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(Ebook) Isekai Isles: A LitRPG Fantasy Harem by Marcus Sloss ISBN B09QJFC9N1
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(Ebook) Damsels of Jormia: The Complete Series: An Isekai Harem Adventure (An Isekai Fantasy Series) by Marcus Sloss ISBN B09PSDNBYZ
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(Ebook) A Man's Word 1 : An Isekai Fantasy (Princess or Three in Distress Book 1) by Marcus Sloss ISBN B0BRTFNBGS
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(Ebook) A Man's Word 2: An Isekai Fantasy (Princess or Three in Distress) by Marcus Sloss & Stoham Baginbott ISBN B0BXMYH65D
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(Ebook) CYBER VIKING - BOX SET Book 1-4 by Marcus Sloss [Sloss, Marcus]
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(Ebook) CYBER VIKING 4 by Marcus Sloss
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(Ebook) Augmented Tycoon 1 by Marcus Sloss
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(Ebook) Augmented Tycoon 2 by Marcus Sloss
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(Ebook) Augmented Tycoon by Marcus Sloss ISBN B07Z5S29D6
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ISEKAI ISLES
A LitRPG Fantasy
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Also by Marcus Sloss
Chapter One
R yan’s knuckles whitened around the steering wheel as he stared out at the jam-packed road before him. Even with the advanced air conditioning, the blistering heat still forced drops of sweat to smear down his face.
Aneasyjob?Yeah,right.
But that’s what family was for. Even though he was a stepbrother, when he asked for help, I was there for him. It was just a simple task: drive the third and final truck loaded with their possessions to their new home. It should have taken less than half an hour in total.
And yet there he was, trapped in the middle of a massive bridge leading out of the city. Stuck alongside hundreds of other morons who had all decided to leave at the exact same time.
Patience had never been Ryan’s strong suit, though his wife had worn down the rough edges of his personality. Of course, that was all in the past, but he still tried to live by the moral code she’d gently, but firmly suggested he follow.
Ryan tried to reign in his emotions as he thought about what awaited him at the far end. Though they didn’t have much at the house, the others had promised that they would have a good spread arranged by the time he arrived.
Food and drinks, food and family. It sounded like the perfect thing to distract from the dullness of his day.
“Oh, come on.” Ryan watched as the car in front jerked forward by about half a foot, only to be met by the blaring of horns from the vehicle it closed in on. “Last thing I need is some idiot to ram another moron’s ass. Figures.”
“Finally!” Ryan reached out toward the handle and pulled it downUnfortunately, or fortunately as the case turned out to be, he was too slow.
The truck plummeted down by about two feet as the bridge cracked and warped. After the split second of falling, he slammed back into his seat as one of the towering bridge cables snapped and crashed down atop the truck.
The roof buckled downward, but the expensive materials kept him from being crushed. Despite that, a new issue arose to replace that danger.
Due to the deformation of the cabin, both doors had been jammed shut. No matter how much he pushed and kicked, he couldn’t budge them. With his options limited, he turned his attention to the now cracked glass of the front windshield.
It crunched a little under his kicking blows, but the toughened layers refused to break entirely. He recalled his stepbrother bragging about how the glass was bulletproof, though not officially, and how much force would be needed to shatter it.
Before Ryan could take one last kick, the road in front of the truck imploded under the immense pressure. A giant hole swallowed entire lines of cars, vans, and buses, all long since abandoned. The faint hope that he might avoid such a fate vanished in moments as the surface of the bridge cracked outward from the edge of the pit toward his vehicle.
The truck fought for a moment to keep itself on the bridge with the tires screeching across the pavement. It tipped forward, only to fail as the last remnants of the road collapsed under the pressure.
Ryan braced himself the best he could as gravity took hold, wrenching the weighty vehicle toward the uncaring waters far below.
Sound and sight were distorted by the murky water, while his skin clenched painfully beneath the icy claws digging into its surface. He ignored that as best he could as he pushed his back against the
seat, braced himself as best he could, and kicked out toward the glass.
He used all the might he had left to kick outward.
