Neviara
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Chapter 6: Once More Into the Breach
🕑 Added 2023-12-15 17:10:28 +0000 UTCOl' Bessie rumbled happily as Chad hightailed it back to the city. A decent number of cars whizzed by him going in the opposite direction, their frequency only increasing as he neared the outskirts of his destination. Luckily, his side of the road remained blissfully clear. Apparently, there weren't too many people interested in heading toward the eerie portal belching monsters into their reality. Well, not on this highway, at least.
As he entered the city limits though, things became a bit more complicated. The combination of fleeing people and flagrant ignorance of traffic laws meant he was constantly on the lookout for cars and pedestrians popping out of nowhere. Not to mention the fallen light poles, debris, and other appropriately apocalyptic additions to the scene. And the monsters, of course.
A quick-moving dragonfly thing darted about the street dizzyingly as he sped forward. Its shimmery yellow wings acted like an insane disco ball, frantically shooting rainbow speckles of light across the ground and nearby buildings as they moved. On spotting him, the insect immediately honed in and swooped to attack.
Dergonflea (Lvl 1)
Chad reflexively swatted at the thing like he might a housefly. The blow landed, sending a burst of viscous goo splattering across his hand.
You have defeated a Dergonflea (Lvl 1)! +1 Exp.
Ewwww. He wiped his hand against his jeans. Gross. Though I'm kinda surprised I even hit that thing with how quick it was moving. Must be that dexterity coming in handy again.
Chad adjusted his grip on the bike in preparation for more and was not disappointed. Fliers dotted the sky above as mutated forms crawled, hopped, and squelched across the ground. However, there were fewer than he'd expected. Far fewer. The monsters acted as occasional inconveniences rather than a persistent threat, especially with how easy these ones were to deal with. Yet with the sheer volume of stuff pouring out of the portal, they probably should have already flooded the streets.
Maybe things aren't quite as desperate here as I thought.
As Chad navigated deeper in, he glanced up at the sky. The red hole in the sky shone ominously, smoke swirling about its edges. The thing still disgorged a constant stream of creatures into the otherwise clear blue expanse above and spiraling stairs below, but the glut of monsters seemed thinner than before. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking.
At the very least, there had been plenty of fighting around here at some point. The scattered remains of various creatures lying along the street confirmed that. But perhaps things had calmed down since he'd been gone.
An ear-splitting screech sounded from the sky above. Looking up, he spotted a formation of fighter jets streaking toward the portal, guns blazing. Maybe it was even the same group they'd passed on the way out. The sounds of rapid artillery fire were met with screams of pain and anger from monsters as they flew out to meet the assault.
The fights continued high above as planes swerved and dove, cutting swaths through the clouds of creatures in a macabre parody of a dogfight. They seemed to be winning, for now. Chad turned his attention back to the road. Well, that might explain things. Seems like they're taking a lot of the attention away from people down here. Like me.
Chad revved his engine and accelerated, his front tire smashing a gelatinous blob that oozed toward a monster corpse. Its remains splattered everywhere as he continued forward.
You have defeated an Acid Blobbo (Lvl 1)! +1 Exp.
He hissed as the goo sizzled painfully against his cheek. An acrid smell filled Chad's nostrils as he glanced down. The stuff was even starting to burn holes through his jacket. Even more worryingly, an even more foul-smelling smoke began rising from his front wheel as well.
With a cry of concern, Chad accelerated in hopes of flinging the corrosive substance off. Luckily, the wheel seemed to hold up. For now.
That was dumb. Dang. He patted his bike apologetically. Sorry, Bessie. I've gotta take better care of you.
The thought of a creature like that made him reconsider pulling out his pistol to deal with threats. However, he quickly dismissed the idea. Maybe Annie could pull off shots like that while moving, but while also driving? Slapping things out of the air already required him to release both the accelerator and the front brake - both of which were, of course, on the right side of the vehicle. It made for a far more harrowing experience than he was used to, to put it mildly.
