Destination in Sight

Chapter 98: Destination in Sight

/A friend of mine, well, more an acquaintance really, is a sailor. She tells me many stories, of foreign lands, foreign people and spices, drinks, good food, stories and customs, yet more than any of those, she tells me stories of the sea.

The stories are always different. The calm, benevolent sea, that gives fish to the hungry. The sea that washes ashore trinkets and messages in bottles to those who need comfort, the sea whose noise can be a gentle lullaby, and the sea whose waves take those that get stranded back to solid ground.

Yet, that very same sea may turn furious at any moment. She has told me of waves as tall as mountains, stormclouds from with bolts of lightning crack against the water as winds blow strong enough to take a grown man off his feet. Ships rocking side to side so hard their railings almost touch the water, and shores hit by a fury of water so large it can wash away whole houses and livelyhoods.

That very sea is the one that any who live close by it pray to every day. It is the lady Gahna and her twin brother Leyvo, benevolence and fury in equal measure. Now, one might think that one sibling stands for the calm, and the other for fury, yet that would be a wrong assumption. Their moods are as interchanging as the tides, and it is only when both of them agree that the sea may become violent.

As such, most sailors pray to both the gods, in hopes that perhaps at least one of them may be pleased and grant them safe passage, though customs are different for those living on the shore. Fishers pray to the lady Gahna, while soldiers instead pray to lord Leyvo.

Not because any one of them is more merciful or benevolent, but instead because that which lies under the sea is closer to lady Gahna's ocean palace, and that which floats on top of it is within the domain of Leyvo's castleship.

Yet, the two of them convene together often, speaking of their moods, and aiding only the mortals that truly dedicate their life to the two of them, and it is that very reason, why many people of the sea very well may spent most their living years on it. Because the longer one has been there, the less likely one is to incur the wrath of the sibling gods, and an old sailor is thus always welcomed, seen as a good omen for any ship to have on board./

An excerpt from "Of greater Beings", by Matthew Lexicon, the stubborn historian.

- - - - - -

The moment Avery stepped through the tunnel, his soles touched cracked earth. The ground here had long been bled dry of any water, the sky unobscured with a hot, angry sun blaring down at him. He felt beads of sweat form on his skin, but luckily with his combat gear it wasn't too bad, the material was good in keeping him cooled.

He did a scan of the area around him very quickly, making sure there weren't any monsters around to attack them quite yet as his support came through. One by one, the seekers stepped into the wasteland, armored with whatever they preferred wielding. There were hammers and spears mainly, aimed at the chitin of monsters of often found in these areas, but also some bows and a good amount of staffs to keep up backline support.

With a nod, Avery advanced further in, making sure to keep his eyes scanning the place, watching out for any sign of danger. He wasn't just trusting his Skills with this, he wanted to confirm with his own senses if they were being attacked as well, so he remained vigilant.

They stepped through the wasteland slowly, heat wearing them down step by step, but no one dared complain. These people were decent at their job after all. The rift this time wasn't one he could casually send some newbies in, so everyone on the trip remained watchful. They listened for burrowing noises, looked out for any movement, and even smelled if there was a hint of something but salt in the air.

Sometimes, the ground would make loud noises between their boots, the sheen of salt crystals that always covered the dry dirt splintering, and when it happened they paused in formation, only to be met with silence. The tension in the air was so thick Avery could almost taste it, looking at the sweat-covered faces of his comrades.

Just as he wanted to say a word, there was a tiny noise. "Stop," he half-whispered, raising his hands, with half the seekers already being still before he even said anything. They slowly swept the area, looking for any sign of movement, and when absolute silence reigned for a couple seconds, they were rewarded.

It was a low, rumbling sound, drawing their eyes to the side, where some of the earth was shifting, accompanying the digging noise with a soft crinkling. They watched the mound move little by little, waiting for it to get close to them, and slowly it approached.

As it started getting closer, the seekers in the line of fire readied their weapons. They would get the first hit on this thing, whatever it was, and moments before it struck, Avery glanced around the area once more. For now, it seemed as if the enemy was on its own. And thus, everything went down in but a moment.

First, the small deformity in the ground came close enough for the seekers to strike it. Yoo In-sik, a gentle, lean man with the strength of a half-dozen bears, swung down his hammer with all his might, rattling the ground they stood on, and with a resounding crack something burrowed out. Right in front of them, a large, scorpion like things came out of there, some of the chitin on its back damaged with blood and fluid oozing out.

Yet when it crawled out, its hiss was silent to the human ears of the seekers watching. They simply saw as it quickly pushed its claw forward, aiming to grab whoever stood in front of it to pierce with its stinger. Luckily, the thing was quickly blocked by a pillar of ice appearing within its grasp. The obstacle was quickly carved apart, but by the time that was done, it received a huge impact from the side.

