Chapter 27 - Apex

  “Well, that works out then,” Elaine said. “While they are helping Bryant, we can do some hunting. We will just need to keep our stealth up while we look around.”

  “Is that a good idea?” Jack asked.

  “No, probably not,” Elaine admitted. “But we can keep an eye out for any of the Wenduags or Chualtalas, and if we are going to spend another day out here anyways, we should make the most of it.”

  “Alright,” Jack said. “But just to be safe, Ciao, can you keep that silence zone up while you train?”

  “Simple enough,” Ciao said. “But remember if you go too far then you will pull us with you.”

  “Almost forgot about that,” Jack said. “We’ll stay close.”

  Elaine nodded, and they both took off into the jungle once again. This time they moved with more care.

  They moved around the trees and bushes as Elaine searched the ground for plants she recognized. Jack had no clue what to look for, so he just kept a lookout for animals to hunt as she searched. Every so often she would find something and call him over to help gather the plant. They found a lot more rage roots. The stuff grew all over the place.

  They only gathered a small amount of the roots before moving on to gather other plants. Elaine mentioned the rage roots could be used in strength increasing potions and bolster the power of other potions, making it worth experimenting with.

  They continued their search, coming across several different plants that Elaine recognized. They came across verbena that was good to use in making Health potions; mandrake roots that could be used to make basic poisons with; wild aconite, called wolfsbane by some, and something called ague which was good for creating simple potions that helped ward away rodents and other weak creatures.

  Jack put everything they found in his Storage. The goal was to get a nice stockpile of everything they could while they were out here. It proved to be an easier task than expected. They only needed to find the plant one time and then Jack was able to use his Gather’s Sense to find more in the area.

  This way, they were able to quickly get a decent amount of everything they came across. He was glad that his Gatherer’s Sense was starting to become more useful as well. The more they found now, the more it would continue to help him later.

  Other than the various herbs they intended to use in Alchemy, Elaine had them stop to pick less magical plants for cooking with. Over the course of the early morning, they were able to find the local equivalent of ginger, basil, peppers, mint, and lemons. They even came across a hive of pollinating insects that Jack was certain made something similar to honey, but they ultimately decided to leave that alone. Neither of them were keen on provoking a hive of unknown insects right now.

  As they search for plants, Jack spent most of his time searching for creatures using his Survival skill. They came across a few Umbral Skees that Jack remembered from when he had first arrived. Jack tried to hunt these when he saw them but came across a new issue.

  His spear, while it made the fights with the Umbral Skees practically simple, was too poisonous and ultimately ruined the meat from the creatures it killed. It was great at ending the fight quickly, but if they hoped to have anything worth eating from this expedition, Jack was going to need to find something else to hunt with.

  Sighing, Jack placed the spear back in his Storage and pulled out his old trusty Chualtala fang. It was a fang he had taken from the skull of a dead Chualtala that had served as his main weapon until recently. It may not be as strong as his new spear, but it should at least allow him to recover more from the creatures he fought.

  Elaine joined him on some of the hunts. They often took turns fighting if the creature was weak. On occasion that they came across something more dangerous, they would work together to take it down. They had one such fight when they came across a creature called a Jerla, according to the System. It looked in every way like a typical deer, but Jack never saw a deer with such large canines before. They were more like fangs.

  Upon seeing them, it rushed them, moving fast, using its antlers, teeth, and hooves to try and pin them down and bite them. Luckily, Jack’s Shadow Shifting made it easy to stay out of the range of the creature’s more dangerous features. He kept the creature’s attention as Elaine focused on attacking it from its unprotected sides. Ultimately, it wasn’t too difficult of a fight with the two of them working together, but it had resulted in one benefit.

  *Spell Increased: Shadow Shifting (Novice)*

  -You can now bring one more person with you as you shift. Mana doubled when bringing an extra person. You can now disappear and reappear in brighter areas at reduced Mana cost.

  Jack’s Shadow Shifting spell finally increased, and the new change offered new possibilities that he hadn’t thought of before. He had been using the spell for weeks now but hadn’t experimented with improving it. He was glad for the upgrade, but it made him wonder what else the spell would be able to do if he continued to level it up. It was certainly something to think about as they continued their search.

  The Jerla was possibly the most dangerous creature they came across during the early morning. They came across a few more throughout the day, but so long as they could surprise the Jerlas, they could usually take them down with a couple of attacks. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that they came across something truly dangerous.

  They had found some mushrooms that Elaine didn’t recognize. They were busy inspecting them when Jack’s Danger Sense went off like a bell in his head. Without thinking, he grabbed Elaine and Shadow Shifted them ten feet back, just in time to avoid a large purple and black leopard jumping on them from behind. Instead, it landed where they had just been standing.

