Elydes

Chapter 205 - Spatial Anomaly

Droplets fell through the collar of his shirt, drawing icy lines down his back. Kai bit down a curse. The Republic couldn’t even provide the appropriate clothing for the job. The rope ladder swayed when he reached with his hand to dry his neck.

“Don’t squirm. Are you trying to make us fall!” Darlo's strained voice complained from above. “If you were scared of heights, you could have let them lower you down.”

“My bad.” Kai was pretty sure the man was the one with acrophobia, but he kept his mouth shut in the name of tranquility. The last thing he needed was a feud when they’d be stuck together the whole day.

Not like the fall could kill him. Well, maybe if he lands on his head…

They had been woken up with orders for another exploration. The torrential rain of the previous night had turned the camp and the ruins into a swamp of muck. With the sun just rising, it would take hours to dry the landscape outside. Down here, only the spirits knew.

The scholars had escaped the beasts unscathed. Darlo’s group had never gone underground, while Sonya’s had waited it out in a chamber. This morning, the military had assured the ruins were absolutely safe.

Do the towers need to recharge? I bet they have no idea if that’s true.

Kai jumped the last rung of the rope ladder, his shoes squelched into the mud. Amazing. He had given up trying to keep his feet dry with magic. Every step drenched them again, and he was low on elemental mana from the fight.

Enchanted globes lit the dark tunnels. The air was choked with humidity and the smell of wet earth. Darlo landed behind him. His audible sigh of relief was cut short by a squeal as he slipped on the slick ground. The scholar landed with a splattering of mud for the third time today.

“Are you alright, sir?” A young soldier tried to help him up.

“Don’t touch me!” He slapped the hand away, his face turning a shade of purple. “I didn't sign up for this! I’m a scholar from Terasia, not a lowly digger. I demand to leave this place at once!” The man was only tolerable when they didn’t have to leave the camp.

I thought he’d last longer. We just got here.

Seeing Darlo have a worse time than him cheered his mood somehow, though the one-sided shouting made him feel bad for the soldier. The poor guy had to fend off shouts and spittle, unable to defend himself.

Sonya rushed back from the corridors, hearing the commotion. “Darlo, it’s just a little mud.” She patted him down. “Remember why we’re here. The ruins showed signs of activity after eight millennia and we might be close to solving this mystery. Think of all the stories you’ll be able to tell.”

“They can’t treat me like this!”

“Of course not. We’ll file a complaint tonight, but now we have a job to do. How can we discover what’s going on without your sharp mind?”

The tantrum let the rest of the group catch up. They moved down the tunnels with no aim. The locations where beasts appeared were occupied by mana researchers and mages. They were left wandering old areas where the only notable changes were layers of sludge.

Lights and voices echoed at almost every corner, the underground complex housed more life than it had seen in millennia. The entire camp had been sent to the ruins. It was not exactly clear what they were supposed to do, except get results.

Kai dodged the water dripping from the ceiling. The sea serpent’s attack on Yanlun’s ruins had left no obvious clues. Three teleportations might have created more marks, but he tempered his expectations.

Can’t wait to spend a day in these cold, cramped, drenched and smelly tunnels while being covered in mud.

He exhaled a slow breath. He didn’t want to end up like Darlo. He had the perfect means to distract himself: a decision pending in the Guide.

Nature Magic (lv50) ➔

As you reach the first milestone, you are presented with five choices to continue your journey.

Stay the Course - You won’t gain new significant benefits, but you’ll deepen the insight into your path.

Plant Dominion - Devote yourself to the ever-growing verdant life, and make it flourish lusher than ever.

Restoring Growth - Let the beating pulse of Nature restore life to its thriving form.

Nature Cycle - Only rot and decay can provide the nourishment for other life to blossom.

Wild Awakening - Commune with the other half of the domain of nature. Feral and untamed.

The specializations hung before his eyes. He had read them countless times and come no closer to a decision.

Nature was a layered element about life thriving in the wild. Due to its complexity, Kai had only been able to use its basic application of manipulating plants. Now the first milestone opened branches that would require years of mastering.

“What does he mean we have to wait half a day?” Darlo’s furious tone broke his focus. “Do you think my time is worthless? I want to see where the spatial anomaly took place now.”

