Wayne stared at Ethan's new plant-like form, a bewildered expression on his face. "Whoa. So… green!"
Wildvine's blue central eye swiveled to glare at him. "If you don't know how to talk properly, Marcus, then perhaps it's best to just shut up!" Ethan's voice, as Wildvine, was a rustling, slightly wet sound.
Seraphina, ever practical, stepped between them. "Alright, you two, stop bickering. Ethan, hurry up and tell us what this new form of yours can actually do. It looks… unique."
Ethan, as Wildvine, nodded, the Venus Flytrap-like growths on his shoulders twitching. "He's called Wildvine. As you can see, he's a plant-based lifeform…" Ethan then proceeded to explain some of Wildvine's abilities to them – his ability to stretch his vine-like limbs, merge with other plant life for camouflage, throw explosive seed pods, and his surprising strength.
Marcus's eyes lit up. "A divine skill! Seriously, man, in this kind of dense forest environment, it's simply tailor-made for Wildvine! Perfect for ambushes and navigating tricky terrain!"
Seraphina nodded in agreement. "Indeed it is. Most of Earth's reclaimed landmass now is covered in sprawling forests and jungles; there's probably nothing more suitable for moving around stealthily here than Wildvine."
"That's what I think too," Ethan said, his Wildvine voice filled with satisfaction. "For now, with this new form, perhaps we can set our sights a bit further, be a bit bolder. But first, let's go check on that little doggy we trapped."
The three of them cautiously approached the massive rock sealing the pit. Ethan, still in his Wildvine form, extended his five strong, vine-like legs, wrapping them securely around the edges of the giant rock. His two clawed hands, respectively, wound around the trunks of two sturdy, nearby trees, anchoring himself. Then, with a great, straining heave, the giant rock was slowly, laboriously, lifted away from the pit opening.
There was still no movement from the dark hole below. Ethan extended one long, slender vine from his back and cautiously reached down towards the bottom of the pit. The moment the tip of the vine brushed against the Direwolf's unmoving flank—Stab! The Direwolf's eyes suddenly snapped wide open in a final, horrifying spasm. With its razor-sharp claws, it viciously, blindly, slashed at Ethan's encroaching vine. After that one last, desperate act of aggression, it closed its eyes for good, all signs of life completely gone.
The sudden, posthumous attack gave Ethan a cold sweat, even though he was currently a plant-based being without any actual sweat glands. It was a purely psychological shock.
Seraphina, who had observed the final lash, murmured, "This should be an instinct honed from long-term survival in the wild. A deeply ingrained reflex. Even in death, it will lash out at its perceived enemies, similar to a final, convulsive burst of energy before life completely fades."
Marcus peered into the pit. "Then… it should be completely fine now, right? Definitely dead?"
Seraphina nodded. "It should be. But to be absolutely on the safe side, let's test it one more time. We can't be too careful out here."
Ethan extended another vine and carefully prodded the Direwolf's body a few times. Finding absolutely no reaction, he then used several vines to carefully roll the heavy carcass up and out of the pit. Ethan then reverted to his original human form; the Wildvine transformation had already lasted a considerable time, and he was feeling a bit low on psionic power.
The three of them went forward to check the Direwolf's condition. They found that the beast was now completely unrecognizable, a mangled wreck. Its fur was soaked and matted with blood, and its body had several ghastly, deep wounds, clearly cut and pierced by the sharp edges of the crushed rocks. The whole wolf looked considerably "flatter" than before; it had obviously been severely crushed under the immense weight.
Marcus winced. "Oof. So pitiful."
Ethan nodded, a grim expression on his face. "To be honest, yeah, it is a bit pitiful. Didn't expect it to end quite like… that."
Seraphina, however, was all business. "Stop sighing, you two. Sentimentality won't get us resources. Let me see if this wolf has any salvageable value." She squatted down, her expression focused as she began to inspect the Direwolf's mangled physical condition. "The fur is largely cut up and bloodstained, value effectively zero. The flesh has been mostly minced into paste from the crushing, value also zero. Most of the bones are completely shattered; only a few relatively hard parts, like some teeth and claws, are still intact. If we're lucky, those might be worth about forty to fifty thousand credits at most. It seems the only potentially valuable parts were all destroyed in our… enthusiastic trapping method. Now we can only try our luck and see if there's an Aura Core inside its skull."
Without a moment's hesitation, Seraphina took out her psionic dagger. With practiced, steady hands, she cut open the Direwolf's head and then carefully pried open its skull. Throughout the gruesome process, her expression didn't change in the slightest; she was extremely calm, focused, and methodical. Ethan and Marcus, watching this scene unfold, couldn't help but shudder, a mixture of awe and slight revulsion churning within them. This was a side of Seraphina they hadn't quite anticipated.
