BXBX NOVEL Chapter 197 Now Or Never
A tree that had been bathed in the acid that was spat in their direction caused to slowly break from the little support it had after most of its trunk had been eaten away.
Acting on impulse Zephyr made a quick slash at the tree that was about to collapse on Solis before returning it to its scabbard.
Zephyr's eyes widened at the action which had shocked him to a great extent.
'So I do know how to use a weapon.' He concluded in his thoughts, quickly pulling himself together as he noticed the others looking at him strangely.
"Reflexes." Zephyr shrugged.
"Thanks, man." Solis rolled out of the way.
Zephyr had a smile on his lips, but all that turned into a frown the moment he locked eyes with Obsidian.
'Back to square one, I presume.' Zephyr rolled his eyes, not ready to be caught in the loop of unknown hatred.
Rrrrr!
The snarling sound continued, but this time much closer than they imagined it to be.
Obsidian and Lank took a sniff of the air, their ability kick-starting. Fangs grown, nails grown and their eyes glowing as they searched their surrounding environment.
Nix closed his eyes so he could accurately pinpoint the location at which the threat was.
The inability to identify the threat made it all the more frustrating for all of them.
Forming a circle with their backs against each other, they all had their attention up and ready for an imminent threat.
He had to immediately deactivate his hearing augmentation if he wanted to still be in control of what he heard.
There the threat was, a 10 feet tall creature with the body of a giant spider, its surface irregular, having been an assemblage of bodily tissues with bones jutting out from various parts of its body.
The elongated head and six legs that branched off to form several appendages that were used for mobility latched onto the bark of a large tree towering over them.
Sharing a knowing look, they all pushed back, ready to separate anytime soon.
[Threat identified: Scraw]
Nix narrowed his eyes at the notification, there were just some things that couldn't be changed about the operations of his system–when he identifies the threat or culprit personally, only then does the stupid notification pop up.
'What the heck am I supposed to do to this creature? Kill it? Tame it? Rip its limbs? Come on! Give me some signs!'
[Evade its acid saliva]
Nix frowned at the notification but understood its meaning. From what he could tell, the system was avoiding anything that could relate to a mission, for the time being, making him revert to a passive approach.
Nodding his head, he signaled to the rest to act on what they had planned.
Scattering, they all dashed in opposite directions to confuse the creature.
The creature was equipped with several prehensile tentacles that it used for offensive attacks. The maw of the creature was filled with circular rows of jagged teeth, dripping from its jaw was a trail of acid saliva.
Rrrriiii!
It screeched in response to their coordinated diversion.
Dum!
Dropping to the ground, the floor trembled under the weight of Scraw, debris flying upwards at the drop of the creature.
Its bloodshot six red eyes followed Nix's movement. Gathering energy from its environment, it sprinted in the chase in the direction of Nix as its first target.
[Agility, an increase in the speed activated]
[With every minute used comes a deduction of 2 points from your energy stats]
'As expected.' Nix facepalmed, making use of his agility so he could outrun Scraw.
Whoosh!
Nix gasped in shock at the increase in speed Scraw developed. He could see it by his side, trying its best to keep up with Nix. To slow him down, it spat out its acid to a tree branch ahead of them.
Krrr! Kkkk!
Nix dived under the bulk of the tree trunk, just in time to watch it crash to the ground behind him.
"Silly spider." Nix smiled at how sneaky it thought. This was far from the usual creatures he had dueled–it almost felt like this had much more tact when attacking and a calculative approach.
[Mission: Use your team to destroy the threat]
[300 Points to be earned from each teammate's deadly attack]
Nix tilted his head to the notification, this reminded him of the task that he had given Lank at the time when they confronted Ayanami.
'This should be so much fun.' Nix thought with a smile.
Looking to his right, in the cover of the shadows cast by the trees, he was able to notice the stealthy approach of Obsidian, his smile only broadened.
He had never had such a theme when engaging in an attack, but the adrenaline that rushed up his body was enough testimony that he needed to engage in this more often.
Obsidian followed unnoticed by the creature. He watched in awe at how well Nix's speed rivaled his, leaving him to barely keep up and tag along.
He needed the right opening to ambush the creature.
Nix had signaled his willingness to be bait while leaving the opening for Obsidian. If this was the only way to gain his points, he would willingly be cannon fodder.
Riii!
Nix felt a netlike appendage latch onto his back, inadvertently pulling him back.
'What the f*ck!' Nix yelped at the suddenness of such an attack.
Reaching for his back, he felt the sticky appendage on his body.
[Gift: Fire activated]
[With every minute used comes a deduction of 4 points from your energy stats]
When he had thought of reconstruction, he could perfectly see some things that had been changed. His points would only become a bloody battleground for all the stats he would need to replenish once he was done with a mission or anytime he would utilize his gift or ability.
'It's now or never!' Nix thought as he raised his hand, targeting the appendage behind him.