Jamis, Torvin, Mira, Felrick and Helen returned to the capital. They dismounted, and stable hands took their horses back to the stable as they returned to the palace.
Sergeant Heldark looked them over as they returned. “Glad to see you all look the same. Some think scars make them look tougher, but it just shows they didn’t go into the fight prepared. With a good healer like Helen, you shouldn’t ever even have a sign you’ve been in battle, apart from the loss of durability to your gear,” he said.
“Are we going back to training?” Jamis asked, a little defeated.
“No,” Heldark said. “Right now, you need experience. Once you’ve rested, there will be a new assignment for you. There are reports of a spider nest near one of our lumber operations in the Cursed Forest. Valuable timber, so worth the risk. Lady Kathleen and a few of her bodyguards went to investigate around two months back but we lost contact with both her and the lumber operation. No scouts have returned since.”
“Who is Lady Kathleen?” Torvin asked.
“My cousin,” Helen said. “She is also the granddaughter of the High Priestess of Luren.”
“Indeed,” Heldark agreed. “This quest comes straight from the high priestess. She has given you a tracking device to help locate her granddaughter. Your job is to find any survivors, rescue Lady Kathleen if she still lives, and put an end to these spiders.”
“How far away is it?” Mira asked.
“Four days into the Cursed Forest but a week from the capital,” Heldark said.
The champions all stiffened as they received a notification from the System.
“That might delay us a bit,” Helen said as she read it over.
***
I had just sat up in bed, sunlight piercing the covering of my tent when a notification popped into my vision.
Congratulations! As the Champion of Kelesa, you have been invited to participate in an event to take place in one week’s time and which will allow you to interact with some of the other champions. During the event, you will be transported into another realm. You will not suffer permanent death, or other effects such as mind control, domination, or crippling injuries. You can still gain rank points from killing another champion, but they will not lose any rank points they have gathered.
Any participant ‘killed’ during the event will be teleported back to where they were before the last event and will only lose any materials or equipment gathered during the event. The goal and reward for the event will be revealed when you enter the realm. Do you wish to be entered into the event?
“Yes,” I said immediately.
Any opportunity to gain new rank points or gather information on my rivals was welcome. Also, there was basically no risk to this event, which made me slightly suspicious… but not enough to decline the invite.
I felt energized and excited by this new goal, having a time limit now. I needed to gather as many rank points and hopefully new abilities as I could before the event, longing to jump up and rush into the forest and hunt down as many beasts as I could.
I calmed myself, knowing I’d need to use my time wisely; the best way to do that would be to acquire some local knowledge.
I strapped my armor on over my clothes, starting to run out of fully intact garments. I put my cloak on over my armor and slipped two clubs into my belt, then stepped out of the tent and looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my patchy-looking beard. I grabbed one of my rusty daggers and compressed it. The rust disappeared and turned the blade a russet color. I compressed the edge until it was razor fine and stepped closer to the mirror.
Carefully, ran my dagger along my skin, shaving off my beard and nicking myself several times. I rubbed the blood on my cloak and sipped from a healing potion to stop the bleeding. Then I looked myself over again, my face clean shaven, my hair still hanging long.
I’d meant to get it cut just before Kelesa had brought me here.
Not trusting my capacity to cut my own hair, or indeed for any of my vassals to do it, I’d let it be. I tugged my helmet on and went to look for my goblin vassals.
I found Juruk beside a pile of metal bits of junk, animal pelts, and random bits of furniture.
“What are the closest and the most powerful creatures in the area?” I asked.
“There is the spined lion,” Juruk said. “We stay out of its territory. The chief didn’t want to fight it.”
“Could be an interesting fight,” I said. “What rank is it?”
“I don’t know. The chief never said. He never wanted to enter its territory.”
So, it’s probably higher than forty, based on his own rank, I reasoned to myself. I might want to wait on that a while… or maybe not. “What else?” I pressed him.
“There is the black serpent,” Juruk said. “It lives in the swamps, upriver. The chief wouldn’t fight it either.”
“Is there any creature he would fight?” I asked.
“He only fights creatures that come to us,” Juruk said. “Like you.”
So maybe he isn’t the best way to judge the strength of my opponents. “What other creatures? It doesn’t matter how powerful they are. I want to know what and where they are.”
“There is the forest wyvern,” Juruk said. “It dwells in the crags north of here. The spider queen lives with etters near the humans, a day to the south.”
Juruk suddenly seemed nervous. “Then, there is the wraith in the old ruins.”
