Well, that was some news. Totally didn’t make me feel more pressured by the way, Mark.

  Well, even though I complained and grumbled, I had to admit that it wasn’t all bad. At least it meant that I’d always have an interesting enemy to fight. Killing everything in one punch did seem interesting for a second, but I was fairly sure that it would get dull after a while.

  Crudia and I went to sleep in our beds, the soft grass already calling to me. I did get woken up once by something that came real close to our base - I could hear the soft, padded footsteps near our wooden wall. But whatever it was, it probably decided that we were not worth the trouble of destroying a wooden base. I wondered about defenses once again.

  I thought on the traps once again, wondering about their use. I didn’t mind having more things to fight - I welcomed the thought, actually. But would those traps give us the kill XP if they actually protected us? I couldn’t stay awake at all times, after all. Yet more questions for Mark, which I definitely didn’t forget first thing come morning.

  [DAY 4]

  Once the sun was shining over the horizon, we got ready to depart. We crafted some potions from the flowers I collected yesterday, and we were off. Mark wanted us to attack during the day, since whatever was inside the cave should be I woke Crudia, ate my share of rock crabs, and we were on our way.

  “So, Shrimpie, what’s the plan?”

  Crudia couldn’t keep silent for more than 5 minutes, apparently. I should probably have gotten annoyed, and I definitely would have 3 days ago. But I honestly could not find in myself to do so today. Not after how useful she’d been in crafting and stuff.

  “Just like Mark told us. You use [Stealth], scout the area, and then we kill em! Easy, right?”

  She nodded, but I could see that my words somehow failed to convince her completely. Her round ears were plastered to her head, a tell I’d realized meant that she was scared. Or nervous. Or unsure. Actually, I had no goddamn idea what that meant. Probably one of those things though.

  “But there will be many of them, right? Way more than we’d seen at the attack. I kinda want to just… run.”

  Blaming her here would not serve me in any way, shape or form, but I couldn’t feel a pang of… what emotion was that? It wasn’t sadness, but it definitely was something. Heck, even with the knowledge, I could not name it.

  But I felt for her. We were all dragged here against our will, our life expanded into something that was more than we, animals, had all been. It was definitely a weird experience, and I couldn’t blame Crudia for being a bit cowardly.

  Not everyone was born as an awesome Peacock Mantis Shrimp, after all.

  “We’ll do fine. You’ve got the new me in my team, after all! With new experience points spent, and a new armor!”

  I pointed to it to emphasize my speech, but I pointed at my bare torso. Of course, I turned the Armor visibility off the second I discovered there was an option to do so. Who in their right mind would hide such godly colors? But it did feel great to finally feel something covering my chest. I missed my chitin, no doubt about it, and this was the closest I got to having it once again. I’d need to find an armor with better colors if I wanted to show it off though.

  Crudia, for her part, was sporting a new armor as well. It looked decidedly less wolf-ish than I’d expected it to - The fur thick around her neck, yet the thick skin of the wolf covered the bigger part of her lean torso.

  Her ears finally lifted off of her head, and she beamed her customary smile at me. “I guess you’re right! As long as we’re together, all is going to be fine!”

  Hold on there miss, I would not protect you forever. My goal here was to win, maybe be dependable and get a few compliments.

  Eh, was there much of a difference?

  Watching my surrounding area, I crouched under one particularly obnoxious tree branch, and finally arrived at the field of flowers.

  Crudia’s giggles got so loud that they were the only thing I could hear. Heck, even Talisha seemed amazed at the sight in front of her. “I understood how pretty it could be from what you two told me, but… this. It’s unlike anything I’d ever seen.”

  His customary smirk plastered across his face, Mark’s voice took on a smug tone. “We told you two. It’s almost magical. Too bad we can’t spend much time here.”

  Crudia deflated, rushing to Talisha. “Can’t we stay here for a bit longer? Please? Please? Please?”

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  Sighing, Talisha went to pat Crudia on her head. But of course, the hand just passed through her furry head, making the whole interaction awkward. Gods, they needed me for everything here, didn’t they? I, as a shrimp of action, took on the role of professional head patter.

  Talisha gave me a big, white-blue smile, and turned back to Crudia. “Take five minutes, okay? But no more.”

  “Can’t do. Every minute counts, you three!” Mark protested.

  “Shut up, kiddo. If my Raccoon girl says she wants to play in the flowers, then play in the flowers she will. The damn Carps can sleep for a few more minutes!”

  The two of them continued going back and forth for a good while, leaving enough time for Crudia to play, sniff and whatever else Raccon Dogs like to do. Gosh, it felt like watching a child, even though I knew she wasn’t one - it was just her personality, just like me being flawless was.

