NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62 - The Ambush
Zoe's scream still echoed across the water. Danny scrambled backward from the lagoon edge, his folding chair collapsing under him with a metallic crash. The mantis-stalker's chitinous head tilted, predatory eyes locked on Danny's retreating form.
Luca moved without thinking.
His energy tomahawk was three steps away, leaning against their gear pile. He lunged for it, bare feet slipping on the moss, towel falling away. The weapon's familiar weight settled in his grip just as the creature hauled itself fully from the water.
Fucking hell, it was massive. Bipedal, armored in natural chitin that gleamed wet in the moonlight. Its forelimbs ended in serrated blades that could probably cut through steel.
The TL8 energy tomahawk crackled to life in his hand. He had no armor, too much skin, and absolutely no time to think. He felt the dirt and gravel slicing into his bare feet as he sprinted toward a Level 64 killing machine in nothing but wet boxer briefs.
Luca charged.
The creature turned toward him, mandibles clicking. Its blade-arm swept down in a vicious arc. Luca rolled left, energy tomahawk crackling to life, and brought it up in a diagonal slash across the thing's torso.
Sparks flew. The chitin held, but cracks spider-webbed across its surface. TL8 energy weapons weren't designed for Level 64 armor.
Five more shapes emerged from the forest perimeter.
Same species. Same level. Same predatory grace.
The world tilted. His stomach dropped like he'd stepped off a cliff.
"Oh, shit," he breathed.
Six Level 64 creatures. His team half-naked and scattered. With no armor or backup plan.
A plasma bolt sizzled past his ear, wide by at least two meters. Ryan's voice carried from the camp: "Luca, get down!"
Another shot. This one hit a tree.
"Ryan, your aim sucks!" Luca shouted, ducking as his creature's other blade-arm swept overhead. He spun, tomahawk carving a burning line across its knee joint. The creature stumbled but didn't fall.
More plasma fire. And then, silence.
Zoe had found her TL9 plasma rifle. In the chaos, she moved into position. Her breathing slowed. Her stance settled. The world around her... all of it faded to background noise.
First target: the creature flanking left, forty meters out. Zoe's crosshairs found the gap between its head plates.
Crack.
The creature's head vaporized in a spray of chitin and fluid. TL9 plasma punched through Level 64 chitin like it was paper.
Second target: the one charging Danny's position.
Crack.
Another perfect headshot.
"That's how you fucking do it!" Luca grinned, parrying another strike from his opponent. The impact sent vibrations up his arms. Fighting barefoot, in wet boxer briefs, with no armor... this was insane. But the adrenaline was singing in his veins.
Emily appeared at his peripheral vision, TL9 plasma sword igniting with a brilliant blue hum. She moved like a dancer, all fluid grace despite being in nothing but her sports bra and underwear. Her blade took another creature through the neck in one clean stroke. TL9 plasma cut through chitin like butter.
Goddamn, I love her. Terrifying, half-naked, and unstoppable.
Luca felt that familiar surge of protective fury mixed with admiration. She was deadly beautiful.
His creature pressed its attack, both blade-arms working in coordination. Luca gave ground, tomahawk spinning in defensive patterns. The thing was fast, but it telegraphed its moves. He waited for the opening.
There it was. Overextended on a downward strike.
Luca stepped inside its guard and drove the tomahawk's energy blade up through its chest. The weapon bit deep, then stuck. The creature convulsed, mandibles clicking frantically, but it wasn't dead. Not yet.
A high-pressure gout of green-black ichor sprayed across Luca's chest, hot and stinking of copper and ammonia.
"Fuck!" Luca yanked on the tomahawk. It wouldn't budge.
The creature's blade-arm swept toward his head. Luca ducked and slammed the tomahawk's handle into the thing's mandible joint. Once. Twice. The third strike cracked something vital, and the creature finally went limp.
He wrenched his weapon free, breathing hard. Messy. Desperate. But alive.
