The Achievement Junkie

Brunar and Troni were still disoriented from the residual pheromones in the air. They had no clue what was happening.

Slivia, however, was brought to her senses upon feeling the acidic breath of the Nightmare Lily on her leg. She genuinely thought she was about to lose her life in a horrid twist of fate.

All three of the entangled adventurers weren't able to see Rydel and Maynard charge against the fiendish plant, they only realized that they were suddenly freed. As the extra layer of darkness dissipated, the two veteran adventurers came into view.

The two young samurai were more startled by the sudden feeling of the supposedly nonexistent ground than by being freed. Slivia was in tears as her heart went through a rollercoaster of emotions in a matter of seconds. Rydel and Maynard sighed in relief when they saw that everyone was unharmed.

It was then that they noticed how everyone still had a rope around their waists. What was shocking was how none of them noticed the rope tearing and being forcibly disconnected amidst being entangled.

Jack was approaching the others but was still in the now dissipating pheromones. He wasn't in a rush to reach them because Rydel gave him an update on the situation and instead took his time to near the faint light of the others' kari crystals.

The expression on Jack's face was ugly and hard to interpret. In the face of other threats, he was confident in the abilities of Rydel and Maynard to handle the situation.

But now his heart wouldn't let him forget how real the threats were. If he hadn't immediately informed Rydel and Maynard, it was clear to Jack that at least Slivia would have lost her life.

Up to that point, Jack had some internal struggles with instinctively treating this new world and environment like a game. He understood that he couldn't respawn, but he hadn't yet felt the disparity of walking the tightrope of death.

With Slivia less than a moment away from death, the severity of the situation forced Jack to accept this new world as his new reality. This wasn't a game, despite having the same leveling system or being the same continent. He and everyone could die with just one misstep, and they would never get a second chance.

While Jack was in mental turmoil, Rydel and Maynard filled in the others about the creature that had attacked them.

Hearing this, Slivia tried to thank her two saviors. Her gratitude was turned elsewhere as her heroes denied her thanks and explained how Jack's instant response was what saved them.

Looking all around her, Slivia failed to find Jack and her heart ached a little. "Jack!"

The cry of his name awoke Jack from his harsh realization. Not wanting them to worry, Jack activated his kari crystal and shuffled to the others.

"Jack!" Slivia's shout was followed by her jumping and falling into Jack's arms, tears still flowing down her cheeks from being on death's door. "Th-thank you! Thank you!"

"I…" This was too much for Jack to process while he was already focused on feeling helpless to the world around him. Jack wasn't able to say anything else.

"I was-was about to be eaten. If you hadn't…" Slivia quivered in Jack's arms, unable to calm herself.

Jack remained speechless and motionless with his arms supporting the clinging cleric. His eyes softened as he finally felt the genuine tears and anguish in Slivia's eyes. Instinctively, he embraced Slivia tighter and welcomed her tears with his shoulder.

She remained there for a good minute before Brunar had reoriented himself and saw the scene in front of him. "Wow, you're luckier than I thought," laughed Brunar.

Slivia didn't hear the remark, but everyone else lightly smiled or chuckled.

Not liking the situation he found after returning to his senses, Troni stated, "Now's not the time to relax. We need to be ready for anything."

Slivia sniffled, "I just…"

"He's right."

When Jack responded the entire party grew more tense, especially Troni who only wanted to spoil the atmosphere between Jack and Slivia.

"Why's that?" asked Rydel, solemnly staring at Jack.

Jack patted Slivia's head as he raised it from his chest and explained, "More times than not where there's one flower, there's always more nearby. The same goes for Nightmare Lilies."

Everyone held their breath and Slivia gripped Jack's arms tightly. Jack continued, "Usually, there are at least three Nightmare Lilies gathered together, but five or seven together aren't uncommon either. We need to hurry and get out."

More rolling darkness began to near them, as if a Nightmare Lily was listening in and realized its prey was about to flee.

