Chapter 56: Bound by Roots and Blood

Chapter 56: Bound by Roots and Blood

"Doesn't that seem unnatural to you?" one of the Echidrids gestured. "These are living embryos."

"In our village, we eat both the egg and the chicken. Often fried. And actually, if they're rich in mana—even better," Fjorn replied without blinking an eye.

"Still, it's unnatural," the Echidrid muttered.

Fjorn said nothing. Instead, he drew his knife and began collecting various parts and organs from the worms. "If we can extract their teeth, we can sell them for a good sum. They are exceptionally tough and sharp."

"Do as you wish, human," the other Echidrid replied and turned its back.

As Emilia absorbed the mana-rich and vital-energy-filled embryos, she improved her skills in Soul Absorption, Mana Manipulation, Soul Power, Body Strengthening, and Mana Absorption. Their energy was potent and incredibly pure. She easily layered it into her muscles and organs, and the spiritual energy within the embryos directly enhanced her soul. Even so, the spiritual energy concentration across all these embryos was barely twenty percent of a single mushroom core.

Emilia, who hadn't had many opportunities to absorb such treasures, was endlessly grateful for this chance and promised herself that one day, she would repay Master Fjorn for everything!

Suddenly, one of the Stone-Eaters' bodies twitched, and Emilia nearly suffered a magical backlash from her skills. It turned out to be only Fjorn, who had simply cut open the creature's belly, searching for the glands that mix the acid.

"Do you have anything to eat?" one of the Echidrids asked an hour later. Emilia was still meditating, and Fjorn had just finished with two of the monsters and was resting.

"Yes, we have root juice. It's very nutritious." He handed over the canteen with the juice and pointed to the roots nearby.

"Were you able to find anything edible?"

"We found a few fish two days ago, and before that, the meat of stone spiders."

"We'll need to create a new formation and draw more juice. We have more people now, and you need to recover."

Over the next few hours, Fjorn and Emilia worked hard to lay the formation in one of the nearby chambers. It was small and easy to defend.

They had to use all five cores from the Stone-Eaters, plus three more from the exploding acorns. That was not to mention the various herbs, magical pebbles, and monster blood that Emilia had so diligently collected. Once they were finished, they decided to stop for a few days until the Echidrids regained their strength.

Fjorn made several trips to the clearing with the pond and managed to wash out the Stone-Eaters' stomachs. They were very resilient and could hold a lot of juice. Emilia absorbed all seven embryos and drew more talismans.

The Echidrids were extremely tough creatures. Not only were they children of the primordial serpent Echidrids herself, but they carried a part of Chronus's essence in their blood. Despite numerous wounds, they simply needed rest and good food and could recover from almost anything. It was said their regenerative abilities were so strong that after a month or two of recovery, they could even grow back a lost limb.

Emilia, too, dreamed of one day finding a drop of Titan blood, or at least a legendary dragon's. Fjorn joked that it was far more likely a legendary dragon would find a drop of her blood if their paths somehow crossed.

She explained that she wouldn't fight a living dragon; she would find its tomb.

"If you find a dragon's tomb, there will be a dragon hoard there. You'll be able to hire an entire squad of healers to treat you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all three hundred sixty-five days in the year. You won't need some basic regeneration," Fjorn replied.

"Yeah, right. If I find a treasure like that, I won't tell anyone. I'll spend it in secret."

The days passed slowly, and their camp was attacked twice by different creatures. First, a group of gigantic stone spiders, and then strange two-meter-tall insects, drawn by the root sap.

The Echidrids fought bravely, with Emilia and Fjorn supporting from the rear lines. The Formation Master managed to collect various monster parts and used them to carve several small flags for laying formations. He would have to refine them for a long time, and their power would be limited—directly linked to the energy contained within the creature parts. This was quite rough work; the energy in the flags was not sealed by a master, so it would gradually leak into the environment.

On the seventh day, everyone agreed they could not wait any longer; the formation had, in any case, begun to lose its power. They filled everything they could with sap, including the large stomachs of the Rock Eaters.

Thus resupplied, they explored the tunnels for a long time. They were often attacked by various creatures but still advanced at a good pace. On the fifth day, the tunnels began to become progressively smaller and narrower, and the roots around them thicker. Sometimes their thorns formed impassable spaces, and they had to hack their way through, which took hours. In such cases, the talismans of strength proved quite helpful.

