“I don’t know why we are doing this,” Trevor said. “We could just stay here. Safe. No reason to go after the squirrels.”
“Stay here?” Billy asked.
“Yeah! We seem to be safe here. We have killed the rat fiends, and it looks like the other creatures here are at a low enough level for us to deal with.”
“We could stay in our camp,” Yuki said. “Just because the tutorial is ending doesn’t mean we will be attacked. We could build some walls. We have the list of ingredients from Dilchak, which we could trade for supplies. Eventually, this nightmare has to come to an end.”
“Something worse always comes along,” Su Li said. “Look at you two, ready to stop because of some squirrels. What will you do when some level 20 creature comes barreling through our campsite?”
Billy almost laughed at how cute she looked with her hands on her hips glaring at the two of them. He knew she was right. There was worse to come, and there were other things to consider.
“Don’t you two want to go home?” he asked in a quiet voice. “Back to earth?”
“Well …. Er… “ Trevor looked confused. “I am not sure.”
“Is there a way home?” Yuki asked.
“Well, we know three things,” Billy said. “We know that we were brought here somehow which means there is a way of getting from here to our own planet. We know that Dilchak has dealings with beings in other places. And we know that we were not the only ones brought here.”
“Do you think there are others from Earth here?” Yuki asked.
“It is possible,” Su Li said. “But maybe not like us. Not everyone we meet is going to be friendly no matter where they are from.”
“Another reason to get stronger.” Billy looked at the two of them. “Even if they are humans, for some, the power will get too much. Look at us. With our stat points, we are stronger and faster.”
“There are always people who take advantage,” Trevor said. “You are right! I don’t like fighting, but I don’t want to be powerless when we meet them.”
Billy could see that Trevor had understood his message. There were bullies everywhere.
“But why do we have to fight with these people?” Yuki asked. “We could help each other.”
Billy knew that Trevor and Yuki were suffering from nerves. Their last outing had led to both himself and Su Li respawning. Even if they were stronger now this would still be a risky battle.
“We can’t rely on others to help out,” Billy said. “We need to be ready for the worst. Plus, I somehow feel that this place is designed to test us. It will not allow us just to sit back and do nothing.”
Trevor stood and nodded at Billy. “Ok, let’s do this.”
Yuki also nodded reluctantly. Su Li, however, had an excited grin on her face.
***
Billy was in stealth mode. He moved as quietly as possible through the trees, keeping sight of Trevor as he watched his flank. He knew that Su Li was moving on the other side of Trevor, but he could not see her. The girl was a natural stalker. Yuki was easier to see as she guarded the rear.
The plan was simple. They were using Trevor to draw out the squirrels. Billy and Yuki would protect Trevor’s flank and keep the focus on them while Su Li moved into position. They were hoping to find a clearing with enough space for Su Li to use her whirling blade attack Not a great plan, as it relied on too many unknowns, but better than Yuki’s idea, which was to burn down the forest.
With his extra stats and improved combat experience, Billy felt more confident. He stopped moving as he sensed something ahead of him. His eyes slowly moved upwards, and he saw a level 3 squirrel intensely watching Trevor from high in the trees. The squirrel was out of reach, so Billy just kept monitoring it and stayed hidden as best he could.
The squirrel chirped loudly and was soon joined by two others. These two were both level 4. No level 5’s yet. Billy was sure that there were at least one or two more. He figured that these were the only squirrels capable of producing the nut bombs. Hopefully, they would be able to reduce the squirrel numbers before tackling the higher-level squirrels.
They reached a small clearing. Trevor stopped moving and raised his shield and mace. Billy saw a flickering from where Su Li was supposed to be. It looks like she had made her move already. The girl was supposed to wait until they had drawn the squirrels in.
Trevor must have also seen her, because he banged his mace against his shield and yelled.
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More branches moved in the trees around them. Billy tried to estimate just how many squirrels there were now. Too many was the only answer he could come up with. He had been hoping for a small battle to gain confidence, but it looked like between Su Li and Trevor they had drawn in more squirrels than he felt comfortable dealing with.
The trees around them rustled as more branches shook. Billy glanced around, attempting to count the growing number of squirrels. Too many—that was the only conclusion he could reach. He had wanted a manageable fight to boost their confidence, but between Su Li and Trevor, they had attracted more squirrels than he was ready to face.
A nut flew from the trees – flying straight at Trevor. Trevor tried to deflect it with his shield, but as soon as there was contact, the bomb exploded, knocking Trevor back a meter. Luckily, he managed to stay on his feet because chaos ensued as the squirrels attacked.
