That distant animal's cry that might have been a scream was a sound that too many lifetimes had prepared him for, no god of mischief needed.
He immediately darted back the way he came with a curse.
Racing for all he was worth.
Desperately hoping he was playing the fool…
But fate never sung to him so sweetly, if the peril wasn’t just as great as the prize.
Of course the growing silence made him feel more the fool than ever.
Had he imagined that cry?
Why was he throwing away an opportunity that might never come again?
It wasn’t too late to turn back.
But all it took was a second terrified shriek that was most definitely not the cry of any monkey or bird, to serve as bitter vindication for all his doubts. Now Alex was racing back to his friends as fast as he ever had before, finding it effortless to spring from root to trunk to branch to the very top of the forest canopy, not having to see the souls in peril for the leaves to reverberate their panicked cries to his ears as he instinctively dove through the canopy, the flexible vine that he knew would be there springing to his grip as he propelled himself through the branches before seeing a sight that set his blood to boiling, his interface flashing messages he had been aware of for hours as he backtracked the way he had come, dismayed to find that, despite his friends’ reassurances, they hadn’t stayed put or close to the gate at all.
In fact, they had meandered their way from the safest of Bronze Tier shoals to the most perilous regions of that part of the forest. Yet Alex did more than fully embrace his newest remembered skill in those desperate moments.
He made full use of his oldest as well, incorporating all the tricks and variants he had learned from the very beginning, while leaping and swinging between trees as effortlessly as he might enjoy a woodland trail.
You have fully unlocked a heretofore hidden skill! Forest Sense Rank 5 is yours once more!
You have fully unlocked a heretofore hidden skill! Forest Flight Rank 5 is yours once more!
For the games of gods and men mean nothing to ancient woodlands whose blessings you still enjoy.
You have generated multiple doses of Elite Toxin comprised of every poison and venom you have encountered over countless lifetimes!
Vitality check successful! You have managed to avoided impairing yourself, depleting your own mineral reserves when you have no active technique to instantly regenerate the biochemicals you would use in your toxins!
There! Before an enormous tree trunk absolutely shimmering with priceless treasures by its roots was a massive spider facing off against a wujen unleashing sprays of caustic acid and spears of bitter cold ice, while Captain Dui Zhong, and two of the three basic cultivators so eager to test their fortunes once more desperately strove to protect Qing Wu and themselves from massive crushing limbs and a pair of sheering pincers that he would have called mandibles, were they not attached to a giant web shooting tarantula promising death to any cultivator or taxonomist who would dare to claim its prizes or question its very existence.
Even struck with horror at the sight of the fallen guard and the rest of his friends in dire peril, Alex couldn’t help but catch sight of the treaures that had tempted his friends to such perilous folly. Yet Alex knew that Qing Wu and the others weren’t fighting for spiritual treasures now. Instead they were battling desperately for the sake of their companion, slowly dying within a cocoon of silk. It was Reny, Alex’s interface suddenly blaring with the message that she had been poisoned.
And that of course, was the moment that Ya Ling managed to trip over a root when habitually embracing the same sliding steps that served her so well in the desert, warding a mandible that might have sheered through bronze effortlessly, but did nothing against the indestructible shaft of the spear Alex had gifted her with.
But now, prone on the ground, a warrior’s resolve quickly became a girl’s terrified scream.
Alex refused to allow analysis paralysis to freeze him to horrified indecision. So he acted. Springing right into the heart of the web, beside Reny’s cocoon, sensing the sticky fibers coating him as well as the entire massive spider web vibrated.
The giant arachnid abomination radiating such power that was a heartbeat from sheering Ya Ling in half immediately twisted around, ignoring the spears that failed to penetrate the joints of its limbs, or the spikes of ice that had no hope of breaking its monstrous Silver Tier shell, eager to wrap fresh prey in its coils.
Alex said not a word, mouth too full to scream with horror. He spared time only to light his fist with fire, knowing even that was unlikely to be enough, so was genuinely shocked by how quickly the entire webbing erupted in flame.
Which meant that Reny’s cocoon was now blazing, even if it was now a single Strength check away from being pulled free of the web.
You have successfully claimed: Living Cocoon! You have successfully transferred experience potency to party member: Reny.
Reny is able to make full use of your boon! Critical injuries have been stabilized.
Ya Ling is able to make full use of your boon! Mind-numbing terror canceled. Twisted ankle partially healed.
Giant Spider has shot silk webbing at you!
Finesse check made! You have successfully tossed Healer Cocoon to Party Member: Dui Zhong!
