Progression(2)

*Plink...Plink*

I could hear the ominous sounds of dripping liquid as it cascaded down and splattered on the rocky floor. My eyes were suddenly drawn to the source of the sound, however, I quickly shook my head and focused. I licked my lips, they were layered with cracks and felt dried. My throat felt dry and burning, I tried hard to keep myself from coughing.

I didn't know how long I've been down here, I hadn't had any contact with the outside world to judge the time of day. I doubt that the dripping source was water, I mean I was several meters below ground, I doubt if there was a source of water here it'd be drinkable. In order to keep me from going into cravings, I've been chewing on the skin of my lips, the pain also keeps me conscious as well. Though I doubt this can last at all though.

'Don't worry Yuiji! Just wait, once you find papa, you'll get that juicy pork leg!' With that affirmation in mind, I continued forward.

I sniffed the air. A waft of damp musty scent filtered through my nose. 'Ok the coast is clear' I thought and continued to creep forward, I hunch my shoulders and back to make myself even smaller. The cave walls around here were a bit narrow, I doubt any full-grown man could fit in here. It's quite convenient to have a small body of a 10-year-old ahaha!.

*Ziiing* I stopped. My nose picked up a faint inky scent. It was an Arachna. I waited for a long time until the scent vanished. After that, I continued to move forward. I've been doing these repetitive steps for hours. Sniff, sneak, stop. I call it:

SURVIVAL S!!!!!

I sniff the air for any sign of danger, then once there is none I sneak forward, while still using my illusory sense. Finally, if I happen to come across an inky scent, I stop. Sniff, sneak stop! Get it? It sounds like a little jingle,

' sniff sneak stop, sniff sneak stop! Haha.' I amused myself in my new jingle for a while.

'Sniff….Urgh!" I covered my nose once a waft of decayed stench burst into my nose. I almost doubled over and vomited. Although I was kinda getting the hang of this "Illusory Sense" thing, it still proved really difficult to keep up.

Though this entire hole reeked of a decayed stench, it turns out there are still other more natural scents here like a mossy smell or the faint smell of soil. This meant that this decayed smell was the only unnatural thing here and initially wasn't here before. I wonder, was something here that made the Endzone of the Moon Forest be so…..well decayed?

Throughout my experiment, I learned that the " illusory sense" wasn't just sniffing the air. Let's say that on earth you come by a restaurant, and the meaty smell of steak filters through your nose, pretty delicious right. I could use some myself right now ahaha, but anyway you pretty much just stuck smelling steak. Let's say you come by two restaurants one serves fish and the other steak, now you're smelling two scents.

Alright, now let's add a pile of smelly trash, and you're in for a confusing ride because the smell of trash can overtake the other good smells and make you lose your appetite. Illusory sense basically is when you single out those faintest of smells that normally you would not be able to smell.

It's like a water filter. The filter stops the grime from polluting the water, making it much cleaner and safer to drink. Though a bit still gets in there. However, when you completely remove the filter, all the stuff that was initially kept at bay comes gushing back full force! Man, I could really use some freshwater now haha.

Anyway, the difficulties lie in trying to maintain focus. It takes a lot of concentration for you to focus on one particular smell. Frankly, I don't stop smelling the other scents around here, it simply becomes fainter as I focus on one particular smell. There's also the case of switching scents. In order for me to sense Arachnas, I have to immediately capture that smell whilst still maintaining focus on what I was initially smelling.

But, if I lose focus for even a split second...WHAM, A myriad of other smells come fluttering in, throwing me for a loop! Phew~ complicated lesson huh? Anyway, these caves are quite long, almost endless really. It's like a system of holes, and all of them connect some way or another. I saw some of them during many of my failed attempts at my experiments.

Though right now I'm not using my fire to light my path, I still feel the walls to navigate me in case I have to turn corners and stuff. I felt the wall, it felt cool to the touch, its jagged edges slightly clipping at my hands. Just as I moved forward...

*OIIINK* *OIIINK*

I paused. 'I-is that...a boar' I thought in confusion. Its loud grunts echoed loudly in the tunnels, one might think it was right beside you or something. I briskly walked forward. 'What's a boar doing down here..' I thought.

