CHPT 459: The Dark Past, and The Otherworldly Present...

The Silver Reapings....

A welcome present to all Reborn rising past the Bronze Rank. A present made of Centaur bone and Kobold scales that held the corpses of the previous Heroes-- previous students, all who were far too eager to open something few are ready for.

It's almost like the world playing a joke on the ever-surviving man. You've grown stronger? Congrats. Your world has become exponentially worse. The Tangents are no longer only a physical war to overcome. In the League of the Silver, in many ways your mind will be as tested as your body...

It's for that reason that so many students die in their second year. It's for that reason that the new Slayers Tournament Entrants were so nervous inside the Tangent filled with Moorseel. Warren.... Isaac ..... Maris.

They knew the stories. They saw the Third Years. In the forest they traveled, stepping over old bones and fitting into all too human footprints, this is where students died with eas--

SHWIP!

Claude heard the snap before the sharpened projectile came whistling through the trees towards them. Without thinking his eyes snapped to the movement followed by his hands catching the wooden spear.

The sharp edge of the wood stunk of blood and fecal matter as it hovered an inch from his face. Maris, Warren and Isaac prepared for battle as they watched the tall trees for a bow wielding, spear chucking wild-man.

Claude and Ursula stood back-to-back, calmly watching the trees. No weapons held for the purpose of combat. They were searching with his tamed pack of beasts.

"What..... what are you guys doing? HELLO?!" Warren asked from behind Claude.

"There's nobody but us her--" Everyone hesitated as a human howl of pain vibrated through the forest, sending primal birds screaming for the sky.

"No one else is here. It was a trap." Claude said as he looked at the floor and casually pointed Frosty at tree ahead of him. "No footprints. The berries aren't salvaged like they were in other spots. This area..... actually, it's too empty." Claude explained as Frosty stood up and grew to the size of the trees, sniffing into the canopy with absolute focus.

Warren lowered his bow as his eyes widened. They stood out more than usual as Frosty's shadow swallowed up the whole group.

"You think that's where the spear came from?" Maris questioned, seemingly unfazed by Frosty's gigantic state.

Claude nodded, "I didn't hear it rip through much foilage.... I barely had any time to react either. They planned for a simple straight shot. But this wasn't made for tall people. Actually.... the person who tripped it was also too tall."

Everyone looked back at Warren.

"Your feet." Maris said as she walked over to Warren and shoved him aside in his stunned state.

Between the two trees laying in the grass was a strip of animal tendon, pulled so tight it lost it's pinkish color.

Frosty shook as his head peered into the greenery above them. His tusked fangs ripped apart the treetops and freed him with more tendon held in his jaws.

A trail of it circled through the tree's around them highlighting the set up to how they essentially made a proximity spear-thrower with animal parts.

Frosty dropped it at his feet and sat. Normal sized once again.

Claude waved it off, "That's all you."

Frosty descended on the meat as Claude spoke to everyone else.

"This whole area is traps?" Isaac surmised while adjusting his helmet.

Claude nodded, "I think so. I think I can get rid of all of them though...."

Ursula looked over at Claude, "Fluff the forest?"

Claude nodded, "It's faster than trying to carefully navigate. Then we can get to comb--"

"We're missing experience. Do it." Maris cut in.

"Everybody Aura up." Claude said before raising a glowing hand to the sky and shutting it into a fist.

Immediately, the world darkened as the forest canopy above thickened, swallowing the sun effortlessly. At the same time, the grass below them rose and flowers bloomed on the surface of surging wooden spikes.

Traps were sprung for at least a mile, sending spears, boulders and swinging tree logs until finally silence fell. Well, relative silence. People were fighting all around them. Not everyone but it would be soon.

And they'd be a part of that. First years or not, they needed to get into the mix.

Claude took off through the freed forest, the others followed.

They ran for two miles before the sounds of distant battle entered their circle. Claude saw them with his Natural Vision long before his physical eyes found them huddled up in their primitive battle bases.

There had to be a dozen. They had bows, spears and blow pipes spewing poisonous quills. Their steady fire held down the group of students taking cover in the trees of the forest surrounding the wild-men.

"They can't even return fire." Warren commented as they viewed from off to the side.

Claude placed his hand on the nearest tree, bringing life to the forest and solidifying their cover as it was being peppered with primitive artillery fire.

"AHHHHGH! OuY llwi lal ied!" One of the Moorseel yelled before hoping over the wooden spiked barriers surrounding the enemy base. He didn't have a ranged weapon. He had a club with foul smelling spikes hammered into it. And he was larger than the others.

