No rest for the wicked, or in Lan''s case, no rest for someone with four monsters to kill in the next 20 hours. Although, that doesn''t roll off the tongue quite as well.
Lan lay on the ground for a good 20 minutes before finally finding the nerve to stand up. His body felt raw; the very breeze scraping against his burnt skin felt like screws being turned. He ground his teeth as he stood up and, without hesitation, put the 10 free points he gained after levelling up into vitality.
''Hopefully, that lets me heal faster,''
After doing this, his head felt a little clearer, so he decided to look at his class options. ''The skills better be able to help me take care of the rest of these monsters,''
His voice shook a little, the nerves getting to him as he said, "View class options,"
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<td style="width: 99.052%">Alert! Available class options: 3</td>
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Lan checked the first option, grinning when he saw it was rare.
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[Argonaut] [Rare]
<hr>
A special type of lunatic thrives off of killing monsters far stronger than themselves. In the heat of the battle, the higher the pressure and the smaller the odds, the harder they fight.
<hr>
Stat points per level – Intelligence: 4 Strength: 5 Dexterity: 3 Endurance: 5
<hr>
Free points: 8
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"So, I get a total of 25 stat points for this one. I heard the average was about 20, so this isn''t a bad option. It''s a shame I can''t see the skills before selecting the class, though,"
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[Master of None] [Rare]
<hr>
Jack of all trades, master of none. Weapons are, but a means to an end and the master of none has no true weapon. They can adapt to any circumstance and use every tool at their disposal with frightening proficiency.
<hr>
Stat points per level – Strength: 8 Dexterity: 8 Endurance: 8
<hr>
Free points: 3
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"This one looks like it leans into my use of weapons, so all the stat points are heavily biased towards physical stuff. It''s definitely a good option seeing as it has 27 stat points, but the lack of mana is concerning,"
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[Fringe Bodhisattva] [Rare]
<hr>
The buddha holds the entire universe within the palm of his hand, and the Bodhisattva controls everything within their grasp. Weapons, mana, people. All is one, beneath the authority of the enlightened.
<hr>
Stat points per level – Intelligence: 6 Strength: 6 Dexterity: 6 Mind: 6
<hr>
Free points: 4
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"This one seems more my style, although I don''t know much about Buddhism. For one, it has the most skill points and seems to be more well-rounded. It looks like I sacrifice endurance and vitality for vastly increased attacking prowess… But seeing as I can''t actually die, this seems like less of a penalty than it could have been,"
Lan didn''t have much time to think his decision through, so he went with his gut. The Fringe Bodhisattva presented an excellent opportunity for growth and, most importantly, allowed him to use both weapons and mana. If he hated the whole Buddhist aspect of it, he could always change his class further down the road when he levelled up again.
Except, when he went to click on the option, the system stuttered, glowing a sickly red.
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<td style="width: 99.052%">Error. Error. Error… Additional talent found. Taking talent into consideration – New class option granted.</td>
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[Trochilus] [Unique]
<hr>
Due to the never seen before talent of ￡%$^&￡ A unique class has been offered to: Unknown. A little bird stands in the crocodile''s mouth, eating the scraps between its teeth. In doing so, it cleans the crocodile, so the beast allows it to stay there. Their relationship is symbiotic, but one wrong move from the little bird will spell its doom.
<hr>
Stat points per level: Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 10 Mind: 5 Endurance: 5 Vitality: 5
<hr>
Free points: None
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"Huh?" Lan froze, finger hovering over the glowing red class option. He had never seen the system turn another colour before, and it made him uncomfortable. Besides that, the class itself just seemed off. "45 stat points!? That''s insane. And that class description… Just what does it mean? I don''t remember having a second talent…."
He frowned, scouring his memory for any recollections of such an event. ''I do vaguely remember something as I was entering the bridge… Something about my talent getting replaced. But surely that means it''s gone for good. If not, what could my other talent possibly be that warrants this sort of treatment from the system?''