I paused and glanced around. 'Justa lil peek won't hurt' I thought For some reason I can feel the judgemental stares from in the force. DON'T JUDGE ME, FORCE GODS!!!

I chanted a small spell and a blue flame sparked in my hand. The cave dimly lit up and I could see a bit better. Just a few feet from me lay a large earth boar. It was facing away from me so I could only see its back. I gasped as I stared at the beast. It's been so long since I've seen something so familiar I was starting to get a bit choked up.

I haven't eaten in a long time, yet here is a lovely delicious thing of pork right here haha. I could feel my mouth salivate. My heart thump in anticipation, I could practically taste it.

'Hi Mr boar, it's so good to see you haha.' I crept forward and readied myself to pounce on the thing.

'You look nice and plump so you don't mind if I-' however Just as my plans to devour the thing was coming to fruition I froze on the spot. My nose was filled to the brim with an inky scent, it felt like I was practically drowning in it. The dim-lit cave revealed long thick single strand webs hanging from the ceiling. They swayed back and forth ominously, like a gentle twirl of a fluttering ribbon. They gleamed a pure white seemingly harmless.

However, that wasn't the only thing that stopped me in my tracks. A faint scent of rotten flesh and the tangy smell of blood permeated through my nose, causing me to contort my expression. The boar was weird. It didn't look like its normal burly self. instead, its flesh was peeling, revealing its innermost parts. At the tips of flesh, it was slowly blackening, as if it was decaying. Trickling blood pooled beneath itself, and it was struggling to stand, yet it continued to drag itself forward as if it was looking for something.

I could tell it was panicking because it couldn't see anything. I watched as it slowly dragged itself forward, barely missing the hanging webs. I crouched on all fours and followed it from behind slowly, careful not to catch its attention. Something was dangerous about those webs, I felt that if I touched them, I'd not live to see the next day.

The earth Boar looked exhausted, yet it still trudged on, I only inwardly admired its tenacity. Earth boars were quite aggressive, especially when wounded. Picking a fight with these things would be difficult because you'd be fighting until one of you ends up dead literally. Their tenacity is what makes them so well known, even in a losing battle, they always hold their ground.

*Tap Tap….taptaptap* I heard it. A faint tapping sound came just beyond us and was heard in the pitch blackness. It stopped every few seconds, but then would pick back up once more, in a repetitive motion.

*Tap Tap….taptaptap*

I tensed up. 'OH NO, IT'S GOING TO ALARM THE OTHER SPIDERS!!' I thought in a panic, but none came, instead it was dead silent, only the repetitive tapping breaking the still silence every once in a while.

I felt a chill run through my spine, something told me that it was dangerous...very dangerous. Yet, the boar didn't seem to have the same foreboding feeling like me, as it followed the source of the sound like it was under a trance.

*Oiiink OIIINK* It called out for something, Its breath was ragged as it dragged itself forward. I decided to continue to follow it. Just beyond us, I could see the tunnel forming into a T junction, and just at the center lay a lone medium-sized Arachna with various strands of webs hanging in front of it. I instantly halted my steps and jerked back.

The boar didn't seem to have seen it, yet I did. It masked itself in the cave walls by squishing its body like a flat pancake. One of its long legs tapped the rock. I stared at the spectacle before me in utter shock. The spider seemed to know where the boar was, and despite me seeing it, I couldn't sense its presence at all.

*Tap Tap….taptaptap* It tapped the rocky wall once more, goading the boar to come closer. 'Why would it tap just to-' Then I saw it. I saw a small corpse of a baby boar hanging limply from the spider's deadly fangs. Its body was sucked dry, like a twisted towel, its blood dripped off the spider's purple body. The kill seemed recent.

'Hey...these spiders are blind right so how….' I was stupefied, my mouth agape. I was sure the spiders were blind, yet it was...using a mother boar's dead child as bait….the spider must have used the blood to bring about a familiar scent to confuse the boar.

'These blind spiders….are way more adept here...than I thought….'

Just as the boar took another staggering step, its body touched the hanging strands of webs.

*OOOOOOIIIIIINK* Suddenly it shrieked loudly. Its body jerked around smashing into the walls around it. It invoked its affinity and pillars of sharp rocks crashed into walls, but it hit no live targets. The more it moved the more it became entangled in the nearby webs. It squirmed and howled as if it was in pain. Its bleeding body splattered everywhere, painting the blue-lit walls red.

