Chapter Six Hundred And Fifty Nine – 659
Hallow Rise is level 73!
Keratin Conception is level 74!
Beef groaned and sat back on a twisted tree trunk. Bedlam sat there, largely unused over the past several hours. It radiated a frosty mist, its head of ice entirely too cold for the rising temperatures in the swamp, and having it close was vaguely similar to standing in front of the A/C vent back home.
Hot down here, huh? Evie said, wiping her brow. Dunno how you handle it, with all that fur.
Its hard. Minotaurs dont sweat much. Beef reached down and picked up Bedlam with a strained grunt. It was heavy as hell, and the tree beneath him creaked dangerously, but he got the icy hammer head into his hands and pressed it against his bare chest. Frost crackled across his torso but each second had it fading back into water. Not wearing my armor helps.
Oh good idea, she said, before summoning gauntlets of ice around her hands. Spiked monstrosities, they steamed into the warm air just as much as Bedlam. Ah thats better. Where is your armor, by the way?
Beef jerked his chin into the distance. A little ways away, Hallow was perched atop a mossy stump, surrounded by a writhing pool of Jawless Terrors. Their chaos shifted to order though, as the blackened-green eyes of her Homunculus flashed. The eel-like fish began to make laps, orbiting her stump in ever-widening circles.
Uh, whats she doing?
Hunting. Beef set Bedlam back onto the path with a dull thud and brushed the melting remnants of ice off his chest. We need to practice our Hallow Rise Skill more, so shes gonna find some new Bodies and eliminate any pests at the same time.
Clever. Nice that you can train multiple Skills at once. Evie put her icy gauntlets against her lower back and stretched, eliciting a sharp popping noise from her spine. Unf, that feels better. Dunno why all this building is so hard. Its not like were fightin monsters.
Felix says its harder to create than to destroy.
I guess hed know.
Beef tapped his fingers against the roots, working through his thoughts. Did you have trouble making your core space?
My core space? Yeah, at first.
Did Vess help you through it?
No, Harn did. Well, Mags laid the foundations back when I was a kid. Why?
Been thinking about what Felix said. About getting stronger. My core space is like, really cool now thanks to Vess and that Primordial Felix atebut my Skills are still lagging behind. Im close to Adept, but it just doesnt feelI dont feel like Im getting better, you know?
Evie sighed. Youre too close.
Beef looked down and shifted his hooves away from her.
No, you dummy Evie stifled a laugh. For a long time my sister trained me from dawn til dusk, every day. I wassix? Seven? Somethin like that. Too young, far as I was concerned, and I hated every single second of it. Felt like Id never get better, not like her. She was stronger and faster and tougher than me, and always would be.
Without warning, Evie moved. Her hand snapped out, the chain unfurling from her waist to lash into the distance so fast that Beef only heard the sound after it was all over. A vine that had been dangling from a nearby tree dropped into the water, cut into pieces by the blades on her chainonly to seep a dark ichor into the water.
A giant snake? Beef hadnt even noticed it.
Im better now than Magda was, before the end. Stronger and faster and tougher too. Thats due to more than a few lucky breaks, but mostly it was showin up. Puttin in the work. She jerked her wrist, and the chain pulled back, collapsing into her hands until it was a short length of metal links. Truth is, I was gettin stronger all that time, even when Mags was runnin me ragged. I just didnt have the eyes to see it right. I was too close. To her, to her powerful friends, to ranked Guilders. Same as you, Beef.
Im too closeto all of you, Beef repeated, and understanding dawned. When Isla found me in the desert, she got me believing all sorts of stuff. Unbound are special. We learn fast and grow faster. It made me feelstrong. Since I met Felix though, I started comparing myself to him. He was the only other Unbound I knew, and everything he did blew me outta the water.
The only worthwhile measurement is who you were and who youve become. Anythin else is useless.
It was like a weight shifted from Beefs chest, and he didnt mean his hammer. It wasnt an immense change, but it was noticeable. MaybeMaybe I'm not doing this wrong, after all.
A foot-high wave splashed across their resting spot, heralding Archie as he slid up alongside the unfinished path. Hey! Whats the hold up? Im running outta places to practice.
Just resting and letting my Mana build back up. Were low on Mana Potions, and my Resonance isnt as high as Id like it, Beef explained. Bouncing from foot to foot, Archie was clearly eager to continue. Yougood?
Im fine. Better than that, really. The small guy laughed, and Beef thought it sounded nicer than usual. FelI figured out a new way to use my Skill. It feels great.
Beef stretched again, working a kink out of his thick shoulder. Awesome. Glad youre getting into the training.
Well. I can see the value. Archie stepped onto the chitin and stone path Beef had made. He tapped his bare foot against it, and it was steady. Youre getting better at this too.
Kinda. This swamp is nasty though. Its sosoggy.
