Zyra’s boots sank into the damp soil as she slipped into the jungle, the canopy above twisting into frightening shapes. The trees had all mutated many years ago, their branches curling like claws, their leaves pulsing, hissing or shimmering in different unnatural ways.
Even though she could see them, she could feel beasts lurking somewhere in the shadows and hear growls muffled by the thick air.
She moved quickly, weaving between trunks that oozed sap like blood, sparing the occasional glance at her tattoo.
"So, this truly does represent me on the map," she whispered to herself, a mixture of awe and absolute dread pooling in her stomach. How was it tracking her movements? Had the glove embedded some kind of location device in her blood?
After thinking of it, she was reminded of her bare hands. For safety reasons, it was best to have gloves on in the jungle. Anything here could kill. So, Zyra stopped for a moment and donned two different gloves on her hands. The Somnivore glove and an ordinary one. Once again, she gripped the blade in her hands and moved forward.
The she froze. A sound, low, human and embarrassing came from behind a thicket. She crept closer, and there he was: one of the hunters, trousers around his ankles, crouched in the foliage. His weapons were on the ground. He had stepped away from the group to.... take a shit!
She intended to move on as stealthily as she had crept over, but he turned his head around and saw her. His eyes widened. Recognition flashed across his face. "Scorpion..." he whispered, one hand fumbling for his gun, and another reaching for the whistle around his neck.
Zyra didn’t hesitate. She lunged, blade flashing. Before he could raise the whistle to his lips, she drove the knife into his neck. His gasp was short, his body collapsing against the roots of a tree.
She exhaled, steadying herself. "Sorry," she muttered, though her tone was not practical than remorseful. "Wrong place to take a shit." The jungle was creeping with beasts. What had he been thinking?
As she pulled her blade free, a drop of her blood spilled in the scuffle and fell on his arm. Immediately, ants, massive and bright green emerged from the soil. They sniffed the air, antennae twitching. One caught a scent of her blood and suddenly the swarm surged forward.
Zyra stepped, back, watching with grim amusement as the ants descended on the corpse. "That spares me the need to dig a hole."
She backed away by three feet, taking the vial with the healing liquid from the beast domain to heal her cut quickly. It was no secret that the blood of Soul maidens was different, after all, their genes were not fully human.
In her previous life, her blood had been ordinary. In this one, not so much!
[Ding: Congratulations host for achieving your first kill.
Reward: 10 unassigned points for upgrading your stats.
1 vial of beast healing liquid
1 V-mist to mask your scent for 7 hours.] Beauty blinked adorably, [I knew adventure waited in the jungle.]
Zyra rolled her eyes so hard she nearly saw her own brain. "Easy for you to say. You live in a screen. If something bites or stabs me, I’m the one who bleeds." She could not hide her smile however, because she had gained something useful.
Despite her complaints, Zyra looked at the thick, menacing jungle ahead of her, took a deep breath, and continued on her way. But she thought of the gun she had left behind and turned back. The ants were still working on the body, but their speed was impressive. Their mandibles cut like tiny scissors. Within minutes, the hunter’s body was reduced to scraps. The whistle swallowed into the writhing mass. They did not even spare his bones, pulling them into the ground.
But they did leave the gun, which Zyra picked up. She stashed it in her front pocket, sprayed herself with some V-mist. The smell was so offensive that it made her want to cry. "What the hell is in this thing?"
[Ghost fern. Better to smell like a swamp monster than bait.]
She pinched her nose. Beggars could not be chooser for now. "System, add those points to my stats, strength, agility and speed." She watched as her stats changed, feeling heat within her body.
[Host Status Panel]
Zyra Scorpion.
Half-life Beast: Green Horn Serpent.
Resonance Points: 5
Unassigned Points: 0
Health: 100%
Strength: 4
Agility: 3
Speed: 3
Command Aura: None.
Beast Bond: Initial Stage.
Beasts: 2
Skills: None.]
Satisfied with the new changes, she felt more confident following the trail laid out on her hand. The map was guiding her into the deeper, darker parts of the jungle. Every few minutes, a distant, throat-rattling growl would echo through the trees. Each sound made Zyra’s shoulders jump higher.
What am I doing? she thought, clutching her knife tightly. I’m walking straight into a beast buffet.
Suddenly, a loud, sharp ding! echoed right inside her brain, making her jump a foot in the air.
[Ding! New Mission Issued!
Mission Objective: Kill four Grime-Stripe Cats and retrieve their Energy Stones.
Reward: 1 healing liquid.]
Zyra froze. Her arm was currently raised, mid-air, just about to use her knife to slice through a thick, annoying tree branch that was blocking her path. She held the pose like a statue, staring blankly into space.
"Mission?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. She turned her head to look at the screen. "Since when are missions part of this?"
Beauty popped up, rubbing her digital hands together like a shady businessman. [Well, my dear Host, you need to accumulate Energy Stones for human needs and resonance points for mine. Your debt to the system is tragically high.... seriously, you’re practically bankrupt in our database.]
Zyra sighed, lowering her arm. She couldn’t argue with that logic. "Fine. But snakes don’t have hands, they..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a sound echoed through the cold air.
Waaaaah...
Waaaaah...
Zyra’s heart squeezed. It sounded exactly like a human baby crying out in pain, lost and helpless in the dark. It was a heartbreaking, pitiful sound that made her instantly want to run forward and help.
But then she remembered where she was. This wasn’t a playground; it was a terrifying jungle. Why would a baby be here?
"System, is that a real baby?" She whispered.
[Don’t be a fool, Host! [That is a trap! Grime-Stripe Cats make sounds that mimics human babies to trick foolish, soft-hearted travelers into letting their guard down. The moment you go to comfort the ’baby,’ they pounce and turn you into dinner.]
Zyra shuddered, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. "That is incredibly messed up and also something humans should know." So, why didn’t they know?
[System Scanning active. Target acquired two meters to your left.
Strengths; Night vision, can leap great distances.
Weakness; Slower than other types of wild cats and sensitive to intense light.]
The virtual screen flickered, instantly displaying a layout of the thickets just thirty paces ahead. Four glowing red outlines appeared on the screen. In appearance, they looked like small leopards, but their fur was covered in greasy, dark-gray stripes that helped them blend perfectly with the mud and shadows. They were positioned in a hunting circle, their glowing yellow eyes locked onto her direction. Their mouths open as they continued to let out those creepy, crying sounds.
Zyra tightened her grip on her blade, the green crystals blinking rapidly against her palm. "Alright. I guess I will start stocking up on meat supplies the old-fashioned way."