After a long, silent while of careful probing within the wolf's skull, Seraphina suddenly shouted, her voice filled with unrestrained excitement, "There's something! I found something! There really is something!"
This made everyone rush forward, peering eagerly over her shoulder. They saw a small, irregular stone, about the size of a human thumb-nail, emitting a soft, pure white, almost ethereal glow, lying quietly in Seraphina's bloodied hand.
Marcus stammered, his eyes wide, "Th-there's… there's actually, really something!"
Ethan also couldn't hide his own burgeoning excitement. "Whoa! So this is an Aura Core? I've only ever seen them in textbooks and online pictures before. Today, I finally get to see a real one with my own eyes!"
Seraphina's voice was also full of pure, unadulterated joy. "I didn't expect it! I really didn't! That on our very first trip into the wilderness, the very first monstrous beast we successfully hunted would actually have an Aura Core! What an incredibly great start! This is amazing luck! Right," she suddenly remembered, "I still need to see if there's a skill contained inside it." Seraphina quickly took out a small, sophisticated scanner from her backpack and carefully passed it over the glowing Aura Core. After the scan was complete, a progress bar appeared on the device's small screen. Before the results came out, the three of them didn't even dare to breathe too loudly, the silence in the clearing thick with anticipation.
Fortunately, the scanner didn't make them wait too long. After about five agonizingly slow seconds, a few simple words appeared on the screen: Blood Claw.
Marcus practically jumped into the air. "There is! There is! There's a skill! It actually has a skill!"
Ethan let out a whoop. "Holy crap! It dropped! It really dropped! A skill core!"
Seraphina was almost trembling with excitement. "We actually got a Skill Aura Core! And not just any skill core – based on the name, it's an even rarer Innate Talent Skill Aura Core! The Direwolf's signature ability!"
The so-called Innate Talent Skill Aura Core, as they all knew from their studies, is an Aura Core from a monstrous beast that specifically contains its race's primary innate talent skill. The intrinsic value of Aura Cores is generally divided into three main types: one is an ordinary Aura Core, which just contains raw psionic energy; another is a skill Aura Core, which contains a random, usable psionic skill the beast might have possessed; and the third, rarest type, is an innate talent skill Aura Core. In terms of the market value of these three types of Aura Cores, the first type, the ordinary energy core, is naturally the lowest. The latter two, skill cores and innate talent skill cores, are roughly similar in price, though innate talent ones often fetch a slight premium due to their rarity and unique nature. After all, psionicists primarily buy skill Aura Cores to absorb and learn the skills contained within. While a monstrous beast's innate talent skill is often powerful, it may not necessarily be suitable or compatible for every human psionicist. Only specialized beast tamers, psionic researchers, and those incredibly wealthy, eccentric collectors would typically purchase innate talent skill cores at a significantly high price for study or unique applications. However, although their monetary value difference isn't always that great between skill and innate talent cores, the rarity difference is absolutely enormous.
The general drop rate for ordinary Aura Cores from F-rank beasts was estimated to be about one percent, maybe slightly higher for mid-grade ones. The skill Aura Core's drop rate was far lower, perhaps one in a thousand beasts. And the innate talent skill Aura Core's drop rate? That was astronomical, easily one in ten thousand, if not rarer.
Marcus, still giddy, turned to Ethan. "Ethan, quick, hit me. Punch me in the arm. Let me see if this is real, if I'm not dreaming."
Ethan, without a moment's hesitation, wound up and delivered a solid, if playful, punch to Marcus's shoulder.
"Oof! You actually hit me, you jerk!" Marcus yelped, rubbing his arm.
"Hey, you asked me to hit you," Ethan replied with complete, unapologetic innocence.
Seraphina, still beaming but regaining her composure, clapped her hands. "Alright, alright, you two, stop fooling around. We were all way too excited just now. Such loud noises, all that shouting, could easily attract other, more dangerous monstrous beasts from the surrounding area. And the strong smell of blood on this wolf's carcass will also inevitably attract perception-sensitive predators. We should leave this area quickly. Today's gains are already far beyond what we could have hoped for. Let's head back towards the city first, secure our prize."
Ethan and Marcus, sobering up, immediately agreed. "Okay." / "Good call, Seraphina."
The three of them immediately vacated the area, moving with renewed urgency. Sure enough, a short while after they had left, a large pack of hungry Direwolves, drawn by the scent of blood and their kin's distress calls (which had abruptly ceased), ran into the clearing. They sniffed at the mangled corpse on the ground. Without a second glance of mourning or concern for their fallen packmate, they immediately fell upon the bloody meat, devouring it in a few savage, greedy mouthfuls. Because Ethan had remembered to sprinkle some of the remaining beast repellent powder on their tracks as they left, this new Direwolf pack couldn't smell their human scent overlaying the blood. After finishing the gruesome meal on the ground, they, too, quickly left the area, vanishing back into the dense forest.
