Chapter 19: Tools of the Trade

As for what Corrupted and Twisted monsters were? Based on the help page, there were different kinds of monsters out there.

Some, like the Rift-sprites, came from other worlds that connected to Earth through portals that randomly or not spawned in different places.

Closing those portals stopped monsters from coming through. The issue was that finding one and shutting it down wasn’t exactly simple.

This covered some types of monsters, but there were more, like the Twisted and Corrupted ones Reidar just met.

These were likely native creatures that became corrupted due to being subjected to excessive amounts of mana. The system was not clear about its purpose on Earth; however, based on Reidar’s understanding of its notifications and the help page, it seemed to be there to support humanity.

<But if what differentiates us from the monster is the system’s presence, doesn’t this mean that it is the system itself that prevents us from turning into monsters?>

It was reasonable to assume that. Monsters were basically just mutated animals. Even plants turned into monsters sometimes. But there was no difference between a dog and a human in general terms, so the excessive amounts of mana should have turned humans into monsters too, but they didn’t.

<The system surely has something to do with this.>

Reidar kept moving, forcing his way through thicker and thicker brush. The path, or what was left of it, slithered between trees that didn’t grow right. Some twisted into spirals that shouldn’t hold. Others shot up at perfect angles, forming arches overhead.

…

…

…

The following day, as afternoon shifted toward evening, Reidar spotted a clearing. According to his map, this should be the location of a service station. Fifty kilometers from his starting point, it had been marked as a fuel stop on the old highway.

What he found instead made his heart sink.

The clearing was there, but there was no trace of human structures.

The jungle had swallowed everything, but the buildings themselves were gone too. It wasn’t like they were covered with vegetation. They were not there.

Instead, enormous vines, thick as telephone poles, twisted across the ground. Trees with trunks wider than houses stretched up toward the sky. Flowers as big as wagon wheels bloomed in colors that didn’t seem real.

Where the highway should have kept going, the earth had simply grown. Not over it. It was even weird to describe it, because it was like the entire planet was one long rubber band that had been abruptly stretched.

Regardless, the point was that grass, then shrubs, then full-sized trees were in front of him in the form of a wall of vegetation. Not a gas station.

The road he had been traveling on until now didn’t curve around this obstacle—it ended abruptly, as if the expanding wilderness had digested the pavement.

Reidar had seen this kind of thing many times already. The paved road that stopped at some point resumed ahead. This happened hundreds of times during his two-day journey toward Creamont, so he figured it was what happened to the gas station too.

He stared at the wall of impossible greenery where civilization should have been. “Two days,” he muttered bitterly. “All that fighting, hiding, pushing through this madness—for what?”

Reidar then sat on the ground. “I better rest a little.” He opened his status screen to assess his progress.

—[STATUS]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 13

Health: 180

Mana: 600

C.L.A.S.P.: 2265 / 4900

Available Attribute points: 1.00

Skills: Summon Rift-Sprite Squad, Fireball, Aqua Pistol, Wind Blade, Stone Bullet

Equipment: Rift-Sprite Conductor, Ember Sprite Bracers, Stone Sprite Gauntlets, Aqua Sprite Circlet, Wind Sprite Boots, Rift-Touched Cloak, Rift-Woven Leggings, Sprite-Touched Armguards, Wind Sprite Sash, Aqua Sprite Pendant, Ember Sprite Ring

Proficiencies: Basic Combat

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1,8), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 7,3), (F.L.A.I.R. : 1,6), (F.L.I.P.: 2.1)

Minions: #N/A

Survival Points: 15,600

Trait: Skill Sharing

Perks: Arcane Potency (1/6), Arcane Leech (5/5)

Perk Points: 0

Titles: The Early Riser, The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator

Profession: #N/A

—[END]—

He gained two levels from his journey, plus the accumulated C.L.A.S.P. from regular encounters. The progression felt stable, but it was for sure slower than the one he got during the first day. Though, the real treasure lay in what he’d discovered about monster loot.

During his first day of travel, Reidar had noticed the system highlighting defeated creatures with a faint glow. Concentrating on these remains had triggered a looting interface, allowing him to extract materials and equipment that the monsters had somehow generated.

The Rift-Sprites were everywhere, and Reidar didn’t waste a chance to take them down. He hunted them whenever he spotted them, and they dropped plenty of loot. Most of the gear he found came from his kills.

