a glimpse of a tail through the trees, but based on that tale alone, I could tell the raptor was enormous. At least the size of two regular raptors, maybe even three. I could make out its tail flashing and a small figure in metal dodging out of the way.

‘The adventurers who killed me,’ I realized with a mix between horror and relief. They were still here. As I got closer, I realized why.

After my death, it looked like the gigantic raptor had descended upon them. An extended battle seemed to be underway. All three adventurers were still alive but they looked much worse for wear. The druid’s robes were torn in places and blood spattered his arms and ran down the side of his face. The orc warrior was covered in blood but her axe was equally drenched. Feather Cap appeared to have endured the battle with the least wounds so far, but they might’ve just been hidden by his red clothes that were certainly torn.

The raptor was limping but not at all defeated. As it came fully into view, I watched it make a quick spin and cheered as its tale smashed into the warrior, sending her flying into a tree.

-54 hp!

The notice drifted over her head but she recovered quickly, getting back to her feet. Meanwhile, the Druid cast the same tangling vines spell that had bound Bugbear. It wasn’t nearly as effective on the raptor, but it gave the Orc warrioress enough time to shake off the pain and step between her more vulnerable party members.

This was familiar territory for me. I’d played the assassin in the shadows while a party of invaders focused on a bigger threat before. Much as I didn’t like remembering that time, this felt almost like home.

I remained in my Jellyfae form this time and darted out towards Feather Cap without hesitation. He was in the middle of flinging ice bolts at the raptor with each swing of his thin rapier to little effect and did not see me approach.

The satisfying “Glllk” he let out as I tapped him on the back of his neck with my shocker only enhanced the new ambient battle music playing in the background as I engaged. He fell, paralyzed but not even close to dead. How high level were these jerks?

“God dammit, keep it off me Odessa! It keeps interrupting my attacks!” shouted the orc as she batted away a snapping bite from the huge raptor with her axe.

Big as Liqheist was, she seemed to have the same instincts as the regular raptors that roamed the jungle. Part of me wanted so badly to make her real. To reach out and touch her code to give it something more like I’d done with the wolf in Twisted Wronkle Woods, but I’d been forbidden to do that.

Besides, I didn’t know this raptor and odds were good that it would turn on me the second it finished off this other group. Stupid Instinct bound brainless kin.

I couldn’t help but feel that kinship with the massive creature though. I’d been where she was. Hunted for my loot.

“Fuck you, Vishy!” The Orc, apparently named Odessa, called back out. “That god-damn crystal was mine! Your class doesn’t even use Strength!”

“I rolled it fair and square dammit! Those things are worth a fortune! Especially the strength ones!” called back the druid as he scrambled to get away from Liqheist’s lightning-quick tail.

‘Crystal?’ I thought, confused before my mind caught up.

‘Jellycrap… I still drop those damn crystals when I die. These… jackass invaders were fighting over my remains!’ I thought angrily.

Well so much the better. Dissension in the ranks always made for the easiest party wipes.

“Don’t let me die, man! Fuck it, I’ll give you the damn thing, okay?”

“I’m a girl!” the orc shouted back.

“Whatever! Kill it--grrgkk!” cried the Druid as he fell to my shocker as easily as Feather Cap had.

I grinned looking back to the surprised orc, a red passionate glee and excitement glowing through my features.

I only had half a moment to gloat at the shocked warrior before a set of massive teeth filled my vision.

I screeched and backed away. Dammit! I’d gotten careless and let myself become the target!

Fortunately, as always, I could fly.

I zipped straight into the air out of reach of the giant raptor.

Not, however, out of reach of the recovered party member.

I screeched in shock as a shard of ice slammed into my membrane, puncturing it clean through.

-119 hp!

I plummeted out of the sky. By luck or happenstance, Liqheist had turned its attention back to the orc, so they didn’t have time to finish me off. Despite the nearly fatal strike, I was still alive. I floated back into the air, dripping blood. I still couldn’t get over the difference between pain as a player and as an NPC. Gruesome as it looked, this barely hurt at all by comparison to before I’d become an adventurer.

In the distance, a ways away I saw the angel and my gravestone. The extra health bonuses of my equipment weren’t high but they would be a bit of a safety buffer from another ice spear impaling me.

