14 Perplexing Trial
He was surprised at how fast Bentia traveled through the sky if he had her assistance he'd easily reach Shalee in no time. Suddenly he could feel themselves dropping as Bentia raced towards the ground they were entering a darker forest, He knew they were entering a marsh from the looks of the ground, he wasn't sure if it was wise for him to be walking around barefoot but he believed in Atia.
"What will we be doing here?" he asked, he was curious because there was nothing really around.
"It is what you will be doing here, you will be getting off here, you will travel through the marshes when you have completed the task and are ready to further serve come to find me at the shrine," Atia said.
"To do what exactly, what task?" he asked.
"You are to find that out on your own, you are currently east of the shrine. If you give up and wish to make it to Shalee you can travel in that direction," Atia said as she pointed in the middle of the woods opposite of the sun and took off into the sky.
Daniel was shocked and confused he was just dropped off in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't even sure he was in Heelune anymore, and he had no idea what he was looking for or what he had to do. He did have a journal update but it was useless and simply repeated what Atia said. He watched the direction Atia went for a little bit longer before he turned around to look around him. There was foliage, trees, and water everywhere, he was simply thrown into a swamp. There were some insects flying around here and there but none of them really bothered him. He continued to walk through the marsh trecking through the mud, every now and again he would see little frogs jumping around talking to each other. It really threw off his senses because there was always a conversation going on around him basically. He truly had no idea what he was doing out here in this swamp.
"You seem kind of lost kid," Daniel heard the voice coming from beneath him. he looked down beside him, all he could see was the dark water near the edge of the river. Suddenly two large eyes popped up out of the water. "I am exactly that, lost," Daniel said as he looked towards the eyes, he could see its long snout now and it was obvious what was in front of him. In front of him was a massive crocodile or alligator, Daniel wasn't exactly sure which but judging by its size, it was much larger than him.
"Haha, the names Ruthga, welcome to our home kid, come this old grandpa will listen to your problems, you don't mind a little water do you? come on hop on in the water is fine," Ruthga said.
Daniel looked at the creature calling himself Ruthga for a bit he awkwardly replied, "Nice to meet you Ruthga, my name is Daniel." Daniel hesitantly made his way into the water where the crocodile was.
"Haha, come on in lad, I won't bite, hop on my back, I'll carry you to my home and you can tell me all about your problems," Ruthga said as he swam around pulling his side up against Daniel.
Daniel could see that the large creature was much larger underwater, he was already in about five feet of water standing and Ruthga was now touching the bottom beside him. "Thanks, where do you live by the way?" Daniel asked. He quickly decided to go underwater to try and get some of the caked mud and dirt off of himself. Coming back up he tried to slide onto its large back, he guessed Ruthga was about 6 feet wide he could easily fit on his back. Once he got on Ruthga's back. Daniel had to adjust himself as the crocodile spun around in the water to begin swimming upstream.
"Well, I live down the river aways, I was just down these parts visiting m'lady friend, she's an ol sassy girl," Ruthgar said excitedly though he tried to stay calm.
"Hey, Grandpa Ruth, would love to chat but I have to get, home," another smaller crocodile said as it swam by in the river as it travels heading in the opposite direction.
"Hey, little Toothy it's good to see you tell your dad I said hi," Ruthgar quickly responded as he continued swimming along slowly.
Daniel couldn't help but smile but also he felt awkward, the animal communities and stuff were simply so unique here, he wondered if it was only Heelune or the entire world of Evotania. "Where are we by the way?" Daniel asked.
"Heelune, didn't you know? I heard Bentia had dropped you off earlier," Ruthgar said as he continued to slowly glide along in the water, the movements of his tail constantly caused Daniel to have to shift his body.
"About that, I honestly don't know why I was dropped off here," Daniel said while shrugging.
"I am sure there is a reason, I mean you are walking around freely here in Heelune so that makes you already different lad, honestly if you weren't marked by Bentia lad I would have eaten you, you don't get meat often here," Ruthgar said.
"Really? Well thanks for not eating me, I was told there was a task or something by Atia but she never told me what exactly it was," Daniel said.
"Haha, lad there is always something to do in Heelune if it is work you are after, you want to help out? I am sure I can find some friends that could use the help of someone with those appendages of yours. we are always helping each other here," Ruthgar said.
