I woke up to distant noises, yet it felt natural. Slowly, I came too and sat up quickly, scanning my surroundings. I saw the shoulder blade knife nearby and grabbed it, looking towards the noise.
"Not good" I breathed out as I spotted 3 young men heading in my general direction, each holding long wooden sticks like swords. I darted towards the trees, trying to hide in the shadows of one but my eyes met with the man on the left.
"AAAY! WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HIDING!?" The man yelled, drawing the other 2's attention. I slowly walked out, keeping eye contact with the three as they raised their sticks.
"What do you want? I have no food" I called out, lying through my teeth. We stared at each other before they lowered there sticks.
"We were just looking for spirits to raise our rank and grade in this assignment. Whats your origin?" The first one asked and I tried my best to keep my face neutral but a small frown still formed at the corner of my lips.
"I have a plant type combat origin" I lied but they wouldn't know any better. All three looked a little surprised before nodding.
"Wanna join us? It's an equal opportunities group. Your kill is yours. All of us want a better grade in the assignment" the one in the front offered and I paused for a minute. While i hated that they could leave me when I was weak, I could use this.
"This arrangement is suitable. The moment any of you becomes weak, i will leave you. You can use me as long as i can use you" I called out coldly, catching them off guard but they still nodded.
"Im Garret, this is landon, and this is brandon" Garrett, who is fit, about 6'3", with a buzz cut introduced Landon, who was even shorter than me, well rounded with a comb over. While Brandon stood out in this group, being lengthy but sturdy. With long black hair.
"felix" I called out and they nodded slightly as I pocketed the bone blade in my pants helm. We stood there for a minute before Brandon spoke up.
"We ate a little bit ago and now we'rejust looking for apirit beasts to hung. Do you need to eat?" He asked in a casual tone and I just shook my head. They nodded before starting to head further down the dirt trail.
"Our origins are all combat types too. Garret got quick cut, i got bleeding cut, while brandon got something called sharp will" Landon explained while I stared at him in awe. Who just tells a stranger there abilities? Maybe if we were in a long term group but still.
Shaking my head, I walked on in silence. Time passed slowly but I did find the company enjoyable. Then, I head the familiar clicking of bones and paused.
"Bone soldier up ahead" brandon called out as he raised his sword. The bone soldier looked a lot like a human skeleton with some metal armor. Then, I saw its status.
<20% chance to drop a spark>
The so called bone soldier was actually a lost bone soldier, not like it made any difference to me. The only problem was getting through its defense. Suddenly, I saw brandon activating his origin.
A clear wave forming over his stick, like a rippling glass sheath. I nodded and extended my hand, growing a pristine white vine from my hand. It grew to 2 meters before it stopped and I rushed forwards.
Whipping out, the vine traveled through the air while the skeleton raised his hands to block the vine. Then, a clear wave of energy shot passed me, hitting the skeleton, cutting it's armor chest piece in half.
The vine hit the cut and knocked the skeleton down. Garret moved in and his stick shot across its neck so fast, I saw nothing but a blur as the head was severed. I nodded slowly as I saw how this group would work. We would all fight for the last hit. Using each other to thrive.
Now that im in, I can see how competitive this group is. Then, Garret looked at me curiously.
"Felix, that vine. What species is it? I dont recognise it from school" he asked curiously but I couldn't help but think about what he said. Was Veil rare? I mean, plant spirits are uncommon but schools taught students about a lot of plant spirits. Damn, I missed a lot being home schooled.
My mother used to teach me but later, after that day, a woman came over. She said she came from the government and I could go to school or take my classes online. Naturally, I chose online and she handed me a phone, explaining how to take my classes.
Bringing myself back to reality, I glanced up at Garret and just stared at him. Eventually. He just nodded before looking forward. The other two would glance at me every do often but I won't call them out.
'Veil? You there' I called out, seeing if my bond was done with her ascension thing. Sadly, no one answered and I was left to my own thoughts.
"So brandon, what classes do you want to take?" Landon called out casually, catching my attention. Do they know the classes available? How come I never got to know? They probably learned in school.
