Chương 10: From The Earth

Time until next Elemental Storm: 5 Days and 13 Hours His duffel bag bobbed with every step Ethan took. The spear in one hand, and a DE Shot in the other gave him some comfort against every single twig break or rustling bush. Most of the time it turned out to be a stray animal, but on the off chance it wasn't… Two shapes lunged out of a shadowed bush. One pinned Ethan while the other circled around. Before it could bite, Ethan stuck the spear in a wolf treant's mouth and stabbed two fingers into its chest. DE Shot!

Death essence spread across the surface, opening up a hole to its beating orange heart. The monster didn't seem to notice as it bit down harder on the shaft of his spear. Ethan shoved a knee into the heart, and the wolf treant yelped, jumping away. He stood up, just as a second wolf treant leaped up to rip his throat out. Ethan dodged to the side, life reinforcement flowing through his veins. The wolf landed, he shot, and took out both of its eyes. Yet it kept looking at him without pause.

Shit, that won't work, will it? He glanced between the two wolves, readying another DE Shot in each hand. The first spat out the spear to its side, while the second's eyes still burned beneath the ruined and rotted wood. Come on, come on… Just make a move already! He couldn't shoot moving targets worth a damn unless they were right in his face. And the death essence would start burning his fingers at any moment now.. But before that point, the wolf leaped.

Ethan kneeled, plunging one hand up into its beating heart and firing the DE Shot. [+10 Credits] The monster's eyes blackened in an instant, and it fell limp in front of its partner. Ethan stood up, the other hand still ready to fire. The remaining monster glanced at it, bared its teeth, and ran. Ethan fired the shot anyway, but it hit the platform instead. Because the wolf hadn't run at him. It had run away.

Before he could ready another shot at the monster, it had already lunged into the bushes and out of sight, and Ethan was left alone with a corpse. That's a new one. Didn't expect it to turn tail. He took pride in the fact as he harvested life essence from the corpse. Some of it went to his wounds, while the rest went to his own life force. [Estimated Time to Live: 1 Day and 7 Hours] Back up over a day. I'll survive till tomorrow.

Maybe it wasn't the most glorious life, surviving day to day, but it was the only life he had left. But how am I going to keep this going once I get out of the Realm Trial? Can't ask the GPA to let me out on a hunting trip to a monster world, they'll get suspicious…. Huh, and I can't think of another answer either… He shook his head and let the thoughts fall away. Long-term planning could come once he'd cleared the first realm, or at least the first dungeon.

He continued on according to the map, towards the first pedestal, but stopped on the way when he found something suspicious.

A pool in the middle of the jungle wasn't that big of an oddity. But when the pool was formed in the bowl of a massive stump, it was different. The concave surface of the stump had made for the perfect place for water to gather, and from what Ethan could see, it looked pretty clean. There was algae and moss clinging to the surface, but nothing that would poison it. Still, he couldn't be careless, so he poked the water with his spear first.

When that didn't do anything, he used a finger, then a sip, and finally jumped in for a bath. Ahhh…. Gods, it feels good to get the grime off. He had his arms up at the edge of the pool, and bottles filled with water sitting on a platform nearby. He scrubbed around the new wounds, most of which were slashes that had crusted over. It was embarrassing to see so many on his body, but he couldn't justify healing them away when he felt fine. The ones he did heal, he did so because he was sure he couldn't live with them.

Would the other Trial Goers be this beat up, or am I just being careless because I can heal? Some part of him was glad he couldn't compare himself to them. Why? Because then you'd realize everything special about you came from your parents? Ethan breathed out, letting the thought pass through him. He couldn't spare the time for it. He wouldn't have taken the hits anyway if he had armour like the people he'd seen before the Trial. Or maybe I don't need armour, if I can cushion myself with life force.

He'd have to try the idea out later. As it was, he'd already spent too long in the pool rinsing off his stink. So, he finally popped out, dripping yet feeling refreshed. The bestiary entry doesn't say anything about the treant monsters having a sense of smell, but I'm not risking it. He discarded his old clothing beside the pool, and bought a new pair of the same for thirty credits. While clothing himself, Ethan's eyes jerked up towards a nearby tree. Did a squirrel or something just run across up there?

Why did I see green? He squinted, but the life force he'd sensed was gone. He would've investigated, but the timer for the Elemental Storm was ticking down by the second, and Ethan couldn't spare hours for every stray thing that caught his interest. He discarded the thought instead, zipping up his boots and continuing on his way to the pedestal.

When he closed in on the location of the pedestal, Ethan thought it was going to be the same as the one he'd found before. Instead, the pedestal was way behind a massive flat platform, and under a tent of giant branches. Several bridges hung up by vines led to the platform from every direction, and the wide area made Ethan feel uncomfortable. When he took his first steps onto it, he heard the stretching sound echo around.

