Chapter 21 [First Encounters]

Nathaniel swung his glaive, clearing a large patch of brush before glancing curiously at his companion. He studied Rowan’s movements. As always, they were swift and graceful—efficient, no wasted movements despite the uneven terrain of the forest floor.

“Hmm…” Nathaniel’s low hum was nearly silent as he considered his friend’s words from the night before. ‘Something bad is going to happen, Nathaniel… I won’t stand idly by.’ Then there were those guards…

He’d peeked through the curtain after Rowan’s departure before settling down to meditate. I suppose I could just ask.

“What’d ya find last night?” he posed the question without looking back.

“Care to be more specific?” Rowan responded with his own question.

Nathaniel shrugged. “I saw ya follow after those guards and you were gone for some time. Thought there might be a story there.”

“Ah…” Rowan’s steps faltered slightly, causing Nathaniel to glance back. He was surprised to find that his friend looked… embarrassed. “Nothing too exciting, I can assure you.”

“Hah! Why don’t you tell him, Boss?” a young boy’s voice spoke from right beside them.

Nathaniel’s grip tightened on his glaive, and he swung to face the newcomer. He was surprised to find the sneak grinning broadly… and floating high enough off the ground that their eyes met. Seeing the spectral figure, and having seen its visage in Rowan’s Card, it only took him a moment to put the pieces together.

“My apologies.” Nathaniel dropped his stance and lowered his weapon. “You must be David.”

“I am!” David’s voice echoed slightly when he spoke. “It’s good to finally meet you! What you did against those Howlers when we were training together… Magnificent!”

I see… It seems that Rowan was more involved in those exercises than I first suspected. Nathaniel examined the strange garments worn by the young spectre before changing the topic. “So, about last night..?”

“Can I tell him?” the boy asked excitedly.

Rowan chuckled. “Go on. I’ll scout ahead while the two of you get to know one another.”

David snickered after Rowan, who vanished promptly into the forest ahead. Nathaniel raised a questioning eye at the ghost, causing the boy’s snickering to turn into a full-on laugh. Eventually, he gained control of himself and wiped his eyes.

“So, you wanna know what the Boss did to those guards, do ya?” David asked. “Well… he saw one pursue a young woman into that alley and the rest block it off. But I guess you knew that last part already. Anyway, Rowan was worried about the girl and took to the rooftops right away. He leapt into the alley and hardly managed to stop his fall with Dash before pouncing on the man…”

Here, David struggled to keep his voice from quavering. “The man… who was proposing! Hahah!”

As embarrassing as that may be, I would have thought the same thing had I seen it. Nathaniel smiled politely and scratched his cheek. “That should have only taken a few moments. I was in meditation for some time, yet Rowan only arrived after I’d fallen asleep.”

“Oh, that.” The spectre rolled his eyes. “Rowan kept muttering something about ‘no crime’ and ‘fifty years’ while running around until his Shroud wore off. He doesn’t really explain much, but I think he was surprised at how peaceful the town was. I even sneaked into the small prison, but there wasn’t a single prisoner. In fact, most of the blocks were being used for storage.”

“Mmm…” Nathaniel grunted. “Have to admit. That’s strange. I’d like to know how you got in the building.”

“Oh, that’s easy!” David flew at a tree. “Watch this!”

…

While David and Nathaniel were chatting, I made my way deeper into the thick brush of the untrodden path. As much as I’d have liked to hear how David spun tales of the night’s adventures, I was more interested in finding a Fallen Ranked Beast to use Tame Creature on. As long as I used it in the morning, I could get a second use before setting up camp for the night.

That… and last night was rather unbecoming of me. Not a single report from the Fifth Floor’s entry town in my time at the Network. I thought it could be negligence… or corruption, even. But no, they are simply that peaceful. A shame it’s not mirrored on the other Floors.

Snap

A twig broke somewhere nearby. I dropped to a crouch and listened intently while casting both Tracking and Shroud. Dozens of faded shimmers appeared in the surrounding bush, indicating that something had passed by. Studying the tracks I found that whatever Beast had left them was small.

Rustle

Before I had time to read the prompt that appeared above the brightest of the shimmers, the leaves of a nearby bush began to shake. I shifted my stance, facing the noise and holding my cane to one side, resting my hand on the hilt.

Two long black antlers poked through the foliage, followed by a small, gray-furred body. The creature craned its neck to put its nose in the air, then sniffed. I recognized its Class immediately as one of the Rodents that roamed this Floor and read the information given by Appraising Eye to confirm its Rank. Unlike most species, these small creatures didn’t vary much between Ranks.