I watched in horror as its squirming body was suddenly hoisted up towards the ceiling. Its loud wails echoing loudly.

*Crunch Crunch* I could hear the sound of flesh tearing and I slowly looked up, I raised my hands to light the ceiling.

'U-u-uh….ha...ha'

I could feel the blood drain from my face. A plethora of webs covered the ceiling, it was completely white like snow. Dozens upon dozens of shriveled-up corpses of many sizes lay in these webs. It had various monsters that were unfortunate to have become stuck.

And just beyond these corpses lay millions of dark purple Arachnas, they gorged themselves in the new hall, crawling over each other to get into the buffet. They inserted themselves in the boar's wounds and bit into its flesh, I watched as the once vigorous beast slowly shriveled like a raisin.

I wasn't in just any ol tunnel of spiders….

This place was their feeding grounds….

and I was in the heart of it.

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Sorren stared at the beautiful white clouds as they softly passed in the turquoise blue sky. He could see various birds fly past, making faint cries as they went to their destination. The wagon rocked gently on the paved roads.

The village was bustling with many villagers as they walked to and from different houses carrying loads of fruit, battered wheat, and even bread loaves. Women watered the yellow flowers near their homes or picked fruits from the fruit gardens, while men tended to the technology.

Sorren gazed at the houses, they were much sturdier and beautiful, laced with soft-looking curtains and even pristine glass windows. Roofs were painted with various colors with chimneys sticking at the top. At the side of the stone house, a large insignia glowed brightly. Sorren noticed they weren't all the same, some glowed in different colors. Some were red, others green, he even saw a few blue ones.

'Those must be the runes Jean told me about' Sorren thought.

The runes seemed embedded in the houses themselves, as through the parted curtains of some houses, he could see the same insignia glowing. Sorren wondered what it'd be like if his family had such luxury. A fire rune for the cold winters, an ice rune for the hot summers.

The horse stopped at a particular home. It was much larger than the other homes they passed. It looked to be about 2 stories tall, with gold-colored roofs. The sweet waft of honey flowers fluttered along with the warm air.

'Is this...a noble's house?' Sorren thought to himself as he looked up at the home. He felt that it is more of a small castle than a house. Jean jumped off the horse and adjusted himself. He showed no emotion, seemingly in deep thought.

Sorren gazed at Jean, lately, he's been much more quiet and withdrawn. He was no longer telling his old jokes or speaking much more than he was before. Sorren wondered if he hated the idea of him and his siblings meeting his uncle? Or maybe he felt suspicious of a person who never showed himself to them before?

Sorren watched as Jean made his way to the door of the house. The door was decorated with a yellow honey flower wreath wrapped beautifully as it hung on the door. Jean lifted his arm up to knock, but he hesitated a bit. After a short time passed he finally knocked on the door.

*Knock knock* With every knock, Jeans' heart thumped. As he gazed at the door, he felt a sense of nostalgia. 'This place hasn't changed a bit' He thought as he gazed around the exterior.

Though Jean waited patiently, the owner of the house did not come out, prompting him to knock on the door again.

'Tch, this hasn't changed either' he thought, slightly annoyed.

After a bit, Jean could hear the annoyed stomping of feet as it trudged towards the door.

"Yea yea I'm coming…" As the door swung opened

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, I TOLD YOU I DON'T HAVE ANY-" it revealed an old frail lady, with white hair like snow, wrinkles carved deeply in her face, her cheeks sludged downwards along with her neck and joints. She was hunched back and had a long staff decorated with charms. Her sharp eyes were a powdery blue as they gazed in anger at the rude intruder.

At the abrupt pause in speech, those anger-filled eyes contorted in confusion than shock and familiarity as she stared at the man before her. Jean gave a small smile, he took off the cap he'd been wearing and put it to his chest. Then he bowed his head. "Long time no see granny Jo" he said.

The elderly lady known as Granny Jo trembled. She was gazing at the young boy whom she watched and adored as a child. That same child that had disappeared was before her now. "B-BLAZING CRACKERS JEAN!!!" She cried. She immediately grasped the young man's arms, twirling him left and right.

