Triopals
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Chapter 23
🕑 Added 2024-11-02 16:40:38 +0000 UTCNathan remained on the outskirts of Storm Peaks, the darkness making it impossible to return to his campsite. He positioned himself at the edge where barren trees gradually gave way to lush vegetation. His encounter with the Lunar Shadow the previous night had left him deeply shaken, and that was before encountering the other monsters that lurked in the darkness.
He stayed awake through the night, constantly monitoring PsiLink for information. Several discussion threads in the Verdant Spire Sect focused on inner disciples seeking guidance for their Tier 2 breakthrough, Xander among them. The spear-wielding disciple had thoroughly exploited his privileges to consult with all the elders. Other disciples reported seeing Xander prowling around the mountains, even near the Sect Leader's palace. Only one post mentioned Zahra, who seemed to maintain a low profile. As for Keira, the inner sect factions had devolved into verbal warfare, each trying to disparage the others in hopes of swaying her opinion. Yet she remained uncommitted to any side.
Though exhaustion weighed heavily on Nathan, an internal drive kept him alert and focused. His goals were clear, and he was determined to achieve them.
At the first light of dawn, Nathan departed from Storm Peaks. Along the way, he harvested several Thunder Sage plants, their leaf veins glowing with electric blue lines for later use.
Following his previous route back, he found the wolf carcasses had been picked clean by other creatures, leaving only bones. Ignoring the remains, he began scouting the area. According to PsiLink's guidance, his target should be nearby.
Moving swiftly between locations while avoiding aggressive monsters to prevent unnecessary time waste, he finally discovered a promising lead. The air grew thick with a stench. A putrid odor so intense it threatened to overwhelm any living creature's senses.
Nathan quickly tore two Thunder Sage leaves, rolled them into balls, and stuffed them in his nostrils. A crisp, clean scent replaced the foul stench. The residual electricity in the leaves shot straight to his brain, causing an invigorating shiver. Such a small electrical charge barely registered for him anymore.
He continued forward, occasionally removing the Thunder Sage leaves to gauge the intensity of the stench before quickly replacing them. When the smell became nearly unbearable, he spotted rainbow-like auroras ahead, behind a massive tree root.
Crouching low and moving carefully forward, he peered over a rock face. Before him were the Armor Scarabs. The monsters, each over a meter and a half in length, worked together rolling dung. Their wings, which reflected light and possessed remarkable hardness, gave the creatures their name. They gathered here because this sunken, slimy ground served as the waste disposal site for Burrower Herds. Mixed within were minerals refined through digestion, becoming significantly purer. The Armor Scarabs used these nutrients to reinforce their wing casings.
Nathan squinted, the polluted air stinging his eyes. But he needed to harvest these wing casings for Storm Peaks. Looking down at the muck below, his determination wavered. He was already filthy enough - diving into that sludge would be the death of him.
Patiently waiting, he allowed the Armor Scarabs to complete their task. When they began pushing their prizes away from the revolting depression, Nathan made his move.
He circled to the right, targeting a medium-sized specimen whose wings were long enough to cover him from head to toe. Before engaging, he stuffed more Thunder Sage leaves into his nose. The intense aroma nearly made him choke but remained within tolerable limits. With sword and dagger in hand, he charged toward the creature.
The targeted Armor Scarab's antennae twitched upward, its head turning toward the approaching threat. Its sharp horn lowered, ready to meet the uninvited guest.
Nathan threw himself into a slide across the ground, swinging his sword at the creature's underside beneath its wings. A loud clang announced his failure. The beast's underbelly possessed a crystal distribution mechanism for protection, not just its wings were fortified. The Armor Scarab reared up with an angry cry. Its sound startled Nathan, not for its horror, but because it resembled the laser gun effects from arcade game machines. The monster cared nothing for how amusing he found it, spinning around to transform its wings into deadly sharp blades.
Nathan leaped backward, realizing these dung-eaters weren't such easy prey after all. Trying again, he activated his passive skills' standby state, increasing his speed. The monster now focused entirely on him, its eyes and antennae tracking his movement. As before, he targeted the creature's underbelly. When one spot proved ineffective, he unflinchingly moved to another, his cuts and thrusts producing only discouraging clangs. Left with no alternative, he aimed for the Armor Scarab's leg joints. This finally showed results, the monster immediately stumbling. However, it had already redirected minerals to protect its legs, so Nathan's attack caused only minimal damage.
