Skill Hunter: A LitRPG Adventure, page 43
Ike paused. It hasn’t attacked us or anything. I—
A huge arm, wider than he was tall, swept at him. Curved claws longer than his body and sharp as a razor darted toward him.
Eyes wide, he leaped into the air, barely dodging backward in time. The claws crushed into a tree and toppled it, sending it hurtling toward Ike. He kept backpedaling, his feet moving as fast as his body could go. I was deceived! I shouldn’t let my guard down. Not around monsters. Not ever.
On the other side of the sloth, Loup darted in. The beast turned, its previously slow head whipping around. Its other arm arced toward the wolf. Loup kicked off the ground and propelled herself toward it. Its claw chased after her. She landed on its back and dashed across toward Ike. Its arm slammed down as it ran out of energy, and it lay there like a lump once more, waiting for the next approach.
Ike backed away, thinking. Loup whirled around and came to a halt at his side. She crouched low, her eyes trained on the sloth, waiting for their charge.
It moves slow, then fast. Saves its energy for the surge. Then… I just have to attack it before it can start moving fast.
“Are you ready, girl?” Ike asked.
Loup rumbled.
“That’s the ticket.” Lightning flashed around Ike’s body. For one second, it washed him out to white, only for it to fade in the next second. Before the thunder hit, he dashed in, lightning and Loup at his heels.
84
SLOTH
Ike closed in on the sloth. Lightning chased him, and Loup chased the lightning. The sloth’s eyes glittered. It swiped at him again, its blazing-fast claws closing in on Ike.
Ike laughed. “You didn’t think that was as fast as I could go, did you?” He pushed off the ground and closed the distance in a flash. The sloth stared at him, startled, and then his blade found its throat. He sliced through and ran past. A spray of blood colored the air behind him. The sloth flailed its arms but slowed down. With each pass of claws, it moved slower and slower, until it finally came to a halt, limp on the ground. A corpse.
Wiping his sword, Ike stepped closer. The chickens had taught him caution with their penchant to leap back up without a head, but the sloth showed no sign of reviving. He nodded at Wisp. “There we are.”
Wisp climbed leisurely from her tree, clapping sarcastically. “Impressive, impressive. You really showed that slow-moving herbivore who’s boss.”
Ike rolled his eyes at Wisp. “Where’s the ring?”
“Only one way to find out.” Wisp cracked her knuckles and worked out her jaw.
“Right. Let me get out of your way.” Ike jogged from the corpse. Loup went to follow him, then hesitated and turned back to the corpse.
“You can join me,” Wisp offered the wolf.
Loup yipped, and leaving Ike, she trotted to Wisp’s side.
“Traitor,” Ike muttered jokingly. He walked away, hopping into a nearby tree, and kept his back resolutely toward the corpse.
Before long, crunching and squelching sounds came from behind him. The occasional growl and ripping sound mixed into the horrific wet chewing of Wisp chowing down on sloth. Ike watched the lake, enjoying the peaceful view. He sighed, eyes half-closing to enjoy the breeze. Ah, yes. A lovely mid-morning break. The cool breeze from the surface of the lake. The placid lake, with its gentle waves. Peaceful. Beautiful.
A loud, wrenching squelch-pop echoed through the trees behind him. Ike flinched. Gods. “I could have butchered it for you, you know. I could have cooked it, even.”
“That’s not as fun,” Wisp replied with her mouth full.
“It’s more fun, I would argue,” Ike pointed out. “I could even eat the sloth, in fact.”
“You could eat it now.”
“I disagree.”
He could hear chewing sounds before Wisp swallowed loudly. “It’s pretty foul, anyway. You wouldn’t like it.”
“That’s what everyone says when they don’t want to share,” Ike returned.
“It really is pretty nasty, though. I’d rather eat another spider.”
“You prefer cannibalism?”
“It’s no more cannibalism than it’s cannibalism for a trout to eat a sardine.”
Ike opened his mouth, then shut it. Valid.
Wisp walked up beside him. She wiped her mouth, then handed him a second ring. “There you go. Go learn more.”
