Chương 77: The Twin-Heart Grove Stag (Part 1)

The stag looks… concerned. I don't see why. Out of all the possible ways to die in a fantasy world, being dramatically stabbed to death by someone as beautiful and humble as myself is clearly one of the better options. Top five, at minimum. It takes a slow step back, both sets of eyes locked onto me with unwavering focus. There is no panic in the movement, just calculation. Careful. Measured.

It really, really does not want this fight, but it's intelligent enough to understand that turning its back on me would be a catastrophic life decision. I begin to move. Slowly. Deliberately. Circling. My ears angle forward, locking onto it completely, tracking every shift in weight, every subtle adjustment of muscle beneath that bark-armored hide. The forest floor crunches softly underfoot as I close the distance, dry leaves and brittle twigs giving way beneath each step. The air feels tense.

The forest itself seems to be holding its breath. As I advance, my lips curl back just slightly. Enough to expose the faint glint of elongated canines. The stag notices. That, apparently, was a mistake. Its roar tears through the clearing, deep and violent, and the forest answers. Leaves cascade from the canopy in a sudden, unnatural storm. Branches twist, roots rip free from the soil, entire trunks creak and groan as something massive takes hold of them.

Wood stretches, warps, and sharpens, and in an instant the clearing transforms into a living weapon, dozens of hardened spears angling toward me from every direction, points glinting in the fractured sunlight with terrifying, unhurried precision. I blink. That is… a lot of sharp objects. The stag holds the pose, both heads fixed on me, as if offering one final opportunity to reconsider my life choices. My posture shifts as Guiding Star takes the lead, weight redistributing with fluid, unhurried ease.

I continue forward. The stag understands. There will be no retreat. It roars again— And the forest moves. The first hint of danger comes from behind. My gravity sense pulses a warning just as a root spears straight for the back of my head, fast enough to blur. Deeply committed to the concept of aura farming, I simply tilt my head a fraction to the left. The root passes by my temple so closely that the displaced air lifts a few strands of my hair. … Acceptable. My eyes widen— I duck.

Another spear erupts from the root itself, splitting mid-flight and punching through the exact space my head occupied a heartbeat ago. That was— Astral Reflex. I think. The Tier Two racial skill I never properly tested finally asserts itself, a subtle but decisive tug on my instincts, sharpening the timing of my reactions just enough to make the difference between "elegant dodge" and "extremely unfortunate impalement." Convenient.

I reduce the gravity acting on my body and spring upward just as two more roots lance out of the ground beneath my feet, chasing me into the air with alarming enthusiasm. I grin. Perfect. Time to test something. Midair, I increase gravity along one side of my body while reducing it along the other. The imbalance takes hold instantly, torque snapping through my center as my body twists sideways.

My tail lashes out on instinct, catching the motion, stabilizing the spin— —and with something that could generously be described as a barrel roll, I carve cleanly through both incoming roots. They split apart with slight resistance. Test successful. I shift the weight back down through my legs, increasing gravity beneath my feet as I descend. My tail flicks once—sharp, precise—bleeding off the last of the rotation as I straighten out completely before landing. Ten out of ten. No notes.

Aerial mobility: partially unlocked. Minimal. Crude. Entirely sufficient. Another root spears toward the small of my back. At the same time, three branch-spears rip free from the surrounding trees and launch toward me from staggered angles. And, just to round things out, my gravity sense politely informs me that somewhere behind me, an entire tree has been uprooted and is currently being shaped into something that could reasonably be classified as a weapon of mass destruction. Charming.

I'll want to avoid that one if I would prefer not to be converted into a decorative red stain. I place a localized gravitational field along one spear's trajectory, dragging it down into the ground before it can reach me. I step forward. Then pivot. A smooth pirouette carries me past the second spear, skirt flaring, Astra Nocturne flashing out to intercept the third and shearing it cleanly in half mid-flight. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

The root arrives a moment later. I turn sharply, blade angled forward. It impales itself. Momentum carries it down the length of the edge, splitting cleanly from tip to base before collapsing to either side of me. My ears perk slightly. … That one definitely looked good from a third-person perspective. I turn again, settling back into stance without hesitation as I continue my approach, pointedly ignoring the architectural-scale spike forming behind me. It can wait its turn.

