Chapter 172: The Long Way ‘Round

Chapter 172: The Long Way ‘Round

I knew that, despite all of its inherent inferiority, the Lesser Core wouldnt be easy to approach. Its lair was surrounded by thick sheets of spore-mist and stolen Coreless, both of which would be a problem. While most of the corrupted were easily dealt with, there were more than enough of them to simply throw themselves at us and pin us down. From there, The Unrepentant One and the-female-who-was-not-Needle could finish us off - and that wasnt even taking into account anything that could be waiting unseen.

They needed to be separated.

Devouring the Little Puppeteers was just the thing for that.

Level 3 Little Puppeteer Consumed.

Transferred to Core.

Progress Towards Next Upgrade: 14/20.

Each time we found and consumed a new one, I cast myself back towards the [Little Guardians Totem] of either of my stolen disciples to check for a response. At first, there was nothing beyond a faint change in the air, only noticeable because I was looking for it.

We kept going.

I devoured more, reveling in the thought-lights acknowledgements.

Progress Towards Next Upgrade: 15/20.

Progress Towards Next Upgrade: 16/20.

Progress Towards Next Upgrade: 17/20.

Finally, there was movement. The spore-mist surrounding my disciples had become significantly thinner, sparking a response from the corrupted that guarded the Lesser Core.

It had taken a long while, but I couldnt expect much better. It wasnt the spores fault, as disgusting and inferior as they were. They had been formed by something lesser - so, of course, they were lesser as well.

I sent out another thought-hiss towards my gold and blue protector, willing him to be ready. They might not have known exactly where we were, but the corrupted knew that we were close.

Then again, that was exactly what we had wanted. We moved on in a search for our next victim, keeping a watchful gaze on the mists around us. They flickered with phantasmal shapes reminiscent of the corrupted themselves, but they were only near enough in form that they could distract and put us on edge.

And, given that the only corrupted that could threaten us were still defending the Lesser Core itself, it failed at putting us on edge. Distraction was all that it could manage - a distraction that wasnt nearly strong enough to save our quarry.

I devoured yet another Little Puppeteer, savoring the taste of its soft-flesh.

The thought-light flickered again, reflecting my joy in its own unique way.

Progress Towards Next Upgrade: 18/20.

The mists around us started to thin further, proving the effectiveness of our efforts. Parts were so ragged as to be almost gone entirely while others still managed to hold on, overlapped by the influence of another nearby Little Puppeteer. It was those overlaps that told us where to go next; if the mists frayed, the Little Puppeteer was far. If it thickened, it was close.

We moved on towards the next, following the clues left in the spore-mist. The Grateful One had caught on to our efforts long ago, eagerly following behind Will - and sometimes pushing ahead when I prompted him to move off course by mistake - in order to hunt down the Little Puppeteers. Through her [Little Guardians Totem], I could sense the [eagerness] with which she hunted. She took a great deal of [satisfaction] in the Little Puppeteers deaths, feeding each and every one into my open maw piece by piece.

The horrid things sprouted from the corpses of dead corrupted, bursting from their chests and absorbing the remnants of their bodies in one final insult. That meant that they could be found wherever the corrupted died. Sometimes, that dependency on corpses meant that the Little Puppeteers could be easily found, simply laying in the middle of the many-nests pathways. Other times, however, they were in more subtle places.

And yet, even in those times there could only be so many places to search. That was their downfall. The Coreless were just too large. There were no wall-cracks to hide in, no small-tunnels to form a shield. Searching for a particularly hidden Little Puppeteer, we turned off of one of the many-nests many paths and into a nearby nest.

It was as ruined as any other, breathing the same green mist as everything else. The moving-wall was, as expected, broken and useless. I sent a thought-hiss to Will, causing the gold and blue Coreless to kick its shattered remains aside.

As The Grateful One stepped inside, a wave of spore-flesh entered my mouth, trying to latch on and tangle with the spores already inside. They lost like all of the others. Still, it was enough that The Grateful One and I came to the same conclusion.

Its in here somewhere The Grateful One murmured, a hint of [realization] in her [Little Guardians Totem]. She started to walk through the nest with purpose, effortlessly defeating the moving-walls that stood in our path. Each time, they creaked and wailed in despair - yet she never showed a hint of hesitation, firm in her resolve.

The moving-walls received no quarter, as was only right; they were harboring an enemy of the Great Core.

Another moving-wall slammed open, a resounding bang roaring alongside it for the brief moment it took the spore-mist to swallow the sound whole. Another one came right after. And then another, the walls of the nest starting to shake just as we found our prey at last.