Shadows cloaked the edge of his vision as blood thundered through his ears. The remnants of his strength ebbed away as he slammed into the glass one final time, only to hear the dull thunk as it finally shattered under his boot.
But… It came too late.
The truck thudded down onto the riverbed as he tugged himself out, but the surface was way too far above his head. Still, he used one last push to surge upward, if only a little bit. With no air and little strength, he forced his body to move, swimming upward in a haphazard fashion.
By the time he’d reached a third of the way, he couldn’t hold it anymore. His body reflexively ignored his commands, forcing his mouth to open as he swallowed his first lungful of water.
IfIsurvivethis,I’lllivemylifetothefullest.That…Is…My…
A pale light swept out. It twirled around his form like a clinging mist, shrouding his body in a faint glow. His skin, whitened by the water’s chill and his lack of oxygen, gained a little color. A stream of water gushed out of his lungs and a bubble of air went into his mouth.
Someone saved him. Who, what, or why was a mystery. When he tried to ask, everything went black.
Chapter Two
R yan jerked up, spluttered and coughed habitually. Dull grey clouds coated the sky above his head, giving the area a dank, dead look.
But he cared more for himself than the strange place where he awoke.
A quick check showed that he was still in one piece. Two arms, two legs, and... it was cold out but his penis was there. The cut on his forehead seemed to have vanished, along with the bruises on his knuckles. His joints still ached a little, but that was something he had grown used to ever since he passed the age of thirty or so.
But other than that, he was in perfect health, or as close to it as he could remember.
So why then did something feel off?
With his self-diagnosis complete, Ryan turned his attention to his surroundings. He had awoken on what looked like a beach, while there was a thick tree line not too far away. An odd mismatch of locales, nothing like the part of the country where he lived.
Everything had a gray undertone to it too.
But maybe that was just a red herring.
The weirdest thing was how clear the water was. No ripples, no waves, flat as anything. In fact, it looked like it didn’t exist at all…
“You’re finally awake!” A crackly voice rang out from behind, jerking his attention away from the odd sights before him. He spotted a wizened old man at the edge of the forest, holding a set of rough, yet clean clothes.
His own were mucky, wet, and ripped to all hell. Odd, given that they’d been fine after the fall into the river, but he pushed that thought away as he rose to his feet.
“Who are you?” Ryan paused for a moment as he glanced around, looking for any other signs of life before he moved onto the more pertinent question in his mind. “And where am I, exactly?”
“This island is everywhere, and nowhere. A meeting place I enjoy. It’s real but private, the gray coloring helps disguise it. You asked exactly, but…” The old man dropped the clothing he carried at the edge of the beach as he gave out a low chuckle. “You’ve been through hell, right? Best to get some clean clothes on before you almost die again, lad.”
“Again?” Ryan frowned.
In general, he just had a bad feeling about the stranger, not just from his odd words and strange tone. However, the shirt and pants looked about the right size, and freezing to death after being saved at the last second didn’t sound like the best choice to him.
He pulled his soggy clothes off, accepted the offer, and changed.
The man’s beard was matted and worn, reaching at least halfway down his barely covered chest. The scraggly clothes he wore were a step down even from those Ryan had taken.
WasIsavedbyavagrantgod?
“Right then. Thanks for saving me,” Ryan said, sitting down and crossing his legs.
The older man smiled. “The name’s Varan, by the way. You’re on Torton, a wondrous place of opportunities.”
“Ryan. Well, I’m incredibly grateful. If you can point me toward the nearest city on Earth, I’ll be out of your way.” Ryan paused for a moment as a strange grin formed on the old man’s saggy face.
“When I get home, I’ll make sure to send back a reward, if that’s what you want.”
“Reward? I like rewards.” Varan gave a toothy smile, or at least as much of one as he could manage. Most of the man’s mouth was either empty, or filled with rotten, yellowing stumps. “But you’d best look after yourself first, yeah?”
Ah,hehasafewscrewsloose.Whatdeitycapableofsavingaman didn’t?Apparentlythekindwhoweretoobusy.
