"This trip turned out to be much longer than I had expected." Alan sighed, sitting under a tall tree in the rainforest east to the academy. After walking for ten days straight they were finally right around there destination, the center of the forest.
Their destination happened to be deep underground, and Alan didn't know for how long he would need to dig to reach there. The charged attacks could do a lot on desert and snowy grounds, but wet soil like this won't let them do much. It would soften the impact to some extent, and the soil would just be pushed down instead of scattering around.
Crystal didn't seem to be tired, but she didn't like the wet, squelchy soil of the rainforest, and clearly wanted to go back to the sandy and snowy areas. There were also all sorts of creatures in the rainforest, not harmless, but also not hostile, mostly bugs and insects. They carefully sneaked around anything that could have possibly been dangerous, and killed anything that attacked them.
The thing Alan worried about here weren't exactly the creatures, but their venom. Most carried venom potent enough to possibly kill the demon king, not ascertained as no one wants to try extracting toxins from these creatures. Alan thought of trying it, but Crystal's phobia of bugs made him rethink.
Right now, Crystal simply sat close to him, eating the berries which were on the nearby trees, small berries of many colors. Alan didn't worry about them being poisonous as Crystal, knowing she can easily recognise poisonous fruits and berries. She knocked a fruit he was about to eat out of his hands earlier, which turned out to be poisonous. Meaning, her senses and intuition are far better than his in such cases.
Meanwhile, Alan continued thinking on what he could use to dig a hole deep enough to find what he is looking for. There were some possibilities, like some dynamite and gunpowder left here by a human mining team when they fled due to increased monster activity in the area, some information he happened to know.
The other option to get some help from a certain demon, who possessed earth manipulation powers and lived not too far. The last possibility, and the one which would take the longest most likely, is to lure out what he is looking for.
Luring out an Earth Dragon of all things won't be easy in the slightest, the uncertainty remained too high, and so did the risks. If the Dragon sensed a trap then it would be on guard, and probably not even show itself, and if they try to dig after that it would attack them right away. The possibility that the venomous creatures of the forest will be able to catch them off guard when they are fighting the dragon on the surface did not sit off the table.
The dynamite didn't seem to be all that reliable either. They will certainly alert the Earth Dragon, though they tend to not have much regard for loud things like dynamites anymore, mainly due to increased mining by humans. That isn't the only problem however, the possibility the dynamites and gunpowder have been ruined by the rain seemed fairly high, more so due to the near constant rain in the rainforest, which hasn't happened in the past few days thankfully.
The most certainty lay in the option of getting help, the demon being powerful will be able to easily dig a hole to the dragon in less than a day, if he hasn't died. Living in a rainforest this dangerous means one small mistake and that becomes the last mistake you can ever make. Kurai still intended to check however, as it would make the detour worth it if he is alive.
After their gen minute break ended they prepared to leave. Crystal picked a lot berries by then, and decided to store them somewhere. When she didn't find any other way, she used a giant leaf to make a small bag, and some vines nearby to tie it securely so the berries won't fall out. She placed the bag in one of her inner coat pockets, not wishing for any berries to accidentally be squashed and stain her coat. Her craftsmanship amazed Alan, the first he ever saw her doing anything of the sort. She didn't really look like someone who could do something like that, and yet she did it in about three minutes.
They started moving further east right after Crystal finished her preparation. She continued eating berries the entire way, even stopping many times in between to gather some more she spotted. Luckily, she didn't slow them down in the slightest. Alan kept walking at a steady pace, while making sure that Crystal doesn't get left too far behind, and she caught up to him whenever she started lacking behind.
After walking for half an hour, Alan came to a sudden stop, Crystal bumping into his back. She peeked ahead from behind him, failing to see anything that could be a reason to stop. He crouched down as he gestured her to stay back, and picked a branch, throwing it about ten steps ahead of them.
When the branch hit the ground, the ground seemed to form a large mouth and shut close with great force, blowing a gust of wind. Crystal's pupils became two sharp lines, startled and scared from the strange phenomenon. Seeing this, Alan slowly patted her on the head to calm her down, which did work as her breathing slowed in a few moments.
"As long as we don't step on them we will be fine, but remember, they aren't the only ones." Alan warned in a quiet whisper.
Crystal looked up to see several flowers that looked like jaws creeping closer to them, scaring her even more, for which she chose to cling to Alan. They were now in the most dangerous area of the rainforest, and it seemed quite easy to tell the change. The central-east and central-south of the rainforest are known as areas from which no one returns, and if they then not without losing a limb or two. Not like the rest of the forest isn't dangerous, but after seeing all this, that area looks like a safe haven.
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The plant they triggered with the branch already retreated back in the ground, there appearing to be no abnormality in the earth. They slowly started walking from around it, while keeping an eye on the plants overhead. Alan walked ahead with a long branch in his hand to check for traps, and keep the plants overhead away. They soon reached a slightly narrower path with tall trees to one side, and a slight fall on the other. It didn't seem much of a fall, just lower than the path they stood on, though it could be dangerous to go down.
