by Aleron Kong
The rock construct grabbed the top half of the monster’s skin and started to pull. In starts and stops, the Tier 2 monster’s body opened like a peeled banana. Its internal fluids flew everywhere, and it screamed like a tea kettle. After connecting to its body, Richter now knew those sounds were created by microperforations that formed in its skin. Sloth kept pulling until it was half-flayed. The sheet of skin landed with a wet squelch.
Even with half of its body denuded, the wurm was still alive. The tenaciousness of a Tier 2 creature associated with the Life element was insane. Its health was lower than one hundred now, but the digit in the one’s column kept flickering. Despite half of its body being torn away, and with all its vital organs exposed, the creature was still attempting to heal itself.
Looking at the inside of its body, Richter could now see its few internal organs. In particular, he could see the pulsing beat of its three hearts. This thing was truly nearly impossible to kill, seeing as how it could heal from most wounds and move its vital spots at will. Even if one heart was destroyed, it had two backups. It also lacked a distinct brain. Instead, there were neural clusters that could work together. If enough were still chained in a row, severed segments could independently operate. This thing was a nightmare.
Under his control however, all of its options were gone. His Blood control was so great that he could even force the organs to bunch up and present themselves. A masculine part of him felt like after such a hard-fought battle, the ending should be equally climactic. A feminine part lied and said the climax wasn’t that important. Like any man, Richter chose to believe that. He started hitting the wurm’s gooey bits with his mace really, really hard.
Splat. Splat! SPLAT!
After three heartfelt blows, rainbow light spiraled through the air. The wurm quivered a final time and then, at long last, lay still.
CHAPTER 42 – Day 154 – Juren 4, 0 AoC
You lack a soul receptacle that can contain a Luminous soul.
That particular red prompt was a flick to the teabag. His Enchantments could do a lot with a luminous soul. Regrettable or not, he couldn’t change the fact that he could only make up to common-ranked soul repositories. If his Light magic was up to skill level fifteen, he could have unlocked the stronger form of his Create Soul Stones spell, but even casting Light spells nonstop, his skill hadn’t advanced. It was probably because Simple Light and Far Light were only level one magics. Sadly, all he could do was watch the rainbow light vanish into the ceiling.
What remained of the wurm stank something awful. Richter didn’t mind at all. He was already thinking of the harvest he could collect. His mind was also on something else though, and that was the power of Blood magic. Vitality Puppet had let him remove the free will of a powerful creature. If he hadn’t known the spell, he honestly didn’t know if he would have survived against the ravager wurm.
The spell was only level ten, the weakest level for an initiate rank spell. Still, it was amazingly powerful. What was bothering him was what would happen if he ran up against someone more skilled than he was in the Deeper Magic. Richter was suddenly relieved that there weren’t more Blood magi running around The Land. If even this low-level spell could incapacitate something like the ravager wurm, what could a cadre of sanguimancers do to an army? As long as he was the only one with access, it gave him an incredible advantage. Richter wasn’t fool enough to believe that would always be the case, however.
Shaking his head, he checked his prompts. To his surprise, his experience deficit got a noteworthy decrease.
You have slain a Level 52 Ravager Wurm (Tier 2). You have gained 5,782 XP.
XP deficit remaining: -3,836,426
Just killing that one Tier 2 monster had given more experience than all the scorpions put together. It was nothing compared to what he owed, but except for the mauler, it was way more than he’d ever gotten for killing a monster before. It couldn’t be due to just its high level; it was probably also because it was a Tier 2 monster.
Not factoring in the Talent Points he’d bought with his experience, it took about a million XP to advance to the next level for him. Before this, he’d wondered how someone could ever accumulate that much. It looked like the answer was to hunt higher-tiered game. If he were able to kill more monsters like this, he’d only need two hundred to level up again. Richter started to understand that high-tiered monsters weren’t threats so much as strategic resources.
They were also, he hoped, good eating! Richter greedily examined its flesh. He was starving!
