The Apprentice of Ouroboros [Monster Evo LitRPG Adventure]

“I can't tell what's more disturbing: people with certain…inclinations, or that we are standing over a humanoid corpse,” Neska said, reaching for the bow slung over her back, if only to assure herself it was there. “Professor, I don't think this is recent. There's not a shred of organic material, and the bones have no smell. Thoughts?”

He knelt, making a small circle with his hand over his chest, and bowing his head. “No academy uniform, either. The bones are small and have no smell. Female, possibly early or mid-teens, based on the size and widened pelvis. And...a human, too.”

"How can you tell?" Brent asked.

"Proportions. elves have very thin bones, dwarves are typically shorter, and have thicker bones."

Neska slithered around a group of large boulders and found frayed, stained fabric. “Clothing scraps,” Neska pointed out, strewn about, then showed one piece to the professor. She fingered the material, faded and covered in old, dried blood. “Low quality. Almost like farmer clothing. It matches the style I've seen people wearing in the harvest fields of the valley. This poor child.”

Brent knelt and pointed at several clean-cut marks on the bones. “Large gouges on her ribs, and several are crushed,” he murmured. He picked up a rusty dagger, coated in a brown, grimy substance. He took a sniff and frowned. “She put up a good fight. For what it's worth. These bloodstains are old, too; not much odor, but definitely not humanoid. Must have been a while ago.”

“And more reason to get rid of these damn birds. Except…” Kalloway frowned. “A normal Roc isn't big enough to cause this level of trauma. Rarer specimens exist, or maybe subterranean monsters, but…”

“Guys. I've got something. I can see a faint thermal trace in that tunnel.” She called out the faint heat signature just ahead of them. It was barely visible, likely made a while ago, but still perceptible. “Brent, anything audible?”

“No. But with caves like this, sound can either carry for miles, or you could be deaf to what’s just around the corner. A faint breeze is blowing from deeper within, too.” He reached for his short blade, tapping the hilt. “Let’s keep going. Nothing we can do here for this person.”

Neska lowered her body, fingers tracing the forehead of the skull. She traced her hand down, then up, then made a small figure-eight, laid out horizontally. “May this child return through the waters of the umbral shoal, to begin anew,” she whispered.

The words, the motions…she’d said and done them before. More than once. She didn’t know how or when. Kalloway nodded softly, looking somber. “When we’re done, we should bring in a team to exhume her body. She deserves a burial. Not to rot in a monster’s den,” she added.

“Agreed. Come on, let’s finish this,” Kalloway affirmed before they continued.

They didn’t have to travel far. Brent put up a hand of warning, and Neska slunk low, as did Kalloway. The wolfling motioned them forward and pointed toward the far end of a large, oblong cavern. Water dripped from above, collecting in a small pool by one corner.

In the back of the cavern was a mound of bones, sticks, and even rocks, forming a rough bowl shape. Inside were several elliptical-shaped items that gave off immense heat that Neska’s thermal sense could pick up.

Roc eggs. Sitting unguarded.

“Three eggs. We only need one.” She rested her hand on his shoulder and peered around. “But abandoned. Something’s not right.”

“I agree. Why’s the nest empty?” he whispered. “Rocs are smart. They wouldn’t abandon their young like this or leave them unguarded. Go slow.”

They all advanced cautiously, Brent’s blade now in hand, and he lowered his stance to present a lower target. Kalloway produced a staff that extended with a sharp, metallic click. The staff stood almost six feet tall, with a small green crystal wrapped with silver banding like a birdcage, almost. “Don’t like it, either. Rocs are fierce predators.”

“Then where’s the Roc?” Neska whispered. “I thought they were mostly daytime hunters.”

Brent's fur bristling and his ears pricking up were her sign that all was not well, and she peered around, looking for a source of danger.

A chill ran down her spine. A dreaded thought entered her mind, just as she heard the sound of something crunching off in the distance, echoing from a nearby tunnel.

The Roc may have never left. Or worse, was unable to.

Neska heard a low crunching sound nearby, then a clicking of metal across stone. Another massive footstep, and raspy, hissing breath, echoing from a side passage forming a large, oblong arch. When she saw the source, she pulled an incendiary arrow and drew it back on the bow. Kalloway’s breath came in shallow, and he made a small prayer to Gaia, the Divine dragon.

