Chapter 3

1

John returned to The Garden the next day. It was partially because the more time he spent there, the less his mother would be obligated to go. But the other reason was because he couldn’t stop thinking about Lunar Radiance.

He had woke up thinking of how good it felt to breathe in the chilly air of the darkened course. He felt like there was something to that. He figured he would try to hunt that creature first and end the day with practice.

John took the note Jules had left and read over the contents again. There was supposedly a large pond about two hours from the base. In Jules’ words, an enhanced creature lived on the pond.

John thought it was a grammatical error. On the pond? Didn’t he mean in the pond?

Shrugging, John took off. Jules had turned out to be an invaluable asset. If he could keep providing the locations of beasts, John could keep making progress along his evolution.

The walk to the pond was uneventful. John had the opportunity to shoot at a few beasts along the way, but he chose to save his strength. He approached the pond just as the sun reached its zenith.

As he did, John understood what Jules had meant by “on the pond”. Sitting glistening in the sun was a giant frog. It had bulbous yellow eyes, and a bulging throat.

No sooner than John saw it, the frog let out a ground shaking croak and leapt toward him. John quickly summoned his Field Hare boots and zipped to the side. The frog landed heavily where he had been and croaked again.

As he ran, John felt like he took a punch to the back. He was knocked to the ground by something heavy before he could turn to see what it was. He rolled aside before scrambling back to his feet.

The Mantis dagger was in his hand as he rolled out of the attack. He swung it at the incoming tongue as it punched at him again. John underestimated the speed of the appendage though, and instead of slicing though it, the tongue wrapped around his arm and pulled hard.

This time, John felt himself fly through the air. At some point, the tongue let him go. He had just enough time to rejoice before his whole body slammed into the ground with enough force to break his ribs.

Luckily, the area around the pond was wet ground. Instead of ruinously crashing into it, John felt his left arm sink several inches into the muck. He found himself unable to extricate from the mud.

Then the frog croaked again. John struggled to turn his head to see the beast. He was in time to see the giant bulging throat of the toad constrict.

A strange vapor seemed to pour from the frog like steam. John knew that he was probably about to die. He did the only thing he could think of.

Just as the mist washed over him, he summoned his Muckray arrow into his hand. The frog spray coated his skin with a sour smelling film. John immediately began to feel drowsy.

Colorful pigments danced in his eyes as he began to understand that whatever the frog ejected was some kind of hallucinogenic sedative. John pressed his eyes closed as hard as he could, and the arrow in his hand was gripped even harder. A few seconds later, the exhausted feeling overtook John and he was still.

2

John’s body exploded in pain as his back slammed into the ground once more. This time he was unlucky enough to fall on a large rock. He could distantly hear a hacking sound from somewhere above his head.

John tried to open his eyes, but he saw three shining suns in the sky, and nothing made sense. He stayed in his rocky bed for several more seconds while his adversary seemed to hack up something sharp and painful.

John immediately sat up, causing his head, neck, back, ribs, and knees to scream in pain. He screamed along with them, but his realization called for quick action. Looking to where he knew the frog was, John confirmed his suspicion.

The beast sat hacking around the Muckray arrow that was sticking clear through its throat and out the back of its neck. The frog was actively choking on its blood and the shaft of the arrow. John immediately returned the arrow to its place in his mind.

The frog immediately looked to John, somehow knowing that he was responsible for removing the bolt. It gave him no forgiveness however, and immediately punched out with its tongue again.

John couldn’t have avoided it if he tried. His vision was blurry, he had a massive headache, and everything was sore; by the time he realized there was an attack coming at him, he was getting punched in the stomach by it.

He stumbled backward, tripping on a rock. He was able to brace himself for the fall, but couldn’t avoid going down. The world continued to spin around him as his back pressed into the soft ground.

John just closed his eyes again as he heard the frog continue to croak in his ears. John had done no damage. He spent the entire fight getting knocked around and dazed by a frog. He was sure that he would die as an insect for this oversized amphibian’s stomach.

But the longer he laid there, the more confused he became. Surely he should have been eaten by now. What was happening? Then he heard it.

“Enhanced Toad King killed. Gene available for harvest.”

