Free Web NovelChapter 9: Second floor
The crew walked into the second floor, every one of them having 600 points up their level skill, unknowing that one of them was three steps ahead of them.
The new floor was different from the first. This time they appeared in a large forest, trees were scattered everywhere covering the area in darkness keeping the sunlight from penetrating onto the ground.
A cold chill clung to the air as the smell of trees and dew filled every corner of their senses.
The view was magnificent, something which in normal terms you would wish to be your vacation place.
But beyond those trees was a challenge they were supposed to overcome.
"Everyone, don’t lower your guard, once you sense anything wrong don’t hesitate to tell us."
Jake muttered as he looked at the surroundings , checking for anything that might give them a hint of what to expect.
Together they started walking deeper through the tall trees, some had weeds covering their trunks like paint.
Leo’s eyes couldn’t stop scanning, he stayed behind all of them, since he was eventually powerless they didn’t put him in a situation that needed someone to act fast if they were attacked.
His eyes turned to Jake, who was watching out like something was lurking in the shadows waiting for the perfect second to jump unto them.
Jennifer on the other hand was holding Ken’s hand tighter than she could hold a pillow. Since she was scared Ken had volunteered to help her through the process so she decided to hold unto his muscular biceps. Something Ken didn’t seem to be bothered with, in fact it played out like he was used to women leaping on him for comfort, given his dominating appearance.
Sabrina on the other hand looked at the two in jealousy like the whole scene was eating through her inside out.
As the sun started setting down, the group had already walked for miles. They did stop on the way to pluck some fruits so that they could eat and replenish their energy but all in all they had covered a lot of distance without meeting any kind of enemy.
"We have been walking non stop today, and the sun is setting. Shouldn’t we be making camp or at least try to search for water and food?"
Sabrina stopped as the rest followed, the smell of sweat pouring out of her body like crazy. The wrinkles on her face proving that the whole experience was brutal.
Jake looked at Ken for a second, silently trying to ask his opinion. But Ken only nodded in return and so did Leo when they asked for his opinion.
So the crew made a decision to camp in one of the spots in the forest where the trees seemed to have cleared in a circular form.
Leo and Ken gathered some firewood from the forest, while the rest were in on food duty, gathering whatever nutritious food the forest could give them. Among these plants were also some poisonous stuff, but luckily Sabrina’s knowledge about different plants helped them pick out the poisonous ones, since the forest pretty much mirrored the plants on earth it was easy for her to distinguish them.
When nighttime finally descended on them, they made a fire using some sticks they found and sat around it like at a campfire.
Everyone was silent for sometime, breathing the fresh cold air that surrounded them. The moon shining bright in the skies, its light bathing the trees as they shined like stars.
It was everything you need to make a night fire memorable, except there was no sound of any animal you would expect to be drawn to the fire at night.
No bugs, no mosquitoes, not even an ant. And that wasn’t just at night, even in the day they never came across any animal. It was suspicious as hell.
The fear of being alone in the huge forest stopped them from thinking further about it.
"I don’t mean to be negative or anything, but is there something we did wrong?"
Sabrina started as she chewed on a roasted banana.
"I mean the first floor is completely different to this one. By now something should’ve happened but there hasn’t been anything at all."
"Or maybe that’s the point."
Ken cut into the conversation, the embers of the fire reflecting on his pupils like a mirror.
Every head turned to him eager to hear what his take on the matter was. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Maybe this floor isn’t like the first one where you need to fight to win, maybe this one is all about survival."
"Or maybe, the beasts here are just waiting for us to lower our guard."
Jake chipped in with his own view on the situation.
The theories that came up made their situation more tense than it was meant to be, it even gave them a more reason to exchange being on lookout.
So after a few more hours of chatting the sleeping hours came . The first at lookout was Jake, they divided one hours for each other, using their systems they could see if that was over yet or not. The second was Jennifer who besides being frightened to her peak really did a good job. Leo came third with Sabrina and Ken being the last.
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The sun rose so early that next day, they couldn’t really pinpoint the time since they didn’t have any watches that covered time in real time. But they had better things to worry about, so they never took it to heart.
After they completely turned off the fire, they began their journey again moving forward into the unknown. And just like yesterday it was the same lifeless environment all over again.
The sun hammered mercilessly upon the forest, heating it all up like someone had put them in a microwave. The sheer heat alone made them question if even walking was the right step anyway. Maybe whatever was inside the second floor was following them but they were missing it by moving.
But as hope had nearly left them all, they heard the sound of a waterfall. Their emotionless faces changed completely as the hunger for water took control over their bodies.
Using the little strength left in their bodies they followed the sound pf the water. They passed through some rough branches that had covered their way but at last they arrived at a waterfall. Water jumped off from a high place flowing unto a little liver , it was completely a magnificent view to see.
Everyone rushed wherever they saw fit, whether drinking the water or preparing to swim, everyone did what their instincts were telling them.
It was all happiness and joy until—
Jennifer screamed out of her breath.
"Aaah what the fuck is this?!"
Immediately everyone rushed to the tree side of the forest where she was, and when they finally appeared on that side, what they saw made them tremble.
Morethan twenty large birds the size of an adult dog were butchered completely. Some with burns all over their bodies, some burnt to ash
