The Bait

Inside the cursed mist, I found myself in what could generously be called a "less than ideal" situation. Through the misty veil, I could make out vague silhouettes of beasts that would probably love to have me for dinner. Behind me, Arya and Lily stood frozen like particularly attractive statues, caught in the plague spreaders' <backtrack > skill. Their eyes and mouths fluttered as they watched whatever memories were playing in their personal theater of the damned.

"Well, this is just perfect," I muttered, eyeing Lily's space pouch. Now, being a former thief (okay, current thief - old habits die hard), my fingers naturally gravitated toward the pouch dangling at her waist. Immediately, I felt Systie's claws dig into my shoulder.

'Human, are you thinking of stealing that pouch and escaping on your own!? Leaving those two to die!?' her voice screeched in my head. The amount of judgment packed into that mental voice was impressive.

I could practically feel her preparing to turn my face into her personal scratching post if I said yes. But contrary to popular belief (and by popular, I mean Systie's), I'm not completely heartless. 

I shook my head and peeked into the pouch. Jackpot! Red roses and healing potions - Lily had come prepared like a proper princess. Under different circumstances, I'd be admiring her financially sound planning, but right now, these items might be the only thing keeping us alive.

"Hold these," I said, handing the items to Systie. "In 10 minutes, the <solar dome> goes poof, and they'll be playing tag with death mist. Feed them the potions to keep them alive, and try not to attract attention. I know it's hard for you, being such an attention seeker and all..."

'Says the idiot who got us into this mess,' Systie shot back, but accepted the items. 'What's your brilliant plan?'

I pointed toward the beasts outside. "See those lovely creatures? If they break our shiny dome, these potions won't matter much - we'll just become an all-you-can-eat buffet. Someone needs to play bait."

The cat's eyes narrowed. 'And that someone has to be you?'

"Well, I did kind of cause this whole situation with my amazing decision-making skills." I tried for a casual shrug, but my guilty conscience made it more of a wince. One moment of frustration had deactivated <lurk >, forcing my teammates to fight the plague spreaders. Some stealth expert I turned out to be.

'Human, if you die, I will kill you,' Systie's voice echoed in my head.

"Pretty sure that's not how death works," I grinned, giving her a thumbs-up before darting out of the <solar dome>. My enhanced speed got me through the mist in seconds, though not without consequences.

*ding*

*You are exposed to <Cursed Mist>*

*HP will decrease by 1/10 every 10 seconds*

*Current HP: 90%*

"Oh joy, death by air. That's new." But my sarcasm dried up real quick when I saw what was waiting outside.

Remember those vague silhouettes? Turns out they belonged to a small army of pink-eyed monsters that looked like they'd stepped straight out of a nightmare's nightmare. Twenty forest rats led by a chunky Rattus (just what I needed - more rats), a swarm of fist-sized bees following their evolved two-foot-tall queen (because regular bees weren't terrifying enough), several winged goldfish (who even thinks these things up?), and about ten wind-doves. All sporting matching pink eyes like they'd joined some bizarre monster fashion trend.

"Right. Fantastic. This is fine." I struck my daggers together, producing a sharp *ting*. Every pink eye turned toward me, and the resulting roars made me seriously reconsider my life choices. But hey, at least they took the bait.

'Just two more levels until I get a proper skill,' I reminded myself, activating <shadow step> to appear atop the chunky Rattus. The overgrown rodent didn't appreciate its new passenger - can't imagine why - and tried to squash me with its tail. 

But I wasn't called Quick-fingered Ervin back in London for nothing (okay, nobody called me that, but they should have). I dodged the strike and drove my dagger into its neck with <poison stab>.

*ding*

*The level 20 Chunky Rattus has been poisoned*

*The opponent's level is higher than yours*

*Poison effectiveness reduced*

*The opponent will lose 1/10 HP every 10 minutes*

"An hour and a half to kill you? Seriously?" I grumbled at my useless skill while mentally counting seconds. <Shadow step> had this annoying habit of knocking me unconscious if used more than five times per minute. And being unconscious around these lovely creatures? Yeah, that's a quick way to become monster food.

Fifteen seconds between jumps seemed safe enough. While waiting, I decided to thin out some of the rat population. After all, being a thief meant knowing which targets were worth your time. Forest rats? Slow, weak, and basically asking to be stabbed.

I managed to take down three of them before my mental counter hit fifteen. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

*ding*

*You killed a level 8 forest rat*

*You killed a level 9 forest rat*

*You killed a level 8 forest rat*

*Experience gained*

*You are close to leveling up*

"Almost there!" I shadow-stepped to a tree branch near one of those ridiculous goldfish. Seriously, who thought putting wings on a fish was a good idea? I leaped onto its scales, planning to poison its eyes, when another goldfish decided to show me exactly why flying fish are a terrible idea.

Its water blast caught me square in the chest, introducing me rather forcefully to a nearby tree.

*ding*

*HP reduced to 75%*

*Warning: Left shoulder severely injured*

"That's... going to leave a mark," I coughed out blood, feeling splinters embed themselves in my shoulder. Every movement sent jolts of pain through my body. Two more water attacks surged toward me, and I barely rolled left in time. "What is this, a water park from hell?"

'Fourteen seconds,' I counted, just as the bee swarm decided to join the party. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like being surrounded by angry bees the size of your fist. My dagger flashed wildly, probably looking less like skilled swordplay and more like panicked flailing, until I could shadow-step again.

This time I appeared in front of a flock of wind-doves. They looked about as happy to see me as I was to see them.

"Oh come on!" I groaned, sprinting toward the forest rats. They were my best shot at leveling up - slow enough to hit and weak enough to kill without fancy skills. A few more quick kills, and finally:

*ding*

*You killed a level 7 forest rat*

*You killed a level 8 forest rat*

*Experience gained*

*You have levelled up to level 24*

"Just one more level!" I celebrated too soon. A rat lunged for my throat, and while I avoided becoming rat food, it took a nice chunk out of my already mangled shoulder.

*ding*

*Critical hit received*

*HP reduced to 60%*

*Warning: Left shoulder severely damaged*

"That's my stabbing shoulder, you oversized sewer dweller!" I snarled through the pain. My status flashed before my eyes, showing some pretty impressive stats that were absolutely useless right now because I still lacked a proper attacking skill.

Then Systie's panicked voice hit me: 'Human, the <cursed mist> is vanishing. Someone's lifting it! It will disappear completely in 30 minutes!'

'Please tell me the plague spreaders die without their precious mist?' I asked hopefully.

'The <cursed mist> just provides an ideal environment. They can survive without it.'

"Of course they can. Because why make anything easy?" I muttered. 'Systie, stay hidden until the mist disappears. I'll run to the city for help. And please, please stay alive. Who else will insult me daily if you die?'

'Just don't die, you idiotic human.'

With that touching farewell, I turned and sprinted toward Chandola, an entire group of murderous beasts following closely behind me.