You have saved versus swallowing as you’re swept off your feet!
The next handful of seconds happened so quickly that it was all he could do to keep from hurtling as he was yanked back, surrendering his prize as he went racing back toward oblivion, glaring at the monstrous arachnid eager to cocoon and devour him, just like the cultivator he had struggled to save.
And though his ancient pants had been webbed, his arms were not, and the one thing the monstrous abomination certainly was not suspecting was the sudden manifestation of a massive shield of electricity and flame, and countless other elements besides, manifesting right between its sheering limbs.
Right before he spat a mouthful of every toxic poison Biochemical Mastery could generate down the spider’s orifice just under its fangs before jerking his legs up and flashing a fierce smile as his Prismatic Shield burned right through the webbing trapping his limbs, Alex paying little head to the fires now searing pants and legs, all but immune to such low key flames even as a Rank 5 Basic.
Yet Alex could more than hear it, louder than ever… The shrieking whirlwind of what would be sound if a black hole accretion disk could scream.
He could feel it, vibrating through his bones as a tipping point was reached, multiple skills ranking up as countless Silver Tier eggs shriveled and died in the now roaring inferno as he was sent plummeting into the loamy ground as the massive Silver tier monster shrieked its fury at the human that dared to destroy its nest.
A human even now springing to his feet and ignoring multiple bruises as he dashed right into the furiously burning webbing, holding his breath long enough to claim over a dozen mushrooms radiating pristine spiritual energy, tucked beside the trunk of that tree. Prizes that the spider queen was no doubt waiting for the perfect moment to devour for its own ascension.
Twelve glorious prizes that were now Alex’s own.
Placed in Reny’s pouch in the blink of an eye as he turned back around to face the giant spider rubbing its front mandibles with its sheering limbs to generate a hideous shriek that made Alex’s ears bleed.
“Alex!”
It was a miracle he could hear a panicked Qing Wu at all.
“Go! Now!” Alex roared, and to his credit the wujen didn’t hesitate any further, grabbing Ya Ling’s arm and dragging her off as Diu Zhong and his men retreated with all haste, Reny’s fragile life now hanging in the balance.
It didn’t matter that they were leaving a Basic cultivator to face down a true monster, they were doing exactly as Alex wished. Following a command he didn’t hesitate to give, no matter his earlier reservations. He could feel guilty after he saved their lives. For now, it meant six less greens on the board for Alex to worry about as he darted around a massive trunk while the lurching spider shot forth another spray of sticky webbing that hiss and sizzled as it made contact with the bark, missing Alex by yards more than inches as the forest air erupted in laughter, Alex exhilarating in the sheer visceral thrill of becoming one with the woodlands once more. One with its denizens and the glorious brutal dance between life and death, ascension and oblivion, as he furiously pushed aside all regrets for a life and love forever lost to him, realizing he was only alive…
Right here.
Right now.
In this very moment.
All that mattered was savoring each precious heartbeat that was his...
As he danced for the greatest of prizes against a Silver Tier monster.
All four of his physical stats shot up a full Bronze Rank, far beyond what any Basic path should have been able to grant him, as he catalyzed his own ascension while facing a monster that should have crushed him to pulp.
Would have crushed anyone of his rank to a pulp.
If he weren’t far more than a young aspirant in way over his head.
As if he weren’t a monster himself who had once dared to challenge the very gods above...
Before losing it all in a game rigged from the very start.
You have successfully dodged Toxic Webbing!
You have successfully evaded Piercing Blow!
Soul Sight skillcheck made!
As perilous as their encounter was, the longer he embraced his dance with oblivion as he darted under crushing limbs and sheering blows, the better he understood his partner, and the moves she favored above all others. Moves he soon understood so well that he could react almost as fast as she could execute her attacks… and then, after a moment of odd, pristine synchronicity, they moved as one.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
You sense the surges of spiritual energy radiating from your opponent’s desperate onslaught!
Opponent’s Combat arts successfully suppressed 6 full tiers!
Your Toxic Brew has successfully impaired Giant Spider Queen!
The crucible of Combat has raised Finesse and Quickness one additional point as you remember who and what you once were!
He could sense it, the surges of spiritual energy and intent, whenever the spider was about to lash out with its thick striding legs, or dart forward with its sheering incisor-like pincers, far deadlier than any mundane spider. Massive and powerful as it was, more than a match for any Bronze, it’s ascended rank had as much to do with size and strength and perhaps its venom, and very little to do with speed.
