Chapter 14
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"Stop!"
bellowing so the first Hydromagd stops its companions from charging at the girl. The girl herself is very confused about this. Why would he stop them? But it only gets weirder for her.
"What are you doing here?" the Hydromag askes her.
What was she supposed to answer on that?
Hey, I was waiting for some beasts to show up so I can kill and eat them?
Probably would not help her much.
"I wanted to...drink some water." hesitating on her answer, the girl seems vulnerable. This could be attributed to her small build and innocent face but it seems to help her convince the Hydromags behind the first.
As they are normally peaceful beasts, at least for beasts, she thinks this would be the most appropriate response.
"Oh well, if you had your fill it would be good for you to leave. Most of us don't take kindly to invaders on their territory." The Hydromag seems wary but he does not intend to attack her.
The girl sees a way out of this situation and a smile appears on her face, albeit a hidden one.
"Why do we just let it go? We could eat her. We haven't had meat for a long time."
One of the Hydromags behind the first appears particularly ugly to the girl.
Turning its head towards the other beast the first Hydromag ramps its antlers on its back.
"Who is the leader?! Since when are you the one to decide?!"
The first turned towards the girl and again told her to leave the place.
The girl, not wanting to fight the whole herd, slowly stepped back and disappeared behind the corner where she turned and made her way up to the edge. Not wanting to stay near the Hydromags.
Shortly after the girl disappeared the first Hydromag turned towards the previously aggressive beast.
"You stupid imbecile! If you want to die go do it yourself!"
Venting its anger the group seemed confused.
"You are all just as stupid as him. I over and over again told you to never judge the enemy based on appearance. That small beast was a genuine Stage 4 beast. Even if it is a weak one, at least 3/4 of our group would have died before we could take it down."
Hearing his statement, the whole group went into shock. That small and feeble beast was a Stage 4 beast.
"We will not come here for a few weeks. The beast did not look like it wanted to stay here for long. We can return in a few weeks and check."
Deciding so the leader motions for the others to drink and leave the place as fast as possible.
--------------------------------------------
Moving back towards our protagonist, she is currently sitting on a protruding rock pondering about what happened. She had to admit that she was lucky. If it was a beast slightly more aggressive she would have had to fight or run for her life. Suffering from injuries would hinder her future path, especially in such an early stage.
What to do is the question she is currently thinking about. Food is still a necessity. She is nowhere near the level where she could live without food. She would have to try again. It is unlikely that she'll find any fruits or something similar in this cave.
Motivating herself she stands up and makes her way to towards the river. This time she is walking upstream. Away from the Hydromags, hoping to find some solitary beast with a Stage of 3, at the highest. By now anything would do.
Walking for a bit she notices that Idan seems to somehow lack behind.
"What's the matter?"
"I must have hurt my foot while climbing the gorge walls."
It very much looks like he cannot put pressure on his left front leg.
Thinking for a bit the girl decides that it would be better to carry him. Moving towards Idan she grabs him by the neck and puts him bind her own neck. Idan reflexively curls his tail around her neck and comfortably nestles close to her.
Jogging upstream, the environment slowly changes. The ceiling of the cave has multiple holes and the further she goes more and more apparent the destruction becomes. After 15 minutes of fast jogging, the surroundings are filled with sunlight and no moss can be found. The girl can now see all the way to the wall up ahead. In a distance of a few hundred meters, the cave seems to have experienced a cave-in. The ground is littered with rocks and huge amounts of dirt are scattered all over.
"I guess that's our opportunity." Idan seems to know something, he taps her shoulder and tells her to stop.
"The ground above the cave is very nutritious and is home to a giant forest. Our chance to find food is much higher up above. For fruits and small beasts but of course, there are more predators up above."
"Can you tell me where we are?"
"Sorry. I don't think I can. The only thing I can tell you is that we are near the center of the forest. Theoretically, we are in the most dangerous and safest place at the same time."
"How so?"
"The center is occupied by the strongest beasts. Some reach the level of Venerated. They all have their own territory and nobody above Stage 5 is allowed to enter. As such we have a good chance to safely find some food."
Having received this important information there was almost no hesitation. The girl just started running towards the small mound of stones and dirt. Running the few hundred meters towards the mound, the girl was obviously tired. While she was still able to move she would need to find some nutrition soon otherwise, her body would lose all its strength
Ever since she was born she had not eaten anything. Normally that would not be that big of a problem but she did not know that by enhancing her body and her cells, said cells now need a bigger amount of nutrition to support its increased output.
