COI C219

The laughter is frolicking to the void. The image of the great Horde chief fell into defeat. Flee from the battle like any cowardly goblins. It’s because Puma has the pack, and they show to them the coward as they are. Bonded together to not let its keeper witness what the dead sees, though they got beaten by lowly tribes. It isn’t supposed to happen that way, sometimes. No, it really happens and the great rider runs to the hills because of its pack is . . . weak. Words spoke out from that laughter roared from the distance, from the depths. Their lying spirits spoof from the threat. Alive, but sealed. Puma hears that prideful roar. It was a beast, a beastly voice. Ready to join its pack, the keeper’s Puma’s prophesized pet.

Puma wakes up under Silfa’s arms, hugged to no limits as it gives a silly relief

“Puma” The sound of a sleepy toy.

Silfa stops their conversation “. . . Really though, of all the goblin spirits who once lived. This Horde chief spirit was supposed to be a mighty warrior, right? Then why it is so spoiled?”

Rusic smirks at the girl loses concentration. Their problems are the troublesome goblins, scavenging what this place had left. Though, they still can’t reach to the secret place where the demons reside. Powerful loots that she can’t imagine or how it used, and she still pestering about her doll.

Voldemyr sees Rusic is letting her do with her own thing. A glimpse to the side of his eye, Ironno is navigating a new route for them to go. The range where they headed last time is not far enough to cut off from the moon light. Rather, it stretches further because of the hostile goblins are taken advantage with the remnants of this place’s mana. The mana that doesn’t supposed to be controlled by shamanism, except for the wilderness remains trying to feed in this horrible condition, are freely under their power. The spirits gained rights of this dead undergrown. The Enders know, this is the true potential of the evil spirits’ shamanism.

“. . . Hey come on, you two lived in this world. I want to know”

Silfa didn’t stop asking them. “. . . And you stop with the smirking, dwarf”

Rusic laughs at her oblivious situation. “I honestly want to tell you about it, but our plan earlier not to kill those tribes”

“You know we have powerful defensive runes. They won’t even hurt us”

“Yeah, we know. All of us got trapped with their earth spirits and almost sealed away for how long when. Besides, strong defense doesn’t mean movable”

Voldemyr stops them “I agreed our companion’s condition. We need to rescue them, fast”

“Wait! The lass doesn’t know that I can’t do stealth”

“Fighting down to save her friends is enough for us without getting tired when go back up. No magic will leave this mountain”

“We could just . . . What am I thinking? He’s right”

Silfa stands up and left her doll down on the floor “What’s right?”

Voldemyr stands up as well “Spirits have many different abilities, especially when it comes to the horrors”

“Horrors”

Rusic slaps his own head “Oh come on, this lass is old enough. Why can’t you say the real reason?”

“What did he trying to say?”

“Lass, Voldemyr thinks you can’t handle the evil spirits. You have that doll to protect you, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Maybe we have a chance to deal with them next time”

Voldemyr looks down on Puma “Then the doll . . .”

She looks at Puma “What about my doll?”

Rusic still at his seat looking at Puma. In his past, he had experienced many ritual battles against the goblins in east mountain trying to be crazy raiders before the citizens ever came to this world. He groans at the two as he stretches his back

“Crack* I guess the lass should face it herself”

“Face what? What are you guys trying to say to me? Hey, Ironno. Do you have anything to say on this?”

Ironno stays silent as he looks at them looking seriously. There are no secrets when it comes to evil spirits. But there is no harm to tell a little hint.

“Evil always finds a way, including to take advantage of your weakness. Prepare for that at least”

“My weakness, with my doll?”

Silfa looks at Puma as Puma shared the same angry confused face. They are in an important mission, and they play riddles on her. Neither them will say, and she needs to learn what they cannot explained. Though she didn’t read what Puma’s thoughts are, and Puma angered face telling a different meaning.

