Red’s stats gave her a clear advantage against the Bitter Thorns.
One strike was all she needed. She launched forward and began the offensive with [Huntress’ Slash], following the red mist as she entered the onslaught of puppeted corpses. The brambles replaced bone and wrapped them like a cage of barbed wire.
As soon as Red’s blade connected with the brambles, she immediately realized there was a problem.
“Tch! Their DEF stats are higher than my ATT!?” Her blade was only able to just barely hack splinters away from the brambles.
Were her blade any weaker then it would have shattered upon impact.
She instantly threw herself backwards, skidding across the grass as Rockie rolled in like an oversized ball. Bitter Thorns were thrown and crushed under Rockie’s immense weight. Though his ATT was nearly twice as low as Red’s, he was able to damage the Bitter Thorns.
“Wanna let me know how you’re doing that!?”
Red didn’t know if it was a Skill or some kind of effect. She tried to wrap her mind around it as she threw herself back into the midst, her blade still repulsed by the brambles. Sharp, wooden needles emerged from underneath the soil.
Patches of disturbed dirt choreographed their attacks, allowing Red to swiftly maneuver around them as she followed her instincts but to no avail.
“No… I see what’s going on! The brambles aren’t actually a part of them, are they!?” She cried out.
She received a prompt as a reward for her observation.
Bitter Thorn
< Observation Level 1 >
< Bitter Thorns are composed of two parts. The first is the shell that defends the Host. The second part is solely the host and contains the main HP pool of the Bitter Thorn >
They were two separate parts despite being one entity.
“In simpler terms, it’s like the clothes or armor of a person, huh? That’s new to me! Usually things like pelt, skin and carapace are connected to the body in the first place! Plus –!”
Red should have expected this. Or rather, she should have simply went straight for the corpse it paraded. There were two reasons why she went for the brambles first.
“I thought the brambles were the actual entity!” She exclaimed, weaving her hand through the maze of thorns without receiving a single scratch. “And the red mist isn’t telling me to target their main body directly! Voice!”
Five were felled as she danced between them, her AGI making her appear like a blur.
“Do segments affect my perception of the bloody trail!? Grr! This is a mess! A big mess! Mr. Huntsman! Are you ready to leave soon! There’s more of them coming!”
The few dozens turned to nearly a hundred as they emerged from the forest lines. Red moved like a red ribbon caught in the wind, spinning and carving the tip of her blade into the throats of her enemies.
“Parasites can’t live without a body. But that doesn’t make any sense. Parasites need a living thing, don’t they, voice?” She asked herself as blood sprayed over the side of her face, painting her in red.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
In the back of her mind Red wondered where she had seen this creature before. Granted, her past life as a Corrupted was foggy as best, but the brambles were all too similar to a Corrupted she had faced in the past.
The same went for the golden apples.
In the meantime, the villagers could only watch in a blend of stupor and terror.
“We’re almost ready! We’re waiting for a forward scout before we can leave! It looks like the western side of the forest is the only place affect so far!” He roared as arrows fired by him whizzed past her shoulders, accurately pinning the heads of villages he recognized.
Every arrow he fired was dipped with the poison of regret. Every trigger he pulled required a piece of his heart to be sacrificed. He knew those people.
“Mr. Huntsman! Don’t you think that waiting will just make it even harder to escape!? I just blinked for all I remember before everything went to hell!” Red cried.
Rockie in the meantime prevented Red from becoming overwhelmed. Each deafening crash of its metal carapace resulted in the displacement of tens of Bitter Thorns. They walked uneasily like on stilts to begin with. Limbs snapped in unintended directions, causing skin and flesh to tear.
“They will be here soon! There is a highway an hour away by horseback! They’ve been gone for fifty minutes!”
“Ten minutes then! That’s too much time to wait around! I can see Envious Brambles ahead!”
“Those are!?” A man cried out.
“… Corrupted?” Snow wondered, squinting her eyes into the forest lines, spotting a wall of moving trees. “I can’t see their stats. Never mind their names. Red…? Are you sure you’re not seeing things!?”
Snow was the only Blessed in the village besides Red. Seeing stats was an ability reserved only for the Blessed. They could see the stats of everything except for two things.
Other Blessed, and the Corrupted.
“TRUST ME! I’m the one fighting in the front! Why would I lie!?” Red reasoned. “Rockie! Use tackle! Break them apart!”
Snow was about to retort, but she felt a wrinkled hand clasp onto her shoulder.
“Believe in the young woman.” Elda assured. “I have seen the shape of her heart, as I have with yours… Red!”
The village elder suddenly called out, standing from the wagon with shaky legs.
“You said things occurred in the blink of an eye! How much time had passed for you before night fell!?”
“Minutes!” Red cried as bottles of oil attached to arrows were fired in her direction.
Next, a flaming arrow ignited a wall of flames, giving Red some much needed relief as she clasped onto her knees, panting heavily. She was used to fighting big games, but the sheer numbers of the Bitter Thorns were far from her expertise.
If they were just slightly more coordinated or proficient, then she would not have stood a chance.
She was used to fighting things that were clearly living.
Rockie Grey rammed them into the flames, keeping them there until they withered into ashes.
Steel Bug
Rockie Grey
< Observation Level 1 >
< Despite their relatively low RESIST stat, they are temporarily immune to Burn Stacks. When temperatures exceed 1,400 degrees Celsius or 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit, then induce 1000 Burn Stacks >
“I don’t know who Celsius or Fahrenheit are, but I’m guessing that just equals Rockie’s melting point, right!?”
No response again.
Agate was awfully selective of when to impart its knowledge to her. Elda instead spoke, her hoarse voice cutting through the cacophony.
“Minutes… Red! Young Red! How long did it take you to return to the village!?”
“Like I said– minutes –!?”
The deafening blare of a trumpet interrupted her as she came to a frightening realization. She was hours away from the village. Yet it only took her minutes to return. Somehow, the distance had not only been shortened, but time had also moved differently for her.
The trumpet’s call lasted for one minute straight. She looked up in the air, searching for answers. All she saw were the pale faces of the villagers who knew precisely what that trumpet entailed.
“The First Trumpet… This is… It really is a Corrupted… An Augurist… the trumpet caller of all disasters…” The Huntsman, whose strength was only second to Red’s, trembled like death’s scythe was held to his throat.
Panic instantly ensued. People tumbled from the edge of the wagon, hands reaching down to drag them up. The stench of desperation melded with the despair. Among the fallen was Three Paw, whose barking could not be heard over the shouts and screams.
“This… This shouldn’t be possible.” Snow uttered, somehow reaching Red’s ears.
“I’ve fought a Trickle before! That’s only the first trumpet!” She proclaimed, trying to calm them down.
However, Snow was not terrified because of this.
Rather, it was the spacial and temporal abnormalities that gave rise to her terror.
“You’re wrong Red! Red! Mr. Huntsman! We have to leave right now!” She cried. “We’re in a Corrupted Zone! There’s a Corrupted in our forest that’s manifested a Corrupted Zone!”
“Meaning? MEANING!?” A woman screeched, clasping onto Snow like she was her only strand of hope left.
Snow could not stare back into her pleading eyes.
“… We’re in the domain of a Corrupted. We’re in its home. This forest… is likely to be an extension of whatever it is. Its rules. It’s thoughts. Its desires, hopes… purpose – it distorts reality into the shape that best suits it. Like a terrarium.”
It was not the answer they wanted.