Another Life In The New World

Gotcha

5. GOTCHA

We came across an old bridge. I tried stepping over the edge, but something strongly repelled me. Below it was total nothingness.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Girly rushed to my side.

“I’m just checking, don’t worry,” I assured her.

“Enough playing around, let’s head to our next destination,” Vampire scolded me.

Kun looked bored and lethargic so I crept to his side, “How are you holding up?”

“Excellent, well, fine, whatever,” he sullenly replied.

“What is your problem, man?”

“Nothing, I just want to get this over with.”

“Same here, want to play some game?”

“We are in the game, stupid.”

“I was just offering. Cheer up, will ya?”

“I will cheer up when I get home. Now, get out of my face.”

“Feisty, isn’t he?” Vampire whispered to my side.

“I guess he is just tired. Leave him alone for now,” I brushed him aside.

“Aren’t all of us?”

“Mind your space, alright?”

“Okay man, chill. I wish this to be over with as much as you do.”

“Quiet! Do you hear that?” Girly hissed at us.

“What is it now?” I grumbled.

“Cool it, grumpy troll,” Kun shot a glance at me.

We stood silently there, listening to the scurrying sounds below us. We were halfway on the bridge when something jumped in front of us. It was a small hairy creature carrying a long stick and looked angry. I could hear some muffled snickering from behind me.

“What is your deal, man?” I shouted at it.

“Ngraw!” It growled at me.

“Aww, you look like twin brothers having an argument, how cute!” Vampire snickered.

 “Shut up, Vampire,” I scowled at him and the troll did the same.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t breathe. You have a mini version of yourself,” Kun squealed like a squeak toy.

“So now you are laughing, huh?” My eyebrows clashed with each other.

“It is quite funny,” Girly giggled.

“Come on girly, not you too,” I frowned at her.

Suddenly, the troll stomped its stick on the frail bridge, then charged at me. Each step created tremors on the wooden planks, so I gripped the thin twine on both sides to keep a steady footing. Then it bounced and focused its weapon on me. I grabbed the stick, then slammed the wielder.

“Don’t hurt yourself, I think he just wants to play,” Vampire smiled.

“Can’t we just capture it? We could use a pet,” Girly suggested.

“How?” I asked.

“Dude, it’s like the game we used to play years ago. You weaken the monster, then capture it,” Kun answered.

“What do we capture it with?” I asked again.

“While you were busy talking before leaving town, I bought a Missile Net. I guessed that we can only carry three pets, so I bought a handful,” Girly replied.

“And if we catch more than that, where will it go?” The game started resurfacing in my head as I asked.

“I’m not sure. We can try theory later if you like.”

The troll started attacking again. This time, it directed at my legs, but I could not dodge the attack in time. I fell down with a loud thud. Then it landed on my back and pinned me down. It placed the stick on my neck and I was gasping for air.

“A little help here?” I choked.

“Nah, I think you can manage a low-level creature like that,” Kun put his faith in me.

“I have the net ready, but you have to weaken it first,” Girly added.

“You can do it man, I am rooting for you,” Vampire shouted.

I sighed as I rolled out in frustration. I jabbed the troll as soon as it fell off my back. When it was not moving, I cued in Girly to do her thing. Vampire, Kun and I cleared the area as she was preparing to launch the net.

The troll struggled to free itself from the net, but it eventually accepted its fate. Then, a message appeared above our heads, “Congratulations! You have captured the Bridge Guardian. Would you like to rename it?”

“I will do that,” Vampire inputted letters in the space provided.

“Grumpy Troll it is! Change name successful!” Another message resurfaced, “Master Captor—Bronze achievement has been unlocked. Do you wish to equip the earned title now?”

“Nah, save it for later,” Kun decided for us.

“Ooh, goodies… We have some health and mana potions, some garnets, and some basic equipment,” Girly bagged them all.

“What do we do with it?” I poked the captured troll.

“Let’s level him up first. We might unlock skills that may help us later,” Kun suggested.

“Fine by me, we should search for monsters before we head to the next town.”

“Great, you are finally accepting him as your own,” Vampire chuckled.

“Didn’t I tell you to shut your trap, Vampire?” I hissed at him, Grumpy doubled in.

We searched for some monsters to fight with after crossing the bridge. Beneath the plains, we encountered a lot of Cubos Manitari. They were plant creatures with mushroom heads that were as tall as us. They filled their long claws with some green substance.

“There is your monster. Let us beat them to a pulp,” Vampire sounded eager.

We approached the one which was the closest and waited for it to turn its back on us. Kun made the preemptive strike and threw some bombs at it. Girly followed by launching some missiles. I pinned my sword at its base while Vampire slashed its body.

We were barely making damage to it. It struck back by shooting its roots at us, impaling us in place. It dealt substantial damage to us and we were losing health real fast. It started draining our bodies as we struggled to escape.

