NOVEL NEXT 55 - Three-Legged Derus
En used Inspect to feel the defenses of the three-legged bird. They were not particularly sturdy. The beast clearly didn't have Conceal and was relying on its natural defenses.
Thankfully, the bird wasn't attacking. It seemed content to observe Div, En, and Gennorina from afar. It gave En plenty of time to practice peeking at its status without being detected.
As Theaphilia had explained, it was somewhat similar to lockpicking. Using his mana sense, En had to carefully thread his way through the barrier surrounding the bird's status without triggering it. Once he was past the barrier, he could then use his Inspect skill to decode the shape of the beast's mana into a readable status.
Since the bird was barely defended, it didn't take long.
Species: Three-Legged Derus
Skills:
Inspect - Basic - Lv5
Sense Weakness - Basic - Lv3
Peck - Basic - Lv5
(Div! Are you holding on?)
[Barely… That thing is strong.]
(Level 5 inspect.)
No wonder Div was struggling. As soon as he started consciously taking care of Conceal, he felt a massive pressure fall on his barrier.
It was surprising he noticed anything at all. With the bird's level in Inspect, it could have seen through his Conceal without him noticing.
But the bird didn't seem to care. After all, it was a monster, and they had already spotted each other. Why should it be subtle?
As Div was scrambling to repair his barrier, which the bird kept damaging, En told him the result of his inspection.
At least the bird wasn't as good at concealing as it was at inspecting.
(It's good. Perfect to train Conceal.)
[Stop talking and help me out.]
(Right—Sorry!)
With En's support, they were able to hold on. If just barely. And that was with the bird splitting its focus between them and Gennorina. A quick glance from Div and En revealed the girl was struggling under the pressure of the constant assault on her Conceal.
She didn't have the benefits of two minds working together to repair the barrier hiding her status.
Still, training Conceal was why they were here. So Div and En didn't help her.
Ultimately, it didn't matter if the bird saw through their status. It was a bird. It couldn't tell anyone. They wouldn't lose in a fight either.
The stand-off continued for a moment. Until Gennorina failed to hold up her concealment. With the bird having inspected Gennorina, it didn't need to split its attention between the two humans. The entire force of its Inspect skill bore down on Div and En, quickly breaking through their barrier.
As soon as it did, it scurried away.
(It saw our skills and fled.)
[Smart move.]
"Are you alright?" They asked Gennorina.
"Yes, you?"
Skill leveled up: Conceal Lv1 -> Lv2
"A level in Conceal," Div and En announced.
"Me too!" Gennorina said. "We're lucky to find a derus. They're pretty common around here, but a lot of their population gets wiped out during dark days."
From what En had seen with Inspect, they could guess why. This bird wasn't very strong, it mainly relied on superior inspecting skills to strike at weaker prey. With the dark days' effect on the monsters, this advantage was gone, making deruses vulnerable.
"Those wild aretras are wonderful," Div and En said.
"Courtesy of Camboaci!" Gennorina said.
[It's too bad we're not using more skills.]
(I know, but the derus didn't want to fight…)
[I could start channeling Echoes of the Rot Heart.]
(We're not injured.)
[Maybe we should be…]
(Don't be an idiot. You're not suggesting injuring ourselves so we can train that disgusting skill?)
[It would help!]
(No it wouldn't! Do you want to make us look crazy in front of Gennorina?)
[Hmm, good point. Maybe another time.]
(No. Never.)
"We should continue," Gennorina said, gesturing for Div and En to follow her.
They followed.
Supposedly, the forest was emptier after the dark day, but to Div and En, it didn't feel this way. When they first arrived in the Wildlands, they didn't see many creatures.
Granted, they had been attacked by a wolf and a Cyclops. But every time they tried to find creatures to fight, they came back empty-handed.
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Having seen one derus so quickly after leaving the clearing was more than they had been expecting.
Gennorina was thinking differently, "You've been incredibly lucky. Just two monsters? Even falling into that rift right after Elenvind's passage was great. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it was hard. But with so many rifts opening at once, the forest was chaotic. Even our Evolved Ranks didn't dare to leave the village until it calmed down."
"Really? Was it this bad?"
"It's the initial spill. The monsters that emerge when the rift is created. They're lost, aggressive, and hungry. But that's just the start, the village is still working on harvesting and closing the rifts."
Div and En put the matter of luck aside. Now, it wasn't important if they had been lucky or not. They were alive, it was all that mattered.
"Closing the rifts? Isn't that a waste?" They asked. As far as they knew, rifts were extremely valuable commodities in Kheiron. Maybe because they were rare in the city's surroundings, the clans made sure the ones they owned were never closed so they could continuously extract resources from them.
Since rifts often led to environments vastly different from where they were anchored to, it was possible to gather unusual resources there.
"Too many rifts bring bad attention," Gennorina explained. "Other Lienien villages to the south, tribes to the north, explorers from Kheiron. We don't want to attract them."
She looked at Diven and added, "Sorry, it's not about you."
"No, it's fine. I understand," Div and En said.
"I'm glad. Honestly, some people in Camboaci don't like Kheironites. Your people have a reputation for being extremely arrogant, acting like they own the forest. This kind of things."
[I can totally imagine.]
(Unfortunately, the clans really do think they own the forest.)
