Chapter 16- The goal is four

With a slight grunt, Paxton slowly sat up. His head blurry with information as he glanced around in confusion. 

He muttered slowly as his memories pieced themselves together before a slight grunt escaped his lips. 

'Time…' 

He thought as he looked up at the screen. 

His eyes widened in shock as he sprung up to his feet. 'Impossible'. 

7:35:59

He had been unconscious for quite a while, but his encounter with the bug and glitch also had something to do with it. 

He sighed, evening his breathing as he looked around him. 

The interior of the cave glowed, just like the opening where the creature first spotted him. The only difference would be it was a lot dimmer, and he couldn't spot those rare materials that caused it. 

'I have to go back for it'. 

He had figured out one reason why a Storm Queen made this have its nest, despite being so far away from the Army. 

'It's because of those minerals…Pixel Ore'. 

Players had a form of energy that their ability greatly relied on, and that was Pixel Energy. 

Energy granted by the Server. Of course, these energies were initially present in humans, but unable to be assessed. The Server acted as a link for that. 

'There are a few properties of energy in general….and one would be its instability when not in use'. 

Free energy as they called it, was capable of causing great explosions. It was a rare energy after all, and the ores were similar to that property. 

After looking around, there was only one opening, and that was the one he arrived from, but how was he supposed to climb back up? 

He walked over to the opening, his hands scanning the dark interior for any form of leverage but it couldn't. 

With a sigh, he pulled out his hand when a greenish colour caught his eyes. 

'....blood?' Not just any form of blood, but vicious glitch blood. They were known for their corrosiveness and tendencies to turn players into Bugs. 

'...but I'm not a player'. 

The opening was his only source of exit, and he was out of ammo and ideas. He sighed deeply as he turned around and sat on the ground, his head spinning with ideas. 

He needed to get out, pick up some ores and exit the cave. Especially when he wasn't even done with the missions. 

'...At least, I've achieved one'. He thought with a sigh. 

The one he thought most difficult had become the first He achieved. 

'Killing a Storm Queen….wait till the others find out'. 

He had to admit, circumstances had granted him luck, but it was all him in the end. 

'Those explosives came in handy in the end'. 

He sighed and rested his back. 

He had passed the Server Test no matter how you spin it, but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted to achieve at least two out of the four goals, but he couldn't achieve any of that if he was stuck here throughout the rest of the time. 

Looking up, he sighed. 

7:34:59

'Time is ticking'. 

He stood up with a grunt, his body aching from the constant collision but he endured. 

He glanced at the interior of the opening once again, his head spinning in overdrive as he attempted to climb into it. He slipped but didn't fall. 

'I'll have to be careful..' 

He could climb, but he was very sure of what would happen if he were to slip up. He glanced at his hands, which were firmly placed against the sides, and his legs were the source of his slipperiness, and he squinted his eyes in contemplation. 

Releasing his hold on the interior, he fell back into the opening and pulled off his shoes. He tied them around his neck and attempted it again. 

'better'. He thought as he looked up, a sigh escaping his lips at the thought of the distance he needed to climb, but with firm determination, he began his difficult task. 

Time continued to run by, and so did he. Without wasting a single second, he climbed up with the acrobatics of a mountain climber.

His hands slipped occasionally, but he would take breaks in between to ensure he didn't lose progress in his task. 

He couldn't afford to fall, and he didn't, reaching the top slowly but steadily. 

This continued for a while until he reached the distentions. From there, it was a lot easier, and he quickly moved his way upwards. 

A few minutes had passed, and with a final look at the time, his hands emerged from the top of the opening, his ragged breathing echoing next. 

He climbed out of the hole with a grunt, his hands and feet stained with a green-dried liquid. 

On getting up, a pungent smell assaulted his senses, causing a wrinkle to form on his forehead as he looked around. 

The parts of the creature had exploded to different corners of the cave, and its organs and blood left a pungent smell in the air. 

He sighed as he stood up, looked up at the time and walked towards the creature's body parts. 

Without saying a word, he picked up the pointy appendages of the creature, one after the other. He settled for ten proper appendages unharmed from the explosion and walked his way out of the cave.

'next is the pixel ores'. 

He thought as he dropped the appendages in front of the opening leading out of the cave. 

He quickly rushed back to the interior of the cave, his expectations high. 

With the constant collision of the Glitch after the explosion, he had expected some to fall out from the cave. After all, glitches that size tend to make a mess out of things. 

He traced his steps back to the upward crack-like opening and the corner where he fought against the Bug. 

His gaze lingered on the creature's body, stumped to death, thanks to the Storm Queen. A slight smile formed on his lips before he got to his destination, the large opening where his expectations were fulfilled. 

****

Back at the camp, the soldiers had been rounded up by the Commander, with his four remaining captains.

They were in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by their tents, with the Commander standing in front with his four captains.

Held firmly on his hand was a written note, and a handwriting he had seen more times than he would hope for. 

With a sigh, he squeezed the paper into a ball and gave it to the captain next to him, Captain Yu. 

"The Slave King wants us to surrender". 

The Commander explained and a slight commotion occurred within the gathered army. 

"What's new?" The Commander shrugged as he folded his hands. This was his final chance to get his soldiers ready for a war or for a retreat. 

After this, he wasn't going to see many of them; perhaps some may be killed, and maybe a few others may become refugees. 

'but our country won't accept this lowly defeat'. 

He would fight until his last breath, even if it meant going against every Glitch and Slave Player that came his way. 

"My soldiers. It seems like we've reached the end of the line". He announced with a lingering tone in his voice. 

His four remaining captains watched in silence, of course, captain Rendo included. 

He had been on high alert for a while now and continued to do so. Things were finally coming together, he couldn't accept a single soldier stepping in to change what had been planned for so long. 

"It is now time for us to choose our fates!" The Commander announced, his soldiers slowly tearing up. A losing battle wasn't one that many would wish to fight for but for their commander. Some soldiers would fight a lost battle. 

"If you wish to stay with me and fight till the end…then you are free to stay, but if you want to leave, then pack your things. We will hold the ground until you leave". 

Captain Rendo widened his eyes in shock as he glanced at the Commander. "Commander, that was not the plan ". 

'Of course, no soldier would leave, but those that chose to would most likely be related to the spies'. The Commander scoffed and turned away. 

"There is no better plan than this" 

"There is, Commander". A familiar voice pierced through the air, as the sounds of a bag being dragged echoed. 

Captain Rendo widened his eyes in shock as he turned his head to find the owner of the voice walking up to them.