A Path Of Calling

At the trail of torches, Ando is still holding out on his own trying to fend for himself.

So far, there was no issue about getting overrun or being in a compromised position as he was making good use of mobility with throwables in his hand.

Ando: "How long has this night been going for? I feel like I've been doing this slaughter fest for hours now. Here's a knife for YOU!"

After he threw the knife at the zombie, he continued cutting off their rotten bodies with his copper shortsword in full caution.

Ando was keeping constant check of his surroundings to avoid getting cornered.

And when he have his eyes on a different target, he threw one knife while demonstrating scarring illustrations.

Ando: "Come on, flesh eaters! I still have more knives to spare!! You better come get some!!"

Not long after, a faint yell can be heard from a distance.

??: "Help!"

Ando wasn't sure where it directed from but he knew whose voice he heard.

Ando: "Loki?"

When he muttered, he set his eyes on the dark forest. While Ando's attention was diverted, the zombies did not waste the opportunity to spread their numbers in his space of domain.

Ando: "Oh- whoa!! Get away!!"

Ando immediately take a step back to recover his bearings. Then he sprinted off towards the unlit forest to where the shout came from, leaving the trail of torches.

Ando: "HOLD ON, I'M COMING!!"

While making his way to the forest, he spots a demon eye flying across the area of his path.

The demon eye then spotted him and made a downward dive at his runway road.

Ando: "Ah jeez.. I don't have time for you. Out of the way!"

Ando immediately threw a throwing knife at the eyeball, the floating mob took a hit and changed course of its flight path.

After that encounter, zombies and demon eyes keep on showing up at his passageway.

Regardless of the mobs' numbers, he did not slow down and continued outrunning them into the forest.

He threw knives and shoves his sword at the mob whenever they managed to get close to him or were getting in the way.

While running nonstop, he enters the forest.

Ando mindlessly trudged and bypass lots of trees going in his way while checking sides and corners for surprise encounters.

One after another, demon eyes that strolls the forest have spotted him and went after him but Ando ignores them and use the trees to block their line of sight.

Ando: "Loki!! Where are you?!"

As Ando shouted, a mysterious figure suddenly comes out from out of nowhere and attacks.

Ando blocks the attack coming from above with his copper shortsword.

At that moment, he recognizes the assailant.

Ando: "What the? Elma?!"

Elma: "Huh?! You- you're Ando, right?!"

The two sword wielders reunited in the middle of the forest in abrupt fashion.

Elma: "What are you doing here?"

Ando: "What am I doing?! Uhh.. taking out some stress.. is all!"

Elma: "Right~... then I can assume that it's Loki's voice that I heard earlier?"

Ando: "What?! You heard him too?!"

Just then, Loki's shout can be heard a little clearer.

Loki: "Guys!! Where are you?!!"

Ando: "Ah... Hey come on, Elma. Let's get to him!"

As Ando is on the move, Elma reluctantly walks along.

Elma: "Haa.. fine. You know which way we were going?!"

Ando, ignoring the question, continues treading along towards the faint voice's direction while Elma stays behind him.

Elma: "Hey, you're not going to get us killed when we get there, right?!"

Ando: "What now?! Are you trying to say you can't carry your own weight?!"

Elma: (Ugh.. this guy is as ludicrous as that lady anger-issues, huh.) "Hey, unlike you I've been holding out here by myself with just a short sword!"

Ando: (Ah, goodness me.. this guy is such a show-off, I tell you.) "Hey, we're right out here in the middle of the forest so we're never prone to danger, okay?! Plus we'll barely manage to hold out on our own because we're still shit anyways!!"

Elma: (There's no 'we' here, you dimwit.) "So what do you suggest we should do, regroup and then die?! I'm not stupid enough to die a second time!!"

Ando: "Why concern about dying when we can respawn?!"

Elma: "How about getting a taste of gruesome death for yourself?! Would you give it a try?!"

Ando: "Uhh.. (A gruesome death.. I remember Andrew saying about corpses getting dissipated. Ugh, I don't wanna imagine it.) No. I'll pass."

Elma: "Yeah, that's what I thought. Well if you're gonna plan something, at least make it foolproof!" (Though the question should be, how do we deal with this..)

