NOVEL NEXT Book 1 – Chapter 19: “The Value of Time”
Jonah faced the approaching Titanspawn, his knuckles flushing white as he willed his shaking hand still. The memory of that place was still fuzzy, like a distant memory that he couldn't quite place. But he didn't need his Menus to tell him that something had changed.
He could feel it. In ways he felt would take a lifetime to explain with words alone, he felt that the "Him" that he was now, wasn't the same as he'd been just a moment ago. It was both terrifying and exhilarating.
But more than anything, it brought hope.
Not just the hope of escaping the current situation, but hope for the future, and what lay beyond this present moment. Something told him that the things he had seen went far beyond what most others would get the chance to see. Maybe even beyond this sick game they had all be forced into.
Whatever it was, whatever it meant, all Jonah knew was that he could see the end. He could finally see, where he needed to go, what he needed to do. And it all started with putting a certain Titan in its place.
Jonah was tired of running. Tired of always being the underdog. It was time he got to bloody someone else's nose for a chance.
And when a Titan bled, it was a deluge.
One step at a time, however. With that in mind, Jonah made a break for the nearby flesh ledge where his Hut had been. Even after deconstruction, the alcove and (relatively) dry areas he'd carved into the fleshy walls and used as his workshop had remained. It wasn't perfect, but the high ledge and small area would limit how many of the Titanspawn could engage him at once.
There was always the risk of being boxed in, but it was better than being surrounded. The Titanspawn were lower level than the first waves, varying between levels 9 and 13 (most likely due to the Titan's impatience, but their numbers more than made up for their lower level.
If he wanted to win this, his only option was a battle of attrition; and with his combination of [Arcanic Regeneration] and [Brea--, no, it was [Breath of the Ancients] now, He was confident that He'd not fall short of the mark.
At the very least he would prove to be not worth the effort to remove.
As the Titanspawn drew closer, Jonah readied [Leviathan's Reach] and loaded a shot. They didn't have much time to make many shots, so he had to make each one count. Aiming at one of the squisher looking abominations moving towards him, Jonah pulled the drawback as far as he could and released.
The small round whistled through the air and struck the charging creature on the left side of its scaly head, cutting through bone and flesh before exiting out of its jaw and slamming into its sinewy shoulder. The creature tripped and stumbled, flipping forward as the top half of its right shoulder was shaved off.
It fell into one of the bubbling pools of acid and trashed wildly before growing still.
| "Flawed Titanspawn" lvl 9 slain. |
Jonah barely had time to acknowledge the notification before the next target entered his range. Like the last, the abomination didn't even bother to try and dodge, simply taking the shot to the chest and continuing its charge before the second shot put it down.
| "Flawed Titanspawn" lvl 12 slain. |
Despite Jonah's skill and aim increasing by leaps and bounds, however, he stil coudndn't keep up with sheer numers. By the time he ran out of ammo, the swarm of Titanspawn had grown to conciderable proportions. Undetered, Jonah removed a small shortsword and shield, forged from Wormplate and his old Sickle, from the red sack he'd kept clipped to his belt.
It was a generic, poorly made prototype that Reggy had thrown away when first learning to work with the Worm matierals. The System didn't even recognize the equipment as proper "items" and he was no where near as proficant at using them as he was his Slingshot, but it was better than trying to fight bare handed.
A quick slash easily decapitated the first Titanspawn to make it over the ledge. "Real" item or not, that didn't stop the short blade from being wickedly sharp.
The next few moments were spent in a flurry of motion as sword and claws clashed, as flesh and blood (both human and abomination) was torn annd spilled.
Jonah soon fell into a bloodlust fueled trance. His voice grew raw and horse as he met the constant roaring of the Titanspawn with his own wordless cry. Words were for the living.
Each moment dragged onto the next, only punctuated by the arrival of the next Titanspawn as it crawled over the ever growing pile of mutilated breathern in its mindless bid at reaching Jonah. Jonah for his part, was slowly being forced deeper and deeper into the alcove, as the Titanspawn's numbers grew and they pushed forward like a unstoppable tide.
When the battle fog lifted, Jonah found himself with his back towards the far wall of his alcove workshop. The Titanspawn had packed the room with their writhing forms, slowly closing in around him, as if savoring the moment the little rabbit had finally been cornered.
The echoy voice of the Titan spoke,
[Níðhöggr]: "This... Is ... the End... Parasite. I am... Inevitable..."
Instead of fear or anger, however, Jonah felt a grin split his face from ear to ear.
[Jonah]: "You know, things didn't end to well for the last guy who said that, either."
