Unranked ascension a lit.., p.36
Unranked Ascension: A LitRPG Adventure, page 36
The wolf twisted mid-air and managed to land on its feet as it returned to its physical form. But the moment it put weight on one of its front legs, another sharp yelp escaped its throat—the bone had snapped. It stumbled, then looked down at the injured limb, snarling through bared teeth, a blend of pain and fury burning in its eye.
Magar pressed his advantage, dashing toward the wounded wolf as a deep, guttural laugh rumbled from his throat. Blood poured from the gash in his shoulder, trailing behind him in thick, crimson footprints with every heavy step.
The wolf had no choice but to flee, its tail tucked low as it limped away into the trees. Even in retreat, it glanced back over its shoulder—hatred blazing in its eye, a silent promise burning through the pain.
“I will return! Your death is certain!” it howled.
Magar’s laughter rose, wild and thunderous, as he hurled a blazing ball of flame at the retreating wolf. The projectile screamed through the trees before detonating just behind its target in a burst of heat and light.
The wolf skittered forward in a panicked scramble, awkwardly tucking its hindquarters as the explosion singed the air at its back—barely escaping the searing blast.
Chapter 78
Reunion
Lucius led David and Sarah across the back yard of the farmhouse. After leaving the rest to Patrick and Mary, the three set off in search of Maryanne. The companions quickly caught sight of the child walking out of the barn that held the spiders. She was carrying a few large brushes in her hands that were covered in pink spider fur. The child carefully cleaned the fur off the brushes one by one, tossing the fluffy pink fur to the ground as the group approached her.
David and Sarah couldn’t hold back their emotions as they neared Maryanne, breaking into a run and calling out to her as they approached. Maryanne lifted her eyes from the task she had been focused on with obvious confusion on her face, quickly dropping the brushes the moment she recognized the two people rushing toward her. Maryanne stood perfectly still for a few seconds, her hands slowly beginning to tremble as the emotions welled up inside her before bursting out.
“Hic... Hic—Mah! MAAMA! PAPA!”
Lucius stood behind with a contented smile on his face as he observed the much overdue reunion. The impressive emotional strength that Maryanne so commonly displayed made him forget sometimes just how young she actually was, but her uncontrolled sobbing as she collapsed into the arms of her parents brought that back into stark focus. Maryanne grabbed Sarah’s shirt as she hugged her mother so tightly that her little knuckles turned white. Her mother let out a quiet sob of her own as she returned the embrace.
David wrapped his beefy arms around both of them, resting one hand on Maryanne’s head as he covered his eyes with his free hand, the large man’s shoulders shaking as he struggled to maintain his composure.
“I’m so sorry that we left you all alone, Maryanne. It will never happen again, I promise!”
David managed to speak the somber oath without breaking down. Maryanne looked up at her father as he spoke to her, releasing her mother from her tight grasp as she held her hands up in the air, urging David to pick her up.
David turned back to face Lucius as he held Maryanne in his arms, wiping his sleeve across his eyes before speaking.
“Thank you, Lucius. You saved my entire family. I can never repay this debt, but I will do my best to do so. You can count on my support in future. Just ask for whatever you need.”
Lucius smiled at David’s words as he reached out his hand to accept the handshake that David offered.
“I did it for Maryanne. She can be very persuasive, you know. I’ll leave you three to get reacquainted. Don’t forget to see Mary to get that wound on your side looked at, David. Maryanne can take you to her.”
Lucius waved goodbye, giving the family some privacy as he turned back toward the farmhouse, quickly making his way inside. Mary was at the kitchen table, which had become the makeshift medical center whenever people needed treating. Just being in the woman’s presence left Lucius feeling a refreshing relaxation spread through his body, as her Blessing of the Healer aura worked it’s magic on his depleted stamina.
