Chapter 74: What Lurks Beneath

  CROWN(????)

  The tribe was far from any others, but that was fine with them. Their nearest neighbors were a Totem tribe of peaceful gatherers, hardy but not aggressive.

  At the edge of the known wilderness, this tribe had everything they needed. Fresh, clean water, fertile land for crops, a largely quiet forest around them… ideal for making a life. They had no metal, but they needed none, for not but a day’s journey away lay a valley of heavy, one-horned beasts whose bone made excellent material for weapons and even building.

  They were a multi-Totem tribe, with the warriors choosing those powerful beasts, and the others choosing between two more timid creatures. All supported the others, and though their tribe was small, no one needed for food or shelter. They were primitive, but clever and – most importantly – happy.

  Things changed when one young hunter failed to get a clean kill on his prey. The panicked animal fled, and the stubborn hunter followed much farther than he had ever been before. Through thickening forest, along game trails, and on through fading light, he kept going until it was nearly nightfall, and only then realized he had no time to get back before he would be forced to sleep in this strange place.

  It was then that he saw something new. Not something in the forest that was new, oh no. A message from the System, something he had never seen before. A warning, informing him that he was near to a place where the System could not properly function. The world was broken, it said, and would need to be cleansed.

  The hunter did not understand this, and it frightened him. Why would it not? He dared not go farther, and instead of confronting this wrongness, this broken part of the world, he fled. He ran away, running toward his tribe, back to familiar territory. He ran through the night and the next day, brambles and branches scratching his body, his feet blistered and bleeding.

  When he arrived back at his tribe, he tried to tell them of what he had seen. Yet this was nothing they had heard of either, even the eldest of his tribe. They said he had gotten frightened and confused, that he was too tired. They assured him that he was exhausted and imagined the message, or fallen victim to some strange plant or monster’s spell.

  Weary, the youth recovered and returned to hunting, though the others his age teased and mocked him at first. This, too, faded as he struggled to make up for his perceived failure, spending the next tens of days honing his skills and becoming one of the better hunters his age.

  Yet time revealed what he had put behind him. The tribe began to encounter stronger animals, and eventually monsters. The kind of monsters that only came from more chaotic lands with great mana throughout. This confused the tribe, but they tried to wait and see if it was a temporary matter.

  The monsters kept appearing, and with more frequency. The young hunter noticed that they often came from the same direction that his failed hunt had been. He spoke to the tribe and suggested that he may not have understood what he saw, but perhaps he saw something that was related to the growing danger they faced.

  This time, the tribe listened. They gathered many of their best fighters and hunters to send them out to where the youth had encountered the strange message.

  The journey that had taken one inexperienced hunter two days to make before was far more treacherous now. Even with many more to meet the challenges, the tribe struggled to make their way past so many monsters and enraged beasts. Two days turned to four, then to eight, as they searched for signs of the previous trail while fending off increasingly dangerous creatures.

  At last, they found it. The young hunter was validated as everyone saw the same thing: the System telling them that something had broken. The only difference was that the area had grown larger, more broken in that time. Like scratching at an itch, the world had reacted to the broken area with more mana, and the region was spawning more and more powerful monsters every day.

  The tribe was unsure what to do about this. Some wanted to leave, to migrate to a safer area. Others felt that they should try to band together with a nearby tribe and cull the monsters. A few felt it would pass eventually and they should try to wait it out.

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  The group that won the argument elected to push deeper, to find the broken part and eliminate it at the source. How, they did not know, but they knew it would be more dangerous than the edge of the area.

  They were right.

  Moving forward, the tribe handled larger, more dangerous monsters until it found itself winding through a tangled forest. Losing the way was easy, but with hunters there to help they continued deeper, fighting ever more powerful creatures and obstacles.

  It was then that they noticed they were becoming stronger themselves. Their classes were increasing in level faster than before. Though the fatigue dragged their feet and slowed their movements, they also gained more power with each push toward the center of the broken realm.

