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Chapter 25 - Unvisible
🕑 Added 2022-12-19 14:28:46 +0000 UTCLan groaned as he stretched out, his joints clicking audibly. He was on the home stretch now, eagerly waiting to move on to the next step as the sun sank below the horizon.
He double-checked with the system, and it said he had twelve hours left before the trial ended. More than enough time with the way he had been churning through these monsters one after the other. His next target was the swamp, although he didn't remember seeing any monsters or guardians there.
As he thought about it, he began the trek back across the desert. It was just as tedious as the first time, with him constantly having to avoid scorpions springing from beneath him, except this time, there were more of them. It seemed like they had multiplied since the Sphinx's death.
One thing he noticed, and he couldn't tell whether it was from his newly added mind stat points or his title's bonus affinity with earth, was that controlling the sand had become much easier. It wasn't easy, just easier. Where before, he had struggled to make a connection. Now he could somewhat string together strands of sand. The ropes weren't as long or strong as usual, but they worked. Which was better than nothing.
'Any progress is better than none, I suppose. I wonder what the next title will give me. So far, I've gotten earth, wind and fire. What remains is the swamp and snowy tundra, so maybe water and ice? Nature and Water? I'm not too sure, but it will be fun to find out. By the way, I wonder how those other two guys are doing….'
'Reed and Nate both work for the Farmer, and he's pretty strong, so they probably aren't weak. If anything, getting all five Cargos is overkill… But better safe than sorry. I need that job with Cece if I want someone to stick up for me after they find out I snuck into the tutorial, and I need to make it past the eighth step if I want that job, so it's all or nothing right now. I don't think I will have time to retry all these steps if I fail.'
Lan didn't mind the pressure; if anything, it pushed him forwards. It acted as motivation. He could imagine that pathfinders might become lax without the threat of death. What could possibly drive someone immortal to get stronger? He wasn't sure yet.
'Sure, the pursuit of strength itself is attractive to some, but not all. Plenty of people get rich for the sake of getting rich. And even when they have money, they only care about getting more of it. But there are also even more people who just want enough money to get by. Once they get the house and car they wanted, they stop working as hard and stop pushing themselves. Everyone needs a goal to keep them pushing forward; right now, mine is to survive. That's as good a motivation as any.'
The swamp crept up on Lan, lost in his thoughts as he was. One moment it was distant; the next, he was standing right in front of it. The first thing that stuck out was the smell. Fishy with a hint of rot, the smell was so thick Lan could almost taste it at the back of his throat.
Everything about the swamp seemed like it wanted to keep him out. There were Gnarled trees that looked like they would move if he didn't pay close attention. And murky water blanketed in green algae, only broken by the occasional bubbles, born from hungry mouths of things unseen. On the tree boughs, creeping vines hung from sagging branches waiting to snare anything that walked too close.
'I don't like trees,' Lan shuddered, remembering his run-in with the crypt keeper. If the guardian was anything to do with trees this time, he would be pissed.
Lan took a deep breath and jumped. He had no plans to wade through the vile swamp water. Instead, he decided to resort to his default tactic at this point. Jumping through the trees. What scared him more than anything was how good he was getting at it. 'If I'm not careful, I'll end up with a monkey talent or something,'
As he passed over a patch of brownish-green water, a monstrously large crocodile burst from beneath him, jaws agape. Lan could see all the way down its throat and into the depths of the beast, where countless swamp creatures had met their end.
"Anywhere but here, and you might have had a chance," Laughed Lan, grabbing a hanging vine. It shot out, binding the creature like a hog waiting to be roasted on the spit. With its mouth still wide open, Lan broke off a tree branch and threw it like a javelin, spearing the thing straight down the middle and completing the look.
Its body hung motionless, suspended by the vine in deathly stasis until Lan relinquished his control and the crocodile unravelled, splashing into the waters below.
Blood stained the green algae red, and the water began to froth as though the whole swamp was boiling. Thousands of reddish, green tails thrashed madly, battering each other as they tried to reach the corpse.