“. . . My ‘master’ must receive what my tribe have lost. I need to get her to receive it. The trial she must face first is to see the beast roaring from below. Remove her doubts from her friends’ well-being. Then show her my legacy”

Voldemyr and Rusic have no intention to fight. Why would they? The quest says to save, not to cause harm. Enders are not going to waste their precious resources here, not yet. They will need it in case of emergency. Silfa felt lost, none of them explain but telling her to face it herself. She stays silent as they go back down to save her friends once more. She checks her UI. Her doll is talking to her. Puma feels her gaze trying to calm her down. “Puma!” She needs it, the spirits are not peaceful here and neither is this undergrown.

Back when they started a pack, this woman wasn’t prepared to see the horrors of the evil spirits. She just instantly killed her enemies, only monsters to the most time. She never used her powers on a race, to kill them makes her hesitant. Puma knows her actions are decision, but sparing a mortal is like a legend. It makes it more willing to see how she will do with it. Since the spirits are not too fond of fighting the weak too. Yet, she is the most powerful to any human exist in this world. Silfa knows she has to kill like the other adventurers who fight them. A normal woman facing this world’s reality.

Few hours later, they go to a different route. Then something pops up in Silfa’s UI

“. . . Bzzt Hey, Silfa. I can sense you are in the east mountain. Why are you alone? Where is everybody?”

“Heist! Wow! I can’t believe I am able to reach you from here”

“Yeah, my partner is going to die of boredom once her phone’s battery dies”

Silfa finally have made contact with them through their UIs. She calls out to them

“Did you hear men!? We are close than we thought”

Silfa sees the UI giving the direction she needs to go.

“Follow me, there is a route over there”

“There!? No! Wait!” Voldemyr reaches out to her.

But her will power to save her friends is bold than he had anticipated. Rusic tries to follow her, then something behind her surprises him, an ambush. Voldemyr bolted at Rusic’s armor attached with his chain to pull him back before they reach him. Hid from the safe distance, the spirits and the goblins are searching their targets. They couldn’t find them and proceed to chase Silfa. Voldemyr clenches his fist as he holds Rusic’s shoulders,

Rusic felt it “The lass is being careless. Is the armor you give to her will help?”

“Yes, but this just wasting our time. The goblins will finish their shamanistic rituals before we could save anyone”

“Damn it”

Silfa follows the map on her UI and she saw two silhouettes appeared before her. She raises her lights to see who they are, but they are nothing but mannequins made out of food. Shadows lurking away from the light. It escapes before the light purge them. A trap, she pulled out her weapons, but her doll appeared at her back and holstered her weapons.

“Puma what are you . . .!?”

Her UI pops out a dangerous notification on her face. Puma dragged her in a safe area while she reads.

“Danger! Powerful unknown magic channeling, it requires an abnormal magic (the 5 types of mana) to be able to kill the living”

Puma casts its ritual and forced the UI to open its dialogue. Silfa sees her notification is vandalized with Puma’s writings. The vague dialogue reminds her about the spirits grew stronger to her level if she shows it.

“Thanks for reminding me, Puma”

“Puma!”

The doll is angry, the spirits were expecting her to do it. The doll lifts her carefully as the spirits come forth. Its mystical faces open up with other goblins passing by. Puma’s hand gripped to her wrist

“Puma”

It’s too late, Silfa got haunted. The spirits slip through her rune defenses and her stats. Powerful rituals gathered over the cycles. it finally took effect.

“AAH!”

The goblin found her, and they unleashed every powerful ritual they have. The moment their attacks reach them, they were teleported back. The goblins almost got them, and failed again along with sensing their mana back to the source. The spirits have grown stronger. The taste of dissatisfaction engulfed them, making their rituals stronger. When they are about to leave, they look back where they left their special item. The item was missing. The goblins were in shock and loudly screams at their spirits to find it. Their expressions went numb, and all of their build up rituals wasted on their missing item.

Voldemyr and Rusic made it out. Holding the special item they used, they take a look at and sees buttons and electronic components. The casing is written in carved goblin writings. Voldemyr recognized it

“Dexter’s tech. How did they able to get one of these?”

“Let me take a look. Huh, not what we are getting at. I guess something that attract our lass away from us”

“Both of us are not going to understand this thing”

Voldemyr places it in his bag “It’s better not letting them have it”

“So, are we going back for her?”

