Chapter 409
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Chapter 409
Something had done a lot of claiming of the area- no, some things. There was clearly more than one scent on the mountainside, though the dominant creature was just one type. As Fuzz pushed his way through the snow which came up to his belly, he tried to look for other signs of the creatures. Hunting with Alva he had learned other ways to detect creatures, though scent was always the best. Strangely enough, the one thing that should have been easy to find was not present. In such snow he should have been able to find tracks of some sort, but even though he hadnt seen it snow there were only small critters and the strange scent of something atop the snow.
He soon was close enough to smell creatures firsthand, though with his sensitive nose that was still quite a distance. He intended to avoid them, though figuring out their exact location was difficult with the current winds and the shape of the mountain around. He didnt need to fight. He wasnt hungry and just wanted to look for settlements from the peak. They might start something anyway, but the plan was to avoid them.
The scent of blood came on the wind, a scent very familiar to Fuzz. There was a battle happening, but he didnt have to involve himself with it. Soon he heard the sounds of battle and felt the fluctuations of energy- few beasts could survive without natural energy. Void ants were an exception. In this case it was the new energy, of course. Bigger and stronger, but not without its own flaws, as had been shown in the invasion.
There should have been no reason to involve himself, but an intriguing scent caught his attention. Familiar yet unfamiliar, and enticing regardless. He couldnt help but shift his trajectory to head towards the battle with greater speed, bounding in and out of the heavy snow drifts as he did so. He was supposed to be looking for his pack, but he could allow himself a little sidetrack here and there. They always said they could do things he wanted, but usually he just wanted to do whatever the pack wanted. But for some reason, he was curious here.
Sounds were the next part of the battle to reach him. Growls and snarls along with noises he had no way to explain. Sharp, sudden movements of something, but not the combatants themselves. As he bounded over a ridge he was able to see a red furred wolf standing alone in a blood-splattered snowy field.
No, that wasnt right. Flashes of snow-white creatures flickered before his eyes, and more importantly he could smell them. And the wolf wasnt red furred, but perhaps a stony gray under everything. He picked up his pace, approaching the battle with haste.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
As he got closer he was able to pick out the camouflaged creatures. They blended in with the snow and had minimal discolorations, but a bit of visual as well as olfactory and energy provided him with a clearer picture of what he was facing. There were large cats- maybe half the size of Fuzz himself- attacking with not just claws but forming spikes of ice out of the air that bombarded the wolf, a creature similar in size to Fuzz himself. They also moved in to attack with their teeth and claws, leaving behind specks of color on themselves where they drew blood. Their tactics seemed more like that of wolves, menacing from all sides while mainly attacking from the rear. When the wolf tried to swipe at them they leapt back, landing on the surface of the snow without sinking into it, at least sometimes.
Things werent going well for the wolf, but they managed an impressive counterattack that provided a bit more time. They repositioned to a seemingly analogous position to the others, but when an attack came from behind their tail slapped down into the snow. A bit of spraying fluff wouldnt stop any beast of note, but the spike of rock that formed from a buried boulder seemed to do the trick. The fight was still in a critical stage, however. One wrong move, and it could be over.
Then Fuzz jumped into the thick of things, coiling flames about himself as he leapt upon one of the great cats. They should have sensed him coming, but perhaps they were too focused on their hunt to realize something might come after them. Either way, he tackled it to the ground and tore out its throat. The flames around him scorched its fur and began to melt away the snow.
If he reached the limits of his energy, he would not only fail but fall- unprotected by his energy. Anton shoved away that thought of failure, only to have it immediately replaced by another. Succeeding halfway would be even more dangerous, as he would be inviting a great power into himself. It could easily consume him. That thought too was set aside. He already knew this and had made his decision anyway. If he were to have a continued impact on the world, he needed to continue his cultivation- for the sake of lifespan along with the power. But if he failed he could happily accept that he at least tried. He already had two complete lives, which was more than twice what most people got.
