Chương 8: [BL] 8. World of Mana [2]

"That's her, Mera's spirit," Shera said, voice shaken.

"What is it? I thought you expected this earlier."

"It's just staring at the sky… can she respond to you? It's not normal for it not to even notice you." Willow tapped into Guard Honor, and sure enough, the familiar steel shield materialised right beside Mera's—or rather, her body. The shield hit the side of the cliff once before her body caught its edge and lifted it. Slowly, she stood and stared at them. She bent to lay the shield down almost respectfully and resumed watching the sky, hugging her knees. Tapping on Scythe and Dismember resulted in nothing.

Yet, when she connected to Ravenous Wind, the familiar dark wind swirled around her body. What does this mean? If her Guard Class eventually learned a spell, would it be able to use Dark Wind Rune? There would be no point in Ravenous Wind if Willow could not shoot any dark wind. Despite their names, some enhancements have active abilities, such as Devour. How would that work?

The way Willow had observed Enhancement as clothes worn by a spirit, she could not help but think that only passive effects would transfer over.

"What is she watching for? Why does she not act like the others?" Willow asked.

"I don't know. But I might have some ideas. The Bright Star, the spirit, waits for it to come—the sign of the Apocalypse. Say, your Guard Class still hadn't had any runes, right?" Willow nodded.

"Normally, heroes, well, uh… outworlders who come to this world have a Rune called the Bright Rune. The Bright Rune has known enhancements such as an experience boost and a monster-slaying enhancement. I heard that outworlders get to choose their class, but their rune is always the Bright Rune…"

"Well, that certainly didn't happen to me."

"Yet."

"Yet—""The bright stars are not supposed to appear until the night before the Apocalypse cycle truly begins. I don't know if that has anything to do with your lack of a Bright Rune, but I think you should lay off leveling your Guard class for the time being. Most Guard classes will earn their runes by levels three to ten, and you might get them accidentally if you keep advancing it."

"Wait, how does that work? Is rune assignment random?"

"Yes, it is. Most Guard Classes get Retribution Rune, Bulwark Rune, Aegis Rune—and many more. Anyway, my point is: you should wait just to be safe, just in case Bright Rune truly comes for you."

"And this Class too, I don't know how it will work for you, considering you already have two… who knows, maybe I'm wrong and you just ended up getting a third one."

"A third one will be nice," Willow admitted. Shera spurted a laugh before wiping her mouth.

"Sorry."

"I can't promise to use it since I might need to, but I will keep it in mind. Now, how do we go back?" -- Willow was a bit dejected when the azure glow of the forest dimmed weakly as the sky above bled into early morning. The forest was still beautiful, especially with the cold mist that started to sway along with them. When Willow opened her mouth, the air had a bit of a sweet aftertaste. Still, though, she missed the glowing forest already. Her sleep had been energizing. She sure slept like a baby last night.

The moment her Rune was full, she could feel untapped power inside, and along with it, an intense warmth like a miniature sun beat against her heart.

"I decided," Josha had said.

"We should go to Drela." Drela was the name of the Hollow Knight's Rift farm. To be exact, the name of the settlement.

"The Cycle starts in five days. We could follow everyone along to Sheran when the time comes. It's much safer and—""What about your brother? Jaquin? And Arnold, Inesta, and many others… We agreed to leave their names—""Getting everyone up to date is very important. We can't know if they realised the Treant and Lich's rift had spawned. This is the first surge of the cycle, and everyone needs to know. Besides…" Josha held Willow's eyes, and a guilty look passed over his face.

"Willow might be able to help with the Rift purge. It would be selfish if we kept her power hidden just to keep our secret." Shera did not offer any argument to that. She turned to Willow and Josha, too. Seeing their desperate looks, Willow agreed with their plan. Apparently, it was just a bit of a detour from where they were, and in the end, it would be much safer. Throughout the whole journey, Josha was eerily silent, like he had so much on his mind. He stopped everyone when they eyed another glade.

A creature of gleaming scales craned its neck up and spread its red, iridescent wings in the morning light, showcasing its reptilian body. [Red Scale Wyvern—Level 21] The Wyvern let out a piercing roar that pushed the cerulean grass down and swayed the branches. Willow held her breath, her hand pressed against the tree bark, not noticing that a small prick of wood drew blood on her palm. The branches above bent, and a leaf fell atop her head.

In one mighty wing flap, the Wyvern flew upward, its tail swaying through the air like a kite. The three let out a collective breath the moment it was gone.

"Is that… normal?"

"Folks from Eke always brag about their Wyvern Rift farm," Shera muttered. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"A farm? They farm a literal dragon?" Willow asked, mouth agape.

"Wyvern," Josha corrected. Their class stone is usually Rider or Hunter. Some of them are native-born, not rift-born, but that red scale is a telltale; it's from Eke's rift farm."

"This means they fail their Rift Purge, or they're either facing the stampede or the village is already wiped out."

"Stampede?"

"It means the Rift-monsters invade our world. It's not unusual, but during the Apocalypse cycle, almost all Rift-monsters will have the desire to go out and create their own territory. Even to this day, some continents have become lands full of monsters," Josha explained. So that was why they were required to purge these Rift farms near the apocalypse. True, if everyone stayed inside their villages or cities, then there would be no reason to have rift farms anymore.

But the fact that they waited until the very last second rubs Willow the wrong way. Maybe they really need money or these Class stones. After Josha plunged into a pool they found nearby to rest for a bit, they continued, stepping around another open glade. Willow could see a dark rift that was taller than the second-tallest tree in her vision. The rift was situated just beside a sheer cliff and inside a settlement of wooden walls.