Ike looked at the ring, then at Wisp. “You know, I bet Ket could find out even more if we had three or four rings.”
Wisp waggled her brows. “You don’t need to tell me twice. I’m down for you to kill me more food.”
“Hey, now,” Ike protested.
Wisp grinned. “I’ll help. Maybe. If I feel like it.”
“You’ll help me find it.”
“That’s right. I’m your hunting dog. Woof woof,” Wisp said, putting her hands together like a begging dog.
Ike stiffened. I have no idea how to respond to that. She’s incredibly more powerful than me. Obviously, I can’t agree with her. She’ll kill me. But if I disagree, I’m countering a super powerful mage. What do I do?
Wisp leaned in, watching his face, then snorted a laugh. She poked his cheeks and giggled. “Laugh. It’s funny!”
Ike quickly laughed, then cleared his throat. “Let’s get going. Do you smell any other rings?”
“Not yet. We can wander around. I’ll catch the scent sooner or later. They’re everywhere.”
Ike blinked. “That common?”
“Su-per common.”
Ike raised his brows. “Well, then. Lead the way.”
Wisp laughed. She jogged away, gesturing for him to follow.
Ike fell in, grinning. “Here we go.”
The forest blurred by. The remains of the giant sloth quickly fell behind them, little more than bits of fur and bone at this point. As they ran, Ike turned to Wisp. “This one… was it needlessly bloated, too? Like that giant spider earlier.”
Wisp nodded. “Like they’ve been deliberately forced to grow large.”
He sighed. “So I guess there’s no Skill Orbs to be found here.”
“But… lots of these fun rings,” Wisp said. She shrugged. “You could find a Skill Orb. Monsters can develop Skill Orbs as young as a hundred years.”
“That’s true. It’s just rarer,” Ike admitted. He looked at Wisp.
Wisp waggled her brows at him. “That’s right. I definitely have Skill Orbs. Wanna try?”
“No, ma’am,” Ike replied quickly. There’s no chance I could defeat Wisp. She’d crush me in an instant.
“Pity. You smell like you have good Skill Orbs in you.”
“You can take Skill Orbs out of people?” Ike asked, surprised.
Wisp shrugged. “You can take Skill Orbs out of anything.”
“Wait, can you get skills from other monsters?” he asked, more wanting to confirm it than anything.
Wisp cocked a brow. “Yeah? Of course.”
“Is that unique to conscious monsters?”
Wisp shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. It’s more common for us to survive the process, since we can consciously choose skills that match our mana and pathways.”
Ike ducked a branch, then nodded at Wisp. “How can you tell ahead of time if a skill’s going to match or not? I met another monster who could do the same thing, but… I have no way of knowing what a skill is before I absorb it, let alone whether it’ll match my mana or not.”
She frowned at him. “You don’t send a pulse of mana into the orb before you absorb it? It’s just like if you’re trying to get a feel for anything. The first step is to send a pulse of mana into it.”
Ike’s eyes widened. Ohhhh. I should’ve thought of that. Why didn’t anyone mention it?
Wisp chuckled under her breath. “You’re self-taught, mostly, aren’t you?”
“Yeah?” Ike asked.
“I can tell. I’ve had the same reaction to a bunch of dumb things everyone should know. The people you’ve encountered probably just thought you already knew.”
“Will it tell me exactly what skill it is?” Ike asked.
“With enough practice, you’ll be able to tell. Early on, you’ll be lucky to get more than a feel for ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ skills. Practice enough, and you should learn the skill.”
Ike nodded at her. “Thank you, Wisp.”
“No problem.” She ran ahead, leaving him behind.
Ike laughed and kicked off the ground and pushed himself faster. He couldn’t keep up with Wisp, but he wouldn’t let her escape, either. I have pride in my legs and my running speed. I won’t let her escape so easily!
85
FOREST HUNTING
They ran around the forest that day, chasing after Wisp’s nose. One after another, the bloated monsters fell under Ike and Loup’s prowess, while Wisp ate the evidence, sans the rings. Ike collected the rings over one shoulder. Two, three, four, more and more rings piled up. Most of them had the same-colored crystals as the first ring he’d found, but some had red, purple, or green crystal.
