The Hills Have Eyes

January 10th, 2022

***

It was a sleepless night; Richter didn't wake till noon.

He sat up in bed, rubbing the bags under his eyes. His sense told him what he didn't want to know.

A familiar aura had rented the room next door. One belonging to a salivating girl; who cut a tiny hole in the wall to peek through. The young adult Mage continued to circulate her mana, getting closer to success, but ultimately missing something fundamental.

Her misunderstood salivating was really frothing. She started her obsession when the sun rose, meaning six straight hours of failure. She was sweating all over, barely managing to stay conscious; let alone control her mouth. Finally, her latest attempt had spent her. She passed out, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

It was time to go.

Richter grabbed his sword-

"Wha- Hey asshole!"

-stole someone's plate of food downstairs, and made for the exit.

With one day left, he would go after the dungeons in the area. Two of the three had remained hidden.

With no information on their difficulty, he just had to hope for the best. At least the weather was nice.

The busy downtown wasn't as busy with each passing day. Richter could guess why, but it was sad to think about. The people still alive were so cold, having witnessed atrocities that resulted in one less party member. The vendors didn't shout as they did a couple of days ago. The one exception was the pair of short and scrawny men who claimed to sell items from the dungeons. They were more enthusiastic than before. At a glance, he could see that their inventory had increased.

Richter sighed. Just how lucky were they?

He shook away his thoughts and followed the road, a branching trail leading into the woods. Faint sounds of fighting echoed throughout the trees. It put a wry smile on his face.

***

Richter approached the entrance of the mossy cave. He read over the information on the blue screen.

[Recommended Level: 8 - 12]

[Monsters: Dowuls, Criegers]

'What the hells a Crieger?'

Well, in the end, it's just another type of monster. Besides, Richter loved learning and experiencing new things for himself.

He tapped 'enter' and walked through the swirling blue wall.

***

"Don't worry! We've scouted this dungeon thoroughly. It'll be a piece of cake."

Five pairs of footsteps crunched leaves and twigs beneath their feet. In front, spewing reassurance and encouragement, was Reed. While Koga read a map, directing them to the entrance.

"We just needed a few people to meet the requirements for entry."

The three novices were still nervous. They had been regular people before this, a mix of office workers and a fast-food manager.

After getting lost a couple of times, the crew found their way to the dungeon; but Reed spotted a glaring issue. The entrance portal had been activated, meaning someone was inside. The other three didn't understand the implications, left to stand there confused.

Reed pulled Koga aside.

"What's the plan now?" he hissed.

"We maintain honesty, sprinkle in a bit of lie."

Koga stepped forward, whipping something up in his mind.

"It seems we came a bit early! The dungeon is still on cooldown from yesterday when we last scouted. We just have to wait for it to reopen."

Reed tugged on his shoulder, looking uncomfortable.

"You sure about this? I don't want to risk any encounters with 'them'."

Koga's face was grim. "We don't know that they even exist. But fine, we'll wait for thirty minutes. If it isn't open by then, we bail."

"Sounds good." Koga relaxed, stepped forward, and sat on a fallen log near the entrance.

The rest of the group spread out, mindlessly killing the time.

Koga and Reed had heard of the rumors circulating. Talks of a new monster discovered in the woods. Apparently, not a single person has slain one, with many deaths being at their hands. The ones who lived were left deranged, with a fractured psyche and crumbling minds; repeating the same words again and again.

"The hills have eyes... The hills..." They muttered.

The stories sent shivers down their spines.

Would they fare any better? Reed didn't feel confident in fighting such a foe. Neither did Koga. The two continued zoning out, lost in thought. It was pointless to worry about a monster they didn't have proof of. Nothing was set in stone. If Reed had a detection ability as he did in Mirage, he'd be fearless. This was why he wanted to level so quickly; Utility-type skills were his only chance at patching his brittle confidence.

The group resorted to light banter, keeping their spirits high. Koga and Reed steeled their nerves, dismissing the existence of the supposed boogeymen.

