Chapter Eighteen

Curiosity getting the better of him, he glanced up from his prone position but he couldn’t see much aside from the rickety shack.

Upon standing up and approaching the shack, he found the shack wasn’t actually rickety. It looked rustic.

In fact, it wasn’t made of planks of wood, but a solid piece of wood formed like his bow and spear.

A glance down confirmed the platform was the same. The entire structure seemed to be one with the surrounding trees. Maybe one day he would pull off the same feat of magic. As he was, he could probably do it, but it would take him a long time with bracelet cooldowns. Well, maybe not as whoever built it made it directly out of living trees. His card said the wood needed to be removed from the tree.

Arden circled around the shack to find a doorless passageway inside. What he found inside took his breath away. Encrusted in a clear crystal like wood were two gems glowing with power. Power far eclipsing the pond radiated off of them, demanding respect. It was like the power had a mind of its own and that power found him unworthy.

He found himself unable to enter the shack, whether by the power density or by a strange reverence he felt deep within him. Still, that didn’t stop him from inspecting the engravings on the stone pedestal holding the crystalline wood and gems.

Here lies the first of the Ashwood line and his wife. May ash bring life to the next generation.

Ashwood. Why did that sound familiar? His eyes widened. In one of his history books, he remembered reading about an elf a few centuries ago who burned a diseased section of the forest near Magna Vita Urbs and regrew it all on his own. Ashwood, the family who could wield the destructive nature of fire and rejuvenation of wood.

Why would the first Ashwood reside all the way down here? Magna Vita Urbs was thousands of kilometers away. Did they trace their line back to whatever happened above?

As if acknowledging his thoughts, the presence fluttered, then pushed him out of the shack, dismissing him from its presence. The opening sealed shut a moment later, causing Arden to scowl. Was he so unworthy that whatever mind resided in the gems didn’t want to see him? Sure, he didn’t have the fire affinity going by his soul tether, but he still had wood that should count for something.

In a fit of rebellion, he turned his back to the hut only to spot another almost identical platform and shack visible through the forest.

Curiosity tempted him to check it out to find out more, but a glanced down at his bracelets stalled any rush. They were flashing, but he didn’t think he leveled any of his cards.

Upon opening his Ortus menu, his eyes widened, hope bubbling as he read the updated quest description.

An era long past (Legacy).

Survive the ancient forest below a forgotten civilization and uncover its secrets. You have encountered the resting place of one of the first. Seek the others. Maybe one will find you worthy.

Time limit: 4 days, 16 hours.

Finally, something other than blindly traveling deeper into the forest. Not that it was much to go on. The only thing he could do was try every site he could find.

Who knew how many firsts there were in the forest? There were hundreds of big bloodline families in Magna Vita Urbs, and that was just the ones he knew of. Plus, some could have died out before his time. Though he could cross out anything that didn’t have a link to nature affinity.

There could be anywhere from one more to a hundred plus in the forest. His best bet was to continue traveling deeper and check out any site he came across. So, no different from his previous plan.

He closed his Ortus menu, then waited until his bracelets returned to their standard brightness. Satisfied he had access to his cards, he approached his spike ladder and peered down.

A sigh of relief escaped when he found them intact, prompting him to descend as quickly as he could, just in case they vanished on him.

The moment his feet touched down, he grabbed his spear from where he leaned it against the tree trunk. He then set off toward the next platform, which was conveniently toward denser mana. Like how he found the first platform, a narrow trail cut through the forest.

Random curiosity prompted him to squat down to inspect the trail closer. There had to be a reason they survived the likely thousands of years, especially with the lacking wildlife density.

The answer came after brushing away the top layer of dirt. Underneath, a solid piece of wood ran down the path. That didn’t explain how the wood survived, but it probably had a treatment of some kind.

Curiosity sated, he looked up as he stood, only to come face to face with a group of black furry creatures with white strips running down the length of their bodies and a fluffy tail.

Unlike the previous encounter, the larger of the creatures, likely a parent surrounded by several smaller ones, squeaked as they sniffed him.

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Arden stiffened, hand clenched around his spear, but they were far too close to attack. How did they sneak up on him? He should have heard them way ahead of time. They were hardly quiet little creatures, after all.

As if sensing his potential hostile intent, the larger creature spun, then raised its tail. It gave a few warning squeaks, causing its children to move as one away from their encircled position around his feet to clump together around their parent. It lowered its tail, assured its young were safe, then waddled away with its young clumped together.

If it weren’t for the unknown danger the creatures may pose, he would have considered them cute. They seemed harmless, or at least non-hostile, but one could never be sure. Something about that tail raise sent a shiver down his spine.

Without warning, a dark green shape rocketed out of a bush and struck the nearest small creature, stilling it instantly. An instant later, the larger creature lifted its tail and released a stream of liquid.

Arden jumped back, just barely dodging the spray, but it didn’t matter as the stench hit him, anyway. He swayed light-headed before his poison resistance card kicked in, sending mana throughout his body to eradicate the foreign substance.