[Níðhöggr]: "And how... do you plan... to stop me?"
[Jonah]: "I'm sure there's some Metaphor about putting all of your killer lizard dog into one room, but I've always been more of a 'show, not tell', kind of guy.
With those words, Jonah dropped his weapon and began drawing in a massive breath. Mana began pouring into his lungs like a torrent, with enough force that tiny specks of Manalight began to flicker along its path, growing with intensity with each passing second.
Jonah turned his focus inward, drawing on the new source of power he felt pulsing in his very soul. It was the very core of Life and Creation as well as the source of Death and Destruction. It was the Beginning and End of all things.
It was whatever he Willed it to be.
And so that's what he did. He willed it into the first thing that popped into his mind that might be able to help him out of this situation.
The Titan's instincts screamed as even its own mana began to be drawn in by the pull of Jonah's lungs, and ordered its hoard to move in for the kill. But it was too late.
Without any flair, Jonah breathed out, and death followed.
A wave of superheated air rushed out of his lungs and slammed into the Titanspawns nearest him. The lead abominations howled in agony as their flesh began to melt and their very blood boiled in their veins as the superheated air rushed past and through them.
The already oven-like stomach soon felt more like a furnace, as the wave past through the swarm and slowly expanded.
The pools of acid began to boil violently, releasing acidic clouds that enveloped those lucky enough to escape the full brunt of Jonah's skill, sowing chaos as the Titan's grip on the hoard slowly slipped.
The Titan for its part, roared both in anger and pain as the superheated gases wreaked havoc on its insides.
Despite the kill counts continuing to roll in, however, Jonah couldn't help but frown. There was no denying that it had worked, but it wasn't quite what he had been aiming for. It seemed his new skill still needed some practice to use well.
The Titan once more roared in Jonah's mind, though the confidence it presented has notably reduced.
[Níðhöggr]: "You.. must Die!"
Jonah didn't bother responding this time, instead filling his lungs once more to the brim. This time he slightly changed the way he did things. He didn't so much focus on the "idea" of fire or heat, but rather his understanding of it. Of how heat moved. Of how fire burned and how it spread. How it consumed.
By the time he finished, the Titan had wrangled control of its spawn once more and pushed them forward to attack once more.
When Jonah breathed out a second time, it was no longer just a wave of superheated gas. It was a roaring inferno. The white-hot flames swept outwards, turning the leading Titanspawn to ash, and the ones behind them into glowing charcoal. The flames spread outward, quickly enveloping the swarm in fiery death.
Where the first breath had left the creatures in chaos and agony, the second one had left behind only charred and silent husks.
The Titan didn't escape the flames either. As soon as the white-hot fire slammed into the fleshy walls, the Titan screamed. The walls where the flames were the most concentrated began to blacken and crack, as oozing, boiling blood flowed out. Boiling acid and charred Titanspawn was thrown into the air in a chaotic dance as the Titan thrashed, and Jonah clung to the alcove wall.
When the Titan finally settled, Jonah slowly made his way out of the alcove, wincing as his own badly burned and blistered skin began to regenerate. His new armor, while not ruined had been badly burned and cracked from the extreme heat. He didn't know how long or even how to unlock its repair function, but it wouldn't do much good for him in its current state.
He could only shake his head in disappointment, before a notification caught his attention.
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Subskill Unlocked! You have learned the Subskill [Memory of Heat] Congradulations! [Memory of Heat] has been upgraded to [Memory of Flames] |
| [Memory of Heat] | Subskill (Breath of the Ancients) |
"When I grow up, I want to be a Dragon!" - Little Billy Energy is the Lifeblood of the Universe, and its simplest form is what the simple-minded call "Heat". But don't let its basic nature fool you. In the right hands, Heat alone is enough to give Life to a barren rock or render it a Hellscape. Respect the simple, for they are the foundation that all things are built upon. |
| [Memory of Flames] | Subskill (Breath of the Ancients) |
"There's nothing in this World that can't Burn... if you know how" - Not-so-little Billy. Flames. They are a source of Life, and also Death. Creation and Destruction. They are the engine of progress and the Fate of all those who fail to continue on. Careful you don't get burned. |
Waving the notifications away, Jonah was disappointed to see that despite the seeming chaos he'd wrought, Níðhöggr was far from out of commission. Its movement was slow, but he could tell the creature was still very much awake. For a being as large and powerful as the Níðhöggr, Jonah's attack had amounted to not much more than a superficial burn; painful, yes, but not debilitating.
