After finishing their meal, the group settled down around the fireplace, the glow casting soft shadows on the cave walls.
Adrien ever the quiet listener, let group talk about themselves while he ran different fight simulations in his head. Going through their encounters in the last few days, analysing his fight style, making adjustments, and slowly perfecting his spear technique.
Adrien had found that he was comfortable with just about any weapon, easily outmatching Han, Ria and Alex in skill with whatever he chose to use, either a spear, a bow, a sword, or a scythe, of course they bought all these from the store.
But he found that the one that called out to him the most was the bow. The kind of pinpoint precision shots he hit and displayed with the bow was terrifying!
The others were very much aware of that, after trying to 1v3 Adrien while sparring the other day, he had overwhelmed them with the sheer number of arrows he shot at them.
The worst part was, they were always on target. So, all three of them had to settle for defence during the whole session before eventually throwing in the towel.
But when all four of them were out together, he had to settle for filling in any role depending on the situation, switching in between a melee fighter with his spear or sword, or long-range fighter with his bow as well as integrating all those with his abilities.
Beyond that, they had confirmed that Mel and Sarah had gained no abilities whatsoever. Much like some of the civilians and the military fort. What that meant for them in this god forsaken world, they were yet to find out.
"Do you think anyone's looking for us?" Sarah asked quietly, her voice breaking through the merriment.
"No one's coming for us, not now," Ria replied gently. "We have to look out for ourselves and each other. I reckon right now the whole world is in chaos, everyone must be trying to survive."
The group murmured in agreement.
Adrien gazed into the fire, watching the flames dance with an unpredictable grace. He felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders.
All they needed to do to guarantee their survival was master their strange new powers and figure out this new ecosystem, they found themselves in, perhaps they could regain control over their fate.
Because even he had felt it. They were not the only ones growing stronger, the beasts were also growing stronger every day.
Their encounters with them were becoming more and more complicated and less straightforward.
"Tomorrow, we'll scout and plan," he finally said, his voice steady, his mind racing with possibilities. " It'd better if we know of our surroundings and whatever is out there. I'm sure eventually we will run into other people."
Bidding good night to everyone, he turned in and jumped into his sleeping pod.
"Status"
[ System Store]
Weapons/ Armour
Potions/ Elixir
Ores - Basic materials used for crafting and upgrading equipment.
Arts
{Weapon Arts} - Specialized techniques that enhance weapon handling and combat efficiency. Mastery of these arts can lead to powerful attack combinations and increased damage output.
{Dream Ascension Arts} - Influences your base strength the most. Most important art for the progression of your personal strength by ascending through the dream tiers
{Crafting Arts} - Skills focused on the creation and enhancement of equipment, allowing for the creation and customization of gear to suit individual combat styles and needs.
{Martial Arts} - Hand-to-hand combat techniques that improve unarmed fighting capabilities, including strikes, grapples, and defensive manoeuvres.
{Movement Arts} - Abilities that enhance mobility, such as increased speed, agility, and evasive actions, crucial for both scaling and combat scenarios.
Miscellaneous Items - Random items and equipment
]
This was the system store as they had come to know it. The furniture, they had bought from the miscellaneous section, and the full body suits from the weapons/ armour section.
Adrien had obviously taken a look at the Dream ascension section when he first looked at the store since it affects his combat abilities the most. But...
Well...
{Dream Ascension Arts
[Dreamscape - The basic art for scaling the dream tiers] - cost 1000 coins
[Celestial Ascendence] cost 10 000
[War god's inheritance] cost 10 000
[Chrona Zarael's Inheritance] cost 1 000 000 coins
}
These prices were just astronomical. They could not even afford the basic essentials, let alone Arts in the millions.
For instance, a low-grade healing potion cost at least 200 coins, and...
[ Status
Name: Adrien Cortez
Age: 16
Race: Human/ Spark....
.... Coins: 123]
This was the total amount of coins he currently had in his possession, after spending roughly forty in the past month on basic essentials.
Meaning he had accumulated just over a hundred and sixty total, despite all the constant hunting for a month hunting, went to show how important and scarce a resource coins were.