Still, Chad made the best of it. He'd managed fairly well so far, though he did miss having someone to watch his back. But even if he could juggle a pistol and driving at once, why waste bullets when punches did just as well?
A half-dozen monsters' worth of goo and guts splattered across his arm reinforced the wisdom of his decision. Anything that was close enough to hurt him was also close enough to get hurt. A few beasts with ranged attacks had tried to take potshots as he flew past, but their quills and gouts of flame simply couldn't keep up with his slick driving. But considering that stuff like that even existed, he figured it was best to save his rounds.
A shout sounded from nearby, followed by a chorus of others and the distinct fweet of a metal whistle. Chad frowned. Voices? Are there other survivors hanging around here? He glanced around. This far in, things felt more or less deserted aside from a few scared faces peeking through windows. Maybe they couldn't get out because of the traffic.
After a moment of indecision, Chad veered toward the noise. If there were survivors, then maybe he'd get some information or help from them. If the sound was something else… Well, better to know than to not. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to get stronger before venturing in deeper.
As he pulled the bike around, a deep bellow reverberated through the buildings. That, at least, hadn't been made by a human. The shouts took on a sudden note of alarm as Chad sped up.
Rounding the corner, he found that he'd been right on both counts. A group of ten men faced down a buffalo-sized creature with the head of an alligator and the body of a panther. Dark scales shimmered across its body as it moved, massive jaws snapping to and fro. The thing darted down the street in hot pursuit of a pair of retreating humans. Checking its tag indicated that it was an Alli Cat (Lvl 5).
Seriously, who's naming these things? A fifth grader?
The monster was only half the picture though. The group of men facing it down made Chad stop and blink in sheer confusion.
The humans facing down the beast each wore helmets, padded jerseys, and long pants completely unfit for the springtime weather. Long L-shaped sticks were gripped tightly in their gloved hands. They moved with an oddly fluid grace, almost like they were gliding across the ground. Most strangely of all though, they wore skates. Not roller skates - actual ice skates.
Are those… hockey players?
As Chad watched in bewilderment, the hockey players dashed forward, skating along the asphalt in flagrant defiance of the laws of physics. A few looped around to flank the beast, keeping just ahead of it as they flew down the street. Meanwhile, another player used his stick to slap a fallen soda can toward the flanking players. "Heads up!"
His teammate caught the can and immediately shot it toward the alligator-cat-thing with unreasonable force. The beast howled in pain and annoyance as the projectile sunk into its side.
Another whistle came from ahead. An older man with a walrus-like mustache skated backward, calling to the team. "Nice shot, Tim! Defense, rocks up ahead! Pass em' out! Offense, keep it up!"
A blue glow seemed to shimmer around the team. Like a well oiled machine, the group glided about the street just out of reach of the Alli Cat. Its snaps and charges met empty air as they dodged, continuing to pelt it with trash and debris from afar.
What the actual fuck am I watching.
Despite the strange showing of teamwork and coordination though, the attacks didn't seem to affect the cat too much. No blood leaked from its wounds, and the dark hide made it difficult to tell whether the impacts even did so much as bruise it. The beast certainly didn't like being attacked, but whether it felt more perturbed or actually threatened was anyone's guess. Still, the shots kept coming and coming.
Eventually, Chad snapped out of his stupor as one of the athlete's skates caught in a pothole. He cried out as he fell to the asphalt, eyes going wide with surprise. The Alli Cat's eyes narrowed as it pounced forward to take advantage of the opening.
The downed hockey player tried to scramble to his feet as his teammates redoubled their assaults. One darted forward with his stick raised to strike at the thing. With a shout, the brave skater chopped down at the enemy's head.
The alligator-like maw whipped back and snapped the stick in half contemptuously. The player stumbled, clutching the broken haft of his stick. He was off balance just as the monster lunged forward again, this time toward his face. It was all he could do to block with his arm. The man cried out in pain as sharp teeth sunk into the thick padding of his jacket and found flesh beneath.