No wasting the moment it had bought him however, Johan began drawing in mana for a third and final time, this time pushing his overmana as far as it could, amazing even himself at the sheer power that coursed through his veins as more and more mana flowed into him.
This time, he tried to focus on feeling he'd had every time he'd put the Titan to sleep before. That strange "not-mana" that was the result of [Breathless]'s "exhalations". It wasn't something he could really put into words, but instinctively understand with his body, having been so intimate with it for so long.
As he focused harder, another notification popped into his view.
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Subskill Unlocked! You have learned the Subskill [Emptiness] |
| Emptiness | Subskill (Breath of the Ancients) |
"I think! Therefore, I am!. But what would something that 'Isn't' think about? OHH! LETS FIND OUT!" - Markus the Mad What does it mean to be empty? Is it simply the absence of something? Do we, by giving it meaning, take away that aspect of itself that makes it truly "empty"? |
As he neared his limit, a quiet voice echoed in his mind.
[Níðhöggr]: "Please... I don't want... to sleep again..."
The Titan's voice was soft and frightened, no longer filled with the power and confidence it once had. Instead, it almost reminded Jonah of a young child's. Like one begging not to be beaten by a cruel Father.
For a moment, Jonah's resolve faltered. Was this really the right thing to do? Did he really have to go this far? The Titan was obviously Sapient. It was a thinking creature, just like any other.
But as his mind swirled in chaos and indecision, he started to remember. Of the stories, Reggy and Gwen had told him. Of the death and destruction that had been caused. Of the more to come. And most of all, the very vivid sensation and terror of being slowly swallowed whole without a say in the matter.
Jonah could feel something building up in his heart, something he'd been pushing down for months now, but could no longer.
In a wild scream, Jonah exhaled, releasing his skill and words in the same breath.
[Jonah]: SCREW YOU!
~~ Three Months later ~~
(Author note: Hohohohoh)
Jonah crouched in front of the small worm leg cage and poked the writing, twisted mass of flesh with a piece of rebar. It twitched, swinging its malformed limbs in an attempt to strike him.
'Tsk, another failure.'
Jonah let out a sigh and stood up. Not that he was expecting much else. Only three spawn points had survived his attempt to put the Titan back to sleep, and those that had seemed... damaged in some way. Without the Titan to control them, the rate of spawning had drastically decreased, amounting to no more than once or twice per day. And those creatures that DID spawn were often malformed (more so than expected) and extremely weak, with even the strongest not breaking level 3.
As soon as he'd recovered enough, Jonah had built cages around the spawn points, ensuring whatever did spawn didn't eat his leg while he slept, or something. In their weakened state, the Titanspawn had no chance of breaking free from even his shoddy cage crafted from lvl 42 monster parts.
Still, he didn't want to take any chances with these things. Jonah took out [Leviathan's Reach] and loaded a half fist sized Worm plate ball into its ammo sleeve.
Usually, rounds like this would be too heavy and create to much drag to be used with a slingshot. But with his new toy? Well...
Jonah pulled the draw back and released it. There was a sharp whistle as the round cut through the air, and the writhing mass of flesh became a large smear across the cage wall.
| "Failed Titanspawn lvl 1" slain. No experience gain. |
He gave another sigh and collected the round before moving towards the next cage. The following cell contained one of the large dog-lizard things that had spawned during their escape attempt. Its scales were grey and cracked, while its body leaked blood and pus, but it was still in much better shape than most of the things that came out of the spawn points.
More aggressive too. It mindlessly attacked its cage walls, heedless to the damage it was causing to its already weakened body. Jonah's brow furrowed at the thought of what came next, but he steeled his nerves and focused his [Mana Sight] on the revolting creature.
As the mana of its being came into focus, Jonah spotted it; a tiny, pulsing point of light in the middle of its head. He didn't know what this thing was, exactly, but only the more... complete, Titanspawns even had one. Was it a 'Core' like in the Novels? Maybe their soul (if these things even had souls)? Or perhaps just a representation of the Mind?
Whatever they were, Jonah hated the next part.
Focusing on that tiny point of light, Jonah's mana flared outward, as thin tendrils of invisible power pushed towards the creature. Like worms digging into dead flesh, the tendrils of mana wormed their way into the Titanspawn's head and attacked the pinpoint of light.
Slowly, Jonah dug deeper into it, as waves of something less than emotion washed over him. Rage, hatred, confusion, madness, and pain. Always the pain. A constant and unending pain caused by the very act of existing.
He almost felt sorry for these things if he was honest. They didn't ask to be born what they were. But in the end, it didn't change anything other than making his hatred for the Titan (and this sick "Game") grow that much stronger.
