NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65: The Basilisk Hunt 10
That whole evening and even the greater part of the night, everyone kept discussing the plan of splitting their numbers. Some considered it a great idea, others tried to convince them why they shouldn't do it, while some indecisive ones had no idea what to do.
The next day, 7 out of the 13 had decided to leave. Their leader was Oswin Cornvell. He was accompanied by his younger brother Wilfred Cornvell, Magnus Thornfield, Petricia, and three boys who were in the group of five, recent additions to their band.
The ones remaining were led by Lionel Vashil, the eldest son of Earl Breagor Vashil. Of course, his two 'supposed' siblings, Althea and Caius Vashil, were with him. Along with them were the new sword-wielding baron's boy and another daughter of a different baron, both from Primarch Hold serving the Vashil house.
And of course, Auren himself.
When the Cornvell group was leaving, the leader Oswin looked at Auren intently and asked,
"Come with us, I will give you a sword. Your skills are indeed worthy of the Goatshield name. Your family has served mine for decades now."
Lionel Vashil and all others looked at him, putting him on the spot. Up until this point, he had been masterfully hidden from everyone's eyes—so much so that no one had even asked which side he was on.
Auren shook his head. "At the very least, I wish to see if this region is somewhere the Basilisk frequently comes or not before I make any plan of moving forward. The valley gets narrower as we travel ahead. If we face the Basilisk in such a narrow space, with the strong river blocking most of our path—we are done for."
"Do as you wish then."
With that, Oswin Cornvell turned around and started walking forward accompanied by the big jaguar. His brother, Petricia, and Magnus also took a last look back and turned away. In minutes, they were gone from sight.
"If you are staying, you have to become a part of the group. That means taking part in keeping watch, among other things," Lionel Vashil said, looking at him. The whole group turned their eyes away from the distant silhouettes and followed Lionel's gaze onto Auren.
"The only way I am sleeping with you lot is with a sword in my hand," Auren stated bluntly, crossing his hands over his small chest.
"You are not that skilled," the baron's son said—the one who held the other sword besides Lionel himself.
"Who cares about the skills?" Auren shot back. "It's for my own protection."
"Can you make do with this knife?" Caius asked, pointing at the knife in the teenage girl's hand.
The girl took a step back, bringing her knife close to her chest, protecting it as if it were her baby.
"It will do," Auren replied. He had already made up his mind about not sleeping in the tree. The people he was most guarded against were already gone. Still, he wasn't completely cozy with these brats. A knife would indeed help him sleep better.
Lionel and the others convinced the girl to give up her knife, and after some discussion and promises, she did so—not without showing him her teeth though.
"For today, let's just improve our camp, put up some traps, and hunt some game," Caius said, and it was accepted by all.
Auren went off on his own to hunt with the knife, and no one stopped him. While attacking and killing some small animals, he slowly moved towards the high wall to their right, across the river. The flow was strong, but there were large stone boulders in the river that made crossing easy enough. They had chosen this place for that very reason—an easy way to cross the river if the need arose.
The day had just started, and Auren had already hunted enough to fill his own belly. He wasn't interested in wasting his time hunting food for others; he could get more if he needed at any time. The more important thing on his mind was the plan forward.
Seeing the Basilisk, it had become clear that just walking around trying to miraculously find a way up the valley was nothing but a pipe dream. He would have to make his own way up. He had come quite far from camp and made sure no one was around. Auren just wanted to see if he could use his black particles to somehow climb up with minimum effort.
Auren removed his steel armor and collected all the black flexible paper-thin material into his right hand, then put his clothes back on. The 10 kg material was not enough to make anything bigger than a normal sword with it—not just a coated one, but a real sword completely made out of his black particles. This was currently the strongest creation in his arsenal—a nearly indestructible, insanely sharp-edged sword.
The dirt loomed over 700 meters high. As an eight-year-old kid, that would be quite some hard work. Now.. what possibly could he do here to climb up without falling?
Reusable spikes? Hammering spikes into the dirt-stone and slowly climbing up one step at a time? Other than the enormous strength and time required, the loud noise could potentially summon a Basilisk if it was near. That was a big no.
Instant handholds? Huge claws on hands and feet or extended legs like that one Spider-Man movie? That all needed constant use of Chi though, and he could not sustain that much continuously. He could try to rest at regular intervals, making his own resting spots with the black particles, but this method still felt inefficient.
After some 2–3 hours of brainstorming, Auren had finally thought of one possible plan. It was his only real choice. He could make a full body harness with vines and such, then use a thin layer of his black particles on it. Connected to the harness would be a rope. It required Auren to change one single creation into different kinds of flexibility and hardness, but he had done that before, and it was doable.
With his 10 kg of black particles, if he made a relatively strong rope out of them—making it flexible, adding the harness coating, and the occasional footrest or custom platform to sit and relax—he could extend that rope to about 200 to 250 meters. He would have to make a strong wooden grappling spiked hook that he could throw up and lodge into dirt or stone with force. The rope would be attached to it, and the harness would be attached to the other side of the rope. All three would be one single piece.
For caution, if he made a big, strong grappling spiked hook coated with his black particles, he would be left with some 200–220 meters of rope.
The wall was above 700 meters high, maybe even 750 to 800. He might have to throw the grappling spike 3–4 times. The best part about this method was that it used the black particles perfectly while leaving the heavy lifting to his own two arms and legs. With added support of Chi enhancement here and there, it was quite doable. The strength required was high, but he could endure it.
Auren decided to try it after making a form of harness and grappling hook with wood using his knife. Only after giving it a try would he know for sure if this method was reliable or not.
Auren went back after killing a few more animals. With a knife not made out of his own particles, it was much easier and more relaxing. Whenever he used something made out of his black material, he was always anxious about finding it back. The 10 kg limit on summoning was so unfair—Auren dreaded even thinking about how he would have to live his whole life like this, with no method applicable to him for upgrading his rank. He had hunted and killed so many animals and still felt not a speck of difference in either his obsidian remote or the black particles.
Auren wished he could find some workaround to his summoning quantity limit. If he had a lot more black particles, life would become so much easier.
He returned back to camp. The others cleaned up the game he had hunted—Lionel and the others had also hunted some animals and gathered useful fruits and edible plants. According to one of the boys, he had read a book about what was edible in the forest and what wasn't. These brats may have looked like fledgling teenagers, but they had completely different temperaments compared to the teenagers from his old life.
Almost all of them were trained to fight with multiple weapons. Even Althea and the baron's daughter knew how to take care of themselves. That was why they were allowed to come along on this hunting trip. Their parents had taught them enough and wanted to show them off like trophies to other barons and their Earls.