Two figures ran through a dimly lit forest, weaving between thick trees and using the thick foliage to slow down their pursuer. Their efforts were largely futile as they were being changed by a freaking rhinoceros.
The angry beasty was the size of a small cottage, the ground rumbling as it charged after them.
"How much further?" Bastion shouted, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he fled for his life.
"Less talking, run, faster!" Zee shouted back.
As if to accentuate their predicament, their pursuer plowed into a tree the width of her torso. The fifty-foot-tall tree shattered and was bowled over like it wasn't even there.
Zee shouldn't have been too surprised. This was a mid-E-grade monster, a beast king, and a powerful one at that. The rhino bellowed, the sound like a weapon, throwing her off her feet.
Zee would have hit face-first into a tree, if not for turning into a cloud of mist. Zee reappeared fifty meters away, not slowing at all, the rhino's dense earthy aura urging her to run faster.
"You know, I just realized something," Bastion said, leaped over a fallen tree still ahead of her, moving with cat-like grace.
"And what's that?" Zee gasped, leaping over the log right after him with much less flare.
"I don't need to outrun the Rhino, I just need to outrun you." Bastion laughed.
"If you let me get trampled to death, Dern said he is going to haunt you," Zee shouted barreling through the thick foliage after him.
"Now you are just being vindictive," Bastion said.
Zee's cloak billowed behind her, her feet thudding along the forest floor. Fleeing for her life in the face of a monster wasn't all that warrior-like, even though this might be the exception.
Trailing hot on their heels was an angry rhino, with rock-hard skin, and two enormous horns atop its nose. The ten-ton mountain of muscle plowed over trees and bushes, shaking the ground with each lumbering step.
Zee had already tried to stab it from atop its back of course, but that was like trying to cut rock, the corrosive effects of spirit echo really pissing it off. But, that was exactly what they needed, for this monster to chase them blindly into the trap.
Zee and Bastion barreled into a narrow ravine, crossing an invisible line. The furious rhino charged in after them, right into the jaws of Yukna's surprise.
The first thing was a thin net, made of energy that sprung up from the ground wrapping the beast tightly. It flailed and struggled, snapping the trap only to run onto the next one.
There was a massive explosion as the rhino stepped on the first pressure plate, setting off the hidden explosive. Steel fragments shot upwards, gouging deep gashes in its legs and lightly armored chest.
Without a beat, an arrow radiating immense penetrative force lanced down from a nearby tree, striking the rhino in the eye, and startling the already dazed monster. It flailed, running blindly into the second hidden bomb. The rhino bellowed in pain, its aura rising, stone flowing from the ground to coat its skin.
In a fit of rage, the rhino slammed the ground with its legs, and large spikes formed from the ground, lancing towards Greg's hiding spot. As if he had always been there, Bastion appeared, slamming a palm into the air.
The foot-thick earth spikes froze mid-air, launching back at the rhino as he performed the second punch. The rhino staggered, its own spikes tearing off chunks of hide and rock.
The big monster staggered but quickly caught its baring, bracing itself to charge the much smaller Bastion.
Its plans were rudely interrupted by a sharp pain in its hind legs and back. An eight-foot-tall suit of armor appeared as though from thin air, attacking the rhino with wild abandon.
Dern's glaive gouged deep gashes into the thick hide of its legs, spattering the dirt with blood. He was not the only one harassing it. Arrows targeted its eyes, and vulnerable neck, while Zee did her best to cover the monster in a thousand burning cuts.
Zee clung to its back, infusing her aura with her spark of compression, making it difficult for the already heavy beast to move. She stabbed at the thick rock plating near its neck, her sword, her spirit echo, having a tough time piercing the armor.
Still, Zee didn't lack enthusiasm, hacking away at its thickly armored back and neck. The cuts were shallow, but each one applied the decaying effect of her spirit echo, adding up to a devastating amount of pain and damage.
Blinded by pain, the rhino flailed, attempting to skewer Bastion on its horns. Bastion, having reached ranked peak F rank over a month ago was much too slippery for the beast.
He weaved between the heavy blows, and thick stone spikes of the rhino, working in tandem with Dern to pincer the creature. All the while, Greg riddled the beast full of arrows, distracting it further.
Zee, having to clutch on tightly to its back, used their distraction to cram a few beast splinters into the gaps in the stone armor, flooding them with energy.