Lvl 3: Piranha
"I better not fall in," Lan gulped as he held tighter to the tree he was perched on. 'Wait… how did the crocodile survive before now if those monstrous fish were in the water?'
Curious, Lan continued on towards the centre of the swamp, keeping an eye peeled for any piranha activity. When he found none, he was forced to think that perhaps that area was where all of them resided. Until another crocodile was dealt with and dropped into the water. Once again, the swamp boiled, and Lan was left baffled. 'There must be some sort of trigger. Is it the splash when the crocodile falls in? No, because then it would never have jumped out to get me. It must be something else, like the blood….'
Lan had a eureka moment when he figured it out. And his mind was sent into overdrive as he quickly devised a plan to deal with whatever monster guarded the cargo.
After half an hour of laboured travel, he arrived in a clearing. The usual densely packed twisted swamp trees gave way to an enormous circle of gnarled roots that rose from the swamp like hills from a plateau. In the centre of the clearing, an enormous tree grew. It was so twisted and contorted that it looked like it had grown in ten opposing directions at once, looping and entwining over its own branches so densely that, in places, Lan could see its branches were tied into knots.
Beside the tree, a vast scaly hill rose from the swamp, at least ten metres high, if not more. The only reason Lan could tell it was a creature and not a feature of the landscape was from the floating system identifier.
Lvl: 16 Infant World Turtle
"What part of that is a turtle? It's a five-story building!" Lan gawked at its massive size, wondering how he was supposed to damage the damn thing. The scales on its back looked nigh impregnable. He wouldn't be surprised if they could stop a tank shell without getting scratched.
He tried to pretend the problem didn't exist by ignoring it. Instead, he gazed up at the towering tree, looking for his cargo. 'It should be on there somewhere….' He scanned its many limbs and enormous trunk, looking for carvings of some sort. The closest he came was the wrinkled, black bark, but that wasn't going to net him any titles.
Until, through blind luck, he spotted a glimmer of gold within the mess of green and brown. It glittered slightly in the waning light as the last embers of twilight died out. 'I need to get a closer look,' Lan decided as he began to run towards the giant tree. He glanced behind him, expecting the turtle to react like the Sphinx had, but it didn't. It remained stoic and unmoving beneath the heaviest bough of the tree… Right where Lan had seen the speck of gold.
He quickly arrived at the tree and clambered up the trunk, stopping when he reached the relevant branch. When he squinted and looked towards where he had seen the speck of gold, he finally saw what it was. Glittering and ripe beyond imagine an oversized apple hung from the very end of the branch. Its flawless skin was marred by an intricate collection of carvings that Lan couldn't help but grin when he saw.
He ran along the branch without pause, balancing with experience he was embarrassed to admit to. The swamp blurred beneath him until he arrived at the apple, and then it wasn't the swamp beneath him anymore. It was the turtle. From here, he could see that the scales on the top of its shell were a slightly lighter green than those at its edges. In fact, the very topmost scale looked uncomfortably pale.
'A weakness? It could still be growing, and the scales start there before getting pushed aside by new ones. That would explain why the colours are different since those scales still need to develop. That would mean that this is definitely a weakness. Although a weakness for this turtle doesn't necessarily mean it will be easy to break,'
Lan paused, thinking it over, 'But that's okay. I only need to make one cut, and then it's free reign for my buddies, the piranhas,'
Just as he was about to reach for the apple, he paused. 'When I touch this, it will probably move and attack me. I should deal with it first while it's still passive. Now… just how am I supposed to break through that shell?'
An idea occurred to Lan, and he grinned just thinking about it. He immediately began stringing together the vines that hung from the tree, braiding them into a sturdy rope and pulling it between two huge tree limbs. He pulled until the rope was taught before tying more and more vines onto it, not stopping until he was sure there were at least twice as many as he needed.
Next, he went to look for a suitable branch. It had to be thick and pointed at one end. The ideal shape was something like a stake, which he eventually managed to find. With some difficulty, he sawed the branch from the tree and brought it back to his rope positioned directly above the turtle, sharpening the branch with his scythe until it ended in a dangerous point.
