Chapter 53 — Tracking Down the Zoot Den (Part II)

  The zoot-made trails through the jungle led to a rising ridge, vine and weather eroded enough to still be under the treeline with stabbings of worn black stone not yet fully claimed by undergrowth.

  Toren wasn’t sure whether to curse or praise fate. From his view, shadowed by the chest-high and flatworm-like roots of a large tree, he could see a suspiciously square opening flanked by carved pillars and a support beam leading into the sloped ground.

  An abandoned mine, if he had to guess—judging by the wheeled cart lying tipped over near the entrance.

  There was an earthy quality to the mana in the area as well. Rather than a nest, the source of the inexhaustible zoot presence might actually be a rift connecting to a rift-world or minor land-god’s domain.

  He silently groaned. Whether timely blessing or the gods throwing another trial their way, it meant there would be plenty of opportunity for levels for him and the Hatterwicks, if they could keep it secret.

  Claiming a mine would bring notice and risk from opportunists, but might be survivable once they were safely tier-2. Claiming a rift without political backing and the means to hold and exploit it would see them dead surer than the beast tide caused by the flooding.

  Even reporting it and getting paid for the discovery would bear risks, as it would bring traffic and attention past the orchard.

  If there was one comfort to be taken away, it was that the mine entrance was above the floodline marked into the root walls of the tree he was sheltering behind.

  A sentry zoot sniffing at the air was his cue to call the investigation done for now and retreat.

  Careful of his steps and line of sight, he worked his way back along a zoot trail choosing an eastward fork as he sensed a returning patrol along the southward path. His improving range on [Mana Sensing] was the only thing that made avoiding the patrols feasible enough for him to risk approaching as closely to the nest as he had.

  A few more carefully timed switches and two opportune ambushes of lone zoots, saw him back southward toward the gorge, and hopefully drawing near the road to Mistmire and the bridge Kota mentioned.

  He used Yana’s weighted knives and headshots to quietly dispatch them. The second wandering zoot, he yanked the throw a bit and clocked the beast with the handle rather than the blade. Thankfully, getting brained left it dazed enough to finish it off with a quick second throw. Not wanting to risk the extra time or getting too much of the scent of blood on him, he only took the crests, leaving the cores and carcasses behind.

  The easy 1500 XP had him one or two more kills from level 6. His brief hope of catching another lone zoot was short lived as the bridge coming into his [Mana Sensing] range also brought with it a full party of eleven zoots positioned to ambush travelers—himself included, should he try to cross the bridge without dealing with them.

  The gorge was steep with jagged sides of the same black rock that formed the ridge above the mine. Leaping the gap… he might be able to do it, but some of the vines choking the trees near the edges looked tier-2. If he got tripped or even slowed mid run, falling short would probably end badly for him even if the gorge wasn’t terribly deep.

  Also bad, if he did manage to clear it, crashing through the underbrush on both sides would alert every threat nearby of his location and would only buy him the brief few breaths it would take for the zoots to cross the bridge and chase after him.

  Carefully and silently, he picked his path closer, only for [Mana Sensing] to reveal another 7 zoots on the far side of the road.

  With a huff, he decided that reinforcing their view that he was too dangerous to attack was the only way through. If this went bad, he didn’t want to lose Yana’s knives, so unclipping his bow from the quiver, he nocked an arrow and circled around to bring the gaggle’s alpha into direct line of sight.

  A jerk of the alpha’s head prompted him to freeze in place. The others, hiding in the trees and undergrowth, remained remarkably still, dedicated to making the most of their [Camouflage] Ability.

  When the alpha’s attention returned to the road, Toren drew and loosed.

  -Tump-

  The impact of the bowstring was quieted by tufts of fur tied along the string, but the wary alpha’s jerk of its head caused the arrow to barely nick it.

  Having a worrying suspicion, Toren quickly took another shot, aiming for its heart or core.

  When the alpha unerringly twisted out of the way of a second shot, he confirmed an [Uncanny Dodge] Ability variant.

  Of course, that near-tier-2 alpha couldn’t be the only one, Toren half-groaned, half-cursed in his head.