Small vortexes of spatial energy punched holes in the rhino's thick stone armor, tearing off much of the stone protecting its flesh. Zee thrust her sword downward, embedding it deeply into the monster's back, flooding its vitals with decaying fire.
Given its size and the relatively short length of her blade, it was not a lethal wound. It would take a lot more than this to kill such a sturdy beast.
The creature was floundering, getting desperate, when the last member of the team made her appearance in her usual fashion, with copious amounts of fire. The severely wounded rhino staggered, frothing at the mouth as a swirling storm of fire formed underneath it.
Bastion, leaped back, while Zee turned into a puff of mist. They were both just in time to avoid being turned into a drifting cloud of ash, as Allison's finisher skill surrounded the beast in a white-hot pillar of fire.
Zee reappeared in a crouch, watching as the flames faded, leaving a charred, smoking monster. From months of habit, she scanned their surroundings, not relaxing until the monster took its last breath.
Only then did she collapse onto her butt, taking a breather. The others were doing the same, all of them exhausted from the day's hunt. Nearby, she spotted Yukna walking around, examining her net that hadn't held up, a thoughtful look on her face.
Zee didn't blame the net for breaking. This oversized rock was a tough nut to crack. Pushing that aside, she pulled out a large beast splinter from her spatial storage and rolled it between her fingers.
The heart of fire drummed loudly in her chest its beat slowing gradually, flooding her body with hair-raising amounts of energy. Some hesitation filled her. Was it really a good idea to keep wasting her wealth like this?
It had been over two months since they killed the Clackson hive. She had destroyed over two hundred of these splinters in pursuit of insight into space, and yet, no burst of inspiration.
This was her second last one, which would make her effectively penniless afterward. All she had left were two E-grade beast splinters. They were the cores from the spire hawk and the hive queen.
Even after two months of battling monsters with her team, these were still the most potent splinters she had found. She had burned all the others turning them into a brief tear in reality. Zee took a deep breath, clenching the splinter in her fist.
Zee put away the beast splinter, looking up as Dern approached the smoking corpse of the Rhino.
Ever since Dern told her he was a soul-sucking monster, Zee had been sort of curious as to what that looked like.
And once she found out, she never wanted to see it again. Dern, shrunk in size as he leaped up onto the dead rhino's forehead, ignoring the smoking skin.
Like he had dozens of times in her the past three months, thin tendrils of silvery energy formed an extremely complex series of runes in the air before they shot into the rhino's body.
No flesh was damaged, but something else came out. An incorporeal rhino appeared above its dead body, struggling furiously to escape Dern's clutches.
Zee let out a sigh as the sword at her hip vibrated, a wash of hunger radiating from the burgeoning spirit within. The spirit in her sword had found something it wanted to eat. Too bad she was not giving it what it wanted.
There was absolutely no way she was letting her sword eat souls to grow stronger.
Dern's eating habits raised enough eyebrows already. Her sword let out a frustrated growl of primal hunger as Dern's creepy tendrils grasped the rhino in an iron grip.
The ghostly rhino flailed and struggled, letting out soundless screams of rage and fear. Nothing worked and it was dragged ever closer to Dern's maw.
It was no wonder that soul arts were taboo in nearly every empire in the universe. Even the unliving didn't dabble in the practice.
She shudder as the rhino made one final soundless cry of anguish before disappearing into the abyss where Dern's head should be.
Dern's ominous aura roiled for a moment before it settled, and he let out a frustrated sigh.
"What's wrong?" Zee asked.
"That wasn't enough. Barely a light snack. We need to find something with a stronger soul or we will never quell the hunger." Dern said.
"We are not letting you eat the soul of a sentient being." Allison piped in, watching the spectacle from the shade of a tree nearby.
"Why not?" Dern asked. Bastion stood, walking over.
"Because it is blatantly evil. Eating monsters' souls is already bad enough. If anyone sees what you are doing, they will start asking some very uncomfortable questions." Bastion said giving Zee an earnest glance.
Zee had to admit, Bastion was right. It was a sentiment that was mirrored by Greg and Yukna.
Dern leaped off the rhino's head, onto the leave strewn dirt. "Fine, but that means we will need to hunt a lot more monsters. This little rhino was hardly more than an appetizer." Dern said.
Bastion grunted at that, looking unhappy.
"This seems a bit unfair, doesn't it? His little ritual is keeping my purse empty. How are we supposed to make money when he keeps spoiling the bodies and destroying the splinters." Bastion said.
