Part 4
Drake was patiently waiting next to Grant, atop the small hill they had made their home for the past week. The midday sun began to slowly make its way to its height, marking the time that Drake recognized as when he first received the choice. Grant, and their other companion, Lance, were merely waiting out until the deadline, slowly passing the time with mundane training or simple tricks with magic. Just like themselves, those in the city had been under an increasing barrage of attacks by a large variety of monsters, but the sheer magnitude of the monsters themselves was drastically different.
Just like the large, golem-like creature Drake had come across in the first few days of his Draconian transformation, more and more destructive creatures had made their way to the center of the population. Whether the monsters desired the buildings themselves as a resting place or source of food, or more likely, desired the people inside, those who decided to stay were under increasing pressure. It only made sense that when the hammer finally dropped, nothing would be left.
However, no matter how bleak the outcome looked, the city was still a place of life and culture. Most are typically reluctant to abandon their normal life, and head out to safety, even if it in their best interest.
“What are you two up to?” Lance walked over with a bored look, before sitting down next to the duo. “Normally you two would be ‘meditating’ or some other crap. Something up?” He cocked his head to side in a curious manner.
“It’s been a week since they arrived, starting today, idiot.” Grant came down on him, an exasperated expression in his eyes. “Remember? Likely, what Drake warned us about is about to happen. The destruction of the city.”
Lance’s face dropped instantly as a small bit of remorse crossed it. “Sorry. I’ve been busy with my own stuff.” He raised his hand in apology. “It’s easy to lose track of time out here. Besides, I’m normally the one on lookout.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re both a bit worried is all.” Drake cut in, much to Lance’s relief.
The trial had skipped to this point in time, and had given him two companions. It was strange, having so many memories of his new body, and memories of the duo that joined him, but in retrospect, it wasn’t surprising. The pivotal moment in his life had been when monsters had been truly introduced to the world. From thereon out, the strength of creatures increased by a wide margin, as they finally had enough mana to supplement that strength.
And speaking of time… Right around now, it should’ve been a week since they first showed up. Drake thought with a reluctant look on his face.
Just as the thought crossed Drake’s mind, he felt the familiar presence suddenly invade his mind, and the Caracatia began to make their final announcement.
“Attention, all of humanity… We give our heartfelt thanks to the half of your race… starting now, we will begin to spawn thousands of monsters… Well, we hope you enjoy your new world, ‘humanity’”. As the Caracatia finished their speech, there was a faint laughter that echoed throughout all their minds, leading Drake and the others looked to each other with a sudden sense of danger.
With how much Drake had emphasized how dangerous the end of the deadline was, they fully expected to be attacked on the spot. Instead however, they were met with nothing but silence. Despite their initial feeling, seconds, and then even minutes began to pass from the end of the announcement. Nothing happened.
“I guess nobodies like us aren’t really on the menu.” Lance interrupted the sense of tension that had been building up with a small laugh.
“Guess so.” Drake and Grant both agreed, before both taking a small sigh of relief.
Truthfully, Drake had only heard from others the state of the city after he had abandoned it, and even then, his memories of what others told him were fuzzy at best. He simply relied on his gut feeling to abandon everything, and hide out, just as he had done before, but even that was haphazard. Still, relying on his instincts had never steered him wrong before.
If I’m correct, then the city… Drake’s attention was suddenly drawn to the city far off in the distance. For the most part, the three of them had kept far away, so as to not draw too much attention to themselves. Even monsters that had transformed far outside the city in the more rural areas seemed to be drawn to the concentration of humans that still survived within. As a result, even the dozen or so monsters they had come across over the span of the week hadn’t put up too much of a fight in comparison to those further in.
It was a frightening thought that, despite what they had already seen, the monsters that had been promised after the weekly deadline were sure to be much stronger, even for those like Drake that had escaped out to the perimeter.
As the moments began to pass by, Drake and the others began to narrow their focus, as they stared on with a sick sense of morbid curiosity. Even when they knew that something was going to happen, they still couldn’t tear themselves away. For the inevitable disaster to happen.