“We would. I was thinking giving her the short cut instead”

“You mean one of those blocked tunnels, but you said . . . Yeah, she is not here”

“Precisely”

Ironno sees Silfa got back alone, lying on the ground almost being devoured by rituals. Puma is getting infuriated from another failed attempt. This quest is going nowhere and he had no interest to stay here for long. He walks up to her as she is standing up.

“They didn’t even give me any chances. Those rituals are no joke. I’m sorry, Puma. I can’t believe I got tricked”

“Puma”

“Don’t give me that tone”

“Silfa, you are getting yourself being a liability” Ironno shouts her

“Sorry, I thought it was them . . .”

“Sigh* Just like I did to our recruit. I have to teach you everything”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Citizens are clearly what the demons told from Stranding Island. Otherworlder possessed too much power, but can’t sense life and death. This world is trial and error for them, it will be the end of them in the future.

It is a waste to use his unique item. He felt ashamed to let Voldemyr’s advice to make this quest possible. The girl named Tabitha was the example. Now he must use it for this resuce quest.

“Take this tome. Haw forgot that he gave me this book in case we get back to Rune Isles. Absorbed it with your powers if you have mana, or read it if you don’t”

“But, why didn’t you say about it at the city guild?”

“You people called it as consumables. It will not last long when you go down there again”

Silfa receives it and looks at Puma. Puma stays angry and kept to itself. She turns to Ironno and he already left her. The tome on her hands sense nothing oridnary. When she is about to absorb it, the knowledge goes to her head, it surging in. Data gathered by Haw filled inside her brain. The map and structure of the undergrown. The path leads where there is a shortcut. A notification pops out in plain view shows the duration, 1 hour, and this massive underground network is an entire labyrinth. She hurries and bring Puma along.

“Thanks, I will pay you back someday!”

Ironno hears her response and kept to himself. After hearing the door closed, he reads Voldemyr’s instructions. A dreadful adjustment on his neck making a strong cracking sound, he edited that tome for her to get there.

“I still let them learn the hard way. This is just one cycle, there are plenty of cycles after if they wanted to stay. Rather, I want them to witness the world and go home”

A strong spark happened with the teleportation mechanism. Signs of spirits are trying to find them, Ironno smiles a bit. At least he had his fair joy of his enemies trying get into his defenses.

Silfa gets to the collapsed tunnel, already filled roots seeking for mana to eat. She brings out her potions and smashes it from both sides. It opens a gap, small enough for Puma to squeeze through.

“Are you ready, Puma?”

“Puma”

She throws her doll to the hole. The doll goes through all the twists and turns. Her potions weren’t enough to distract a few meters thick roots. But it didn’t stop, Puma is not wanting to stop its master’s ambition. Its rituals grew wilder, its bold nature echoes deep. Then the echoes return with a provocative prowl. Puma climbs down fast.

The roots tried to tangled Puma. It fails with every attempt. Puma’s rituals cursed the roots causing cannibalism among its vine like roots, entangling itself like a not and trying to break free. It starts to eat itself as the roots tear itself apart. The goblins from the other side see the dripping parts of the roots falling down, waiting for their enemies to be ambushed. The falling debris keeps falling drown, hitting some of them. They tried to remove the splinters on them. Their hands feel itchy, their body soon feels itchy, and their eyes are getting itchy as well.

Puma’s accursed flea rituals fall to them. The irritating scratches caused more harm than relief. The spirits tried to comfort them, but Horde chief’s ritual is stronger. Puma fell down and unleashed the plague of the scratching itch. The enemy goblins can’t stop from scratching. The spirits rose in angers as their keepers are scratching to death. Tearing their flesh melded with their organs together. The plague, the scratches, and the itchy have brought to them a suicidal curse. Puma shows its revenge for mocking it. The voice of laughter from before that they thought it was weak. Anger fueled the doll, its restless spirit soothes after what it had done.

The goblin tribes fell into their deaths one by one. The doll leaves them from their suicidal irritations. It was enough distance where she can’t see Puma’s curse. Silfa appears before it and picks it up. Yet, she senses her power being ritualized

“Puma? Are you using my powers to get through the roots? Did my bait wasn’t enough?”