Mary was currently applying first aid to the various wounds that the group of people had accumulated since the Abyss invaded. Many of them had infected lacerations or sprains that had grown worse and worse from neglect. Their previous leader was not exactly concerned with the well-being of his men, after all.
Lucius didn’t linger in the kitchen and made his way directly to his room, collapsing into bed without even taking off his filthy clothes. He barely managed to kick off his shoes before finally giving in to his need to sleep.
When Lucius’ eyes fluttered open later in the day, he glanced out the window and realized that only around four hours had passed. The sun was getting low in the sky, but Lucius felt wide awake.
“Well, guess I’m up.”
In the old world, after a night without sleep, he would have undoubtedly slept through the entire day and well into the next night, waking up around one or two in the morning. But now, with his enhanced body, he felt great after just a few short hours of rest.
As Lucius passed through the farmhouse, he saw that the kitchen had been emptied out, meaning that Mary had finished applying first aid to all the people who needed it. Stepping outside, Lucius saw the new members of the community hard at work on the defensive wall. Lucius gave a slight nod of approval as he saw that his orders had been carried out.
James was there helping as well, sitting on Ellie’s back as he directed the mother pig to dig the large holes required for the construction process. The pig would dig a large trench, and the men would follow, placing the prepared tree trunks into the hole and burying the base, much like setting fence posts.
With half of the group working on sourcing lumber and the other half planting the posts, they were making decent progress on the defensive structure. Lucius waved to James as he passed, heading toward the forge where Jack was almost certainly working.
As he approached the forge, he noticed the telltale smoke billowing from the roof—proof that someone was hard at work inside. When Lucius pushed open the door, however, he didn’t see Jack working at the forge as expected. Instead, a humanoid creature with a face like a deer, wearing a tight leather apron across her obviously female chest, was standing over the anvil, hammering a piece of metal with great vigor. Jack was sitting on a chair on the far side of the room, watching the female Minotaur work as he picked at his ear lazily.
Lucius raised an eyebrow as he glanced between Jack and the mythical creature.
“What’s all this? I didn’t give her to you so you could start slacking, you know.”
Jack rolled his eyes at his friend’s mocking words and gestured toward the Minotaur with one hand as he responded.
“Yeah, right. The moment she learned about forging, she begged me to teach her. Now she’s refusing to budge. I’m going to have to make a second set of all my tools if I want to get back to work without constant interruptions. I thought I was getting an assistant, not a competitor.”
Lucius let out a chuckle as he motioned toward the deer-like creature.
“I’m assuming your new companion has a name by now. Why don’t you introduce me?”
“Yeah, yeah. Mina, say hi to Lucius. He’s my good buddy—the one who found you that I told you about.”
Mina finally looked up from her work, placing the large hammer down on the anvil as she stepped toward Lucius, an inquisitive look in her big brown eyes. She wiped one four-fingered hand against the fur on her shoulder, brushing off some of the dirt and grease, before extending her hand toward Lucius.
Lucius carefully observed Jack’s new companion as he accepted the unusual hand in his own. Her palm felt tough, almost like worn leather, but the fur on the back was soft and smooth. As he shook hands with Mina, a puff of purple smoke burst into the air just above his right shoulder. When the smoke cleared, Whisper stood proudly with his chin raised and his winged arms crossed over his chest, staring down at Mina with a look of theatrical superiority.
“I’m Whisper! I’m the oldest, so you have to do what I say! Maryanne told me that’s how it works with siblings!”
Lucius rolled his eyes as Mina shifted her gaze toward Whisper. The newly born Minotaur didn’t seem to understand that Whisper was trying to provoke her and simply nodded enthusiastically at his words.
“It’s very good to meet you as well, big brother Whisper! I will do my best to follow your lead!”
Lucius chuckled at Mina’s naïve behavior as he casually shooed Whisper off his shoulder before stepping further into the sweltering room, approaching Jack.
“Mina, huh? You know ‘minotaur’ is spelled with an O, not an A, right?”