“Huh? Look Varan. Again, thanks. However, I’m a simple man. I do odd jobs to make ends meet. I hustle, I relax. That is kinda my thing. I always look out for myself, but you’re confusing me and I’m trying to not freak out about this gray island realm.”
“Fine. I guess I’ll just go with the short version.” Varan shrugged, as though any implied threats of violence were nothing more than a stiff breeze to him. “You’ve been saved. We all have. But now, Torton needs you.”
“Torton?” Ryan’s stomach twisted and trembled as he recalled his last moments in the freezing waters. “I’m not on Earth?”
Well, it was possible.
“Fuck.” Ryan rubbed his forehead as he tried to come to grips with his situation. “This is not happening. After my wife Joanne died, I stayed out of trouble and to myself to avoid my own demise. Plus, I want to go home. I have a decent place, and… well, not much else, but that’s beside the point. I can’t be on some magical land called Torton.”
“Afraid it’s true.” Varan leaned back with an amused glint in his eyes, like a small child watching an ant squirm beneath his
magnifying glass. “Face it. You would have died if I didn’t move you, and this is all you’ve got.”
Ryan listened intently to Varan’s mumbling explanation.
“Torton needs a champion. Someone who can prove their mettle, smarts, and manage a team. Is that you?”
“Do I get to go home after?”
Varan frowned and replied, “No. I can return you to the bottom of the river without oxygen if you’d like.”
“Fuck that. Torton is going to have one hell of a champion and I’m the guy for the job. Mostly because dying is bullshit and I’m all about avoiding that,” Ryan said with a chuckle - the kind someone does when they were really so sad all they could do was laugh. “Making lemonade from lemons.”
“Excellent, most excellent. Champions aren’t quitters,” Varan said, clapping his hands together once. “And there’s some lovely damsels in distress.”
“I like those.” Ryan bobbed his head in self-agreement. “It’s been a while since I returned to the dating game. New me and all. Maybe I’ll have another threesome!”
“Positive attitudes required!” Varan said with a hoot. He stood, pointing at the rocky shore.
Ryan picked up a smooth stone from the sand and checked it for any distinguishing marks. None. Perfectly rounded, as though it had been manufactured by an automated plant.
Annoyed at the whole situation, he tossed the rock into the waterOnly to see it skip without making a splash. There certainly was
material around the island and it looked like water. The rock hopped a dozen times before falling abruptly.
“What the hell?” Ryan moved forward with his eyes trained on the edge of the beach where it met the ‘water’.
“Woah, careful, lad.” Varan’s warning seemed friendly enough.
“That’s water, a spell keeps it around the island for looks and to cycle storms and mimic regular land. If you step onto it, you will fall for… about forever. Yeah, best to avoid that.”
“This island… is floating.” Ryan kicked another rock off the edge and followed it with his gaze until it vanished into the cloud cover that hung far below. “This thing is a god damn floating island!”
Chapter Three
V aran’s chuckling was the only thing Ryan could think about. It was time to squeeze the old man for information.
“So, Torton?” Ryan loosened his muscles as he walked back to the edge of the woods and leaned against a tree. “What about you, then. Are you a god?”
“Yes and no. I’m only a selector.” Varan almost spat out the last word, as though it left a disgusting taste in his mouth by the mere action of speaking it. “Every once in a while one planet, realm, or kingdom has prayed, donated, or sacrificed enough to earn a champion. I check who dies where the body will vanish and select. I then semi-guide them, and in return I exist. That is my lot, and I have no way to complain or change my path.”
For a split second, a surge of sympathy rose in Ryan’s heart, but that was quenched a moment later as he noticed an odd, hungry glint in Varan’s eye as the old man stared out into the cloud filled space beyond the edge of the island.
Either he was lying, or he wasn’t telling the whole truth. And to Ryan, it didn’t much matter which. From this point on, he knew to be skeptical of the man.
“Okay. So, becoming a Champion of Torton, what does it take?”
“You aren’t the champion yet, which is wonderful for you to grasp.
