Chương 125: Lair Of The Worthy

Vraxious- Forsaken lands Vrax's armored feet quietly sloshed across the cave floor as he crept farther into the nest, staying along the edge of the wall. He didn't think there was anything in here, but unreasonable and omnipresent paranoia had kept him alive this long. He froze briefly, leaning down to root through a thin layer of silt and pull free what looked like a shield's edge. His enhanced hearing heard the slightest sound of leathery flesh scraping along wet stone above him.

Vrax didn't want to give away his chance to surprise whatever was trying to stalk him from the roof, so he stayed kneeling, pretending he hadn't noticed. It didn't sound large and let out a quiet, gentle burbling sound as it crept down the wall behind him. He waited just a moment longer so it was definitely within reach, and then he let his ever-thirst cape go absolutely nuts.

A few of the bladed roots shot into the water he kneeled in, but most thankfully jutted out like wrathful spears, impaling and then cruelly wrapping around the thing on the wall, tearing it into the air and holding it aloft while they fed. Its not paranoia if your always right! Vrax glanced at it with a predator's gaze: [Silt Lurker Tier-1](lvl16) [Threat: low].

It was about what he had hoped for—just some minor ambush predator hiding in the cave hoping to snag more mundane fauna if it came in to drink from the questionable waters or seek shelter. The rapidly desiccating form of the Silt lurker was honestly revolting; it was an unhealthy green-grey that matched the walls perfectly, had a lamprey-like mouth attached to a flat body, and had a few tentacles trailing off the end. It looked like a half-rotted, failed version of a god's first try at making an octopus.

With a shrug, Vrax went back to his investigation, letting the Everthirst cloak drink its fill. The trusty root deserved it; it didn't get to participate enough. It was more than a little distracting trying to sort through the debris with the death gurgles of the Lurker behind him and some really unhealthy-sounding slurping noises, but he pushed through. The piece of armor he pulled out didn't hold any damned clues other than whatever this monster was, it could definitely shear through metal.

The chunk of breastplate had a clean, almost precise diagonal cut across it, and since the armor wasn't rusted, all this was high quality and likely at least lightly enchanted. Vrax shuffled deeper into the murky cave, using his bots to feel for anything worth inspecting in the silty pool. His hearing picked up another lurker edging towards him, but he just left it to the cloak.

This one didn't even get close; one of the two extra-long roots stretched nearly across the cavern and roughly stuffed itself in its mouth, holding it against the far wall while it drained the creature.

"Ah, this looks promising…" Vrax muttered to himself, pulling a small patch of rubble aside from a relatively dry patch. The cloak shot out again, this time yanking another lurker from its nest across the cave to the dozens of waiting roots. Vrax staggered a bit and shot the cloak a dirty look; the weight was starting to get a bit annoying.

"Glutton," he said with a bit of grim humor. Under the pile of rubble were small stonelike shards that gleamed with the most verdant emerald sheen Vrax had ever seen, peeking from beneath filth and moss. He slowly collected more of the fragmnted shards, making a small pile to compare. He was almost certain they were egg fragments. Alright, we have the rough area it was in, and as far as I'm concerned, we have confirmation that it made little monsters to carry on the reign of terror hopefully… even now.

The original nest was unnaturally overgrown and led to a cave. So I guess we start searching out from here looking for the same thing. Although an unnaturally overgrown and abandoned cave or maybe ruin certainly doesn't narrow it down too much in the forsaken lands. Vrax shuffled a handful of the egg shards into a pouch at his side and deactivated his cloak so it would drop the husks of the lurkers it was still working on. He sloshed out of the cave and climbed back to where Lux was patrolling.

"Alright, buddy, let's do some proper exploring. We are looking for really green overgrowth with anything that could be an attached lair… Yeah, I know, not super specific. The only other damned clue I have is that apparently the thing can cut with surgical precision, so if we find any eerily bisected bodies, we're on the right track." Lux creaked in acknowledgment and gave a thumbs up with one of his four long claws; it was a bizarre gesture from the Spriggan.