I tried slashing the roots with my sword, but I merely gave it a dent. Vampire tried clawing at them, but his claws got tangled with the roots. Kun and Girly were our only hope on this one. They both held hands together and a union skill was unlocked, Nuclear Diffusion.

Massive rockets dropped at the mushroom creature. The monster sought to grab it, but the rockets slipped out of its clutches. It hit the monster directly in the face and its health dropped to the last quarter. It released us upon exploding.

Vampire and I rushed towards it. I slashed the monster at the base and it fell down. Then, Vampire dug his claws on its face and ripped it apart. It wailed and vanished. After defeating the monster, he obtained a new skill, Life Absorption.

“This is all we got after beating it?” I complained as I grabbed some Garnets on the floor.

“That’s super depressing,” Kun seconded.

“It’s not that awful, at least our captured friend gained some levels,” Vampire said.

“Congratulations! Grumpy Troll has reached level three. New skill unlocked: Angery Face!” Said the message.

“What does it do?” Girly asked.

“It says here that it will give us five percent stat boost for three seconds and repels nearby enemies,” Kun read its stats.

“See? Not bad at all,” Vampire grinned.

We continued kicking these monsters’ butts until we were at level ten. Girly got a legendary weapon along the way, Serpentine Serenade. It hissed like a snake upon strike, and it was much stronger than her previous weapon. Also, we earned a lot of Garnets and other equipment.

I finally have my first skill, Hero’s Resolve. It doubles my strength for four seconds upon activation. I have raised my other stats, as well. After distributing our stats, we combed through the plains while avoiding enemy encounters.

Soon, a high fortress of silver and gold stood before us. Blue flags of cats decorated the outer walls along with the hissing vines. I could see not one person walking inside. I could also see a dark cloud swirling above the kingdom.

Suddenly, the kingdom guards approached us out of nowhere. I almost bolted to my feet upon sensing their presence. They crossed their weapons at us as they asked questions.

“What brings you here, children?” One guard inquired.

“Arum has sent us here for he has a message for the person-in-charge,” my mouth moved on its own.

“You have arrived at a wrong time to deliver your message. We allow no one to enter the kingdom at this moment as we are under attack by some unknown force. Come back when the crisis is over,” the guards lowered their weapons.

I tried the gate, but they locked it won’t budge. We need to find another way in somehow without the guards noticing. Suddenly, I saw something pass, but it moved extremely fast for me to determine what it was. Cold shivers traveled down my spine and Arum’s death flashed before my eyes.

“Darn it, it already got here,” I murmured.

“What got here?” Vampire asked.

“Nothing… We must split up and find another way in, but don’t let the guards catch you,” I decided.

“Can’t we just kill them?”

“Non-player characters cannot be killed, remember?” Kun reminded him.

“What happens if they spot us?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We start from the beginning.”

“Any further questions? No? Good. Girly and I will go this way while you and Kun go that way,” I directed them.

“Take care of our boy for us,” Kun winked at Girly.

“O-okay,” Girly was red all over.

“Get out of here guys,” I wafted them away.

“Tell us what happened back there, okay?” Vampire giggled.

“I will cut your tongue when we meet inside, Vampire,” I threatened him, but they were long gone.

It was a silent walk with Girly. She kept her distance as usual, and I kept my hands to myself. I would glance at her from time to time, but I don’t think she ever noticed. I tried to reach for her hand, but she hugged her weapon tightly.

“Hey, um, do you see anything yet?” she asked while burying her face with her weapon.

“Nothing yet, do you?” I glanced elsewhere.

“Must be close now.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” I sneaked a peek. But she was steadily holding her weapon.

The silence ensued as we walked this soundless path. Only the sound of our footsteps accompanied me along the way. I have never felt so strained in my entire life. I ran ahead to kill this deafening silence until I saw what we were looking for.

“I have found it. Come here, Girly,” I motioned for her.

She followed behind me with her pink face. The more we ventured further in this tunnel, the darker it became. Slowly, I felt her coming closer to my side until she reached my hand. My heart was erratic and I could not feel my breath anymore.

“A little further now,” I assured her, but she made no response. She must be too shy to talk to me alone.

I shrugged off the silence until I saw the light. I saw an almost empty kingdom close to its ruin. Some of its residents lay lifeless at the very center of it. The fountain was showcasing blood of its fallen citizens. This is just a game and there is nothing else to it, I reminded myself.

“Girly, you can open your eyes now. We have made it in, let’s look for the others,” I suggested.

“You can lead me to them while you are at it,” a male voice responded.

“Who are you? Where is Girly? What did you do to her?” I scowled at him.

“She is still somewhere in there, I think. You better get to her before she disappears.”

The man wore an almost worn out armor. He had some scars covering most of his face. His gaze made it seem that he had seen a lot of battles in his lifetime. I let go of his hand and rushed back to look for her.

“Hurry back. I will be waiting for you,” the mysterious man called back to me.