The Calling of Wrath - Chapter 25 - Backfire (Patreon)

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                                                                       Cassandra
                                                      Year 819 | Month 1 | Day 18

“Yeah, yeah, I know you want your eggs back,” I mutter to the rapidly quacking hocka-thing that I managed to find, “but they’ll be put to good use. I swear it!”

Of course, that does nothing to sate the creature’s upset state, but that doesn’t really matter much to me.

I’m already leaving it alive as is, so I feel like I’ve paid for the eggs by now.

Besides. It can’t be as hard to cook eggs as it is to cook direwolf meat, right?

Although, looking at the panicking creature, you’d think I was doing something terrible to it. Which in hindsight, I probably am, but this is the Dark Forest, and that is a quacking monster that turns everything it sees but me into marble.

So it’s fine.

It was a little surprising to find some of them still alive though, seeing as they don’t have a lot of fighting power when against a large group. Those reavers for example.

Rest in peace poor Thrix.

The hocka-thing next to me proceeds to flash its yellow eyes at me twice more despite it still not doing anything, so I knock it on the head, sending its head straight into the stone floor and quite possibly knocking it unconscious.

“Stop that,” I scold the thing before walking out of its cave with a couple of its oddly tiny eggs held to my side by my left arm.

Now here’s hoping that I don’t run into anything on the way home. Because these eggs don’t wanna go into my spatial pouch, and I don’t want them to be damaged and ruined on the way there.

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I continue making my way towards my cave, still with the eggs in tow, only to come to a sudden halt as something registers in my mind.

Or, to be more accurate, something doesn’t register.

Where’s the smell of rot?

I frown at the thought.

While it’s nice to be so close to my cave without smelling it, it also likely implies that there are abominations nearby…

I stop to carefully place the eggs in a safe and hidden place, because priorities, before slowly making my way over towards the river.

If it’s only some abominations, then it shouldn’t be much… of a… problem…

My thoughts trail off and my feet freeze in place as I reach the edge of the trees and find an enormous, two meter tall and four meter long mass of flesh and blood casually sitting in front of my cave.

I blink once. Then twice. Then I turn around and begin carefully making my way away from the abomination, only for a loud groaning sound to echo from behind me, signaling me to get out of here.

Without wasting a second, I immediately begin running away. At the same time, the groaning sound gets louder, and I begin to hear some rather disgusting sounding sounds from behind me. Kind of like a large pile of flesh and blood is moving across the ground.

Which is exactly what I find when I throw a glance over my shoulder.

Okay, so it looks like I lost the gamble after all.

Also, rest in peace eggs.

I quickly identify the creature before facing forwards again while running for my life.

Yeah, that’s what I expected.

I’m guessing two question marks means Tier 2. Although the only times I ever saw three question marks was with the two old men, so I’m not sure what that means.

Although now probably isn’t the time to consider it.

I suddenly notice a shadow coming towards me, so I jump out of the way right before a large tentacle of flesh smashes into where I was just standing.

My eyes widen in fear as I quickly continue running.

What sort of range does that thing have?!

I turn my head to look back, only to find the thing swinging over a dozen tentacles around, knocking over all of the trees in its path as it chases straight after me in a very strange looking manner.

Am I going to be able to outrun it?

It’s a mass of flesh, so I’m not even sure it can grow tired, which means outlasting it is probably out of the question.

As if hearing my thought, the creature sends another tentacle straight at me that I quickly try to avoid, only to fail on account of this tentacle coming towards me horizontally through several trees, instead of from above.

The tentacle hits me in the side, sending me flying for several meters before I end up slamming into a tree.

I cough out a mouthful of blood before pushing myself back to my feet and sprinting in a different direction this time.

Damn it.

As I’m running, I open my skills to see the cooldown on the skill, only to find that it still has an entire day left before I can use it again.

Damn it!

Another shadow begins to descend towards me from above and I roll out of the way of it before continuing my sprint.

I send a quick glance backwards, only to find my cave slowly disappearing into the distance behind the abomination as I run.

If I can just get back to the cave, it might leave me be. Assuming this one’s not any different in that regard than the Tier 1 abominations.

But how am I going to do that when its tentacles have such a large radius of attack?

I continue running away while trying to lead it in a large arc and occasionally avoiding tentacles for several minutes before I eventually manage to get back towards the river, except at a much further part of the river than where my cave is.

If I remember correctly, the creature moved slower when it was in the-

I jump out of the way as another tentacle slams into the rocks beneath me.

-water.

Without any hesitation, the moment I reach the river, I jump straight into the water and begin swimming downstream towards my cave. And thanks to the water, I’m able to gain a small lead on the abomination, making it unable to continue attempting to swat me with its tentacles.

However, as I’m swimming, I realize a possible very fatal flaw in my plan.

What if the creature can sense me through the barrier?

It’s a higher Tier and would likely be able to break through the barrier. So if it can sense me through it, and I end up locked in the cave with no way out…

I shiver at the thought before glancing back at it, finding it not too far away still.

Am I really willing to take that risk?

The abomination continues chasing after me, but I am starting to build a bit of a distance between us. So I could likely get away from it if I continued swimming down the river.

However, if I did that, then the abomination would probably make itself at home in front of my cave…

I grimace at the thought.

In the end, my safety measures are turning against me.

I watch it for a few seconds before deciding to just continue swimming down the river, past my cave.

The only thing left in there that I might want is the bed. Everything else is in my spatial pouch already.

And who knows, I might be able to defeat the creature once I reach Tier 2.

With that thought comforting me, I continue swimming through the river without looking back.

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Table of Contents

For those of you who can't read the image:

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Name: N/A

Species: Greater Abomination

Level: ??

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