Book 1: Chapter 51: Primordial Jungle

Book 1: Chapter 51: Primordial Jungle

Elijah dove, slicing through the water with ease. Then, when he’d gone a few hundred feet, gravity shifted, and he was suddenly falling in the other direction. Inexplicably panicked, he desperately treaded water as he searched for some landmark in the abyssal darkness. Looking down, he saw nothing but blackness. The same was true when he spun left, then right. But when he tilted his head up, he saw a glimmer of light. So, with no other guide, he swam toward it. Gradually, he drew closer to the surface until, finally, he broke free in the middle of a storm.

That was a far cry from the Sea of Sorrows, which had been a strangely navigable underwater seascape.

Even with only a glance as evidence, Elijah knew that the new environment of the third level was markedly different. For one, it was clear that he would no longer have to live beneath the waves. Above him was a grey sky filled with storm clouds, and in the distance, he saw a strip of dense jungle that stretched from one end of the horizon to the other.

Struggling to stay afloat, Elijah knew the dangers of a storm on the open sea, so he started paddling to shore. It was difficult, and not just because of the violent current tugging against him. In addition to that riptide, he also had to deal with the inevitable effects of spending weeks in what amounted to a low-gravity environment. His muscles hadn’t exactly atrophied, but he’d certainly grown used to using them less. And so, the way ashore was awkward and filled with frustration.

Still, he persisted and, after what felt like hours, he finally dragged himself onto a muddy beach.

Then, he collapsed, taking huge, gulping breaths as he tried to acclimate to what should have been his natural environment. It took some time, but eventually, he forced himself to his hands and knees. Then, a few minutes after that, he pushed himself upright and looked around.

The first thing he noticed was that a small, metallic box had, at some point, appeared before him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was his reward for defeating the Kelledge Tower’s second level. So, he reached out with shaking hands and popped it open. Inside was another ring, which he promptly collected. Even as the box dissolved, Elijah read the notification that had accompanied the acquisition of the ring:

Reward for completing Level Two of Keledge Tower:

Ring of Anonymity

“What the hell does a Ring of Anonymity do?” he asked aloud, slipping the dark green circlet around his pinky finger. It shrank, sizing itself to fit, then disappeared from his sight. He could still feel it, so he knew it remained around his finger, but he couldn’t see it at all. A moment later, he received another notification:

Ring of Anonymity Equipped. Choose Mode:

Anonymous

False Identity (Unchosen)

Deactivated (Currently Active)

Elijah had no idea what any of that meant. So, he selected False Identity, which prompted yet another notification:

Specify False Identity:

??

Intuitively, Elijah knew that he could create a pseudonym. But more than that, he could choose a new archetype, which he most certainly did not want to do. He suspected that it was only for display purposes, but he resolved not to use it until he knew for sure. The last thing he wanted was to screw things up. Besides, it wasn’t as if anonymity would do much for him while he was still in the tower.

And it was terrifying.

With its huge jaws, pebbled skin, powerful hind legs, and comparatively small forelegs, the massive reptile could only be described as a tyrannosaurus rex. And it was happily feeding on some smaller, unidentifiable reptile.

Clearly, the “primordial” label extended to the jungle surrounding the maze.

Elijah shivered, then backed away. He had killed creatures just as large as the dinosaur – the killer whale had been much bigger, and even the giant isopod had rivaled the tyrannosaurus in size. But there was just something about seeing the terrifying subject of countless movies and books that sent a jolt of fear up his spine.

He backed away, careful not to make a sound that might interfere with Guise of the Unseen. Then, once he’d made it a few dozen yards away, he turned and sped across the jungle. His haste was probably why, five minutes later, he fell afoul of a different sort of threat.

The sound of cracking bone echoed across the jungle as something reached up and grabbed him around the foot. Elijah let out a scream as he instinctively tried to tug his limb free, but all he did was make it worse. Something thudded into his side, piercing his hide, and he looked down to see that the thing that had clamped around his foot was what looked like a crude bear trap made of bone.

Something else hit him, this time in the shoulder, eliciting another cry of pain as it dug deep into the muscle. If Elijah hadn’t had the benefit – if it could be called that – of spending days being steadily digested within the orca’s stomach, the pain might’ve kept him from thinking straight.

It still hurt, but the agony didn’t send him careening down the path of panic.

So, even as another something hit him in the back leg, he shifted form and cast Touch of Nature. He followed it up with Healing Rain before reaching down and prying his foot loose. He cast Touch of Nature again, mending the fractured bone enough that he could put weight on it. In the meantime, he heard something shout as another projectile went wide.

It was only then that he recognized that someone was shooting arrows at him.

He shouted, “I come in peace!”

He only got a roar in response as something that looked like a mix of ape and sasquatch crashed through the forest, making a beeline toward him. Elijah didn’t need more than a glance to confirm that he had no chance in a physical confrontation. The thing was at least eight feet tall, and beneath its shaggy red fur, it was thick with muscle. More, it was armed with a giant, flint-headed spear.

So, Elijah took aim with his staff and cast Snaring Roots, which he’d largely ignored during his time in the Sea of Sorrows. Vines, thick and thorny, erupted from the ground and snaked around the creature’s legs. It tripped, tumbling face-first into the ground, where even more vines enveloped it.

Elijah didn’t dare stick around for a fight. He’d already used a lot of Ethera, and judging by the sasquatch-ape’s size, it would take more than a few casts of Storm’s Fury to take it out. However, he wasn’t going to let it off completely unharmed. So, he hobbled forward, reared back with his staff, and, after activating Venom Strike, smacked it across the back of the head. The already-prone monster was driven down by the force of the blow.

But Elijah knew he hadn’t done any real damage. Not yet. Eventually, Venom Strike would take effect, but, because he’d activated it in his human form as opposed to as a mist panther, it wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic as when he’d used it against the killer whale. So, after taking his swing, Elijah took off through the forest, bounding over the fallen trees and jumping across various depressions.

In a way, he felt like he was back on his island.

But clearly, the level of danger in the Primordial Maze was at least as high as it had been in the Sea of Sorrows he’d left behind. Monsters were one thing, but what really frightened him was a creature who could use tools like traps and the arrows still sticking out of him.