Elma and Ando, mindlessly treading across the woods, gets deep in thought.

Elma: (There's no telling if we can last through this whole night with just these useless junk. I only got 4 bombs and a crappy shortsword here. I may have been improving my sword skills but no way my skills would be able to cover someone's backs. And my arm has been numb from enduring those heavy blows. What can I do in this situation...)

Ando: (We're up against an entire herd of zombies and demon eyes. Our firepower is nothing more than garbage. If we just get in there head first, we'll get surrounded and cornered in no time. If we're going to fight anyways, we need a more viable strategy. Though our equipment will not suffice in this ordeal, we should be able to push them back if we're nitpicking them one by one.)

As they were about to decide on things, they finally exited the dark forest and sees a horde of zombies. In front of them was zombies marching towards a mountain and a total of almost a hundred in numbers. Let's not forget about the numerous airborne fluttering eyesacks floating above the ground.

Ando: "No wonder I couldn't spot any demon eye in my area. They were already gathering in here."

And then Loki's cry for help ensues while sniping eyeballs and flesh eaters closing into his position.

Loki: "GUYS!! CAN I GET A HAND HERE!!!"

The zombies, with their backs turned, switched directions and faced the two oblivious sword wielders.

The two boy scouts have their one foot on the back.

Elma: "Hoh whoa, would you look at that. Now that is a thriller."

Ando: "Hey man, I think you're meant to say terror here.."

Elma: "Ooh.. what's this now? You were fascinated by the cave before, now you don't want to deal with these monsters?"

Ando: "Since when did I say I don't want to deal with them?! How about you need to back off since you have nothing to offer!"

Elma: "Oh. But as a solid gamer, I have developed my battle sense. And with this 'deadly' blade, I will tear those rotheads to shreds! I don't need to hold back as long as I have a sword! How about you?!"

Ando: "Well I have.. *peeks at the sword's name tag* this 'nimble' shortsword! And with the free throwing knives on my other hand, I'll be able to fight those at a distance!"

Elma checks the wielded lethals Ando mentioned. When he confirmed it, Elma makes remarks in a casual but sarcastic tone.

Elma: "Ahh you can dual wield too, that- that's something... Never thought you would actually heed my advice. Good to note."

Ando: "Should we just get to the poor guy already. Zombies are already surrounding us."

When the zombies got the two surrounded, Elma and Ando pushed forward.

Elma swings his shortsword hard whenever a zombie got to his face and shove them off course, carving a path.

Ando would throw his throwing knife at the zombie first before stabbing them in the face with his 'nimble' shortsword when he got close and push them aside to make way.

The two sword wielders forces their way into the horde to regroup with the lonely archer.

Loki on the other hand, continues firing arrows at the rushing mobs while keeping the hovering demon eyes at bay.

Loki: "Ah great.. they're now at the middle of the mess after all that useless talk. They're not going to get here for a while. I need to buy myself some time on my own."

Loki then step towards the horde. As he gets close enough, he would then step to the side making distractions and the horde followed suit.

When Loki made the zombies look at his way, he shots them in the face with barrage of arrows while moving his legs.

As he shoot his arrows, he would look at the slot and count the remaining ammo.

Loki: "163 rounds left! I couldn't mine more wood and stone if I wanted to! Gotta distract these zombies with all I have!"

In the middle of his shooting, he would move in zigzags and bait the other sides or moving in circles to hinder the horde's relentless charge.

Loki: "There's no stopping you, freaks! Just gotta keep buying some time!!"

Meanwhile, the two sword wielders kept pushing forward.

One demon eye was about to wail Ando, he would then throw his throwing knife at the hovering eye and flick it off-course.

Another demon eye went and attacked Elma, he then stabbed the zombie's face and pulled the zombie towards the eyeball while he makes his way forward.

Both guys would show-off their ingenuity with the only tools they have.

And the desperate struggle continues..

***

The first night has spent past midnight and on the first floor inside of the wooden cabin lies Andrew the Guide sitting in his chair while staring at something in the air.

"Our first night is almost over. Now what to do.."

After a long while, he unveils a worn-out book.

"... Aren't the boys doing too well out there? They're still at it even though they're not supposed to... Oh well, I could bet they've made some exploits already."

Then he opened the book with a voice full of relief.