Meanwhile, in the distance, strange mounds bobbed up and down; their strange shapes shimmered in and out. One moment, they were mere earth. And the next... grotesque blobs with a dozen eyes and blunt teeth. Slowly, ever so softly, they drew closer.

A distant observer could easily mistake them for something else. Like a hill.

***

['Dowul Level 7' killed. 2 copper awarded. 10% XP awarded]

['Dowul Level 7' killed. 10% XP awarded]

Richter had been exploring the dungeon for over half an hour, encountering just two creatures. The dungeon structure was also a complete mystery. It was just a generic forest, not unlike the one outside.

Trees rustled in the wind; bushes, foliage, twigs, and wildlife flourished. His mind spun at the potential reasonings for this. Was it due to where it spawned? Was it based on the level recommendation? Or maybe it's specific to the monsters?

He walked aimlessly, with no landmarks to serve as a guide. Richter was unofficially lost (he would never admit this), something he hadn't experienced in a long time. His only means of measuring progression was to run into monsters.

He rested at a random clearing, tired of wasting energy. His new plan was to wait for the monsters to come to him. Several minutes passed before a new aura entered the edge of his detection. His eyebrows shot up; The aura was massive.

And it wasn't alone. Three similar auras entered a minute later. Slow, but undeniably heading toward him. He hopped to his feet and peered into the distance. He could see them. Giant masses of dirt, bark, and lea-

'!'

His heartbeat skipped as their visage changed. Now reflecting deadly features and menacing expressions.

He stepped forward and wrapped his hands around the sturdy branch of a thick tree.

[Mana Surge - 5%]

Mana shot through his body. He swung back and forth to build momentum before letting go; propelling him several feet up onto a higher branch.

The four 'hills' stopped moving; a deafening silence choked his body. Every single eye zipped to his location in the trees. Tangible bloodlust emanated from the four hills. His body was yelling at him to get back to the ground, but he wouldn't have long to consider this.

A jet black tongue whipped towards Richter. The disparity between the speed of its attack and its movement was laughable.

He desperately dove off onto an adjacent branch; the momentary relief brought to a screeching halt as three more tongues made their way over. By this point, he had no good branch to jump to. He gnashed his teeth, and went straight for the ground, landing in a bush below.

Richter gazed up. The old branches and tree trunks had been torn away completely.

He scrambled to his feet; they were a mere 20 feet out. He didn't dare approach them. The sheer speed of their attacks would be too hard to dodge at close range. He brought a mana potion to his lips and downed it; he was going to go for broke in this one attack.

[Sunder – 30%]

A sizable three-foot sphere formed in front of him. Every fiber of his being told him to back up further, but if they dodged or learn of a way to counter then he would be in bad shape.

He brought his arm back, flattening his blade.

[Mana Surge – 60%]

And sent it roaring into the giant grenade he concocted.

It sailed over, straight into the center of the clustered freaks.

But before it could hit-

[Mana Surge - 5%]

He dropped to his back as two tongues struck above. Two more were about to come. He paused, waiting for his moment, and then rolled with all his might. They dug deep into the ground beside him.

At this moment, the Criegers finally noticed that something was wrong. They had paid no attention to the relatively small sphere that floated over. After all, it didn't feel that dangerous. But the instant it made contact with them-

BANG!

It eviscerated all four. Pure force tore apart their durable bodies. A giant ball of fire spread out, scorching trees and cooking their flesh. Richter was partly caught in the blast. Several pieces of rock-turned-shrapnel cut into his legs. He fell over in agony, tears welling up in his eyes. He roughly tore them out and downed a healing potion.

The wounds repaired themselves in real time; a soothing warmth flowed through him. He rolled over to his side and checked the notifications.

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 5 copper awarded. 20% XP awarded]

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 20% XP awarded]

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 15% XP awarded]

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 15% XP awarded]

'Phew...'