"Sure I don't mind helping out, maybe I might get more information that will help solve my problem," Daniel said.
"Haha lad, you are over-thinking things, you will find the answer I am sure of it, I'll bring you to some friends I know you can help them out better then I can," Ruthgar said as he swam along.
"Really what do they need help with?" Daniel asked.
"Digging, haha, I heard you're pretty good at it, in these parts those that can burrow are rarer," Ruthgar said.
Daniel did not imagine it would be more manual labor but then again, what else could he really help out with. Everything was simply stronger than him, and it was way too peaceful, "What do you friends need to be dug?" Daniel asked.
"A burrow, his last one collapsed during a storm, thankfully he got out, but the old guy lost his home, a lot of children lived with him too, thankfully no one got hurt," Ruthgar said as he suddenly took a turn in the water and began getting closer up onto the shore.
"You need me to hop off?" Daniel asked as he was being flopped around on the back of Ruthgar with every movement as he began walking onto the shore.
"Haha, these old bones can carry much more, though I can't really go much further than this" Ruthgar said as he got near the edge of the woods where the trees blocked him. Without warning "Toga! I got a lad here who wants to help," Ruthgar yelled, the voice echoed and carried throughout the woods.
There was no response, Daniel slid off the side of Ruthgar as he looked around, "Is everything alright, why is there no response?" he asked.
"Get comfy lad, it is gonna be a bit, he's probably rushing over now very excitedly," Ruthgar said as he began to back up somewhat into the water.
Daniel watched as he crashed down onto the side of the river bank and just laid there, "Really is it that far away from here?" he asked.
"For you? no, but you are likely to get lost and not find him, for Toga though it is a trip he is pretty quick though," Ruthgar said with a toothy chuckle.
Daniel was curious about what kind of creature Toga was, his curiosity continued to grow, minutes began to pass and he kept asking Ruthgar for confirmation. As Daniel was getting more and more impatient and worried that they were wasting time, he heard a soft voice coming from the woodline in the distance.
"Really, who's the lad Ruthgar, I can always use the help," Toga called from the woods.
Daniel hadn't seen him yet but he sounds far away and lower towards the ground, "My name is Daniel, I was told you need help?" he called back
"Yes yes, my home was flooded and collapsed so I have to make a new one, but it is much harder with my current age," Toga called back.
Daniel noticed Toga had gotten no closer than from earlier, he suddenly realized what it was he had been waiting on. "Don't worry about it, I'll come to you," Daniel called back.
"No need lad, I'll come to you, they don't call me Toga The Quick for nothing anyway I wanna see my good friend Ruthgar," Toga called back.
"Hahahaha, how have you been old friend?" Ruthgar asked while grinning from the river bank.
Daniel could only roll his eyes, it was obvious Ruthgar was used to this and knew this was gonna happen, he is also starting to believe it was Ruthgar who probably gave Toga the title of Quick. Daniel listened to the two catch up as Toga was still making his way through the woods to the bank. Then once he got to the river he decided to rest for a bit and get a drink of water. Daniel was just waiting patiently to the side letting the two friends catch up, he had no idea what to do it felt like he was following his grandpa around again and he ran into an old friend.
"You look strong enough lad, it'd be a great help if you can help me rebuild my home," Toga said as he turned his head away from Ruthgar to Daniel.
"I'd be happy to help, If you'd like I'd even carry you to your home," Daniel said he was ready to start working.
"That won't be necessary lad, it won't take us long to get home, it will be a pretty quick journey you just have to follow me," Toga replied.
Daniel knew everything when he saw that toothy grin from Ruthgar get just a little wider, "That bastard," he thought. There was no way Daniel could argue with Toga or anything, "Okay, well I am ready to work if you want to lead the way," Daniel said.
"Sure, Sure, well Ruth buddy, it was great seeing you, maybe if you were younger you could have helped out as well," Toga said, as he slowly began to turn himself around to face back towards the woods.
"Ehh, it'd great to be young again it was good seeing you pal, and Daniel, make sure you keep up with Toga he is pretty quick don't lose track of him in those woods," Ruthgar said as he slowly began to move further back into the water.