"Let's do this," Lan muttered. He tied several vines around the stake and brought it to the centre of the taught rope, strung between two heavy boughs. When he had the stake roughly in the centre, positioned right above the turtle's weak point, he threw the end of the vines tied to the stake over a nearby branch before running to where they landed.
He grabbed the vine and pulled, checking that everything would hold. It did. "Yess!"
Lan placed Strengthen on the vines in his hand and began to pull in a steady rhythm. As he pulled down on the vines looped over a heavy bough, acting like a pulley, the stake rose up, increasing the tension on the vines behind it. What Lan had created was effectively a crossbow, and the harder he pulled, the more taught the rope became.
The vines creaked and groaned in protest until Lan couldn't take it anymore. He clenched his teeth and let go, watching the stake blur as it was shot back down towards the ground by the tension in the vines.
A thunderous, splintering crash sounded along with the twang from the elastic vines as the wooden spear bombarded the impenetrable shell.
Lan peaked through the branches and winced when he saw the splintered spear sticking halfway out of the turtle's body. Since the spear had plugged the hole, not a single drop of blood had spilt from the wound.
"Shit," Lan cursed. He could see the turtle shifting its massive body as it struggled to stand up. Vines and algae that had grown around it began to shift and tear as it moved, while waves of vile swamp water washed against the great tree, stirred by the giant's movements.
'Will it try to run like the archaeopteryx? Or will it go mad and attack me like the fire wyrm? If it's the first scenario, then I need to make my move now, before it finds its bearings,'
Lan looked around for something to use as a hammer. He needed something that would drive the spear further into the shell. Suddenly, the turtle groaned in a low rumble that shook the very swamp itself. It had stood up, shaking unsteadily on its enormous feet. Now that its head was above the swamp, Lan could get a better look at it. Its head was like that of a snapping turtle; instead of teeth, it had a razor-sharp beak. Attaching the head to its massive body was an impossibly long neck.
It twisted its neck, and the head snaked out and stared up at its own back.
"Oh fuck…" Lan stared wide-eyed as the colossal head neared the spear. 'It's going to pull it out!'
Without any time to find a suitable hammer, Lan jumped, throwing himself at the thick pillar of wood. He would be the hammer. As he fell, inspirations flew through his mind at breakneck speeds. He knew just the right way to hold his arms. How close to put his legs and how straight his back should be. Everything, down to the tiniest detail, was perfectly streamlined as he fell, streaking down towards the turtle's back like a bolt of human lightning.
He landed with a thunderous crash, slamming into the wooden spear and burying it within the turtle's back. After the impact, his whole body vibrated from the shock, shaking like a tuning fork.
The turtle's head snapped back like it had been shot, and its enormous legs folded beneath it. As it crashed to the ground, a tremor ran through the swamp, washing waves of water in every direction.
Lan glanced at the huge hole in the turtle's shell, waiting for blood to pour out, "Did it work?" He mumbled, adrenaline pumping through his body.
As if on cue, an explosive fountain of blood exploded from the shell, nearly blasting Lan off his perch entirely. The murky green swamp was quickly dyed a bloody red as the turtle bled out, and the smell of iron filled the air.
The nearby swamp water began to froth and bubble as though it was boiling, 'That's my cue,' Lan jumped off the shell and flew back up to the tree, staring down at the collapsed turtle. All around the giant creature, countless piranhas bit and gnawed at its body, driven mad by the blood in the water.
In response, the turtle snapped viciously at the fish, killing hundreds with each ruthless bite of its enormous jaws. But, even if it was comparable in size, no turtle is an island. Overwhelmed by countless numbers and relentless attacks, the turtle began to sink into the swamp, swallowed by countless ravenous jaws.
Lan couldn't quite take his eyes off the horrific scene. He had done this. Not once did the turtle attack him or even retaliate. For all he knew, it was peaceful. And now…
Alert: Killed Lvl: 16 Infant world Turtle – Experience gained (Bonus due to level difference)
Level up!
