Stolen by the System

Ted’s heart hung in his throat as the enormous snake hurtled toward them, faster than seemed possible. What the hell had he done to deserve this?

He gripped the knife tight, his whole being coiled for fight or flight. Please know what you’re doing, Cara.

She pulled back her bowstring with graceful power and whispered something unintelligible. White light shimmered out of her and danced up the shaft of the arrow, congregating around the tip.

Magic. That had to be magic!

Calm, collected, and utterly unfazed by the approaching death, Cara effortlessly held her bow drawn and ready. “Three… two… one… now!”

The wood elf unleashed the arrow at the last possible moment. Ted leaped forward, knife ready.

The glowing projectile buried itself deep into the creature’s hide. Light flashed, and the snake slumped on the ground.

A tidal wave of adrenaline propelled Ted forward. He stabbed down onto the stunned creature’s head with all his might.

The dagger pierced its hide with a sickening squelch.

Critical hit! 61 piercing damage dealt! Head Wound injury inflicted!

Short blades skill increased 0 → 1!

Ted’s stomach quivered. He froze up.

Cara surged forward, dropped to her knees, and drove her shorter knife into the stunned snake’s head, again and again. With a flurry of precise blows, she whittled the writhing creature down.

910 XP received!

Level increased 1 → 2!

The wood elf slumped on the ground, gasping for air and muttering frantically in Wood Elvish.

Pale yellow blood seeped out of the snake’s wounds, and a putrid smell filled the air. Ted’s stomach churned. He looked away, but his skin continued to crawl.

Catching her breath, Cara progressed from gasping to shaky laughter. “We did it.” Still on the floor, she looked up, her head tilted, and a smile worked its way across her face. “Good job.”

Ted nodded. It wasn’t worth arguing about. He pulled the dagger from the snake and shuddered at the wet sound of the blading coming out from flesh and muscle. “You did all the work.”

“Most of the work, maybe.” She positioned herself beside the arrow buried in its hide and winced. “I’ve been trained for this. I’m supposed to be good at it.”

Cracks had appeared in her otherwise elegant poise. How old was she? She looked around the same age as him, but who could tell with elves? He forced a grin. “Best monster slayer I’ve ever seen.”

She glared back through narrowed eyes. “How many monster slayers have you seen… Ted?”

He bit his lip and avoided her gaze. “We’re alive, Cara.” He pulled himself to his feet and offered her his hand. “I’m going to take that as a win.”

She stared at his hand for a moment. Her brow wrinkled, and she set about cutting into the creature. “You better not be a shapeshifter.”

Great. Another addition to the list of dangers to watch out for. “You’re not going to eat that, are you?”

She shook her head. “This is a dungeon spawn. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Dungeon spawn?”

No reply. She cut loose the last arrow she’d used, the only one that had pierced its hide. Surely this was more care and attention than a single arrow warranted? Were they really that rare here, or was this one particularly important?

“What are dungeon—”

“Dangerous.” Her nostrils flared and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the knife and the arrow tight. “They’re dangerous, human.”

He cleared his throat and looked away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” What was he supposed to say? Words wouldn’t change a damned thing.

Cara glowered and stomped to a nearby tree. She picked out a large leaf and wiped her blade and the arrow clean with it, before carefully placing the arrow back in her quiver. “Clean the dagger. Who knows what that blood would do to it.”

Best to do as he was told. He picked out a similar leaf and cleaned off the blade. The leaf was far softer and thicker than expected and easily absorbed the blood.

Once again, the wood elf summoned a horn out of thin air. She blew twice this time, each as silent as the first. Strange as it was, it didn’t even make the top five most urgent questions.

She drew another arrow—one that’s tip lacked a metallic shine—nocked it, and set off again. There would be a time for answers, but this wasn’t it.

Following behind her, he couldn’t help but be impressed with how easily she picked out the right paths. Often, she headed towards what looked like impassible thicket or a thorny hell only to reveal a hidden way through. They didn’t look man—or elf—made, but with magic on the cards, who could tell?

Traveling was certainly easier, and far faster without backtracking every few minutes. She moved gracefully, every step with her bare feet finding perfect footing. Even without jogging, let alone running, she frequently had to stop to let him catch up.

Did the bare feet help with that? There was no way his feet could have held up to that kind of punishment, and every thorn would be a landmine.

Butterflies fluttered in his chest. Elves were real! Or at least as real as anything in this place. Was any of it real, or was it all some kind of hallucination? He had blacked out. Maybe he was in a drug-riddled haze in a hospital somewhere.

Hopefully not. Being trapped in an alternate reality that regularly tried to kill him was infinitely preferable to his copay.