Then he enthusiastically began moving onwards on the lookout. Okay, firstly, I need to stop letting the impressionable child hang out with Jonathan before he teaches it how to flip people off. Secondly, I have no clue if that little bugger understood a word of what I said. Vrax checked that the few extra special smelter moss vials he had made just for this trip were within easy reach. They were adapted to sparkle brightly and be an utter sticky bastard to get off.

They were also attracted to motion and heat; he was hoping if he could find the damned monster, the moss would stop it from just disappearing on him with some bullshit skill. They trekked through the woods for nearly two hours; occasionally Vrax would climb a tree to get a better view of the surroundings. Duchess followed overhead with her flock. On two separate occasions she descended from the sky like a deranged shepherd to hunt something unlucky enough to be walking around in the same plane of existence as her.

Both times she somehow triggered the Devourers to change and follow her down when she dove. They came across a number of small ruins that once might have been small villages but were now nothing more than the echoes of the past. Small piles of stone that marked where a town well was located. A metal star half hidden under pine needles that probably once adorned a chapel. The most promising location they searched was the metal framework of some ancient storehouse.

It was heavily overgrown with dense tumbling greenery and even had a truly massive carnivorous plant settled into the heart of the ruins. The thing was the size of a damned watchtower and had one wrathful eye perched on top of a circular stalk. A dozen snapping trap-like maws ringed it, and a sickly sweet scent that subtly tugged at the mind wafted from it. Vrax was fairly certain it had a lure of some kind, but with his mental resistance, he couldn't truly feel it.

It had a veritable cornucopia of random animals trapped in its mouths, some still braying for freedom. Predators' gaze shows it as [Callers Spire Tier-1](lvl70) [Threat: low]. He almost felt bad for the thing as he laid into it from a safe distance. It couldn't have found a worse possible matchup than a foe with high mental defenses and an arsenal that included Rot on demand. Vrax squared up just outside of its range and slowly slagged the monster one smite at a time.

It took quite a while with how weak his smites got at range, but he didn't see any reason to be risky when he had such a perfect matchup. He considered using a smelter moss to speed the process up once he had been at it for an hour and only managed to carve a cart-sized furrow into the beast. But based on how frantic the eye on top was getting and how he was starting to actually feel the psychic lure, it was getting desperate, so he had to be getting close.

Another hour later Vrax wished he had just used the smelter moss, as the monolithic plant finally toppled over; he had cut it down like a towering tree, a smite at a time. It made a godawful racket and knocked down most of the remaining metal framework on its way down, but at least the way to the building's basement was now clear of snapping mouths big enough to fit easily inside of. Stupid design for a damned plant, no ability to move or at least attack at range.

How have those things even managed to not go extinct… I may be warping my own perception of what plants should be like with Adapt Life… But still, it should have at least had stabby roots or something! A determined gopher with high mental resistances could have killed that thing. Lux clambered to his feet excitedly to follow Vrax as he descended down a dirt-covered staircase. The Spriggan had basically been twiddling his thumbs the whole time Vrax practiced his smite aim.

Vrax had to hold the little bugger back from rushing down the mystery staircase. Once he maneuvered in front, he began, as always, an overtly cautious creep down the stairs. They were covered in a thick layer of loam with small clovers sprouting across them. Furry little orbs gently rolled around in the soil harmlessly, stopping every once in a while to unfurl into an adorable cross between a squirrel and a damn caterpillar and feast on the clovers a leaf at a time. Love this novel?

Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Vrax descended the last step into what was an ancient storage area; it had held up to the test of time strikingly well. The ceiling was only caved in in a few spots, and the largest one was freshly pouring soil down from where the spire had faceplanted hard enough to crack the ceiling. He chuckled slightly at the single oversized plant maw hanging through the roof and looked around.

His hopes were already falling by the second; this place looked nothing like the ancient lair had. The ground had at most a thin coating of dirt with mushrooms peeking out across a stone floor. Metal shelves sat barren only scrqaps of wooden crates having lost to nature ages ago adorning them. The room was empty other than scraps, dirt and a few plants.

"Damn," Vrax said softly to himself and lowered his spear from its ready position. Lux burst past him, ready for a brawl, his enthusiasm waning quickly as he also realized there wasn't a damn thing here. He spun in a slow, disappointed circle with a pair of bladed claws reaching over his shoulders. Lux let out a sad creak and kicked at the soil lightly in frustration.

