Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 20
Bizarre as it was, Kai didn't let it unnerve him since Gunjin had said this was a test. He drew two arrows next, then loosed them in quick succession. He sent the first towards the monster's chest, then the second just to the side a second later. Again its body twisted out of the way, but his second arrow caught the twisting body and pierced through.
When the monster snapped back to normal, it had a steel bolt through its shoulder. It didn't seem to notice. By now, the ruined dog was getting close.
The next thing Kai knew, the beast's maw was stretching over him, larger than a wagon, hundreds of teeth snapping down at him. His mind froze up but his combat instincts saved him: he leapt backward and loosed a fourth arrow just like he'd been trained.
Only as Kai skidded back through wasteland shrubs did he realize what had happened. The monster must have distorted again, this time offensively: its upper mouth had expanded to an impossible size and tried to swallow him whole. He caught a glimpse of the teeth scraping back over the ground as it returned to normal size.
It still walked toward him, despite being pierced by two arrows. Kai hesitated, wondering if he should draw his sword or stick with his bow. Before he could decide, the monster charged the final distance toward him.
Kai thrust with his sword, directly into its face. Its throat opened up to become a cavern as its jaws expanded, ready to consume his entire hand, but he had been expecting something horrifying. He swung to the side, cutting through the side of the jaws.
The beast collided with his chest, claws tearing into him, and Kai crashed to the ground. Only the fact that its mouth had been cut open prevented it from biting off his head. Instead of returning to normal, the jaw hung open with enormous flaps of tooth-covered flesh. Kai reversed his grip on his sword, only for the blade to snap off when he tried to stab the monster.
Too late, he realized that the blade had been entirely corroded down its length. The claws cutting into his chest were growing, distorting into twisted spirals that would drill into him, and his sword was useless.
Pulling out two arrows, Kai jammed them into the monster's head and its heart. Since the Irunian steel had shown no sign of corroding, he figured that was his only chance... but it wasn't enough. The monster still twitched toward him, dead eyes fixed on him utterly without passion.
Kai drew another arrow and slammed it deep, less stabbing the beast's head than hammering it with his fist. He struck over and over again, pummeling the monster until it lay still. All at once, there was no sign of distortion, only a monster corpse with several arrows through it.
For a while Kai just sat on the ground, staring at the body and wondering what the hell he had just experienced. He had listened to a lot of veteran hunters, even a few elites, and he'd never heard of something like that. The fight had exhausted him and his chest was covered in blood, but more than that, he felt mentally exhausted in a way he'd never felt before.
"That's surprising." Gunjin stepped off the side of the wall and landed lightly on one foot not far away. "I had intended only to show you the reality of the threat, then save you before you died. It's remarkable that you took out one of them, given your state."
"But that... how many are there?"
Gunjin chuckled humorlessly. "Few normally, but during an incursion, the ground crawls with them. You can see why ordinary human weapons are insufficient." Gunjin shook his head. "As you are now, you could defeat a great many hunters in Monskon C-"
"Really?"
"Most likely. Your Physique could resist their Class abilities, which would allow skill and tactics to be victorious. But that beast should show you why that isn't enough."
"What was wrong with it?" Kai began removing his arrows, checking their lengths for corrosion. Thankfully there was none, but that didn't make the apparently ordinary body any less disturbing. "Are monsters on the Frontier really that much more powerful?"
"This is less a question of power than distortion. What you fought was a perfectly ordinary monster, tainted with something far worse. That is the reason we're losing this war..." Gunjin trailed off and looked back toward the wall. "But I see our guest has arrived. We will resume this conversation later."
A man stood atop the wall, watching them quietly. He looked ordinary enough, with tan skin and red armor, but his hair immediately drew Kai's attention. The people of the Elemental Nations had immense diversity in skin color and every other trait, but their heads always made them obvious. Hair the color of flames flowed directly up from the man's head, waving in its own wind. It wasn't exactly like a fire, the way Kai had heard, but it was unmistakably unnatural.
"Let me assist you." The guest snapped his fingers and serpents of flame flowed around them. Kai flinched at first, but the flames felt only warm, not hot. With a rush of heat he was pulled back up to the top of the wall. "My name is Enalanis of Magma. That was remarkable, for a child."
Operating on instinct, Kai nodded to him politely, but he couldn't resist examining the man with his spiritual vision. At first he saw nothing comprehensible, then the man seemed to relax his defenses to allow Kai to see his true strength.
<
Name: Enalanis of Magma
Total Power: 728
Flameborn: Thriceburned (413)
Kindler Class: 53 (53)
Physique Level: E-6 (98)
Soul Level: 8 (64)
Emergent Class: Enkindled Soulflame (+100)
>
During the Trials, Kai had seen a man who had awakened a Class called Flamecaster, but he immediately understood the difference. The Elemental Nations allegedly had entirely different sources of strength that were widely feared, and the man's Flameborn power on its own was more powerful than anyone Kai had met.
What struck him as extraordinary was Enalanis didn't rely on his primary ability alone. He also had a Class more powerful than most hunters in Goralia, plus extraordinary Physique and Soul Levels, plus some "Emergent" title Kai had never seen before. He had to wonder just what this man was capable of.
