Chapter 14: Chapter 13: “The Beast”

CHAPTER 13: “THE BEAST”

 

Ai watched as Eusyca_ walked through the newly made doorway and into the dim corridor, her back slowly disappearing into the darkness.

It seemed like all he could do was wait it out. He wasn’t too worried about the other player since she seemed to know what she was doing. She looked incredibly prepared. Thinking about her equipment, Ai realized that some of them might’ve come from the store. That was why the items looked so familiar. He himself wasn't too keen on it, but he did admit the armor would’ve helped a lot.

Tired of standing around, Ai finally settled on one dusty corner of the underground room. Athiel followed him though they didn’t sit down. Looking up, Ai decided that this was might as well time to ask some questions about this supposed beast who slept deeper in the temple.

“The beast….” Athiel tapped their chin as they seemed to think about it. “I’m afraid that I can’t say much, the beast has been around longer than I have. There is a line that my parents often told me that might have something to do with this beast.”

“A line?” Ai asked, tilting his head slightly. 

“Yes. The slumbering beast who seeks the light. They were lines from a book. What it means, I do not know.”

Ai turned to look back at the dim corridor. The light...he didn’t even know what that could mean. Sunshine? That might’ve been slightly too obvious, and why would a beast who seeks sunshine occupy a space underground. Ai ruled sunshine out. It could be a metaphor for something, but he really didn’t know either. 

Before he could think about it more, the walls once again trembled, though it wasn’t as dramatic as before. Ai swiftly got up from his corner and anxiously waited for Eusyca_. Not long, her figure emerged from the shadows with something in her hands. Ai couldn’t see it that well, but it looked like a gem of some sort at first glance. The player’s clothes were dirty and there was a streak of dust and dirt on her face, but she wore a proud grin as she stepped out from the corridor.

The priestly elf eagerly rushed to greet Eusyca_. “Have you done the task?”

Eusyca_ nodded enthusiastically and dropped the gem into the elf’s hands. “I took the beast down.”

The priestly elf gently touched the gem and examined it carefully in the dim light. They seemed quite satisfied with the result as they returned the gem to Eusyca_’s hands.

“Thank you for helping us.” The elf bowed. “We are so very grateful.”

Eusyca_ let out a triumphant grin, even giving Ai a cocky glance. Her smile didn’t last though. A moment after it appeared, it slowly turned into a deep frown. She turned towards the priestly elf, her golden eyes tinged with confusion. 

“I only got a C....what did I do wrong?” She asked the elf, her voice rising in frustration.

The elf pointed at the gem in Eusyca_’s hand. “The beast still slumbers. You slayed its mirage and it dropped this gem. Do not fret, destroying the mirage also quite helps, it weakens the beast. As for that we thank you.”

Eusyca_ looked speechless. She glanced at the gem in her hands, at the priest, and even at Ai. Though she looked like she desperately wanted to contest the result, she sighed defeatedly and pocketed the gem, recognizing that she wouldn’t be able to fight the system. Without glancing back at any of them, she turned and left the temple, leaving the three elves with each other.

The priest now approached Ai and gestured toward the corridor. “It is now your turn. Please take care of the beast for us!”

Gulping, Ai nervously toyed with the edge of his garb and glanced at the corridor, its darkness beckoning him. Behind the priest, Athiel was giving him an encouraging smile that did make him feel slightly better. 

In the [Thought System], Ai equipped the Mediator Dagger in his sub weapon slot. The Book of Languages was still his main weapon as it couldn’t be unequipped, but he couldn’t exactly use it to fight. What was he going to do? Whack the beast on the head? He would have to try with the dagger. Though equipping it on the sub slot would decrease its accuracy and critical hit rate, it was better than nothing.

Taking one long breath, Ai walked into the corridor. 

It was truly dark in there, the only lighting being the dim hue from the start of the corridor. Which each step he took, he could feel himself getting more and more nervous. Each thump on the ground, each heartbeat in his chest, each breath he took, he began to notice them all, his nerves high and tense.

