Tunde woke up groaning lightly, shaking his head a bit as he blinked, sitting up and turning to see Elder Joran seated, legs folded as he breathed calmly. The elder turned to him wordlessly, Tunde glancing around them once again.
“You were out for quite a while,” Joran said.
“Apologies, what happened?” he asked.
Joran stretched his frame before getting to his feet, tapping his void ring as tens of cores poured out, rolling towards Tunde who stared at them silently.
“You happened,” Joran said softly.
Tunde picked one of them up, staring at the faint yellow glow coming from within them, swallowing lightly, he got to his feet, staring around as he noticed the absence of his axe.
“Looking for this?’ Joran asked, Shadowfang in his hand.
Tunde nodded gratefully, strapping the weapon to his back again.
“I remember some things,” he said softly.
“Like what?” Joran asked with a mildly curious voice.
“The fight” Tunde replied.
Joran kept quiet, waiting for him to continue.
“We were getting overwhelmed, the creatures, lizards, whatever they were, we would have been buried under” he continued.
“But you mercilessly cut them down” Joran interjected.
“You were like some bloodthirsty creature, hacking and cutting at them till even the rift creatures knew better than to come at you” Joran explained.
Tunde said nothing, his void ring swallowing the rest of the cores, aware that he now had more money than he could ever need, at least for now.
“The rift’s Ethra” he started.
“No,” Joran said, the elder turning to him.
“Elder?” Tunde asked hesitantly.
“You would be a coward to blame a literal force of nature for your shortcomings” Joran continued.
“Your body grew intoxicated by its access to raw Ethra, you drank in it even as you were wracked with pain, and you came out a mindless monster” he finished.
Tunde felt his mouth open and close, words failing him.
“I apologize,” he said with a bow.
“What does your Ark screen say, no, what do you feel?” Joran asked him again.
Tunde noticed for the first time how totally fine he felt, staring at his body as he brought up his screen.
[you have advanced to peak-tier disciple!]
[agility has reached the threshold of 50!]
[aura has broken through to the rank of adept!]
Cultivator’s Table
Name: Tunde Dark Fist
Stage: Disciple [peak-tier]
Ethra Heart: disciple [peak-tier]
Tempering Art: unknown
Tempering Stage: Disciple [peak-tier]
Aura Stage: Adept [early-tier]
Battle Art: Flowing fists
Concept: None
Ethra Affinities:
* Rift Ethra
Attributes:
* Strength- 50
* Agility- 50
* Constitution- 50
TECHNIQUES
Imbuement: Ethra strike [tier 2]
Projection: Ethra sphere [tier 2]
Dominion: null
Special Technique:
* Resonance [tier 2]
* Ethra sight [tier 2]
“I've advanced to the peak tier of disciple stage,” he said wordlessly.
Joran nodded.
“My aura, it’s broken through to adept” he continued.
“It was the first thing that drew the attention of the creatures, scared them even” Joran said.
Tunde walked to the edge of the mountain where they were, staring down again.
“You have been blessed by the hegemons with a body that absorbs rift Ethra,” Joran said as Tunde turned back.
“Out of all of us within the rift, you are the one with the most advantage and the most to lose” Joran continued.
“How bad was it?” Tunde asked again.
“Like I said, your mind was so steeped in bloodlust that you had no idea how much you were tearing apart your body and reknitting it back again,” Joran said.
Tunde nodded, unsure of what to do.
“So, what now?” he asked.
“We simply do what we came here to do, grow stronger, and avoid all the factions hunting for us” he replied calmly.
The elder was watching his words, Tunde could see that, something about what Tunde had done had unnerved the stoic elder. He tried to remember what the elder had described, only flashes of him swinging his axe came back to him, cutting deep into the creatures, sometimes cutting them in half with one swing.
Staring down at his hand where the band of the relic lay, he wondered if it wasn’t linked to the weapon, the illusive thing that artificer Borus still denied him access to its true tale. He turned resolutely to the elder whose hands were folded behind him.
“Whatever I did, whatever happened” he started.
“I will learn to control it, same as I’ve learned to do all other things,” he said.
“that’s the problem, we have no idea what happened” Joran responded.
Moving as well towards the edge of the mountain, Joran continued.
“We have no idea if it’s a side effect of your affinity, of you absorbing the rift’s Ethra as much as you did, or even that weapon Borus forged for you” he continued.
“One thing is clear though, it pushed you to heights unseen in strength, power unlike anything I’ve ever seen a disciple display and still come out unharmed” he finished.
Joran shrugged.
“All I can tell you is simply to hone it,” Joran said again.
