Chapter 27: Twisted (1).

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Divine Elixir (1 request):

Purifies, restores vitality and heals all wounds sustained since twenty four hours before consumption.

Ashbread (1 request):

A small, blackened loaf. Tastes like dust, but a single portion alleviates hunger for a day.

Waterskin of Purity (3 requests):

A leather flask that purifies any liquid poured inside it. Limited to ten uses before it becomes unusable.

Lantern of Warmth (2 requests)

A lantern that burns with no flame, but provides warmth in the coldest of nights.

Veil of Darkness (2 requests):

A strip of black, woven fabric that conceals the user from sight and scent of lesser Abominations for a single day.

Thornbrand Dagger, Relic (3 requests):

A sharp, blackened dagger enchanted with the Blessing of Laceration. Prevents wounds from closing easily.

Traveler’s Charm, Relic (3 requests):

A bone-carved talisman hung on a cord. Reduces fatigue and hunger during long journeys. Fragile, breaks after thirty days of use.

***

Nero sat down and stared at the list of runes before him.

’Every one of them is quite useful in its own right.’ he thought to himself.

His brows crinkled,

’I have no need for the Ashbread at the moment since I still have my rations. But I can see them becoming useful once I run out. Although…’

The phrase ’tastes like dust’ alongside such an ominous name didn’t make him feel excited at all.

’Everything else is so useful. But… They are rather costly.’

He sighed the turned his face up,

“I’d like two Divine Elixirs…”

Opening his eyes, Nero quickly stored the two vials away.

His brows were furrowed as he thought,

“If only there was a way to accumulate the requests. Then I could buy multiple at once.” He sighed.

And if he understood the Oracle correctly, there was a rather high chance the list he saw today would not be the same one tomorrow.

In the end, there was nothing my h he could do about it.

’For now, let us go hunting.’

After battling so many creatures within the cave, Nero believed he finally had enough experience to venture out a bit.

His last battle had gone rather smoothly. If not for an unfortunate incident, he would have come out unscathed.

Taking a moment to mentally prepare himself, the grabbed his essentials and his sword then stepped out of the cave.

The cover of night would have made for better means to hide his presence. However, within these cursed woods, there existed far too many things that would devour him alive if he dared step into them at night.

Luckily, he had become aware of that earlier on and would not be throwing his life away for no reason.

The dark woods were ominous and scary every time Nero glanced at them.

But today, for some reason, he wasn’t as frightened as he had originally expected.

After taking the first step forward, the others seemed to come naturally.

The forest floor was littered with dried purple leaves.

The name of the trees that populated this stretch of the woods was the Purple Evergrowth. Technically, they were more of an invasive species not native to anywhere in particular. They could also be considered a type of Abomination. But they were not dangerous.

For the most part…

Their sweet sap had a wonderful aroma that lured creatures in to take a sip. However, unbeknownst to these creatures, the sap contained a powerful toxin that would render even the mightiest of beasts paralyzed in a few breaths. Then, the process of rotting whilst still breathing would begin.

Fortunately for Nero, he wasn’t stupid enough to be lured in by sweet smelling sap.

’It does smell quite nice though.’

He shook his head to get rid of such thoughts.

Even in the middle of the day, the forest was rather dark.

Taking care to cling to the shadows of the trees, Nero progressed rather slowly whilst keeping his trail to memory.

To make sure he didn’t lose his way, however, he carefully marked the bark of several Purple Evergrowth trees he passed by.

Whilst doing this, he suddenly had the ingenious idea to apply a coating of the sap of the Purple Evergrowth to his dagger and sword.

In doing that, even the slightest nick from him would render a greater being unable to move for a while, and would possibly even lead to its demise.

Mentally patting himself on the back for such a smart move, he continued slinking through the forest of Purple Evergrowth trees.

Eventually, he caught sight of his first foes since entering the forest.

A pack of four rather large humanoid creatures.

Their fur— no. It was not fur.

Tejrj skin was a rather striking white amidst the purple leaves.

Their faces were malformed and ugly, while their hands scrapped against the floor. Each one of them was over eight feet tall, their long arms plucking the blood red fruits that hung from the branches of the Purple Evergrowth.

Although the sap of the tree was rather dangerous, the creatures of the forest all seemed to love the fruits it bore. Maybe that was why none of them seemed at all disturbed by their invasive neighbor.

Nero assessed the situation quickly.

’Each one of them is just a beat weaker than the Soul Amalgam. However, they do seem rather slow. If I can pick off at least two of them quickly…’

Although it was a daunting step, Nero couldn’t lie to himself; he was a bit excited.

After battling so many Abominations in relative safety, he was eager to see how far he had come.

Drawing the Silver Blade, he slowly crept closer towards where the Abominations were feasting.

The closer he got, the more Nero was surprised by how terrible these creatures looked. Their faces were black and twisted, with cancerous growth all over them.

Their mouths were filled with blackened, rotting teeth that ground the red fruit as it entered their maws, spilling the velvety juices down their chins and onto their white skin.

Despite being so close, they hadn’t sensed him at all. Nero couldn’t tell if the things were simply too slow, or they were just rather engrossed in their meal.

Regardless, he saw him moment to strike fast approaching.

Huffing lightly, he pushed against his feet and sprinted forward.

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