He both knew and didn’t know what to expect when he reached the end of the corridor. He knew a beast was waiting for him yet he didn’t know what was going to happen. The uncertainty didn’t make him feel good. Yet he could feel another emotion slowly seeping through. Anticipation. His first battle was about to happen and by extension the completion of what was technically his first ever quest.

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Slowly, he got closer and closer to the end of the corridor until he found himself standing in front of a big wooden door with all sorts of magic runes drawn on it. Ai wondered if these were barrier magic that would keep the beast from getting out.

He briefly traced some of the runes with curiosity before braving himself to push the door open. The wooden door swung easily, revealing a church like interior. High ceiling supported by beams and pillars, rows of seats, a carpeted pathway and an altar at the far end. 

As Ai wondered at the room, his eyes suddenly took notice of the movement at the altar. Subtle, quiet, a slumber. 

There it was, the beast.

Ai wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He’d assumed that it was going to be a dragon or another giant mythical creature but it wasn’t exactly what he thought. Yes, the beast was indeed quite big, its body taking almost all the altar, but not quite giant. It was slightly bigger than a fat bear. Ai couldn’t really make out what the beast looked like or what defining characteristics it had, it was curled in a slumbering ball. The beast was also covered in shadows and mist. It didn’t seem to come from the room, but rather from the beast itself.

Suddenly, alerted by another presence in the room, the beast’s figure shook and moved as it woke up. Ai stood frozen where he was, staring as the beast lifted up his head to look directly at him. He couldn’t really see all that well, but he did find himself staring at a pair of angry red eyes.

You are now fighting [???]!

Ai took out his small dagger. He knew that it looked ridiculous. How could he ever hope to fight this red eyed shadow beast with a measly small dagger? It was almost hopeless.

Sensing Ai’s intention to fight, the beast threw its head back and roared at him, its voice sending shivers down Ai’s spine. He jumped to the right to avoid the beast’s claws as it ran and lunged forward, reaching for Ai. Its figure slid and slammed against the wooden door. Without wasting a moment, Ai ran across the room to the altar. His plan right now was to create as much distance as possible while thinking of the best possible way to do this.

Thus it was as if the two creatures were playing cat and mouse. The beast would jump around, trying to slash and bite at Ai but the little elf was nimble and always managed to dodge its deadly slashes. Yet, Ai was only a low level elf and [World Symphony] used a player’s real life physical condition to determine their in game starting stats. So although Ai was quick, he lacked the stamina to keep going. His moves were getting slower and the slashes the beast made were getting harder and harder to dodge.

Panting, Ai prepared himself as the beast lunged again at him. This time, instead of going left or right, Ai pushed himself forward, slashing at the beast’s side with his tiny dagger. The beast roared in annoyance and glared at Ai. He’d hoped that the dagger would deal enough damage that the fight would still be feasible. It didn’t need to be big damage, it just needed to do something. Alas, one look at the beast and Ai knew that the damage was too little to even be considered. The red eyed shadow simply brushed it off and prepared himself to slash again.

He couldn’t keep this up forever. His stamina was dwindling fast and even if he did slash at the creature, it wouldn’t be enough to take it down. He also thought about what the priestly elf had told Eusyca_.

The beast still slumbers. You slayed its mirage and it dropped this gem. Do not fret, destroying the mirage also quite helps, it weakens the beast. As for that we thank you.

So this shadow beast wasn’t even the real one. It was just another mirage. 

What was he supposed to do with this information? It’s not like it would help him at all. If this beast was indeed just a mirage, how strong would the real one be? What was he going to do? Kill the real one? He couldn’t even graze the mirage.

Ai dodged again, leaping away from the wooden door. The beast slammed into it once more, yet this time it had used too much force and disoriented itself in the process, the protective runes adding more to it.

Ai felt exhaustion seeping into his limbs. Achingly, he ran and ducked behind the altar table and took deep breaths, trying to get some air back into his overworked lungs. The beast was still confused from head slam, it swayed on its feet then let out a loud roar that gave Ai a pause. The previous roars had sounded animalistic, like an angry animal being disturbed from its nap. This one...this one sounded different. It sounded like a roar of anguish. Of pain.

Ai slowed his deep breaths and thought to himself. All the information that he had. He had to think.

 

 

 

 

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