Jack’s eyes widened ever so slightly before he caught himself, shaking his head and making an exaggerated face like he was offended.
“Pshh, who doesn’t know how to spell mina—mino—ah whatever. What did you come here for? You’re not just here to poke fun at my spelling skills, right?”
Jack quickly changed the subject, looking up at Lucius expectantly, waiting for him to explain his visit.
“I brought you another present. Didn’t you want one of these?”
Lucius held up his hand to show that he was wearing a second storage ring, immediately earning the wide-eyed expression of longing from Jack that he’d been hoping for.
“No way! If you keep bringing me gifts every time you come over, I might start to think you’re interested in me!”
Jack stood up as Lucius rolled his eyes and handed over the ring. Jack reached out to accept it with a broad grin spreading across his face, carefully pulling it onto his finger as he examined the item carefully.
“Uh... How do I use it?”
Chapter 79
The Return
After giving Jack the spare storage ring, Lucius took a casual walk around the farm. The way the place was rapidly transforming into a thriving small community gave him a sense of accomplishment that he had never felt in his previous life. Some latent instincts inside him had been stirred awake, and Lucius felt a strong desire to ensure the well-being of this group of people that he had worked hard to protect and gather in this place.
For no particular reason, he started walking toward the fields where Mary was raising crops, and spent most of her time lately. Lucius quickly spotted the woman walking down a narrow dirt path between two thick rows of plants, so he wound his way through the crops carefully to meet her.
“Hello again, Mary. These crops seem to have doubled in size since you started cultivating them only a few days ago. How is that possible?”
Mary looked up from her task with a proud smile on her face, releasing the healthy-looking green leaf she had been inspecting from her hand.
“Hello, Lucius. You’re not imagining things—these plants really are growing faster than I ever thought possible. You can thank Nana for that. Turns out she was quite the expert gardener before the apocalypse, and while helping me seed the second field, she unlocked a few talents that boost plant growth and help them survive in harsher conditions. With her abilities and my healing aura, I think we might actually solve the community’s long-term food problems.”
Lucius’ eyes widened slightly at the good news. He looked down at the plants with renewed interest after learning that their growth had been affected by magic.
“I don’t know much about plants, but these appear to be no different from normal. I hope this talent of hers can continue to promote growth without any unforeseen consequences. That would make all our lives much easier.”
“I agree, not only that—”
Mary stopped speaking abruptly, interrupted by the loud commotion. When Lucius zeroed in on the source of the noise, he saw a large group of uniformed soldiers rushing toward the farmhouse.
“Looks like Tiber has returned with his men, but... something is wrong. We’d better go and meet them,” Mary said briskly.
The two made their way back toward the farmhouse where the soldiers were heading. As they got closer, Lucius got a better look at Garrick and Tiber as they rushed forward at the head of the group, their faces solemn and uniforms spattered with blood.
As his gaze moved over the group of soldiers following behind the two men, Lucius gaped as he saw Roland’s unconscious body being carried by four soldiers, each holding one of the large man’s limbs. The bald soldier had a vicious wound across his chest and was still losing blood as they hurried toward the farmhouse.
Mary clapped a hand over her mouth as she noticed the horrifying wounds on the soldier’s chest.
“Oh God, that’s Roland!” she whispered beneath her hand, before quickly breaking into a run as she rushed forward to help.
Lucius kept pace with her as they intercepted the men. The two split up as soon as they reached the group, Mary moving toward Roland while Lucius approached Tiber.
Mary began shouting directions as soon as she saw the extent of Roland’s injuries, instructing the soldiers to move him to the kitchen table and for someone to bring her the medical supplies. The soldiers had applied some hasty first aid to Roland’s chest, but he needed much more thorough treatment as soon as possible if he was to survive.
Tiber quickly instructed his men to follow Mary’s orders as he stood behind to speak with Lucius, watching the group carrying Roland move toward the farmhouse before turning to face him with a grim expression. Lucius was the first to speak.