As I advance, more roots and branch-spears surge toward me with increasingly desperate enthusiasm. They fail. Every single one. I don't even need to try. A subtle shift of my center of gravity here. A slight tilt of my head there. My blade moves in tight, efficient arcs, deflecting, slicing, or casually batting attacks aside before returning to rest at my hip like it never left. Minimal movement. Maximum disrespect. My smile grows a little wider. Guiding Star really is perfect for this kind of fight.

Bullet hell, but the bullets are polite enough to miss if you ask nicely. That said… I'm getting bored. Hopefully it does something new so I can stop pretending this is engaging— A dozen roots explode from the ground without warning, twisting upward into a writhing cage that snaps shut around me from all directions. Ah. There it is. My posture lowers instantly, right foot planting as I pivot— One clean spin. Every root around me splits in half, collapsing outward in a shower of splintered wood.

I immediately reduce my gravity and jump, slipping upward just as the severed ends regenerate and slam shut around the space I just vacated. Astral Reflex screams. I bring the flat of my blade up— Something small and dense slams into it. The impact hits harder than expected, sending me flying backward as my reduced gravity turns what should have been a stagger into full displacement. Noted.

Gravity snaps back into place at my feet mid-air, dragging me down while my tail flicks through a series of tiny, precise corrections to bleed off rotation. I land lightly, boots carving thin lines through grass and soil as I skid— —and the light disappears. A shadow falls over me. I don't think. Astral Veilstep triggers for the first time, reality tearing open in a flash of starlight as I vanish from where I stood. Much faster. Much flashier. I approve.

The wooden ICBM slams into the ground where I had been a fraction of a second later. The impact is catastrophic. The earth buckles, roots snapping and dirt erupting outward in a violent shockwave as the tree—now thoroughly weaponized—buries itself into the clearing with a deafening crack. A cloud of dust and shredded greenery rolls outward, leaves and splinters carried along in the blast like a forest trying to explode. I slip back out of Astral Space just beyond the impact zone and whistle low.

"Impressive." The moment I reappear, the forest remembers I exist. Branch-spears launch from every direction, slicing through the lingering dust cloud toward my position, while the embedded tree detonates behind them, bursting into a storm of wooden shrapnel that tears through the clearing with enthusiastic malice. I grit my teeth and step forward. Only for my leg to fail me.

A sharp, stinging pain lances through my thigh, and my weight drops out from under me, forcing me down to one knee in a decidedly undignified manner. Unacceptable. I ignore the pain and glance down. Ah. A portion of my exposed thigh has been entirely replaced with wood—courtesy of a small spike I failed to notice—grain and bark where muscle should be, cleanly overwriting the structure I rely on for basic locomotion. That explains the collapse. I click my tongue.

Two vines snap out from my thighs, wrapping around a nearby tree and yanking me sideways just in time to avoid the incoming spears that eagerly attempt to capitalize on my momentary lapse. Astral Reflex hums again, and I tilt my head just enough for a small projectile to whistle past my cheek. As it passes, I catch the shape. Antler. A fragment of the stag's own. Interesting. Weaponized self-disassembly.

I pull myself behind a tree using the vines, letting the trunk absorb the worst of the splinter storm while I take a moment to assess. The wood in my thigh is spreading. Slowly. Persistently. Health is dropping at a rate I would classify as "noticeable." Mood? Mildly inconvenienced. I nod to myself. Note to self: fighting a nature-aligned Aspect inside a forest is more difficult than expected. Also— Extremely fun. Conclusion: do this more often. My ears twitch.