Left alone and allowed to spread, they might eventually drain Will into a withered husk.

They were dangerous.

Still, they might have been what I needed - because I had changed more than just that.

We waited beside what was likely the last Little Puppeteer in the area, close enough to the stolen disciples that I could almost catch their scent-taste on my tongue. I had already used [Illusion Spark] to communicate with The Grateful One as best I could. Hopefully she understood.

Will, wonderful and thoughtless protector that he currently was, didnt require such hopes. He also didnt require convincing. That was good because he was being put in the most danger. While I was sure that Will would surely sacrifice himself for the Great Core - as I had already seen him do in one of my false-lives - it was nice to know that there were no doubts.

There couldnt be; my spores would never question me. Still, I would do all that I could to make sure that he didnt die while still keeping the stolen disciples alive as well. That was the reason for my plan, in the end.

I bit down, tearing into the Little Puppeteers soft-flesh. A minute amount of death-venom was all that it took to kill the plant-flesh bad-thing. It relied on its spores to stop any attackers rather than having any form of real defense.

I made easy work of it.

Experience Gained!

Level Up!

1 Trait Point Gained.

I had managed to injure enough Little Puppeteers through our travels that I received a new reward from the thought-light at last. It wasnt anything I could use yet, my trait points still almost entirely depleted, so I put thoughts of it aside.

Then, as quickly as I could, I swallowed the corpse.

Progress Towards Next Upgrade: 1/40.

It was doubtful that I would be able to reach the thought-lights next achievement. The Lesser Core wouldnt last much longer if we were successful, and I had no way of knowing how many Little Puppeteers were still alive. Regardless, it was nice to see. One more increase might be possible with enough luck.

A hand plucked me from the ground, depositing me on a cold shoulder of ore-flesh. Around us, the mist was starting to thin. I sent Will forward with a thought-hiss, pointing him towards where I knew the stolen disciples were waiting.

Meanwhile, The Grateful One ran a more indirect route, following the light of [Illusion Spark]. Then, when I was sure she knew where she was going, I threw my vision into the-female-who-was-not-Needle.

Will was standing in front of me, ore-flesh fangs held in my - her - hands cutting at his defenses. I sent out an urgent thought-hiss, forcing Will to pull not-Needle closer with a sweep of his ore-flesh. My vision pressed against his chest, all but blinded. It didnt matter. Another thought-hiss went out.

Wills face quickly leaned into my sight, teeth bared for a bite. Then, just as fast, my vision was sent spinning as not-Needle tumbled away. In the back of my mind, I could sense the nascent spores infesting her flesh. I set them to writhe and twist, causing as many problems as they could without killing their host.

With only a single bite, it wouldnt be enough. The [Little Guardians Totem] around her neck would wipe away my spores as surely as it would the Lesser Cores. Still, a bite in the right spot would do a lot to help slow her down.

Fighting alone, Will would need that.

Not-Needle quickly made that apparent as she rushed forward in a blur of speed, racing towards his blind spot. Yet, with me watching it all from The Grateful Ones shoulder, it was less than blind.

Another thought-hiss sent him whirling around, the ore-flesh that had once almost crushed me meeting not-Needle in a damaging blow that caused my vision to vibrate. A few more thought-hisses later, once I noticed the stolen disciples starting to struggle against the Lesser Cores control enough to slow their steps, I retreated back into my own mind.

Wills fight was important, but so was what we were doing.

The Lesser Core had lost two of its defenders; I didnt want to give it time to realize it needed to recruit another - or further awaken one that it already had. The darkwood tree loomed above us, a terrifying threat for all its many flaws, one that my spores still hadnt come close to converting. It was just too large. I could feel a few of its roots off in the distance, gold and blue crisscrossing their plant-flesh in a weave of color - and maybe in a week or two more I might have been able to take some of them for myself - but its base was frighteningly clear of my influence.

Still, I knew that it was one of the most mindless of bad-things; our continued survival proved that was true. And yet, it could end our very lives in one simple move. Just like the Guardian bad-thing of the Flame Core.

Except, this time, I couldnt simply choose to throw myself at the problem again and again. I only had one chance.

A giant branch rustled high overhead, leaves turning with an invisible wind - or maybe I was imagining that in my anxiety. I looked away, turning my mind towards something else I had seen in my stolen disciples vision.

Just in case things went wrong when sneaking into the Lesser Cores nest.

I sent The Grateful One straight for it, hoping that I wouldnt end up needing it - because I certainly couldnt rely on it. Still, it would have to do.