Shit, I'm actually dying. I can't die now—no, no, no! This shitty power isn't working; it won't come out no matter how hard I force it. It feels like it's stuck.
My vision began to blur. Is this bitch smiling the last thing I'm going to see? I felt her starting to pull her hand out of my stomach, along with the cold and the silence. I'm really going to d...
[WARNING: SYSTEM DETECTED INTERFERENCE IN THE MISSION. IDENTIFYING...]
[ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR DETECTED...]
[SOMEONE IS INTERFERING WITH THE HOST'S POWER... HOST IS BLEEDING OUT, LOSING (HP) RAPIDLY. HOST WILL DIE IN 30, 25, 20, 15...]
I can't die. My eyes grew heavy; I couldn't breathe anymore. Shit, what was all this for? I thought I'd be a god, but I'm going to die like an extra. My mother—is she really not going to save me? Might as well just wait for death.
"Giving up already, little snack? I want to see how much longer you'll last. The more fear you feel, the better your blood tastes. Come on, beg me—maybe I'll let you live," she said, laughing as she put her claw, covered in my blood, into her mouth. She closed her eyes, seemingly savoring it.
I just closed my eyes. The darkness grew stronger; I couldn't hear anything anymore. Absolute silence. I think I'm in the void again, but something was strange. A sensation I didn't feel in the void before. I searched for it; it was beneath me. In this absolute darkness, I saw points of light that seemed to be calling me. Instead of releasing my power, I tried to pull this light toward me. It started to move. Within seconds, several green dots appeared, rushing into my body.
[COUNTDOWN: 10, 08, 03...]
Shit, it's now or never! I could feel the lights, that strange sensation… so I forced it with everything I had, pulling them into my body. The lights began to merge, forming an energy that entered me. Then, I heard the sound of chains breaking.
My power exploded out of my body like a waterfall, and with it, the earth began to shake. I opened my eyes, and beside me, a root erupted from the ground, smashing into the empousa's face and throwing her back.
[WARNING: RECOVERY OF (HP +10, +35, +40 AND STAMINA +05, +15, +20)]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: DRAIN / SAP (BEGINNER)]
[SKILL UPDATED: PLANT MANIPULATION (INTERMEDIATE)]
[SKILL UPDATED: EARTH INTUITION UPGRADED TO SEISMIC SENSE (INTERMEDIATE)]
I started to stand up. The green light was finishing closing the wound in my stomach. I looked at the empousa; she was getting up from a fallen tree. One of her eyes was swollen shut, and golden blood dripped from her mouth.
"FILTHY DEMIGOD!,HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"
The moment she screamed, the fire in her hair grew stronger, illuminating everything around her.
I didn't answer. The system was still pinging in my mind, but I ignored it. I didn't want any distractions now. With my Seismic Sense, I didn't need to look at her. I could feel the vibrations. I felt her weight crushing the grass, the direction she was about to jump. It was as if the world was in slow motion for me.
The Empousa roared and lunged. She was fast, but I felt her bronze leg hit the ground before she even got close. I dodged left with a short step. She flew right past me, her claws slashing only air. At the same moment, without looking, I pointed my hand toward a plant and mentally used Drain.
I felt a rush of energy surge through my arm, keeping my breath steady and recovering my HP. She stopped and spun, trying a roundhouse kick with her donkey leg. I ducked. The kick went over my head, snapping a thick branch of a tree behind me. Between Seismic Sense and my ADHD, I could predict her every move.
"Stay still!" she screamed, and her hair exploded in flames. She launched a ball of green fire. I didn't panic. I used manipulation and, in seconds, made the roots suck water from the soil, then raised my hand and erected a wall of damp roots right in front of me. The fire hit and hissed, creating a thick smoke that blocked both our visions.
I quickly closed my eyes. Thump. Thump. The strikes of her bronze leg on the ground were like hammer blows. She was to my left. I moved slowly. Suddenly, the smoke parted. The Empousa appeared like a red blur, her claws aiming straight for my face. I dropped low, feeling the rush of air pass over my head, and slammed my hand on the ground. I used half of my power.
Not one, but five thick roots burst from the ground. Two quickly grabbed her legs. I flicked my wrist, and two more pinned her arms, holding her in an X-shape. I saw her eyes widen. With the last one, I wrapped it around her neck and began to close my hand. The roots started to stretch her body apart.
