As the sound of the snapping bones rang through the chamber, the spawn suddenly fell silent with twitching ears facing the tunnel he was in, the hair on their backs raising as their glowing red eyes turned and locked onto him. Slowly, Chase stepped into the chamber, his gaze never leaving the Malevolent Musk-Shrouded Jackalope. If it was anything like a jackrabbit, then it would be extremely fast and agile, a combination that could prove deadly in such an enclosed space.
He needed to find a way to keep the creatures from escaping into the tunnels. Chase scanned the chamber, his eyes squinting as he searched for any strategic advantage. The walls of the cavern were rugged and jagged, sporadically dotted with smaller crevices that could serve as potential escape routes for the creatures. His heart pounded, but his mind raced faster, piecing together a makeshift plan.
A flicker of motion drew his attention back to the Malevolent Musk-Shrouded Jackalope just as it bounded towards him. He barely had time to dodge the attack, the creature's antlers whistling past his arm by a hairsbreadth.
Chase cursed, tightening his grip on his weapon. The creature was fast, far faster than he expected. He watched as the jackalope readied another attack, its hind legs tensing in preparation. As it sprang forward once more, Chase dove towards it, using his own momentum to propel himself into a roll and attempting to drive his pick into its side.
He felt a dull impact, the sensation reverberating through the shaft of his pick as he rolled to his feet. Chase grinned, before his smile faltered. The blow had landed true, the Malevolent Musk-Shrouded Jackalope letting out an angry yowl, the side of its body now stained with blood. But nowhere near as much blood as he'd been expecting or hoping for.
The rest of the jackalopes swarmed him, their small but razor-sharp teeth and claws tearing at his armor. Chase lashed out, swinging his weapon wildly. Each swing of his weapon seemed only to fend off the immediate threats, and for every jackalope he managed to strike, two more leapt eagerly into the fray. The scenario was quickly turning desperate. Chase's breath grew ragged and his muscles screamed in protest as he continued to twist and turn, trying desperately to ward off the relentless assault.
Realizing that direct confrontation was bound to wear him out before it thinned their numbers, Chase backed toward one of the large stalagmites dotting the chamber. His mind worked feverishly, piecing together a new strategy amidst the chaos. As he reached the rock formation, he used it as a physical barrier, forcing the jackalopes to approach from only one direction.
It helped for a moment, buying Chase enough time to catch his breath. He surveyed the cavern once more, noticing how some of the stalactites on the ceiling looked precariously mounted. A new plan formed in his mind—a risky one, but possibly his best option.
The mother jackalope was standing back, merely watching as her brood leapt at Chase in an attempt to kill him like the white rabbit from that one movie about King Arthur. Good, this was going to be tricky enough as it was.
As the creatures closed in, Chase readied his weapon. He waited until the last possible moment, then hurled the iron-hard pick with all his strength. The projectile flew through the air, embedding itself in the ceiling near a large group of the stalactites. Chase didn't wait to see the result, instead using the distraction to dart into a nearby crevice.
The jackalopes, sensing their prey escaping, bounded after him, their small but sharp claws and teeth easily gaining purchase on the stone. The tunnel was a tight fit, the jagged walls scraping and biting at Chase's skin. He didn't look back, instead focusing on putting as much distance between himself and the horde of bloodthirsty creatures as he could.
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a deafening roar echoed through the tunnels. Chase risked a glance over his shoulder, his eyes widening in horror as he saw a wall of rubble and debris surging towards him. The pick had dislodged a massive chunk of the ceiling, causing a cave-in. He pushed himself harder, running on pure adrenaline and instinct as the rumbling crescendoed.
Then, with a final, booming crash, the avalanche of stone and rubble swallowed the tunnel. Dust and debris filled the air, creating a choking haze. Chase coughed, his lungs burning as he gasped for clean air.
After a few minutes, the dust began to settle, revealing a collapsed tunnel. The Malevolent Musk-Shrouded Jackalope's brood were buried beneath the rubble, their broken bodies now a grotesque testament to the-
Chase’s thoughts were cut off as the mound of rubble in the middle of the cavern exploded, the Malevolent Musk-Shrouded Jackalope erupting from the pile in a rage-filled frenzy. It was injured and enraged, and it was focused entirely on him.
“Of course,” Chase muttered, as the jackalope launched itself at him, head angled to impale him upon its antlers.
Chase dodged as much as he was able, lifting his shield to deflect the jackalope away to his left. Scrambling to his feet, he ran over the rubble back into the cavern, hoping to find his pick. He found it, but the proboscis had a long crack running along its length.
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“Fucking dammit,” he swore, before a tingle at the base of his spine had him diving to the side, narrowly avoiding another attempted impalement.
The creature's rage seemed to amplify with each missed attack, its breath coming in ragged snorts. Chase, with weapon compromised and body screaming from exertion and cuts, knew he couldn't last much longer in a direct confrontation. The jackalope was relentless, its wounds seemingly igniting an even fiercer animosity.