The scholar argued with the head of their escort. It was obvious the man didn’t have the authority to grant them access, so the conversation was going nowhere.

Seems I’ve got nothing but time. I need to pick something…

Plant Dominion doubled down on his foundation. It was guaranteed to be useful since it made him better at what he already did. The downside was that devoting himself to plants might make the other aspects of Nature harder to unlock.

I can’t discount the straightforward benefits it offers… It’s a safe option.

Restoring Growth would boost the healing abilities of his spells. He could already restore plants and mushrooms, so he assumed this would extend his abilities to humans and animals.

Why else say ‘life’ instead of plants?

The ability to heal himself in a pinch was invaluable. It would have been an obvious choice if potions didn’t already cover his needs. There was no way to say if Nature Magic would be any better since regeneration was a minor aspect of the element. It might be slower, too expensive or work poorly on humans.

There are too many ifs. It sucks, but Restoring Growth is out.

Kai scrubbed a hand through his hair. There would be more milestones and opportunities. He had to prioritize what he needed now.

They had stopped in an underground chamber not linked to any tower. The rain hadn’t reached here. He used the chance to dry his shoes and sat on a rock while the scholars argued over a map. Was there any significance in the places where the beasts appeared? No one seemed to care about his opinion.

Hurtful, back to the Guide then…

There were two more specializations, the singular ones. Nature Cycle would subvert what he had learned. Instead of wandering the farmland to leave a trail of overgrown produce like some fae sprite, he’d leave a trail of blighted crops. Life couldn’t exist without death.

We could almost say it's natural, Kai chuckled at the bad pun.

Casting rot and decay wasn’t his idea of a good time, but it would boost his offensive potential. He could always use more firepower with his elements. There was also the bit about letting life blossom, probably gaining some type of boost. It wasn't just destruction, for destruction’s sake.

Maybe this will heal me too? Hmm… I can’t exclude it just because it’s morbid.

Lastly was Wild Awakening. An ecosystem wasn’t complete without animals and critters. This was by far the most nebulous option. It would allow him to commune with animals to an unspecified degree.

Will I talk to seagulls and fish like some discount Snow White? Lo and behold the clam whisperer!

Kai loved to cozy up to furry friends as much as the next guy, but he hadn’t seen much of those on Elydes. The first thing that flashed to mind were the jaws of a beast snapping at his face.

Hmm… Can I have a conversation with them? Please don’t eat me, or you’ll choke to death.

The sea serpent hadn’t stopped to listen, perhaps the chucky toad would have, though the bugger had been a glutton. Wild Awakening sounded like the path of a druid, not something he had envisioned for himself. He liked his comforts too much to live in a hut with a bear and two skunks as friends.

Are druids even a thing here? Maybe they live in air-conditioned palaces.

He wouldn’t refuse the option outright. The question was whether he’d be able to control animals and beasts. That would be a much more reliable power than negotiating with hungry monsters.

It does say ‘feral and untamed’, that’s not very promising…

Nature was wild by definition. It would be an interesting ability to explore but the effects were too uncertain. Right now, he needed reliable power, not a fun party trick.

Maybe at the next milestone. This one is out too.

He could also Stay the Course for a generic buff. Once he mastered Nature, he would be able to use those aspects, the specialization was a convenient shortcut.

It might take years and a yellow skill to get any result. That’s even more unreliable, so I have two options. Yay!

They both offered clear benefits. Plant Dominion might be a little stronger, but it was at the expense of future flexibility, and it was bland. His Nature affinity had too much potential to be limited to growing pumpkins and cabbages.

The circle of life it is!

*Ding*

You chose to delve into the Nature Cycle. Nature Magic (lv50) can now reach lv75.

Now I just need a sickle and a black cloak to finish the look. How does this work?

The touch of the Guide was seamless, a new awareness in his mind. Kai searched the corners of the chamber for a test subject. He saw a skittering spider, but he wasn’t ready to try that yet. He ripped a weed with a thin stalk and blue leaves. It shone with the glow of a pseudo-mana plant. Perfect.

Uhm, I should imagine it dying? This is completely healthy and normal.