"Good thing we made more additions and tweaks. Old fundamentals wouldn't work for a great game made with passion like this."

The outline content of the book reveals..

[The Simple Fundamentals]

"They need to strive more than just this! You boys better stand your ground!"

***

As the sword wielders continued pushing their way, one of them is having a hard time adjusting in tight spaces.

Ando: "Freaking zombies! Move out of the way!"

After stabbing them head on shoving them off, he would miss his stab after he would get his shortsword off.

So far, he managed to dodge every strike whenever he got too close at the mobs. He was quick, agile, nimble at every move.

But he couldn't break through a stacked group of hordes without properly taking hits.

Ando: (Damnit, this false sense of distance of mine keep getting me, I keep wasting all of my throwing knives. Every time I went to stab, I always feel the need to back away not wanting to get near to these monsters. And once I properly stabbed their rotheads, I almost let go of my weapon as they were really hard to get them off. I took a glance at Elma and he's doing even better than I thought, he would swing his sword nice and hard, properly aimed at the zombie's neck. Perhaps he's gotten used to it. Meanwhile I'm getting nowhere near to becoming a swordsman.)

Ando consecutively throw many throwing knives at one zombie and the zombie stayed in place but not enough to make it step back. With a little health left, the zombie continues to push regardless of the many knives stuck to its body.

Ando pulls his foot back in surprise.

Ando: "What the HELL!! Are you still alive?!!" (Why did I say that sounding like a reference.)

Then he makes a few steps back.

Ando: (I don't know if this is by flawed design but all of this is unbecoming of a sandbox game. These zombies looked terrifying to approach and its absurd difficulty makes it more than just a challenge. This is ridiculous.) "Alright, you group of nutjobs are just PISSING ME OFF!!"

As his anger swells up, he thought deeply.

Ando: (Just relying on these tools alone won't fare against these hardheaded mobs. Think outside of the box. Now that things have become three-dimensional and in a hyper realistic virtual world, we can move and aim in independent directions. Then what I need the most is versatility. I have to engage at these freaks with athleticism)

He displays his copper shortsword out by holding it pointed to his back while the throwing knife were pointed at the zombies.

Ando: "Get out of the WAY!!"

As intensity grows inside Ando, he makes a valiant dash ahead and leaps up high.

He threw a couple of daggers at a specified zombie and twists his upper body, in a way he would not want to face the monster head-on, and attacks his enemies indirectly.

He twists his body, spins around with his sword out and made a circular vertical slash while in midair. By chance, the attack hit the zombie's shoulder. The inflicted zombie got pushed back hard to the ground but not enough to slice it in half.

Ando: "Nn..! What the..?! Did I pushed them off?!"

The horde is still going rampant and rushes at Ando, giving the sword wielder no time to think.

Ando: "Whatever, I can't dawdle in front of these freaks now!"

Ando then trampled over the downed zombie and continues to push.

He then makes a big swing while approaching the next zombie without minding their gap of distance.

The swing missed but he continues the sword's motion and made another circular slash. The attack hits the zombie but not by fluke this time. The zombie got knocked out of the way like being blasted with a stopping power.

Ando: "Hnn?!! It happened again.."

Ando looks at his copper shortsword. At a glance, the sword was not dull or sharp, just a thin blunt sword with a pointy tip like a 'nimble' weapon would have.

The fact that he made a 'nimble' weapon knock off a hardened zombie would be astounding for the people that goes for the melee build.

Then Ando would glance back at the horde that confronts him.

Ando: "Maybe I'm not fit for the sword but if I can push you monsters with what I have right now, then better grit those rotten teeth!"

Ando lowers his knees and jumped high.

Ando: "HAAAHH!!!"

He uncontrollably spins around with his sword out while throwing out daggers randomly.

And attacks.

***

Elma, on the other hand, continued breezing through the impeccable numbers of zombies.

Elma: "My arm feel so heavy and lethargic."

Though not with ease.

Elma has used the copper shortsword longer than the two other boys in the group.

Elma: (They are tough to kill but their durability are not that impeccable. They can still be killed by accumulated damage but what's the point of wearing off their HP and eliminating a few if they can overwhelm us with their numbers. My arm has definitely became sluggish and is too tired to keep slicing up the monsters that seemingly has no end in sight.)