"Sorry, buddy, let's keep looking."

They ended up camping in the basement that night after searching all the nearest surrounding areas. The next morning they set out more eastward towards a colossal skeleton Vrax had seen from a treetop. It appeared to halfway wrap around the side of a ruined castle. The trip there was much of the same; Vrax kept Malice away most of the time and focused on stealth. If they could actually manage to get the jump on this mystery monster, that would be their best shot. Assuming they found the damn thing.

Around midday the ruined castle rose above them as they exited the woods and crept across a vast field of flicker grass towards it. The castle would have been magnificent in its heyday; three towers rose from its tiered center, each nearly piercing the low clouds even now. Its stonework was constructed from alternating materials: a white marble slightly speckled with grey and one that Vrax didn't recognize, a coppery colored stone also flecked with grey.

A rose patch had run rampant up the left side of the castle walls, climbing high and then crashing down into the courtyard below only to rise once again, winding its way up the castle and spiraling around the top of the leftmost lookout tower terminating at its absolute peak. If that wasn't dramatic enough, there was a skeleton half wrapped around the rightmost wall that was easily half the size of the damned castle.

Its head forever slumped over the edge of the wall where it had died, massive claws clutched to the battlements. It almost looked like a dragon, but it didn't have any wings, and Vrax would have expected the castle to be mostly torn down if that was the case. Even with ancient high-tiered defenders. Sprawling out below the slight hill the castle presided upon was the shattered remnants of a small town. The town absolutely looked like the monster on the wall had rampaged through it.

Buildings were completely destroyed; remnants of rooftops and cartwheels could be seen strewn throughout the streets in the tangle of overgrowth. Every single building below the castle had been leveled with prejudice save for two. A rustic-looking home with red brickwork and a pair of chimneys peeking past its lavender shingled roof. And a tan circular hut that stood out like a sore thumb amidst the other rubble.

Vrax focused on the hut for a moment; the longer he looked at it, the less likely it became that that thing was man-made. It had slight grooves along its surface and a person-sized hole but no windows or remnants of a door—nothing that people would have added. He filed it under probably a monster nest.

This place certainly looked suitably impressive to be the lair for a beast worthy of Vurune, and what really sealed it as likely for Vrax was the waist-high carpet of moss that protruded from the castle's broken main gates, trailing off as it came towards the town below. Alright... boy, there's a lot to process here, and a whole bunch of red flags are going off for danger. Obviously the mostly untouched house in the center of town is questionable at best.

I can't see much in the damn town itself because the rubble and overgrowth are so dense. And that absurdly green moss trickling into the castle looks exactly like what the ancient beast's lair had. But first, what monster is prowling around town? That hut is absolutely a nest. Vrax and Lux crept up a sloping roof that had cascaded to the ground below and settled into a dense path of oversized wildflowers that had stubbornly started growing on the rooftop.

Between Lux shaping the flowers into a slight barrier and Vrax's talent, they blended seamlessly into the vegetation around them as they settled in to survey the area. It wasn't long before a bizarre, vaguely humanoid-shaped creature came out of the nest. It had oversized arms and a wide torso that led to almost comically thin legs. Its entire torso was dominated by a drooling mouth big enough to stuff a man inside of.

On either side of the mouth were long, thin whiskers that gently strobed with light that probed around its surroundings as it ambled slowly across the broken street. The beast's face was a dappled green that blended fairly well in this environment, and it didn't have any visible eyes, relying solely on the dexterous feelers. It stopped abruptly as one of its feelers rocketed backwards with a static flash of light and the mild snap of ozone.

Its long clawed hand reached under nearby rubble and retrieved a decidedly singed-looking fuzzy creature, tossing it straight into the maw and giving a few ponderous chews. Vrax kept watching as a few more of the beasts ambled out and began their slow, methodical hunt among the rubble. He let a predator's gaze fall upon the closest creature. [Voltaic Rummager Tier-1](lvl 55)[Threat: Moderate]. So probably pretty dangerous; that crack of lightning seemed like a bad time. Good thing I'm not wearing metal armor!