Summoning a marble of Nature Mana, he pictured the weed decaying in his hand. When he opened his eyes, the plant shriveled like someone pushed the forward button on a timelapse. The leaves turned brown and fell, the dry stalk flopped and cracked into specks.

Kai watched transfixed when the green mana flowed back into his palm, denser than before. Death was the nourishment of life.

I’m the god of rot and I’ve never tasted defeat!

“Are you okay, Kai?” Sonya asked, spectacled eyes peering at him too close for comfort. “You’ve been making strange noises.”

He jolted upright, getting rid of the evidence behind his back. “I’m fine. I was lost in my thoughts.”

Sonya gave him a knowing smile. “Talking to yourself, eh? Nothing to be ashamed of, I do it all the time. Helps clear the voices in my head.” She winked.

“Hmm… yeah.” Since they were in a dry chamber, the scholars ended up studying one of his dad’s journals as a protest. “Did we make any progress?”

“Not much. There is no change in the ruins, apart from the section blown up by the stone lizard. We'll have our chance to visit the site of the spatial anomaly soon. Come, let me show you.”

A large boulder worked as a table, it displayed three maps depicting the layers of the underground complex. A maze of chambers and corridors still partially buried. Two circles had been drawn on opposite sides of the central area. Kai looked puzzled. “Why are there only two marks?”

“Have you not been listening to us?” Sonya gave him a scolding look.

“Ehm…” His ears burned fiercely. “Sorry, I was dealing with the Guide.”

“Oh, skill milestone or evolution? Those can be quite grueling. So many beautiful possibilities and you’re forced to pick one.” She stared blankly for a moment, then her attention snapped on him. “You were asking about the map. According to the trackers, the stone lizard and the wyrm appeared in the same chamber. That’s why there are only two marks.”

Kai bit his cheek. “Uh, that’s not good…”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well,” he ignored her intense gaze. “If more than one can appear in the same chamber, it means there can be multiple teleports in a row.”

And they said it was absolutely safe to be here.

“Maybe the beasts were transported together,” Sonya pointed out.

He shook his head. “Two yellow beasts of different species can’t stay that close without fighting. And the wyrmling had its tail severed by spatial forces. If they were teleported together, it’d make more sense for the terragon to be hit since it was much larger, but it didn’t have even a nick.”

“Mhmm… I can think of other explanations, though they’d be nitpicking.” Sonya adjusted her lenses on the maps. “If they were teleported one after the other, it’s strange…”

“Uh…?” Kai propped her with roles switched. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

“You know, during the event, I sat down to observe the cloud of mana,” she said like that was a perfectly normal reaction. “The mana vortex continued to rise till it was crossed by a shock and started to wane with no break. I thought the shock was caused by the teleportations, maybe the toad and stone lizard overlapping. But if the wyrm was transported later…”

Her frown deepened. “There could be many explanations, I don’t know much about Space Magic. But that was why I thought the beasts all appeared together.”

It was indeed odd. Kai was sure every teleportation on that scale would create ripples. It was as if the Space rupture had happened once, but the beasts came out at different times.

“Finally! It was about time they showed us.” Darlo walked to a new guard speaking with their escort. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go see this.”

They gathered maps, journals and bags and headed back into the tunnels. Kai wasn’t thrilled to leave behind the dry chamber for the squelching mud, his feet were drenched in cold water in seconds.

Crossing a few turns and rooms, voices echoed from up ahead and sunlight joined the cold crystals. Turning a corridor, the floor was cracked by a two-meter hole and a much larger breach in the ivory ceiling showed a sliver of sky.

Two dozen people shuffled in the chamber below. Kai recognized the elegant and impractical robes; it must have taken quite an effort to keep their clothes spotless. The earth mages and mana professionals must see it as a worthwhile use of their mana.

“This is where the blackstone terragon emerged and made its way outside.” Their guide led them to another rope ladder.

Darlo groaned, he leaned on a wall like a lizard playing dead, suddenly not so eager.

Kai went ahead, the air buzzed with an energy that was both familiar and alien. Iridescent Space mana flickered in the air. A whisper brushed his thoughts just out of reach. It wasn’t a warning danger, quite the opposite, it beckoned him to move closer.