"I know. I was actually apprehensive about following Belilamos to Camboaci. Kheiron's view of the Lienien is not flattering."
"Really?" Gennorina asked. "What do they say about us?"
"Barbarians. Uncivilized. I'm sorry, this is embarrassing."
"Barbarians? They're probably confusing us with the tribes living north of here."
"Maybe…" Div and En said, unconvinced. But it was true most people never specified which barbarian they were talking about. As far as Div and En were concerned, before he came to Camboaci, there was no difference between Lieniens and those living further north.
"Anyway," Gennorina said. "We're far enough from your old city that we don't interact much. There's no reason to feel bad."
"You're right. I've only had positive interactions with people here. I'm glad I met you. And the others."
"Me too, Diven," Gennorina said, looking in the distance. "There's something in front of us. Behind the rock, do you see it?"
Startled by her sudden shift in tone, Div and En looked in the direction she was pointing to. There was indeed a rock. There was nothing special about it, it wasn't particularly large nor was its shape memorable.
"I can't see anything."
"Wait, I'm inspecting it," Gennorina said as she focused on her target.
Div and En tried to distinguish what their friend was looking at. But they truly couldn't. To their eyes, there was nothing of note near the rock. Their mana sense wasn't picking up anything either.
Still, since Gennorina had seen something, they were ready to react. Their spear and shield firmly in hand, they bolstered their Conceal and waited.
"It's an earth spirit," Gennorina said. "This is why you cannot see it."
"An earth spirit?"
"Similar to the spirit of the wall of trees," she explained. "Everything in nature has the potential to give birth to a spirit. Even an inanimate rock. That's a key aspect of my druidic powers."
"Is it hostile?" Div and En asked.
"No. It's very weak. Its only skill is Earth Magic. Basic Rank. Only level 2…"
(She seems hesitant.)
[It may be an opportunity for her. We should encourage her.]
"If you need time, take it. I can wait."
"Thank you," She breathed in relief, her shoulders visibly relaxing. "I don't want to inconvenience you. With the aretra…"
"It's fine. I'm guessing this is a good thing for you?"
"Yes," Gennorina said. "I haven't found a spirit willing to communicate with me yet. The wall of trees is too powerful to care about a new druid like me."
"Then go for it!"
"Thank you. I'll need to meditate, please watch over me."
Gennorina sat down and closed her eyes. She repeated the process Div and En had observed during the dark day, sending nature-attuned mana into the earth.
There was some risk involved. But they weren't too worried. Div and En knew the forest was dangerous, but it wasn't like a horde of monsters would appear out of nowhere. Compared to the dark day, this didn't seem as dangerous.
As if to prove them wrong, the dead leaves on the floor rustled behind them.
The three-legged derus was back. It was the same as before. Div and En were sure of it. Its mana signature matched exactly. A quick Inspect confirmed it had the same skills.
(It came back as soon as Gennorina closed her eyes. I don't like it. It must be confident.)
[Sense Weakness?]
(This is what I'm worried about. I wonder what it's thinking. Our skills are at a much higher level.)
[We can't let our guard down just because our skills are at a higher level. Remember the rift? Skill levels are not everything.]
(I know, Gennorina is counting on us.)
They looked at the bird suspiciously. It was awkwardly walking in their direction, its three legs giving it a bizarre rhythm.
Div and En were ready, they put themselves between the monster and Gennorina. Their spear in their right hand and shield in their left hand.
[I wonder what weakness it sensed in us?]
(Our rot-attunement? Our split mind?)
[Those are not weaknesses. Not when confronted with a monster, at least.]
(We'll figure it out soon enough.)
The bird was about to reach them.
Suddenly, it stopped walking and used its three legs to propel itself into the air. Like a chicken trying to fly, it flapped its wings, barely gaining any lift.
Yet, as ridiculous as it looked, the derus was barreling toward them at high speed. Div and En raised their shield, trying to cover as much space as possible.
They could have skewered it on their spear. But they didn't dare take the risk. If they missed, the derus would go straight to Gennorina, at best interrupting her work. At worst, seriously injuring her.
Clumsy and unagile, the bird couldn't change course mid-air, let alone stop. It crashed into Div and En's shield, absorbing a hefty amount of rot-attuned mana in the process.
The derus bounced on the ground but quickly recovered.
(Maybe we were worrying for nothing. That bird seems kind of dumb.)
[Don't underestimate the enemy.]
While its first attack hadn't worked out, the derus wasn't out of commission. Once more, but slower, it jumped in Div and En's direction.
They held their shield firmly, ready to block another charge. But the derus wasn't charging.
Instead of hitting their shield, it flapped its wings and landed on top of the rim. From there, it started pecking at their head.
(Ouch! It hurts!)
Peck didn't sound like a powerful skill, but it was level 5. Each strike drew blood.
But Div and En were quick to react and dropped their shield after the second hit.
[I'm going to kill it.]
(Use Echoes of the Rot Heart before Gennorina wakes up. We don't want her to see us like that. And the skill is disgusting.)
[Um, are you sure?]
(Yes!)
[I thought the scars would bother you. But fine, take care of the bird for me.]
Div cut contact with En and started channeling Echoes of the Rot Heart. He had been hoping to do so while under the effect of the aretra, and he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.
(Div? Div? I changed my mind. Div!)