Which was all that kept Alex alive as he desperately fought on, refusing to let himself be pinned, taking full advantage of the terrain as he weaved and dodged past eight massive limbs, each trying to squash him, all of them flaring brilliant spiritual energy when it was there turn to strike. Yet beyond his suddenly evolved stats, it was his ability to sense the flareups of Qi that spirit beasts radiated so viscerally that was perhaps the only reason why Alex had lasted even seconds, let alone minutes, against a foe that touched Silver, considering his own humble level.
This time around.
And when the spider began to slow, the myriad acids and poisons finally taking effect, despite a digestive and circulatory system so unlike his own, Alex instantly sensed it. Knowing it would soon be time to take the offensive, however absurd it would be for the mouse to dare attack the cat.
Alex deliberately left himself vulnerable. The spider instinctively taking the bait as it overcompensated, sheering pincers coming far too close to Alex’s skull for comfort. Yet the gambit paid off. The arachnid queen’s limbs were now barely holding its weight, the most vulnerable now shining so brightly to Alex’s eyes, instinctively understanding exactly where to strike.
But a limb that massive was not so easily taken down by any dao, no matter how boosted it might be with currents of air howling through the ether.
So he surrendered his ascendant prismatic shield for a two-handed grip upon his fangtian ji, his silent roar giving no warning at all as his fake stumble became a mad dash forward, slipping under cleave mandibles so eager to sheer him in half before unleashing a furious windmilling strike at the limb suddenly before him, channeling both the howling winds sheering the leaves atop the canopy high above, and the pounding currents of countless rivers smashing aside all resistance, his fangtian ji cleaving into and through his trunk-sized target with a force and fury that would have done his one true love proud.
A woman who’s smile blazed within his heart even now.
No matter that time itself would seek to keep them apart.
The forest rang with the crack of impossibly strong chitin as a steel blade that should have shattered instead tore right through the massive spider-queen’s limb.
And the second Alex gazed in stupefaction at his feat, his soul roiling with exhaustion, fury, and bitter despair, might have been his last, had the forest’s own branches not tripped his wobbly feet just before a pair of sheering limbs tore through the air where he had been standing for such a dangerous half second, now rolling, rolling for all he was worth under the monstrous beast.
Before darting past another perfectly placed trunk as yet more caustic silk was shot his way.
Silk that missed completely, as Alex’s own venom took its pound of flesh in the form of dimmed awareness and awful coordination. Of course, Silver tier monstrosities were far more resilient than most.
Yet not so resilient as to have any chance Alex’s furious fangtian ji as he struck like a relentless hound, worrying and striking an ever more crippled and off-balance monstrosity with a furious zeal, ruthlessly riding his own Rank 6 ascension to the absolute limit before tumbling back as razor sharp cleaving limbs once more tore through the air, coming so close to tearing through his skull that he felt the hot sting of his forehead being sliced open.
Having time enough only to scream. “Damned hotheaded fool!” In his mind, or perhaps that was Hao Chan, or maybe Ya Ling, still party linked to him, as they all were, before being sent flying against a nearby trunk.
He forced himself upright once more, ignoring the dizziness sending him stumbling back to the ground when he desperately scrabbled back to his feet, just in time to see the massive arachnid crashing down towards him, holding nothing back in its final attempt to take him out as it crashed to the ground, Alex having crippled one too man limbs for it to rise again.
Terror turned to furious exultation as he embraced the storm of wrath consuming him in one final blow. Knowing that spider was expecting him, mandibles open wide to accept him as it spat its sticky stinging silk one final time.
Covering Alex in what could so easily have been his doom, if his fangtian ji head hadn’t just bisected the spider’s skull, channeling the storm of his furious intent with not just Wind and Water, but Lightning as well. Three conjoined elements fused as well with Iron’s tang and bitter, salty tears, as Alex embraced the storm in a final furious assault that should have spelled his end.
Instead, he found himself infused with the power and potency of a Silver tier monster as he howled with sweetest agony and triumph, sensing his distant super cable’s angular momentum reaching speeds absolutely beyond the pale.
Sensing in that moment with such horrific clarity how little power he actually needed to consume for his accretion disk to process so much more.
A Gold-tier ascension he would attain at all costs.
One day.
No matter how many centuries or lifetimes it took.
Even if it might have taken him a half dozen forgotten lives, just to push his super cable to Rank 6.
He would press on until he was strong enough that no monsters could shatter his dreams or destroy the lives of his loved ones ever again.
This he vowed even as the Spider Queen’s potency became his own, howling through his limbs, sending every moment of his struggle blazing in his mind’s eye with pristine clarity as he crashed to his knees, only in that moment noticing that one of the spider queen’s limbs had actually managed to pierce his abdomen in turn.
