The Cleaner

"We can go. There is nothing except one cleaner now," Ater paused, "Probably." The cave entrance was long gone, displaying the snowy weather as strangely temperate, but still chilly. They couldn't stay; they had to leave eventually.

Everyone was hesitant with the eerie quietness, impeccable land that had pale snow, but no bodies. They were cleaned as Ater claimed they would be; it looked as if they were just waiting for the snow to melt away, "Things have changed since five years ago. Five years ago, this place was a wreck - Everything flying everywhere. I believe there was a monstrous incident where some level 100 thing got into the village. Now it's cleaner."

"What d'you mean by 'cleaner'? The caves don't work like you say," Elizabeth huffed as she stepped into the snow, hesitantly, "The snow is still around. So far, everything is gone except the cleaners, which are really really goddamn strong compared to us right now."

An invisible line formed as Strawberry Pudding started to split, going against Ater's words. He was valuable but still somewhat inaccurate, "Nothing you said has been accurate compared to what has happened."

"Everything I've said has been accurate. I said there were cleaners, never said how many, nor did I mention their strength," Ater replied, "I also said that there was a safe place; you're alive, aren't you? That's safe enough." He turned back into a cat and flicked his tail as he walked outside and called for Otto, who complied.

"Where are the cleaners? They should be red," Ater told him. There were only around two red dots circling around the area as Otto squinted and stared.

"There are two and they close to each other, and far from the village and us. We should head over there," Otto concluded, "Before they change positions. It might be harder to get to the village like that." The agreement passed through them as they all slowly headed out.

The snow was cold, biting cold against their ankles, but the village wasn't far and they needed to reach there quickly. Resources were there, it was a village after all.

The trees were empty, except for branches that seemed to change every second as if someone was indecisive with how they looked. The air was still and there was no sign of any previous inhabitants, other than the loose squirrel that would fade after some time.

The ground shifted a bit, uncomfortable under the sudden intrusion, there was a frigid frozen time feeling to everything as the group walked and jogged through the woods. There was no sun, just a blank white sheet of the sky with some greying clouds. There was light, but it wasn't light - Feeling more artificial if anything.

Otto had to look forward, up, right, left, and everywhere else to keep track of where the cleaners were. They were moving together, slowly inching to the border, forcing Otto to rush everyone faster and faster through the denser forest.

The ground was numbing their feet, frostbite most likely setting in, and they haven't even been out for an hour yet. The system was oddly silent for once and his vision clean except for his party members and the group huddled not far, but far enough to avoid easily. It was strange to see.

"We're almost there, about another five hundred meters or so," Otto said.

"Five hundred meters sounds like a lot of walking," Klaus replied, chilled. He was cold, he was freezing, the grey clothes were useless. They really need to get to the village or else they would freeze, and although Ater was constantly reminding them that the stormy weather was much worse there was little comfort in the fact.

"Is there any faster way that's safe?" William asked.

"From where we, no. The cleaners took up positions that make it so that most paths would take us closer than farther, and by closer I mean within a good reach," Otto replied. There was really no safer path, the one they were on was the easiest and safest, but it wasn't the fastest.

Otto looked back as the cleaners made a sudden turn and began to head straight for them at a startling pace, "Guys, I think the cleaners found our position somehow, we have to get going!"

"Didn't you say this was the safest method?" William hauled cold frozen feet, "The safest path that would ensure our safety?!" The group was running, barely catching up to the sudden burst of speed that Otto forced them to use. He made a sharp turn as everyone skidded to turn, the cleaners were following. There was probably some sort of tracker on them or they found an appraiser.

"Ater! Is there any way for those cleaners to appraise an area?" Otto asked, "They're tailing us!" Ater nodded his head as he stumbled over confusing human legs and confusing human balance. His arms flailed from time to time before he turned back into a cat to run faster and faster on small paws. Otto stopped running for a moment to scoop Ater, "Spill or I'll leave you here to get caught."

"They might have found an area appraiser player that offered them some sort of deal," Ater explained, voice bumping along with every jump Otto made, "It's not that uncommon."

"You could have told us this before you damn cat!" Elizabeth yelled. Her hair was flying wildly as she ran and ran, ignoring the pins and needles that came with it. A village would probably provide medical help; The people in this world weren't cruel by what Ater said. The village was a safe haven from his desperation to reach there.

"You are the stupidest, annoying, and lecherous cat in the entire fucking world!"

"Li - huff - z stop yelling," Mei-wan huffed out with some difficulty, "You're wasting energy." Mei-wan's run slowly turned into a jog as she stopped to take a breath, but quickly continued as she spotted a pair of ears that were, for sure, not human.

"They're gaining! Otto!" Mei-wan yelled.

"I know!" Otto ran as he hopped over pieces of wood and fallen trees. Ater wasn't heavy, but he just seemed like an extra burden, his arms were starting to hurt from it, "The village is literally a minute away, we just have to cross the border! There's nothing by the border anyways!"

"There might be a barrier, but probably not," Ater mumbled.

"Stop worrying us!" Elizabeth yelled, still filled with energy and adrenaline before she squeaked and ran faster. A bolt of what looked like blue lightning hit the area beside her, "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Forcing her feet to go forward, using every last bit of her energy as she ran. She could hear the thunderous steps of the two cleaners, a deathly thump and clang as they stamped something on the ground.

"Those Aye-Aye things are close!" Otto pointed above them to spot the slightly cowering monsters, "Avoid the shady spots, stay in the sun, they don't seem to like light too much."

"There isn't a sun!" William retorted, "But I get what you mean!" William's retorts became weaker as he turned weaker, feet turning into the lead as now jogged through the forest, trying his best to stay in the light. He looked up and regretted it, large sickly yellow eyes looked down at him as they stayed far back enough to hide in the shade.

