Trials of a VRMMO Healer

Chapter 12 - Fatalis

Two days later I was making camp in the Eoril foothills. I had followed the northern path from major trade route to country path to mountain trail. The way now was less a road and more of a suggestion. My virtual body didn't fatigue, but the journey was still slow. A few times I'd hitched a ride on a wagon, which sped things up, but other times I got sidetracked helping adventurers or NPCs near the road. There were no more trader's wagons in the Eoril foothills, however. The terrain here was rocky scrubland and the going was slow. My [Glide] and [Jump] skills came in handy, though. When I came to an area littered with boulders I was able to hop from stone to stone. I started getting cold weather warnings. I actually hadn't known that EO had a temperature system since Ourth and Illium were so temperate. Luckily it looked like the temperature could drop quite a bit before I started taking damage and even then my healing magic could overcome it easily while regenerating my mana.

More worrying than the weather were the monsters. The usual small fry that roamed near the Illium Road were replaced with packs of hunting beasts. In the distance, I could see looming behemoths that reminded me of Splitcrag, but they were a common occurrence. I gave them a wide berth but the wolf-like dervals were another matter. They actually reminded me of synapsids, the branch of mammal-like reptiles that included dimetrodon. But they were quick and held their bodies upright. They also hunted in packs. It was impossible to avoid their attacks from all sides, but I had an ace up my sleeve: When I took a lot of small attacks, I could use my [Sun Scorpion Armor] to summon a pet. Or more. It rapidly drained my accumulated curse, but the scorpids made for a much needed boost to multi-target damage and each one was almost able to take on a single derval.

What about sleep? I guess I should use some time to explain how sleep works in EO. If you sleep while you're logged in, that's it, you're asleep both in-game and in real life. You can, like I've said, play while you're asleep, but that causes disruption to your regular sleep cycle so it's not recommended. When you log out, your avatar remains in the game for 8 hours, after which it disappears. This prevents logging out as a means of evading a death. If you sleep in an inn room or a house, you're safe. There are also occasional safe rooms in dungeons. Another option is to have a pet or companion keep watch over your body until it disappears. However, for travels like mine, your best bet was with a warding site. In fact, my camping set in the game had a ward built-in so it functioned as a safe room. The site actually remained for 24 hours, so when I got back, my log in point would still be safe. It was pretty handy, and more or less a necessity for any travel at low ranks. I did, however, wish I had a mount like Lily did. Paws had made the journey to the mines a quick and easy affair. I actually wondered about that. Was she trained in some kind of taming skill? I should've asked her before I left, but at this point, there was no sense in doing so.

It was early morning on the third day of my journey that I heard horrific screeching in the distance. It sounded like two animals fighting and while my instincts told me I should stay away, I wanted to know what was happening and I figured that being surprised by it would be worse than getting into trouble.

I crept through the boulder field that I had been passing through until I found the source of the commotion. A monster that looked like a massive sabertooth cat was in combat with one that resembled a pangolin, though it was much larger than any I knew about on Earth-- about the size of a horse. The cat was clawing furiously at the pangolin, who was wrapped into a scaly ball, with its long tail wrapped around its head for protection. Still, the scales weren't enough to protect it forever and it was making horrible screams as if it was in pain. I wondered if it couldn't curl up more tightly, but just then, the cat took a massive swipe at the pangolin, causing it to roll over and revealing a baby beneath it. I stood horrified as it grabbed the little creature in its jaws and shook it, eventually letting it fly to the side where it crumpled in a heap. I dove in. I hadn't intended on getting in the way of wildlife. This was a virtual world and I had no idea if these animals even existed when players were around. Besides, they were animals doing what they had to do to survive. But even so, my heart got to me and I couldn't let this go. I swung Earthsinger at the sabertooth, which I could now see had the name 'fatalis'. It connected with a thud and the beast stumbled backward, surprised, but it didn't seem terribly hurt. It swiped at me with a massive paw but I dodged backwards. It didn't look like it was taking this seriously. Instead it seemed to be testing me, trying to figure out what my reaction would be.

The monsters in EO were quite varied. While most were more straightforward and aggressive than an animal in the real world, others were cautious or even seemed intelligent. On Earth, predators didn't engage in needless fights. This is something that people tend to forget. Broken bones or infections could kill a predator even if they managed to take down their prey. It wasn't like a game where the stakes were low. If you were unlikely to get second chances, even a powerful animal would hesitate and rarely fight to the death if it could be helped. But, of course, that kind of behavior would be kind of boring in a game. So I could see why so many of the monsters attacked anyone around with a blind fury. However, no ecosystem could survive that way, so it seemed that some monsters had more realistic behaviors.

The fatalis had trouble figuring out how much of a threat I was. I was much smaller than it was, but I had charged in and given it a solid smack on the head and I was standing my ground. It crouched. I suppose it figured it could take me on. That seemed like a solid choice for a creature like this, which couldn't judge my weapons and armor. The fatalis pounced, trying to pin me down and deliver a bite with its massive saber teeth. But I was ready. I leapt into the air as it came at me and landed on its back. These wings weren't just for show. It wheeled and tried to throw me but I delivered several more punishing blows to its skull and neck. It was agile but stocky and didn't seem to have the flexibility to throw me from its back. Plus I'd actually gotten used to riding on an animal much like this one. I poured my mana into my agility and strength and hit it again and again until eventually it collapsed. It laid on the ground panting and stunned and I couldn't help but feel sorry for it. I wasn't sure if it felt anything like real pain or fear but it certainly looked pitiful. I put the fatalis out of its misery and turned my attention to its prey.

The adult pangolin was still. I was certain it was dead. I rushed to its baby. It, too was in awful shape. I began to cast Heal, but nothing happened. I tried again. It just looked up at me, laboring to breathe. My stomach sank. This was a game. Magic wasn't, well, magic. It was just a system, just numbers. This little creature wasn't a pet or an ally, so my magic had no effect on it. I felt like I was panicking, but there had to be something I could do. Maybe someone with the appropriate skills was waiting at the spirit keeper's village. I wasn't sure how far I was from it but it was my only option at this point. I came up with a plan. Summoning my camping set, I took the tent from my camping kit and using the fabric and rods I fashioned a crude sling and lifted the baby pangolin into it. I strapped it to my back and began the climb up the hill.

I had been avoiding burning my mana for travel but that was no longer an option. Instead, I continued to channel it, albeit slowly, into strength and agility. I wasn't tired, but the creature on my back was still heavy. It was about the size of a large dog and I was smaller than the average human and not a strength specialized build. The air grew thick with mist as I climbed and the visibility dropped. I followed the river. It was all I could do. I climbed for hours, stopping occasionally to regenerate mana and check on the baby. It was hanging on by a thread, but still alive.

My climb felt like it would never end but suddenly the fog broke as I crested a rise and I could see my destination. A wide, roughly circular lake was nestled between the mountains. From the rock around it, water flowed from a hundred springs, feeding the dark blue depths. Pillars of worked stone were lined up along the shore and even in the water. Beneath the glassy surface of the lake I could see the ruins of a sunken city. About a kilometer to my left I could see a group of stone huts with smoke rising. That had to be the village. I had made it.