Voices
2026 Words
I could see nothing here. The air was becoming stiffer as I went deeper into the darkness. I tried calling out to her a bunch of times already. It made me think the sound I made was only in my mind. My head started spinning, and I stumbled to my knees.
“Help! I need help! Vampire, Kun, where are you? Girly?” I called out to them with my remaining breath.
“Who goes there?” A hushed male voice replied.
“Please… help… me…” I reached out to the voice, but I lost consciousness.
I felt something drag my feet. I could not move my body. I only hoped that Girly, and the others were okay. How much time has passed since I got sucked into this place? If mom finds out that I’m gone she would surely freak out.
As my mind swirled around reality, the dragging stopped. Then, I heard someone whimpering in the room. I tried to grab my sword, but all of my things went missing. I scattered my eyes, but there was only complete darkness.
“Get up human, we do not have much time to waste,” his voice was much darker now.
“Ugh, where is all my stuff?” I got up, dazed.
“I kept it somewhere safe in case you try something.”
“What do you want from me? Where are my friends?”
“They are still within these walls, I believe.”
“I have to save them.”
“Wait a moment. You cannot go out there yet, not in your current state.”
“Look, whoever you are, I need to get to my friends and I need my stuff now.”
“You won’t even last a minute out there.”
“Then what do you suggest that I do?”
“I can make you something that can help you breathe while searching for your friends, but you must bring me the ingredients needed to make them.”
“It’s a deal. Where can I get these ingredients?”
“There is a place not far from here called Etherem Plains. I need you to get ten Lapkan Tears from the Lapkas. You can find Tree Bristles and Grass Tips somewhere around that area, and I need fifteen of each.”
“How am I supposed to get there?”
“I have prepared a portal for you. You must burn rubber before it’s too late.”
“You must not be joking about this.”
He gave me no response, so I shrugged and went through the shimmering blue portal. It lit up the room a little bit, enough for me to see who I was dealing with. All I saw was his green scaly skin and reflecting orange eyes.
The portal closed behind me. Tall, fruitless trees bordered the area and lush green grasses covered the ground. Triple horned, single-eyed creatures suddenly appeared around me. These must be the Lapkas that fishy guy was talking about.
I just remembered that I did not get my stuff from him. He tricked me and left me here to die. Then I saw some stones lying beneath the grass. They looked suitable for creating a sword. I gathered some of them, then placed them together.
They shook as they formed parts of the weapon. It flashed and alas, I have effortlessly crafted a stone sword. I earned some Craftsman Points. I need to earn more to craft higher level weapons. I gathered some twigs and forged a wooden shield out of them.
These monsters were at level three. I approached one of them and started my assault. I stabbed one of them with my sword, but my attack got deflected. I bounced back to my feet and tried again. They must have some kind of defect.
It was Lapka’s time to retaliate. Its claws swung at me in a flurry. I blocked them with my shield, but it could only deflect as much. I received some damage as I defended myself, and then I saw it. It kept on wagging its tail every time it launches an attack.
I dashed to the side while evading its attacks. The Lapka started charging and saw my chance. My sword attempted to s***h its tail, but I missed. It finally finished charging and lashed its horns out towards me. The tail slapped me in the face and my body hit the nearest tree.
It stunned me for a few seconds. The slashing began again, but it was too late for me to dodge them. It ended its assault by stabbing me with its claws. I felt the warmth of my blood flow out of me with dominant force. It threw me across the plains afterwards.
I used my sword to support my weight. Blinding rage filled my mind and I aimed for the tail again. This time, it got chopped off. It roared violently, but I intercepted its counterattack just in time. I stunned it with my shield, then followed with my sword. My attack finally went through him and it was dead.
“Congratulations! You have leveled up to six! Your health and mana have been fully replenished,” a message suddenly popped up. “You have gained 1 Lapkan Tear(s).”
“Great, I only need nine more,” I deeply sighed.
I completed the other ingredients first before continuing with this one. It bought me some time to regain some of my health. I distributed my skill point to unlock First Blood. It helped me boost my strength by half for a few seconds.
I rushed to the next one and activated my skill. It got defeated faster than I thought. I rushed to the others before the skill expired. I defeated a third of them, but I still needed more of their tears. While waiting for my skill to cool down, I aimed for the tail.
They all charged at me at once, making it dicey to reach my target. I ran across the field to look for an opening. Suddenly, my foot got caught by one of them. It aimed to slam me to the ground. Before it launched the attack, I stabbed its tail then slashed its body when the grip went loose.
I ran away from them to regain myself. Eventually, I was cornered. I tried slashing the trees, but they were hard like an impenetrable wall. My sword almost broke in the process and crumbled from my hands.
