Kid...
Kid...
"JODY!!!"
"TEMP HOST!!!"
"WAKE UP!"
"Huh?" Jody focused and realized he was standing alone next to a broken tree. "What's going on?"
"After that girl left, you've been spaced out for the last five minutes," Sylvester's words completely baffled Jody.
"What girl? What are you talking about?" Jody frowned, suddenly suspecting he had lost part of his memory.
He recognized the feeling.
Sylvester was momentarily speechless. He had forgotten so thoroughly?
"CURSES!" Bellowed Xavier. "I stopped focusing on her when we were calling for you. I've failed you, temp host! Sly, will this count against me in the election?"
"Shut up, X," Sylvester said indifferently. "Kid, what does the name Topaz mean to you?"
"Who?" asked Jody in confusion.
"Woah..." even Xavier was dumbfounded.
The princes both felt hearing her name should trigger the memory, as this is how it worked in the past. But Jody seemed once again wholly ignorant of the girl's existence. Why would she warn him about his brother only to make him forget the warning? What was her goal?
"Could it be because she said..." Xavier started to ask, but Sylvester cut him off.
"Shut. Up. X." Sly growled, making his brother stop speaking.
'Why so serious?' Xavier felt his brother was behaving one point ruder than usual.
Thinking carefully, Xavier suddenly understood the problem. He couldn't say those words, or the consequences could be serious. It was a good thing his older brother was this astute. Sly immediately noticed the crux.
At this moment, Jody's nose twitched. That medicinal herb was very close to this location.
"Let's talk about this later, guys. Let's see what herb is over there," said Jody as he immediately dashed toward the scent.
Within his consciousness, the two princes glanced at each other before silently returning to the grimoire. Jody would have to solve this one on his own. That devious little demoness had found a way to counter their advantage perfectly. Likely, sages having a mental link with combat souls or source artifacts wasn't a rare occurrence. Since they couldn't explain to him what happened, they would just wait for him to ask again.
Meanwhile, the dashing Jody finally stopped before a patch of herbs. Jody approached the herbs cautiously, his senses on high alert. As he got closer, the force grew stronger, almost intoxicating. But he couldn't feel his body trembling with the usual anticipation. There were many of them, and normally he would be ecstatic.
But something had caught his attention. He quickly gathered as many of the herbs as he could find, stuffing them into his bag. He looked closer at the patch of herbs before him, noticing that one particular herb emanated a strong aura. He sniffed once to confirm it. This was the very herb he had been searching for.
He reached out to touch the leaves, and as soon as his fingers brushed against them, he was hit with a wave of energy so strong it knocked him back several feet. Jody grimaced and asked Sek Si to find a way to collect that herb. Sek was annoyed but still heeded her liege's command. A shadow left Jody's and swam on the ground before invading the shadow of the herb. Then, the herb vanished into its shadow.
Jody was impressed with her efficiency.
After this, he immediately entered the high state.
Ever since Jody had completed his twilight rebirth, his labors would silently absorb certain forces when he circulated his own force. Now that he was connecting more passages and had been in a perpetual state of operating his force in this desolate forest, his labor tattoos were constantly absorbing forces. While running, he noticed origin and elemental forces subtly drawn to his left arm. When he defeated enemies, the tattoo on his chest greedily devoured the gloomy forces of what Jody presumed was death.
Voodoo.
Voodoo force could be found everywhere in nature, as things always died. Bugs, beasts, people. Death was everywhere in the desolate wilds. He constantly felt this force subtly invading his chest and wrist, but just now...he also felt it in his back. When that force just now rebuffed him, he felt four powers helping him resist it, not three. After entering the High State, he zeroed in on his back and noticed the new labor tattoo.
But before Jody had time to contemplate or ask his sky wolves about this matter, he heard a menacing growl. Luckily, he was already in the high state. Spreading his perception out just ten meters, he noticed a ferocious feline slowly prowling in the bushes. The force this beast was trying to suppress was monstrous, but Jody couldn't immediately tell how powerful it was exactly.
He didn't panic. He couldn't.
Instead, Jody took a deep breath and steeled himself for the upcoming battle. He knew that he was no match for the beast guarding the herbs, but he was determined to try. He shifted into his combat stance, his muscles tense and ready, and faced the bushes head-on. He instantly opened five astralis and let astral light flood his twilight veins. Only he couldn't activate his battle force.
