Prologue 6:The Jungle

"Huh?"

Shoto was dazed as he now stood before a  jungle with dark  insides.

whoosh!

A wind blew bringing the damp rotten stench of the jungle to Shoto's nostrils.

It was too damp for their to have been a fog or rain earlier. Shoto took a deep breath,he knew he wasn't going to get out of here unless he completed this dungeon run so he entered the damp jungle soaking his feet in the shallow water.

With <Seismic Sense> Shoto could guide himself around the jungle avoiding any unnecessary things like pitfalls, quicksand and dead ends but he couldn't avoid bloodsucking mosquitoes they were everywhere this environment was perfect for them.

Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!

Shoto had to resort to using <Electric Sting> as a bug zapper to fend them off they were to many truly the most annoying enemy Shoto had faced. A hundred would fall to his <Electric Sting> but a thousand would rise to avenge them truly annoying.

While swinging his hands killing thousands of mosquitoes Shoto detected multiple movements coming straight for him.

Instead of waiting for the hostiles to come to him Shoto thought of something. He climbed up a tree till he was at the very top and began scouting with <Keen Sight>.

He could see movement beneath the blanket of leaves heading his way.

"Assistant infrared vision please" he said.

{Infrared vision activated}

"Shit"

Shoto spotted twenty hostiles jumping through the trees making their way to him. He wouldn't be able to deal with all of them up close so it was time to play sniper he looked a suitable spot and once he found it. The Assistant activated the targeting system in the augmented reality to assist Shoto.

The water in the air gathered at tip of Shoto's finger compressing as much possible before flying off. The small water bullet hurled through the air passed the leaf before picking off the target at the end of the troop. The hostile troop keep moving even though one member had been picked off.

"Looks like they didn't notice"

Shoto used <Quick Step> to jump from one tree to another changing his position. He fired three small water bullets picking off three members of the troop leaving sixteen. They still didn't notice that they were missing members so Shoto moved to another treetop releasing five water bullets bringing the troop of sixteen to eleven

The troop members noticed they had nine less members and stopped, the troop leader signaled changing their spread out attack formation to a defensive circular one to watch each other's backs. The eleven troop members were tense they looked at sky above nothing,they looked at the swamp below nothing it was clear wat was hunting them wasn't from around here and they were right Shoto wasn't from these parts.

BOOOOM!

Shoto fired a large sonic blast shaking eight of them from the tree into the swamp leaving only three on the tree. The eight troop members who fell into swamp were welcomed by the jaws of a large green crocodile. With one CHOMP! and they were gone.

Shoto wasted no time and closed on the three panicked troop members with <Quick Step>. SLASH! Shoto cuts off a troop members head with a blade formed from water. Before the body could fall into the swamp Shoto used <Harvest> but the Silver monkey didn't have a abilities or a skills.

The two troop members who were left screamed a Shoto flashing their fifteen centimeter fangs at him while aggressively beating their chest. It was obvious what they were, they were monkeys to be precise they were Silver Monkeys who stood eight feet tall.

The Silver  Monkeys screamed as if charging up an attack even though they didn't have skills or abilities  Shoto could sense mana building up in the their bodies so he charged he wasn't going to let them power up. Shoto hand swung around unleashing the swordsmanship his grandfather had taught him with <Water Blade>.

SLASH!SLASH!SLASH!SLASH!

The Silver Monkeys where chopped into peaces before attacking. The chunks of meat dropped into the swamp below feeding the crocodile that lived in it. Shoto stared at the crocodile as it dived back down the water seemed the water was deep and deadly from this point on.

As Shoto skipped from tree to tree a hand made of thorny vines stretched out from the depths of the swampy jungle to grab him but

Swoosh!

The hand only got a hold of an afterimage an eyes popped out of the hand to search for it's prey. The eyes searched high and low for Shoto but couldn't find him then

SLASH!

A sharp force from above amputated the hand. The eyes still couldn't see him as his stood in front of the sun hiding himself with the light. Shoto send down a number of slashes created from <Force Control> stopped the hand from regenerating. Once the hand was minced Shoto floated down on a tree as <Force Control> was hard to use to keep oneself afloat.

"Huff  what was that?"