John sat up in surprise. There, only a few yards from him was the frog. It had died in its regular sitting position, eyes forever fixed on a point just past John. He was sure it was dead, but that didn’t change how creepy it was, just gazing in his direction.

John hesitantly limped closer to the beast. He tried not to think about the possibility of its tongue darting out to grab him one more time. When he got close enough, he inspected the frog for its gene.

He found nothing exterior that would have indicated a gene’s presence. That meant he had to do some digging. John cursed the dead amphibian as he pried it’s mouth open.

Turned out, a frog’s mouth was pretty fucking terrifying when it was as large as a bull. John couldn’t even tell what he was looking at most of the time. After some inspection however, he was able to locate a glowing organ that dangled from the frog’s throat.

If he had to guess, this was the organ responsible for spitting out all the drowsy mist. John grabbed it firmly in his hand and began to work it free. After a few minutes, it tore from the frog with a loud rip.

The frog leapt backward immediately. John wasn’t sure frogs were able to do that, but clearly this one didn’t care since it was supposed to be dead and all. It landed uncoordinatedly in the pond it coveted.

John was cursing and pulling his dagger from his mind while scrambling backward before he saw that the beast was sinking into the murky water. Confused, John watched. The frog made no other motion. It just sank into the water with a lifeless abandon.

John thought he understood. Snakes, Gods damn them, had been known to bite even after death. Many people had died while cleaning a dead rattlesnake. Apparently the nerves of reptiles were so sensitive that they maintained some reflex after death.

John hadn’t heard of the same applying to frogs, but it seemed the only explanation for what had happened. As he watched it sink, John noticed a disturbance in the water.

He hadn’t come close to the pond since arriving. The frog had attacked him immediately. What he saw now made him wonder just how powerful the frog must have been to live here.

Stalking its way to the corpse through the murky water was a long reptilian form that John had never seen in life but was nevertheless familiar with. A crocodile.

John watched in fascination as the beast sprung on the corpse of the frog. It grabbed a piece of the frog’s flesh and pulled it under the surface with no more effort than John took to tie his shoes. Clearly this crocodile had been waiting a long time to claim the frog as a meal.

John summoned his bow and drew it as far as he could. The scope popped out automatically, ready to assist. Despite the water between them, John could clearly see the body and vitals of the beast.

John had always heard that a shot to the perfect spot on the head was the only thing sufficient to kill a crocodile. Apparently though, the bow disagreed. There were numerous areas that were highlighted.

Granted, there was a definite weak point between the beast’s eyes. But that was by no means the largest or the easiest to hit in the situation. That caused John to aim for a larger spot highlighted on the crocodile’s back.

Supposedly the hide of such beasts was so thick that a small round of ammo was hardly sufficient to blast through it and continue into something vital. The Lunar Stag bow seemed not to worry about such distinctions as “armor”. John let the arrow fly with a prayer for success.

Using the scope, he was able to watch his arrow impact the beast. As a result, he knew immediately that it wasn’t on target. It pierced the beast all right, causing convulsions under the water.

What it did not do was hit whatever organ he had been aiming for. John quickly resummoned his arrow and tried again. Three more times he tried and three more times he missed.

Fortunately, the accumulated stabs from the arrow eventually accomplished what his lack of skill couldn’t. He once again heard the voice in his head. As he listened, the body of the beast floated slowly to the surface.

“Enhanced Stillwater Crocodile killed Soul weapon gained. Gene available for harvest.”

“Holy shit!”

John was ecstatic. Not only did he gain a second gene for his efforts, he was also able to attain a soul weapon. He would trade almost dying for that every day of the week. Almost was of course the key word.

He checked the slot that had expanded his mind with its appearance. The icon that denoted the new soul looked like a blunt weapon of some sort. Upon summoning it into his hand, John found that it was an extremely lackluster club. It had no defining features apart from the length of the club sort of looking like the scales on a crocodile.

“Oh,” John said, disappointed.

John spent a few minutes fishing the dead crocodile to the shore, not wishing to step in the deadly waters. He didn’t know if there were any more critters in there, but he wasn’t risking it. When it was safely ashore, John went to work extracting the beast’s right eye.

