The silence that followed the final slaughter was more unnerving than the roars had been. For twenty-four hours, the soundtrack of their lives had been the rhythmic grinding of bone and the roars of monsters. Now, there was nothing but the heavy, laboured breathing of five exhausted humans.
John sat with his back against the charcoal bark of a Blue Serpentile tree, watching the quest completion screen flicker. He knew the completion of the survival quest triggered a hard-earned grace period.
But he didn't say a word. He waited, watching the perimeter, letting the time tick by.
"It has been half an hour, and not a single monster appeared!" John finally spoke, his voice raspy. He looked at the others, "Why don't we start sleeping for a while? The waves have stopped."