As the tendrils of mana wormed their way deeper into the point of light, Jonah's heart began to beat faster. The waves of "not quite emotions" increased, as he felt some connection grow stronger. He'd never gotten this far, even after dozens of attempts.
As if to mock the thought, however, the next moment, Jonah felt something snap. Dozens of cracks began to spiderweb across the pinpoint of light, and then with a flair of mana, it popped.
In the same instant, the Titanspawn's head popped like a balloon, splattering Jonah with blood, and it fell to the floor of the cage, deader than dead.
|
"Malformed Titanspawn lvl 3" slain. |
Jonah grumbled in frustration and wiped the foul blood from his face.
He almost had it that time. Just a little more. He was so close he could almost taste it (or maybe that was the Titanspawn blood, he couldn't tell).
Just a little more and he could put his plan into action.
Of course, he hadn't spent the last three months just exploding pitiable bags of half-life. Whether it be Class or Skill levels, Jonah had begun to make steady progress compared to the months of stagnation he was use to. Pulling up his status screen, Jonah made a mental note of his gains.
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Name: Jonah Hilannd |
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| ~ Traits ~ | ~ Titles ~ | ||||||
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| ~ Class Skills ~ |
~ Basic Skill ~ | ~ Crafting Skills ~ | ~ Special Skills ~ |
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[Mana Sight]- lvl 14 |
[Acid Resistance]- lvl 4 |
[Macgyver (apprentice)]- lvl 35 |
[Breath of the Ancients]- lvl 3
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After learning about the Settings Menu, Jonah had spent three days fiddling with it until he was finally satisfied with the Layout. It wasn't perfect, but it was leagues better than the random jumble of menus and pop-ups he'd had to deal with before.
[Macgyver] had slowed down greatly since hitting Apprentice, only gaining 3 levels from reconstructing his weapons and Camp, and another 2 from building the cages and other miscellaneous projects. He wasn't sure if the rank up had anything to do with the decrease in speed, or he'd simply outgrown his current materials.
The biggest surprise had been [Minor Acid Resistance], which on hitting level 30 had transformed, rather than ranking up as [Macgyver] had. It seemed that skills could take several different paths. He would take the time to explore that later.
There was still so much he didn't know and didn't understand, both about the System and the things inside him and not enough time in the day to focus on them all.
Thankfully he had at least a temporary fix to that. [Milky Way Index] was one of his new skills, purchased with a lucky skill token drop from his last fight with the Titan. Only two E-rank tokens had dropped out of hundreds of Titan Spawns, so he doubted they were a reliable source of them. But for someone in his situation, they were a Godsend, and he used them to solve his two biggest issues at the moment.
| Milky Way Index | E-rank (upgradeable) |
"An investment in Knowledge pays the best Interest" Basic Index for the Milky Way Galaxy. Examine an item in detail to learn more about it and its history or uses. This skill can be merged with other Indexes for expanded functions and resources. Allows the user to record and upload new discoveries and information for approprate, System approved rewards. |
| Cultivate |Exotic| | E-rank (upgradeable) |
"To plant a Garden, is to believe in tomorrow" - Audrey Hepburn This skill grants a basic understanding of common gardening and Cultivation techniques for more exotic and unusual specimens. Allows the user to plant and cultivate plants in more unusual and unorthodox habitats. [WARNING: The Laniakea Botany Alliance is not responsible for any poisonings, mutations, dismemberment, assimilation, Sentience, world conquest or otherwise unfavorable results caused by the irresponsible cultivation of plant life in non-native environments.] |
The first skill was simple enough. It acting like an Encyclopedia for anything he needed to know and extended far beyond simply "tell me what this is" kind of thing. He'd only begun to scratch what it could do. He didn't quite understand why it was only E-rank, but it might have something to do with its (comparatively) short range. If Laniakea had over 100,000 Galaxies, each with their own Indexes, he could understand why something like this might not be seen as very impressive. Hopefully it would go a long way in filling in the gaps of information that was holding him back at the moment.
[Cultivate |Exotic|] on the other hand, solved a much more serious and immediate problem. If he was going to be stuck in this place for much longer, he needed another source of food other than just Titan flesh. He could already start to feel the effects of his poor diet on his body, and it seemed the System agreed, given is status.
With that thought in mind, he turned his focus to his next task of the day.
Jonah couldn't help but whistle a small toon as he approached a massive chunk of charred, ruined Titanflesh. In the middle of the massive slab, a dozen small saplings sprouted upwards, their immature, fresh leaves an eerie blood red