His first reaction was to avoid picking a class with such ominous warning signs attached, but 45 stat points was a ridiculous number. That would mean each level, for him, was worth two for an average pathfinder. ''Won''t that make getting titles far easier?'' Lan was beginning to get excited by the potential this class brought.
Its rating was also a mystery to him. Until this point, he hadn''t even heard of a unique class. Rachel had told him classes went in this order: Common -> Uncommon -> Rare -> Epic -> Legendary. She had mentioned that there were, in fact, classes rarer than these, but there was no point even talking about them.
"It''s definitely a risk to take this one, but the rewards are plain as day. This could be the opportunity that propels me to number one in the tutorial. And the rewards I will get from that speak for themselves. Not only that, but If I finish high up in the tutorial, I might have the chance to join a proper clan rather than work at a shop. The resources a clan could give me would help massively as I progress along the bridge,"
"Is it worth the risk…?" Lan mulled it over. He would have liked to spend days thinking about it, but time was short, and he wanted every advantage he could get when it came to killing these guardians. The fire wyrm had almost got the better of him with its lava attack, and if he wanted to keep his title, the more stat points, the better.
"Let''s do this," Lan reached out, his finger landing on the glowing red box.
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<td style="width: 99.052%">Class option selected. Confirm [Y/N]</td>
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"Yes," Lan murmured, readying himself for the agony that came with new skills. He hadn''t forgotten the torture he''d experienced when the system gave him Strengthen.
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<td style="width: 99.052%">Confirmed. Class installation begins in 3… 2… 1…</td>
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Lan felt a fuzzy, warm sensation all over his body like he was in a sauna. The heat kept increasing and building as time passed, making him sweat profusely. He felt like he was being boiled alive, buckets of sweat falling to the ground as he wiped his brow and grimaced, fighting back the urge to scream. His burns were being aggravated by the feverish heat of his body, and his mind was slipping.
''No. I need to stay awake for this. It''ll help me understand the skills better if I see the array form,'' Lan steeled himself and hunkered down, weathering the storm of pain that battered him in growing waves. Like a tiny boat in a monsoon, all Lan could do was hold tight and wait for the storm to blow over.
After what felt like hours, he could breathe again. The skills had formed, and both were burned clearly into his mind. He had managed to stay awake for the whole process, so now, he would be able to wield them more effectively. Not having to learn to use the skills properly, like he had with Strengthen, was a blessing when he was in such a rush and needed to use them right away.
But he immediately noticed something. Both skills had unfathomably complex arrays and were nothing like the two skills he currently had.
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[Karmic threads - ??]
<hr>
When the bridge needs a threat taken care of, it will send you. Fighting those who have sinned heinously and committed crimes against reality increases your strength.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
<hr>
Mana cost: None. Skill is passive.
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[Boon of Trochilus - ??]
<hr>
After fulfilling ^￡%^% conditions with your talent, the user can ￡" %!^& from their victim.
<hr>
Mana cost: All remaining mana (Unconditional)
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"Well… Both of those are useless," Lan sighed, lamenting that he hadn''t gone with a straightforward class. "What does it even mean that my skills are ?? rarity? This damn system never helps me when I need it most!"
"Fucks sake," Lan groaned. He had gotten his faculties back after getting the class. The whole process had been excruciating, but afterwards, his body felt like new. Every little cut, scrape and bruise had vanished, and most importantly, his burns were gone.
''I should get going,'' Lan reluctantly crossed the lake of fire again, running down the side of the volcano. Besides being healed, his body didn''t feel much different than it had before. But that in itself wasn''t a bad thing. Constantly growing in strength made it easy to underestimate yourself. Perhaps after adding a bunch of points into strength, he would try and open a door, only to accidentally pull the entire thing off its hinges.
Sprinting down the side of the mountain posed the same dangers as before, namely the geysers and explosions of lava. But Lan was used to them now and could avoid the blistering pillars of steam with some degree of confidence.
By the time he arrived at the border of the densely packed jungle, he had only received a few burns and a singed eyebrow. A great success as far as he was concerned. ''I''m just glad to be leaving lava land. The jungle can''t be worse than that… No. Wait. I take it back!'' But it was too late. As Lan often did, he had jinxed himself.