He quickly summarized his situation internally.

Elma: (And here I thought I could take on a horde. This is not looking good, bruv.) "I need something to keep me up with the killing spree."

Right after making that statement, the swordplay stopped when it hit the zombie's shoulder. It was a zombie holding another zombie's arm.

Before Elma could make a move, the zombie flails its weapon at his face.

Elma quickly ducks, barely managing to avoid a fatal attack and jumps back to a safe distance.

Elma: "Fuckin' hell! It almost got me."

His reckless push to the mountain was finally stopped by a mob holding a detached arm.

Elma briefly glances at the armed zombie.

Elma: "Hnn?!! It's that zombie again! No, but with a different arm.. this time...?"

The arm the zombie was holding had a crooked tip like a crowbar.

The armed zombie, along with the horde, relentlessly rushed at the exhausted swordsman.

Elma looked petrified and he fixes his posture, pointing his shortsword towards the zombies while slowly backing away.

The armed zombie was close enough for Elma to make a quick stab and Elma immediately lunged his weapon.

But before he could line the trajectory, a dire reaction quickly envelope his body and instinctively retracted his attack into parrying the incoming deadly blow.

The sword made an impact to the zombie's weapon but Elma's grip fell apart when both of their weapon slides and the sword flew off of his hand.

Elma: (That crooked tip...)

Elma watched his weapon fly off a short distance before landing 2 meters away from him. He quickly glanced back at the hurling zombie and braced his feet in turn, then kick the zombie with a thrusting kick.

The zombie was momentarily drawn back upon the kick's impact as Elma immediately retreated towards the buried copper shortsword.

Elma took the shortsword off the ground before facing the horde of zombies again. He looked at the horde with groggy vision.

Then internally reassess his circumstances.

Elma: (To think that one zombie would make me let go of my sword, though the power scale wasn't as bad as from when I first faced the armed zombie. Damn, I think I might lose this one. They will not go anywhere until the sun is up. I really needed something to get me off of.. this.. pinch...)

With his hopeless thoughts, his head faltered. Elma passes out.

And by some unknown happening, he slowly looks up at the incoming zombie.

Elma: (Ugh.. the way those freaks come at me nonstop really makes me feel so worked up. Their gross appearance somehow looked very appetizing. They somewhat became so tempting, enticing, delectable. They were much more appealing than I really thought.)

Elma started hallucinating and his keen senses tensed up. He tightens the grip of his sword. Sweats and saliva are dripping.

He felt a tremor of excitement.

Elma: (Maybe it's alright to finally let loose.)

His visual perception slows down. And his vision became stained red.

A pop-up achievement shows up in a gold stripe.

[Bloodlust]

But Elma paid no mind to it. Instead he was focused at the 'appetizers'.

Elma: "You.. you..."

He then had a bloodshot in his eyes.

Elma: "You savory rations!!"

He rushes at the zombies recklessly. As Elma gets closer at the mobs, he already swings his sword wildly before it makes contact at the monster.

The zombie was hit at the neck hard and it slides across the zombie's body so easily. Instead of going towards the mountain, he was focused at the zombie he assaulted.

Elma then attempted making a frenzy of slashes like a killing machine, disregarding his safety despite his recklessness.

But the armed zombie hits the weapon, blocking the blow and making the sword stayed still.

Elma: "You dirty dog.. you think you're that tough when you stop me?!"

Elma draws back his sword and made another hard swing.

When the zombie tries to swing its arm in retaliation, the sword hits the zombie's body first, the sword slides across the body leaving another long scratch.

The zombie forcefully backs away staggering.

Elma: "But you won't last long now that you made me like this!!"

When the armed zombie was floundering about, it darts towards Elma in distortion.

Elma: "Whoa-ho-hoh.. now this is what I like about fighting!!"

Elma's keen senses heightened as he rushes at the rushing zombie.

At the striking distance, the zombie flails its weapon at Elma.

Elma squashed the ground with his lead foot hard at the adjusted distance, stopping his movement.

And the zombie's swing missed its mark, narrowly missing Elma's face.

Elma watched the weapon's motion fly across his vision before lunging himself at the armed zombie and stab it upfront to its decayed chest.