They were nearly hairless and somewhat black, with some patches of worn white hairs. Pruned lips and what appeared to be jagged teeth as they smiled down on him, "All of you... Hurry up!"

"How far are we from the vill-"Hai-rong narrowly avoided a lightning strike, "-age?!" Otto turned around precariously nodded to the last few trees. The monsters were gaining, and she knew that except for Adrian she was the slowest. She ran harder, laboured breaths as she stumbled over large branches and an 'oof' came from behind her.

"Adrian?!"

Hai-rong stopped and helped the other up, only to have lightning nearly hit her, circling around her and Adrian blocking their exit. Mei-wan looked back but continued running.

"Ater, you can escape from the cleaners right?" Ater nodded to Otto's question, "Then I'll get Adrian and Hai-rong, you lead everyone to the barrier and then we'll use the teleport skill. You're sure you can escape?"

"They don't care about me, I'm a familiar," Ater replied, "They assume I'm going where I'm supposed to go. It's a waste to just kill us after every batch," Otto nodded before he dropped Ater. The two separated as Ater led the group to the barrier and Otto ran back to get Hai-rong. Klaus, Mei-wan, William, and Elizabeth slowed down a bit to look behind.

"He's getting Hai-rong and Adrian. The village is in the front and should have a yellow-ish glow to it! When you can see it, run towards it and don't look back!" The three nodded as Ater turned sharp left to take the shortcut he was familiar with.

"Hai-rong!" Otto yelled as he saw the bright yellow lightning creating a barrier. The cleaners appeared wearing heavy black masks with holes carved into them to reveal neon eyes. Black pupils contrasting far too much for it to look pleasing. There wasn't time anyway. Adrian and Hai-rong tried to bang against the wall only to be repelled by the electrical force, shocking them. Otto could see their health go down.

[Player #1373 Li Hai-rong

Level 1

HP: 500/1000

M: 150/700

S: 200

AG: 500

DEX: 650

RR: 150HP/min

Skills: Lie Detector, Mana Ball, Elemental Transfer, Reconstructed Mana Ball

Class: Mage

Party: Strawberry Pudding (Member)]

[Player #1873: Adrian Radu

Level 1

HP: 1000/1500

M: 100

S: 550

AG: 150

DEX: 350

RR: 10HP/min

Skills: Dance of the Lions (Unusable), Vertical Swing, X-Cut, Slam

Class: Swordsman

Party: Strawberry Pudding (Member)]

"We can't get o-out," Hai-rong yelled back, "The electricity prevents us from leaving!" Otto nodded as the cleaners shot multiple strikes at him, blue, yellow, blue. They didn't seem to be able to shoot another barrier for some time.

An Aye-Aye scratched his arm as he got too close to the shade, smiling as everything started to surround him slowly - The cleaners were messing with him.

"Otto! The barrier is closing in!"

Otto observed everything frantically as he tried to find anything, a weakness - He only needed to touch Hai-rong and Adrian, just a tap. He wasn't even sure if what he was planning would work, but he had to try. The yellow barrier glittered as it laughed at his predicament. The cleaners had stopped their shooting, opting to watch him for a bit.

They were lanky and completely doused in black except for their eyes. They didn't seem to get hurt and there were swirls near the edges of their faces. Black hands more like claws pointed at him and shot again. missing by a wide range on purpose. Wide grins showing rotted teeth smiled in glee as Otto dodged for no reason, not that he knew the shots wouldn't hit.

"Hai-rong! Is there anything strange about the barrier?!" The cleaners were only a couple meters away from him. She shook her head as Otto could hear the slice of his shoulder as a long claw scratched him, though it was only the tip of the nail for the huge Aye-aye. He yelled something out in pain as he stumbled, before jumping back to avoid getting too close to the cleaners.

The barrier Hai-rong and Adrian were stuck in closed in further, causing sparks to erupt as they bumped into each other. It was then Hai-rong noticed it, her foot went under the barrier, a single small opening that went round the entire barrier. It was too small for her to go under but large enough to make sure the lightning barrier didn't touch the ground.

"Otto, the barrier isn't completely on the g-ground!" Hai-rong squeaked near the end as a small shock went through, her health going down piece by piece, "The barrier is a couple centimeters above the ground!"

Realization dawned on him and the cleaners - The barrier could be stopped as long as it was grounded.

"Hai-rong, you need to use some earth spell and bring the ground up!" Otto narrowly dodged a swipe from an Aye-aye but was grazed by a blue electric bolt that went past him, disintegrating the tree.

Otto grabbed his gun out of his inventory, risking a hit, and shot two bullets at the cleaners, who avoided them deftly. Hai-rong summoned the cube and changed its element before she tried to group more and more rocks together, it was difficult as every shot ended up like a wisp. She was back to back with Adrian and Otto was inching closer to them.

"Work you stupid stupid ball!" She yelled in frustration as dirt collided with the ground. The dirt barely touched the barrier and she could hear the bang and whizz of a bullet. Her arms felt heavy and her eyelids were drooping. The dirt slowly built up as she got the hang of throwing dirt around, mana depleting faster than usual.

She felt tired, but she could see the barrier faltering. Adrian noticed it as well before the entire barrier collapsed.

"Otto!" It was Adrian who yelled, grabbing Hai-rong's weakened figure he reached out to Otto. Otto grabbed his hand as he took a direct shot from one of the cleaners. Gritting his teeth. He ran, grabbed a handful of Hai-rong's hair and used 'Twin Teleportation'. The three disappeared and Ater plopped down in front of the cleaners and their pets.