The buzzing continued, and the glowing stars above wriggled around. Emily noticed they weren't stars at all. With her eyes narrowed, she felt a tugging on her magic power.
Race: [Glow Worm]Age: 1
Sex: Unknown
Level: 2
Health: 60
Stamina: 100
Mana: 140
Glow worms? They moved around, and wings sprouted from their backs. Within a few seconds, the glow worms took to the sky and started descending towards the ground. Emily panicked when she realized a large group of the creatures flapped their wings towards her.
She groaned and clutched the spear tightly in her hands, taking off running in the opposite direction. For the second time since she arrived in this world, she was already fleeing from more predators.
A big tortoise appeared in front of her, and her eyes widened. Yet, the creature was immediately decimated by another flock of glow worms.
They descended on its body and gnawed through it like a swarm of termites. Emily clenched her teeth and turned in a new direction, running thicker into the undergrowth, and away from the cave's exit.
Weeds slashed against her bare legs, cutting her and drawing blood. The thick greenery that once looked beautiful became an adversary, but with each second, she could hear the swarm getting closer and closer. I don't wanna be eaten...a light!?
A glowing yellow light penetrated the thick bramble ahead of her, and she made her way towards it. She ran through the trees and arrived at a patch of barren land. At the center of it, there was what appeared to be a large fallen branch with a lantern hanging from it.
She ran up next to the lantern and turned around, just in time to see the swarm stop at the edge of the light. The large white worms buzzed in the air at the perimeter of the light sphere, never daring to cross it.
Emily took several deep breaths, waiting to see what they'd do. A groaning sound in the distance caught their attention, and they turned their bodies towards it. All of them left the fox girl alone with the light source.
She released another deep sigh. "I just can't seem to get a break here." She closed her eyes and leaned against the branch. "At least, it seems like they're scared of light."
The fox girl stood up and looked at the lantern. It was in the shape of one of those old gas powered ones, but she couldn't see anything inside of it. There was no burning candle or anything. Light emitted from behind what appeared like glass. She furrowed her brow and reached a hand out towards it.
Large jaws snapped around her hand, and blood flowed down her arm. Emily screamed and tried pulling her hand free, but the creature clamped down harder.
The culprit was none other than the branch in front of her. The idea behind the lantern became clear, and the large creature was lying in wait.
It was a giant walking stick, and its head resembled that of an angler fish, the color blending in with the wooden appearance of the rest of its body. Now, its teeth sank deep into the fox girl's arm. The sharp serrated structures gripped her flesh and tore.
As she tried pulling away, the creature pulled her up. With every movement, more pain flashed through Emily's arm. The monster ripped into her flesh, and muscle fibers reached the open air.
"Let go!" She shouted, her free right arm gripping her wooden stake. She stabbed it towards the monster's eye, but it deflected. Even that orb was something alien. It looked like the eye of a bee with multiple hexagons, but it was too hard for her to stab into it.
She clenched her teeth and felt the creature crunch into her arm again. Tears filled her eyes as it dug further into her flesh, reaching her bone. The sinews that connected her forearm to her elbow dangled in the air to Emily's dread.
The fox girl dangled from the creature's mouth by her arm. With her other arm, she stabbed at its body. She shouted and kicked, but the more she struggled, the more her flesh tore. She heard the final crunch of bone, and she fell to the ground.
Her left arm was completely separated from her below the elbow. Blood poured onto the sand below, and shock stunned her for a moment. She looked up and saw the angler walking stick chewing on her arm. It crunched through her bones and tendons with ease.
Adrenaline surged through Emily's body. After a few seconds, all of the pain faded away into background noise. It gave way to anger. Why do I have to be the one to keep suffering? I don't wanna go back to that lab.
The tears of pain turned into tears of rage. She grabbed her wooden spike and started channeling that unfamiliar energy, watching as the creature swallowed her arm.
Her time in the military flashed in her mind again. Back then, she might not have had much, but she did have a standard issued rifle. She clenched her teeth. A gun would make this monster go away. A bullet is all I need.
Stolen story; please report.
The creature readied its head again. It lunged, this time aiming for Emily's head. One snap, and she would be a goner. One bite, and she'd exit the simulation or enter the afterlife.
Emily gripped her spear and aimed it towards the creature's mouth. Magic power turned into nanobots, and at the tip of her makeshift weapon, they formed into a long, familiar shape. A silver metal bullet materialized in the air, and she willed it forward with all of her strength. She called upon that mysterious force, and it obeyed her.
The bullet exploded with force, propelled forwards by the energy of a loaded gun. It tore into the monster's mouth and ripped through its flesh. It penetrated deeply before flying out of its back and crashing deep into a tree further behind it.
