The wind whistled past his ears as he landed on a mushroom cap with a light thud.
The fungi shook lightly, but with its sturdy stalk, Luca was certain it would handle his weight easily.
He looked up, identified the source of the conflict and jumped once again.
His Ego Core easily pumped the energy needed for such vast jumps.
With each attempt, he covered nearly fifty meters of distance! A relatively easy feat for a 2nd-stage Explorer.
On his eighth jump, he came to a strategic halt and squatted down. Then he strained his eyes in the same direction.
He was going to identify the causes of the conflict, first.
After all, even with his confidence, there were still creatures who could kill him instantly.
Severe ranked Null Buds especially.
These monsters would easily swipe out an Explorer and he would be no exception.
A Mild rank would be an easy meal, and a Moderate rank would be an opponent of equal standing… but a severe? Luca didn't even want to fathom the thought.
'I heard Severe Null Buds may have their own forms or a type of adaptation. If I meet a fire-breathing Null Bud or an Earth Surfer, then I might actually die a dog's death.'
Not that he knew what a dog was.
It was an idiom he learnt back at school.
'Alright, let's focus on the task now.'
He peered further down and slowly, he could make out the silhouettes of the beasts.
In fact, their sounds slowly, but clearly became evident.
'Two beasts are fighting? But what rank?'
He lunged into the air, landed another fifty meters in the and guttural growls became even more pronounced.
Snarls, roars and even a wet hiss.
'Okay, now I'm curious.' He jumped again– this time, his last and without moving much, in the midst of tall, tree-like grass two massive creatures were engaged in a good'ol'fashion showdown.
One was a large chunk of flesh and calciferous bones. An abnormal amalgamation that failed to combine in a pristine manner.
It was as large as a duplex, yet its size wasn't half of the tall grass that surrounded them.
It had six powerful muscle coiled limbs, padded feet with toenails and a massive, elongated tail that extended half its full width.
It had grey skin and a bone-like armour around its trunk, legs and face. Two pairs of jolted horns protruded from its scalp. Long and pointed at its tips and its eyes glowed with a feral blue.
Luca used identification on the magnificent beast and swallowed the result.
[BULK RHINO– SEVERE RANK]
Then he turned to the smaller one.
At least half the size of the latter.
It was a spotted tiger. Even with its small size, Luca knew it would easily dwarf him and even the tallest human on earth.
Half of a giant didn't mean small in this regard.
It had slender spotted limbs, a pair of powerful tails that swung behind and claws that jutted out from every side of its paws.
Its lean nature was a rippling mass of tightly coiled muscles. Strained under its feral movements and absurd manoeuvres.
Luca identified it.
[VALLION TIGER– MODERATE RANK]
'What's going on exactly?' Luca raised a brow in curiosity. 'Why is a moderate rank fighting a severe? Does it want to die?'
His confusion was evident as he watched the fight quietly.
At this point, he couldn't help but wonder if his Spawn location had been chosen specifically, or if it was really random.
Though, it wasn't his major concern.
'Whether it was luck or not, this is a good opportunity for me. A moderate and severe will boost my total rewards.'
He slowly looked up at the sky as he arranged his thoughts.
'They had not given us the exact points, but I believe whatever they have in mind would be fair. Especially since they had such grand equipment at the start.
Hm. Makes you wonder if the gate wasn't a treasure as well… oh, I should have thought of that.'
He shook his thoughts.
"Shit, I must be going mad getting lost in my thoughts like that."
He whispered as he slowly drew nearer to the beasts.
Even without consulting himself, he had already decided to challenge these creatures. Especially since they were occupied with themselves.
With time, they would be weakened with the Moderate Null Bud almost dead. When that happens, Luca would carry it upon himself to end their suffering.
So, for the next few minutes, Luca would do nothing but wait, hide and watch.
With the occasional stray thought lingering here and there.
At some point, Luca wondered as he watched the scene.
'Should I try it? Taming?'
Amongst the Archetypes, there was the Shifter.
The rarest Archetypes.
