Seed of Titan-Chapter 55: Bad News, Baffling Sight

In this particular clearing amidst the trees, a series of loud whooshes resounded as a young man repeatedly swung around a large log.

’I think I’m starting to get this,’ Drai thought as he swung the log like a baseball bat.

After he escaped from the huge tiger, Drai couldn’t stave off the feeling that he needed a weapon. Being bothered by the thoughts for some time, he finally decided to stop and knock down some trees to make space before grabbing himself a felled tree trunk.

’Now let’s imagine that tree was the tiger before,’ Drai thought as he looked at a particular tree that wasn’t too tall but had a wide trunk.

He then swung his log, slamming it into the tree. A loud crack followed as both the short tree and part of the log were smashed into bits.

’That will solve the difference in reach, but these logs don’t seem that durable. Luckily, there are so many trees here. I can just pick up a new one if it breaks.’

Recalling the earlier fight, Drai was suddenly reminded of his last move where he flung his last rock toward the beast.

’Does it work with logs too?’ Drai thought as he looked at the broken log in his arms. He then tried flinging it with both arms, releasing the log after swinging it around, aiming for a distant tree.

However, instead of flying toward its target, the log whirled into the sky.

’Nope, doesn’t work,’ Drai inwardly remarked as he watched the log disappear from sight.

’This reminds me of the stone flicking I tried before discovering Rock Smash. What’s with my accuracy? Am I just not good at throwing things?

’Maybe I was just lucky when I hit the tiger. And I think there’s no use in trying to smash the log either since I’m sure a rock will still be better for that. Well, I guess that’s it for the practice.’

As Drai prepared to leave, he eyed the logs that were scattered around the clearing.

’It’s a pity that I can’t carry them around easily since they don’t fit into the storage. Grabbing a nearby tree isn’t that big of a deal, but it would be much better if I could pull them out of thin air just like my rocks. And there’s an element of surprise too.

’Maybe I’ll ask Professor Ravi later if there’s a really big dimensional storage that I can buy,’ Drai thought, unaware that even his parents’ life savings would probably still not be enough to afford it.

Drai then continued on with his journey. Aside from his encounter with the tiger, he had really been enjoying his sudden adventure in this jungle. Along the way, he even tried eating various plants, a habit he had during his old training days. None of them were particularly tasty, but Drai didn’t care as it was for training’s sake.

When Drai was hungry, he snacked on the other members’ supplies, rationing them in case he was stuck here for a long time.

But Drai wasn’t overly concerned with food, as he figured that he would probably just hunt for meat if he ran out of supplies since there seemed to be plenty of animals living in this jungle.

Water wasn’t a problem too, for there were a few small streams from which Drai was able refill his water supply. And in case of an emergency, there were also trees which had soft trunks that contained plenty of water, although it’s unknown whether it’s actually safe to drink or not.

After hours of walking, Drai felt that his eyes were getting heavier. He glanced at his comm and realized it was already past 9 p.m.

’So they don’t have a night cycle here,’ Drai thought as he looked at the ever-bright sky above the jungle canopy.

’Should I go to sleep? But what if a beast attacks me while I’m sleeping? Or will they all be sleeping too? Hmm...’

Drai had a hard time deciding the matter since he rarely missed his precious sleep hours. After all, based on Drai’s research, adequate sleep was a crucial aspect for physical recovery.

After contemplating for a while, he finally decided to go to sleep. The only problem was his safety.

Soon, Drai came up with an idea. He surveyed the area and found a large tree with pretty wide branches near its top.

Drai then climbed the tree until he reached the part where its large trunk parted into smaller branches. Looking around, he found a fitting spot among the branches. The spot was covered in fallen leaves, but Drai didn’t care as he thought it would make his sleeping spot comfier.

"It’s even shaded from the light," Drai pleasedly remarked, feeling proud of himself for finding such a perfect spot.

Lying down on the leaves, he set his alarm to 6 a.m. and closed his eyes. Not long after, a light snore could be heard.

***

"Let’s rest here," Christo said as his group stumbled upon a small clearing.

"Finally!" Jian exclaimed, immediately throwing himself at the ground.

The paths they had taken were getting harder to traverse, forcing Jian to work extra hard in clearing the obstructing vegetation.

Christo once offered to help, which Jian gladly accepted. But after watching Christo’s meager knife skills and his slow progress in clearing the way, Jian couldn’t take it anymore and asked for his job back, which led to his current exhaustion.

Flo crouched beside Jian and proceeded with her usual treatment. She even gave him a tonic made from a few plants she had gathered during their journey.

"You know what, Flo? This would definitely taste better with sugar or honey," Jian commented after gulping down the bitter tonic.

"Perhaps, but it could possibly reduce the tonic’s effectiveness," Flo replied.

"Just bear with it Jian. What’s the big deal with a little bit of bitterness if it’s good for you?" Natalia remarked from the side. She wasn’t as exhausted as Jian, but the hours of constant walking and vigilance were still quite taxing.

"Just swallow the bitterness to reap the benefits—sounds like life, eh?" Jian said.

"True, but keep in mind, Jian, not all that’s bitter is good,’ Christo chimed in. His hand was currently busy rummaging his satchel, perhaps looking for something or rechecking his equipment.

"By the way, how does that long ass whip fit in your satchel?" Jian asked upon recalling Christo’s peculiar weapon.

"This?" Christo asked back while taking out his whip. "The same reason this fits."

After saying this, Christo pulled out a whole step ladder, baffling the others.

"What the f**k dude?! Your satchel’s a huge ass dimensional storage?!" Jian exclaimed as he looked at the long step ladder that clearly didn’t fit in the satchel.