As the zombie was taking in the deadly sword, Elma continued charging through the horde pushing forth the blockade while dragging the zombie like a bulldozer.

Elma swiftly slips into the horde of zombies like a needle.

Before Elma gets to the end of the line, the armed zombie, used as a ballistic shield, swings its weapon to Elma's neck.

While the sword was still stuck at the mob and in the middle of the cramp crowd of monsters, the swordsman drew back his weapon, leaving the armed zombie unattended and collapsed to the ground bumping into the other zombies up front.

Stranded..

Surrounded..

Elma now stands in the middle of the horde nearing the rocky mountain.

Elma: (Arms.. legs.. don't feel anything at the moment.) "... Well then, now that there's nothing that holds me back.."

Elma grins at the situation he was in.

The only swordsman and the horde are at a standstill, and the silence broke off when the zombies starts charging at Elma.

Elma softly says in a hoarse voice.

"No more holding back."

***

Loki was still dragging the horde luring them off course to make space while he waits for the other two guys.

The rocky surface, marked with a crater and the work bench, was getting closer to reach.

Loki: (I can't push these jerks off. Are those guys bidding their time back there?)

Loki stopped in his tracks.

Loki: (Whatever. I'll have to deal with them here.) "Bring it!"

One zombie darts in, Loki aims and shot its eye while reaching the zombie's extended hand, grabs hold of it and lifts it up, the mob swings over to his shoulder and pins it to the ground.

Another zombie was about to tackle Loki and Loki nudged the tip of the bow to its grotesque face while the trajectory of the bow was aimed at its feet. Loki makes his shot and the arrow hits the foot, Loki then backs away.

Loki then fire arrows consecutively.

Loki: "150 rounds left. Still not there yet?!"

The archer continues to fire at the horde.

Next moment, a zombie launched in the air and hit the bowman in the arm. He kicked the zombie and quickly backed away near the work bench.

Loki suffered 75 health points. He is at his final heart.

Loki: "Ah great! I just recovered earlier too! GUYS, ANYTIME NOW!!"

Loki pressed on and shoots with his bow and arrows nonstop.

Consecutively, faster and sharper. But the relentless zombies does not stop.

Loki: "Damn it, damn it, DAMMIT!"

Inch by inch, the zombies drew closer. The lone archer is about to get overrun.

And before the zombies steps in his domain.

*Boom*

An explosion occured right in front of Loki.

The explosion knocks away most of the zombies trying to get the archer.

Behind the explosion enters the two men, both wielding a sword.

Ando: "Hey man, sorry we're late."

Ando threw a knife at a zombie's face.

Elma: "Witness the essence of Crazy El!!"

And Elma finishes it by pining it to the ground and repeatedly slicing its back.

Elma notices the two guys and simply greeted them.

Elma: "Oh.. hey."

Loki and Ando looks at the swordsman's eyes and one eye was dripping with blood.

Ando: "Those eyes.. you became a natural killer now, huh?"

Elma: "Hmm?"

Loki: "Uhh.. okay. Whatever the case, can you guys give me time to mine those stones?!"

Ando: "Huh? Are you gonna dig some resources?"

Loki: "I don't have enough ammo to last us the night! I also need some more wood!"

Ando: "Hey, if you don't have ammo or resources to spare, use your shortsword!"

Loki: "I lost my weapon! It just stuck on a zombie after I swing it!"

Ando: "What about your axe?! Or pickaxe perhaps?!"

Loki: "And lose them too?! What a tall order!!"

As the two guys were bickering, the horde of zombies are closing in on their position pretty fast. Elma, hearing Loki's brief instruction, brings out a bomb.

Elma: "How come both of you hold up like this?! You two look pathetic so stop that already! I'll stall the horde here so go grab what you can! Ando, you help him out!"

After telling them off, Elma threw the 3 bombs left in his arsenal in front of the horde.

When it exploded, Elma leaped into action.

Elma: "Alright, you sons of bitches! Have some of this!!"

Elma proceeds to slice, scratch, and stab any zombie he encounters. He did not let any of them lay a finger on him, much like he did not let them make any attempt at all.

And in the distance, Ando and Loki watched the only swordsman sprung into the horde.

