They had made excellent time.
After the flare up on the Spatial stone, Sayrin had taken his entire company, and the next morning been on a ship bound for the rose forest, and the coastal city Lyra. After a mere twenty-four hours at sea, they had spotted land, and would be arriving shortly.
"These new ships those creties built were damn fast" thought Sayrin with respect, watching his soldiers gather in the mess cabin.
As they would be arriving in the next thirty minutes or so, he had called his troops below deck to have a final briefing.
"Alright, brief me on the situation... Mouley." Called Sayrin once he had everyone.
The entire cabin sighed collectively.
"What? It's important we're all tracking the same information. So, one more time, Mouley, what's the situation."
"Sir" chimed in Aldrin "I agree with double checking, but if I've counted correctly, I think this will be quadruple checking. Maybe let the soldiers go back up and watch the approach?"
"No can-do lieutenant. If every single one of you doesn't know this plan forwards and back, we might as well turn the ship around. So, once more, Mouley you've had plenty of time for Delv to whisper the answer to you. What's the situation, come on.
In a rough, rural accent, Mouley stood and answered, "Well sir, we had a hit on the spatial stone, and as such, were ordered here to investigate by Orrin himself." Then he promptly sat down, looking pleased.
"Thank you Mouley, Delv! Since you're being so helpful anyway, what are we looking for?"
Delv, a smaller man with a tightly bound bun of yellow hair, stood promptly and answered "Sir, we are looking for a new break! This would be wonderous for not only the nation as a whole, but for us as the first to explore it."
"Thank you Delv, concise as ever. Wade, what about the locals of Lyra, what do we know?"
Wade, a woman who stood a head taller than any other person on this ship, stayed seated, but responded confidently "This is an isolated port town, sir. Their main exports are 1-Star potions from the alchemy lab, and the woods harvested from the forest. The vast majority of residents are Zeroes, leading to a skewed hierarchy. There are less than a thousand 1-Stars, less than a hundred 2-Stars, and only a handful of 3-Stars in the town, including the Chief Alchemist, Guild Master, and the city lord."
The whole room looked at her for a moment, before Trell, one of the other two War members in their company, spoke up "Wade is from Lyra, she knows the area pretty well."
Nodding in understanding, Sayrin said "Excellent, then Wade, we'll be relying on you to take point while we're in town. After we make landfall, I'll talk to the lord, and Wade, you and Aldin can talk to the Guild Master for me."
Aldin and Wade nodded their acknowledgment.
Sayrin liked Wade. She was still only a 1-Star, but was on the verge of earning her second, and the entire company knew it. If all went well, they would return to Loterre with a newly minted 2-Star.
"Alright, and one more thing. While in town, make sure to-"
A sailor of the ship they had hired hurried down the narrow flight of stairs and into the cabin.
"Captain, sir, I think you need to see this."
~ ~ ~
Hurrying off the ship the moment they docked, the company found both the lord and Guild Master waiting for them.
The soldiers all stood at attention behind Sayrin, as he touched his right fist to his left shoulder and inclined his head. His rank in the army put him on roughly equal footing to a provincial city lord, doubly so as they both had the aura and markings of a 3-Star. But it always pays to show respect when possible.
"My lord, I am Captain Sayrin of Loterre, it is a pleasure."
The lord, an aged and stocky fellow with a white beard set in magnificent braids, responded in a rough voice "No need for formalities captain, events move apace, and we need move just the same. But, very well then, very well. I am Lord Myrin of Lyra." Then without a second's hesitation, he promptly turned on his heel and began walking up the dock back towards his city.
Walking quickly to keep up, Sayrin asked "Lord Myrin, what is going on, what is... that?" He finished with a gesture towards the southern sky.
It had been fading all morning, but a large pluming cloud of gray smoke still hung in the air over the forest and had been visible from miles away out at sea.
Grunting, the city lord responded, "It's a fire, boy, dead now thanks to the rainstorm last night, but I should think that would have been obvious." Myrin eyed Sayrin as they continued their brisk walk, "You're not one of those mindless thugs who holds his rank on power alone, are you?" he asked bluntly.
Frowning as his distaste for the lord began to take root, he replied "No, I don't believe I am. Rephrasing, what caused the fire. Have you investigated, or sent out search parties from the local guild to uncover anything?"
Glancing back, he saw that Aldin and Wade were on either side of said Guild Master and seemed to be having a much more amicable and productive conversation than he.