He created distance between himself and the creature, forcefully blowing out the leaves in his nose and replacing them with fresh ones. The monster's actions fell within his predictions. He knew its antennae, not its eyes, tracked his movements. They functioned similar to his [Martial Art Mastery] level 2, sensing spatial wavelengths to detect enemy movement. This meant they were also its weakness. But he wanted that to be his last resort, something he'd only do if absolutely necessary. He wasn't someone who would abandon his plans when opportunity presented itself.
When the monster attempted to flee, Nathan attacked, forcing it to stay. After all, it wasn't a meat-eater; there was no reason for it to continue fighting. Removing all the Thunder Sage leaves, he stuffed them in his mouth to chew, preparing for the final clash.
With an agonized roar, Nathan charged directly at the monster. The Armor Scarab recoiled in panic, its wings vibrating in rapid succession to call for help. Nathan had only a brief window to defeat it. He raised his sword and dagger to deflect the monster's wing attacks. When it became dizzy and landed, he stood before its ugly face. The monster screamed, no longer in anger but in terror. In its fear, its stomach expelled all stored gases. Needless to say, the stench was overwhelming.
Nathan endured the assault on his senses. Though he couldn't smell it, he had to close his eyes, not daring to let the gas reach them. One hand covered his nose and mouth while the other thrust forward. The monster immediately channeled its crystal layer to the front, which meant it had to close its mouth. The wind blowing past him suddenly stopped, and he leaped up, swinging his dagger to sever the creature's antennae.
The Armor Scarab, having lost its life-preserving sensory organs, moved erratically, its wings extending and retracting unstably. It flew up then down, ramming its head into a tree trunk in self-inflicted injury. Nathan seized the moment to slash at its underbelly. The monster, no longer capable of quick reactions, sustained serious wounds. After a few more struggles, it collapsed in a pool of its pale yellow blood.
Nathan wasted no time, approaching to break off its wings. Holding the two bulky wings in his hands, he smiled. The path to Storm Peaks drew ever closer.
At this moment, the Armor Scarab's companions arrived. They worked together to form what appeared to be an enormous sphere.
"That is one big sphere of shit," Nathan yelled.
He immediately fled, tucking the wings under his arms. The Armor Scarabs cried out in anguish, then hurled the brown sphere, glittering with crystals, toward Nathan.
He channeled all his strength into his legs, utilizing every skill and ounce of power he possessed, shooting straight up into the air, arms and legs flailing. The bomb hit the ground with a loud thump, spreading throughout the forest behind him, splattering everywhere and earning hateful glares from other creatures toward Nathan. As for him, he placed the Armor Scarab's wings beneath his feet, using them as a makeshift snowboard, landing and sliding down the slope while whooping in exhilaration.
At the bottom of the hill, he clutched the wings and ran as fast as he could. Once he'd put enough distance between himself and the beetles, the stench clinging to his body began seeping into his nose. The Thunder Sage had lost its effect, and the pungent odor forced him to move quickly, letting the wind diminish its intensity.
By midday, Nathan returned to his campsite, where the Blood Thirster's blood had apparently served its purpose—his drying hides remained untouched. He followed the stream further downstream to bathe and catch some fish. The Ripple Hunters seemed to have developed a healthy fear of the area, sparing him any further trouble. The main problem was the persistent Armor Scarab stench; he needed to find more strongly scented plants to neutralize it, and he made a mental note to never approach those creatures again.
Before eating, he retrieved the hides soaking in the tanning solution. After confirming their quality was satisfactory, he set them out to dry in the sun. Once they dried, he'd have his own bag, perfect for collecting flowers or leaves like Thunder Sage without crushing them. With the meal finished, it was time for the most crucial task—cultivation breakthrough.
He had already reached Phase 2.9 before arriving at Storm Peaks. The essence from the Spine Wolves and Armor Scarab had accumulated sufficiently for him to push through the wall before him. Closing his eyes to center himself, he circulated the essence throughout his body, letting it prick at his muscles and skin like countless tiny needles. And before he knew it, Nathan broke through to Tier 1 Phase 3 on his Physical Cultivation path.
His skin once again expelled impure fluids. After cleaning himself one more time, he began tinkering with his equipment. Taking one of the Armor Scarab wings, he used Blood Thirster's serrated blade edge to cut it into small, sharp pieces. He fashioned them into arm guards that could serve both defensive and offensive purposes. The remaining pieces he set aside for other projects. After all, he only needed one wing large enough to cover his frame.