It was clearly the gene, as it sparkled with an inner light while the other was just a dull black. In time, he was able to pry the eye from its socket. He wasted no time absorbing it.

His first enhanced gene. He let it melt into his skin with a calm equilibrium. In the end, he gained seven genes.

John returned to Emerald base feeling like he couldn’t possibly attempt the trail for Lunar Radiance. He walked all the way to Jules’s room and deposited the gene with another note. As he was walking away though, John heard the door open.

“Dude,” said Jules as he stepped out of the room.

“Hey. What’s up?” John asked casually.

“Two genes in two days? When I put that note in your box, I didn’t expect to get a gene for it so soon.”

“You’re wrong,” John said.

“What are you talking about?”

“It was four genes. Thanks for the info.” John said, already turning to leave again.

“Wait up. Let’s talk.”

John didn’t wait, but Jules easily caught up to his leisurely pace. The latter looked at John as they walked like he was the coolest person he had ever seen. John raised a quizzical eyebrow at the man.

“Clearly, you know what you’re doing. I didn’t realize when we made the deal how quickly you could make good on it. Seeing how talented you are though, I thought we could make a more lasting agreement.”

“What did you have in mind?” John asked.

“I know some people in the base. There is an information network. If we can advertise an ability to hunt strong creatures, there is a chance you will see a lot more action.”

“No thanks,” John said.

“What? You’re not even going to consider it?”

“More attention is not what I want. If you can locate strong creatures, I’ll hunt them. It doesn’t matter to me how you get the information. What I don’t want is everyone knowing who I am, nor how I’m able to hunt such creatures in the first place. I respect you for your integrity. But my father taught me never to flaunt power, lest the jealous try to take it from you.”

Jules didn’t respond for several seconds. He seemed to be digesting what John had said. When he replied, it was not with resignation.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“So if no one knew who was hunting the beasts, you would be happy to receive the intel?”

“I suppose. But I would caution you against putting your own name out there as well.”

“I can handle myself. Come back to my room and we can get started coordinating the information I’ve already gathered.”

“Proactive are you? Well I would love to, but unfortunately I’m busy with something at the moment.”

Jules had not paid attention to the route they were taking. That was why he was confused when John stopped walking and turned to him. He patted the man on the shoulder.

“I trust that you’ll do an excellent job. You can leave any new information in my box. Well, see you later I guess.”

Then John stepped onto the transition pad that would take him to his Lunar Radiance trial. Jules looked around at where they were, bewildered. He had never come here before.

“Beginning transition to Advanced Trial: Lunar Radiance.”

John disappeared in a few seconds, leaving Jules to parse the words the voice had spoken. A trial? An advanced one at that. He had no idea what the words meant, but upon studying the podium, his eyes grew wide.

3

John stayed in the trial area for the next few hours. He had prepared this time, bringing a bag of food and water to sustain himself when he got tired. Those preparations in place, he could set himself to the task with abandon.

Despite his forward thinking, John was soon panting from his exertions. He tried again and again but couldn’t seem to make it to the third platform. He just couldn’t make it to the end of the wall run with enough inertia to propel him onward.

After his dozenth failed attempt, John sat down on the first platform to have some food. He studied the course intently as he munched on some trail mix. There had to have been something he was missing.

The moon shone down on him, painting him in a white light. The air was cool on his skin, but not unpleasantly so. Again, when he breathed it felt like he was drawing the cool air into his pores.

“Wait, is that it?” John asked himself.

He put his food down and stood. Staring at the glowing orb in the sky, he tried to feel something from it. After many seconds of this, he gave up the idea as hopeless.

Instead, he went back to the task at hand. He had to make it to the other side, but so far every obstacle was more difficult than the last. If he couldn’t even pass the second floating island, how would he ever be able to traverse the sunny side?

John continued to work at it for the next couple of hours. He took many breaks, but was always back on the course as soon as he caught his breath. Despite his persistence, he couldn’t make it to the third platform.

When he couldn’t hold himself up properly, John was forced to admit defeat once more. Cursing his own incompetence, John returned to the transition pad.

As he was confirming his break in training, John noticed something. Looking down at his hands, he could see miniscule tendrils of silvery mist were separating from John. It was like the mist the giant frog had put off, but this was obviously something much different.

