"Seriously... This is discouraging."
Oliver had been walking through the rocky hill for a good while now, and that damn scanner still hadn't done anything.
His skin had tingled for a few seconds when the silver bracelet magically appeared on his left forearm. That was a while ago. Now, he had already mapped out the entire hill and the stupid bracelet stayed completely silent.
"Did I get a broken one? Hey angel, come down here and fix this piece of junk!"
He sighed, disappointed. But it was probably wishful thinking to expect medicinal herbs to grow on a rocky hill. Still, he had to try.
"I've only got one place left... damn it." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for longer than anyone would recommend. Time to at least take a look at the forest near the base of the hill.
"I think it's gonna be fine..." he murmured to himself. No way those disgusting creatures would be waiting to ambush him the second he stepped off the hill, right?
"Samuel went east and Nikki went west. Should I go the same way?" He kept talking to the wind.
"No! They probably left a trail of chaos behind and those freaky creatures are gonna be all stirred up. Better stick to the safer side."
"North or south... Nicolas's body is to the south, in the direction David went... better go north, then."
"It's creepy thinking that dude was alive just a few hours ago and now he's just a decomposing body... Stop thinking like that, Oliver! Focus! Getting depressed now won't help!"
Lost in thought, he didn't even notice he was already down the hill and headed into the forest. It was darker and damper here, but the heat didn't go away. If anything, it got worse.
Grabbing the closest stick and making sure it was sturdy enough, Oliver armed himself.
"Let's do this!"
The entrance was more disappointing than he imagined. There was no open path through the forest, and the vegetation tangled over itself, forming a web of obstacles. Every few meters, he had to swing his mighty stick to clear vines and dead roots.
But the struggle paid off. Even though he was panting and tired, after covering just a few dozen meters, the scanner finally did something. A notification popped up on his forearm.
Beep!
[Herb – Rank 1]
[??????????: Contains flavonoids...]
"What the hell? Where's the description? Info, data, anything! Come on!!"
The herb stood about 15 centimeters tall, thick at the bottom. It looked a lot like ginger. It was easy to spot and pull out from the base of a dead tree, hidden among the roots.
"You better be worth it, little thing, cause I'm risking my life for you." He talked to the plant like it was a puppy.
Tying the leaves and stalks to his belt, he went looking for more useful herbs. But he started paying more attention to the forest. Birds had built nests in the high branches, and small rodents had burrowed into the ground.
"Aren't they afraid of those damn snakes? One bite and you're done, little bunny."
Ignoring the suicidal rodents, Oliver activated the scanner again and got another response.
[Herb – Rank 1]
[????????: Contains essential oils...]
"Of course, zero surprises! You just won't make my life easy, will you, damn angel?"
This herb was harder to find. It looked like any regular plant, kinda like mint, with light red hues.
Looking around, he realized a few hours had already passed. Time to head back. No monsters showed up, thank the heavens, but that didn't mean they weren't nearby, just waiting to pounce.
"Oliiveeeerr!" Aline's voice called from the top of the hill, making him jump. But she sounded calm, so nothing bad must've happened.
"I'm here! Coming up!" he shouted back.
"Okay! Hurry!"
"Glad she's managed to shove the trauma to the back of her mind, even if it's just for now. I'm happy for her..."
Sssssssssssss!
"Shit!" His soul froze for a few seconds. And that was enough for the thing he feared most to appear.
Slithering through the high branches and heading straight for him. One of the devil's forms. A damn serpent.
His heart pounded. Blood drained from his limbs. His whole body was hit by a wave of electricity. A mix of terror and shaking.
The demon slid down from the roots and came right at him. Everything blurred. His vision tunneled. Those eyes. Hell's slits. Face to face.
Sssssssssssss!
And then... it hissed and crawled past him. It was massive. Easily over 12 meters long. Long, long seconds of paralysis until the tail finally passed, and he could breathe again.
"I didn't die this time... this time..."
"Oliiveeeerr! Hurry up!" Aline's voice snapped him out of the daze.
"On my way!"
