Chương 36: Chapter 35: Into the Jungle

Thalion took his first look at his surroundings. He was in another jungle, similar to the last one. The dense foliage, towering trees, and sprawling vines came alive with a bioluminescent glow, bathing the jungle in a soft, ethereal light. The leaves and flowers emitted radiant hues of blue, purple, and green, creating a living canvas that pulsed with energy. The ground was carpeted with luminous moss and strange, glowing fungi, lighting the path as he moved deeper into the jungle.

Above, the trees stretched toward the sky, their branches intertwined to form a canopy that filtered the starlight, allowing only fragments to peek through. In this environment, he must have been nearly invisible to the eyes of his enemies. With that, Thalion shot through the trees, searching for his first prey and heading in the direction of the water he heard nearby. His speed was incredible; even his shadowstalker form couldn't compare.

The trees blurred around him until he heard footsteps ahead, likely close to the water, and he slowed down. Then he spotted it: a giant glowhorn, probably also F grade. It was walking on the small grassland near the water. The beast had more muscle and stood slightly taller than those of G grade, but as it slowly moved forward, munching on the glowing grass, another creature burst out of the ground and he watched how a giant, mantis-like creature attacked the glowhorn.

Glowhorn Level 29 Mantis Akridon Level 27 The mantis akridon was covered in protective chitin armor with black spikes, and its two long arms ended in sharp, scythe-like claws. It stood over 8 meters tall, surpassing even the glowhorn. Slim but powerful, it had two legs and a glowing blue abdomen, with muscles glowing faintly as well. Its head, placed on a relatively long neck, was equipped with terrifying mandibles that bit into the glowhorn's neck with ease, while its front legs held the beast in place.

The glowhorn managed to throw the akridon off, pushing it further back with a powerful mana wave. Normally, Thalion would have waited to kill them both, but he felt neither of these creatures was a match for his new form, so he decided to engage in the fight. He sprinted onto the grassland where the two beasts fought. They didn't even notice him as he appeared behind the akridon and used his new skill, claws of shadow.

His claws grew even darker and longer, and with one swipe, they tore through the abdomen of the akridon, ripping it open completely. Blue blood flowed out of the wound like a river. The akridon screamed in pain and horror, turning to swipe at Thalion with one of its long arms. But Thalion was already moving. He leaped onto the back of the mantis akridon and used Abyssal Bite on the beasts midesection. At first, he felt strong resistance, so he poured full power into the attack, shattering the creature's armor.

His teeth opened another deep wound. Then he activated his only mythic spell, abyssal devourer. tendrils made out of darkness shot out from his body, entering the akridon's body through the wounds he had inflicted. The akridon screamed, thrashing around, trying to throw him off to no avail. Thalion's resource pool recovered visibly as the tendrils devoured the akridon. After a short struggle, the akridon lay dead, and the tendrils fully turned its body into darkness, consuming it completely.

You have gained 1 Toughness Only one toughness for such a strong beast was not that much. It might have something to do with the darkness the beast got turned into by his tentacles. Thalion was now at full health and nearly full mana and stamina, despite using quite a lot of power for his assault. The glowhorn roared at him, but Thalion could see the fear in its eyes. It knew that it was no match for him. Thalion charged at the beast.

It tried to trample him, but he dodged with ease and sliced off its right front leg with a swing of his claws, causing it to collapse to the ground, screaming in pain. After a short while, he devoured the glowhorn too, turning it fully into darkness. You have gained 1 Vitality Killing those two had brought him close to leveling up. He turned around in search of more prey, but the grassland around the river was empty at night, except for the two beasts he had just killed.

He had checked both their forms, but the akridon just had a weak claw attack, and the glowhorn had none skills at all. The manawave had to be pure mana manipulation. It was kind of weird though that this glowhorn only was at uncommon rarity while the one he killed with his old party was at epic rarity. With that, he entered the jungle again, moving at full speed, relishing the sensation. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

After a while, he heard the sounds of a fight and rushed in that direction. When he arrived, he was surprised, to say the least. A girl, no older than 15, and a giant orc were fighting against a group of humans trying to kill them. The orc had arrows sticking out of his body as he protected the girl from three archers, using his massive frame as a shield. The orc alone looked terrifyingly powerful, even taller than Thalion in his current form, and packed with muscle. Thalion used Identify on them.

Orc Level 31 Human Level 30 The girl and the orc were both high-level, and the group of hunters, all around level 27, had probably been teleported here just a day before Thalion. The situation looked grim for the orc and the young healer. Thalion didn't know their strategy, as the orc just kept blocking arrows and the occasional spells from the mages without counterattacking.

