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ANOTHER ROAR CAME, closer this time. Something big and clearly very angry was racing toward the edge of the forest.
I quickly looked around. Unlike me, the big creatures would have a hard time fighting amongst the trees. That was if I ended up having to engage in close combat. There was a good fighting position twenty steps from the forest edge. The dozen tall thick-trunked trees stood out prominently on the backdrop of the other plant life. Obviously, this once small glade had grown out over many years and provided a starting point for the local underbrush.
I slipped between the trunks of my temporary “fortress,” and turned my head around. After quickly sizing up the circumstances and finding them adequate for repelling an attack, I pulled the bow off my back. As usual, I looked through the arrows. I picked out the longest ones and got ready to wait.
I decided to hold off on the blots and fury scrolls for the time being. I wanted to try and do it all on my own. Those were a valuable resource and needed to be saved.
As an aside, thanks to the new transformation Clod and his daddy had so generously provided me, I was now landing crits more often. It was called “Swamp Boar’s Heart.” It must have been a fairly rare type of mutant blood. I’d wager Clod’s dad had to pay a pretty penny for it. It improved two characteristics I had never heard of before ― Vigor and Ruthlessness. Every crystal that dropped gave one point. In the end that left me with six.
Considering the transformations, I snorted and glanced at my characteristics.
― Level: 0
― Mind: 16
― Strength: 43
― Agility: 22
― Endurance: 10
― Health: 10
― Intellect: 100
― Wisdom: 130
― Will: 60
― Regeneration: 10
― Life supply: 2510/2510
― Energy supply: 3610/3610
― Mana supply: 4/11690
― Resistance to physical damage +30
― Resistance to magical damage +30
― Resistance to Mind magic +30
― Transformations:
― Croc’s Armor: 1.5
― Black Lynx’s Eye: 5
― Blazefox’s Senses: 2.5
― Hawk’s Eye: 1.5
― Earth Rat’s Nose: 12.5
― Swamp Boar’s Heart: 6
― Sea Otter’s Lungs: 3
― Sand Jaguar’s Joints: 3
I got the most crystals for Earth Rat’s Nose. By and large, I’d gotten them for defeating the Prince’s retinue men. But I was able to harvest a more varied crop from the Chief of Lakeside’s troops.
Beyond my heart, the changes had also affected my joints, which made me more flexible. My lungs had also been made slightly larger. The description said that now I could spend more time under water.
Hm... At this pace I won’t have a single unchanged organ left in my body soon. But as long as it stays within rational bounds, I’m all for it.
A cracking sound from the forest made me raise my bow. An instant later, an ugly and odd-looking creature had hopped out onto the forest’s edge. A mixture of spider, toad and Bug knows what else.
It lifted its elongated head up and hoarsely drew in air. It determined my location practically at once. A second later, the monster, tearing up turf and soil, dashed toward me.
When the beast was approximately just twenty steps away, I started to loose arrows. Thanks to my newly improved sense of smell, I had an easier time keeping track of the direction of the wind. My Strength helped me draw the bowstring effortlessly. And I had bought the tautest bow Lakeside had to offer. Even among the weapons I’d taken from the retinue soldiers, none were quite this powerful.
The master craftsman that sold me this bow gave a snide smirk at first. But he didn’t talk me out of buying it. In his words, if a kid gets a crazy idea in his head, there’s no use trying to convince him not to see it through. He figured I’d saved up for a real weapon and now wanted to show it off to my peers. That’s what he told me anyway. But he and his two apprentices gasped, flummoxed, when they saw how easily I pulled back the bowstring.
Not a single arrow missed. All three hit their target. If only I was that accurate in that battle on the beach. I’d wager I could have gotten three times more rewards.
— You have attacked Anomaly Guardian!
— Critical hit. You have dealt 12 damage!
— You have attacked Anomaly Guardian!
— Critical hit. You have dealt 10 damage!
— You have attacked Anomaly Guardian!
— Critical hit. You have dealt 9 damage!
You call that a crit?! It was as if I’d given it a slightly vigorous neck massage!
Another three arrows. Same result. Seemingly, this world’s weaponry is no use in the anomaly. I see no reason to waste a fury scroll.
I guess I’ll have to use a blot.
I threw the muddy sphere right at the running creature’s feet. And a moment later, dumbfounded, I watched it calmly stomp over my trap without so much as a twitch. It was like it was mocking me. Honestly, I did notice something just as the monster’s foot touched the blot. Its whole body vibrated but it was barely noticeable. It looked like the ripples caused by a slight breeze over a body of water.
So then, I was up against a magical creature. Alright, I have a few surprises up my sleeve.
The first Mite went flying just as the monster reached the closest tree of my “fortress.” And after it a second and a third. Unlike the blots, they yielded an immediate result.
In the next brief moment, several things happened at lightning speed. I jumped backward at practically the last second and, picking up all kinds of twigs and leaf litter on my clothes, rolled over the ground. The beast, gurgling in self-satisfaction, slammed full speed into the trunk of a tree and gave an unexpectedly loud yelp.