From the outside, the jungle looked like a solid block of green. Every tree, vine and bush seemed connected in some way, growing into and on top of each other in a complex, interwoven mess. There was no path for explorers to tread, so Lan would have to make one.
''I guess I can try out a new technique,'' Lan decided, grabbing his scythe and walking over to a nearby vine. It was an earthy dark green colour and about three metres long. Taking the vine, he wrapped it around the hilt of his scythe. When he was sure the knot was firm, Lan wrapped the other end of the vine around his hand, letting his scythe drop to the ground and dragging a few metres behind him.
''For my next trick. I will not move my arm!'' Lan imagined himself as a magician, activating strengthen and mana strings. As though possessed, the vine lifted itself off the ground hovering by Lan''s shoulder, the scythe eagerly waiting like a leashed dog that wanted to go on a walk. Its wickedly sharp blade baying for blood.
Using nothing but his mind, Lan manipulated the vine, sending it forward. The scythe slashed down and tore open a gap in the impenetrable barrier that was the jungle. "It works!" Lan laughed, ordering the scythe to clear him a path to the temple in the middle of the jungle.
Slash after slash, he was getting more comfortable manipulating the vine to do his bidding. It required a deft touch and constant attention, but with his talent''s assistance, he instinctively knew just the right way to do this.
Scything his way through the jungle, the flash of his golden blade cut both plants and wild creatures alike. Anything that got in his way was on the chopping block. The vine moved like it had a mind of its own, creating a perimeter of destruction around him. Nothing could get within a metre of him, be it plant or animal.
For the most part, the creatures in the jungle were colourful and fast. Darting from tree to tree at blistering speeds. Parrots with wickedly sharp claws and bright blue frogs; Flying snakes and big cats with almost perfect camouflage. If there was one thing Lan noticed these creatures had in common, it was cunning. None attacked him head-on. Instead, they lay in wait behind fallen logs or jumped from above, raining attacks down on him.
But like an umbrella, his scythe soaked up these attacks one after the other, effortlessly protecting Lan from the onslaught. Of course, he had to concentrate to make this happen, and in the process, he was burning mana. But the speed he could travel when he moved like this was stunning.
As a precaution, he took a break whenever his mana went below half full, just in case he was attacked by something he would actually struggle to kill when he had no mana.
Vibrant noise in the jungle was a constant and perhaps its most outstanding feature. Squawks and screeches, high-pitched roars and the rustle of leaves as unseen things passed between them. Everything was loud and present, overwhelming him with the dense liveliness of it all.
Finally, he found a break in the trees. As he stepped through, he felt like he was walking into no man''s land. The familiar mossy earth gave way to ancient carved stone, split and cracked by invasive roots. Craning his neck, Lan looked up, taking the temple in. He was looking for something like the obelisk, something that would have a carving he could activate. But nothing obviously presented itself. Most of the ancient Aztec temple was buried beneath the very jungle itself, smothered by vines and moss.
This made it impossible to figure out where he needed to go at a glance. ''I suppose the cargo is probably in there,'' Lan remarked, focusing on a vast stone door held ajar by a massive tree root growing out from inside of the temple.
He climbed the cracked steps and squeezed through the door, finding himself in a long stone corridor. The floor of which was damp and slippery, covered in black moss. Lan made his way down the corridor, finding himself at a set of stairs. Following the stairs, he began to climb in a winding circle up and around the enormous trunk of the tree.
For what felt like forever, he went up and up, climbing hundreds of stairs in the dark, until finally, he saw salvation. A faint golden beam of light shone down into the cramped stairwell, bringing life with it. Lan rushed up, running out of the stairs and onto a raised stone platform.
The platform was circular and about big enough to land a helicopter on. It was wedged into the tree trunk and supported by the ruined temple walls, precariously hanging above jungle canopies. From here, Lan could see the distant volcano, as well as the rolling sands of the desert he would soon be visiting. But none of that stood out to him.
