YM778.TV Chapter 2: Venomous serpent
But then something whirled above him and the monster was suddenly gone. Jael stood up frantically, he dusted himself, dry heaving as his stomach rolled.
"You bastard! Why did you let the monster get to me!" Jael was suddenly up, going into Mike\'s face. His green eyes filled with anger, mostly fueled by the fear that he just nearly died!
Mike grinned, and then, without warning, he backhanded Jael; the slap echoed in the tunnel and sent him back into the dust. Jael tasted blood in his mouth as his cheek flared with pain.
"You little shit," Mike said.
Fear unfurled in Jael\'s stomach as he suddenly remembered the news he had always heard about Awakeners that usually kill other Awakeners. And he\'s not even fully Awakened, he looked up, passed the blur in his eyes, and flinched when he realized Mike was face to-face with him.
Mike clutched his hair and yanked him close, smiling at the yelp of pain. "Listen, you low life. Do think four thousand is enough to get you carried here for essence? Essence that we can take for our own Codex?"
He gripped Jael\'s hair tighter and pulled him even closer. "Dream again, and now that I\'ve saved you from the monster, you have to pay a protection fee. Four thousand."
Mike shoved him away. "Do it now, or we\'ll go no further, and each time I save you, it\'s another payment."
Jael clutched his head, his eyes stung and he\'s angry at himself for it. \'So that is why he didn\'t help me when the monster attacked! They are planning to rip me off!\' He felt anger, the helpless kind, what else could he do? He dipped his hand into his pocket for his phone.
\'If only I\'m not this weak\' he thought. Jael accepted his weakness as his fault and he was doing everything he could to get stronger. Including working his ass off. Just to get the essence.
Monsters provides two very important things apart from their raw materials– monster cores and essence.
Essence is the residue initiate power of the monster, and when they are killed, it would settle into the body of the killer or their Codex if they wished. It makes advancement possible. Since there are different types of monsters, there are also different types of essences and combinations of essencess that Awakened different Codex.
Now, the kind of ability you\'ll get as an Awakener depends on the combination of the essence you take in before full Awakening.
Even though Jael could only buy cheap essence that would provide weak ability and Codex, he didn\'t mind since it would elevate his status and provide even a chance of climbing.
So he smiled through the pains in his cheek. "Sorry, Sorry. I\'ll make the payment now. See?" He showed him the phone.
Mike grunted and gestured to his team and they started to walk again. "It\'ll be tough from here on. Prepare yourself."
They showed their Codex. It hovered above each of them, orb-like– which is the appearance of a weak Codex, the lowest. Codex itself is the manifestation of an Awakener\'s abilities. The higher the level of the Codex the more pronounced the it\'s appearance.
It can be ranked from common, uncommon, to Mythic. This team has a common Codex, which is the most common among Awakeners.
Jael followed behind them, keeping close but not close enough to encounter any monsters. His sword is ready as can be. He didn\'t want to be saved again. \'Common or Uncommon, I just want to be fully Awakened!\'
The party started to encounter more powerful undead monsters but not powerful enough to probe serious problems for the party. Jael studied them.
Mike would take the lead, and his raw, inhumane strength would crush all the monsters; the swordsman was there to assist and cut down any monster that slipped past him. And the healer was quick to act as support with her healing.
Jael followed behind, gritting his teeth at his helplessness but there was little he could do. Any one of them could break him in two without really trying.
So they continued, deeper into the dungeon. Jael was entertaining himself with the thought of what he would do to the party should he become a powerful fully Awakened. It kept his thoughts away from his humiliating burning cheek.
Then they slowed as the structure of the tunnel changed, they were getting closer to the middle.
And then stopped at a stone door marked with runes. "Now you\'ll get your chance at essence boy," Mike said with a smirk. "This is the boss room!"
Jael swallowed. This is it. His future is hanging on this. Even with a common Codex and weak abilities, \'I can still climb the tower if I want to be a servant or so. Anything to drive away the compulsion that drove me\'
The door opened with a groan and they entered.
The room was big, and it smelled of flesh left too long in the sun; bones littered the floor. Monster bones from big to small. It crunched with each step they took.
The middle of the room was dominated by a large stone altar and on that altar stood an abomination.
"Towers above," Mike grinned. "It\'s an undead venomous serpent!"
The swordsman also grinned. "Its monster core will fetch a high price because of its venomous mana."
"I wonder why." The healer muttered, hanging back.
The swordsman and Mike stepped forward. "Stay back. I will handle this myself. This dungeon is too weak and the boss will be weak as well." Mike said told the swordman.
Mike started moving forward slowly, but the dried bones on the ground provided no stealth, and the serpent rose, eyes burning with a mixture of green light and darkness. Its scales shone with a different hue of purple, its head big enough to bite a man in two.
Jael held his breath, the monster\'s eyes held him captivated in a way he couldn\'t quite understand. It felt familiar. The serpent turned towards him, and then, quick as lightning, it was on Mike.
The monster was fast, but so was Mike, and his Codex glowed as he drew technique from it. He blurred forward and slammed his axe against the jaws of the serpent, driving it sideways.
Its serpentine body moved like a quicksilver, and its tail slammed into Mike with enough force to drive him into the wall, but it was like trying to push a mountain.
"His skill. Unmovable wall." The healer said when she caught Jael\'s gasp.
The monster turned quickly, avoiding the axe attack, and came down at him with fangs open. And then Mike did something that shocked Jael. He lunged into the open mouth of the monster while shouting for the healer.
The monster\'s mouth closed down, but Mike was prepared, and he hooked his axe into its jaws. Mike was laughing as he looked at the fangs inches from him.
Jael was smiling too, a show of teeth and he stood on tiptoes and hardly breath. His body was alive in ways he imagined electricity would feel like passing through a body.
"Time to do my thing." The healer said and her Codex glowed yellow as she let loose a spell that enveloped Mik.
Just in time, too, as venomous liquid sprayed from the serpent\'s mouth and sprayed Mike. But the healer\'s spell was protecting him and he didn\'t give the monster another chance.
Mike moved his axe in an arc that tore half of the monster\'s jaw away. "This is why I like undead! No blood!"
They laughed.
Jael didn\'t share their mirth, he was breathing hard. \'This is it\'
Mike called him forward and showed him where to put his sword for a sure death while the healer and the swordsman held the monster down. Jael breathed deeply. This is it. His dreams. His future.
Then he stabbed down.