Arriving at the mound she started to climb upwards. she was mindful of the dirt and loose stones as a wrong grip would cause her to tumble down. In her current condition, this could prove fatal, especially with all the jagged stones and small splitters scattered all over.
Forcing her way upwards, she took the opportunity to overlook her surroundings once again. Sadly she was unable to find anything interesting. Still the same ground, walls, and ceiling.
Halfway up the mound, she saw vines of all kinds buried under the dirt and stones and the further up she went the more vines appeared. After another minute of climbing, she finally found a thick vine that seemed to stretch all the way up to the ground above. Carefully tugging at it and then using more force she tested the durability of the vine. Satisfied with it she proceeded to climb the vine, under the watchful eyes of Idan.
Carefully pulling herself up she was able to observe the forest ground. Muddy dirt made up most of what she saw. Guessing to herself she concludes that the cave in must have been caused by a massive amount of water sickering into the ground and weakening the soil which then seeped through the holes, further damaging the ceilings foundation.
After finally arriving above ground all that greets her is a wasteland. Ruptured land, craters lining the ground and trees ripped out of the soil. Puddles of water are found everywhere and she herself stands in the center of destruction. Destruction spreads outwards. In the distance, she can see trees, their crowns stretching a few tens of meters into the sky. The sky is of a pure blue color. In between a few specks of white stretch across the infinite expanse of blue.
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"Stop!"
bellowing so the first Hydromagd stops its companions from charging at the girl. The girl herself is very confused about this. Why would he stop them? But it only gets weirder for her.
"What are you doing here?" the Hydromag askes her.
What was she supposed to answer on that?
Hey, I was waiting for some beasts to show up so I can kill and eat them?
Probably would not help her much.
"I wanted to...drink some water." hesitating on her answer, the girl seems vulnerable. This could be attributed to her small build and innocent face but it seems to help her convince the Hydromags behind the first.
As they are normally peaceful beasts, at least for beasts, she thinks this would be the most appropriate response.
"Oh well, if you had your fill it would be good for you to leave. Most of us don't take kindly to invaders on their territory." The Hydromag seems wary but he does not intend to attack her.
The girl sees a way out of this situation and a smile appears on her face, albeit a hidden one.
"Why do we just let it go? We could eat her. We haven't had meat for a long time."
One of the Hydromags behind the first appears particularly ugly to the girl.
Turning its head towards the other beast the first Hydromag ramps its antlers on its back.
"Who is the leader?! Since when are you the one to decide?!"
The first turned towards the girl and again told her to leave the place.
The girl, not wanting to fight the whole herd, slowly stepped back and disappeared behind the corner where she turned and made her way up to the edge. Not wanting to stay near the Hydromags.
Shortly after the girl disappeared the first Hydromag turned towards the previously aggressive beast.
"You stupid imbecile! If you want to die go do it yourself!"
Venting its anger the group seemed confused.
"You are all just as stupid as him. I over and over again told you to never judge the enemy based on appearance. That small beast was a genuine Stage 4 beast. Even if it is a weak one, at least 3/4 of our group would have died before we could take it down."
Hearing his statement, the whole group went into shock. That small and feeble beast was a Stage 4 beast.
"We will not come here for a few weeks. The beast did not look like it wanted to stay here for long. We can return in a few weeks and check."
Deciding so the leader motions for the others to drink and leave the place as fast as possible.
--------------------------------------------
Moving back towards our protagonist, she is currently sitting on a protruding rock pondering about what happened. She had to admit that she was lucky. If it was a beast slightly more aggressive she would have had to fight or run for her life. Suffering from injuries would hinder her future path, especially in such an early stage.
What to do is the question she is currently thinking about. Food is still a necessity. She is nowhere near the level where she could live without food. She would have to try again. It is unlikely that she'll find any fruits or something similar in this cave.
Motivating herself she stands up and makes her way to towards the river. This time she is walking upstream. Away from the Hydromags, hoping to find some solitary beast with a Stage of 3, at the highest. By now anything would do.
Walking for a bit she notices that Idan seems to somehow lack behind.
"What's the matter?"
"I must have hurt my foot while climbing the gorge walls."
It very much looks like he cannot put pressure on his left front leg.
