Chương 11: Field of Bones

Kayzen felt an unprecedented clarity as soon as he used himself as the source. The concept of akashic records had always been a mystery for him. Right now, he found a direction that would lead him to the answers he sought. He sensed his own records that were hidden within his DNA. They were no less fuzzy compared to what he had seen thus far, but in the end, these records belonged to him. There was bound to be more familiarity.

'What exactly are records?' Kayzen asked himself as his glowing hand shaped the hex. He didn't know what ability the vine had due to the fragile nature of the medium. Theoretically, he just needed to use his own records and influence the enemy in the way he desired. What ability they had wasn't core factor, rather, it were the records'Records, Shards, and Abilities….' For once, Kayzen was glad that the forest was eerily quiet.

There should be a grave reason behind that, yet at the moment, what he needed was to improve himself. Before when he was using the hex there was no time for him to think things over. Monsters in Greenford weren't nice enough to wait for their death. The ordeal bean was different. It was questionable whether it had developed a sentience, and even if it did, it was unlikely that a vine could run away. Such would be the case until it reached ranks higher than fiend class.

And if that were to happen, the one running first would have been Kayzen. He set aside the idle thoughts and focused on one of his records: The pain resistance. All his records felt the same to him, and the sole way to differentiate them was by using the shards. This was how he used his ability like phantom shift as well; by focusing on the specific shard. As the hex took shape a part of Kayzen's records were drawn out of his body and merged with the medium.

'It's not enough.' A warlock's instinct warned him that the hex would fail to achieve what he had in mind. Rather than adding more of his records, Kayzen paused for a moment and thought about the reason. Records, Shards, and Abilities, they were the crux of the problem.

Kayzen's familiarity with them increased in the descending order, so he started thinking about the last term: Abilities The warlocks called them skills, the paladins and crusaders called them blessings, and at higher ranks there were many names for them. In essence, the 'ability' was a broad term used for various techniques involving the usage of ether. They had existed long before the arrival of akashic records. In a way, many would assume that the shards were in fact the materialization of abilities.

Kayzen was one of them until now. Pain resistance, phantom shift, record extraction… all of these were the abilities he could use after becoming the shaper of hex. They involved using ether in unique ways to accomplish a certain task. The shards were the physical manifestations of the said abilities, made in a way where people could interact with them and understand them better.

'I thought so as well, but now, it doesn't look like it.' Kayzen's red eyes focused on the floating hex. Was he using his ability to affect the ordeal bean? The answer was no. He clearly remembered the words he saw when he chose this path: [May your records corrupt all that defies your way. By drawing ether and using various mediums you can construct a variety of Hexes. The success and effect of the hex will depend on the records of all things involved] It was apparent that the emphasis was on the word records.

To be specific, 'records of all things involved.' Nowhere did it mention that only the ability would play a role in that.

'My records are more than just the shards or some ability.' Kayzen took a sharp breath as his head ached from strain. There was only so much he could stall for while making the hex. Still, he was satisfied with the observation. His temporary conclusion was that records were related to what made one gain the ability, not the ability itself. There was a lot he needed to work on, but for now, it was time to finish the hex at hand. The pile of leaves started to burn up as the flow of ether quickened.

Without hesitation Kayzen used the entirety of his records as the source. If his guess was correct then the records weren't limited to what abilities one had. In a similar vein, his hex that worked by affecting records wouldn't be limited to abilities either.

"Wither." Kayzen whispered and pressed his palm against the pile of leaves. Sweat trickled down from his eyebrows yet he didn't lift a finger. His entire attention was set on the vine, for it had just proved his theory. The leaves and the pods were the first to be affected by the hex. They shriveled and deflated as if all of the moisture was sucked out of them, and in fact, that was indeed the case. Kayzen had targeted the entire genomic structure of the ordeal bean.

Overactivation of drought response in order to release salts and close the pores; coupled with releasing cellulose to block off the vascular structure. The ordeal bean didn't even get to release its toxin or show off whatever ability it had before withering away. This was the result caused by the sheer difference between the records of source and target. At the same time, the cost Kayzen had to pay wasn't cheap.

He hadn't felt it before since he had been using external things as the source, but now he could actively feel a strange form of exhaustion.

'At most once a day. Any more and my records would be permanently harmed.' Kayzen opened the Hemogaster backpack with a smile and put on his gloves. This was why he preferred being a warlock. The way they learned about the world was fascinating to him. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He fastened his plague mask and approached the now shriveled vine with a tray in hand. The pods that had fallen on the ground were the exact thing he needed.

One after another he plucked them up and checked for any strange mutations. One thing he was curious about was why this plant had failed to evolve. The poison of ordeal bean was deadly to say the least. It made no sense as to why a lifeform like this had failed to evolve; especially when it had found the right path judging from the records. Nonetheless, it was a good thing for him. Kayzen didn't leave out a single valuable resource. After a few minutes the tray in his hand had over fifty such finger-like pods.

Without waiting further, he sat down near the fallen vine and started preparing for the next part. The reason he was so interested in this vine was due to the specific enzymes it carried. Be it in humans or other animals, there were certain signaling enzymes that were responsible for contracting and relaxing muscle tissues. In general they acted in pairs, one type was responsible for telling the muscles to contract while the other told them to loosen up.

