Chương 48: Chapter Forty Seven

His journey back through the manor's halls felt strange. When he'd first dashed through them in a desperate rush to reach the second floor, the building had felt looming and hostile. Each corridor a dangerous, alien landscape. One brimming with countless unknown threats and potential adversaries. Now, as he slowly meandered his way across the sand-covered tiles, it just felt… boring.

With the residence's worthwhile valuables looted and its monstrous tenants dispatched, Bob found it wasn't all that unlike the buildings he'd crawled through on his way to the valley. What other ornaments or decorations had once graced its walls now long since rotted away; leaving him surrounded by bare, unpainted stone. Admittedly it was a far higher quality of bare, unpainted stone when compared to the buildings outside the crab-filled rift. But still, it struggled to evoke much interest.

Luckily, he had something else to distract himself with during the journey. Just as Bob rounded a corner to find himself at the start of yet another drawn-out hallway, he briefly froze. Before then, his stout wooden body seemed to suddenly disappear. Only to immediately reappear at the hall's end, some twenty feet away. Bob unable to contain the smug smirk which overtook his 'face' moments after doing so. The decision to choose 'Sudden Step' over 'Kintsugi Renewal' hadn't been an easy one.

Nor was it one Bob imagined he wouldn't feel at least some lingering regret for in the future. Its very nature as a regenerative Trait making that a near certainty. Until that time came however, he was determined to enjoy the trait's exhilarating effects to the best of his abilities. Though, oddly enough, access to teleportation wasn't even the main reason he'd decided to take the movement-spatial combo. This wasn't to say Bob was in anyway denigrating the ability.

Even with twenty feet seeming to be its limit, access to instantaneous movement was a genuine gamechanger. The options it opened up for him going forward were countless and potentially lifesaving. Especially given its only cooldown seemed to be his ability to consciously activate it. Well, that and a fairly reasonable mana cost. Still, if it had just been a question of teleportation vs healing… he wasn't sure 'Sudden Step' would have won out.

During the last few months, Bob had found himself at-or-near death's door more times than he could count. Hungry fish, monstrous crabs, far-too frequent natural disasters; all these incidents made the thought of healing on demand – even healing he would be required to 'pay' for – feel very tempting. He was only held back from choosing it by one thing, in fact. His coming evolution. He was only five levels away from 'Thousand-Foot Mimic's capping point.

Admittedly, those five levels were each going to be ludicrously expensive; but Bob had confidence he could squeeze enough gold from this city to drag himself across that line. More important than crossing the line however, was what he'd find waiting for him on the other side. While he wasn't able to remember the exact requirements for his previous evolutions line by line, it was pretty easy to recall some of the common similarities shared between them. The most prominent of which had been prior Trait choice.

'Thousand-Foot Mimic' requiring 'Creeping Hoard', the 'Tangle Trap' needing 'Taste for Gold', et cetera. It wasn't the sole deciding factor, given that both the 'Patchwork' and 'Iron Chest' variants simply required him nearly dying a couple of times; but it was certainly influential. Which meant his latest Trait pick was determining more than just what new ability he got to play around with. It was likely also determining his next Species Evolution. His next, and possibly last, Species Evolution.

Even if one day he was able to break out of rank D, it would likely take years and require access to his own private gold mine. Meaning he was going to be stuck with whatever option he picked next for quite some time. Potentially forever. And if the choice was between a 'Spatial' or 'Consumption' Path Evolution. He would choose the former every time.

Admittedly, he did already have access to the Spatial Trait 'Empty Vault', but Bob was concerned that only having access to F-rank Traits might saddle him with inferior choices. Which was something of an issue, given that the only other E-rank Trait he currently possessed had come with his last Species Evolution. Recent circumstances having forced him to spread himself in multiple directions. Something he was planning to rectify moving forward.

Now that Bob had managed to find himself a powerful and useful niche – that being Dimensional magic – he intended to throw himself all-in behind it. It seemed fairly conclusive at this point that having Traits from certain 'Paths' was directly and substantially impacting his ability to gain Skills from the sapient version of the same. And he was hoping that Evolving down one of those selfsame Paths would do more than that.

That perhaps actually becoming a 'Spatial' creature would further empower his own Dimensional Path Skills to another level. One might think Bob would feel a bit of hesitation over making such a choice, given recent events. But, as far as he was concerned, whatever his latest Class Skill had done blew him well past the bounds of 'no turning back'. The preferable choice at this point being to keep moving forward. To see what could be found at the end of the journey.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Even if what that was, may well be a Lovecraftian nightmare stuffed in the form of an immaculately-varnished treasure chest. It didn't take much longer before he finally found himself in front of the large double doors marking the Manor's front entrance. They, like the doors barring both the study and the small basement room, still remained intact.

However, they appeared to have been opened at some point during the centuries. Kept that way now by mounds of sand acting as long-standing door-jams. As he made his way past them, Bob felt a hint of the wonder and excitement he'd experienced on that overlooking ledge begin to fill him again. Finally free from the manor's confining walls, he couldn't stop himself from imagining what kinds of treasures or magical artifacts might still be hidden away within the valley's depths.