He squinted and flexed his fist, uncertain of his current strength level. Selecting a tree trunk near the stream, he used only his raw power, without skills or mana. Crack. His punch shattered the outer bark, imprinting a clear fist-shaped mark into the inner wood. The tree shook violently, dropping unfortunate leaves. His eyes widened at his own strength. According to Berserker knowledge, Phase 3 shouldn't enable such feats. By his calculations, he possessed strength equivalent to Phase 6. This had to be a benefit of his bloodline.
Testing again with passive skills active, the tree emitted a loud crack before leaning to one side. Though not completely broken, it was thoroughly deformed, with wood fibers jutting out jaggedly.
Nathan examined his hand, smiling proudly at his physical prowess. If he were to return to the outer disciples' tournament now, no one would withstand his One-inch punch. However, his rivals approaching Tier 2 would possess basic Mana Shield skills. Whether his strikes could penetrate such protection remained uncertain. But most importantly, his confidence had grown. No matter how formidable the defense, with sufficient power behind his punch, nothing was impossible.
He spent half an hour practicing movements to stretch and heat up his body. To increase intensity, he found two large rocks to use as makeshift weights. After just a few sets, he was gasping for breath, still far from matching the Vermilion Apes' rock-throwing abilities. Only when he could throw rocks would he feel confident facing these ape-like monsters. Better yet would be catching the rocks, using them to deflect attacks or throw them back. For now, the thought of being stoned to death made him shudder.
After training, Nathan crafted baskets and completed his equipment preparations. Once finished, he climbed a tree to sleep, exhausted from staying awake all night and maintaining such high activity levels.
He awoke to the sounds of Ripple Hunters wrestling with a brown bear in the water. The large animal struggled to resist but had lost too much blood from the monsters' deep bites. Nathan could only bow his head in respectful condolence, understanding all too well how painful their bites could be.
Darkness was falling, and he had work to do. After dressing and equipping himself fully, he ventured into the descending night.
This marked his first attempt at such an endeavor. To be safe, he created a perimeter around his campsite, setting up kindling for long-lasting fires. If trouble arose, he would sprint back as fast as possible.
His destination was the site where the four wolves had died the previous day. When he arrived at the battlefield, an eerie silence prevailed, broken only by distant calls of creatures or monsters. The crescent moon hung high, casting down barely enough light for visibility. He dared not bring fire, fearing it would alert his target and prevent its appearance.
He chose a position between a tree trunk and surrounding rocks that created a small clearing for observation. Thanks to PsiLink, he clearly remembered where the four Spine Wolf corpses had lain. He only hoped he hadn't missed his opportunity by waiting a day.
As the moon reached its zenith, he spotted it. Without [Better Vision], he would have needed much longer to notice. Through the trunks and branches, a small light appeared in the distance. It emanated a sickly, ethereal green glow. Its aura flickered constantly. It approached very slowly but never stopped. Gradually it grew larger, and one could see it was an otherworldly flame, extraordinary even by Cultivator standards. Green fire heralded ill omens.
The floating light advanced. As it drew nearer, its outline became clearer. It sat atop a skeletal pillar. The pillar appeared to be wood at first glance, yet remained unburned by the flames.
Sound finally reached him clearly. Heavy thuds hitting the ground indicated the entity ahead was not small.
When passing clouds revealed the moonlight, its form became visible. A withered tree trunk bearing green fire at its crown appeared, as if the flame were its head. Surrounding branches moved stiffly, but their tips were sharp as spears. It moved on powerful tree roots that crawled above the ground.
The Wood Wraith stood between moonlight and shadow, terrifyingly magnificent. The fist-sized green flame trembled as if savoring something delightful.
The monster drew closer to Nathan's position. It halted a short distance away. Its head lowered, branch-tips stabbing into the ground. Mana energy and nutrients flowed into the dried trunk. The flame grew larger.
Nathan had to rub his eyes several times to believe what he saw—the flame was forming a mouth. But no eyes or nose appeared. When the mouth grew large enough, sucking sounds became clearly audible. Yet no wind stirred, no earth flew upward, no leaves were pulled along, even as the sucking grew stronger with nutrients flowing from roots and branches to feed the flame.
Then it happened. Four other green lights rose from the ground. They were mostly smoke-like, writhing in form. Occasionally, clear images appeared—the four Spine Wolves. They twisted in mid-air, as if terrified. Their mouths howled silently, jaws contorted in desperate pleas.
The sucking grew nearly deafening. The four souls, bound by invisible threads, were slowly drawn toward the Wood Wraith.
Having observed enough, Nathan stood up. His moment had arrived.
