Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]

Crowning at least twenty metres over the forest floor, the tangled rainforest canopy swelled with restless wildlife. Weaving snakes and scurrying insects crawled through the dense thicket. Chirping birds perched atop floating twigs as small mammals rustled within the treetops.

After an arduous ascent to the top, the canopy welcomed another into its fold.

Jay sat in an arch where the trunk split into two, keeping a hand on the tree at all times.

There was always the risk he could fall up here, or that an animal could surprise him and knock him off. Jay reckoned it was worth it. The Verdant Frontier might be deadly, but there were over eighty gladiators on the forest floor, that wanted him dead. If Jay wanted to think, he'd do it in a spot where nobody could find him.

Jay wrapped the Quicksnatch rope around a slimmer section of the trunk before pressing the sticky end against his body, lashing himself to the tree. He got as comfortable as he possibly could, before closing his eyes and gripping Ping tightly with both hands.

The tumultuous discord that was the Emergent Bloom roared all around him. The relentless sounds of nature. Of life.

While training with Primordial Resurgence, Fox's alliance, Jay had been able to pick out the sounds of oncoming footsteps above the droning din of the vault's vibrations and Akira's booming footsteps. The howling jungle was far more oppressive than a mere imitation, however. The reverberations smothered Jay's perception like a weighted blanket of pure noise.

But Jay knew he could pierce through it.

He just had to go further, deeper, into the Eye of the storm.

Jay's favourite technique had changed since his first exposure to it, hurtling out of the ocean thanks to his own thunder punch. Initially, he'd thought to make sense of the technique through the one thing he knew better than anything else, his own body.

But Jay had changed since then.

While he still followed a more analytical path than the storm sage, he was no longer chained by normalcy. Or tied to the meaningless concept of making sense.

Eye of the storm's tranquillity still couldn't coexist with the raging electricity that ran through Jay's body every fight, but the technique was ever evolving.

As was he.

The world around him slithered and scurried. Constant motion. Endless retreat. Existence itself a perpetual race here in the Verdant Frontier.

But Jay stayed still.

Because there was always calm somewhere.

Shrill chirping jabbed at his ears but Jay heard the rhythm beneath it instead. The pulsing cadence unknowingly followed by the creatures of the forest. The shifting melody lodged itself between Jay's ears. After a few cycles, even his breathing harmonised with the forest.

Beginning to understand the jungle's Harmony, Jay put it aside.

He shifted the creatures' rhythm from the forefront of his mind, freeing the space for other sounds. Other noises he needed to hear.

Next came the wind. Here in the canopy, Jay sat at the interface between the emergent expanse above him, and the stagnant undergrowth below. Tropical drafts filtered down from above, but most didn't pierce much further than Jay.

These too followed an unseen, unheard rhythm. One that Jay couldn't comprehend, but he could harness. The whistling winds faded to forgotten songs at the back of his mind.

Free from the Emergent Bloom's ceaseless clamour, Jay heard only the intruders.

Careless feet crunched loose roots. Grunts of laboured exertion cut through the quiet.

A faraway clash of weapons, steel on steel, sang louder than any beast of the forest. But it was a ways off, and Jay only heard it through Ping's connection to the sound.

Nobody's close.

Jay smiled gently as he let go of his shield, leaving her to float in the air in front of him. He cracked his eyes open and let the rampaging flood of noise rush back to his reality.

Since there were no gladiators nearby, Jay had time to plan.

He'd agreed to meet his team at the biggest landmark near him. He could go searching for a landmark now, but the arena's biggest focal point was probably the exit hub.

Karis and his crows would likely realise that too, and search for him there. It seemed like the best place to run towards, at least until he found new information.

Next came how to find it.

Jay had no map and no way of getting his bearings. That didn't mean he knew nothing. The exit hub was the only location where every single contestant needed to go at some point. Regardless of how each team collected their relics, they'd all converge at the hub.

And while some teams would leave finding the exit for later, Jay wagered a good amount of them would be searching for it right away. Either simply to learn its location, or to run into the other teams.

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Jay wasn't sure how big the tournament's area was, but that almost didn't matter. The exit hub was bound to be the busiest place for miles around.

Which also meant it would be the noisiest.

Jay unclasped Davad's dagger from his bracer. While its exploding function could only be used once a day, its blade was tough and durable enough to be useful on its own.

He began carving into the tree bark. Gladiators on the forest floor wouldn't be able to see this high up, but a crow definitely could. Jay cut out a lightning bolt striking a diamond. Hopefully, Karis' crows would recognise it.

Jay coiled the Quicksnatch rope back beneath his bracer and clasped the dagger back in place. Using the Conqueror's fists like ice axes, he carefully descended the tree.

Jay activated Eye of the storm once his feet hit solid ground. The rainforest din quietened. Crunching footfalls rose above nature as Jay focused on the other gladiators. He listened out for the loudest direction and cut a path towards his unseen adversaries.

Crumbling signs of civilisation dotted the winding path that Jay cut through the Emergent Bloom. He ran past mounds of moss covered stones and arcane symbols carved in gnarled trees. His path constantly weaving between ruined old paths, worn-in game trails, and dense undergrowth.

The order never lasted long however, and Jay rarely went three steps without crunching something new beneath his boot.

