Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Just as it had three times before, the atmosphere of the catacombs changed, and a large amount of corruption emerged from the entrance to the third level. The statue of the dryad did not grow as the others had, but its presence increased drastically and soon overtook that of its predecessors.

When it seemed like the corruption would suddenly let out, the rune on the dryad statue thrummed. Several other similar runes lit up all across the ruined city, causing a change reaction in the second-level showed catacombs that forced an extra portion of corruption out from the third level before their power ran out.

Sorin was not surprised by this development. In fact, he'd anticipated a trap. Having Michael present might have exposed Melinoë's shameful behavior, but Sorin was partial to surviving in the first place.

"It's been a while since I let loose," said Sorin. His bones and tendons crackled as he allowed the corruption in his body to fully manifest. Violence filled his mind, urging him to kill and to destroy; simultaneously, it also him that he was not this demon's opponent and should run as quickly as he could.

At the same time, a maddening chorus echoed in Sorin's mind. It negated that last thought and pushed him to fight anyway. Sorin's instincts and rational mind both knew that he was no match for the dryad, but that was only as he was now. Adapting would be the key to winning this battle.

I'll need to perform a round of experiments to confirm, but necrotoxins are likely most effective against plant life forms. Manatoxins are probably effective as well. As for neurotoxins and hemotoxins, the variety I typically use won't be effective, but that doesn't mean I should discount them.

Sorin charged as the dryad opened its eyes and attacked it before it could even break free, landing three extra hits before its outer shell shattered and it completed its transformation. The dryad, having just gained awareness, immediately lashed out with a spray of thorns. Sorin retreated, but not before gaining valuable data.

Plants don't have blood, but they do have chlorophyll. They don't have a typical nervous system, but they can still sense the world around them. Moreover, the dryad's body is humanoid, which means it's likely to have an adapted human morphology. My first attacks prove this, and demonstrate that this theory is worthwhile pursuing.

As he retreated, Sorin cast Patient Viper's Analysis and fed the information to Ophiuchan Simulation. This usage of Ophiuchan Simulation would be slower than normal since he was busy during combat, but if there was anything he had a surplus of, it was staying power. Also, he had help.

"Lorimer, you take over for now," said Sorin.

"Reee!" The rat adopted a spike-covered metal form and launched itself at the surprised dryad from its shadow. The attack surprised the three-star demon but wasn't able to cause a lot of damage before it entangled the rat with vines.

But the rat was not so easily caught; in response to the entangling maneuver, Lorimer adopted his flame form and scattered into three small rats. These tiny avatars recombined moments later and launched a furious assault against the dryad, temporarily frustrating her attempt at interrupting Sorin.

Furious and indignant, the dryad finally thought to draw upon its greatest strength: its aura of majesty. Three-star pressure washed over Sorin and Lorimer, temporarily paralyzing them. But this was only a temporary setback. Sorin's tarnished God Light erupted and pressed back the three-star pressure. To his surprise, Lorimer even managed to channel some of his God Light through their bond and to free himself from the dryad's suppression and continue its weak but distracting assault.

Upon seeing Sorin resist its majesty, the dryad summoned an oakwood spear and stabbed it at Sorin. The spear's speed surpassed what Bone-Forging cultivators should be capable of, and Sorin barely managed to deflect the spear with his dagger before closing the gap.

CloseThe close range was optimal against a spear wielder. As the dryad retreated, Sorin pressed the attack and slashed at her thighs and torso, delivering several doses of poison that further clarified her bones and internals.

The dryad was quick to notice its poisoned state. After quickly attempting to purge the poison, it decisively sloughed off a layer of flesh in the form of sawdust and cut off its connection to its body. As a result, the information Sorin gained was limited. Yet he'd gleaned enough that he managed to land three more hits near critical locations. He was about to strike at one of her 'hearts' with a summoned spear when the dryad exploded into a cloud of petals and reappeared a short distance away.

Dozens of willow spears manifested and stabbed toward Sorin's location. Sorin pushed Adder Rush to its limits to avoid them but still took several grazing hits to his arms and thighs. Lorimer also managed to deflect two spears that were aimed straight at his head. The rodent was wounded in the exchange, but it refused to back down.

