Sin's disappeared again... Damn it. How good can this teacher of mine possibly be at getting lost?! I'm starting to get a headache just thinking about planning another search for him.
First, let me check the forest behind Uncle Vex's shop. That's where we trained last. But if I run into something weird out there right now, with no decent weapons on me, I'm probably screwed.
I looked around for anything I could use to defend myself near Uncle Vex's shop and the surrounding area in Rusty city before deciding to just dive headfirst into the forest.
"There! This should work." I spotted a shovel leaning against someone's house. Looked sturdy enough to use. I quickly grabbed it.
"Just borrowing this for a bit!" I muttered quietly, then immediately ran into the forest. Didn't want the homeowner to come out and catch me stealing their stuff.
After walking deep into the forest for a while, I reached the area where we'd been training the past few days. I tried shouting Sin's name, hoping he might still be wandering around here somewhere.
"Sin!! Where are you, Master Sin!!"
I shouted several times, but only the sound of wind through leaves answered back... complete silence. No trace of that master of getting lost. Now let me try calling for his canine companion instead.
"Knight!! Hey Knight!!"
"Are you around here?!"
Sigh... Doesn't look like they're in this area. Where should I try next? If it's the abandoned town of Sliver, would they still be there? But if they really were there, Kylo's group should have found them already. They had so many people surveying the place.
I stood there thinking for a long while, looking around at the forest that was getting thicker and more overgrown.
...
Alright! I figured it out! Let me go back to abandoned Sliver town one more time. Maybe Kylo's people didn't patrol thoroughly enough. Actually, I'm totally lost right now anyway. Don't know where else Master Sin could have wandered off to. If I really can't find him, I'll try asking people in Stone City later.
ROAARRR!!
A thunderous roar echoed from somewhere! In front of me? Why hasn't it shown up yet? A sound like that... definitely not a tiger. Probably a low-level Soul Either.
Lucky I grabbed this shovel. But how am I supposed to kill that thing with this? Should I just run? Either way, I probably can't win this fight.
But before I could decide! It appeared!
A Soul Either shaped like a human. Its skin was a dull green color, looked like a walking chunk of ore. Sharp thorns grew out of its arms and legs. Its emerald green eyes stared right at me.
It stood there staring at my face, then... grinned? It's grinning?! Wait, aren't low-level Soul Either supposed to be mindless? But before I could think about it further, as it stared at me, suddenly it started drooling. Its eyes changed to a blood-red color!
"What the hell, what's it mad about?" I didn't hesitate. I immediately used the shovel to dig up some dirt. And at that exact moment, it lunged to attack me! But I had dirt ready to throw in its face!
I threw a bunch of dirt right into its face, making it lose balance and roar with annoyance. It tried to brush the dust off its face.
Taking advantage of that moment, I swung the shovel and smacked it in the face with full force! Then I quickly looked for weak spots on its body... but still couldn't see any!
While it was stunned from the attack, I ran to hide behind a large tree.
ROARRRRR!!
It roared even louder than before and turned to look straight at the tree I was hiding behind, like it knew my exact location!
"Oh crap!" Before I could finish that thought, the thorns on its arms trembled, then it swung its arm out, releasing sharp energy waves heading straight for me! They barely missed my head! Those energy waves cut through the tree I was using for cover and several others around it, chopping them into pieces!
"I just came here to look for Master Sin!!"
"Stop messing with people for no reason!!"
I shouted as I ran away frantically. I knew for sure I couldn't fight this thing. If I kept trying to be stubborn and fight, I'd just end up dead!
But it probably wouldn't let me get away easily... I got it! Let me try using Soul power on the shovel and throw it to stop the thing!
As soon as I said that, I started gathering my focus. Thinking about the feeling when I used power with the short sword... there it is! But this time, I don't know why, my mind wasn't as calm as before. Maybe because of exhaustion and panic, the power that came out seemed way more violent and harder to control than before!
But no time to hesitate! I decided to throw the shovel charged with lightning power with all my strength!
Whoosh CRACK!
Slice!
Its arm... its arm got cut clean off! The shovel I threw had such violent and fast energy that it could slice right through the Soul Either's arm! But... that was it. If I didn't hit its weak spot, it still wouldn't die...
Growwwwl...
"Again... it's happening again..." A cold feeling ran down my spine. That hellish vision appeared in my mind once more. The entire forest around me suddenly transformed into a cursed land blazing with black-red flames. And I saw it... that same demonic skeleton...
But it was standing exactly where the Soul Either had been standing... and one of its arms was severed... just like the Soul Either I'd just attacked!
"The more you use your power, the stronger 'we' become." Those words immediately flashed in my head. My eyes widened in terror! This is... could it be?!