The Last Dainv

Chapter 292

It was daytime, and the warmth of the star above could be felt on Gale's face as he laid flat on the ground, gasping for air. A week or so had passed since they started training Phase Touch for defense, not the normal kind as well.

Erin had launched projectiles at him of various sizes to mimic real combat, and he had to pinpoint where it would hit and only apply the smallest amount of Phase Touch at the location as possible.

By today, his body was full of bruises, yet he couldn't help but smile. She'd tell him more stories while pointing at the stars, telling him about each Dainv she fought with. That was his reward, and it wasaddicting.

The books he read before had nothing on Master Kweis fighting a planet sized monstrosity with just his pure muscles and might that Erin called 'barbaric.'

More like barbaric of awesome, Gale chuckled. Would he become pure muscle too if he put all his grains on his body instead? He'd get so massive he wouldn't fit through a door.

"The training is done for now," Erin said, floating above him. "Remember, Phase Touch's use case for defense. To minimize essence expenditure, the effect must be maintained only on the smallest portion that will be hit. Do not waste resources by covering your entire body."

"I got it, I got it. Stop nagging me." Gale pushed himself up to a sitting position.

[Essence: 1233/3540]

His essence reserves were low, but enough to use One Step once just in case he needed it. There were also a couple more dust vials that would top him up a bit in case things got hairy. "What are we going to do now?"

"Now we must descend to the valleys below; to the city."

"There's a city here? I thought it was just a village or something."

"That is a given." Erin pointed northwest. "If you wish to solve the rift, you must find clues of the foreign entity."

"You're not going to help me?"

"Child, you must learn to solve the rift yourself."

Gale stood up fully, brushing flower petals off his clothes. "Fine... what about the shards for Ollie?"

"Do not forget the time dilation of this rift favours Earth," Erin pointed towards the northwest direction. "The Dainv of Cev must lead."

Gale grumbled. She didn't have to tell him that. The Dark Hunter would surely lead this floating bluey teacher towards the epic quest of solving this rift once and for all and attain the 50 aur coins to buy delicious delectables.

Expanding his Presence Between towards the direction she pointed, his tendrils passed through fields, trees, hills, and finally, a mountain.

No signs of any valley within his range. In other words, revert back to survival guide #2 by dad.

"Follow me," Gale said confidently. "I know exactly where we're going."

He started walking northwest. Erin floated behind him, saying nothing.

They moved through the meadows first. The flowers thinned out as they travelled, eventually giving way to ordinary snow and rock. Then came a forest that ascended and descended in hills.

The 3rd hill they encountered was more like a small mountain. However, that wasn't difficult for either of them as they crossed the peak easily and slid down from the top using Gale's Erebus as a toboggan.

The day ended and night came, yet they continued moving through the night.

Once they met the mountain that Presence Between telegraphed to him, the only word he could use to describe it was 'giant'. It wouldn't be hard to climb, but it'd take a couple of days or maybe even a week.

Looking back at Erin, he noticed her shoes touching the ground. If she wasn't floating, that meant she was probably respecting the area by doing so.

"We cannot fly to the top," Erin said as if reading his thoughts.

"I get it... let me see what I can find," Gale said as he expanded Presence Between as far as he could. But just above them, he saw a snow covered cave entrance. It should be just around a 30 minute climb if they were fast.

"There's a tunnel," he said. "We can go through."

"Lead."

Moving through the mountains and reaching the base, Gale pointed up towards the cave entrance. It was hard to see due to it being camouflaged by the snow. Had he only used his eyes, he wouldn't have seen it.

Gale started climbing first, and Erin followed him with her hands and feet, climbing onto the handholds and footholds. Wind whistled along the mountain, and a few rocks overhead came falling down. An ice shield prevented the rocks from hitting them, but the wind dared to push them off.

Still, they continued moving through until they finally reached the lip of the platform by the cave entrance.

Approaching the cave entrance, Erin melted the snow and revealed the long hallway of the cave inside.

Presence Between tendrils entered and mapped out the tunnel system that reached all the way to the other side of the mountain, also creating a network of tunnels that touched every corner of the mountain.