CRRRK!

Jay's right leg sank downwards into a divot concealed by a tangle of fallen leaves. He kicked off his left, diving forward and pulling his right free from the vines.

His palms squelched into a mulchy pile of dirt, Jay pressed them in deeper and avoided tumbling completely over. He scrambled upright and looked back at the spot his foot had sunk into.

A strange, feathered rodent leapt out from the brush, squealing as it bounded towards the nearest tree and up its giant trunk.

The odd creature's shrill wail needled through Jay's eardrums, like alarm bells embedded within his skull. Jay frowned as he watched it ascend towards the canopy. The other gladiators might not have Eye of the storm helping them, but anyone nearby would definitely have heard that.

When he eventually carried on, Jay kept an eye on the ground as he ran. Charging through the forest might get him to his destination faster, but it made each footstep a roaring invitation to every other gladiator.

A declaration he was desperate. Hopeless and alone.

Aside from the odd hike, Jay had never enjoyed being out in nature that much. Regardless of his experience though, he'd definitely never ran through a rainforest with heightened hearing before. It hadn't been obvious when he was running away from Ezekiel. But Jay saw it, or rather heard it, clearly now.

He was fucking loud.

His vigilance stopped him from stumbling over anymore, but he kept crunching unseen leaves beneath his heavy footsteps.

He stopped again.

There was no point running if it drew every other gladiator towards him.

So what can I do then?

The rainforest symphony grew louder to Jay's ears as he relaxed Eye of the storm's grip. Jay still listened out for combat, but he needed the technique elsewhere.

Faint blue crept out from Jay's irises, as well as the hairline channels of lightning streaming down his arms.

When Jay resumed his journey, his eyes scanned the ground for anything that might make noise. He avoided stepping anywhere near them, but even his regular footfalls felt shockingly loud.

So Jay went further.

Each time his foot hit the ground, Jay fixated on the muscles in his legs, on the tendons connecting them, and the joints absorbing each impact. He listened out for the noise each step made, linking it to both the ground and his reaction to it.

After each step, he evaluated, adjusted, and listened out for the next.

It didn't happen instantly. For a while, Jay moved both slowly and loudly through the forest. But with each step his knowledge grew. With each stride Jay learned a tiny bit more about how he moved and the landscape he traversed

About how to not be so fucking loud.

SNAP!

Jay stopped.

The sound wasn't his.

He jerked his head towards the noise.

Not too far.

Doesn't sound like an animal.

Too abrupt. Too heavy.

SSSHING!

Definitely not an animal.

Curiosity got the better of him and Jay made for the noise. He prowled across the forest floor, creeping between the trees.

As Jay's steps grew quieter, the voices grew louder, piercing through the quietened rainforest buzz.

"Ready yet?"

"Wait. Not yet. Gotta oil my sword, don't know what's in there."

"Guys, look!"

Jay froze mid step.

He clenched his fists, intensifying Eye of the storm and preparing for a fight.

"Look at this symbol here, I've seen it before. Three crosses in a row, it's an old Frontier signal for danger."

Three sets of footsteps crunched over fallen leaves.

Jay relaxed and kept walking. He hadn't been seen yet, so wanted to get closer.

"There must be a relic inside this one Caleb. Let's get it now, before someone finds us."

Caleb…

Jay ran through his memory, trying to recall a gladiator named Caleb. He thought he remembered one of the lower ranked captains being called Caleb, but didn't remember anything about how he fought or who he chose as teammates.

"Fine. Let's make it quick."

Another round of footsteps disappeared into silence even as Jay drew closer. He rounded a tree and caught sight of a mossy ruin built from ancient grey stone. Twisting vines sprawled across the stones, wrapping their claws around its cracks.

A shadowy entrance descended into the ground. The three stones above it were wiped clean of plants and dirt. A cross was inscribed in each of them. Etched in deep.

Guess that's where they went…

Jay watched over the entrance. He tried to listen for the group of gladiators within, but no sound escaped the shadowed tunnel.

He considered following them but quickly shelved that idea. Why risk chasing after an entire trio?

Better to wait for the guys.

After a few minutes spent silently traversing the forest, Jay heard humanity once more.

Footsteps, pacing back and forth.

Exasperated sighs.

The faint clink of metal plates knocking against each other.

Jay crept behind a tree. He gingerly poked his head out, scanning ahead for any movement

Nothing.

He moved forward, drifting over the plants towards the next tree he could use as cover.

He looked again.

Still nothing.

After one more push, Jay caught sight of a clearing in the distance. It had an immaculate brick building in its centre, and neatly trimmed grass surrounding it rather than the dense undergrowth that claimed the rest of the jungle.

Jay recognised the building's tan bricks and the sun-bleached balconies dotting its multi-storeyed walls. It could've been plucked straight from Arenara Fortunis and dropped into the jungle.

That's got to be the exit hub.

A smile crept into Jay's lips as he searched around the hub for a place to wait and hide.

A second, more thorough look ripped the smile from his face.

Two familiar figures stared into the jungle from their spot beside the building, unaware of Jay's presence. One had a giant curved sword strapped to his back and snarled at any animal that dared hop into the clearing.

The other stayed sitting down, face covered in shadows as she rested her back against a giant, armoured puppet.