His inventory now had dozens of crafting materials: Sprite Essence Crystals, which Reidar assumed was the source of the elemental quality the rift-sprites had, and there were also the Porcelain Shell Fragments, which were essentially the rift-sprites’ skin, which was tough, despite the name suggesting otherwise.

But the equipment discoveries had been the real surprise. Somehow, the defeated sprites had produced items related to their nature.

—[«Inventory»]—

« Ember Sprite Bracers » Rarity: Common Tier: 1 Slot: Chest Type: Armor STATISTICS: Physical +15 Durability 100% RESISTANCES: Fire +25% SPECIAL PROPERTIES: Ember Touch: Fire-based skills deal +8% damage. ACQUISITION: Source: Loot (Rift-Sprites)

« Stone Sprite Gauntlets » Rarity: Uncommon Tier: 1 Slot: Hands Type: Armor STATISTICS: Physical +30 Durability 100% RESISTANCES: Shock +5% CORE ATTRIBUTES: S.H.I.E.L.D. +0.3 SPECIAL PROPERTIES: Earth Resonance: Earth-based skills deal +12% damage. ACQUISITION: Source: Loot (Rift-Sprites)

« Aqua Sprite Circlet » Rarity: Rare Tier: 1 Slot: Head Type: Armor STATISTICS: Physical +20 Durability 100% RESISTANCES: Water +15% CORE ATTRIBUTES: A.C.U.M.E.N. +0.4 ACQUISITION: Source: Loot (Rift-Sprites)

« Wind Sprite Boots » Rarity: Common Tier: 1 Slot: Feet Type: Armor STATISTICS: Physical +10 Durability 100% RESISTANCES: Wind +10% CORE ATTRIBUTES: F.L.A.I.R. +0.2 ACQUISITION: Source: Loot (Rift-Sprites)

« Rift-Touched Cloak » Rarity: Uncommon Tier: 1 Slot: Back Type: Armor STATISTICS: Physical +5 Durability 100% RESISTANCES: Fire +8%, Water +8% Shock +8% Wind +8% SPECIAL PROPERTIES: Rift Essence: Increases C.L.A.S.P. Points gained from defeated Rift-Sprites by +2%. ACQUISITION: Source: Loot (Rift-Sprites)

« Rift-Sprite Conductor » Rarity: Rare Tier: 1 Slot: One-Handed Type: Wand STATISTICS: Damage: 8-15 Durability: 100% CORE ATTRIBUTES: A.C.U.M.E.N. +0.5 SPECIAL PROPERTIES: Elemental Mastery: All elemental skills deal +15% damage. Sprite Affinity: Summoned Rift-Sprites gain +10% damage and +5% attack speed. Rift Channeling: Reduces the mana cost of Summon Rift-Sprite Squad by 5 mana per summon. ACQUISITION: Source: Loot (Rift-Sprites)

—[«END»]—

<Twenty-three pieces of equipment in total. Not bad for four days of monster hunting.>

The crafting materials presented more complex possibilities. The system had provided basic information about their potential uses.

Armor enhancement, weapon modification, even the creation of entirely new equipment. But actually crafting required knowledge and tools Reidar didn’t have yet, and based on the help page, it was something that could only be bought from a Vendor.

<Something to investigate once I find these dudes.>

The surrounding jungle buzzed with life. Sounds he couldn’t identify echoed from the depths of the vegetation. The chittering of Rift-Sprites was now all too familiar. It seemed almost comforting compared to the unknown calls that echoed through the air.

Night was approaching, and the transformed world took on an even more threatening feature in the growing darkness.

Bioluminescent fungi glowed on tree trunks, bathing everything in an unnerving blue-green light.

Fungi was some of the nastiest stuff on Earth. Reidar remembered nature shows where they’d take over bugs’ bodies, turning them into puppets.

The idea gave him the chills. He imagined something like that, but worse. The last thing he needed was to run into some glowing, twisted kind that could do to people what cordyceps did to ants. He’d already seen plenty of weirdness without adding mind-controlling mushrooms to the mix.

Somewhere in the distance, something large moved through the undergrowth.

Reidar stood and shouldered his wand. Creamont lay somewhere beyond this jungle, assuming it still existed. His parents might be alive and might be waiting for him to arrive. But the old routes were gone, swallowed by a world that grew and changed according to rules he barely understood.

<Let’s get to work.>

He summoned his wind sprites as scouts and set off into the glowing jungle.

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