It took half an hour, until her high constitution made the wounds stop bleeding, for Sandrine to calm down. She laid there, in a pool of her own blood, physiological tears flowing from her eyes, but incapable of wiping off her disgusting grin from her face.
"It hurts so much… I almost died…"
Her breathing was ragged, but she couldn't help it. She had thought that she had gotten accustomed to pain since the first time she had felt sick after riding Paquerette, but maybe it was just an after effect of her rising constitution.
Who can get accustomed to pain in only 12 days, anyway. And this time, the wounds were really serious.
She laid on the ground, a little dazed, her blood getting slowly absorbed by the dirt and the moss. It was Gribouille's tongue licking her cheek that gradually pulled her back to reality.
Sandrine sat up with difficulty, wrinkling her nose at the searing pain.
"Woah… That was dangerous."
If Paquerette hadn't suddenly gotten a power up and bumped into the fox boss, Sandrine would have died.
Did it even make sense for such a strong boss to appear during the newbie protection period ? Most players didn't have a Paquerette with them. In fact, most players couldn't bring their vehicle off the road. And they also didn't have a high constitution stat, so they would be already dead if they were in the same state.
Well, a large majority of players didn't participate in the offroad event anyway, nowadays. And this was a death game, after all, a rising number of deaths was expected.
Sandrine lifted her head, meeting the mare's gaze. Paquerette was moving her head, pointing towards her flanks, where the horse baskets were.
"Yeah, you're right. First of all, I should take care of myself."
Sandrine's gaze briefly stopped on the medicines in her inventory and she hesitated. Those were miraculous recovery items that she had found during the previous offroad event, but because they were so effective and rare, Sandrine wanted to keep them for an emergency.
Right now, her wounds were serious, but they had stopped bleeding. If she didn't move suddenly, her high constitution could slowly heal them.
Of course, Sandrine could also put on her splinters, and she would have done so if it was an hour earlier, but right now she wouldn't. Being unable to move freely in a hostile environment wasn't exactly a good move. Before, she had been confident that it wouldn't matter because she was strong enough, but right now she would rather be cautious. This was a death game after all, she shouldn't underestimate it again.
Until now there had always been only one boss monster, but what told her it would stay the same ? What if Paquerette and Gribouille missed a trap and fell for it, leaving only Sandrine to save them ?
No, she couldn't put on the splinters right now.
But then, should she use the magical recovery items ?
Sandrine didn't really want to. Her health had dropped to a dangerous value because of this encounter, but the bleeding had stopped and she was slowly recovering, her life wasn't in danger. It seemed to be such a waste.
"Let's just put on some normal bandages for now, we'll see the rest later."
She still had her bandages that she had made at the beginning of the game for her thigh injuries, simple strips of fabric. It was better than nothing, it would prevent the wounds from reopening if she moved a bit, but it wasn't as if she would heal suddenly.
It should be sufficient for now.
Sandrine used a bit of water to clean her injuries, wincing at the burning sensation of liquid running down her bare flesh. Some wounds were so deep that the bone could be seen, cleaning them wasn't exactly pleasant.
After bandaging herself as much as she could, Sandrine took a deep breath and limped towards Paquerette.
"Sorry bestie, I'll need you again."
The mare snorted and rolled her eyes, as if to say 'I knew it !'. It made Sandrine laugh.
Getting on Paquerette's back was easy thanks to the saddle, and once Sandrine was comfortably seated, the two wooden parts at the front and the back held her steady. She already had developed quite the balance thanks to her high agility and her daily riding, but with a saddle, Sandrine couldn't fall even if she wanted to.
She might be wounded, but she didn't fear much when she was on Paquerette's back. The mare would always bring her to safety.
"Thanks again, bestie."
And today, as usual, Paquerette had saved her life.
Her sudden burst of speed must have something to do with her new evolution. Sandrine didn't know what a wind horse was, but she clearly remembered that when the slot machine to choose the new evolution appeared, she had learned that her pets could evolve to gain magic or divinity, whatever that meant.
She had thought that Paquerette had only grown faster and prettier, but it looked like she had a bit of magic too.
That could be useful. At least if there weren't any bad sides.
Paquerette acted as if nothing was wrong, but Sandrine could feel the slight stiffness in her walk. When she petted the mare's neck, the muscles felt tense under her fingers.
It seemed there was a bit of soreness, but nothing serious.
But this was only for one second of acceleration.
