Seed of Titan-Chapter 58: Deus Ex Machina—Finally Getting the Damn Skill!

Chapter 58: Deus Ex Machina—Finally Getting the Damn Skill!

At the area near the gigantic tree, Drai was being pummeled into the ground by the numerous large branches that continuously launched themselves at him.

Being vastly outnumbered, Drai couldn’t bully these branches as he did before. He could only curl up and defend the more vulnerable parts of his body.

’What the f**k!? I only beat up your friend a bit!’ Drai furiously thought amidst the pummeling. His whole body was sore and he found it a bit difficult to breathe. Even his toughness would eventually crumble if he let this go on for too long.

’I need to get out!’

After briefly collecting his strength, Drai kicked the ground with both feet, leaping sideways into the nearby trees.

’Maybe the trees will slow them down,’ Drai thought as he forced his way through the denser parts of the jungle.

However, loud cracks sounded from behind him. He glanced backward and saw that the large branches were racing toward him, indiscriminately mowing down the trees that were blocking their paths.

’So much for slowing them down,’ Drai thought, shaking his head in dismay.

The branches were faster than Drai, so they quickly caught up with him. A branch swept at Drai, forcing him to leap onto a tree trunk before leaping once again, narrowly avoiding another branch that came crashing into the tree.

’I can’t keep dodging forever.’

Drai promptly turned back and dashed toward the trees that had been felled by the branches earlier. He grabbed a log and immediately swung it at an incoming branch.

The impact knocked the branch away, but the log was smashed apart.

’These branches are way tougher than the trees,’ Drai thought as he picked up another log and smashed it against another branch.

Suddenly, Drai had an idea. After evading an incoming branch, he sprinted back toward the gigantic tree.

’Let’s see you try hitting me around your mom. Even if you do, I bet she’s way tougher than you guys.’

Drai smirked as he thought of his plan of pitting the branches and the giant tree trunk against each other. He didn’t know if this would work, but he currently had no other plans he could think of.

Along the way, Drai occasionally had to stop and fend of the branches’ attacks before he could leap away and resume his sprint toward the big tree.

Around ten minutes later, Drai finally arrived at the large clearing where the huge tree was situated. As if aware of his plan, another set of branches descended from the tree and started attacking him.

’Damn! How many more branches does this thing have!?’ Drai inwardly remarked as he maneuvered across the clearing, trying his best not to get hit.

However, there were just too many attacks for him to completely dodge. Soon, Drai’s right side was hit by a branch, slamming him sideways; his body rolled hard on the ground, leaving a shallow trench on its track.

For the huge tree, Drai was no longer a prey; he was a pest that ought to be killed. That’s why the attacks weren’t slowing down as they did during Drai’s previous encounters with these branches.

After his rolling stopped, Drai groggily propped himself up. Upon raising his head, his sight was filled with dozens of large branches that were raining down at him.

Drai felt that his body was at its limits, and a sense of resignation dawned upon him.

Staring at the imminent avalanche, he let out a rueful smile and closed his eyes, awaiting the looming end.

Yet somehow, it wasn’t his life nor his family that was flashing in Drai’s mind at this moment, but a particular white figure.

’Hehe, sorry titan bro, I think my road ends here. Next time don’t be so greedy with your skills and give me a discount, then maybe I won’t have to die early.’

Whether it was due to Titan’s Fortitude or his own thoughts, Drai didn’t feel much regret. Perhaps in return for realizing the scale of power levels of the universe, the value of human life had become something rather insignificant in Drai’s subconsciousness, leading to his carefree attitude toward death.

However, as the branches were just several feet away, time seemed to slow down as a burst of power swelled inside Drai.

’This feeling...! Open status window!’

The System screen immediately popped up, showing new notifications.

[User has leveled up. Status has been adjusted.]

[Strength +6]

[Constitution +8]

[Agility +2]

[Dexterity +3]

[Intelligence +1]

[Transcendence +0.1]

[SP +10]

[New skill available]

Drai quickly scanned the notifications, and without thinking any further, he instantly purchased Colossal Augmentation.

"Colossal Augmentation!" Drai shouted as he pictured himself growing larger. He wasn’t sure how to use the skill as it’s his first active skill, so he tried to mimic what Jian usually did every time he used a skill.

Following this, Drai’s body rapidly expanded as if being enlarged using an editing software but in real life.

’Whoaa! This looks surreal!’ Drai exclaimed as he saw his surroundings get smaller and smaller, seemingly becoming miniatures. Soon, his growth stopped as his height reached 34 feet.1

At this moment, the branches finally slammed into Drai, but they didn’t hurt him a bit.

Drai looked at the numerous branches around him that didn’t look intimidating anymore.

Grinning widely, Drai immediately swung his fist, which instantly shattered several branches as they were hit by his attack.