Seconds later, the corpse dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a gleaming loot container.
One left.
Danny stood by his gear pile, TL8 warhammer in his hands, caught off guard but not panicking. The final creature turned toward him, mandibles clicking, sizing him up.
The creature took a step forward.
Danny's grip tightened on the warhammer. Something shifted in his expression. The surprise faded, replaced by... was that a smile?
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"Fuck this," he breathed.
The TL8 warhammer came up in a massive overhead swing that caught the final creature center mass. The impact was devastating. Pure kinetic force didn't care about tech levels. Its chitin cracked, internal fluids sprayed, and the thing folded like a broken toy.
Danny stood over the corpse, breathing hard, still gripping his weapon. The relaxed kid from thirty seconds ago was gone. In his place stood someone who'd just enjoyed crushing a monster twice as large as he was.
Seconds later, this corpse too dissolved into black smoke, leaving another loot container.
Silence fell over the camp.
Thick with the smell of ozone and monster blood. It wasn't a clean fight. It was messy, desperate, and way too close. But they were alive. That's what mattered.
Luca stood there, adrenaline still singing in his veins. His energy tomahawk hummed with residual energy. The cuts on his bare feet stung, a sore reminder of how exposed they'd been. His breathing was elevated, heart still hammering from how close that had been.
[+19,285 XP]
[+6,750 credits]
Level 64 creatures. In full gear, they were a challenge. Half-naked and by surprise? They should have been a death sentence. The only thing that saved them was pure, unadulterated skill... and a hell of a lot of luck.
His tomahawk had gotten stuck. Ryan's shots had gone wide. Danny's chair had collapsed at the worst possible moment. Any one of those things could have killed them.
Emily was beside him, plasma sword still ignited, a satisfied grin on her face. Zoe had her rifle trained on the treeline, but her posture was relaxed. Danny stood over his kill, warhammer in hand, breathing deeply, looking like he'd just discovered something about himself he liked.
Ryan emerged from behind the Peregrine, TL9 plasma rifle smoking, looking pleased with himself. "Everyone okay?"
"Define okay," Danny said, looking down at the wreckage of his folding chair. "That was my favorite chair."
Luca couldn't help it; he started laughing. The absurdity of it all. Six Level 64 creatures, and the only casualty was Danny's camping furniture.
"It's not funny," Danny protested, but he was grinning too.
Emily leaned against Luca's shoulder, still catching her breath. "Well, that was invigorating."
"Speak for yourself," Zoe said, lowering her rifle. "I'm getting dressed. Fighting in underwear is not my idea of tactical advantage."
As the adrenaline faded, Luca became acutely aware of how exposed they all were. Half-naked, barefoot, scattered around a campsite that had just become a battlefield. They'd won, but it could have gone very differently.
"Loot check," he said, walking over to the nearest loot container.
As he opened the first container, System notifications flashed across his vision:
[Item acquired: Neural Boost Capsule (x3)]
[Item acquired: Auto-Seal Patch (x2)]
[Item acquired: Smart Fragmentation Grenade (x1)]
The second container yielded more:
[Item acquired: Energy Stabilizer Vial (x2)]
The System was generous with high-level kills. TL9 consumables that could mean the difference between life and death in their next encounter.
Joey materialized at Luca's side like a vulture spotting a fresh kill. His eyes gleamed as they locked onto the medical supplies. "Yes... Auto-Seals and Hyper-Coag," he whispered, reverent.
He scooped up the sprays and vials with unsettling care, cradling them in his chest. "These alone are worth more than our entire medbay."
Ryan reached toward the Neural Boost Capsules.
Joey hissed. "No!"
Ryan froze mid-reach.
"Don't touch those!" Joey snapped, pulling the capsules away. "Neural Boost can mess with your brain chemistry if you don't know what you're doing. I'll handle the medical stuff." He tossed the Smart Fragmentation Grenade to Ryan instead. "This is more your speed."
