NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36: Area Quest
The next day was full of travel. I went back and forth carrying almost everything I could from the hive. Each of the bug creature's corpses became a potential resource. Even the more disgusting bits. It also turned out that Desbera had spoken to a large contingent about aiming for proper non-combat classes. Chef was an option, so I looked forward to that. The process took the better part of the day, leaving me plenty of time to spend on my attribute points. After a conversation with Desbera, I put the free points into Wisdom. The multiverse wasn't the place for balanced builds. Not to say that you couldn't do it but it was more that you would struggle to deal with people of equal level. My physical Strength would slowly get outmatched by other people's defense. Thanks to my titles and ridiculous attributes I wouldn't have that problem while on Earth. Or at least not for quite a while but when I left I wouldn't win any serious physical fights.
My mental abilities would be the opposite. Of course the problem there was the lack of mental defenses. Apparently, mentalists, or psychics as I prefer to call us don't live very long. I was an exception to the rule thanks to the titles and the ease of the initial tutorial monsters. Being a spell caster of any type was making yourself a glass cannon and eventually, the cannon would shatter. Either they ran out of gas or their lack of defenses got them killed. Because of this very few people ever improved their psyche to the point that it would survive a direct battle. They relied on treasures and other defensive items. Either way, I should have a solid advantage as long as I stay at range.
Once my travels were done I decided to take the time to process my newest reward. I emptied my bag of everything except the pills. The furniture went to Saanite and Christopher to store while the automap stayed with me. I infused it with energy. The information download filled my mind the next second. The sensation was still uncomfortable but it lasted less than a second. The map itself was a square window that popped up in front of me. It wasn't the most detailed thing in the world but reminded me a bit of the map in the Fallout series. Only it wasn't wrist-mounted and it wasn't all green. The map was a spiritual map which made it even more fascinating. It already had Amara labeled along with a symbol, the symbol represented it as having a System Hub run by a governor. Which meant I couldn't hide.
"Was this the reason the government agent was so confident?" I chuckled out loud as I made a mental note to go and learn more things as soon as possible. The map wasn't too big, it showed everything within 10 square miles of me which with my new top speed wasn't far. I turned my attention back to the city. TV made sitting on rooftops seem so much fun and they were right. Even the thought of falling off the side only made me excited. A small part of me was worried about how I was changing but that was a problem for later. This was who I needed to be to survive. I looked toward Amara but quickly decided against returning. They didn't need me at the moment and I had an urge. It was hard to explain but a small but persistent voice kept urging me to go west.
I grinned as I stepped off the rooftop. The wind tore through my dreads as I fell five stories. I reached up and grabbed hold of a ledge just as I got within ten feet of the ground. The force that should have shattered my arm and ripped it out of its socket was barely noticeable as I dropped the rest of the way. I sprinted to the west as the feeling grew. I had only traveled for ten minutes when the sensation grew. It felt like there was a gentle but firm hand on my back. One that pushed me forward until the voice of the System filled my head.
Area Quest Triggered: Prove your Dominance and Seize the Opportunity.
I barely had the time to react before my mind was pulled away from my body. I was yanked through the ruins of the city and into a skyscraper that rivaled Amara in size and grandeur. My new perspective didn't slow as I was pulled through the walls of the building and up a massive elevator shaft. I reached the top within seconds only to travel through the roof. There seated in the exact center was a pillar of blinding white light. It looked like the heavens above had descended to that exact spot. I was standing in front of it in less time than it would have taken me to blink. I could just barely see what looked like a lotus made out of its golden light. It somehow made the pillar around it look lackluster. Every cell in my body seemed to scream in unison. Whatever that was I needed it. The vision ended in the next moment and I was brought back to my body. I stood still for a moment as I processed what had just happened. I pulled up my quest screen and found the Area quest.
I took off in the direction the vision took me at my fastest speed. Based on the chorus of howls that rose to the sky around me I wasn't not the only thing that was notified. I pushed myself harder and harder as the city turned into a blur. I stepped onto a freeway overpass just in time to catch a literal stampede of wolves and a gorilla-like monster. The gorillas had four arms with metallic skin that glimmered in the light. The largest of which was nearly fifteen feet tall and looked like its hands were curved in sharp blades. I locked eyes with the beast and laughed. Adrenaline shot through me as I unleashed my killing intent in its full glory. The herd tripped over itself to avoid me but I paid them no attention as I opened a portal. I crossed the freeway and continued sprinting.
