Wake up. Eat. Dig. Carve. Nail. Set up. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
Gale had found a home nearby a waterfall and had killed multiple beasts in the past couple of weeks or days… or who knows how long. He wasn't counting. The forest let him thrive and he was all for it.
Getting to the edge of the small lake, he looked at his own reflection. For a moment, he didn't recognize himself. The skull helmet he made from one of the beasts made him look like one of the demons he had a nightmare of. The dark eye sockets gave him goosebumps. Bone plates covered his strategic parts of his body for maximum mobility and defense.
I look scarier than those beasts.
A laugh broke out, starting as a chuckle then turning into full-on howling as he grabbed his sides.
'What would they think of me now?' he laughed. He pictured the orphanage staff's horror. What would Ms. Molly say. Would the kids from the orphanage even go near him while he wore this terrifying outfit?
Looking back at his home base by the waterfall, it all still looked normal. Nothing seemed to have changed. But to him, the traps were everywhere he looked. To the right, a massive snare. To the left, logs that would fall upon tripping the tripwire that came from above. Don't even mention the ones in the outer perimeter where he put the most lethal ones. He was a spider that went through the web of traps easily.
Most importantly, there was a stalker lurking and stalking around in his territory that he didn't like the smell of. It was bigger than the average sized ones that shrugged off the traps he set a couple of days ago.
"Let's see you shrug any of these off, fugly," he whispered.
The only solution to a bigger beast were either bigger traps or even more traps. So why not both? With the help of Alter and Phase Touch, he was able to create more intricate types of traps that weren't possible without them. Phase Touch had let him join vines seamlessly into tree trunks as well as allowing spikes and spears to stand up on their own by joining them with the dirt, not having to do the manual labour of shovelling. Alter would let him make things smaller to allow him to fit items into tighter spaces.
The last time, the traps could only take one garbage truck sized beast. Now, probably a couple garbage sized truck beast and this new asshole lurking in his territory would become his dinner.
Time to venture beyond his web of traps. All for this invading predator that's trying to steal his prey.
Gale crouched in the undergrowth, staying silent. His bone armour scraped against each other. One wrong jerky move, and they would clang and give away his position.
Suddenly, he spotted movement. Not this one. This one was smaller.
He slipped through the underbrush, following it. The smaller beast needed to go before it triggered traps meant for the bigger one.
Gale burst from cover, spear already altered to a small form factor. The beast snapped toward him, teeth bared. He dodged its lunge, rolling under and avoiding the claws by a hair.
From his kneel, he thrust the spear and released Alter. Its shaft went into its flank near the rib cage. It drove deep into the lungs.
The beast roared and twisted, snapping the shaft of the stick.
Gale let go. No point keeping a broken stick. He grabbed another spear from his back, focused Alter, and released immediately. The spear shot into the forest beast's throat.
It tried to roar but only gurgled, then collapsed. Gale stepped back. First time killing a forest beast with no traps. Just him against it.
[Forest Beast felled.]
[Extracting Origin from prey…]
Gale closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of extraction. When he opened them, the beast lay there in a pool of blood. In just a couple of weeks, smaller beasts like these no longer bothered him.
He moved quickly through the forest, expanding Breath of the Void to maximum. The skill had grown after getting a Core Part. It was a skill that was essential in a forest where trees blocked his view.
Gale stopped to listen. The forest sounds had stopped. He crouched, pushing more essence into his passive ability.
There.
A faint tremor in the ground. Something big moved nearby.
This was it.
The beast that lurked in his territory and almost killed him while he was peacefully minding his own business setting up traps to kill it.
He moved forward, following the vibrations that grew stronger with each step. Close now.
There it stood, its back to him. A chance for damage.
Gale activated Alter on his spear, aimed at the beast's neck, and released. The spear whistled through the air.
The whistle alerted the beast. It shifted. Spear hit just below its shoulder, digging deep. It roared in pain.
Chaos erupted. The beast turned to chase.
Gale spun and ran. Time to test the traps.