At first, everything seemed normal, relatively speaking. There were certainly no massive explosions that rocked the sky, or entire skyscrapers being torn to pieces within seconds. Instead, something much more sinister seemed to be bubbling up from the surface.
“What the…” As the three of them sat, overlooking the city from many miles away, Grant’s face suddenly sank into a deeply investigative look before suddenly dropping the crude, stone knife he had been playing with in his hands.
Despite the distance, they could tell something was off. In the air, there was a sort of palpable tension, before Drake suddenly got a good look at something. There was a sudden flash of movement among the city’s buildings, before it disappeared altogether behind a cluster of taller buildings. Then, came the sound.
It came slowly at first. It was only a low, long moan on the wind at first, but it quickly built into a horrendous crescendo as a horribly loud howling echoed throughout the air. The distinct sound of a wolf on the hunt.
The trio were shocked at the intensity of the sound. The air shook from the force of the sound waves around them, as their bodies shook with the intense force of the howl coming from the city. They all began to cower down in an attempt to escape the horrific sound, only for the howl to dissipate just as soon as it had appeared. Just as they began to sigh a breath of relief, they all jumped to their feet as the air around them began to solidify. Streaks of blue-ribbon like mana began to coalesce near each of them, each framing an incandescent outline.
Drake held his head in pain as his eyes widened in recognition. The process was so memorable that he simply couldn’t be wrong, but at the same time, something about it seemed altogether different. It was the materialization of monsters.
“Shit!” Lance leaped to his feet before quickly grabbing a make-shift spear, as Drake and Grant steadied themselves with weapons of their own. Drake, with a small sword, and Grant with a cluster of floating rocks made from earth magic.
“So, uh… Any plans here, guys?!” Lance shouted out to the others in a panic, which only resulted in Drake and Grant nodding to each other.
“There’s three of them. One for each of us. Just take it out as quick as possible.” Drake gestured confidently to Grant as he shouted out to Lance. He had seen this before, with a goblin. Then, however, the process seemed different. Still, he didn’t ponder over it for too long. He had waited back then, out of curiosity, but now wasn’t the time.
Not intending to make this any harder than it needed to be, Drake dashed forward, before swiftly cutting through the center of the cluster of ribbon-like mana that was still forming the creature. To his surprise however, the sword passed through entirely, leaving it entirely unharmed.
“What…” Drake murmured to himself in surprise.
“Kinda having issues killing it here!” Lance called out. He was frantically slashing through the bundle of mana with his spear, only resulting in the ribbons merely shifting slightly, as it continued to coalesce into a larger figure.
Grant’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the duo, before holding his own magic against the forming monster. No one who used magic in that short week had a good grasp on the method for using it correctly, even the skilled. Mana was used up too quickly, too much power was gathered, or there simply wasn’t enough put into the attack in the first place. There was a wide variety of reasons, but all of them often led magic users to be careful with their spells.
“Can’t damage it while it forms, from what it looks like.” Drake called back, only shaking his head in frustration.
“Oh, come on!” Came the quick response from Lance.
The three were left to simply wait as the mana slowly solidified into a recognizable form. The natural mana condensed onto the creature slowly, before suddenly finishing all at once, leaving a transparent, ghost-like image of wolf in its place.
“Now!” Drake shouted out to the others, as each of them launched towards their own enemy. However, just like before, Drake’s sword didn’t land in the slightest, only passing through the now angered wolf as it quickly responded and launched forward to attack him.
Drake’s eyes widened in panic as he held the sword up instinctively, the sword flashing with electricity as Drake drew on his inner reserve of elemental magic in the blink of an eye.
As the transparent wolf was about to bite down on Drake, it suddenly yelped out in pain the moment it came into contact with the electrified sword. The moment it did, it began to slowly unravel into ribbon-shaped bands before it disappeared altogether. It didn’t leave a trace of its existence behind, other than a faint, almost invisible core that plopped onto the ground.
