Crossing Serpent's Way, page 30
part #1 of Trials of the Endless Planes Series
Despite those restrictions, there was no cap to how many transmuted trinkets someone could carry, unlike the number of Boons people were limited to. That alone made crafting trinkets a worthwhile endeavor. It was quantity versus quality and Kaito wanted in on it.
His mind snapped back to what he was doing as the core in his fingers abruptly melted under the constant pressure of his mana. His hands moved deftly and swiftly, kneading the molten core as if it were clay. He rolled it out between his palms into a thick string, while concentrating on the ability node he wanted.
This wasn’t the difficult part though.
The true challenge came when actually anchoring the damned core. He’d been set on a ring because it would be fairly inconspicuous, but he’d failed the last three times he tried. So this time, he chose to make a bangle for his wrist, since it turned out that he was too inept at sculpting something as fine as a ring.
He continued to twist and squeeze the molten core material until it was an even consistency. Then, he pulled out a bangle that he’d had in his void locker since Earth. At one point in time, it was fashionable for men to wear bracelets and bangles. Looking back on it now, it was all so ridiculous, though a part of him had kept some of them for nostalgia’s sake. Something to remind him of a normal life…once upon a time.
His old bangle was sterling silver and he twined the melted core round and round the curved piece of jewelry until it was completely covered. He then patted it down, smoothing the surface while simultaneously tapping into the ability node.
Now came the moment of truth.
Markeelal had walked him through this three other times before…he needed to essentially ‘crack’ the node open and spread its contents evenly throughout the shape he was molding. In this way, the ability could be activated from any point of contact with the item.
This was where skill came in, which he just didn’t have yet.
He drew out lines of mana from the ability node like trying to unravel a tangled mess of wires, gently tugging at each little knot with just enough force to free it up without destroying the entire structure. It was painstaking work as sweat beaded down his forehead with every passing minute.
Kaito hated untying tightly bound knots. This was a massive pet peeve of his, but he had to do it because he wanted to get better at this craft. Transmuting was the more advanced version of mana core forging and he wanted to be good at it dammit.
He grit his teeth as he meticulously worked through the complex set of knots that made up the ability node. The worst part was that this was just an uncommon ability too. Nothing that was even that advanced and he was already having a hard time with it. He couldn’t imagine the headache that came with manipulating higher tiered abilities.
After he managed to unravel more than three-quarters of the node, he realized this was the furthest he’d ever made it. Spurred on by his mounting success, he redoubled his efforts, tweezing at the leftover knots faster and faster.
A manic look gleamed in his eyes, his pace becoming frantic. He was so close he could taste it.
And then…he shanked it.
Three strings left and he messed it all up at the finish line.
A crack spread down the middle of his bangle and before he could do anything, the entire thing crumbled in his hands.
“Son of a bitch!” he growled, crushing his newest failure into dust. He angrily threw it in a spray of sparkling fragments all across his inn room as he stood up to pace so he could settle his nerves.
He reminded himself that this was new. It had been less than a day since he started. And that he wasn’t a genius.
He’d never been a natural talent at anything. Not at school. Not at fighting monsters. And definitely not at mana core forging.
But what he was good at was putting his nose to the grindstone. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t masterful. And it wasn’t skillful. It was just hard work.
Taking in a deep breath, he let out a weary sigh as the truth of himself hit him. He wasn’t going to give up because that’s just not what he did. If he could survive Earth’s Crucible, then he could get over the first few failings of learning a new skill.
So he plopped himself back down onto the floor and pulled out a new mana core. He had enough of a break.
* * *
Morning sunshine peeked in through the slats of his room’s windows, warming Kaito’s face and waking him up, gently reminding him of the many failures of last night. He’d passed out on the floor, his brain too muddled for him to think straight. The last two or three attempts had just been exercises in stubbornness. None of them were even remotely close to being successful, but he bulled through anyway.
In the end, he wasted more than a dozen mana cores along with a few choice accessories from around the room. After his failed bangle, he didn’t want to waste anymore objects from Earth since the planet didn’t exist anymore. Instead, he turned to small metallic ornaments he broke off from different pieces of furniture. A knob here. A stud there. A small plaque. And a couple of shiny stones that were just there for decoration.
He failed with them all.
Fortunately, after sleeping for a couple of hours, his mind felt refreshed. The anger and frustration from last night having scattered like a dream.
He’d wasted enough time for now. Kaito knew he would get the hang of transmuting trinkets eventually, it would just take hours and hours of practice, meaning that there wasn’t any feasible way to rush.
For now, he needed to decide on what else to do.
Finding and training under Markeelal had actually killed two birds with one stone. Not only had he learned a bit about transmuting, but the werelich also inadvertently informed Kaito of the larger powers of Serpent’s Way…particularly those that put Earth through its Crucible.
The Ashen Flame, Oasis Raiders and Shadow Collective guilds…I need to find out who they are, how powerful their members are and why they wanted more humans to be brought into the Endless Planes in the first place…
He would leave Serpent’s Way eventually, but not until he dealt with these three guilds personally.