Chad had seen enough. He was already shooting forward on his bike. The tires screeched as accelerated toward the beast, distracting it for a brief instant. But just as it released the hockey player's arm to face the newcomer, Chad hunched over the handlebars and braced.
Sorry, Bessie.
Ol' Bessie smashed into the Alli Cat's side with a thud and a loud snap. The sound made Chad wince. Hopefully that was just the monster's bones crunching. Regardless, he kept his grip on the throttle as the thing screeched at him. Momentum carried them forward another few feet before his opponent skidded to a halt. Somehow, it managed to keep its footing without falling. With anger in its gaze, it twisted its head back toward Chad to bite – just as he met its temple with his fist.
The punch sunk into the Alli Cat's scaled head. He felt a sickening crunch as the thing's skull gave, caving inward. A grating cry of pain escaped its massive jaws as it reared back to reach him in a frenzy. Chad's hand darted forward to grab its lower jaw, attempting to force it closed.
"Shaddup, you scaly bastard!" Chad struggled to keep the thing's snapping maw away from him as it let out a guttural growl. He wrapped his other arm around the thing's neck as it tried to pull away, keeping it in place. It screeched angrily and slowly began to tug both Chad and his bike along the street.
"Damn, you're loud." With a grunt and a quick movement, he switched his arms to bring the stronger one around his foe's neck. It began to thrash even harder, wicked teeth whipping about as he squeezed. The cries turned strangled as the Alli Cat's air supply dwindled. "Much better. Now stop squirmin' about so much!"
"Offense, get in there!" The coach's shout rang out and startled the gawking team back into action. "Defense, make sure nothing else is comin' up on us!"
In a moment, a group converged on the Alli Cat with their sticks, striking at it in a frenzy of blows. Like the shots from before, the impacts didn't seem to have as much effect as Chad had hoped. But every bit counted.
The Alli Cat reared up, trying to shake Chad off. With a shout of surprise, he tightened his grip and hung off the thing's neck. "Nope! Not gettin' away that easily!"
With a quick twist, he swung his legs over the thing's back to mount it. Despite its continued bucking and rearing, it couldn't disldge him. Luckily, the Alli Cat's feet appeared to lack claws or hooves or anything more dangerous than a duck flipper. Otherwise, the hockey players below would have been in trouble. He clung on for dear life as its struggles slowly weakened and subsided.
For the first time, he felt a twinge of regret over only having one strengthened arm. He shifted his weaker arm to push the alligator-like jaws away from another player as it thrashed. Compared to his right, the deflection took a way larger effort. Even then, the guy had to dodge back to avoid a nasty arm bite. Still, the limitation only strengthened Chad's resolve.
This just means I need to get stronger. Then I could've smashed this thing's head to smithereens outright. No need to choke it out or wait.
Eventually, as the blows continued to rain down, the strangled whimpers of pain finally turned to silence.
You have displayed rudimentary knowledge of how to hold onto other organisms that would rather keep their personal space. Grappling (E) proficiency earned!
You have defeated an Alli Cat (Lvl 5)! +10 Exp.
You have reached Level 3!
Rewards:
+3 Stat points
+1 Skill
The corpse flopped to the ground with a dull thud, coming to a rest in the center of the hockey team. Chad panted as he sat on his bike, glancing around. The hockey players leaned on their sticks as they recovered, also gasping for breath. Glances above their heads confirmed what he'd already expected - text proudly declared them each Hockey Players, each one level three or four.
Chad glanced over at the injured man. "You ok there? That thing got you pretty good."
"Y-yeah." He appeared a little shaken. The telltale red of fresh blood bloomed across his jersey sleeve. "It got me, but not too bad with the padding. Just stings. Thanks for the save, there."
"No problem. Glad I made it in time." Chad nodded. "Now. I gotta ask - what the actual fuck is going on here?"