"Thanks for the help Ruthgar, I'll see you around possibly," Daniel said as he watched Ruthgar go back into the water, Daniel could tell that Ruthgar was having fun watching. Daniel looked down and noticed Toga was still working his way back to the woods he hadn't even passed Daniel yet, it was just one foot slowly in front of the other. Daniel could only sigh in his heart, he didn't want to risk Toga hearing him sigh. The journey was going to be a long one, he wasn't even sure how far they had to go but at this pace, he really hoped it was nothing more than two hundred yards.
"So lad, how long have you been in Heelune?" Toga asked as he was continuing at his own pace.
"Only a day, Atia and Bentia dropped me off here to help with something," Daniel replied.
"Atia, who?" Toga asked and paused for a moment, "I may have heard the name before but it doesn't really ring a bell, anyway I got this great new tree and spot all planned out, with your help we can be done possibly in a week," Toga said.
Daniel picked up on the fact that Toga didn't really know who Atia was, he froze when he heard the word week. He was not going to spend a week in the game to dig a hole, "really you will have to show me the spot," Daniel replied. Even if he had to do everything himself, he was going to do it, a week was simply way too long. Daniel was growing bored following Toga, he wanted to help Toga the tortoise so badly get over various terrain but he always refused. Daniel decided to message his friend Joseph to ask how things were going.
"Hey, man what's up? how are things in Shalee?" Daniel sent.
"Pretty good, we are currently in Laeroth fighting ants, I am currently level 5 nearly level 6 hows it going for you man?" Joseph asked.
"Still level 2, getting close to level 3 but it is just the passive experience from being online," Daniel said as he stepped one more foot forward behind Toga.
"Ouch bro, is there no monster's over there?" Joseph responded.
"Determines what you would consider a monster, everything is just beasts that are friendly to me, but if it was another person I am not so sure, currently helping a tortoise rebuild his home," Daniel responded.
"Lol, bro, why are you still there? So our group ran into Jennifer's earlier they are out here doing the repeatable bounty as well, they are only a little higher level then our group, you gotta get here bro with you I know we can pass them in levels." Joseph replied.
"Haha, why are we trying to pass them specifically in levels?" Daniel asked.
"It'd be fun man, it's our chance to show off to people from our school, I know you got that whole Mimic thing but you don't really use that, anyway just hurry up, guilds are already trying to push into the Laeroth Nest Dungeon," Joseph said.
"Really, isn't that crazy?" Daniel replied.
"It is, the ants, man, they swarm like crazy the closer you get to the nest but, they give so much experience if you can handle them, though the closer you get the more variants there are, the Viridian Enclave has been trying pretty hard they have a lot of members gathering at Shalee from all over," Joseph replied.
"Viridian Enclave? what guild is that?" Daniel asked.
"It is a pretty popular one, they are one of the largest guilds in Sylvantir but they only rank in the top 100 globally, if I remember correctly they are like 78th in the world, there are a couple of big guilds here in Shalee already trying to get a foothold in the capital, anyway, man, I am busy, I am about to pull for the group," Joseph replied.
"Ah Okay, well, good luck man, hopefully, I can catch up quick," Daniel replied, he was still walking behind Toga of course that is if you consider it even walking. Daniel continued the slow pace of following Toga for another hour it felt a lot longer but Daniel kept checking the time. The finally arrived at a decently large tree, it was on relatively stable ground though it was slightly sandy, He could see what looked like a small opening of dirt near the base of the tree but almost nothing was done from there.
"This is it, we are here, my friends aren't home at the moment, they are currently out for the day they will be back later," Toga said as he continued to move forward towards the large tree.
"Is the spot where you need the burrow dug?" Daniel said as he walked forward towards the spot with some loose soil.
"Yes, we are going to excavate a burrow there, be careful of the roots though, remove just enough for the cave it will help support the structure," Toga said as he was still working his way over.
Daniel immediately transformed his hands into claws and began digging, "Don't worry you can just relax and tell me what you want, it is gonna get a little messy," Daniel said. He never felt so enthusiastic to just start digging a hole, he wanted to just get to work and get it over with. He immediately began raking his claws into the soil, pulling up rocks and clawing away at roots, slowly he began to work his way down inwards into the ground. The more he dug the more he realized his own size is going to be a problem with making the burrow, he was going to have to make a pretty large burrow.
