Rain stared at the giant enraged mother. He couldn't blame her; he had just murdered her children. He tried to activate his clan ability, but his wings wouldn't appear—they had a serious cooldown. He needed to stall, and judging by the giant walls of thorny vines, she had no plans of letting him escape.
Rain shifted into a stance as a wave of roses surged toward him. He jumped to the side, barely avoiding the wave, and Torrent Dashed toward her, launching a swift burst of strikes before retreating and avoiding a stab from a vine. He summoned Raging Torrents, leaving the six orbs unfired. Another wave of roses surged forward, and Rain used Water Mirror to deflect the roses and retaliate with eight arrows of water.
He was focused on playing defense until his Aqua Star Wings were ready. The mother took the damage from the arrows and roared, "This pain is nothing compared to that of my poor children."
A large flower bud appeared above the mother, green energy charging inside. As the flower bloomed, the beam fired faster than Rain could perceive. He was hit by the beam, and pain flowed through his body. He could feel his skin begin to burn away. He activated his enhanced healing, barely surviving the beam. Panting, he fell to the floor, barely alive. He looked up to see the mother pouncing at him. He rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack. Standing up, he pushed through the pain, focusing all his energy on healing. The burns quickly began to heal, and the pain subsided.
Rain stood tall and faced the mother. He could feel a familiar energy teeming inside him. Rain activated Aqua Star Wings, and the piercing blue wings appeared on his back. The newfound energy surged through him, and his wounds began to heal further.
He dashed forward, seemingly disappearing from sight, and launched a flurry of blows with his staff. The mother howled in pain as she took the beating. She whipped her tail in retaliation, but Rain dodged effortlessly. Finally, he fired Raging Torrents, blasting the large beast and sending her flying backward. She rammed into the wall of thorns, and a scream of pain erupted from her mouth.
Rain walked forward slowly, summoning an Aqua Vortex around himself. The mother began charging another flower beam, but Rain rushed forward, appearing before her. He delivered a solid attack to her head, knocking her out of the attack. Rain quickly followed up with an upward strike, knocking her head backward. He then Torrent Dashed up toward her, delivering a swift knee to the head, and quickly spun into a downward kick, dropping her head back onto the ground.
The giant rose bloomed, and the mother emerged, now standing on two legs, looking similar to a werewolf. Vines wrapped around her legs and arms, a scarf-like vine encircled her neck, and a rose crown adorned her head. The vines on her limbs were dotted with roses, and green energy flowed from her paws as she released a guttural scream.
"I am Sylthara, Vineclaw Matriarch, and your unfortunate end," Sylthara's voice was deeper but still feminine, her tone gentle yet laced with anger.
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She rushed forward, slashing at Rain. He dodged the attack, barely getting scratched by her claws, and retaliated with a swift counterstrike, knocking her backward. He unleashed a Raging Torrent, striking her six times, and blocked another scratch with a Hydro Shield. Sylthara recovered from the block and kicked him in the chest, launching him back. She opened her palm toward him, and a rosebud sprouted from it, charging energy. Rain waited for the attack and, as it burst forth, erected a Water Mirror, canceling the shot. Fourteen arrows fired from the mirror, hitting Sylthara and piercing her body in multiple areas.
Yet she stayed up, barely holding on to life. Rain put up his staff and approached her slowly. He placed a hand on her head, covering her eyes. A blade of water formed around his hand, and he gently put her down, closing her eyes.
He didn't understand the pain of losing a child, but he knew what it felt like to lose a loved one. So he sent her off in peace.
"Unfortunately, we had to meet here, Sylthara. It would have been an honor to truly know you." Rain left his parting words as the final bit of life drained from her body.
ain stood up, his victory tinged with melancholy. He could understand why Sylthara would be so angry, but his survival was paramount. Sylthara did not deserve a pathetic death, so he made sure she was put to rest with decency. Her scarf of vines slipped from her neck, and Rain picked it up. Before he could react, it wrapped itself around his neck.
Rain turned away from Sylthara as a notification appeared in his view:
["Vineclaw Matriarch Sylthara slain. Greater rune of Intelligence rewarded"]
Rain quickly ran away from the clearing to avoid any more unwanted visitors. He took refuge in a tree and finally took a look at his stats.
Name: Rain Forrest
Race: Anurasapien
Current level: 4
Current stat limit: 18/60
Strength: 22
Agility: 53
Dexterity: 41
Constitution: 20
Intelligence: 18
Willpower: 19
Charisma: 2
Skills: Enhanced Healing, Adaptive Defense, Hydrokinetic shield, Torrent Dash, Water Clone, Aqua Vortex, Raging Torrents, Fog cloak, Water mirror, Aqua Star Wings
Talents: Sewing 4, Cleaning 5, Cooking 4, Tenacity 9, Pain Tolerance 9, Blunt weapon proficiency 9, hydrokinesis 9, acrobatics 9, stealth 5, anurasapien pride 7
Blessing: Intermediate Blessing of Kyma
Rain looked at his talents attentively; they were almost all at nines. He figured he needed to do something more to progress them further. Dismissing his stats, he took a deep breath. He hadn't realized it before, but he had never slept throughout the multiple days he had already been here. As the realization crossed his mind, drowsiness set in, and he drifted off to sleep on the tree branch he was hiding in.
He woke up with a jolt. He didn't expect to fall asleep so suddenly. Dropping from the tree, he landed on the ground with finesse. Rain walked back to the clearing where he had battled and saw multiple small vineclaws. He approached them with tension, readying his weapon. The vineclaws eyed him with suspicion before spotting the dark green scarf around his neck. The three vineclaws bowed their heads in submission. Rain approached, and they walked to him slowly, licking his hands as a sign of respect. Rain had finally found some companions in this strange place.