Chương 13: Break The Earth

Time until next Elemental Storm: 4 Days and 1 Hour Hiding to avoid the rain was starting to grate on Ethan. He didn't even have company this time, just him and his duffel bag while he waited for the crashing water to pass. The past days had seen it grow louder and harder, but today was the worst of it. It was getting so loud it overshadowed the fruitfall. Ethan had to speak up to even hear himself, let alone anything else. Thankfully, he didn't have anyone to speak to at the moment. What a comfort that is, huh?

He instead used the time to plot his route through the pedestals. At best, he would only need to hit two and place the seeds there, and at worst, he had to circle all four to find where the seeds he had went. Some would've called the move suicidal. The more seeds he placed, the more easily the golems would come up, right? But he'd thought it through. The golems weren't just after him. They busied themselves fighting the treants too, and most times Ethan could slip past them because of it.

And that wasn't the only advantage. The more he opened up the ground, the more space he'd make for himself. Ethan didn't want to be caught in a dead end underground and end up blocked in by golems, so this was a good way to ensure he had more places to run. That's if all my assumptions are true. He sighed. He'd spotted more writing that he could record in his journal over the last day, but he'd convinced himself to focus on the seeds and pedestals instead.

Now he was betting on how the shrine operated, when he could've just learned it. Another mistake, Ethan. You're lucky we've got such a good Talent or we'd have been three mistakes past dead by now. After plotting out the quickest path through the shrine, avoiding the windy and sleepy regions, Ethan closed his journal, and started back on daily training. He had a week's worth of life force to use, and ideas aplenty on how to shape it.

The stopping of the rain signalled the next day to Ethan, and he woke up from his slumber, his muscles feeling sore. He'd overdone the training last night, and didn't even land on any major breakthroughs. Oof… the soreness was just another kind of pain, and he could speed up its healing thankfully. He spent his life force easing the muscles before taking a meal of calorie bars again. A few chews of it, and already he felt his teeth hurting.

"I think I'm getting sick of these…" he said, but he finished the bar regardless. The MREs lay uneaten in his pack still, and he wondered if he should get meat again. Maybe it'll make the panther show back up. If it's even alive, that is. If it did, he'd count himself lucky. After finishing up, he took a swig from his water bottles and started outside once again. The skies were cloudy from the outset now, and so thick that the entire shrine looked dark and gloomy.

Thankfully, blue and purple moss lit up once the world went dark, shining a light that Ethan could use for navigation. While he walked, he found and noted down whatever life force his Talent would pick up on. It was even easier now that he had practice finding it, and every new entry gave him more of an idea on how the shrine operated. The balance between the three species here is delicate and dangerous.

The treants require the animals' bones for their frames, the golems sustenance from the treants, and in the midst of it all the woodland creatures take nutrition from the rich and plentiful flora. It may seem a cruel calculation at first, but this is what drives evolution. And if you aren't willing to help me, this is the only way I know to achieve my goals. Ethan noted it down, slapped shut his book, and slid down a wooden ramp towards a pedestal. They were running experiments in this place? But why?

Ethan wondered. He would have to have to ponder on it later, since he spotted another bit of writing further in the distance. Heading there, he was surprised he even noticed it. I shouldn't even be able to see the writing from so far, but whatever it is, it doesn't care about range. He wondered how he could replicate such a thing, but the complexity of it was lost on him. The writing was somehow growing and deadening the bark on a microscopic level, working almost as if it was a living organism.

He couldn't move it with his Skill either, which meant it was bound somehow to the tree. Guess it'll have to wait another day, he thought, making sure to write down those intricacies in his journal. He'd have to burn it later so nobody caught onto what he truly was, but for now it could stay. The treants are malleable, forming around whatever bones you give them. I even tried to give them special kinds to see if they could replicate direct access, but they weren't able to.

I'm fascinated by what more they can accomplish if they're given the right stimulus. The entry provided some context as to why the treants were stylized as they were, but they didn't give Ethan any idea of how the shrine actually functioned. He was beginning to wonder if the dungeon quest had come in later, and he was wasting his time. Still, he recorded the next entry that came along, which proved much more helpful. Pressure is needed for adaptation and eventually, evolution.

The golems provide that pressure in bursts as the seeds are placed across the shrine. The more seeds are put into place in the array, the more the plates underneath split apart, creating pathways for the golems to climb up. Compared to the harsh conditions cultivated below ground, the jungle is a bountiful feast. It will eventually reset, and the golems will die out from the acid rain of the fruits, but during that momentary period, the shrine will only grow in danger.

