"Oh my God!! What the hell is that?!!!" Ethan screamed, his silver hair plastered to his sweating forehead. He was running with a desperate, animalistic speed, leaving his companions struggling behind.
The ’stick’ he gripped, rattled uselessly in his hand.
"Hey!! I thought you said you were strong with that stick?!" Alice shrieked, her voice hoarse with panic. "You said it could save our lives! Why are you running now?!"
"Are you mad, Alice?! That’s a Boss!A very dangerous boss! Even those Level 5 wolves are like flies to him! Do you want me to sacrifice my life for you guys?!" Ethan yelled back, not even bothering to look over his shoulder, increasing his already frantic pace.
"At least wait for us, you bastard!" Miranda wheezed, stumbling as she tried to keep up.
"Miranda! You might be a beauty, but beauty can’t save us here!" Ethan was already focused only on his own survival.
"Shameless!" Angela hissed.
SCREECH!!!!
The air tore above them. The Dark Eagle Demon Hunter—a unknown level Boss—dove low, its massive black talons effortlessly snatching two Level 5 wolves. With a wet clench, the wolves were crushed instantly. The Eagle then dropped the carcasses, swallowing them whole with an unnervingly human gulp.
WHOOSH!
The dark avian predator shifted its crimson gaze from the wolves to the running humans, then back to the ten remaining wolves, and chose the easier, more familiar prey. It chased the wolves.
"Huh?! Does that thing think we’re insufficient? That we’re not even worthy to be food?!" Ethan dared to look over his shoulder, momentarily bewildered by the Boss’s choice.
"Shouldn’t you be happy?!" Alice snapped, trying to regain her breath.
"Yes. You are right, I am happy!" Ethan shouted, already pivoting his survival plan. "Let’s run to that forest! We can hide in there!" He pointed toward a dense curtain of deep green trees looming ahead.
WHOOSH!
The Eagle abruptly changed its mind. It banked sharply and began moving toward the human group.
"Hey!!! Why is it coming towards us now?!" one of Ethan’s friends, a tall, exhausted boy named Leo, yelled in pure horror. He was already running on fumes.
Angela glanced over her shoulder. She saw the reason: the wolves had regrouped, standing behind a hulking, white-furred wolf with cold stone eyes that now stood menacingly at the entrance of a cave.
’That wolf must have scared the Eagle! Does that mean the white wolf is also a powerful Boss?!’ Angela thought, the complexity of the threat dawning on her.
’So many Bosses in the Beginner’s Round! Are we going to die here?!’
"Run! We are almost there!" Ethan screamed, injecting a burst of speed and plunging into the welcome gloom of the dense forest. He collapsed a moment later, clutching his knees.
"Thank goodness I was a track runner," he gasped, hyperventilating. "Otherwise, I would be dead."
"Ahh!"
Angela, Alice, and Miranda all shrieked as they smashed into Ethan, sending the four of them tumbling onto the tangled roots and damp earth.
"No!! Help!!" Leo, the exhausted guy, screamed behind them, forcing his legs to pump the last remaining burst of strength.
Ethan scrambled to his feet, staring back at his two friends—Leo and Mark.
"One of you is fat, and the other is thin! Come on! You can do it!" he screamed at them, his voice raw with adrenaline, not one ounce of concern in his tone.
WHOOSH!!!
The Eagle Boss dove, and in a sickening flash, its talons caught Mark. The force instantly separated Mark’s body into two bloody halves, which fell to the ground like discarded dolls.
"Oh my God!!" The three girls gasped, Miranda covering her mouth in horror while Alice turned away and wretched violently, emptying her stomach onto the forest floor.
The Eagle turned its lethal focus to Leo. Dark beams of pure light shot from its eyes, impacting the thin boy. Leo was instantly shattered into bloody, unrecognizable particles.
"...?!!"
The four survivors recoiled, stumbling backward. The Eagle advanced toward the forest line, flapping its massive wings, but it suddenly froze, visibly hesitating. It let out a frustrated screech, turned abruptly, and flew away into the red sky.
"Thank goodness it’s gone." Angela collapsed onto the ground, sobbing with relief and shock.
"Something isn’t right," Miranda muttered, wiping tears and dusting the dirt from her clothes. "That Bird Boss was scared of the white wolf, and now it’s scared to enter this forest. Does that mean there’s another Boss here? A Boss more powerful than that bird?"
"...?!!"
Her words brought a fresh wave of panic. They all turned their heads toward the dense, mysterious depth of the forest, unsure if they should retreat to the terrifying wilderness or risk the unknown within.
"You might have a point, but we can’t go back out there," Ethan said, clutching his worthless stick tightly. "We can only take our chances here. If we’re lucky, we’ll meet other people."
"Do you even know where we’re going?! God, I wish we had a map!" Alice muttered, still shivering uncontrollably.
"Come on! We can’t just sit here and do nothing! The clock is ticking!" Ethan snapped, masking his fear with bravado. The three scared women looked at each other, swallowed their fear, and slowly nodded.
"Good! Let’s go! No matter what," he said, forcing a charismatic smile, placing the stick on his shoulder, "I will protect you all."
"Yes, thank goodness you are here, Ethan..." Miranda said, dusting the sand from her school uniform. "But if we are here, what about our families?"
"I think we should worry about ourselves for now," Ethan cut her off, already walking deeper into the shadows of the woods. "Let’s go! Don’t worry, I will protect you all!"
[Half An Hour Later]
SWISH!
SWISH!
"I thought you said you’ll protect us?!!" Angela screamed, tearing through the thick undergrowth, her expensive school uniform snagging on branches.
"Why are you always believing me?! Those are hundreds of Level 7 Blood Rats! They move in swarms! Do you want me to get eaten alive?!" Ethan yelled, running several feet ahead of the three girls, not once turning back to check on them.
"You...!!" The girls were speechless, utterly disgusted. The charming, protective boyfriend they knew had dissolved into a self-serving, screaming coward. Their fate in the hands of this man was now terrifyingly clear.