They were literally Null Bud tamers with the gift of turning into one.
It was absurd– extremely strong by some people's books, and Luca had their skills– the basic ones at least.
He thought it over and shook the thought away.
'Maybe after I get stronger and research it further. For now, most would have decided that I was either a Brawler or a Knight.
It's best if I keep it that way for now.'
What would happen if the Federation realized he could use not one but all Archetypes?
Luca didn't want to imagine it.
Perhaps it was a blessing that Archetypes were also an aspect of the Interface that technology– no matter how advanced could truly reveal.
As time passed, the beasts continued on their onslaught.
The tiger was a nimble creature.
Its movements were fluid and adapted to the plain terrain.
With the leaves, it stalked around the massive creature which was too slow to retaliate.
Its deep, guttural growls did nothing to help it locate the tiger either.
Perhaps it was this reason that the tiger grew in confidence.
From the bushes, it lunged out in a thin stripe of afterimages.
The Bulk Rhino didn't see it coming.
The creature slammed into its side, causing the beast to stagger to the side, making deep groves as it squirmed in protest.
The tiger snarled and ripped through the bones. Smashing and grinding bony plate armour like it were dried clay.
The Bulk Rhino stormed around the fields.
It charged through the tall grass and spun around erratically.
Reaching a giant tree before smashing his side into the bulky vegetation.
It growled in fury, its blue eyes riddled with red veins as it spotted the Tiger land a distance away with a good chunk of flesh stuck to its mouth.
It snarled, then charged.
The earth shook under its weight.
A vibration that seemed to spread throughout the entirety of the forest, but Luca knew it was being swallowed by layers of minerals beneath.
Still, its presence was imposing.
The tiger jumped to the side when a massive tail swung from behind.
It whipped at the unsuspecting tiger with the sound of hollow wind.
Sending the nimble beast fluttering into the air before crashing down.
It squirmed back to its feet with a lethargic beastly cry.
The Bulk Rhino would have none of that.
It was already upon it as the beast swayed to the left, running furiously across the side in a careful arc.
The Rhino's irritation became visible as it bopped its head as if telling the Tiger to stop running.
Of course, the tiger couldn't care.
It lunged from the side again– following an awkward angle it knew the Bulk Rhino would take time to ascertain.
Then it smashed through and gripped the armour with its teeth.
A searing yellow beam began to charge from its open maw. The sound was like a long, high-pitched whistle– like a plasma beam ready to ignite.
The Rhino, feeling the sudden danger immediately rushed to the tree, its goal evident. Too late.
The tiger snapped its jaw shut and the beam erupted in a thin line. Through the Bulk Rhino's carapace and out the other end.
It staggered, fell on its hindlimbs and smashed, headfirst into the tree.
A pained growl ensued.
The tiger jumped back just in time.
Its chest rose and fell as it panted heavily.
Blood dribbled down its jaws, down to the ground. Dribbles that turned into a broken fountain, a testament to the bone armour's dexterity.
It lay down to rest. Low, animalistic whimpers escaped its broken maw.
And from afar, Luca watched with sparkling eyes.
"There it is, my chance."
Suddenly, the air warped and his form began to turn translucent. He steadied himself as a surge of energy spiralled in him and a wild grin plastered on his face.
He held his sword with his mouth and gripped the hilt tightly, then drew both arms in front of his body in a squatting stance.
If one looked properly, it would almost seem like he was about to start a race.
The wind steadied as he locked his gaze on the tiger.
Then as if propelled by the world itself, he lunged at sonic speed.
BOOM!
The atmosphere popped– a sonic blast that caused the mushroom to bend at an angle of ninety degrees.
A surge of power ran through his blood like cocaine and Luca revelled in it.
A fraction of a second, and the distance– over one hundred was covered in a flash, and the unsuspecting Tiger– snapped into alarm.
Its head whipped in the direction of Luca and the world crawled at a snail's pace.
Luca's eyes stared into the amber hue of the Tiger– and a sudden fear gripped his heart.