You will gain a team as you go. For now, you are in an Olympus of sorts. If you die, you return to the water, along with your teammates returning to whatever fates we saved them from,” Varan said and Ryan caught the ‘we’ he might have let slip on purpose.
“Okay, basic. I’m in a special place where I need to prove I’m worthy. If I am, I start a new life.”
He nodded like a sage while still appearing like a bum. “You will climb to the top of this island and your initiation will begin. Defeat your challenges to advance to higher islands. When you become the champion, your work has just truly begun. However, not many reach the end of the gauntlet.”
“Right. This blows. Truly, but I’m breathing air instead of inhaling water at the bottom of the river. What else can you tell me?” Ryan asked.
“Not much I’m afraid. Maybe more later, maybe not. For now, explore until you reach the island’s top. When you reach the island’s top, swipe the side of your cheek from your ear toward your nose. It will trigger the mission in a way. And Ryan.”
“Yeah?”
“Good luck.”
Ryan pushed himself up and brushed the sand and dirt from his clothes. It was time for him to move out.
Ryan strode into the forest. His old clothes had dried out a little, but they were still way too damp for him to wear. A change of clothes seemed ideal for a just in case. He grabbed a walking stick and tied the clothes from Earth to it. In the meantime he kept the odd outfit Varan had lent to him.
It wasn’t the most comfortable, but at least it kept him protected from the general threats a forest walk presented. Sure, being scratched or jabbed by the bushes or bit by random bugs wouldn’t
be life threatening, but avoiding such things was better than wandering into them without a care.
He hurried through the dense part of the forest. After passing through several times, it wasn’t too hard to find the part which seemed to be at the exact middle, right where the tree coverage was at its thickest. At that point, there were trees that stood only a few feet apart.
“Perfect.”
Ryan untied his old clothes from the stick. After checking them for any major damage, he tossed his jeans around the nearest trunk. He wrapped the tough pants as a brace which allowed him to get a good grip.
With some stability, he scooted up the tree a few feet at a time.
Ryan remembered back to his nature treks in the past, and everything he’d learnt during that time of his life. Though his wife hadn’t really enjoyed the walks, she had still joined him on a few,
Other than the trees, he couldn’t see much else. Dull grey clouds covered the sky, like an almighty dome encasing around the island.
As he idled atop the tree, Ryan lifted his hand to swipe his cheek like Varan mentioned. When he touched the skin he marveled at the fact he didn’t have any of the stubble he’d expected to feel. Maybe it was another boon given by the weird place. But, before he could think any further, a shimmering light appeared before him, forming into an odd, flat, translucent window.
He held his tongue as a series of options formed upon the blue pane, only one of which was lit up.
Characteroption.
The character word flashed over and over. After a few moments of consideration, Ryan lifted his finger and brushed the flashing button, which caused a new set of words to appear in the air before his eyes.
The glowing message tracked his movements as he turned from side to side and moved up and down with his head. He read:
Name:Ryan Class:Warrior
-Intelligence:10
-Wisdom:10
-Luck:30
Skills:-[NoneUnlocked]
Equipment:-Basicoutfit
Titles:
-[ProspectiveChampion][ERROR:/HiddenEntry/]
Allies:
-None
“I’m a character? What the hell? And ten doesn’t seem like a big number, is this place looking down on me or something!”
The screen flashed – SurviveInitiation!
Just as he finished reading over the screen’s details for the third time, the pane vanished from view, and it wouldn’t reappear no matter what he did.
“Against what? I need more details.” After a few futile attempts to call it back, Ryan dismissed the whole thing as he turned his attention back to his situation.
Ryan sighed and settled down into the crook between two branches. He ensured he was firmly anchored before he swung around to scan his surroundings. Two rotations yielding nothing to survive from.
“Maybe it’s a situation where you ensure I can eat and drink to –”
A distant screech rent the air asunder. He jerked his head around, searching for the spot where the noise had originated before he realized where it had come from.
Far above, he spotted a small creature diving through the clouds.
In the gloom he couldn’t quite make out what it was until a pair of wings unfurled, slowing the thing’s decent.