"Haha, you still have that iron grip Granny Jo" Jen said in amusement. Granny Jo was still inspecting him, her eyes as wide as saucers. " G-GOODNESS IT REALLY IS YOU" She screeched again. That sarcastic mug of his was still the same as she always remembered. Tears leaked from her eyes as memories flooded in.

"Y-Y-YOU BRAAAAAAT!!!!!" She screeched and kicked Jean's shin, causing him to double over in pain. He held his leg and hopped on the other

"ARGH WHAT TH-" However Granny Jo delivered another swift kick, this time to the stomach and he fell face first inside her house. The commotion caused the busy villagers to stop and observe. They voiced their surprise.

"What's going on?"

"Why is the elder so angry? Is it an intruder?"

"Hey, doesn't he look familiar?"

"Yea you're right...that's Jean!"

"What!? JEAN!? Didn't he disappear?

Sorren and his siblings were also surprised at the commotion. Sorren gazed around as many people started to crowd around, seemingly recognizing Jean.

'Jean is quite well known here….but how do they know him?...wasn't this his first time coming here?' Sorren thought.

Granny Jo snapped out of her stupor and gazed around at the spectating crowd. A large vein bulged from her head.

"HEY!! YOU ALL SKITTER OUT OF HER UNLESS YOU WANT A KICK TO THE NOGGIN YA HEAR" She shouted, spittles erupting from her mouth. Like a wave the crowd dispersed, villagers, running off in fear of their lives.

Jean gave a wry grin as he sat up, he rubbed his throbbing stomach. 'Seems like her reputation as "The iron leg" hasn't been tarnished" He thought. Granny Jo huffed, steam sprouting from her nose as she watched the crowd disperse. She then gazed down at Jean.

" What are you sitting for boy, get up, we have much to talk about," She said and she stormed inside her house. Jean reached out to her and paused. 'Crap...I guess she didn't see the children nearby' She was always thick-headed, she focused on what she wanted to focus on and ignored everything else, she was quite stubborn.

"Oi Ren, sit tight. I'll be out inna quicky" Jean called. Sorren nodded as Jean went inside and softly closed the door.

Some time passed as Jean was still in the house. Sorren watched his siblings play a hand game to amuse themselves. "AH NO CALE, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT THIS WAY" Callie shouted. She grabbed Cale's hands and fixed his posture so that his palm was facing hers.

"Since you messed up, now I get another turn!" Callie said triumphantly. Cale tilted his head left and right, his sleepy-looking eyes barely opened yet confusion was still showing on his face.

"But….you...said….keep...them...backwads...Callie lied…" Cale spoke very slow broken sentences. Callie flinched. She didn't expect Cale to remember her words, she thought he was too distracted with sleep to remember. "I-I DON'T KNOW WHAT YA MEAN" Callie cried.

"Callie played fair, no cheating" Sorren proctored, Callie flinched once more and her face turned bright red in shame. Cale grinned and he resumed the game. Just as the game resumed, A dark looming shadow appeared above the children. Sorren turned around and saw 4 tall men surrounding them. Their eyes were laced with disgust and disdain.

"What are you disgusting suburban filth doing here?" One man said he had flaming red hair and fierce eyes like a tiger. His physique was average with little muscle.

Sorren shrunk backward at the man's venomous tone. It was dripping with so much malice and hatred. He put his young siblings behind him. He felt that these men were bad people and that they were going to hurt him and his siblings. A lingering feeling of fear crept through his heart, as he faced the towering men.

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Monster: Earth Boar

Appearance: Dark Grey Fur with black tusks and clipped hooves

Affinity: Earth

Magic Core Size: small

Habitat: Moon Forest - Hollow Grove Section

Info: Earth Boars lives towards the end f the Hollow Grove section of the moon forests. They are also known as wandering pigs, as sometimes you can even spot them near villages of people, and even other places that normally they would not b in. They activate their affinities of earth only when in contact with the ground.

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Authors note:

A bit of info, Yuiji and Sorren are both experiencing things simultaneously, therefore if you want to keep track of how long Yuiji's been where she is, you'd have to connect it with Sorren's Pov.