The monster currently munching on the corpse of a large, feathery bird with blue and black feathers was indifferent to the prayer. The creature bore four lizard-like legs and two arm-like appendages, tipped with razor-sharp claws. Its body was like a crocodile, ending with a dragon-like head, its mouth filled with serrated teeth. It snapped at the air, the teeth making an unsettling crunching as it crushed the bones in its mouth. Venomous green reptilian eyes bore down on them, a wicked intelligence as it looked at each of them in turn. Almost contemplating who to attack first.

It tossed aside the corpse and let out a menacing growl.

“Lovely. I didn't plan for a drakelisk,” Neska muttered, drawing her bow. “Don't get bit, or you’ll have thirty seconds before your body calcifies and you become an oversized garden statue.”

Brent drew his fingers over the blade and struck it with a sudden rap. The blade began humming at a high pitch as though he'd transformed it into a tuning fork. “You'll forgive me if I have to stab a kindred reptile to get out of here.”

“Fall back, you two!” Kalloway barked, stepping to the front as Neska and Brent spread to the sides while the creature advanced.

“Professor, it'll take all three of us to take it down! Keep up the magical protections on us, and target the neck and the joints in the limbs! The armor scales are thinner there!”

She tapped her lapel quickly. “Juni, we have a dracolisk down here. I need you to bring down the house! Wait for my signal!”

“Good gods, don’t get turned into stone! I’m on my way!”

She launched her incendiary arrow, lighting the room with glowing orange flames as it impacted the creature's chest. The arrow barely penetrated, but that wasn't the goal.

What she really wanted was the venom to trigger, currently imbued with alchemical fire. The impact set off the volatile compound with a flare of red light; a split-second later, the arrowhead detonated in a bright orange blast, sending burning debris flying.

On second thought, given a fragment of arrow shaft bounced off her scales and left an instant bruise, maybe it was a little too effective.

The creature recoiled from the impact, shrieking and clutching at the injury, patting out the flames. Within a few seconds, the flames had died out. Neska fired another, while Brent closed and Kalloway circled to the sides, staff in hand and crackling with energy.

With stunning speed, the creature blocked the arrow with its arm, and the impact resulted in another fiery detonation. It recovered faster this time and pounced toward Brent.

A third shot of the dangerous arrows was risky; Brent and Kalloway were far too close and could be hit by shrapnel from the detonation. She switched to her foam arrows, aiming at the legs while it leaped and slashed at Brent. The wolfling danced and bobbed out of its reach, then lunged when he had an opening, drawing a small wound on the creature’s foreleg.

The creature swerved, raking at Brent with deadly sharp claws. He sidestepped, and his body was sheathed in silvery light before he blasted laterally to avoid the follow-through attack. The deadly claws missed, and he came out of a tumble upright, slicing at hamstrings. The creature's movements were now slow enough for Neska to take a shot at the leg, the arrow impacting and spreading the rapidly hardening foam.

The drakelisk shook at its leg, clawing at the foam and ripping through it. It highlighted a slight issue with the foam: it took a few seconds to solidify and was still somewhat soft during that time.

The creature bulldozed past Kalloway, currently shooting overcharged [Mana Bolts] from the crystal on his staff. He caught a glancing blow and was sent spinning to the ground, a magical barrier flashing a deep red from the impact.

She fired one more arrow, this one specially prepared for a rather unusual application. Juni had called her crazy. She previously responded that untested methods were opportunities for discovery and innovation. It struck the creature in the thigh, but it kept charging.

She slung her bow and extended her hand, reaching out with her [Rooting Hex], feeling out to any vegetation in the area, as the creature reared back and spat a stream of spit.

Rude. The only one allowed to spit venom was her. She coiled and dodged to the side as a splash of acid started melting the rocks with sizzling and popping sounds. She had a pretty good idea that acid was intended to break down victims that were calcified, to get to the gooey treat inside.

She made a mental note never to compare people to candy ever again. The creature’s distracted nature allowed Brent to get another piercing strike into the belly, drawing a retaliatory tail sweep that bowled him off his feet. But the creature was still focused on her, spitting acid again, with her using flinging herself laterally with her [Coiled Strike] to dodge the attack. The creature turned, trying to jab down with its legs and claw her with its arms, and biting down when it thought she was within range.

She fired several of her [Mana bolts in rapid succession, blasting them right in the face. Its serpentine head reared back, dazzled by the intense blasts, and she slid away, focusing on triggering her [Verdant Weave], feeling for any vegetation.

She found it.