Ryan caught it with a grin. "Now we're talking."
Ryan glanced at his datapad, then paled. "Uh... guys? That wasn't a random patrol." He held up the device, showing a new blinking red dot on their tactical display. "Portal just went live. Three clicks east."
So much for portal-free, Luca thought. The damn things were spreading. And the System wanted them to notice.
"Next time, maybe the sensors could scream or something," Joey said, still clutching his medical supplies.
"Yeah," Luca said grimly. "We need better early warning systems."
The implications were clear. The portal had opened during their peaceful evening. These creatures had come through, tracked them, and struck. Nowhere was safe. Not even their carefully chosen "portal-free" zone.
"Ryan," Luca said. "Get the bonfire going. We need to anchor a safe zone."
"On it," Ryan said, gathering up his scattered firewood. "Good thing I already had everything ready."
He rebuilt the log circle, arranging the kindling below the larger pieces. The plasma lighter flared, and flames began to lick at the dry wood.
The fire caught quickly, growing from a small flicker to a proper blaze. Orange light danced across their faces, pushing back the darkness.
That's when the System message appeared:
[Bonfire Protection: 8 hours]
Luca felt something shift in the air around them. A subtle change, like the difference between being watched and being alone.
The fire before them was safe. Bonfires, once the System arrived, were different from normal ones. You didn't just get warmth and light. Once the fire reached a specific potency, a safe zone anchored itself around the flames, stretching outward in a protective radius. For the next eight hours, nothing was getting near them that they didn't want. No prowling creatures, no stray mobs. It meant they didn't have to power up the Peregrine's shielding and didn't have to sleep in shifts. Just one night where they could relax.
"Now that," Emily said, settling down beside him on a blanket, "is what I call perfect timing."
Joey walked over to the med pod and helped Chris out, supporting his weight as he got his bearings.
He was finally up and sitting, his face lit up by the glow of the fire. He looked tired but alert, his bandaged arm resting in his lap. The moment Emily spotted him, she broke into a run, Zoe following close behind.
"Chris!" Emily called out. She reached him first, throwing her arms around his shoulders, careful not to jostle his arm too much. Zoe was right behind her, ruffling his hair playfully before pulling him into a tight hug. Seriously, does the guy have a gravitational pull or something?
"Look who's back from the dead!" Zoe said, grinning as she pulled away. "How's the arm, tough guy?"
Chris chuckled, his voice still a bit hoarse but steady. "Better than it was, that's for sure. Med pod did its job. Feels stiff, but I'll take stiff over missing any day."
Emily stepped back, her eyes noting the smooth, new skin peeking out from under the bandages. "You scared the hell out of us, you know that?" she said, her voice softer now, but still carrying a hint of scolding. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Yeah, yeah," Chris said, smiling as he waved her concern away with his good arm. "I wasn't going anywhere. Had to stick around just to see you all worry about me."
Luca approached more slowly, giving the others a moment before he spoke. "Chris," he said. "Good to see you up. You feeling alright?"
Chris nodded, flexing his hand and wincing slightly. "I'm good. Still a bit sore, but it's all there. Joey did a hell of a job patching me up."
Luca turned to Joey, who was now organizing their gear, and gave him a nod of appreciation. "I mean it, Joey. Thank you. We'd have been in a real mess without you."
Joey looked up, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. "Hey, don't thank me. Thank the med pod. I just followed the instructions."
"Don't sell yourself short," Ryan chimed in, checking around for more loot. "You were the one who kept him stable until we got him into that pod. That's more than most could've done."
Joey shrugged, a sheepish smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Well, someone's gotta keep you all in one piece, right?"
Chris looked around at the mess of their camp, then at his half-dressed, weapon-wielding teammates. "Uh... did I miss something exciting?"
"Just a little welcoming committee," Luca said. "Welcome back to the land of the living."
"You know what?" Chris said, settling more comfortably by the fire. "I think I'm going to need the full story."