Chapter 57: C57 – Injured

The group used brute force to take out any skinks in their way. Dirk made sure to keep everyone moving as quickly as possible. They never even stopped for water breaks, forced to drink while walking. 

This saved them precious time though. Soon enough, they were only 7 miles away. However, this was also when the sun sunk below the horizon. The skies rapidly darkened, Dirk's face darkening along with it. 

"Two hours... it could be worse."

Dirk shook his head. They would be spending at least two hours in the dark to cover the last of the distance. However, this last portion held larger groups of powerful skinks. It wasn't long before they encountered a group of three skinks that stood as tall as everyone's hips. 

Ava, Alec, and Dirk were forced to fight one each. Garet and Casma continued to stay out of the way, their fear growing. They saw the surroundings brighten whenever a skink would let out its fire breath, and they worried about it attracting more enemies. 

Unfortunately, their worries were spot on. While Dirk fought, he spotted movement in the corner of his eye. There was another group of two skinks, and they were sneaking up to them. 

Seeing this, he let out a long breath. Suddenly, his movements became sharper, quicker, and hits harder. At the same time, rock spikes and arrows were summoned, hitting the skink in its blind spot and throwing it off balance. Dirk took the myriad of openings to land lethal hits. The skink's life quickly faded away. 

Then, Dirk flipped around. Above him appeared 8 rock arrows. They split into two groups of four and then shot out into the darkness. Garet and Casma saw this and were confused. It was only when they heard that familiar scream that they realized what was happening. 

Dirk charged, attacking the two new skinks with ruthless acuity. He continued summoning arrows to hit them from above as he stabbed and slashed at them with his spear. When one of the skinks tried to divert its attention to the others, he ripped out his hatchet and threw it, wounding the skink in the back. 

Like this, he managed to hold the attention of the two skinks, gradually wearing them down. He would block fire with walls and bombard them from all sides. Right as Ava and Alec killed their skinks, Dirk was finishing off his two. 

They turned to Dirk, seeing him drive his spear through the skink's eye socket. After piercing the brain, the skink dropped dead. Dirk then turned and threw his spear like a javelin, landing it in the second skink's neck that was farther away. The others were surprised by his intensity.

Like that, the battle was finished. Dirk retrieved his weapons before plucking the mana crystals. He couldn't bother speaking to his group as he pulled everyone along. They continued to trudge as the surroundings turned black, only the faint moonlight above them slightly illuminating their surroundings. 

Luckily, even in the dark Dirk's eyes worked just as well. This was his superior genetic construction at play. He continued to scan around for any movements, making sure no skinks got the jump on them. 

Unfortunately, because it was dark, the skinks had become stealthy hunters. They waited in their holes, and when Dirk's group walked by, they attacked. They didn't even bother launching their fire, meaning Dirk couldn't detect the heat fluctuations. 

They were ambushed, but Ava and Alec were able to respond quickly to the group of three that popped out. Dirk handled one with the same efficiency, killing it as quickly as possible. However, he underestimated how devious the skinks could be. 

One skink peeked out of its hole a few meters away. It overlooked the group, seeing the fights as well as Garet and Casma who stood around. It focused on them, slowly making its way over to the sitting ducks. 

[Stray enemy detected!]

"Damn!"

Dirk suddenly received an alert. He often flipped his head around so the AI could scan the place, making sure there weren't any other groups coming over. However, he instead spotted a skink that was only a small distance away from the two stragglers. 

He couldn't make it in time. He could only shout. 

"Casma! Behind you!"

Dirk yelled, startling Casma. She flipped around, only to see a skink lunge toward her. 

"Ahh!"

With a shrill scream, she jumped back. Garet also saw this and was stunned. The skink dove at Casma who stumbled backward, reaching out its claws.

*Slice!*

The claws met skin, tearing it open. Casma was stunned as she felt a stinging sensation in her leg. She fell to the floor, cool blood quickly pouring down her leg. 

"Ahh!! Ugh!"

"Damn! Watch out!"

Garet shouted, dropping all the bags and jumping on the skink. He threw out his leg. However, the skink was quick and dodged, scurrying away. 

Garet stood in front of Casma, unarmed and fearful of the large monster in front of it. Suddenly, he could see the skink's throat glow. It was going to scorch them. 

"Out of the way!"

Luckily, there was a shout at that moment. Dirk came running over, a large rock floating above his head. Pillars surged out from beneath his feet, propelling him forward like a projectile. 

Garet dropped himself to the floor, guarding the panicked Casma. Right as he did, Dirk came flying over. His hands came down. 

From above, the rock that was a meter wide came plummeting downward. The skink saw this and tried to back away despite being in the middle of letting out its breath. Unfortunately, Dirk aimed too well, and the rock came crashing down on top of it. 

