Chương 12: Vasser

Kayzen took careful steps towards the skeleton that was glowing the brightest. Judging from the meter-long spine and tusks that curved towards the skull, he guessed that it was a warthog. The bones on the way were sturdy enough to bear his weight, but not sharp enough to penetrate his boots. He tiptoed over to the glowing skeleton and initiated his shard of record extraction. Rank: Low Record Extraction: With your knowledge in genetics you are able to observe and isolate fragments of records from an organism's DNA.

As the shard mentioned, he should be able to obtain and observe some records from the fiend warthog's skeleton.

'But there's nothing.' Kayzen frowned and used the shard once again, yet the results remained the same. There was no trace of records present within the bone. He moved towards another small glowing skeleton which resembled a rabbit's bone structure. Sure enough, the results here were no different. Rather than being worried, Kayzen felt as if a boulder had been lifted off his shoulders. Piecing together what he had observed thus far he was able to conjure a plausible scenario.

'If humans need records to get their shards and progress on their journey of becoming warlock, paladin, crusader, and so on; then what about the plants and monsters?' This was an important issue since most of them didn't have sentience. Humans could strategize using the shards and get accustomed to the Akashic records. This was the gift given to them by the seven. However, they weren't the only ones who were the target of the progenitor's blessing.

'The plants or monsters should have the ability to assimilate records or use ether nodes in a way humans can't.' Kayzen collected the glowing bones while thinking about the ordeal bean. If all these monsters had their records stripped away, then why was that plant unaffected? It was unlikely that something that could massacre this many lives would be unable to deal with poison.

'Unless that creature is unable to improve using plants.' If so, then it would explain why plants remained unharmed while the rest of the organisms were dead. As Kayzen thought deeper in that direction he felt that the enemy who lay ahead on this path should be a plant as well. The failed evolution of ordeal beans, the monsters running towards the danger, the eerie forest… all of these connected in his mind and formed a clear picture.

After collecting the fiend class bones, Kayzen focused on the bones that were weakest among them all. His ruby-like eyes shone in excitement as he found a fragmented bone that was corroded from the edges.

'As I thought, they are unharmed.' He stored the bone in his backpack and found a lot of similar samples. Some bones were turned into honeycomb like shapes while others were becoming soft like mush on the sides. Nature had its own way of handling things. Just how many animals died in the forest each day? There was no one to bury them either. On a normal day one wouldn't find scattered bones across the forest, so where did they go? The answer was decomposition.

Various species of microorganisms were responsible for consuming dead and decaying matter. They were the cleaners of the forest who consumed the dead and released organic compounds that were needed for the living. At a glance this might seem unrelated to what Kayzen wanted to do, but it was in fact not so. His hex could affect the living. Be it the fungal species of aspergillus or the bacterial family of actinomycetes, they were all living organisms.

With all the ingredients for hex in hand, it was time for an extended forging session. … D +7 of the apocalypse The aroma of roasted beans and sour acid permeated inside the tent. One wouldn't even need bug repellent under such circumstances; not that there were any bugs in this forest. Apart from the plants growing every step of the way, Kayzen hadn't come across any other lifeform in the past two days. Except the microbes of course.

He rolled up the fabric at the entrance and was greeted by the gentle light of the sun. After taking a sip of the coffee he examined the trays that were piled around the tent. Bones of varying sizes were placed in a way where only one side of their surface was submerged in a cloudy liquid; with one third of their tail end hanging in the air. With an abundance of branches in the area it wasn't a difficult setup to arrange. What had been difficult was finding an area that was both spacious and secure.

That had taken him a good few hours.

'They turned out well.' Kayzen picked up a kite-shaped piece of bone and observed its surface. The jagged holes on one side were now glistening with the poison of ordeal beans. During the past two days he had done extensive research on how to use hex on the microorganisms. Their records were almost nonexistent, so it wasn't difficult for him to influence them. The issue was their numbers. There were millions, if not billions of such organisms within the bones he had collected.

