If the [Ankra Beast] was willing to kill him for his soul card, would it be safe to assu that it would also try to hunt other Beasts?
Perhaps not of its own species but back on Earth, evolution had deed that there would be a law of the jungle, the prey and the predator.
So far, this forest hadnt been teeming with beasts he had travelled quite a distance before he encountered his second foes.
Perhaps not all beasts hunted down each other, but where there were resources to be found, there was conflict to be had.
Assumptions stacked upon assumptionsbut that was all he had.
A spark flashed in his mind. A stupid, bizzare idea made its way to the forefront of his consciousness, refusing to budge.
There was no ti to be wasted if he wanted that card.
[Inventory], thought Tom, and a crack in the void taphorpized into reality.
Tom reached inside. But it was not the rapier he grabbed. Instead, Tom yanked out a slab of slly, yellow at the at that he had obtained from killing the [Ankra Beast]. The sll was so bad that it it made him gag, every inch of his body struggling not to throw up. He wondered if he was really supposed to eat this if he wanted to survive, or if hed die with the first bite.
He had a short window to act before the sll wafted over to the [Symiril Tuskers]. His gaze shifted to one of the wide trees that was roughly situated between the two boars. Thanking himself for playing baseball as a child, Tom hoisted the slab of at with both his hands.
Please, dont miss.
Tom hurled the slab of at forward with the intensity of a baseball pitcher, imdiately collapsing back into a crouch. He silently watched the slab of at arc through the air, before slamming square in the center of the wide tree before it slid down onto the floor.
The [Symiril Tuskers] were faster, far faster than what Tom had envisioned in his mind as they backpedalled from their feasting spot with the agility of a feline beast. Their quizzical gazes landed upon. what appeared to be a slab of yellow at at first glance, but they didnt imdiately approach.
Instead, they slowly begun circling around each other, slowly widening the radius of their circular movent. It gave them a three sixty degree view of the entire forest but their action seed to be directed more by animalistic instinct rather than intelligence, for if they were truly intelligent they would imdiately see the slab of at for what it was.
The next ten minutes passed as Tom remained rooted to his spot, watching the [Symiril Tuskers] circle the periter of their clearing. One of the Tuskers had co dangerously close to his hiding spot, and Tom had been prepared to blast it with [The Fla] card, but thankfully it didnt co to that.
Level 1 my ass, Tom resentfully thought to himself.
The female tusker let out a muted grunt, before she finally stopped her patrol.
The male tusker stopped as well.
Tom was almost certain that these creatures were omnivores at this point. Herbivores would have long fled at the slightest sign of danger, whilst he had seen them eat plants with his own eyes, so they couldnt be carnivores.
The two tuskers slowly began to approach the slab of at, causing Toms anticipation to grow. Then they stopped a ter before it, and began to sniff it.
Fuck. This was stupid to begin with. Why was Tom applying his old worlds convention to this forsaken land? Maybe the at just didnt sll good to the Tuskers. Maybe they only ate certain types of at. Mayb-
Toms thoughts stilled as he saw the female Tusker gingerly approached the slab of at, before she ripped a small chunk of at and scarfed it down. Despite the Tuskers imposing ivory protrusions, they had surprisingly small mouths.
The male boar let out a grunt in response that seed to be aggravated? Annoyed?
Did the yellow at actually sll good to the boars?
It seed so, as both the boars huddled closer, before beginning to tear into the at.
The first phase of his plan had. worked? The boars were huddled together.
The next and final phase of the plan was the riskiest. But Tom felt no hesitation as he slowly circled around the bush.
He felt no hesitation because he had tried this once before. He had tried it and failed. He had received two bullets as a reward for his attempt to sneak up on the gun-toting psychopath back in Japan.
Tom crept into the open clearing, carefully avoiding any loose branches and dry leaves. There was no cover to hide behind, but tom followed with another step, crouched so low that he was a little under the boars height.
RIght now, he felt like a tightrope walker suspended hundreds of feet above a city skyline, walking from one skyscraper to the next. A single misstep. An errant sound. A solitary miscalculation. And disaster would ensue.
His face was beaded with sweat, but he kept going.
The only thing in Toms mind was the next step. And the one after that.
There was so many things that could go wrong that hed stopped counting. It didnt matter anymore.
All that was left was the task.
10 ters 8 ters.6 ters.
Tom moved like a ghost, and perhaps he was one. By all rights, he shouldve died in Japan. He was probably considered dead in his own town.
5 ters. 4 ters
Three and a half ters away, Tom stood behind the Tuskers that happily tore into the succulent yellow at. Even now, they had no idea that a person stood behind them, observing their movent carefully.
Toms eyes only reflected an eerie focus that bordered on obsession.
Tom refused to die the sa way twice.
The card held forward, he finally said the words in his mind
The Fla.
A powerful gout of fla burst out from the card held in his palm, but thankfully the heat emanating from it didnt seem to affect him.
Howls of pain rang out the next second, followed by loud grunts that seed to resemble a cry for help. In the flas of his inferno, he saw two glows of light, one a small sphere of water and the second the yellow outline of a tusker that seed to glow with a powerful radiance.
The sphere of light flickered in and out of existence, whilst the Earthen glow seed to dim with every passing second.
Perhaps they were waiting for him to run out of Soul Power, but. that wasnt going to happen.
A tear streaked down Toms face, his hands trembling as he kept [The Fla] card aloft with his left hand.
Thirty seconds passed and the blue light winked out of existence, this ti permanently.
This was the consequences of his actions.
As much as he wanted to avert his gaze. he couldnt. That was the respect he would afford to his foes.
The only thing he could offer.
He wanted to snuff out his flas but
He couldnt fight the tusker in a fair confrontation. And the Tusker would not show him the sa rcy.
A minute later, the Earthen Glow that seed to be shielding the tusker finally winked out of existence.
Tom collapsed onto his knees.
Before him lay the charred corpses of the Tuskers, his flas having burnt off their facial features. The sll of charred skin made him want to heave over, but he resisted the urge.
This was the world hed co to.
This was Artezia.
And he would either have to adapt or die.
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