He looked so human it felt wrong. Tanned skin. Thick bones and heavy muscle. He had weight to him. His dreaded brown hair hung over his pure black eyes like a mask and blended in with the color of his wooden armor.

"Heavy incoming!" Claude could hear Ivy's voice.

"I got it."

He didn't know that voice.

Immediately after, bright orange and tricolored dark light bloomed in the forest, followed by a dozen flaming Vulkura bounding out of the forest like hellish foxes. They nipped and bit at the massive Moorseel's ankles. In his distraction, someone threw a dagger into his face and killed him where he stood.

Maris elbowed Claude.

"Hey! Ivy!" Claude was taken out of his hesitation.

"Is that a fellow Healer I hear? We need a flank.... like now! Our cover's being taken down." Ivy yelled back.

"They have too many. They won't fit."

There was that voice he didn't recognize again.

"Give me the Beast Tamer boy. The others can help you defend."

Immediately after, a woman made her way towards the group. The sleeves and pantleg portions of her University uniform rolled up with barely any light armor worn and two daggers held in her hands.

The owner of the twin Vulkura. They trotted beside her. Anger plain in their faces. Traits shared perfectly. Shown with her clawed toenails and the thin grey-white fur covering her forearms and the outside of her sharpened ears.

She looked at the others, "Go. They'll be sending combatants when we flood the rear."

"Perfect." Maris said as they all ran to the other team.

"Let's go." The Vulpine upperclassmen said.

The two rushed through the forest with unseen ease as the Moorseel hurled weapons and curses at the others. The duos' tamed Beasts ran close behind. It didn't take any longer than a minute to reach the back end of the enemy base. Even so, a minute was a long time. Claude took the lead, becoming a hybridized mesh of reptile, canine and feline traits.

With his hardened black scaled skin, he burst through the wooden wall backing them and shoved his spear through the head of one of the larger Moorseel. The others panicked, ringing Claudes ears with their screams. He threw his spear into the throat of another as Diamondback spun, swinging his massive tail into the ribcages of three more. Loba took them down on the ground.

[+300 EXP]

"Still too cramped!" Claude growled as an arrow bounced off the side of his scaled head. He turned and roared at the Moorseel before punching its jaw off.

"Make space then." The Vulpine woman said from outside as her Vulkura snaked through the cramped madness to take out enemies where they could.

Claude kicked down the wall and stomped holes in the floor as he pushed and shoved through the wild-men. They were strong. He couldn't be cut but his ribs were definitely bruised.... broken.

After another blow to the chest, he stumbled backward and swung his glowing hands upward.

FWSHH!

Wooden spikes and vines burst through the holes in the floor and ripped up a chunk of the Moorseel as the base was all but exploded.

Wood collumns fell along with ripped open Moorseel as others ran for the trees.

"CHASEDOWN!" The Vulpine girl yelled to the rest of the group behind the trees.

Ivy, Hector and a few others burst from the tree line to run down the Moorseel. Ursula and the others slowly caught on. The upperclassmen clearly had a means of operating reasonably within the madness. Phrases, norms, chemistry.

"Throw me." The Upperclassmen said from beside him as the winds blew her black and silver braids.

Claude looked down at her with a confused expression as she growled.

"Let's go!" She gave him little time and jumped, flipping halfway.

Claude placed his hand on her feet and threw her at the running Moorseel. Where his hands touched her feet, he could feel threads of magic like hot wires dance between them. An otherworldly animal language of feelings and differing instinct blended.

The second she left his hands, her skin grew faint scales that she used to smash into the runners.

"[.....Crafty.]" Arne commented as Claude took off with him.

It was like war in a shrinking stampede.

Claude flipped and bound over the dead bodies while ripping and tearing through others in the midst of growing glaciers, blood whips and fireballs.

The last two enemies made it into the forest.

Maris didn't slow even as Ivy called for them all to stop.

She didn't like listening. Neither did Diamondback. As if the two were already paired she jumped up onto it's back and rode into the forest to chase down the stragglers.

Claude took off after them. He knew why Ivy told them to stop. They could be running for reinforcements. It had happened to Claude before. This was how the Silver Reaped.

Claude pushed his legs to move faster but he could hear the sounds of violence long before he saw it. By the time he made it to them Maris was removing her sword from the last living Moorseel's face.

She turned to face Claude as Diamondback ate the head of his target.

"Your Lizard is a good addition to the team."

Diamondback hissed and lowered his head, pushing it into her hand.

Never did he think he'd find a wholesome moment in a Tangent. But there it was.