  The leopard appeared confused at first as it looked around for its missing meal. That was enough time for Jack and Elaine to get their weapons out and take up a combat stance. Jack took the time to switch out his fang for his spear. He could tell just by looking at this creature that it wasn’t something to hold back on. Even without trying to Analyze the creature he could tell it was stronger than any they had come across before. Maybe even as strong as the Wenduags or stronger. There was a strange presence the leopard was giving off. Even knowing that, Jack still inspected the creature as he activated his Spinning Blaze Ward and checked his Barrier was active as well.

  *Kerga: Level 16 (Apex)*

  Affinities: Darkness, Fire, Astral

  “The System says it’s called a Kerga, level sixteen and is an Apex,” Jack informed Elaine.

  “That’s not good,” Elaine said. “We might want to run if we can.”

  “We can try, but I don’t know if it’s going to let us go easily,” Jack said. “You think we can’t take it?”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Just be prepare for anything.”

  The Kerga shook off its surprise and was now facing the two of them, staring at them with its two purple-hued eyes. In a flash of movement, the Kerga closed the distance swiping at them with its large claws. Jack reacted instantly, shifting them again to reappear behind the creature only to be knocked to the ground from a sweep of its tail.

  Elaine rolled as they fell, getting back to her feet an instant later as Jack pulled himself up. The Kerga wasn’t giving them much time to recover as it turned to face them once again. It went after Elaine with a series of rapid strikes that Elaine struggled to dodge. She managed to avoid the first few, but Jack could tell that she wasn’t going to be able to keep that up for long.

  Since the Kerga’s focus was off him for the moment, Jack attacked with his spear at whatever he was able to reach. He managed to get two shallow cuts across the Kerga’s hind leg and tail before having to dodge a back kick from the Kerga. The cuts may be shallow, but every cut should add more poison, weakening the leopard. The strikes were enough to distract it from Elaine, making it round on Jack who had to shift away to avoid its claws.

  Elaine took the opportunity to get away from the Kerga, managing to land a few cuts with her daggers as she did. The Kerga roared in anger, trying to grab Elaine as she moved, but Jack struck down on the Kerga’s front leg with a Pinning Thrust. In response, the Kerga faded away before Jack could land the strike, disappearing completely. At the same time, Jack’s Danger Sense made him jump to the side, but not in time.

  The Kerga reappeared behind Jack, raking its claws across his back. Jack’s Barrier crumbled at the strike but without it, Jack wasn’t certain he would have survived. Even with the barrier reducing the damage, he lost a large chunk of his health.

  “Are you okay?” Elaine called out to him. Jack couldn’t see where she was but immediately cast a Mend and reactivated his Barrier as he rolled and dodged the relentless strikes of the Kerga.

  “I’ll be fine,” Jack called back. “Just be careful when you come in. It’s like it can see everything around it. Zyne, I’m going to need your help with this. Can you slow it down?”

  “I can try,” Zyne said. Zyne sprung from Jack, trying to wrap around the Kerga. The sudden surprise of a vine shooting out at it caused the Kerga to disappear again only to reappear a few feet away. Zyne landed harmlessly on the ground where the Kerga had just been.

  “I don’t like the way it is looking at me,” Zyne said. “Hugs are fine, but cuts are not.”

  “Come back to me then,” Jack said. “We’ll try again when it’s guard is down.”

  Zyne jumped back towards Jack as the Kerga tried to pounce on the vine. It landed on the ground tearing through the dirt and roots with ease but missing Zyne. Jack took advantage of the situation channeling his Elemental Attunement to add fire to his spear and thrusting into the Kerga’s shoulder with an Imbued Strike.

  Jack’s spear pierced through the Kerga’s hide, hitting bone as fire and poison burned its flesh. The Kerga flinched in pain and Elaine took the chance to reappear from the jungle, stabbing her daggers into the side of the Kerga and sending a discharge of an electrical shock.

  The Kerga disappeared the next second, and Jack didn’t even need his Danger Sense to tell him to shift again. Jack reappeared in the air above just as the Kerga appeared striking where Jack had been. He repositioned his spear pointing straight down aiming another Pinning Thrust at the Kerga’s back.

  But, as though sensing Jack’s intention, the Kerga disappeared again causing Jack to land harmlessly on the ground. Jack was paying close attention to his Danger Sense now, trusting it more than his eyes. He was preparing to dodge, expecting the Kerga to try again except his senses weren’t telling him that he was the one in danger.

  “Duck,” Jack called out to Elaine, activating his Summon Shield for the first time to cover her. Elaine was already moving, but as Jack’s words Mana surged into her boots, and she sped away as the Kerga appeared where she had just been.