The likes of Alex, Ria and Han had even less. So, all they could do was stare at the numerous goods in the store. What he did spend some of his points on though was a movement technique.
...
"Guys, we've been walking for ages, when do you think maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere. There's no sign of a river here"
Alex was whining. But they all knew she was right. Mel and Sarah were panting at this point. Adrien was frowning.
"It's like the river just vanished." He muttered, mostly to himself. It was quite the mystery. "We all definitely heard it, same thing even yesterday when I went hunting with Han. Let's keep going maybe we took a wrong turn like you said."
However, after walking for another hour, the absence of the river's familiar babble grew increasingly unsettling.
Adrien paused, his keen senses alert. The forest was too quiet; even the usual chirping of birds was absent. He motioned for the group to stop, raising a hand silently. They stopped, taking the moment to catch their breaths.
"Something's off," he whispered, scanning the surroundings.
Crrrrreeeeaaaakkkkkkkk!!!!
Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled slightly, a subtle vibration that sent a chill down their spines.
The ground beneath their feet began to vibrate subtly, a low hum resonating through the soles of their boots.
The vibrations intensified, evolving into rhythmic pulses that mimicked the undulating motion of ocean waves.
The earth itself seemed to ripple, each wave growing stronger, more insistent, until the terrain buckled and rolled like a storm-tossed sea.
Caught off guard, the group was thrown off balance. Mel and Sarah stumbled, their cries lost in the cacophony.
Han, Ria and Alex were knocked to the ground, struggling to find footing on the heaving earth.
Adrien alone remained upright, his body instinctively reacting. He activated his movement technique—Ethereal Void Steps.
His form blurred, momentarily intangible, allowing him to glide above the chaos onto a tree, untouched by the seismic turmoil.
A haunting, continuous howling emerged from beneath the ground, a sound that was neither wind nor beast.
It resonated with an eerie melody, vibrating through the trees and into their very bones. The forest responded.
Trees groaned as if awakening from slumber, their branches twisting unnaturally. Vines slithered across the forest floor, reaching with intent. Leaves rustled not with the wind, but with purpose.
Adrien, who was in a tree, was caught of guard.
Before they could react, the vegetation struck. Vines coiled around ankles and wrists, branches bent to ensnare, roots upheaved to trap.
Everything in the forest was no longer a passive backdrop—it was alive, aware, and hostile.
Adrien was brought tumbling down. with a strong thud. He groaned in pain, fighting to slice apart the vines with a dagger.
He acted quickly, rushing to free everyone else, while trying to stay on his feet, with the ground constantly in motion.
"What is going on!" Alex asked the question on everyone's mind, her voice frantic and filled with fear
Crrrrreeeeaaaakkkkkkkk!!!
The tree branches changed form, becoming flexible and long, like limbs. The forms of the trees shook violently, as if in an effort to break free from the constraints that bound them, The ground.
"It's the forest," Adrien murmured, eyes wide with realization. "It's come alive."
Grroooaaaan!!!
Alex, Mel, Ria and Han's faces twisted in surprise and confusion at Adrien's claim. But they understood that it was the only reasonable explanation to the scene unfolding before them.
It was times like these Adrien wished he had money to buy one of those flying treasures. The thought flashed through his mind, but he shook his head.
'Focus, work with what you have, wishful thinking will not get you out of this situation.'
He looked to the others, nodded his head. They understood his meaning. they continuously hacked at the vines and branches reaching out to grab them.
For some reason, Adrien felt like the whole forest was working as a singular entity, harmony, the way different plants and vegetation all reached out at once to restrain them.
This living entity did not seem particularly strong, but the thought of being surrounded by a living, breathing forest was unsettling, not to mention the size of the forest, it would take them a lot of time to get out, and reach the cave.
Hopefully, their cave was not part of whatever this was.
Adrien's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene. The once-familiar woods had become a living entity, hostile and unrecognizable.
The group was ensnared in a nightmare where nature itself had turned against them.
"Let's regroup!" Adrien shouted, his voice cutting through the din. "We need to get out—now!"