After the cleanup, we had called the remaining survivors from the clearing to us. The cave was cramped with 13 people stuffed inside, but it would have to do.
I sat against the very back and tried to wrap my head around the current situation.
I was in Boxcutter's squad, who had enough points for us to clear this tutorial. Even though we only had two members in our squad, we had more than enough willing candidates who would surely fill up the positions on a moment's notice.
Meaning, all I had to do was survive these next two days and I would pass.
However, it would also mean that I would start the real game in Boxcutter's squad, which was dangerous to say the least.
A part of me was conflicted. Boxcutter, as psycho as she was, was very good at this game, and her attack skills complemented my healing skills perfectly.
However, she was also reckless and very possessive. She wouldn't think twice about killing me if I did something she deemed as 'betrayal'.
Even if she didn't kill me, she might break my limbs and make me her pliant puppet.
On the other hand, Blaze was also very strong and rational, and she was a good person for helping those kids.
Even though many would consider the kids a burden, she took them into her squad, risking her own life. This showed that she was more reliable and trustworthy. Also, I must say, she was very attractive—exactly the type I like.
It wasn't a hard decision. I needed to defect from Boxcutter's squad.
"What are you thinking..." Boxcutter murmured in my ear. She was sitting next to me all this time, pressing hard against my side. Her eyes were unblinking and cold.
Was I staring at Blaze subconsciously?
"Nothing... Just thinking about the night, who knows what kind of monsters will appear this time." Boxcutter held my gaze for a bit longer but then pulled away.
"You don't have to worry about a thing, partner. I will take care of anything that tries to attack you."
Just as she said that, a loud howl was heard. Loud footsteps—one, then two, then dozens. We were in trouble.
"Block the entrance," Blaze commanded from her spot. Still unable to get up, she grabbed the kids and pulled them close to her.
JungleJoe and I stood up in the entrance, blocking it with our bodies. I heard someone extinguishing the fire.
"Can you see them...?" JungleJoe asked, his eyes locked on a particular spot in the distance.
"See them? No, but the footsteps are quite loud..."
"Things get loud in the night, as the biggest monsters move then. Last night was also very loud. We could be in big trouble if it's a pack of Saber Wolves," he said in a small voice.
"What are they? Did you see them last night?" I asked, feeling a bit anxious.
"Yes. They are large, pure black wolves with elephant-like tusks. They are too heavy to climb trees, so we survived, but here... I am not too hopeful. Let's just pray they don't come here."
Fuck. Did we make a mistake? Would finding shelter in a tree have been a better idea? No point in thinking about it now. We are already here.
We stood there for what felt like an eternity. The footsteps kept echoing and loud howls erupted all over the place, but it didn't seem like they were coming for us.
"They are too big and too loud. Therefore, even though we can hear them, they are pretty far away...." He was wrong.
The howl that cut the night in half was no longer distant.
It was right outside, in front of us.
A single black silhouette filled the opening—shoulders as high as my chest, tusks curving up like ivory scimitars. Its eyes caught the last ember of our buried fire and flashed green.
Then it opened its mouth and screamed.
The sound was so low and sharp it felt like a blade sliding between the bones of my spine. Behind it came the drumroll of paws—too many to count.
"Hold!" JungleJoe barked, ramming his shoulder against the limestone edge. I slammed in beside him, knees trembling. The kids behind us whimpered like trapped rabbits.
"Mommy..."
"Daddy..."
Blaze pulled them tighter, shielding their eyes.
"It's okay, it will be fine! We can hold them off! Everyone, grab any weapon you can and stand closer to the entrance!" Blaze shouted.
The first wolf hit us like a falling boulder. Claws raked stone; tusks clacked inches from my cheek. JungleJoe roared and drove his good hand straight into the gaping jaws. Black blood spattered, smoking where it landed.
Was that his skill? His hand wasn't injured at all from the bite.
The animal thrashed, gagging on his arm, but the next one was already forcing its way in, pushing us back a step—then two.
I kicked it's head away with my knee, striking as hard as I could on its nose. It got it off balance a bit but it wasn't enough.
Boxcutter's arm slid around my waist from behind. Not affectionately—she was using me as an anchor. Her other hand flicked: her box cutter sprouted towards the lead wolf's throat. It spasmed, blocking the entrance for a heartbeat.
A heartbeat was all we got. Then blood sprayed everywhere.
[Teammate @boxcutter has slain Level 10 SaberWolf]
#Kill Assist: Saber Wolf (+50 points)
50 points for just a driving a few knees? Nights are sure profitable.
A second tusker barreled in under the dying one, jaws unhinging. I saw the tusk sweep left—toward the kids. Blaze, still on the ground, rolled herself into the path.
JungleJoe stepped on its head hard. Blaze stretched her hand out, pressed it on its head, and then used her skill.
A controlled flame burned its head to a crisp without hurting any of us.
They had us. Darkness was their weapon, not ours.
"Blaze! Light the fire again!" I growled, my hand already inside a wolf's mouth to the hilt. I pushed it as deep as it would go and moved my fist up and down. The wolf choked, then died. My hand came out bloody and disfigured.
Sparks flew; a shirt soaked in monster fat flared. The firelight showed us what we didn't want to see: five wolves inside the choke-point, with more forcing the bottleneck. Blood painted the threshold.
What followed was a defensive battle against the hordes of these beasts. The howls and growls were deafening, but being in this cave, we had the upper hand. One after the other, the wolves kept getting killed. Most were slashed by Boxcutter, more by me. JungleJoe was also effective, his body like steel as he jumped out of the cave, grabbing wolves and throwing them away from the entrance.
Minutes—or was it hours?—later, the press slackened. A last wolf tried to claw through the corpses, got stuck, and took JungleJoe's punch straight to its jaw. Its tusk shattered into pieces and through the soft palate. It died gargling.
Then, the only sound in the night was our ragged breathing and the wet drip of blood on stone.
Nobody moved until dawn's first grey finger slid into the cave. The entrance was a butcher's window: black fur, red meat, and white tusks. The air reeked of copper and sulfur.
We counted.
One, two... twelve. It seemed we were all still here. JungleJoe's left arm hung by exposed tendons. Boxcutter, painted glossy crimson, looked more like a demoness than human, her chest heaving, eyes shining with awful pride.
I sank to my knees, retching. My healing aura flickered, desperate to be used, but there was too much damage—and too little MP left in me.
Boxcutter crouched, wiping a streak of blood across my cheek like war-paint. "Still thinking of switching squads, partner?" Her voice was velvet over razors. She knew.
I stared past her at Blaze, who was wrapping her own thigh while still consoling the kids.
"It's okay," she murmured to them. "We won. We are safe."
I looked at Boxcutter—reckless, possessive, lethal—and felt the tug of her gravity. She had kept the monsters out. Barely.
Morning light crawled across the cave floor, illuminating the grotesque scene.
One more day, I reminded myself. Twenty-four hours until the tutorial ends.
I pushed myself upright, met Boxcutter's wild eyes, and answered her question with silence.