Chapter 58: Quest
The world was shaking nauseatingly and an incessant ringing filled Zacs ears. He shakily got to his feet but immediately fell down again. His state was already pretty bad, but the last blast completely messed him up. His new dress had used the golden protection just a few hours ago, making it unusable for another day.
Luckily he managed to drag a corpse over at the last second to use as a shield from the blast, otherwise, he might have bit the bullet, 103 Endurance or not. And now he was covered in a blood mush from the demon shield to boot. However the last minute protection was far from enough, and it felt like everything in his body was broken.
But he knew he couldnt stay where he was. The demons somehow knew his position, and he had no other recourse but to flee. He shakily got to his feet and collected his two axes, and only swiped up a few knives if convenient. Zac didnt dare to properly loot the bodies as he needed to put distance from the cave.
His movements were extremely slow, even if he mentally screamed at his legs to move faster. He desperately wished he had some health and stamina potions right now like in a game, but the only thing he got was a cauldron full of poison.
After hesitating for a few seconds he took out his canteen with the azure water from the pond. The water was crammed full of cosmic energy and might help him recover enough for him to properly flee from the area. The problem was that he had no idea whether it also contained something else lo poison or deadly super bacteria.
Zac knew he couldnt be picky at a moment like this, and had to risk it. With a few chugs he downed a couple of mouthfuls of the azure water. It tasted sweet and cooling in his mouth, and was hands down was the best tasting beverage he ever had. But as soon as the water entered his throat it started burning worse than the strongest spirits he knew, making him feel like he swallowed a sun rather than some water.
The burning feeling didnt abate in his stomach, but rather kept intensifying. He felt his body was turning into a pressure cooker that was ready to burst. Veins popped out all over his body and he was forced to stop walking from the intense pain. Sweat was pouring down his face like a waterfall and even his eardrums popped from the pressure.
Zac was starting to worry for real that he might explode like the demons any time now. But soon the intense pressure abated, and the scorching heat in his belly turned into comforting rays of warmth that spread all through his body.
Zac felt his cosmic energy reserves rapidly filling up, but his wounds were barely reacting to the water. He thought he might be seeing some improvement but couldnt be sure. It rather felt like he had taken a dozen shots of adrenaline and simply couldnt feel the pain any longer.
It was better than nothing Zac thought as he continued onward at a brisker pace. As he walked he dumped everything from the lady foremans pouch onto the ground, leaving only the Nexus Crystals. He still didnt feel secure though and started to meticulously scan through the bag containing most of the crystals.
He went through them one by one to see if anything was amiss, trying to find out how the demons were able to track him. Perhaps there were bugs planted in one of the sacks he had stolen from the lady foreman, as that was when the trouble started. Soon his scanning stopped at an inconspicuous rock that was placed in one of the sacks. Most of the sacks had some rock chippings mixed in with the crystals, but this was the first time he saw a rock of that size. He brought out the sack and groped around inside until he found the stone.
As he glanced at it did not seem overly suspicious, but he could see some slightly odd veins on the stone. He brought out his flashlight for the first time and shone it on the rock. In brighter lighting he could see that the veins actually were fractals. Zac grimly stared at it for a second, before he crushed it under his foot.
He immediately backtracked a bit and changed direction. As he walked he kept checking each and every bag, and eventually found two more similar stones. Finally sure that was the last of them he sped off, ignoring any wounds protesting.
As he walked he multitasked by checking his status page. The fight with the demons pushed him over the limit and gotten him to level 35. He had already been somewhat close to leveling again after killing the Herald, and the melee was all that was needed.
His fears were unfortunately realized and he saw his Strength still was stuck at 175 instead of increasing from the class bonus. It looked like he really had to try and evolve somehow. He helplessly allocated his 3 free points into Vitality, as he didnt dare put any more in Endurance for now either.
Hoping for a class advancement quest activating from reaching a big level, Zac opened up his quest window next. Things werent that convenient, as no advancement quests popped up.
He did, however, receive a new class quest.
Loamwalker (Class): Walk a thousand kilometers touching the earth. Reward: Loamwalker Skill (0/1000)
He suddenly was pretty happy that he didnt spend a few days to grind in order to buy [Steps of Gaia] from the shop. He only lacked 5000 coins for the skill by now, and could now use them to improve other things instead. [Loamwalker] was clearly some type of movement skill, just like [Steps of Gaia].