  The Kerga was already mid-swipe aiming to cut Elaine in two, but instead its claws raked harmlessly across the large stone shield that appeared hovering in the air where Elaine had been. Jack shifted, appearing below it and stabbing upwards into the Kerga’s neck with another Imbued Strike. his thrust landed, catching the Kerga off guard and piercing into its neck. For a moment, the spear held the leopard in the air and prevented it from touching the ground. He brought all his strength to bear as he struggled to hold the weight of the leopard above him with his spear. The Kerga continued to bat and swipe at Jack as it tried in vain to break his spear that was still lodged in its collar.

  “Zyne, now!” Jack yelled. Zyne leaped onto the creature wrapping around it in an instant. Its thorns leaving shallow cuts as Jacks fire and poison continued to fill the creature. Elaine appeared nearby slashing and stabbing the Kerga with a rapid series of strikes that blurred as she moved.

  They were only able to get a few seconds of free hits on the creature before it disappeared again leaving Zyne grabbing nothing in the air. Zyne fell, rejoining Jack as it did. Jack and Elaine looked around, their backs to each other, wondering where the Kerga was going to reappear this time. But nothing appeared.

  “Is it running?” Jack asked.

  “Probably,” Elaine said. “I don’t think it will get far though. It’s hurt and there has to be limits to how far it can teleport.”

  “What do you think?” Jack asked. “Do we chase after or let it go?”

  “Chase after it,” Elaine said. “We might not get another chance like this and that is not a creature I want holding a grudge. We need to be careful though. Beasts are most dangerous when they are wounded.”

  They had to split up to search the area. Elaine was correct that the Kerga hadn’t gotten far. Jack found it after a few seconds of searching. He called Elaine as he did. The Kerga was trying to run, but it was struggling to move as the poison continued to slow it.

  Jack Jumped down aiming to land on the Kerga with the intent on finishing it off. As he fell, he thrust down into the creature with another Imbued Strike but instead of striking the Kerga or even seeing it disappear again, Jack’s saw his spear pass through the leopard harmlessly a moment before he did the same. The image of the Kerga flickered before disappearing as Jack found himself alone.

  He activated his True Sight trying to locate the creature. At the same time, Jack’s Danger Sense told him to jump away, but he was only able to bring up his spear in time to block as the large body of the Kerga landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. It tried to bite down on Jack, but he managed to keep his spear between them, wedging it into the leopard’s mouth and preventing it from being able to bite down on him. Slobber covered Jack’s face as the Kerga tried to break through his spear to reach Jack. When that didn’t work, it dug its claws into Jack, easily breaking his Barrier. Jack could feel several of his bones break from the pressure.

  He cried out in pain but continued to hold, refusing to give up. Zyne shot out onto the Kerga trying to pull the beast’s jaw and claws from Jack. In the distance he heard Elaine calling out to him, but Jack was too busy trying to endure the pain. He could feel himself start to black out, but something kept him lucid. He tried to shift away, but something held him in place like an anchor preventing him from teleporting away. Changing tactics, Jack started casting Mend repeatedly as he fought back against his quickly depleting Health bar.

  The only fortunate part of this situation was that Jack’s Spinning Blaze Ward was still active and working overtime as two orbs of fire repeatedly slammed into the Kerga’s side. From nearby, Jack could see Zyne and Elaine continued to try pulling the leopard off him. Strangely, it was working. The poison was running its course and the Kerga was getting weaker. The constant burns and wounds it was receiving was only hastening its end. At the same time, Jack was able to cast his Mend fast enough to stop the beast from finishing him off. A fact the Kerga was starting to realize.

  The Kerga tried to trash Jack around, to bring an end to him quickly, but Zyne held its head, preventing it from moving. When that didn’t work, it tried to flee once again shifting away, but Jack grabbed the beast’s neck as it started to disappear again. Jack could feel whatever was preventing him from being able to shift disappear, and at the same time he could almost feel the trace of Mana the beast was using.

  The Kerga disappeared again, but Jack could still feel it. The spell it used was the same as his and he could almost sense exactly where it had gone. With a thought, Jack shifted using the traces left by the Kerga’s spell to follow behind. He reappeared saddling the beast still gripping his spear with one hand. Jack stabbed down onto the Kerga’s head with one swift motion. The Kerga was too surprised by his sudden appearance to react as his spear pierced its skull.

  It crashed to the ground a moment later, and Jack didn’t even need the System prompt the next moment to confirm. It was dead. Jack rolled off the beast and onto the ground. He tried to heal himself again but felt something was wrong when he tried to use his Mana. Blood filled his mouth as a wave of pain passed through him when he tried. Vaguely he could hear Elaine calling out to him.

  “Over… here,” Jack croaked, coughing blood as he spoke. “It’s safe…, but I might… need some help.”

  Jack thought he heard Elaine call something stupid, but he wasn’t sure what exactly. He was so tired right now.