Zee grimaced at that.
"Sorry guys. With Dern's eating habits, we haven't really made much money recently." Zee said scratching the back of her head sheepishly.
Allison waved a hand dismissively. "Yukna and I don't really need the money."
She glanced over at Greg, sitting on a fallen tree. The large Armenian shrugged at her inquisitive look.
"I'm fine with taking a little pay cut to help you out," Greg said, in his usual no-nonsense manner.
Zee nodded and turned to the biggest wildcard of the group. "What do you want? Oh and keep in mind I am dirt poor." Zee said with a wan smile.
Bastion tapped his lip thoughtfully.
"We are all well aware of how poor you are given your habit of shattering all of your beast splinters. But... Since money is out of the question, how about a favor?" Bastion asked.
"A favor?" she asked.
"Yes. One favor, from either you or Dern that I can cash in at any time with no questions asked." Bastion said.
Zee was honestly taken aback, glancing over to Dern who was standing next to Yukna.
The small suit of armor shrugged.
"Sure, why not. It's better than paying him back for all the bodies I have ruined," Dern said.
"Alright, fine, you get your favor," Zee said, giving Bastion a sidelong glance.
Bastion grinned, his mischievous smile making her regret giving him such an open-ended favor.
With the excitement of the battle over, and Greg on guard duty, she found a tree to climb.
Perching on a high branch, she sighed in relief closing her eyes. She cleared her mind, focusing on her current predicament.
Proficiency increased, spirit echo, peak, has reached ninety-nine percent mastery.
Proficiency increased, wayward walk, Peak, has reached ninety-nine percent mastery.
Proficiency increased, summoner, Peak, has reached ninety-nine percent mastery.
Proficiency increased, spatial ripple, Peak, has reached ninety-nine percent mastery.
Zee had heard of getting stuck at a bottleneck, but until now, didn't really understand what that actually meant.
Something was wrong, holding her body back from ranking up.
Killing that rhino should have pushed all of her skills at least one percent, and yet, nothing.
The question was, what was the problem? Dern thought it might be tied to his continued hunger, and so was trying his best to rectify that. Zee didn't think Dern's solution was the correct one.
After some deliberation, Zee went to find the princess for some advice.
Allison listened to her thoughts, not speaking until she was done with her explanation.
"I am no expert, but you may need to evolve your splinter to a fragment. With the disgusting amount of potency you receive from boons, your splinter might be too weak to withstand the rank up." Allison said.
Zee rocked back on her heels. "That's an interesting thought. Didn't you wait until E grade, to evolve your splinter to a fragment?" Zee pointed out.
"Yes. But my foundation was not near as bloated as yours." Allison said.
"And what if you are wrong?" Zee asked.
Allison shrugged. "Then you will have already formed a fragment, and no doubt gained another boon for your troubles," Allison said.
Zee liked the sound of that. It sounded like a win-win. Plus it gave her something to strive for.
"Any suggestions?" Zee asked.
"It depends on what type of fragment you wish to form," Allison said.
"There are different types?" Zee asked, confused.
Allison rolled her eyes. "Of course there are. Everyone is different. For example. If you evolved you formed a fragment with the method I used, you would get a fragment with a stronger affinity towards fire. As someone with a spatial affinity, that could cripple your cultivation. If your fragment is not suited to you, you won't be able to advance through the E grade. "Allison said.
"I thought I already had a strong spatial affinity? Shouldn't that be enough to break through the inner gates?" Zee asked.
"You have a strong affinity for an F-grade warrior. With a Fragment that isn't suited to you, I doubt you would be able to open more than one or two inner gates." Allison clarified.
"I see…. So how do I form a fragment that will improve my spatial affinity?" Zee asked.
"I have absolutely no idea. You are the first person I have met who has the spatial affinity. Given how rare your talent is back home we might not even have a cultivation method there to suit you." Allison said.
Zee sighed.
"Of course, you wouldn't have one. Life is just full of one disappointment after another. First, my sword wanting to eat souls, and now this." Zee muttered, annoyed.
"What was that? Your sword wants to eat souls?" Allison asked, raising both eyebrows.
"Don't worry about it. I have it in hand." Zee said, waiving a hand dismissively.
Allison ran a hand down her face, tiredly. "Why can't you just be normal?"Allison asked.