“It disappeared…?” Drake whispered to himself in confusion, only to quickly turn to the others. Grant looked to be fine, as his own wolf already in the process of disappearing. He had practically crushed it with earth magic the moment it had finished forming. Lance however…
“Shit, shit, shit!” He was shouting out in a panic, running and dodging the invincible beast as he attempted to find a place to hide away from it. Lance had met with the same problem that Drake had, only he looked to be in much more trouble. Drake and Grant both had magic, at least of some sort, but Lance never had much talent for it, leaving him to focus on more physical forms of attack. Such a decision hadn’t let him down before, but everyone had their own weaknesses.
“Identify.” Drake narrowed his eyes, before suddenly grabbing his head as a flood of information entered his mind.
Monster identified as a Spirit wolf. No name. Threat Level: E. An unthinking beast made of pure mana, it is summoned in assistance to Fenrir, Devourer of Gods. While normally a formidable enemy, the massive scale of use has resulted in its severely weakened state. Immune to all physical attacks.
“Physical attacks…” He smiled lightly before looking over to his friend. “Lance, get over here! Me and Grant can kill it.” Drake yelled out to him, only for Lance to yell back angrily, as he attempted to clamber up a tree to get away from the creature.
“Why don’t you get over here, dammit! It’s a hell of a lot easier for me!” Lance practically screamed back.
Grant covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, as Drake slowly jogged over, holding out his hand to the transparent wolf. Judging from what the description said, it would likely take several of the wolves to actually pose a threat to even one of them, given the threat level. Despite that, Drake didn’t waste any time. A small bolt of electricity hit the creature as Drake got closer, resulting in it quickly disintegrating like all the rest.
“What the hell took you so long…” Lance remarked sourly as he began to slowly clamber back down the tree he was climbing, which only resulted in another small laugh from both Grant and Drake at the situation.
“Sorry, when I couldn’t kill it right away, I needed to know why. Turns out it can’t be affected by physical attacks.” He said with a sly grin.
Regardless of his jab at Lance, Drake was extremely appreciative of his new race, to say the least. The Genasi, while innately gifted with a wide variety of elemental magics, depended quite a bit on their innate characteristics. He hadn’t been able to delve too deeply into training himself, but his new body seemed to understand how to activate the lightning element within him automatically. An instinct that was put to good use in a tight spot like he was put in.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Then there was the other ability, ‘Identify’, that he had been granted as soon as he had transformed. It gave him a bit of a headache at times, but it was well worth it in his opinion. Still…
“Drake, you identified it. What was that monster?” Grant got to the point quickly. Although he wasn’t one to say much, Grant, along with Lance, had a feeling that this wasn’t the end of it.
There was a small grimace as Drake thought back to the information. The spirit wolves that attacked them was a terribly weak monster, there was no doubt about that, but it was what was behind the creature that made it truly terrifying.
“It shouldn’t be the typical monster. They’re called spirit wolves. Although, if I’m right, it’s likely the result of something like a skill than anything else.” Drake said offhandedly. “I did get something important though. It mentioned a name that summoned them. Fenrir.”
There was a sudden pause from the Grant, as Lance only looked to the duo in a confused manner.
“Ok, explain. What the hell is Fenrir?” Lance said.
Just as Drake was going to explain, Grant quickly jumped in, providing the explanation.
“It comes from Norse Mythology. In the stories, it was responsible for eating the hand of a prominent god in the Norse pantheon, and was known to grow stronger and stronger as it ate. Supposedly, it was chained up to wait for the end of the world. That’s when he would escape, eat the father of the gods, Odin, and become instrumental in destroying the world.” He explained slowly, waving his hand lightly as he did.
“You’re kidding me. How the hell are we supposed to fight something like that?!” Lance cried out.
“I doubt that it’s as powerful as the myth, Lance. If it was, it wouldn’t even be a fight, just a one-sided massacre.” Drake said. “Besides, you need to worry more about how you kill the weaklings it summons.” He laughed lightly, as he attempted to lighten the mood a bit.
“Uh huh. Real funny.”