Bracing his foot against the rock behind him, he cracked his neck and launched forward with all his might. The rock, dislodged from its decades-old position, kicked up dust.
Using his shoulder as the point of impact, he rammed straight into the Wood Wraith. With his newfound strength, he felt confident in affecting the four-meter-tall corpse. Evidence of his success came as the monster staggered. Its body's movement pulled several roots and branches from the ground, disrupting its energy supply. The sucking sound diminished and the four Spine Wolf souls writhed more violently, their green smoke seemingly ready to dissipate into the air. Their faces, flickering in and out of visibility, showed joy, howling in silent celebration of victory.
The Wood Wraith twisted its upper body toward Nathan, the flame dancing furiously. Its anger required no facial expression to be felt. It shifted targets, commanding its branches to attack the new enemy.
Nathan used the Armor Scarab wing as a shield, deflecting the monster's razor-sharp strikes. Simultaneously, he wielded his sword in his right hand to parry the branches that moved with surprising dexterity. Sparks flew from both shield and sword, validating his expectations. The Wood Wraith's bark ranked among the hardest of all monsters in Moirath Forest, necessarily so to serve as a vessel for the spirit fire.
The Spine Wolf souls began dissipating faster, causing visible tension in the Wood Wraith. It pulled up more roots, using them to support its branches.
Nathan moved swiftly in circles, occasionally reversing direction to close the distance, seeking an opening. The Wood Wraith's branches didn't function like tentacles, lacking flexibility—they could only attack rigidly like spears thrusting forward. Speaking of spears, he had plenty of experience dealing with those.
The monster gradually realized Nathan wasn't an easy opponent and abandoned its focus on the souls to concentrate solely on attacking him. But no matter how it tried, he kept getting closer. The flame atop its head flared. The branches, as if receiving a specific command, bent at forty-five-degree angles to dip their tips into the flame. Then they snapped outward, shooting straight at Nathan.
Triggered [Tingling Sense]. One credit given.
Seeing the system notification, Nathan immediately utilized his remaining [Quick Feet] effect, dodging to the side. The branch tips struck a thicket behind him. It caught fire, but not like normal flame spreading from leaves to roots. The leaves remained green while the trunk suddenly transformed from dark brown to pitch black like charcoal, the effect creeping upward until the leaves yellowed and fell.
Shuddering, Nathan reminded himself to be careful. According to PsiLink's warnings, the Wood Wraith's fire could drain living beings' vitality, accelerating the aging process. He relied on evidence suggesting the effect was weak against bloodlines with robust physical attributes like dragons or phoenixes. Though no source mentioned Titans, he reasoned he could endure some exposure. Afterward, he could use his [Cooking] knowledge to prepare meals that would restore vitality.
That was the theory, but he genuinely wanted to avoid this complication entirely. He maintained his agile evasion despite the Wood Wraith's increased speed, evidenced by its flame burning through more energy.
After maneuvering for some time, Nathan finally got close enough to the Wood Wraith. Using every ounce of strength and his system skills, he swung the sharp edge of the Armor Scarab wing down at one of the monster's strongest roots.
The strike didn't completely sever the root but bent it at an awkward angle. Still, it sufficed. The Wood Wraith felt no pain, but its flame pulsed erratically. It seemed to realize it had lost control of that root, making movement more difficult. It pulled back all its branches and twigs, then bristled like a porcupine.
Nathan didn't flinch at this display, blocking everything with his armguards. When the monster prepared to strike again, he continued destroying its roots. After several exchanges, the Wood Wraith lost all mobility.
When he swung himself up to the flame's position and grabbed the wooden connection between it and the trunk, all branches and twigs froze. He had seized the flame's connection point to its body—or more accurately, the corpse it had possessed.
The flame trembled violently, its tongues throwing off small fragments that fell downward. As they grazed Nathan's skin, he felt an inexplicable chill. It wasn't normal cold, but something otherworldly, as if it affected something other than his flesh. He shifted his fingers to avoid the flames, minimizing contact.
With his free hand, he dropped the shield and pulled two hemisphere-shaped pieces from his clothes. These were crafted from the Armor Scarab wing. He only needed to trap the flame before him in this sphere and pull it from the tree trunk—then the flame would gradually fade. Otherwise, it would seek another dead tree, cultivating to become another Wood Wraith. Naturally, he didn't want a monster as intelligent as a Wood Wraith surviving. He wouldn't sleep peacefully knowing it lived.
