Days, weeks, and endless excursions into the wilderness passed before Capitaine announced that we had reached the threshold required to challenge the Dungeon that was yet to be.
We departed the camp after a long rest to rest and go over the plan once more. After establishing a solid position within the forest, we would scatter caltrops and bear traps in the area around us and wait for the Corpse-Watcher to find us. Afterwards, Culuur and Yoshitsune would work on picking off the Corpse-Watcher’s minions and destroy as many of the moving trees. In the center, I would be the damage sponge that would allow Bonnie and Capitaine to corner and eliminate the beast upon Yoshitsune and Culuur’s return.
I walked beside Yoshitsune towards the front of the group. Due to our responsibilities in the raid, I spent most of my recent time with Bonnie and Capitaine. Even when we did go hunting, I still felt myself unconsciously relegating myself to Yoshitsune's protection while she punished our prey with lightning arrows. My own ranged attacks were simply not potent enough to fell beasts in a single hit.
My continued crisis of build path only worsened upon my growth to Level 15 when I got an interesting variation to my normal transformation message.
image [https://i.imgur.com/4mbSlP5.jpeg]
Notice
Congratulations! You are now Level 15
Your stats have increased.
You have unlocked Level 5 Transformation. Please choose one of the following:
Wings, Thick Scales, Locked.
Locked: This evolutionary path is unavailable due to conflicting decisions. Would you like to override abilities?
I debated whether I wanted to just pick the seemingly immediately beneficial option in [Thick Scales] or take the risk and obliterate an unknown ability to gain an unknown new ability. My recent run of combat and build congestion made the decision more difficult than it should have been.
In the end, I chose neither; the decision could still be made during the raid. Even if things grew harder as a result, I could not afford to corner myself in the long term.
“How are you feeling, Ishmael-san?” Yoshitsune asked, breaking the silence.
“I haven’t had a good time since we killed Uragoe,” I admitted without elaborating further. “But, as much as I dislike Capitaine, their plan seems solid. Even if it fails, there is too much to gain not to risk it a little.”
Yoshitsune looked like she wanted to press me further on my first comment, but she let it go. It was what I liked best about her.
“I agree that being part of a first kill like this is worth dying for,” Yoshitsune said with a nod. “My cooperation with Culuur is strong; I feel good.”
“As long as it’s not strong enough for you to join their group,” I joked.
“You know that such a thing is impossible,” Yoshitsune responded without an ounce of humor. “Don’t forget that I am bound to you for five more levels.”
“Right,” I answered.
It did not take long before we reached the outskirts of the Corpse Copse. Cold mist billowed from between the trees and made my muscles spasm with a cold-induced twitch. My eyes quickly scanned the outskirts of the forest for any of the glowing eyes. But, there was no sign of the beasts that heralded the approach of the Corpse-Watcher. Nerves prickled along my body in remembrance of the feelings that the horrific creature inflicted upon me.
I clenched my hands. We knew what it was and what it was capable of. I now possessed extra comrades, a plan, and more stats under my belt. Those feelings would not be replicated.
“Let us commence,” Capitaine announced. “Culuur, Yoshitsune, lead the way.”
Culuur moved up to stand beside Yoshitsune as the two pressed into the Corpse Copse. I moved to stand by Bonnie and Capitaine to escort them into the Corpse-Watcher’s Lair.
As we passed through the threshold that separated the regions, it felt as though the very air around us changed. Everything felt heavier like someone had secretly stuffed iron weights inside our clothing.
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Flashes of lightning and the creaking sound of tumbling trees could be heard up ahead. The silhouettes of the advance party could be temporarily seen in the illumination with animated trees falling away around them.
We pressed deeper into the forest by following the path set up for us until we reached an area that had a small, but fairly steep hill that offered a semblance of a high ground. Capitaine, satisfied with what they saw, raised their fist to halt us. Another red flare shot up in the sky to let Yoshitsune and Culuur know that we reached the locations for our stand against the Corpse-Watcher.
I looked over to see Bonnie breathing heavily. Her eyes darted in every direction as the trees continued to slowly encroach in on us. I could not blame her; I also had the distinct feeling that we were already noticed by the beast.
“Bonnie, I know that you and Culuur did not have the misfortune of meeting the Corpse-Watcher in your travels,” Capitaine stated seriously. Their signature smile fell away to reveal something harder and more determined. “It is vital that you are able to manage your fear. I cannot order you to calm down.”
“I am ready,” Bonnie said with a similar seriousness. “I would not have made it this far if I could not manage myself.”
