Hunter's pulse was a drumbeat of war as the beast charged, its shadow engulfing him like a dark prophecy. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his glaive, a laughable defense against the charging nightmare. The creature, a mass of ashen fur, shot through with streaks of molten red becoming visible beneath its snout with every stride forward. It seemed born from the very bowels of hell itself. Its breath was a stench of sulfur, eyes ablaze with a hatred that promised a gruesome end.
Hunter vaulted over the beast, narrowly avoiding the kiss of its blackened horns. Landing with a grace that belied the pounding of his heart, Hunter squared off, the glaive in his hands no more reassuring than a feather against a storm. The sight that greeted him—a veritable sea of hairy horned monsters, their massive hooves pounding the earth in a relentless advance—was enough to make even the bravest heart falter.
He Xiangu's battle cry, fierce enough to raise the dead or at least give them pause, rang out. "I'll feed that demon guardian his own heart for sending us here—this isn't the Black Pits! Stompers avoid there because it is the breeding ground of Komodo dragons."
As Hunter took in the hellscape around them, the realization dawned—this was no accidental detour. The smoke-choked sky, the jagged landscape ripped straight from a madman's dream, made his previous abode on Death Island seem like a tranquil retreat. "So, we're facing Stompers. Marvelous," he mused, the sarcasm a thin veil over his rising dread.
He Xiangu, her expression as stormy as the skies above, launched into the fray with a vengeance. "That guard didn't just make a mistake; he sent us to our deaths on purpose." Her spear danced death, plunging into the eye of a charging beast with a squelch that was almost too personal, its massive body crumpling to the ground with a thud that seemed to shake the very air. “It looks like we are west of the Black Pits in the barren plains. I wanted to avoid this area like the plague; these monsters are incredibly fast for their size, fiercely territorial, and like my Uncle Fattie, they are always hungry."
Amidst the chaos, Hunter found a moment of clarity, channeling his chi into the Dust Storm Whip. The landscape itself rebelled, the earth tearing open as if to swallow the horde whole. Yet, as he unleashed his fury, a sinister force tugged at his core, a reminder of the Dark plasma that flowed within him.
The battle raged, a blur of flesh, fur, and steel. Hunter moved with a desperate grace, his glaive carving arcs of defiance through the oncoming tide. Each strike was a gamble, each breath a stolen treasure.
As his next Dust Storm Whip attack met the vanguard of the Stompers, Hunter felt a pull, a dark whisper from the tainted core within him, a reminder of the power and the curse that flowed through his veins. With a dancer's grace and a warrior's fury, he moved through the fray, his weapon singing a deadly song of steel and blood, cutting a swath through the enemy even as he struggled against the dark influence gnawing at his soul.
"Feels like I'm trying to light a fire in a hurricane. It seems like it takes me more energy to draw chi in this Dark plasma-rich environment. I think it’s interfering with my beast tamer skills, and I can’t sense the Stompers' auras like I normally would," he muttered, the realization that his abilities were being stifled by a cold weight in his stomach.
He Xiangu impaled another Stomper with a move that was almost casual, if not for the grim determination etched in every line of her body. "These aren't just beasts; they're monsters. Void of chi, adapted to survive in this hellscape. Makes you miss the simplicity of a cow, doesn't it?"
Hunter couldn't help but agree, though the thought of what lay ahead, the caverns where their quest would either end in triumph or disaster, weighed heavily on him. "Just how far are we from turning this nightmare into a victory?" He wondered aloud, not entirely sure he wanted the answer.
He Xiangu, catching the edge of worry in his voice, offered a rare smile, a glimmer of friendship in the darkness. "Fear not, we're no further from our goal than we were. Only more... interesting challenges to face.The truth is, I avoided here because I thought you’d be flattened after barely setting foot on the land, but you continue to surprise me. Your company makes a long trip less boring to endure."
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Hunter swallowed hard and grinned. "Glad to hear I’m keeping you entertained."
As if releasing an unseen frustration, He Xiangu thrust her spear into a downed beast as it raised its head.
