But he still wanted to push his fire magic forward to a higher level before trying it The combination would be deadly in a class But currently he was leery about using fire magic so that would take a back seat
Randidly removed the Soul Seed from his pocket
Soul Seed 22% Nurtured Strongest Influences 1 Spearing Roots 2 Wall of Thorns 3 Haste 4 Refine
Randidly wasn’t sure what to make of the strongest influences information but he supposed it was still interesting More interesting was that it had gotten to 22% in 2 hours so it would roughly take 8 more hours to be nurtured
And after that
He would plant it
Chapter 49
Movement caught Randidly’s eye and he saw for the first time two cats streaking across the wasteland together He supposed they had to breed somehow so it wasn’t surprising It was honestly more surprising that he hadn’t seen it before
Monsters did breed That’s why some of the Classers had captured some Wolverines and Lizards and were starting a farm for meat They even apparently accepted domestication well enough as long as someone with a level over 10 was there or equivalent strength They had some intuition about who could kill them
But the two together made his hunting more dangerous but also doubly as efficient
They hadn’t appeared to have noticed him so Randidly crept forward hiding in the shady side of a large crack in the earth As he moved into position he received a level in Sneak which made him chuckle it certainly had been awhile since he used this skill
As they came hurtling past a Wall of Thorns sprang up which the first one plowed right into setting off a series of long yowls Spearing Roots rushed up silencing it quickly
The other dodged to the side narrowly avoiding the thorns and was caught in the back leg by a Spearing Roots Already the next Spearing Roots was rushing towards its hobbled form but this cat did something that Randidly had never seen before
It swayed its upper body receiving some scratches but largely dodging the attack Then also contrary to form it leapt away streaking back from whence it came leaving a trail of blood
Strange usually they would attack him on sight regardless of their injuries
Randidly collected the body of the first cat and squinted at the fleeing one Shrugging he decided to follow it Although it would be increasingly dangerous if it returned to a den or warren of the things it would also speed up his hunting quite a bit
A smile tugging at the corners of his mouth Randidly loped silently after it
Dozer Donny and Decklan glanced fearfully at each other and then down at the stack of papers in front of them The immaculately scaled and designed forms were soggy and wet from coffee
When the man who wanted to grow coffee had arrived he had sweetened the deal by offering some of his already roasted beans Naturally those bribes slowly percolated up the chain of command until they arrived at Donny
Only 16 years of age and not such a coffee drinker he had turned to Decklan and Dozer for their expertise on the subject All and all the two had assured him it was an excellent strain
Unfortunately they had knocked over the pot spilling all of the remaining coffee
Unfortunately the sheets they were supposed to rank all the classers with had been ruined
I mean What can he really do I’m the village chieftain Donny said uncertainly
Good you take the blame Decklan said crossing himself
He distributes the food Dozer mumbled He controls who gets weapons from the shop with SP rather than having to save up gold themselves Wood that comes up from the NCCs He controls that You wanted to start to build a house didn’t you Donny
The three considered the issue solemnly picturing Daniel’s pudgy face contorted in fury It was honestly difficult to imagine It really couldn’t be that bad right
Well Dozer said uncertainly He did mention that all he really needed was a 1 10 ranking we could just
Rank everyone Today Decklan snapped
But then Donny blinked then laughed
Yes That’s exactly what we do With the most efficient method for determining strength
The other two looked at him He smiled widely and spread his hands With a Tournament
The three of them straightened their worried looks turning into flinty evaluative ones
A tournament Decklan said calmly making a knife dance across this hands
A tournament Dozer agreed his chest heaving his eyes bright
I’ll go tell the squads and grab Sam I’m sure we can assemble a stadium or something by the time we get to the top 16 People who lose in the preliminaries need to build Donny said picturing himself being crowned champion
Ah Dozer said blinking Will the Ghosthound be participating
They mulled this question over for several seconds
Let’s not bother him with this Donny said After all it is purely administrative work It is being done to rank the Classers nothing more
Nothing more The other two echoed eyeing each other
Randidly had followed the trail to the edge of a small path leading downwards into a ravine before he hesitated the hair on the back of his neck tingling There was something strange here Something wrong
But the trail of blood led forward and Randidly felt a familiar thrill growing Against his better judgement he walked down into the gorge around twisting turns through meandering paths until finally deep within the gorge Randidly arrived at a large cave
The trail of blood had long since disappeared so Randidly was expecting an ambush Eyes of the Spear Phantom were activated and scanning around but when he finally spotted the enemy it wasn’t one that he needed to be using any extra skills to see
It was large as large as a short bus Body of a lion head of a woman wings of an eagle Its eyes slowly opened its amber eyes drifting over towards him It lounged in front of the entrance to the cave plain as day
The floating text above its head dominated Randidly’s focus freezing him solid In a bright yellow text that Randidly didn’t recognize he immediately recognized that he might be facing his own doom
The Hungry Tribulation Ep Tal Lvl 30
My my my The creature murmured getting to its feet It seems the sheep have wandered quite far from the shepherd And what soft wool you have Haven’t even received a class yet Well well well
What Are you Your name is yellow
Ah ah ah The creature said seeming pleased It sat on its haunches regarding him with a glimmer of interest So the sheep does know some things Yes I do not fit into the normal hierarchy of enemies you face I am special I am the tribulation that waits outside the edge of the Newbie Zone for freshly formed villages A desolation but perhaps also a blessing The Hungry Hungry Hungry Tribulation
The sphinx flashed its teeth
Randidly remembered now the fear he had learned first in the Dungeon surrounded by enemies much more powerful than himself Although this enemy wasn’t as high as the level of the Boss of the Dungeon the suffocating aura was 10x as great and there was no Shal here to take the brunt of the damage The feeling came wet and raw and fresh The old dread of a predator looming above him His hands were shaking but his smile was growing wider and wider his eyes bright
He might die here But he definitely felt alive here too
In a smooth motion he drew his spear and leveled it towards the sphinx Aren’t you supposed to tell me a riddle or something
Its smile widened and it lowered its stance into a crouch No no no But we shall enjoy our time playing together To a wandering lost sheep there are a few lessons that I am willing to teach teach teach
It leapt forward and Randidly dodged to the side activating Haste Empower Footwork of the Spear Phantom and Mana Strengthening His eyes narrowed sensing rather than seeing that he wouldn’t make it in time
He instantly used Phantom Half Step creating some distance weighing his options
But whereas the cats had been annoyingly fast this creature was mind bogglingly fast and already crossed the distance to him its huge paw swiping sideways
His spear got up in time and he activated Mana Shield and Iron Skin At the same time he used Spearing Roots aiming for its underside while it was distracted attacking him