Chapter 285
C.H.A.D.D. sent out a flash of warning, and Kyle immediately fell flat on his stomach. The hodag’s tail extended as it spun in a circle, a peal of thunder cracking the air as the whip-like appendage whirled. Kyle closed in on the creature as it finished its rotation, tendrils of Parasitic Resonance already extending toward the hodag. Before he could fully reconnect, however, the beast lowered its horns and charged once more at Arhades.
The velgian dashed forward to meet it, vanishing in a flicker of light as he drew his blade. Another deep cut appeared on the creature’s forehead, just above its left eye. Kyle’s eyes widened in realization, too late to stop what was coming. The moment Arhades reappeared, the hodag’s tail whipped forward and caught him square in the chest. Sparks of energy flew out of his armor as Arhades was knocked farther into the forest, leaving Kyle alone with the hodag.
[HIS ARMOR REDIRECTED MOST OF THE FORCE, DR. MAYHEW.] C.H.A.D.D. offered, only a vague hint of concern leaking through Pack Leader’s Instinct. Of course, Kyle was far more worried about himself, as the creature turned to slash at him with one of its large, clawed paws. Even though the hodag was far simpler than the shrike Matriarch, it was still a C Grade, and its ability to shift tactics in the fight couldn’t be underestimated.
It seemed to realize that the fast, unpredictable movements with its tail were its best method to damage its nimble opponents, and it leaned more and more heavily on the appendage as they fought. Of course, a few more big hits from the tail, and neither he nor Arhades would be in much condition to try and evade the claws, fangs, or horns, either. So, Kyle would just have to do something about the tail. While slicing it off would be ideal, Kyle had to settle for simply disabling it.
“C.H.A.D.D., show me the tail’s weak point!” Kyle called out, connecting with Parasitic Resonance as he narrowly dodged a downward slam from one of its paws.
[HERE, DR. MAYHEW,] C.H.A.D.D. replied, as a quick projection of the hodag appeared, followed by a cross-section scan of its tail. A bundle of nerves was present at the base, which passed information along to the extremely flexible ligaments along the rest of the tail. C.H.A.D.D. lit up the corresponding spot on the hodag’s tail for a moment, and Kyle began focusing his tendrils into that area, building up for a larger attack.
If we can neutralize the tail, we win. Just as he’d done with the abominations, Kyle poured his own mana into the area, overwhelming the hodag’s mana network by virtue of the sheer disparity in Willpower. The C Grade roared in pain as Kyle twisted, but its resilience was not to be underestimated. The hodag spun, its tail coming straight for Kyle’s head.
The world around him seemed to slow down, as, in a moment of perfect clarity, Kyle instinctively activated Repel, and Heart of Creation roared to life as a silvery-white burst of power erupted from his body. It met the tail in midair, then overpowered it. At the same moment, Parasitic Resonance clamped down on the mana network at the base of the hodag’s spine.
A surge of mana flowed back into him as the C Grade staggered back, its tail falling limply behind it as it regained its footing. The Core of the Parasitic Devourer eagerly absorbed mana as Kyle stood, panting. Somehow, he’d managed to tap into the same power from his Heart of Creation, though he still had no idea how he’d done it. And why didn’t I just activate Storm Shelter? Against the tail, his skill would have almost certainly held up. And yet, in the moment, it had felt like the wrong thing to do.
A flash of warning from C.H.A.D.D. brought Kyle back to himself, and he narrowly missed being smashed into the ground by another downward paw strike. Now, with the tail dangling uselessly behind it, the hodag pursued even more viciously. Bites, claw attacks, and charges with its horns were chained one after another, the pressure only easing as Arhades got back into the fray, cutting deep furrows across the creature’s hide.
After pushing a quick Healing Impetus into an injured Arhades, Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. transitioned to full support. Keeping just within range of Parasitic Resonance, they scanned for movements of mana that indicated a skill was forming, and shut those down before they had a chance to fully form.
The only thing they weren’t fast enough to stop were the occasional burst of needle-like hairs, but the damage was negligible, particularly with timely applications of Healing Impetus. Without the tail attacks to take them by surprise, Arhades and Kyle slowly gained ground as they waged battle throughout the ruined woodlands.
Everywhere they went, the hodag’s attacks left a trail of splintered trees and torn-up ground. Kyle was thankful that there were no other major predators in the area, because the woods were destroyed for kilometers all around. Had there been other C Grade hodags nearby, or even other powerful D Grade creatures, Kyle and Arhades would have been forced to retreat.
As it was, Arhades handled the brunt of the pressure, evading each of the hodag’s attacks with precision, while forcing the beast to react with powerful strikes if it turned its attention to Kyle. Nearly an hour after they first engaged the creature, it let out a final roar of defiance as Arhades once again released a dozen beams of light, slamming the hodag into the ground where it breathed its last.
“That was a hell of a fight,” Kyle said, panting heavily between his words as he deactivated Ignition.
“The monster was far more powerful than I expected,” Arhades agreed, staggering in place as his own boosting skill was similarly turned off. “I greatly underestimated its offensive abilities. Without your interference, I’m afraid I would have been forced to retreat.”
“And without you to actually kill the thing, I would have been in the same position,” Kyle replied. “I think it’s safe to say that neither of us are quite ready to face one of these on our own.”
“Not yet, at least,” Arhades replied. “Fortunately, as we grow in power, that will change. I trust that you found this hunt beneficial?”
Kyle smiled at the velgian, having already felt the familiar surge of power that came with new levels. “Most definitely.”
