I kept practicing, adjusting my technique until my accuracy improved to within a one foot radius of my target. Not perfect, but progress nonetheless.
It was time for practical training.
First, I headed to one of the glowing ponds, where I trapped a mosquito in some energy wires. It struggled, but the trap held firm. Then, I placed an energy spike in front of one of the gaping holes in the chamber floor, carefully positioning the trapped mosquito just beyond it.
It didn’t take long.
The grotesque creature lunged from its burrow, snapping its oversized jaws, and triggered the spike. The energy construct shot upward, piercing its hind legs. The mole let out a high pitched, grating squeal and began dragging itself back toward the hole.
I couldn’t help but notice how disturbingly calm I felt. Three days ago, this would have horrified me, but I was adapting, maybe faster than I was comfortable with. I had to accept this new reality.
With the creature immobilized, I manifested a dart, aimed carefully, and threw.
The dart missed my intended mark but struck deep into its side, piercing through its flesh with ease. It howled in pain, its cries summoning more of its kind.
Time for plan B.
I jumped and activated Levitation, ascending ten feet into the air, just shy of brushing the ceiling. The writhing mass of moles clawed at me from below, but I was safely out of reach.
From my vantage point, I rained darts down on them. I missed more than I hit, but my aim improved with every throw. The moles tried retreating toward their burrows, but a few strategically placed energy spikes cut off their escape routes. Whenever they bunched up, I simply floated to a new position.
The smell was nauseating, rotting flesh mixed with the metallic tang of blood, and their constant screams grated on my nerves. Still, I couldn’t deny the rush of satisfaction. My new ranged attacks were working.
I began rounding up the remaining moles, confident in my newfound strategy. That’s when the ceiling above me exploded.
A deafening crash sent dust and debris showering down, forcing me to drop my levitation and roll instinctively. I barely avoided the massive clawed paw that slammed into the spot I had just vacated.
Scrambling to my feet, I looked up at the new threat.
The creature was enormous, the size of a pickup truck. Its pale, wrinkled skin was riddled with leaking sores, and patches of infected, worm like muscles squirmed grotesquely beneath its surface. Its grotesque underbelly dragged along the ground, bulging with sickly weight.
Matriarch Corrupted Burrower Gnarl (Level 81)
The matriarch’s sole purpose is to find a secure location to care for its progeny. Corruption, however, has twisted it, causing it to devour its young as often as it protects them.
The monster lunged, and I quickly placed a spike in its path. The spike embedded itself into the matriarch’s wrinkled hide, but it barely slowed her down. I jumped back, activating Levitation again, and threw a dart at her side. The dart struck but failed to penetrate deeply enough to cause meaningful damage.
She lunged again, relentless, forcing me to keep darting away. My energy reserves were dwindling fast, I had only minutes of levitation left. I landed on a small perch, taking advantage of the higher ground.
The matriarch sniffed the air, her massive nostrils flaring as she searched for me. Suddenly, she jumped with shocking agility for her size, then dove into the ground, vanishing like an Olympic diver.
I barely had time to process this when she burst from the wall beside me, her massive claws slamming into my side and throwing me against the jagged cave wall. Pain lanced through my ribs, sharp and unbearable. Each breath was a ragged, wheezing struggle.
There was no time to recover.
Manifesting my trusty spear, I braced it against the ground and knelt, forcing myself to hold steady despite the pain. The matriarch charged, claws extended. The spear’s point met her chest, penetrating only a few inches, but her corrupted hunger drove her forward.
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As she pushed against the spear, inch by inch, I summoned a long dagger in my free hand and began stabbing at her chest. At first, my strikes barely scratched her thick hide. But I kept hammering away at the same spot until I broke through, plunging the dagger deep into her flesh.
The mole screamed in agony and reared back, dragging me along with it. Before I could react, it crashed down, pinning me beneath its massive bulk. The weight pressed the air out of my lungs, and the musty, rancid smell hit me like a punch. I gagged, bile rising in my throat, and finally threw up.
But I didn’t stop. I kept stabbing. Each thrust of my dagger tore deeper into its corrupted flesh, but the effort was draining, and I could feel my strength ebbing. The pressure was crushing me, literally. Not exactly in my top ten list of ways to die.
It was time for my ace in the deck.
With my dagger still lodged inside the beast, I activated Astral Echo. Instantly, I was hit by an overwhelming wave of emotions. Hunger, an all encompassing, primal hunger, was at the forefront, but there were others: faint feelings of responsibility and an undercurrent of sorrow. They were faint, almost drowned out by the gnawing need to consume, but they were there.