Crystal stuck close, following Alan's trail, when suddenly a giant rainbow colored moth flew from right in front of her, startling her and making her trip. She fell backwards, towards the lower side of the path, but Alan caught her in time, stepping on the slope to fling her back, his own leg slipping in the process, causing him to fall down. The seventeen feet drop didn't hurt him, but he worried of the dangers down there. He looked up at Crystal, peeking down at him, most probably trying to decide if she should also go down or not.
"Stay right there and wait for me, don't move from where you are." He ordered her as he prepared himself to return back up.
She nodded at him, sticking to the ground and waiting for him. He didn't have time to be cautious anymore, he could see where the two paths merged, from where he could easily get up. He sprinted towards, not running in a completely straight path. He saw some plants getting prepared to close on him as he walked towards them, but he turned and moved away as soon as he got in their reach everytime. He heard snapping sounds behind him, and felt the plants nearly closing on his leg or hand a couple of times, but he quickly made his forward.
Suddenly a plant rose up in front of him blocking the way and prepared to eat him when he got close. He pulled out a knife from his pocket and threw it slightly right to the center of the plant. The plant wobbled backwards, closing and fell down, allowing him to pass and go up the other path, towards Crystal.
As he got up and checked the situation, he could see Crystal, still where he last saw her, the plants overhead were very close to her. "Crystal! Run, now!" He ordered.
He sounded worried, and his voice made Crystal snap to attention, also attracting the attention of the plants. Quickly getting to her feet she ran towards him, the plants over her not getting the chance to snap shut due to her short height. She jumped over a land plant, ducking her head under one just about to close on her head, the planet's jaws barely missing her ears.
Suddenly one overhead and one ground plant started getting closer to each other, planning to block the exit. Crystal jumped over it, tilting her body sideways to get through the gap between the two plants. The plants snapped shut instantly as she passed over them, barely missing her. She ran straight to Alan, attempting to hide in his coat due to her fear.
He give her a hug, patting her on the head. "You really worried me there."
She made a low growl-purr-like sound as she buried her face in his clothes, tears visible in her eyes. From what he could understand by now, he believed it just showed affection. He let her calm down a bit before moving ahead, knowing waiting there for long won't be safe. After they carried on some distance, he didn't feel certain, but he could see a glimpse of what appeared to be a house in the distance. They hurried through the area as fast as they could, checking for those plants along the way and avoiding them.
They soon came into a clearing, away from any trees, the soil her being much drier and rocky looking. A single house stood in the center, made of wood, from trees they passed in the forest most probably. It looked very similar to oak, though the trees in the forest looked noting like it. The door of the house seemed to be closed, there being no windows either, or any sounds from the house.
He decided to go closer, Crystal, however, didn't move and stared at the ground ahead. He stopped as he noticed her, picking up a fairly large rock from the ground and, being tired of all this, throwing it at the spot Crystal stared at with all his power. The rock burst through the ground, breaking into pieces and shattering it, small pebbles flying everywhere.
When the dust settled a dead creature became visible. It looked like a shrew, but bigger, possessing bigger claws and sharper teeth. It's fur seemed to be black, and no eyes could be seen on its body, it's entire body covered in the fur from tail to head, several ridges on the spine also coated in it, only the red inside of its mouth being different.
The door of the house swung open, probably upon hearing the noise. An old man stood there, possessing white hair and a white beard and moustache. He wore a brown robe with maroon clothes underneath, hiding a strong physique for his age.
"What are you doing? Breaking into my territory?" He questioned, his voice carrying a sense of authority and arrogance.
"We needed your help, great lord of the earth." Alan announced, clearly attempting to flatter the old demon.
"If that is what you want," The old demon mumbled, "then you should leave this instant"
"We just needed help to dig into the ground, just a trivial task for someone as great as you, but a matter of great importance to me," Alan continued.
"What will I get for doing something so trivial?" The demon questioned.
"A place in the Demon King's army as a high ranking general, and the command of a city under you," Alan offered.
"Why would I want that?" The demon scoffed.
"I know that you were exiled by the current Demon King because he failed to see your potential, and just how powerful you are. You didn't even get the chance to prove yourself unfortunately. The new Demon King will however, and he will give you much power, fame, and authority," Alan declared.
"And how can you be so certain the new Demon King will?" The demon inquired, his interest piqued.
"Because, I will be the new Demon King." He replied, turning his cold blue eyes up and looking the old man straight in his deep brown eyes. "Whether you help me or not, helping will only benefit you."
"Aren't you too humble for a Demon King? Or are you this humble just to flatter me and get your work done?" The demon scoffed.
"I am humble to those whose power I recognize as truly awe-inspiring," Alan informed.
"Fine, I will help you. You better stay true to your word however, otherwise your dream will end soon after being fulfilled." The old demon warned, turning to go back in.
Alan gave him a slight bow as the demon returned inside. Crystal seemed to be starting to get sleepy as well, it didn't come as a surprise though. On average blood wolves sleep for sixteen hours a day, whereas Crystal did not sleep at all for the past week. Alan did feel slightly bad for her, knowing dragons can go for several weeks without sleeping, but being blood wolf it would far too cruel to make her push this far. He decided that he will let her sleep as soon as they get back to the spot, knowing that carrying her back through the forest could prove fatal for both.