Controlling his face to not let Erin be aware of his surprise, he said, "Let's go."

An orb of light illuminated the tunnel as Erin conjured one with a snap of her fingers.

Sure enough, to get to the other side was straight, curve left, straight, curve right, straight. Simple enough that it looked like a highway through the mountain itself.

Gale then led Erin through the cave, taking in the view of what was inside. To his right and left were large corridors wide enough to fit a cart through. Circular doors were also laid out at even intervals, some had a window that looked like they were there for vendors or shops. Yet all of them were abandoned. No signs of life were inside the tunnel system.

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Hours into their journey, Presence Between tugged at him from above. Both of them looked up to see a massive spider above, hanging on the stallactite ridden cave ceiling.

The body alone was the size of Kyle's car, but its long legs made its size even larger than it looked at that was triple the size of Kyle's car. Eight eyes, all of them red, reflected the white light of Erin's conjuration. Its mouth was green and filled with dripping white residue. Each leg had a curved sharp nail of the same colour as its black skin. On its abdomen was a red dot.

Gale didn't know what the red dot meant, but mom did say red dots on insects meant danger. "Always detoxify them first before eating," she'd tell him.

Erin raised her hand, forming an ice sword out of thin air. She handed it to him, but he noticed the blade was dull, not even sharper than a butter knife.

Swinging it around anyway to feel for the balance, he already knew Erin didn't want a quick fight. The spider above was only an Awakened signature, not even Attuned.

The spider moved without warning.

Its front leg shot downward, each one the size of Gale's head, aiming to crush him against the tunnel floor.

Gale didn't move while muttering, "Why is everything in this world so large?"

Phase Touch activated at exactly the point where the spider's leg would connect with his head. The legs passed through his skull. By now, he had gotten used to the feeling of hostile objects moving past him.

Grabbing its legs, he launched himself upwards towards a wall. One tap of the wall pushed him to the ceiling. Another tap of the ceiling with the balls of his feet launched him directly at the spider's body.

The spider opened its mouth, showing its green insides. Air whistled through its mouth as webs shot out, aimed at his torso.

Not bothering to dodge, he fell directly towards the spider, ice sword epicly raised. Phase Touch activated just before the webs touched his clothes. Once it passed through, he spun himself as he aimed for the spider's neck, or what looked like it.

A second later, he landed on the floor. The next second, the spider's head slid off of its body. Standing up, he looked down at the spider.

[Druvksi Lurker Felled...]

[Extracting Origin from Prey.]

[Description: An ambush predator of the Druvksi mountains. It will only eat when hungry and is classified as harmless except during the feeding season.]

"Is it feeding season right now?" Gale asked. The ice sword melted off his hands, making him wipe the water off his jeans.

"It is." Erin floated down to examine the corpse. "The current state of this world is at the warmer season. Fauna awakens, such as these lurkers, to feed and prepare for the next hibernation phase."

Gale noticed her eyes staring at his torso. Looking down, some white residue had gotten on his shirt, which must've been from the spider webs that shot out. Why was that? His Phase Touch activated at the perfect timing and size for the webs.

"You need more practice," Erin said. "The Phase defense is not omnipotent. Due to the war against the corruption, it seems this spider has evolved to create a skill that counters Phase property. That may it be, it is still primitive."

Gale nodded. He reached down to wipe off the residue. His hand stuck to his shirt, causing him to pull hard on it and almost rip his jacket. When he tried to pull away even harder, the white residue was growing more solid.

"Why isn't it coming off?" Both of his hands were stuck to his jacket, and he stopped. Rachel would be mad if he ripped it off.

Erin came in closer to him where his hands were stuck. "Halt your struggle."

She raised one hand. A small flame ignited at her palm. Bringing it closer to where the residue was, she carefully burnt away the webbing and allowed him to lift off his hands. Surprisingly, it didn't burn him.

Continuing to move the flame through the rest of the affected areas, the residue cleanly burnt away, leaving nothing behind.

Suddenly, she moved the flame close to his face, causing him to slightly flinch at the fire. But her gentle hold kept him steady, and the residue that had gotten on his face also cleaned right off.

