Portal Game Chapter 3 - Unintelligent Decisions(2)

'I'll just have a quick look around and then head back, no harm done.' James thought, noting that Svilenia's single sun was beginning to descend. He was already pushing his luck just by being here.

James explored the nearby forest not worrying about staying close to the clearing. The [Portal Sense] skill displayed its usefulness the entire time, staying true to its skill description. With only less than half an hour of sunlight remaining and the sky fully taking on a sunset hue, the young adult found something of note after half an hour of exploring. A couple hundred meters arbitrary north from the portal, James found a small dirt path trailing through the woods. Curious, the young adult decided to follow it, choosing a direction at random. The trail was about a meter in width and was obviously not made with the intention to see heavy traffic. The path winded through the trees in an uphill direction, much to James' annoyance. Then just as James found himself at the top of the hill, the forest ended.

The young adult found himself standing before plains of grass that stretched all the way to the rocky mountains that he saw on the horizon. Fields of wheat and herds of exotic livestock filled the interim between himself and snowy peaks. Crowning the magnificent view was a City straight out of a fairytale. Humongous gray city walls circled the bustling settlement of buildings that only became more extravagant until they reached the castle at the centre. The gigantic construction was crafted by a blue variant of stone, nothing like James had ever seen before. Perspective played tricks on James' eyes, making the towering pillars of the castle almost seem to rival the mountains in height. James noticed that the dirt path he had followed thus far continued down the hill for about another kilometre before it converged onto a larger concrete paved road. He saw what he thought to be a caravan of merchants travelling along it, making their way to grande gates of the city to finish their long journey across the wilderness. A caravan of people, Native people.

Finding civilization that wasn’t from Earth stopped James in his tracks. He knew nothing of the culture here and wasn't mentally prepared to traverse the potential minefield that was communicating with these people. What if these people hated foreigners? What would he do if they were hostile? Although James doubted that these would actually be issues, it wasn’t a risk that James wanted to take. Not today at least. Besides, the sun was minutes away from setting completely and soon the sky would be dark.

"I guess I should go back now" James sighed, knowing he had perhaps overstayed.

Heading back through the forest, the journey took less time than it did to arrive at the great hill that oversaw the city. Before long, night had descended on Svilenia and the violet glow of the portal was within sight.

"The next time I come here I'll enter the City" James decided. "If this world is anything like the video games I played then…"

GRRRR

James's thoughts were rudely interrupted by a very unwelcoming growl. He jolted his body to the side towards where the unexpected sound came from and discovered a hulking black wolf just 10 metres away. The abomination was a meter and a half tall, double the size of wolves on earth. The beast cautiously yet hungrily watched the young adult with giant glowing red eyes, each containing a slit pupil not unlike those that a reptile would have. It's mouth hung upon, revealing razor sharp daggers for teeth and saliva that dripped down onto the forest floor. James slowly looked behind him. He was only a few steps away from the clearing, and 20 meters away from the portal.

'Definitely a crappy weekend…' James thought depressedly, resisting the urge to panic. His thoughts raced rapidly, reflecting on everything he knew about wolves.

"If I make any sudden moves, I'm dead!"

The revelation sent cold sweat down the back of James' neck. He gulped and inched back slowly step by step, making sure to keep his body facing the wolf. Unsurprisingly, the wolf followed.

'Why does the damn thing have to follow me?!!!' He asked himself, teetering on the edge of insanity. James answered his own question almost instantly after.

'It's a wolf, of course it's going to follow me'.

Congratulating himself to remain calm enough to not break down completely, James kept retreating whilst making sure not to make any sudden movements. Notwithstanding the danger, the young adult found that his thoughts had remained somewhat lucid. Somehow, a giant pink wormhole appearing from nowhere was much more frightening than a big bad wolf, or perhaps that was just the adrenalin talking.

When James was only 5 meters away he bolted. He shrieked and ducked to the ground as the abomination pounced after him, its sharp claws only just missing his neck as it flew overcommitted on its offense and flew past him. Safe for now, James scrambled to the portal and dove into it before Jacob Black gone wrong could further pursue him.

Seconds later, James found himself in the comfort of his own bathroom and slumped to the floor in relief. He gasped for air as he suddenly found himself safe from harm.

"Haha, no wolf is eating me today!"

James began laughing deliriously as the events of the day raced through his mind. Could the day get any crazier? The young adult realised his mistake when the wolf's nose suddenly poked out from the portal and started sniffing at the air.

"Shit!"

James jumped to his feet and fumbled the lock on the door as the wolf jumped through the portal completely and landed lopsided in the bathtub. It flailed around trying to regain its footing as James finally escaped the confines of that dreaded place. He turned on his heels to slam the door but he was too late as the wolf burst though and knocked James to the floor. Luckily for James, the wolf crashed into a wall and rebounded onto the ground, giving time for the young adult to get on his feet.

"Elise! There's a wolf! Run!" James yelled as he sprinted to the living room.

"What the hell are you on about you moron?!" Elise replied from the comfort of the sofa.

"RUN!!!!" James screamed as he jumped over the sofa and took cover.

"Are you actually a retard?!" Elise looked at James with the most incredulous expression she could manage.

At this point the wolf arrived, inciting a panicked scream from Elise. It vaulted the sofa in an attempt to catch James but again failed as it crushed the coffee table on impact before being dragged through the television by the momentum. James took this opportunity to escape back towards the bathroom while Elise, now somewhat motivated to follow his advice, followed him.

