Chapter 18: New Plan
[You have died.]
[Regression Activated.]
[Player has returned to designated checkpoint.]
Lucas’s vision flooded as the familiar vertigo washed over him. A chill clung to his skin, fading slowly as his surroundings came back into focus. He blinked, disoriented, until the scene sharpened.
"You’re the one who made a scene last night. Asking for your own tent like the rest of us weren’t good enough to sleep near."
The voice struck a chord of recognition. Lucas forced his senses to fully return. The same man. The same place. The same confrontation unfolding exactly as before.
[Checkpoint has been restored to the last stable moment prior to death.]
’So this is where I came back to...’
Suddenly, a torrent of memories crashed into him without warning...the horde, the desperate fighting, the searing pain of his death. All of it converged in a horrifying wave.
’Shit—!’
Lucas took to his heels...
The man and everyone present stared at him in confusion, but he paid them no mind. He sprinted through the camp, weaving between tents and startled people as he raced toward the central tent.
’Colt. I need to find Colt.’
He burst into the area of the main tent, only to be seized by a guard who wrapped strong arms around his waist, keeping him in place.
"Colt! Where are you?!" Lucas shouted, struggling against the man
"Colt—!"
"Shut up, brat!" the guard snarled. "You have no right to address the Lord that way."
"Where is he? Tell him to come out here—now!"
Another guard drew his sword, eyes narrowing. "If you don’t keep your mouth shut, I’ll shut it for you. Permanently."
Lucas twisted and kicked, trying desperately to break free, but the man’s grip remained unyielding.
"What is all this noise?"
Colt emerged from the tent, his expression one of clear irritation.
His gaze settled on Lucas, still restrained by the guard, and recognition flickered across his face.
"You’re with the new group that arrived yesterday." Colt stepped forward. "May I ask why you have chosen to humiliate yourself in this manner? Surely you must have a reason—"
"They’re coming," Lucas cut him off.
Colt’s brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"
"They’re coming," Lucas repeated, his voice steady and urgent. "Bora....Avallion. Dozens of them. They’re heading straight for the camp. Right now."
Colt scoffed. "And what makes you think I would believe such a claim—"
"You sent out a patrol earlier, didn’t you?" Lucas interrupted again, his tone cold and calculating as he locked eyes with Colt. "Have they returned yet?"
Colt’s expression shifted. "No, they haven’t—"
Lucas pressed on. "Then let me be clear. Any minute now, two of those guards will come running in here to tell you exactly what I just said."
The camp fell into a tense silence. Colt studied Lucas carefully while the boy remained pinned in the guard’s arms.
One of the other guards spoke up. "My Lord, we can’t trust the words of this child. Word has spread that he is nothing more than a discontented troublemaker—"
"Colt—get Colt, now."
The command cut through the air. Colt glanced once more at Lucas, then moved with purpose. Moments later, the two battered guards were brought forward and laid carefully on the ground.
Two... two guards had come back... just as Lucas said.
"What happened?" Colt demanded. "Where is the rest of the patrol?"
"Dead." The survivor’s voice was flat. "All of them. We were three miles out when they came out of nowhere. Not one or two—dozens. Bora everywhere, with Avallion mixed among them. More than I’ve ever seen together."
Colt turned sharply toward Lucas. "How many?"
"I don’t know," the guard whispered. "We didn’t stop to count. We just ran. They’re not scattered... they’re moving as one. Straight toward the camp."
Colt rose and approached Lucas, his demeanor now far more serious. "You were right. The camp is in grave danger. But how did you know?"
"That isn’t important right now," Lucas replied. "What matters is gathering everyone together. It’s o your advantage, isn’t it?"
Colt’s eyes narrowed slightly, surprise flickering across his face. If this boy meant what he suspected...
Lucas continued, as if reading the man’s doubt. "Your ability. It grows stronger with more people around you."
Colt’s eyes widened. "How did you—?"
A piercing scream shattered the moment.
A guard came running into the clearing. "Colt! We’ve been breached!"
Chaos erupted. Everyone rushed outside, Lucas sprinting ahead of the others.
[Warning: Multiple Avallion Class Entities Detected.]
[Multiple Bora Class Entities Detected.]
[Objective: Survive.]
[Survival probability: 21%.]
