“You know what I mean. Anythingweirder. Keep an eye especially on that big metal truck. And if things go sideways, don’t hurt the pig.”
We stepped out of the truck, passing by Corcunda, who was curled up in the back seat of the GTO. He had anUnconsciousnotification over his head. He’d been put asleep via a spell.
Huh,I thought.
We passed out of the area of the shield from the GTO, and rain and hail started to pour on us. Donut let out a little yowl and recast herShieldspell. Hail pinged off it loudly, the sound like pebbles against glass.
We approached the others, who finally noticed us. Just beyond them, at the bottom of the hill, was the boss, just sitting there in the middle of the road.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered.
[ 20 ]
There were actuallytwo of the bosses, and the two monsters were staring at each other. The second was blocking the other road with the other teams in our heat, about a hundred meters away. There was another hill with the other racers standing atop it, looking down at the valley.
“Carl, what are those things?” Donut demanded. “They’re like kangaroos, but even more disgusting.”
I focused on the closer of the two boss monsters. The thing was about twenty feet tall, and wide, and it did have features similar to those of a kangaroo, except it also had angry dinosaur-like spikes on its back despite being covered in fur.
The giant monster sat upon a pair of meaty legs and had a lengthy tail and two arms with long, clawed fingers. The head was the least kangaroo part of the creature. It had the tall ears, but the face was wider, reminding me of that giant demon Slit we fought all the way back on the fifth floor. Lizard-like in a way, despite the hair. The thing was currently sitting in the middle of the road upon its two legs, giving the impression it was squatting.
There was a massive red notification floating over each of the two boss monsters.
Your vehicle may not pass past this point until this boss monster is dead or removed.
Around both of the creatures’ waistlines was a pouch. Poking out of the pouch of each kangaroo monster were about ten heads, all smaller versions of the boss.
At least, I thought they were smaller versions of itself, but there was something weird going on there. It appeared one of the pouch monsters was howling in pain. That one tried to pull itself out, but it was roughly pushed back down by the boss, who shouted something inaudible.
And all the other ones just dangled there. Like they were dead.
“Carl, what the heck is that thing?” Donut tensed on my shoulder as she focused on it.
A giant chunk of hail crashed next to the boss, which caused it to howl indignantly. It stretched, pulling itself to its full height, its two legs extending out, making it appear even more kangaroo-like. The second boss also howled. The razor foxes started to somersault down their hill as they approached.
“Carl, Carl, most of the baby kangaroos are dead!” Donut called just as I examined the boss right in front of us. “And the one that isn’t is a person in a kangaroo costume! It says he’s an upgrade mechanic!”
I sighed, waiting for the bullshit description to pop up.
Prison Pocket. Macropus Dominus.
Level 170 Province Boss.
This boss is a gatekeeper. Your vehicle or mount may not pass past this area until the boss is dead or defeated.
Believe it or not, marsupials are quite common out in the known galaxy, especially in lower-gravity, oxygen-rich environments, such as the one that is home to our friends here, the Macropus Dominus.
The vast, plant-covered plains these relatively nonviolent omnivores live upon are prone to flooding and driving rainstorms that might last weeks. As a result, the female adults protect their joeys in their expansive pouches, which not only shelter the occupants from the elements, but also keep them fed by providing multiple nutrient-expressing nipples. And in some of the harsher parts of the planet, all genders of marsupials have evolved pouches, though the male versions aren’t as... full featured. If certain environmental hazards last too long, the little ones sheltering inside can and do starve to death.
Prison Pocket—and his companion on the other side of the road there, whose name is Party Foul—are both male, and they are quite sad, as they weren’t able to save their young ones from this never-ending storm.
They yearn to refill their pouches. Unfortunately for you, you’re just about the same size as the joeys they lost.
Oh, by the way, their pouches secrete an oil that is quite caustic to the skin of creatures who aren’t of the same species.
“Level 170?” I asked, feeling a chill.
The person in the kangaroo suit popped up out of the pouch again. He screamed something before getting pushed back down. I focused on the man.