Soon the burning power of the sun became stronger as Anton reached out, the waves of energy it let off providing more than just heat but other power as well. He grasped onto it, pulling himself and the power together. It was already headed in his direction, but the tug made it faster.
Cultivator and power slammed into each other like crashing waves. Anton wasnt just satisfied with absorbing the energy into himself- that would at best result in a violent cultivation session. He wanted to be part of it, for it to be part of him.
The struggle for control began. Anton understood that directly fighting against this power was pointless. It had no will, but beyond that it was effectively limitless. Some flowed into him, scorching his meridians as it did so. That energy was pulled into his dantian and refined, then sent out to repeat the process- he continued tugging on the energy while pushing most of what came around him.
All thoughts were burned away, and he simply became a cycle of flames. Absorbing, quenching, reigniting, assimilating it. He stretched further, deeper, connecting himself to the flow instead of just drawing from it. The more he succeeded, the greater the power that flowed into him, and the harder it was to wrestle it for control- but power without will would undoubtedly tear him apart. From the outside, Anton felt his hair burn away first as the energy pierced through his defensive energy. His skin was already darkened by the sun, but it reddened and burned, blisters rapidly forming. His insides werent doing much better, his meridians barely holding together. A small lapse in concentration, and he would turn to a pile of ash.
Was he going to fail? Was it impossible, or was he simply not good enough? All it took for a cultivator was overestimating themself once, and their end could come. All the praise for him and his potential meant nothing if he failed here.
Beneath his skin, his muscles and bones began to burn. From the other side, his meridians were punctured, their metaphysical adjacency to blood vessels igniting them. It hurt, but it was just physical pain. Maybe a small bit of disappointment, but unlike the start of his journey he wasnt leaving behind people who needed protection. The people he cared for had gained their own strength, and those that hadnt could seek the protection of the Order and Graotan in general, improved in strength.
As he felt his eyes might burn away, Anton took one last look towards the world below. Ceretos. As good of a name as any. And it was beautiful. White clouds, green land, blue oceans. He hadnt even realized how far he was. At least he didnt have to worry about falling now. Not that there would be anything left to fall.
Anton turned once more to face the sun, accelerating the process of drawing in the energy, pulling himself away as he did so. The light blinded him. He had no energy to spare for trivial things like using his eyes. His internal energy was dwindling rapidly even as he converted more of the suns power to be his own. He could stop drawing it to himself and he might survive. Every moment took him further and further from that opportunity.
As his body was scoured, Anton felt the pain begin to fade- not because he was no longer being damaged, but because his body no longer had any basis to interpret pain from. Anton stretched out his hand, widening his pull of energy instead of holding back. There was a flash of fire as a great flame ignited inside him and then nothing.
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Chapter 409
Something had done a lot of claiming of the area- no, some things. There was clearly more than one scent on the mountainside, though the dominant creature was just one type. As Fuzz pushed his way through the snow which came up to his belly, he tried to look for other signs of the creatures. Hunting with Alva he had learned other ways to detect creatures, though scent was always the best. Strangely enough, the one thing that should have been easy to find was not present. In such snow he should have been able to find tracks of some sort, but even though he hadnt seen it snow there were only small critters and the strange scent of something atop the snow.
He soon was close enough to smell creatures firsthand, though with his sensitive nose that was still quite a distance. He intended to avoid them, though figuring out their exact location was difficult with the current winds and the shape of the mountain around. He didnt need to fight. He wasnt hungry and just wanted to look for settlements from the peak. They might start something anyway, but the plan was to avoid them.
The scent of blood came on the wind, a scent very familiar to Fuzz. There was a battle happening, but he didnt have to involve himself with it. Soon he heard the sounds of battle and felt the fluctuations of energy- few beasts could survive without natural energy. Void ants were an exception. In this case it was the new energy, of course. Bigger and stronger, but not without its own flaws, as had been shown in the invasion.