Instead of targeting the creature responsible for the stench, he pointed at the bush where the snake escaped into, but upon approaching, the black and white creature growled at him as if he caused the attack.

It turned its back to release another payload, but just as it did, the snake struck again. This time sinking its fangs into the adult creature. Like the previous attack, it scored an instant paralyzing strike, then dragged it back into the bush. The two remaining babies scattered, but the snake didn’t strike again.

Arden approached the bush, spear at the ready, but upon poking at it, he found the snake gone. There wasn’t even any remains of the two creatures.

Well, that might explain the lack of activity. The snake was an efficient hunter. Only things much larger than it or had a counter to it remained. At least from his experience. He doubted the snake could hunt the tree, turtle, or lily pad creature. Even the creature who gifted him the wood spike card would be a hard opponent for the snake.

Now, if only it would leave him alone and focus on other wildlife. He wasn’t trying to intrude on its territory. If the snake kept trying, it might succeed. Especially now that he didn’t have an easy escape like he did at the edge of the forest.

Odd how it wasn’t trying harder to ambush him. It had plenty of chances, yet it didn’t take them. Maybe it was using him as a lure for other prey.

Whatever the reason, he needed to limit opportunities for ambush. That snake was deadly. Fortunately, when it killed the stinky creature, the stench vanished like the magic ended.

He clenched his spear as he ventured forward. No more indulging curiosity. He wasn’t taking a stroll through the woods. This was a deadly forest. Who knew what could jump him? Part of him was glad the snake took down the stinky creature.

He wasn’t sure he wanted a stink bomb card. Talk about a double-edged sword unless he was immune like the spores from the flower bush.

If only his parent’s gave him an inspection or identification card. Without it, how was he supposed to know what he faced?

Though part of it was his fault. He didn’t think Ortus would grant him the nature affinity, so he didn’t bother researching what lived in the forest or other areas rich in nature mana.

To be fair, he grew up in the desert with nothing but dry ground and stone trees for thousands of kilometers in every direction. The only respite were cities dotted about probably where oasis’s used to exist. Or maybe not. The territory cores that gave birth to cities were random where they appeared.

The nearest place with a decent amount of nature mana besides this dungeon was the grasslands on the west side of Magna Vita Urbs. He supposed that would be his next destination once he left the dungeon.

It wasn’t like he would improve much in the desert. Though who knew what the legacy class would require of him?

All he could do was focus on the now, which was his legacy quest. None of those future things would matter if he failed.

Arden shook away his wandering mind. He couldn’t lose focus. The snake could strike at any moment.

With light steps, he continued down the path, spear pointed straight ahead. Fortunately, it wasn’t far to the next platform as he reached it soon after.

Like the previous clearing, flowers filled the clearing with three large trees curved together to form a platform and a shack.

He stayed at the center of the path as he approached one tree. Before creating his wood spike ladder, he scanned the flower bushes, looking for any threats. At first nothing stood out to him, but less than a meter away, he spotted a pair of glowing eyes staring at him from the base of a bush topped with rainbow colored flowers.

On instinct, he pointed his spear at the familiar stalker, but before he could do anything, it vanished.

Before it could strike, he created several wood spikes on the tree and climbed out of reach of the snake. Like before, halfway up, his bracelets dimmed, but now that he knew the spikes would last for a while, he didn’t worry.

While leaning against the tree, he glanced downward, looking for a certain snake. It only took him a few seconds to spot the pair of eyes.

This time it didn’t bother hiding from him, thinking he couldn’t hurt it from so high up. It sat in a coil on the path with the front quarter of its body raised, looking straight at him. Its tongue flicked out at random intervals as its head tilted, almost as if it was curious.

He really didn’t understand the snake. It seemed to want something from him, but what could he give it? All he wanted was for it to leave him alone, but that seemed to be out of the question. He wasn’t even sure he could kill it. The little snake was far too fast and rarely left itself vulnerable.

At least it didn’t seem dead set on killing him anymore. Still, he couldn’t take that chance, so he had to keep on guard. If he needed rest, he should stay on the platforms. Though who knew if that was safe? There could be something who could ambush him from heights, or the snake might climb up the tree.

Any further thoughts paused as he noticed his bracelets returned to their usual radiance. He tore his eyes away from the snake, causing it to lower and slither away.

In quick succession, he created wood spikes, allowing him to climb the rest of the way up to the platform.

When he approached the doorway, he felt an almost toxic presence radiating off the single gem encased in a crystal-like wood. Unlike the previous platform, it didn’t feel unwelcoming, but the toxic presence almost pushed him to retreat. Upon finding it didn’t cause any harm, he walked forward.

As soon as he entered the shack, the presence turned extra potent. It prodded him for several moments, as if looking for something, then retreated.

Taking that as an invitation, he took a step forward, only for the presence to come to life. It slammed into far harder than the Ashwood presence did, but unlike before, it didn’t push him out. Instead, it invaded his very being. Before he could escape, his body locked up as his vision went black.

A moment later, he awoke to find himself in a different world filled with colorful plants and a scattering of trees. Everything practically radiated poison mana.