The fight was going well for the raptor. Without the Druid’s enfeeblements and constant efforts to slow the raptor, it had the time to pounce on the Orc and disarm her. I took the chance and left the clearing.

The gravestone and the angel hovered over the spot where I’d died. Wasn’t that poignant? I’d never gotten so much as a bloodstain before and now I got a full funeral service.

I tried not to be bitter as I touched the gravestone. The angel smiled beatifically and spread her arms wide before slowly rising into the sky.

No NPC box appeared for collecting your own dead body, but after I’d done so my gear was magically back in place. My hit points jumped a little but it was my dexterity and stealth that were boosted the most. My stealing abilities were my strongest feature but those weren’t very useful at the moment.

Then again… perhaps I’d been going about this the wrong way.

My health had begun steadily recovering as soon as the ambient music had calmed back to the quiet tones of the Jungle proper. My health wasn’t very high compared to warriors or paladins like Akwa, but high dexterity allowed rapid health recovery and speed. Still, the recovery was a little slow so I took out a health potion and downed it before turning back to the fight.

Liqheist, grand as she was, was beginning to fall under the combined onslaught of the three adventurers. While his bolts didn’t seem very effective, Feather Cap’s ice powers were steadily slowing down the rapid bites and attacks that the raptor favored, making it easier and easier for the Orc to block the attacks with its jaw.

It was almost anticlimactic how I found him. I was taking in the battle, making sure my next strike would be a safe ambush when I spotted Bugbear, hanging out on the sidelines. He was hidden behind a small bush and was still struggling against a tangled web of vines.

‘I don’t have to involve myself in this battle at all,” I thought, excitement growing. If I could just-!

“Hey, the Jellyfish is back! Over there!” called out the Druid, pointing straight at me.

“Dammit!” I cursed.

Feather Cap wasted no time diverting his ice bolts and suddenly I was dodging the little missiles for dear life.

I faded to near invisibility and zipped into the sky to the shout of “Aww haxx!” from the mage. Idly, I wondered why he didn’t have to chant to send spells.

My pondering was cut off as Odessa seemed to materialize from nowhere. Her axe was already descending to cleave me in two.

“Got it!” she shouted in triumphant glee.

I activated my Sovereign class steal ability and snatched the Axe. The thing was so big it could’ve doubled as one of Akwa or Tall Metals’ shields, but the size of an item didn’t seem to matter when stealing in combat.

Obtained Mighty Axe of Mighty Might!

I ignored the quick NPC box and it faded away as the Orc’s weapon disappeared mid swing, stuffed safely into my inventory, causing the Orc to overbalance and topple to the ground.

‘Mighty Axe of Mighty Might? Really?’ The situation was tense but the name was so ridiculous I had to take the time to judge whoever created the thing.

“What the fuck!?” She shouted. “That thing stole my… ahhhH!!”

A pair of massive teeth chomped down onto the orc and without her axe, disabled and on the ground, she had no chance to dodge. She screamed in panic as Ligheist lifted her by the torso into the air, teeth digging into the abdomen.

“Fuck this!” The orc screamed before holding up an item of some sort and shattering it. She disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the Mage and the Druid to face the bloody lipped Raptor alone.

“Did she just…?” Feather Cap asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, she did.” Vishy responded.

“Bail?”

“Definitely.”

The two turned and fled. I grinned overjoyed to finally have them out of the way. Now I could-!

Liqheist, of course, roared and charged straight for me, completely ignoring my invisibility. Fuck! Why did I keep forgetting that the raptor might be kin but she wasn’t a friend!?

She barreled towards me and my hesitation left me no time to escape. I’d fucked up!

I turned away, hoping I’d still be able to find Bugbear when I came back when a thunderous boom echoed behind me.

I blinked, pushed back a little by the shockwave. Turning around I found the last thing I expected to see.

A man stood proudly on top of the crushed skull of Liqheist. A small crater remained in the ground where the man had cleared landed, and he now stood knee-deep in crushed skull and bone. The back half of the raptor still stood on two hind legs, the tail twitching wildly, but somehow remained upright despite its mutilated head.

“You… looked to be in trouble,” said Tyrone, hefting a blade almost as ridiculous as the axe I’d just stolen and putting it on his back. “Got your whistle. Did you need something?”

I laughed joyously, morphed back into my human form, and ran to the man, hugging him. He laughed, too.