"James, that was a wolf. WHAT THE FUCK is a wolf doing in the house?!" Elise practically screamed.

"I don't know, it just happened!"

"The fuck do you mean ‘it just happend’?"

James looked behind his shoulder to see the wolf rising to its feet, seemingly disorientated.

Not willing to risk fumbling with his keys to unlock the apartment door, James ran to the kitchen and slammed the door shut behind him once they were both inside.

"You know what Elise?" James hurriedly took out a large knife from one of the kitchen drawers. "The next time I'm desperately calling for help, perhaps you should come and check it out. Then maybe, just maybe, things might end differently."

"What does that have to do with anything?" The university student was trembling with her arms folded.

"Everything Elise! Everything"

"Dude, you were screaming in the bathroom! Does that sound like something I might want to investigate?"

The wolf smashed through the door in response to Elise's question and face planted the oven. James was already there before the wolf could take any further action. He stabbed the wolf in the neck and then turned on his tail in an attempt to hit and run. They both ran back through the corridor into the living room with Elise sprinting ahead of him. Just as they were about to reach the exit, Elise veered off, choosing instead to lock herself in her room.

"What the hell are you doing?!!!" James called after her.

"I need to get something!"

James cursed under his breath. The girl was a lost cause if she thought that right now was a good time to pack her bags. Reluctantly, but not having any other feasible choice, James closed the distance between himself and the apartment door. With any luck, the wolf would chase after him and get lost somewhere instead of attacking Elise.

Arriving within seconds, the young adult took out his keys which thankfully cooperated with him for once as he frantically unlocked the door. Just as he was about to open it he heard the sound of shuffling feet coming from the living room. James looked over his shoulder with a heart full of false hope as he prayed not to see what he expected to lurk behind him. The young adult found himself disappointed. His eyes widened in horror as he noticed the wolf enter the corridor, walking with a heavy limp and leaving a bloody trail of paw prints behind it. The animal was heavily injured by his attack earlier, and colliding with the walls and furniture of the apartment hadn't done it any good. One of its eyes had been cut open by a shard of glass from the television and the kitchen knife was still lodged in its throat. James knew that none of that would save him. Even on its last legs, the wolf could easily overpower him

The wolf prepared itself to pounce, visibly eager to finish off the prey that had given it so much trouble. Just as James braced himself for the worst, Elise's bedroom door burst open and the stupid girl charged at wolf whilst screaming at the top of her voice in some kind of warcry. In her hand was… a sword? Why the hell did Elise have a sword?

The wolf attempted to reposition itself to face the new threat but found itself hindered by the cramped space of the corridor. Elise struck down clumsily at the wolf managing to lightly cut it's right hip, which only served to enrage it. The monstrosity finally succeeded in turning around, causing Elise's face to turn dreadfully pale. The girl tumbled backwards, her sword clattering to the floor as she scrambled to get away. She was cornered. Thankfully for her, the beast didn't get a chance to take any further action. Afterall, James had already made his move.

As soon as Elise had charged the Wolf, James charged it as well, jumping on top of it in a pathetic attempt to mount the terrible creature. He grabbed the knife stuck in the monster's throat and removed it only to impale the wolf again and again and again, until the hideous thing finally stopped moving.

*ding*

{Dire Wolf Cub (Lvl 4) slain - Experience gained}

{Experience threshold reached! Level Up!}

{You have reached Level 1! All stats increased by +1. One free point gained!}

{Requirements met! You may now choose your first class!}

{You have reached Level 2! All stats increased by +1. One free point gained!}

…

{You have reached Level 5! All stats increased by +1. One free point gained!}

James ignored the Voice of Svilenia, not even questioning why it was still able to speak to him on Earth. He stood up, almost tumbling as he did so. There was blood everywhere. The walls of the corridor were cracked and broken pieces of furniture scattered across the wooden floor. It was going to take a long time to clear up this mess. His eyes met Elise’s terrified gaze. The girl was still collapsed on the floor, trembling as she leaned against her bedroom door. Slowly, she got to her feet as the two looked at each other, neither of them knowing what to say.

“So, you have a sword?” It was James who broke the silence.

“It’s a katana actually!” Elise’s voice still had an edge to it despite her obvious terror.

James raised an eyebrow at her until she threw her hands up in defense.

“Fine! I got it at ComicCon last summer. Is that okay with you?!” She raised her voice.

“Absolutely! It seems like your needless nerdiness actually paid off for once.”

“Oh fuck you James, it’s not like you’re any better!”

James was just about to retort that playing video games was perfectly normal when Elise shot him a look that kept him quiet. Perhaps it was best not to argue about these things just after they had almost died and when there was still a giant dead wolf festering on the ground between them.

“You!” Elise took a deep breath. “Have a crap ton of explaining to do!”

The both of them froze as the doorbell suddenly rang, a sound that seemed so out of place considering everything that had just happened. Not even 3 seconds had passed before somebody started banging on the door violently. The two shared a look and took in each other’s state. Elise only looked a little disheveled while James was soaked head to toe with the wolf’s blood. It was obvious who was going to have to answer the door.

“I swear, one of these days I’m going to kill these bloody neighbors” Elise stomped over to the door while James got to work on dragging away the wolf’s dead body.

It looked like Mrs Smith had come over to complain about the noise… Again.