“Whatever that power was, whatever wellspring it came from, you need to tap into it till you have it on a leash, your aura now has the bite of an adept and this rift is filled with adepts as well, you now have an edge” Joran completed.
Tunde clenched his fists, bowing at the elder wordlessly, Joran nodding at him.
“Now, we really should join the race for the rift core, no doubt the rest of the forces are already after it as well,” he said.
“And the revenants,” Tunde said grimly.
“Ah, yes, I believe it’s no longer a coincidence the forces of undeath are somehow in the race as well, although what cultivators of that tainted path would want with a lord tier rift core puzzles me,” Joran said.
“They don’t need it to advance?” Tunde asked.
Joran shrugged.
“Not really, no, the cultivators of undeath Ethra use means kept hidden from the public not just by themselves but by the sects and cults themselves at large, to avoid others replicating it” he explained.
“And do you know what this means?” Tunde asked.
Joran shook his head.
“Those who see it either don’t live to tell its tale or join their ranks and refuse to divulge it” Joran responded.
The elder faced a direction.
“The core’s hidden, unlike regular rifts where a beacon signifies its presence, it appears we’ll have to find this one the hard way” he murmured.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Tunde walked close to him, staring at the forest in the far distance, activating Ethra sight and blinking as the pale landscape became illuminated, Ethra flowing around the forest itself alight with raw Ethra and glowing things glittering in the distance. Tunde pointed at the forest
“The forest, something’s glowing there, things, actually,” he said.
“it’s as good as any place to start” Joran replied.
The elder shot forward, leaping far into the distance, leaving Tunde to wonder why he hadn’t done that initially. Saying nothing, Tunde walked briskly backward, taking a deep breath, and shot forwards, ensuring he reached the edge of the mountain before pushing Ethra to his legs and blasting off, mimicking the elder. While Joran had gone as far as his eyes could see, Tunde reached half his distance before the gravity of the rift realm dragged him down, flailing a bit before angling his fall to crash into another mountain.
This time though Shadowfang firmly lodged itself in the body of the mountain, halting him with a rough jerk, Tunde grunting softly. He faced the forest again before shooting off from the mountain, wincing as he rapidly descended, landing in a shrubby place, close to the forest that he could see it clearly if he squinted a bit. Cycling Ethra calmly, his Ethra sight revealed green puddles that vibrated as they felt his presence.
They swam with green Ethra that fizzled and foamed, Tunde wondering what they were before the first shot at him, reflex had him twisting to the side with shock, eyes wide. Where it landed sizzled, Tunde gripping Shadowfang as the next shot for him, Shadowfang slicing it in half. Hopping a few meters backward, he tore forward toward the forest, no signs of elder Joran.
[ mid-tier 3 acid slime]
Tunde ducked and slid, dodging another one that sailed over his head, aware of the slimes that were chasing him. Cursing lightly, he made it to the edge of the forest when Ethra sight illuminated the darkness of the forest itself, allowing him to dodge the long tongue that shot for him, Tunde rolling away and back up on his feet. The large shape tore out of the darkness of the forest, Tunde staring at the large shaped creature, eyes wide.
[peak-tier 3 king acid toad]
Tunde swallowed nervously, aware that he had been cornered, hastily wondering where the elder was, he sighed with relief as Elder Joran came from above like a bolt of lightning, crashing into the toad with force, crushing it into the ground before extracting himself from the crater. He noticed the elder’s clothes had been torn, burn marks dotting his body, and a look of rage on his face. Tunde watched the elder part his hands in a wide arc and a screaming shriek filled the air, tearing into the slimes and shooting them backward, some catching fire.
He was close to Tunde.
“Prepare yourself, that infernal creature is still alive” he warned.
Tunde stared at him in confusion before he watched the crater shake and a large webbed hand shot out, grabbing onto the ground before pulling itself up, the king toad rapidly healing. The toad gave a loud croak as what remained of the slimes shot for it, punching through its body even as the toad stared at them calmly. The elder turned to him.
“Got any spare weapons?” he asked nonchalantly.
Tunde paused for a second before rummaging through his void ring and taking out a long wooden stick, the elder staring at it before nodding once.
“it’ll do,” he said.
Tunde took a few steps backward, watching the elder swing the stick that shattered with a bang, it was like a roar of a beast, the very air twisting as Tunde watched the shards of the stick tear through the toad, the peak tier three creature stumbling backward.
“Swamp creatures are known for their resilience,” Joran said as the toad crashed backward, giving a painful croak before rolling to its feet.
“And now that it’s destabilized, I leave it to you,” he said offhandedly.
Tunde turned to the elder.