Honestly, his class skill sounded quite a bit blander compared to the one in the shop, but he had learned not to underestimate the dull-sounding skills he received from his class. It was also very convenient to complete, as he only needed to walk around.
A slight scuffling interrupted his thoughts, and he could only bring out his axe again with a grimace. He placed himself at a corner in wait, and soon a demon came into view. This one was highly alert, and immediately noticed Zacs presence.
But Zac was ready and the axe was falling down on the demons head as just as he appeared, instantly killing him. He immediately entered the tunnel and unleashed a maximized [Chop] edge that flew outward before he could even register what was in the tunnel.
A few screams and groans were heard, and the demons were almost all dead before they knew what hit them. There were two that were badly hurt but alive, but Zac made short work out of them as well.
There was one final demon who for some reason had been doubled over when the edge passed through the party and was completely unharmed. Horrified he started running but Zac wouldnt let yet another straggler escape. With a grunt, he threw his axe at the demon and then started his pursuit.
Luckily this time he hit, and the party was no more. He stopped by the fallen body and ripped out the embedded axe while glancing at the bloodied tunnel. He didnt know who made the sound while walking, but that mistake cost the whole group their lives.
It looked like the demons hadnt given up the chase. They had finally identified him and seemed determined to remove the problem. He quickly threw all the bodies and gear into his empty pouch and continued on until he found a secluded cave where he dumped them all, including their things. He actually wanted to bring them with him to hide his pathing, but who knew what else the demons could detect.
His speed slowed down somewhat due to taking even greater care to be completely silent, and thoroughly checking side-tunnels. But as he moved he was steadily moving upward. Zac figured the Demons might be impeded by the monkeys if he managed to exit into the mountains again. It was easier for him to hide as a solitary person, compared to their large groups.
He saw a party again as he checked a tunnel, but this time they were moving away. Zac kept completely still until they moved far away before skulking forward. At least it was clear that they couldnt locate him anymore. It had just been a guess, but it truly seemed that those stones were some sort of tracking device.
He kept skulking forward and avoided any demons that he came across. He was lucky that the tunnels amplified sounds and it was almost impossible for a group of 10 people to be completely silent at all times.
He was forced into one more fight but ended it quickly before moving further up. After another hour he hadnt seen any demons for 30 minutes and finally sat down and brought out a crystal. He should be some ways up the mountain by now, and could happen upon an exit at any time. Even if he didnt want to stop he needed to recuperate before reentering the mountains.
The tunnels were endless and even if the demons sent hundreds of them into them it was still somewhat unlikely for them to happen upon him, as there was so much ground to cover. Meanwhile, he was afraid that the Herald had prepared an ambush for him the moment he reemerged.
So he finally allowed himself a break, eating some dried meat and then quietly waited for his wounds to get better. After two hours of quiet rest a loud ding entered his ears and forced him to his feet, warily looking around. But the area around him was completely deserted, with not a demon in sight.
[Special Dynamic Quest activated. Emerge victorious and seize the Fruit of Ascension. Struggle for supremacy.]
It was the familiar emotionless voice of the System entering his ears, but Zac barely had time to reflect on its words before his vision changed.
He suddenly was up amongst the clouds and stared down toward the familiar sight of his island. He could clearly see the whole topography, but the sea around it was blurred somehow. The vision moved and he closed in on the island with terrifying speed, hurtling toward the mountains.
Soon he arrived at the valley where he fought the monkey king earlier, but it looked different from how it did when he visited. The zone of death around the red and white tree had expanded to stretch across almost half the valley, and even the azure pond was shrunken down to half its size.
After having almost exploded from the energy contained in just a few mouthfuls he was shocked at the amount the tree had absorbed.
The vision kept moving and in seconds he was next to the tree. Zac would have thought it would be even lusher after absorbing the surroundings and the lake, but it actually looked a bit dried out. A couple of leaves had even fallen to the ground.
Neither the herald nor any other monkeys were anywhere to be seen, but Zac didnt ponder about it overly much as his eyes were glued to a pair of fruits that had grown on the tree. They were similar to a cantaloupe apart from their color. Instead, they were a glistening red mixed with white lines that almost looked like fractals.
The fruits were beautiful, but more importantly, they had some magical effect on him even though it was just an illusion. It felt like every cell in his body was screaming in desire, wanting nothing more than to consume the fruits. He hated the fact that he was just there in a vision, and not in reality.
As quickly as the vision appeared it suddenly ended, leaving Zac in the cave with a mixture of greed and hesitation.
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