“In that case, shall we return to one of the settlements to rest and meditate?” Arhades asked.
Kyle looked at his own bruises, and then at Arhades’. Rather than pointing out the obvious answer to the question, he simply nodded. “Let’s. I’m exhausted.”
They discussed the fight as they traveled toward the nearest settlement on the map. If the other hodags were similar to this one, they both realized that they’d need to neutralize the tail attacks quickly; something easier said than done. Both of them lacked the kind of finishing move they’d need to break through the hodag’s toughness in one blow. While Parasitic Resonance could theoretically accomplish it, if given enough time to ramp, this first fight proved that taking too long could be disastrous.
The other issue they discussed was the bellow attack. It wasn’t something Arhades could defend on his own. Even with his exceptionally crafted armor and defensive techniques, the remnant power after both Storm Shelter and C.H.A.D.D.’s intervention was enough to nearly take him out of commission.
That meant that, for their next target, they would need to stay closer together to give Arhades an easy method to get behind Storm Shelter. Something that would prove dangerous when the tail was able to directly threaten them both with smaller movements. If I can reliably use the Heart of Creation with Repel again, I might be able to protect us that way, Kyle thought, letting his mind drift.
He was both frustrated and elated about his newest Adaptive Anatomy upgrade. Its power was incredible, but he had no reliable way to apply the concepts at play, or force an activation. Until he did, Heart of Creation was as much a liability as an asset. Both times he’d used it, the skill that was enhanced became unavailable for quite a while. What if it activated with Ignition, leaving him unable to maintain or reactivate his boosting skill after a short time? Could it even be used with a skill like that?
These questions and more ran through Kyle’s head, until they finally arrived at the settlement. Like the one with the teleporter, this one was abandoned. They followed Cletus’ instructions, accessing the crew quarters where they ate some rations, then went to their respective rooms to meditate and reflect on the battle. Settling the anticipation of the next fight, Kyle calmed his mind as he entered his Center.
KYLE MAYHEW. ARTHRO-HUMAN CHIMERA (PARASITE), SURVIVALIST. LEVEL 96 (D)
CORE OF THE PARASITIC DEVOURER 76%
ADAPTIVE ANATOMY – 12/? – ENHANCED CARAPACE (FERRIC AUGMENTATION), AURIC PERCEPTION (SYNAPTIC BARBS), EXOSKELETAL STRENGTH, CEASELESS VITALITY (TENACIOUS VIGOR), INSTINCTIVE INTELLIGENCE (PACK LEADER’S INSTINCT), COVERT DEXTERITY, UNBREAKABLE WILL (HEART OF CREATION)
VITALITY: 1272
ENDURANCE: 1564
STRENGTH: 508
DEXTERITY: 1054
WILLPOWER: 1852
INTELLIGENCE: 1852
PERCEPTION: 1331
FREE ATTRIBUTES: 72
He allocated his free attributes to Willpower, Intelligence, and Endurance, marveling at the quick pace of his progression. Even though he fought alongside Arhades, he’d gained four whole levels from the battle. With the number of C Grades left on the dossier, there was a strong chance that he’d be able to reach Level 105 for his final D Grade skill, if not a little beyond.
He was also closing in on a more personal milestone, bringing both his Willpower and Intelligence above 2000. While there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the number, so far he’d focused on ensuring both of these attributes grew in tandem with one another. The balance served him well so far, but he felt like after that threshold, he would need to specialize even further.
Intentionally or not, Parasitic Resonance had become one of his staple skills for both offense and support. It was a cornerstone ability for his personal crafting and accessing the World Tree Seed’s power, and it was largely what allowed him to fight outside his weight class. Willpower was the most important attribute in getting the most out of the skill, and moving into C Grade, he wanted that to be one of his key focuses.
That was only more true now that he’d unlocked the Heart of Creation. Despite the upgrade’s mysteries, the biggest hint that Kyle had was that it was tied to his Willpower attribute. With that being the case, it only made sense that it would be influenced by the attribute’s level of power. Between field testing and gaining levels, Kyle hoped that he’d be able to gain a better understanding of how it worked.
Lastly, Kyle was pleased to see the significant jump in his Core of the Parasitic Devourer. While the usual hunger pang was suspiciously absent, the core had drained quite a bit of mana from the hodag during their fight. He still expected to see an Adaptive Anatomy upgrade, but even if he didn’t, the qualitative benefits from the core feasting on high-quality mana like that would surely be helpful.
He spent another few minutes in meditation, focusing on the gentle impressions of hunger from the Core of the Parasitic Devourer. What happens when I get you to 100%? Kyle wondered. Realizing none of his mysteries would be solved, he reluctantly opened his eyes.
“C.H.A.D.D., how long do we have before it’s time to set out in the morning?”
[APPROXIMATELY NINE HOURS, DR. MAYHEW.]
“Thank you, C.H.A.D.D. If you don’t mind, let’s pull up the fight. I want to see where I have opportunities to improve.”
[CERTAINLY, DR. MAYHEW. FOR A FIGHT AGAINST A C GRADE, KNOW THAT I FOUND YOUR PERFORMANCE TO BE ADMIRABLE.]
“Thanks, buddy. In any event, let’s try to make sure the next fight is cleaner. Without you, I would have been in a world of hurt.” Kyle suppressed a smile as he felt a swell of pride through Pack Leader’s Instinct.
[A WISE DECISION, DR. MAYHEW. LET US BEGIN.]