Savanto

Four

The Mangallu approached Santiago cautiously, seemingly having noticed the lightning and the glowing body of the masked avatar. It still drew closer and closer, seeking to satiate its curiosity of the small prey it had found and moreover—its hunger.

Something deep inside Santiago warned him not to turn his back and run. He soon realized that the beast before him, this strange Mantis-demon, had not charged at him because it was still unsure of what to make of the young man. It hesitated like a wary creature, minding its steps on the sand, seeking not to disturb him. But disturbed he already was, as well as alarmed. Santiago did not want to test his luck. His mind quickly revised how he was supposed to use any godly powers he had acquired during his accident with the polearm. His buff still had 4 minutes on the counter, and going steadily down.

He knew that any swift movements would cause the Mangallu to rush at him so to close the gap between them. Whatever he was going to gamble with, he needed to be certain and assume the consequences. He hastily analyzed how to activate Ishkur's Blessing, looking at his hands and the Mangallu back and forth as the beast drew closer yet took its time.

Was it a gesture of his hand? Was it a melee attack? How can I activate his Lightning bolt? The young man's mind reviewed his limited knowledge of all the MMOs he had played before—a few ten in all his experience. All of them had a voice command that activated abilities, so perhaps...

The monster had arrived at a clear distance to hit, it raised one of its claws without warning—it was probably toying with Santiago before having its spoils, like a curious creature. The claw came down too fast for the young man to evade, yet Santiago managed to avoid the full brunt of the attack, flying away because of the shockwave instead.

From his crashing site, he lifted his head (whilst cursing) to try and spot Zamani; perhaps he could make it wake up and together defeat this new attacker. However, it was then when he realized that his companion had its hands full as well, as two of the same creatures and as big as the one attacking him, had ambushed the Great Lizard in its sleep. This was a coordinated attack on them. Zamani towered and showed more strength than the Mangallus, like a lion mobbed by hyenas. The three roared at each other as they rolled in a savage display of biting, mauling and trying to rip off limbs.  

"Zamani!" he shouted,

"Master!" he cried in response, just as it hit a Mangallu with its powerful frontal claws, sending it crying in shrieks, "These foul surface beasts have resolved to eat us! How dare they face an Elekron!" the second one climbed on its back by using the slope of the nearest dune as a platform. The Elekron roared, twirling its body like a crocodile breaking limbs on a river. They rolled again, but Zamani managed to tear the Mantis-demon away.

"Will you be ok?" Santiago answered as he stood up, facing his own big problem.

"The night does hinder my fighting capabilities, but these Mangallu suffer my wrath, and they will never bother another Elekron again." said the reptile, shaking its head to wear off the cold.

"Good to know."

As their telepathic link hindered due to their stress over the situation, Santiago saw his opponent closing in again for another hit. He quickly glimpsed his HP vial—it was a third full.

"The cards are set, no time for caution," he said.

The masked avatar reached out towards the Mangallum with his hand. He had to test his theory, it was all or nothing. The giant insect was already in front of him.

"Lightning Bolt!" he shouted.

Nothing happened, although the monster was taken aback by the sudden shout.

"Dammit!" 

He saw the claw flying towards him again, but this time he jettisoned backward, falling on his back. The hit did take some of the sand and blurred his view. Then another hit appeared—this Mangallum was speeding its attacks, wanting to finish off its little prey before going against Zamani.

"As... as if I'll let you!" He said, "Ack!"

He barely managed to escape the second attack, this time he used the shockwave to create some distance, effectively giving him more time,  but it was all truly relative.

The beast also increased its pace, leaving holes in the sand as it quick-stepped towards him. Santiago had somehow landed on his feet after a few rolls. His adrenaline was taking over, as the legs and feet moved on their own. As he ran, he glanced the polearm still stuck in the sand dune a few meters away. 

"Let's hope this thing is not smart enough to see me through!" He said, gasping for air, the red contour palpitated with his every heartbeat. His health was at a limit.

He conquered the dune, his legs hurting and chest damaged—2 minutes before the buff ended.

Is this my time to die? Will it really end like this?

Santiago cared little about the virtual reality he was in now, he was truly afraid of dying. Moreover, he did not want to lose Zamani, they had just become friends.

He heard the hard steps of the Mangallu sneaking behind him. Santiago did not want to look back, he knew he would lose pacing, but he could feel the sharp ends of the claws cutting the wind in the storm as he reached out to grab the spear.

The monster shrieked, then it charged, finally understanding Santiago's intentions. 

"Now or never!" he cried. His hands grabbed onto the spear and gripped it. In a moment's blink, the charged energy of his arms and hands traveled across his wrists, palms, and fingers and into the polearm. Santiago pulled it out of the sand and jumped behind it, swinging the spear's tip towards what he perceived was a  Mangallu at his throat. 

Right he was—the claw was just about to reach him when he maneuvered. The spear's tip-blade—charged with Ishkur's Blessing—cut the thick, razor-like claw clean. The Mangallu shrieked in pain, backing and losing its footing. It spun down the dune whilst leaving a trail of green fluids in the once perfectly golden sand.

Now! Do it!