Emilia could not get enough of how the heavy earth mana influenced her talismans. She had a 90% success rate and could afford to run various experiments. Fjorn often watched her work, explaining where she could potentially make a mistake or how to improve her technique. She inscribed countless talismans onto all sorts of surfaces—monster hides, different types of leaves, the bark of strange trees, and even some larger, mana-rich thorns from the surrounding roots. Emilia deeply wished to continue developing at such an unbelievable pace even after returning to the city, but only the rich earth mana here in this private space allowed her to write on almost anything. Things would be a little more difficult and expensive back in the city.

Fjorn often questioned the Echidrids about life in Normor. They spoke of the gigantic ice mammoths and the towers of the Ice Witches. They described the Ice Orchid Sect, which had occupied 11 entire mountain peaks.

Near the core of an active volcano were several large cities that took advantage of the abundant mana released when the icy elements clashed with the unyielding ancient power of the volcano. Numerous lava streams frequently erupted, immediately captured by the cities' magic and channeled through complex magical conduits to warm the cities and create many fertile lands for crops.

The Echidrids spoke with respect about the mighty mages who governed the cities. Legends claimed that almost every third child unlocked their mana before even turning 12! And by age 30, nearly half the people there had unlocked their mana!

The cities, however, also had their challenges. They had to guard against powerful enemies from the deep, who sought to destroy or seize their magical oasis. The Ice Witches often schemed to raid one or another of the fertile fields. The Emperor had sent entire fleets of flying ships several times and even managed to construct three permanent flying islands above the very center of the crater, as well as many smaller islets serving as bases for his fleet. No one knew exactly what the Emperor was looking for, but the cities were obligated to pay him tribute and offer him assistance in his operations.

And so, while they were resting after a rather long trek, they were surprised to see the Mayor and his older son. It turned out they had smelled the smoke from their camp and had come to scout. Minutes later, Douglas appeared, carrying two giant rats on his back.

The Echidrids began speaking among themselves in their strange hissing language, often gesticulating and sometimes pointing at Fjorn and Emilia. The Mayor and his son also started asking questions, and soon the two groups were actively exchanging stories.

It turned out the Mayor and Douglas had been close to each other and had joined up with the rest of their group during the first few days. Later, however, one of the Echidrids fell into an ambush set by creatures with the body of a goat and the quills of a hedgehog. They were frighteningly fast and attacked mostly on the flanks, retreating instantly after each strike.

It was terribly difficult to deal with them, and for a moment, the entire group was on the brink of death. But then Douglas used a forbidden skill and, at the cost of a portion of his vital blood, unlocked his body's hidden potential, momentarily tripling his strength and speed. He thus surprised the leader of the goats and cut him down with a single sword stroke! Heavily wounded, the goat leader tried to retreat, but the Mayor and his son rushed forward with heavy two-handed swords and managed to finish off the injured animal.

In the ensuing chaos, however, one of the Echidrids fell, leaving the group with only the three of them. With great effort, they somehow managed to reach a spot with water, where they could rest and use it as a base to explore the nearby cave tunnels.

They ate the meat of stone spiders and giant rats, and in one place where there was flowing water, they caught blind underground fish. There, they were attacked by a huge three-meter-tall frog, which they fought for almost three hours. In the end, however, it received numerous injuries and fled deeper into the tunnels.

Emilia listened to all this with her mouth agape. This is like the legends from the sacred books, she thought, trying to imagine the powerful strikes of the Mayor or Douglas. Then it was Fjorn's turn to tell their story, skipping the moments where Emilia used her skills to absorb the cores of the fungus or the worm embryos.

The two groups merged into one and headed towards the Mayor and Douglas's base. There, they roasted the rats on thick stone skewers, seasoned with dried herbs from Emilia's backpack.

She had significantly increased her Herbalism level over the past few weeks in the tunnels, as she had encountered and analyzed hundreds of new plants and herbs.

The Great System had recognized her efforts and gifted her with numerous intuitive understandings of the nature of the different herbs. She was learning to recognize their effects by their smell, their taste, the way their mana moved, and their aura.

She wished she did not have to reinvent the wheel from the start and had access to a proper theoretical library. Yet, she was profoundly grateful even for the meager resources she possessed, welcoming every new intuitive understanding and advantage the System bestowed upon her.

The two groups set a night watch, and early the next day, they headed forward through the narrowing tunnels.