Wade stumbled back, his boots sinking into the swamp muck as the water surged.
The monster lunged past him, missing by inches. He barely caught his first glimpse of it in the spray.
The Bog Sli was bigger than he’d imagined.
Its body was a heaving mass of faintly translucent muck. At its center was a jagged mouth lined with serrated edges, opening and closing with a wet screech that sounded disturbingly like a bird crying out in pain.
Wade’s stomach turned at the sight, but he raised his sword, waiting for Ingrid’s arrow to sing past his ear. None ca.
The sli lunged again, faster than it had any right to be.
Wade leaned back, water splashing as he twisted his body, then swung with everything he had.
There was a muffled thump as the edge of his sword t resistance in the air, then smashed through, sending the creature flying in a wave of muck.
He staggered, heart pounding, and his eyes darted back to the herb.
The Nightbloom’s petals sat quiet in the muck, almost mocking him with how calm it looked.
He didn’t hesitate. 200 gold coins was not the kind of money he could scoff at.
Wade lunged forward, sword in one hand, and plucked the flower with the other.
Golden letters flickered before his eyes as he shoved it into his Inventory.
[Nightbloom acquired.]
Relief surged through him, but it lasted only a second.
The sli surged again, its serrated mouth screeching as it launched itself at him.
Wade swore and slashed wildly. His blade cut through its body, scattering muck across the water, but the thing kept pulling itself back together.
His heart hamred. His arms burned from just the two swings he’d done, but he refused to let the sword fall.
"Wade!" Rowan’s voice pierced through the loud beating of his heart. "You need to shear it in two! Split it down the middle or it’ll keep healing itself!"
Wade gritted his teeth, ducking another screeching lunge. His sword t the sli with a muffled thump.
Again, and again, until he finally angled his sword at just the right angle. With a desperate yell, he swung through, shearing the mass clean in half.
The sli writhed, its pieces quivering before lting into the water, leaving behind only a faint shimr of residue.
Wade staggered, his body soaked. His clothes clung to him, the cold swamp water dripping from every limb.
He gasped for breath, lowering his sword, when the notification appeared.
Ding!
[Congratulations. You have slain: Bog Sli.]
The golden letters blood to life before him. Wade let out a shaky laugh, relief spilling into his chest.
He’d done it! But then, his instincts scread.
He spun, his perception alert enough now that even when he wasn’t paying full attention, he could sense every ripple within a small radius around him.
It was like having a danger sense. He ducked instinctively as another sli flew overhead, its maw snapping where his head had just been.
Wade roared and swung upwards, his sword eting muck with a wet splash.
The blade split the sli from top to bottom. It shrieked as it fell into two twitching halves that lted into the swamp.
His breath was now ragged, but he didn’t have ti to savor the victory.
Sothing slamd into his back. The impact drove the air from his lungs.
He staggered forward as wet acid burned across his clothes, eating through the fabric and searing into his skin.
The pain tore a scream from his throat. He twisted, shoving the sli off, but so of its corrosive muck splashed onto his arm, sizzling as it ate through flesh.
"Arghh!" Wade yelled, shaking his arm, his sword nearly slipping from his grip.
The sli surged again, but he t it with his sword this ti, his rage and pain fueling his swing.
His sword cut through the monster with a roar, shearing it in two. Its pieces flopped, then twitched, fading into the water like the others.
Ding!
[Congratulations. You have slain: Bog Sli (x2).]
His chest heaved. His back burned like fire, his arm stinging with every drop of water that touched the raw wound.
He looked down at the tattered remains of his tunic, the skin beneath mottled red and raw where the acid had seared him.
Still, he stood, sword in hand, teeth bared against the pain.
For the first ti since they entered the swamp, Sebastian spoke from where he stood watching.
His deep voice carried across the water, sending ripples moving along its surface.
"Well done, Barrett."
Wade turned, sword still raised, chest heaving. Sebastian’s face was carefully neutral, but there was a flicker of approval in his steel gray eyes.
"You didn’t freeze," Sebastian continued. "You listened, you fought, and you won. Good—"
His words cut off.
An instant later, a massive ripple spread across the swamp, rolling outwards in slow, heavy waves.
The water darkened, the mist shivering as if sothing vast stirred beneath it.
Sebastian froze, his expression hardening, all traces of warmth vanishing from his voice. His battle axe shifted in his hands, the blade tilting forward.
Rowan’s calm and easygoing deanor vanished, his face tightening as the orb on his staff pulsed faintly with light.
The swamp had gone silent. There was no sound from insects or birds. Only the widening ripple pushing towards them.
"We have to hold it off." Rowan stepped forward, eyes narrowed at sothing in the distance. "Or there’ll be casualties."
"Yes." Sebastian rumbled. His eyes flicked to Ingrid. "Get him out."
Ingrid’s bow was already raised, arrow drawn. She glanced once at Wade, her eyes uncharacteristically wide, then moved to his side with quick steps through the mud.
"Move," she ordered, her voice cool but urgent.
Wade’s heart thudded in his chest as another ripple shook the water, larger than the last one. Whatever was coming was no simple sli.
And from the look in Sebastian’s eyes, it was sothing even he didn’t take lightly.
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