A warning from my danger sense forced me to leap off a building and into the streets below. I looked back just as a pillar of steel split the building in half. My eyes widened as fear and excitement warred in my mind. Two wolves the size of Dobermans pounced at me in the next second. I didn't bother using a spell, instead, I dropped into a boxing stance and delivered a haymaker into the jaw of the first one. I felt its jaw crack and used the momentum from our class to spin out of the path of the second wolf. I was about to finish the fight when that same feeling from before overtook me. I swore and opened another portal. It sealed itself just as the wolves turned to attack again. I stepped out onto another rooftop just in time to see the large gorilla tear a squad of wolves apart.
I unleashed Psionic Rain as retribution for the earlier attack before I resumed my mad dash. The mental attack was just about to rain down on the beast when it did something that surprised me. It grabbed two of its nearby companions and placed them in the way. The beasts weren't big enough to completely shield it but it was enough to stop the majority of psychic blades from tearing it apart. I gained the kill energy and a second later the gorilla unleashed a screech of rage and threw the two corpses at me. The corpses shot toward me like a pair of cannonballs. I leaped to another building just in time to avoid being crushed by a metallic gorilla. The impact was like a bomb had gone off. The building collapsed in on itself in less than a second.
I chased after the stampede as the building rapidly came into view. The pillar of light at the top acted like a lighthouse for what had to be every monster in the city. I decided to stop holding back and unleashed a storm of mental attacks at every enemy I could reach. Kill energy poured into me at a rate faster than what I could use which made me feel exhilarated. Before I realized it I was two buildings behind the gorilla and within a few miles of of our target. I unleashed Psychic Blast at the overgrown gorilla. This time the attack took it in the back just as it began a leap. The attack caused it to lose control and plummet to the ground. I didn't hold my breath that the attack would kill the damn thing but it opened up the front of the pack. I unleashed another series of mental attacks as two wolves attempted to converge on me and then activated Apportation.
The portal opened and I stepped at a full sprint. I passed through the skyscraper's doorways seconds before the stampede. I took a second to take in the scene and my heart dropped. The building had been completely hollowed out. It was less a building and more a large elevator shaft. I opened Apportation again aiming for a slight landing about thirty feet off the ground. I barely had enough time to step through before the full force of the stampede destroyed the door. Wolves slammed into the walls and they attempted to pivot. Gorillas launched themselves into the air. I reappeared just as the great ape arrived. We locked eyes for a moment and I unleashed Psionic Rain. I imbued the strike with the tao of Adamance and widened its area of effect as much as I could. The blades rained down like a celestial punishment. The great ape was forced to retreat outside of the building as apes and wolves were reduced to fuel for my ascent. I leapt up grabbing hold of the closest ledge. I then spun around it so my feet were pressed against the cold metal. I pushed off and into the air. A brief moment of weightlessness before I grabbed hold of the next ledge. I was about to leap again when a scream of danger stopped me. The next second a pillar of metal shot out from the wall aimed at my heart.
The world seemed to slow to a crawl as I pivoted. Even with over one hundred points of Agility, I was too slow. The metal cut into my shoulder and nearly threw me off of the platform. My blood dripped down to the monster horde below who fought like crabs in a barrel. The sight of my blood only kicked them into a greater fervor. The gorillas leaped for me while the wolves unleashed blasts of sharp white energy. I summoned the wall form of Psychic Aegis to block the onslaught but it was like trying to stop a flood with a band-aid. I screamed and ripped myself off of the pillar of metal. I popped a pill and returned to my run. The great ape smashed a handful of its brethren before launching itself up the tower at me. It crossed half the distance to me in an instant.
