I stepped back from the creature. I put my hands up in the air and focused on my inner energy, willing for it to collect into my palms.
“Oskis!” I yelled, and sent a blast of incinerating flames right at the creature. It dived into a patch of sand next to it, but when my flames cut off, it was gone, sand and everything.
“I guess that takes care of—”
A hiss came from the sand patch to my right and before I could even turn, a sharp pain sank into my shoulder. I yelled out in pain, and my hand shot my side, grabbing a snake’s slithering body as it hung to me with just its fangs. I quickly jerked it out of my skin and hurled it away, smashing it against the wall. The creature went limp and dropped to the floor.
However, I could see from its health bar that it still had a sliver of health left. I put my hand up once again and summoned the incineration beam, using the flames to completely burn the creature to a cider.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated: Enchanted Sand Snake (Lv 498)! Reward: Enchanted Fangs of the Sand Snake. Reward: Hide of the Sand Snake. Reward: Poison of the Sand Snake. Reward: 45000 XP.
I went to close the screen but my hand went limp and I stumbled the floor. An acidic burn spread within my shoulder, and I grit my teeth in frustration, realizing what had just happened.
DING!
Warning! You have been poisoned! Health will now be depleted at a constant rate. Health depletion rate depends on the strength of the poison. Stamina and Health regeneration will be temporarily paused. Mana regeneration rates will be temporarily lowered.
Dammit, I cursed, wobbling a bit as I picked myself up. I need to find an antidote. And fast.
I looked at the patch of sand the snake had come from. It had dived into a patch that was nearly twenty feet away from that. And yet it had sprung at me from this one.
Were there two of them? I asked.
“Enchanted Sand Snakes have a special ability,” Nyx said. “They can teleport between certain kinds of sand patches.”
What? I blinked. Such a creature exists?
“Existed,” Acnologia said.
I stared at the forest. “What?” I blinked.
“Look around you, Eternal,” the dragon said.
I glanced at the forest once more, trying to see if there was anything of worth noting. But I could see nothing, other than for the fact that the vegetation was quite large.
Nyx sighed. “As expected, you don’t have a single clue.”
I frowned. “What?”
“I had my doubts when I saw this forest,” the spirit said. “But I figured the feeling was a falsification. However, the fact that we saw an Enchanted Sand Snake changes everything.”
I blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Those creatures went extinct a long time ago,” Nyx said. “They went extinct when you and I were still roaming the ancient world. And yet now, these creatures are slithering across the ground before us. There is only one explanation for such a thing.”
My eyes widened. “No way,” I whispered.
“Diablo, we’ve come back to the past,” Acnologia said. “Back to when the Eternals ruled the lands.”
***
CHAPTER FIVE
Fear struck my mind.
Excitement struck my heart.
I was stuck between running into this world and running away from it.
Questions plagued me. Why were we here? Who had brought us? Was there a way to get back?
“So…this is the world of the past.” My voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
“Yeah,” Nyx said.
“Whatever that bright light was, it has brought us here,” Acnologia said. “I haven't the faintest clue how or why. The mechanics of such an event are far beyond my comprehension.”
“I have no clue either. I didn’t know something of this sort was even possible in the first place.”
I looked out at the forest, at the dense canopy of leaves above me. Sunlight filtered through, lacing heat onto my pale skin. I heard the faint buzz of insects deep within the vegetation.
And yet all of this was of a world many millennia back from where I’d been just minutes ago.
All of this was a world in the past.
How was one supposed to even deal with something of the sort?
You’re heartless, Ga’em, I mumbled. Your world is just messed up.
And just as I said that, a new development came into play.
“Holy hell,” Nyx mumbled.
“What?” I asked.
“Look.”
DING!
Nyx summoned one of my screens, and I could tell immediately that this was a map. Specifically, a map of the cave I was in. A blue dot lay close to the mouth of the cave, next to the flurry of trees. However, the interesting part was that a green dot was moving around a region much deeper within the place.
My eyes widened at the shade. “Freya,” I whispered.
“Exactly,” Nyx said. “There must have been a delay in the teleportation. Her dot became visible to me only a few seconds ago.”
“But if she was teleported…”
“Then it’s possible everyone else was as well.”
I wanted to feel happy, but the concern in my mind pulled me back. Is it really a good thing that Freya was also caught by whatever is going on here?
I put aside my troublesome thoughts for later and turned around, facing the deeper end of the cave. I glanced at the map in front of me, and tried to make a connection between what it was showing me and the landscape I was in.
“Diablo, you have been poisoned,” Acnologia said. “We need to find an antidote first.”
“I need to be here when Freya comes up,” I said. “She can’t come up here and see an empty cave.”
“Well, it won’t be completely empty. I imagine the Eternal will still be here even if you go search for a cure.”
“I’m staying.” My voice was firm. “Does the field map have different floors or anything?”