Squirrels launched themselves from the trees towards Trevor. One passed by Billy’s hiding place, and he tried to grasp it but was too slow. He had known that he would be at a disadvantage in this battle, given the speed of the squirrels. Even with his increased stats, he was still not fast enough to keep up. That’s why he had planned on stealth.
Well, that plan was out of the window. He would have to try and pick off any he could get his hands on.
It had only been a few seconds, but Trevor already had cuts on his arms and face. The tough fabric of his jeans protected his legs, but that would not last for long.
The others were much more effective than him, even Trevor. The tall man had settled in a rhythm of shield and mace, using one to block and stun the squirrels and the other to hit them once they were stunned. To his credit, he was ignoring his mounting injuries and the pain that he must have been in.
Yuki was helping Trevor as much as she could with her staff, moving quickly and accurately. She was not going for finishing blows but instead was using her staff to protect Trevor’s back. Su Li was picking off squirrels one by one by spearing them with a thrown knife and then pulling them towards her to finish them off.
Billy swung wildly, his strikes growing more desperate as the squirrels darted just out of reach. Only a few blows landed, and his stamina was fading fast. He needed to turn the tide—had to contribute something—but the fight was slipping away from him.
The others, meanwhile, were holding their own with better efficiency. Even Trevor, despite his injuries, had fallen into a steady rhythm—blocking with his shield, stunning with his mace, then crushing the dazed squirrels with grim precision. He must have been wracked with pain, but he fought on, jaw set.
Yuki moved beside him, her staff a blur as she deflected attacks, guarding his back without hesitation. She wasn’t aiming to kill, just to control the chaos, keeping the squirrels at bay.
And then there was Su Li—cold, methodical. She must have realised that the whirling bald attack would not work, so she resorted to other methods. A flick of her wrist sent a knife flying, impaling a squirrel mid-leap. With a sharp tug of the wire, she reeled it in and finished it off without a second thought.
Billy gritted his teeth. Why was he the only one struggling?
Billy calmed himself. He would run out of stamina soon, and this was not the way to fight – this was not the way to win the battle. He had fallen into panic mode again. A sharp claw raked across his face, drawing a fountain of blood from his cheek.
He ignored the pain and the squirrels and centered himself. He would not be able to use the mana surge like yesterday, but that did not mean he was useless. He just needed to fight better. He needed to use all of his skills.
He could feel the squirrels as they moved around the clearing. Their movements seemed to use some small amounts of mana – mana that he could sense and track.
Relying on instinct his right hand flashed out. His fingers sank deeply into a squirrel that had been moving to attack him. With his hammer he finished it off.
A growl left his lips – echoing through the trees. The squirrels froze. Billy moved. He did not think – he just moved. With mana guiding him, he surged towards two squirrels. He was able to anticipate their movements, and his hammer flashed out twice.
He did not stop to finish them off but kept moving – stalking his prey. The chattering from the squirrels stopped. Billy was no longer even aware of the system notifications. With quick economic movements, he moved and fought.
He pulled himself out of his trance, panting when he realized there were no more squirrels to attack.
He sank to his knees – only a few stamina points left. Mia’s voice sounded shrilly in his mind.
That explained his utter fatigue and yay for level 3. The others gathered around. Trevor to sank to the ground with a loud groan. He was covered in blood and shaking.
“How many did we kill?” Billy asked.
Yuki’s eyes fluttered. “About twenty, I think. Many fled once Billy started growling.”
“That was tough,” Trevor said. “And so painful. Those little buggers!”
Billy checked the quest menu. The quest was only 48% complete. That meant there were still over twenty more squirrels out there and they had not killed anything about a level 4. The level 5 squirrels must have fled.
“What happened, Su Li?” Trevor asked. “You did not wait for the signal.”
“This,” she said simply. She reached into her shirt and pulled out a small furry bundle. “I nearly tripped over her mother’s body. The squirrels had already killed its mother. Poor thing was defenseless.”
Billy used [analyse creature].
“I hope it was worth it,” Trevor said. “We almost wiped out there.”
Su Li cuddled the cat. “What else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t let it die.”
Billy stood. “Let’s discuss this away from here. Yuki, can you put the squirrel corpses in your ring? We’ll decide what to do with them later.”
They moved back out of the Squirrel Woods as it had affectionately been called. Once Billy deemed that they were safe, he suggested they eat some of their jerky and then meditate to recover health and stamina. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Su Li feeding some of the meat to the cat while stroking its golden fur. He let it go. He did not know if pets were possible in this place. That was a problem for another time.
Once fully healed they set about discussing how to proceed next.