“Heh.” Drake couldn’t help but poke fun at Lance a bit more, before returning to a more serious expression. “The real problem is Fenrir itself. You all heard that deafeningly loud howling. It came from the city, and I would bet that it was Fenrir.” Drake spoke with a strange sense of duty, something that wasn’t missed by the others.
“Drake, you aren’t really planning-” Grant began to speak before he was stopped.
“We need to at least check the city out. These things need us to kill them, after all.” Drake waved his hand to the faint, shining cores on the ground that were left from the spirit wolves.
There was a sudden sigh from the gnome as Grant looked to Drake with a serious look on his face.
“You realize that normal humans would be killed outright by these things, don’t you? That was likely the reason behind why such an ability was given to Fenrir in the first place.” Grant pointed out with a reluctant look.
“That’s true…but… Ha…” Drake shook his head, before attempting to scratch his head in frustration. Instead, he was left with just picking at the crystalline pieces of elemental stone that made up his new hair. He never thought he’d actually miss something as simple as real hair till it was gone.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Drake said poignantly.
“I get the feeling that the whole point of giving us a new race was to even the playing field, so to speak. Clearing out those who don’t want to play their game would be the first thing the aliens do, given that line of thinking.” Grant said.
“Humans aren’t made to survive. By the time we get there, with those wolves literally manifesting next to us, any that don’t have their own bodyguards will already be dead by this point. So, why go at all? Camp out here, like we planned from the beginning.”
Drake stood still, just mulling over the thought. Logically thinking, it was true. It would stand to reason that people like Grant and himself would be fine. Even those lucky enough to kill an elemental creature could trade in its core for a weapon that could likely be used to kill them. And as for the masses of people that would inevitably be helpless in such a situation? They’d be nothing but sitting ducks, and would be long dead before Drake and his group could arrive. Even modern firearms would be useless, leading no one for them to even think of saving.
Then again, this wasn’t exactly the most logical situation, he knew that. Between the Myconid showing themselves and revealing this was a trial, and the nagging feeling he had in the back of his mind that he needed to be doing… something, he was being tested on his responses. It wouldn’t be out of character to do a bit of investigating. Besides, he had never been one to flat-out ignore danger in the first place.
“Are you saying that you aren’t interested in what’s happening further in?” Drake looked to him with a somewhat expectant grin. “You’ve been wanting an actual weapon of your own as well, right? What could be better than some of the monsters that are appearing now?”
While neither of them seemed to enjoy battle as much as Drake did and seemed to stick with him out of a feeling of safety than anything more grounded, it was undeniable that they had gained a bit of understanding among one another as the week had passed. If he made gave them a nudge or two, Drake was sure that they would join along, if at least to keep the numbers strong between them.
“I see what you’re trying to do.” Grant stated mutely. Although it was an obvious ploy, it was effectively even more convincing because of it. As a Gnome, he had always been left out of some of the more obvious choices in weapons. Even cores that looked to be of good quality often could only be used to enhance magic. A poor substitute, really.
Grant stood still for a moment, before suddenly dropping his head with a sudden huff of defeat. It really was too difficult to find what he needed. “Fine. I’ll join you. You’re lucky that none of the cores we found had anything good besides those two weapons.”
“So, you’re just gonna leave me out of the conversation here?” Lance cut in sarcastically, already clear that the choice had been made for him.
“Sorry man.” Drake could only answer honestly. Truthfully, he didn’t have anything to offer him, or anything to say that he thought could sway him.
“Bah. Whatever. Let’s just get going.” Lance responded quickly, a cheeky smile clear on his face.
Drake smiled in return, thankful that he didn’t put up too much of a fight. Truthfully, if Lance had chosen to stay, there really wasn’t much he could have done. Regardless of the show he put on earlier, in physical combat, he was by far the most experienced one of them. His agility far surpassed that of Grant, and while Drake’s own speed was nothing to laugh at, even he would be hard pressed to have a legitimate battle with Lance. Unless he or Grant had enough distance, or Drake had time to prepare, the fight would be over before it even began.