"YOU ARE THE PREY HERE!" she screamed. Then her hair turned emerald green, and with a scream and a blast, fire exploded. The impact sent me flying back, slamming into a tree. Dizziness began to take over. I quickly used Drain on a fern, but I felt something more.
The Empousa stood there, watching me.
"You... how about you tell me how you survived and I'll let you escape?"
I looked at her and smiled: "You can be damn sure, you son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you."
The Empousa didn't growl or lunge like an animal. She just stopped. The green fire in her hair lowered, becoming more controlled, more concentrated. She tilted her head.
"Smart," she hissed and started running toward me. With her claws, she tried to hit my neck. I simply moved left, and the claws went wide. I felt a heavy thud from the bronze leg to my right and leaned the opposite way, but it was a trick. She had only slammed the metal into the ground for momentum and spun her body in the air.
Her claws cut my shoulder, but the wound was immediately cauterized by the green fire coming from her fingers, burning my skin.
"You feel the ground, don't you, semigod?" she hissed, running in rapid circles.
She started circling me, making a rhythm with that bronze leg. I stopped and focused. I was getting out of breath. I used Drain again, feeling heat in my body, but something warm began to drip from my nose. Blood.
She noticed and lunged. I dodged right, but it was another trick. She had feinted her weight. The real blow came from her donkey leg, which slammed into my chest, sending me flying into a tree. Blood dripped from my mouth.
"Seems your miracles have run out." She stood there, staring at me.
She's smart. In that short time, she figured out how I was dodging her hits. But why do I still feel this way? It's not fear. I'm happy—really happy. Without even knowing why, I just sat there. What is this? I thought, closing my eyes with a smile.
"Seems you've gone mad, semigod, but I won't make any more mistakes. Enough playing around."
I was so calm and happy. I felt like someone was hugging me, and a pleasant voice said: "You are incredible, semigod. It's the first time I've seen someone like you."
Um, who are you? It doesn't matter now. "Just release half of your power, focus on the ground," the voice said. I didn't know who it was, but I felt confidence in the voice. So I just did it. When I released it, there was a loud crash. I opened my eyes. In front of me was a wooden barrier that shattered, revealing the Empousa with her eyes wide. But the voice came back urgently: "Don't think. Use everything. Throw all your power into the wood in front of you. Use your imagination. Kill her."
I did as she told me. I threw everything into it. A piece of the broken wood stretched out like a spear in seconds. I moved my hand, and the spear surged up, hitting her jaw and piercing through her skull. She fell to her knees. Her expression was one of shock; I don't think she even processed how she died. Her fire hair began to fade, and her body started turning into golden dust. The spear fell to the ground. I did it. I actually did it.
I was panting, looking at the tree. I reached out my hand, but before I could use Drain, I started vomiting blood. My head felt like it was going to crack; my vision went dark. Shit, I need to recover. With effort, I extended my hand.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that, semigod."
"Who... where are you? Thanks for the help. That feeling was you, right? It helped a lot. Can you help me up?"
"Little semigod, you can talk to me? You have talent, but I cannot help you. And I am right behind you."
Um... I stood up wobbling. I looked back; it was the tree I hit when I went flying.
"That's it! You're the tree! I can talk to you guys now? This..." I started coughing blood. Shit, my body hurts like hell. What happened?
"I am surprised too. Few children of the goddess Demeter can hear and talk to us. But be careful: that skill you used... that's kind of new. Draining our life energy to recover is dangerous. If you use it in your condition, your body might break and you'll end up dying. I recommend you use it wisely and don't reveal it to others, especially the gods. These powers are dangerous."
"I understand. Thanks for warning me. I'm going to rest. If someone powerful shows up, can you warn me first? Can you do me that favor? And you can call me Caleb."
"All right, Caleb. You can rest for now. You are safe."
I sat down, leaning my back against the tree. I was breathless. System, show my status.
STATUS PANEL — END OF CHAPTER 6
[NAME]: CALEB THORNE
[AGE]: 11 YEARS OLD
[PARENTAL DEITY]: DEMETER (UNCLAIMED)
[CURRENT RANK]: E (RANKED UP: F ➔ E)
[NOTE]: YOU HAVE SURPASSED THE LEVEL OF AN ORDINARY HUMAN. YOU ARE OFFICIALLY A RISING SEMIGOD.
[VITAL STATUS (STABILIZING)]
[HP]: 45 / 150
[STAMINA]: 12 / 80 ⚠️
[NEGATIVE EFFECT]: MENTAL OVERLOAD (Blurred vision, nosebleed, severe headache).