He would've died of old age if he hexed them one by one. Thus, he had changed the approach. He used wax and rattan net to make a matrix-like pattern on the bones. Afterwards, he applied hex on the entire microbial culture by giving them a non-specific command: Eat to their heart's content. It was an easy task since there was no need for much convincing. Kayzen picked one bone after another and checked their quality. They weren't uniform since his control was barely enough for the task, but this much should do.

All he wanted was a bone that contained the poison within. There were easier ways to achieve this, but all of them required appliances that he didn't have. There was also the option of manually doing it, but then again, Kayzen didn't have much confidence in his physical prowess. It wasn't an easy task to prepare a hundred containers for hex within two days. He sipped the final drops of coffee and collected every piece of bone he had prepared. Now, it was time for the next task.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Kayzen picked up his personal notebook and wrote down all the details of the experiment. Hidden within those scribbles were the ideas he had racked his head over. Source, Medium, and Target. They were the essentials of the hex. The medium in this case was the bone. The source was technically the poison, but as he had observed, the ordeal bean wasn't able to evolve into a fiend class.

With its lacking records Kayzen doubted that the hex he made using its poison would fully work on stronger creatures.

'Theoretically, it should be possible to use more than one source.' He placed the note at the side and arranged everything in order. There wasn't much point in thinking further since time was already running out. Even with the Hemogaster backpack his rations were limited.

'More importantly, I can't lag behind others.' Kayzen believed that everyone on Erde was going through rapid improvement. If he didn't want to be pushed around by the tides of the new era then he had to sail ahead. He picked up the makeshift brush made from leaves and sturdy branches and dipped it into the blood of Hemogaster. Excluding what he had stored for sample, this was the last beaker he was left with. Kayzen waited until the crimson glow from his hand extended all the way to the brush's tip.

Once he felt his connection with the flowing ether, he lifted the brush and started drawing a pentagram on the surface filled with poison. Unlike when he was using the ampoules, he couldn't work on multiple containers of hexes at once. He was using two sources, and more importantly, there was no fixed target. Kayzen focused all of his attention on the hex and shaped the idea he had in mind. Even to this date he didn't know what was the core ability of the Hemogaster. Absorbing blood, Hemotoxins, Spatial storage…

all of them should have corresponding records inside the monster's DNA. His glowing red eyes failed to identify and differentiate the records, but for now, he didn't need to either. He just needed a general direction.

'What I need is blood of the enemy to finish the hex.' With a final stroke, the pentagon was complete. Unlike with the ampoules there was no visible indication that he had succeeded. Be that as it may, he was confident in his theory. He repeated the same process over and over for all hundred bones. The records of the ordeal beans were the main offensive part, whereas the Hemogaster's blood acted as a support. Kayzen didn't fancy the idea that he could somehow collect the enemy's DNA.

It might be possible for plant-based creatures, but there was no way he was going to attempt that on mutated animals. With his current capabilities getting close to them would be tantamount to death. Phantom shift should work, but he wasn't willing to find out what would happen when it didn't. Another idea would be to use throwable weapons like daggers.

'But once again, I don't have the strength to penetrate a fiend's defenses.' The pile of kite sized bones was his solution to all those issues. Throwing them towards the enemy was something he could do. Once the bone made contact with the enemy, the hex would be complete since the source, medium, and target were determined. He was done with all tasks at hand by the time the air lost its moisture.

Ten bones, a vial of sap from dragon's blood tree, some candies, and a bottle of water; except for these, everything else was packed inside the Hemogaster backpack.

'All set.' He once again resumed his journey after a break of two days. After the preparations he was no longer afraid of the unknown foe. If anything, he was looking forward to the fight. He arrived in a duller area after crossing the field of bones. Clumps of soil stuck against his boots as he followed a trail across the withering trees. Kayzen activated phantom shift and almost doubted his ear. What sounded like a fawn's cry was coming from the southern direction.

He held the bones in both of his hands and made his way towards the coming sounds. To his surprise he discovered not one, but three animals. It was a family of deer, with even the youngest fawn being larger than a small cow. It was on the verge of getting into the fiend class, while its parents were already there.

