Progenitors (2/3)

A crack of stone and the grinding of dirt made her pause. "Maybe I should stop. Maybe it's better to be quiet.." she whispered while bringing the scimitar closer to her face, inspecting the blade's reflection. "..So I can HEAR YOU COMING!!" she yelled as a humanoid shape dropped from the ceiling, aiming to pounce on Minõa! Eve pumped 1 of her precious 3 Mana points into "Scrapper". The Vorsani's feet retracted, gathering force as if they were powerful springs, before propelling her into the air, in a horizontal spin. Her entire body spun twice, before delivering a rib shattering stomp-kick, to the falling humanoid's sternum, sending it crashing into the nearest wall. The humanoid in question had been a Võrska zombie, which apparently had sniffed the party out. It had crept into the fallen watchtower by a large crack in the roof. It tried picking itself up but was granted no such mercy. Eve rushed over to her target and knee'd it so hard against the wall that its face caved in. The diminutive Eve couldn't help but smile as the rush and exhilaration of combat washed over her. She was a warrior despite her size. The Lady had granted her this much and she would keep her safe! Her thoughts scattered at the sound of howling and clicking of bony jaws and her head snapped towards the barricaded door.

* * *

Several meters underground, Adam kept tunneling into small caves looking for anything useful. He was most pleased with his progress, having found a small pool of clean water, some Gorz root which had minor healing properties and a few delectable larvae which were full of proteins. The small Vorsàni only wished he had more Mana so he could keep exploring the world around him with "Appraisal". At some point his darkvision caught the shape of another Gorz root and Adam happily moved towards retrieving it. His clawed fingers expertly dug the dirt around the heart shaped growth and plucked it from its earthen embrace. A sudden *PING* from his System caught him off guard but was calmed at the sight of the notification popping up.

[ "Fortune's Favourite" has been triggered! Dig three meters downward. Progress to Rank 2, 25% ]

Adam smacked his lips nervously upon reading the message and its instructions. Was it that simple? He just needed to dig down, as told? It was his System, he knew that but trusting it to the point of blindly following its commands, scared the newborn Vorsàni. His arms launched forward and into the dirt, shoveling chunks of it backwards as he dug deeper, diving into the earth itself. Only a few minutes later his hand sank deeper than he intended, his claws scraping something as tough as stone but much smoother. He pulled his arm back, freeing it from the void space. Once the dirt was allowed to crumble back into the now opened space, multicoloured lights shot outwards nearly blinding him in that thick darkness. His eyes soon adjusted and his jaw dropped at the beauty of it.

Before Adam now lay a mineral formation with three distinct crystalline growths, each one a different colour. Red, Yellow and Green. The male Vorsani freed the three crystals and their magical aura bathed him in their power. He could feel their amazing potential, their ability to grant him greater power. He cursed himself for not having more Mana to cast "Appraisal" on them but there was no point in having regrets for that now.

[ Achievement unlocked "Beginner's Luck". 10xp awarded, 1 Skill point awarded! ]

[ Achievement unlocked "Rare Find". 50xp awarded! ]

[ *Ping* Level Up! 1 Attribute Point available for distribution. ]

The small explorer let out a small chuckle while doing a victorious jiggle. He couldn't wait to show Eve all he had accomplished! Adam reached for the piece of torn cloth in which he had rolled-up all his "treasures" and added the crystals. Next he grabbed the old cast iron pot and quickly scurried back to the cave with the small body of water. He filled up the pot with clean water before carefully climbing back to the surface, trying not to get any dirt in it.

* * *

A Zombie reached inside the watchtower's embrasure, clawing at Eve. The Vorsani thrust the scimitar through its skull, causing it to go limp and fall on its back. She pulled on the scimitar's grip as hard as she could but the blade was stuck and her hands wet with black blood. The weapon slipped from her hands and her foe was replaced with half a dozen more! Enraged she grabbed the closest undead arm, reaching for her through the opening and dragged it in until its head and shoulder were inside, in an awkward horizontal position. It was stuck but kept trying to turn around and bite the female fighter. Eve's claws extended, taking their black needle-like form. She stabbed the zombie at the base of its skull and pulled up, severing it from the creature's spine. The zombie Vorska immediately died, effectively sealing the embrasure but Eve knew this wouldn't last long. The other Undead were already biting and slashing apart their unmoving kin, in their effort to clear the passage of any obstruction.

"Vile, disgusting creatures!! You won't have her!!" Eve yelled back against their howls and wheezing barks. She couldn't believe she was somehow related to these.. things.. The Lady Minõa had given her focus, strength, a character! She looked at her miniscule body, the scrapes and bruises she had collected, the corpses of the five Vorska she had already defeated. Her life would be a short one.. but at least she would die knowing she was a warrior through and through, despite her size.

