Chapter 5 – 005

Seems, an evening spent in a pitch black forest filled with hostile creatures was not stress-free.

Felix managed to go to sleep early on, because the day had exhausted him. However one thing that appeared like a mixture between a hacking cough and a basso roar despatched him stumbling to his ft. Adrenaline racing, he stood inventory nonetheless, holding his strolling stick and staring into the darkness.

It was nearly utterly darkish. The place had been these 5 moons he noticed yesterday? It was nearly like he was in a cave, the sky a darkish aircraft above him. Then he observed the tree beneath him.

The Kingsap was glowing. Softly, too softly to note even on a moonlit evening, however greater than sufficient to face out like a beacon on this darkish. He studied the slashing patterns of the graceful bark beneath him, dragging his fingers throughout it is sloping floor and up considered one of branches that was as thick as his waist. Midway up, he discovered a gash within the department, a small jagged gap the place a chook or one thing will need to have gone on the lookout for bugs. The glow was brighter right here, radiating off a drop of pale purple sap.

Felix pulled his hand again, fingers sticky and glowing as nicely now. It was oddly calming, this sap. It felt like a smooth breeze, and smelled like contemporary lower grass on a heat morning. With out considering, he raised his fingers as much as his tongue and tasted it.

Colours burst in his imaginative and prescient, like a kaleidoscopic rainbow and he tasted sunshine and morning dew and the deep darkish loam of fertile earth. It was thick, like a dense honey. It reminded him of summer time days, by some means. Felix sat down and settled in opposition to a thick department.

This place was unusual and wild and bizarre all rolled up with RPG sport mechanics. He did not know the place to go, or what to do, and but on this second, he felt calm. Relaxed. Above him, the clouds thinned and small silver sparks twinkled within the black.

He fell asleep.

Blink.

Blink.

Felix woke the following morning bleary eyed and stiff from his place in opposition to the Kingsap department. He rolled his neck, urgent down on his shoulder together with his left hand, stretching out varied kinks.

“Ooofa.” He was tremendously sore. He hadn’t labored out like that in…nicely, ever.

Then he observed the “!” icon within the nook of his imaginative and prescient. It had been blinking at him all this time, and Felix toggled it as he sat with a muffled groan.

Congratulations!

Your Title Gourmand Has Garnered You Perception!

You Have Realized A Ability From The Sap Of The Kingsap!

Meditation (Unusual), Stage 1!The unique look of this chapter might be discovered at Ñøv€lß1n.

You search the middle, to turn into One with All. Will increase Regen charges by flat proportion.

“Whoa.” That burning sensation returned, in far larger pressure, as if one thing was worming its means into him. His breath caught beneath that ache, nevertheless it pale in seconds. Felix fell backward with a groan, panting.

He had utterly forgotten about his Gourmand Title. It had netted him his first Uncommon ability from the Dread, and now an Unusual ability from a magic tree. What did that Title say? He introduced it up.

Title: Gourmand(Uncommon)

Eat Your Foes! Be taught Their Power! Information Fuels You!

+1 to INT and WIL!

Be taught their power? So did that imply the Kingsap was significantly good at meditating? How does a tree meditate? He leaned again on his elbows, trying up on the swooping branches and fluttering purple leaves. It swayed barely within the morning breeze, nearly hypnotically. It made sense; a minimum of as a lot sense as anything on this world.

He blinked.

World. He had been avoiding that exact thought for the previous day. He was very clearly on one other world. Planet. Photo voltaic system? Most likely. He was very, very distant from dwelling. And for the primary time, the load of it settled on Felix like a suffocating shroud. His coronary heart raced, he broke out in a flop sweat, and he was midway to his ft earlier than recognizing that he had no the place to run.

He was caught right here.

No mates. No household. No individuals in any respect, a minimum of none up to now. Simply indignant beasts trying to eat him. He couldn’t—

Breathe.

Felix closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Simply breathe.

He felt the tree beneath him, easy to the contact and oddly heat. He took a breath. The wind rustled throughout his face, nice and funky. He launched a breath. He heard the tree creak because it swayed, shifting ever so barely to the rhythm of the breeze.

He opened his eyes.

Meditation is Stage 2!

Felix huffed a shocked breath, half laughing. Shaking his head, he stood up.

“Day two.”

His second day within the Continent was just like the latter half of the primary. After some fast, painful stretches that additional confirmed how out of practice he was, Felix took off operating. He made irregular laps round his small glen, leaping from rock to rock, holding his heavy strolling stick.

He encountered only some creatures, principally extra Tree Voles. The cat-sized rodents watched him from the close by branches, steadily munching their means by means of the cover. No matter lived within the smelly dugout close by wasn’t there come dawn, although the scent of musk and urine was even stronger. He figured it should vary far afield through the day, searching perhaps. If he had been fortunate, it would not come again till he was again within the Kingsap.

All through the morning, he used Analyze. After Stage 10 it activated smoother and faster, small blue packing containers of Identify and Lore and Properties showing and disappearing throughout him. He barely considered it; it was like respiratory.

At first, Felix held his stick near his chest, throwing it out large when his stability failed him. After some time he tried to carry it out in entrance of his chest your entire time. Because the day earlier than, his Stamina shortly bottomed out. Twenty minutes of resting and meditating and he was again at it. Rinse and repeat.

