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Published at 30th of January 2023 05:46:09 AM


Chapter 92

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The Guardian struggled, and with sharp needles it killed the plant that latched atop its head, it died off as my mana disappeared; dried out as blood pooled beneath it. It struggled as it turned to look at me with its piercing golden eyes.

“You will die⁠—”

With an awful exploding sound, the arrow hit its nuzzle and sprouted onto red flowers that ate away on its flesh, its fur fell on the ground as if it was rotting apart, and the Guardian shrieked in pain once more. Mark of death was still active⁠—

I shot the second arrow, which instantly blew up in its face with toxic spores. The Guardian of the Moon was unable to do anything, and even though the command had been issued the Moonfangs were barely now rushing towards me. It was too late⁠— I shot the third arrow, it disappeared with a flash of purple and hit its face once more, vines coiled around its entire head and pressed down, blood splattered and its legs gave way as it began to kneel.

Three more arrows were taken out, this time around all of them were tendril ones.

“How⁠— so strong⁠— how… I’m…” It choked, its voice drowning with blood. “Full Moon…”

“And, I’m Blair.”

It tried to speak once more, but three arrows were rammed into its face, dark red tendrils sprouted and nibbed at its flesh as The Guardian did nothing but scream. It was as good as dead now.

A Moonfang rushed towards me, and using my spear I cleaved through its throat; its throat melted off and blood oozed, it fell like a doll with its strings cut.

[You have killed: (D) Moonfang. Lvl. 26]

I smiled, it was so easy. My entire body was oozing with power, and my mana felt more responsive, much richer, and more durable. That reminded me, I still had to select a skill for level 45. I didn’t have time to sort things out, at the same time I was unsure about how many levels I’d get from killing the Moon Guardian so it was best for me to⁠ simply take a look at my options and see if there is anything good.

I opened the prompt.

[These are the most suited skills⁠—

A lot of familiar skills were present, actually there was not a single skill that was unfamiliar, which kind of sucked. I shook my head and took the one I found most useful.

[Skill Learned ⁠— Blooming Combustion (Epic) ⁠— Fire, enemy of plants. Your mana can combust and ignite any plant it’s linked to, burning foes in the surroundings. You and any surrounding plants are immune to the fire and upon touching it gain a 10% Vigor bonus for a minute.]

I felt the skill click upon me, and suddenly I felt a bit dumb⁠— yes, the fire did indeed have magical properties, but to ignite the plants all I had to do was tell the mana to combust. Of course, it was slightly more complicated with how to picture it in my mind, how to manage it to actually make it combust, but I was certain that if I practiced I would’ve gotten it given enough time.

I lamented as another Moonfang rushed towards me, this time it was a Lower Moon.

“What have you done to the Supreme Moon⁠—?!” The spear dug through its head, and right through its spine. At that moment, it truly felt as if they were pathetic.

It died from a single attack.

[You have killed: (D) Moonfang, Lower Moon. Lvl. 34]

I shook my head and faced towards the Guardian⁠— it still had vines coiled around its head, flowers still ate at its flesh, and it was still bleeding as it tried to stand up. I had no idea how strong my plants were, all I knew is that they always seemed to cripple enemies⁠— not like I was complaining. Burn. I commanded as the plants around The Guardian exploded into a fiery blaze, engulfing everything with red and orange flames. Sparks, little embers flew and touched the ground, propagated looking for other plants and some even grazed me as I felt my Vigor increase. The skill did not use any mana, in a technical sense, which was a great surprise.

I nocked another arrow, a Silver Azalea one that would hopefully eventually kill it should things go awry. I was unsure about how strong its poison was, but it didn’t matter. The Guardian was at death’s door, its fur was falling off and it could barely stand up.

“You⁠—” The arrow hit its eye as it grunted. “I don’t know what you’ve done, elf!” It growled as I prepared more arrows. “However, it doesn’t matter!” It roared.

