Sam lay down and stared up at the sky, resting his upper back and head against the wooly pig’s wooly back. It was soft and warm, and he was sure if he made sweaters out of the material, it’d have a demand that’d outweigh the supply. Of course, he was already rich, so he didn’t need to shave the pig, which was a good thing because he wasn’t sure it’d let him. Through his All-Seeing Gaze, Sam observed the residents of Silva Volucris waiting for him to leave the country.
It didn’t take long for a large beetle to make its way over to Sam. On its back, Greg was riding it while carrying a large sack made from stretchy silk, the outlines of the items inside visible on the bag’s surface. Greg leaned over, stretching out its arm to pass Sam the bag. “I packed some preserved food for you,” the mantid said. “When you’re hungry, place it in a cup of water, and it’ll rehydrate. Try not to get it wet before you want to eat it because it spoils quickly.”
“Thank you,” Vercedei said, answering for Sam as he sat up and grabbed the bag. It was heavy, but thanks to all the training he had undergone in Et Serpentium under Ellie’s watch, he could carry it with one hand. He set it aside atop Manga’s back, the pig’s coat indenting as the package was practically swaddled by wool. “I’ll be off then.”
“Goodbye,” Greg said, staring straight at Sam. “May your task be successful; there will be as many spheres of grub as you’d like waiting for you upon your return.”
“Thank you,” Vercedei said. Sam patted the pig’s back, and it let out a four-syllable-long cry before rushing forward. At that moment, buzzing filled the air as hundreds of beetles flew into the air. Their auras were tinged with darker hues than normal, and a shudder ran down Sam’s spine. Had the mantids performed a play to get him to drop his guard before attacking him with their full force? The beetles hovered in the air, and Sam used Toughen. He didn’t know how fast those bugs could travel, but he wanted to be prepared in case they struck first. While immobilized by his technique, Sam expanded the vision of his All-Seeing Gaze, focusing his attention underneath him as well in case burrowing insects made an appearance.
“Oh dear,” Greg said. “It looks like we’re under attack.”
“Under attack?” Vercedei asked. “By who?”
The beetle rotated in place, its legs clacking against the ground as they took heavy steps. The wooly pig walked up to the beetle, and Greg turned to look at Sam. “I don’t know, but you shouldn’t concern yourself with this. The queens have decreed their decree, and you are no longer welcome even if you wish to help us.”
“Are you sure?” Vercedei asked. “You haven’t seen me, but I’m pretty good in a fight.”
“If we suffer disastrous consequences that we wouldn’t have suffered with your help, then we deserve it,” Greg said. “We have survived for ages without the help of humans—I could’ve showed you if the heritage pillar still existed—and we will continue to survive without your assistance. Besides, it’s probably just some ugly reptiles.”
“Well, if you change your mind, just send a firefly to me or something, alright?” Vercedei asked. “Let the queens know I’m available to help. Think of me as a mercenary.”
“Of course,” Greg said and gestured towards the ground. “I won’t be seeing you off, but this fellow will. Follow it out the tunnel, and as long as you keep heading straight, you’ll find the blue avians.”
An ant waved up at Sam when he looked down to see which creature Greg was referring to. The ant scurried down the tunnel before turning around to confirm Manga was following it. The wooly pig stared at the retreating beetle and let out a snort; then, it whirled around and followed after the ant. It was clear the mantids didn’t want Sam’s assistance, so there was no point in sticking around. Thus, he should complete the task he had been assigned, and while he was far away from Silva Volucris, turn the heritage pillar into an animal to unlock his heart chakra.
The tunnel was long, and Sam wondered if it was made naturally or by an insect that could seemingly drill through rock. For all he knew, it could’ve been a tunnel made by the graylings. Speaking of the graylings, Sam hoped they weren’t being mistreated in Silva Volucris now that he wasn’t there. He knew they wouldn’t cause any trouble since he asked them not to, but he wasn’t sure if the mantids would leave them alone.
After traveling through the winding set of tunnels, which he would’ve had a hard time navigating without the ant thanks to all the splits and turns, sunlight shone through a crevice, illuminating the path before landing on Sam’s face. He squinted and looked around, half expecting to arrive at another desert since there seemed to be a lot of those in Oterra, but he was wrong. He emerged in a wooded region, and the sound of rushing water greeted his ears. The ant patted Manga’s ankle with its antennae before retreating back into the tunnel, the entrance in a burrow mostly hidden underneath a tree’s roots.
Sam took in a deep breath before closing his eyes, focusing on expanding the view of his All-Seeing Gaze. Safety first, and as such, Sam made sure there weren’t any nearby dangers. Other than a few small animals feasting on small bugs, he didn’t detect anything that resembled a predator. Even though the surroundings were safe, he still had to find an appropriate location for Raindu to bring out the malachite pillar, so he urged Manga forward, the wooly pig destroying the underbrush as it clomped along.