The tree behind me responds immediately, spikes erupting from its trunk in a belated attempt to skewer me where I stand. My vines react faster, slamming into the bark and launching me forward just ahead of the attack. Right. Leg still not functioning properly. Which means— Vine movement for the remainder of the engagement. Slightly more dramatic. Significantly more stylish. My posture settles, center of gravity lowering as Blazing Star takes over from Guiding Star. Time to stop playing around.

No starfire, naturally. Even without witnesses, relying on it would be… inefficient long-term. There will be situations where I cannot simply erase problems without attracting additional, more inconvenient problems. Therefore: Blazing Star. Without the blazing. Tragic, truly. That said, this environment is almost ideal.

The trees are tall enough to provide clean anchor points, spaced well enough to allow high-speed traversal without constant course correction, and sturdy enough to not immediately disintegrate when used as propulsion. I would prefer them larger—thicker trunks, greater height—but compromises must be made. My vines lash out, wrapping around opposing trees. Tension builds— Then releases. I am launched forward at high speed.

My Predator's Claim pins the stag's position in perfect clarity, so naturally, I charge straight in. Both of its heads snap toward me, four eyes widening in unison. A wooden wall erupts from the ground between us, thick, layered, and very reminiscent of the one the Deepwood Warden used all those days ago. Familiar. I don't slow. A small adjustment—gravity shifts, my tail flicks—and my vines snap me sideways onto the rising wall, carrying me two steps along its surface before launching me off.

I rotate cleanly midair and land on the far side with my momentum barely disrupted. Behind me, the wall sinks back into the earth like it was never there. I begin to move forward again— —and pause. There is, unfortunately, a rare and deeply tragic realization to be made. I have not been using my tail enough. For all that I have resented its tendency to enthusiastically broadcast my emotions to anyone with functioning eyes, it is… objectively incredible for mobility.

The level of control it gives me over my balance, my rotation, my entire sense of movement— I exhale slowly.

"… Fine." I will admit it. Foxkin is a perfect fit. Enhanced senses across the board, absurd speed potential, and a highly versatile, magnificently fluffy appendage that turns midair adjustments into something bordering on trivial. Even becoming a true dragon would have been worse. Wings would get in the way in close quarters, and that lizard tail? Entirely inferior in both function and aesthetic. You win this round, system. Ten out of ten decision. I tilt my head slightly. … It's not attacking me.

Both heads of the stag are just… watching me. Hopeful. Like my brief detour into self-reflection has somehow convinced it that I am no longer interested. Incorrect. While I am cataloging useful things, though— Let's try something. A vine coiled around my leg—the one slowly losing its argument against becoming decorative lumber—tightens, wrapping along the full length of it. Then it moves. I crouch slightly. Hop once. Step forward. Yes. That works.

The joint hasn't fully converted yet, so the structure is still intact. I just lack the muscle to operate it. Which is, apparently, a solvable problem. I take another step, then another, letting the vine guide the motion, adjusting pressure and angle like a particularly responsive control system. A few seconds of testing— —and I have it. As expected of a genius like myself. I flick my hair haughtily. Problem solved. My blade settles back into Blazing Star, and I resume my approach, slow and deliberate. Menacing.

I can smell it. The stag's anxiety. The sharp, metallic tang of fear riding its scent. I can hear its hearts, two rhythms, both accelerating, both loud, both desperately trying to keep up with the surge of adrenaline flooding its system. It is… overwhelming. Not my senses. The feeling. It hits all at once, sharp, electric, almost... intoxicating. Euphoria. A rush of exhilaration blooms in my chest, bright and immediate, sending a pleasant, prickling heat through my limbs.

My pulse quickens to match the cadence of the hunt, breath steady but charged with something dangerously close to anticipation. My smile widens without permission. Apex Predator. Of course. Normally, I would reject anything that attempts to impose emotion on me. This should be irritating. Intrusive. Unacceptable. Instead— It feels right. Perfectly aligned. Like something that has always been there, simply waiting for the correct context to surface.

I tap my finger idly against the hilt of my blade as I close the distance, each step measured, unhurried. The stag stiffens. I tilt my head slightly, meeting all four of its eyes one after another.

"Again."