You found a Cooking ingredient: Ravager Wurm Flesh
Ingredient Class: Unusual
Ingredient Quality: Poison
Uses: You lack the Cooking skill to prepare this ingredient
Aaaand it looked like he was going to stay hungry. The skin and blood registered as a poison to his Cooking skill as well. He stared regretfully at the more-than-a-dozen feet of monster laying in front of him. With his new dimensional space, it might have lasted until the curse ran out. If he was a highly skilled cook, it might have yielded something amazing. Any doubt he’d had about the importance of the Cooking skill vanished as he stared hungrily at meat he couldn’t use. With resignation, he realized that even if he hunted something down here, he might not be able to eat it.
“This is it,” he bemoaned. “The moment my mother always warned me about. When the fact that I can’t cook might really let me starve to death.” Even in another universe, her being right still grinded his gears.
When you couldn’t eat it, there was there was usually only one other thing you could do with a dead body. Luckily for both of them, Harvest gave him a third option.
The base cost to Harvest the remains of a luminous soul creature is 20 Bloodline Points.
The cost to Harvest a Tier 2 creature increases final BP cost by 25%.
Final Cost: 25 Bloodline Points.
Do you wish to harvest the Ravager Wurm? Yes or No?
Harvesting a luminous soul cost twice as much as a common soul. The fact that it was ascended also increased the price. Richter had enough points to spare. He just hoped it worked.
Attempting to Harvest… Success!
Petrifying Ghost Harvest Bloodline has obtained an uncommon drop: Mimetic Flesh
“Yes!” he shouted, shaking a fist in victory.
His purple-green stat bar dropped by twenty-five points. He read the description of what he’d harvested.
You have Harvested: Mimetic Flesh
Item Class: Uncommon
Weight: 0.6 kg
Traits: Mimetic Flesh will adopt the ideal configuration of any flesh it is placed upon. Placing this on your skin will heal most injuries. It will also neutralize most diseases and poisons if used quickly.
The harvest looked like a bandage made out of the wurm’s wrinkled white skin. When Richter ran his fingers an inch over the surface, the flesh rippled in response. It was like it was trying to bond with him. Curious, he picked it up, and it contoured to his hand. Not finding any injuries, it formed back into a lump and sat in his palm.
The prompt said it could heal him. Not just wounds, but diseases and poisons. Some might wonder why a Life mage would need something like this. That person must never have been in battle. His magic could take care of most of those issues, but in a battle, the MP required to cast Life magic could be better put to use by killing his enemies. There were also times when his magic didn’t work. One of the main reasons he’d avoided using the Shadow Realm, even when his life was in danger, was that the monsters there carried diseases resistant to Life magic. Now that he had another option to cure himself, it opened up the possibility of using his Ring of Shadow Shift again. His Harvest power was amazing.
Surprisingly, Harvest had only consumed about 10-15% of the ravager wurm’s body. That was good news and bad news. It meant that on larger creatures he’d have to use his Bloodline multiple times to get all the available resources. On the other hand, maybe he’d get more than if a creature was consumed
all at once. It also gave him the chance to try again if he failed the first time.
He’d burned too many Bloodline Points during the fight. He had to rest for several hours before using Harvest again.
Attempting to Harvest… Failure!
His second attempt only left some ooze behind, but the third one succeeded. Even better, it offered a much better drop!
Attempting to Harvest… Success!
Petrifying Ghost Harvest Bloodline has obtained a scarce drop: Ravager Wurm Blood Essence
A clear sphere appeared out of the degraded remains. It floated up to Richter like every other harvest. When he gingerly grabbed it, the skin of the globe felt slightly sticky and soft. He was pretty sure he could pop it if he squeezed hard enough. The globe was half-filled with a slightly glowing liquid the same orange color as the wurm’s blood. He had no idea what he was supposed to do with it, but a prompt appeared.