How a lot Power is represented by 1 level within the Power Stat? Is that an additional 5lbs of lifting weight? Felix thought of the information as he lifted a number of massive stones, repeatedly. Now that he had a whopping Power of 5, he was greater than double his beginning Power, if that is the way it labored. He wasn’t certain, however he felt stronger than earlier than.

Because the day earlier than, he scavenged was remained of the flitweed for Stamina regeneration, and ate a plant known as dewcatcher he had noticed throughout his runs.

Identify: Dewcatcher

Felix was inordinately happy. The Stealth Ability can be extraordinarily helpful in scouting extra space, and the Breath Management Ability appeared tailored to accompany it. It made him surprise as soon as once more whether or not he was making these Expertise himself, or being granted Expertise that already existed.

Regardless, his scenario was a lot the identical as earlier than. He needed to get out of this glen to outlive, however could not survive lengthy in opposition to the assorted monsters. They had been too excessive degree.

And the Skinks are too territorial to let me by means of, he sighed and leaned in opposition to the large trunk of the Kingsap. If solely I may discover weaker beasts, then I may…

Felix sat up, a revelation like a jolt of electrical energy throughout his backbone.

The bug! What degree was it! He searched his uncanny reminiscence, hoping he had…sure! Felix had been utilizing Analyze a lot lately that he was nearly subconsciously activating it all the time. Most of what he obtained again was the identical, as he’d tagged a lot of the surrounding flora; it was like white noise. However for the worth of a pointy headache, his Eager Thoughts let him pull up every one, together with the bug.

Identify: Emberfly

Sort: Insect

Stage: 18

HP: ???/???

MP: ???/???

Lore: Born grubs in varied native bushes, they remodel into emberflies after twenty days and have a toxic sting.

“Sure!” Felix punched the air earlier than wincing and holding his temple. Stage 18 wasn’t significantly better than Stage 23, however he’d take it!

Wait! The Lore mentions grubs reworking into the Emberflies. Meaning–

That meant he may need one thing his personal measurement to choose on.

Attempting to find grubs was more durable than Felix anticipated.

To remodel into an Emberfly, which was the scale of his head, the grub was doubtless half that measurement. That was nonetheless big, so he’d began off assured find an enormous nasty bug briefly order. Three hours later and over 200 bushes inspected, he had nonetheless come up empty.

The search hadn’t been completely wasted although. Felix had saved a watch out for helpful herbs and vegetation, grinding his Herbalism Ability and stuffing his strained pockets with what he may. Some extra Yarrow was the very best discover, although he additionally discovered a small clutch of mushrooms known as Witchcaps. The little issues purified blood (no matter that meant) and offered a tiny well being enhance.

By pure luck, close to the tip of his search Felix noticed a wierd pale grub undulating over a rotting log in a dry, shallow gully. The factor was roughly two ft lengthy, mottled burnt umber and fleshy white. Eyes like jelly-filled sacs of blood sat on its face because it munched on the log beneath it. It needed to weigh thirty kilos, a minimum of.

Identify: Copse Grub

Sort: Insect

Stage: 13

HP: ???/???

MP: ???/???

Lore: Born of eggs positioned in bushes, copse grubs spend their lives devouring the tree from the within out. As soon as finished, they remodel into Emberflies.

The grub regarded full and fats, having practically devoured its complete tree at this level. The log was eaten by means of in a number of positioned, bored out and coated in gnaw marks. It is physique was additionally coated in a liquid that (even at a distance of twenty yards) Felix may guess was unpleasantly goopy. It was, in a phrase, gross.

Gross or not, that is the bottom degree creature I’ve seen but. He hefted a pointy rock from the bottom. They had been littered throughout the realm, making stealth extraordinarily tough. Time to squash a bug.

Transferring nearer rigorously, Felix ended up solely two dozen ft away behind a rocky outcropping and some clustered saplings. Respiration quietly and steadily, he hefted his rock and took intention.

Right here goes nothing.

He threw.

And the rock landed with a uninteresting thud within the grime, simply ten ft shy of the grub.

Jesus, that is embarrassing. He wiped his hand throughout his face, glad nobody noticed that pathetic throw. Fortunately, the grub did not seem to have nice senses; it did not even react to the influence. Felix shortly gathered up a number of extra rocks and tried once more.

This time, the rock hit the log, however nonetheless missed the grub. The bizarre bug twitched towards the noise, however did not make every other actions.

With a resigned sigh Felix moved nearer. Solely ten ft away now, and separated by a stand of thick bushes (Beranthia Conifers, he idly Analyzed), he readied one other throw.

He had made some extent of gathering up perhaps thirty rocks, throughout the scale of a baseball. They had been onerous and had a number of jagged edges, hopefully sufficient to penetrate the slick flesh of this bug.

C’mon. C’mon.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Felix spun out of canopy and whipped the stone as onerous and as quick as he may.

SQUELCH.

You Have Realized A New Ability!

Thrown Weapons Mastery (Widespread), Stage 1.

Do not simply stand there, toss stuff! Ability degree barely will increase accuracy and energy.

Sure! I did it!

Victory by no means tasted so candy. A strike and a Ability! Now he simply needed to pummel the factor till it ran out of Well being and kicked it. Felix grabbed two extra rocks and circled to throw them.

That is when the grub exploded.