Crumbling down
1280 Words
Leaning his head forward, Aaron calculated the distance. The c***k was over 12 meters wide and the cave’s roof was collapsing all around. There was not a second to be lost!
“Leaping Leopard!” A burst of adrenaline flooded Aaron’s body and he made the deadly jump!
The leap had been timed to perfection. Aaron landed on the other side and watched the crevice widen behind him.
Seeing Aaron, the blue-haired girl immediately assumed a defensive stance. She was still unsure about his true intentions.
“I’m here to help. Please, just trust me!”
“Get away from us!” she screamed.
The older girl stood there confused. She didn’t know if she could trust him. After all, he was a competitor.
“We don’t have time for this!” Aaron shouted. “Take my hand, right now!” Sheathing his Naginata, Aaron extended his hand.
“How do you plan on getting across? Do you have a teleportation scroll or flying mount?” the older girl asked.
“I don’t have either, but I have a plan.” Aaron looked into her eyes and gave her a slow nod, “We’re all gonna die here if you don’t make a call. What’s it gonna be?”
She turned away from him and looked at her partner. “Go with him, Izzy.”
“But—”
“Just go!”
Reprimanded by her sister, the blue-haired Geomancer teared up just a bit. With tingling fingers and a nervous heart, she let go of her sister and took Aaron’s hand.
“Grab me, tight.” Aaron put his left arm around her back and she put hers around his neck.
Zach stood there near the entrance of the cave, urging Aaron to make the jump. The plan was crystal clear. If things didn’t go well and Aaron ended up dying, Zach would go back to a save point and try to load the last saved file. Though he wanted to help, he knew he couldn’t risk both of them getting killed at the same time.
Aaron took a deep breath and changed weapons. “Equip: Lasso of Hestia.” Swirling the rope at full speed, he aimed for the largest overhanging block of stalactite. The lasso tightened around it, giving him a firm grip on the rocky surface. “Activate ability: Indomitable Strength. Activate ability: Adrenaline Rush!”
Taking a few steps back, Aaron calculated the distance. “Here we go!” Holding the blue-haired girl as tightly as possible, he dashed forward. The short run allowed him to build up enough momentum. It was just what he needed to swing across the gap and land safely on the other side.
“Zach, get her out of here. I’m going for the other girl,” Aaron put the shield-bearer on the ground and turned around to go back for the older girl. Detaching the lasso from the stalactite formation overhead, he aimed for the berserker standing on the other side.
The floor of the cave gave in under her and she barely managed to grab hold of the lasso. Aaron felt a sharp pull on the rope as the weight dragged him to the very edge of the c***k. The blonde-haired axe wielder was hanging on to the other end of the lasso.
“Zach! I can’t pull her up alone. Help me!”
“If we both die, it’s game over, man!”
“We won’t die!” Aaron shouted back. “Don’t be a wuss. Get your ass back here!”
“f**k, man! You’re crazy!”
Zach and the blue-haired girl rushed to Aaron’s aid. They grabbed hold of the lasso’s other end and pulled with all their strength. The Geomancer boosted their strength with her supporting buffs and they reeled the other girl up. The berserker climbed up at last and joined her sister.
“Go, go go!”
All four of them headed for the exit as the whole cave started collapsing. They managed to get out moments before the whole roof came crumbling down, permanently closing the entrance of the cave.
The weather outside was as cold as before, but the wind had stopped blowing. The mountain was now covered in a thick layer of snow. Zach felt the chill creep up inside his bones as he looked around at the vast expanse of flaky white mounds.
Strangely enough, the two girls were doing just fine in the cold, despite being dressed in metal armour.
“Here, take this. It should help you deal with the cold.” The blonde-haired girl took out a mellow orange potion from her satchel and handed it to Zach.
Zach reluctantly took it from her, giving her a suspicious stare. He had never been too trustful of strangers, even more so in competitive games. In survival games like this, many cunning players often adopted the dirtiest tricks to kill unsuspecting newbies and take their loot.
Seeing Zach eyeing the bottle suspiciously, the berserker took out another similar potion. She popped open the lid and drank it all in one go. “See? It’s not poison.”
“Well, you could have modified it.”
“I can kill you right now and I don’t need poison for that.” She equipped her dual axes and pointed one at him.
Aaron quickly stepped between them, preventing the situation from escalating any further. “There’s no need for this.” Giving the girl a stern nod, he turned to Zach. “You are playing a support, bro. Even if it’s poison, you can just detoxify yourself using the Curia skill. I think we can trust them.”
“Yeah, why not? It’s not like they were trying to kill us a few minutes ago.”
Aaron “Do you wanna freeze your ass over here? Cause, I’m just gonna leave you behind.”
“Of course, you’re gonna side with the girls,” Zach muttered under his breath. “Simping level 999.”
“What was that?” Aaron arched his eyebrows, bringing his face closer to Zach.
“Fine, I’m drinking it now.” Zach gave the girls an awkward smile before opening the potion. It smelt just like a health potion, but he was still suspicious. He took a small sip at first and waited for something to happen. In seconds, he stopped shivering and the natural glow returned to his face. “Okay, that is indeed a warmth potion.” Without further argument, he finished the whole vial.
The shield-bearer took out another similar potion and held it in front of Aaron. “Here’s one for you. And thanks for saving us.”
“I don’t need one.”
“But—”
“It’s okay Izzy,” the older girl interrupted. “He’s a fire-wielder. Cold weather has no effect on an adult Pyromancer.”
“How do you know that? You didn’t even scan him, sis?”
“You don’t need to scan players to find out what Predator type they’re playing. You only need to look at their eyes and fingertips.”
Aaron was impressed by the girl’s knowledge. This was definitely not her first time playing Evolution Island. He was glad the duel didn’t drag on to the end. Though the shield-bearer was relatively inexperienced, the blonde-haired berserker seemed like a hardcore gamer.
“We should find a way down the mountain,” Aaron suggested. “It’s gonna be dark in an hour.”
No one expressed any opposition on this matter. It didn’t matter how experienced a player was, staying out in the open was a bad idea at night.
- Writer
