The Isekai Game

Where in the Forest?

"Y'all wanna know something cool?" asked Hakim, "There is typically no phone service in the forests".

"Obviously," said Leira, "You think we don't get out to know that"?

Hakim became defensive of his statement, explaining that he meant the game. Leira kept teasing him for his oblivious remarks. Time passed by to the sounds of youths bickering and teasing. What was a long walk felt like minutes.

They stood in the middle of the forest, looking around for a marker of some sort. Nothing stood out despite practically standing on their destination within the dense forest.

Looking closer at their surrounding, Hakim spotted an odd tree with a large trunk surrounded by thick vegetation. After he struck the trunk with a fire spell, it opened up to a second part of the forest.

"Oh, that's crafty," said Leira as the trunk closed itself in mere seconds.

Hakim stated, "Yup, if we move fast enough, we can fit two in there. It'll likely completely seal itself away once we go in".

Leira doubted it was really possible. So Hakim made it simple. She positioned herself to jump I as soon as it opened. He burnt the trunk and tossed her in. He jumped in after her screams. The trunk closed behind in a haste. Vanessa tried to open it again with fire to find that it was sealed shut as predicted.

Leira and Hakim stood locked away in a forest. Nothing seemed indifferent from a normal forest. A few birds chirped in the distance. There was a stag not too far away. They both knew by now there was some sort of trap waiting for them.

They maintained a low profile moving from tree to tree. Leira's bow was ready for fire whereas Hakim held a dagger in each hand.

The two were pretty quiet. Only faint rustling could be heard from their steps. It's expected from those who haven't mastered the art of stealth.

There were very few people that could get away with a complete stealth tactic such as infiltration. Logan, Jaivva, Mimi, Mike, Benji, Carter, and in some cases Nana were among the few. Hakim was merely skilled from years of playing. Despite being a ranger, Leira's skills were still greatly lacking granted she trained with Logan for a bit in December.

Step by step they crept. A stag rammed Hakim towards a tree. He grabbed its antlers to host himself up before he was smashed.

Leira shot the stag on its a*s while Hakim ripped a dagger throughout the stag's throat. He ran over to Leira's side, instructing her to push forward.

Just as they started running through the forest, large birds at the size of vulture swooped down. Hakim countered with a fire spell that temporarily hindered their vision. They jumped over to let the birds miss. Leira fired a few magical arrows to kill the birds.

A loud rustle was coming their way. Hakim lifted Leira onto a tree branch where she saw it was a bear merely a few feet away.

Hakim fell as though the bear was going to strike him. Instead, it jumped into the tree after Leira.

She hopped down while attempting to fire an arrow. The shot completely missed. Luckily hakim followed with an ice attack that froze the bear.

He grabbed her hand and ran once more ran aimlessly through the forest. It grew quiet after a few minutes of running.

Birds were shot dead from the arrows. A stag was rammed into a tree with a ripped throat. Fragment of ice trailed across the grass.

"I ain't a land nav expert, but I think we ran in circles," said Hakim.

"Where's the bear?" asked Leira.

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Hakim walked in circles. There was no bear near. No rustling his way. He kicked leaves to draw its attention. Nothing worked. He turned without care to a repetitive view of the forest when Leira yelled. The bear jumped from a tree, aiming for hakim's back.

He dashed forward without looking back. The bear started its chase, following in awkward zig-zag patterns. A paw blew off when stepping on a pile of leaves. Hakim spun around to send a bolt of lightning to the bear's head, landing back into a sprint.

The bear picked up on the pattern of Hakim's jumps with the trap. It took an alternative route of chase in respect to its prey.

It passed by a tree that blew its head into a concussion. An arrow flew after, blowing off its head.

There were many other traps laid for the dead bear. But it was okay. Hakim knew they would come in handy.

Leira came down from her tree. It was evident they were trapped in this little sector of the forest. The purpose of their mission was unknown. In fact, her mission merely stated to slay the evil within the forest.

Slithering was heard nearby. Not a single trap went off.

"Crap, I hate snakes," said Leira.

"You should think about that before choosing to be a ranger," said Hakim.

Leira paid him no mind. Her pow was ready to fire explosives as needed to kill the snakes. Hakim watched her back, slowly guiding her away from the traps.

Snakes were heard, but not seen anywhere. It was a fear tactic that Hakim was aware of. In the tree was a baby alligator staring at them. Its beady slit eyes turned away from contact.

A single snake rose its narrow black-head. Leira blew an arrow in its face. It shivered about, setting off a trap. The explosion caught another snake that remained hidden.

Hearing her panting, Hakim glanced back to ensure her safety. He finally figured the area which the snakes were coming from. He slowly rotated their positions into a steady crouch.

With a full charge in his free hand, Hakim slammed an AOE lightning attack across the dead brush. All of the snakes in hiding jumped up into a scurry. A few traps set off that killed some.

Leira shot the baby gator, causing its mother to snap towards them. The sound of her large mouth triggered hakim to pull Leira away.