Chapter Thirteen - 013He felt bad as he walked away from the Henaari explorer. After all the help they had inadvertently given him, Felix felt they deserved a proper burial, not to be just left in the woods.
When I come back, he promised himself. For now, let's see what my new spells do and get some experience.
Watching the ground avidly, Felix searched through the multitude of tracks in the soft earth of the embankment. As what was probably the main source of fresh water in the area, he assumed there were tons of beasts close by, which made him both nervous and excited. Felix began to follow set of paw prints that were small, maybe the size of a big bunny. He might be eager to try out his power, but he wasn't insane.
Felix tried to move as stealthily as he could, but his sword sheath kept tangling in his legs. He had to keep a hand on the pommel at all times in order to walk normally. It was very frustrating. However, due to his focus and effort, he was able to raise Stealth by two levels.
The small tracks quickly led off into the brush, and they were singular, without any other small tracks around it. Hopefully that meant it was a small lone beast that wasn't too terribly high level. There were even a few places where he could tell the creature had run, probably from the other things in the forest.
You Have Learned A New Skill!
Tracking (Common), Level 1!
You have taught yourself to read the world around you for signs of life. Increased utilization of Perception per Skill Level.
Felix pumped a fist. Another Skill always seemed to help. In fact, as he looked down at the tracks again they appeared to light up, as if the prints were glowing. He could see the glowing tracks for about five feet before it cut off.
"Ooh, yeah. Very useful," Felix grinned and crept forward.
The landscape around the lake was the same as nearer the coastline where he arrived, temperate forests in the height of summer. The air was hot with a slight humidity that made his woolen shirt stick uncomfortably to his back. The plants all around him were green and vibrant, filled with colorful flowers and fronds. Distantly, he could see insects and small beasts flit through the air and branches, but they were entirely too fast for him to Analyze. He wondered how high their Agility was to be so speedy, likely more than twice his own.
A half hour later Felix found himself in a grove of Caplan Sprouts, massive twenty to thirty foot plants that had a proliferation of leafy fronds at their tops and thick, banded trunks with mazes of heavy roots that piled around their bases. But the most interesting thing about the grove wasn't the immense vegetation or even the spicy yet appetizing scent they wafted on the breeze, but of a large creature covered in a heavy brown pelt. It was shaped like a weasel in that it was long and sinuous, but it was the size of a sedan. As Felix watched from behind a rocky outcropping he could see the fluid grace in its movements. The monster had six, no, seven legs, each tipped with black claws that looked razor sharp. A short bushy tail stuck up in the back, whipping about as it attempted to burrow under one of the Sprouts.
Felix threw a quick Analyze at the thing.
Name: Seven Legged Orit
Type: Blood Beast
Level: 20
HP: ???/???
MP: ???/???
Lore: Strengthened by dire rituals, the Seven Legged Orit has altered itself beyond its limits. Be wary.
Strength: Agility
Weakness: Unknown
This thing is way bigger than what I was tracking. And what's up with that Lore entry? Felix watched it carefully, barely tilting his head beyond the wide wall of the Sprout he hid behind. Does this count as a threat?
He toggled his Quest list.
Active Quests
Advance Five Spells To Apprentice Level!
0 of 5 Apprentice Spells
Home Sweet Home!
0 of 5 Threats Eliminated
Home Sweet Home!
0 of 5 Threats Eliminated
Threats:
Seven Legged Orit
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
That answers that. No way am I 'eliminating' that thing any time soon, though. Felix started to back away, trying to make as little noise as possible. He could hear the sound of digging continuing, followed by a large nose snuffling in the dirt. It was distracted, so he figured he wouldn't have any problem getting away. Next time, he'd--
Something cried out.
A high pitched wailing cry came from the roots that the Orit was digging into. It sounded frightened, and it tore at Felix's heart. Cursing silently, Felix crept back toward the edge of his Sprout and looked again. The giant weasel had moved, digging at a different angle, and he could see a small creature huddling in the shadows beneath the heavy roots. He only got an impression of fur and feathers and large, limpid golden eyes. This is what he'd been tracking.
Tracking is level 2!
Am I really doing this? But he was already casting a spell, an orb of green acid generating in the palm of his left hand. A pitiful yowl came from the roots as the monster crushed them against the ground, pulling and tearing at the thick wood. As the Orit pounced at the roots, slashing into them with its long black claws, Felix stepped out of his cover and let loose an Acid Stream. The concentrated acid jetted from Felix's hand, tearing across the distance and against the Orit's back.
SCREEEEEE!
The Orit stumbled to the side, all seven of its legs undulating its body as it tried to avoid the corrosive liquid. Felix was on it though, pushing his hand forward as he pumped more Mana into the spell to try and increase the flow. He stepped further out from the outcropping as the spell widened and pushed what felt like slightly more acid out, dropping his Mana at an even greater rate than before. The Orit screeched and ducked behind a Sprout. Felix cut off the spell and dropped into a defensive crouch, watching the vegetation for movement.
For a moment, all he could hear was the pathetic mewling of the small golden-eyed beast. Slowly he drew his sword, the soft scrape of metal on leather loud in the sudden silence. The wind rustled the fronds above them, gently tickling against the back of Felix's neck. He could hear the creak of his leather boots as he shifted in place, and his tunic felt heavy with sweat around the collar.
Where--?
A sudden feeling of terror made Felix tumble forward, pulling himself into an awkward half roll. He came up in time to see the Orit drop from above, claws and fangs slashing at where he just stood. Just barely climbing to his feet, the beast was already on him, slamming his body backward and sending him flying twenty feet. Felix landed in a heap, cracking his head against the trunk of a Sprout and losing his grip on his sword. He dimly saw it wedge pommel first between a tangle of roots, just out of reach. His Health dropped over two dozen points and a familiar blinking icon of a skull with a jagged line through it appeared in his vision.
Status Condition: Concussion (Minor)
Head trauma, we meet again.
Felix grunted and attempted to stand up, but fell down in a bout of dizziness. Which saved his life, as the Orit slashed at where his head once was; the follow up strike with the monster's fourth leg, however, connected.
"AGH!" Felix's right arm and chest burned where the Orit's black claws ripped through him. Skin and muscle shredded, his tunic torn and covered in blood, he bit back his pain and forced himself to roll away from the giant weasel. Felix stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily on his left arm. He was done. Absolutely done. Of all things, this?!