“Wraith?” I asked.
“It is cursed to haunt the ruins,” Juruk said. “Any creature that enters there never returns. Even Gifted beasts have never made it back.”
“Very promising,” I said, musing over my options. It seemed the wraith would be the highest-ranked creature if it had been killing Gifted beasts for a while. That left the other targets to start with.
“Which one of them is the closest?” I asked.
“The black serpent,” Juruk said, shivering a little as he said its name.
“Great. Show me the way,” I said.
“Me?” Juruk asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Lead the way to the swamp. Now.”
Grudgingly, he stood up and led me along the shore.
We took a narrow trail up the side of the cliff past the waterfall, hiking along the shore of the river for three hours before he stopped and pointed across the river to a swathe of reeds and cattails stretching on for three miles. A scattering of trees growing among the plants and various ponds were visible in the swamp.
“Do you know where its lair is?” I asked.
“No,” Juruk said, shaking his head. “This is the end of our territory and as far as I’ve ever been.”
“Go back to camp and wait for me,” I said. “We’re going to be here longer than I thought.”
I ran over the river, my feet never sinking through the water as I crossed the rapids in less than thirty seconds. Standing on the bank, I looked over the swamp, seeking out a black serpent, the name both evocative and also mysteriously vague. I hadn’t bothered to ask how big it was but based on my experience so far, all Gifted were typically enormous.
Where would I be if I were a snake? Where might be the most tempting place to hide myself? I moved deeper into the swamp, my head on a swivel as I searched for any movement or hint of something in the water. First, I headed toward the center of the swamp, at the very least, wanting to get a better vantage for the rest of the area.
When absolutely necessary, I ran across the water but generally tried to stay on solid ground. At the center island, I glanced around, bending upon seeing an old snakeskin at least three dozen feet long.
“Holy shit, that’s big!” I whispered.
The snakeskin slithered its massive bulk into a hole in the ground.
I sighed. “Well, at least I’ve got the gear for this.”
Pulling my scarf, I dived into the murky water and proceeded tentatively, feeling my way, swimming down as the curved tunnel widened out.
I must have been swimming for ten minutes when I finally broke the surface again.
Water dripped off my pelt, skin, and armor as I moved onto the bank. It was pitch black, but thanks to my Perception Mutation, I could see clearly.
Animal bones rested in the muck, and the cavern was at least a hundred feet tall. A network of roots high above supported the ceiling, and I looked about warily.
Its attack was visible with Foresight and I teleported away, turning around to see… nothing. Not one single thing could my eyes see, but knew the snake had just struck. Again, my Foresight warned me of an attack, and I rolled to the side, still seeing nothing at all.
Activating my Bestial Senses, my nostrils were assaulted by the rank smell of snake scales sliding over mud. I could now see the black serpent, its body glowing a warm purple.
It struck at me again and I rolled under it, my clawed clubs striking upwards. I made contact but my clubs only dug narrow scratches, its tough scales rebuffing all attacks.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Allezsia Shadow-fang. Gifted—Mortal. Giant Death Adder. Rank: 38.
It lunged forward.
My shield lodged between us. Its fangs bounced off the enchanted steel, reflecting the force of the attack. “Didn’t like that, did you?” I taunted. Then I began hurling spearheads at it as my maul and extra clubs swung at it from multiple directions.
The snake hissed and lunged toward me again.
This time, my Foresight let me know I couldn’t dodge or block as it was apparently using some sort of ability to cross the distance between us in less than half a second.
Its fangs bit down but couldn’t pierce my cloak, so it held me in its jaws with my right arm pinned.
Beating down on its skull with my other club, I was successful in gouging wounds into it, but it shook me and didn’t release. A hot liquid seeped down my cloak, dripping onto my skin. I screamed as the poison began eating into my flesh, sending my Telekinesis wild as I threw everything I had at it.
Allezsia wrapped itself around me and began to squeeze.
I gasped and strained as it started crushing me, my club beating on it faster as my other weapons savaged its body.
16 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 320 monsters or humanoids. Current progress: 58/320. When you complete this quest, you will gain 64 rank points. The next quest will require double the number to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A notification signaled its death, but its viselike grip on me was unwavering. Even in death, it continued to constrict me as its poison attacked my thighs and legs.
I gasped, looking about, then teleported, soon landing on my back, rolling in the mud to coat my legs and ease the burning. I grabbed a health potion from my pocket and drained the contents. The burning in my legs subsided but didn’t fully go away.
A notification blinked, and I pulled it up.