Grunting, Myrin responded "No, we were going to when we saw the smoke in the blue's first light, but when we caught sight of your ship, we decided to delay and let you take care of that for us. Much to that old Charcoal's dislike, mind you, giving me twice the reason to do it besides not paying him."
That firmly cemented Sayrin's dislike of the man. Delaying action in what could be disastrous situations in order to let others do the work for you?
Dishonorable.
True, it had only delayed them about an hour, as they had arrived just after sunsrise anyway, but nevertheless, moments mattered in a crisis.
A second later, they passed through the large gray stone walls bordering the outer edges of the city proper and entered into a small market square just on the other side.
The lord walked them right up to the center of the square, next to an ornate fountain of deepest purple stone in the shape of an enormous bird spitting water out of its beak and the tips of its outstretched wings.
Taking out a chip, the smallest denomination of coin, Myrin flicked it into the water and said "To your expedition, the best of luck. Send word back on the results of the fire. We've had sightings of Necro-spiders on the outlying farms, and it would be utterly delightful if the whole nest of them had gone up in flames."
Making it clear that he wasn't requesting updates, but demanding them, he turned with a smile hidden underneath his enormous beard and headed towards the gaudy carriage and steward waiting promptly on the main road away from the market.
Shaking his head as the lord walked away, Sayrin turned his back to the man and faced his soldiers.
He gave a quick nod to the Guild Master, who had moved off to the side to watch without intruding. He was a smaller man, not small in stature, but lean in muscle like an endurance runner. He had salt and pepper hair, a clean shaven face, and deeply tanned skin.
"Alright," Sayrin announced to his soldiers "you have ten minutes to get anything you can find in this market and be back here. We're not delaying a second longer, there could have been people out there in the forest who need us, and that fire could still be going."
Grim faced and serious, not a single one of the two dozen men and women he had brought with him moved an inch. They understood like he did. When lives were on the line, you didn't delay.
"Right then. Guild Master, if you want to send any additional personnel, they'll be more than welcome. We'll be heading straight for the smoke, and from there heading further in, specifically to the temple. We'll report back as often as we can, but it will likely take two, maybe three days to get there and back."
In a warm tone, and with a broad smile, the Guild Master said "Go. I'll send along a couple of my fastest to help scout and report back if need be."
Nodding his thanks, he motioned for his group to move out.
It was time to see secrets the forest held.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
- - - - -
*** NEW CREATURE IDENTIFIED ***
- Ancient Viper - 1-Star - Uncommon
- The Ancient Viper has not changed for thousands of years. Why fix what isn't broke? With horribly potent venom and a penchant for murder, this little guy can actually be super friendly once you get to know him!
- - - - -
Kya was finding her identify skill back to its usual antics and annoying tone. She couldn't help but wonder at the night before when it had felt so... somber. She had taken it to be a simple mechanic of the world or power she had, but for the first time wondered where the knowledge came from and why it was narrated to her at all.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Unfortunately, these were questions she would have to save for later.
The snake she now faced was at least nine feet long, probably longer, but it was hard to tell while it was moving towards her. It was as thick around as Kyas's thigh, with dark red scales and the occasional bright pink diamond mark down its back.
If this thing breathed fire, Kya swore she would raze this forest.
Slithering towards her, the snake had one bloody gash along the side of its head, which was rapidly closing as she watched. Back stepping rapidly, Kya herself tried to heal with a potion from where the snake had dropped down on her and bitten her exposed hands. She had swiped at it with her knife almost instantly, causing it to dislodge and fall to the ground, but that "horribly potent venom" line stuck in her brain.
The twin puncture wounds on her hand were already sealed up from the healing, but if it had injected any venom into her system, she didn't know how effective the potions could be.
Cursing silently, wishing she really had an actual set of equipment, she blasted the snake back with her staff. It thudded dully against a nearby tree, only having flown about five feet. That thing was deceptively heavy, pushing or pulling it would rapidly drain Kya of any strength she had.
Stashing her dagger and pulling out one of her temple stones, she fired it at the viper instead hoping to do blunt damage. It had healed from her dagger strike in a handful of seconds, hopefully a crushed rib or cracked skull would be more debilitating.
Unfortunately, she wouldn't get to find out. Each stone she launched landed in the dirt or hit against the wood of a tree. The snake bent its body just perfectly to avoid any incoming rocks.
Cursing, Kya desperately tried to think of a new plan, when she saw it coiling up.