“None, this is the only floor in the cave,” Nyx said.
“Then according to this map Freya should be a few yards ahead of us.”
“I have no explanation for that. The Ga’em is broken?”
“Great, the Ga’em is messing with my maps now as well.”
“To be fair, we ARE quite a way back in time. Maybe the Ga’em used to be buggy at this point in the past.”
“It is possible,” Acnologia said. “Though I have no specific recollection of this ‘buggyness’.”
I glanced at the sleeping form of the Eternal next to me. She was completely knocked out, with her body limp against the floor. The wind fluttered strands of her hair, but other than that movement, there was no difference between her and a doll. I was beginning to doubt whether she was ever going to wake up.
Rumbling echoed from the deeper end of the cave, with the sound waves travelling through the walls. A large boulder shot out of the darkness, as though it were sent out of a canon. My hands instantly brought out Dawnbreaker and I swung at the hunk of flying stone. The boulder shattered to bits from my strike, and the debris rained on me and the Eternal as it fell back to the ground.
When I looked ahead of me again, Freya’s form greeted my vision. The elven assassin walked out from the end of the cave, with her longsword at her side. I saw two more shadows emerge behind her, and I stood confused for a second.
Who else made their way here? I wondered
“Beats me,” Nyx said.
“Zoran!” Freya ran to me, a large smile on her face. “Thank god, you’re okay.”
I nodded. “Likewise,” I said and glanced behind her, still curious as to who else had shown up.
The two other companions emerged into the light, and my eyes immediately widened. One was Raffyr, the old priest. The other however, was a large eyed lady of brown hair and green pupils.
“Viola,” I whispered.
The young woman kept behind Raffyr, hiding from my line of
sight.
“Well that’s awkward,” Nyx said.
…yeah, I sighed quietly.
“Meeting a fallen friend is never easy, Diablo,” Acnologia said. “Give it time.”
“Say, how is it you always have a piece of advice for situations like this?” Nyx asked.
“One learns many things after centuries of living.”
Freya and the others noticed the unconscious Eternal on the ground beside me, and I could tell there was curiosity bubbling within their minds.
“She hasn’t stirred,” I said.
“That aside,” Raffyr said. “Where exactly are we?”
They glanced around the outside of the cave, taking in the trees and the vegetation. I knew they were smart enough to figure out something was weird here.
“It’s…complicated,” I said.
“What?” Freya looked at me and then she sighed. “Don’t tell me we’ve been teleported to some far of location.”
“Even better.”
“Eh?”
“We’re in a pretty far off location,” I said. “But the distance is not physical. It’s temporal.”
“I KNEW IT!” Raffyr yelled. However, where I’d usually heard him exclaim with excitement, this exclamation was one of fear, an exclamation of uncertainty.
“What’s going on Zoran?” Freya asked. “What do you mean it’s a temporal distance? Surely, you’re not suggesting we traveled through time, are you?”
I nodded. “This place is a couple of millennia in the past. Back when the Eternals were all still alive.”
Their eyes all widened. “You’re pulling my leg,” Freya said. “Are you serious?”
“Nyx and Acnologia have confirmed it,” I said. “Whatever that light from the Eternal was, it’s brought us all back to the past.”
“So, everyone that the light touched was brought here.”
“It seems to be so,” I said. Ijyela and Krof got lucky, I realized.
“I can’t believe this,” Raffyr mumbled. “We’re back in the time of the Eternals.”
“I can’t tell whether he’s excited or afraid,” Nyx said.
“It is both,” Acnologia said and I agreed.
This is a tough situation to accept, I thought. He’s going to need some time to process it. They’re all going to need—
Pain struck my body again, this time piercing my heart. I gasped out, and stumbled to the floor as my legs gave out underneath me.
DING!
WARNING! Your ‘poisoned’ status has aggravated! Health depletion rates have been doubled. Stamina regeneration has been disabled.
“Zoran!” Freya was down at my side in an instant. She slung my arm over her shoulder and lifted me up, helping me back onto my feet.
I swiped at the screen before me with my free hand and closed it. I tried my best to ignore the pain in my heart, but it wasn’t easy. It felt like I was choking with every heartbeat that sounded. I looked at the corner of my vision and saw my health bar start inching down, at a very miniscule amount, but still significant. At the rate it was going I had about an hour or so before my health completely gave out.
And this was assuming nothing else attacked me.
“I told you before,” Nyx said. “Finding you an antidote should be your priority.”
“I understand your reasoning for staying here to welcome miss Freya,” Acnologia said. “But I believe it is time for you to take care of yourself.”
It’s not like I disagree, I said, breathing hard.
“What’s going on?” Freya asked, holding almost all of my body weight now.
“I was poisoned,” I mumbled. “Had to fight off an Enchanted Sand Snake before you three got here.”
Raffyr’s eyes widened. “Isn’t the poison of the Enchanted Sand Snake a very potent poison.”