“Puma / You could say that, if you remember that the goblin tribes are using it too”

“Oh” Silfa stops asking as her UI already showing sign of Puma’s kills, so slow and deadly.

To the very part of the channels, the two found a stash left behind. Silfa takes a look at it and it was empty, but it wasn’t disappointed on her face. It was more a surprised than she had ever saw. A stone, strangely visual between transparent tint gem like to solid textures in between. It was very hard to describe. She tries to touch it, and nothing happened. She looks at Puma for any info. Puma doesn’t know either. Then she decided to pick it up and place it in her inventory. As she is about to collect it, it didn’t get into her inventory.

The strange visual looking gem stone is not letting her place it in. She tried to carry at her bag, and as long as she let it go from her hand. The weight pulled her down. The gem stone falls down weighing more than she picks it up.

“Wow! This rock suddenly weighs a ton. I can’t use my device here. Maybe I should place it back there and get it back when I recue them. Puma, marked this place so we can go back later”

“Puma / It’s strange how you can hold it, but weighs like a mountain when you let go”

“Yeah, I know. It would be great enchantment for my equipment”

They left and leave a mark of their loot. When they leave, an ominous being walks to their marked treasure. Puma left strong rituals to protect it. The being tilts its head then turns over. Where its eyes gazed down on Puma’s ritual, it flashes back revealing a tormented mask face. The being exposed by the light spreads its ill-gotten shamanism to the tunnel. The darkness squirms into the empty void trying to flee from the exposing light. Its empty silhouettes are forming into solid bodies reacting from the Puma’s light ritual. The howling of the spirits speaks their names

“Fright Spirits”

Silfa and Puma reaches a cavern. The scent of livable air and the light glows in dark green. They made it to the place where they stored Alga’s light. They stop and see the massive roots hovering over it. The cycle of life, or what it’s called the recreation of it all. The roots are here along with other creatures hibernating, possessing a sensitive magic to keep them asleep until the harmful moon cycles are over. Silfa moves to it, and her powers are returning into her auras. She casts her spell and her force field appeared in enormous strength.

A strong wailing coming from behind. Another strong bright light caused the darkness to react. Silfa sees her notification about the danger and immediately reacts. The torrent of dark wind passing through consuming any light. Foolishly, the darkness can’t consume and continue to burn through. Her reaction was incredible, but feels the curse as the dark wind releases its rituals.

“Wait! The wind has ritual . . .? Puma help me!” She calls Puma out, but didn’t respond.

“Puma, where are you?”

Her eyes wide open and sees Puma is being dragged into the darkness.

She casts her light, but pushes Puma further into the darkness. “No! Puma, hang on!”

Silfa uses all her abilities to resummon it. It didn’t come back. She runs to get it. As she runs, her surroundings changed. The underground environment changed, the empty darkness starts to form walls, ceilings, light bulbs, and floorings.

“What’s going on? Where am I?” Silfa fell into the illusion, dream rituals whereas it weaves into her memories.

The sunlight touches the school and everything around her. Friends and teachers together start appearing before her, then faded away as the spirits appear in front of her.

“We see your past, such an impressive modern world you brought from”

“Yes, yes, yet come here and dared to treat our ritualists like pest”

“Like pest, indeed”

“Almost like you were the one who hates”

“Hates because we are lowly and small. Never treat us as a different race”

Silfa answers back “But, your tribes tend to fight us as well”

“Yes, yes, true. We’re the ones who are trying to stop them from killing you”

“Killing me!?”

Silfa can’t feel her body, as if she is dreaming and her body in full sleep paralysis. When she releases her powers, nothing happens.

The spirits respond “It’s no use. Our boyz will be the one to take care of the rest”

She tries every strength she had physically, mentally, and magically. All feels waste as she is being cursed by them. The commonly two-dimensional drawings were supposed to be their images, rather, they have actual tribal get ups and elemental shamanistic powers in their wooden board masks. They start to see her calming down.

Silfa asks them “Then why am I here exactly?”

