NOVEL NEXT 2.30: Scarabs
The remnants buildings and homes of Charlestown were mostly quiet as Ethan and the others jogged toward Wyldrock. A few beastly calls rang here and there, and they were even intercepted once or twice by territorial rats or raccoons, but those were very quickly taken care of.
They could have flown, maybe. But not everyone had access to wings and frankly, Wyldrock was merely around a 30 minute run away. At most. With all of their physicality being augmented by stats and levels, none of them were flagging. Though not all were running.
Having been annoyed at the running, Ember had tried digging her claws deeper into his horns but after barely a couple of minutes, she grew sick of the uncomfortable ride and instead of jogging along with them, two bat wings sprouted out of her back and she hopped up in the air to fly above them.
Soon enough, the hill on which Wyldrock stood came into view and minutes later, a yawning Marcello opened the earthy wall for them so they could enter.
"Hey boss. I sent someone for Gavin. These your… friends?" the man asked, blinking at the Ember who'd found her spot on Ethan's horns again.
"Hey Marcello. Yeah, these are the folk from New Dawn. Amanda here's going to be managing things and setting things up for the high council. She'll explain everything."
"Cool cool," Marcello said as he looked past him at the guests. Only Amanda was paying attention, while everybody else was staring around like tourist. She smiled at Marcello and reached out for a handshake. "Mr. Marcello. Ethan told me about you. How are the two Union representative doing?"
"They're underground," Marcello said, stifling a yawn as his eyes flicked toward Ethan as if to confirm it was okay for him to answer, to which Ethan just nodded. Amanda didn't miss the interaction, but she didn't dwell on it. She raised a brow, glancing at the ground under their feet. "Alive, I hope?"
"Of course. Though they won't shut up. And they can't decide between threatening us or begging to be freed. Want me to bring them up?"
Amanda hummed, glancing toward Ethan who just shrugged, as if waiting for him to weigh in. So he just shrugged. "You're dealing with it," he said.
Amanda's eyes twinkled. "In that case… Let's wait until we meet everyone. But yes, I'd like to deal with that issue soon. We'll bring it up with the council… I've got a couple of ideas."
"Works for me," Marcello simply said as he glanced behind to see if Gavin was arriving, but the only thing he saw were the slinking forms of the Wyldcats as they crept toward them along the dark wall of a barrack. A groan escaped his throat. "Dammit. Where's Sophia… don't worry about them," he said turning toward the guest. "They're harmless. Mostly," Marcello added that last part under his breath. But before the cats could get to them, Ember hopped off Ethan's horns.
"[They're friendlies, Ember,]" Ethan said as he watched the flames ripple across the Ignisra's back. Ember had grown larger ever since she'd reached tier-2, but she was still smaller than all of the Wyldcats. Though she was definitely more threatening, and the flames dancing on her back were enough to spook the curious felines that just scampered away, just in time for Gavin to show up in a light jog.
"Hey everyone! Welcome to Wyldrock!" the man said, a wide smile on his face and eager to set things in motion and get going, Ethan chimed in and introduced everyone—including Ember who was staring at the three oversize cats peering at her from across the street—and when he was done, he summoned his wings and gave all a smile, his wings twitching to take him away.
"I guess that's it for me. I'll pop back as soon as I finish clearing the first rift. Do you guys need anything?"
Ethan noticed Gavin about to speak, but Amanda spoke first. "We have everything under control. Happy hunting," she said, and Ethan genuinely smiled back and hopped in the air, soaring into the night sky as he left politics and management behind.
It was time for some simple, straightforward monster-hunting.
***
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Above the old docks, Ethan whistled an old tune as he observed the monsters swimming out of the water. The rift was nearly fifty yards into the sea, a few feet above the water surface, and out of the glowing gash in reality, green, giant beetles were dropping out with loud splashes every few seconds.