Before he could inspect it further, the phenomenon stopped. John stared at his hands for several seconds, wondering what it could have meant. In the end, he transferred back to Emerald base with no answer.

“There you are. I was about to give up.”

Jules was ready and smiling when John appeared. He had been sitting there for hours waiting for him. John started walking back to his room without greeting him.

“What kind of trial were you in? The machine said it was advanced. Did you really hunt an advanced creature and then sacrifice its gene?”

“Lunar Radiance.”

“What?”

“The trial is called Lunar Radiance.”

“Woah. That sounds bad ass. What does it do?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t passed the test yet.”

“I have the enhanced gene you gave me. Can I do some kind of trial too?”

“Why are you asking me? The gene is yours to do with as you please.”

“Do I just…”

“Touch the thing there. It’s pretty straight forward. I gotta go. Catch you later okay?”

John left Jules standing there looking at the podium shaped machine. He looked like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. John went straight to his room and transitioned back to earth.

4

Over the next few days, John made little progress on Lunar Radiance. The trial seemed determined to keep him down. He did begin to notice the expulsion of silvery mist more often though.

On the other hand, John made exemplary progress with his gene count. Every day he ventured into the wilderness to hunt whatever he could find. Jules had not given him any new information, so he operated on chance instead.

The results were surprising. His first day, he killed a primitive skunk, the gene of which had caused his hand to stink for the entire day. The next day he got a primitive squirrel and an awakened badger.

The latter had charged at him like a roided out psycho. He had to use his Hare boots to escape it before he was able to take aim at it and fire a lucky shot to its shoulder. The third day was even better.

John was exploring in a nearby forest when a group of hairy little rodent creatures swarmed around him. John panicked at first, but soon he found that the little critters weren’t trying to eat him, but running from something else.

Hiding behind a large tree, John waited while the tribe of fur balls scurried away. Soon, it was quiet again, and John began to wonder if he was wrong about the cause of their distress.

But just before he turned to follow them, he saw the white and red pelt of a large fox round a tree. It looked vicious. It had piercing yellow eyes and it’s coat was reminiscent of blood.

John watched in silence as it stuck its nose down and began sniffing at the ground. It caught the scent of its prey in only a moment. John silently drew his bow and summoned his arrow to the string.

John took a steadying breath as the fox lifted its head to find the direction it’s prey had gone. John tried not to shake as a gentle breeze brushed him from behind. He sighted in on the fox just as it seemed to catch the scent of something.

Before John could fire though, the fox’s yellow eyes suddenly zeroed in on him. It growled deep in its chest the instant before John let his arrow go. It flew at the fox like a hornet.

But the fox was enhanced. And as cunning as foxes were said to be, this one was smarter still. It leapt to the side, letting the tree protect it from his shot.

John returned the arrow to his string using the summon method again and prepared for the retaliation of the beast. He was ready for it, but it came from the wrong direction. The fox had somehow used the tree to retreat far enough that it could move closer unseen.

Before he could react, the fox was leaping at him from his right. John turned instinctively and loosed his half-drawn arrow. He was bowled over by the large beast as his arrow sunk victoriously into the roof of its open mouth.

It was dead before the two of them slammed into the ground. John was unaware of the outcome at first and immediately summoned his mantis blade. He stabbed the fox several times in the side before he registered the voice in his mind.

“Enhanced Blood Fox killed. Soul pet gained. Gene available.”

John stopped his struggling as he digested the news. A soul pet? He had never heard of anyone gaining an animal companion from a kill before. The prospect made him giddy.

Pushing the beast off of him, John heaved a sigh of relief and began searching for its gene. It took a while, but eventually he found that the pads in its feet glowed a special color. He had never seen a gene split into four areas before.

As he worked on separating the crystallized gene from the fox, he speculated if that was the reason it had been able to sneak around him. That made him wonder if all genes related to the animal’s abilities.

He supposed it might make sense for the most unique abilities of a creature to come from the mutated genes they possessed. After all, everything in The Garden seemed to thrive on the obsession to evolve as far as possible.