Once they came into agreement with one another, and finalized the plan, Drake and the others quickly packed up what supplies they had the best they could, in preparation for a long trip. While the mishmash of backpacks and random assortments of clothing clashed horribly with their newer gear, being well supplied was necessary. Despite their new bodies, it would take almost a full day to reach the city, and that was if they were able to get there without running into any problems.
Time to see just what’s in store for me. Drake thought with a distinct smirk.
*****
Outside of Drake’s own trial, and well away from the dungeon altogether, stood Therion. The light of a new day had begun to shine on the entrance of their small hideaway, leaving the intimidating Satyr to simply smile and bask in it all. It was… peaceful. The sort of life he believed he had left behind. He had even begun to grow to enjoy the icy nature of Aleria, even if she had begun to soften up a bit.
Interestingly, he even noticed that Aleria had stopped herself from sleeping all day, even taking the time to go out with Ella and wash themselves in a nearby pond. Although, this was only really notable because it meant that meant leaving the eggs that Drake had taken from the caravan, and leaving them with him, something that would have been impossible only a few days earlier. Not that he expected them to hatch anytime soon.
From Aleria’s brief and lazy explanation, hatching them wouldn’t be as simple as waiting for them to grow, or providing the right conditions. They were meant to absorb the mana of those around them and given the literal village of Lamia that the eggs were given to, it likely wouldn’t have taken more than a month or two for them to hatch given those conditions. For Aleria herself however, such a process might be extended out to even a full year if she didn’t receive help. Ella was still much too young to be of help, and he was unsure if he even should help.
“Haa…” He would never admit it, but he missed the little imp. Despite her combative personality, she had been helpful on occasion. The memories she had been born with were superior than his own after his own evolution, that much was sure.
As for the situation between himself and the Lamia, it had been close to a week since Drake had left him alone with them and went off to scout the humanoid’s nearby town. To his surprise, in that short time Ella seemed to have started maturing quite a lot, at least mentally. Whether it was their conversation over just what they meant to him, the meaning of Drake’s quick retribution of her village, or even Aleria’s subtly changing nature, he wasn’t sure. Not that it mattered all that much in the end. He would simply continue to provide for them while Drake was gone. That was his role.
There was a sudden rustling from behind Therion as he took a small glance over to the source of noise. Spying the source, he hid a small, content smile at the sight of the young Lamia slowly waking up to the morning light.
“Mmmhhh…” A tired, muffled yawn escaped from Ella, as her coils tightened around her body from the morning chill. A strained, coiling sound, much like a rope being tightened, echoed out across the cave as her scales slid along the small, leafy bed. He had made the same mistake as Drake one morning and had let Ella get a bit too close as he was sleeping. Thankfully, she had only managed to get a hold of an arm, but the sheer force behind the young girl’s tail was terrifying in and of itself.
A violet eye peeked out from the soft bed of leaves as she saw Therion parked at the entrance of the cave. Almost immediately, there was a sudden burst of movement from her, as she seemed to be trying to warm her body up from the morning chill. It was obvious that she seemed to have planned something, and was trying to prepare herself.
Readjusting herself, she turned to the Satyr, scratching her eyes as she did. “Mister Therion, do you think you could take me outside?”
“Hm. Not anytime soon. It’s safest here in the cave.” He responded lazily, not even turning to answer her.
“But… we don’t spend much time together anymore. Could you?” She asked in a sweet tone.
This left the Satyr in a rather curious mood. The idea that they didn’t spend time together was absurd, as they were practically relegated to this cave since Aleria refused to move with the eggs. He leaned against the wall as he turned to her, with only the slightest shift in his voice.
“What on earth are you talking about? I’m practically watching you all day.”
“Not that.” Her tail hit the ground with a small smack. “I meant together. Like the rides you used to give me.”
Rides? His mind wandered before suddenly settling on what she meant with a loud sigh.
“That’s really only for when it’s needed. Rather, you building your own strength would be best in the long run.” He turned back to the morning sunlight as he lazily waved his hand.