'Great timing.' Seeing that the trio were busy munching down the overgrown vegetation, he crawled over to a safe spot. There were a couple of trees behind him which would allow him to use phantom shift and run if needed. Of course, if his first hit succeeded then he wouldn't have to think that far. Kayzen closed his eyes and observed the flow of ether covering his body. His cover would be blown the moment he attacked. Thus, he had to make perfect use of the timing.

From the wide pocket of his trench coat he pulled out a ten-inch-long segment of bone. It wasn't aesthetically pleasing due to his crude refining, yet its shape would allow it to fly without much hindrance. And while Kayzen wasn't a great marksman, it wasn't particularly difficult to hit a cart sized deer that was standing still. The male deer's ears perked at the sound of parting wind. Its beady eyes saw a glowing red object spinning over, but by the time it reacted, it was too late.

A distance of 20 feet was nothing. Kayzen had already used phantom shift after throwing the bone, and now, he was looking at the hex activate from another direction. The male deer full of vitality fell sideways and started twitching all over. Even from afar he could see the visible distortions on its taut skin. He didn't feel any pity, nor did he enjoy the latter's suffering. With another swing of his arm the female deer was also hit.

The fawn, spooked by the sudden events, jumped over the bushes and ran off into the jungle. Kayzen didn't attack it either since it would be a waste to use his limited arsenal on something that was below the level of a fiend.

'Doesn't look like they have any special ability.' The two deer were on the verge of death due to asphyxiation. Apart from their bigger physique it appeared they had nothing much to show for. This also proved just how special the Hemogaster had been despite it also being a fiend class. Only after noticing that their bodies had stopped twitching did Kayzen approach the deers.

He took out a scalpel in order to collect some samples, but the steel instrument couldn't even pierce through the brown spotted fur, much less the hide beneath.

"GLORY TO ARGIA!" A booming cry interrupted his thoughts of extracting records. Kayzen's red eyes looked in the direction where the fawn had run off to, and the sight he saw made his lips twitch. The fawn was shooting through the forest from west to east. One half of its body was sunken with a golden fist mark before finally, it exploded into chunks of flesh upon hitting a large trunk. Even from the distance of fifty feet away Kayzen could feel the earth tremor beneath his feet.

If there were any other monsters in this area then they were sure to be alerted by now.

'Such a way of fighting…. how familiar.' He already had a guess when he heard the war cry. Judging by the scattered mess on the ground, he could confirm who had arrived.

"Thought I'd find you here." A woman with ash gray hair walked in from the dense forest. Heavy leather armor and the cloak on her back bore the markings of a long journey, yet her sapphire eyes were burning with boundless vigor.

"Long time no see, Vas." Kayzen walked over with a grin on his face and bumped his fist against her gauntlet. It hurt his knuckles a bit, as it always did, but he didn't even register the pain. There was so much he wanted to ask, so much he wanted to tell, yet all he did was point at the corpses of deer.

"Seems we have some company."

"Damn, it's that freak again." Vasser scowled as she watched the corpses being devoured by protruding roots. The sight wasn't unfamiliar to her. Kayzen was about to attack with the hex, but he stopped his hand upon hearing her words. Indeed, it made sense as to why she had brutalized the fawn. She must've known something was going to consume them from underground.

"What's that?" Vasser looked closer at the bone in his hands.

"A Hex. I became a shaper."

"Great. Let's go kill that kill-stealing fucker." Vasser smashed her knuckles and looked at the direction where the roots were coming from. Looking at her eyes Kayzen couldn't help but realize just how much he had missed her.

"As you wish, M'lady. Let's strategize first." He was about to continue, but Vasser pointed at the hill and said, "It's a plant type thing behind that hill, so we can talk on the way. Better finish it up before it gets stronger after devouring them." Kayzen nodded and placed the bone back into his pocket. He was a lot less worried since he no longer had to fight alone. Recalling the image of the glowing fist he asked, "Have you become a Xin?"

"Close, still need some records. What about you? Are 'Hex' like the things you did on the expedition?"

"Not really. It's like…..".... The duo chatted as they climbed the barren hill. They had been apart for two years due to them pursuing their own paths, but it was okay. They had all the time they needed to talk. After the arrival of Akashic records they could walk hand in hand once again, carving their path to the apex.