“A bird? But why?” Ryan focused his gaze upon the creature as his thoughts ran wild.
When it grew closer, he realized it was bigger than him and not a bird at all. Rather than a normal avian body, it instead looked humanoid in shape. The wings flowed from where its arms should have been, but the legs ended in bird-like claws, while a vicious looking beak took up around half the thing's face.
“Harpy?” Ryan blinked. “Can this place get any weirder?”
The harpy decided to answer his question instantly. Its sharp gaze swept across the treetops until it alighted on Ryan’s perch, after which the monster let out a high-pitched screech. Half human, half bird, all disgusting.
“Shit!” Ryan pushed himself to his feet. There were a few branches beneath him, but nowhere near enough for him to be safe if the thing closed in.
But if he tried to climb back down, the harpy would easily close in before he even reached the halfway point.
Ryan pulled the belt from his jeans and wrapped it around one fist, ensuring the chunky metal buckle faced outward.
If the bird-brained monster wanted a fight, then he’d give it a beating it would never forget.
down into the forest below until Ryan lost sight of it.
“Fuck me. That hurt!” he groaned.
His arm burned with flaring pain. Blood leaked out from beneath the belt, and the rest of his body wasn’t much better. The collision had blown him back into the trunk, leaving a large welt on his back.
In general, everything hurt, so he decided to focus on the main injuries.
Removing the belt was a difficult and painful process. Each time he moved it, his fingers instinctively clenched, holding it closed yet again. It was only through sheer force of will that he managed to fully pull the thing aside to reveal his battered and bloody fingers.
“One broken, could have been worse.” He stared at his pinky, which was set at an odd angle compared to the rest. “Fuck this place.”
The finger wasn’t shattered at least, but it would take a while to heal. If he was younger, then maybe he could just ignore it a little, but treating the injury wouldn’t be easy without the right equipment.
Never mind a first aid kit, he didn’t even have anything to sterilize the wound.
Still, he had something that would work. Ryan pulled out the shirt and used some of the rips to tear off some strips, which he then used to gently wrap the digit. Sure, it was painful, but it would be worse if it moved around a lot.
Thoughts of his next step vanished when he heard a distant, keening screech. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had made the sound.
The harpy had survived. Technically so had he, maybe the mission would be done. Nope, no such luck helped him.
While he could stay on his perch and hope it wouldn’t be able to come back to finish him off - that was a risk he didn’t want to take.
So instead, he decided it would be best to get back to solid ground. Even if the harpy managed to recover, then at least it wouldn’t have an easy path to do flybys on his unprotected head.
And at best, he could track it down and see what mess it had left as it crash landed.
The journey back down took less time, but it ate up more of his stamina than the trip up. While he tried to avoid putting pressure on his injured finger, it wasn’t possible to avoid every jab and pull.
By the time he reached the ground, his whole hand felt as though it had been filled with shards of razor glass. He smiled, feeling relieved to be back on solid ground.
The distant keening grew louder and more petulant as he moved through the forest toward the harpy. Various signs of its flight showed up as he spotted gashes in trees or even full-on shattered trunks, relics of the monster's attempts to keep itself from crashing into the dirt.
All that effort to keep from falling failed.
The harpy’s overly large wings fluttered into view as he peaked around a large tree to spy upon the creature. It only took a moment for him to figure out the cause of its pained cries.
One of its flight limbs had taken the brunt of an impact, leaving it bent and broken. A long, spindly looking bone poked out as the monster flopped about, trying with all its might to right itself as it screamed furiously.
His punch had added to the damage, leaving the thing at least partially blinded. He felt no small satisfaction as he spotted an
imprint of his belt buckle upon its forehead.
Maybe that blow had been the last straw to the bird's tiny brain.
Still, it was a dangerous creature, even considering its wounds.
The huge claws at the end of its scaled feet swept back and forth, slicing and cutting through vegetation and leaving large gashes in any trunk unfortunate enough to get in their way.
Ryan considered his options as he stared at the monster. It had tried to kill him, for no other reason than its own spite and hunger.