In the end, his three-day haul gained him nine primitive genes, six awakened genes, and eight enhanced genes. Each paw of the fox had provided an even two. John was impressed.

Primitive genes: 61

Awakened Genes: 60

Enhanced genes: 15

Advanced genes: 8

John ended every day by attempting his trial for Lunar Radiance. And every day, he slid down the hanging wall and was caught by the net again and again. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t seem to make the jump.

On his fourth day, John stopped taking trips to the wilderness and instead focused his entire day on Lunar Radiance. It was only then that the answer began to present itself.

After an entire day of falling off the wall run, John was covered in sweat. He stood on the island stubbornly refusing to fall again. That’s when it happened.

John felt that the cold air he had been breathing all day had done something to his body. It was like the flick of a switch, one second, he was standing there sweating and unwilling to be humiliated by the trial again. And the next, John’s body began to subtly glow.

He had been slowly taking in the rays of moonlight all day. It was a slow process, as none of the other attempts he had made had given him the same feeling. It had taken six or seven entire hours to reach this point.

Now that he felt it, John began to understand everything. The moon had given him something amazing. His body felt like it was half the weight it had always been. His skin radiated the moon’s power, causing the glow. John knew before he tried that this attempt would be different.

He took a breath. He had fallen down the wall at least a hundred times in recent days. He had grown sick of the trial long ago. His only reason for staying had been his own stubborn refusal to admit to his own hubris.

Now though, John knew what he was supposed to do. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. Lunar Radiance meant that he would absorb light from the moon in order to strengthen his soul.

John wondered how the moon’s light helped him when the sun’s light was so oppressive. After all, the moon was only bright because of the sun’s light. It was strange.

John pushed the thought from his head as he prepared to run. The wall would not best him this time. John exhaled his deep breath and ran along the wall.

The second his first foot touched the wall, John felt the difference. His foot didn’t slide down the wall as it always had. It stuck fast in the spot it was placed until John’s weight carried him past it.

He smiled as he planted his other foot on the wall. It felt like he could run straight up a building. When his third step carried him to the edge of the wall, John knew he had to be perfect.

He planted it firmly against the wall and pushed as hard as he could. His body sailed over the ten feet separating him from his victory against the third obstacle in the course. John grabbed the bar marking the bottom of the island just before it rose out of his reach.

The reduced weight he felt helped his hand not to release the bar under his entire body’s coercion. He did strain, but it helped that his hand seemed incapable of removing itself from the bar he clung too.

In a few awkward seconds, John was on the platform. This was the culmination of several days’ work. He had never felt so alive before.

It wasn’t just that he had passed the obstacle. He finally understood the reason why he was failing. The obstacles were never meant to be possible.

John smiled as he studied the next platform. Like its predecessor, this platform seemed almost guaranteed to drop him onto the net. But John could already see how his heightened bodily ability could cope with it.

The obstacle consisted of a wall run like the last, but at the end of it was an opposite facing wall. The goal was to run along the wall before jumping to another wall. Then there was a second wall run before leaping to the next platform.

John built his confidence in a few stout breaths before taking off. He pushed his feet along the wall perfectly before leaping across the space to the next platform. His momentum carried him too far down though.

His feet touched the bottom of the wall and slipped off the edge. John cursed as he fell helplessly to the net below. He continued to curse as he was babied all the way back to the starting point.

He waited for his anger to subside before he tried again. He successfully made it back to the same platform with less effort than his last attempt. When he tried again though, his body once again carried him too far along the second wall.

He pushed off the wall with one leg but was unable to place his second foot properly. It brushed the far side of the wall before slipping off the edge. The result was a graceless midair tumble.

Three more times John attempted the wall before he finally leveraged himself properly to make both jumps. He was starting to realize that it wasn’t the addition of Lunar Radiance that would conquer the obstacle. It was the correct application of the energy he now had.

As he stood victorious for the second time that day, John felt a little discouraged. His next challenge was a wall run followed by a hanging bar several feet past the end of the wall. It sat at eye level to where he stood.

John knew that was going to be difficult. He would have to keep as much height in his run as he could in order to reach the bar. After that, he had to swing on the bar and jump to the island.