“What exactly did you run into out there? Roland is the last person I expected to see injured so badly—I know how strong his defensive talents are.”
Now that they had reached the safety of the human settlement, Tiber put away the shiny longsword he was holding and turned to look back toward the forest they had just passed through, a heavy sigh issuing from his mouth.
“We made it out of the city without issue. I let my guard down when the journey was almost over. We were only a few miles away from the farm, beginning to feel relieved that we had made it in one piece. That was when we crossed paths with a giant creature. A wolf, to be precise.”
Lucius narrowed his eyes as he listened, a bad feeling beginning to rise up in his chest.
“A wolf? Was it gray, around the size of a small car, with a missing eye?”
Tiber turned back toward Lucius, narrowing his eyes.
“I’m not sure about the eye—it happened too fast, and I couldn’t get a good look. But the creature was about the size you described, with long gray fur. However, much of its fur had been burned off, and its front leg was severely broken when it attacked us. Even so, it was incredibly fast and powerful beyond anything I have faced. To be honest, if it hadn’t already been so injured and weakened before we ran into it, we’d all be dead. We were able to drive it away simply by overwhelming it with our superior numbers, but as you can see, we didn’t escape unscathed.”
As Lucius listened, the pieces of the puzzle connected in his mind. The size and color of the creature, the burns on its body, and the fact that it was moving away from the farmhouse when Tiber’s group encountered it painted a picture in his mind of a series of likely events.
“I see. I think I know what you ran into. You probably have Magar to thank for saving your life—he’s likely the one who inflicted those injuries on the wolf.”
Lucius proceeded to explain the events of the past few days to Tiber, telling the soldier everything he knew about Baba Yaga, the leader’s transformation into the large wolf, and how he, Nick, David, and Sarah had made their hasty escape from Baba Yaga’s camp.
Tiber grit his teeth as he took in the information, eventually shaking his head with a deep sigh.
“So, we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... Forget it—for now, we need to see if Mary needs any help.”
Lucius nodded and accompanied Tiber to the farmhouse, stepping into the kitchen where Roland lay unconscious on the large table. From this close Lucius could see that the normally tan man’s skin tone had become a sickly pale, and his chest contained four deep lacerations in the shape of a wolf’s claws. Mary was in the process of cleaning the terrible wounds on his chest and preparing to sew him up.
“How does it look, Miss Mary? Will he pull through?” Tiber asked without much expression.
Lucius wondered how many times Tiber had stood at the side of a dying comrade before. Mary responded to the soldier’s question without looking away from her task, her hands moving swiftly as she prepared her instruments.
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor or even a nurse. I’m just the unlucky fool who keeps unlocking healing talents. I’ll use my Mend Wound ability while I sew up these deep lacerations, and I’ll spend the night by his side so he can benefit from my healing aura. That’s the best I can do.”
Tiber looked at Roland, his distant stare belaying his concern for his underling.
“Thank you, Miss Mary. I’m very grateful for the time and energy you’re dedicating to one of my men.”
Tiber turned back to Lucius, allowing the exhaustion he was feeling to show on his face for the first time since arriving as he spoke.
“The journey was exhausting, and as much as I’d like to get to work right away, my men need food and rest. Can you help me get them settled in for the night, please?”
As Tiber was speaking to Lucius, Patrick came down the stairs with an excited expression on his face and something in his hands. He rushed up to Mary and interrupted her just as she was moving her needle toward Roland’s skin.
“Wait, Mary! Use this! It’s something I’ve been working on—I didn’t expect it to be of use so soon!”
Mary looked up, frustration flashing across her face at the sudden interruption, but her expression cleared when she heard Patrick’s explanation.
“I’ve been practicing unorthodox inscription methods. I finally learned how to inscribe items that are too small to physically etch. Both the needle and thread in this kit have been empowered to promote the healing process. Please give it a try.”