In place of the crickets, purring and running he'd hear from the monsters far away, he heard only his footsteps repeated back to him. I don't like this… And he kept seeing those bits of life force out of the corner of his eye, moving and darting around. He'd rub his eyes and the movement would suddenly be gone, taunting him from the edge of his vision. Fast and heavy footfalls alerted Ethan to his left, and he readied both hands to shoot.

The steps got heavier and heavier with each passing moment, and Ethan tried to calm his heart. Whatever was coming, it was heavy. The sound grew even louder, like it was already on him, and then… died out. Ethan let out a quick breath, his hands shaking in the direction of the run. He hadn't seen anything pass. When he flexed his Talent, it picked up no signs of life either. Was it… just trying to scare me? Or was it smart enough to know Ethan could detect it?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. A roar and a leap, and something large crashed down in front of Ethan. Wood chips and sticks went flying at the impact, and the platform dipped a little where the shape had landed. Ethan shot twice into the cloud of smoke it had made, but the monster zipped out of there in an instant. Ethan tracked its movement, and finally glimpsed the monster's shape when it stopped. A thick mane of curving branches.

Bushes of leaves across its body like fur. A maw large enough to snap a man's head clean off. And those same glowing orbs of green hate that all other treant monsters shared. Only this one came with something more. Its guttural growl shook its jaws, and from them leaked a yellow-green substance that smoked when it landed on the floor. If Ethan had been fighting wolves before, this was a direwolf, and it barely even registered his existence, looking through him instead.

Ethan adjusted his duffel bag to his side, and the direwolf's eyes snapped in its direction. It's looking at the bag? Damnit, if it wants something inside that means I can't drop it. The direwolf growled again, and spit frothed in its mouth. It snapped its jaws, and a shot flew at Ethan. Life reinforcement. The energy filled him, and he easily dodged the blast. Where it landed, the spit burnt through the floor. Ethan moved away, and the direwolf loped forward, shaking the platform slightly with every footfall.

How heavy is this thing? He wondered as he stowed the spear. Two fingers raised, covered in a thick mass of death energy. DE Sh— The direwolf snarled, took one step, and cleared the distance between them. Ethan lifted his fingers and tried to jump back, but the monster's claws were faster. Three huge gashes went down his chest, and a sharp pain exploded in Ethan's mind.

The claw strikes left large yet shallow bleeding cuts in their place He lost control over the death energy in his hand, staring up at the direwolf with teary eyes. I… I m-might lose this one, He realized suddenly as the monster looked at him in disgust. Even you're looking down on me, h-huh? It came in for another slash, but Ethan jumped away just in time. He took heavy breaths, each one making the cuts bleed more freely. Life force. I-I need l-life force.

He stripped it from his own being, using it to cover up the wound. Only, he didn't have nearly enough. Damnit, and I can't just waste it all either! He had to compromise. Patch up only the deepest and most painful parts of the wounds, leaving the outer layer unmended. The direwolf shot more globs of acid in his direction, but aiming wasn't its strong suit. The acid made holes in the platforms, missing him entirely.

He walked around with one hand to his chest until he was sure the healing was complete, and then took a breath. The only one he would get before the direwolf rushed in again. But this time, Ethan would be ready. Its absurd speed didn't matter if he laid a trap. He gathered death energy in his hand, and the monster took the bait. When it lunged into the air, Ethan was already kneeling, bringing out the spear. He laid it down like a spike barricade. The direwolf impaled itself on the landing, and Ethan followed up.

DE Shot. A blast on the underside of the monster's chest, blowing apart the wood and unveiling the orange heart within. But before Ethan could ready another blast, the beast's claw raked over his arm, digging down into the bone. Ethan looked back up, and it wasn't even hurt. Instead, it was gathering more acidic bile in its throat. Oh, shit, Oh, shit! The wolf spat out bile, and Ethan slid under its legs. He came out from under the monster's back, and rose up to his full height.

The spear was through the monster, but it had missed its heart entirely. Just my luck. Can't even line up a proper stab! He grit his teeth in anger, but that was soon replaced with a hot, burning sensation. Ethan looked to his shoulder, where he'd somehow missed the glob of acid still stuck there. [Health: 81. 4%] It had burned through the shirt, and landed on his skin. Thick lashes of flaming pain emanated from his shoulder, melting skin and digging down into the bone. [Health: 77. 8%] Get it off, get it off, get it OFF OF ME! He tried to rip the shirt around the acid off, but it had gone through. His screams came out as whimpers, and Ethan resorted to digging out the mucus-like acid with his hand. He grabbed the sticky mass of it and flung it away from his shoulder, the hot sensation receding only moments later. While his hand was burnt red and aching. [Health: 73. 1%] He wanted to curl up there under the pain and let it pass, but he couldn't ignore the sound he was hearing ahead of him.