"Not to use it everyday, then…"
Sandrine mumbled under her breath, looking at Paquerette's ears in front of her.
Even if it was something to use only for an emergency, Sandrine was still very happy with Paquerette's growth. The mare seemed satisfied too.
"As long as we are all happy and we have another trump card to save our lives, that's enough."
The pheasants had been a bit shaken by the ordeal but were overall alright, and Gribouille seemed worried but wasn't hurt. Everything was fine and they had found all their daily chests, the 7 wooden ones and the golden one. They could finally go back to the infinite road and relax.
At least that was what Sandrine thought.
Because it was one of those days, where nothing goes right. Life gives you a slap with an unexpectedly strong boss, and just when you think that you are safe, the black mist starts to thin out on your right side.
A double road.
"Are you kidding me ?!"
That's what we call a double slap.
Moving around and riding Paquerette had reopened some wounds, but Sandrine didn't care because the health points she lost thanks to the bleeding were just enough to offset the recovery from her high constitution, resulting in a stable, but low, health.
However, right now she had to care. Because she knew how dangerous the double roads were.
"Just when I said I didn't want to use them !"
Sandrine didn't hesitate and reached for the miraculous medicines she had found in a chest. She didn't have enough time to wrap bandages right now, so she had to use the most efficient item.
[Health booster : Immediately adds 50 points of health, curing all ailments necessary to reach the new value. Usable only once a season]
Thankfully, the newbie protection period counted as a season, and there were only 2 days left, so the penalty wasn't a big problem. She only had to pray that the last 2 days would be somewhat peaceful.
She threw the pill in her mouth, just in time before the galloping Paquerette reached the double road. Immediately, Sandrine's wounds stopped bleeding and started closing. The flesh grew again to fill the holes, and pain and fatigue vanished from her body. The miracle stopped just short of good health, leaving only rough scabs and sore muscles.
This was more than enough to fight freely. And it looked like Sandrine would have to.
On the other road on the right, Sandrine saw something enormous appear. It was as big as a truck, but instead of cargo, it had a rolling cylinder at the back. A cement mixer. This was a cement mixer truck.
Because it was so big, the materials needed to upgrade it were surely a lot, and the player couldn't afford it, thus why it seemed slow and some places looked rusted. The passenger window was even broken.
But even in that deplorable state, Sandrine gritted her teeth. Because the look that man gave Paquerette and her was one of pure greed.
"Ha ! Not only does he want to eat Paquerette, he wants my body too ? What right does he have ?"
It would have been nice if Sandrine could just take the metal chest on her side of the road and run away. She would have loved this.
"What the… Why isn't the chest coming closer ?"
No matter how much Paquerette was galloping, it looked as if they couldn't get away. They were completely blocked in this space, with the cement mixer truck and its greedy driver getting closer and closer.
"Don't tell me it's that damn thing !"
On the server chat, Sandrine had seen some discussion about a 'Duel card', another miraculous item that you had a small chance to find in the chests. According to other players, you can use this card when another player is close to you, like during a double road, and this will prevent both of you from advancing further on the infinite road. To get out of this restriction, either 30 minutes have to pass, or one of the two players must die. A perfect item to set up a duel to the death.
Sandrine hadn't taken it seriously. First, because she was skeptical of its existence, and second because such a precious thing must be kept for an emergency.
She hadn't thought that someone would use it on her. Why ? Because that degenerate wanted to eat a bit of horse meat ? Had she underestimated the famine ? Or did that gross man want to get Sandrine herself ?
Sandrine hadn't seen herself in a mirror since her amnesia, so she didn't know what she looked like, but she had a vague memory of people calling her cute. She had a round face with big brown eyes and an adorable upturned nose, she was obviously quite pretty.
And they had been stuck in this death game for… Well, since they have a collective amnesia, for as long as they remember. Maybe some people were starting to get desperate.
Anyway, Sandrine wouldn't let anyone put their hands on her family or on herself. She had too much self esteem.
The truck got closer, and now Sandrine could glance at the inside of the driver's cabin. There were a few weapons thrown inside on the passenger seat, as well as a few cans and even some beer bottles and cigarettes. Behind the seats, the man might have gotten a 'vehicle expansion card' because there was a whole sleeping space, with a mattress and a small cabinet. It was dirty and messy, but quite cosy compared to Sandrine's inexistant set up.