"Well, I'm going to take combat classes, forging classes and try to get into the command course" Brandon answered but I noticed he glanced at the 3 of us secretly when he said command courses.
" Command courses, you're going to need a high score for that" Garret thinks aloud, making me question how much they know about this assignment. How much do they know about this?
"What about you landon?" Garret asked and landon sighed before answering.
"Well, I just want to take combat classes and get deployed to wherever. I just want to get this over with. Then get back to my family to relax" he answered dismissivily, yet a subtle rustling caught our attention.
I let Veil's vine grow out of my hand as a figure walked out of the grass quickly, stunning me still.
<14% chance to drop a spark. 5% chance to drop a bundle of spirit silk>
The spider was as high as my waist and had brown patterned skin that resembled tree bark.
I whipped out, aiming for its head. I saw Garret run past me while Brandon readied himself. I slowed down thr whip to hit after Garret cut it. Garret's stick cut across it's hairy face, making 3 of it's 8 red eyes bleed. I suddenly saw a clear wave cut out, threatening to kill it before me.
I struck out the whip as hard as I could, forcing a bit of koi into the vine. It accelerated rapidly until I felt it connect with the spider's skull, crushing it.
Rang out and I felt giddy inside but refused to show it on my face. They don't need to know if i got anything or not. No need to cause any animosity. We stared at the corpse for a minute until landon walked forwards, stick in hand.
I watched in awe as he bent down, grabbing 2 legs and snapping them off, then repeating the process. Garret walked off and I watched him grab sticks while me and Brandon stood to watch.
Then, I started to walk around, collecting sticks casually. After 10 minutes, we had a small fire going, roasting spider legs.
"Never tried spirit spider before. Hope it tastes ok" brandon announced as he picked up a roasted leg. The meat inside the black exoskeleton was a golden brown after being cooked for 7 minute, reminding me of the videos of a mom and son roasting these things called marshmallows over a fire.
I watched as brandon took a bite and nodded slowly before I picked one up casually. I touched the meat carefully and it felt a little rubbery. I bite into it and was suprised at the flavor.
It tasted like a tender steak with some kind of tangy sauce. I ate with excitement until I finished it, wiping my mouth with my pant leg.
"Hey felix, ive been meaning to ask. What happened to your shirt?" Brandon called out after watching me wipe my mouth. I was stunned at first as I got used to it and little too fast.
"A snake burned the back of it, threw it out a couple days ago" I answered and they looked a little surprised. Garret and Landon shared a look before looking at me.
"Ooh? You faught a torch tongue viper? Did you win?" Brandon asked and I smiled bitterly. The rush of unpleasant memories hit me hard before receding.
"Yea but my previous group left me because I was severly burn. I don't blame them but they also took my kill, leaving me to dye of hunger" I answered coldly as I stared all three of them in the eyes. They nodded in a matter of fact way, catching me off guard.
"What?" I called out and Landon shrugged.
"Well, they thought you were going to die and no one wants to waste good food. Especially a strong snake like the torch tongue viper" he replied as if it was the natural answer, stunning me. I nodded slowly as I kept my thoughts too myself.
Time passed quickly and our break ended at noon, giving us 7 more hours of daylight to travel. I kinda wished we traveled at night because I was a little faster in the moonlight but that won't work for the others. We traveled along the path, making small talk to pass the time.
"So felix, what courses do you want to take? Plant based origins are unique after all" Garret questioned me and I felt like I was about to expose myself. I thought of a generic answer before answering.
"I don't know yet. I wasnt going to make plans before getting my origin, you know?" I asked them but it was more directed towards me than them. They nodded slowly in this unknown understanding to my relief.
"I get that, why get your hopes up for great when you could get a lifestyle origin" brandon breathed out and Garret nodded.
Suddenly, a bone arrow shot out of nowhere, stunning me still. I looked towards where the arrow came out from and 3 more shot out from 3 different directions.
"Ambush!" Brandon yelled as he readied his stick.