Thinking for a bit the girl decides that it would be better to carry him. Moving towards Idan she grabs him by the neck and puts him bind her own neck. Idan reflexively curls his tail around her neck and comfortably nestles close to her.
Jogging upstream, the environment slowly changes. The ceiling of the cave has multiple holes and the further she goes more and more apparent the destruction becomes. After 15 minutes of fast jogging, the surroundings are filled with sunlight and no moss can be found. The girl can now see all the way to the wall up ahead. In a distance of a few hundred meters, the cave seems to have experienced a cave-in. The ground is littered with rocks and huge amounts of dirt are scattered all over.
"I guess that's our opportunity." Idan seems to know something, he taps her shoulder and tells her to stop.
"The ground above the cave is very nutritious and is home to a giant forest. Our chance to find food is much higher up above. For fruits and small beasts but of course, there are more predators up above."
"Can you tell me where we are?"
"Sorry. I don't think I can. The only thing I can tell you is that we are near the center of the forest. Theoretically, we are in the most dangerous and safest place at the same time."
"How so?"
"The center is occupied by the strongest beasts. Some reach the level of Venerated. They all have their own territory and nobody above Stage 5 is allowed to enter. As such we have a good chance to safely find some food."
Having received this important information there was almost no hesitation. The girl just started running towards the small mound of stones and dirt. Running the few hundred meters towards the mound, the girl was obviously tired. While she was still able to move she would need to find some nutrition soon otherwise, her body would lose all its strength
Ever since she was born she had not eaten anything. Normally that would not be that big of a problem but she did not know that by enhancing her body and her cells, said cells now need a bigger amount of nutrition to support its increased output.
Arriving at the mound she started to climb upwards. she was mindful of the dirt and loose stones as a wrong grip would cause her to tumble down. In her current condition, this could prove fatal, especially with all the jagged stones and small splitters scattered all over.
Forcing her way upwards, she took the opportunity to overlook her surroundings once again. Sadly she was unable to find anything interesting. Still the same ground, walls, and ceiling.
Halfway up the mound, she saw vines of all kinds buried under the dirt and stones and the further up she went the more vines appeared. After another minute of climbing, she finally found a thick vine that seemed to stretch all the way up to the ground above. Carefully tugging at it and then using more force she tested the durability of the vine. Satisfied with it she proceeded to climb the vine, under the watchful eyes of Idan.
Carefully pulling herself up she was able to observe the forest ground. Muddy dirt made up most of what she saw. Guessing to herself she concludes that the cave in must have been caused by a massive amount of water sickering into the ground and weakening the soil which then seeped through the holes, further damaging the ceilings foundation.
After finally arriving above ground all that greets her is a wasteland. Ruptured land, craters lining the ground and trees ripped out of the soil. Puddles of water are found everywhere and she herself stands in the center of destruction. Destruction spreads outwards. In the distance, she can see trees, their crowns stretching a few tens of meters into the sky. The sky is of a pure blue color. In between a few specks of white stretch across the infinite expanse of blue.
"Stop!"bellowing so the first Hydromagd stops its companions from charging at the girl. The girl herself is very confused about this. Why would he stop them? But it only gets weirder for her."What are you doing here?" the Hydromag askes her.What was she supposed to answer on that?Hey, I was waiting for some beasts to show up so I can kill and eat them?Probably would not help her much."I wanted to...drink some water." hesitating on her answer, the girl seems vulnerable. This could be attributed to her small build and innocent face but it seems to help her convince the Hydromags behind the first.As they are normally peaceful beasts, at least for beasts, she thinks this would be the most appropriate response."Oh well, if you had your fill it would be good for you to leave. Most of us don't take kindly to invaders on their territory." The Hydromag seems wary but he does not intend to attack her.The girl sees a way out of this situation and a smile appears on her face, albeit a hidden one."Why do we just let it go? We could eat her. We haven't had meat for a long time."One of the Hydromags behind the first appears particularly ugly to the girl.Turning its head towards the other beast the first Hydromag ramps its antlers on its back."Who is the leader?! Since when are you the one to decide?!"The first turned towards the girl and again told her to leave the place.The girl, not wanting to fight the whole herd, slowly stepped back and disappeared behind the corner where she turned and made her way up to the edge. Not wanting to stay near the Hydromags.Shortly after the girl disappeared the first Hydromag turned towards the previously aggressive beast."You stupid imbecile! If you want to die go do it yourself!"Venting its anger the group seemed confused."You are all just as stupid as him. I over and over again told you to never judge the enemy based on appearance. That small beast was a genuine Stage 4 beast. Even if it is a weak one, at least 3/4 of our group would have died before we could take it down."Hearing his statement, the whole group went into shock. That small and feeble beast was a Stage 4 beast."We will not come here for a few weeks. The beast did not look like it wanted to stay here for long. We can return in a few weeks and check."Deciding so the leader motions for the others to drink and leave the place as fast as possible.