The beast roared. Its steps shook the forest like thunder.
He kept a steady pace, patient, leading the beast through his maze of traps.
The first trap lay just ahead under leaves. He jumped over it and heard ropes snapping one by one. A net of vines shot up, lifting the beast. Not to hurt it. Just to create distance and possibly make it angry. The angrier the better, make it lose its senses.
Gale didn't look back. He went left, sprinting to the next trap. Passing a marked tree, he grabbed a rope.
He watched the beast, waiting for the exact moment. When it passed a tree with an X, he yanked the rope hard. Sharpened stakes rained from the canopy, covering the clearing. Many embedded in the beast.
It roared in pain but didn't slow. Gale glanced back, seeing the bloody mess from the stakes. The beast looked more angry than hurt. All of the spears that fell on it were mere skin-deep wounds to it. Nothing critical.
He pushed harder, lungs and legs burning. The beast was too close, about to mess up his timing.
A dense thicket ahead offered a hiding spot to recalculate.
He dove in, scratched by thorns. He held his breath while the beast's steps slowed.
The beast sniffed around. It knew this was where its prey had gone. Gale thought it might hear his heartbeat when it looked his way. It circled the thicket, searching.
He stayed still, breathing shallow. The beast stuck its claws into the thicket, missing him by centimetres.
Gale knew he couldn't hide forever. The beast pulled back its claw, he ran, catching it off guard. The head start was enough to time the next trap.
He sprinted toward a ravine. The next trap waited on the other side. At the edge, he grabbed a vine and swung across. No pause when he landed. No time to be slow.
Behind him, the beast roared. The ravine was too wide for it to jump. It would have to go around, giving him seconds.
He caught his breath. Every chance to recover mattered. No guarantee the beast wouldn't learn after facing so many traps.
Twigs and logs snapped in the distance. The beast had crossed to the other side, creating its own path without care.
Rest over, Gale ran again. He led the beast through smaller tripwire traps that released spears, same as the one before. Pits with thick stakes, which it climbed up with a few spears lodged in its belly. Hidden nets that tangled then rained spears. It slowed it down, but no vital damage was done.
Each little bit of damage slowed and injured the beast bit by bit. This is the only way to win against something that defied logic. Some might call this cowardice, but this was how real hunters worked.
The biggest trap came into view. Most dangerous and complex of them all. If this didn't work, there were less lethal ones close to this one. He wasn't sure whether those would matter to this beast the size of 3 garbage trucks.
He entered a clearing and slowed slightly. The beast needed to be in the exact spot.
It entered the clearing. First, it looked at him, then it charged with a roar.
At the last second, Gale dove aside. He pulled a lever, and the whole clearing collapsed.
The ground under the beast gave way to a deep pitfall lined with bone spears. As it fell, vines snapped, triggering more mechanisms. Logs fell vertically into the pit. Huge boulders crashed down. The beast roared when it hit the stake-covered floor.
"That's a nasty one," Gale muttered.
For a minute, silence.
Then a groan from the pit echoed everywhere, sounding like it came from hell itself.
Gale's eyes widened. This thing had too much fight in it. His dad's lessons weren't working. This beast didn't follow any logic.
It began to climb out, pushing logs and boulders away.
Gale turned and ran deeper into his web of traps. His dad once said humans evolved by chasing prey until it got tired. Now Gale was the one running, but the concept was the same. All he could hope for was to wear the beast down.
He glanced back. The trap had done something after all. The beast now limped instead of running full out. Its roars sounded weaker, more pained. Its confidence gone.
He didn't look back again. The creature's laboured breathing carried even from a distance. The trap worked better than expected. He could now run at a steady pace, though he stayed alert. One slip still meant death.
A thought hit him. If he combined traps with his abilities, it might be enough to stop the beast.
He veered left toward a thicket of trees. He activated Distort, shifting the light a few inches right. To the beast, he'd seem to vanish.
The creature roared as it crashed into a tree, confused by the Distort.
Gale used the chance to climb a nearby tree. From above, he saw the beast's massive form. Its head swung side to side, looking for him, trying to catch his scent.
