HideousGrain
patreon
Forgotten Lands - Chapter 16 (Book 2)
🕑 Added 2024-04-08 10:00:07 +0000 UTCSince the Players of Forgotten Lands had yet to enter the first proper city, Zayn wanted to be the first. But there was more to that. He hoped Golden Age would also be the first Player Guild to establish a Guildhall in a city. Spyro seemed like the perfect target. It was close by, and Zayn had a letter to give to Levi Zenot, a higher-up in Spyro’s Merchant Guild.
Zayn’s initial plan was to use his connection with Igor Brecht to approach Levi Zenot for several businesses, but his plan changed when he needed a Guildhall.
Establishing a Guildhall was going to be expensive, but money was something Zayn had a lot of right now. Millenia had been generous with his investment into Golden Age. Furthermore, Igor Brecht’s letter and connection to Levi Zenot should provide some advantages. Zayn was not yet sure how helpful Levi Zenot would be, but he was glad to have Igor Brecht by his side. After bringing Igor Brecht out of his early retirement, Zayn and Igor grew closer. Igor was thankful for Zayn’s help. His fiery spirit ignited once again.
It was only a matter of time before Igor Brecht would break some records again. Zayn hoped that this day would come soom. He needed more support to exploit the gaming period of Forgotten Lands, after all.
Back in Forgotten Lands, Zayn met up with Igor Brecht.
“Hello, Zayn. I didn’t expect you today. How can I help you?” Igor lowered his forging hammer with a smile.
Zayn returned the smile and retrieved the letter Igor had given him long ago, “I came back to tell you that I’m on my way to Spyro. I will hand Levi Zenot the letter as promised, but I was wondering if you wanted to change something in the letter. Your situation is not the same as it used to be when you wrote the letter.”
“If you never planned to write a second letter or change anything in this letter, that’s perfectly fine. I didn’t come here to force anything upon you. If anything, the letter is a bad excuse to talk to you about Spyro and my intention to move Golden Age’s headquarters to Spyro. I plan to establish Golden Age’s Guildhall in Spyro, and I hope you can come with me once we move. I don’t want to miss out on a talent like you!”
Zayn was ready to nurture Igor Brecht in exchange for weapons and Ranked Armaments. He hoped everyone would receive the best possible armaments to deal with the incoming dangers.
Of course, the armaments procured in Forgotten Lands couldn’t be brought outside when the apocalypse struck, but that didn’t matter. It was more important to have the best possible equipment to procure as many treasures as possible in a few months.
These treasures included the Cards linked to the Heart Deck and the Foundation Orbit. Some other ‘treasures’ could be brought outside, but Zayn didn’t plan to procure most of them. He had different plans.
“You want me to come with you?” Igor Brecht nibbled his lips while his eyes locked onto Zayn.
Zayn was overflowing with confidence. His charisma shrouded Igor, and he nearly faltered. However, after a few seconds of silence, Igor’s expression distorted.
“I…don’t know if I want to return.”
Zayn nodded, “That’s fine. I won’t force you to do anything.
“...But I want to write a second letter. I think Levi deserves to know the truth…”
Zayn didn’t know the relationship between Levi Zenot and Igor Brecht. It was not too important at this point.
He nodded and waited patiently. Igor Brecht disappeared from the warehouse and didn’t return until 30 minutes later. He handed Zayn a white envelope sealed in purple wax.
“Please give this to Levi after he finishes the first letter. I…will think about your proposal, but it might be better if you don’t hope for anything…”
“See you later then,” Zayn responded calmly.
He turned around and left Igor’s workshop. Zayn didn’t turn around. He did everything he could to remain polite while convincing Igor to follow him.
‘He will come.’
**
“You fucking fat bastard!” Zayn cursed in between two breathes.
Searing hot flames shrouded Zayn, burning his hair and skin right before he managed to use Blink. He escaped death, but his skin was burned. It was painful enough to push weak-willed humans into insanity. Fortunately, Zayn was not foreign to pain. It was not the first time that he had been roasted.