Unless it was controlled by the… the controller of this trial. The harpy might not be a direct threat right at that moment, that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be able to recover eventually. Plus his quest was simple.
Survive Initiation. Maybe two came if he didn’t kill it quickly enough. He needed to take the monster out of the equation, and he needed to do it fast.
Birds had good eyesight in general when it came to spying on their prey, but his blow against the creature’s face had mostly removed that advantage. It might be able to hear him, especially with the deadness of the forest, but the thing’s own screeches would be enough to hide his approach.
While he had never openly hunted down a beast in the past, he still knew the basics.
No wind, so scent wasn’t a factor. The harpy was facing away from him, mostly, so he didn’t have to circle around for a better angle. Going straight in was the best course of action, and he knew the sooner he moved, the better.
Ryan crept forward, only moving whenever the harpy let out another of its petulant screeches. Avoiding the potential hazards of various bushes forced him to take a slightly roundabout path, but he reached the nearest tree to the monster without being spotted.
Before he moved in, Ryan reached down and picked up a stone, an exact mirror of the ones on the beach. Perfectly round, smooth, and shiny.
Overall, just wrong.
Without another thought, he tossed it past the harpy and into the bushes opposite. The sharp crack of breaking branches caught the monster’s attention as it swung toward the potential threat… and away from the predator behind it.
“Die!”
Ryan wrapped his belt around the harpy’s neck, pulling it tight before the creature could slip loose. The harpy’s thin body held more power than he’d expected, likely due to its need to move the massive wings, but it still wasn’t enough to throw him off.
With one mighty wrench, Ryan pulled the harpy’s neck back. A loud crack rang out as the monster shuddered one final time before it finally fell still.
Despite everything, Ryan still felt like it had been too easy, so he kept an eye on the harpy as he loosened his grip and stepped back.
No movement, no signs of life. It was dead.
“Well, shit.” Ryan gritted his teeth as more pain flared up from his battered and bruised body. He wanted to sit down, to rest, to sleep without delay.
But what if another monster came out of nowhere?
But try as he might, he couldn’t move out of their grasp. More wisps of darkness rose, forming a net across his body before yet another layer rose up. Eventually, his entire body was covered in the stuff, blocking his vision entirely and leaving little more than a dirty black fog wherever he looked.
It wasn’t painful, but there was no way he could stay calm. No matter how he struggled, though, Ryan couldn’t pull himself free.
Then, before panic could truly take hold, the dark grey mesh expanded outward.
He still couldn’t see much, but it was as though he stood in the middle of a large black dome rather than being trapped within a tight web of darkness. A step up, but not a large one from before.
It had to be related to that word. Companion.
Ryan spotted something odd. Shadows flitted at the edge of his vision, noticeable, but just out of sight. Every time he turned to face them, they vanished again, leaving nothing but the dark nothing before him.
Maybe they were the companions in question, but he didn’t get a good feeling from any of them.
A shadowy outline rose directly in front of him. Not a tall one, but nowhere near short enough to be a child. An adult, not that he could make out any features.
It could have been another monster, but Ryan knew he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.
“I guess… I choose you?” Ryan reached out and brushed his fingers against the shadowy figure.
Reality snapped back into focus the moment he made contact.
The forest, the trees, even the harpy corpse not too far away.
But more than that, he saw a woman…who collapsed toward him.
“Shit!” Ryan darted forward and caught her before she could land face first in the dirt. She was light, but he still felt muscles on her arms as he tugged her back up. At least she had trained a little, but that wasn’t the main concern.
Despite everything that had happened, her eyes were still closed.
Companion or no, there was no way she could help him out of his predicament... Until she woke up, that is.
Chapter Five
R yan laid the strange woman down on a comfortable looking part of grass and gave her a quick once over.
No obvious injuries, at least from what he could tell. Her dark black hair was swept up into a pony tail at the back with a loose, messy looking strip of cloth.
To be fair, that matched the rest of her outfit.
Though the clothes he had received from Varan weren’t all that great, the outfit worn by the unconscious girl made his rags look like a king's garment. Stained with what looked like streaks of blood and so ragged they might fall apart at any second, the loose dress could only be seen as such if he squinted for a while.
