Pallas had recommended something to him after a particularly close scrape with a massive insect that had almost liquified Cato's left arm with its acid spit. Visualization, or running through potential combat scenarios in his head. Cato had scoffed at the idea at first, failing to see how that would help, but Pallas had insisted.
At first, Cato hadn't really gotten the hang of it, and struggled to maintain concentration, but as time passed, and he fought more, he had more material to work with. Gradually, his concentration grew, and while visualization didn't suddenly make him a better fighter, he noticed little shifts here and there, instances where he could apply a little of what he'd visualized.
This had limited success, as it sometimes helped a lot, with dodging a fast blow, but just as often endangered him, such as when he stepped in too fast and was almost swallowed whole by a massive crocodilian near the river.
However, nonetheless he was learning to appreciate the trident more, although it had only recently come startlingly close to taking his life. He still woke up many nights in a cold sweat, freed from a nightmare highlighted by the feral snarl of the man's face as he thrust towards Cato's heart. Just as often the despairing face of the young woman he'd killed was a frequent visitor in his dreams.
He tried to console himself that she had tried to kill him first, but to little avail. He'd talked to Pallas about it after Pallas had noticed he'd been particularly down. To this, Pallas responded, "What's the problem with feeling discomfort over killing someone? It's only natural. You should only start to be worried when it stops bothering you. However, oftentimes it is necessary in Gehenna, so unfortunately, you will likely have to get used to it. Just don't lose yourself in it, and you'll be in a much better mental place than 90% of the people here."
These words would come to haunt Cato in coming years, but right now, they were a welcome comfort. Cato continued to learn herbology under Pallas, and it seemed he had finally reached a proficiency where he could also learn now how to mix different plants and materials together to make balms, medications, and more.
Pallas had informed him of this the morning after his visualization training, and they began immediately. Using materials Cato himself had gathered, Pallas ran him through the steps of creating a simple healing concoction.
"No you simpleton, I said to boil it till it turned syrupy, not into literal liquid!" Pallas' angry shout could be heard over the chaotic noise of the lab. Beakers bubbled, pots hissed steam, and a strange smell pervaded the cluttered work table.
Cato, with many different colored stains coating his white robes, wiped sweat off his forehead with an elbow, before pulling out a steaming jar of blue liquid with a pair of tongs. "How am I supposed to keep up, when this flame melts everything in seconds?"
He exasperatedly gestured to a pink flame roaring that flickered in strange shapes. Pallas snorted, smacking Cato on the back of the head. This had become a habit, evidenced by the bump forming on his head, the result of many such mess ups in the past few hours. Cato groaned, and almost dropped the jar.
"First you mess it up, and now you're going to waste all the Moonblossom extract? Try to find a faster way for me to throw you out of this tree, why don't you?" Cato managed to secure the jar, and grumpily set it on the table, next to a slew of other 'interesting concoctions' that he'd made recently.
One was a smoking black goo that kept trying to crawl up the sides of the jar, another an odd green stone that continued to fragment and repair itself in a perpetual sound of crackling that rang throughout the lab. His final masterpiece was a cream colored mold that had filled the whole jar, and was only restrained by the lid he'd hastily placed on it.
Pallas had begun howling with laughter upon seeing his 3 creations, in stark contrast to his typically solemn nature. Pallas was bent over, his hands holding his stomach as he laughed on and on, causing Cato's face to flush.
After several minutes, Cato grew exasperated and said, "Come on, it was my first try. Did you expect me to pull this off effortlessly or something? Stop laughing!". Unfortunately, Pallas continued, managing to speak mid laugh. "I've never seen these recipes messed up to this extent before, is all."
Amidst Pallas' chuckling, Cato felt a grin slowly spread across his place, and he laughed as well.
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"So, any predictions on how long the awakenings will take this time?" A musical voice drifted through the white curtains of a gold palanquin that was held up by towering golden men, who bore the massive thing with an inhuman ease.