[The Moonlight gathers towards its master. All environmental advantages fade.]

My skin still shone, and I still felt just as strong, but all the Moonfangs surrounding me trembled a bit. Some froze just before they pounced, and some whose whips were full of mana instantly faded.

“My Kin, gather to me. Shield me!”

I snorted, and fired an all-consuming puff arrow, the Guardian staggered once more as mushrooms sprouted and fed off its flesh, but things were different. Its body shone with a pale light and the mushrooms eroded away. I fired a second arrow, it whipped around its neck and strangled, and before it could die, it exploded into fire that enveloped The Guardian once more.

The Moonfangs were already running towards the Guardian and some were standing in front of it, something was definitely wrong, but my mana was still generously full. Nonetheless, I drank a mana potion and subsequently fired another arrow⁠— this one was full of spores that exploded into a cloud with all the moonfangs. At the same time I began to feel annoyed⁠.

How many arrows can the Guardian take? It was unreasonable that it wasn’t dead yet!

Amidst the green cloud, I saw flashes of pale blue light, cries of pain and blood splatter. My mind paused for the briefest moment as I saw death before my very eyes, it was a familiar action that I still disliked if not despised. Ten Moonfangs gathered at that point towards the Guardian, and all of them had died under its hands.

[Guardian of the Full Moon. Lvl. 66]

“Gather at the place of beginning, where the Moon was born!” It commanded with a bloodied shout. “The Supreme Moon will emerge!”

And soon, I heard howls buzz through my ears and through the entire chamber. The Moonfangs, as if possessed, ran in a single direction without hesitation. I froze for a second as the Guardian stared at me, its gaze remained before it began to speak⁠.

“You stand⁠—”

It took an arrow to the torso, one that bloomed into purple flowers along with vines, trying to wrap around its body and cripple it. The Guardian roared and the vines broke apart, the mana whips recoiled back and aimed at me, and at that moment I felt the lines of battle⁠—the flow, shift. I could almost see the whips moving towards me, and with a single sidestep it narrowly missed me. A notification came simultaneously, one that made me smile.

[Activated: Mark of Death.]

“You sure like doing that⁠— interrupting me,” it scoffed, still bleeding. “It doesn’t matter!” It whipped trying to buy time. “I am tired of this, tired of being enclosed in this place. I will soon have power, just you wait!” Unexpectedly it turned around and ran.

Its speed was impressive and unmatched, but I could still sense the Guardian as it dodged a tree. Quickly, I drew more arrows⁠— ensnare, coil⁠— I fired two arrows from a weird angle, and I heard a squeal of pain followed by grunts. One arrow had hit its neck and the other its head. I smiled, and as I took a step forward, a voice entered my ears.

“Do not chase, Blair.”

I paused as I turned to Sun, who was limping barely off the ground. It faced me and regarded me from a moment before it let out a long sigh.

“Yes, The Guardian was nearing death, but you cannot chase. Because, you are also in no condition to keep fighting it.”

“What do you mean⁠—”

[Blessing of the Moonlight has ended.]

I felt a sudden sense of weakness hit me, my mana took an instant hit. Next frenzy forcefully ended as nausea hit me. Mimicry Enhancement was still active, but it didn’t matter. I let out a long breath as pain flared all around my body.

“You are in no condition to keep fighting as you can see, neither can I. But at least, he cannot either.”

I let out a long breath, one that made me feel bad. “I wanted the Guardian to die.”

“We can kill it later, but first we must recover. The sooner the better, do you have any more of those potions?”

I shuffled awkwardly through my ring, the health potions were pretty much gone, I gave all of them to Sun. I still had mana potions to spare, but going back to the surface to buy more sounded troublesome. Sun ate them along with glass, metal, and whatever else material their vials carried.

Mimicry Enhancement ended.

We returned back to the shelter, and simply sat next to each other. Sun seemed to be looking at me strangely after the evolution.