Otherwise, it just looked like she’d draped a random sheet over her shoulders and just went on from there.
But the horrible clothes did little to detract from her beauty. The smudges on her face, which shouldn’t have been nice at all, only
served to accent her unique charm. She seemed naive and vulnerable, but the slight furrow in her brows as she slept showed an undertone of danger to her.
That did make sense, if she had gone through anything like him in her past.
But then why was she in a void of shadows? Why had the word ‘Companion’ allowed him to visit her realm and pull her back?
How was it possible that he felt a weird ‘connection’ to the strange girl he had never seen before in his life?
Those questions would have to wait for a more opportune time.
The harpy he had killed gave the place a nasty vibe, and that wouldn’t help his new friend acclimate to the island if it was the first thing she saw when she eventually woke up. Not one to leave loot behind, he yanked out some feathers quickly. He bound the bottom of the jeans and stuffed it full. He broke a few claws off and added them to his makeshift bag.
With that done, Ryan felt the need for answers, especially since he finished his initiation and didn’t advance. Which meant it was time to see Varan.
So, with his plan set, he decided to move before anything else could rise to ruin his chances. The girl was as light as a feather, which allowed him to lift her into a clumsy princess carry without much difficulty. For a moment her head lolled to one side before he shifted his grip, making her lean against his chest as he stepped off back toward the beach.
To be fair, he didn’t have to go in any direction. The harpy had landed close to the main area of the forest, so any route would take him back to the side of the isle.
His journey back passed without incident. No monsters, no beasts, and no ambushes. Other than the cracks and results of his own footsteps and the soft breaths of the girl as she slept in his arms, no other sounds rose up from the forest.
“Hello again!” Varan said with a genuine smile. He turned around to see Ryan walking out of the forest once more. “I can’t save you from your initiation. Oh…”
Varan was surprised Ryan had brought someone back.
“You defeated the threat, without properly preparing a spear or creating a weapon. Congrats on your first companion,” Varan said energetically. “Impressive feat. I know I selected wisely.”
“I told you that I was the right guy for the job.” Ryan moved onto the beach proper and laid the girl down in the sand. Ryan pulled out a stock of feathers he had ‘borrowed’ from the defeated harpy, rolled them into his old shirt to create an impromptu pillow for the sleeping stranger.
“Excellent.” Varan bobbed his head energetically at Ryan’s response. “You want to fight to the end? I guess I chose right.”
Ryan checked on the young woman once more and after seeing no signs that she was close to waking up, he finally turned his full attention to Varan.
Ryan kept his injured hand tucked away as he folded his arms and glared at the ragged man. “You said nothing about monsters.”
“Monsters are everywhere. Nowhere is truly safe,” Varan said with a haunted tone.
“What are you saying exactly?”
Before he could check on his Companion, however, a new issue reared its ugly head.
The sky far above darkened once more, as though a huge invisible hand had closed around the dome of gloomy clouds. For a moment he thought Varan had caused the anomaly somehow, but then he realized that it was related to someone else entirely.
He turned back to the girl to see strands of dark energy rising from her body, like those that had dragged him to the void realm, but not quite as potent. Instead, it looked like she was somehow venting the excess substance she had taken in while she was in that place.
A piercing cry rang out as a body dropped out of the clouds. After his past exchanges with the creatures, it didn’t take long for him to figure out that it was yet another harpy.
But then another plummeted down, followed by a third.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” Ryan blinked furiously as he stared at the trio of monsters. For a few seconds he held on to the faint hope that they might turn on one another, but then the three harpies moved beside each other into a rough and ready flying formation.
“Fuck.” Ryan glanced into the forest as he considered his options.
Varan’s decision to leave made some sense, but there was no way he would follow in the vicious old man’s footsteps if it meant leaving his Companion behind. He didn’t want to move her and end up trying to fight with her in his arms.
Even if he could ignore the weird bond he felt toward her, it was still morally the worst thing he could do. The promise he’d made to his deceased wife in that hospital room still hung heavy around his shoulders.
