The Third and Final Week

After returning to camp, the first thing Kaiser did was pass on Rook's quote on quote "kind" advice. All of the members present quickly got the memo.

"Let's split into the usual groups again then" Kaiser said to which everyone quickly responded by separating.

Just like that, my group of Hawk, Lytton, and Seamus was quickly reassembled. As usual, we ventured out into the dangerous grasslands. The main difference this time was that instead of following vague directions we had a map. This map was of Kaiser's own making as well as Lytton.

It turned out that Lytton was not just a medic but also knew a couple of things about cartography. Supposedly these things were taught to him by Kaiser which did make me curious about where exactly Kaiser was placed in the hearts of his subordinates. He seemed to be both a teacher and a father figure of sorts which I was totally capable of seeing.

Going by the empty zones on the map, we managed to encounter many different mutants. There was the colossal poison beetle which wasn't a particularly tough opponent. Its size was the most intimidating of its features.

That easy kill had netted us a grade 5 crystal which came as quite a surprise. From there on we each decided to keep a closer eye out for these walking pinatas of toxicity.

We also encountered a deer of passing which we dared not face. Rook had warned us about the reputation of that deer. Supposedly those that spotted it would find themselves in a precarious situation in the future. That was only for seeing it, those that faced it were surely dead.

We spent the next couple of days following this same routine. I managed to meet many interesting creatures each more fascinating than the last.

The large camouflaged acid cats, these cats were toxic to the touch. Their claws secreted virulent blood that ensured no prey could escape. Yet, they themselves were not invincible, there were even plants capable of eating these things whole.

Like the Ghillie, these plant mutants could disguise themselves as regular plant life. The only give away is that their ravenous nature means no other plants grow around it or any animal even dares approach.

Of course, it's impossible to watch out for such a minuscule thing in the midst of battle be it people or mutants. It did make me curious however on how large such a thing's crystal might be.

These thoughts came to me for one sole reason. Desperation.

Maybe it was due to shooting to grade four so soon after coming to this world that I failed to realize how tough it was to go up grades in reality. By this point, it had been a week since Rook's first visit yet I was still in grade four. The leap in energy requirement was simply too monstrous.

From grade four to grade five it was necessary to gain 90,000 points of mutational energy. Such a ridiculous sum was the same as one hundred grade four crystals. Sounds easy enough right?

The main issue was having to split that sum with others as well as the fact that a creature's grade wasn't necessarily equivalent to the danger it posed. A single grade 5 mosquito for example wasn't as large a threat as a grade 5 wolf.

It was similar to how the colossal poison beetle had been easy pickings but not all mutants were so. Plus, even with the beetle's colossal size, one was still hard-pressed to find them. It was obvious that we weren't the only ones that found them to be easy prey.

There was something rather funny about the mutated animals. Most of them have evolved to become poisonous which in regular earth usually implied they had little predators but in the wasteland, since nearly everything was poisonous… nothing was poisonous!

That implied that most mutants were resistant to the poison of others. The acid cat's claws were only effective against mutants much weaker than itself for that reason and anything at a similar level would at most feel a bit numb. The last thing you wanted to do was give your enemy painkillers while trying to tear them apart. Wouldn't that be counter-productive?

It was therefore impossible for me to go up a grade as swiftly as I had done previously. All of the others were instead catching up to me. If the trend continued there would be no more sneaking up on others and scaring them. Which wasn't all that important but I suppose qualified as food for thought.

Time continued to pass and it was now the third week. To make sure that Rook didn't shoot us for failing to meet the required standards, we were forced to start handing over most of the grade one and two crystals. The grade ones wouldn't be missed but grade two could just barely form a dent on the ridiculous grading up standards.

Once night came, I struggled to fall asleep. Something felt… eerie. I looked at my hand for some reason and found nothing out of the ordinary yet something continued to nudge at my brain.

"What is it…?" I muttered to myself still staring at the once mutated hand. It had healed rather nicely and there should have been no serious side effects yet...

RUMBLE

The ground trembled slightly. This caused me to frown and shoot straight out of my bed. The sense of unease didn't seem to have been unfounded.

After exiting my tent the first thing I noticed was that Kaiser was the one in charge of the night watch. He was furrowing his brows while looking out towards the lake.

Past the tall grass was a large head. The large head was being illuminated by the moonlight allowing it to be plain to see for all.

This creature had resplendent white scales and blood-red eyes. Most of all, the creature had long fangs. These fangs seemed both sharp and elegant yet they felt incomparably sinister.

"Dan…?" Kaiser said noticing a faint presence behind him. All along Kaiser didn't turn to look at me directly only glancing with the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep" I replied simply also staring at what could only be described as a huge snake.

HIIISSSSSSS

A loud hiss resonated throughout the lake and the prey prairie causing the entire place to suddenly become lively with the cries of scared mutants. They without a doubt intended to flee.

"It doesn't seem like you'll be getting much sleep now either" Kaiser joked with a wry smile. It was all his aged face could muster as his eyes were still overcome with deep worry.

"Boss?" Soon more people came out of their tents and caught sight of the elegant evil that had rested in the vile lake.

The snake then opened its mouth as if to warn something.

"We are getting out of here" Kaiser's expression became steely as he declared our departure.

"""Yes boss""" No one asked why, they each woke up the heavy sleepers like Seamus and went to grab a bag. These actions froze when they darted the snake another looked.

It had unhinged its hideous jaw large enough to eat a car whole and green mist sprayed out by the gallons towards the lakeshore. This mist shone in the night sky giving it an alluring vibe yet, the danger it emanated was far much larger, no one wished to approach such a thing.

"We are getting out of here!" Kaiser yelled with clear terror.