  At last, after much struggle, they found a powerful beast slumbering near the center of the tangle of forest. They engaged it in a long and arduous battle, as the System claimed that defeating this monster would reject the broken part of the world.

  They had waited so long; the beast was strong. Some of the tribe fell, a loss that would be felt all the worse afterwards. Yet they struggled on, and with a last great effort, felled the monster, only to collapse in exhaustion after.

  Yet all was not in vain. The area became more calm, and the System no longer showed it as broken. Their efforts had not just made their tribe safer, it had healed a wound upon the world itself, and in so doing the tribe would be rewarded. Their levels increased, and many even opened a new Primary Class.

  They had lost some members, but the ones remaining had become far greater.

  The weary hunters and fighters returned home, satisfied that they had done a great deed. Some monsters remained, but as they slew these – a task made easier with their greater power – no more appeared. It would take time, but the land would heal.

  They returned to the rest of the tribe to tell the story, and the young hunter hailed as a savior of the tribe. A time of prosperity came about, as the people of the tribe recovered from their losses, mourned their dead, and rebuilt their village. Life had returned to normal… or so they had thought.

  Some time later, curious hunters returned to the site of their victory. The way was no longer treacherous – at least no more so than normal – and the three youths found their way to the entrance to the deeps that the tribe had conquered. No monsters roamed the area around it, yet upon entering they felt a change.

  The area under the earth had more mana, and the twisted, intertwined trees remained. Monsters roamed here, and they quickly drew back… only to learn that the monsters never left their now-permanent home. Sustained by mana itself, they lay in wait for new challengers.

  Worried, the youths returned to the tribe and told the others of this, and a watch was set up to monitor the formerly broken realm. Yet as the youths had said, the monsters within stayed within, a curious difference from what happened before. The System gave no sign of warning, but pushing ahead into the once-broken place gave a new message.

  It stated that this was a place of great challenge, yet one which would reward those who pressed onward. The wound upon the land had been replaced with a trial, one that they could now explore without the worry of what caused it.

  At first uncertain, the tribe took volunteers to explore within. Monsters did await them, but upon slaying them it took many days for the monsters to return, and always they stayed within the boundaries set for them. Challenging this trial gave them more levels than normal, just as it had the first time… but this time the danger was more controlled, more predictable.

  That is not to say it was safe. The weaker hunters and fighters could never survive this. Still, it gave them a goal, and a way to advance far beyond what they could do in the normally safe region they dwelt within.

  The fighters and hunters were not the only ones to benefit. Their greater skill and power required better weapons, more equipment, and often the aid of a healer. Each of these types of classes found themselves leveling as well, even without going to the strange area.

  In time, the tribe saw this as a great boon. They became strong, and when their neighbors came to them worried of barbarous tribes encroaching upon their land, they took it upon themselves to protect their peaceful brethren, and easily fought back the aggressive tribes that threatened their allies.

  Though they cannot match the metalwork nor the power of the great Domain of Chall, this tribe became the stability of the far wilderness, and soon they grew more prosperous still. They grew and grew, and split into smaller tribes, seeking out similar wounds upon the land, so that they may heal it, and also gain their own strength.

  But these wounds are rare and strange, and even finding one it may be different from another. It is a dangerous thing, to seek them out, but a task that must be done. For letting one fester too long sees it grow, and this could bring about the end of the vaskan.

  The tribe should be praised, for learning of this, and spreading it to others. They should be praised for doing what must be done of their own volition, no matter the short term cost. They should be praised for the journeys afterward, where they found other secrets, other wonders of the world that would not be spoken of here.

  For there are other wonders, and other creatures to find. There are other ways that the System can benefit the vaskan, ways that are only rumor and speculation right now.

  And if there are other ways… then may there not be more discoveries? The world is wide open and waiting, and some vaskan have risen to the challenge this requires.

  Remember them, for there may come a day when what was once rare becomes common, and what was once a small danger becomes a struggle for the lives of not just oneself and one’s family, but an entire tribe or people.

  The Myths We Make

  This is a new fiction, another litRPG... this one with skill manipulation and time loops. Yes, I am fond of time loops.