Chapter 8: The Tree of Maya

On my signal, all of us charged towards the Stone Golem. With its massive body, it blocked a third of the entire tunnel, giving us limited room to pass through. Its deafening roar continued to reverberate, and the cobbles and stones on the railways clanked against each other, trembling.

You have been affected by the Roar of the Stone Golem

Movement speed has decreased by 12%

I frowned after seeing the notification.

To someone like me who was carrying a human baggage, this was a blow against my survivability. Just carrying this pallid little girl was more than enough handicap, since I was unable to use my sword, and now, I had been inflicted with a movement slow status.

I was pretty sure that Jerry and Franchesca were affected by it too. I could discern the minute restriction that bound their bodies, something an untrained eye would have a hard time noticing.

The Stone Golem kept trashing about, its every strike pulverizing asphalt and concrete. Cobbles and stones flew about, and the ground shook and rumbled. Clouds of dust swirled up into the air.

“Too damn noisy,” I snarled as I ran along with Jerry and Franchesca.

Even while carrying a little girl with me, I could easily outrun the two of them, but I chose not to. Escaping by myself would be useless if they were both dead. It would be nothing but a repeat of the previous timeline.

“Can’t you guys run faster?!” I said, my brows creased. “It’ll catch up to us at this rate!”

“We’re trying!” retorted Jerry.

A shadow flew past us as a gargantuan arm missed its target. Stone against metallic rails created a deafening impact, sending sparks flying into the air.

“To the side!” I shouted.

As soon as we had leapt to the sides, a large slab of stone flew past us. It skidded through the railways, sending stones flying everywhere, before eventually coming to a stop a few moments after.

I glanced at the Stone Golem. The flames deep within its eye sockets blazed fierily, its deafening cry full of hatred and rage.

Normally, this Stone Golem was a docile creature—harmless unless provoked.

Something must have happened to it while it was in these tunnels. I could somehow imagine that the humans who first saw it attacked it without thinking of the consequences—and this was the result. An enraged monster.

If I was even half as strong as the previous timeline, I would have killed this rampaging creature in the blink of an eye. But right now, that was far too optimistic, definitely impossible with my current strength.

We kept running, all the while dodging the stone throws of the Golem. I could feel my stamina dwindling down as time went by. This was one of the fatal consequences of having imbalanced stats. Too much agility or strength would lead to a faster depletion of stamina points. And even in this game-like reality, the only way to regain stamina was to rest. Of course, there were stamina potions, but those were really rare that you could actually exchange a dozen HP potions for a single one. They were out of the equation.

As we ran through the tunnels, we saw a nonfunctional train along the way. I flashed the light through it, revealing the surprisingly in-good condition carts. The windows were intact, and there were no dents on its metallic exterior.

“Chase,” huffed Jerry. I could see the numerous beads of sweat on his forehead. “Should we go inside?”

“No,” I immediately shot down the idea. “Continue running.”

Despite the perfectly good condition of the train, I knew that the Stone Golem could eventually bulldoze its way through it. It was no exaggeration to say that those stone fists were strong enough to crush and dent metal. Getting inside the metallic cart was no different from suicide.

We ran past the train, and behind us, we could hear the Stone Golem trying to squeeze its way through the gap between carts and the tunnel walls. The sound of stone scraping metal reverberated, and sparks flew through the air.

The furious roar somehow turned into frustration as the Golem repeatedly tried to squeeze its way into the gap between the carts and the walls.

We used it as an opportunity to further widen the gap between us and the stone monster.

After I had determined that we had gained a good enough distance from it, I closed the light. Darkness enveloped us once again.

“Don’t make a sound,” I whispered. “Just continue walking forward.”

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“Won’t it catch us? Shouldn’t we run?” breathed Jerry.

I frowned and whispered, “Shut up, Jerry.”

There was a dissatisfied grunt after that, but there were no more oppositions to my suggestion after. Using my keens senses, I could make out the soft thud sounds of my companions as we traversed the tunnels. On our rear, the furious roar of the golem still continued to echo. But it was starting to fade away now, probably because the damn stone monster could not find any lead on where to find us. It was probably lost in the dark. I smirked at the thought.

Minutes passed, and we could no longer hear the golem. Most probably, it had given up the chase.

“You can walk on your own now,” I said to Kristine. I gently placed her down the ground.

I opened the flashlight and scanned our immediate surroundings. The walls of the tunnels were covered in moss, and occasional unassuming vines have latched themselves through the cracks.

Somehow, it was amazing that all of these things had transpired in such a short time. If we had not known better, we would have thought that these plants had grown over the years, and not in a span of a few hours.

“T-Thank you,” said Kristine, her voice stuttering. Somehow, her face was red.

I did not reply. Honestly, I do believe that she was merely a baggage, and if not for Jerry, I would have discarded her without second thoughts.