Like a magnet, his attention was drawn uncontrollably to a rough stone slab in the centre of the platform. It looked unimaginably ancient, with long dried blood sticking to the top in brown splotches. Grooves were cut into the side of the slab, running down onto the platform and carving intricate patterns in the stone, where blood from the altar would flow.
Atop the altar, a notification from the system hovered patiently. Lan walked over, examining the message with a discerning gaze.
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<td style="width: 99.052%">Alert: Sacrifice required for activation</td>
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''Hm… I''m not about to sacrifice myself for this. And as far as I can tell, I am the only person here. So where would I find a sacrifice?''
Something rustled in the tree above him, the tree''s vast limbs bowing slightly under the creature''s weight. Lan looked up, spying something vibrant and colourful slipping between the branches. Its movements were jumpy and rapid, flitting between branches at blinding speeds.
''Could that be it?'' Lan wondered, ''That the Guardian is the sacrifice… That''s sort of poetic, in a twisted kind of way.''
Lan trained his eyes on the creature, following it as it travelled between the branches. No matter how far apart two branches were, it covered the distance in a split second. It was bright red with splashes of yellow and blue mixed in, reminding Lan of the exotic birds that had attacked him on his way here.
He looked at the scythe on its long vine and grinned. ''If that thing really is a bird, then I can''t think of anything better to deal with it than this… Hold on, I''ve just had an idea,'' Lan paused, thinking over whether it was possible. He would have to be quick and, most importantly, precise, but he could do it.
''Hopefully, this doesn''t take too long to set up,'' Lan thought, glancing at the sun beginning to sink towards the distant horizon. ''Judging from that, I have about 19 – 20 hours left,''
After spending twenty minutes preparing his trap, Lan pinpointed the bird''s location and took off. Jumping from limb to limb, he scaled the tree with practised ease, weaving between branches and leaves like a monkey. His ascent brought him further up the tree and into its canopy, where, after some searching, he found it.
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<td style="width: 99.052%">Archaeopteryx – Lvl: 14</td>
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It looked for all the world like a feathered dinosaur. Bright colours and vicious claws. Its wings were short and stubby, making Lan doubt whether or not it could actually fly. But he had seen for himself the way it glided from branch to branch with effortless grace uncharacteristic of its immense size.
Huge for a bird, the Archaeopteryx was twice as tall as Lan, its long neck ending in a small lizard skull, where, instead of jaws, it had a beak full of serrated teeth. The whole thing looked like a confused mismatch of different animals that had been stuck together by some mad scientist.
Lan positioned himself below the bird, and when it was mid-air, gliding towards a nearby branch, he struck. His scythe whipped towards the creature, scoring a bloody red mark on the back of its leg, sending colourful feathers into the air like shrapnel.
The creature squawked, thrashing its wings and twisting in mid-air. Its beady eyes focused on Lan, blazing with fury.
"Oh, shit,"
It flapped once, sending a powerful gust of wind blasting through the boughs of the tree. Leaves were ripped from branches, and it was all Lan could do to hold on for dear life. He grabbed a branch, flailing in the mini hurricane as the wind battered him.
Thankfully, the assault didn''t last long, but to Lan''s disappointment, instead of following him, the bird had fled. It was using its oversized claws, like that of a velociraptor, to run up the side of the tree.
Lan took off after it, scaling the tree as fast as he could, unwilling to let the bird out of sight. Its right leg had a deep wound, and although it looked fast, there was definitely something off about its cadence. The way it ran was unsteady, leaning heavily on its good leg for support.
Due to this impairment, Lan was able to catch up quickly enough. His scythe shot out like a striking cobra, hooking into the creature''s back where it remained, stuck fast. Like this, Lan could allow himself to be dragged up the tree after the monster, but he had other plans.
Digging in his heels, he hauled on the vine, praying that Strengthen would hold as he tugged with all his might. The Archaeopteryx squawked furiously, flapping its wings so hard Lan was almost lifted off the ground. But he refused to let go, holding tight to the vine.
Finally, it gave up trying to escape and turned around, glaring angrily at him. In that gaze, Lan could sense frustration, fury and fear, the latter of the three being subtle but there. ''Why would it be scared?'' He wondered.