The beast moved closer to his tree. Gale knew of another trap nearby. Another net trap designed to tangle and confuse. Harmless on its own, but with Phase Touch, it could possibly hurt.
Gale jumped from branch to branch. The beast spotted him and gave chase.
He dropped to the ground with a roll. The trap was close. A few more steps, then he jumped between two trees.
The beast passed between them. Gale pulled a rope, releasing tension.
A net dropped from above with rocks weighing it down. Gale flew back up to a branch from the counterweight. Just as the net reached the beast, he used Phase Touch on the vine he held. The effect spread through the whole net.
He released the ability when the net touched the beast, partially phasing it into its flesh. The beast roared in pain as the net wrapped around it and merged with its body.
Gale didn't waste time. He jumped to the next platform. Behind him, the beast thrashed, ripping the net away with bits of its own flesh.
The next trap wasn't meant to be used this way, but he had a new idea to slow the beast even more.
He spotted a giant boulder meant to roll onto a pitfall. Gale positioned himself nearby and waited.
The ground shook as the beast approached, its footsteps now uneven. Trees fell as it carved a path straight toward him, following his scent.
As it burst into the clearing, Gale stood his ground. The beast's jaws opened wide, ready to end the chase. When it got close enough to feel its breath, Gale ducked left, one hand on the boulder.
He used Phase Touch on the boulder. But the beast changed direction too fast.
Gale released Phase Touch, managing only to catch the beast's left hand in the boulder.
The beast roared, nearly deafening him. This one didn't sound threatening, and sounded like it was in actual pain like a dog yelping.
Gale slid down from the platform, entering home base that was filled with traps. He climbed up the three where his tent was. The beast stood below, tired but still ready to fight. Its eyes watched him, fierce and wild.
What kept it going? A normal beast by now would've left and run to fight another day. The boulder stuck on its arm would slow it down. No way it could catch him now. The trap had worked.
But traps alone wouldn't kill it. He needed to finish this properly to extract its Origin.
The beast walked into the centre of camp, its battered appearance managing to get this far. Spikes and spears jutted out from its flank, back, belly, and bottom. The leather hide had been skinned off by the boulders that fell on it multiple times, showing some of the bones underneath. A couple of its fangs were chipped, most likely from the same boulders.
Gale jumped to a branch and pulled a vine. Instantly, more vines shot up and wrapped around the beast's legs. It thrashed and broke free.
Gale moved to another tree and triggered the next trap. Sharp stakes rained down from all sides. The beast used the boulder on its arm as a shield to the front. Stakes bounced off. The exposed parts struck the leather of the beast. It looked more like a porcupine now rather than a beast.
Their eyes met. The beast was clearly angry. It growled at him, and he growled back.
It charged forward and hit the tree with the boulder. The whole tree shook. Gale almost lost his balance.
He hadn't expected it to adapt so fast. It used the boulder like a weapon. He needed to end this quick.
He climbed higher to a different platform. His hands snatched at switches hidden in the bark. Traps activated all at once.
A smart beast would've been at the bottom of the tree he was on. And X marks the spot which the beast was standing on top of.
Spikes shot up from the ground. Boulders fell from above, some hitting the beast's head. A pit opened under it, catching one leg. More spikes stabbed through its foot.
The beast roared. Its eyes never left Gale as the traps tore at its body. It knew he caused all this. Its face twisted with rage.
It got closer. This platform was too low. He jumped to a higher one, but something hit him mid-air.
The beast had thrown a rock the size of his torso. It timed the throw perfectly as he jumped.
He fell through the air. His hand caught a vine he'd set up earlier. He swung in a wide arc away from the beast.
His free hand hit a series of cords between trees. Each connected to a different trap.
The forest exploded into action.
Nets flew from all directions. They tangled the beast's limbs. Logs swung from every angle, smashing into its body.
Gale landed on a distant branch. He caught his breath and looked at his work. The beast fought in the pit, feeling its ribs with its free hand.