[Verdant Scarab (I) - Level 68]
Some of them were fanning their wings on top of the partially sunk boats, and Ethan watched as one of them reached the docks. It tried to clamber up onto the cement for a couple of seconds, and when that didn't work, its shell glowed and out of the cement, thick, brown roots broke out of the gray, barnacle covered surface and gave the giant insect a perch to grip on before it dragged itself up. All around, more and more of these roots were spreading up and out, slowly creating a blanket of roots that were slowly inching deeper into the land, and recalling what the stone elementals he fought had been trying, Ethan couldn't help but envision these new monsters as invaders.
So… insects, can create plants. Or maybe just roots. Won't drown, he summarized as his dark claws glimmered in the moonlight, contrasting with the pales scales that crept up toward his elbows.
"Fire it is, then," he muttered. A wave of heat spread out of his scales as the air rippled from the barely contained heat. With his affinities aligned to fire, the [Emberborn Heart] was beating merrily, already drinking in the heat, and as Ethan hovered lower, the first scarabs finally noticed his presence.
Before any of them could react, Ethan let the first tongue of flames run down his arm and with a blinding flare of light, Ethan completely engulfed the first scarab in orange and red flames. The docks lit up as the scarab screeched, the grinding, high-pitched wail nearly making Ethan wince as all the scarabs that had made landfall looked up, and a moment later, the first of the creatures fell as the notification came through.
A metallic buzz filled the air as the scarabs angrily fanned their wings, punctuated by sharp clicks as the insectile monsters snapped their mandibles threateningly.
"Oh so they could fly? The wings aren't just for show?"
As he saw the first of them take wing, he assumed that the rift's placement had sort of taken them by surprise, dropping them in the water. Though that opened another issue. As he watched 8 of them fly at him and as three fireballs began forming atop of his horns, Ethan wondered how many un-monitored rifts had opened up deep at sea.
I bet that's going to be an issue sooner or later, he thought, then with with a wave of his hand, he activated his new spell right in the path of the oncoming scarabs. Mana surged out of his scales and ignited, lighting up the night again as a wall of compact flames surged and cut the scarabs off. More wails of pain filled the quiet night and after a couple of seconds, he cut the spell off.
"Good to know it can be held for a while," Ethan mused as he saw the smoking, smoldering forms of the scarabs hit the surf. Cracking his neck, he pushed more mana into the fireballs, then he let the first one fly at the first scarab that managed to reach the shore again, and watched as a bit of shell and cement went flying all over as the spell went off.
Clearing out the rest of the scarabs that made it out of the rift only took a couple more minutes and soon enough, Ethan stepped through the blue crack in reality, leaving the smoky, foggy dock behind. With a shiver of pressure, the world shifted and immediately, an intensely earthy and musty scent filled his nostrils as he found himself in a clearing in the middle of windy, twisty jungle of some sorts.
Ethan looked around at the twisting roots and swaying canopy, and at the scarabs that had stopped whatever they'd been doing as they stared down at him, then he looked down at his flames dancing around his scales.
This all looks… very flammable, he thought, a smile stretching on his lips.
Rift challenge: Destroy the heart of the Verdant Rootmind
Challenge reward: One trait token and one tier-2 spell token.
Oh right! I forgot about the spell selection, Ethan cursed. But at least he was getting a new trait.
Stretching his arms above his head, Ethan pulled up the spell token and cashed it right then and there. Considering the nature of the rift and its threats, he decided that a wildfire might actually work in his favor and it would probably buy him a couple of minutes to finish selecting his spell so without further ado, Ethan let the three fireballs fly, one straight-ahead, one to his right, and one to his left. The spells detonated in three consecutive bangs, engulfing more of the screeching scarabs and buzzing insects in fire and as Ethan began reading the spellform options, the buzz in his ears grew louder and louder.
"Now, let's see what the System's offering," he said and pausing, he nodded appreciatively. The searing heat he could feel on his scales from the surrounding blaze was kind of enjoyable.