Avery flew into the thing at full speed, every fibre of muscle in his body pulsing as his leg made contact. Almost immediately, he felt the armor crack and fracture, the moment it did he shifted his weight, spinning his body to deliver a second, devastating kick to one leg of the creature.

As the thing buckled from his kick, its tail snapped forward, stabbing at the group of seekers within sight. Of course, it didn't see very well, but it could also feel the tremors of their feet on the soil, which helped. Unfortunately for the scorpion, its stinger was blocked by a thick, iron shield, and moments later, another heavy blow found itself on the chitin.

Not much later, they had overwhelmed it, and things were quiet again. One down, many to go, but Avery knew that it was only a matter of time. If they were louder, sure, they'd be found, but that was also dangerous. The monsters would come out at nighttime by the latest, and for now, they needed to be quiet if they wanted to hear what was coming.

So, they marched further into the desert, listening closely for even the slightest noise.

- - - - - -

Mercury, on the other hand, was just trekking through a forest. He agreed to see the troupe of soldiers back to their home. He had gotten friendly with some of them, holding half a conversation even, and he at least wanted to see where they live.

Frankly, the trip back was uneventful. They gathered up whatever tiny paths they had laid down, and the marking on the bark would fade soon enough, none of the cuts having been deep. It took a little while to retrace their steps, and especially for the first couple days, the mood was pretty heavy. Eventually though, he managed to squeeze some stories out of them.

Nora hadn't known any of the buried particularly well. One of them was a family acquaintance from her childhood, but nothing other than that. This was more akin to her first trip into the outside world as a proper adult, coming of age at 20 chapters. She didn't envy anyone else on the mission though.

The child they had buried was Ryki's sister. He had been living with her for a long time, and as the older sibling by a good amount, he ended up taking care of her sometimes too. They spent a lot of time together, so when she fell sick, he was right there by her side, watching as it grew worse with every passing day, until one morning she didn't wake up.

For a long time, he refused to get outside the house, but eventually, Marsh got through to him, and he went on the trip. He was still sad, but the burial at least made him feel some sort of closure, which hadn't been there before.

Still, he certainly wasn't the only case of losing someone dear to you. Kre had lost his father, which was a heavy hit, since his mother passed away during birth. Now, he needed to take care of things on his own, and he didn't know if he was ready. Of course, no one would ever be ready for that kind of thing, but Mercury told him to just go along with how he felt things should be done, sometimes with how his parents would do them. Kre only nodded, determined to at least do right by them.

Marsh had lost an uncle this time, out in the wild, fighting against some wildlife or human, it mattered little. They had ventured out to find one of the few people they confided in dead on the ground, wounds all over, and bleeding. Mercury didn't want to ask much more after that, and he didn't.

Instead, they talked about how the people had been like. Their interest, professions, how they were connected. Mercury asked them about their family who was still left, about their love interests, what kind of future they wanted to pursue. Kre wished to be a cook, Ryki a teacher, Nora a huntress. They talked about their home a little, how things were done, and their traditions.

Most of the group hoped they'd come home before the harvest festival. With things growing colder, the time had finally come to take all the crops they had grown and preserve them for winter, and once the bulk of the work was done, the festivities would begin. It was an honest type of work, back breaking and difficult, but the more you did it, the stronger you grew, and those who farmed received an almost ridiculous amount of stamina from the system.

Then, in the winter months, that stamina was put to use in drinking. Anything that could be made into alcohol would be, and the people of their village were relentless in their efforts to make merry when there was little work to do. Of course, those festivities weren't any the group wished to miss out on, and Mercury himself thought it at least worth the sight, even if he didn't exactly want to get pissed with a bunch of strangers.

With the newfound cravings for strong drinks fuelling their strides, the party advanced through the forest quite quickly. Mercury would hunt himself some food in the evening while everyone else was setting up camp. With his thick fur he didn't really need to sit by a fire, but he still took pleasure in chatting with everyone else, so he still joined them. Some were weirded out by him eating his food raw, but then again, he was a wild mopaaw, and cooked items might not be very digestible for him, so they were left having to tolerate it.

Day by day, they continued through the forest, dealing with the buckets of rain it would occasionally pour down. Mercury used <Telekinesis> to create a bit of a shield above him, but given that it could only apply a force, heavier raindrops still made it through, especially when there was a strong wind, so he always ended up wrapping himself in the dracoleather cloak.

The people he was travelling with had it similarly rough, mostly wrapping themselves in cloaks and hoods to keep the weather at bay, apparently umbrellas were either not yet invented in this world or not very popular. Maybe the area they came from was also just very windy, making the design rather ineffective.

Whatever the case, Mercury was certainly staying more dry than his companions, and the constant mental exercise was great for his <Telekinesis>. In general, he was still keeping his mind sharp, absorbing mana in the evening when everyone else was sleeping, and hammering against the boundaries of his astral self in his dreams. Sometime soon his shell would crack, he was sure of it.