The Stomper released a stuttering croak as He Xiangu pierced the side of the beast once more, ensuring its death. Hunter frowned, sorry for the beast, even if it was tainted with Dark plasma and raging against anything that moved. A flicker in his vision drew his attention, and he couldn’t help but smile big with laughter.
The notification scrolled into view. It seemed his fight against these beasts were not a loss left unawarded. He’d not leveled up, but he gained five points in weapons and armor mastery. Physical stat increased by two. If they crossed more monsters this route, then that demon sentinel helped him more than he’d thought.
He Xiangu’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “You seem more excited than a fish that grabs bait without getting hooked.”
Turning toward her, he considered this an opportunity to enlighten her further. “All of this monster fighting is increasing my mastery of weapons and armor, despite my less familiar skills with the glaive and shield.” He paused, examining his core, a small tingling sensation pulsed through its fibers. “Each time my stats improve, my cultivation is closer to advancing to the Founder stage. It reminds me of my time killing monster bunnies in the tower’s Refiner Gate.”
“Are you serious?” He Xiangu stepped past the downed beast, its lifeless eyes staring up at him as he followed beside her. “How challenging can hunting bunnies be?”
Hunter frowned. “I told you they were monster bunnies.”
He Xiangu smirked. “What? Did they have red eyes and sharp teeth?”
Dodging a jagged rock, Hunter spread his arms wide and pointed his glaive to the sky. “Larger than trees, their claws cut through your skin like you’d die by a thousand knives. I suppose seeing is believing and my offer still stands if you are curious to find out more.”
With a slight nod, He Xiangu pressed forward across the rocky terrain. “My father’s concubine had a saying. Curiosity killed the cat.”
Hunter raised a brow at the lack of conviction in her words. It seemed like she wanted to provoke him, ignoring the offer, but he wasn’t about to back down.
He glanced at her. “We have a similar saying, but here’s the climax that you failed to learn: Information is what brought the curious cat back.”
She groaned. “You have an answer for everything.”
Hunter tilted his chin up, returning her comment with a simple smirk.
Huffing out a breath of air, she waved him on. “I can tell you’re not going to stop. Go ahead and tell me more about this cultivation that you’re so fond of in the tower.”
Hunter’s shoulders relaxed at the weight of conviction in her words. He’d finally hooked her into acknowledging a keen interest to know more. Not wasting any time, he described his experiences in the tower, from the tutorials and Refiner Gate, to the crafting table. For once she’d engaged with him, asking more questions that led him to another benefit of the tower.
They paused for a break, He Xiangu taking a swig from her water pouch. Her eyes remained locked on him as he continued.
“The best part is the tradakas. Tower measures time with tradaka moments, but I had to have him convert it to better gauge my time spent inside versus outside the tower. From what I remember, 0.076 tradaka moments feel like a full day in the tower, but are only about four and a half hours for everyone else outside its walls. The important thing to remember is that time moves more slowly inside its walls. It gives me an edge over other cultivators that only have the opportunity to train outside the tower.” He shrugged before taking a quick drink to quench his parched throat, her gaze locked on to him as though she were inspecting every word he’d said. “That’s what Tower told me, but I still don’t understand the time exchange.”
“Tradakas…” He Xiangu stowed her pouch. “Makes sense to me.”
“Well it’s all Greek to me. I don’t need to know the exact math, but I’m certain Tower would love to speak with you about it.” He held his pouch steady, focusing on the subtle pull of Earth chi from his core.
A low rumbling noise followed, sending his heart racing. He leapt toward He Xiangu, grabbing her arm with him as heat surged up his back and the rocky terrain spewed. Turning around, he placed a hand on his hip and nodded toward the erupting lava geyser. The subtle shift from elevated Dark plasma levels to a greater chi environment seemed to have activated his core.
He Xiangu raised a brow, adjusting her armor. “How did you know that—” She groaned as thick, rope-like vines wrapped their way around her ankles, shifting her stance back closer to the geyser.
Hunter’s eyes widened as a forceful tug pulled on his own legs, nearly enough to drop him to the ground. He kicked as a couple more leafless vines snaked their way toward them. “What the…”
In a quick series of slashes, He Xiangu’s sword whirled from vine to vine. “The Emberbind likes their victims crispy.”