Chapter 9: Ch. 9 – Battling a Mecho

The walls shook, Typh's roar echoing off the walls and going into the cave like a monster. We wanted there in the purple darkness, my hair standing up on my arms, holding some tiny dagger in my hands. Was his roar actually some kind of fear or intimidation skill by how my body reacted to it? Or was I just that afraid? Then a roar trumpeted back up the cave. Loud, fierce, strong. Answering the challenge.

"Good. It is still here." Typh looked at me, standing in my overalls and holding my level 2 dagger. I must have looked ridiculous next to a sleek, fully outfitted jaguar. "Put that silly thing away. Take this vile of Poruslight. It will help your eyes when you're shooting." So I was right. There was some magic vision enhancement with this mushroom light item. 

A rumbling sound was growing, the monster heading toward our position. "I need you for support in this battle. If you can help me defeat this beast, your time as a slave will be over. I do not know what we will do with you yet, but that can be discussed outside the cave. During the battle, your best chance for us will be to stun it with your magic when it's least expecting it. Let's test your slingshot out and hopefully get you a skill. Now hurry - head into that side tunnel!" He pointed ahead.

I complied, slipping my dagger into my belt loop. I looked around in the dim light, seeing what he was talking about. There was a branching tunnel up ahead that I could slide into, out of the direct conflict. I scrambled away, hearing the monster getting closer and closer. I assumed I could hit a colossal bear monster from close range, even with very little light and my hands shaking like a crack addict. 

This had to be the most afraid I had ever been. I had never been in mortal danger once in my life on Earth. Since coming here, that changed multiple times. I took a quick look at a gleaming silver pellet, inspecting it. 

[WYND PELLET SLINGSHOT AMMO X1]

Well, nothing surprising there. I loaded the pellet into my slingshot, putting the rest in my front right pocket for reloading. Sweat beaded down my neck, and my heart pounded in my ears in the quiet cave. I shivered, but not from the cold dampness of the cave. My whole body was rigid, on high alert waiting for the attack that was coming. All that we could hear was boom boom boom as the beast ran through the cavern tunnels. All around me, the ore veins showed themselves to me. Further back, a dim ray of moonlight filtered in.

I saw Typh, now about 20 feet away, getting himself prepared. First, he took a few deep breaths, cycling his shoulders up and down. Then he fell into a much more feline pose than I had seen him use before. He crouched like he was about to attack but had his head up and his shoulders raised. His weapon was strapped to his back, most likely useless in a fight like this. His eyes darted side to side, expecting the beast to come any moment, most likely seeing much better than I could in these conditions.

Then suddenly, one more ear-shattering roar and the Mecho burst free from the tunnel. It had a massive head with red eyes and a long snout. Its fur was reddish brown with streaks of grey and thick like a polar bear's. I doubted many creatures in this jungle could even hope to take it down, hence its age and greying fur.   

Typh growled and pounced, both paws swiping in furious motions. His ears were pinned back, and his teeth barred. The bear ran right into the attack, taking the claws to the face and grunting but continuing its charge. It took Typh down, and he went to the ground, the bear overtop of him, jaws wide. The bear was about twice the size of Typh.

I broke free of my stupor and shot. I hit it right in the rear end, the most significant target facing me. A piercing white light snaked out from the impact site. It roared, this time an angrier-sounding version, and reared back, hitting its head on the cave ceiling. Holy shit. This thing must be 12 feet tall. The bear looked around, looking for the damage source. If I could go into the wall at that point, I would have. Instead, I grabbed roughly into my pockets for another shot.   

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Typh took that chance to stab the Mecho in the lower leg with his dagger. The bear stumbled to the side, swiping at him so fast I barely saw his paw move. Typh barely dodged in time, rolling backward. He stood up gracefully, swiping his paw and putting the dagger away in one motion. The bear took Typh's strike to the side in stride and returned a bone-rattling shot to Typh's left arm. He flew into the cave wall, unmoving. 

I took the chance to fire at the bear again, this time hitting it in the arm. Bolts of lightning shot out again, this time with more lightning. The bear roared, its arm falling limp and unmoving. It turned toward me, its red eyes gleaming with murderous menace. 

[YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE 'SMALL PROJECTILE WEAPON' PROFICIENCY LEVEL 1]

Not now, voice lady! I'm trying to concentrate! I put the slingshot away and drew my dagger. The bear went to all fours and charged me, limping badly. I panicked. It closed the 20 feet in about three strides and was upon me in moments, even with its bad leg. I fell backward, all 1,000 pounds of the bear on top of me. I stabbed the dagger into its left paw. Lightning again shot up its arm, causing it to collapse on top of me. I let out an oof as the air left my lungs, trying to scramble back but getting stuck under the beast. 

It spasmed in place, trying to get its legs working, which bought me a few seconds. The bear's head went wildly from side to side, grunting intensely. Slobber went all over my shirt and overalls, but the teeth stayed away from my face and arms. I went for a stab at its head but missed with a glancing blow off the thick fur. The dagger slipped to the side, flying backward and tearing free of my grasp. "No!" 

The bear's first arm began moving as it stood up. It rose to full height, arm swinging backward to put me down. I got a full roar in my face, closing my eyes and scrunching my face up from the sound. Then a sword stuck through the beast from behind to the front, stopping it in its tracks. A sword I had seen just days before. It was a high-level saber made for one man. Baron Gilbert. The Baron roared a defiant, victorious sound, marking him the alpha of the cave. 

The bear made one last gurgling noise, looked around, then fell into the cave wall with an enormous crash. The Baron grabbed his saber from the bear, cleaning the blood off. Typh was still knocked out cold against the wall, but I could see him breathing. Good, not dead. Gilbert looked around for any further threats but detected none. 

The bear mostly dissolved, leaving a rug-looking fur mass ingredient on the cave floor. The Baron sheathed the sword and held out his paw to me, looking me directly in the eye. 

"I believe we have a lot to discuss."

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