Chapter 284: Bloody Thorns

Chapter 284: Bloody Thorns

The rolling hills near the outpost continued into the distance all the way to the foot of the mountain. Each wave seemed to be a bit taller than the last until it finally turned into the huge range in the distance. It was reminiscent of a water drop rippling outward. Even though the mountain range loomed over the landscape, it was still many days’ journey away.

The distant mountain range wasn’t their initial destination. They would continue their journey some ways up the first ridge eventually, but the natural treasures they were searching for were more likely to be found in open, grassy areas than rocky, mountainous regions.

That wasn’t to say they couldn’t stumble across any on the mountain. It wasn’t like the whole thing was a block of stone jutting out of the ground. There was plenty of vegetation greenery quite a ways up the mountainside. The edge of the treeline was the border they had decided upon for their first foray into the true Tier 5 Region.

So far everything up to the Outpost could only be considered the outskirts of the Region. Even though it had taken many days’ travel from the Wilderness to the Outpost, it was still only the fringe of the Region. The constant fighting goblins for hours and hours everyday made it seem like the distance was further than it actually was. If they hadn’t suffered such delays, Reivyn estimated that the time of travel would have taken a quarter as long or less.

The constant goblin encounters didn’t resume as Reivyn and his Party traveled further into the Region. It wasn’t just that the area around the Outpost was kept clear by the patrolling volunteer Adventurers. There was a fundamental difference.

The random pockets of goblins simply didn’t exist. Reivyn didn’t know if it was because of the traffic of other Adventurers or if the Outpost had been strategically located on the edge of the swarm of wild goblins. It didn’t change the outcome at all, so Reivyn didn’t dwell on it.

The absence of constant little groups of goblins didn’t mean it was completely safe, though. There were other creatures stalking the rolling hills after traveling half a day away from the Outpost. This time it was pretty obvious it was the work of the patrollers that kept them at bay.

Ferocious beasts were regular animals that absorbed the ambient mana of a Region and evolved from the large density of mana. Their features weren’t any different. There weren’t two-headed monstrosities roaming the wilds. They were just tougher and more aggressive than their weaker counterparts found in the lower density Regions.

The rolling hills were home to small beasts that weren’t necessarily aggressive. The difference between these variations of ferocious beasts and their more normal cousins was their propensity to defend their territory from intrusion. Most of the time, pretty much everyone in their Party could spot the animals before they entered the range of their territory, and for those that were a bit sneakier, Reivyn could sense them with his Divine Sense.

It would take forever if they detoured for every pack of groundhogs or other small animals, so they simply walked their path and dispatched any that attacked them. Most of the time, the creatures didn’t defend an entire area they considered their territory and only grew aggressive if they Party walked straight toward them.

That was only for the smaller creatures, though. The larger animals - bison, antelope, and the occasional large cat - were much less forgiving. More than once Reivyn and the other spellcasters of the Party had to throw up a wall of Earth spikes and other obstacles to halt a charging beast. The bisons were particularly difficult to stop, but they were at least easily dodged.

The amount of fighting holding up the Party from reaching their destination was a drop in the bucket compared to their journey through the goblin packs, though. After a couple of days walking in the general direction of the mountain range, the Party finally emerged upon a hill top that was among what they were looking for.

“Well, that wasn’t too hard,” Teilon said, hands on his hips as he surveyed the hilltop. Rose bushes with their wicked thorns sporting the ethereal blood-red dew drops dotted the top of the hill. The Blood Roses were the most common natural treasure among the list to find in the local area of the Region.

“You say that, but there was a bit of luck involved, too,” Reivyn pointed out. “How many little hilltops have we crossed, and how many more can we see from here? This is one of of all of those that have these roses.”

“While that’s true, there’s still the reality of the situation,” Teilon argued. “The reality is that it was easy for us to arrive here. Now all we have to do is harvest the thorns, and we’re good to go.”

Kimberly poked Teilon in the ribs with a skeptical look on her face.

“Did you even read the dossier on how to harvest the thorns?” She asked.

“I skimmed it...” Teilon said, looking at Kimberly askance.

“Uh huh, so I guess you won’t mind being the one to harvest them, then?” She had a teasing smile on her face.

“Sure. No problem,” Teilon thumped his chest with confidence.

Teilon swaggered up to the rose bush. Suddenly the closest rose bush’s flowers tilted toward Teilon as if they were able to sense his presence. Teilon froze for a moment. He and the rose bush stood in a standoff for a moment.