"Even madmen live better than me…"
Sandrine gritted her teeth when her eyes met the driver's. He was round, a bit fat, but some loose skin on his neck showed that he had lost a lot of weight recently because of the death game. His hair was greasy, his skin oily, full of pimples, and his shirt was drenched in sweat and dirt. He was obviously not living well. Added to his loss of weight, the fact that his vehicle was not upgraded, and the anxiety hidden in his sticky gaze, Sandrine knew that it wasn't a ranker. In fact, if he didn't sport even one injury, then it was probable that he didn't participate in the offroad event at all.
He should be lacking resources, but he wasn't on the brink of death and he even had something as rare as a 'Duel card'. Why ?
Easy.
He didn't participate in the event, he stayed all day on the road, hoping for double roads in order to loot people.
His vehicle wasn't covered in blood and he didn't look completely insane, so he probably didn't kill, but stealing and beating was a given.
"You're less of a trash but you still deserve the worst."
The flicker of madness that could be felt in his eyes as well as his incommensurable greed that laid undisguised told Sandrine one thing. For now, he hadn't killed. For now.
Eventually, he would.
For everyone's peace, she should end him.
Sandrine had a hard time controlling her shaking body. A wild grin was blooming on her face, pupils so contracted they looked like two dots. She took out her pitchfork, and she immediately felt like throwing up.
But she held on. She slapped herself into alertness and leaned forward, giving instructions to Paquerette with her body weight.
"Let's go."
The mare turned around and sprang forward, going from trying to run away, to suddenly going back and galloping towards the truck. The driver looked confused and panicked for a moment, but, probably reasoning that a woman on a horse couldn't beat a truck, he simply accelerated and took a machete from the passenger seat.
Did he want to run them over and then take what he wanted under the threat of a blade ?
"Naive. And dumb."
But those people also were cowards. He probably wouldn't exit his truck until they were run over. Sandrine needed a way to end him within the truck.
"Who do you think I am ?"
A tamer with 10 agility. Would she truly rely on her horse to attack ?
Sandrine took her feet off the stirrups and grabbed the wooden part at the front of the saddle, jumping up so that she would find herself crouching on the seat.
"Ready, baby ? You're a big boy now, make maman proud !"
She took Gribouille in her arms, unlocked the leash of the parent-child harness and, when the horse and the truck were about to collide, she unfurled her legs like a spring, jumping high until she reached the roof of the truck, rolling to soften the impact, and grabbed the edge of the cement mixer so as to not fall from the fast moving vehicle.
Along the way, she had let Gribouille go. The little guy was using his claws to hold on and run along the roof of the driver's cabin, intending to enter through the broken passenger window. Anyway, she could recall the harness' leash if he was in danger, so she intended for the baby to try being a bit more independent.
"Is it because of his strong constitution that he can pierce a metal sheet with his claws ? Impressive."
Focusing again, Sandrine felt herself slowly fall. The cement mixer had started to rotate.
"That dog, does he think I'm scared ?"
She was the rider with the best balance in the world, running on a rolling cement mixer was an easy feat !
Sandrine got up and didn't hesitate, running towards the roof of the driver cabin. At that moment, the other player had understood that something was going wrong. The horse had avoided the charge, and the cute rider had disappeared on his roof. He was just about to brake violently to dislodge her when suddenly a black and white dog as big as a torso jumped on him, biting his hand that was holding the machete !
Screaming in pain, the man tried to fight back, but the little demon was standing on the passenger seat, where all his other weapons were situated ! Flailing around, the truck kept going left and right, and the driver didn't notice that footsteps had stopped just above his head.
"You fucking mutt, I'll kill y…"
He never finished his sentence, because suddenly a pitchfork pierced the metal roof and came down on him from above, stabbing the nape of his neck at just the right angle, another tooth piercing his chest.
The blood flowed like a fountain, and it took a few minutes, but eventually the guy died. Sandrine knew because suddenly the truck stopped driving in place, and the chest started coming closer. The duel card had ended with the death of one of them.
"Gosh, using all my strength in addition to the strength bonus of the tamer's pitchfork really hurt my arm ! But I couldn't have pierced the roof otherwise…"
That was a workout and a half, for sure.
Sandrine didn't feel as bad as she had thought she would, maybe because she couldn't see the player's death directly. She felt sick, but not overly so.
However, the disgusting insane smile didn't leave her lips. Because she realized something.
"Isn't the black fog coming closer ?"
The truck hadn't stopped with its driver's death. It was still going forward at a high speed, the only difference was that now no supernatural force was keeping it in place.
"Fuck…"
Today was really a bad day.