As they killed monsters, the force Ike didn’t recognize built up inside him. The pillars, too, the ones that he’d seen in his mind’s eye, continued to grow. One of them reached its full height and stopped, while the others slowly gained height. He watched the process curiously, not sure what to do about it. It seemed like a good thing, but how could he know for sure?
He’d asked Wisp about it, but she didn’t know enough about low-level human cores to be able to answer. Apparently, early beast core cultivation and early human core cultivation were very different. Patting the rings, he glanced back at Abyssal, and Ket. When I ask him about the rings, I can ask him about the pillars, too.
As the sun drew toward the horizon, he made his excuses to Wisp and made it back to the puppets. Today, he was careful about tapping the puppet, and chose one near the tree he’d defeated last time. He tapped the puppet a little higher to only use the amount of black gunk he needed.
And yet, as he absorbed the black mana smoke, he found himself taking longer to fill up. The last of the smoke faded away, and he tapped his core, frowning slightly. Yesterday, my core was full from less mana than this. Today, it isn’t quite full. As those pillars grow, my core is growing, too. When they finish growing… then it’s time to push into the second rank, isn’t it?
He took a deep breath. Wiping his brow, he pushed up and jumped his way out of the valley, back to Loup’s side. First, let’s find out about these rings and ask Ket about this pillar thing. And let’s not forget about the deal with Wisp and whitefeather grass. Once I’m done with all that, I can wonder about how to rank up. It’s way too early… isn’t it?
Ike ran over everything he’d accomplished mentally. From the Salamander, to the owl, to fighting Rosamund, to the giant chicken, to the kills in the Abyss and the puppets. I’ve actually accomplished quite a bit. And with the puppets to apply supplemental mana and the Unique skill to boost my power, I might be approaching Rank 2.
I definitely have to ask Ket about this.
It wasn’t quite as late when he returned to town this time. He skirted the main square and made a beeline for Ket’s house, no interest in dealing with the monster parts dealer’s friends, if they even existed. The smell of something herbal wafted down the hallway as he entered. Out in the back courtyard, bright light flashed against the fading twilight as Tana practiced. Ike headed toward the kitchen. “Ket, did you—”
“Have you seen my seven-year four-leaf herb?” Ket asked, leaning out of the kitchen.
Ike froze. He’d completely forgotten about the girl in purple and her offer of an herb. His fight with the monsters today had totally wiped that tiny detail out of his memory. Only when Ike had asked about it had it popped back into his mind. Lie? Admit the truth? Fuck—it’s too late. I’ve already frozen. He knows. He scratched the back of his head and laughed. “Uh, about that…”
“Yes…?” Ket asked. His eyes glittered dangerously.
Ike looked at the ground, embarrassed. “This is going to sound insane, but it’s all real. When I went down into the kitchen, I ran into this pretty girl in black and purple. She was chewing on an herb. I thought she was your girlfriend or something, so when she offered me part of it, I said yes. It was only the stalk, though, so I guess she already ate the leaves?”
“A girl in black and purple?” Ket asked disbelievingly.
“Yeah…” Ike grimaced. Even I know how ridiculous it sounds! “Yeah, she was, um, wearing a really tight outfit, with this loose purple cloth at the hips—”
“Was she,” Ket deadpanned.
Sweat dripped down Ike’s back. He looked up at Ket. “She really was, I swear it—”
Ket grinned at him. He broke out into laughter.
Ike pursed his lips and pointed at Ket. “You know her. You do! I was sweating for nothing!”
“Know her is a strong word. Violet is… something of a known entity in the Abyss. No one knows where she came from, or how long she’s going to hang around. She’s a pest who can break into anything. She mostly eats herbs.”
Ike frowned at Ket. “Why?”
The man shrugged. “We suspect it’s to supplement the mana in her core. But honestly? Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Wait—if she came down here willfully, then… can’t she leave? Probably?” Ike asked.
