Skyborne Raider

Two arrows hit the creature. One goes through its neck, and the metal tip buries itself in its chest, locking between the bones. Another arrow misses and gets stuck in its abdomen.

The head is pinned to its own body. Struggling to pull it out, the veiny neck strains but fails. The shot that went through at close proximity was strong and lucky; it likely went through one of the vertebrae and lodged firmly.

An angry scream follows as a pointy sabre pierces the neck and drives into the chest. Now, a health bar appears above the creature with the name Jeffrey - Level 14.

They heard my screams despite the wind blowing the other way and the horde of these zombies trampling mindlessly through the forest.

After the fast attack, it’s stunned for a brief moment, and I seize my chance. Grabbing my hammer with both hands, I grip the bottom of the hilt over the pommel.

A strong pull is enough to rip part of its jaw. Of course, the health bar doesn’t change at all. Mike rushes in and pulls the arrow out of the abdomen.

“Quickly, move!” he orders, grabbing Astrid by the hand. They turn toward the moon and start running away.

I don’t hesitate for a second and grab the torch while it’s still burning, at least a little. I lock my eyes on the closest pile of leaves. Quickly relocating myself while the undead struggles, I stick the torch inside the pile while crouching, blowing on it. It catches fire as the abomination, with its pinned neck, chaotically approaches. I have an idea of grounding it since it can’t balance itself well because of the pinned neck.

Swiping my hammer at heel level, I smash its rotting, dried leg. It doesn’t break the bone but causes it to lose balance.

I stand up, leaving my hammer on the ground, and kick the creature in what I hope is the best spot to finally make it go down, wishing I was wearing something heavy and sturdy with a metal sole.

It finally trips and hits the ground with a thud and a gurgle. The torch burns brightly, and so does the pile of leaves I set on fire.

The strong wind helps fan the flames even more. It seems the odds are in my favor. The expanding fire illuminates the area, and I can see everything more clearly.

“Great! I still have time.” There don’t seem to be any sprinters like Jeff here.

I pick up both the hammer and the burning torch, then stick the flame under the creature’s crotch. That’s where the most fabric hangs, and I believe it will catch fire easily.

It does, just as I thought.

“Mark! Damnit!” I hear Mike’s voice echo through the trees.

“I’m coming! Everything’s fine!” I respond, though they probably can’t hear me over the wind blowing from their direction.

Grabbing the torch in my left hand, a wild, broken, and wicked idea sparks in my mind! I love and adore nature, but the temptation is strong.

My brain tells me to do it, despite knowing there are other ways.

I turn around and head back toward the horde. The wind would probably do the work for me, but I decide to run along the edge and set fire to everything I think will ignite quickly.

The forest lights up, and I spot another sprinter. “Good. I’ll take this as a sign. Enough is enough.”

I throw the torch into the bushes and start sprinting toward the open meadow, where Astrid and Mike await under the moonlight.

“What took you so long? Did you lose the torch?!” Mike yells, clearly angry as they had to risk coming back.

“There was another sprinter following me. Brace yourselves,” I say, trying to steer his anger with a warning.

*Ding*

“What? The first sprinter finished burning?”

My mind fills with joy. I walk backward, facing the forest as bright orange flames spread. The fires I started are all over in the middle! In the distance, a longnecked figure bursts out of the flames, sprinting toward us.

“Now is the time to end this one,” I declare to myself and start walking toward the creature.

“Stats!” I yell out loud!

Markus Hale foreigner level 12

Strength 14 no skill

Agility 3 no skill

Willpower 4 no skill

Endurance 4 no skill

“Aargh! Yes!” I grunt as I get pumped up. My arms twitch as I raise my hammer over my head. The moon behind, the fire ahead.

My mind wanders, imagining epic scenarios. What if I get points for all those that burn too?

Tightening my grip once again, I let out a scream as I swing my hammer and land it on the creature's shoulder with a loud crack. One blow is enough to dislocate its left arm.

Pumped and caught in the heat of battle, I swiftly turn, go around it, and smash the spine. Another aggressive, precise hit over the kneecap.

*Crack*

Why does this feel so satisfying and not gruesome anymore?

The creature falls to the ground, and I smash its other knee, cracking it to pieces. The golden hammer reflects the moonlight—my precious!

I stomp on its neck, grasp my hammer with both hands, and smash it right on the forehead. Again, I wish for a heavy boot instead of a feather-light sneaker.

The hammerhead buries into the skull, and I rip part of its head off as I furiously pull it out. It feels so light! I swing my hammer with ease and precision.

Is this because of the skill points or adrenaline? Do I really get stronger, and I don't even have to go to the gym?!

Turning around, I look at Mike and Astrid. “What were you talking about? I interrupted you.”

They seem surprised and stunned, maybe even afraid.

“I don’t know if I want to continue, or you’ll kill me too,” Mike says, half-joking, shaking his head while the almost headless creature writhes on the ground.

“But you really didn’t have to drop that torch. How crazy that the fire spread so fast.” He notes.

“We don’t dare enter that dark forest behind us. It gives off nothing good. We avoided the knight’s direction before. I think you just cut off our only way out, man,” Mike reasons.

I ignore him. My eyes dart back and forth as I calculate the possibilities. If what I’ve done now even fails, then that one here might work. To lure them there, the dirty job will be done by this one.

Then, just a spark is needed. If everything goes according to plan, we get rid of that too, and I could take all of that! And oh boy, that would be great having all of that!

Not to mention what these will provide. To the moon! Yeah!

“Is he a zombie too?” Mike asks Astrid, poking her.

“What?" I look at them.

"Come on. Let’s create more distance, and I’ll explain my plan.”

“What are you up to?” Astrid asks.

“What the hell, Mark?” Mike asks, confused.

“Come!” I encourage them.

Galloping away from the edge to get a better view of the situation, we stop at the road leading to the crossroads where the pervy knight resides. We’re back in the same area.

“So, what do you have in mind?” Mike asks, putting his arm around Astrid's shoulder. We watch the forest outline as the fire slowly spreads.

The nutria's meadow is a large, almost rectangular expanse, divided by the crossroads. Behind us, an inaccessible rocky formation behind which I assume is that bamboo area. On the right is the knight and the road that leads around him.

On the left is a dark, steep forest so dense we don’t dare enter. It’s weird we never even talked about it. Just a glimpse gives an uneasy feeling. But now’s not the time.

As we watch the fire slowly spread over the forest edge in front of us, I notice movement on the right. I watch the silhouettes—janky, tall, and chaotic. A horde of longnecks is coming through, maybe escaping the fire.

The only safe spot to re-enter the forest is slightly to the left, if we’re lucky and the fire hasn’t spread there yet.

“There,” I point to the far right edge of the fringe.

“Longnecks.” Mike and Astrid both turn their heads.

“I don’t see anything,” Mike says, and Astrid squints.

Strange. Maybe that one berry still has a slight effect?

“They’re coming through. A lot of them.”

“So?” Mike asks.

“We gotta pay a visit to an old friend. Maybe even two.”

“Ahh."

"You cunning bastard!” Mike says, cracking a smile as his eyes light up with opportunity.