Still, it was a wonder and excitement now tinged with traces of fear and paranoia. As if he had stepped out of the truck while on safari and had already left the guides miles behind him. A thought that Bob desperately hoped wouldn't turn out to be prophetic. Him having zero interest in encountering any elephant-sized crabs. Despite the concerning image, Bob didn't hesitate as he made his way across the sand covering the manor's 'front lawn'; his goal already in mind.

Over the many weeks he had spent sitting on the fourth-floor balcony practicing his Illusion Skills, he had created, modified, and thrown out dozens of different plans for what he'd do once he left the manor. All of them deeply dependent on both what Class he would eventually choose as well as whether he wanted to focus on escape or exploration. The building he'd landed on was a decent way out from what Bob had labeled the 'city center'.

It being one of a number of larger homes dotted near the valley's entrances and around the mountain's edge. Some of the latter being partially subsumed by sand. Overflow that the surrounding mountains couldn't hold back. Were he intending to escape, he would be heading towards those subsumed buildings. Specifically, the ones located behind his previous location.

The homes there were almost entirely buried, so he would be unlikely to pick up any treasure in the area; however, the reason they were so covered with sand was because the mountains in that spot were at their shortest. Which meant that if Bob was looking to exit the valley, they might be his best shot at getting out. It was even theoretically possible, given the capabilities of his newest trait. Though a lot would depend on how much altitude he lost between each activation.

That wasn't the direction Bob was heading, however. Instead, he was heading inward. His one-thousand stubby little legs quickly carrying him in the direction of the closest manor heading towards the valley's center. Only deviating in order to cut across a portion of road slightly less traveled by roaming colossi. Though even then, Bob was fully intending to spam 'Sudden Step' as many times as needed in order to get across as soon as inhumanly possible.

The arrow-straight roadways marking each manor's boundaries were both highly dangerous and, luckily, sparsely populated. Enough so that he'd never actually seen any of the larger crabs encounter each other, all appearing to live solitary lives. However, sparsely populated or not, they were also veritable death traps. The goliaths wandering them all in the higher brackets of Rank C. Each the sole survivor of a generation of consumed brothers and sisters.

They were actually part of the reason he was heading towards the denser population center at the valley's heart. Bob figuring that, Boss or no, the more tightly packed together buildings would limit both the number and mobility of any higher-ranking crustaceans. Leaving him far safer than in his current location out in the boonies. As an added benefit, it should also end up being quite a bit more lucrative. The place likely to be awash in golden 'proofs of citizenship' if nothing else.

Bob broke away from his thoughts to marvel slightly on his lack of difficulty traveling the manor's grounds, it previously having been home to a number of lesser D-ranks pushed out of the building by their higher-leveled siblings. Most of whom were fated to eventually find themselves consumed by the passing giants. There had still been some remaining before he'd accidently blown himself up, but their numbers hadn't been terribly impressive.

His destruction of all the local E-rank crabs causing a good portion to leave for greener pastures. The rest devolving into ever-more furious arguments about who would be taking the place of 'food' within their now emptier ecosystem. Arguments which had apparently been rather firmly 'resolved' while he'd been unconscious, given the now-vacant grounds. Either way, Bob wasn't going to overly concern himself with it. Intending to simply accept good luck where he found it and continue on.

Despite his destination literally being the next house over, he would actually have to cover a considerable amount of distance to reach it. A good portion of which lay in dangerous-seeming 'public zones'. What appeared to have previously been parks or perhaps small areas of woodland allowed to grow wild. And which were now filled with masses of dense, underwater flora. Each parcel looking like some alien version of an overgrown seagrass bed.

The tips of the average strand wafting through the waters at least two feet above his current height. Bob had no idea what could be lurking inside. He'd seen plenty of crabs dash into the mess of greenery – usually while being chased by a larger member of their species – but had never really noticed any come back out. Admittedly though, he'd also never really been paying that much attention. He'd honestly prefer to go nowhere near it.

But the only alternative to what might be a quarter-mile slog through underwater grassland, was perhaps a five-mile detour hugging some of the major roadways. Roadways which were frequently traveled by known serious threats. Frankly, even if he attempted to bypass them, he'd more than likely end up being chased into the high grasses one way or the other. At least this way he'd be going in with a plan and a set direction.

As he started approaching the end of the manor grounds, Bob began focusing more and more on the sensations provided to him by 'Treasure Sense'. With the minor 'blips' of the remaining roof-crabs fading behind him, he found himself momentarily free from the constant presence of murderous intent. Something which honestly felt slightly off-putting; what with Bob now being fully aware that his senses could be obfuscated. Luckily, this pacifistic lull only lasted a few brief seconds.

With him quickly spotting yet another lifeform desperately wishing for his grisly demise. His Class Skill only forced to penetrate few feet into the thick aquatic growth before encountering what a deeper 'look' identified as an F-ranked mad-crab. It was news that, had he lungs, would have made Bob breath out a relived exhalation. If the high grasses mostly functioned as a lesser-crab hideaway, then the trip should go fairly smoothly.

What crabs he couldn't avoid, he could likely kill quickly enough to prevent much commotion. While his blocky body was going to make traversing the area more than a little awkward, his ability to spot and track them from afar still gave him a considerable edge on anything else hiding in the vegetation. An advantage he intended to use to full effect. Hoping to make it to the building in the near distance having earned himself a handful of experience and suffering no further injuries.

He couldn't wait to see what the universe he'd landed himself in had to say about his plans.