Magus: A Supernatural LitRPG Saga (Apocosmos Book 2) Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (good english books to read .txt) 📖

"Gonna go now," Louie said between his teeth, the small pearl making it harder for him to talk.

I eased my grip around him and he started levitating upward, slowly at first but soon accelerating faster. The higher up he rose, the less defined his silhouette became until the only things visible were his snout, where he was holding the light pearl, and whatever was the nearest branch he was avoiding.

"There are some nests on the branches," Louie said as he continued his upward path.

"Don't wake them up," the woman almost shouted, and Louie immediately turned the light away from them.

"Okay, going to cross through the thick of it now," Louie said, and a couple of seconds later his light was lost in the branch-ceiling.

"We didn't say how long we're going to wait," I said, a sudden wave of worry rising in me as I realized I had no idea where Louie was for the first time since he'd got his class.

"And what are you going to do if he takes too long?" the woman asked. I could almost taste the sarcasm in her tone. "You can't even see your own nose."

"I'm gonna light it up so I can see," I said. Instinctively I turned my head to face her, or rather the direction from which her voice was coming.

A few seconds of silence later, a faint light appeared above us, growing more intense with each breath, until Louie came crashing through the branches. His descent was fast. Almost as fast as if he was free-falling. I braced myself to catch him.

"Good news and bad news," he said as he rapidly decelerated and landed in front of us, the small pearl still in his mouth.

"Hide the pearl first," the woman said.

"Too late for that," Louie said, and leaped up for me to pick him up. "Start running. That way."

He pointed with his muzzle at some trees to our right and we all did as he bid.

"Take out your flashlights," he said, as we walked faster, but still carefully because of the darkness.

"What's wrong, boy?" Rory asked but took out his magical flashlight all the same.

"I think I found where we need to go," Louie replied.

"You think?" the doppelgänger asked.

"There's a clearing in the middle of the forest. A perfect circle. And... I can't explain it really. It called to me."

"Well it's not like we have a better lead either way," I said, as I crouched under a low-hanging branch, Louie in hand. "But why are we running?"

"Those nests I saw on the way up," Louie explained. "They belong to some pretty large birds. As I was trying to determine where we should go, they must have spotted me while they were out hunting."

"Ye're safe now," Rory said, and momentarily ran a bit slower. "We can take on a few birds, no?"

"That's not the issue..." was all the explanation Louie was able to give before we saw at least a dozen birds fall from the jungle canopy like lightning.

They were large and slender, and looked an awful lot like storks, only black and vicious. The moment they pierced through the branches above, they spread their wings, which shimmered blue under the hard light of our torches, and hung themselves upside down from low branches as if they were bats.

Name: Shadow Fenghuang

Type: Magic Creature - Beast

Level: 12

Disposition : Aggressive

HP : 199/199

Physical Attack: 23

Magic Attack: 17

Speed: 140

Attack Range: Melee

XP : 363

Description : A distant relative of the legendary king of birds, this species is an evolution that occurs in shadow-reigned or twilight realms. They do not possess great physical prowess, however they are masters of deception tactics, escaping their natural predators by misleading them away from their offspring.

The birds seemed extremely agitated, but didn't move to attack us. Instead, they opened their long beaks and let out high-pitched screeches. The odd thing about it was that the sound didn't seem to originate from them, but it rather sounded as if the source was right next to me.

"Are they doing what I think they are, half-Celt?" Rory asked.

"The birds can shift sound waves," the doppelgänger said.

"Faster!" Rory shouted between a steady stream of "fucks" from both him and me. "They're bringing that panther thing to protect their eggs and hatchlings."

"But we're not after them," I said, without slowing down at all. "We just want safe passage."

"I don't suppose you want to stop and tell them that?" the woman said sarcastically.

No matter how fast we ran, the awful sound of the birds followed us as though we were creating it ourselves. Only a few seconds later we began to hear different, even more terrifying sounds that came from some distance behind us--trees being smashed into, trunks bent, and branches broken.

I only risked a glance over my shoulder and it was enough to give me an extra boost in speed. The dark, hulking silhouette of the blind panther was rushing toward us, destroying anything in its way. I wasn't sure if the birds and this beast had some kind of symbiotic deal, like the one between crocodiles and teeth-cleaning plovers, but now wasn't the time to wonder. Not while the panther was gaining on us.

"There!" Louie shouted, and stretched his neck forward. "The clearing in the forest."

It was only a short stretch ahead but I wasn't sure it would matter after all. Granted, we stood a better chance in the open, where we might be able to surround the beast. And to hell with the zero hostility requirement of the quest. But its level was just too high. I could only hope that the pull Louie felt to the clearing meant there was a portal out of here.

As soon as we crossed the threshold out of the jungle I felt my heart drop. There was nothing here but an extinguished bonfire and a figure in red robes. Their face was hidden behind a