It was dead.
'Did I really have to kill it?' Lan wondered as he watched the gruesome scene beneath him. The turtle's body was quickly being devoured by the endless piranha. Soon, its indestructible shell was all that would remain.
"Somehow, this doesn't sit right with me. Was there any other way, I wonder?" Lan felt a little sick. He wasn't sure if killing a helpless creature that didn't put up a fight was the type of person he wanted to be. How was he any different from other pathfinders if he was capable of things like that? How was he any different from the man in white?
'I should make a set of rules, something that, no matter what, I won't break. That way, I won't stray too far from my path, even in rage. The first rule that comes to mind is: Do not kill that which cannot kill you. I can still use force, but needless slaughter is not something I want to get too comfortable with. The second rule should be: Never act without provocation. That doesn't necessarily have to be violent provocation, and it doesn't even have to be directed against me. What qualifies as provocation is not set in stone and will change from case to case, but I shouldn't act without reason.'
Lan couldn't think of any other rules, but those two should do the job for the moment. They were broad enough to cover most situations he could think of.
"Now… The last cargo," Lan turned to look towards the icy tundra. He couldn't see it through the tangled mess of swamp trees and overgrown vines, but he could feel it. A chilling wind blew through him, cutting his skin like thousands of tiny blades.
***
Dungeon – The Ring
"Welcome, one and all, ladies and gentlemen, gods and ghosts! Today's challenger is a girl we all know and love..."
The spectator seats were deathly silent as the announcer spoke.
"Rachel, the Mind Breaker!" Screamed the announcer, her voice cracking under the strain.
As the arena erupted into a deafening cheer, only two people weren't joining. Rachel and Morgan sat silently in their waiting area, staring blankly at the unbreakable brick wall. They knew it was unbreakable. They had tried more than once to escape.
When will it end? Rachel thought, her exhaustion leaking into her telepathic communication.
"Never…" Morgan trailed off, sounding too exhausted to even finish their sentence. "Hey, it's your turn to fight this time. I can hear them cheering your name,"
Rachel groaned, covering her ears and pretending it wasn't happening. I wish they would just stop!
Morgan looked at her and rolled their eyes. 'At least she gets cheers,'
Will we ever get out of here? Rachel moaned.
Outside the waiting area, the announcer continued screaming, "Yes! Today Rachel and her sidekick Morgan will fight one of our most notorious gladiators…."
When the crowd heard Morgan's name, aside from ignoring their mention, a few booed.
"He calls himself Harry Cross, but we prefer the name Blood Shield! Everybody, raise your hands and cheer for today's fighters!"
Morgan visibly recoiled at the mention of them being a sidekick, "Why does everyone hate me? It's not like I'm weak or anything. I have a better record than you,"
Rachel shrugged; she didn't get it either. Surely, it's got something to do with your talent. I'm pretty sure they just aren't taking you seriously.
"Of course, I know that. It's just annoying. Even when I win, they tell me it's a lucky blow,"
Come on, there's no use moping about it now. Maybe this will be the time they recognise how great a fighter you are. Rachel was doing her best to console Morgan.
"Yeah, you're right. This time. I'll show them what I'm made of," Morgan perked up, stowing their hidden weapons back into their ill-fitting robe. The oversized sleeves and pockets were perfect for hiding knives and shuriken within.
Now. Rachel rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. What's the plan?
Morgan bit their lips and rechecked their scores, "Well, on our fighter card, it says we need… Jesus Christ, we need 10000 reputation to pass this shitty dungeon,"
Rachel checked their card and frowned. 'It's because I entered with Morgan, and their talent makes it really hard for us to build up any reputation since we keep getting overlooked,'
Well, at least we already have 6000, so it won't be long until we're out of here.
Morgan shook their head, "We need to get out as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we won't have enough points to pass the hard-difficulty tutorial. How many points does it say that Bloody Shield is worth?"