"That can't be good" was all she had time to think, before it launched like a spring from nearly ten meters away, flying through the air towards her.
Rather than blasting it away, this time she tried to accelerate it. Using her staff to pull it in even faster, she raised her right arm, she caught the fangs of the snake on her cloth wrapped forearm.
There wasn't any immediate pain, letting her know it hadn't managed to bite through every layer of the cloth, but there was an acrid smell as faint sickly green stains started spreading out from the snake's mouth. Everywhere it touched, wisps of smoke began curling up and Kya could see the viper bite down harder, trying to pierce into her arm.
This was all in the span of about three seconds. With a surprisingly calm hand, Kya dropped her staff to her side, retrieved her dagger from her pouch, and proceeded to decapitate the viper in one fell stroke.
But the venom still came. Her cloth wrap began to dissolve in front of her eyes like chocolate in summer. The snake's head shrank considerably, fangs still embedded, to about a quarter of the size, before a new body and tail shot out the back like this was an anime and the snake was oddly themed after woodwind instruments.
At only about four feet long and the thickness of her arm, the snake was much lighter and more maneuverable than before. This was evidenced when it whipped its tail up and smacked Kya in the face with a loud cracking sound, she wasn't fond of.
Finally letting go and dropping fully to the ground, Kya staggered back, and fell as the snake crawled up her leg. She saw two more tiny puncture wounds in her arm where the snake had eroded away the cloth, and her head immediately began swimming.
The snake perched on her knees, staring right into her eyes. For a moment, they simply stared. The vipers tongue flicked out, tasting the air, before it unhinged its jaw and opened wider than should be possible.
It darted its head forward, just as Kya brought her dagger up to pierce through its neck, and through its brain, left to poke out of its head like a unicorn.
Ignoring the notification, Kya quickly tried to take a potion... but smelled only putrid rot when she uncorked it.
She wasn't able to take another potion yet, fuck.
Her head felt like it was wrapped in wool, had it always been this heavy? She began lolling her head from side to side, giggling at how silly it was. She felt like a bobble head.
Why was she on the ground, she wasn't a leaf.
Smacking her lips loudly for... Kya wasn't sure for how long, but she finally decided that she was thirsty.
She was so lucky, that the bartender had already given her another shot!
Downing the crimson concoction in one dramatic swig, she...
... She...
Felt something in her right arm. As she focused on it, she felt... a burning pain. Frantically peeling back the layers of cloth, she gasped in shock and horror. Her arm looked like a Halloween prop. From her wrist to her elbow, her veins were bright green, and the flesh surrounding them a dark gray. It looked like her arm had decayed, like it had died while the rest of her still lived.
As she watched, the gray flesh gradually gained more and more color, and the green slowly retreated from her veins. She took two more potions the moment she was able, and after about forty-five minutes from the death of the viper, her arm no longer pained her.
Sitting back, she pulled out the unexpected addition to her inventory the snake had left.
- - - - -
- Item: Fang of the Ancient Viper
- Rarity: 1-Star - Uncommon
- Description: A dagger made from the fangs of an Ancient Viper. It retains the venomous touch from when it was alive, delivering potent venom when its victims are cut.
- Enchantments: Acidic Touch
- Requirements: Must have slain an Ancient Viper
- - - - -
It was a simple instrument, a black leather-wrapped wooden hilt, small cross guard, and long white blade about eight or nine inches, tinged green along the edge. It even came with its own small sheath, simple unadorned maroon wood. Basically, it was a direct upgrade to her rat fang dagger.
She would, of course, keep her former dagger on standby in her spatial bag, but there was no way she'd let this thing go unused.
Returning the dagger to its sheath, Kya stayed where she was, sitting against the tree.
That had been not only an unexpected fight, but it had also been an unexpectedly close fight.
Kya was tired. Tired from lack of sleep. Tired of monsters. Tired of venom. Tired of ending each fight victorious, yes, but also exhausted and laying on her ass downing health potions just to stay alive.
She wondered for the thousandth time at the carrot on the end of this stick, the selection of a class waiting for her after this forest.
It had to make things easier or make her stronger. There was no way an average person was meant to do this. Without her magic staff and bag, she would have died ten times over by this point. Being able to select a class had to do something to give her an edge, an advantage, anything.
