Chapter 191: Summon

Chapter 191: Summon

I wanted to test it so, so badly, with such fervor that I could almost taste the emotion on my tongue.

Of course, I wanted a lot of things right now. With each and every new flicker of the thought-light, new choices had presented themselves - and, almost without fail, I found myself drawn towards them.

[Guardian Link] was only the newest of the choices that called to me.

And call to me it did.

I let the thought-lights wonderful glow press against me again, basking in its touch - and the knowledge that it brought with it.Findd new stories at novelhall.com

Guardian Link: The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail has come far from where it started. You have become a growing Legend, the Little Guardian, with a likeness able to confer powerful blessings. You gain the ability to tap into any of your Focis blessings as long as you are within range of their various effects and activating The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail. (Provided by: [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail], [Little Guardian])

More than any other reward, [Guardian Link] felt right. It felt like a culmination of my accomplishments, a fang that scored its mark against the flesh of the world, underlining the undeniable fact that I had succeeded in spreading the image of the Great Core.

Like it would push me further into the Great Cores light.

Like it would help me spread that light even further.

And, in a flash of inspiration akin to the flicker of the thought-light itself, I was struck by an idea.

I reflexively selected my first choice. Before I could question myself, it had already been done. I needed to know if what I suspected was true - and now, with a simple rebirth able to easily wipe away any mistakes, I was confident enough to press forward. Maybe the Great Core had blessed me with such a well-timed reward to give me the confidence to make my decisions. If I was wrong, I could just try again.

I justdidnt think that I was wrong.

The thought-light flickered.

Reward Chosen: Guardian Link.

[Guardian Link] Acquired.

[Guardian Link] was only one of many good options, and I was well aware of that; in the end, I might decide to go with something else. Without the Coreless around to take wounds for me, it wasnt unlikely that I could die and be forced to choose something else anyway. In fact, I expected it to happen eventually. There would always be a chance of slithering into the blow of a dangerous bad-thing that I hadnt seen coming. Even if I was far stronger than I had once been, I wasnt invincible.

My scale-flesh offered no more protection than it ever had.

More limbs skittered; behind, in front, and to my sides. Too many limbs. A horrible suspicion grew in my mind.

I spit out a giant torrent of [Mana Fire] into the darkness, the bright blue flames accompanied by a flicker of the thought-light. My mana noticeably dipped.

Lesser Core Skill: [Mana Fire VI] Increased.

[Mana Fire VII] Acquired.

The enemy revealed itself in a blaze of fire. The horrible, disgusting, terrible enemy. Almost a third of a not-Needle tall, the giant abomination reared back on its many, many legs, a set of dripping fangs clicking together in a silent shriek of agony. I fought off a shudder of revulsion at the massive Aridae-like bad-thing.

So many awful, revolting legs.

A set of fangs cut off my thought, piercing straight through my tail-flesh in the midst of my distraction.

I was lifted from the ground as the bad-thing behind me pulled up, still caught within its giant fangs. Venom coursed through my blood, and drops of vitality began to pool in my mana core. With a twist, I pulled myself, scoring a gash in the nearest of the bad-things legs. A cloud of spores puffed from my mouth, taking root within the wound and catching my many-legged attacker off guard before I brought my fangs down upon my own flesh. Vitality flowed, rushing through my blood and beginning to repair the damage that the bad-things venom and fangs had inflicted.

At the same time, I reached out with [Verdure Parasite], pulling on the nearby plant-flesh. The infested bad-thing began to twitch, already beginning to see the wisdom of following the Great Core. It didnt deserve it.

None of them did.

Now behind me, the flaming bad-thing chittered and threw itself against my length in a fit of rage, piercing uncovered scale-flesh again and again. A few of its attacks bounced off of the protection of my ore-flesh, finding home instead in the bad-thing that still held me captive within its long fangs. Another stream of venom flowed through me, overpowering the few drops of vitality that I had already released.

Other abominations pressed in from the sides, reaching out with enough numbers that I had difficulty striking back. They skittered into the light on eight legs, near-silent save for the occasional scrape of clawed limbs.

I breathed deep, letting loose another gush of [Mana Fire] before twisting it into [Chrono Fire] - this time at myself. Then, with a thought-hiss and a twitch of still-growing spore-roots, my captor was forced to throw me from its fangs.

I landed, hissing in anger. Testing my idea for [Guardian Link] would have to wait. There were legs to break.

Still, at the very least, testing my rewards would be enjoyable. Id get to kill horrible abominations again and again, bringing them back only to murder them again each time I tried something new.

That was a blessing in itself.

My flesh wrapped in the warm embrace of [Chrono Fire], I pulled on my most recent reward - the first of what I hoped would be many satisfying tests.

I summoned [The Golems Echo].