The silent caves part 2
They had just started moving deeper before Mark realised something very important and stopped the party of three before they could advance. As soon as he had stopped, the other two came to a halt too.
"Before we go in we should change. The venom of those monsters is really potent and can really mess you up. I could not even feel my arm for a while. It would be a hindrance if it came in contact with your skin" Mark opened his system to check for anything that could protect them.
Most of the clothes were not really cutting it out but there was one thing in his achievement that could help. Not by a lot but it would certainly provide them with enough time to get rid of it before the venom made any contact with the skin.
He took out the outfit and as soon as he saw the teen eye them, he could tell that the other was not a big fan of it at all.
"Mark, I'm not really into the gothic chains and metallic type of fashion. Are you sure this will help?" the teen asked, his tone betraying his lack of trust in the adult and Mark knew he almost had it coming.
But he did have a reason behind choosing these clothes.
"I've not tested it but most metals do tend to resist poison quite a bit, especially the animal kind. It's a hypothesis for now but one that can very well save our lives" Mark was not sure how much of what he was thinking would help but even a tiny bit helped.
The teen did not look convinced but he did comply when he passed him the long-sleeved t-shirt full of metallic rings. He himself was in a similar shirt with a lot of metallic studs all over the surface.
He was sure that it had been for a prank so very long ago. The only reason he had saved it at all was that it was right there and now he was glad that he did end up bringing it with him.
The younger was clearly uncomfortable with the little too large T-shirt he had to wear but his tall frame made itself useful and the fit was not as horrible as it could have been.
He thought of picking Kuro up as a protective measure but she was a divine beast and her fur was most likely the biggest safety net she could get, so he let her be.
Once that was done, only then did he start moving again, taking the lead of the small party and checking for danger. The path seemed abandoned so far and they had not run into anything too bad yet.
The few monsters they did meet were dealt with swiftly by Mark even before Alan saw them. They were close to the checkpoint now, almost there and it felt all too easy which was never a good sign in Mark's book.
Easy meant that a big danger existed which had tamed the smaller danger in the vicinity and that big danger was much more difficult to deal with than any of the smaller dangers you would come across.
Kuro hissed even before Mark saw the checkpoint which alerted him to the fact that something was clearly wrong right in front of him.
The worst thing about being in such a settlement was clearly the number of monsters around him. Since they were so small and overcrowded, their clusters overlapped on his map which made it impossible to know how many of them there exactly were inside the cave.
"Alan, be ready" Mark called out to the teen who already seemed to be ready with his gun. Mark gave him a small smile and node and then once again turned toward the front of the cave.
He flashed his torch's light over to the dark space where the checkpoint should be but had to close his eyes at the next second due to the light that was reflected back right at his eyes.
He quickly changed the direction of his torch so that only the side portion illuminated the area in front while the main light fell onto the ground.
The glare was still there but it was much less prominent this way, allowing them to finally see the huge obstacle in the way.
The thing that had reflected the light back was a black shiny surface made up of scales and Mark jumped back as soon as he saw it but then he observed it again.
The scales were a little slimy and far too shiny for it to be a normal snake that had not shed. This was not a snake but a different type of animal.
"It's a lizard?" Alan questioned, his own light aimed more down, shining on thick and chubby paws without any claws.
"A salamander," Mark whispers, correcting the other. He could see how the other mixed those two species since both looked similar enough.
But there were enough visible differences between them for Mark to be able to tell which of the two stood in front of him right now.
"It's standing directly over the checkpoint. What should we do now?" the teen asked and Mark considered their options. There was no other way to get to the checkpoint without getting past the huge reptile but its thick skin made it really difficult to actually kill.
"One of us needs to divert its attention and make it leave its spot, the other can grab the safe spot while it's busy. I'll distract him and you grab the safe spot" the teen agreed easily, more than used to this dynamic now.
He already knew that Mark would not relent on his decision and trying to talk him out of it would be of no use to him.
Mark silently made his way around the area to create a visible distance between himself and the other two in his party. Then he took aim at the salamander and shot it at the feet where the fat layer was likely to be the thinnest.
And it worked.
As soon as the shot had made contact the huge monster shook its head and finally spotted him. He could see the reptile focus on him and his body jolted with slow moments as he neared Mark's position.
Mark left his position to draw the reptile further away but the monster clearly looked uninterested. Another fire and now the reptile was enraged, his speed picking up and Mark found it difficult to get away.
The huge body was almost upon him when it collapsed, the debris its impact made small cuts on Mark's face and other exposed skin as a result. It hurt but not nearly enough to become a long term problem for himself.
"Well done Alan" Mark shifted around the body till he could see the teen heave as he managed to secure the checkpoint. The monster looked to be in a deep sleep and Mark knew that it would wake up as soon as they left the checkpoint.
He honestly wanted to spare the monster since he had not done anything to harm them but he knew that it would be a stupid decision because it would cause humans to die in the future.
This was the most normal monster he had met till now, almost looking the same as an animal he might have treated once upon a time. Even the eyes looked like a normal salamander which really made his heart waver.
In the end, he really could not make himself deal the finishing blow, his heart was too weak for it and he lowered the gun.
"Are you not going to finish it?" Alan asked him, his gaze moving from him to his back where the monster's body still laid asleep.
"There is no value in killing it now since another monster would just replace it. Let's leave it for now and focus on our objective here. Has she moved from her spot at all?" Mark asked, keeping his voice level to not give anything away.
He was not sure why he was going so far to protect a monster that was an enemy and would kill them as soon as he got a chance to do so but he just wanted to not have to kill this once.
"She has not moved at all and she's really near. Should one of us go and get her while the other waits here?" Alan asked him and Mark thought over it for a little time.
He was about to agree before his system beeped with a notification.
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Warning: DANGER DETECTED - USER IS ADVISED TO ESCAPE BEFORE THE SHOCKWAVE ( Time left: 5 minutes)
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They no longer had that luxury. The only thing that would protect them was the divine snake's shed skin and they only had one of it. If they wanted to save Rika then they would need it with them.
"Let's hurry up before that beast wakes up. We have ten minutes only" and Mark ran toward the spot which indicated Rika's position on the map.
Reptilian eyes watched the trio leave, the pupils almost disappearing on that face before the monster faded into data particles and formed a small ball and then disappeared with a glitch.