“You’re being attacked” Very straight, and didn’t help her in her situation

“While we help you from not letting the evil spirits haunt inside your head”

“Help me? You mean you are friends with Puma?”

They look at each other showing gasp with fright and all of them merged together into one frightful spirit. The one who caused the trap on her. The familiar dark wind appeared in accident. The fright spirit tried to flee, but in this dream it can’t.

“Wait a minute, you’re the one who trapped me here”

The fright spirit forces her dream into the nightmare. Silfa was hesitant at first as her nightmares are starting to form. It stops only leaving an empty void. She feels the rituals from the outside where Puma’s friends are helping. The annoyance from what the fright spirit did to her makes her shout at it.

“Alright! Stop hiding and show yourself. What’s happening to the other spirits I am talking to”

“I ki-k-kicked them out from the dream. I never expect your spirit brought friends to save you”

“Save me, then you must be my enemy then”

“No, no, I am a frightful spirit. Not a coward, just gather fear . . .”

The dream changes again, back to her memory. The time when the people changed, the time made them do unbelievable things, and the time that caused the city itself to face turmoil. Both home and into the wilderness. Silfa sees her friends once again who were alive. Siren’s brother and her closest friends and other low ranked guild groups who were once part of the city guild. Silfa grew angry, those where the people died from the attack. Puma’s rituals are protecting her from anything the fright spirits trying to open her darkest fears but only opens what she hated the most.

Powerless in her dream, and left herself to think as she knows her enemies are out there trying to go through her rune armor. While her memories continue to let her witness it again, all those people lost their lives.

She tries to call her doll out “Puma! Get me out of here! I going to strangle this little ghost of a coward when I’m waking up. YOU HEAR ME, PUMA!!?”

Her rage echoes, the beast hears her. Puma feels its pack satisfies Silfa’s will. Silfa for how long she never used her other abilities. Her rituals attract Puma’s old boyz pack spirits. Even they were kicked out from the fright spirit. They go prepare for Puma’s prophesized beast.

The fright spirit manages to escape. Where it sees the goblins are coming closer. The spirit senses their fear and feast it and flee into the darkness. Taking away their fear, they foolishly go after Silfa without a second thought. The trickster of the fright spirit smiled at the meals it finds and left those goblins to their doom. The enemy spirits fell for the fright spirit’s lie and take the chance to take her down. In the inside, Silfa is being fueled into her head with so many people gone. It gets worse when the memory and the nightmare appeared is her family, she can’t hold it anymore.

Meanwhile, on her unconscious body. The enemy spirits are trying to pry open into her mind. Able to breach into her memories, they played around the fright spirit’s illusion. The runes help her resist more nightmares to come in. The fright spirit’s ritual is slowly losing its strength as the fear of the goblins are dried up. The darkness cleared off. Where the goblin tribes appeared, readying their weapons to kill the citizen.

Once the fright spirit loses all its rituals. Silfa feels like she can control her memory. A small thought of the time she remembered. Sanquin appeared before her. The time inside the island. The charming demonic presence from Raker Mawn Guild spoke to her with her elusive tone.

“Care not to waste that little doll of yours for display . . . I know, I know. I am a demon, but that doll of yours is a soul of a goblin with years of ancestral powers. That pack is no joke when you possessed its shamanistic rituals instead the normal rituals itself. Remember that”

Then it was Illtended, “Wow, I never know that Heist’s acting girlfriend OW* Sorry, but she is not wrong you know. They grew stronger if they face unfair advantage. Instant killing really makes the spirits strong with jealousy. You really need to use shamanism. Better yet, let Puma do it for you. I heard your story what it did when fighting against that undead monster. We are going to face it someday inside the dungeon. That place is still the perfect place for beginners beside being loot grab paradise. Get that doll of yours some our own theme rituals. Probably it can look cool or cute in your taste”

Lastly Voldemyr before they set out “I am saying this to you secretly. Not because we chose you because Puma possessed good rituals to fend off the spirits. The reason for us to chose you is to control your doll. I’ve seen how it fought. Hearing a keeper’s doll to lose an independent spirit is a sign of not given its true potential . . . Yes, your friend said it best. If I want you to be better. I have nothing to convince you except this . . . Whisper* Or else they will have the same fate who tried to take the demons’ puppet’s magic item”