"Status."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Name: Richter Maier || Mana: 100/100% || Level 10: 30% XP || Unused Attribute Points: 3]

[Class: Swordsman (intrinsic)]

[Attributes: Strength: 19 || Agility: 22 || Constitution: 15 || Magic: 18 || Intelligence 13]

[Abilities: Transcendent Bloodlust (innate), Transcendent Sense (innate), Swordsman's Tenacity (passive) || Skills: Sunder]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At least he found out that leveling up refreshed his mana. He stood up and saw a portal near the remains of the Criegers. For a dungeon to only have six monsters was unfortunate, but he understood why. These guys were nightmare fuel.

He stepped through the exit into the comfort of reality.

***

Reed glanced up from his phone, 'almost thirty minutes...' he tapped his foot anxiously.

Something was off, but he couldn't place it. If only he had his detection skill. If only...

That one thought played endlessly in his mind.

One of the novices stood up and walked to the edge of the clearing. He thought he saw something.

He pointed to some mounds about 30 feet away. "Hey guys, I've been wondering for a while, but do you think those hills over there ar-"

He never got to finish his sentence. A tongue raced over while he talked, punching straight through his stomach. It wrapped around his torso and dragged him screaming to it's mouth. Everyone else froze with fear, barely comprehending what had happened. Reed dropped his phone absentmindedly. He took a closer look at the mounds in the distance; he traced their eye-sockets, irises, and pupils before finally processing the truth.

"The hills have eyes..." He murmured, shaking uncontrollably.

Koga jumped up and ran over to his friend. "Snap out of it!"

His mind was always analyzing details. The novices were the closest prey, meaning the two still had a chance to survive. Unfortunately, his own faith nearly disappeared when two more tongues struck out, snatching the fresh meal sources. He dragged Reed to his feet and pointed upwards.

"Into the trees! Quickly!"

They expended mana at a rapid rate, climbing as high as they could.

For the moment, it seemed they were safe, but now what?

In reality, the Criegers were simply enjoying their meal. *crunch* They were in no rush, given that the two fools had climbed trees instead of running. *crunch* What a joyous occasion.

Reed and Koga felt like throwing up at the sounds. It was silent except for two unending screams and pleas from within the Crieger's mouths.

"PLEASE! HELP ME! SOMEBODYGETMEOUTHER-"

*crunch*

"-AHHHHHHH — KOGA! REED! ANYBODY!"

*crunch*

The two trembled uncontrollably. Eventually, two screams faded to one, and then to zero. The only sounds left were bones being ground into dust. They hadn't moved an inch in ten minutes.

Suddenly, a blue flash roused their near dead gaze. A man they didn't expect to see at this rate appeared, his expression quickly turning sour.

***

Richter took in every detail: two humans in trees, three Criegers, the sounds and sights of their chewing, and the three weapons scattered on the ground in the clearing. He had pieced together what happened, and it saddened him. He stood perfectly still as every eye trained on him. He looked up at Reed and Koga.

"If either of you has a Mana Potion, throw it to me NOW."

The Criegers measured his response. They were truly blessed; another fool had arrived and simply stood there. *Crunch* Truly, a joyous occasion.

Without hesitation, they both tossed one down to him.

"Thanks," He smiled lightly.

He turned slowly toward the Criegers.

[Sunder – 15%]

[Mana Surge – 30%]

His eyes glowed blue, the Criegers prepared to lash out, feeling uneasy. But they were too late.

He catapulted an orb straight into the center of them. The resulting explosion was more moderate, killing the closest two and severely damaging the third. Richter refused to approach it personally though. He swept up a sword from the ground and chucked it into the dying Crieger.

A ding played in his ears.

He breathed deeply, sensing for any more threats in the area. With no auras, he started back towards town.

Koga and Reed watched this all play out speechless. No amount of mana potions was too much for what he just did. They climbed down the trees and ran up to him.

"Thank you," they bowed.

Richter turned back, eyeing the two amateurs.

"Be glad I got to that dungeon first, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now."

He set off again, leaving the two to interpret the words. They sprinted back along a shortcut, desperate to be in the safety of town. His strength left a deep impression on the two. It also put theirs into perspective.

They were nothing in the real world, unlike their in-game counterparts. But it also made them more curious about his capabilities. Just who was this guy?

***