Energy Eater [Post Apocalyptic Litrpg]

By the time we got back to the Brother Village, we were all absolutely exhausted. Getting to the main village already took us 6 hours. The trip back took even longer since Carl, Rex's uncle, was not coming along. Neither were any of the Rodenti that were in the group. Instead, we got a ride from other Rodenti that had to go to the Brother Village, but they were not as proficient with the rock flying as the group that took us here.

Actually, that wasn't really fair to say. They were more prudent, and instead of making various small platforms that took one or two people each, they made one very large platform that allowed several Rodenti to go at once. But even then, the idea of making seats wasn't really something they ever considered, or maybe it wasn't even possible. We were all required to stay standing during the entire trip. We couldn't even sit down on the ground, otherwise the balance would be off. That ended up being much more tiresome than our trip to get here. Mostly because we had nothing to do. Nothing to distract ourselves from the effort of standing up on such a long journey.

Initially, I even thought that we were the problem here, that the other Rodenti could handle this without a worry. But it became clear that they were also struggling with the distance and the lack of comfort. I made a mental note to talk to Rex about maybe upgrading this whole setup one day. Making better rock flying buses or trains, I don't know what we were going to call them. So the trip wouldn't be as difficult for people who weren't as well versed on it. But one way or another, we all arrived at the Brother Village and went straight to talk with its chieftain.

Not because we had any illusion that we were going to hunt that monster right away. But because it was better for us to have all the details on hand before coming up with plans. If we were able to talk to them and know more about this creature, then we could spend the rest of the night discussing our approach and make sure that we would let Rex show off his skills during the hunt.

This wasn't a case where we believed Ash would be spying on us. In fact, Rex himself confirmed that shouldn't be the case. His father would only inspect the results of our hunt. But even then, if he was going to be more careful, we couldn't just afford to kill the monster without letting Rex participate in the battle. It was likely better for us to make sure that he was the main contributor. So his father would have the least amount of problems with Rex's decision of participating in the battle against the Eaters.

Thankfully, we caught the village chief of the Brother Village a little before his dinner. Meaning that he was not really doing anything important, and we didn't have to wait around to talk to him. As we arrived, he was surprised to see us today again. Still, he gracefully welcomed us into his home, near the entrance to the fields. Outside there were couple of stone sculptures that were made by hand. Not through the use of skills. A hobby that the chieftain really enjoyed doing in his spare time.

I couldn't help but think it was funny how some of the Rodenti that we'd met seemed to be completely oblivious to the idea of lying around or having hobbies, while others were not just receptive to the idea but demanded time to play around.

The chieftain, called Dale, received us with a warm greeting as he was someone that Rex also knew from before he left to search for help. However, unlike Carl, who was very close to our companion, the Dale was more of a mentor during Rex's forming years. The relationship was close but not as intimate.

"How I help? Why you not home?" he turned to Rex.

"Father gave mission. Said, find monster causing problems. We must deal with it," Rex explained, and then Dale gave us all a nod almost as if he was already expecting that answer. Or a similar answer to that one.

"I know beast you speak. Dangerous creature. Large bird of prey. Mutated. More than two claws. More than two wings. Attack swiftly. Attacks and sings. Sometimes not, but makes harder to track."

"And where does this creature appear?" I asked.

"Near Southern field. Most south. Almost half day travel. Doesn't get close village. Attack large groups. Only small ones. Only weak. Quite smart."

"Do you know anything that might draw it? A way that we can make some bait, something that it really likes?" Michael asked.

Dale looked down to think for a moment before nodding. "Yes, yes. Usually attack apple fields. Likes green ones. Ignores reds."

"You manage to grow apples in the desert?" Riley asked a question that I was about to ask myself. When I heard they were making crops, I figured it would be something sturdy like cactus, tomatoes, potatoes, or some sort of grain like wheat. But they were able to grow fruits here?

Dale nodded. "Yes, yes. Good skills help growth. Protect apple. Helps with water. Gather water. Can't make it. Not strong enough. Maybe Ash can. But Ash only makes clouds."

"Say what now?" Michael asked.

They all stared at Rex, who shrugged. "Father can make rain."

"What do you mean your father can make it rain?" I asked.

"Just what chief said. Father can use skill to make rain. Only got after Tier 3. Before, needed help. Now, can make rain with thunder."

"Are you really saying that your dad can make storms? Is that how powerful he is?" I asked.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Rex nodded. "Yes. Takes time. So can't make storm all time. Needs some things, but he can."

I did a quick glance around at my companions, hoping that they were as surprised by the information as I was. However, that didn't really seem to be the case. Astrid and Michael just gave impressed nods but weren't having any reaction beyond that. Riley, on the other hand, had wide eyes, and they looked at me with a face of recognition.

They understood how massive this was. How much power you needed to have in order to control the weather. Even if we were talking about something that only happened in a very narrow area or that affected a small piece of land, it still was absolutely incredible.