In a massive white chamber sat Bon, surrounded by the palanquin, as well as two others. A slim man in an emerald vest and baggy white pants that cut off at the shin lounged on a couch. His turquoise serpentine eyes examined Bon with interest as a veiled, olive-skinned woman fed him golden hued grapes.
Wiping the amber juice dribbling down his chin, the man joined in on the conversation. "Yes, I would also love to hear about that as well. I already have my eye on a few characters from your zone."
"While I disdain doing so, I agree with Sagiters. A lot is riding on these new candidates, and I for one don't want a small selection like last time." This last voice arose from a tall figure, shrouded in a red robe. From the hood, a blue flame was visible, quivering as it spoke, although there was no visible mouth.
"Oh come now, Razial. No need to bring up old enmities. I even offered you that particularly generous tribute last Solstice to make up for that little incident." Sagiters continued to lounge on the couch, a lazy smile spreading across his face as he spoke to the flame, Razial.
The flames of Razial flared up, as its voice thundered from his hood. "You slept with my consort, you worm. Be glad I didn't raze that drug den of yours to the ground." Sagiters continued smiling, but all warmth left his face. He coldly gazed at Razial, as he retorted, "As if you could, with the Sultana backing me. I would love to see you challenge the Scorpion Queen."
A loud sigh cut off the argument, as the veiled voice spoke out. "First Nocht and that ingrate Glacias earlier, and now you too. Have you no shame, to present such a miserable countenance before the Guide?" Sagiters immediately quieted down, but Razial seemed unimpressed. "Hmmph! I suppose it wouldn't hurt to maintain a modicum of respect, but this is by no means over. I apologize, Mr. Bon."
Bon was rubbing his temples as he witnessed this verbal scuffle. However, this was a common sight in the political field of Gehenna. Everyone was eager to flex their muscle, content to play the games of the court, and very little was ever accomplished unless forced through.
"Well, I actually do have news on this matter. As you know, before the court, I wasn't able to answer the chief question they had, but I have just received feedback from my assistants in the training locations."
All three people perked up at this, as Sagiters grew serious, Razial's raging flame calmed down, and the curtains of the palanquin slightly parted. Bon grinned, and continued. "This year is quite interesting. The training environments are truly unique this year, from an active volcano to an ancient aquatic city. Some locations are even quite dangerous, as I have lost contact with quite a few helpers already."
Sagiters furrowed his eyebrows at this, and asked, "I thought your helpers were quite formidable. Last I recalled, none were below the fourth layer in strength. It seems this year's batch are facing more perilous conditions than previous years. What exactly is going on?"
Bon smiled at this, and shrugged. "Who knows? I can't claim to know what the head administrator aims for here. After all, it's not really the same as us. He's more subject to the will of the world than any mortal desires."
Razial scoffed. "Yes, yes, the head administrator doesn't take into consideration emotions and the like, but what determines its selections? I do hope it doesn't mean to wipe them all out this time."
"As you all know, its selections are more akin to an automated process than an actual selection. It chooses what flows best, if you understand what I mean. It chooses the highest limit it can push you to without pushing you over the edge, but like I said, it is more automated than anything. It doesn't take into consideration mortal error."
With such a vague reply, Sagiters and Razial were dissatisfied, but the voice behind the curtain fell silent. Razial began arguing with Razial, but the voice interrupted them. "Am I to take it that this year really might result in the death of all the candidates then?" This froze the bickering duo, as the possibility chilled their blood.
"I can't claim to know, but it's always possible. All the zones will undergo the same treatments to a fault, and will meet in the final test, if any of them are left. The remaining numbers by that time will depend on their tenacity, skill and luck. Quite fitting, as that's how it's always been here, no?"
Bon's reply seemed to satisfy the voice, who bid everyone farewell before departing, the golden men previously still as statues rapidly carrying the palanquin out of the chamber. Razial snorted before bursting into a pillar of flame, scorching his seat in the process.