This entry confirmed what Ethan had been thinking, but it didn't leave him feeling any better. Only going to grow in danger? Isn't it bad enough? The clouds overhead only heightened the sentiment as they thundered lowly. A light drizzle had already begun pouring from the skies, but thankfully it was still managed by the leafy canopy above. That's all I need to go ahead with my plan, then. He closed the journal and sped up the pace towards the first pedestal.

The uneven footing and vines in his way didn't deter him as much as they had during the first few days, and even with extra strength in his legs, Ethan found it easy enough not to trip over branches. Finally, he reached the first pedestal, white marble on a wooden platform with a tent of branches surrounding it, and looked over at the symbol. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It wasn't one of his.

He had seeds for fire and wind, but the pedestal showed a droplet of water instead. He groaned, annoyed, before turning towards the direction of the next closest pedestal. 66% chance. Better not run into another dud.

The second pedestal proved more useful than the first. Ethan brought out the fire seed, and it gravitated towards the centre. The same sequence as before played out, with the earth shaking, breaking apart, and letting loose even more golems to rise from the ground. Ethan watched it play out with his hands to his side. The golems spread out, but not a single one went for him. Good, I'm not looking for a fight today. He'd had to deal with enough monsters on the way there anyways. Enough to bump up his credits to 500.

I should get to spending those too, after I'm done here. With his work done, Ethan picked up his belongings, and made good time to what he hoped would be the last pedestal. Halfway through to the last one, Ethan stopped to watch a bunch of animals be slaughtered. Two giant monsters, one an eagle treant and the second a golem worm wrapped between the former's talons. The eagle treant was three times his height, and the golem worm consisted of a chain of boulders linked together.

Their raging battle had the eagle slam the worm against the trees, loosening branches and shaking the platforms. On one of those platforms, a bunch of animals were gathered together, quivering in fear. They were cornered without a way out, left helpless to watch as the golem and treant ripped each other apart. Each further clash broke more and more branches, weakening the platforms. If this continued for any longer, the animals had no chance of survival. Ethan was far away from the battle.

He could've passed quietly by and been fine. But something was keeping him there, his eyes affixed to what was about to happen. It's a part of the cycle, Ethan. What are you going to do? Give them half an hour of extra life before they're caught in a fruitfall or by some other monster? The pitiful creatures were shaking and backing up as far as they could bear to. Just a little further, and they would've fallen into the abyss far below. You did it because you need to progress through the shrine, nothing more.

It's not your responsibility. He tried to convince himself to avert his eyes and continue on his mission, but it was impossible. His heart just wouldn't let him turn away. He forced himself to take a single step forward, but it ended up in the direction of the fight. And from there, he had no choice but to continue. Boost. Ethan leaped onto a closer platform, and from there even closer, until he was right upon the carnage. The bird kept twisting and slamming the golem worm down.

When it went down again, Ethan pulled out his fingers covered in death essence. He fired DE Shots into the monster's spread wings, blasting numerous holes through the foliage. The bird treant fell onto the platform with a crash, snapping even more branches holding it up. Ethan jumped down from his platform, boosting both his legs to cushion the fall. He landed in a roll, legs aching, but came up just a few feet away from the bird.

Then, he blasted more death essence bullets into the bird's left talon, and the golem worm did the rest of the job. It wrenched its body out of the left talon, snapping it along with itself. Then, with its tail, it wrapped around the bird's throat and squeezed. It was no ally of Ethan's, but the worm would have a much less destructive way of killing its foe. Ethan ran past them, avoiding the swinging wings and rocks alike to make it to the scared animals.

When he reached them, they calmed somewhat, and he raised his hands.

"Don't worry. I'll get you out of here," Ethan told them. But he didn't have a plan on how to do so. He could've grabbed the animals and ran out, hoping the others would follow his lead. But that would take them past the monster, and the situation there could get dangerous again at any moment. Instead, he looked for a different way, and found it in a far up bridge held with vines. The bridge was long and went over the platform he was on, ending shortly afterwards.

He found the closest end of that bridge, and readied his DE Shot again. Half a dozen bullets hit the vines and broke them apart, and the bridge snapped the rest by itself. When it was loose, it fell in a swing, and Ethan backed up to avoid it. It landed crashing, but the monsters behind him didn't even notice the noise.