Nothing happened, so Teilon just shook his head and took another step toward the rose bush. The rose bush jumped up out of the ground and balanced itself on a bundle of roots that looked like little legs. Vines covered in thorns swung up into the air like arms, and the rose bush ran away, swinging the vines over its head in a comical display.

“What is that?!” Teilon asked, bewildered. He couldn’t hold it in after the brief moment of confusion and began laughing at the display.

The rose bush wasn’t able to move that fast, and Teilon started chasing after it. He quickly closed the distance, and the rose bush seemed to realize it wasn’t going to get away. It came to an abrupt halt, and the two vines swinging over its head launched toward Teilon with blistering speed, much faster than it was able to trundle about on its roots.

Teilon was caught off guard, but he had enough reaction speed to lift his daggers in front of himself to ward off the strikes. The vines wrapped around blades. The thorns vibrated for a split second, then began rotating along the edge of the vines at incredible speed.

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He watched his father as his muscles slowly relaxed. His veins once more became smooth along his skin as they no longer protruded, and he lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Refix looked down at his exposed arm and inspected the three wicked-looking barbs inserted into his forearm. After a brief examination, he plucked them from his arm. Reivyn could see the glow of the blood-red dew drops had not diminished in any way. It looked like it had actually deepened in color, but it was just the blood from the wound on Refix’s forearm coating the thorn.

There were three sizable puncture wounds on Refix’s arm. Reivyn could see them closing up at a visible rate with his Divine Sense, but it was slow enough that none of the others would be able to tell a difference. Each wound slowly leaked more blood down Refix’s arm, dripping on the ground beneath them.

Some people think sprinkling the ground with blood is a necessary method of allowing these plants to grow and flourish, Reivyn considered as he watched the blood drip. Almost like a cycle. The Blood Roses sprung up from battlefields then evolved to shed more blood for nourishment. That’s all actually just a myth, though. According to the addendum, there’s never actually been any evidence discovered to back up such claims, and all experiments conducted on them doesn’t show anything, either.

“Ok,” Teilon said, standing up. “I haven’t quite gotten to the end here - it happened so fast - but what in the world was that about?!”

Refix looked at everyone in the Party before putting his focus on Teilon.

“That,” he said, “is the only way to extract the treasure thorns without destroying their value.

“For some reason, they are supernaturally attached to the very core of the Blood Rose bush. They are incredibly difficult to cut away from the vine and nigh-on impossible to pull off. If one does violently remove the thorns, not only does it damage the vitality of the Blood Rose bush, but for some reason, all efficacy of the thorns is lost.

“Stabbing would-be predators with them is its last resort defense.”

“Yeah, I saw that it was fairly effective,” Teilon nodded his head. “Does it have some sort of poison or something. Was my training with Poison Resistance actually a stroke of accidental genius?”

Refix tried to chuckle, but it just came out as a wheeze. He recovered his breath before he continued.

“No. No poison,” he shook his head. “It’s pure pain.” He once again looked at everyone present. “I’m not going to lie. That sucked. It was some of the worst pain I’d ever experienced. The addendum mentions the pain inflicted in this manner is three to four times as much as when you use them to ascend your Bloodline.”

Kefira winced.

“Seeing your expression - and your entire body locking up and unable to move - I believe it,” Kefira said, swallowing.

“You don’t have to do it,” Reivyn reassured her. “There aren’t enough Rose bushes here for each of us to take a turn, anyway.”

“Are you taking a turn?” She asked back, staring Reivyn in the eyes.

“Of course,” he affirmed.

“Then I’m going to as well,” she said firmly. “Don’t try to talk me out of it. I won’t ask my man to do something I’m not willing to do.”

Reivyn simply smiled at her. He didn’t press the issue, and he could see - despite the lingering trepidation - relief in her eyes at his show of support and trust.

With an unspoken word, Reivyn, Teilon, and Refix glanced at Ameliyn. She snorted.

“Don’t look at me,” she said. “I’m older and wiser, and I have nothing to prove. You youngins do your thing and thump your chests. I’m perfectly fine sitting this out.”

The other Party members chuckled at her frankness.

Reivyn surveyed the hilltop they were standing on. There were four more Rose bushes littered around the area. Me, Kefira, Teilon, and Serilla, Reivyn thought. I’m sure Kimberly wouldn’t have any compunction participating, but there’s no way Serilla’s going to let Kefira do something she won’t. Same deal with Teilon. He acts the rogue all the time, but when it comes down to it, he takes responsibility and does his duty.

Reivyn nodded his head, psyching himself up, as he took a step forward.

“I’ll take the next one,” he said.