"We need to hurry!" Jack shouted, regretting his inaction after the first Nightmare Lily was killed. He cursed his overwhelming emotions, recognizing that he again acted too late to save his party from more threats.

The party turned the other way but was met with more rolling darkness, letting them know that they weren't trying to escape just a single Nightmare Lily.

"Captain, do you still remember where the wall is?" asked Jack.

"Yeah." Rydel quickly pointed a finger while they were still able to see each other.

"Good." Jack's breathing was heavier than usual, revealing his uncommon nervousness.

The young hero retrieved his bow did his best to steady his hands. Jack was startled when a lit torch fell to the ground in front of him. Glancing to where the torch came from, Jack saw Maynard wearing a smirk.

Seeing Maynard's confidence helped Jack to calm his shaky hands. An arrow appeared, passed through the lit torch, and was nocked while Jack slowed his breathing. As the rolling darkness set in eclipsed the light of the kari crystals, the arrow was released and stuck itself in the nearby ground. Jack repeated this while the others circled him with Rydel and Maynard on opposite sides.

Soon there was a very faint trail of warm light being formed as Rydel, Maynard, and the other samurai began to defend against any emerging black tendrils. With prior knowledge to the strange pheromones, they were all on high alert and ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Let's head toward the wall," said Jack after releasing his fourth arrow.

He guessed that the wall wasn't too far from them and kept himself from wasting another arrow. With stealth in mind and his lack of funds, Jack hadn't bought too many arrows while in town. Thanks to all the unexpected events, Jack had almost exhausted his supply. And since they hadn't even seen the goblin city, Jack did his best to save the dozen or so arrows left at his disposal.

Just then the darkness started to thicken, and more tendrils snaked through the air. Now facing three fronts, the party was eager to escape.

"Everyone go! I'll draw their attention and go for the kill," stated Maynard as his katana began to emit their red glow.

"But Master—" Brunar hesitated.

"Very well," replied Jack, grabbing Slivia by the hand and bolting toward the lit path he had created.

Rydel nodded and dashed in front of Jack, revealing numerous small throwing knives in his dexterous fingers. As a few stray tendrils tried to flank them and close in on their route of escape, they were quickly pinned to the ground by knives.

Troni didn't waste time and followed suit, with the reluctant Brunar in tow.

Maynard had already disappeared and reappeared to the side of the lily nearest the fleeing party. With a couple "Blood thrusts," Maynard offed the Nightmare Lily in a flash.

Nightmare Lilies weren't physically tough but were very hard to deal with due to the effectiveness of their surprise attacks and swarming tactics.

Offing one or two was very possible for the aware Maynard, though it meant he would have to use more MP for both his attacks and his "Sudden death" skill. That was the skill that allowed him to quickly appear beside a foe within five meters while striking. It was called "Sudden death" because although it was difficult to deal with, it was also Maynard's biggest opening if an enemy were able to counter.

With one lily finished off and its pheromones dispersing, the faint trail of fire came into Maynard's view. Maynard dashed toward it at full speed, slashing apart any tendril that dared approach the trail.

It didn't take long for the party to reach the wall; the overly anxious Troni had almost run into it face first if Rydel hadn't slowed him down.

"Brunar, throw the others up. We'll keep you in the clear," commanded Rydel as he brandished more knives.

Without hesitation, Brunar braced his back against the wall and cupped his hands to form a step of sorts. "Hurry, I'll throw you all up."

Jack meant to let Slivia go first, but Troni cut in and said, "I'll be the first. Who knows what's waiting for us up there?"

Not wanting to waste time arguing, Jack let Troni's excuse pass him by as Troni was thrown up and disappeared into the darkness above them. No sounds followed, making everyone reluctant to try with someone else.

"Did you make it?" yelled Brunar.

"Yeah, I'm up," Troni yelled back in response with ache apparent in his voice.

"Okay, Slivia next," said Jack, pushing her forward in a gentle yet hurried manor. She was hesitant to release Jack's hand, but she followed along. In but a moment she was tossed into the darkness above with a soft cry.

"You next." Brunar nodded to Jack with a friendly smile.