Silfa turns back when the time inside the evacuation area, the time after the last attack of the demons’ army. Her family did their best to help from the sidelines. Her younger sister is as strong as she is including her fear to lose someone. It was enough for her to shed a tear, but not this time. It was anger, the time they have told her to use Puma. She was ignorant to realized how strong Puma is, and her UI says all about its abilities. The thing she must require is difficult to find. The shamanistic ritual of Puma is extinct. It was impossible to find.

She thought this goblin spirit is just crazy goblin like the rest. It wasn’t because of that. She soon understands that she lives in the post-apocalyptic world. Her family will be endangered. Her doll is the first thing she could see the chances to survive. Now she is trapped into this memory. Again, she tried one more time. The rituals she secretly hides starting to call out in her.

“I thought it was my emotion playing tricks on me. I forgot that Puma is a . . .”

Evil laughs coming from Puma “Laughs* You foolish living sogs. I never obey the weak. I am taking a pack with her true will”

Silfa sees Puma for the first time in flesh. The goblin’s body that is different from the today’s goblins in Horsin. Beefy, not in its usual green skin but in pure brown yellow color. The face mask stretches forward into form of a beast, it starts to breathe colorful air, and the air turned into more spiritual creatures. It disperses all her memories into a clear mind.

Both Silfa and Puma face each other, and Puma lays his pack again. “Live boss, complete my pack. Find my pu’ma . . .”

Silfa wakes up and sees all around her are the goblins trying to kill her. She casts her spell, her forcefield mixed with rituals drawn its layer into a beast. Horns grew from it and Silfa almost retaliate to kill them. She immediately stops and only knocked them back. Puma appeared from the dark and pulled into her forcefield. Both of them escaped and continue to find her friends. The goblins were in shock as their words spread into the echoes of the spirits.

“She is close to be free from her summoner”

Silfa goes down deeper as ever before through the Alga’s light. Her runes resisted its nourishing light. Her powers are out of hand as her auras quickly appearing. Unstable magic mixing with shamanistic rituals, her mana, and runes all together. A notification pops up in front of her about it. She chooses what mana to stop or the reaction will cause an explosion.

“Puma” Puma says to her on her arms.

It is time, she must do what she had never complete the pack. She took a deep breath and said

“Is it the right time to do it here?”

“Puma” It said to her with a serious tone.

In this dangerous place, Silfa thanked Puma for freeing her from the dream. Her ritual powers concealed, then she let Puma to open it. The rituals are all around her, then she hears a voice. A beastly roar is calling out to her. The same place where her friends’ signals are.

“Puma” It said again with passion.

Where the enemy spirits found her as they run, they tried to ambush her again. As they about to reach them, an elven magic barrier blocked them from entering. More and more of those spirits are haunting at the barrier whereas more goblins joined to breakthrough.

To where they go, they made into a secret chamber. Sealed with elven magic and numerous remains of the demons’ puppets. The look of Silfa’s eyes where she stood before a tunnel of dead monsters. She released her magic out of shock. Puma stops her

“Puma”

“Thanks, Puma. I hope what you said before about the pack. That dream though, are you really that goblin when you are alive”

“Puma”

“Geez, I really need my UI translate that. My last translation when you told me after using my, I mean, your rituals”

A loud noise reaches them. Silfa hears her friends’ voice.

“Damn it, one of the monsters are escaping”

“Shit! That cat moves fast”

“Growl*”

“Shit! Shit! Shit! It recovers so fast”

“It’s the Alga’s light, it will recover fast when they got exposed from it. Agh!”

Silfa told Puma “Let’s go, we need to save them”

When she gets there, the fight was already over. Both of them lying on the ground as they see Silfa. The rogue waves at her

“You made it . . .”

Heist yells out “Don’t let the door . . .”

Silfa walks in and something loud closed behind her

“. . . close”

The beast growls at them. Puma watches its prideful form, not in flesh but its ritual spirit.