[First time killing wingedlizard]
[100 bonus EXP granted]
Quinn was kicking himself in the foot right now.
He had let Erin slip through his fingers because he was tired of all things, and he even told himself that he needed to stay awake. He knew what he had to do, and made a careless mistake anyways.
Quinn had sent Erin a message just now, asking her where she was, and waited a few moments. That was when he was suddenly spammed by three sets of notifications.
[Erin has killed a basic tier beast]
[Erin has gained 10 EXP]
[Erin has killed a basic tier beast]
[Erin has gained 10 EXP]
[Erin has killed a basic tier beast]
[Erin has gained 10 EXP]
[165/400 EXP]
With how Erin had been defeating beasts left and right, Quinn almost didn't expect Erin to answer back. However, she did much to his surprise.
{Erin} I'm taking us out of last place.
{Erin} Our team WILL come out on top.
{Erin} And don't even think about stopping me.
Quinn being worried was an understatement. As far as he knew, the last time they saw their score placement was after they first started hunting. Maybe Erin had seen their rankings while he wasn't looking, but to think they were in last place didn't seem likely. They had some crystals registered, and were in the top 5 last he remembered.
'She's serious about this,' he thought to himself, 'but she didn't even tell me where she was!'
Thinking to himself, the word "wingedlizard" was familiar to him, which gave him an idea. Searching through their supplies for the beastiary, Quinn found it, and flipped through the pages until he landed on 'wingedlizards.'
"…wingedlizards… weak point is the underbelly… located in the— there! The deepest parts of the dessert!" Quinn exclaimed before running a hand through his hair, "Damn, she's really gone and ran off."
A few moments after Quinn spoke out loud, Fex has opened his door, poking his head out again.
"Helloooo? What did I just say about making noises!" Fex complained, before sweeping back his hair, "Looking this good has a cost you know."
"Erin is gone," Quinn said, a tone of finality to it.
Fex paused before awkwardly coughing, "So… I can sleep uninterrupted now?"
Quinn was about to respond when he heard more notification pings go off in his mind.
[Erin has killed two basic tier beasts]
[Erin has gained 20 EXP]
[185/400 EXP]
'How is she killing beasts so easily in the sun?' Quinn thought.
"Why do you look so confused?" Fex said before leaning against the door frame.
"Well, aren't you worried?" Quinn said, "Erin has gone to who knows where, and we can't even contact her."
Fex sighed in exhaustion, and crossed his arms, "Well, I don't know if you have eyes and ears, but she's been getting into a lot of arguments about this whole expedition. I've just been avoiding it because I don't want to get involved," He shrugged before walking over to Quinn and lightly smacking him on the shoulder, "Besides, she actually helped me defeat an advanced tier beast on that red portal planet. I'm sure she'll be fine."
With the commotion going on, it was then Peter's turn to poke his head out.
"Erin's gone? Oh thank god," Peter sighed with relief.
Quinn was really starting to believe that Erin was a horrible leader. Sure, he knew that Erin struggled with teamwork, but it was never a good sign to have everyone be relieved you're not around.
"Took you long enough," the system replied to Quinn's thoughts, "If she gets into trouble then it'll teach her a lesson about doing things alone."
'So you're saying to leave her alone?' Quinn asked the system, 'But what if she does get into trouble?'
"It'll teach her a lesson, and besides, if she does need help, then I'll let you know," The system said.
In Quinn's mind, it didn't feel right to practically abandon Erin, letting her fend for the wolves. Perhaps it was the system feel more connected than usual, but he still wanted to do something.
That was when Peter looked around, and noticed that Layla's door was open, but it was clear that she wasn't inside.
"Huh? Where's Layla?" Peter asked.
"Oh yeah!" Fex placed a hand on his chin as he looked up with a smile, "Didn't she say she was going to head out? Something about trying to find… Erin."
Once Fex's voice trailed off, that was when everyone started to realize that Layla was gone too. They knew that Erin could handle herself, but could Layla?
"… You don't think they found each other before leaving, right?" Peter worried.
Fex took in a quick subtle sniff, but realized that the amount of humans at the dorm room was two. She really wasn't here at all.
Similarly, Quinn's eyes widened, and the fact that Erin had been doing so well despite the sun could be because Layla was helping her.
"Oh no."
When Quinn had searched their gear for the beastiary, he had seen that their food pills, water supplies, and more were all still at the dorm room. There was a chance that Layla really was out there without the basic necessities.
"What is it?" Peter hesitantly asked, concerned about what Quinn was about to say.
"We have to find Layla." Quinn said finally.
—
A wingedlizard had been following a lone floating arrow, annoyingly flying around its face for the past few minutes. This was an arrow belonging to Layla, who had been hiding behind a giant large rock, carefully watching. The beast chased after the arrow, being led to a secluded spot behind some rocks, before finding 4 more of its kind.
The area was like a mini valley, surrounded by large orange brown boulders clustered so that someone could hang around part way up. The ground had smaller rocks that jutted upwards, no bigger than a car, and sand that covered the floor.
Erin had been dodging the attacks of the wingedlizards already there, all of whom were biting, clawing and swiping at her. It had been tricky trying to kill the beasts given that she had to constantly hold the umbrella over her head, but seeing as the third beast had come around, Erin decided it was time use her most recently unlocked move.
[Shadow Void has been activated]
[50/100 MC]
At that moment, shadows from under Erin's feet had spread out, creating a large darkness on the ground surrounding her. Then, the darkness started to grow up from the ground, creating a circular wall encompassing the area, constantly building upwards until the shadows bent inwards, creating a dome within the mini valley.
The dome made from the shadow constantly moved, shifting like mica powder in water, and wouldn't be visible outside of the mountainous rocks that were taller than the dome itself.
Inside, the beasts began to freak out with the sudden shift of day time going into a dark night. Of course, outside the dome, it was just as bright as it ever was, but inside, Erin no longer had to worry about a major debuff.
[You are no longer in direct sunlight]