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: F ➔ E (5/20)
SPEED / REFLEXES: F ➔ E (12/20)
RESISTANCE: F ➔ E (8/20)
INTEL / PERCEPTION: F ➔ D (22/35)
DIVINE POWER: F ➔ D (25/35)
[SKILLS]
DRAIN / SAP (ACTIVE - BEGINNER) [NEW]
WOOD MANIPULATION (ACTIVE - BEGINNER) [AWAKENED]
PLANT MANIPULATION (ACTIVE - INTERMEDIATE) [UPGRADE]
SEISMIC SENSE (PASSIVE - INTERMEDIATE) [UPGRADE]
COMMUNION WITH NATURE (PASSIVE - UNIQUE)
[MISSION REWARD: SURVIVE — EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE IDENTIFIED. RECALCULATING REWARDS]
[NOTICE]: DUE TO OVERCOMING THE MISSION AND DEFEATING AN ANCIENT EMPOUSA, REWARDS HAVE BEEN RECALCULATED. DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT NOW? Y/N
Shit... who interfered? The gods? That doesn't make sense. Was it my mother? I saw her before I woke up in the hospital… but why, damn it?
I feel much better now. My level went up. That awakening was insane. Better get out of here—
Wait... fuck, Lennon.
Before I could think more, I pressed "Yes."
[REWARDS BEING DELIVERED]
1. WEAPON — [BRONZE LEVIATHAN]
Class: EPIC (EVOLVABLE)
Potential: LEGENDARY (LOCKED)
Hidden Form: A rustic leather bracelet adorned with dry oak seeds. To activate, press the central seed or tension the leather.
Combat Form: A barbarian battle axe with a wide blade of Celestial Bronze, intertwined with green-toned roots.
Soul Bound: Only the Host can wield it correctly. Cannot be stolen or lost. Returns instantly to the Host's hand when called.
Versatility: Can be used with one hand (agility) or two hands (impact/guard breaking).
Eternal: Never rusts, never dulls, indestructible by common means.
Divine Conduction: Acts as an amplifier for the Host's powers.
Guard Break: Smashes through shields and stuns large enemies.
Living Synergy: The weapon grows along with the Host.
2. [EMERGENCY CONSUMABLES]
[05x TOTAL RECOVERY POTION]: Flasks containing concentrated nectar. Restores 100% HP and 100% Stamina. (Warning: consecutive use causes side effects).
3. [ATTRIBUTE POINTS (RECALCULATED)]
+15 TOTAL POINTS (+5 base + 10 awakening bonus).
4. [REWARD SPACE]
Capacity: 5 slots. Used to anchor and materialize rewards. Cannot be accessed during combat.
This is too good. These points—since I got the axe, I'll put them into strength and resistance. Looking at the inventory, I better get to Lennon fast. I can save him.
I stood up, leaning against the tree. I'm in bad shape, but I can make it.
"Hey, green friend, I'm heading out. And thanks again."
"No problem. It was a pleasure meeting you, Caleb. Be careful. I'm going back to sleep now. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
I turned and started walking toward where Lennon's body was. It took a few minutes since I was limping. When I arrived, he was lying in a pool of blood. I got close and put a finger to his nose: no breath. I put my ear to his chest: no heartbeat. He was already dead.
I sat down beside him. Shit… shit, man. I could have given him the potion, but it says "recovery." He's already dead; it won't bring him back.
I looked around. The forest was silent. I took a potion and drank it. My body went hot; my wounds and pain vanished. Feeling that sensation, I lay down there, looking at the dark sky and stars.
"Sorry, man. I'm really sorry."
I got up, took his body, and laid him on his back with his hands on his chest. Then I made green roots emerge, wrapping around his body and pulling him down. When his body disappeared, I made flowers bloom over and around him.
Then, I equipped my axe. I looked at my own wrist. Where before there was nothing, now there was a thick, dark leather bracelet with three dry oak seeds. I felt no weight, but the material felt warm on my skin. I pressed the middle seed with my thumb.
The leather tensioned and rushed up my hand, gaining weight and form instantly. In my hand now was an axe with a dark wood handle. The blade was wide, made of bronze, with green roots growing out of the handle and intertwining through the metal.
So cool. I wanted to throw it, but no—I imagined it as a bracelet. In seconds, the axe seemed to distort, and then it was back on my wrist as a bracelet.
Remembering Lennon's words, I started walking to the right.