The direwolf had finally found its legs again, and it turned with the spear still inside of it.

"I…. I'll kill you for that…" he let out, his voice stopping and starting. Ethan rose up, readying his DE Shot in both hands. One still had loose flesh hanging off of it, but he ignored the pain as much as he could. His eyes twitched and watered, but he never dared to close them. He fired one, and the direwolf dodged away from it. The second shot went much the way of the first. And then three more missed the monster, digging holes in the platform instead. But with each shot, Ethan's mind became a little clearer.

Because he finally found something to focus on. Left, he guessed, and when he fired his next shot, the monster leapt just that way. Right, and the direwolf obeyed. He was controlling its movements now, and it didn't even know it. When it jumps left, the spear gets caught in a groove half the time. Ethan readied two last shots of his death energy. He could feel a distant chill and numbness creeping into his body, signalling that he was digging too far into his life force for all of this.

But what use were hours when he wouldn't survive minutes? He fired slightly to the right, and the direwolf leapt left just as he'd planned. When it landed, the spear caught onto a gap in the platform, and Ethan fired his second shot. Ethan aimed it at the monster's chest, but it hit the left front paw instead. He saw the monster recoil from losing the limb, and then ripping it out with its own jaws. At the same time, it leaned its head backwards, ripping the spear out and leaving it standing upright.

The wolf readied bile in its throat, and Ethan eyed his weapon once more. DE Shot. The flying death essence bullet stopped the monster's readying attack. Ethan ran in, life reinforcement focused on his legs. He reached the spear, and grabbed it in his better hand. The direwolf swiped with its phantom limb, leaving itself open. DE Overlay. Black essence spread over the tip. Ethan dropped onto his stomach and forced the spear into the monster's open chest.

The direwolf readied another blast of acid in its lips, only for it to die. Those glowing green flames gave one last regretful stare, before winking out, and dropping the body onto the ground. [Bestiary Updated!] [+50 Credits] Ethan pushed himself off the floor, as the bile ate through the monster's lower jaw and forearms. Only when he noticed the bountiful life force emanating from the monster, did Ethan finally realize just how much pain he was in.

Every fiber of his mind wanted him to eat up the life force right then and there, but he forced himself to apply it methodically, efficiently. He stitched up the deep slashes across his arm, the burn marks on his shoulder, and the rest of the cuts he'd taken. Most of those should have heavily scarred once he'd healed, but somehow the scars were actually smaller than the ones before, owing to his experience with past wounds.

Each application of the life force became easier with each wound closed, until Ethan was finally back to a point where he could feel things other than pain. [Health: 92. 7%] [Talent: Life-Death Manipulation - Rank F Progress to E-Rank: 0. 4%] Only 0. 1%. His entire life at risk, and he'd barely pushed the counter by a millimeter. Ethan let out a sigh, tired. But he'd chosen this life, and that meant he had to keep moving forward.

Ethan pushed himself off the ground with his spear, and moved towards that tent of branches where the pedestal lay. When he reached it, he searched around in his small duffel bag for the only holy seed he had, and brought it out. Same symbol on the pedestal and seed. That should mean something, right? He wondered as he brought the seed close. As soon as he crossed an invisible threshold, the seed began resonating on its own, and pushed off his hand towards the pedestal.

It whirled there for a few moments, growing with pure white light and humming in a higher and higher pitch. Before it finally slammed into the pedestal, dug in deep, and began to grow. Ethan watched as roots spread across the pedestal, eating it alive. The same roots moved lightning quick under his feet, extending to the tent around them, the platform outside, and even the earth down below. The tent transformed right in front of Ethan, vines extending out and blooming into soft bushes that looked like a bed.

A divot in the corner opened up to the size of a bath, and water began to pour out of small roots surrounding it. And a thick plank of wood slid upwards to cover the hole leading to the pedestal. Ethan lowered the door and followed the growing roots as they completed the rest of their transformation. He watched it plummet into the spikes far below his platform and disappear into darkness. A second later, the platform began to shake. Before the rest of the shrine started shaking alongside it.

Leaves fell from high above and Ethan heard the ground crack open below them, though he couldn't see what was inside. The cracking sound grew louder and louder, and Ethan even saw some trees moving away in different directions. He steadied himself on his platform as the shaking slowly seized. When it was completely gone, a new notification appeared.

[Dungeon Quest: The Light-Choked Jungle (Wood Shrine) Find and place the five Holy Seeds in their respective Pedestals (1/5 Placed)] His eyes fixed on the achievement, and only looked away when he saw something moving behind the screen. Wait, where is that coming from? He swiped away the screen, to find something coming out from under the spikes. Out of the darkness, giant ants made of rocks rose up, dug their claws into the trees, and began to climb.