He needed information, though maybe it might do him some good to leave Nimbusgarde. It’s not like he needed to stay here for any particular reason and he didn’t want that Lowvar idiot to catch wind of him before he had a chance to prepare for what was to come. Kaito needed time and space to grow his strength and ready himself to face some of the most powerful people in Serpent’s Way.
And he knew exactly what he needed to do. Pulling out the data tablet on the five dungeons spread across the plane, he formulated a plan.
He had a hunch…
If completing the Forest of the First and Last while at lvl.0 rewarded him with such powerful Feats and even a Title, then it stood to reason that there was a very good chance he could do the same in the other dungeons. Besides, there was literally an entirely new plane of existence filled with monster species for him to conquer and collect their mana cores.
There was so much for him to do and so much time to do it in.
The thought of having a new tangible goal made him smile for the first time in a long while. Was this healthy? Probably not.
But was he going to enjoy getting stronger and then bringing ruin to the people responsible for Earth’s Crucible?
Yes. Yes he was.
* * *
Chapter 27
“Jared? Is that you?” called out an imposing Indian woman that looked like she was an amazon from the humid subcontinent. She stood nearly six feet tall, her rippling muscles apparent underneath the crude green leather armor she wore.
“Diya!” answered a smaller, but broadly built Russian man wearing similarly green leather armor. Despite their size differences, he ran up to her and picked her up in a great big bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re alive!” he cried out into her musty side, the smell of blood and battle permeating the both of them.
Similar situations were happening all around them on an enormous plateau as more Pioneers from Earth continued to trickle out of a nearby dungeon portal. The Shiverdawn Lighthouse was a relatively low level dungeon for common and uncommon Classes to whet their abilities in combat. It wasn’t quite the weakest dungeon on Serpent’s Way, though it was close.
Located on one of the many plateaus that surrounded Mount Dagat, the dungeon was a popular location for anyone at or below lvl.10. After all, even those with rare Classes had to start somewhere.
Usually there would be a queue for waiting groups seeking entry into the dungeon’s vast winding staircase filled with the spirits of long-dead warriors tainted by the powerful light- and wind-based magics that suffused the entire lighthouse. However, at the moment, there was a scattered, makeshift encampment blocking the entrance for half a league or more in all directions.
Day and night, more Earthlings succeeded in conquering the dungeon and added their numbers to the already swollen horde of humans.
The groups who’d been waiting the longest had banded together to form hunting parties that ranged outward around the plateau to bring back monster carcasses for food. Natural born leaders took charge to organize what they could in an attempt to maintain some kind of order over so many bodies huddled together.
Unbeknownst to them, over these last few months as they gathered themselves, the entire plateau had been cordoned off by three of the strongest human guilds in all of Serpent’s Way. Each of the guilds who had a stake in this endeavor were stationed around the plateau for the Earthling’s ‘safety.’
The human rangers of the Shadow Collective guild were the primary lookouts for any enterprising Earthlings who chose to explore the plateau.
At home in the mountainous forests of Mount Dagat as easily as they were in their own dwellings, the rangers had light brown skin with lanky limbs and nimble fingers. They wore their hair in long, intricate braids that signified which guild they belonged to. It was the Shadow Collective’s job to keep watch over the plateau’s perimeter and alert the capture squads of the other guilds if and when any Earthlings tried to explore further than the allotted boundaries.
Just like now.
A trio of tenacious Earthlings managed to actually get close to the edge of the dungeon’s plateau, which was easily hundreds of leagues wide and filled with powerful monsters between lvl.7-10. They must have been one of the first groups to exit the dungeon if they had been able to travel so far, so fast.
One of the Shadow Collective patrols hidden within the plateau’s brush thumbed a device in their hand that was connected to another one belonging to the nearest Oasis Raiders enforcer.
The Oasis Raiders guild was made up of human braves, the darker skinned people of the arid wastes around Mount Ulap Ibon. Their subspecies naturally developed bone-white tattoos that matched their characteristically ashen pupils. Each tattoo depicted one of their Feats and Titles. Generally speaking, the more white ink on a brave’s skin, the more powerful they were considered.
Shyak would have been considered an accomplished woman among the Oasis Raiders guild. Lean and muscled, her skin was branded by tattoos that indicated she held seven unique Feats and two Titles. She was even lvl.15 with a rare Class — Dune Stalker.
Dune Stalker (Ra): A Scout Class that is adept at surviving and traversing the harsh wasteland terrain.
They are incredibly mobile, able to move quickly through the desert and hunt down enemies from a distance, making them experts in ranged combat, who are skilled at using bows and other projectile weapons. They struggle in close combat situations, as they are less effective at using melee weapons and their ranged attacks are less potent in enclosed spaces.
When a buzzing came from the belt on her hip, Shyak immediately unfurled herself from her seated position behind a thicket of shrubs and checked the device. One of the Shadow Collective’s patrols found some enterprising new humans that needed to be put in their place.