Emily fell onto her rear from the recoil, and the creature fell limply to the ground in front of her. The fox girl's eyes widened. She couldn't believe she actually materialized cybermagic in the moment it mattered most.
She would have been thrilled in a normal circumstance, but the adrenaline began fading. Sharp stinging pain attacked her elbow, and she examined the damage.
The arm was ripped away at the joint, and she could see that bone sticking out. Fresh blood squirted from her arm every time her heart thumped. Bandages...She needed them, but there was no hospital. Moreover, if I walk out of the light, those creatures...
A cold breeze was like a call of agony. She hissed from the sting of the wind against her arm.
The fox girl stood up and walked to the fallen creature. She dropped her spear, and with her only hand, she gripped the creature's lantern limb. She wiggled it back and forth, until she heard a snapping. She freed the light source from its body, and it managed to stay lit.
I need to hurry and stop the bleeding. Passing out from shock would be the worst thing that could happen.
A chime sounded in her mind, and a table appeared in her vision.
[Congratulations!]
[You have gained a level! Proficiency with [Cybermagic] has been increased!]
Emily willed the table away from her, focusing on her current task. She held the lantern and made her way back towards the water where she found a clump of fibrous plants. On arrival, she immediately sat the lantern down and got to work.
She wrapped the threads around her half-severed arm. The pain made her whimper, the stabbing sensation making her wince. She kept wrapping and wrapping until no more blood poured onto the ground.
Next, she formed more ropes with her only hand. This time, she tied the wound to the side of her body to prevent it from moving. She wrapped it below the shoulder and around her waist on the other side of her body. She tied it as tightly as possible, and eventually it worked to secure it.
She breathed a sigh of relief that she'd made it this far without passing out from shock. Her body was now in a constant shivering state from the agony, but she managed to remain lucid.
The kitsune sat against a tree and placed her lamp on the ground next to her. She wrapped her tail towards the front of her body and clutched it with her remaining hand. She focused on the softness and fluffiness like a toddler reaching for a blanket while crying. Sobs left her throat. No matter how much she wanted to choke down the cries, they left her.
She calmed herself down by petting her tail. The black appendage ending in a crimson tip gave her something to smile about. Even if it was a pained grin, there was still happiness in her hand.
Emily had always liked foxes in her past life. When she was on Earth she'd gotten fox plushies and placed them on her barracks room desk. The soft things were a constant reminder that there was good in the world. Between that and suffering in a cursed sci-fi realm, she'd choose being a fox.
That's why, despite her pain, she stood up again. She gripped her staff tightly in her hand while clenching her teeth. I will never go back to that. I would rather struggle until my dying breath than be a prisoner.
[Quest!]
[Regain your freedom!]
There is no need to tell me twice. I already wanted to do that anyways. The chime appeared in her head again, and the screen changed words. It now only said 'Quest Accepted.'
With newfound resolve, she walked into uncertainty. The dungeon was still lively with buzzing creatures. She briefly considered leaving the dungeon altogether, but she shook her head. I have much better odds with the lower level things down here first.
She remembered the low-leveled glow worm, realizing that now she was on the same level. A level 2 fox versus a level 2 worm. Though, the worms were clearly swarm creatures. Emily doubted that they'd be good at anything on their own.
As if on cue, she saw one of those creatures buzzing behind a group. This one was much slower and smaller than the rest. It lagged behind, and the swarm didn't care one bit. They flew ahead towards another beast.
Emily aimed her staff, leading the creature on, and estimating how long it would take a bullet to reach it at this range. Only about 100 meters. I can do this...This is why I was an Expert shooter.
She took a deep breath and narrowed her eye down her 'barrel'. The tip of the lantern shone with almost blinding light when she looked at it directly, so she turned it around, tucking the lantern part behind her. She recalled a key factor that iron sights usually accounted for the bullet drop on their own. Without them, she'd have to aim higher than the creature, so she did.
Mana channeled down her arm and flushed into the lamp. Another silver nano-bullet appeared on the tip, and she fired it high. A boom echoed after the shot, and this time she braced herself for the recoil.
The round flew through the air, barely missing the creature. It whizzed by it and crashed into a tree trunk behind it. The fox girl clicked her tongue, trying again, and remembering her training. She remembered a drill sergeant standing over her.
"Remember, Kentucky Windage, private. Even if your shot is missing, you don't have to correct the iron sight."
Roger, Drill Sergeant.
She channeled it again, this time aiming even more ahead of the target. She braced herself again and fired it. It penetrated the air, but this time it met the target. It was like Isaac Newton's action at a distance. The monster buzzed for the last time. Its body exploded into insect guts, and a loud chime sounded in her head.
[Congratulations!]
[You have gained a level!]