In the spur of the moment, Loki starts into mining some stones. Ando kept watch of their surroundings and spotted a bunch of demon eyes roaming around flying in their area.

When the eyeball starts diving towards them, Ando would throw out his throwing knife at the creature and it would steer themselves off-course.

In the midst of the job, Loki momentarily stops.

Loki: "Hey, could you help me digging this stuff out?!"

Ando: "Nah. Someone has to watch their backs. You can have some of this instead."

Ando threw out an item at Loki.

Loki: "Spare wood?"

Ando: "Also you can use this if your hands aren't full."

When Loki caught Ando's spare pickaxe, an achievement popped out in Loki's point of view.

[You Don't Need Your Hands, Do You?!]

Loki: "... uh okay. So having tools held with both hands counts as an achievement?! Those guys at the top sure knew what they were doing! Sounded like a hoax as well."

Loki gets back into mining while Ando was keeping watch.

Elma was lessening the zombies numbers, slowly but surely. But with the pesky amount of demon eyes roaming high in the night sky, Ando finds himself getting into it.

Ando readies his throwing knives and sword.

Ando: (Just diverting them off-course doesn't make their numbers dwindle. I need to take out some of them.) "Alright you disgusting creeps, feasts your eyes on me!"

The demon eyes lunges themselves at Ando one by one. Ando would throw out his knives at the few eyeballs that would hit him in his blind spots and uses his copper shortsword to the demon eyes that faces him directly with a long, flexible, hard swing.

Ando successfully landed hits at the demon eyes with both of his weapons. And the hovering mobs continued with their assault.

After continuesly repelling the floating creeps, it seems clear that the gouging eyeballs don't have enough mass of weight to pin down the dual wielder as they would get pushed aside brazenly easy.

And in the heat of the moment, Ando looks at his sword in a deep thought.

Ando: (Distance... why am I so hung up in measuring the gap? Perhaps wielding a sword is not meant to be. My weapon of choice should be something that doesn't have a limited extension, that can stretch to hit the enemy at a distance while it can be also used for close encounters. What I need is a yoyo.)

A demon eye was circling around the dual wielder before diving down towards his blind spot.

Ando sensed it coming but then it got shot down by an arrow.

Loki: "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Ando sees Loki striking up a pose of an experienced archer.

Loki: "Leave those floating gremlins to me. Those pesky little pests over there are trying to overpower us by the minute!"

The zombie horde Elma is taking charge of is slowly pushing in against the swordsman.

Ando: "Might have to hold our ground from here. Or we could also wait out until the sun arise."

Elma jumps out of the horde in a flashy way.

Elma: "Oi! Is the work done now?!"

Loki: "I just finished up! I'll keep watch of those things in the sky!"

The horde of zombies and demon eyes approaches and the three boys took their stances up.

When the zombies and demon eyes rushes forth, the three boys fend them off one by one.

They also converse while on the defensive.

Loki: "Though I said that, I don't think we can last this out when dawn arrives! I frequently miss my shots on those flying creeps!"

Ando: "I'll keep watch of those flying rodents! Just keep them at bay!"

Elma: "Says the guy who wants to feel the thrill back at the caves."

Ando: "What's wrong with that?! Also, what's the deal with their numbers?!"

Loki: "Approximately, uh.. more than 50 of them, zombies and demon eyes!"

Ando: "Okay, I think we have to bite more than just chew here!"

Elma: "What?! No! Lessen the numbers first! There's a lot of hoarded funds inside of those flesh eaters!"

Loki: "Never thought I'd hear this maniac say such a thing... Funds? We're a tadbit near to dying right here!"

Elma: "And you should stop being such a wuss! After you lose your weapon, I don't see you improving at all!"

Loki: "How about I give you a taste of piercing into your body?!"

Ando: "Guys, come on! The enemies are right there in front of us! Should we just at least take them out?!"

Loki: "I'm already tired of this shit! We haven't even had dinner yet! Only got midnight snack here!"

Elma: "Take them out this late of the game?! Gee, I wonder what's on the menu tonight?!"

Ando: (They are seriously out of touch and uncooperative. I'm kind of worried of how we going to play out as a team.)

The 3 boys spent their remaining night time treading towards the wooden cabin with lots of zombies and demon eyes going after them.

The night of wildlife is at its end.