"Thank you for coming, Enalanis." Gunjin nodded to him with more respect than he'd shown anyone else Kai had seen. "Before you move on, I'd be grateful if you could test my student here."
"I understand why you would go to the expense." Enalanis stared at Kai, who only then realized that his irises burned like flames as well. "You've clearly endured much, boy. But you should know that the powers of my homeland are the most capricious and mercurial of the Frontier nations. I would bestow them upon you if I could, but what happens next is up to fate."
"You mean..." Kai looked between his mentor and the Flameborn, understanding but not quite believing. "You want me to train for elemental powers? What do I need to do?"
"The first test is simplicity itself." Enalanis raised a hand and summoned a dark red flame. "Take this and see your potential. There is nothing you can do to prepare and no way to enhance or change the result. Either you will intuit the path or you will not."
It was all happening too quickly, but Kai couldn't anger two elites by wasting their time. Gunjin nodded almost imperceptibly. Kai took a deep breath and then reached out to grasp the flame.
Chapter 35: A Conversation Between Adults
The flame immediately coursed through his flesh and Kai gasped. He could feel it reforming, twisting over him. His mana surged wildly, having no idea what to do. Allegedly it was supposed to come intuitively, so he threw himself into trying to control the flame.
To his surprise, the heat flowed together into an icy current that pooled in his hand. A moment later, it evaporated and he struggled to hold on to a sphere of wind. Somehow the wind condensed down into a stone, trembling with the might of an earthquake, then it exploded into flame again.
Then it winked out and the power was gone.
"A pity." The Flameborn shook his head sadly. "I thought you would have made a good Earthborn, but it seems the land felt otherwise. Fare well, Gunjin."
Flames exploded around him and the man flew from the wall, soon becoming a comet disappearing into the sky. The fire hadn't burned Kai, yet he felt as though the flames had gutted him. In his current state, he wasn't sure if it was because of the test or because of what he already knew the results meant.
"I'm sorry, Kai." Gunjin turned away from him and stared down over the wasteland.
"No second attempts?" Kai asked, more because he needed to try than because he expected to be surprised.
"You grasped the spirit of the test quickly, but it seems you were unlucky. Even in the most purebred portions of the Elemental Nations, those with such powers are rare. This was always a long shot, but I had hoped..."
There was nothing to say. Kai's hands balled into fists even though he knew it did no good. Every time he had a chance, every time the world gave him anything, fate drove his face into the ground. He wasn't surprised, just bitter.
"I know that you're angry because you feel that Monskon City has treated you unfairly." Gunjin finally turned back with a new hardness in his eyes. "In this conversation, I am going to give you the respect of treating you like an adult. We need to talk about how the world really works."
"It looks like it works by random luck!" Kai hadn't meant to shout, but the words exploded from him. "Some people are just blessed by fate, then the world hands them everything they ask for!"
"We're losing." Gunjin's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, but it cut through Kai's rage. "Not so quickly that it's obvious, but our nation is dying. Our hunters aren't strong enough, and there are too few of them to maintain our lines."
"Bullshit. I've seen hunters sitting around the Guild doing nothing, while there are entire towns outside the city just abandoned. I visited one, you know! They told me how the hunters left them to be controlled by smugglers and thugs, just abandoning their duty to-"
"Because we can't protect them. I don't know exactly which town you mean, because there are dozens of stories like that. Regions we could once keep safe are abandoned to monsters. If the hunters on the Frontier ever failed, half of Goralia would burn within a year. And it's not just Goralia. Every nation is struggling to survive. We cannot afford to be generous."
As much as he didn't want to believe it, Kai swallowed the bitter fact. "But the children of the wealthy..." He knew he sounded petulant and he didn't care. "Fhazi Lantrian gets fed the city's resources without having to do a thing. He might never even fight a monster."
"You want to send him here?" Gunjin gestured out over the Frontier. "There are worthless hunters, yes. But throwing them against our enemy would be like throwing chaff into a wildfire. They aren't the problem, just irrelevant byproducts of the system."
Every objection Kai could possibly raise, Gunjin would have an answer. Instead of trying to argue any further, Kai went to sit down on the edge of the wall. Even here, he could still feel the lethal intent, hordes of monsters that could sweep over civilization. He'd always wanted to fight them, and yet...
"Let me explain to you how Goralia really works," Gunjin said. "The Frontier is our most important defense, but it can't stand alone. The southern regions, despite the fact that they're scorned as being soft and weak, provide powerful resources that could never be grown so near the wasteland. All the wealthy families, despite their problems, create the trade and prosperity that support our strength."
"And Monskon City? What are we?"
"You haven't figured it out yet? Cities like ours provide hunters capable of using the south's resources and growing strong enough to join the Frontier. Every part of the system is essential. If the merchants took over, yes, they'd be overrun by the next monster incursion. But if you let the soldiers take control, the nation would die weak and starving. We can survive only with a balance."
Part of Kai was still furious, but he couldn't help but listen. His early lessons had presented a simple picture of Goralia and the other nations around the Frontier, never addressing things in such stark terms. Though it was a grim picture, he believed that what his mentor said had the ring of truth.