As a final touch, she wiped the ash off his face with her sleeve.

"Thanks," Gale said.

"Continue leading."

They moved deeper into the tunnel system. After another couple more hours of walking, they emerged on the other side of the mountain. It was now daytime, revealing the different landscape from the other side of the mountain. More gentle slopes led downward to what looked like a valley in the distance.

At the very edge of Presence Between's reach, Gale saw it. Hundreds and hundreds of signatures that were all concentrated in the city beyond. Most were mundane. Only a couple of Awakened and a single Attuned signature.

"I can see it," Gale said. "There's a walled city down there."

"Then we shall proceed."

Gale started walking, then stopped. Turning back to Erin, he asked, "Is there any way for you to give me the knowledge of the language?"

Erin raised her hand. Ice formed at her fingertips, crystallizing into an orb about the size of an apple. Intricate patterns and complex objects covered its surface, fractals within fractals that seemed to make him dizzy if he looked at it directly.

Jackpot. He already knew Erin would say something like 'you didn't ask' if he had never asked for such a convenience.

"Touch it," she said.

Reaching his fingers over to the orb, he softly touched it. A river of information and data flowed from the orb onto his fingers and into his spine. Words, sounds, and symbolic meanings flowed into his mind as millions of images flashed in front of him.

Then it hit him. His stomach lurched. The world turned upside down. Bile hit the snow on the ground below as he reeled from the flood of information.

Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Gale pushed himself up to his feet as the dizzy spell dissipated. The language of the natives now sat in his mind, words, grammar, idioms, and some part of their culture and all. The only thing he wasn't given was the muscle memory of actually speaking it.

"Let's go," he said.

They descended into the valley below.

Even though snow continued to fall from the sky in gentle flakes, the landscape changed dramatically as they moved lower. The white blanket that covered everything above gave way to patches of fresh brown tilled soil and lush green grass that poked out of the snow blanket.

Moving deeper into the farmlands, crops started to show on the land as they grew at different rates. Despite the slow snowfall, not a single flake touched the field. An ambient hint of ether had covered the field, which would most likely be the cause of the snow not piling up.

"How are they growing crops in this weather?" Gale asked.

"The natives have their own technology. You may try to ask them."

Helpful as always. Obviously, he wouldn't dare ask. What would he even ask? Please let me learn the ways of your people?Definitely not saying that.

Passing through the farmlands, walking along the dirt path, a few farmers had popped up onto the land and worked the soil. Their white hair, pale skin, and deep blue eyes clearly marked them as different from the people of Earth. Some looked up as Gale and Erin passed, completely pausing what they were doing until both of them were out of sight.

A child ran across the path in front of them, chasing a small furry creature that looked like a cross between a cat and a rabbit that was definitely not making Gale drool.

As they continued, the outer city came into view. Buildings of stone and wood lined the roads leading toward the main walls. Inns with hand-painted signs that said 'The Old Sleeper.' Sword shops had their signs staked just above the door. A tool shop that had a funny name had its sign just by the window that said 'Keep Your Hands Young Tools.'

Kairians walked about, going on with their day. Some carried baskets that held what looked like elongated broccoli and small cabbages that Gale hated since they reminded him of brussel sprouts.

Others led a cart pulled by a giant bird that looked like an ostrich, except with massive muscles.

All of these passersby stared at both of them as they passed by the outer city's streets.

Suddenly, two figures approached from up ahead from the main gate. Knights in full armour and a full helmet that covered their faces. The one on the right had a black feather mounted on top of his helmet, swaying with each step of his run.

"Halt!" the black-feathered knight shouted.

Gale stopped walking. Erin floated to a stop beside him, her feet finally touching the ground.

"State your business," the black-feathered one stepped forward, his visor hiding any expression.

Silence.

Gale glanced at Erin, waiting for her to take the lead. She was the adult in this situation. However, she stared straight ahead with not even a lick of emotion that said she'd say anything.

To be fair, she never has emotion. Most of the time.

This is your rift to solve, Erin said to him telepathically. Negotiate with the natives.