After what had to be at least an hour of traveling, Cara came to a halt. Her arm shot out to the side with her palm extended again, and he stopped behind her right away. At least he knew the gesture’s meaning this time.

He clenched the dagger tight and scanned the forest. The dense undergrowth made vision difficult, and even the slightest breeze set off a cascade of movement in the foliage. It would be nice to see the next attempt on his life coming, but he didn’t fancy his chances.

Had she heard something? The green tangle of the forest was more familiar all the time, but nothing jumped out as dangerous or edible. Not that he was able to see a damned thing through all the interlocking branches and overgrown bushes.

Movement!

There! A small creature, hiding in the shadows.

Perception skill increased 0 → 1!

Tension flooded out of his muscles—whatever it was, it was small and afraid. Not a threat.

Probably not a threat, anyway.

Cara nocked an arrow and fired, all in one graceful motion. The arrow struck true, downing the creature in a single hit.

He looked away. Better she didn’t see his grimace. It had been a clean kill, not so different from how he hoped any animals he’d eaten back on Earth had been slaughtered. Seeing it wasn’t the same as knowing it happened, but that was his problem, not hers. One he had better get over soon.

“Do you not learn to hunt when young, in your world?”

The first words she’d spoken in more than an hour, and he was a deer in the headlights. “Err… no. Not anymore.”

She strode toward her kill with a bounce in her step. “If you stay, I’ll teach you.”

Despite the warmth in her words, there was a sharpness in her inflection, which he took as an instruction to be quiet once more. He nodded, and took a good look at the dead creature. It was a lot like a small raccoon but greener, with barely any tail.

She retrieved her arrow and cleaned it before handing the body to Ted. He gulped. Its dead, lifeless eyes stared back at him, but it was either carry it or risk angering the lady with the bow.

Besides, she’d be more likely to spot anything trying to kill them. Better that she focused on that and he carried the stinking carcass than vice versa.

All in all, a win.

A sour tang formed in his mouth. Hopefully it wasn’t far now. He fell in behind her, trying to keep an eye out and not to let his mind wander to the dead body slung over his shoulder. It was heavier than he expected, but the worst part was the way it bounced slightly as he walked.

Time dragged slowly by as they traveled again until, at long last, Cara signaled for him to halt. “We’re here,” she said, wearing the warmest smile yet.

He bit back the response, “That’s always true.” Technically correct, but not helpful. Where was here, anyway, and what made this section of forest any different from the last few miles of it?

The tree trunks were thicker, but otherwise there were bushes, weeds, grass, damned thorns—all more of the same. The wood elf cocked her head, studying his reaction with an almost smug grin.

He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction, not if he could help it. There had to be clues, he just had to find them. Wasn’t this supposed to be her village? Level 1 perception or not, he couldn’t have missed an entire village. Not unless there was an invisibility spell involved, and that scarcely seemed fair.

That growing grin of hers was all the incentive he needed. His chest tightened, but he wouldn’t let her win if he could help it. He’d work it out.

She leaned against a tree, more relaxed than before. That meant safety, which surely meant the village was here. If he couldn’t see it on the forest floor, then…

He smiled and looked up. At first glance, it was the same as anywhere else, trees mingling together higher and higher in a magnificent arboreal dance. But no, it wasn’t quite the same. The perspective made it hard to tell, but some of the trees widened out as they rose instead of narrowing.

The tree trunks had to be at least ten feet wide in places, some even as wide as thirty feet or more. Abnormally large branches—even for this forest—connected them, assuming they really were branches. If it weren’t for the bark, they could easily have been elevated walkways between skyscrapers.

Vertigo pulsed in his stomach as he stared up in wonder. “That’s incredible,” he said, pulling his gaze back to ground level, and the glow of Cara’s smile. “Your village is built into the trees.”

Her fleeting frown spoiled the moment. “Our village is one with the Great Tree, not built into it. The Forest provides for us, and we look after it in turn.”

It had grown like that? That raised many more questions than it answered, but he didn’t press his luck. One more question for the growing mountain. Getting to safety was a far more immediate concern. “How do we get up there?”

She pointed up. A lift of some kind was on its way down, a ten-foot circle of solid wood suspended by green ropes. Or were they vines?

A guardrail came into view, with a couple of elves leaning over it, bows in hand.

“It’s all right, Jeremy!” Cara called up. “He’s safe.”

Ted smiled up and waved. Trusting that he wasn’t going to kill them all was a good first step. A small one, but he’d take anything right about now, especially if it meant being safely off the forest floor.

She tilted her head and a pensive expression took over. “Unless he’s a shapeshifting dungeon spawn.”

Well. It had been nice while it lasted.