Sighing, she got to her feet. New scars on her arm and hand, and the damaged cloth wrapping replaced and snuggly reaffixed. Kya only had two more monsters to kill before finishing the quest. She still had right around 12 hours left to find the two creatures and felt confident in her task.
- - - - -
Quest: Climbing the Ladder
- Objective: Kill 10 monsters above common rarity
- Progress: 8/10
- Time Remaining: 11hrs:55min:21sec
- Reward: Gloves of the Spatial Mage - 1-Star - Uncommon
- - - - -
However, less than an hour later when her timer hit exactly eleven hours remaining, she walked into a forest clearing. This was a marked difference from the rest of the forest, as the area was strewn with large stone outcroppings and craggy ground.
It reminded Kya of a sudden canyon in the middle of the lush rosy forest. There were crevices and ditches and spires of stone stretching into the sky, hardly a worn down, choked out bush to be found. It was more or less flat with a few exceptions here and there, but several of the chasms went down five or six meters, creating almost a forest of stone below. The passages were generously wide and tall, it was genuinely off-putting.
But she was too tired to care too much.
Continuing into the bizarre area, Kya just maintained her pace and her direction. She truly wasn't concerned with the apparent shift in ecosystem, as she had seen the forest return about a mile ahead, truly making this just some odd, isolated crater of stone.
Looking up from her plodding feet, the only thing keeping her going at this point being her magically comfortable boots, she gazed first upwards at the twin suns. Shielding her eyes with her fingers, she could swear they seemed... bigger here. larger in the sky, their light and heat felt more intense than they should. She had been assuming this was some natural clearing of stones, but it was like the suns had been focused through a magnifying glass to scorch this specific spot.
She had already been tired and drained from the nightmare of a night, and the fight with the viper hadn't exactly been rejuvenating. She now realized how much she had been taking the forest itself for granted. The simple pleasure of having shade turn the suns into dappled spots of warmth instead of oppressive heat lamps was more poignant in Kya's mind than ever.
Stopping for a second under an enormous rocky pillar, she rested in the shade. There was a small crack in the stone beside her that, looking in, seemed to open into a wider cavern below. Something to explore later if ever she had the desire to return. But not for today, she decided easily.
Wiping the beads of sweat from her face, she pulled out and downed a health potion. It didn't do much or help much for her exhaustion and sore achy muscles, but at least it hydrated and refreshed slightly.
Kya was about to trek on, when every single instinct in her mind screamed all at once to freeze... and to not make a sound.
Her breath caught in her throat, she was trying so hard to stand still, her left hand began shaking violently. What the hell was going on? Was she paralyzed? Was it a bad potion or something? Not even able to move her head, she scanned the area with her eyes alone, and found a pair of glowing golden eyes, surrounded by pitch black sclera.
Padding slowly and silently towards Kya was a tiger with fur like freshly fallen snow, a light dusting of orange and vividly crimson stripes. Its underside, what should normally be the white fur of its belly, was instead the same radiant yellow of its eyes.
The eyes that were undoubtedly and unblinkingly staring down Kya. She had to move, she had to run, she had to do something. This was not a creature she could fight, of that, she was sure. To start, it was the size of a minivan, with claws like her daggers, and fangs like an extinct saber tooth jutting from either side of its mouth.
A quick mental command was all she needed to confirm her suspicions.
- - - - -
*** NEW CREATURE IDENTIFIED ***
- Reaping Tiger - 1-Star - Rare
- The reaping tiger is one of the most feared monsters you can find while still in the first star. If it so chooses, its eyes can freeze any weak-willed prey in place. With fur and flesh hardened by years of combat, the tiger is more ferocious and powerful than most any other 1-Star creature on land.
- - - - -
A Rare.
She could tell just from its aura. Its gaze. This wasn't like the isela she'd fought. That had been small, but due to the ability of feather manipulation, it had been formidable and powerful.
This beast was different. It was a wall of muscle, teeth, and claws. It was a perfect predator.
However, Kya's fear turned quickly to pure rage when reading the description. She was tired, exhausted even. Perhaps she simply wasn't thinking straight, or she was simply failing to completely contain and compartmentalize all of the feelings she'd been boxing up since arriving in this strange place to avoid a panic attack, but she knew one thing.
One thing more than anything else, one thing that she could be unequivocally sure on... She was not weak willed. Not now, not in her weakest most desperate moments, not ever.
With a yell of defiance, Kya broke free from whatever force was holding her in place, and without hesitation, dove for safety in the crevice of the stones behind her.