The big hole in the ground next to her pulsed to life with shifting of dirt. Eve prepared to slay whatever came out of it but was surprised to see Adam's stupid, smiling face emerge. His face and body were covered in mud and he seemed tired. Her surprise quickly turned to anger as she grabbed him by the hair, shaking his head violently while ignoring the impending danger. "Where did you go!! You've been gone for almost an hour!" she screamed at his face.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wanted to help.. I found med.." Adam said, wincing in pain as his hair was being pulled. "Look at this!" the female interrupted him, pointing at the zombies. Adam went cold and silent. He was indeed trying to help but.. Eve had been left to fight these horrible things by herself. He was so fixated on his exploration and findings that he forgot to check up on her. "Why did you leave me!?" Eve said shaking him once more, by the shoulders this time. The look in her eyes was pure fury but that is was most would divine. Adam was born with her, they were the first of their race, the Progenitors. He could spot the small tremble at the tip of her lips. The moisture gathering slowly at the edge of her eye. She was sad.. and frightened..

"I didn't leave.. I would never abandon Eve.. Look, I found medicine for Master! We will save her.. together!" he said with a steady reassuring voice. Eve's demeanor softened ever so slightly. She punched Adam in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. While her male counterpart was recovering, she quickly wiped away the tear that had slowly been forming in her left eye. "How are we going to save her dum-dum? We're surrounded..".

"We could dig a tunnel?" Adam suggested sheepishly.

"Don't you think I considered that? They can dig too.. We're lucky they're so dum-dum they haven't tried tunneling in here yet! We can't risk getting caught in a tight space with them.. And besides.. we can't move Lady Minõa.." Eve exclaimed, causing Adam to tilt his head sideways.

He took a look at his creator and was stunned to see her feverish body at the corner of the watchtower, glowing a dim red while she was still lying unconscious. She was glowing a bright red as if she had been superheated! That couldn't possibly be the result of a fever, could it? Adam rushed over, trying to examine her but unable to because of the heat. He took out the roots but had no way of administering them. He could sense his creator's power faltering and her tainted Mana being ejected outwards. "This is bad.. very very bad.. I need to think of something.. Think.. Wait that's it! I need to think!" he exclaimed enthusiastically to Eve as the female prepared herself for another bout. He quickly opened his Status Screen and invested his newly acquired Attribute point into Mental! After a moment's pause he sprung into action, everything seeming slightly clearer to him suddenly. He grabbed the pot of water and threw in the roots after grinding them slightly with a rock. He then placed the pot up against his unconscious Master, her heat slowly boiling the mixture.

"If you're done cooking, I could use some help!!" Eve shouted as zombies were slowly starting to creep inside their watchtower. Adam quickly grabbed his master's items before running over to her. He chucked a small pouch out the embrasure and into the ever growing horde of zombies. The pouch exploded with a *PUFF* coating their enemies in a sheen of yellow powder. The zombies writhed for a moment before becoming completely immobile! They're were paralyzed! "That should buy us a minute or so!" Adam said with a pant as he ran back to Minõa, reaching for the bottle containing her Mana regeneration potion. His increased Mental stat in conjunction with his "Appraisal" ability, had allowed him to read the labels of items around him. This helped the small Vorsani identify the pouch of paralyzing powder and potion, which he now fed to his creator. After that, he took the pot of warm water, which now looked and smelled like a strange, bitter tea and helped his master down a few gulps of it as well. "The potion will stabilize some of that Mana loss and the Gorz brew will help the fever go away.. hopefully..".

Eve clapped him on the back with enough force to almost throw him to the ground. "Good job dum-dum.. But, I still can't get us out of here alive.." she scolded him after giving praise. "Even at your level you can't handle them?" Adam asked confused. Eve blinked twice at him before asking, "What Level?". Adam's eyes opened wide as he understood what had occured. He stood up and placed his hands on his counterpart's cheeks, bringing her closer. "What are you.." Eve tried to say, with a great severity in her voice and a clenched fist ready to pummel Adam. The male however managed to quickly kiss Eve on the forehead! She was surprised to say the least, not only by his gesture however but rather its intention. Her vision was suddenly clouded by a display of statistics, HER statistics!

[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.3 x6 defeated! 96xp gained. ]

[ Achievement unlocked! "First Stand". Fight against multiple enemies and survive within the first 3 hours of your System's birth. 50xp awarded. 1 Skill Point awarded. ]

[ Achievement Unlocked! "Sentinel". Willingly stand your ground against insurmountable odds in order to protect a creature, item or place of importance to you. 100xp awarded. Passive skill "Natural Armor" awarded. ]

[ *PING* Level Up! *PING* Level Up! *PING* Level Up! Level 4 reached! You currently have 3 unassigned Attribute Points. ]

Eve stared at Adam dumbfounded, a half smile adorning her stunned expression. "And I still have these!" Adam said excitedly as he pulled out the three crystals he had found. "I wanted to gift them to Lady Minõa but..".

"But you won't get the chance if she dies here today.." Eve finished his sentence with a serious look on her face. She placed a hand on his shoulder and accepted the two crystals he placed in her free hand's open palm. "You did good.. Adam.." she said with a smile as the Vorska's growling and howling were beginning anew. "We did good.. Now go kick their bum-bums!" Adam replied. She punched him again unexpectedly, in the stomach this time, causing Adam to buckle over. "Don't kiss me again without permission..". "Ok.." Adam wheezed out as Eve smashed the crystals in her tight grip.