Jerry checked on his sister if she was fine. He kept bombarding her with questions, just like some worrywart.

Well, I believe we were far enough from the Stone Golem by now. He could blabber to his heart’s content.

I noticed that Franchesca was looking at me, no—staring.

“What’s it?” I said.

She shook her head then replied, “Nothing.” Then hurriedly turned her cheek away.

What was that? I inwardly asked myself.

Once again, our group resumed our journey. I glanced at my watch. We’ve been in this tunnel for more than two hours now.

Should we stop and recuperate first?

For a moment, I was tempted by the idea, but I eventually dismissed the thought.

We kept walking, and only the sound of our feet hitting stones and cobbles served as background. I knew that the members of my group were already tired, probably exhausted, but they did not voice it out loud, probably in consideration of everyone.

We were about to reach the next station when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. I stared at the shiny plant latched on the tunnel wall. It was round, small, and inconspicuous, and if not for its ability to reflect light, I would have not noticed it amidst the vines that crisscrossed all throughout the wall.

I approached it.

“System, Identify,” I said.

A second passed and a translucent window appeared in front of me.

Rainbow Fluff

An unremarkable plant that grows in the dark. Aside from its beautiful color, it is inedible and useless.

I plucked the shiny plant out of the wall, and its luster died out immediately. The simple details provided by the system was true, but not entirely accurate. Indeed, this one is inedible and will cause severe constipation if eaten. But it was not useless.

If brewed right, this plant could actually be made into a potent hallucinogen. A drug capable of making a person relieve his worst nightmares.

Most probably, right now, the system had not recorded anything useful from this plant, and that was the reason for the mundane description.

“What are you doing?” asked Jerry.

I tucked the marble-sized plant into my pocket. It may become useful later.

“Collecting medicine,” I simply stated. Right now, I was in no mood to explain things to him.

I was hungry, and if not for the impending danger of the upcoming second wave, I would have asked everyone to eat and recuperate.

We continued walking after that until eventually, we arrived at the next station. Just like before, I made it clear that we were not going up the surface. It was a far too foolish decision to make.

We once again saw a train in front of us. I flashed the light through it, scanning the carts as we passed by. Unlike the perfectly good condition of the one we had encountered before, this one was a complete mess. Its windows were broken, and vines had twined around the carts, giving it semblance to a miniature jungle.

As though complementing the train wrapped in vines, the tunnel walls were also covered in plants, spreading throughout all directions. Roots covered the ground, and the scent of flower filled the air.

Though the plant-covered tunnel was somehow peculiar and eerie, we had no choice but traverse it. Soon, surreal images greeted our eyes. Amidst the darkness of the tunnels, small dots of light floated about.

At first, I thought they were fireflies, until I realized that they were pollens from the flowers latched on the walls.

It was a serene sight. It was so breathtakingly beautiful that even I forgot for a moment that we were in the middle of an apocalypse.

“So beautiful!” said the young girl, Kristine.

At the corner of my eyes, I could see that Franchesca was gawking at the sight. I smiled at that.

You have entered the Underground Jungle of Maya

HP recovery has increased by 50%

Mana recovery has increased by 30%

My brows rose upon seeing the message. These buffs were without doubt the effect of a Haven—a rare area that randomly sprouts in this apocalyptic world. It does not restrict monsters from entering, but due to the great buffs given by that particular location, it was the usual basis when creating a home.

Back in the previous timeline, I even heard news of a city in the far north that was built inside a large Haven. I never had the chance to visit it, since I entered the Realm of the Underworld after receiving news of the Lord of Destruction’s location.

The floating particles of light gave ample enough illumination that I no longer felt the need to use the flashlight.

We continued walking, and we soon came across what I deemed to be the heart of this haven: a tree that touched the ceiling. Its trunk was thick, almost touching the walls from side to side. Its leaves emitted a faint glow of light, and numerous shining fruits grew on its branches.

Tree of Maya

Lv.1

A level 1 monster that was totally harmless to humans. Based on my knowledge, this was definitely a young haven core, which was also the reason why the buffs it gave were mediocre. A 50% increase in HP recovery was nothing when compared to a full-grown haven core, which could give as much as 400% HP recovery increase to those within its perimeter.

Jerry touched one of the fruits hanging on its branches, and it immediately broke into numerous particles of light.

“Wha—,” mumbled Jerry. His eyes widened after seeing that.

“You can’t pluck those,” I simply said. “They’ll just burst then disappear from sight.”

I knew fully well that those fruits were merely decorations. This tree had no other use than to give buffs to those around it.

I glanced at my watch.

I had decided.

We would most likely not find another place like this after a long time. If we were going to rest, it would be better if we did it now.

“We’ll rest here for fifteen minutes,” I declared, as I sat down on the root-covered ground. “After that, we’ll depart.”