Sam transmitted his voice to Raindu by focusing on his throat chakra. “How big is this piece of malachite?” Since he wasn’t allowed to approach the heritage pillar in Silva Volucris, he wasn’t even sure of what it looked like, but Raindu claimed it was humongous.
The ferret squeaked at Sam. “As tall as a mountain.”
“So, how far do we have to be until you can take it out?” Sam asked.
Raindu patted the side of Sam’s head. “Very far.”
Sam exhaled through his nose. He was impatient, but that was understandable. His last chakra was about to be unlocked, and theoretically, he’d be as powerful as a blue avian. Of course, he wouldn’t be comparable to one in reality without enough time to accustom himself to his newfound abilities. Blue avians were born with them; meanwhile, Sam had only recently unlocked them. That might’ve been the case, but he wasn’t discouraged, not with so many higher-dimensional creatures protecting him.
The wooly pig underneath Sam let out a cry and rushed forward, barreling through the trees, the bark and tree innards disintegrating upon contact with the pig’s wool. Rocks that were large enough to get in the pig’s way also weren’t spared from its charge, and a clear path of destruction was left behind the pig’s wake as if it were a lawnmower going through a field of flowers. Only a blind individual would be unable to track where he had gone. Well, Greg did tell Sam to just head straight, and eventually he’d arrive at the blue avians’ territory, so it wasn’t like the mantids didn’t already know where he was going.
Sam leaned back, letting himself sink into the pig’s wooly fur. He was going to wait until they were far enough away to absorb the mantids’ malachite pillar; until then, he was simply going to lie down and observe things with his All-Seeing Gaze. While he was living in the city, Sam had always thought Oterra was a barren land. There weren’t many animals in the human city, and wildlife was miles away from the borders, so he hadn’t seen much fauna for himself. However, now that he was out of the walls, he realized how small it actually was.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Oterra was abundant and teeming with wildlife. The ground had dense foliage with all kinds of insects and other small creatures going about their lives hidden from view by the stalks of grass and leaves of bushes above. Birds filled the trees, so numerous he was surprised so many could fit on a single branch without the whole thing snapping from the weight. When a bird got hungry, it’d fly down and peck at the ground; with one try, it’d scoop up three to four bugs in one gulp. Unexpectedly, there wasn’t bird feces everywhere, but Sam assumed something was eating it up because there was no way there was no bird poop where numerous birds were gathered.
As the wooly pig made its way through the wilderness of Oterra, birds and insects scattered, the sky above Sam’s head filled with so many black dots that they almost blotted out the sun. Sam wondered whether it was alright for them to make so huge of a commotion while traveling, but he figured the wooly pig could handle whatever predator decided to show up. He hadn’t seen it fight, but he was sure it was good at protecting itself especially with wool that could disintegrate matter upon contact if it so pleased. However, what if they drew the attention of a blue avian. Well, hopefully, they’d have traveled far enough for Sam to absorb the malachite to unlock his heart chakra, his only chance at saving his life if he encountered a blue avian.
The scenery around the wooly pig didn’t change much, but that didn’t mean it was traveling at a slow pace. If Sam fell off, he was sure he’d sustain a few injuries similar to him jumping from a moving train. As the pig felled tree after tree, it eventually arrived at a river, which it promptly ran over. The river curved and flowed in the same direction Manga was heading, and Sam observed the fish within the waters. There was a lot of them, too many for him to count. It wouldn’t be difficult for someone to feed themselves if they were stranded; they’d simply have to dip their hand into the water, close their hand, and pull out a fish. However, not being eaten alive by bugs, well, Sam wasn’t sure how someone would avoid that fate.
There were so many resources, yet there weren’t many predators taking advantage of the resources. The fish were abundant, but nothing was eating them? Perhaps they were poisonous, or there was some kind of consequence for eating them. Well, Sam wasn’t going to find out.
“Hang on,” Vercedei said. “Let’s catch some fish and bugs. Would you really be experiencing Oterra if all you’re doing is riding on Manga’s back the whole time? If someone asks about your journey, what are you going to tell them? I don’t know because I was traveling? That’s not a good response.”
…And it seemed like Sam was going to find out why there was such abundance. The wooly pig slowed down, and a few more trees fell over, crashing against the ground before the wooly pig came to a halt. “Are you sure we have time for this?” Sam asked with his throat chakra, directing his question at the snake covering his mouth. “The blue avians can arrive at any second. Wasting time like this….”
“Take out the heritage pillar,” Vercedei said, and before Sam could voice his thoughts, the black ferret already followed the twin-headed snake’s words. A large, green pillar rose up towards the sky, and Sam slapped his palm against it in a hurry. It was massive! What if the mantids noticed? He thought they had gone far enough away already, but after seeing the pillar for himself, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
The familiar tingling sensation invaded Sam’s flesh from his palm, and the malachite vanished as if it had never existed, leaving a giant circular imprint in the region where the pillar had crushed the trees and vegetation. Sam exhaled as the shadow covering his body vanished along with the malachite. He closed his eyes and used his All-Seeing Gaze to focus inwards on himself, mainly on his Anahata where the energy from the malachite should’ve been flowing. His heart chakra buzzed, and a green blob shot out of him before rapidly expanding. Sam opened his eyes, and he was once more covered by a shadow; in front of him, there was a floating whale.