But it wasn't dead. It tore through the nets. Its muscles flexed as it broke free.
How are you not god damned dead? All the fucking traps were done. Triggered.
The beast's eyes found him again. He felt the coldness seep into him from its glare. Whether that was his imagination or real, he didn't want to find out.
He gripped his spear harder. Time to face this thing up close. He jumped down to the ground.
The beast charged. It moved fast. For Gale, time slowed down. Everything became clear and sharp.
His fingers tightened on his spear. He used Alter. The weapon shrank as he rolled sideways. The beast's claws missed him by inches.
Gale stood up. His spear shot forward. He aimed at the beast's side, exposed after its attack. The weapon hit deep into flesh.
A roar shook the forest. The beast turned, its eyes somehow understandably full of pain.
Gale didn't wait. He ran, creating distance. His hand grabbed another spear from his back.
He used Distort. Light bent around him. He turned and charged straight at the beast.
The beast watched the bent figure coming at it. It swiped with huge claws.
But it hit nothing. Gale had expected that. He slid past its belly. His spear struck up, hitting soft flesh underneath.
Another loud roar echoed through the trees. The beast stumbled. Blood soaked its fur and scales where the spears that porcupined it had hit.
Gale backed away. He'd hurt it but not enough. It still came after him, eyes fixed on killing him. He needed something better.
An idea hit him. What if he focused Phase Touch just on the spear tip? It was risky and sounded dumb, but he had no choice.
He put space between himself and the beast. No Distort this time. The creature was too smart for that trick again.
Gale held his last spear. He made Phase Touch work only at its tip. Pain shot through his head. A warning flashed:
[Warning Max Load Breached.]
[Warning Current Load Usage: 10]
He ignored the pain. His knuckles turned white on the spear. All his focus went to keeping Phase Touch at the tip.
[Your Phase Touch increased in proficiency…]
The beast charged. It sensed him pause. Its mouth opened wide, ready to end him with one bite.
Gale waited until the last second. Then he shoved the spear forward with everything he had. The Phase-touched point hit the beast's skull and went through like butter. Through the spears, he felt its bone and brain matter stab through, butchering its insides in real time.
The beast's weight pushed it further onto the spear. Its roar cut off into a wet gurgle. It stumbled, legs giving out instantly, and crashed to the ground.
Gale held on, his spear buried deep. The beast twitched twice, then stopped.
[Tainted Forest Predator felled.]
[The royal guard's loyalty was fierce. They once were the symbol of power for the Lord, never relenting and fighting against even death himself. They now haunt the Desolate Forest to seek out any trespassers that dare invade the Lord's territory with beasts on its leash.]
What the fu…
For a moment, Gale just stood there, staring at the text. No fucking wonder it was so stubborn. He could barely believe it was over. One attack had killed it after all that chasing.
His chest heaved as he caught his breath. He let go of the spear, leaving it stuck in the beast's head. He tried to stand but fell back down. The technique had drained him too much. He never wanted to go through that again.
[Extracting Origin from prey…]
[Warning: large amount of Origin extracted]
Heat spread through Gale's body, stronger than the first time. His veins felt as though they were burning. Muscles and lungs sent signals to his brain that told him those very organs collapsed in on themselves. Bones audibly crackled and popped as they were rebuilt. It took all of his effort to stay conscious, maintaining a close eye on his surrounding lest he get killed by an opportunistic beast. For a full minute, all he could do was just stand there, ready to take the spear back from the beast head to defend himself.
[Core Density Increased: 4/12]
[Lungs Core part built. Stamina increased.]
[Skin Core part built. Regeneration increased.]
[Bone Core part built. Bone rigidity increased.]
The pain slowly faded, replaced by the familiar warmth of Origin Extraction. His wounds closed, bruises faded as he looked down on his body. He was slightly taller than before, and his grip now felt tighter after clenching his fist slightly.
Three core parts from just one kill. Whatever that tainted beast was, it was way above his level, and he had preyed on it. Living and thriving in the forest wasn't so bad after all.