Zee shrugged. "I am normal, it's everyone else who is weird." Zee retorted, leaving the doubtful princess to go find Dern.
She didn't need to be in person to communicate with Dern, as their mental connection made that unnecessary.
The reason she searched him out in person was to find Yukna as well. Those two Brainiacs might have some insight that Allison didn't.
She found the two a good distance from the camp, working on their most recent project.
Yukna glanced up as she approached, brushing a lock of mousy brown hair from her face, getting oil stains on her forehead.
"Zee. What's up?" Yukna asked.
"If you two are busy I can come back later," Zee said.
"No, it's fine. What can I help you with." Yukna asked, wiping her hands on her oil-stained shirt.
Zee mulled it over for a moment before just explaining.
Dern shrugged his armored shoulders, wisps of silver and blue swirling between the thin gaps in his armor.
"I don't think you would like my cultivation technique for forming a fragment. Unless you want to drain souls to get stronger." Dern said.
"Absolutely not. Yukna do you have anything I can use?" Zee asked, immediately turning him down.
Yukna shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, the method I used to form my fragment will be even less use to you," Yukna said.
Zee sighed, dejectedly. "That's alright. So, what are you two making this time?" Zee asked.
Yukna perked up, adjusting her glasses excitedly.
"Ohh, you are going to love this. It is a just prototype but it has strong potential. It's an idea I got after watching you throw around beast splinters infused with your spatial affinity." Yukna said.
"What does it do?" Zee asked, eying the five beast splinters strapped to a grenade warily.
The cores were placed haphazardly around the grenade, connected by a spiderweb array of etchings that pulsed ominously.
"If our calculations are correct, it should create an explosion on par with a twenty-pound energy bomb," Yukna said.
Zee blanched, backing away. No wonder they were out of the camp proper. That was enough explosive power to annihilate a small cottage. That kind of destruction was enough to make even Zee, who most might call a reckless battle junkie weak in the knees.
"Don't look so worried. It's not even charged yet." Yukna said.
"Right.. you two have fun with that. I am going to leave now, you know, where it's safe." Zee said rushing away from the two mad tinkerers.
The combination of Dern's penitent for violence, and Yukna's eye for explosives were a recipe for disaster. Zee only hoped they didn't get themselves or the team blown up.
Zee was content to bask in the warm breeze caressing her sweaty skin, breathing in the tangy air that tasted a little burnt.
Even after three months in here, she still couldn't get past that tang every time she breathed.
That reminded her, that she hadn't eaten an antidote pill in a few days. The damned things were stuffed with impurities but they were a necessary evil.
It was better than dying a horrible death by the toxic yellow haze that filled the planar space and blanketed the dead world.
She found herself a branch high up a nearby tree, to get some privacy and to check the compass. Intricate etchings lit up along its mirror-smooth surface, letting off a soft, yet insistent thrumming.
The thrumming was gradually increasing with each passing day, urging her forwards. Her eyes scanned the cloudy horizon, taking in a wall of swirling storm clouds, the place the compass was leading them.
It looked somewhat similar to that sandstorm they had to survive when they arrived on Sphedhara. And yet, also not.
Zee sat atop her branch watching the distant storm, anxiety clawing at her. Was she making the right choice in keeping her friends in the dark? Closing her eyes she peered inward, towards her splinter, which was riddled with hair-thin cracks.
That whole discussion about what to do to rank up was all just a smoke screen. She already knew why she was stuck in the bottleneck.
It was the cracks covering her splinter. She remembered seeing them when she first woke after the battle with the hive queen and those beetles. She had ignored them as unimportant.
A grave error, that she needed to fix. Zee felt like a terrible person, having kept this Dern and the others. That might not be a possibility for much longer, especially since the cracks were growing.
As for why she was keeping something like this a secret, that was complicated. She wanted to solve this problem by herself, as it was her fault for stealing and eating that natural treasure in the first place.
The other's suggestions to form a fragment were good, but Zee had no idea how to form one that suited her affinity. She sighed, thankful Dern was outside her body. Just looking at those cracks across her splinter filled her with a sense of dread, and urgency, that she would have trouble hiding from him.
Zee wrapped her hands tightly around her knees, balancing precariously on her branch, leaning her back against the tree trunk. Her eyes drifted back towards the horizon, as the clouds in the sky swirled, and for the briefest moment, she saw it.
Was it just her imagination, or was that a tower in the center of that storm?