Chương 22: The Sound of Water (1)

As the adrenaline of the fight wore off, Rowan remembered something. He closed his eyes and focused. And he heard it. The faintest trickle of running water. Exactly where it was, he didn't know, but it was somewhere near. So he wandered in a random direction, constantly listening in case the sound of the water got fainter or louder. While he walked, he thought about the implications of what he'd discovered—or at least what he assumed was going on—with the bloodspawn.

If he was right, and they really were learning, it would change everything. And not for the better. He'd need to face more of them to get a better idea, but from the two he'd just fought, it seemed that they were already learning to be wary of his chains, and even worse, to block his blows. He also thought that they were sharing their experiences with each other and that every time he fought one of them, all of the others would be able to learn from their brethren's experiences.

If this were true, it would make it increasingly harder to face the bloodspawn and, in Rowan's opinion, that was just… unfair. How was anybody supposed to reasonably fight them? Then, he remembered he was in Apocalypse Difficulty, and it was only fitting that there be enemies like this. Still, he would have to be careful not to show too many of his cards. But, honestly, he'd already shown most of them. Shaking his head, Rowan rephrased the thought.

He would have to be careful not to show any new cards he might gain unless absolutely necessary. He also needed a strategy against them. What he was doing was working for now, but if the bloodspawn continued adapting, it wouldn't be feasible for long. And, unless he counted the level 2 bloodspawn he'd defeated in a single hit, he had only been facing them in groups of two. If there were more, well, he'd probably just run. So he tried to figure out a strategy that would work well for taking out pairs of them.

They were wary of his chains already, but if he let them get close enough that they couldn't react in time, he would be able to bind them. That had the downside of leaving one able to easily attack him. However, if he were to split his chains between both of the attacking bloodspawn, he could [Bind] both at once. It might not hold them for long, but if he could find an easier method of killing them, he might be able to finish them both off. Perhaps something to do with his mana constructs?

So far, they'd been the most effective against the beasts, as the blunt damage from his mace didn't seem to do much against them. He would have to work on improving his mana blades, but at the moment, he just didn't have the mana to spare for experimentation; every time he managed to regenerate enough mana, he ran into another fight. And he couldn't just avoid the confrontations, either; he needed to defeat more enemies than ever to get his next set of rations and water.

At the thought of water, he turned his attention back to the faint trickle he'd been following. He was still wandering down the same tunnel, as whenever he turned into a side tunnel, the noise began to fade. So the water, or at least whatever liquid he was hearing, was either directly above or below the cave he was traveling in. From what he could hear, he assumed it was above him. But he still didn't know how to get to it, and it wasn't like he could just break his way through the cave ceiling—Rowan paused.

Could he? He looked down at his fists that were probably harder than some of the stones back on earth. And if his stats were to be trusted, he was many times stronger than he'd been back before the System. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Taking a moment, he calculated in his head. He'd started with three toughness, and now he had what, eighteen? That was an increase of six times.

But he didn't think he was quite powerful enough to shatter stone. Or he could use his mace… Rowan shook his head. He didn't want to accidentally damage the weapon. Plus, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to try and break through to the water. Despite being on their home turf, bloodspawn were relatively scarce in the area. Still, the noise might draw attention, and he just didn't know what would happen if he succeeded. Would the tunnel flood? Something worse? So, for now, he would keep searching for a way up.

Hopefully, it would be at least somewhere near him, rather than miles away, where he would never find it. With a sigh, Rowan continued following the sound of water. — He'd been walking for hours now, but still, he had yet to find any sign of water besides the constant gurgling. He had, however, encountered two more vine stranglers. Both of them had gone down with relative ease, and despite the fights, Rowan's mana was full enough that he felt safe to experiment.

So, deciding to take a break, settling down against the wall. He still didn't like leaning on or even brushing against the crimson mold that covered the caves, but, unlike the necrotic poison inflicted by the fungal creatures, it didn't seem to have any adverse effects. Actually, the fungi were relatively comfortable, providing a cushion between him and the hard stone. After taking a moment to settle in, Rowan channeled some mana, forming it into a blade.

It was smaller than those he usually made, but it didn't take quite as much mana. It took a constant stream of mana and his concentration to keep it whole and afloat. Taking a deep breath, he tried to create a second one. It was difficult, somehow harder than it was to fight and maintain a single mana construct. It was always harder to create a blade than it was to use an existing one, so he let the already created blade fall to the floor as he directed the entirety of his attention towards creating the new one.

Once it was complete, Rowan took control of both mana constructs at once, teeth gritted in concentration. Then, he began to move them through the air. Slowly at first, then faster. Once he had a good feel of what it was like to control both at once, he began to do more complicated maneuvers, slowing down once more to let himself practice. The pair of blades rotated and swerved, moving in perfect sync.

[Mana Manipulation lvl 10 → Mana Manipulation lvl 11] But Rowan wasn't satisfied; their use would be limited if he had to do the exact same thing with both. So he made one spin while the other moved back and forth—or, at least, he tried to. It was like trying to make his hands do two different things at the same time. So simple, yet somehow also so impossibly hard.

Every time he tried, one of the blades would end up doing the same thing as the other, and when he focused on fixing the problem, the other construct would inevitably be messed up while he was occupied. As both blades began spinning for the dozenth time, Rowan stood and let out a scream of frustration, slamming his fist against the wall. Why wouldn't it work? He yelled again and threw his mace to the floor before sliding down the wall, head in his hands. Why did he have to be all alone down here?

Why did he have to be in Apocalypse Difficulty? Why did the System even have to come at all? Why couldn't it just leave him be? Just leave the world alone—Rowan stopped himself, not allowing the downward spiral to continue. If the System hadn't come, he would be dead, trapped beneath a pile of rubble. But while he was grateful to it, that wasn't the only thing he felt towards it. No, he hadn't acknowledged it before, but as he looked within himself, he realized it. He resented the System.

For a moment, he almost thought he hated it. But no, no he didn't. He didn't hate the System. But still, days upon days of terror and fear built up, and he was angry. At what? He wasn't sure. He didn't care particularly, either. Letting out another scream of frustration, Rowan slammed his fist into the wall again, trying to let his frustration and rage and fear out, but unable to find something to blame.

He continued pounding the wall until his knuckles were bloody and, surprisingly, there was a large crack in the stone. He punched the wall one last time, ignoring the flare of pain in his hand. Then, he collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the fungi-covered ceiling. He was lonely. Rowan didn't want to admit it, but he was. He would give anything to have somebody, anybody, to talk to. Even Hannah didn't seem so bad right now, even if she had tried to kill him.

He let out something between a strangled laugh and a sob. He just wanted to be somewhere where not every living thing he'd seen tried to kill him. But more than anything, he wanted the comfort of Coco. The feeling of her fur on his chest. And as he lay there, wallowing in his own misery, something stirred within his chains.