*Screech!*

The skink screamed as the rock crushed its side, destroying one of its legs. It let out the fire that had gathered in its throat, burning everything in front of it. However, Dirk had already turned around. He re-engaged the enemy he was fighting previously, quickly brute forcing his way forward and driving his spear into the skink's throat. This came at the cost of a claw to his body, but he had his armor to protect him. The skink quickly died. 

After that, Dirk came rushing back, leaving the spear in the original skink. He drew his hatchet, bringing it down on the half crushed skink by Garet and Casma. It broke straight through its skull, killing it instantly. With that, both enemies were dead. Ava and Alec continued to fight theirs, the battles almost ended. Dirk went over to help them, wanting to finish things as quickly as possible. 

Finally, the battles ended as Dirk helped Alec and Ava kill the skinks. After that, Dirk went rushing back to Casma. He kneeled down next to her, looking at her leg. Alec and Ava also came over. Seeing as Casma had gotten hurt, Alec brought up his hand. 

"Here, some light."

He summoned a ball of light, illuminating Casma's injured body. However, Dirk was quick to grab Alec's hand, forcing him to the ground and forcefully snuffing out the light. 

"Do not light us up! You remember what happened in the gremlin dungeon?"

"..."

After getting a face full of dirt, Alec wanted to get angry. But he remained quiet after realizing his mistake. He cursed his stupidity and just sat at the side. 

Dirk went back to checking out Casma's wounds. He frowned. The wounds were deep. Those claws were long and sharp. They had gouged out her flesh and dug into the muscle. There were three slices that traveled from her quad to her calf, each one pouring blood and almost an inch wide. Dirk doubted she would be able to use her leg, regardless if she could take the pain. She would also suffer from blood loss if not treated soon.

"Ava, come here and hold her leg."

"Agh!"

Casma grimaced as Dirk suddenly picked her leg up, raising her foot to the sky. Ava nodded and held her leg there. Casma continued to groan, but Dirk disregarded it. He wanted to avoid blood loss. 

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After that, he went to one of the bags a few meters away. He pulled out a tent and the supplies to pitch it. Once he spotted a rope, he grabbed it and went back over. 

Without a word, he wrapped the rope around Casma's thigh above the topmost wound. Then, he tightened it with a knot. 

"Ah-!"

Casma let out a scream, but Dirk quickly put his hand over her mouth, forcefully quieting her. She shook her head, but Dirk didn't let up.

"Keep quiet, unless you want to attract more skinks."

"..."

Casma glared at Dirk, but hearing him she could grit her teeth and bear the pain. When she stopped resisting, he removed his hand, letting her breathe normally. 

Meanwhile, Garet watched at the side, feeling anger rise up within him. Casma was just wounded badly, and Dirk was treating her like garbage. He couldn't help but speak. 

"Hey Dirk, I know we need to be quiet, but take it easy. She's hurt."

"Excuse me?"

Hearing Garet, Dirk turned his head. His eyes were frosty, causing Garet to remember just what Dirk was capable of. 

Garet gritted his teeth. 

"I said take it easy. You can treat her a bit better."

"...I advise you to walk away. Right now."

Dirk responded with a low tone, his words threatening. He felt his anger come dangerously close to erupting. However, Garet didn't seem to sense the threat behind his words. He frowned. 

"No. I- hack!"

Suddenly, Garet's words were stopped as a hand gripped his throat. Dirk's fingers clenched around Garet's windpipe. He stood up, Garet in hand. 

"Listen to me, very closely."

His face came close to Garet's. 

"I don't care what you want. From now on, we're going to keep this very simple. You're going to follow my every command. If you insist on defying orders, then I'll leave you and Casma here where you can fend off those lizards by yourself. Otherwise, if you wish to heal her and keep yourselves alive, you'll do as I say and stay out of the way. Am I clear?"

Dirk's dark eyes glared into Garet's. Feeling Dirk's strength, he could only nod weakly as he struggled to even breathe. 

"Good."

"Huuhhh!"

Dirk dropped Garet, causing him to inhale sharply. He coughed several times, his body trembling from both the weakness and fear overcoming him. 

Dirk turned and didn't look at Garet again. Alec and Ava didn't interfere at all. Alec understood that Dirk was in the right. Ava obviously agreed with Dirk too. She was also feeling a bit of hate for Garet. Although she knew he was merely a bag carrier, Garet didn't do hardly anything at all on this expedition except complain, and now he was demanding Dirk to do things when he was only trying to help. This was basically biting the hand that fed you. If Dirk hadn't done anything, Ava was going to teach Garet a lesson herself. 

Dirk went back to Casma. Now, not even Casma could look him in the eye. As he dressed her wounds, she didn't dare make a peep. It was only when he picked her up that she finally squealed in pain. The blood rushing back down her injured leg felt horrible. Luckily, because Dirk had tied off her leg, the wounds didn't bleed too much more. 