This left just Sagiters, who glanced at Bon with unbridled curiosity. However, he didn't say anything, merely waving at the imp before his body began to fade, disappearing like a mirage. In his stead lay a small letter, which Bon picked up and opened. Upon reading the context, Bon smirked and put it into his pocket.
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Cato sucked in a breath as he rolled, narrowly dodging the mandibles of the insect monster he was facing off against. They snapped shut on empty air, and the head of the insect swiveled towards him, its compound eyes reflecting numerous reflections of Cato's disheveled appearance.
Cato rolled under one of its legs, staying close to the segmented exoskeleton as he stayed in a blindspot, before going in for a quick thrust with his trident. The head on impact with the hard plating slightly changed the trajectory of the attack, and only one prong managed to pierce the pitch black chiton of its underside.
Green blood dribbled down from the carapace of the insect, which screeched in rage, swinging a sharp arm towards Cato. Cato rolled out of the way, but his trident caught on the leg firmly planted in the soil, and he got turned over.
The descending foot missed his abdomen and grazed his side. A line of fire traced down his ribs and Cato suppressed a scream as he thrust the trident up, this time gaining a direct hit that tore open a large gash in the insect's stomach.
Its legs began to shake as its innards spilled out of the gash in a sea of green fluid and blue tissue. It wobbled unsteadily before falling over with a thud. Green blood sprayed everywhere, coating Cato's face and torso with sticky blood.
He stood with difficulty, propping his arm over his trident like a crutch, and hobbled over to the insect's head. There, he wrenched out a smooth blue stone lodged in its head. It came free with a sickening crunch, as the exoskeleton on its head developed cracks all over.
Cato tiredly placed the stone in a bag in his knapsack, next to 3 similar stones. Cato needed only one more to complete the assignment Pallas had assigned him. He had to collect the crests of 5 forest burrowers. The body on the floor next to him was still twitching, but Cato disregarded it as he cleaned off the blades of the trident and made it through the area of the forest he was in.
He was above a canyon, overlooking massive nests of soil hung from the walls of the canyon. He could see packs of the burrowers walking along the canyon floor, transporting food, carrying soil, or nudging along the young.
Occasionally, a bigger insect would walk by, more heavily armored than the average variety, with massive pincers, with distinctive black plating compared to the regular dark green of the normal insects. These black burrowers were the ones Cato was watching for, as they only manifested a mana stone at that stage.
Pallas had taught him this earlier when talking about the ingredients he needed to retrieve. Everything that used mana, whether it be animals or people, generally conformed to a general ranking of power regarding mana. This was measured in layers, from one to nine, matching the layers of Gehenna.
Generally, the layer of power corresponded with the strength required to get to the corresponding floor. The tutorial seemed to follow this principle, as once Cato learned to manipulate mana, he would officially be at the first layer, and engage in actual training on the first layer.
Mana often condensed when one got to the higher layer of mana control, but the burrowers here had a very unfortunate evolutionary path. At just layer one, their mana condensed into cores located on their foreheads. Mana stones were always valuable, and the relative lack of power and easy access to the stone made them prime targets of anyone in need of mana stones.
Cato still wasn't quite sure of the exact purpose mana stones held, but he could assume that it was some sort of absorption or something similar. He picked up one of the stones, examining it. It was multifaceted, having a cloudy blue seeming to fill the stone. It grew thicker towards the center, being almost see through from the edges but too thick to see through in the center.
The stone had a piercing cold quality to it, like Cato was holding a piece of ice. He wondered if this was a result of the attribute of the mana of the burrowers. Pallas had been teaching him about attributes of mana, which he took as a good sign.
At first, there was only attribute-less mana, but if one practiced a special art or was particularly talented, different effects could manifest in their mana. The primary attributes were of the elements, fire, earth, water and air. Then, a step above were the more special categories, such as ice, magama, sound and gravity.
In theory, Pallas said, there were an innumerable amount of attributes, as Gehenna was a mixing pot that pulled in people from all over. New types were found everyday, but the primary ones remained. The truly special ones weren't anything Cato had to worry about at the moment.