You have been affected by the enhanced venom ability of a death adder that will stop your heart(s) and destroy your nervous system. Take an antidote or receive treatment before you die. The time until death is 1:30 minutes.
Shit! I don’t have an antidote!
Attempting to subdue rising panic, I searched my backpack, locating my jars of herbs and frantically grabbing the ones containing purity lilies and violet nullifier.
I shoved two of each in my mouth, desperately chewing and swallowing. I waited and felt my stomach churn and boil as heat filled my body, similar to the feeling of increasing an Attribute by three ranks. That’s it. I’m dying.
Uncontrolled, insane laughter escaped from my lips until the new notification arrived.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Survive a lethal poison with no outside assistance.
Reward. Title: Field Alchemist.
*Field Alchemist: You do not acknowledge the dangers of mixing different herbs and liquids inside your body and your very stomach acts as a cauldron. Suffer only half the negative effects of mixing two herbs without processing and gain full benefits from them.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective: Be seconds away from death and pull through by your own will and wit.
Reward. Title: Survivor II (requires you to already have Survivor).
* Survivor II: You are resistant to death itself, proving over and again that you have what it takes to continue. Mortal wounds have less impact on you and require damage stages two higher to take effect.
I gasped and looked down at my legs, still raw from the poison. As I drank another potion, my skin healed. The hair along my legs was gone, however, and there were white burn scars around my knees. My lower legs had been protected by tight-fitting boots, and I was again thankful I had chosen them instead of a weapon.
I took out a Nemean claw and approached the cooling body of the death adder, pulling it out straight, using it like a blade and running the claw along its underbelly.
I peeled off the skin and rolled up the bloody hide.
Death Adder Hide. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 6. This hide was enhanced with extra Toughness, making it extremely durable and unable to be cut by a weapon with less than 6 Hardness.
Taking hold of its skull, I teased out the fangs to examine one. They were some fifteen inches in length.
Death Adder Fang. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 8. This fang is imbued with the remnants of a powerful poison ability, dealing moderate poison damage when it comes into contact with flesh.
*Death Adder Venom: Causes severe rapid necrosis in flesh, causing organ failure. When injected, requires 1 to 2 drams to be lethal to a moderately-sized human.
I tied the hide to my backpack and put the fangs inside. Then, I dived back into the water, my weapons suspended behind me telekinetically as I felt my way along the tunnel.
Making my way to the surface, I emerged into the noon sun, then ran across the water, jumping the bank of reeds across the river to the other side.
I headed back to camp with my newly-acquired trophies, now having seven days to prepare for the event. I was tired now, but needed to push myself to get as powerful as I could be before it would be time to face the other champions. I dropped the hide off for Jand and the others to start tanning and found Juruk again.
“Take me to the wyvern,” I said.
“The wyvern?” he asked, ears twitching with fright. “Don’t you want to wait?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve got a time limit, and I want to spend every minute I can getting stronger. Now, lead the way!”
With typical reluctance, Juruk led me out of the camp.
We followed the trail but headed east instead of toward the swamp. After a three-hour hike, he pointed to a ravine, the top of which was lined with trees. The pass continued north toward the mountains, splitting the earth to be joined by other canyons and crags.
“You can return to camp now. I’ve got this,” I told Juruk, surveying my new hunting ground.
Juruk turned and fled.
I moved into the pass, scanning the clifftops and shallow caves for any sign of the wyvern, heading deeper until I heard wings beating. Freezing, I looked around, attempting to pinpoint the sound. They were coming from the top of the cliff, so I started climbing.
My Might was a lot higher thanks to my ring and I quickly pulled myself to the edge of the cliff and looked up. Uprooted trees formed a massive nest, and there, inside of it sat the wyvern, sleeping. It was monstrous, its body the size of a minivan, and its wings easily spanned eighty feet as it lay coiled in on itself.
Yurmir, Prince of the Treetops. Gifted—Draconic/Beast/Wyvern. Mortal. Rank: 54.
It was the strongest creature I’d met so far, and I estimated it to be as difficult to fight as the Nemean lion.
A blazing ball of fire fell from the heavens, striking the sleeping wyvern which snapped awake, letting out a roar of pain and anger. A shadow fell over the ground and the wyvern looked up in time to have its neck clamped down by a beast four times its size.
The force of its landing nearly flung me from the cliffside, barely managing to keep hold of some tree roots. I poked my head back over the cliff to get a look at it.
It had black scales, the edges of which pulsed shades of orange and red.