Rachel scrolled down to his character, wincing when she realised she didn't have to scroll very far. The higher up the list a gladiator was, the stronger they were.
450 points. Rachel didn't transmit this next thought; she knew it would hurt Morgan's feelings. 'Although it says he would usually be worth 1000 reputation, if not for a certain person's penalty,'
Morgan grinned wickedly, "Perfect, now that we are finally fighting strong opponents, it won't be long before we get out of here,"
Yeah, I can't wait to leave this shitty place. Maybe now I'm finally strong enough to help Lan out.
"Why do you care so much about Lan anyways?" Morgan asked.
Rachel shrugged. He's a friend… I don't have many of those, so I want to do what I can to help. I thought you liked him too.
Morgan frowned, thinking hard, "Yeah, I do like Lan, but he's not the first thing on my mind when I think about getting stronger, you know?"
Suddenly, the impenetrable wall shook, rumbling as it slowly rose, revealing a sandy arena. The roar of bloodthirsty spectators echoed within the Colosseum, rumbling like thunder.
"Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!"
Rachel and Morgan squinted, holding their hands over their eyes as harsh sunlight entered their dark prison. Across the arena, a similar wall was rising, revealing another dark, windowless room. Within, a hulking figure shifted, picking up a silver shield the size of a car door. He wore almost no armour at all, with barely a few straps of leather covering his privates and a grotesque, detailed mask of some sort of demon.
"Bloody shield…" Morgan muttered.
Same strategy as always? Rachel asked, picking up her sword from where she had left it on the floor. Blood and rust caked the blade.
"Yeah… It always works," Morgan sighed dispiritedly.
Rachel nodded and strode into the arena, her arrival accompanied by the frenzied roar from the crowd.
No one noticed that Morgan had already left the room. No one noticed Morgan at all.
As Bloody Shield left his waiting room left his waiting room and growled, the crowd screamed once again, baying for blood.
None of them noticed Morgan.
Bloody Shield roared and threw his silver shield. The shining slab of metal spun as it flew towards Rachel. Its edges were razor sharp and stained brown from all the blood they had spilt over the years.
Rachel grunted and slammed her sword against the Shield, batting the thing away. The jarring impact shoved her a couple feet back, and Bloody Shield used that moment of distraction to rush her, moving surprisingly fast for someone so huge.
By this point, even Rachel was finding it hard to pinpoint Morgan. She knew they were nearby. Knew they were there. But no matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn't focus on him. Her attention just slid off them like water off a duck's back, making them impossible to pinpoint.
But even if she couldn't see Morgan, she knew they were there and what she had to do next.
As Bloody Shield bore down on her, she stared into his eyes. He was furious, consumed by rage and… exhausted. He had been fighting in this dungeon for an eternity, never resting, never dying. And Rachel could use that.
She captured those feelings of exhaustion and amplified them, sending them back at Bloody Shield, who was barely five metres away.
He stuttered, his eyes drooping within their slits in the mask. For a moment, he looked like he might break free from her thrall and shake off her control, so Rachel poured more mana into her talent, increasing the intensity of his exhaustion.
As this was happening, not a single person noticed as Morgan paced around the edges of the arena, staring up at their bloodthirsty eyes and screaming faces. Not one of them noticed as Morgan strode towards Bloody Shield. Whenever Bloody Shield swayed, exhausted and unable to focus on the fight. Not a soul noticed that it was Morgan who walked up and slit his throat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Gods and Ghosts, can you believe it!? Rachel has managed to distract her opponent long enough for even her sidekick to land the finishing blow! It's incredible; I've never seen someone so talented in distraction and subterfuge that they could make up for such a useless teammate. Magnificent!"
Rachel shook her head as the crowd roared, chanting her name in an uncontrollable frenzy. I'm sorry, Morgan. She thought as Morgan stared at her across the arena.
"It's okay," Morgan muttered, turning away from the gladiator they had just killed.
Morgan would show them soon. They would be so strong that no one would ever forget their face again.
'I will be number one…. Then, they will notice me.'