John was too exhausted to even try the obstacle that day. Instead. He fixed the problem firmly in his mind, determined to think of the best way around it before he returned. When he could recall what he saw perfectly with his eyes closed, he allowed himself to fall from the platform and into the net.

John went home that day invigorated. The effects of Lunar Radiance were amazing. As saturated as he was, John felt the energy seeping slowly from his body for hours afterward.

He went to sleep with a smile on his face. He decided that he would hunt as many genes as he could the next day. Then he would dedicate another entire day to Lunar Radiance.

John was convinced of two things. He needed to become stronger in order to protect his family. And Lunar Radiance was the key to that strength.

5

The next day, John followed his plan precisely. He spent the day hunting and gaining genes. He managed to hunt two primitive creatures and an awakened creature before lunch. Then he was attacked by an enhanced weasel on his way back to Emerald base.

The weasel was a tough contender. It was fast and agile. It crawled up his leg and bit his thigh hard enough to draw blood.

John had screamed from the pain but his reflex allowed him to pin it to his leg by the neck. From there, it was a simple if brutal matter to break the creature’s neck in his grip.

The teeth were the gene of the beast, and John gladly took them, wincing at his sore and bleeding leg. He was so bitter in fact that he decided to summon his newest soul. A small and adorable fox popped into existence next to him.

John was about to order the little pup to eat the weasel when the fox leapt at the body. It tore into it viciously. John was surprised to see the cunning and decisive killer that he had fought displayed in the miniature animal.

The fox ate the entire weasel corpse, bones and all. When it was finished, it looked expectantly at John. He thought it looked a little larger, but perhaps it was only the thing’s bloated stomach.

“I’m John, I think I’ll call you Jane. Simple, easy to remember.”

John returned the beast to its place in his mind. He supposed he would have to feed the beast more from his kills in the future. For now though, John was immensely satisfied with himself.

His archery had improved a great deal with regular practice. His shoulders were sore much more frequently, but the genes he regularly absorbed made it a much smoother recovery.

The genes he had gained that day increased his primitive genes by twelve, his awakened by six, and his enhanced by six as well. John swelled with power as he let the enhanced gene sink into him. Then he reviewed his progress.

Primitive genes: 73

Awakened genes: 66

Enhanced genes: 21

Advanced genes: 8

John was ecstatic at his enhanced genes. But more than those, he was almost three quarters of the way to one hundred primitive genes. He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think anyone at Emerald base had yet reached that point.

John returned home that day with the knowledge that he was even better suited to attempt the Lunar Radiance trial. He had spent the day imagining different scenarios and how likely they were to succeed. He thought he knew exactly where to place his feet in order to get the best jump possible.

When John checked in with his mother upon his return home, she stopped him in the kitchen. John was so distracted by thoughts of his future that he took a moment to shift his attention to her.

“-and you’ve been gone a lot these past weeks. I know you worry about me, but you’re just a kid. Please take a break. I’ll go into The Garden for myself.”

“That’s not necessary mom. I know what I’m doing. I don’t take risks. I leave for the minimum time required and I spend the rest of the time training in the base.”

“I know you’re a smart kid, but you’re still my son. I don’t need you to take my slack. I have almost fifty primitive genes now. The ones you brought back from your first hunting trip gave me quite a bit of progression. And the enhanced genes got me to thirty before I couldn’t absorb another. There are still two left by the way. You should have them.”

“You keep them trade for things in the base. You never know when an enhanced gene will come in handy. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“I did trade one of them. But to be honest, having the gene on my person is more of a risk than any trade would be worth. People look at a lone and frail woman very differently than they look at a young and confident teenager.”

“Okay. I’ll take them. If you need anything that Emerald base can supply just tell me and I will go get it. I know a guy who is good at finding things.”

John took the remaining enhanced genes and went to his room. He decided that it would benefit him most if he just used them. He could have used them to gain a lower ranked skill in The Garden, but now that he was finally making progress with Lunar Radiance, he knew he would never choose to give up.

He gained another thirteen enhanced genes, bringing his total to thirty two. John couldn’t believe it. It turned out to be the perfect cherry on top of his day. As the medical salve his mom gave him seeped into the wounds on his leg, John sunk into an exhausted sleep.