Chapter 57

Ten feet tall, it had the body of a man, though fur covered parts of it. Its wings were angelic, expanding left and right with an impossible wingspan. I tried to estimate, but they were so brilliantly white they blinded me against the sun.

‘Avatar,’ it boomed. Then I saw its face. Not human. Not like anything I’d ever seen before. A lion. A horned lion, and it looked pissed. ‘Here?’ it said. ‘Impossible.’

‘Hi,’ I said weakly. We were high above the city now. If I dropped now, no amount of bracing or dexterity was going to save me. I’d be a stain on the cobbled street. ‘My name is Reaver.’

‘Avatar,’ it said to itself. I took a chance to examine it.

[Stormjaw – Level ten – Commander of-]

‘Do not do that,’ growled Stormjaw, the window disappearing. Shit. It could sense that? What kind of mob knew when it was being examined? ‘So you’re finally here. I should have known Kaleo would fail.’

Kaleo. He knew Kaleo. The monstrous lion man looked down. ‘Prove your worth. Survive, as your quest log says.’

And just as he reached the apex of his climb, he stopped. Then he dived. So fast the winds were cutting me. I shut my eyes. Down and down, faster and faster, and just as I thought we’d smash into the ground, Stormjaw extended his wings before letting me go.

The speed was still there, so when I hit the ground it hurt far worse than when I’d arrived here in the Bronze Epoch. My hit points protested, down to less than half now. I spluttered, feeling as though I’d swallowed debris. I heard a clatter of metal as something fell beside me. A sword.

[Copper Sword – Tier one.]

I gripped it. It felt strange. I was used to fighting with spears, clubs and bows. I had never held a sword, let alone wielded one. But something was approaching, far larger than the shades I’d faced at the fountain, and I knew I wouldn’t need to wait long to get my chance.

Okay, okay. Get my bearings. I applied the second and last salve as I looked around my surroundings. I was further down the city, the beach was on one side. Now I was close enough to see that it was those shades, those strange demonic creatures that were coming from the ocean. I was a little higher up, beneath what looked like a bell tower, no, lighthouse. It towered over everything, half obliterated but miraculously still standing despite the onslaught. I tested the weight of the copper sword from hand to hand. No proficiency. I didn’t even have a class. Keep it simple, I thought. Stick them with the pointy end. Of course, that plan evaporated as I saw just what I was facing.

It was as large as a horse, with the body of a scorpion. Eight-legged, with a stinger the size of a barbarian’s club. It was helmeted and armoured in copper, its face completely hidden beneath a horned helmet. All I could see were its eyes. Green, glowing. A curved sword in one hand, a chain in the other.

[Arabu Guard – Level three elite – Guardians of the mortal world, given new purpose by the God Tiamat. The Aqrabu will never stop until the sun has set on the world of men.]

‘Oh, come on!’ I shouted. Level three? I didn’t even have a fucking class. I had nothing but this shitty copper sword, which would probably have been more useful as a door stopper than a weapon in my hands. The Arabu let loose a monstrous scream, half human, half…well, whatever it was, it didn’t fill me with confidence.

Let’s go.

They may have taken my class, but a quick glance at my character sheet showed my stats were intact. I had lost all the bonuses granted to me by my old gear. No more sovereign mantle, which of course earned extra points purely for the drip factor.

I was just as strong and fast as I was. But I was outclassed. Level ten in the Stone Epoch meant Bronze one here. There was too much that I didn’t know. The limits of this place, the strength of the mobs. If I wanted to live longer than a few minutes, I needed to be smart.

A squad charged past me. Four men, adorned in what looked like copper armour, only white tunics, helmed and wielding copper swords, shields and spears. I blinked, wondrous at my good fortune. Maybe I wouldn’t need to even fight it, at least not alone.

They were clearly NPCs, the locals, I thought, as my mind went into overdrive. I needed to get a hit on it, or all those juicy experience points would spill uselessly into the ocean. This was my chance. If the lowest level here was Bronze one, then those things stood some kind of fighting chance.

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At least, that was the theory.

It was over, really, before it even began. Two of the copper soldiers charged, spears thrusting, and I watched as they were both cut in half, literally in half, in a single swipe. One of their spears made contact, but the flesh beneath seemed as hard as the copper armour protecting it.

The third soldier broke at this, which I really did not blame him for. He was screaming, stumbling back without looking, and fell to the ground. Then he’d turned. He was running. That was a mistake, clearly, as the Arabu began to spin its chain before tossing it out. The chain found its target, and the Arabu whipped it back, turning the soldier into red mist. Armour or not.

Shit.

I examined the last soldier.

[Ugarit Defender – Level six – Last defence at the great city. These soldiers were trained from birth to defend against the Drenched.]

I blinked. Level six. Not Bronze six. Not even Bronze one. Level six. Ayla could’ve torn this guy apart, and he was going up against a level three Bronze mob.

To his credit, he fought harder than his three companions combined. Clearly skilled, he kept his distance, using his spear, getting in a few good strikes, but the Arabu was too powerful. It charged forth, the soldier diving left, but it was too late. The Arabu’s enormous stinger raised up and thrust into the soldier.

He screamed, his mouth foaming with something green. Venom. Scorpion venom. Man-scorpion venom. I shuddered. The worst kind.