Santiago could smell his victory, he did not have to plan or prepare, his legs moved on their own, leaping towards the monster as it rolled, his body was suddenly flying in the air, spear in hand—its tip pointing at the monster. His eyes met with the monster's for the first time, the sun was beginning to rise, and all the creature saw was the imposing figure it had mistakenly assumed to be prey falling down at it like one its claws had done to Santiago previously. The spear charged with electric power once again, discharging a tail of electricity as it reached its peak power.

One more minute before the buff's cooldown ended.

The polearm thrust into the Mangallum's body and into the sand, bringing its momentum to a halt and spiking it in the middle of the dune. The Mantis-demon released a final gasp before finally dying, its final movement a reflexive jab with its remaining claw. The sun was already over the horizon as Santiago relented and fell to his knees, exhausted.

He looked at his hands as Ishkur's Blessing dwindled and forsook him. His now feeble mind tried to analyze what had just happened. The sun's properties had begun to immediately halt the freezing process that had chopped away Santiago's hit points, and the storm had calmed during the fight—as imminent as when it had arrived.

10 HP, he thought, marveling at how close that encounter had been. His back somehow hurt, the neural sensation the game sent to his brain was all too real. This was not an MMO, it was a survival game—Santiago now understood that.

With the appearance of Savanto's star, Zamani had no difficulty in dealing with the other two, who—affected by the loss of their third member—fled in cowardice. The Elekron rushed to his side so to aid its master, "Master! You don't look well, did that puny scavenger give you a hard time? And yet, activating that flashy power of yours right before their ambush was a spark—nay—a bright star of genius!"

"Thank you, Zamani," thanked Santiago, unsure of what to make of his companions' euphoric remarks, "I see you fared better than me. And with two of them no less."

The Elekron growled, its voice still speaking within Santiago's mind, "Alas, there is another reason us Elekrons dwell in the deep of the desert, especially at night. These foul beasts—who know nothing more than rotten meat and see no more than what their demonic noses tell them to see —compete with my kin for hunting grounds. Us Elekrons are conservative when hunting prey for food: Selecting prey, sparing the young and their mothers; their bellies, however, know no bounds, they would consume the delicate balance my kindred keep, down below, in the deep, turning it into a mirror of what you see here on the surface."

"Are they the cause of this desolate land?" the young man asked, interested as he regained composure.

"By Ishkur, no." it answered with a nearly offended tone at Santiago's apparent ignorance, "they did not cause it, but they sure were born in it, molded by it."

"Please don't tell me we will see more of these in the day."

"We might."

"Shit." Santiago cursed, looking at his already critical health.

"Fret not, master, they will never attack an Elekron in its full senses, that is why they lurk the night's darkness..." Zamani remarked with a sense of self-righteousness before stopping and staring at the distance."

"I see, good to have you then," Santiago said, stretching his hands for any residual energy from the buff—it was gone.

"You must know, however, that my presence cannot prevent us from meeting them."

Zamani's eyes loomed over Santiago, who turned immediately, guided by his friend's sight.

There lied a band of camel and horse riders. Some armed with polearms—albeit different from Santiago's imbued lightning rod—visible in the shadow that cast in their shapes and faces. They observed from a towering dune, not far from where Santiago and Zamani stood. A green banner loomed behind some of their mounts, waving to the now heating wind of the Mosara desert—a true bipolar biome, this place was.

One of the riders, the most adorned of them, rode downhill and waited at the slope, furthering no more towards the two friends—he implied that Santiago had to do the same.

The young man approached the Elekron, "Guard our small campsite,  or what's left of it."

"What about you, master?"

"Don't worry, I believe my presence can deter these guys. so I'll give it a try."

Answering the meeting with this rider, Santiago descended down his dune's slope until both their heads were at the same level.

The rider's face was concealed by the green cowl that covered most of his other attire. His waist wore a sheath coveting a curved blade that made itself clearly visible—as probably intended by the owner. In contrast to this imposing figure, Santiago sometimes used his polearm as a walking stick, his health was still on critical levels.

Both stood silent for some painful and awkward heartbeats until Santiago decided that maybe this was something that he should trigger.

"Good day!" Santiago said, stammering, "A-are you friend or foe, I see you hold my master's banner up high."

The rider was silent.

"We are heading toward the village called Zalm, my master wants us to speak to the Elder, but we lost our way."

The rider's unseen lips remained sealed—it was vexing.

"Do you think you could perhaps show us the way?"

The green rider considered him for a moment, tweaking his head as he examined Santiago's weakened avatar. He then grabbed the cowl and removed its face portion to reveal a bearded man with bronze skin and piercing, deep all-yellow eyes, with no whites. It gave him an even more apathetic overtone to his overall stoic expression. His lips were cut, with flesh-wounds that extended to one of his eyes. Santiago had seen this rare type of human before, back in the city, where he was bought. They were trained warriors to protect the streets, faceless guards that did not reveal themselves, except for the lieutenants—this man was one of the officers. The young man deduced they were on patrol, protecting the city's borders—wherever they may be.

"Come," said the man, a voice so deep that challenged Zamani's growls, "We'll point you in the right direction."

Santiago stood in awe of the man's posture and commanding voice before realizing the offer laid to him. He turned towards the campsite and rushed to the peak of the dune.

"Zamani! Zamani we're leaving!" He shouted, frantic, "Help me pick up everything! Hell, like you can do anything with those enormous claws!"