Capitaine nodded and summoned forth their bullish beast that they named ‘Aurochs.’ It rammed into a nearby group of trees. With a great strain of its bulging muscles, the beast uprooted the trees with a loud crash. The monstrous plants did not go down without putting up a fight; their branches smacked against Aurochs’ skin to little avail.
They flailed around on the ground until I walked over and finished them off with my claws. In a puff of steam, they disappeared.
With another motion, the dark puffs of the chiens emerged from all directions. A rain of metallic obstacles rained down from Capitaine’s inventory. The chiens grabbed the contraptions with their mouths and eagerly awaited the orders of their pack leader.
“Go, my chiens, deliver my traps to where I show,” Capitaine ordered as the chiens happily walked off to the locations that the hyena had designated.
We followed Aurochs’ lead as it plowed the animated trees that blocked our way to the summit. Roots and directionless branches wriggled towards the sky. Like the least prepared lumberjack in the world, I used my claws to turn the timber to smoke. Around us, the trees were trimmed by the combined efforts of the advance team. The sheer amount of XP that was racked up from the mass deforestation made my eyes spin.
Finally, we stood uncontested atop Capitaine’s chosen hill. Despite the higher elevation, it offered us little in the way of additional visibility over our surroundings. Only haze and the endless shapes of trees stretched out in every direction. We could not even see where we entered from any longer.
Aurochs, now finished with clearing the hill, moved down to the base. Tilting its head to one side, it dug its horn into the ground and traced a visible trench around the hill. Once it was completed, Capitaine released several burning talismans that drifted down to burn near the perimeter of the trench.
“Bonnie, when you summon your rain, target along that line,” Capitaine ordered. “Too far and it will miss without question. Too close, and it will be too late for us.”
“I understand,” Bonnie confirmed with a nod. Her scaled fingers wriggled in anticipation of the attack and showed her refusal to be caught flat-footed.
Around the perimeter, another flash of lightning appeared while a bright red light pierced the haze that surrounded us. The thunderous booms of Yoshitsune’s attacks ripped through the otherwise silent forest.
“They found one of the gold-eyes,” Capitaine stated. “The Corpse-Watcher must be close.”
The sounds of the clash echoed out in a wide arc around our position. However, we were rewarded with the notification that they had slain the gold-eyed beast. Another flare rose up to signal that they had come into contact with an additional beast.
Sensations of being watched grew deeper. I kept looking around me for the knives hidden in the shadows that would rip my throat. But, frustratingly, they never revealed themselves like a shark in the dark depths of the ocean. The sickening feeling of anticipation washed over me, but I tried to suppress anything that wasn’t positive. I couldn’t psyche myself in the clutch moment and be murdered before I even had the chance to pay this fucking creature back for scaring the shit out of me. I had to hurt it; I needed to hurt it to recover myself.
image [https://i.imgur.com/5P6KW4e.jpg]
ALERT
The Corpse-Watcher sees you!
My heart felt like it seized for a moment and left my blood stagnating in my veins. Unlike last time, I did not see the creature approach us. My eyes darted in all directions before I saw it.
Orbs of dying light showed the way like spotlights to a massive battleship stalking prey in the ocean at night. The immense beast prowled near the base of the hill just outside the glow of the lights, pushing away any of the trees that got in its way. More red eyes opened along its body as it opened its mouth and drooled on the ground. The trench filled with saliva and turned into a moat. It lowered its stance and growled deeply. The world shook under the infernal sounds.
I could see Bonnie visibly shrink at the pressuring presence of the crimson-eyed beast. Black miasma sunk into her skin. Her veins turned a purple color, causing her pupils to bounce in her head like dribbling basketballs and hands to shake uncontrollably.
Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed Bonnie’s hands. She looked at me with a mix of shock and confusion.
“Relax,” I ordered in a hissing voice through clenched teeth. “You have to fucking breathe or we are all fucked.”
“Sorry,” she replied breathlessly as she forced herself to regain her composure.
Meanwhile, Capitaine quietly chuckled. They seemed completely unfazed in the overwhelming presence. With a flash of metal, they raised their gun and aimed it directly at the Corpse-Watcher. A crazed grin carved its way across their face and their pupils dilated in an obsessive focus. They held their fire to wait for the perfect shot.
“Come at me, pet,” Capitaine goaded. “You will not get the better of me this time.”
The Corpse-Watcher, seeming to understand the taunting words directed at it howled at the sky. A powerful gust of air pushed against me and pushed me several inches back. When I looked back towards the trees, the crimson-eyed beast was nowhere to be found.
“Play hard to get all you want, I’m going to get you,” Capitaine snarled.