“It’s a peak tier 3 creature,” he said as if needing to remind the elder of that fact.
“And you have a soulbound weapon that could quite literally cut through it” Joran replied.
Tunde swallowed calmly before facing the creature.
“Good, now deal with it while I go hold back the revenants coming at us,” Joran said offhandedly.
Tunde corrected his thought, he had imagined the frog had been the one to injure the elder, he should have known better. If the revenants were nearby, that meant the rest were close by as well, those were the least of his problems, revenants he could face, a healing toad of adept rank was new. The toad shot for him, whipping through the air like a bullet as Tunde whipped Shadowfang in an arc, twisting out of the way, the axe tearing through its side even as one webbed foot slammed into him, blasting him backward.
Tunde shot through the air, rolling to a stop as he groaned a bit, spitting blood and feeling the rift Ethra pouring through his body, healing him rapidly. Aware of the power within the rift Ethra, he wiped his mouth, getting to his feet, the toad turned towards him, swelling in size before reducing as large slimes shot out of its body, glowing brighter. Some sort of relationship existed between the slimes and the king toad, the slimes looking healthier as well as the toad.
It gave a great croak and the slimes shot at him, Tunde shot forwards as well, Ethra sphere forming around him as he shot them at the slimes, watching the both of them collide, his attack eating through their bodies before small cores dropped to the ground like pebbles. He flipped through the air, rolling and twisting, Shadowfang taking the attacks he couldn’t doge with the broad side of its blade before he cut them in two. His gaze was on the toad itself, the large creature whose side still sizzled with the wound he had inflicted on it.
The toad’s tongue lashed out, and Tunde watched the slimy green and long appendage flash towards him. His aura coated his body as he caught it in one hand, the limb sizzling as his Ethra came in contact with it, the toad trashed, Tunde flying through the air before being slammed into the ground, his breath knocked out of him. Still holding on, with a great roar he cut it in two with Shadowfang, the slimes finally slamming him with their acid that ate through his clothing before leaving him in pain.
Still conscious, he pushed for the toad itself, watching the same acid that coated its skin glisten in the sunlight, the creature reeling from its cut tongue. The appendage refused to grow back, Tunde burying Shadowfang in its head before delivering a punch to it as well, biting back a scream as it scalded his knuckles. The creature refused to die, its body trashing even as it tried desperately to bite him in half, limbs flashing as they attempted to grab him.
He removed Shadowfang and cut the limb in one fluid move before burying it in the side of the creature again, this time triggering resonance. The toad’s entire side exploded in a shower of gore, the creature staggering as its inner organs were on display, the slimes grew more aggressive, firing acid shots at him, Tunde rolling away. Vaulting to the other side and using the body of the toad as a shield, he gathered resonance again even as he picked up stones and began firing them, his old technique coming back to him.
Along with Ethra sphere, he demolished what was left of the slimes before turning to the now dead toad, panting slightly, his skin stinging slightly. Turning towards the forest, he began moving, gathering the cores of the slimes as he paused, berating himself and gingerly moving close to the body of the toad. Shadowfang flashed, decapitating what was left of the toad in two and a large green core rolled out.
[tier 3 acid king toad core]
Swallowing it with his void ring, he felt the relic hum for the first time in a long time, watching with fascination as it absorbed what little Ethra was left of the creature, bolstering his body. Snapping open his eyes, he cracked his neck, he began running for the depths of the forest itself.
**********************************
Joran had traced the revenants to the depth of the forest itself, where he could only watch with a grim look as the same adept who should have been dead stood there along with two other adepts as well. One with a bow fashioned with bones and its string a sinew of some creature, the weapon was so potent that Joran could feel its power from where he stood.
“Well, guess who became a lord,” he said.
The leader of the revenants turned to him, his gaze above the trees.
“You came back, do you not value your life?” he asked.
“You didn’t tell me your name, quite rude, don’t you think?” Joran said.
The revenant stared in disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard, a chuckle coming from his throat.
“It would be beneath me to kill you” he replied.
“Kill him” he commanded the two adepts at his side.
The bow user, a lithe female with long grey hair and an ashen look released the first shot, the arrow burning with green-tainted Ethra, blasting where Joran previously stood. The blind tiger had moved as quickly as a wraith, closing the gap with the bow user when the other adept moved, a bone blade with black glowing inscriptions on its surface nearly cutting off his head.
He had dodged it with ease, landing a blow to the side of the revenant who catapulted to the side, a hole missing from his side. The adept snarled, Joran ignoring him as he pressed in his attack on the bow user, snapping his fingers as she screamed gripping her head before it summarily exploded in a wet pulpy noise. He tsked.