"What power!" Drai excitedly cheered. He then continued exhibiting his new strength by smashing the rest of the branches to bits. Soon, no more branches were left intact. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The big tree seemed to realize its predicament, as it quickly retracted all its branches back into its canopy.

"Oh Mr. Tree... You should’ve accepted when I offered to negotiate earlier. Now let’s see who’s bullying who."

Following this, Drai leaped at the tree and did a roundhouse kick at its trunk, greatly shaking it.

Despite Drai’s size, the tree was still way larger than him, and it was apparent that its trunk was also a lot sturdier than its branches.

"You’re stronger than I thought, huh? Well, let’s see how long you can withstand this."

After saying these words, Drai released a flurry of punches. A terrifying series of deafening booms quickly resounded throughout the jungle, resulting in many of its inhabitants scampering away from the epicenter in fear.

"How does it feel getting pummeled, huh? Come on, try bullying me again, won’t you?" Drai cockily challenged the tree. He was having so much fun venting out his frustration from being helpless earlier.

Amidst his pummeling, a System notification suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Warning—1 minute left until Colossal Augmentation is terminated]

’Oh shit!’

Realizing he was nearing the time limit, Drai contemplated whether to continue his beating or run away.

However, at this moment, a single branch slowly descended from the tree canopy. It looked a bit different from the attacking branches earlier as it was covered in smaller branches that sported large leaves.

’Huh? What’s that?’ Drai thought as he spotted the strange branch. He watched it descend until it finally stopped in front of his eyes.

Then, a group of leaves slowly moved apart, unveiling a large blue fruit that was hanging behind them.

"Is this for me? Oh I get it. You’re bribing me to stop bullying you. Hahaha! Turns out you have some common sense, Mr. Tree!"

Despite finding this situation quite absurd, Drai still picked the offered fruit, and the branch retracted afterwards.

[Warning—30 seconds left until Colossal Augmentation is terminated]

’If I return to normal, I won’t be able to finish this huge fruit. Should I just eat it now?’ Drai pondered as he stared at the fruit that was almost as large as his head.

’Ah, f**k it. Better than letting it spoil.’

Drai quickly munched on the fruit that resembled a giant grape. He found it rather sweet with a hint of sourness and overall refreshing.

Drai finished the fruit in no time, right before another notification popped up.

[Warning—10 seconds left until Colossal Augmentation is terminated]

"Thank you for the treat, Mr. Tree! Now, before I shrink back..."

Drai started sprinting away from the gigantic tree, knocking down the other trees on his path. He then bent his knees before leaping high into the air, emerging from the jungle canopy.

Drai immediately looked around, and he quickly spotted something in the distance.

’Nice! Looks like that’s my next destination,’ Drai thought as he was hanging in the air.

Right at this moment, Drai felt a familiar sensation in his body and a notification promptly popped up.

[Warning—Colossal Augmentation terminated. Remaining cooldown: 61 minutes]

Drai’s body rapidly shrank until he reverted to his original size, and Drai watched in horror as the scale of his surroundings quickly grew as well as his distance from the ground.

"Well, shit..."

From 200 feet1 in the air, Drai’s figure plummeted into the jungle below.

***

At this moment, Christo and the others were still making their way through the jungle. They were fully alert because a few moments ago, a stampede of all kinds of animals had passed by them.

At first, the had group thought that they were being ambushed by a pack of beasts. But Christo had quickly commanded the others to move behind a large boulder, which ended up protecting the group from the stampede.

"What do you think happened?" Natalia asked. She was still carrying Auri on her back.

"Must be a huge fight or something... We all heard those terrifying booms earlier," Jian replied while felling a small tree and kicking it out of the way.

Jian was secretly glad that he had followed Christo’s lead, for he couldn’t imagine how powerful the creatures that had made those sounds were. Jian was sure that if their group stumbled into those creatures, he and his friends would probably die a dog’s death.

’Or maybe Christo still has some tricks up his sleeve to get us out...’ Jian couldn’t help but think.

"It could also be some kind of landslide, maybe a part of the cave ceiling crumbled down," Flo added, making Natalia and Jian glance upward warily.

"I think a fight is more probable. The booms sounded too orderly for an avalanche. It lasted for quite a while too. I’m sure if it were a collapsing ceiling, it would have ended rather abruptly instead," Christo conveyed his thoughts.

"Makes sense," Natalia said as she retracted her upward gaze with relief.

Minutes later, Christo suddenly said, "We’re close."

Hearing this, the others upped their vigilance. Soon, the party could see a large clearing behind the last rows of trees.

After Jian slashed off the last bit of vegetation on their path, the group entered the clearing.

However, the members soon stopped in their tracks, for they were stunned by the sight that greeted them.

"What is this..." Jian muttered.

approx. 10 metersapprox. 60 meters