Unable to siphon life force from the dryad due to his poisons having been purged, Sorin could only resort to his personal panacea—poisoning himself—to restore his injuries. He chugged a vial of mixed poisons and immediately felt his wounded muscles knit and light chips on his bones heal over.

Unfortunately, doing so gave the dryad the opening she needed to fully escape his pursuit. As closing the gap would prove difficult, Sorin switched to poisonous spears and waves of needles instead of melee combat.

It's already been several minutes, and I still don't have concrete data. I'll need to test the effectiveness of Spear in a Haystack in its many forms and tailor it once I ascertain its spell resistances.

Sorin sent multiple waves of poisonous needles to the dryad. The first wave was a weaker attack using hundreds of weaker needles. Each progressive wave incorporated fewer and more powerful needles until, finally, he discovered that twelve six-foot-long projectiles were optimal.

The battle turned to one of attrition, with Sorin taking one wound for every three wounds he inflicted. Unfortunately, each wound he suffered caused significant amounts of damage while his own attacks barely affected the dryad, forcing him to chug yet another poisonous cocktail that pushed the limits of Toxic Metabolism.

The dryad, noticing its approach was taking too much time, changed up its tactics. Its body split up into three identical clones, each with its own spear. The three-pronged attack took Sorin by surprise, but thanks to a quick intervention by Lorimer, he was able to pull back safely.

Each time I poison her, she simply sloughs off layers of sawdust, preventing her from taking any real damage. This approach allows her to cope with my poisons despite her terrible resistance. But what if I made use of that strange anatomy to propagate the poison? Suppose I tweak my hemotoxins and neurotoxins to adapt to her strange morphology? In that case, I should be able to get my poisons to take root. Wait, take root? A plan slowly began forming in Sorin's mind.

Though still surrounded by the dryads, Sorin used Cobra's Glare to temporarily stun the three creatures. Lorimer took advantage of their weakened state and pounced on one of them while Sorin used his Wraith Hare Boots to teleport a short distance away. At such close range, Sorin immediately attracted a wave of oakwood spears—but not before he sent out a circular spray of oversized needles at one of the three clones, each one formed from the variant poison he'd just formulated.

Sorin took a spear to the shoulder, the chest, and the torso, but he grinned as he felt a small trickle of life force beginsbegin to flow in his body. He chugged yet another mouthful of poison cocktail despite the diminishing returns and attacked one of the dryad's clones as it tried to figure out how to rid itself of the rapidly propagating poison.

Veridian Spell Blade and Spear in a Haystack have been successfully tailored. Enhancing with blood and calculating optimal delivery locations.

Poison has successfully penetrated three layers deep.

The opponent's anatomy has now been fully analyzed and is ready for model application.

The dryad's anatomy was especially interesting for Sorin, and he couldn't help but pause mid-combat to admire the structure. Everything, including the dryad's 'heart,' was made from wood. Her blood vessels were formed from flexible capillaries, while her skin was made from velvet-soft bark.

Even the dryad's bones were made of wood, though they defied common sense and weren't solid pieces of wood as he'd originally inspected. Instead, they were hard but brittle agglomerations of sawdust that were imprinted with runes via resonance with her core.

I can't take much more than this, thought Sorin as he took another hit and was forced on the defensive.; Though Lorimer was taking a lot of heat and was quite durable, this wasn't a sustainable strategy, as the rat was still a two-star demon. The only way Sorin was going to pull out of this was with everything he had—corruption included.

Madness. Violence. Are you seriously going to sit around while I get killed?

It was the first time in Sorin's memory that he'd actively asked either force for help. This was partially due to his fear of these forces and partially due to his fear of exposure. But here, alone and unsupervised, he could finally let loose. The threat to his life also provided an outlet for the corruption, thereby limiting their impact on his non-combat capabilities.

Mad ravings entered his ears as Madness accepted Sorin's invitation. Strength flooded through his blood and his muscles, pushing Sorin's body past its normal limits as Violence assumed responsibility for his survival.

Sorin's fighting technique became more instinctual. At the same time, signs of variance emerged. Signs of breaking from the mold. Violence allowed this intrusion by Madness because, as far as it was concerned, Sorin was bound to lose this match if things continued in this fashion.

He needed to change. He needed to evolve.