"Similar, but not quite," Christo smirked and put back the ladder. The part of the step ladder that was entering the satchel seemed to shrink, allowing it to fit the opening that was otherwise too small.

"Why are you even bringing that with you?" Flo asked in bafflement.

"Just because," Christo replied with a shrug before resuming his rummaging.

"Ah, yes. You and your secrets," Jian annoyedly remarked. He couldn’t help but think that his roommate was ironically becoming more mysterious the more he got to know him.

"By the way, why is Auri so silent? Yo, Auri, come here! Christo is showing us some magic tricks!" Jian yelled toward Auri who was currently lying under the shade of a nearby tree.

However, Auri seemed to ignore Jian as she remained silent and motionless.

"Leave her be. She might be too tired," Natalia advised.

Among the party members, Auri seemed to have the lowest physical stats, perhaps because of her upbringing and class. Even Flo had more stamina than Auri due to her frequent exploring and foraging prior to her awakening.

"Come on, Auri. Why so weak?" Jian said, shaking his head in disapproval as he stood up and approached Auri. He then crouched beside her with a smirk, ready to throw some rude remarks at her face.

However, Jian’s face quickly dropped upon seeing his teammate up-close.

"Guys! There’s something wrong with Auri!"

Hearing Jian’s words, the other members quickly came over. And as soon as they got a closer look, it became apparent why Jian was panicking.

Auri’s face looked pale and her whole body was drenched in sweat. Her eyes were closed and she was shivering. She didn’t seem to be unconscious though, as she occasionally slightly opened her eyes briefly, glancing at her friends who were surrounding her.

Flo immediately crouched beside Auri and inspected her condition. Not long after, she turned to her friends, her face shaken.

"It’s not a normal fever. Looks like Auri’s been poisoned!"

Upon hearing Flo’s words, the others fell silent. They looked at Auri in dismay, wondering how their relatively smooth journey so far was on the verge of turning disastrous.

***

Near the foot of Mount Zelen, a large group of people were making their way through the forest. They were mostly walking in a single file because the path that they were following was quite narrow.

Countless flashlights irradiated the group’s surroundings as they traveled deeper into the dark forest, resembling a glowing centipede cutting through a black carpet.

Soon, the group arrived at a large clearing. However, upon shining their flashlights toward the center of the open area, the group froze in their tracks.

The stone building that they had expected to see was nowhere to be found.

"How could this be..." Halo muttered in daze.

Suddenly, Enda rushed toward the center. He inspected the ground, expecting to see some rubble or other traces of the building. But to his shock, there was nothing there except for grass and dirt.

"Where’s the site?!" Enda frantically shouted. He looked around desperately, hoping to find any trace of the building or the missing party.

The rest of the group quickly gathered around the center; most of them still looked baffled.

"We’re not at the wrong place, right?" Bismar asked, his tone solemn.

"N-no. The clearing matches the image we have. The coordinates are correct too. We even followed the party’s tracks!" Halo replied, looking shaken.

"And there’s supposed to be a building here, right?" Bismar asked once again.

"Yes! It’s supposed to be here!" Enda exclaimed as he gestured at the empty ground at the center.

"SO WHAT THE F**K HAPPENED?!!" Bismar roared in rage, causing a nearby flock of birds that were sleeping on the trees to fly away.

"Calm down, Bismar," Fern said.

"Calm down? A whole ass building vanished into thin air along with six of our members—AND YOU’RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?!"

Bismar’s rage seemed to manifest as his skin turned reddish and his body emitted a subtle red glow.

Seeing their president’s outburst, the other members kept their mouths shut. Bismar was usually carefree and playful, but when angered, his personality could take a 180 degree turn. However, the members had never seen him this furious before.

"Didn’t I say to be extra careful with your trials or whatever?! That’s why I insisted to have at least one person supervising the lot from afar! But you guys kept saying that there’s no need—’The location is safe and remote coordination will suffice,’—suffice my ass!"

Bismar then turned to his Head of Logistics.

"What do you think, Amelia?! This is the result of your so-called trial!"

With her usual flat tone, Amelia replied, "Forgive me, president. I’ve been negligent. I’ll make sure to take full responsibility." Yet, her lips were slightly quivering and her eyes were shaking, a far cry from her usual stern look.

Seeing Amelia’s helpless state, Bismar’s anger slightly subsided, along with his skin’s redness and aura.

"No need. I’m the president, not you," Bismar said, ignoring Amelia’s words. "What’s the update regarding our request to the officials?"

Katlyn, a third-year who was the vice head of Intel and Comms., immediately stepped forward.

"Due to the infrequent emergencies in the area, there’s a lack of personnel and equipment in the area’s SAR division. Their last message suggested that we conduct a collaborative search tomorrow morning for better visibility and safety."

Hearing this report, Bismar spat to the ground.

"Bunch of useless shitheads!"

Silence ensued as the members didn’t know what to do about nor make of this strange situation.

"There’s something here," a female voice suddenly said.

The members turned toward the voice and saw their vice president crouching nearby.

Selis grabbed a handful of something from the ground and stood up. She then turned to the rest of the group and opened her hand, revealing the thing she found.

"Moss?" Fern remarked upon seeing the small pile on Selis’ hand.

"Looks like they’ve been recently scraped off," Selis commented.

Bismar closely inspected the pile of moss, only to find that there was nothing strange with them. They were very similar to the ones commonly found on damp stones and walls.

"What does this mean?" Bismar remarked. He had no idea what this pile of moss signified. Unfortunately, so did the rest of the members.

Amidst the darkness of the forest, the senior members of Valiant Ventures collectively stared at the pile of green moss in eerie silence, wondering what in the world had happened to their missing first-years.

***