"Everyone! Get to Colt—now!" Lucas shouted.
Colt planted himself at the center of the camp and summoned his weapon. Sparks of light condensed rapidly into the massive war-hammer.
[Skill Activated: Warlord’s Grip.]
"You heard the boy!" Colt roared. "To me! Move!"
People surged toward him in a desperate tide. Lucas drove a flaming fist into the side of an oncoming Bora, sending it reeling.
Colt swung his hammer in a wide arc, striking an Avallion mid-dive. The impact slammed the creature into the ground with enough force to shake the earth.
"We need more people!" Lucas called out.
He broke away from the forming cluster and scanned the camp for survivors.
In the distance, he spotted Iris, Bertram, and Callum locked in combat against a swarm of beasts. Iris’s arrows flew with deadly accuracy, finding gaps in armor, while Bertram swung fiercely at an Avallion circling overhead.
"Iris! Get to Colt!" Lucas shouted as he ran toward them. "The more people around him, the stronger his ability becomes!"
Iris glanced back, relief flashing across her face as she saw him.
**WHOOSH.**
**THWACK.**
She released an arrow that tore through the throat of an Avallion diving directly at Lucas. The creature shrieked and plummeted. Lucas flinched, realizing he had not even noticed the beast.
"Did you know this would happen?" Iris asked as she fell in beside him, still firing.
"I had an idea," Lucas replied. "Don’t worry. This time, I have a plan."
Iris loosed another arrow. "I’m listening."
Lucas explained quickly as they ran toward Colt’s position with the others. "You saw the system message, right? The one about us having to survive?"
"Yeah."
"I figured if I could stay alive long enough, something might shift in our favor. We use that window as leverage." He punched another Bora, forcing it back. "I don’t have a perfect strategy to wipe them out yet. Just tactics to keep us breathing a little longer."
"That’s good enough for me," Iris said.
They reached Colt’s formation and joined the growing defense. The war-hammer pulsed with increasing energy, the air around it visibly distorting as Colt brought it down with a thunderous roar.
**BOOM.**
A surge of power flashed like lightning. Several Avallion plummeted from the sky, disoriented and trailing smoke. Those that survived scattered in chaotic patterns.
Lucas’s gaze swept across the battlefield and landed on a lone figure hiding beside a collapsed tent. The man was swinging a broken sword in desperate, wild arcs against encroaching beasts.
Gritting his teeth, Lucas broke from the group once more.
"Lucas!" Iris shouted after him.
He ignored her and dashed forward. An Avallion dove straight toward him from above. He poured every ounce of strength into his legs and kept running.
’What the hell am I doing anyway?’
The thought hit him hard, but he pushed it aside.
The familiar glitched text appeared in his vision.
[Skill: Ignition has evolved.]
His flames surged wildly, climbing from his knuckles up to his forearms. The fire burned brighter and hotter than before.
Surprisingly... it didn’t hurt.
Lucas launched himself into the air, colliding with the diving Avallion.
**BOOM.**
The impact exploded outward. The creature veered off course and crashed in a ball of flames. Lucas rolled free of the wreckage, smoke rising from his arms.
"To Colt," he gasped to the young survivor. "Now."
The man scrambled up and ran.
What Lucas did not realize was that his brilliant display of fire had drawn the attention of other creatures. Another Avallion dove toward him with terrifying speed. He twisted at the last moment but stumbled. Sharp pain spreading through his side.
He clutched the wound, lifting his shirt to reveal a deep gash where bone was visible beneath torn flesh. Blood soaked his clothing.
"I have to make it back..."
He staggered forward, dodging attacks from Bora and Avallion alike. If he could draw them toward Colt’s position, the hammer would handle the rest.
Pain burned through his ribs with every step, but he dragged himself onward.
He was going to make it....
He had to....
**WHOOSH.**
He didn’t....
An Avallion struck faster than he could react. Its talons sank deep into his back, lifting him into the air.
"Ack—!"
Lucas tried to strike back, but his flames had weakened to faint flickers. The creature shrieked, and several more Avallion converged on him from all directions.
Agony consumed him as they tore into his body. Blood poured freely from multiple wounds.
He tried toscream but the hole in his throat prevented any sound from coming out...
The last thing he saw was another Avallion diving directly toward his face before darkness swallowed everything....
[You have died.]
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