However, it was the first time he sustained this much damage since traveling back in time. It was a familiar feeling, yet it was new. Fortunately, Zayn’s fortitude and willpower were strong. He dismissed the pain in his mind and utilized Blink a few more times. He weaved through the Magma Prairie swiftly on his way to a large mountain range. The mountain range was not the Emberforge Mountains but one of the few mountain ranges in the Magma Prairie.
To be precise, the mountain range in front of him was an inactive volcano. Spyro was located near the top of the inactive volcano. It was well-hidden, yet easy to find as long as you knew where to look for.
Zayn hadn’t been to Spyro in the past, but he knew what he was looking for once he reached the inactive volcano. It was simple. Unfortunately, he had to reach the volcano first to find the path to Spyro, which was a much bigger problem.
Zayn had used a high-quality monster repellant that cost him more than 100 Gold Coins. Nobody would pay that much money for a monster repellant under normal circumstances…but Zayn did that. He was not as wealthy as he used to be after Millenia’s massive investment, but he had more than enough money to splurge on the success of his missions.
The monster repellant worked perfectly fine on most monsters. There was only one monster that was attracted to the repellant instead. Zayn had been unlucky in crossing ways with the Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard on his way to Spyro. It was a Stage-1 Regional Boss with a Foundation ranging between 2000 to 2500. No matter how overpowered Zayn was, he had only 10 Card Slots – most related to plants, life, and poison – and he was still Classless. His Foundation was several times lower than the Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard’s Foundation.
The only advantage on Zayn’s side was the Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard’s horrible eyesight and bulky build. It was not dexterous and couldn’t turn fast. Zayn used Blink to appear next to the Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard, causing the monster to slowly turn right. As it turned right, Zayn blinked to the front once again.
Of course, Zayn couldn’t block all attacks. He didn’t have infinite energy reserves, and his stamina would run out at some point. Zayn had to make it to the inactive volcano before he ran out of energy.
A thunderous roar resounded through the Magma Prairie, and the corner of his Zayn’s lip curled upward. A suicidal idea popped into his head. Zayn changed his trajectory without a second thought. He headed toward the source of the booming voice.
‘Since you’re daring enough to leave your territory to hunt me down, you might as well play with the Overlord of this part of the Magma Prairie!’ Zayn screamed in his mind as his eyes fell on a winged Lion. The Lion’s mane wasn’t fur. Condensed darkness expanded as the lion found the monster challenging its authority.
The Lion’s bat-like wings spread out gracefully as it kicked the ground. It pounced at the Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard, its claws shrouded in darkness.
Zayn didn’t hesitate either. He used Blink ten times in a row, increasing the distance to the fight that erupted behind him.
Zayn was about to return to the inactive volcano when he sensed something. A muffled roar rang through the surroundings before a claw wiped across his back. Zayn barely evaded the attack with another use of Blink. He turned around, only to see a batch of lion cubs emerge from the shadows.
“Is that really necessary?”
He was ready to run away but quickly noticed that the cubs could jump from one shadow to another. One of the cubs appeared behind him in an instant. Zayn twisted his body, however, he couldn’t evade the attack. His abdomen was cut deeply. In exchange for the wound, Zayn had retrieved the Verdant Saber. He used Florakinesis and Root Strike to release a batch of roots upon the little monster, restraining its movement momentarily. That was enough to use Enhanced Poison and Poison Augment right before striking the cub thrice.
The cub squealed in pain, attracting the adult’s attention. It was just about to pull back and rescue its cubs when the Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard blocked its path. The Giant Pyrolaxy Lizard didn’t plan to kill the winged Lion before. But now that the opportunity arose, it might as well deal with the Lion first.
Zayn didn’t pay much attention to the fight between the two Bosses. He gritted his teeth through the pain that enveloped his entire being and grasped the poisoned cub using Draining Touch. He drained its energy and lifeforce while evading its siblings’ attacks. Once the cut in his abdomen was sealed, Zayn changed his tactic.
He used Enhanced Poison, Poison Augment, Draining Touch, and Double Impact on the Verdant Saber as it transformed into a pair of daggers.
It was time to reap some souls!
