ALL NOVEL 54: Destiny's Path
“Is there really nothing else we can do besides picking out a path at random?” Tom’s low voice disrupted the eerie stillness of the cavern, his expression a great deal more relaxed now that his spectral foes had been dealt with.
Aleph, whose visage had been a mask of scorching focus up until moments ago had fallen back upon her characteristic easy-going expression, a familiar hint of mischievousness twinkling in her eyes.
“Certain combinations of alchemical reagents can lead to the creation of volatile potion mixes that explode on impact. If Nether wasn’t known to adversely react with raw alchemical ingredients, that could have been a viable strategy. And indeed, some variations of it are possible, at great cost,” Aleph paused after the explanation, her gaze flickering to the caves. “But you won’t get any experience for a kill like that. The divine system has no intention to help cowards, after all.”
“So..,” Tom let out an exhale, pretty much having predicted the flow of the conversation. “How do we pick the right cave?”
“Well,” Aleph cocked her head thoughtfully, as her gaze flickered from one cave to the next. “I thought there was a chance I’d be able to gleam some hint but..,” Aleph tossed her hands in the air with dramatic flair, “... I really can’t tell.”
Tom’s shoulders sagged a little.
“So, are you lucky?” Aleph asked, clearly having reverted to a playful mood.
“Lucky?”
“Phase two is called destiny’s path for a reason, you know. We might not be able to control where destiny leads us, but at least we get to choose our own paths.”
Tom’s thoughts instinctively flashed towards [The Fool] card, as he found an almost foreign urge welling up within him— an urge to refute Aleph’s assertion— the assertion that Destiny chose man’s path instead of the opposite.
“Am I lucky?” Tom mused aloud. “Well, I suppose I am pretty lucky when it comes to things that I don’t want.”
“Are you particularly inclined to venture into a cave full of Nether Beasts?” Aleph asked with a small chuckle.
“No,” He dryly replied.
“Well then,” Aleph bent her knees as she offered him a light curtsy. “Do pick out our destiny for us. Or is it perhaps fate?”
Tom had, naturally, tried to reach out to [The Fool] and hoped that it would pick out the shortest, safest path among the four— a path that both the information dockets they had purchased had confirmed, one that changed with every dungeon reset as the entrances were shuffled at random.
[The Fool] had given him a cold shoulder and chosen not to respond.
In the end, Tom had ended up going with the second cave entrance. Not because of some unique indentation on the cave wall that he had spotted, or because some hidden mural caked between a mound of dust and grime had revealed to him the path.
He just liked the number two more than the alternatives.
And in the current scenario, that was as good a reason as any.
So Tom and Aleph had boldly decided to venture into the second tunnel entrance, the latter falling behind and returning to a veneer of cold focus.
The tunnel itself was wide enough for them to easily walk side-by-side and there were enough Nether Crystals dotted across the sides and roof of the tunnel to provide them with a reliable source of ambient light. No creature lunged at their throats and oddly enough, the length of the tunnel seemed deserted until it rounded a bend at a sharp angle.
It was hard not to get lulled into a sense of security when Tom’s visual acuity failed to pick up on any apparent threat.
It was only his Proprioception stat and foreknowledge of the enemy archetype he was about to encounter that let him spot his foe in advance, though that did little to dull the surprise he felt at encountering his first [Bladeswalker].
And he had to admit, it was aptly named.
Compared to the misshapen, revolting exterior of the Abyssal Imp, the Bladeswalker was a creature that balanced elegant precision with bloodthirsty deadliness. Tom got to witness the Phantasmal Skill, [Nether Crawl] in action as the creature came at him with an attack pattern he had never encountered before. The deep-purple skinned humanoid creature utilised it’s slender frame and tightly corded leg muscles to great effectiveness as it ran across the side of the right cave wall, its racing footfall rapidly covering distance.
Before Tom could get used to its movement style, it leapt, at least from its perspective, upwards, executing a forward roll mid-air that allowed it to land upon its feet on the other side of the cave wall. Three quick steps to build its momentum, and then it leapt directly for him.
Tom’s heart pounded in his chest as he spotted the distortion around the razor-sharp crystalline blades that the Bladeswalker possessed instead of regular arms. [Spatial Focus] allowed the Bladeswalker to temporarily phase its blade arms into, what Tom could only infer as a different dimension, for a few seconds.
The natural instinct when confronted with a bladed creature was to parry it with your blade; at least for Tom. Once again, he learned the importance of preparation and information-gathering first hand as [Control Glyph- Water Arrow] allowed him to fire two arrows in rapid succession.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the distortion around the bladed arms faded as the creature crossed his arms to shield its vitals. The impact of the water arrow was far more muted compared to the true potential of the [Water Propulsion] card, but it was enough to move the creature’s nimble frame backwards.
The [Spatial Focus] skill had an absolute cooldown of ten minutes, which would let Tom breathe easy but only a few moments later he found himself grimacing.
The Bladeswalker borrowed momentum from his strike, landing upon the roof of the cave with an athletic flip. Without warning, it began to build momentum… in the direction opposite to Tom.
It was retreating after it’s ambush had failed and Tom realized, as the creature repositioned itself to the cave’s left wall with another leap—that he was absolutely helpless to stop it.
A gust of wind washed over him, followed by a glimmer that trailed from the corner of his vision. By the time he had identified the thick, pointed crystal spear that was sent lancing forth across the air, it was already halfway to its destination.
A loud bang rang out as the crystal lance punctured through the Bladewalkers abdomen and continued forth until it slammed into the cave wall, impaling it on the very landscape it was used to so proudly navigating, merely a few meters away from the bend in the cave.
Tom blinked.
‘Note to self: Try not to get on Aleph’s bad side.’