Utryon

The thing about sworn brotherhood is that once you take that vow it means you are obliged to be each other's support. Like for instance covering up for each other to your girlfriends or having to drag your passed out friend along based on the 'no man left behind' policy.

Jin Lin had no choice but to lug Fen Hao through this tight narrow space with little to no light which was incredibly hard. The tunnel was filled with dust from little miss priss upstairs destroying half the forest to smoke them out of the rabbit hole.

Not only that but this dust-filled tunnel was also getting hotter and hotter as they moved further inside. The air was becoming thinner as their bodies were shrouded in darkness. He could faintly hear the loud high pitched voice of that girl throwing a tantrum but it soon died down as he crawled further.

He was soon surrounded by deafening silence as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Jin Lin was especially grateful that the nightshade skill was still active so he could see where he was going.

Unfortunately for him today wasn't his day because just as he thought that the skill's running time came to an abrupt end as it entered into a cool-down period. With everything suddenly descending into inky darkness, Jin Lin couldn't keep calm after this.

He halted his movements and checked his information panel only to find out the cool-down period was twelve hours at least. "Shit!" he swore as he tugged his clothes to let air in. He could finally relate to cookies being baked in an oven. It was like being constantly exposed to hot, dry air while surrounded by darkness. Having rested enough he chose to go forward.

He would rather take his chances with a dark tunnel than that pair of psychopaths back there. Just when he started suspecting that he was stuck in an infinite black hole disguised as a tunnel, he saw a faint light in the distance making him heave a sigh of relief.

He felt like the saying there is light at the end of the tunnel was especially true. To his delight, the tunnel became wider and wider as he approached the light. Because he was too excited he didn't realise the end of the tunnel was elevated above the ground.

This unfortunate miscalculation resulted in his hand touching air which led to the two of them tumbling to the ground leaving their bodies covered in red dust. Jin Lin raised his head. His is entire face was covered in dirt and he even ate a mouthful of it.

Right now at this moment, he began to question his life choices as he spat out a mouthful of dirt. He stood up with great difficulty. Because the ground in this cave was sandy and soft his foot sank a few inches deep whenever he stepped on it.

After much struggle, he finally got to Fen Hao and immediately turned him over. He was genuinely concerned. Terrified that the man must have broken something or fell into a coma he hurriedly checked the man's pulse only to be met with a loud, "Ronc..... ronc, ronc.... shshsh," which sounded like a malfunctioning lawnmower. He was snoring so loud that you would think he was sleeping comfortably at home.

Jin Lin, "..."

He was done with this dear friend of his. Washing his hands of Fen Hao he sat on the side resting for a while. The temperature was still too high but the air seemed to have returned to normal so he took a deep breath of fresh air as he closed his eyes to rest.

So much had happened in such a short space of time draining him of all his mental strength. His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled deeply but just as he sank into a deep relaxation his senses suddenly stretched taut like something terrible was coming.

His hair stood on end as he gazed vigilantly in the direction the thing was supposed to be coming from but he couldn't see anything. He picked up Fen Hao and placed him in the tunnel they had just exited from to get him out of the way.

He then turned around and was ready to scout this cave and prepare himself for an impending attack. But just as he turned around he heard low snarls right in front of his face as a heated breath from some type of creature brushed against his skin.

Before he had time to react a flat face baring sharp canines appeared in front of them. The creature growled causing its thin lips to twitch as thick drool flowed down its grey leather-like skin. Jin Lin felt his heart beat in his ears as his skin turned ashen.

The creature further emerged from nothingness as though shedding off its invisibility skill revealing seven feelers stemming from its head wriggling in the air like earthworms. It had a hunched back and its arms were elongated to the point of touching the floor. Its toes and nails were basically sharp claws that could maul him to death in one hit.

Because it didn't have eyes it lifted its head at an angle and sniffed around him as though looking for something. 'If you are looking for the smell of fear then you are in the right place,' thought Jin Lin as he went through the system to figure out how to deal with this creature.

He was most certainly familiar with this big boss. It's just that he hadn't fought one for over three years. This was one of the first creatures a novice encounters.

In the gods of Equino it was known as Utryon, a level five beast that loved hot caves hence it was found in the south side of the game map i.e. novice area. It's just that he didn't think he would come face to face with such a beast in a real life-threatening situation.

The beast stopped sniffing and growled with its spit flying in Jin Lin's face. 'What dog shit luck,' he thought.