Carnage In Another World

It had taken Adrian nearly three hours to arrive at the edge of the forest, by the east river. Sitting down atop a hill a couple hundred feet from the tree line, he decided to take a short nap before continuing his journey.

[Ever since coming to this world, I haven't given myself time to think about my current circ.u.mstances. Thinking about it now, how did I even end up in that strange cave?] he questioned to himself while looking out over the forest. [This whole turn of events is rather strange. In fact, the last thing I remember is turning off the lights in my room then hopping in bed.]

He shook his head, sighing in discomfort [such thoughts won't be of any help at the moment.. I have to get stronger. When I am strong enough to protect myself in this demon ridden world,maybe I'll have the galls to investigate my predicament.]

"Thinking of these things now will only make me more confused," he insisted to himself pushing the thoughts away from his mind. After a brief moment to gather himself, Adrian rose to his feet and began striding his way down the hill in eager haste.

Walking through the forest, he hunted for any hints that could lead to his new prey. So far, he had yet to find even a trace of the demons the bounty missions had attested to. In fact, the forest seemed unsettlingly quiet. Not even the sound of insects scurrying about. The operation reeked of suspicion, driving Adrian's eyes to wander.

He shuddered as a cold chill went up his spine, the sweat on his neck more noticeable with every step. Seconds ticked to minutes as he wandered around the silent forest. The only sound to be heard was the crunching of leaves, and tigs he trampled underfoot.

He grew wary of his surroundings, caution in every step. His heart beating in his ears. It was as though danger was everywhere, yet nowhere. However, the feelings he anticipated weren't on a ground of fact. So, he advanced. Creeping deeper into the forest, "What am I afraid of?" He questioned aloud. "Nothing has even happened yet. I can't have people thinking that I'm nothing but an arrogant coward that runs away because an ominous forest" he rebuked whilst chastising himself for being a coward. Suddenly, a sharp pain drove throughout his body, causing him to scream out in pain.

Before he could think, he opened his inventory and pulled out his steel blade, Peering down at his leg. A small piranha headed, demon cub, had dug it's needle-like teeth in his lower leg. The pain was intense. Imagine a b.a.r.e traps strength, combined with millions of small needles instead of thick clamps. Adrian had only himself to blame for letting his guard down. With a quick lash, he swung his sword down at the neck of the little monster. Closing his inventory before his sword shoved through a thick patch of scaly flesh.

The demons body tugged away as the blade slid through its neck like a hot knife through butter, decapitating it. He pried the jaws from his calf, and tossed it to the side in disgust. With adrenaline pulsing through his veins, his leg was almost numb, his fresh wound burning with each second.

<you have killed a Level F. demon youngling>

<you've received 100 exp>

[No mission completion notification, so I guess this little bastard wasn't on my hit list] Adrian complained to himself as he opened up his inventory. He pulled out a small glowing red vial and downed the whole thing. The shredded flesh on his leg recovered swiftly, as if the tendons were connecting once more. Relief washed over him as the excruciating pain subsided, followed by the warmth of the liquid deep inside him. The speedy recovery astounded him.

He didn't close his inventory right away. Instead, he took his time and surveyed the area, paying close attention to where the small demon had come from. As he expected, the creature had a couple friends -both containing very similar appearances to the headless corpse by his feet. He braced himself, closed his inventory to give chase.

The two piranha headed mongrels ran away in fear knowing the outcome of their friend. They made an odd sound, reminiscent of a gurgle and a yelp combined, as they dashed between the trees.

[The price of those potions don't do them justice. I'd have probably been left crippled if not for the fact that I bought them instead of armor, back in Faldor] Adrian commended, as he chased the beasts through the forest. Pushing aside branches and vines, Adrian kept them in his line of sight. He could see the east river just ahead of him now. However, his movement slowed as the trees in the area became more crowded together the closer he got.

The piranha headed lion cubs sprang from the treeline, landing in the river with a loud 'splash!'. They then took off, protected by the current of the rivers flow.

Adrian's rage hadn't subsided as he charging down the river bank, determined not to let his precious exp escape. He skidded to a stop, catching sight of a small waterfall looking to be around a twenty foot drop. Taking another glance, Adrian stood in shock of what he could have just plunged for. The rivers bank below held a whole slew of piranha headed lions. From looks alone, there were at least 15 cubs running around, along with what looked like 6 or 7 demons the size of the one he killed the other day. However, the most terrifying of them all was the one laying down, half submerged in water. It was obviously the pack alpha.

This one was slightly different than the surrounding demons. The most noticeable aspect was the creatures size! It was at least twice the size of the second largest in the group, had long white blades -presumably made of bone- protruding from its spine. The muscles on its body were bulbous, and well toned. All of this created a striking image in Adrians mind as tried to determine his next course of action.

He opened his inventory before assessing his situation, well aware of what happened the last time he got distracted. [I don't really see how I'd be able to take down all these demons by myself] he thought, be mused by the circ.u.mstances he found himself in.

Scanning what he could see from his position, he could not help but feel that his current vantage point was quite good. Taking into account how he could of all the enemies below. As he peered down at the demons, frozen in place [I'm going to need back up to take out these things. I'm going to have to head back to Faldor and see if I can't get Arthur, and Elain to come and help me out... Since Elain and Arthur are Rank E. demon hunters, they should have a better idea of what we should do here] he pondered.

Quickly, he noted this location before running off. Heading back through the forest, he re-traced his prints from the chase he gave earlier. Eventually managing to locate the headless corpse from before. He stowed the corpse in his inventory curious to know if he could sell it to the guild when he returned.

Adrian burst from the tree line, sprinting as fast as he humanly could. When he was around a thousand or so feet away from the tree line, he slowed to a jog. Within a couple hours he had returned to Faldor. By this time, it was already nearly dark.

The first thing he did after entering the city was head straight to the front desk of the demon guild. "Hey Martin", Adrian greeted as he approached the desk in haste.

"Back so soon are you?" Martin joked, " lose your nerve out there or something kid?"

"I completed the mission at the orchard, without incident" Adrian reassured, removing the wolf pig from his inventory.

"Well done, here's your reward" Martin said casually, as he passed over the 250 pieces.

<you received 300 exp>

"What about the other two missions you accepted this morning?" Martin questioned, raising an eye-brow.

Adrian took out the corpse of the demon cub and proceeded to explain, making sure to stress the seriousness of the situation.

Martins expresion turned increasingly dark as Adrian recounted the story from the moment he encountered the demon cubs. However, leaving out the useless parts, like when the demon sunk its teeth into his leg.

"It sounds like a dangerous situation. All in all, I'm just glad you returned alive." Martin sighed, patting Adrian's shoulder. Somehow, his impression of Adrian had been elevated after what he had told him. Little did they know, the mighty, bronze a.s.s had been eavesdropping on their conversation.