Tess arrived just in time to witness the last of the villagers rushing inside the fort gates. In the distance, Tess saw dust and flame burst through the air like fireworks. The militia sat around nervously, watching the roads to the fort with the concentration that only stress brought. Tess kept her eye on the explosions in the distance, figuring that any threat would come from that direction.

The rest of the makeshift militia split into pairs, the men and women working together with who they knew best. Tess stood alone by the end of it, which suited her just fine.

The blasts of fire and clouds of dust continued with the occasional Jejende warrior appearing above the houses on clouds of dust. Tess idly wondered if it was something innate to the villagers, or if it was something that could be taught.

“Wait, look there!” One of the militia shouted.

Tess looked to the voice, then down to where they were pointing. A small child was running down the road, a gaggle of animals behind them.

“What’s a child doing there?” someone asked.

“He must have been outside the city when the bells rang!” Another exclaimed.

One of the militia scurried down the stairs. “Open the gate! There’s a child outside!”

“Wait!” Someone shouted.

A strange thing appeared behind the child and their herd of animals. Blobs of milky white the size of a cat swarmed from the alleyways, rolling across the dirt like kicked stones. However, the sound they made was nothing like a stone. Tess made a face as her super hearing picked up each blob’s squelching as it moved across the ground.

She likened the noise to pool noodles smacking water. If said pool noodles were made of actual noodles and not foam. It almost made her unequip the skill.

“Mounds!” A militia shouted. “It’s Jaria!”

Tess heard the rest of the milita curse. “Get that gate open quick!” one shouted.

“We can’t open the gate if it’s Jaria!” someone below roared.

“We can’t let it take a child either!” A militia countered.

Tess watched as the arguing continued, the militia moving down the stairs while attempting to argue. Only a few of the villagers tried to stop them, ones with children of their own to look after. Others were trying to open the gates, while more were attempting to keep them closed.

“The gates won’t open in time,” Tess realized.

She turned back to the road to see the Jarias leaping from the ground to land on the various herd animals. Tess watched in horror as the creature’s filmy white skin enveloped a piece of the animal, stopping its movement enough for others to latch on. In seconds an animal was covered and drowning inside the Jaria.

However, drowning didn’t seem to be this creature’s preferred hunting method, as Tess noticed some kind of acid slowly breaking the animals apart. After a few seconds the captured animal had lost most of its fur, and a bit later its skin. The Jarias then turned from milky white to a deep red as the animals blood escaped into it.

“What the actual fuck,” Tess cursed.

“That’s a slime?” Tess asked Novus.

Tess grabbed an arrow and notched it. “Do you know its weakness?”

“There is a child in danger,” Tess growled. “If you know how I can kill these things you tell me now or so help me I will sit inside a hut for a week doing nothing but learning to cross-stitch.”

“We both know I would,” Tess answered curtly.

“You have three seconds,” Tess countered.

Tess pulled her bow taught, aiming toward a group of Jaria. “Alright, where do I shoot.”

“Good,” Tess let her arrow fly.

Her first shot sailed a little high, striking the top of a roof. Her next shot clipped the membrane of a swarming Jaria, slowing the creature. It bled out onto the road, its acidic insides burning through organic material. Another Jaria collided with the one Tess wounded, and the woman witnessed another horror.

The Jaria collapsed on top of its wounded brethren, engulfing it inside its own membrane. The wounded Jaria broke to pieces in moments while the unwounded monster expanded in size.

Tess didn’t pause in her shooting, despite the Jaria’s horrific nature. She unleashed shot after shot over the child and the herd, attempting to keep the monsters at bay long enough for the kid to reach the fort. Soon, more of the militia joined in, unleashing arrows overhead to slow the Jaria.

Many of the monster fell, only for others to absorb their corpses. The Jaria increased in size each time, until eventually only one stood standing.

The monster now stood as tall as the surrounding houses as it continued chasing the heard. Tess and the militia continued to unleash arrows, but the monster was now too large. Arrows would strike true only to pierce halfway through the membrane. The greedy Jaria then sucked the arrows in, eating the wood and feathers while discarding the arrowheads.

The only saving grace was that the creature couldn’t move as fast as before, which let the kid and his herd enter the gates safely.

Now all they had to do was deal with the monstrosity coming near them.

“Not helping,” Tess whispered to Novus.

Tess dismissed the box, grumbling. The god was right, she likely did have something to let her stack bonuses. The woman opened her skill list, quickly tapping through to find anything that might help. She dropped Super Hearing and Great Weapon Fighting, grabbing the first two skills that would help her succeed.

Then she replaced Stoneskin, the power useless while the creature wasn’t nearby.

The Jaria rolled over a house, eating all the organic material and growing. A line started to form down the middle of the creature.

Tess activated Spotlight, imagining the ability on top of her. A shimmering lamp appeared high above the woman, emitting a circle of light fifteen feet in diameter.

Tess pulled notched another arrow, activating Ancestral Guard as she aimed. An illusory set of hands appeared over Tess, minutely correcting her aim as Qi drained per second.

“Bang,” she said as she unleashed the bow.

The bow recoiled in Tess’s hand as the arrow sped in a straight line. A blast of smoke manifested above Tess, the word Bang appearing in bright red letters with three exclamation marks. The words bounced with vigor, matching the arrow’s movement.

The projectile flew like a jet, piercing into the Jaria and barely slowing in momentum as it penetrated the membrane. The acid inside instantly started to erode the arrow’s shaft and feathers, but the corrosion wasn’t fast enough. Tess’s arrow speared through the Jaria’s center, striking the monster’s important components.

Everyone watched as the Jaria wobbled in place, rolling forward a few feet before lilting to the side. Then all at once the monster flattened and its acid spewed out of the arrow wound. A suffocating stench filled the air, but none of the militia cared. They cheered as the monster died, a few going as far as to clap Tess on the back.

Tess gave a small smile, but kept her eyes on the road. The fire and dust in the distance hadn’t stopped yet, meaning Mirari and the other warriors weren’t finished.