"Alright, we're changing plans. Garet will support Casma as we walk. Alec, you're going to stick with them. Ava and I are going to walk ahead. We're going to maintain a large distance between ourselves. Ava and I will fight anything we see, and you trail behind. We should be able to avoid any more ambushes if you stay quiet and out of sight. If all goes well, we'll attract enemies and keep them away from you. Now let's go."

Dirk spoke, and Ava took up a position by his side. Alec helped hoist Camsa's arm around Garet's shoulders. She winced as she took a step, but she could only bite down and push forward. 

With that, Alec stayed behind while Dirk and Ava moved forward. They separated by 100 meters, Alec barely able to see Dirk and Ava's figures. 

However, Dirk quickly lit a ball of fire above his palm. Like this, his body glowed a bit with an orange light. Alec nodded, able to more accurately follow. However, he was worried about Dirk acting as a beacon. 

That was Dirk's plan though. He would attract all the monsters to him, drawing attention away from the others. The reason he chose Ava as his partner was because she didn't use anything that would light up their surroundings while fighting. Alec often used fire to fight the skink's and that turned his battles into a light show. Dirk wanted to keep things less chaotic. He wanted to bring the monsters to him, but didn't want to attract the entire dungeon in the process. 

The two groups maintained their distance as they walked along. Alec frequently had to hurry Garet and Casma along as Dirk didn't slow down at all. While Garet was angry about having to both carry bags and Casma, he wasn't in the position to complain. He could also see Dirk's light get farther, and he didn't want to fall behind. 

Soon though, Alec put out his hand to stop them. In the distance, Dirk's light had gone out, and they could hear screeches. It was dark, so they could only make out black silhouettes. It was clearly a fierce battle though. 

And it truly was. Dirk and Ava faced off against a group of three skinks. Because they were the only visible prey, Dirk didn't have to worry about these skinks going anywhere else. He and Ava bounced between the skinks. She relied on her heavy axe and strong body to inflict serious damage with each chop. She got progressively better, able to control her movements more and develop a style of fighting. 

Dirk's skill was a given. He went between the skinks, constantly damaging them even if a little. He would move to one, and then suddenly turn to stab at another. If they were distracted, he would either hack them with his hatchet or impale them with his spear. And if they focused on him, that would lighten the pressure on Ava, allowing her to do more damage. Everything worked as he intended. 

Slowly, Dirk was figuring out that while monsters weren't intelligent like humans, they could be led along all the same. He could use their lack of intelligence to grasp their basic instincts, forming an optimal fighting pattern that ensured his victory. He would read their every reaction, and they wouldn't even realize they were being played within the palm of his hand. 

Such combat sense was what allowed Dirk to survive and become one of the most lethal fighters on the planet Earth. While combat sense could be gained through experience, only the best talents could develop their killer instincts to the highest degree. Dirk had spent most of the past 14 years of his life as a child that did nothing but train. His instincts had been worn down. But now, he could already feel it coming back. 

It filled him with a strange sense of euphoria. 

*Splat!*

Dirk's hatchet fell down upon a skink's neck like an executioner. The neck was wide, so only half of it was chopped through. But that was enough. The skink collapsed without life. He moved on to the second skink while Ava finished the third. 

Soon, all three had been killed. Dirk and Ava stood in the darkness, their breathing strong but controlled. They suddenly looked at each other, and Ava smiled. For some reason, she felt great. Fighting with Dirk like this made her feel fuzzy on the inside. She chuckled a bit, though made sure to keep it quiet. 

Dirk saw that and couldn't help but smile himself. The next moment though, he frowned. He found himself enjoying dungeon diving and killing monsters, but he knew that on the outside, he already had enemies in the dark. He wanted to start a life where he could just do this all the time, but now that might not be possible. He felt anger at the one who wanted to cause trouble for him. He also had a bad feeling about everything. 

Eventually, Dirk shook his head. Right now, he had to focus on making it to the haven. After lighting a small ball of fire in his hand, he continued walking, Ava glued to his side. Alec saw the fire from afar and was relieved. He beckoned Garet and Casma. 

Like that, the group continuously made their way deeper and deeper. Dirk and Ava encountered several more groups, most of which ambushed them from fox holes. However, they were able to respond well. Ava felt her senses be heightened, and not only did her combat proficiency rise, but her magical ability progressed as well. Using spells while under stressful situations helped one learn how to better cast them. It would get to the point where she would merely have a thought, and the spell would appear. While that would only happen at higher tiers, everyone had to start somewhere. This was the best training.

The group continued for a bit less than an hour. They only had another hour or so to go. However, at this time, Dirk heard a faint thud in the distance. Turning back, he saw that Casma had collapsed. 

 

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