She clenched her hand and channeled as much power as she could into the hex, and the arrow in the creature's thigh started to splinter. Small vines began to twist from the embedded arrowhead, growing at a geometric rate.

Her backup plan had been even crazier than the alchemical arrows. She’d carved a notch into the arrowhead to implant one of Brienne’s seeds, on a theory that the roots could be triggered by mana in solution–or specifically, blood.

The dracolisk’s blood, to be more precise. The creature clawed at the vines now growing out of the embedded arrowhead and the wound, but the roots were snaking through the wound site, driving deeper and deeper into muscle and other tissue. The vines burst outward from the wound and began wrapping around the legs, stumbling it and buying her a reprieve.

“Neska, what is going on down there? It sounds like an earthquake in there!” Juni called out, the sound of splitting rocks and tilled earth filling the space between her shouts.

“Brent, Kalloway, get back!” Neska called out, the two of them dodging out of the way as the creature was preoccupied with the roots growing from its body, winding tightly around its limbs, but they were being whittled away faster than they could spread.

Neska mentally pulled down as hard as she could, constricting the vines as a rumbling sound filled the cavern, and she saw the roof starting to crack. She triggered her [Baleful Eye] to lock the creature in place, while it struggled to move and clear the roots.

“Juni, NOW!”

The call came not a second too soon, as the dracolisk tore out the taproot embedded in its thigh and began shredding at the remaining vines and roots, twisting and coiling around it.

A massive fissure opened up in the ceiling, and the creature let out a cry of surprise as it looked up. It had about half a second before a stone pillar crashed down, driven by incredible force, and aimed at the creature with malicious intent.

Neska grimaced as the stone spike smashed through the head and part of the body of the dracolisk, making a cringeworthy cracking and squishing sound as the creature was crushed into the cavern floor, its exposed body twitching and flailing violently. After a few seconds, the claws ceased scraping across the stone.

Neska panted, out of breath as the cumulative toll of the multiple ability uses caught up, and her whole body rapidly cooled. She felt her spine tremble even as she tried to catch her breath, and felt something wet and sticky on her face.

She wiped her claw away, revealing specks of blood from the creature. She hissed in disgust.

Brent and Kalloway cautiously approached the prone creature, with the professor tapping it cautiously with his staff. “Uh, well…it’s dead. I don’t think it’s regenerating from that. Or most any monster, actually.”

Brent let out a howl of triumph. “Yeah! But wait, where’d the giant terra spike come from?”

“Hi guys! Did I hit it?” Juni crawled out from the fissure leading upwards, with Syra sloshing down from landing to landing, before landing in a splash of her hydro form, looking on in dismay.

“Yeah, Juni, you uh…you nailed it." Syra gave a thumbs-up, grimacing at the spectacle of the crushed creature. "That move needs a nickname. Death from Above comes to mind.”

"Yep! Now my earth spikes can come from any angle!" she announced confidently. "Of course I still need earth or stone to--oh dear Divines."

The smell finally registered for Juni. She let out a gagging sound as she got closer to the crushed dracolisk. “Gods. That's a big one. And it smells worse, dead.”

Before Neska could celebrate, several notifications she’d pushed away drew her attention.

New Ability Variant Discovered: [Blood Root Hex]

Blood is the foundation of all complex life. With it, it can nurture even the most fragile of plants. Your roots can now spawn from genesis seeds, if provided sufficient mana or lifeblood. Roots will grow into a target if directed, dealing bleed damage as the blood is consumed. Note: This ability will not work on a foe without blood or equivalent life force. Root strength, size, and durability increase with Intelligence (Per Woven Root Hex Variant). Exsanguination effects scale with Perception.

Usage of the primary Ability or any Variants will all contribute to the overall Ability proficiency.

Ability Proficiencies Increased

Spring Scales 9→10

Venom/Mana Bolt 10→11

Woven Root Hex 16→17

Venomous Bite 9→10

Baleful Eye 2→3

Title Gained: Alchemical Warfare - You’ve turned your body into a weapon, producing alchemical effects from your Abilities that are used to solve problems. +10% Alchemical Potency for effects applied through venoms. Just remember to brush your fangs after spitting venom.

“Okay, that was dangerous. Let’s not pat ourselves on the back. Thank you, Miss Semou, for the timely intervention. You two clearly do have a bit of a strategy.”

“Uh…I can jet you guys up,” Syra proposed, pointing toward the fissure, where dim moonlight was visible from above. “Easier than climbing.”