There should have been no reason to involve himself, but an intriguing scent caught his attention. Familiar yet unfamiliar, and enticing regardless. He couldnt help but shift his trajectory to head towards the battle with greater speed, bounding in and out of the heavy snow drifts as he did so. He was supposed to be looking for his pack, but he could allow himself a little sidetrack here and there. They always said they could do things he wanted, but usually he just wanted to do whatever the pack wanted. But for some reason, he was curious here.
Sounds were the next part of the battle to reach him. Growls and snarls along with noises he had no way to explain. Sharp, sudden movements of something, but not the combatants themselves. As he bounded over a ridge he was able to see a red furred wolf standing alone in a blood-splattered snowy field.
No, that wasnt right. Flashes of snow-white creatures flickered before his eyes, and more importantly he could smell them. And the wolf wasnt red furred, but perhaps a stony gray under everything. He picked up his pace, approaching the battle with haste.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
As he got closer he was able to pick out the camouflaged creatures. They blended in with the snow and had minimal discolorations, but a bit of visual as well as olfactory and energy provided him with a clearer picture of what he was facing. There were large cats- maybe half the size of Fuzz himself- attacking with not just claws but forming spikes of ice out of the air that bombarded the wolf, a creature similar in size to Fuzz himself. They also moved in to attack with their teeth and claws, leaving behind specks of color on themselves where they drew blood. Their tactics seemed more like that of wolves, menacing from all sides while mainly attacking from the rear. When the wolf tried to swipe at them they leapt back, landing on the surface of the snow without sinking into it, at least sometimes.
Things werent going well for the wolf, but they managed an impressive counterattack that provided a bit more time. They repositioned to a seemingly analogous position to the others, but when an attack came from behind their tail slapped down into the snow. A bit of spraying fluff wouldnt stop any beast of note, but the spike of rock that formed from a buried boulder seemed to do the trick. The fight was still in a critical stage, however. One wrong move, and it could be over.
Then Fuzz jumped into the thick of things, coiling flames about himself as he leapt upon one of the great cats. They should have sensed him coming, but perhaps they were too focused on their hunt to realize something might come after them. Either way, he tackled it to the ground and tore out its throat. The flames around him scorched its fur and began to melt away the snow.
If he reached the limits of his energy, he would not only fail but fall- unprotected by his energy. Anton shoved away that thought of failure, only to have it immediately replaced by another. Succeeding halfway would be even more dangerous, as he would be inviting a great power into himself. It could easily consume him. That thought too was set aside. He already knew this and had made his decision anyway. If he were to have a continued impact on the world, he needed to continue his cultivation- for the sake of lifespan along with the power. But if he failed he could happily accept that he at least tried. He already had two complete lives, which was more than twice what most people got.
Soon the burning power of the sun became stronger as Anton reached out, the waves of energy it let off providing more than just heat but other power as well. He grasped onto it, pulling himself and the power together. It was already headed in his direction, but the tug made it faster.
Cultivator and power slammed into each other like crashing waves. Anton wasnt just satisfied with absorbing the energy into himself- that would at best result in a violent cultivation session. He wanted to be part of it, for it to be part of him.
The struggle for control began. Anton understood that directly fighting against this power was pointless. It had no will, but beyond that it was effectively limitless. Some flowed into him, scorching his meridians as it did so. That energy was pulled into his dantian and refined, then sent out to repeat the process- he continued tugging on the energy while pushing most of what came around him.
All thoughts were burned away, and he simply became a cycle of flames. Absorbing, quenching, reigniting, assimilating it. He stretched further, deeper, connecting himself to the flow instead of just drawing from it. The more he succeeded, the greater the power that flowed into him, and the harder it was to wrestle it for control- but power without will would undoubtedly tear him apart. From the outside, Anton felt his hair burn away first as the energy pierced through his defensive energy. His skin was already darkened by the sun, but it reddened and burned, blisters rapidly forming. His insides werent doing much better, his meridians barely holding together. A small lapse in concentration, and he would turn to a pile of ash.