After Ethan's group had walked for some considerable time, making good speed, they were already not too far from the outermost perimeter of New Veridia and could just begin to see the distant silhouette of the first military defense base.
"Halt!"
Then, suddenly, an extremely unfriendly, rough voice sounded from the trees ahead. Ethan, his senses already on high alert from their wilderness excursion, didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. He instantly activated the Omnitrix, transforming into the lightning-fast XLR8. In a blur of motion, he grabbed Seraphina in one arm and Marcus in the other, and whoosh—he was gone in a flash, a streak of blue and black disappearing down the path towards the city.
The bandit captain, who had been preparing to dramatically shout his demands and threats, was left standing there, his mouth still open, utterly dumbfounded. "..."
An underling, equally surprised, sidled up to him. "Uh, Boss… do we pursue them?"
The Boss glared at him. "Do we have any damn speed-type psionicists in our esteemed company who can catch that blue blur?"
The underling looked around sheepishly. "Um… doesn't seem like it, Boss. Not of that caliber, anyway."
The Boss spat on the ground in frustration. "Then pursue my foot! Damn slippery brats. Originally, I was thinking of capturing these three obviously smooth-skinned and tender-fleshed rich kids, then go extort their wealthy parents for a hefty ransom. I didn't expect their vigilance to be so damned high, or for one of them to be so freakishly fast! Did any of you useless louts manage to record them? See if you captured their faces clearly. We'll try and get them next time they venture out."
The underling shuffled his feet. "Uh, Boss… remember? Didn't you specifically say that to prevent leaving any traceable evidence, you told us all to turn off our recording functions beforehand?"
The Boss sighed, running a frustrated hand through his greasy hair. "Sigh, alright then. Fine. Consider those little brats lucky this time. Our haul from that merchant caravan earlier today isn't bad either. Let's just hurry back to camp and count our loot."
"Yes, Boss!"
But just as the group of bandits was about to turn and leave, two shadowy figures suddenly rushed out from the dense woods on either side of the path, moving with silent, deadly speed.
The Boss, startled, yelled, "Who's there?! Show yourselves!"
The two figures didn't speak, but silently, almost contemptuously, activated their psionic abilities. One person's arm became wreathed in a shimmering blade of ice, the other's in a similar blade, but made of licking, hungry flames. Oh wait, it was an ice blade on the second one too, just catching the light strangely. What followed was a swift, brutal, and entirely one-sided slaughter… or rather, a disabling.
"Help!"
"Aah! My leg! Don't kill me! Please!"
The "battle," if it could even be called that, ended in just under twenty seconds. However, these two mysterious attackers clearly hadn't intended to kill. Although the bandits now had various limbs chopped off or severely wounded – an arm here, a leg there – the bandit boss was by far the most miserable; both his left arm and his right leg had been cleanly severed, leaving him screaming in agony and terror.
One of the figures, his voice as cold as the ice blade he wielded, spoke, "Take this beating as a harsh lesson. Go back and tell your associates, your masters, if you dare to try this again, if you dare to prey on travelers on this road, none of you will leave alive next time. Now, scram! Quickly!"
"Yes, yes, yes! We'll scram right now! Thank you for your mercy, esteemed sirs!" Those few bandits who could still move scrambled to their feet, their intact limbs not forgetting to help their screaming brother with a broken leg and their now crippled, whimpering boss.
After the pathetic group of bandits had fled in disarray, the two figures looked at each other, the psionic light around their blades fading.
"Commander Thorne, my friend, long time no see! Fancy meeting you here."
"Indeed, Commander Sterling. It has been a while. You're here to protect Young Master Vance, I presume?"
Commander Sterling chuckled, a dry sound. "That's right. Guard duty. And you, then, must be here to keep an eye on the Linley family's young miss?"
Commander Thorne nodded, a faint smile on his stern face. "Of course. These youngsters, running out into the wilds like this on their own initiative… it really does make one worry, doesn't it?"
Commander Sterling sighed. "Yes, it does. But, you know, it's a good thing for young people to have such courage, such a desire to test themselves. We'll just have to work a bit harder, stay a bit more vigilant in the shadows."
Commander Thorne grunted in agreement. "Alright, they're almost out of visual range. Let's hurry up and follow them discreetly. We can have a proper drink together, catch up, when we have some free time."
Commander Sterling clapped him on the shoulder. "Definitely, definitely. My treat next time."
With that, the two seasoned protectors melted back into the trees, hurrying silently after the trio of young adventurers.
Shiny stones motivates me to throw CHAPTERS so throw them on these fic