  A third arrow aimed only to wound found flesh, laming one of its legs.

  The weakest of the zoots were shifting about unsure and already clicking out the warning sounds, but the alpha vomited out a pair of strangled honks that freed the rest from their caution and set the lesser ones frenzying upon him.

  Toren flung his bow toward the road as the jungle exploded into movement, hoping to force a few to dodge and leave it closer to the bridge and his intended escape direction—so he wouldn’t have to backtrack after all the noise this slaughter was likely to make.

  He was already unclipping the maul’s leather strap and swinging it around by the time the first reached him, blurring with some sort of [Dash] Ability.

  Charging into the dash, he used [Flurry of Blows] to slow his perception of time and land a crushing blow even as it dodged to the side at the last moment.

  Mana flowed into his core from the kill and the level increase.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The distraction of the zoot’s [Dash] had covered for others spreading out and flanking him. Relying on [Combat Awareness] to track the threats on ground and in the air, he continued burning mana to maintain his time-slowing perception and inertia reduction to swat two jumping from trees.

  He continued charging forward, causing the zoots nearest to scatter to either side. Facing this many, he’d have to trust his armor for this fight. Thankfully they had the funds to have it enchanted.

  A quick surge of [Burning Blood] allowed him to catch one too slow to change direction, punting it into a tree trunk.

  Having gnawed out the arrow, the had alpha snuck around to chomp him from behind, and Toren positioned his feet in anticipation, spinning backward at the last moment, pushing [Flurry of Blows] to its maximum while redirecting the blow to follow the alpha’s Ability-assisted dodge. The maul clipped the bipedal lizard’s snout just enough to snap its head around and send it flying back. He immediately redirected the swing upward to catch a tree-jumper with a similar idea to the alpha’s.

  Torren took advantage of the shock among the zoots at their alpha getting hit to charge through them toward the bridge, lashing out with rapid strikes.

  Quick harrying attacks from behind stalled his run as he had to spin back to protect his less armored legs.

  After catching those three with the unerring accuracy of his snake-quick hammer blows, he found the smart ones had measured the distance they needed to keep, darting in and back to draw a response, focused on keeping him encircled and continuously using his Abilities, intending to wear him down.

  Already recovered and rejoining the action, the alpha honked strategy to his hunting pack, and they all hissed threateningly with higher-level zoots spreading out and tensing as if waiting for a second signal.

  Toren pushed more mana into igniting his blood in preparation for either their coming attack or the one he would launch himself, blood roaring in his ears and his heart thumping loudly from the danger and exertion.

  He needed to finish this soon, before-

  [Mana Sensing] caught another small patrol drawn by the noise and to his dismay, one of the 5 new arrivals peeled off and ran back toward the den, honking sounds echoing faintly against the distant trees.

  His moment of inattentiveness was the moment the alpha signaled, and the strongest among the remaining zoots all activated Abilities and attacked.

  ~~~

  Name: Toren of Theravos

  Race: Human

  Age: 20

  Profession 1: Level 6 Burningblood Berserker (5700/12000)

  Mana: 47/96

  Strength: 16

  Constitution: 14

  Dexterity: 14

  Agility: 12

  Wisdom: 12

  Intellect: 8

  Will Power: 18

  Perception 15

  Appearance: 8

  Charisma: 8

  Luck: 10

  Attribute Upgrade Points: 5

  Traits:

  Sacrificial Guardian

  Abilities:

  Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid

  Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low

  Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low

  Ability Upgrade Points: 5

  Profession Skills:

  Severe Wound Recovery 5

  Focus Rage 3

  Combat Awareness 5

  Berserker Weapon Arts 1

  Pain Tolerance 5

  Physical Conditioning 6

  Intimidate 3

  Skills:

  Danger Sensing 3

  Stealth 18

  Mana Sensing 14

  Wilderness Harvesting 12

  Theravos Language 11

  Religion 10

  Meditation 5

  Bone Strengthening 3

  Divided Focus 2

  Hunting 20

  Archery 19

  Running 13

  Wound Binding 8

  Arithmetic 4