Was he going to fail? Was it impossible, or was he simply not good enough? All it took for a cultivator was overestimating themself once, and their end could come. All the praise for him and his potential meant nothing if he failed here.
Beneath his skin, his muscles and bones began to burn. From the other side, his meridians were punctured, their metaphysical adjacency to blood vessels igniting them. It hurt, but it was just physical pain. Maybe a small bit of disappointment, but unlike the start of his journey he wasnt leaving behind people who needed protection. The people he cared for had gained their own strength, and those that hadnt could seek the protection of the Order and Graotan in general, improved in strength.
As he felt his eyes might burn away, Anton took one last look towards the world below. Ceretos. As good of a name as any. And it was beautiful. White clouds, green land, blue oceans. He hadnt even realized how far he was. At least he didnt have to worry about falling now. Not that there would be anything left to fall.
Anton turned once more to face the sun, accelerating the process of drawing in the energy, pulling himself away as he did so. The light blinded him. He had no energy to spare for trivial things like using his eyes. His internal energy was dwindling rapidly even as he converted more of the suns power to be his own. He could stop drawing it to himself and he might survive. Every moment took him further and further from that opportunity.
As his body was scoured, Anton felt the pain begin to fade- not because he was no longer being damaged, but because his body no longer had any basis to interpret pain from. Anton stretched out his hand, widening his pull of energy instead of holding back. There was a flash of fire as a great flame ignited inside him and then nothing.
Chapter 409Something had done a lot of claiming of the area- no, some things. There was clearly more than one scent on the mountainside, though the dominant creature was just one type. As Fuzz pushed his way through the snow which came up to his belly, he tried to look for other signs of the creatures. Hunting with Alva he had learned other ways to detect creatures, though scent was always the best. Strangely enough, the one thing that should have been easy to find was not present. In such snow he should have been able to find tracks of some sort, but even though he hadnt seen it snow there were only small critters and the strange scent of something atop the snow.He soon was close enough to smell creatures firsthand, though with his sensitive nose that was still quite a distance. He intended to avoid them, though figuring out their exact location was difficult with the current winds and the shape of the mountain around. He didnt need to fight. He wasnt hungry and just wanted to look for settlements from the peak. They might start something anyway, but the plan was to avoid them.The scent of blood came on the wind, a scent very familiar to Fuzz. There was a battle happening, but he didnt have to involve himself with it. Soon he heard the sounds of battle and felt the fluctuations of energy- few beasts could survive without natural energy. Void ants were an exception. In this case it was the new energy, of course. Bigger and stronger, but not without its own flaws, as had been shown in the invasion.There should have been no reason to involve himself, but an intriguing scent caught his attention. Familiar yet unfamiliar, and enticing regardless. He couldnt help but shift his trajectory to head towards the battle with greater speed, bounding in and out of the heavy snow drifts as he did so. He was supposed to be looking for his pack, but he could allow himself a little sidetrack here and there. They always said they could do things he wanted, but usually he just wanted to do whatever the pack wanted. But for some reason, he was curious here.Sounds were the next part of the battle to reach him. Growls and snarls along with noises he had no way to explain. Sharp, sudden movements of something, but not the combatants themselves. As he bounded over a ridge he was able to see a red furred wolf standing alone in a blood-splattered snowy field.No, that wasnt right. Flashes of snow-white creatures flickered before his eyes, and more importantly he could smell them. And the wolf wasnt red furred, but perhaps a stony gray under everything. He picked up his pace, approaching the battle with haste.