There was a sudden rustle behind him, as he suddenly felt the distinct feeling of scales wrapping around his torso, with Ella propping herself up on his shoulder soon after.
“And what’s this?” He turned his head to meet the Lamia who had laid her head on his shoulder, to look as cute as possible.
“Just a bit. Please.” Ella’s voice shook with a hint of emotion. Clearly, her plaintive cries to be let out weren’t as simple as he first thought. He wasn’t the most forthcoming, so initially, he thought if he was a harsh on her, she would relent and focus on Aleria. He would have a bit of free time, and Ella would actually spend more time with her own species. Paradoxically, it seemed that his initial attitude towards her had only resulted in Ella becoming even more attached.
He grimaced slightly, before looking back to the dark Lamia in the back of the cave. She looked to be fast asleep, wrapped around the half dozen eggs that she was guarding. If the normal schedule was anything to go by, she wouldn’t be awake for a few more hours at the least. Likely, sharing so much mana is what caused her constant state of sleep. She wouldn’t notice if both of them were gone.
Heaving a sigh of defeat, he lifted his body up, with Ella gasping faintly in surprise as he did.
“I need to go fetch breakfast. You can help me look.” He said matter of factly.
“O-oh ok!” She responded happily, merely wrapping her arms firmly around his neck as she did.
Stepping out of their small hideaway, he discreetly smiled as he slowly stepped out of the cave and into the morning sunlight. If the young Lamia really wished to join him, then he would oblige her. After all, the fresh smell of dew and nature left him feeling mischievous, so a bit of fun wouldn’t hurt. First, only walking at a slow, steady pace, he quickly picked up speed, leaving Ella to sometimes flap wildly in the air as she lost her grip on him.
Her tail had cemented her onto his torso, so she never was in danger of falling, but the annoyed, but cheerful look as Ella sped along always warmed his heart to some extent.
She might enjoy the grove I found the other day. A thought suddenly came to him. Coming to a sudden stop, he heard the young girl on his shoulders breathing as hard as she could, as her arms were trembling at the strain of keeping ahold of him. Best to take it a bit easier on her now.
With a cheerful smile, Therion quickly made his way to a secluded grove he had set his sight on while he had been getting more accustomed to the area. When he had first found it, the mana in the air had been teeming with particularly pure water mana, sourced from a large pond that was located in the center of it all. Most notably, such a location looked to be especially well suited to the young Lamia.
The fish inside the spring had been affected by a strange source of mana, so he was excited to try them out, not to mention such simple ‘enemies’ made them the perfect opponents for a child like Ella.
“M-mister… just where are you taking us?” She stammered out the sentence, barely getting a word in due to the constant movement of the Satyr.
“Just a moment.” He replied in a playful manner. “Now hold on tight.”
From there, Therion made their way through the forest. With Ella firmly latched onto his back, it didn’t take long to arrive. However, not ten minutes later from when they left, Therion’s attitude suddenly shifted, and he slowed down his pace considerably. In comparison to the wild, uncultivated look that he had observed from the spring only a few days earlier, something had changed. Almost imperceptibly so, but it was different nonetheless.
The grove was covered on three sides by a high cliff face. Vines of all shapes and sizes were drawn to it, resulting in a painting of color on the walls as a result of the brilliant flowers from them. As for the spring itself, it looked to be completely clear, with only blue motes of water mana floating lazily through the air around it. Therion stumbling across it was a complete mistake, but as he didn’t feel any danger from it, he thought it to be safe.
“Mister Therion?” Ella noticed the sudden change in him, which left her on edge as well.
“Sshh.” He held his finger up to the lips of the young girl, his eyes narrowing with an investigative look. What was different…
As Therion looked on, he noticed a sudden movement. The wall near the back of the spring, it was shaking ever so slightly, as if something was underneath it. To his understanding, there shouldn’t have been anything but a shear wall there, nothing but solid stone. Then, as he and Ella looked on, a single man appeared from under the cluster of vines. He shook the vines off with a happy grin on his face, before quickly approaching the pool of water.
It’s…a human. Therion thought.