“That would actually explain a lot.” My voice went a little weak.
“Eternal,” Acnologia said. “The only way you can heal this poison yourself is by coming up with an antidote using your Herb Lore skill.”
I know, I said, slowly easing my weight off Freya. I took my arm back from her and stood myself up, flexing my muscles just to make sure I was okay.
The Elf looked at me, and concern writhed in her eyes. “You need help.
“I’ll take care of it,” I said. “I just need to procure some herbs.”
“Wait,” she frowned. “You’re not saying you’re going into the forest, are you? Not in this condition of all things?”
“Since I’m the only one with a Herb Lore skill, I think I’m the only one who can even try to make an antidote.”
“I will accompany you,” Raffyr said. “It is better to travel together than to travel alone.”
I hesitated for a second, wondering if the old man would actually be of any help. I wondered if I should take Freya with me instead, but I realized it was probably beneficial to leave another strong warrior with Viola. Raffyr was in the high Lv. 150s so it was probably not a good idea to leave him and Viola to themselves.
“Fine,” I said. “You can come with me.”
“If you think it’s fine then go ahead,” Freya said, still sounding concerned.
“We’ll be okay,” I said. “Trust me.”
She nodded. “Come back soon.”
“I will. Are you ready Raffyr?”
“Indeed,” the old man said.
The two of us walked out of the cave, and into the thick of the forest. The calls of insects and birds increased, turning louder and more frequent at the same time. I could hear more sounds pile onto each other as I listened close. I wondered what kind of creatures were making these noises, but I wasn’t so sure I wanted to have a closer look at any of them.
My eyes turned to the green around me, at the shrubs and plants growing in the forest. I could see many wildflowers and berries, and I quickly used my Herb Lore skill to find out what these things were, and if I could make my antidote from them.
DING!
Name
Morning Hazleberry
Rarity
Rare
Special effect
Decreases the rate of blood flow in the body for 5 minutes
I plucked a few of those berries, and consumed just one. If the poison inside me was getting aggravated because of how it was spreading, the safest thing to do at the moment would be to stem the blood flow.
“What exactly are we searching for, Zoran?” Raffyr actively looked around.
“I’m…not sure.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
“Not to put pressure on you,” Nyx said. “But we really need to find an antidote. And fast. This poison is spreading through you really quick.”
Why don’t we have any potions to solve problems like this? I said.
“They exist. We just don’t have them.”
“AHHH!”
A yell came from ahead.
I jerked around, and noticed Raffyr was not beside me. Where the hell did he go? I rushed forward, moving in the direction of the scream.
And there I saw it.
Raffyr stood backed up against a tree. A large bear stood before him, reared up on its hind legs. Flames sprung from its wrists and ankles, and a circle of fire covered its neck as well. Small runes were on the top of its head, with the shapes glowing a sharp orange, the shade of burning embers.
I rushed to the scene, ignoring the pain in my body.
“Got the thing’s Analyze screen,” Nyx said.
Show me, I stepped forward.
DING!
Race
Volcanic Forest Bear
Health
13790
Level
561
Mana
9510
Element
Fire/Earth
Stamina
12370
Oh shoot, I panicked. There was no way Raffyr would survive against that thing. My hand pulled out Dawnbreaker in a hurry and I shot to the beast, my legs pushing wi
th renewed vigor.
The bear noticed my charge and shifted its attention to me instantly. I lifted its claws, ready to strike. I gave it all I got, and pushed forward, slashing into it with my sword. The attack landed hard, and the beast flew back, crushing through multiple tree trunks before coming to a stop. Trees and branches fell onto the ground, unable to bear the force of the impact. In seconds, the creature was buried under nearly ten fallen trees, each one more than a hundred yards tall. I glanced at the its health bar and caught sight of it just as it went to zero and faded away.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated: Volcanic Forest Bear (Lv. 561)! Reward: Hide of the Volcanic Forest Bear.
DING!
Congratulations! Your ‘Swordsmanship’ special move: Heavy Swing, has increased to Level 12! Attack now causes 250% total weapon damage to target.
I stumbled toward Raffyr, panting heavily as I did. My body was taking the toll from the poison that was flowing within me. I’d pushed myself a little too hard.
“What on earth were you doing Raffyr?” I asked, struggling for breath.
The old man reached into his robe’s and pulled out a herb. Its stalk was a greenish-blue and the leaves were of a similar shade, but translucent, as though they were slowly disappearing away.
“I saw this growing on the ground,” he said.
“What is that,” I said, taking it from him and using my Herb Lore skill on it.
DING!
Name
Poison Oasis
Rarity
Very Rare
Special effect
Completely heals a poison status inflicted by a snake.
My eyes widened. “This is exactly what I needed.” I looked at the old man. “How on earth did you know to look for this?’
The Eternal: Transcend - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 3) Page 5