At first, I didn’t understand the reason for the noise but, when I saw a piece of a thick branch poking out of the monster’s chest, it hit me. The magic shield it was accustomed to relying on had vanished and its body was suddenly vulnerable. So the weapons weren’t the issue.
Quickly jumping up off the ground, I raised the bow and aimed. I was just ten or so steps from the writhing brute. Then, not paying me any attention, it shook its massive head several times, trying to grab the bough poking out of its chest with its teeth. And that left its neck halfway exposed. This might be the best chance I get.
The bowstring gave a dry thud, and the arrow made an angry puffing sound, sticking right under the monster’s broad lower jaw.
That time, I used a fury scroll. And I didn’t have to wait around for the aftermath.
— You have attacked Anomaly Guardian!
— Critical hit. You have dealt 254 damage!
Hurriedly notching another arrow, I aimed again and froze. The previous blow had been so powerful that there was now just a huge bloody hole where its lower jaw and neck had been a second before.
Breathing heavily, I watched the anomaly guardian convulse in pre-death agony. Honestly, I took a few steps back first. Even while dying, the monster was a force to be reckoned with. Its clawed paws had left deep channels in the tree trunk. It also stunk unbearably. I winced, looked closer and, shuddering, took another few steps back. Wherever the monster’s black blood landed, the ground started to sizzle and smoke. It looked a lot like some kind of acid.
Then the ugly brute finally fell silent, and a curious text appeared before my eyes that made my heart beat twice as fast.
— You have defeated Black Forest Anomaly Guardian.
— Your reward:
— Anomaly Crystal “Emerald Forest Ranger Aura.”
— Anomaly Rune “Concentration.”
— Anomaly Elixir “Focus” (5).
Breathing agitatedly, I strained to look away. I have to calm down and assess the situation. Who ever said this was the only guardian? There would probably be more. Now is not the time to let my guard down.
For the next quarter hour, I hid in the shadows of the trees that had been my saving grace, keeping tabs on my surroundings. No one around. Silent as a crypt. Seemingly, the attacks had been temporarily called off. Glancing quickly at the defeated monster, I snorted. Now I could see why the locals didn’t come here. A massive brute like that couldn’t be defeated without magic traps.
I decided to use the temporary lull to take a closer look at my new acquisitions. I started with the aura. It was a small, elongated crystal of a muddy gray color. Despite its size, it was quite heavy. Beyond that, if I looked closely, it sometimes seemed like something was moving inside the crystal. It looked most of all like the disordered shifting of wisps of grayish blue smoke.
After staring at the uncanny phenomenon for a while, I moved on to the item’s description.
Anomaly Crystal “Emerald Forest Ranger Aura.”
― Type: Confinement crystal (life).
― Rarity: Epic.
― Effect:
― Contains the Aura of an Emerald Forest Ranger.
― Emerald Forest Ranger Aura.
― Description:
― A fragment of the soul of a legendary warrior that once served the Prince of the Emerald Forest. Rangers are elite troops that carry out special combat missions including scouting and sabotage behind an enemy’s backlines.
― Type: Auras.
― Rarity: Epic.
― Effect:
― After consumption, confers 1 random skill from the Ranger of the Emerald Forest’s arsenal.
― Requirements:
― Expends 500 mana points.
― Crystal disappears after activation.
― Weight: None. Takes no space.
I reread the description a few times then took a closer look at the creature’s body. So what if...
Consumed by curiosity and sudden realization, I slowly walked up to the vanquished guardian. From five steps away, I started looking him over. An ugly head, long feet, an elongated body. Unbelievable! When I got a look from up close, there were certain human-like features in the monster’s face. Could that really be right?! How did it ever occur to me to compare this thing to a spider or toad?
I turned to look at the crystal. I don’t know exactly what is going on here, but it seems like this guardian was once himself that very ranger.
“Let’s see what you have to share,” I muttered and took out a satiation potion just in case.
― Would you like to consume Emerald Forest Ranger Aura?
“Yes.”
― Attention! Performing this action requires 500 points of your life!
― Activate?
― Yes/No.
“Yes,” I answered again and got ready to drink the potion.
At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds a string of notifications ran before my cloudy vision, reporting the success of my aura consumption, the removal of five hundred points from my life supply and the activation of a new ability.
Surprisingly, I handled the loss of Life relatively well, with the exception of a brief clouding of my vision and strong dizzy feeling. I wanted to drink a potion regardless but, after checking my supply, I put the bulb back in my backpack. My regeneration was doing just fine on its own.
— Attention! You have received the skill “Arrow of Wrath!”
— Arrow of Wrath.
— Level: 0. (0/20)
— Type: Active physical skill.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Description:
— Using pure energy, rangers of the Emerald Forest can deal significant damage to opponents by shooting just one arrow.
— Effect:
— Arrow shot:
― Upon successful hit, critical damage chance +20%
— Upon successful hit, ignores 70% of target’s physical defense.
— Expends 200 energy points.
I scratched the back of my head. Uh... A great ability, but not with my bow and arrows. I’d rather have something like that for my Spike or Dragonfly. I was left hoping I’d be able to find a suitable bow and ammunition for it in the future. It was also a shame the skill wasn’t compatible with Ava’s Bracelet. That thing was all tied up in magical abilities and spells.