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.As he got closer he was able to pick out the camouflaged creatures. They blended in with the snow and had minimal discolorations, but a bit of visual as well as olfactory and energy provided him with a clearer picture of what he was facing. There were large cats- maybe half the size of Fuzz himself- attacking with not just claws but forming spikes of ice out of the air that bombarded the wolf, a creature similar in size to Fuzz himself. They also moved in to attack with their teeth and claws, leaving behind specks of color on themselves where they drew blood. Their tactics seemed more like that of wolves, menacing from all sides while mainly attacking from the rear. When the wolf tried to swipe at them they leapt back, landing on the surface of the snow without sinking into it, at least sometimes.Things werent going well for the wolf, but they managed an impressive counterattack that provided a bit more time. They repositioned to a seemingly analogous position to the others, but when an attack came from behind their tail slapped down into the snow. A bit of spraying fluff wouldnt stop any beast of note, but the spike of rock that formed from a buried boulder seemed to do the trick. The fight was still in a critical stage, however. One wrong move, and it could be over.Then Fuzz jumped into the thick of things, coiling flames about himself as he leapt upon one of the great cats. They should have sensed him coming, but perhaps they were too focused on their hunt to realize something might come after them. Either way, he tackled it to the ground and tore out its throat. The flames around him scorched its fur and began to melt away the snow.If he reached the limits of his energy, he would not only fail but fall- unprotected by his energy. Anton shoved away that thought of failure, only to have it immediately replaced by another. Succeeding halfway would be even more dangerous, as he would be inviting a great power into himself. It could easily consume him. That thought too was set aside. He already knew this and had made his decision anyway. If he were to have a continued impact on the world, he needed to continue his cultivation- for the sake of lifespan along with the power. But if he failed he could happily accept that he at least tried. He already had two complete lives, which was more than twice what most people got.Soon the burning power of the sun became stronger as Anton reached out, the waves of energy it let off providing more than just heat but other power as well. He grasped onto it, pulling himself and the power together. It was already headed in his direction, but the tug made it faster.Cultivator and power slammed into each other like crashing waves. Anton wasnt just satisfied with absorbing the energy into himself- that would at best result in a violent cultivation session. He wanted to be part of it, for it to be part of him. The struggle for control began. Anton understood that directly fighting against this power was pointless. It had no will, but beyond that it was effectively limitless. Some flowed into him, scorching his meridians as it did so. That energy was pulled into his dantian and refined, then sent out to repeat the process- he continued tugging on the energy while pushing most of what came around him.All thoughts were burned away, and he simply became a cycle of flames. Absorbing, quenching, reigniting, assimilating it. He stretched further, deeper, connecting himself to the flow instead of just drawing from it. The more he succeeded, the greater the power that flowed into him, and the harder it was to wrestle it for control- but power without will would undoubtedly tear him apart. From the outside, Anton felt his hair burn away first as the energy pierced through his defensive energy. His skin was already darkened by the sun, but it reddened and burned, blisters rapidly forming. His insides werent doing much better, his meridians barely holding together. A small lapse in concentration, and he would turn to a pile of ash.Was he going to fail? Was it impossible, or was he simply not good enough? All it took for a cultivator was overestimating themself once, and their end could come. All the praise for him and his potential meant nothing if he failed here.Beneath his skin, his muscles and bones began to burn. From the other side, his meridians were punctured, their metaphysical adjacency to blood vessels igniting them. It hurt, but it was just physical pain. Maybe a small bit of disappointment, but unlike the start of his journey he wasnt leaving behind people who needed protection. The people he cared for had gained their own strength, and those that hadnt could seek the protection of the Order and Graotan in general, improved in strength.As he felt his eyes might burn away, Anton took one last look towards the world below. Ceretos. As good of a name as any. And it was beautiful. White clouds, green land, blue oceans. He hadnt even realized how far he was. At least he didnt have to worry about falling now. Not that there would be anything left to fall.Anton turned once more to face the sun, accelerating the process of drawing in the energy, pulling himself away as he did so. The light blinded him. He had no energy to spare for trivial things like using his eyes. His internal energy was dwindling rapidly even as he converted more of the suns power to be his own. He could stop drawing it to himself and he might survive. Every moment took him further and further from that opportunity.As his body was scoured, Anton felt the pain begin to fade- not because he was no longer being damaged, but because his body no longer had any basis to interpret pain from. Anton stretched out his hand, widening his pull of energy instead of holding back. There was a flash of fire as a great flame ignited inside him and then nothing.