Its colossal body was the size of a semi-truck, while its eyes were brilliant crimson, and its head boasted a six-horned crown.
Exar’kun, the Star-fallen Lord. Gifted—Dragon/Hell Dragon. Veteran. Rank: ???
The dragon snapped the wyvern’s neck and tore into its flesh.
I stayed where I was, motionless, fixated on the sight.
After twenty minutes, the dragon spread its wings and took to the sky again. That was the sight of my first Veteran-ranked creature. The fight against the wyvern would have been difficult and likely to have almost killed me but the hell dragon had slain it in less than thirty seconds with only two attacks.
I’m going to beat that thing, someday, I promised myself.
I waited for five minutes before getting up and approaching the remains of the corpse. The hell dragon had ripped open the wyvern’s chest and devoured all its internal organs.
The meat of the wyvern’s flanks and neck had been ripped apart but there was still a significant amount of the carcass left untouched.
I began cutting away at its hide, folding it back and skinning all possible parts of it. I also collected loose scales from the ground and spotted a black one, its edges red like burning coal.
Hell Dragon Scale. Type: Material. Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 14. The scales of this hell dragon are impervious to any fire and strong enough to withstand the blow of a mountain giant. Requires a weapon of at least Hardness 14 to break it.
It was both awesome and terrifying. The scales were harder than my Nemean pelt, and to think that the beast was entirely covered in these things.
I’ve got some way to go before I’m on the level of that thing!
I kept harvesting. Most of the wyvern’s wing membrane had been destroyed by the dragon’s fire, but I got enough of it to lay it out like a tarpaulin upon which I piled loose scales.
Forest Wyvern Scale. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 9. The scales of this wyvern give it resistance to poisonous and acidic attacks and require a weapon of at least Hardness 9 to break it.
I set to work on its two back feet. It had three toes and two back claws that were curved like a velociraptor’s. It took a great deal of time and cutting to break them free from their hold, but eventually, I acquired the six front and two back talons.
Forest Wyvern Front Talons. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10. The claws of this wyvern were enhanced by an ability during its life, making them harder and giving them the ability to pierce even material stronger than itself. They can pierce through materials as if they were two Hardnesses lower.
Forest Wyvern Hook Talons. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10. The hook claws of this wyvern were enhanced by an ability during its life, making them more effective at tearing flesh. They cause significant bleeding and laceration, preventing the wounds from being easily closed. Requires a weapon with Hardness 10 to break them.
I continued to carve up the wyvern, finding some sections of its flesh cooked by dragon fire. I tasted some, feeling hungry but clearly not that hungry—so I discarded the flesh as I freed its bones. I would make good use of the longer bones of its wings and legs.
Forest Wyvern Bone. Type: Material. Rarity: Uncommon. Hardness: 9. The bones of this wyvern are enhanced during its life by a high Toughness, making them highly durable. Requires a weapon with Hardness 9 to break it.
After that, I teased out its fangs, being careful as I saw a dark oily liquid coating the teeth. Its four fangs were seven inches long, its other teeth ranging from five to three inches.
Forest Wyvern Fangs. Type: Material. Rarity: Rare. Hardness: 10. The fangs of this wyvern have been enhanced by the remnants of a poison ability, enabling them to deal moderate poison damage that paralyzes targets with low Endurance and Toughness.
*Forest Wyvern Poison: the venom of the forest wyvern attacks and destroys the nerves of the body, shutting down the brain’s ability to control the body as the poison makes its way through the nervous system. Requires two to three drams to be lethal in a moderately-sized human.
Hmmm, that could have been bad! I don’t have good Toughness or Endurance.
My harvesting of the corpse had gone on for several hours.
The sun had already started to set. I had only hunted one Gifted creature today, but I’d gained a decent amount of crafting materials.
So, I began my return hike. My eyes were able to navigate easily, even as darkness fell, and by the time I was back at the camp, it was fully dark. The goblins had set up shacks, lean-tos, and tents in the outer wall and huddled around campfires, roasting animals on spits.
I went inside and took some food from the women, setting down the pack of materials I’d been able to save. I washed off the dirt and grime in the river and returned to my tent.
Despite being tired, I was feeling good about today’s work. Six more days. I need to hunt for new abilities, increase my abilities rank and get as many Attributes as I can above twenty to unlock these mutations. My ability to see in darkness had been invaluable today and I could feel the benefit of my two hearts to my physical capacity.
I removed my armor and slumped, exhausted, tossing and turning, my mind filled with plans, before eventually falling asleep.