You have Harvested: Ravager Wurm Blood Essence
Item Class: Scarce
Weight: 0.1 kg
Traits: Blood essence can be used as a spell component, Crafting material or Alchemy ingredient, in addition to a host of other purposes.
The prompt didn’t offer too much information except for showing him the glowing orange liquid might have a bunch of different uses. To Richter’s surprise thought, two more windows appeared right after.
Congratulations! You have discovered a substance that can improve your Bloodline: Ravager Wurm Blood Essence.
As this material is not consistent with the Death energy of your Bloodline, the original 10 points of Bloodline Growth will be heavily penalized and reduced to 2 points.
To evolve your Bloodline to the next rank, you must gain 100 Bloodline Growth Points.
Do you wish to consume the energy of the Ravager Wurm Blood Essence to improve your Bloodline? Yes or No?
Before Richter could even be shocked by what he’d read, another window appeared.
Quest Update: Chaotic Flux
You have discovered a powerful resource that can help nourish your Tier 2 body! Would you like to absorb the power of the Ravager Wurm Blood Essence?
Yes or No?
Richter whistled softly. His bloodline was even more powerful than he’d thought. Not only did it make him deadlier, it also offered him paths to greater power. In addition to the immediate boost to his Attribute Points, Richter was starting to understand why higher-tiered beings were so strong. It wasn’t only that they got more points per level. It wasn’t even the evolution of their skills. It was because The Land itself offered them more power if they were strong, brave and foolish enough to seek it out. Power and danger really are close bedfellows, he thought. It hadn’t occurred to him that using Harvest on Tier 2 creatures could help him take advantage of his Chaos body’s flux period. It kindled an even greater desire to hunt the monsters down.
That was for later though. Right now, he had a decision to make. Looking at the two options, Richter had initially been tempted by the evolution of his Bloodline. It had already saved his ass a couple times, and making Harvest stronger was super tempting. The reduction in Bloodline Growth Points was discouraging though. Two points would barely make a dent in the one hundred he needed to evolve it.
Adding the essence to his Tier 2 body, on the other hand, increased the chances of him getting an awesome bonus when the quest was completed. He already had two points from the bean pods and could probably get another six to eight Tier 2 Evolution Points if he used the iron beans stored in his Pouch of Holding.
The only problem was, just like with the bean pods, he had no idea what the effect on his body would be. He had no desire to be turned into a wurm for instance, or for his organs to just be floating freely around his body… or for his mouth and sphincter to be interchangeable. Still, he only had twenty-two days until the flux period was over, and the evolution prompt had promised the reward would be random, but powerful. He decided to use the blood essence on the quest.
Quest Update: Chaotic Flux
Tier 2 Points absorbed: 8/100.
2% chance of skeletal system being iron-strengthened
6% chance of gaining passive health regeneration
92% chance of Quest Failure
22 days until flux period ends.
Absorbing a total of 100 Tier 2 Body Points will trigger an automatic change to your body.
The blood essence had gotten him another 6%! Not only that, but the bonus was awesome. He could get passive health regeneration. He had no idea how much his HP would regen, but anything could be a game changer. It might even help him fight off poison or disease, both of which had laid him low several times since coming to The Land. Eagerness kindled within him. He needed more points. He had to finish this Quest!
In addition to getting him more points, absorbing the Harvest drop did something else. It spurred Richter to action. He’d been thinking defensively, just wanting to wait out the curse. He’d even come to believe that death might be an acceptable, if not ideal, scenario after Singh’s magic faded. Now though, an old and familiar desire kindled in his heart.
How could he just cower in this disgusting cave? Adventure and treasure were waiting for him out there! True, the monsters were out there too, but that just made it more fun. He was southern after all. It was time to roll the dice!
CHAPTER 43 – Day 154 – Juren 5, 0 AoC
Eager or not, hungry or not, he wasn’t about to leave the scorpion’s cave until he was ready. Namely, until all of his stats, including his bloodline, were fully replenished. He also wanted to see what he could make out of those twenty-some-odd super-hard talons he’d taken out of the monster.