Beyond the emotions, I could feel the familiar golden ocean, the vast reservoir of energy that connected everything. It was tempting to reach out, to immerse myself in its depths, but I was here for a purpose. Mustering all the willpower I could, I pushed a powerful jolt of energy through the connection.
The result was immediate and visceral. Blood erupted from the mole’s head like a geyser. Its massive body spasmed once, then went limp.
Even though it was dead, its weight was still crushing me. I tried to push it off, but I wasn’t strong enough. Resigned, I began the undignified task of crawling out from underneath the corpse, dragging myself free with no small amount of effort.
Finally, I sat down, panting, my ribs aching from the strain. After catching my breath, I decided to check my status:
Name: Alex
Titles: Ascendant (???)
Level: 63 (20509/20800)
Attributes:
- Astral Body: 44 +6
- Astral Mind: 82 +4
- Astral Spirit: 48 +6
Skills:
- Levitation (Common): Level 26
- Manifestation (Common): Level 43
- Astral Sight (Common): Level 23 +4
- Inspection (Common): Level 21
- Astral Echo (Unique): Level 8
- Looting (Uncommon): Level 5
The moles had given me a decent chunk of energy, but not as much as I’d hoped.
The bats hadn’t been worth much either, but at least they’d helped me refine my skills.
It struck me as strange that I hadn’t received a quest yet. The last two quests I’d gotten had both been tied to the primary inhabitants of the worlds I’d visited. Maybe I just needed to wait and see what unfolded.
Deciding to move on, I looted the matriarch and the other moles. My haul included two common energy crystals, not much, but better than nothing.
The next tunnel was wider, with fewer obstructions. A handful of oversized mosquitoes tried to attack me, but they were easy to dodge and kill. I didn’t bother going after them, they were far too under leveled to be worth my time.
As I pushed deeper into the tunnel, I began noticing signs of deliberate construction. The ground was unnaturally even, and channels had been carved into the sides of the path, likely for drainage or irrigation. The air grew cooler, and I activated Astral Visionintermittently to scout ahead.
That’s when I saw it, a dense cluster of lights moving in an organized manner. My pulse quickened.
As I advanced, the faint sounds of movement turned into a cacophony of noise: guttural screams, shouts, and the clash of stone against stone.
The tunnel opened into a massive chamber, and I paused at the entrance, my eyes immediately drawn to the towering columns on either side of the archway.
Each column was carved with intricate detail, depicting dragons spiraling upward. Their serpentine bodies twisted around the stone, their heads meeting at the center to form an arch. Even in their weathered, damaged state, the dragons looked almost alive, as if they might roar to life at any moment.
But the sounds coming from beyond the arch were far more pressing.
I stepped inside, keeping to the shadows. The chamber was enormous, easily the largest I’d seen so far. Buildings were carved into the walls, stacked on top of one another like a sprawling vertical city. Stairs, bridges, and pathways connected the structures in a chaotic yet functional layout. The entire scene was illuminated by clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms, their soft glow casting eerie shadows across the chamber.
And then I saw them.
Dozens of humanoid creatures, their forms twisted and corrupted, clawed and climbed at barricades erected near the center of the chamber. Groans and guttural screams filled the air as they threw stones and debris at a group of defenders holed up inside a massive central building.
The defenders were fighting back with everything they had, pelting the horde with projectiles of their own. For now, the barricades were holding, but it was clear the situation could go either way.
I stayed in the shadows, watching the battle unfold. It wasn’t my fight, at least, not yet. But as I observed the desperate defenders and the relentless horde, I knew I’d have to make a choice soon.
“Yeah, I’m going to help,” I muttered to myself. Hearing it aloud made it feel more real, like a declaration of intent. It was obvious I was going to intervene, there was no question about it. Still, saying it out loud filled me with a strange sense of pride.
I’d always tried to help where I could. Nothing dramatic or headline worthy, but enough to feel like I was making a difference. I donated to a few charities, handed out spare change, and gave away old clothes when I could. It wasn’t much, but it mattered to me. It always made me feel good, like I was holding onto a piece of humanity in a world that could often feel indifferent.
Now, standing here in this cruel and brutal astral realm, I realized how much that part of me meant. For all its horrors and harshness, from the grotesque monsters to the constant danger, I wasn’t willing to lose this piece of myself. No matter how twisted this world became, I would do everything in my power to hold onto that.
With a deep breath, I activated Levitation, the familiar surge of energy lifting me from the ground. I floated upward and landed softly on the roof of a nearby one story building. It wasn’t the best cover, it left me a little exposed but that didn’t matter. I already had a plan.
I cupped my hands around my mouth, letting my voice echo across the chaotic chamber.
“Yooo! Friendly here! Please don’t kill me!”