Live fully and live well.
He’d fight to protect her on this beach, which, fortunately, it wasn’t like he was without a weapon. Plenty of driftwood rested along the beach. Where it came from, well that didn’t matter.
A quick search found a sturdy branch, solid enough to not break in a single blow, yet hefty enough to give a solid smack if he put enough power behind it.
Without much time, he used his belt to create a makeshift brace, increasing the chances the impromptu weapon would stay in his grasp should the worst come to worst.
And, as he had feared, it became clear that avoiding the battle would be next to impossible.
The lead harpy, a monster that was clearly bulkier than the two beside it, screeched out a war cry as it swept around to glare in Ryan’s direction. Or, more accurately, it turned toward the still shivering girl on the sand beside him.
“Come on then!” Ryan stepped forward as he moved to block the bird's path to their prey. “Try it! I’ll snap your fucking necks, just like your little friend!”
Though his shout shouldn’t have been easy to hear from that distance, the harpy trio still let out another glass shattering cry as they blasted forward. The larger monster hung back, allowing the smaller pair to take the lead as they dived down toward the beach.
Though that meant he would only have to face two at once, it would still be an extremely challenging task. Unlike the first harpy, where he had managed to catch it unawares as it underestimated him as little more than helpless prey to be toyed with, the newcomers clearly thought of him as a worthy foe.
So, he readied his secret weapon. A throwing stone With his injured hand barely holding his club, he kept the other hidden behind his back. Both were clenched so tight that they ached at the pressure, but Ryan ignored the discomfort as he lowered himself into a ready stance.
The harpies dove from above. A hundred feet. Fifty. Twenty. He waited until the last moment, when he saw the glints of their sunken eyes, to whip his hidden hand out toward the leading harpy. The stone blasted out of Ryan’s hand at a speed that even surprised him.
“Eat this, bird brain!”
The leading harpy didn’t even have time to realize what was happening before the stone slammed into its face. Though the smooth rock clipped its beak, it still held enough power to stun the monster and send it spiraling into a tree.
Ryan grinned as the sickening crunch of the impact rang across his ears. No way could the harpy survive an impact so brutal.
But that left two harpies. Though the second smaller harpy froze up for a moment as it watched its comrade’s demise, that stunned state didn’t last long before rage overtook its tiny, one track mind.
The larger harpy hung back watching, though Ryan couldn’t see any fear in its posture. Rather, it looked interested in the scenes playing out before its eyes.
It was as though it didn’t give a single care about the deaths of its followers.
But he didn’t have time to think about the meaning behind its actions. Instead, Ryan kept an eye on the distant threat while he focused most of his attention on the rapidly approaching harpy.
He swapped his club over to his uninjured hand took a solid footing beneath him, one last deep breath-Ryan swept the branch out at the last second, catching the harpy alongside its head moments before it slammed into him.
The blow helped him to avoid being pierced by the monster’s beak, but it did little to lessen the impact of the following collision.
Ryan tumbled back through the sand as the harpy scratched and pecked at him. None of the blows connected solidly, but it was only a matter of time before he took a significant hit.
So, he moved first.
With one last roll, Ryan kicked out to stop them in their tracks while he was still on top.
“Try that again!” He raised his club and brought it down with a heavy crunch atop the harpy’s skull. The monster jerked, but it still had the strength left to wildly sweep its clawed feet up at his back.
Ryan dodged forward, barely avoiding being cut in half by the razorsharp talons. He still took a glancing blow, enough to open a huge gash in his skin, but at least he’d managed to avoid a fatal strike.
But his last-second roll allowed the injured harpy to jerk itself up.
Blood covered its face and shoulders as it spurted from the crack on its head, but the monster didn’t let the near fatal blow stop it from trying to escape.
Ryan staggered to his feet and with his teeth clenched against the pain in his back, he rushed forward to land a wild swing against the harpy’s back as it tried to lift off.
Another dull crack echoed out as the monster tipped forward into the sand. It flopped around helplessly, as though its body had