{The answer would be a Predator Plant Sir to kill it you must go after it's core}

"Can you scan the area so we can predict it's attack I don't wanna be cought with my pants down"

{Understood} the Assistant answered activated the augmented reality in Shoto's eyes.

All the trees in the augmented reality disappeared living only the water. The motion sensor picked up different movements moving away from were the Predator Plant sprouted from they were spread out for an attack.

"Assistant"

{On it Sir} the Assistant read Shoto's thoughts but the Predator Plant was quicker.

The Predator Plant sprouted from six different direction forming a bird cage around Shoto. Once the bars  were in place sharp thorns and razor leaves began growing sealing Shoto from the sunlight then eyes popped out inside the cage keeping watch of Shoto's every move.

"This is one is smart Assistant any solutions?"

{Calculating}

The Assistant calculated quickly before giving an answer. The thorns began growing larger an longer aiming to pierce Shoto.

{Calculations complete there are three solutions}

"Shoot" black scales grew all over Shoto body.

{One: You could cut your out using <Force Control>}

"But?" Shoto asked.

{The Predator Plant has increased it's regeneration speed with mana particles w escape will be difficult}

"Ok plan one is in the bin what's two?"

{Two: who be to dive down into the swamp and attack it core}

"Scrap that plan I'm not going back under water" Shoto didn't want another underwater battle.

{Three would be to use <Force Control> and pull the core out but it would need your total concentration}

"That means I'd have to stop using <Scale Armor>"

If he stopped using <Scale Armor> he'd be skewered by the thorns and he'd be dead before pulling out the core.

{But there is a solution though}

The Assistant gave a lifeline.

"What is it?"

{Grant me control off <Scale Armor> to manage the protection of your body while you focus on extracting the core}

"Hmmm" Shoto pondered for a bit before agreeing.

"Okay I grant you control of <Scale Armor>"

{Thank you Sir}

When the Assistant took control of <Scale Armor> Shoto felt a mental burden being lifted.

"Okay let's get to work"

The augmented realities magic perception showed Shoto were the mana particles were streaming from his eyes followed the streams of mana particles deep into the swamp beneath the tree he was standing on. His saw it the core a big red sphere of raw mana.

Shoto stretched out both his hands towards the core making as if he grab something he began pulling.

A powerful force coiled around the core of the Predator Plant and began pulling it in an upwards direction. The Predator Plant sensed this and increased the hold on its core but it didn't stop there.

Stab!

Multiple thorns stabbed Shoto but were blocked by the scale armor on him. The the Assistant took extra steps strengthening the skill making sure it master was protected but the Predator Plant being an intelligent creature began using the thorns as drills bowering into Shoto's flash.

Shoto felt the thorns drilling into his scale armor but he had to focus and trust the Assistant. Shoto breathed forgetting about the thorns and only focusing on ripping the core out of this beast. He increased the force trying to pulling the core but the monster struggled holding it's core tite.

This was a tug of war and Shoto was loosing the Predator Plant knew how how to protect it's core and it wasn't going to let Shoto have it that easy so Shoto decided.

"If I can't take it then I'll break it" Shoto said grunting.

The force around the core stopped pulling an began squeezing. Shoto had put a lot of mental strength into as veins bulged out of his forehead.

'More more more!' his mind screamed.

Then

CRACK!

The core cracked and just like water in a dam the force created more cracks in the core spreading it all over before

SHATTER!

The core shattered into peaces, Shoto didn't miss this chance and pulled all the core shards from the monsters corpse to him.

"<Harvest>" he said absorbing all peaces not leaving a single one behind.

Mana particles rushed through Shoto body making him dizzy then vomiting.

[Congratulations you have gained a new skill <Cellular Synthesis>] the Voice Of Creation announced in his head.

"Phew no wonder Jedis meditate using the force is taxing as hell"

Shoto breath a sigh of relief the thorns had stopped drilling but were stuck in his armor. He shook off the thorns with a few sonic blast and cut the bird cage open with <Water Blade>

Shoto enjoyed the sunlight touching his skin as the cage fell apart but before Shoto could fully enjoy this feeling the space around him began to blur like a hallucination fading before going back in place.

Shoto looked around startled by this but now in the sea of trees stood an island with a grey mountain.

"Calm down Shoto your mind betrays you"

[AN: Ok next two chapters are the last chapters of book zero so we can get into the nitty gritty as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.]