'And this, is going to stop the second part.' Kayzen peeled the pods and dropped the eyeball-like beans into the pot. The tiny things were far more dangerous than one might expect. They carried a compound called eserine that essentially destroyed the enzymes that signaled the muscles to loosen up. The effects of that were gruesome.

Death by muscle cramps, death by heart rupture, and in less severe yet unfortunate cases, the target would be affected by the SLUDGE syndrome: Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, Defecation, Gastrointestinal distress, and Emesis.

'That would be a fate worse than death.' Kayzen closed the lid of the pot and prepared another set of chemicals. He was carrying the entire stock of the lab, so he didn't need to worry about the necessary reagents for the time being. He took out a thick glass bottle and uncorked it after keeping it an arm's length away. Immediately, an acrid, brimstone like scent assailed his nose. He wasn't a big fan of the sulphuric acid, but at times like these it was the best solvent.

Kayzen opened the pot just enough to pour the sluggish liquid in. A wet, frantic sizzling came from the pot right away. He closed the lid before the yellow vapor could escape and moved a good few feet away. Seeing that everything was processing as intended, he picked up the tray once again and collected the remaining pods. It was hard to tell when he would find another of the same species, so it was better to save them for now. It took another hour by the time he was done harvesting.

The extraction was going to take a while, thus, Kayzen decided to have a meal and rest for the time being. Judging from the signs thus far he expected that the next part of the journey would be anything but peaceful. … The setting suns cast long, intersecting shadows over the lush forest. Despite this being the peak summer season, Kayzen didn't hear a single buzz of insects. The air was dry and dead; so were those who once lived in this region.

The rhythmic crunch of Kayzen's boots stepping on dried leaves was interrupted by a muffled crack. Ever since he left from the site of ordeal beans, the vegetation had grown denser and there were more leaves and branches scattered across the floor. Now, he had found something different. Kayzen knelt down and used a nearby branch to prod where his foot had been. The scent of moss prickled his nose, and there, he found what had caused the noise.

White fragments and chalky powder were imprinted on the soil, mimicking the eagle mark on his boots. His red eyes gleamed in alarm and surveyed the surroundings. Except for the tree's shadows elongating further there was no change compared to before. It wasn't that alarming to find bones in a forest, but their sudden appearance birthed many questions.

'Better be more cautious.' Kayzen took out a couple of test tubes from his Hemogaster backpack and placed them in his coat's pocket. The harmless looking liquid inside them was potent enough to reap the lives of many creatures, even if they had evolved. He kept moving without changing his direction of the southwest. The faint silhouette of the Elgon range had become a bit clearer compared to yesterday. According to the map, there was a small hill close to the mountains.

It was the region where the forest was most dangerous; at least before the apocalypse. The frequency of crunching sounds increased as more and more bones were littered in the area. If before he could only see small fragments then now there were a couple of ribs and femurs visible every ten steps. No matter how Kayzen used his brains he failed to realize the danger. If there was something dangerous up ahead then dead animals should be facing his direction, but it was the exact opposite.

All of the bones he had come across painted the picture of various creatures running towards the direction he was going at.

'Almost as if they were attracted to something.' The air became heavy and humid as the density of flora increased. Rather than feeling fresh vitality, the scene was enough to make one suffocated. Stems and roots were stubbornly growing from the fractured skulls, while many large bones were hidden within the trunks and branches. For a moment Kayzen considered to just stop here and make more preparations. The bones were hard to collect since many were broken or stuck, but they would make fine mediums for hex.

He had a lot of ideas in mind as well. It would take some time, but in at most a day or two he was confident that he could craft hexes using the things he had gathered. Kayzen tied up his white hair and decided to make a final push before settling down for research. The more information he had about the enemy, the better. The hill on the way had now become big enough to hide the Elgon range behind. Kayzen guessed that after a few hours' journey he would arrive at a high vantage point and scout the forest.

Yet as soon as he crossed the next bush in his path, all of his plans were scrapped. Almost instinctively he took on a sprinting posture and activated the phantom shift.

'May umbra count our steps.' Kayzen muttered a silent prayer as he looked at the field of bones ahead. Rather than vibrant ivy, the forest ahead was covered in knee deep ocean of bones. Hundreds of carcasses were mashed together as if barricading the trail ahead. He clutched the vial tighter in his pocket, as that poison was his only source of warmth. He was glad that his training at Opheim academy had taught him to remain calm no matter the circumstances.

'Breathe in, Breathe out. Observe. Analyze. Overcome.' Moist air splashed against his skin and brought a moment of clarity to his mind. The bones weren't brittle like the ones he had seen so far. There was no smell of rot, nor was there a single drop of blood or flesh to be seen. An even stranger thing was the lack of fur. Hidden behind the coating of ether his eyes observed the skeletal structure of fallen monsters.

Upon a closer look, he realized that a few among them were especially glaring under the waning sunlight.

'The fiend class.' At this moment, the excitement Kayzen felt surpassed his wariness of the unknown foe. These bones would be the perfect medium to craft hexes from the poison of the ordeal beans. They were light, sturdy, and had decent conductivity for ether. Kayzen took a step forward with determination. As long as he played his cards right, this field of bones would make him one of the strongest shapers in the empire.