  The duo of guides finally stopped arguing after a bit, and that meant we could resume our journey. Or, we would have, if I didn’t stop us from doing so. I saw three Archwolves running straight at us.

  “Incoming!”

  Finally, everyone snapped to attention. Crudia ran behind me like last time, and I summoned my weapons, the chitinous shields warping into existence around my forearms.

  Boy, those things were fast. And huge. But this time, I was no level 1. Even though they must have risen in level, it would be me with the upper hand this time around.

  I used [Analyze] on the one running a bit more in the front, already waiting for the snarky comment from the system.

  [The Archwolf juvenile]

  Creature

  Level 9

  You might be thinking that the felines are much bigger and more dangerous than the Canines. In which case, you would be right - as long as you were on Earth. That, thankfully, does not apply here in Exercia.

  And the Archwolf is just a proof of that.

  Did you ever think about combining the body of a wolf, the fur of a Mammoth, teeth as sharp as swords, and the temperament of a spoiled dog that Mark’s neighbour used to take on 2-hour-long walks? No? We sure as hell did, though.

  While these creatures are only juveniles, we promise you that they are strong enough to do what we bred them for - kill players.

  Okay, no remark on me this time? But actually they took a shot at Mark? Good stuff, system descriptor-god-guy or whatever he was! Maybe I’d like it even more if it gave me more juicy stuff to torment Mark with.

  I prepared for the brunt of the attack, holding my ground against the assault I knew would soon come. And then, it did.

  Sharp teeth, snarling and bloodthirsty, appeared in the air, aimed square at my neck. I raised an arm, already anticipating the attack. It bit down, hard, and the teeth foud my shield, the shock reverberating through my body. I could see the teeth cracking. The shock visible in the wolf’s eyes. Oh, he didn’t like that, did he? Too bad!

  “Don’t use skills, Shrimpie! You can do it without them, and we need them for-”

  I zoned him out. Dude, I wasn’t stupid. These creatures, which would definitely have been the end of me a few days ago, were stupidly low level now.

  Crudia dashed around me, her daggers darting out at the neck of the Wolf still clamped down on my shield. They severed the head with one swipe.

  The late-comers were coming in hot now, just a few steps ahead. But with both sides’ numbers even, they were even less scary than before. Who did these wolves think they were? Surely they didn’t think they were still a worthy challenge. I’d show them their mistake of choosing me as an enemy.

  Wordlessly, I split from Crudia, sprinting to meet the wolf on the left.

  He was up for the challenge, for all the intelligence that showed. What was his INT stat? 1? Did he seriously not just see me absolutely embarrass his buddy?

  The wolf jumped into the air, just like his mutt friend from before. I slid under, coming right behind the wolf as he landed, and smashed my shield into his hind leg. The bone bent. The crack was so loud, so delicious, that I barely resisted just smashing its other leg to hear it again. But no. That was not my style. The wolf stared at me now, scared, its matty, beautiful fur on its chest rising and falling in a fast rhythm.

  I’d probably feel pity for it, if only it didn’ just think about to eat me a few moments ago.

  It couldn’t even attempt to dodge my next strike properly. My shield’s blunt edge sank into it’s head without opposition. With its skull caved in, it fell to the ground, and I was rewarded with a +XP notification. Looking behind me, I saw Crudia already sitting on the corpse of another.

  “See, Mark? Didn’t need the skills. You seriously worried about their levels getting higher?”

  I looted the thing too, putting the corpse in my inventory.

  “Ask me again when you fight something that’s level 30,” he barked. “Enough talk, let’s move. We’ve delayed enough.”

  Talisha stepped closer, Crudia in tow, and chuckled quietly - her tone low enough that Mark could not hear, but I could.. “Was that guy born with a stick in his ass, or is it just the tournament?”

  Good question! I had no answer to it though, since I’ve only known Mark since the beginning of the tournament. “Heck if I know. He has his moments, though.”

  “I actually like Mark!” Crudia joined in.

  “It’s not that I dislike Mark, Crudia,” I stepped in. “It’s just that he’s really goddamn tense sometimes, and hard to talk to. I actually tried leaving him back on the first day. He was such a jerk.”

  Talisha snorted. “And he’s not one now?”

  “Less so than before! Anyway, I think he’s just a bit distressed about this whole thing.”

  Nodding, Talisha dropped the subject. “Aren’t we all?”

  I didn’t feel like replying. It was already a bit demotivating that I was seemingly the only one having a good time. No point in beating them to death with my experience.

  I focused on the path ahead, the stretching field of flowers, surrounded by trees on one side. And a swamp in front.

  I could see it now, not far off to the distance. The first stage of the boss fight was ahead of us.