I gritted my teeth and unleashed Psychic Blast. The great ape brought all four of its hands together and formed a wall of metal. The metal emitted a visible pressure on the world around it as if it were a mountain that would crush anything that approached. I blanched when I realized that the damn thing had a Tao strand. I conjured twin blades of psychic energy, imbued each one with a different strand. The twin blades were stopped nearly a foot from the metal wall as the force of two tao strands warred with one. I gritted my teeth and pushed with every part of my will. The blades resumed their fall like twin executioners axes. The great ape stumbled back and nearly fell off its platform. Blood dripped down its face as death closed in on it. My moment of triumph was shattered as two smaller apes leaped in the path of my mental attack. I stared in disbelief as it dawned on me.
These things were working together? The realization made me laugh. I pushed spiritual energy into my legs and leaped onto the metal pillar. It was like playing the world's greatest platformer, where falling meant actual death. The dimly glowing light of the pillar was an ever-present reminder of what I was doing this for. A scream of danger and a look behind me revealed that the great ape hadn't abandoned the pursuit. The ape had grabbed a wolf and launched it at me with the force of a cannon. I barely had the time to react before an angry monkey slammed into me. Psychic Aegis held just long enough for me to push spiritual energy into my fist. My barrier shattered like glass and I slammed a fist into the monkey's head. It was like I punching a steel wall.
The monkey screamed into my face and tried to throw me off of the platform. My eyes widened in panic. I grabbed its hand and wrapped my legs around its wrist. I felt like David trying to fight Goliath as it peeled me off. I conjured a psychic blade and shot it into the monkey's head just as it released me. Time slowed to a crawl and the world went utterly silent as I fell I reached for the pillar above as if the heavens would take mercy on me. Sound returned in the next second as utter terror shot through me. My fear mixed with my danger sense as I desperately activated Apportation.
There was a brief moment of resistance as I was trying to push through the surface of the ocean before it snapped. The portal opened up behind me just as the great ape arrived. Two of its massive hands swung down at me like titanic hammers. Each one was imbued with a tao that made my skin crawl. I fell through the portal and thanked whoever was listening as it sealed behind me. The teleportation took slightly longer than usual. In this case, I thanked the heavens above for the breather. I got to my feet and circulated the Ethereal Codex to deal with the energy coursing through my body. When the portal opened I stepped out ready to sprint only to find myself on the top floor. The shock and confusion were enough to stop me in my tracks. Had Apportation just evolved? A roar of fury brought me back to the moment. I turned and ran toward the closest window.
I launched myself through the window while holding onto the side in a move that would make an Olympic gymnast jealous. I swung to the right and slammed into the metal with enough force to knock the wind out of my lungs. I groaned and searched for a pathway to the top. The sound of screeching monkeys reminded me that I didn't have a lot of time. I pushed spiritual energy into my fingers and pressed them into the metal. My new footholds gave me just enough leverage to launch myself up the side of the building. Howling monkeys and the air rush let me know I wasn't alone anymore. I activated Psychic Aegis in its bubble form to buy me a few more seconds. Attacks of metal and wind rained down on my barrier like hail but I didn't stop. Each crack felt like the countdown to my death. That primal part of me took over. I activated Psionic Rain and aimed it above the side of the building. Before I could stop myself I commanded it to explode. The storm of psionic blades ripped through what remained of my shield and tore through my psyche. I suppressed a scream and pulled myself up and over the edge of the building. Despite my pain, the monkeys that had followed were much worse. My dantian surged with energy as my attack killed most of them. The ones who didn't die lost their grips on the building and fell what had to be hundreds of feet.
I turned and faced my prize. The pillar of light was even more splendid in person. My soul came alive with hunger as I stared at the lotus. I had no idea what it was or what it did but that hardly mattered. I would have it no matter the cost. I shook the thought from my mind and focused. The fight wasn't over. I hadn't seen the biggest ape yet and I doubted that it would just give up now. I popped two healing pills in my mouth and grimaced as the healing energy spread through my body. The pill didn't do anything for the pain my soul was under but that was fine. When I was ready I turned and sprinted for the pillar. The ground beneath my feet trembled and I reached deep inside myself. Beyond the fear and exhaustion the arrogance and hunger. The great ape tore a hole through the floor and unleashed a roar that chilled the blood in my veins. It locked eyes with me as an explosion of killing intent turned the rooftop into a primordial battlefield. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as the world slowed to a crawl. Nothing mattered but the two of us. My killing intent rose in response, a mutual declaration that only one of us would leave this place alive. I couldn't be more excited.