[Name: Toxic Lepus]

[Class: Rodent]

[Rank: Corrupted]

[Level: 5]

[Description: A rodent of the lepus family which has been heavily infected by the Plague. These blind creatures often travel in small groups and rely on their incredible sense of smell to track their prey. They are quick, and the jagged thorns protruding from their horns contain a paralytic that helps them capture their quarry alive.]

[Skills: Snap, Dash, Poison Drip, Silent Steps, Dark Sense, Rake, Tracking]

Strong Skills for a Corrupted. Shame it’s not a Fallen, or it’d be worth a Tame attempt. I adjusted my stance slightly, following the Beast as it hopped into the cramped space. It was a small thing, about the size of the Rodents I’d faced on the Origin Floor, but it wouldn’t do to underestimate it.

There are certainly more lying in wait. This Beast will attempt to drive me toward one of the surrounding bushes, where another of its kind will leap out for a backstab and to apply the first round of poison. Unfortunately for them… I have the best Spell Card in existence. I’ll let them land it so the rest will show themselves.

I pursed my lips and breathed out a low whistle. The dark-furred creature’s ears twitched, and its head jerked in my direction. Stomping harder than was necessary, I backed away from the creature, which pursued without further prompting.

The Beast hopped lithely from left to right as it advanced to cut off any possible path aside from the one behind me. I glanced back and judged the distance between myself and the thorny brush I was being pushed toward.

Four…

I took another step back as the Beast pressed its advantage.

Three…

My thighs tightened as I prepared myself.

Two…

The Rodent leaped toward me. Behind, the leaves rustled, and low shrieks pierced the otherwise silent forest as the foliage burst apart. I Dashed up, grabbed onto an overhead branch, and deactivated the Ability as I swung myself onto it.

Below, half a dozen of the antlered Rodents screamed in outrage at their failed ambush. I took the opportunity to study them.

Crazed. Crazed. Corrupted. Crazed. Corrupted. Crazed. I sighed. Not my day, is it? Still, with two Corrupted Beasts working together, there’s got to be a Fallen somewhere in the area. They’d be vying for dominance otherwise.

Click

I leapt from the branch and fell toward the nearest of the Corrupted Beasts. My sword Pierced its skull with ease and without pause, I rushed at the next while they scurried about in confusion. I swung my blade down, decapitating the Beast while another lashed out with its horns from behind.

As if the creature had attacked a stone wall, the prickly appendages dragged off the edge of my suit with no effect. Yet another of the Rodents charged toward me, head down and antlers pointed.

I cast Affliction, then spun my darkened blade so that I held it in a reverse grip and drove it back at the unseen entity attacking from behind. It shrieked as the blade pierced its skin, but I didn’t waste time checking to see if it survived. I yanked my weapon from its body and slashed at the approaching threat, cleaving its snout in two before the antlers reached me.

It tumbled to the ground and thrashed about wildly as both sides of its jaw flopped about. Before I could put it out of its misery, I heard a thump behind and swung about to find the Rodent I’d blindly stabbed creeping toward me.

At the same time, another was dashing toward me from the side. A bright purple liquid dripped from both of their thorns.

That has to be the paralytic.

I swung rapidly at the injured one, swiftly applying full stacks of Affliction and slowing the Beast to a crawl. Darkness danced around each of the shallow cuts I’d left on its hide, weighing it down.

The remaining attacker leapt toward me. I sidestepped the simple assault and slashed at the Beast’s throat, Rending it open in a wide, jagged slash.

Finally, I turned toward the last of the creatures, which stood at the edge of the clearing. Its head was tilted slightly to the side, listening. When I took a step toward it, it didn’t attack like I’d expected. Instead, it hopped into the nearest bush and fled.

That… was that the one that started this? How interesting.

I stared after the creature to see if it would pounce from one of the bushes, but it seemed as if it had truly gone. With a shrug, I turned and finished off the two writhing Beasts that hadn’t died from my first attacks.

Not the easiest Beasts to find. These horns should fetch a good price despite their low Levels. I’ll just need a place to store them…

“We’re here, Boss!”

I looked to my left to see David’s head poking through one of the nearby trees. A second later, a patch of leaves fell, and a perfectly straight path was left in the dense brush beside it. Nathaniel stepped through and examined the clearing. I grinned and pulled a skinning knife from my satchel.

“Hope you have space in that bag of yours.”