I had no time to create a new one. I walked up the tree and leaped away from them. They were in hot pursuit for me and were hard to shake off. As I fended them off, I gathered some rocks. Maybe I can enforce my weapon.
I rubbed the stones, and the sword looked just like how I created it. I ran for the tree walls again, then leaped. Before they could turn around, I slashed their tails in one fell swoop. With my current stats, I could only stab them one at a time.
Finally, my skill has finished recharging. I activated it and tried to finish them as fast as I could. They all dropped the remaining ingredients that I needed after defeating them.
“Hey dude, I already got the stuff,” I announced, but I got no answer.
“Hey, didn’t you hear me? I got them. Now, pull me out of here,” I tried again.
Suddenly, a portal revealed itself in front of me.
“Finally! What took you so long?” I exasperated.
“Excellent work, I knew you could do it faster than lightning!” He enthused, “Please wait a moment. Now, this mask will help you breathe in this dark tunnel. This is all I could provide for you. I wish you good luck. You must go now.”
“Thanks, man. I didn’t get your name, though.”
He refused to speak. I shrugged as I wore the silk mask and went on with my mission. I suddenly realized that I forgot to ask for directions, but I was far away from him now.
“Psst, you seem to be lost,” a low whisper said to me.
“Yeah, can you help me through this dark maze?” I asked.
“Shhh… you have to be quiet or she will hear us”
“Who is she?”
“You do not have to know about that, but we must hurry before she finds us.”
“Okay!”
“Shhh!” The voice lowly hissed.
The voice directed me through the darkness. I was not sure where it was taking me, but it seemed like I was walking in circles for hours. The sound was getting fainter and fainter until I could not hear it anymore.
“Hey, are you still there?” I asked.
“Yeah, stand there for a moment while I figure out our way here,” it assured me.
“Are you sure that we are walking the right way?”
“I said be quiet! Let me concentrate.”
“Okay, man.”
Suddenly, I heard light footsteps approaching us. It sounded so close.
“She is here! She has already located us,” the voice was trembling.
“Who is here? Where?” I was so confused.
“Get down. If she lays a hand on us, we are dead.”
“Keita?” A familiar voice called out to me.
“Girly, is that you?”
“I told you to be quiet, you fool. Do not let her touch us,” I felt a violent tug on my arm.
“You are breaking my arm, man. She is one of my friends. I have been looking for her.”
“Suit yourself, man. If you die, do not mention my name.”
“I don’t even know who you are.”
“Exactly”, I heard its footsteps scurry away from me.
“Keita, is that you? I cannot see anything. It’s so dark in here.”
“I’m coming, just tell me where you are.”
“Right here, just a little closer. There.”
“Goodness Girly, you got me so worried. Promise me you won’t let go of my hand until we get out of here.”
“Okay.”
I felt her soft hand touching mine. The heat went up my face, but I shrugged it off. We walked through the darkness in silence until I finally saw light again. I tugged her and got out of there. I was thankful that I got to out of that dark place twice.
“I see that you got your friend out,” the mysterious man from before stood by the opening.
“Don’t scare me like that,” his voice made me jump.
“Hi there,” Girly greeted him.
“Am I missing something here? You are red as a shrimp.”
“It’s none of your business. Who are you anyway?” I sternly asked.
“I believe that I am the one you are looking for. My name is General Gurthe and I am the person-in-charge of this kingdom. You have a message for me, correct?”
“Here,” Girly handed him the letter.
While he was reading it, we told him of all the accounts that have happened to us before arriving here.
“It came sooner than I thought. I think your friends are having a difficulty finding their way here. Since the mysterious attacks began, the side entrances have been leading people astray, even our guards. I was the only one left to defend the people from the inside,” he elaborated.
“Kun and Vampire must still be there somewhere. We can’t just leave them behind,” Girly expressed her concern.
“We have no time for that now. Let’s just have faith in them. They are man enough to handle themselves,” I assured her.
“What if they don’t get out?”
“They will find a way to get to us, don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
“General, how can we help?”
“Since we are short on men, I guess I can let you handle some of them for me. I need you to defeat Nasty Shadows and Soul Hounds, seven of each. I will take care of the rest. Meet me at the Middle Tower when you have defeated them,” Gurthe instructed.
He sprinted off ahead. We headed the opposite direction to deal with some of the monsters. Girly was still holding my hand. All of my nerves were shaking. What is this weird feeling? I felt my heart skip a beat and my thoughts swirled around her.
I shrugged those thoughts away and regained my composure. I had to focus on what lied ahead inside the kingdom’s tower.
- Writer