The cold slowly left his body, but the paranoia that another one might be lurking never did. He climbed the hill as fast as he could, and when he reached the top, panting, he saw everyone gathered by the Angel Stone.
"You okay, bro?" Gael, the bleached blond, was the first to ask.
"I ran into one of THEM..." Everyone raised an eyebrow and tensed up. Those vipers hadn't attacked yet, but that didn't mean they wouldn't. Nicolas's body was proof of what could happen.
"Glad you're safe. Were you bitten?" David walked over and started checking him out. He really was acting like a doctor now.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Hmm... okay. Don't hide it if you're hurt, better to treat it right away."
"Don't worry, doctor sir. Hehehe." Oliver joked. For some reason, he felt comfortable around David.
A few chuckles broke out, and it even looked like David blushed a little. It helped lighten the mood.
"So? What'd we get?" Oliver asked before the silence got awkward.
"I found some stones and roots on the way. I think we can try, but it's gonna be almost impossible to break bronze ore with this..." Lucas showed off a few sharp rocks.
"I got a bunch of sticks and started sharpening them on stones. We've got five wooden spears, but I don't know how sturdy they are," Gael followed up, sticking close to his best friend.
"Not strong enough to pierce that demon's scales, but maybe its eyes." Oliver was already thinking of how to take those abominations down.
"Uh... mine's kinda weird, guys..." Aline looked embarrassed and confused.
"Lots of question marks?" Oliver asked quickly.
"Exactly! How did you know?"
"I've got a scanner too. Same thing happened to me."
She looked relieved knowing Oliver had the same issue, but it didn't really help much.
"You didn't get any clues? Not even a little one?" I tried to squeeze something out of her.
"It seems broken. When I scan a tree, it says [Energy ????]. And when I scan you guys, same message, just with different quantities. Oliver shows up three times, Lucas once, David twice, and Gael twice too. When I scan the rocks, nothing shows up."
"Well, shit. Her scanner's clearly broken. ANGEL, we want a refund!"
"Aline... do me a favor. Scan me and David while we're side by side."
"Okay..." she raised her hand and pointed it at us, clearly unmotivated.
"Same thing. Five notifications with the same message."
"Maybe... maybe it's possible!"
"Aline, can you tell which are mine and which are David's?"
"Uh... maybe... It's hard..." she got more discouraged with each word.
"Wait, I'm three, and David is two... David, how many affinities does your bracelet say you have?" The short guy's eyes widened and he shot me a white grin.
"Two... you goddamn RPG player!" he said like it was a curse.
"Hey, no need to attack me!"
"Aline, I've got Fire and Wind. Try isolating those and see..."
"I GOT IT, OLIVEERRR!" The chubby girl jumped in joy and basically flew into my arms.
"I can't breathe like this..." Aline let go when she realized the hug was getting too weird and finally explained.
"Now the scanner shows Fire Energy and Wind Energy. I can also see Fire in Lucas. Hehehehe..."
"That's way too personal to be revealing, don't you think, you little witch?!" Lucas shouted in fake outrage.
"Alright, I think it's best if we all say what affinities Aline hasn't detected yet. It'll help the group," Gael, the bleach blond, made the suggestion.
"I'll take that silence as a yes. I've got Earth and Electric," Aline raised her hand and gave Gael a thumbs-up.
"Fine... Darkness and Nature." She did the same gesture for David with a smile.
"Okay, I've scanned all your energies. Oh, Oliver has Nature too. Hehehehe."
"Traitor!"
Aline's forehead wrinkled, and everyone went tense at the same time.
"What is it, Aline?" I asked.
"Four Darkness Energy notifications just showed up on my scanner... over there." She raised her hand, pointing in the direction Samuel and his group went. But confusion quickly turned into pure terror.
A scene that would stick with them for a long time.
Four dark green-scaled creatures blended into the mossy rocks of the hill. Fangs exposed. Poison dripping. Their skin soaked in blood. Eyes burning with rage.
Four vipers, each over 12 meters long, slithered with all their might, coming to devour us. And all we had were some sharpened sticks, pointy rocks, and two catatonic girls sitting on the ground.
[160:59:59]