The beast stepped back and kicked out, its clawed foot hurtling towards Lan''s throat. He barely managed to jump to the side, dodging the deadly attack and following it up with a strike of his own. He wrapped the vine around the creature''s outstretched leg, yanking the beast off balance.
It screeched, falling onto a broad branch in a heap of feathers and blood.
Lan ran forward, planning to finish the beast, when he felt a sense of impending doom wash over him. He lurched to the side just in time to dodge a volley of razor-sharp feathers indistinguishable from the rest. They landed in the tree trunk behind him, sinking a few inches into the tough tree bark.
Thinking that the attack was done, he went to move forward again, but a different attack met him this time. In the time he had taken to dodge, the Archaeopteryx had gotten to its feet and was flapping its wings, raising gust after gust of wind. The force of the gale just kept growing, and the only thing that Lan could do was hold on tight to the vine, praying it wouldn''t snap.
He dangled in mid-air, his feet flailing over nothing as the hurricane grew stronger, snapping branches and blasting leaves out over the jungle.
Lan tried to drag himself forward along the vine, hoping to grab onto the creature and stop its attack, but when he moved his hand, a sharp snap shot out. The vine had broken under the strain, and he was buffeted back, hitting off a tree branch and falling tens of metres down through the dense canopy.
Time slowed as he fell, his head hitting off a branch and his vision becoming blurry. All he could do was concentrate on the sensation of falling. He was actually kind of grateful for whatever he hit on the way down because they at least slowed his fall.
Finally, he landed on his back on a particularly colossal limb, splayed out like a starfish.
He didn''t know how far he had fallen, but it had certainly hurt.
Groaning, he picked himself off the branch, frowning as he heard desperate screeching in the tree above. It was getting louder and closer, ''Why is the Archaeopteryx coming down here? It didn''t seem like the kind of creature to pursue a strong opponent,''
Lan looked around, trying to find a reason for the beast''s apparent desperation. He quickly found it.
A huge nest, big enough to park a car in, lay beside him on the branch. Within was a single, enormous egg, sat atop heaps of moss and leaves. It was speckled with vibrant red and yellow dots and was far bigger than even an ostrich egg.
The screeching was getting closer now, almost on top of Lan. Making a split decision, he ran into the nest, grabbed the egg and took off through the tree. Behind him, he heard a pained screech followed by furious pursuit.
Despite only being able to use one arm, he swung agilely between branches, darting through the dense canopy as little more than a shadow.
Finally, he arrived back at the platform, panting as the Archaeopteryx snapped at his heels. He laid the egg down on the altar and disappeared into the undergrowth, watching the stone pillar intently.
Mere seconds later, the Archaeopteryx burst into the clearing, recklessly charging towards the altar the second it saw its egg.
''I feel kind of like the bad guy here,'' Lan noted, activating his trap.
Ten vines, each one controlled by five mana strings, snapped closed, ensnaring the Archaeopteryx in a complex net. Before the creature could break free, Lan cast Strengthen, making the vines sturdier than steel.
''I don''t have much time till my mana runs out, so I need to make this quick,''
Lan darted out of his hiding spot and lunged towards the confused bird, his scythe flashing as it raked across the beast''s throat.
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Alert: Killed Lvl: 14 Archaeopteryx – Experience gained (Bonus due to level difference)
<hr>
Level up! [10->11]
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As the creature''s blood splashed across the altar, it filled the grooves, spilling onto the patterns and glowing an evil red. A small glowing tornado formed in the sky above the altar, rushing into Lan''s chest much like the campfire had earlier.
He sighed in relief when he got the notification that this was, indeed, the cargo.
Cargo retrieved; the train is waiting.
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Alert: Temporary title acquired – Wind Watcher
<hr>
Effects: Increased affinity and resistance to wind and air.
<hr>
Note: Blessing removed on failure to pass the fourth step.
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"Next is the sphinx…." Lan muttered, gazing across the jungle canopy towards the rolling desert sands.