Juni pointed at the opening. “I should probably seal that up, so people don’t fall down a giant hole. Also…” She sighed as she looked at the crushed monster, “Where’s the Roc?”

Neska was already in motion, directing the others. She pointed at the pile of feathers. "That's what is left of it." She frowned when she saw the partially calcified Roc–or what remained of it, after the dracolisk had devoured a chunk of it. “I think…the nesting Roc died defending the nest. And we intervened before it could devour the eggs,” she said, pointing to the far end of the warren.

They slowly approached what she could only construe as a massive nest made of fallen temporary sticks and other soft plant matter, cushioning inside it. Within the nest were three large eggs about half of Juni's height. The eggs all bore a bright blue shell with mottled brown speckles. Incredibly, all three looked intact.

Everyone looked on in awe for a moment. It was Kalloway who broke the silence. “How many do we need?”

“Just one. No need to be greedy,” Neska said, slowly slithering over the edge of the nest and unslinging her pack. "Brent, here. You should be the one to carry it." She opened it and was glad she had added the extra cushioning of several layers of cloth and spongy padding.

She motioned for Brent to grab one, and then he gently placed it in, avoiding putting any pressure on his clawtips.

“What about the others?” Juni asked. “If we leave them here, they’ll get predated by other things crawling up the tunnels. The Roc mother is dead.”

“It's what happens all the time in nature,” Kalloway said, though his wording seemed unusually bitter. “It’ll happen a million times over, Juni. And even if you wanted to save them? You can’t train a monster like this.”

“You don’t know that. This isn’t one of the Varadur.”

"Kalloway’s right, I hate to say.” All eyes turned to Neska. “Sometimes you have to let things run their course. No matter how difficult it is to stand to the side. But I can use and save one egg for this purpose.”

“Could we–”

“No, Brent," Syra interrupted the wolfling. “We are not bringing them home for a record-setting omelette."

“As tempting as that would be, I vote we leave them here,” Neska chimed in. “We got what we needed. Let's get out of here and not overstay our welcome. We'll have tocome back for the retrieval of that body." Neska had Brent strap the backpack with the egg on, and he gave the straps a light tug. “Secured?”

“Yep. Think we could have Juni expand that tunnel she dug?” he asked, pointing at the ceiling.

The mouse let out a huff. “I burned a lot of mana digging that fast. I’d need a recharge, and–Brent, what is it?”

Neska heard a distant thud and what sounded like a flapping of wings. She peered toward the bore tunnel Juni dug, and saw a silhouette of something so massive it blocked out all the moonlight. Within a second, it was gone.

“Anyone see what that was?” Neska asked.

"Nah, I couldn't make it out, it was too fast," Brent said, looking worried. Let’s get out of here first; we shouldn't tempt fate or attract bigger, nastier monsters from below. Hang on, let me sketch this out real quick while we move."

Their movements were swift, and Neska slid around the fallen child, vowing to come back to finish the job.

“Man, I’m excited. I got a level off that dracolisk,” Brent said proudly a short time later. “You, Juni?”

“Yeah! Level fifteen! I got one earlier during the on-and-off training, that's what allowed me to use the earth spike from the ceiling. Syra?”

“I didn’t get to do much, so…no,” she said, fuming slightly. “Not that I’m enthused with my next evolution. I kinda got attached to being who I am.”

“When, exactly, is the next evolution? Level twenty?”

“Correct. Then it’s forty. Then eighty,” Kalloway mentioned. “If there were a Tier Six, it would likely be at level one hundred and sixty. No one’s gotten past tier five, and people don’t seem to gain any more essence points past level one hundred. Or any levels, for that matter.”

They left the cavern exit and were welcomed by the glow of moonlight illuminating the landscape. Neska glanced down, then up again. “We have to climb up. What a drag.”

Brent’s ears perked up, and his eyes went wide, just about the time she heard distant flapping. He didn’t say anything, but pointed to a massive silhouette in the sky, circling over the cliff above them.

Too late. A brilliant crimson eye spotted them, and the creature banked, letting out the shrill scream of a bird of prey. Neska recognized it for what it was:

A Roc matriarch. A larger, deadlier variant of the one that was slain in the tunnels, likely the mother of the egg currently in Brent’s bag. “Run. Back in the tunnels, go!”

Syra let out a soft tsk as they scrabbled back inside, and a jet of bright light seared the cliff behind them, leaving a smoking blackened trail. “Great. Now we’re stuck between a Roc and a hard place!”