As a lvl.15, she was more than enough to take care of any Pioneers who couldn’t possibly have leveled passed lvl.10 just after a single, inconsequential dungeon. It didn’t matter what Feats or Titles they had, nothing would save them from someone like her.
She had 90 full attribute points distributed mostly between dexterity, power and constitution — in that order — with just enough placed in the other three attributes to prevent any imbalances. Beyond that, she had nothing but rare Boons slotted. No matter what these Pioneers had accomplished in the Shiverdawn Lighthouse, they would not have such powerful abilities.
Dashing through the shrubs, her rapid footsteps were coated in a fine layer of sand that ensured she moved silently without leaving any prints in her wake. This was her Class’s movement ability — [Silt Steps (Ra)]. While she ran, she also activated her support ability, [Dust Devil (Ra)], covering herself in subtle swirls of sand that erased her smell, obscured her image and reduced the wind resistance around her, while hastening her steps towards her targets. Running a pair of abilities in tandem was just about the upper limit that her body could handle at once. She’d still be able to use a heavy active ability here and there, but only sparingly.
With her sensory ability constantly sweeping across her surroundings, Shyak caught wind of her targets long before they had a chance to detect her. There were three of them moving carefully through the plateau’s tall grasslands. The area around the dungeon portal had mostly been cleared of large trees to give the younger groups of levelers a clearer view of the landscape outside of the dungeon. As a result, the monstrous wildlife had changed to fit the manicured environment.
Instead of creatures that belonged in a forest, the plateau now spawned monsters that burrowed and hid in the ground or camouflaged themselves in the tall grass. The entire plateau was a minefield of creatures that could kill you. Any group that moved too quickly and carelessly would learn that lesson right away.
This was similar to the arid wastes around Mount Ulap Ibon and since Shyak had grown up among those sand dunes, her abilities were uniquely tailored for hunting and avoiding hidden monsters. Unlike the newly teleported Pioneers, she didn’t have to worry about where she stepped or how fast she traveled.
As soon as she was within range, she instantly deactivated her movement ability, but maintained her swirling sand cloak. Hiding amidst the tall grass, she crouched low to keep out of sight like a stalking predator carefully watching its prey. When the trio stepped into her range, she activated her [Sandworm’s Pitfall (Ra)].
They shouted in alarm as their lower legs were suddenly knee-deep in quicksand. All the while, her pallid white eyes drank in the shock and surprise on their faces.
She loved this part.
They each activated a different ability to try and escape. One blasted outward with a wave of ice in an attempt to freeze the quicksand solid. Another summoned a writhing vine from out of the ground like a leviathan’s tentacle that wrapped around their waist and tried to pull them free. The last one continuously shimmered in place like a stutter in reality. If Shyak had to guess, they were using some sort of short ranged teleportation ability in a vain attempt to escape.
No matter how they struggled, her quicksand continued to swallow them unabated. In moments, they were up to their waists and only sinking faster. They continued to cry out in panic and anger, using more of their abilities, though to no avail. It was clear that either their abilities were of a lower rarity than hers or they simply had less points in their spirit and mentality attributes. A rare ability would have at least been able to fight back and so could someone with higher attributes.
These people had neither.
In no time, they were completely submerged, though she left their noses free so they could still breathe. After all, her role was not to dispose of the newly arrived Pioneers. The guilds wanted them gathered up and contained until they could be pressganged into service for the greater good of the human race.
Only the race of humans had branched out into different subspecies with distinct characteristics that they used to distinguish themselves. Despite those differences, the collective human population needed more recruits to bolster their numbers if they wanted to assault the mighty onikai tribe lords that maintained the status quo in Serpent’s Way.
It wasn’t just the human guilds working together either. Shyak knew there were werelich orders and fain covens cooperating to achieve the same goal.
However, for them to succeed, the humans needed manpower. It was the sole reason they put another lower world filled with humans through a Crucible.
With these additional troops, they could increase their presence in the higher regions of Serpent’s Way, pushing for more access to stronger hunting grounds amidst the cloudmasses.
It was high time that the entire human race shook off the shackles of their oppressors…and if it took the subjugation of some lowbie Pioneers to do it, then so be it. These new humans would need to fall in line sooner or later, so why not with their own kind?
She stealthily moved through the brush, her sense still extended for any other nearby creatures. Once she came upon her ‘detainees,’ Shyak unearthed them from their sandy tombs. She found two women and a man, their eyes unfocused and their breaths shallow.
Before they could even so much as form a clear thought, she wrapped them up in her [Sand Scamp’s Bindings (Ra)], which not only ensnared their limbs but also deceived their minds with simple mirages.
Now that they were bound up tighter than a water drum, Shyak took out her communication device, “I need a pick up for some strays.”
There was a long pause before someone replied in a gruff voice, “Tche…Jebog here. I’ll get them.”
She dropped a small crystalline stud on one of the captive’s bodies, a tracker that the other guilds could follow. Shyak didn’t need to stay to watch this mess get cleaned up. Her bindings would last for a couple of hours even if she stopped feeding them her mana.
