The Houndsman 3: A Base-Building LitRPG Adventure by J Pal

Author:J Pal [Pal, J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2022-05-25T16:00:00+00:00

18

A fork appeared in Flint’s path. He didn’t stop to think about a direction. Instead, he picked the right since the inclined appeared gentler. The golem, following silent orders, stayed behind for a short while. Once Flint had ascended enough of the curving tunnel to break line of sight with it, the runes on the golem flared. They didn’t detonate but only increased their luminosity for a handful of moments. Screeches and growls sounded from more than just one specimen. It was as he’d predicted. They hated light.

Only darkness waited ahead, so Flint ordered the golem to follow once again and it obeyed. Before long, the tunnel widened and openings appeared on either side of it. If Flint saw any movement near their mouths, he fired, or the golem slowed momentarily to let him get ahead before flaring its lights again. He didn’t get the time to put adequate distance between them every time, and the reflections hurt his eyes. Flint didn’t dare close his eyes for fear of something jumping out of the shadows at him.

Despite Flint’s wary escape, an abomination successfully caught him. It fell out from behind an outcropping of crystal shards, shielding a hole in the ceiling. The abomination dropped on top of Flint, wrapping four wiry arms around him. The fingers intertwined, locking the limbs around him. Unlike the first specimen he had met, the creature’s bottom set of limbs was a pair of powerful legs. It used them to lift Flint off the ground and jumped forward.

Flint managed to guard his face with a forearm as the pair of them crashed to the ground. The creature’s weight on his back drove the air out of his lungs. Pressure just under his ribcage kept him from inhaling too. To make things worse, another arm wrapped around his neck while its pair locked the limb in place, tightening the hold. He wheezed, scrambling against the attacker. Despite the abomination’s thin, malnourished-looking limbs, Flint failed to break free. It was much stronger than him.

The golem saved him. Flint closed his eyes when the ball made of several tiny stone spears rolled in front of his face. It flared so brightly he saw the flash of light through his eyelids. The abomination screeched, releasing him, and Flint burst into a fit of violent coughs. He tried to get up, but his flesh-leg failed him. His head had gotten light, and spots dominated most of his vision.

The floor’s crystal outcroppings had shredded his face and shirt. The padded sleeves had protected his arms, and he used them to drag himself from the still-screeching creature. Once he’d put adequate distance between them, Flint dared a glance at his attacker. It had a pair of normal eyes and a second set on its forehead diagonally above where its eyebrows should’ve been. Besides them, it had four more that lacked the first two sets’ symmetry.

For a moment Flint regretted pursuing the first specimen, but he corrected himself straight away. They were his way out.

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