When the lecture petered out, Kai took a deep breath and asked his next question. "So why are we failing? Were past generations really that much more powerful than us?"
Gunjin snorted derisively. "That's a tale for children. The greatest legends will always be in the past because you can't very well lie about the present.
"Our nation works, but it doesn't work perfectly. Some of the reasons you're angry... they aren't wrong. One of the reasons I founded the Granfian clan was to make sure that impoverished children with potential wouldn't be left behind. But not everyone takes the threat seriously, and dysfunctions accumulate, and all the while our enemy hungers for our flesh."
"You can't just take people here and show them the threat? What about the incursions?"
"It's more complicated than that." Gunjin lowered his head and his voice shifted, losing the confident tone. "I believe, but cannot prove, that the monster incursions follow an unstable pattern. The incursion that killed your parents was more arduous than some others, for example, and left a scar. But those since have been weaker, so many believe the threat is broken."
"And they won't listen to you?"
"Some did, but the last incursion... under-performed. I may have been mistaken, or there may have been other variables I didn't understand. Most believe that they were right to ignore my warnings. If it turns out that I am correct... there will come a future incursion that risks destroying everything. Not just Goralia, I mean all the Frontier nations. Maybe the entire continent."
After having worked under him for most of his life, Kai was inclined to believe his old mentor. Even though he'd never heard the full story before, he found himself believing it. And yet all of that was irrelevant, because he knew why this conversation was taking place. It was no call to arms.
The old anger and bitterness flared up and died almost as quickly. Kai took a deep breath and tried to speak without emotion.
"All of this is your way of telling me that you can't afford to waste resources on me," Kai said. "No matter how hard I work, I didn't get handed powers that could be used against the threat, so I'm just usele-"
"You're not useless, but it isn't enough. You have... around 50 Power? That's good, and it puts you above many hunters, but you need to understand that those hunters are the ones failing us. In fact, I think that's part of why Hannagan hates you so much... you're a reminder that his policies aren't enough. His policies are better than average at getting hunters to 100 Power, but that isn't enough... true elites have Power greater than 500, and even they are barely enough."
"So he hates me because I'm doing too well?"
"It's another reminder of how desperate our position is. At your rate of growth, I'm sure you'll gain enough strength to be an above average hunter. But for us to survive, we need heroes."
Kai turned away and closed his eyes.
"I showed you what we face," Gunjin said quietly. "Monsters possess strange powers that are diametrically opposed to ours, which worsen under the taint. To destroy such threats, abilities with enormous destructive power are required. Truthfully, even the common Warrior and Knight Classes are of limited use, unless their users fully expand their powers. So in the end, you are correct. I am sorry that it has to be this way."
"And there's just no hope for me?"
"A man born without arms deserves no less respect, and may have a thousand praise-worthy qualities, but you don't hire him to build you a wall."
There it was, plain as day. Kai scrabbled for other scraps of hope. "What about our supposed allies to the south? Like the dryad who was in the Hunter Trials. Could I seek out their powers?"
"Not even theoretically possible, to my knowledge. Their abilities are diverse but tend to be inborn. I suppose you could try the Irunian test of metal, but-"
"Don't." Kai rubbed his eyes roughly and decided to keep them closed. "I already tried with Tusquo and it turns out I'm the lowest possible rank on the Path of Steel."
"You underwent the trial and... removed the capacity? I see." Gunjin's voice shifted in an unusual way, but Kai didn't want to look at his face. "I wish that you would have told me that. The powers of the various nations use... similar aspects of your fundamental essence. Every time you burn out or remove one of them, your spirit will be circumscribed."
"What does it matter, if I'm worthless anyway?"
"Don't be childish, Kai. The clan isn't going to abandon you instantly. You're free to work as Granfian staff, and I think you'd make an excellent trainer."
"Exactly what I always wanted to be."
"Are you telling me that you've harbored such disrespect for all the men and women who have been supporting and training you all this time?" Gunjin's eyes bored into him and Kai was forced to drop his gaze.
He didn't think the question was fair, but he couldn't answer it. Instead he sat sullenly, forcing himself to accept the new reality. Even though it wasn't a surprise, he couldn't endure slamming up against the barrier of fate over and over. How many times was he expected to pick himself back up? Or was the world telling him that it was time to surrender?
"It's natural for you to have negative feelings, but I need you to listen to me." Gunjin crouched down beside him, capturing his gaze again. "Many of the city's most powerful items would have little effect on you, so giving you those resources would be unfair to everyone else working hard. I need you to understand that giving you more wouldn't be fairness, it would be nepotism."
"I understand." Kai took a shuddering breath and forced himself to his feet. "Just don't expect me to be happy about it. Do I need to change my work now?"
"What I told you after the Trials still holds: you can prepare as you wish before the next monster incursion, which is likely to be just after the next Hunter Trials. Your work on your Physique has been impressive, and we may need all the help we can get. If you find some other path, we'll welcome you in that role."
"But does another path even exist? Could I... I don't know, what about the Krysal City States?