Probably still wouldn't stop a strong enough zap from burning a damn hole in me though. Let's see, I count… four so far… and thankfully Duchess hasn't descended like an idiot and started a bloodbath. Maybe I can do this quietly. Vrax made a shushing gesture to Lux and gestured at the nearest Rummager; it had wandered away from the others. He slipped off the rooftop rubble, lowering himself down to the street below and landing only a half dozen strides from the thing.

It paused instantly, and even with his near-silent descent, its feelers were madly stroking the ground. Ahh, vibrations. Vrax painfully slowly picked up a fist-sized piece of rubble and lightly tossed it into a bush on the other side of the monster. It moved alarmingly fast to whip around towards the disturbance but immediately went back to that creepy, methodical probing of the region, practically caressing every inch of the rubble and bushes nearby.

There was a sharp zap, and the beast reached out, popping the cooked remains of a pigeon into its mouth. He took the moment's distraction to step lightly across the rubble towards it; he aimed so each of his footfalls fell upon some of the absurdly stubborn scraggly burnt-orange wildflowers scattered across this stretch. They cushioned his steps just enough. The Rummager flicked a whisker curiously in his direction, feeling along the rocks towards him, but it didn't turn.

When he was within spear reach, he slowly channeled mana just in front of his spear tip in a cone. He let it build to the point that nearby foliage was starting to shrivel and melt away merely from being nearby, and then he thrust it forward towards the hunched creature, aiming for where he hoped its brain was. The entropy passed through the creature's upper half like a molten stone dropped through a thin sheet of ice.

There was only a moment of resistance before its top half popped apart in a shower of rotten flesh and crackling sparks. The wave of essence rushed into Vrax as the beast fell forward with a dull thud. [Mana 160/306] The other three creatures ambling around all turned towards him as one. Feelers flailing in the air like they could taste the death of their brethren. Let's see if that trick works again. I don't have quite enough mana for more than one more smite of that magnitude though…

Vrax danced across the rubble, quickly leaping up to the shattered remains of a storefront. Only the front wall remained, precariously leaning against what was once some kind of smithy. Vrax cautiously edged up to the very top lip and surveyed the creatures as they felt their way towards him. Lux was carefully creeping down from his perch in a fascinating and impressive use of his skills. He was forming thick mushrooms and stepping across the caps to avoid making any noise.

Using his other skill to control their wobble and guide his uneven steps from cap to cap. Vrax knew he couldn't keep that up long with how much mana it would cost, but it might get him damned close to the one farthest away from himself. Instead of leaping down into what would almost certainly turn into a flurry of lightning, Vrax carefully teased out his cistern across the rubble below in a thick line separating the one closest to him from its friends.

Stands of willows and wildflowers Suddenly roiled into existence behind it. That, of course, set all of them off, and they lashed out at the plants with brutal electrical snaps. He waited until the creature struck again, all its feelers flashing forward into a willow that had nudged it and detonating the plant with an actual lightning strike of power. Vrax leapt down through the shower of arcing plant pieces and jabbed with his spear.

Only pushing a tiny bit of power into Smite and letting the Magebane worm leap into the creature. Then he simply ran the other way, lightning crackling against shrubs behind him as he went. The whole area was starting to turn into a mix of airborne plant particles and reeked of burnt ozone. Vrax ducked behind another pile of rubble. The Rummager chasing him suddenly burst into violent green flames as it tried to discharge another lightning strike, the Magebane worm doing its job already.

The beast wasn't particularly smart and thought it was under direct attack, sending more arcs of electricity all around itself and only igniting more fires within its body. Vrax let himself smile; that was two down, and based on the go-fuck-yourself-sized jagged blade Lux was holding like a guillotine above his prey, they were down to only one more foe. Vrax angled up another pile of rubble to get an eye over the top of the vegetation wall he made, to check on the last foe. What he saw made his blood run cold.

The last Rummager already lay in two even pieces cut straight down the middle with a single impeccable blow. He hadn't heard a damn thing or seen anything else creep onto the battlefield. The creature that had done it was nowhere in sight, but a slow bloom of waist-high, impossibly green moss was creeping out from around the body, starting to blanket the already treacherous battlefield.