“Oh boy.” I pat my forehead. “Did I just manipulate a pet to aggro a possible boss just to find out its level instead of walking in myself?” I shake my head in disbelief. What if it indeed runs towards us and tears us to pieces, or even worse, it tears Pocco.

  My heart races and I start to panic.

  “No! Shush! It can’t hurt a spirit!” I justify.

  “Or can it?”

  “Fuck!”

  I look around suspiciously, checking for the group, then focusing my sight into the distance, awaiting the cat.

  *Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!*

  *Raaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaargh!*

  “No, no, no, no, no, nope.” I squeal, compressing myself even more in my crouch. My eyes wander in the distance, shaking from the consequences.

  *Sneeze*

  I sneeze as the cat stops in front of me, the dust cloud following it hits me in the face. My eyes still wide open, I ignore the dust and look around Pocco.

  He’s unharmed. Thank God!

  “I’m sorry little one!” I start to apologize, he materializes his head as I stride my fingers through his fur.

  “Threeh..”

  *Poof*

  *Sneeze*

  He disappears right before finishing and I sneeze again as the dust cloud expands even more.

  “Markus! Mark!” I hear my name multiple times in different voices.

  “God damn, what have I done!” I whisper to myself.

  “Maark!” The old man yells, his strong deep voice like a smoker resonates in the area.

  *Thud* *Thud*

  *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Roaaar*

  Rumbling, roaring and heavy thudding echoes.

  I collect my things, hide my weapon in the inventory and run.

  Metal parts are clanging and rubbing against each other as I run like a machine; now I can vividly experience the scene from the first days here, when the Lecherous knight itself almost catched me, he was marching like a machine, like a terminator.

  Welp, I definitely lost my last bit of stealth with this armor, but it was never my style anyway.

  I comfort myself and show up to the group without my grandiose entry as I pictured it in my head.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Medieval-modern hybrid knight, that’s how I feel, but nobody gives a damn.

  “Quickly, away from here!” The old man shouts at me, holding Astrid in his arms while he kicks the makeshift beds and piles of leaves.

  Mike squints his monkey eye and Nat tightens her wrist wraps while destroying her tent.

  “Bonito!” (Nice!)

  She compliments me right away as she takes a glance at me, at least I think it is a compliment, by the thumbs up gesture she shows afterwards.

  I answer with a slight nod and a blink.

  “Mike.” I relocate near his spot and whisper, trying to not disturb him much, while the beast keeps roaring.

  “I know its level.” I continue a bit afraid he might try to smack me after I explain.

  “Huh?” He switches his eyes with a blink, looking with his human grey one, deeply into my light blue.

  “I’ve sent the spirit and..”

  “So, you’ve aggroed it?” He interrupts.

  “Yeah. Accidentally.” I answer quietly, with a head gesture.

  Jesus, I can’t believe I’m trying to confide in him. Maybe it’s because I’m a shady person just like him after all; keeping secrets, being doubtful, trust issues and hunger for power.

  “So what is it? Too much, or can we...”

  He jumps straight to the point.

  “Ehm, the cat disappeared right before finishing the word, but it started with three hundred.”

  I keep staring into his eye.

  “Five on one, if we even count our levels we are nowhere close.” He shakes his head.

  “You two are best mates now or what? Come on! Before it sniffs us.” The old man snaps us out, done packing and clearing the traces.

  Astrid in his pumped old arms, Nathalie more than comfortable.

  I can see a spark when I take a glance in her dark eyes. Either way she knows something more than we or it is simply, simple; she is happy to be with a group of people. Capable, reliable and solid people, like Harald.

  Mike gives her private language lessons and I approved to help her by lending my strength.

  Or maybe, it's even simpler; she discovered that she’s not the ordinary NPC of this world, she is indeed in possession of stats, skills, magic inventory and of course the most important one; she is immortal, just like us.

  She is all excited, just like I am, despite the threat being bigger than ever, as I and Mike are knowing that a three-hundred level beast could possibly annihilate us all completely to the bone; and even worse!

  No idea how fast it is, but if that thing can track us to our safe spot near the fire, where we are reborn, it can possibly kill us over and over forever till we are immobilized for good.

  “Are you deaf?” The old man raises his voice on me.

  “Monkey eye! Is the beast approaching us or not?” He looks at Mike and orders him to keep an eye on the beast while we run.

  “God! Phew.” I stop for a moment signaling with a hand gesture that I need to catch my breath.

  Mike stops his steps light like a shadow, Nathalie almost the same.

  While semi-sprinting away, we covered almost the whole forest, we managed to cross through yesterday. From the river near the canyon through the dense bamboo and near the corpses of white armored apes from yesterday.

  I clench my teeth and look away as I notice my corpse in full daylight, without a lower jaw, face buried in the dirt. At least.

  “You can deal with this one, once we’re safe and sound. I’ll lend you my shovel as before.”

  The old man is still in a bit of a panic, sweaty and his muscles twitching, he talks to me after noticing my glance at the corpse. Clearly he’s exhausted from the run and extra carrying weight.

  “Come on old man, we’re safe. The rumbling and roaring might still echo, but it’s not pursuing us. And at least we know what was the roar that drove us out before.” Mike points his chin up, acting all cool.

  “Miko?” Nat interrupts him.

  “Sim, seguro. Safe.” He gesticulates at her, explaining the safe word.

  She repeats right after while nodding.

  “Safe.”

  ”Harald, you okay? I can take Astrid, if she’s okay with it.” I now offer him help without thinking twice, since now we have two women in a group.

  “It was a good exercise, but not gonna lie, my old tendons need a bit of a break.” He admits and I move right away and take the legless girl.

  He proceeds to wipe a lot of sweat from his forehead.

  I gently hold her using my real physical strength and stamina only, Focus is not in action.

  A quick eye on Mike to read his reaction. He seems fine, occupied by his monkey eye.

  Astrid acts all poker face but I try to hold her as gently as I can, spreading my fingers as wide as possible to not cause her bruises.

  “Should I take off my gauntlets?” I ask her quietly.

  “No. I’m on the acid, remember?” She answers.

  “Don’t be mad at me kids, but you know, since we are going to the possible settlement, the last thing we want is to drag a beast in.“ Old man apologizes after catching his breath.

  “Of course Harald.” Astrid comforts him with a smile. I approve with a nod.

  The rough gravel crunches under my steel boots while I walk confidently up the steep road, knowing that my weathered sneakers would not offer enough protection against it. Mike walks on the side of the wacky road where the surface is less bumpy and sharp, Harald is okay with his army high boots and Nat completely ignores the terrain with her thick brown tall leather boots.

  My step gives a steady rhythm to us with metal clinks all the way. Indeed I feel like a knight, except I don’t have a helmet on and instead of a cuirass a black bulletproof vest with a reflective yellow logo on back.

  The more steps I take the greater the view is above.