“Hello, Sam,” the whale said, its deep voice extremely familiar. It belonged to the individual who had spoken to him in the darkness after Paula had ruthlessly destroyed his chest, the same individual that had told him to obtain the mantids’ recording malachite. “We meet again.”
Sam stared at the floating whale. It was green and mottled with black swirls, much like a piece of malachite, and its eyes were pure white. Well, now Sam knew why the whale had told him to grab the mantids’ malachite: it’d summon the whale into the lower dimension. Sam crouched down and tilted his body to the side, looking underneath the whale to see how it was floating, but there were no indications of any propulsion system keeping the creature suspended. With his curiosity unsatisfied, Sam stood up straight and stared the whale in the eyes; well, one of its eyes, it was too massive to see both at once. “Hello, …whale.”
“Are you ready?” the whale asked.
Ready? “Ready for what?” Sam asked through his throat chakra. The animals on his body were all looking at the whale as well. Even Manga, the giant wooly pig, seemed small in comparison to the whale. If it opened its mouth, it could swallow all of them whole. “You can’t just ask that without explaining anything beforehand.”
“I’m starting,” the whale said and opened its mouth. It inhaled, and a huge suction force pulled at the wooly pig and all its riders. Manga stomped its hooves and took a few steps back, resisting the pull. Trees, vegetation, water, insects, fish, and birds flew around the wooly pig’s body as they were sucked into the whale’s mouth. After a bit, the wall stopped inhaling and looked down at Sam. “Why did you resist?”
“Are you daft?” Vercedei asked, speaking for Sam and all the higher-dimensional creatures on his body that the whale had just attempted to eat. “Why wouldn’t we resist? You didn’t explain anything and tried to inhale us like noodles. Explain to us why we shouldn’t have resisted.”
The whale remained eerily still as if its body were unaffected by the wind blowing against it. “I was going to hide you from danger,” the whale said. “However, it might be too late now.”
“It is too late,” a melodious voice said, the words ringing inside of Sam’s head like a birdsong. “Summoner of higher-dimensional creatures, didn’t Paula make sure you were dead?”
Sam frowned. His All-Seeing Gaze had been active the whole time, but at some point, five blue avians materialized out of nowhere deep within his visual range, spawning practically beside him. He focused on them, noticing individual differences in their auras, but he wasn’t sure if Paula was amongst the five. “I think you’re mistaken,” Sam said, speaking through his throat chakra. “I’m not a summoner of anything. I’m just a regular human passing by with my animal familiars.”
“And we’re just five, regular blue avians exterminating calamities,” one of the blue avians said. “I’m sure you understand, regular human.”
It was worth a shot. Didn’t people advocate for communicating with words before violence? Sam took in a deep breath through his nose. He hadn’t had any time to learn defensive techniques with his Anahata, yet five blue avians showed up to deal with him. Last time, there was only one blue avian, and he suffered a complete defeat. Sam really didn’t like his current odds.
“Mangalitsa!” Manga let out a battle cry and charged forward, running on the air at blinding speeds, causing Sam to almost tumble off of its back. The wooly pig arrived in front of the group of blue avians in an instant, and swung its head from down to up, slamming one of the blue avians with its snout from below. There was a cracking sound as the blue avian flew upwards, shooting into the sky and disappearing from view.
“Bethany!” the blue avians cried out before scattering as Manga charged forward once more.
Sam released his grip on the wooly pig’s curly fur and rolled along its back, dropping to the ground. Although the blue avians were hovering in the air, he figured he had a better chance at facing them if he wasn’t struggling to stay on a raging pig’s back.
“Kill the summoner!” one of the blue avians said and appeared before Sam.
Sam inhaled and activated Toughen. At the same time, he focused hard on his heart chakra, practically begging it to do something to prevent the blue avian from killing him in one hit. Through his All-Seeing Gaze, he saw the aura around the blue avians’ fist shine and solidify. At the same time, he saw his aura crystallizing around him. The blue avian slammed its fist into Sam’s chest, but instead of exploding through his ribcage like Paula’s punch had, the blue avian’s fist merely knocked Sam back, his legs leaving two parallel lines in the ground as he slid backwards.
Sam’s eyes lit up, but before he could feel happy, another fist slammed into his back, pushing him forward. A third fist punched his side, sliding him over to a fourth fist that connected with his head. Thanks to the stiffness of his muscles caused by Toughen, Sam’s body flipped head over heels as if he were doing cartwheels, and he only stopped rolling after crashing into a massive tree. Before he had time to recover, the four blue avians were already swarming around him as if he were a limited-edition item during a sale.