"Why don't you just give up and let us kill you? We'll make it painless," one of the men sneered. The girl took advantage of the moment, continuing to heal the orc, who then pulled a wooden spike from his spacial ring and hurled it at one of the archers. The archer dodged with ease, and the fight resumed. Thalion decided to help the orc and the girl. He wanted to know more about orcs and how their little group had formed.

He attacked one of the archers, bisecting him with a single swipe of his claws before moving on to the next target. A heavy warrior stood back, waiting for the archers and mages to weaken the orc. The man didn't even have time to react before he slumped to the ground, headless. Now everyone in the clearing noticed him.

"What the hell?" one of the men screamed in shock.

"It's just level 25! Kill it!" another shouted, and two arrows were fired at Thalion. His reflexes were too fast. He dodged between the arrows and killed two more humans with a single swipe of his claws, slicing through armor and bone. Then a fire spear from one of the mages hit his shoulder, knocking him back a few meters. It barely dealt any damage, and what little damage it did was healed instantly. The flames still clinging to his body were snuffed out by the darkness surrounding him.

"What? How?" The mage exclaimed, but he didn't have time to react before Thalion leaped across the clearing and attacked him. The mage conjured a mana barrier, but it wasn't infused with enough power. Thalion's claws tore through the barrier and the mage without slowing down. By then, everyone was running for their lives in different directions. Thalion chased down a heavy warrior and another mage, killing both at the end. When he returned to the clearing, he saw the orc and the girl watching him with wide eyes.

Thalion activated Abyssal Devourer and consumed all the human corpses in one go, using the tendrils of darkness.

"Holy shit," the orc rumbled in a deep voice, stepping back as the teenager stayed behind him. Thalion took a moment to check his notifications. You have killed Human Level 27 You have killed Human Level 27......... You have killed Human Level 28 You have reached Level 26 Thalion allocated his five free points into dexterity, then looked up at the two survivors left in the clearing. The young teenager shivered slightly, staring back at him with wide eyes.

When Thalion spoke in his shadowstalker form, his voice had been almost the same as in his human form, but now it was deeper, as if it came from the dark abyss itself.

"Relax, I'm not here to kill you. In fact, I have a few questions for you two, if you don't mind." The teenager's eyes blinked in disbelief, and the orc shouted, "Wait, you can speak? I thought you were one of those dumb beasts!"

"Obviously," Thalion replied, leaning forward with interest.

"Now, how did you two end up together? The orcs I've encountered weren't very friendly to humans." Which was the understatement of the year.

"This is Kargul Blackrock, and I'm Evelyn," she introduced them both, still uncertain if she could trust this dark being. But she continued, "The group Kargul entered with all died. The same thing happened to my group. I found him injured and healed him, and since then, we've been good buddies," she explained, with Kargul nodding along.

"So, which planet did you come from? I guess it's the one with the vampires," Evelyn asked cautiously.

"No, I'm from Earth," Thalion answered, still puzzled by the unlikely pair in front of him.

"Wait, that's impossible!" she exclaimed.

"We didn't have creatures like you on Earth."

"Got a special evolution," Thalion responded, shrugging his shoulders.

"So, how have you two survived on your own for so long? Most people stick in at least small groups, like the one I just decimated," Thalion said, sounding skeptical. They were strong, but a healer and an Orc wouldn't fare well against most groups. The moment the Orc charged into battle, the healer would likely die.

"We've managed by using my evasive skills while Kargul smashes everyone," Evelyn explained.

"But those were Steven's men. They move in larger groups, and they had too many light warriors for me to dodge them all."

"It's not the first time we've encountered them. The first time, the light warrior who was after me survived after his comrades fell, and since then, they've hunted us. You should be aware of them. Steven has some kind of light-based class that probably counters you. He can fly, and he takes it personally when his warriors get killed. He might come after you."

"What level is this, Steven? And do you have any idea where his camp is?" Thalion asked, his voice sinister, which sounded even more threatening in his new form.

"Don't even think about it!" Evelyn exclaimed in disbelief.

"He's blessed by a god and has over a hundred men under him. He lives in a large camp to the west."

"What do you know about gods?" Thalion asked, letting the matter with Steven slide for the moment.

"Not much, besides what the voice told us they can empower people they deem worthy, and it's one hell of a boost," Evelyn answered, shrugging.

"Okay, thanks. You two should probably move away from the water. A lot of blue robes will be teleporting in soon, and they're pissed. Oh, and there are two friends of mine in the area, a stone warrior and a water mage. They would be a good addition to your party," Thalion said as he began slowly walking away.

"Thanks! We'll keep an eye out for them!" the teenager happily shouted, waving with one hand.

"Bye-bye, scary black thing!" the orc shouted in a loud voice. Thalion disappeared into the jungle, eager to fight more until the system store arrived.