The fact that someone could control the elements in such a way was well beyond anything that I ever considered being possible, even with the help of the System. And now we were hearing that someone at Tier 3 was able to do something like that. It felt like the powers were increasing exponentially, not in a linear fashion. And while that sounded great for us, it also had a big problem attached to it. The fact that the Eaters would also be growing exponentially. Meaning that if there was a single Tier 3 Eater, we would be in a lot more trouble than we initially thought. That wasn't even considering the possibility of something stronger.

After all, I was pretty positive that the Eaters were the first to get the System. At least on this planet. I couldn't say anything about what could exist in other places. Of it that was even possible. But it likely meant that by now, the Eaters were much more powerful than I ever thought them to be. If there were more at Tier 3 or even at Tier 4, I had no clue how strong those beings could be. If there were an Eater that was able to go beyond that, then it might be able to destroy the entire world.

This information completely stopped me from paying attention to what we were doing. My mind was going everywhere but towards the discovery of the monster we were supposed to hunt. Thankfully, Michael didn't get distracted, and neither did Rex, of course. The two of them were able to gather more information about the monster that we were supposed to kill. All the while Riley and I just had a small breakdown because of the ramifications of what was said.

Eventually, we left the chief's house and headed to the place that he had offered for us to stay when we first arrived here. It was a house that was currently not being used since the people who were supposed to live there were going to participate in the battle against the Eaters. It felt very nice, especially since the people in this village were never overtly hostile to us. There were still some things they did that made us somewhat upset, such as not letting children approach us on their own. Almost as if we were going to do something with them. But it was better than the hostility of the Sister Village.

When we arrived at the house that we were going to stay in for the night, we all quickly found a place to rest and started to prepare for bed. The travel so far had been brutal as we spent an entire day going back and forth on the rock fly platform. None of us was able to sleep right away, and instead we talked a bit about the plans for our hunt the following day.

The idea was to use some of the apples as bait to try to lure the creature. The rest of the group would be hiding nearby in order to jump the monster once it tried to attack the one with the fruit. We were still arguing about who should be the bait. The most obvious person would be Rex. After all, it would be something the creature was used to. Making it harder for it to notice the trap. But on the other hand, we were all a bit worried about letting our small Rodenti companion be the bait. He could get hurt, and he was already missing a leg.

The argument was that Astrid should be the one to try to lure the creature. From what Dale explained to us, the monster wasn't just after their crops but also after their people. They had not just seen the creature flying off carrying people, but also they had found the remains of a few unlucky ones who became creature's meal.

Which was why we were not comfortable with the idea of letting Rex be the bait. If the monster moved too quickly, we wouldn't be able to follow him. And if the creature truly was going to try, then Rex would be in a lot of trouble. Since he would be in the air, away from any rocks that he could use as a weapon.

"Must prove father strength. Rex strength. Thank for worrying, but Rex needs do this."

"You really don't notice, do you?" I asked.

Rex turned to me with a confused expression, but I quickly continued before he could misunderstand what I was trying to say.

"Your dad wants you to prove that you're strong. Being bait doesn't make you strong. It makes you resilient. It means that you can take a lot of hits or that you can escape a dangerous situation. Doesn't prove that you are powerful or anything like that. Now, saving someone who has been captured by a monster or killing the beast before the person who was acting as bait gets hurt, that makes you strong. That shows your power."

"Not enough," he huffed.

"If you were the bait, and the creature ends up catching you, we don't know if we're going to be able to follow it, and we don't know if it's going to just start eating you while you're in the sky. And if it does try to hurt you while you're flying, what exactly are you going to do? I don't mean this in a mean way, but you need rocks to use your skills, don't you?" I continued.

Rex nodded. "Almost all."

"Exactly. How can putting yourself in a place that is dangerous for you without a way to fight back show your father you're powerful? I think that would actually do the opposite. Show him that you're reckless and that you can't be trusted not to do something stupid just because of pride or because you're trying to show off."

Michael nodded, "I have to agree with Cass. You being the bait is not proof that you're strong. It's just proof that you're so eager to prove yourself that you're willing to put everybody in danger just so you can maybe show your father that you're powerful.

"But if we're being honest, Astrid might not be the best person to act as bait either."

Rex turned to Riley, who had just spoken. "Why?"

"Well, she's big. Animals generally speaking don't try to go for prey that is going to prove a danger to them. And size tends to be the first thing they look at when they're considering if they're going to go after something or not. At least for new prey. If it's something that they are used to hunting, then they don't care as much."

"So you're saying that when the monster sees her, because it won't know what she is, or at least because it's used to Rodenti, it will think she's too powerful or too strong for it to be worth it?" Michael asked.

"Pretty much. And following what Cass said, you and I are not good picks either. Because if the monster takes us into the sky, we can't really do much to fight it when we're there."

That left Riley turning to me with a grimace.

"You're saying that I should be the bait?" I asked, trying not to have too much of a reaction.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're the best option."

I let out a sigh. "As much as I hate saying this, I agree with you. I'm probably the best choice for this."

We ironed out a few of the details of the plan before going to bed. Me, especially, since I was someone who needed to be well rested. After all, I had to put on quite a performance tomorrow to make sure the creature noticed my presence.