After leafing through the journal, Ben slapped it closed. He then faced Le’Vieux with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

  Le’Vieux removed his helmet and motioned the journal. “Don’t just stand there, you idiot. Tell me what it says.”

  “Well, everything was going great. The hunters were keeping the Frogmen in check and conducting regular patrols. The Frogmen numbers had been kept in check with regular cullings. Then, toward the end of the journal, one of the patrols noticed a change in their behavior. The commander didn’t think much of it and asked the hunters to watch it. The next patrol discovered an increase in their numbers. Four hunters were ordered on a mass quelling mission, fearing their numbers would quickly get out of control.” Ben explained.

  Le’Vieux nodded. “Seems like they followed the correct procedure to me. Is there anything about what happened after?”

  “The four didn’t return, and the others started worrying. The commander ordered everyone to get geared up to head out to the lake—something about not leaving any man behind. The horde arrived when they reached the gate, and an outpost defense was orchestrated. That’s where it ends.”

  Le’Vieux scratched his chin. “The way it ends there suggests they must have fought to the last man. That only adds to the mystery surrounding the missing bodies. We can't even be sure if there are any survivors. Hmm, does it say anything about when that battle occurred?”

  “There’s nothing about any dates from what I can tell… Unless you guys use a different calendar from ours on Earth.” Ben opened the journal again, flicked to the last entry, and held it out. “I think it’s better if you take a look.”

  “It happened almost a week ago. Hang on…” It looked like Le’Vieux started doing something with his system. His eyes darted around, followed by the movement of his hand as if he were selecting some options.

  “What’s going on?” Ben asked.

  “This outpost must be manned at all times. As you saw on the map, these mountains connect with all the regions of the Canrich Kingdom. I can’t allow these Frogmen to wreak havoc everywhere; otherwise, the people will lose confidence in us. I’ve notified my Marshalls to get a platoon down here tomorrow and get things back in order.” Once he was finished, he turned his attention back to Ben, “Now, I did say we would do some training, but we’ll have to leave that for another time. Right now, what matters is that we go to the lake, figure out what’s happening, and rescue any survivors.”

  What? Is this guy for real?

  The whole thing with the scorpions crept into Ben’s mind, and he didn’t want to be in another situation like that again if he could help it. Crossing his arms, he frowned. “That’ll mean we’ll be fighting that entire horde by ourselves. Don’t you think waiting for backup is the responsible thing to do here?”

  Le’Vieux smirked, “What? Are you scared to go into combat with an old man like me? You handled that small group of Frogmen better than some of my knights. You’ll be alright if you stay in your van and keep moving. I will fight them on foot.” He must have noticed the skeptical look on Ben’s face and added, “You might think me an old fool, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve… How about this? Let’s compete to see who can defeat the most.”

  “Okay… And whose going to keep count?” Ben asked, scrunching his forehead.

  “The system, of course,” Le’Vieux replied. He then started doing the same thing and flicked through his system. “I’ll sweeten up the deal if you can beat me.”

  Oh great! It’s got a counter!

  Ben slowed the van down.

  The trail from the outpost led them straight to the lake. When they went over the hill overlooking the area, the horde started moving towards them. Even with the dim light coming through the thick cloud cover above, it was enough to see more emerging from the flora around the water.

  Ben’s heart thumped with adrenaline, pumping him for the slaughter ahead.

  “There must be over a hundred of them,” Le’Vieux stated before his hand shot towards the door latch. “Let me get out here.”

  When the van stopped, Le’Vieux jumped out and held two vials in his hand. One contained a Mirium portion, and the other was dark green. He ripped the corks off with his teeth before swallowing them.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Ahh, it’s time for some extermination,” Le’Vieux muttered, stretching his back and arms out. “Good luck.” He finished, closing the door with his elbow. He then put on his helmet and summoned twin swords before advancing.

  What an idiot! Dual-wielding or not, he can’t take them all on like that!

  Smirking, Ben revved the engine before moving towards the horde. The idea of a competition with the Grand Master got his blood flowing, but he was concerned about driving over the grass. When his tires went off-trail, they seemed to hold traction with the ground as it seemed dry.

  Passing Le'Vieux, he caught a glimpse of his armor encased in a crimson glow, forming a crimson sphere. It expelled heat waves like the ones he had seen in the desert and started zapping sparks of electricity. Strange symbols resembling runes started burning down the spine of his swords seconds before he leaped forward with unnatural speed.

  What the heck!

  Ben saw him crash head-on into the horde, swinging and slicing the creatures with dozens of strikes—dismembered body parts of the Frogmen, which started flying all around before they were set ablaze.

  Damn it! I can’t lose to an old man!

  [Tally: Ben: 0, Le’Vieux: 13]

  Squeezing the steering wheel tighter, Ben positioned the van so that he could plow through as many enemies as possible. Before crashing into the horde, he noticed that they looked and acted differently from the ones he had encountered when going to the outpost. They leaped at him with their razor-sharp claws, swiping them side to side. Their skin appeared darker, almost grey in some places, and they were covered in pitch-black veins across their entire bodies as if they were suffering from a serious blood infection.

