Chapter 4: Four Sides of Death

As time passed, Jacob saw two more teams head in and come out. Both teams had injured members, but nobody had awakened their talents yet. They came out with dejected faces as some even had to seek the teacher’s help.

Then it was their turn. Mr. John motioned them to follow and Jacob saw that Kevin’s team was following Mrs. Lucy inside with them.

Jacob stepped into the dungeon. It felt as though his body had entered a completely different world. The air smelled different, more heavy. He stood in an open forest, with three paths diverging in front of him.

Tall trees with thick trunks and dense foliage separated the paths. It felt as though he had entered an ancient primeval forest, untouched by human beings. But he took a closer look and noticed footsteps of those who went there before him. He looked behind him and found no path. They could only walk forward.

“Okay, listen up,” said Mr. John as he clapped his hands. “We’ll wait here. Release your flares if you are in danger. Give us up to a minute to get there.” He took out a tab. It had their names on its screen that shone with a green glow.

Everyone understood that the flare was not simply used to give a visual location. It was also connected to the device in Mr. John’s hand. They nodded.

Jacob, Sumei and Bob stood together. Kevin was near them with his two goons, one fat and short, while another was thin and tall.

Mrs. Lucy added, “Decide which path to take.”

“I’ll take the middle one,” Kevin instantly said. He took his men and went ahead.

“Right or left?” Jacob asked Sumei. He knew he had to leave the decision making to her.

She looked around and seemed hesitant. Her nervousness was further fueled by everyone’s stares.

“R-right! Let’s go right,” she finally answered.

Jacob looked at her unsure face and questioned his decision to follow her lead. But it was too late to have any regrets.

“Well, I hope you’re right.”

***

“Are you sure this works, boss?”

“Yes, just do it. We won’t be found out.” Kevin grinned.

***

Jacob walked along the uneven ground. It was littered with dead leaves, stones, and even splashed dried blood. Initially, the blood drops were few. But as they went in deeper, even others started paying attention to them.

Jacob was standing together with Sumei. Bob was taking the lead since they expected him to play the role of a tank. Like others, he too wore leather armor but didn’t have a weapon.

“In this dungeon, we can expect either goblins, kobolds or demonic cows,” Sumei shared. “Its fine if we meet the first two, but the cows spell bad news.”

Jacob asked, “Why? Aren’t these cows… just cows? They can’t even use weapons or strategies. Why should we fear them?” He was eager to know more.

Suddenly, the trio stopped walking. They felt vibrations from the ground. They looked at each other in confusion for an instant before Sumei’s eyes widened in fear.

“RUN!” she screamed and jumped into the trees to the side. Jacob hurried after her while Bob caught up. As they left the path, they heard a roar!

MOOO!

It was not one cow roaring. It was a herd!

MOOO! MOOO! MOOO!

They used the ancient trees for cover and sneaked a look. That single glance turned them pale. Even Bob who was normally expressionless, was shivering in fear.

Ten gigantic cows with curved horns atop their heads were running towards them. They were taller than 2 meters each, and were thick, bulky and muscular. Jacob finally understood why these cows were named as such.

“Demonic indeed!” he exclaimed but grew worried.

How were they going to overcome this obstacle?

He looked at Sumei who was thinking the same thing. While they were lost in thought, the cows passed them and continued running.

“We need to reach the end of this path and grab an item in the treasure chest near the boss room. Then return all the way to the entrance. We can either hide and get the item or fight them. But… I don’t think hiding is an option.” Sumei analyzed.

“Why?” Jacob asked.

“Because they’re going to be more cows ahead and we can’t always escape their senses. If they see us running towards the forest, they’ll come rushing in and there will be no place to hide.” Sumei shook her head. While Jacob began feeling the dread, she added, “So we can only fight!”

She looked at Bob with slight anticipation.

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“Can you hold one down?”

He looked at the ground.

“How?” he asked.

“By the horns.”

“Horns?” Bob muttered, then slowly nodded.

“What about me?” Jacob asked. He wanted to play it safe, but realized there was no chance of that happening.

“Blind its eyes. You need to climb on it though. Can you do it?” she asked with concern.

Jacob silently prayed for everything to go smoothly and nodded.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“And I’ll keep it distracted,” Sumei concluded waving her staff. It was meant to be equipment to cast magic but was now being used as a club. But Jacob still had trust in Sumei’s technique, so he knew her help was essential.

They once again began walking towards their destination through the forest. A few minutes later, the cows that had rushed towards the entrance came back. Every 20 or so meters, a cow would leave the herd. Very soon, the main path was guarded by the demonic cows.

“This is our chance!” Sumei exclaimed. “These cows are not only tough, but their loot is pretty decent! Let’s do it!”

Jacob and Bob nodded and inched closer to the path from the forest. The group had their eyes on the cow closest to them. Its back was facing them, and Bob began running.

As it was about to turn around after hearing him, Bob jumped on its back. He held both of it’s horns tightly while pulling upward. Naturally, it wasn’t going to stay still. The cow started jumping around, trying to throw off it’s rider.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Sumei had reached the cow. Jacob equipped his dagger and tried to find chances to hit its eyes. Sumei began hitting it’s nose to disorient it. She also began disturbing the cow by hitting it’s feet, head and ears.

MOOO!

The cow grew furious at the weaklings harassing it and strongly jerked forward. It finally sent Bob flying. Coincidentally, he flew straight at Sumei, knocking her down.

Jacob gulped and backed away.

The cow started at him and once again roared. It began running towards him while pointing it’s horns forward. If Jacob got hit by them, two holes would open straight through him.

“What do I do?” he asked himself. In a few seconds, he knew he would be hit and if he didn’t do anything, he would die.

He used his rich imagination and imagined many ideas and finally settled on one idea. He knew he could only try.

As the cow reached him, he slid down while pointing the edge of his dagger towards it’s underside. The cow jumped up with its front hooves at the pain but the momentum still took it ahead. Jacob took this chance to stick the dagger deeper. He managed to form a deep cut along the entire length of the cow’s bottom.

The cow finally crossed him and fell behind while he held his right arm in pain while dropping his dagger. His arm muscles were torn and blood stained his face and shirt. Jacob was still in shock at what he had accomplished.

MOO!

Its dying roar brought him back to the present. He quickly picked up his dagger and stepped back and finally looked at the cow. It was trying to stand up but blood was continuously pouring down from its open wound. After a few tries, it fell.

Jacob saw it shine brightly for a moment, then in its place he saw some meat and two horns. Only the blood stained ground and his injuries were proof that a battle had occurred. It was one where Jacob nearly died.

“What happened?”

Jacob jerked around in shock and waved his dagger. He only relaxed after seeing it was Sumei. He pointed at the loot.

Sumei couldn’t believe it. She looked between him and the loot and finally had to admit he did the impossible.

“You did great!” she smiled as she came to check up on him.

“Argh!” Jacob grunted holding his right bicep.

“Its a muscle strain,” said Sumei after a while. “Can you continue?” she asked, looking worried.

Jacob didn’t hesitate to nod and said, “I can.”

Meanwhile, Bob came over and looked at Jacob’s bloody arm. He said, “Sorry.”

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