A wound closing before his very eyes as he sensed the exquisitely complex interplay of Fire and Water and countless other elements weaving an intricate dance catalyzing his flesh into healing far quicker than should otherwise be possible, thanks to the infusion of potency he immediately channeled into healing. Only this time, he pushed aside creeping exhaustion and forced himself to observe every facet of the process, knowing that here too was a chance for a breakthrough like no other. To witness elements individually accomplish what Eternal Fox had once done in a perfect balance of Dark and Light Qi. And if Alex could somehow discover the secret to replicating that wondrous technique through a parallel paradigm… it was well worth the pain tearing through him even now.
By the time he sensed the last of the Spider Queen’s potency washing through his Dantian, the grievous gut wound was an ugly puckered injury that looked weeks old, but was most definitely stable.
He took a deep breath, wiping away bitter tears he couldn’t possibly explain to the others when he returned, any more than he could the smoking charred head of the spider queen, or the massive spirit core he claimed from the corpse that he quickly stored away in his pouch before heading back the way he came, his natural attunement in the forest making it as much his locus of power as Ya Ling’s own desert affinity made her the queen of the endless sands they would travel once more before too long.
But before he dared to leave, even if this was a limited pocket realm, he still paid his dues as best he could. His Water Shield made short work of the smoldering flames that had devoured the webbing so quickly, though finding little purchase upon the thick hardwood trunks. Minimal purchase he quickly made none, grateful that the forest still heeded his call to the degree that it did.
Pausing just a moment to take what comfort he could from the messages flashing across his interface, he began to make his way back to the rift entrance, though not before plucking free the delectable prizes that a now monster-free area gave him free reign in claiming, for the precious handful of hours he now had before it was flooded by more dangerous beasts still.
Prismatic Shield is now Rank 4!
Wind Crane kung fu is now Rank 4!
Wind Strike is now Rank 3!
Wind Strike is now Rank 4!
Wind Strike may now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike!
Enhanced Water Strike is now Rank 8! This ability may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike! Pierce wards beyond your rank and rupture physical barriers with ease! (This is totally not Black Swan, an art now forbidden to you.)
You are now a Rank 6 Basic Cultivator!
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Alex Hammer
Class – Cultivator: Disciple of the Boundless Path
Rank 6 Basic Cultivation Achieved!
Physical Characteristics
Strength – Bronze Rank 3 (30)
Vitality – Bronze Rank 3 (30)
Quickness – Bronze Rank 1 (20)
Finesse – Bronze Rank 1 (20)
Spiritual Characteristics
Scholarship - 14 (Exceeds 84% of Population.)
Perception - 18 (Exceeds 99% of population.)
Willpower – 25 (Rank 2 Bronze achieved the hard way! - You have the resolve to walk in the Valley of Death and slip free of the River of Souls.)
Qi Pool – 16** (Bronze Tier threshold must be reached to unlock Silver Rank 5 (165!)
Health Points: 390
Perks
Insightful – Rank 2
Charismatic – Rank 3
Lesser Shadow Affinity
Increased chance of cultivation breakthroughs.
Draconic Ancestry.
Favored Skills
Golden Realms Kung Fu – Rank 10
Wind Crane Kung Fu – Rank 4
Poison Spitting – Rank 5
Stealth – Rank 4
Qi Disciplines
Water Shield – Rank 6 – Enhanced Salt Water Variant Learned.
Water Strike – Rank 8 – Enhanced Water Strike may now be used in conjunction with Wind Strike and may pierce Silver tier or lower wards with a skill check. (**most definitely not Black Swan!**)
Thorn Shield – Rank 5
Oak Strike – Rank 5
Fire Shield – Rank 4
Flame Fist – Rank 4
Earthern Shield – Rank 4
Stone Fist – Rank 5
Wind Strike – Rank 4 (May now be used in conjunction with Enhanced Water Strike with a skill check!)
Forest Flight – Rank 5
Qi Perception-linked Disciplines
Artificer – Rank 7
Find Weakness – Rank 6
Qi Perception – Rank 7
Soul Sight – Rank 6
Spiritual Teacher (Student) – Rank 8
Forest Sense – Rank 6
Biochemical Mastery – Rank 7
Full Regenerative Capacity – Heal rate based on Vitality. Injuries will be free of scarring. Missing limbs will require 1 day per pound of bio material lost to regenerate fully. Note! This capacity has been enhanced by extensive regenerative experience during your most recent incarnation!
Gift of Tongues
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