Chase's gaze darted around the cavern until it landed on a large, loose boulder near the edge of the chamber. If he could just get the jackalope to ram it…
Timing was everything. As the creature turned for another charge, Chase positioned himself directly in front of the boulder, bracing himself. The jackalope glared at him, noxious, toxic looking waves of gas wafting off of it, forming a cloud that joined the various trails that had been left by its previous attacks.
With a guttural scream that echoed menacingly through the cavern, the jackalope charged at full speed. As the jackalope charged, the ground trembled under its furious weight. Chase waited until the last possible second, his muscles tensed for the leap he knew could mean the difference between life and death. Just as the beast's sharp antlers were about to collide with him, he hurled himself to the side with all the strength and speed he could muster.
The jackalope, unable to halt its momentum, crashed into the boulder with a bone-jarring thud. The impact sent shockwaves through the cavern, dislodging smaller stones from the ceiling and causing a dust cloud to rise and swirl around the chamber. Chase lay on the ground for a moment, catching his breath as the jackalope tried and failed to free its antlers from the boulder.
Slowly rising to his feet, with every part of his body screaming in pain, Chase carefully made his way to the still struggling jackalope. Its front paws were pressed against the boulder as it tried to pull itself free, its baleful eye glaring at him with the fury of a mother who’d watched her children die in front of her.
The jackalope’s lower body squirmed and jumped, moving about so much that it would be impossible for him to land a solid hit. If he tried, at best it would take dozens of blows to make it bleed enough that it would bleed out. At worst, he’d end up destroying his weapon and at that point it would practically be a matter of time before the jackalope freed itself. He needed to strike in the precise spot to kill it in one blow.
Raising his pick over his head, Chase aimed his strike, and brought his weapon down with all the strength he could muster. The tip of the proboscis struck true, punching through the hide on the back of the jackalope’s neck and between the vertebra and skull, boring a hole in the jackalope’s spine.
The creature shuddered violently, its legs kicking out in a final, frentic dance of death before it lay still, the toxic clouds slowly dissipating around its lifeless body. Chase stood there, panting heavily, his arms trembling from the exertion and adrenaline. He watched curiously, half expecting the damned beast to rise despite the severed spine.
Fortunately, after standing and panting for a few minutes, it continued to lay still, and Chase allowed himself to relax. Slumping against the boulder that had become the deciding factor in the battle, he glanced down a his pick, and with a frown noted that the proboscis did not survive the final strike. Unfortunate, but at least now he had a bevy of other materials to work with.
Setting that aside, Chase reflected on the battle. In retrospect, it was either extreme luck or good aim that let him collapse the ceiling and kill off the spawn. He wasn’t a geologist, but it felt like a single strike of a thrown pick shouldn’t have been enough…unless it struck in precisely the right place.
That had been a recurring theme for him, hadn’t it? The mountain lion that first day, striking precisely at the weak point in the mouth. The turtle, a few days later, armored almost everywhere except for a small area. The mosquito, with its gangly body necessitating precision until it was completely grounded. And now, the exact spot to cause a cave in, and the exact spot to guarantee the kill.
As the realization crystalized in his mind, a clarity descended upon him, like a divine revelation. Time seemed to slow, the world fading, the material insignificant in the face of the realization he’d stumbled upon. In the stillness of that revelation, he felt as if a vast, intricate web that held and contained all of reality briefly aligned with his entire being. Every muscle, every breath, every heartbeat resonated in perfect harmony with a tiny strand of that web that was Precision.
That was his route to power. Not in brute strength or in overwhelming force, battering through everything in his way, but in the exactness of intention and action. It was the art of striking with purpose, of seeing through any and all veils and distractions to the heart of all things.
As the epiphany washed over him and faded, Chase shook his head and opened up his quest screen.
Quests
Class Quests: None
Primary Quests:
1. Man Versus Nature
2. Scent of Despair – COMPLETED, REWARDS PENDING
Minor Quests:
3. The First Step
4. Find the Path – COMPLETED, REWARDS PENDING
Collection Quests: None
“Oh goodie,” Chase halfheartedly cheered.
Pulling up the Scent of Despair quest, he felt the rush of energy flow into him, revitalizing his body and spirit.
Scent of Despair – Find and kill the Malevolent Musk-Shrouded Jackalope and its spawn before the brood leaves their mother. Rewards: +5 to all Characteristics, Home Base System Unlocked.
COMPLETED
Addendum: Be At Chosen Location to Unlock Home Base.
Do you wish to turn current location to your Home Base?
Yes/No
Well, it wasn’t like he’d set up a home base, whatever it entailed, anywhere except the cabin. So he easily said no, and instead pulled up the second quest he’d apparently completed.
Find the Path – Awaken a Novice Path. Rewards: 5 Meditation Orbs of equal Rank to race, additional rewards determined by Path Awakened. COMPLETED
Path Gained: Precision (Novice)
Additional Reward: +10 Base Cunning
Well, Chase thought to himself as five small balls appeared in his lap, at least it would help with making a new pick…