“You’ve grown Blair.”

“Well, I did evolve,” I said as if it was obvious.

“You look a bit different, that is all.”

“Different?” I asked. I felt better, sure, but different? In what way?

“Hm, more mature? Taller? Unsure,” Sun mused as I took a look at myself.

My body proportions were the same, though I felt as if my eye-sight and senses had dramatically improved, granted it was probably because of the amount of attribute points I dumped into Perception. I stood up and compared my height to before, and⁠—

“Are you okay?”

“I perceive you differently, that is all.” Sun sighed.

My height hasn't changed.

“You seem free. More confident and sure of yourself. Did you remember everything?”

Ah. I sat back down with a slight yet bitter smile. “I did. I hate my parents after all…”

“That is saddening to hear. You should recover too, your mana is low and your body is still fatigued.”

“I have no more potions⁠—”

I paused. Or did I? I took out a couple of seeds, and shifting them through my mana with ease, I sprouted mushrooms next to me before I grabbed the Royal Azalea seed⁠— a pitch-black one with golden lines ⁠— and injected my mana into it. I dropped it onto the mushrooms, and in an instant it sprouted into a small yellow flower. Its roots touched upon the mushrooms, and it began to grow at a visible rate.

It took less than five seconds before the flower reached about half of its maximum size, the mushrooms underneath were almost dry. But the strangest part was my connection with the flower, it almost felt like it was calling to me once more. Its petals turned to face me as its stems produced small beads of crystalized nectar.

It didn’t take long before it dropped five beads, and then very slowly its golden petals began to dry, its base crumbled and it slowly decayed before my very eyes. I stared at the amber colored beads, and grabbed one.

[Royal Azalea Nectar ⁠(Rare) ⁠— Nectar produced from a rare dark plant. Restores mana, health and mental ailments upon consumption. This is a Rare potion ingredient.]

It was familiar, and I simply threw it in my mouth as if it was some sort of candy. It popped as soon as it bit, and a weird bitterness filled my mouth. It wasn't bad, but it certainly tasted weird. It didn’t take long before I began to feel my muscle fatigue slowly fade away. Its effects were just as good if not better than a normal health potion, and my mana began to regenerate at a much faster rate too. However, it was still worse than a mana potion.

I shook my head and grabbed a mana potion before drinking it. The beads were thrown into my ring and that was all. Sun stared at me.

“I know I said it before, but that is a noble calling. One that can produce life.”

“It takes away life,” I corrected.

“Still noble nonetheless.” He shook his head. “Blair, I’m happy to see that you’ve recovered your memories. Have you decided what you want to do?”

I nodded. “I want to live a life that allows me to be happy. Even if it’s killing things, or relaxing or well,” I shifted awkwardly, “building a town for you and your kind.”

Sun paused. “That makes me happy to hear.”

I felt a bit awkward now, but I was being truthful. I was done lying to myself. I wanted to be stronger, because it was fun to fight things, moreover I also wanted freedom. I wanted all of it. I wanted a home too.

A family? Well, Sun was my family now.

I smiled.

“I see you’re serious,” Sun commented as it came to my side and laid next to me. “Blair, you are now the pack leader.”

“Thank you.”

Close to an hour passed. Simply, comfortable as Mimicry Enhancement and my mana fully recovered.

“Sun…” I called somewhat awkwardly.

“Yes, Blair?”

“I’m… happy that you’re here…”

“That makes me glad to hear.”

And then, silence. I looked at the ceiling and thought. Things have changed. I relaxed some more, and after I realized that I was ready to battle again, I stood up.

“Looks, we’re both ready⁠—”

The cave began to shake, and I paused. Sun froze as a notification entered my mind.

[A new Herald type Monster appears.]

[Half the continent enters the mantle of night.]

A howl full of thirst and blood entered both of our ears.

“He evolved…”

Before I could ask any questions, the ground of the cave collapsed.

Azrie

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