"Go, go!" Ethan shouted, and the animals climbed up the bridge towards safety. He waited for each of them to cross, cursing himself the entire time. What would happen if the stalemate between the monsters broke? They'd either go for him or the animals, and that'd be even more time he'd have to waste. What was he even doing here, guiding sheep? He ate animals, so what right did he have to act high and mighty about their safety? Still, he watched the last of them cross up the bridge and out of sight.

He would've followed them up, but something strange struck Ethan. The sounds of grinding branches and rocks were dying down. He turned, horrified to find the bird bisected, and the golem worm pulling away its scratched body from the carcass. It looked around lazily, before settling on Ethan. No good deed goes unpunished, does it? Ethan turned, bringing out his sledgehammer and readying himself for the fight. The first thing the worm did was slam its tail into the fallen bridge.

One hit broke it apart, leaving the upper end inaccessible, even with Boost. The only other way out of the platform was past the golem worm, and it knew that just as well as Ethan. Life reinforcement. The golem swung its tail again, and Ethan bolted. Where he'd been a moment ago, the platform had fallen. Ethan reached the start of its body and coated his hammer in death essence. He Boosted his arm muscles and swung, his hammer seeming to flash from here to the monster's body.

The impact sent a shockwave through his body, and spread cracks through the golem worm's. The monster let out a shrill humming and swept its tail sideways. Ethan Boosted his legs, but too late to jump clear over the sweep. He landed roughly, his legs hurting from where the worm had hit him. Before the tail came back, Ethan jumped again, this time making it over. While in the air, he shifted the Boost to his arms faster than he'd ever done before.

And he swung the hammer again, cracking the worm's body and letting loose rocks fall to the ground. Ethan looked at the monster with his Talent when he came back down. While avoiding the next few tail smashes, he noticed life force gathering at a specific point under the surface near its tail. It's healing there, isn't it? He glanced over, and although the rock didn't look too damaged, he could feel it was a weak point. Getting there would be tough, but somehow Ethan didn't balk at the idea.

Did I lose my marbles somewhere in the shrine? He was still afraid, of course. Of dying, of getting hurt. But somehow, he'd adapted to this place and its insanity, and it left only what he could do and what he had to do when in tense situations. And freezing up or crying didn't fall into either category. The rocky worm tried to smash him twice before resorting to sweeping its tail again. This time, when it swept, Ethan landed on the tail instead. The golem worm noticed, bringing its head down to smash Ethan.

But he was already running across the surface, his hammer coated in death essence once again. His legs gave out painful cries for him to stop, but he ignored them. The worm smashed down one last time before Ethan reached the weak point, but missed. He held his arms up high, and chanted the words in his head again. Boost. The hammer came down suddenly, exploding with essence that spread massive cracks across the rock. Those cracks spread all the way down to the bottom, and the back half of the monster split apart.

The golem worm cried out in pain, and Ethan jumped off and ran. While it was busy reeling from the loss of its back half, he'd already coated his sledgehammer again. He reached the heart, pulled it back, and smashed it against the monster's chest again. Despite giving it his all, Ethan didn't see the monster even move back from the blow. But he didn't need to see that as long as he could break through to the heart.

He smashed his hammer into the worm's chest again and again, until finally the heart crystal inside shattered. The rock worm let out one last cry before its face dropped to the platform. And Ethan let out a sigh of exhaustion. [Bestiary Updated!] [+60 Credits] His aching legs, as it so happened, were bleeding internally. The life essence from the bird and worm helped him fix that problem, and he rose up feeling, if not entirely fine, good enough to continue.

One last time, Ethan thought about whether the side venture had been worth it. He'd put himself in danger, all for nothing but some credits and essence. But as he left, he couldn't find it in himself to be ashamed of the actions he took. Ethan was lucky that his trip came to an end at his next stop. The swirling symbol of wind floated over the pedestal, and Ethan brought out the seed that matched it.

The ground shook and split apart, golems spread into every corner of the shrine, and hopefully, that meant a path to the next seeds had opened up. Ethan marched tiredly back into the wooden tent, just in time for another fruitfall to begin. He sat down on the bed, looking up as the rain intensified. But not a single droplet made it through the tent, leaving him completely dry, and completely safe. The noise of the rainfall rose to the level of screams, but Ethan still found a way to fall asleep.

Because tomorrow, he'd be dropping down into a pit of monsters.