The green flame flared intensely, gathering power and aiming to shoot in one direction, hoping to escape. But its speed compared to Nathan's was far too slow, and he caught it with one half of the sphere. Releasing his grip on the neural wood section, he jumped backward, using the other half of the sphere to complete the flame's prison.
He landed on the ground, hands struggling to hold tight as the flame shot wildly inside. The space lost its green shade, leaving only the ivory white of moonlight.
As Nathan was using sap to seal the sphere, the flame inside imploded.
A tremendous suction force unlike anything before emanated from the sphere in Nathan's hands. The nearly-dissipated Spine Wolf souls were instantly pulled inside, passing through the Armor Scarab shell. Ambient Mana also became disturbed, drawn in as blue light points rushing inward. Most terrifyingly, the life force of surrounding things was also absorbed. Green smoke trails from trees, leaves, and grass were all pulled in. The vegetation visibly withered before his eyes. And Nathan, standing closest, felt something of his own slipping away. He couldn't identify it clearly, but instinct told him it wasn't good. He immediately dropped the sphere. It maintained its structure thanks to the adhesive, rolling forward.
Then, an explosion occurred inside the sphere, breaking the adhesive seal and releasing a shockwave accompanied by the agonized screams of absorbed souls. The two Armor Scarab hemispheres remained undamaged but lay far apart. The green flame, now barely rice-grain sized, drifted upward. It flickered unstably between sickly green and ethereal white, teetering on the edge of collapse. It needed a vessel immediately. Then, in fury, it shot toward Nathan, leaving behind images of monsters it had absorbed, unfortunate trees transformed into Wood Wraiths. It would seek a new shelter to await its revival.
Nathan wasn't particularly worried about this, having anticipated it. But it seemed his preparations were unnecessary.
When the flame shot toward Nathan's chest with light-speed velocity, its existence ended. It passed through his bodily barriers, charging into the central area where energy was strongest. But something more terrifying awaited there. The same thing that had blocked Darkan's spirit outside and made him cry out in pain. The black vortex consumed the flame. The green spark tried to resist but dissolved even faster. Its memories were pulled apart by the vortex itself—from being a squirrel's soul killed by monsters while eating nuts, to becoming hateful fire, maturing amidst forest energy, then possessing weak creatures. Day by day, it developed into a soul-devouring flame, gaining unprecedented power to control dead trees or animals. Finally achieving revenge as a Wood Wraith. And now here it was, its soul devoured by something incomprehensible. Its consciousness, after years of cultivation, understood enough to know what was happening and felt no more regret, choosing to let go.
Nathan looked at his chest where the flame had pierced through, exhaling deeply. Spirit flames like this would have terrified him without research, but knowledge dispelled fear. He only needed to return to Verdant Spire Sect and pay to have it removed. Surely in this world's long development history, someone must have researched this issue. What he didn't know was that the soul flame had already met its doom within his body.
Rising cheerfully, Nathan used his knife and the Armor Scarab's sharp edge to collect his spoils. Finding the right grain in the tree trunk, he could easily peel off the bark while maintaining its integrity.
When the Wood Wraith's body was reduced to a hollow, honeycomb-like shell, long dead and devoid of nutrients, Nathan packed everything up to leave.
Just then, an angry howl pierced the air. Following it came rustling sounds through the forest canopy.
Nathan immediately dropped all the Wood Wraith bark, seeking cover. It seemed the green flame's death throes had attracted unwanted guests.
A Great Spine Wolf leaped out into his view. It stood much taller than its subordinates, over two meters high with hand-sized fangs protruding sharply. The bones on its back resembled deadly spears, making ominous crackling sounds as it moved. It lowered its head to sniff, then went directly to where the Spine Wolf souls had appeared. Its eyes gradually turned red, nose wrinkling as it raised its head to howl. The sound made Nathan's heart sink as he hid.
Definitely a Tier 2 monster, he silently dreaded, calculating escape routes.
But things weren't over yet.
Beneath the moonbeams came very slight, silent movement. Only careful observation would notice it. The Great Spine Wolf seemed to smell something and threw back its head, baring its teeth forward though nothing visible faced it.
Then, as if accepting the challenge, Lunar Shadow materialized. Its stealth state dissolved, revealing an equally massive wolf form. Its two tails swayed with apparent pleasure. The lordly silver-white fur contrasted sharply with the Great Spine Wolf's crude gray coat.
Nathan couldn't suppress a surge of excitement.
He was about to witness two Tier 2 monsters battle.
Lunar Shadow versus Great Spine Wolf.
