Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure by Andrew Karevik (book suggestions .TXT) 📗

Chapter 19

The drag marks on the earth were gone. Even though I had made a note of where we entered, in between the two braziers on the south, I could find no trace of the slight dent in the ground I had been making. Something or someone had covered up my tracks. This complicated my plan to find my way out of this place. Returning to the Stabwagon was of the utmost importance right now, for without it, we could not do alchemy.

My alchemical abilities allowed me to learn two weaknesses when distilling monster ingredients down into Estoan and Firnin. Killing the Eldest’s enemy would give me direct insight into how to kill the Eldest itself. It was unfortunate, but my only option here was to go alone in the Shadewood. Trig would be safe in the company of those poor thralls, for the Eldest wanted us to serve it. And I knew he wouldn’t try and think about my plans. Rather, he’d probably begin preparing for the fight ahead, learning what he could or even scouting out the location of the monster. He was a self-starter; I could trust the man to occupy himself.

As for me, I’d be going it alone. Not just simply without a partner, but also without a trace of where I was supposed to go.

Bad situation. Worse idea, my bow emoted to me as I walked through the darkness, the flames on my backpack flickering as the breeze began to pick up.

“Well what would you do?” I grumbled. “As far as I recall, all you ever seem to do is just shoot arrows. So maybe a little less criticism?”

The bow was silent after that. I wandered the darkness for quite some time, moving nowhere in particular. My feet carried me with diligence, but it was clear that no matter what I did, my trail would fade. I had tried digging deeper track marks with my boots, only to watch them fade away after a few moments. I left pieces of dried up jerky on the ground, but the breeze seemed to carry them off like dandelions in the wind. Perhaps it was the work of the shadow beast, trying to keep me from leaving.

I reached the root of a tree that was sticking up out of the ground. The gnarled black wood towered nearly twenty feet above me, forcing my gaze upwards. The darkness up there seemed especially foreboding. The black fog, as I thought of it, almost seemed to swirl around the edges of the dancing fire hanging from my backpack.

Bad situation. Better idea, the bow advised while I pondered scaling this massive tree. At once, dexterous energy surged through me as the bow granted me the stat bonus, approving of my plan. I scampered up the tree with ease, leaping from massive branch to massive branch. Climbing a giant tree with such a staggering jump height was actually quite easy. The flames around me flickered from the winds of my near-flight, forcing me to slow down a bit. I also took out another torch, just in case. Couldn’t have the flames go out for a second. I don’t know what the shadow beast was or what it was capable of, but I wasn’t about to find out.

Two hours passed, I suppose, as I climbed upwards. These trees were impossibly long, so tall that I began to wonder if there was ever an end to them. One last leap brought me to a small opening in the trunk of the tree-top. The flames illuminated this opening, showing branches and leaves above me in great amounts. Some exploration revealed nothing else. No more branches leading upwards.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” I mumbled, climbing up the tallest branch I could get to. It was just as sturdy as all the others, though it was much slimmer than the rest. I tested it a little, bouncing up and down to make sure it could withstand my landing. Torch in hand, fingers ready to cast elemental burst, I leapt up with all my might, sailing upwards.

The darkness covered me completely as I flew up forty feet. The fire did not go out from the force of the jump, thankfully, and a small bubble of light surrounded me. All sides, above, below and left to right, however, were swallowed by the darkness. At least, for a second.

And then, suddenly, the darkness was gone. All I could see was a great blue sky, followed by a piercing pain in both eyes as I went blind. The sun assailed me and I let out a great scream as the light overwhelmed me. I felt myself hurtling back down after I reached the apex of my leap. Desperate and afraid, I cast elemental burst repeatedly, lighting the torch on fire, ensuring that it was burning as I fell all the way down.

I hit the tree with a crunch and felt myself go limp. The flames in my hands were still burning, but I couldn’t see a damned thing. Regardless of that, I was smiling. For I had seen natural light for the first time in what felt like forever. I had found a way out.

I kept my eyes shut, resisting the urge to open them. I needed to stay day blind, so I could see where I was. I waited a moment to recover, dusted myself off and leapt once again, careful to make sure my torch was secure.

Once natural light touched my eyelids, I opened them. My senses cried out in pain, but I didn’t lose my vision. Instead, I could see the entire world around me. The great mountain range was behind me, and in front? I could see a huge city resting atop a hill. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of the great stone walls, erected to protect the humans presumably from all manner of monsters. It