“Seriously, you’d think for an adept she’d have quite the control over her aura as a shield, whatever are you teaching them?” he asked.
The sword user blazed with aura, swinging for Joran who stood stoically, staring at him when a force slammed into the side of the adept, another explosion rocking his body and throwing him backward. Tunde was at his side, panting, staring at the lord revenant whose eyes were wide open.
“You,” he said.
“Quite popular with the corpse cultivators I see” Joran joked.
The lord grabbed the adept, halting him.
“No, start the process, we simply cannot tarry, leave them for me,” he said.
Tunde felt the elder tense, watching as the lord stepped forward, from his palm came a bone spear, its aura screaming of the taint of restricted death, it made his screen crawl and Tunde watched as well as the vegetation around them died off. The lord twirled the spear, green Ethra running up and down its surface, before in one fluid move he pointed the spear at them.
“MOVE!” Joran shouted.
Tunde tore away from the spot, watching the beam of power tear across where they had stood earlier. The lord snapped his fingers, bony hands tearing their way out of the ground.
“dominion” Joran breathed calmly.
Tunde did a double take of where they were, seeing faint wisps of undeath Ethra in their surroundings for the first time. Activating his Ethra sight again, he cursed gently, realizing they were within the reach of the lord, instincts screamed at him, Tunde responding without a doubt and swinging Shadowfang behind him, feeling a sharp biting pain in his stomach as the tip of the spear pierced him.
Staring into the eyes of the lord revenant, he pushed himself backward, falling to the ground from the tree top he had found been standing on.
[unknown body tempering is attempting to flush tainted Ethra from your body!] Ark wrote.
Tainted Ethra, it was what Ark called the Ethra of the revenants, it burned badly, Tunde stifling a scream as the rational part of him questioned what he was doing facing a lord when he wasn’t even an adept yet. Joran traded blows with the lord, sound, and vibration Ethra tearing through the landscape, the lord deflecting them with some trouble. The elder had no weapon, his bare hands moving like lighting, coated with resonance that exploded against the durable body of the lord.
He turned his gaze to the other adept, the one that was slowly recovering, his flesh knitting together slowly. The adept’s gaze turned to him and Tunde brought Shadowfang up in a flash, grunting as the adept attacked, driving him to his knees. The aura of the revenant pressed forcefully down on him as he coaxed his aura up as well, both auras clashing, the revenant staring at him warily.
“How do you have the aura of an adept,” the revenant said.
Tunde gave no response, grabbing the hand of the revenant and triggering resonance, the adept snarled.
“That accursed technique!” he roared.
Triggering dominion, Tunde was caught in the vicelike grip of conjured skeletal hands, imbuing his body for the first time in the fight, he shattered his way through the dominion, the adept reeling backward in shock. He pushed into battle, Ethra sight flashing as he began a dance of death with the adept, pitting the entirety of his agility into dodging the attacks of the adept.
He had no choice but to accept he was facing an early-tiered adept, the movements of the revenant enough to convince him as he managed to dodge most of the attacks, Shadowfang biting into the body of the adept.
A loud roar came from the revenant whose hand flashed, grabbing him by the throat and hurling him against a tree. Tunde slammed into it, sight going blurry for a second before he landed, shaking his head.
“Whatever madness that made you think a mere disciple could face an adept; you’ll pay for it now” the adept growled.
A silent but terrifyingly fast object tore through the adept’s side as his eyes widened, his head fell off his shoulders. Tunde confused watched as another lord’s presence filled the area and his instincts shouted at him to dodge. It was futile, the force of a punch slammed into him, driving him through the tree as he lost his breath, agony running through him.
Staring at the form of Thalas Verdan who burned with the aura of an adept, the son of Jashed cocked his head at him.
“Hello, dark fist,” he said.
From the depths of the forest came the forces of clan Acacia, their lord walking calmly behind and led by the same lady who had stared at them at the rift’s entrance. Joran grabbed him, forcefully pulling him out of the tree, Tunde stifling a scream as his bones healed.
“Thalas, what is the meaning of this?” Joran asked quietly.
“Common sense,” a male adept in the colors of clan Acacia said.
The Lord turned his gaze to the lord of the revenants.
“What stake does the cult of undeath have in a tier 4 rift?” he asked.
The lord of the revenants smiled.
“Subjugation of course” he replied before slamming his spear into the ground, cracks running across as the very ground of the rift itself began to shake.
“Not again,” the girl said with rage.
Green light began to push out from the cracks, Tunde watching Thalas, watching the ranker whose position he had taken take a stance.
“If this is how you want it, then fine,” Tunde said softly.
Thalas snorted and attacked.