The next item from my recent drop was a rune. A flat stone triangle the size of a coin with an angular symbol on the back.
— Anomaly Rune “Concentration.”
― Type: Anomaly Artifacts.
― Rarity: Epic.
― Special effect:
― After being merged with an item, improves one of its characteristics of your choice by 20%.
― Note:
― Weight: None. Takes no space.
Unable to believe my luck, with a shivering hand I took Gunnar’s Amulet out of the ephemeral sash and gave the system my permission to activate the rune. To my great delight, there were no issues.
― Attention! Amulet of Gunnar the Destroyer’s Will characteristic has been improved by 20%!
― Present value 60.
Now I have a grand total of seventy points of Will. After my time in Master Chi’s mental vice grip, I promised myself that I would do everything in my power never to get into a situation like that again. Considering how the chancery’s investigators tried to pressure me as well as the King himself and his court mage, Mind magic must have been the main weapon of any war.
Beyond that I needed to keep in mind that, in this world, Will was the only thing that got me through those several synchronizations. I reread the amulet’s description one more time then snorted in satisfaction and put the artifact back in the sash.
And my final new acquisition was five elixirs.
— Anomaly Elixir “Focus”
― Type: Attention enhancer.
― Rarity: Rare.
― Effect:
― Accuracy +15.
― Observation +15.
― Duration: 40 minutes.
― Weight: None. Takes no space.
I tossed the flask of elixir around in my hands a few times and smiled. Improving accuracy and observation for forty minutes was a great bonus. Especially for me.
“Alright then, spent long enough staring at your spoils?”
A grumpy old man’s voice behind me made me sharply turn around and pull out my bow. But there was no one there.
“You better... Be careful...”
The same voice and again from behind me. I turned around sharply again. And that time, out of the corner of my eye, I managed to glimpse a fleeting movement among the trees. For the record, the stranger was speaking the language of the Lake Country, just slightly twisting the ends of a few of the words.
“Who are you?” I asked menacingly, staring stubbornly into the darkness. “Come out where I can see you!”
“Uh, no!” the voice chuckled, this time from the left. “If I come out, you’ll stick me with an arrow!”
“Indeed,” I admitted readily.
“Well, well!” the voice rang out from behind. “Honest!”
The stranger had just finished saying his last word when I turned around again. I must admit that I was going as quickly as I could. But it was plenty. That time, I managed to spot the skittish stranger’s outline.
“You’re a quick one!” the voice croaked. “You’re running an old man ragged!”
“Should we call it off then?” I asked and lowered the bow a bit. “Can we talk in peace?”
Based on how fast the “old man” was moving, he could have attacked me several times already. But he hadn’t. To be honest, that didn’t mean anything yet. Who could say? Maybe he’s like a cat and wants to have fun with his prey a bit before eating it.
“Alright, here goes!” the voice came from the left. “I’m coming out! But I’m gonna need you to... to put that arrow down just to be safe.”
I nodded at the invisible man and lowered my bow but left the arrow notched.
“That’ll do!” the voice said, then I noticed motion off to the right. He’s quick.
Then, making no sudden movements, a short scrawny figure stepped out from behind the trees.
“Dearie, I need to be sure your nerves won’t get the better of you...”
“I’m calm.”
One more step and, out of the shadows of the trees, a short shaggy-haired man stepped into the light. Or more accurately, that was what I thought at first. After a couple of blinks, I realized it wasn’t even a person. Either that or it was once a person but was now fully covered in... grass. And beyond that ― pine needles, bark, moss and twigs.
The Great System, to my surprise, gave no explanation of the strange creature. No name or level... Nothing... Which spoke to the extraordinary nature of the situation.
“As far as my eyes can see, my illusion isn’t working on you. Is that right?” asked the being and slowly stroked its long moss beard. There was a smirk stamped on his inhuman eyes.
“If you want me to see you as a log covered in moss ― it’s working.”
The creature suddenly gave a good-natured belly-laugh, showering the ground with blades of grass and pine needles.
Once finished, the stranger dried his eyes on his beard and wiped his nose like a person with something like a kerchief, then said:
“You’ll have to forgive me, dearie, I’ve gone a bit feral out here all on my lonesome.”
“It shows,” I muttered.
The stranger pretended not to hear, but I saw happiness in his eyes. And a sense of humor. That’s good.
“Let’s introduce ourselves properly,” he suggested and got started. “I am the keeper of the Emerald Forest. I keep tabs on the goings on out here. People also call me the Woodwose.”
“And I am Eric,” I introduced myself. “A humble traveler. Looks like your domain has gotten a bit out of hand, huh?”
I said, nodding at the anomaly guardian’s corpse.
The Woodwose breathed a sad sigh and answered, nodding at the slain monster:
“The sad part is that he used to be such a nice boy... before this whole mess.”
He muttered something else in an unfamiliar language. I immediately perked up my ears, but I was in for a let-down.
― Attention! Your Mind score is not high enough to activate the “Language of the Primordials!”