--------------------------------------------Moving back towards our protagonist, she is currently sitting on a protruding rock pondering about what happened. She had to admit that she was lucky. If it was a beast slightly more aggressive she would have had to fight or run for her life. Suffering from injuries would hinder her future path, especially in such an early stage.What to do is the question she is currently thinking about. Food is still a necessity. She is nowhere near the level where she could live without food. She would have to try again. It is unlikely that she'll find any fruits or something similar in this cave.Motivating herself she stands up and makes her way to towards the river. This time she is walking upstream. Away from the Hydromags, hoping to find some solitary beast with a Stage of 3, at the highest. By now anything would do.Walking for a bit she notices that Idan seems to somehow lack behind."What's the matter?""I must have hurt my foot while climbing the gorge walls."It very much looks like he cannot put pressure on his left front leg.Thinking for a bit the girl decides that it would be better to carry him. Moving towards Idan she grabs him by the neck and puts him bind her own neck. Idan reflexively curls his tail around her neck and comfortably nestles close to her.Jogging upstream, the environment slowly changes. The ceiling of the cave has multiple holes and the further she goes more and more apparent the destruction becomes. After 15 minutes of fast jogging, the surroundings are filled with sunlight and no moss can be found. The girl can now see all the way to the wall up ahead. In a distance of a few hundred meters, the cave seems to have experienced a cave-in. The ground is littered with rocks and huge amounts of dirt are scattered all over."I guess that's our opportunity." Idan seems to know something, he taps her shoulder and tells her to stop."The ground above the cave is very nutritious and is home to a giant forest. Our chance to find food is much higher up above. For fruits and small beasts but of course, there are more predators up above.""Can you tell me where we are?""Sorry. I don't think I can. The only thing I can tell you is that we are near the center of the forest. Theoretically, we are in the most dangerous and safest place at the same time.""How so?""The center is occupied by the strongest beasts. Some reach the level of Venerated. They all have their own territory and nobody above Stage 5 is allowed to enter. As such we have a good chance to safely find some food."Having received this important information there was almost no hesitation. The girl just started running towards the small mound of stones and dirt. Running the few hundred meters towards the mound, the girl was obviously tired. While she was still able to move she would need to find some nutrition soon otherwise, her body would lose all its strengthEver since she was born she had not eaten anything. Normally that would not be that big of a problem but she did not know that by enhancing her body and her cells, said cells now need a bigger amount of nutrition to support its increased output.Arriving at the mound she started to climb upwards. she was mindful of the dirt and loose stones as a wrong grip would cause her to tumble down. In her current condition, this could prove fatal, especially with all the jagged stones and small splitters scattered all over.Forcing her way upwards, she took the opportunity to overlook her surroundings once again. Sadly she was unable to find anything interesting. Still the same ground, walls, and ceiling.Halfway up the mound, she saw vines of all kinds buried under the dirt and stones and the further up she went the more vines appeared. After another minute of climbing, she finally found a thick vine that seemed to stretch all the way up to the ground above. Carefully tugging at it and then using more force she tested the durability of the vine. Satisfied with it she proceeded to climb the vine, under the watchful eyes of Idan.Carefully pulling herself up she was able to observe the forest ground. Muddy dirt made up most of what she saw. Guessing to herself she concludes that the cave in must have been caused by a massive amount of water sickering into the ground and weakening the soil which then seeped through the holes, further damaging the ceilings foundation.After finally arriving above ground all that greets her is a wasteland. Ruptured land, craters lining the ground and trees ripped out of the soil. Puddles of water are found everywhere and she herself stands in the center of destruction. Destruction spreads outwards. In the distance, she can see trees, their crowns stretching a few tens of meters into the sky. The sky is of a pure blue color. In between a few specks of white stretch across the infinite expanse of blue.
