Moments earlier, Red followed the sound of Snow’s voice and a sudden, booming thwack. If Red had to describe the sound, then it’d be close to the crack of a whip.
She blazed through the forest, her blade kept close to her chest in a reverse grip. Foliage disintegrated as she slashed her way through at a speed that was almost impossible to see with the naked eye.
A lingering red trail of light was the only evidence that she had swung her knife.
I’m bound to get caught if I raise my voice. Luckily, I don’t have to mask my scent while moving. My enemies are a bunch of flesh bags puppeted by branches. The only working organs I can tell are their eyes and ears.
Red was not going to let her first human friend die. She owed the world to Snow for showing her a world that she had dreamed to be a part of. Even back as a Corrupted, Red was curious about the world beyond the pale confines of her prison.
Humans are supposed to stick together right? I gotta save Snow!
Among the foliage were walls of Envious Brambles. She had faced enough of them by now that she came to recognize limitations in their movements. For starters, they could not change direction easily.
Red used the trees as leverage as she bounced around the forest. Her knife carved into the bark of one as she spun around, coming back the same way as the chasing Envious Brambles and cut them down vertically with terrifying ease.
Suddenly, she received multiple prompts.
Envious Brambles
< Observation Level 3 >
< What was once alive became empty. If all life is born complete, then why were they born the way they were? >
< Huntress’ Slash II Has Gained a Level >
< Huntress’ Slash II Has Gained a Level >
< Huntress’ Slash II Has Gained a Level >
< Huntress’ Slash II [6/10] >
It’s close to the story of the Still Unloving, huh. They were born different from others. But ‘Envious’ gives it a different meaning. The Still Unloving couldn’t change. But the Envious Brambles…
Blackened blood stained her crimson garbs.
They can take the bodies of people.
She pushed onwards with a ferocious glare. Eventually, she cut through the forest and reached the shallows of a marshlands. The Envious Brambles were nowhere to be found.
Red kept her head low, and her senses tuned to every minute detail. Despite how calm everything seemed, she knew better than to believe that she was in the clear. After a long minute of silence, Red twirled her blade and finally wiped the sweat from her forehead.
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Tch. The forest might as well be alive at this point. Grr. What’s wrong with this place? I know Corrupted Zones are a thing, but I’ve never had to experience this before.
“Psst. Agate.” Red whispered as she crept through the reeds, following the distant sound of heavy stomps. “I’ve been meaning to ask but what exactly is a Corrupted Zone supposed to be?”
Corrupted Zone
< The fathoms of a Corrupted. Size, laws and denizens depend on the strength of a Corrupted >
“Fathoms meaning… imagination?”
Fathoms
< The emotional turmoil that persists within one’s state of mind. The Corrupted Zone is a manifestation of this >
< Note: Fathoms is a broad term. Other terms are interchangeable, such as Nex >
Agate became oddly more responsive to her, much to Red’s surprise. The voice in her head didn’t explain into much detail, but she got the gist of it. As far as she was aware, a Corrupted Zone reflected the mind of the Corrupted.
Or as Red began to see it:
“Sounds more like to me a manifestation of their world. The big spider thing was like that too, but in a smaller scale. You think my Corrupted Zone would be a bunch of people wanting to make friends with me?”
Red whispered, grinning at the thought of befriending a hundred people. Or better yet, a hundred different Snows.
“Nex. What a weird name. Specific Nex lets me look into the Origins of a Corrupted. Weird. It’s related to all of this, right?”
< Awaiting… >
“Grrr. Throw me a bullet, would you? Gah. Back to hunting Snow. Wait… is that –!?
She noticed a silhouette in the distance. It was a giant body that moved through the trees. Judging from the size, she immediately believed it to be a certain Rock Bug.
A spark of joy filled her heart, although, she’d rather die than admit this out loud. The silhouette seemed to also be heading in the direction of where Snow’s voice seemed to have come from.
Then, she heard the shout of a man.
“Mr. Huntsman is there too? It’s my lucky day today~”
* * *
Red stalked the silhouette. Her speed was at 32 AGI. For comparison, the fastest wolves typically had 20-30 AGI, with some creatures rarely reaching over 40. A level 45 Human like Mr. Huntsman also had only 8 AGI.
It was fast enough for her to leap meters forward and perform inhuman acrobatic stunts, but not fast enough to dodge an arrow. Still, her speed was more than enough to close the distance between her and the silhouette.
However, the closer she came, the more she suspected that the lumbering creature was not Rockie. Then, she saw it. Her heart sank as her throat was clogged by an unnatural wave of sorrow.
A giant, 2-meter tall Rock Bug was infested with Envious Brambles. They wriggled through its body and stone carapace like worms in a cut of rotting meat. Red’s reaction surprised her, nor did she quite understand it.
“Rockie!?” Red cried after passing a cave. The sprinting spider turned, and once she was close enough, the ache in her heart disappeared.
LEVEL : 25
Bitter Thorn
Rock Bug
ATTRIBUTE: Obsession
ORIGIN : Trauma HP : 1,000
ATT : 600
MAG ATT : 0 AGI : 7
This was because she realized that it was not Rockie.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” It screamed.
“It can even take over monsters!? Insects too!? You… are you so starved of a body that you’ll resort to taking over a damned Rock Bug of all things!?”
It was strong, and she suspected its defenses to be even stronger. But it was weakened. Brambles had pried its shell open which made its innards vulnerable. It only had seven out of eight legs, and trailing behind it was a long net of mangled bodies.
Each of its legs moved like the stiff ball and socket joints of a wooden puppet. Immediately, Red’s instincts told her where to strike, as did the red line.
[Huntress’ Slash II]. This Skill only used 100 MP. So with a total pool of 15,000 MP, she could use it 150 times before needing to replenish her Mana.
“Stupid big bug… I thought you were Rockie. If you really were Rockie…!”
Red dashed forward. An explosion of mud was ejected into the air as she gripped the handle of her knife with both hands.
The tip of her blade glowed red hot like a piece of steel fresh out of a forge.