The burrowers should've had an earth attribute, based on their habitat and their nests, so Cato was curious why this stone was blue, compared to the other 3 brown ones. The burrower he fought didn't act any differently than the others, but he now felt he needed to get to the bottom of the issue.
He slowly made his way down a canyon face after an hour. The canyon had cleared out, as it was midday, when the burrowers slept. They were nocturnal, so Cato was relying on them being disoriented and groggy if he accidentally woke any up to escape being swarmed. His fingers found purchase in the orange stone and he began his descent.
Cato was no expert, but the cliff face wasn't very hard to climb down. The stone had a peculiar layering pattern, with horizontal sheets of stone stacked on top of another. Footholds were easy to find, and gray roots shot out of the cracks in the layers.
Cato had already tested their strength, and while a little too stretchy for his liking, they seemed like a good last measure in case he lost his grip on the wall. Pebbles and dust sprayed down as he jumped the last 20 feet, tucking into a roll to absorb the impact.
He got to his feet and approached one of the nests situated closer to the ground. Calling them nests felt deceptive, because it made them seem small. In reality, they were massive, and while the one before him was a smaller one, the outermost chamber was a ball of dirt at least 60 feet in diameter. And this was just a small part of the true size, as the burrowers lived up to their names.
Pallas had informed him that bigger burrower nests often stretched miles beneath the surface, a complex maze of tunnels and passages that only the insects could navigate. They all operated in a hivemind, which meant that it was very easy to piss off an entire colony.
Cato definitely didn't want a swarm of insects chasing him through the forest. However, Pallas had assured him he had a very high chance of surviving, although that made Cato more nervous. They possessed intelligence that, although much lower than a human's, likely allowed them to hold grudges.
The last thing Cato needed was a group of vengeful burrowers ambushing him out of nowhere in the already hazardous forest. Thus, he had to move more decisively, and kill the burrowers before they would report his appearance to the rest. They would still be alerted, but they wouldn't know who to track after the fact.
Cato cautiously stepped into the opening of the nest before him, a gaping hole of dark soil that was littered with the bones of various different animals of the forest. A rotten stench arose from the depths of the nest, causing a foul smelling breeze to greet Cato at the mouth of the nest.
Cato began down the tunnel, making sure to stay vigilant. He came across more bones, but the tunnel remained empty otherwise. As the tunnel continued winding down, Cato noticed the soil becoming darker and darker, as more plant life began sprouting from the walls.
Vines criss-crossed over the ceiling of the cave, and small luminescent plants grew from the walls and the floor. A flush of pink flowers caught his eye, and he recognized them as dawn petals, great plants for energy and wakefulness.
He quickly picked them off their stems and stuffed them into a container in his bag. Although he had food and water, precautions never hurt. He continued on his way afterwards, and felt the tunnel begin a sharp decline down.
He ran into a few stray burrowers along the way, but they were all weak and he quickly dispatched them with a few stabs of the trident. He continued on, speeding up as he expected the nest to find out soon about the intruder in the nest.
He ceased being able to walk as time went on. The tunnel gradually sloped further and further, until he was closer to vertically climbing down than horizontally walking. His trident made a great tool here, as he was able to dig it into the soft dirt walls and safely lower himself further.
He brushed some low hanging vines out of the way, his hand waving aside the slightly sticky plants as he looked down the oddly uniform tunnel. Then a horrid smell assaulted his nose, causing Cato to gag and his eyes to water.
He kept down the path, the stench growing all the more pungent. He dry heaved a few times before finally coming across the source of the smell. He came across a protrusion in the wall, circular, and a dark green color. As if the smell wasn't enough, it was pulsating in an unsettling manner.
Cato would have been more than happy to leave it be and be on his way, but something about it fell off. It almost looked like it held something that was about to be born. As he was debating what to do, he heard a high pitched screech coming from above him.
This was his sign to speed it up, as some burrowers had found their dead companions. He gave one last look at the protrusion, before hurrying down the tunnel towards the center of the nest.