Freezes well enough, Evie said. You ready to keep goin?
Sure.
Hey Evie, Archie said. The warrior didnt so much as look at him, but hopped straight up into the lowest branches of a nearby tree.
And again.
On the third hit, his improvised weapon shattered into a thousand pieces, each shard of chitin blasting outward in a ring around him. Damn it.
Vines snagged his legs, and the Crawler rolled.
Beef went under, trapped atop the split carapace of the monster by its tangled tendrils. The Crawler spun over and over, submerging Beef only to whip him out of the water at incredible speed.
Keratin Conception!
Two hammers formed in his hands, both of them smaller than Bedlam, but each with a deadly spike on the back. He flipped them around and drove them into the crack hed already made. The Crawler shuddered, its tendrils suddenly loosening as if to throw Beef free, but it was too late. Beef wrenched on his hammers with all his Strength, shattering roots and rock until he found flesh. Ichor poured out, the things protective shell now split, and the creature stopped spinning entirely.
It bucked, trying again to throw him off. Beef remolded one hammer into a crude hexagonal spike and using the other hammer, smashed it hard into the Crawler.
The chitin spike speared into its vitals, and the Crawler went nuts. Beef hit it again, and this time he flattened the tip of the spike, until it formed into a wide chisel.Dripping wet, he struck. Something gave way, and dark yellow-green ichor spat back up at him with the force of a geyser.
You Have Killed A Lurkwood Crawler!
XP Earned!
Thrown forty feet, Beef landed back in the water with a cataclysmic splash.
Status Condition: Dazed (Minor)!
Duration: 3 Seconds
Beef wallowed, just beneath the surface, as his thoughts fought for attention. He was fighting? He had to move, he had to summonsomething.
Status Condition Ended!
Clarity assaulted Beef hard. His Perception jabbed outward, hunting for threats, only to find another Lurkwood Crawler mere feet away. Its jaws were opened wide, ready to chomp, and Beef kicked his legs frantically. Its teeth missed, and the shockwave of its snapping jaws sent him tumbling before he fetched up against a bone-white statue.
The Dragon statues Beef swam frantically, his hooves doing him few favors, but managed to get the coiled statue between him and the approaching Crawler. The beast didnt seem to care though. It charged him, mouth wide, heedless of anything that stood in its way.
Keratin!
Before he could mobilize his Mana, a legion of lamprey monstrosities descended on the beast. Eel-like bodies covered in poisonous spines leaped suicidally into the Crawlers open maw, tangling among its teeth and tongue before their round, suction cup mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth latched onto the soft tissues.
The Terrors wont do much to them! We need the first corpse!
The Crawler chomped down, killing six of the Jawless Terrors at once. Where is it?
It sank! I cant find it!
Wait! Beef spotted an unmoving shape in the water. I see it!
He kicked off the Dragon statue, and it was rock solid. Beef surged through the water, and just for good measure he activated Relentless Charge. The space between him and the sinking corpse vanished, though the thick swamp water tried to tear him to pieces. The wounds in his chest reopened and cloudy blood got in his eyes. He waved it away, feeling slightly dizzy from the blood loss, constant motion, and lack of air. He needed to grab the corpse. Hallow Rise didnt require him to touch the Bodies to claim them, but the connection helped when they were especially strong targets.
There! Hed overshot the corpse, but it was close. Beef kicked downward until he could grab a handful of thick, furry flesh. Hallow Rise!
A vibrant, blackened-green radiance poured from his hand and into the Lurkwood Crawlers corpse. It swelled, filling with liquid light like a water balloon as a strange sort of life was returned to its thick limbs.
Hallow Rise is level 74!
Its working! he said to his Companion. Take over! I need to
From out of nowhere, another Crawler smashed into him, catching him against its huge snout as a hazy red light limned its massive form. Beef screamed, a flurry of bubbles around his head as they both hurtled through the swamp. He pushed against it, trying to angle himself just enough to escape its dire momentum, but this Crawler seemed stronger than the others. A frenzied strength suffused its flesh, and a mad red glow filled its eyes.
Tendrils shot out from its mossy back, tangling Beefs arms and grabbing his horns as it dove down. Further than ever before, until the waters turned truly icy. Beef summoned constructs of chitin, but they were flung away by the Crawlers immense speed as they descended into the depths of the swamp.
Get off me! Beef ripped his left arm free. Circle of Smash!
It twisted, catching Beefs arm with its mouth as the Skill poured out of him. Earth Mana flashed, impacting its scaled snout and shattering several of its teeth, but it didnt stop.
The Crawler snapped its jaws onto his left thigh, and Beef howled as something snapped. Bubbles boiled around them, air pressed from his lungs and icy water took its place.
KeraKerSeismic
Beef spiraled, twisted by the Crawler as the depths claimed them both.