When he tried, all he saw was that feral gaze.
Jody stepped back, fear filling his eyes as he saw the beast slowly emerging from the bushes. It was a massive lioness with fur as golden as the sun. Jody recognized it as the second-level vicious beast, Braveheart Lioness, and knew that he was no match for her blood force. He had to escape, but his feet wouldn't move.
He was paralyzed.
He was...afraid?
His battle force was based on rage. He couldn't use it without harnessing the esoteric principles of rage highlighted in the Immortal Rage Law. Memories of his last life and the trials he had endured up until now flooded his brain. Trill Jody was afraid? Would he die a coward?
"Never. I'll die fighting every time," Jody gnashed his teeth, angry at his cowardice.
He actually considered fleeing miserably. This terrible vicious beast would be on him in an instant, and he'd be eaten alive. His mana started spiraling as a silver atmosphere emerged from his body. The beast suddenly leaped out of the bushes, revealing itself. Its blood force was intense and brutal. Jody could feel the force emanating from the beast, and he knew it had a whopping 62 bp at minimum. Which meant he was in a lot of trouble. But he didn't back down.
He charged at the beast, his fists flying in a flurry of punches. The second Fist of Light, the fist of truth! The truth Jody used at this moment was, of course...
Fists of Rage!
A mad fight for his life!
*Thud, thud, thud*
The fists rained furiously on the beast, but she was widely unaffected. The Braveheart Lioness batted him away easily, but Jody didn't give up. He got back up and charged again, this time aiming for the beast's eyes. He punched the beast's left eye, causing it to roar in pain and swipe at him with its paw. Jody fought desperately, dodging the beast's attacks and landing punches where possible. But it was clear that he was outmatched. He was losing energy fast, and his punches weren't doing much damage to the beast's thick fur and tough skin.
Suddenly, the beast lunged forward, its massive claws digging into the ground as it raced towards Jody. Still in the high state, he drew upon the power of his labor tattoos. The voodoo force inside of him surged, and he felt his body become lighter, more nimble.
As the beast came within striking distance, Jody leaped into the air, flipping over its head and landing behind it. It was only now Jody realized how powerful he could become when he relied on his divinity. However, his mental energy was depleting rapidly. Way too rapidly. He already had a migraine and knew he had to move fast.
Jody's hands moved without conscious thought, and one silver and one obsidian dagger seemed to materialize out of the air. Their edges glowed a hellish orange, razor-sharp, and ready for battle. He gasped at the sight of them; the blades were as long as his father's arm, and the black spade-like handles felt like an extension of his own body. He immediately spun around, his silver dagger connecting with the beast's head.
He used the momentum of the blow to spin again and stab the beast with his obsidian dagger.
The beast reeled a bit but shook it off, trying to bite at Jody's face. Right then, a shadowy blade of rukh appeared like a shadow and slammed into the beast's jaw. The force of the blow sent the beast stumbling forward, and Jody quickly followed up with a series of swift punches, slashes, and kicks. The beast roared in frustration, its claws swiping at Jody. But Jody was too quick, dodging and weaving around the beast's attacks. He could feel the power of the voodoo force coursing through his veins, giving him an almost supernatural edge in battle. But he could feel his concentration waning.
[Imp: Death - 99 Stars, 32 crystals]
A seven-colored prompt appeared in front of Jody. To his utter astonishment, he remembered for the first time during this battle that nothing else moved when he focused on a twilight prompt. It was like time was frozen. Jody stared at the prompt for a long time, afraid to focus on anything else. Just one death star and however many crystals he had burned had almost rendered him unconscious.
These labors were intense and not easy to endure. But the trade-off was significant. Jody suspected that he could only perform so well thanks to his twilight sage body. Ignoring the prompt, he charged at the lioness with all his strength, [Pharaoh's Law] materializing on as his crown.
His high state was instantly boosted to the next level, and the burden of his labors was reduced by a bit. The beast had a menacing force that lacerated whatever its claws touched, Jody dodging her massive paws and swiping at her with his shadowy blades. After every second strike, another shadow blade would appear and randomly copy the first or second attack. Its pattern was unpredictable, and these were the only hits damaging the beast at all. But the Braveheart Lioness was relentless.
Jody even felt it was toying with him.
He soon found himself on the ground with the beast looming over him, ready to strike. The vicious beast opened his mighty maw as brutal and desolate force rapidly condensed like a storm of death.