Time ticked yet on, and after a page or two, they were outside the forest. It was the hyt of autumn, the fifth page of the season, and finally they had made it outside. It'd been quite a trek, too, and they had spent the last couple days scaling up a mountain.

According to Nora, their village laid in the valley just beyond it, yet when Mercury stepped foot on there, his system soon raised its voice.

[Your title, <Forest Usurper>, is reacting!]

[The individual has entered the territory of another "lord"-type creature. It has been alarmed of the usurper's appearance. Conquer? Y/N]

What?

[The "lord"-type creature has chosen to initiate an attack against the individual. Conquering engaged. Generating suitable Quest.]

- - -

[Personal Quest: "Territory"

Condition: Repel the attack of the resident "lord". Defeat it and acquire its title.

Reward: 1 level, 5 Ability Points, 100 Skill Points, 500 Gold, 20 World Points,<Mountain Usurper> Title.

Failure Condition: Be defeated by the resident "lord", or run from the area with your tail tucked between your leg.

Penalty: Loss of <Forest Usurper>, regression of <Telekinesis> mastery.]

- - -

What the heck was this? First of all, why was he even given a choice when the other party could just decide to fuck his day up? Also, since when was this system so damn snippy? With his tail tucked between his legs? The hell was that even supposed to mean?

Mercury sighed to himself. He couldn't really afford to give up a level of <Telekinesis>, and he assumed the system would consider just taking one level a kindness. Actually, not just that, he also didn't really want to lose his title. The three inventory slots had been a lifesaver more than once, an parting with them now would almost certainly make his future more troubling.

No, as much of a pain as it was, he needed to deal with this problem.

"Hey Marsh?" he slowly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Ever heard of the lord of the mountain?"

"Of course I have," the leader answered. "Who hasn't in these parts? It's an old drake with a grasp of ice magic. Usually it stays in a blizzard at the peak of the mountain. Why do you ask?"

"I just got a quest to fight it," Mercury said.

"Oh come on! Look Mercury, I know we've been travelling together for a while now, but this is sadly something we can't help you with. It's too dangerous to risk, especially after everyone is already drained from a long journey," Marsh shook their head as they talked, annoyed at the situation. "But it's not like we worship the thing, so just make sure you don't die."

"Alright, thanks," Mercury nodded, and after Marsh made a quick announcement for his temporary departure, the cat headed off. <Intuition> already rang a slight warning bell towards the peak of the mountain, so obviously that was the direction he headed towards.

To be fair, it wasn't unprecedented to walk towards danger in this world. Every single seeker that accompanied Avery knew their mission was dangerous. Beckham himself went into a mar on his own, which was certainly dangerous. Mercury's bet with the skin-thingy was dangerous. Rewards didn't always appear freely and without risk, especially when talking about the system.

So, instead of running away like any normal or sane person would, Mercury began jogging towards the peak of the mountain, using footpaths to snake his way higher up. Luckily it didn't rain today, though a bit of fog still clung to the air, at least it wasn't enough to hamper Mercury's sense of orientation.

Bit by bit he began walking higher up the mountain, though he was pretty sure that whatever this "lord" was, it was already coming towards him as well. Thinking of how the last fight went, he was sure this one would also know a couple spells, probably more related to ice than wind though. Hopefully they wouldn't be too rough.

Mercury began to review what kind of fighting Skills he really had in his arsenal. Of course, he could enhance his purely physical abilities with stamina, mana, and <Breath>, but he also needed to keep in mind that he could use <Telekinesis> and <Throw>, which was especially handy given his use of runes.

He also reminded himself to use <Dash> effectively. The more he experimented with it, the more he realised how handy it was for short bursts of movement, and he definitely didn't want to let such a benefit go to waste.

Having refreshed his Skills and their uses, Mercury began to definitely feel the air getting colder. There were patches of snow on the grass around him, and where there wasn't any, the ground was wet and cold. It was muddy and slightly slippery, not exactly the conditions he wished for, but what he would have to work with, since he could feel <Intuition> much more clearly now.

With that in mind, he looked around for a decent fighting spot, one that had some gravel on the floor to give him good grip, and some rock outcroppings for him to hide behind. He was sure the drake would be larger than him, so having some cover for whatever spells it would be slinging was certain to be beneficial to the cat.

With that last little bit of distance done, he could already see something rapidly approaching from the sky, and with a hiss as the wind broke against its wings, the drake landed in front of him. Its scales were frosty, a hint of blue in there, and it had long, curved tusks that seemed sharp as knives at the edges of its snout. The teeth in its mouth were razor sharp, and the talons at the end of its wings spelled bad business too.

As for size, standing up it was a little smaller than a man, tough with its tail in the equation, Mercury was sure it was quite a long boi. Still, he wasn't afraid. Not this time, he was sure he had practiced enough, and just this once, he wanted to defeat something challenging on his very own.