"You are a pretty quick lad, may sure the bottom is flat, and also don't make the slope to big, and make sure you remove this dirt that is gathering beneath you so it doesn't fall back in." Toga said Daniel noticed he still hadn't actually reached the base of the tree yet.
"Okay," Daniel said as he placed his hands onto the pile of loose dirt, he already had a good idea on how to move it. He was going to use magic to compact some of it into balls and then move them as such. He quickly moved around while on his knees, facing the pile of loose dirt he placed his hands on it and began forcing his mana into it with the image of a ball. As long as he made sure that the balls were relatively small it did not require him much mana or time. Of course, if he had a wheel-barrel and shovel things would be a lot quicker when it came to moving the dirt. But, he had to work with what he had and creating solid pieces of dirt to throw away worked good enough. His mana and stamina consumption though was becoming a problem, he had to constantly take small forced breaks. He chose to work until his stamina had reached the negatives and would start draining health, he really needed to level up natural recovery.
It was a grueling task of repetition, he lost track of time between sweat and gasping breaths, there simply was no easy way to complete this task for him, when he grew hungry or thirsty he ate a tangerine but he did not use it to heal. Daniel also chose to share some tangerines with Toga who really enjoyed them after such hard work. Every now and against Daniel would notice Toga just basking in the sun enjoying the weather. "How far do I have to go down by the way? Daniel asked as he continued digging he was slowly making his way down into the dirt, he also had to use mana on the walls to help support the structure.
"Hmmm, I'd say about fifteen feet deep and fifty feet long, after that I will probably expand it more over the years," Toga said nonchalantly
Daniel wanted to just pass out and give up the moment he heard fifteen feet deep and fifty feet long, he was probably only six feet down and he was having to dig while on his belly pulling the dirt up and out. Daniel continued to push himself down into the hole it was pretty wide and spacious and was much larger then what was needed for the tortoise. Mentally he felt exhausted even though his body was perfectly fine outside of the constant pain from pushing himself past its limits. The sun was beginning to set in the game's world, he could only sigh as he pulled himself up out of the burrow he could see, but he needed to take a break from the game, he never ate dinner or really anything.
"I am gonna take a break for a bit, I will be back in a bit Toga, it is getting dark will you be okay," Daniel asked.
"Of course I'll be fine you go do what you have to, I'll still be here, though I'll take over for a little bit with the digging," Toga said as he stood up and began walking toward the burrow entrance.
"Well be careful, I'll be back in a bit then," Daniel said as he walked away from the entrance he chose to log out next to a tree out of the way.
As he shifted from Evotania to reality, his body felt stiffer, removing the helmet he opened the capsule and got up and out of it. Daniel couldn't help but stretch, his body was not tired since it was possible to sleep in a capsule and have the same effects, though it was better not to use the sleep mode too much. He noticed the time was around 7 am, it was now morning. He walked into the kitchen and pulled his sub out of the fridge his grandfather had left him, grabbing a glass of water he chose to eat his food quickly. It tasted actually pretty amazing, all he had been eating has been tangerines in game, he decided he was going to try and create another fruit or something when he logs back on. After he finished eating he decided to make today's dinner, it was nothing really fancy he was just going to make spiced pulled pork in a slow-cooker.
After doing his morning chores of preparing tonight's dinner, he decided to go outside for some light exercise, his grandfather was already awake and getting ready for work, Daniel could hear him showering. Stepping out into the sun, Daniel spent the next hour making sure that he does not let his body deteriorate. As he saw his grandfather coming outside he ran towards him,
"Good morning Daniel, are you making dinner tonight, do you need me to pick anything up at the store on the way back?" William his grandfather asked.
Daniel thought about it for a moment, "good morning Grandpa and yeah if you can, can you bring back some tortillas and avocados," he said.
"Sure, so it's like pork carnitas tonight, I'll grab more salsa from that one restaurant down by the gym as well, have fun in that game," William replied as he waved goodbye.
Daniel waved his grandfather off to work, he continued his routine workout and stretches for a bit before heading back inside, he knew he really needed to get back to work helping Toga.
