NOVEL NEXT B2 | Chapter 24
Aria
I smile as I stand in front of the large station right in front of the Hunter Spot within the Byrne Clan’s territory. A Grand Tree just as big as the one in their capital. But unlike the one in their capital, this Grand Tree is without any sort of tree house structures. It’s just a plain enormous tree with tunnels and the like running through it. Even entire caverns inside of the tree somehow from what I’ve heard.
There are also some mana creatures flying high above the ground, right beneath the branches and leaves. Along with some flying near nests on the exterior of the tree.
Most of those mana creatures are various different types of birds. Some giant crows, others giant hawks, some giant eagles, giant bats, and, well, more giant avians. Then there are some moving vines that I’m not sure if are alive or are just, well, being moved by something else.
After taking in the place, I step into the station itself, quickly finding it to be similar to the station at Hunter’s Bay on Eternus. At least in systematic structure anyways.
There are two sides of the building, one to enter and one to leave. Each with gates that block entry unless the barrier is lowered, with the entry checking your identity and the exit the resources you acquired inside before giving you your pay or letting you leave with it. After taking their tax.
But I’m exempt from the taxes here, so I don’t have to bother with that.
After returning from the last mission, the council was rather ecstatic. Without the whole being upset about a blown up outpost part this time. Since I managed to blow up just the weapon’s facility this time.
Amusing how they were upset about me blowing something up last time but are happy this time around.
Then again, it makes sense.
After their initial excitement, they started giving out a bunch of orders to the soldiers and readying some plans. Meanwhile the Clan Leader gave me free and tax exempt access to the Hunter’s Spot while I wait for my next mission.
Which will likely be after the enemy army reaches our borders. Since that’ll take a little while.
At least a few days. Probably a week or two.
It takes a while to move an army that big after all.
One way or another though, I’m very fine with this arrangement.
I quickly go through the station, showing them my ID, being verified, terrifying random people there with the black number floating harmlessly above my head. The usual.
Then I pass on through and enter the vast tree. And this time, unlike with the trench, I see an awful lot of people as I pass through the tunnel. Both people going in and out.
Guess this is what happens when there is only a single entrance, unlike the trench that had more entrances than I care to count.
I continue passing through the tunnel until I end up at the spot I was told to expect. A large ‘cavern’ in the tree – one whose walls are made of bark – with hundreds of portals of varying colors just blinking in and out of existence all over the place.
From what I’ve been told, these portals lead to random locations across the Hunter’s Spot.
The green portals mean that it’s a portal to a random spot in the first through third tiers of the Grand Tree, yellow portals lead to a random location in the fourth through sixth tiers, blue portals go to somewhere in the seventh through ninth tiers, and the red portals lead to the tenth tier of the Grand Tree. Which does make this one of the more difficult Hunter Spots across the universe. Since people can’t choose the exact tier they end up in.
I purse my lips while tapping my chin, briefly pondering over if I should give the yellow portals a try. But then I just shake my head and enter a green portal, leading to me appearing on a random outcrop on the outside of the Grand Tree. And almost immediately I find myself grabbing onto the vines to stabilize myself.
Okay, this can’t be safe for normal people…
I glance down over the edge of the tree to find that I’m several hundred meters in the sky. Which means I’m probably in either the second or the third tier.
Not entirely sure which.
I would’ve tried going for a yellow portal, but while I know I should be fine at the fourth tier, the fifth and sixth tiers might have something that tries to eat me or trap me. And immortal or not, I’d rather not spend years stuck there. Especially when I’m probably gonna have to be somewhere in like a week.
Well, anyways, I look around at the same level of me to find that there are some random branches connecting to this part, with more scattered about making a very broken up pathway. One that someone would have to jump through to get past.
Some spots don’t even have a place to stand. Instead you have to catch onto the vines on a hanging stalactite, or you have to grab onto dangling vines and swing across an expanse.
Oh, and more importantly, the giant oversized mosquitoes buzzing their way all across the tree around here.
Right.
Those things.
I purse my lips as they begin buzzing their way towards me, but instead of fleeing – not that that’s all that possible – I summon several Lesser Minor Death Spirits, making them appear in front of me, between me and the mosquito. And the mosquito instantly pierces through the skull of the first one, literally shattering it before it moves onto the second. Then the third. And the fourth.
Eventually it loses its momentum on the fifth and tries to drain its blood.
Just to most likely realize it doesn’t have any as the other remaining spirits begin jumping onto the branch from the other branches I summoned them on before pelting the thing until it dies.
Because powerful or not, it’s still a mosquito.
Not exactly the most durable of creatures.
My thoughts come to a halt when I feel something stabbing me in the neck, making me instantly grow numb as I try and struggle to turn my head. Only to see another mosquito draining my blood while the first one’s soul is being devoured automatically.
Well, shit.
I try to raise my gun to shoot it, but I quickly lose feeling from my neck downwards, making me fall face-first towards the ground. A ground that doesn’t exactly exist, so I end up falling right off the branch while bringing the mosquito with me in my free dive.
Hmm.
I just kinda look on at the nice view as I’m falling down towards the ground beneath the tree.
Well then.
This was not how I expected my first trek through a portal to end up.
I continue staring downwards while my body is numbed from the mosquito that is actually starting to be torn apart by the wind flying past us alone.
Rather weak little insect, isn’t it?
Which is ironic since it’s… oh, now the wind is starting to actually cut into me too.
A snapping sound echoes out as my arms are pulled so far back from the speed of our fall mixed with the wind that they quite literally snap.
Yep. This is really not how I expected my hunt to begin.
The wind continues whistling as I fall, with the mosquito now long since dead and my body’s feeling returning again. And after several more seconds of this, I hit the ground, and everything goes dark.
Right Outside the Grand Tree
Odhran Brígh steps out of the station and begins to walk towards the Grand Tree’s entrance, feeling pretty good about today’s hunt going well. Because it’s just a lucky day for him. He knows it.
And as he’s about halfway through the small clearing between the station and the tree’s entrance, a loud whistling sound enters his ears, making him pause for a second before looking up.
Seconds later a woman drops straight down and crashes into a paste right in front of him, making him quickly try backing up, only to scowl down at his outfit. But his irritation at the outfit quickly fades as a brief wave of sadness fills him at the sight of the dead hunter.
Right as he’s about to step forward to kneel down and give her a salute in honor of her work as a hunter, the blood that splattered on him suddenly starts burning up in some sort of crimson electrical energy, making him panic. But it doesn’t do anything other than tickle him for some reason.
Huh. Odd.
His gaze returns to the paste in front of him, only for him to do a double take when he finds the flesh all reforming into a person who is currently sitting on the ground while rubbing her temples. Then the woman casually stands up, glances at him and nods, before walking back towards the tree.
Leaving him standing there staring at her in shock.
What… just happened?