A construction was built into the cliff—a bridge upon bridges acting as long walkways where people could access the hollowed-out cliff side or climb up into another walkway. Beneath was a tall wooden palisade half the size of the trees, and tragically, it was clear a considerable part of the forest had been cut down for these farms. Wagons streamed in and out from a large wooden door that stayed open, and a dozen guards in Sheran Guard uniforms stood ready.

They watched from a tall slope where, beyond, was a rolling downslope of blue grasses leading to the open space where the guards would spot them. Josha and Shera were visibly tense, their shoulders hunched down. Shera even had a tear rolling down her face.

"What do you think will happen to us?" Shera asks, clutching Josha's sleeve.

"Prison," he smiled and turned to Willow.

"We will explain what happened. But Willow, to be honest, I think they will think we're lying." That… will suck.

"She has two classes; everyone can see that. I don't think it's far-fetched," Shera said, offering Willow a small reassuring smile.

"Well, if I'm also thrown in prison, we're together again, I guess."

"And we're sorry for that," Josha added, earning a chuckle from Shera.

"All right! Enough dilly-dally. If it's prison, then so be it—" Behind them, the foliage of thick grass rustles. Shera was the last of the group, acting as rearguard because it was clear to them that Willow did not have any experience sneaking around. So, when a sudden cold, thick mist appeared around them, Josha and Willow turned. Josha drew his sword. Meanwhile, Willow's body turned into light, and she donned her Mage outfit. In one motion, she pointed one finger up and prepared a dark wind.

Shera ran past them, grabbing their shoulders.

"Go! It's Treants!" The wind mist swivelled as a thick wooden arm swung, banishing a small part of Shera's spell. Josha reacted and forced Willow's head down with his hand. Overwhelming darkness reached toward her, and a tendril of vines bulged across the wooden hand. Willow pushed Josha back and sliced her finger down. Her dark wind rushed across, cutting through the frost mist and carving into the wooden body. A splinter tore through the big lumber body in front of her.

The Treant groaned out, a sound of deep rumbling. It took a step back, not dead yet. [Treant—Level 6]"Willow!" Willow whirled away, bursting out of Shera's mist fog and catching her balance when she sprinted down the slope into the base ground where Josha waited for her. Shera ran ahead with her arms up, screaming for the guards. Josha took Willow's arm and pulled her with him into a run.

Behind the wooden bodies rolled toward them—the Treant did not expect the downslope, and that was not exactly good news for Willow. Deciding not to mind what was happening behind her, she sprinted as fast as her legs could take her, when suddenly the ground in front of her erupted. A shower of debris bursts out. Willow had to grab Josha's back and pull him from the line of five twisting barbed vines that pierced toward the sky.

The vines finally stopped growing, casting their shadows over Josha and Willow—both now had their swords out. Willow mentally cursed herself as her sword required both of her hands to wield.

"Shit." The moment she was about to sheathe it back, the vines directed their heads like a sharp green spear and shot toward them.

"Separate!" Josha ordered. Willow ran to the right, jumping and nearly falling as one vine cracked the earth just behind her. When she thought she could just outrun the rest, the thin vines sprouted with green flowers. A small dart shot out, and Willow twisted aside, cutting her run short. Her hair swaying, she was about to run again when another vine-spear came at her. Bringing her sword up, she warded off the first attempt. Her muscles rocked from the force, and her sword was nearly thrown out of her grip.

But she steadied it and brought it down again. The vines died down, both of them. Willow still watched for those flowers, but none came. When she was about to see how Josha was doing, a treant lumbered toward her. Unlike the Treant king's, this one's body was made of heavy lumber, and its feet similarly look burdensome. The treant opens its branch limbs and ten vines sprout out from each of its fingers, each lashing downward at Willow at a flashing speed. Her neck, left arm, and feet suddenly untangled.

Willow's last instinct was to keep her right hand free. She slashed down, and the vines battered her sword away in a slap. That was fine with her. Willow pointed straight at the Treant's body. Its barked head with large green eyes tilted in confusion. A dark wind engulfed it, descending upon the wooden body like a hungry hawk. Countless cuts bore down on the Treant. In an instant, Willow was freed again, and she fell to one knee and watched as, unlike the Lich, the Treant did not bleed.

Its body was merely carved out, but otherwise, it stood still, towering over her. When Willow's Dismember passed by, she could see something. A weak point. A whisper in her ear that somehow moved her eyes toward where Dismember had made deep lacerating points on the Treant's neck. Willow exploded into movement, casting two scythes in each hand, steadying them with two fingers. At the same time, the Treant also moved, bursting out ten vines again.

Willow sliced her hand in a cross, and dark wind rushed ahead, decapitating the Treant in a keening wail. [You grow stronger] [Wind Mage—Level 4] [Spell] [Scythe (Tier One)] + 1 Arcanic The creature, losing its head, started to collapse sideways. Willow took a step back, shielding her eyes from the dust that had been kicked up, only to see three more Treants descend toward her. With no other option remaining, Willow steeled her resolve and stood her ground. Here goes nothing.

With Scythe and Dismember not able to bring down the Treant quickly enough to consider fighting multiple, the other option was for her to switch to the [Guard] class and last long enough until help came. The moment she tapped into her other class, a finger tapped her shoulder. Then a wrist wrapped around her stomach. She let out a cry before a feminine voice said:"Sorry, bear with me a bit." The last thing she saw was her class. [Rogue—Level 21] Her body, along with whoever was behind her, sank into the shadow.