His magic light winked out, and for the first time, he didn’t rush to cast another. In the darkness, a white smile grew against his black skin. His eyes were trained on a faintly glowing trail leading out of the caves. It was the trail of the ravager wurm. A trail that, sooner or later, would lead back to its nest and more sweet, sweet points. His grin grew even more shark-like, and anyone seeing it would have felt the fear of a monster’s hunger. Don’t worry, he thought to the creatures he’d be hunting. You’ll be joining your mama soon.
It took the better part of a day, but he was able to Harvest the rest of the ravager wurm. Even with the points he’d invested in his Constitution, he only regen’d 7.4 Bloodline Points per hour. Sadly, he only had one more success, and it wasn’t blood essence.
Attempting to Harvest… Failure!
Attempting to Harvest… Failure!
Attempting to Harvest… Failure!
Attempting to Harvest… Success!
Petrifying Ghost Harvest Bloodline has obtained an uncommon drop: Mimetic Flesh
Attempting to Harvest… Failure!
The lumpy white tissue went into his pouch along with the other one. During the time he’d been waiting for his Bloodline to replenish, he also restored the durability on his golem, bringing it up to fighting shape. It was almost time to hunt.
To help with that, he’d also used the sharp claws from the ravager wurm’s body. He’d been able to harvest twenty-four in all. Most went into his pouch. He’d found they made good throwing weapons. Eight were used to augment his club.
After unwrapping the malleable iron, he examined the gouges it had suffered when fighting the ravager wurm. The amazing material “healed” itself as he pushed the edges together. Once the bone head was bare, he carefully hammered the talons through the club with a rock. The claws were so sharp they easily passed through. He positioned them so the spikes would protrude from every cardinal angle, and turned his club into a spiked mace.
You have created a Spiked Ironbound Bone Club
Item Class: Uncommon
Quality: Well-Crafted
Durability: 72/92
Attack: +19
Weight: 1.8 kg
Traits: This club has been made from the large leg bone of an unknown beast and malleable iron. Though the iron head is strong, the bone has a fracture in it and risks
being destroyed if too much pressure is applied. It has further been augmented with the talons of a Tier 2 Ravager Wurm. These ultra-sharp spikes aid greatly in penetrating armor.
Special Trait: Ignores 5 points of Defense
The addition had increased the attacking power of the mace by more than 50%. Driving the spikes through the bone had decreased its overall durability, but it was worth it. The weapon had gained a new special trait! His Crafting skill had allowed the weapon to utilize the special properties of the ravager wurm’s claws. In addition to its high attack, it had also gained an Ignore Defense ability. Richter couldn’t wait to bring the pain.
While that was good news, the hours of waiting had earned him another debuff. He was so tired of these!
You are Hungry! Stamina regeneration decreased by 15%. Emotional control decreased by 10%.
He needed food. With the new needs of his Tier 2 body, he couldn’t afford to just wait around. Especially with Singh’s magic hanging over his head. There were still two to three more days before the Curse of Eternal Servitude dissipated. If he could just find some meat, he’d have everything he needed to outlast Singh’s spell. Then he could start making his way toward the beacon again. He hefted his spiked mace. It was time to go meet the neighbors.
Richter went to the front of the cave. He could already feel the hunger gnawing at his belly. He hoped following the wurm’s trail would yield something, but he didn’t relish going into battle with his nerves frayed and his stamina regen hampered. That was why he decided to try something. Something he wished he didn’t have to do. It just felt wrong somehow.
Desperate times.
Gold light surrounded his fingers and he cast Call Weak Small Creature. If there was a small animal anywhere close, it would come to him and follow simple commands. He’d cast it before but nothing had responded. This time, lucky or not, a ferret-like creature crawled out of a small crack. It had all-black fur and three eyes. It was about nine inches long. The creature looked up at him expectantly, waiting for orders.