  Ben didn’t have time to think as he made contact. He heard the cracking and crunching of bones as their body parts burst open upon impact. The van was splattered with gooey, tar-like black blood. The resistance of the piling bodies started to slow the van down. Ben shifted down and pressed more on the gas in time before losing too much momentum. He then steered towards another group and mowed them down.

  Ben held his nose as a disgusting stench resembling rotting corpses filled the cabin. He felt like vomiting but held it back. Sweat ran down his head, but he couldn’t afford to let go of the steering wheel to wipe it as the ones he missed started to take swings. Their blade-like claws scratched and scraped the body panels, causing nail-biting sounds throughout the cabin. He heard their shrieks and squeals getting louder in the back and realized some of their strikes must have gone through.

  [Van Condition Critical: 25%]

  Getting too close to the bushes and trees, he swerved out of the way and pressed harder on the gas. His tires spun, tossing a mixture of gravel, dirt, and creature guts into the air. He knew the van couldn’t take anymore and hit the repair function.

  [Tally: Ben: 37, Le’Vieux: 44]

  [Total Experience Gained: +185XP]

  [Van condition: 62%]

  While making his way to open ground, shockwaves of magical energy caught Ben's attention. The old knight swung his swords so forcefully that the creatures exploded upon impact like landmines, covering his crimson sphere in black goo. The red sparks zapped the blood away almost instantly. Between strikes, Le’Vieux appeared to use an ability that seemed to radiate powerful blasts, which knocked back three or four creatures at a time while causing the ground to tremble.

  What a madman!

  Ben steered in a circle, going around Le’Vieux to give the panels extra time to get fixed. Twisting his head, he noticed Le’Vieux’s attacks had become sluggish. The enemies had started piling up before him, and it looked like they would surround him within the next few moments. As much as that would help Ben win the competition, he wasn’t the type to allow anyone to get swamped like that. An idea popped into his head, and he positioned the van for another mow down. He steered around the knight and hit the ones creeping upon his rear.

  Ben noticed a few were left and began finishing them off.

  [Tally: Ben: 71, Le’Vieux: 68]

  [Total Experience Gained: +170XP]

  [Van condition: 52%]

  [You are now Level 3: +1 Skill Point Available.]

  [Order of the Hollow Moon (Faction): You have been promoted to Levy.]

  Le’Vieux’s crimson sphere started gleaming more. The zapping became more apparent as if it was charging up. Suddenly, it exploded, causing red lightning to bolt across the remaining three Frogmen, frying them instantly.

  [Tally: Ben: 71, Le’Vieux: 71]

  Ben squished through a pile of bodies and parked near Le'Vieux, who was panting profusely.

  The old knight opened the door, putting his helmet and swords away. “Phew, haven't had exercise like that in a long time… You know I would have won that if you didn’t butt in like you did.”

  Ben noticed the knight's armor miraculously survived any tarnishing from the mess of blood and guts. “Yeah… It looked more like you were about to get buried under them.”

  “Nonsense.” Le’Vieux shook his head before chuckling. “Don’t worry, you did well today. At least I can depend on you in times of great need. Not many can say they drew with me in this competition.” He then looked around at the mess of corpses. “Their behavior was more aggressive than normal.”

  Ben nodded. “Yeah, and they nearly ripped my van to shreds. What’s the deal with their blood? Looks like a severe blood infection to me.”

  Le’Vieux shook his head, “That’s not the only odd thing about them. In the ones I decapitated, I noticed leech-like creatures lodged in their necks. You might not have noticed them, but I was right before them and saw the dark aura they were giving off.”

  Ben scratched his head, “Huh? I’ve come across blood-sucking leeches, but never ones that reside in the necks of their victims. Hang on. If they can infect these Frogmen like that, they should be able to do the same with humans.”

  “Hmm, I believe you may be right about that. We should go to the nesting area and see if there are any clues about what’s going on. Besides, If there were any survivors, they would have been taken there.” Le’Vieux pointed at the other end of the lake.

  There were more bushes and trees, and the water looked dark greenish, making it look like a swamp.

  Ben shook his head. “It was a little too far from comfort driving on this grass. My van will get stuck in that. Besides, what if there are more creatures there? I can't fight them like you can.”

  Le’Vieux scrunched his forehead as if he was disappointed. “Ben, you worry too much. We just took most of them out. The remainder shouldn’t be a problem if you ask me. Just stay behind me, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Oh yeah! Is that so you can carry on adding to your tally?” Ben spoke with narrowed eyes.

  Le’Vieux bobbed his head with a grin. “Is that what you’re worried about? We both drew fair and square. You have my word that the tally ends here.” He quickly did something with his system when a notification popped up.

  [Quest: Competition (The Proving Grounds). Result: Draw. Rewards: None.]

  “There you go. Come now, let’s get over there.” Le’Vieux motioned.