Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure by Andrew Karevik (book suggestions .TXT) 📗

The ground was wet and soft, as if dew were always present. Whatever time of day it was didn’t seem to matter for the vegetation, because grass still grew, flowers bloomed and trees towered high above us. In an odd way, this perpetual growth reminded me of Maxwell’s Breach. They had an underground forest, one that defied all reality, for it grew great trees without the need of the sun. Perhaps this was the same situation here. But were these forests natural wonders, like a waterfall? Or were they creations from either man or monster?

The snapping of a twig ahead pulled me out of my pondering. Something big was moving ahead of us, but I could see no light.

“Monster,” Trig hissed, his arm grabbing my shoulder tightly, pulling a little on my scarf. I could hear his labored breathing, so hard and heavy that it sounded like he was going to pass out.

“Easy,” I replied, “take a deep breath. That’s an order.” I drew my bow and raised it high, looking around in vain. Something was indeed moving. My senses could pick up on the motion and the sounds of snapping twigs and rustling brushes, but without vision, there wasn’t much I could do.

Sensing my need to see beyond my senses, my little Quiverling woke up and began to do its job, swapping out my strength charm for the Lurbia charm. At once, I activated Tremorsense, granting me the power to “see” based on motion. As soon as the charm activated, the vibrations of the creature’s movements became apparent to me.

“Switch to your echolocation charm,” I ordered, shoving Trig off of me. “Remember? The one I just gave you?”

Trig nodded and muttered something, stopping to dig into his bag for the charm. I crouched down and tracked the motions of the target. It wasn’t too big of a creature, maybe 6 feet tall at the most. It was swift and clearly aware of us, as it was circling around, waiting for an opportunity to strike. I fired a single arrow to where I traced its movements, only to hear the thunk of arrowhead meeting tree. Tremorsense only gave me the outline of a creature’s motions, meaning I couldn’t really see stationary objects. Without a better line of sight, it could hide behind trees, bushes and shrubs that could slow down or just block my shots.

The beast seemed to know this, for it began to dash from area to area as it circled closer and closer. Each shot I fired was rather useless; it struck solid object time and time again. Night vision did nothing here. We were blind except for ten measly feet. Not nearly enough space for an archer to do her work.

“Ahhhhhh!” Trig shouted. I instinctively whipped behind to see that he was standing there, perfectly fine.

“Keep it down,” I hissed.

“I need sound to locate it,” Trig replied. He grabbed my shoulders and twisted me back around. I resisted at first, but realized as he sounded off again, that he could see the trees, using sound to bounce off solid objects. I let him guide me, aiming me like a weapon of his own, until I was facing a small opening, one where the creature was dashing towards.

I waited, feeling each motion of the creature ripple like tidal waves until it was exposed, in between two trees. I fired three shots in quick succession. Arrow met flesh this time and the beast let out a hideous scream, one that seemed to echo all around us. It was unfamiliar, wretched and shrill.

“It’s down,” Trig said, stepping forward slowly. I followed after him, firing a few more shots. The beast shrieked once more and then…nothing. Silence fell upon the Shadewood like a heavy curtain, oppressive and uncaring.

I could sense no more motion. Trig sounded off and stopped walking. “It’s gone,” he whispered.

“That can’t be,” I replied. “I didn’t see it move. Well, feel it, but you know what I mean.”

“I can’t locate it with my sounds…” Trig replied, his voice growing panicked and frightened. “What if that invisible creature got it? Swallowed it whole?”

“We would have sensed movement,” I said. I found my own heart beginning to race. I hadn’t been too nervous facing the single beast, knowing full well that it could have just been a Kinru of some kind. A solitary scavenger that wasn’t even brave enough to make a full charge was nothing to worry about. But…what if it had been swallowed up by that invisible monster? Was it so perfectly stealthy that it didn’t even trigger my motion senses?

“One of us should go check it out,” Trig said. “And that person should definitely be you.”

“Together,” I said, smacking the back of his head. “And put your charms on your belt or something. You can’t just stop in the middle of a fight to go rummaging through your bags.”

“I’ve been using the same charm since I became a Venator,” Trig said. “A winter Kinru charm that enhances my stealth.”

“You should change them up when you need them,” I replied. I looked forward at the dark spot where the beast had been slain. Would there be a corpse? Please let there be one. A body. Just any kind of creature. Even a creature worth 5 Bloodpoints. Just let it be…there.

We slowly inched forward, shoulders pressed together, cautious and careful. The darkness seemed to grow excited as we walked, pressing harder against our raised light stones, so eager and contemptuous that one of our stones started to flicker.

“No!” Trig said, pulling the stone down and shaking it hard. The light dimmed out and then faded completely. The darkness pressed harder on us and I raised my single light stone, keeping it barely at bay. Our vision range faded down to about eight feet.

“I’ve never seen these go out,” Trig said, smacking the dull rock with the pommel of his dagger. “Come on, come back!”

The boy’s worried words faded as