Again, Ket shrugged. “Who’s to say she came down here willfully? She’s clearly an experienced thief. Maybe someone caught her and threw her down here. Maybe someone chased her to the brink, and she jumped in.”
“Who would do that?” Ike muttered under his breath.
“But who’s to say? Maybe she can freely escape. She’s been able to freely enter everyone’s houses, after all. She’s a pest, but I won’t blame you for her crimes. The next time you see her, though, call for me instead of chatting with her.”
“Yes, of course,” Ike said, nodding obediently.
Ket frowned. He squinted at Ike’s shoulder, then moved closer.
Ike glanced down, then nodded. “Oh! Right. Wisp and I hunted some of these today. Here. Can you make anything of, er, this many?” He set the rings down on the table. The stack slipped a little, and over a dozen rings splayed out across the surface.
“You and Wisp, huh? I’m not as frightened of her as Tana is, but Wisp is incredibly dangerous. I’m surprised you’ve come away unharmed from day two,” Ket commented. He splayed the rings out, tilting his head back and forth to get a better look at their crystals. He snapped his fingers, summoning a small light to see the rings better.
“She’s pretty friendly with me. I hunt the things, she eats them. Ah… though…” Ike paused.
“What?” Ket asked, looking up sharply.
“She, um. Said she was my hunting dog, and then said, ‘woof woof,’ and I just… I still don’t know how I was supposed to reply to that,” Ike admitted, embarrassed.
Ket laughed out loud. “You and Wisp are good friends, huh?”
Ike scratched the back of his neck. He grinned. “Yeah… I guess.”
Ket put a hand on the rings. Mana pulsed through the ring, and the crystals lit for a moment. He jumped back, startled. “Ike, where did you find these?”
“They were in bloated, huge monsters, just scattered around the Abyss,” Ike said, concerned. “What are they? Is it something bad?”
Ket grimaced. He shook his head. “It’s not something good, anyway.”
86
SOMETHING BAD
“So? What is it?” Ike asked again.
Ket’s face turned serious. He put his hand on the rings again and sent a huge pulse of mana into them. They all began to glow, then tremble. Abruptly, the first one lifted off the table, then another, then another. All the rings floated in the air, their crystals glowing. They hung there in an amorphous blob. He waved his hand again, and the rings spun around in the air, repositioning into a complex three-dimensional shape. “No, this is… These rings are part of an enormous array. I think it…”
He stepped back, putting a hand on his chin. His brows furrowed. “It might be…”
A burning smell came from the kitchen, followed seconds later by a dark smoke. Ket jolted and ran to the kitchen, quickly stirring a pot. Ike followed him to the door of the kitchen and stood there, waiting.
Ket worked on the pot, tossing in this herb and that liquid into the simmer. The black smoke turned pale again, and the burning scent faded. At last, he wiped his brow. “There. It should be stable for a while again. What were we talking about?”
“The formation,” Ike prompted him.
“Right! The formation!” Ket jogged back out into the kitchen. The rings still hung in the air, propelled on the mana he’d injected before. He looked it up and down, then scowled. “No, this is really bad. It is what I thought it was.” He flicked his fingers, and the rings rearranged. They formed a perfect circle and began to spin. Dark energy accumulated in the air. A cold wind blew. Silver streaked the dark energy, like cold metal.
Ike’s energy drained out of his body. The cold wind closed in around him. He trembled, then dropped to his knees. He staggered for the door. Ice accumulated on his skin. “Ket…”
Ket’s eyes widened. He clapped. A burst of fire flew from his hands and washed over the rings, knocking them out of the air. The draining cold vanished. The normal temperature filled the room once more. In the kitchen, Ket’s pot gently bubbled.
Ike shook his head. He slowly pushed to his feet. “What was that?”
“A soul-draining array,” Ket said.
Ike’s brows furrowed. “A soul-draining…”
Immediately, several things clicked in his head. The soul-draining array. The dolls, standing there motionlessly. Rosamund, her personality, and the way her father replicated her. And finally, the king of Abyssal and his ambivalence toward the puppet army. Ike looked at Ket. “This—it’s for the dolls, isn’t it?”
