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Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 23

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Author: Blue_Rat

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ch23

Kazuki followed the porcupines’ trail for many miles. It was easy, as they all emitted a faint, yet particular muddy river smell. The easiest track though was the many needles they left in their wake. Every few steps, Kazuki would pass nearly a dozen of them.

(By the number of needles strewn about, they must use this path quite a bit.)

Kazuki would stop every hundred feet or so and raise a foot up.

*Bang!*

With a heavy stomp, Kazuki would crush the ground beneath him, leaving a very distinct footprint in the solid stone. After that, he’d drip a single drop of Azirian blood in said footprint. Pulling out the small stone tablet map he carried with him, he’d use his fingernail to mark his ever-expanding map. Scratching out a few markings in the stone was really annoying though. Not that it was hard to do but rather the sound resembled nails on a chalkboard. Still, this little map was something necessary.

Using both the scent of the Azirian blood he’d left behind in combination with the map, it made navigating this odd place a little simpler. That didn’t mean Kazuki couldn’t become lost, but instead, finding his way to certain places simply became easier. One thing he still worried about when it came to navigation was the river. Being tossed in, Kazuki didn’t notice any creatures like the crocodile, he had no time to worry then but now that he knew such creatures roamed the river it would make things difficult when he needed to cross it.

To get from one side to the other, it was several hundred feet wide. To jump over it, he couldn’t do it with his strength being suppressed down here. The pure and condensed dark energy literally weighed him down and wore on him. The amount of physical strength he could use down here was only around 10 percent if that.

Kazuki continued to follow the porcupines’ trail, which turned out not to be a difficult thing at all, as they walked a pretty straight path.

The only problem actually came when the trail came to an end, rather the porcupines entered tiny holes into the side of a large dome-shaped rock. Each hole was only slightly bigger than the porcupines’ themselves.

Small silver lights shined in the darkness, peering out at Kazuki. The porcupines’ stared at Kazuki but made no moves to try and fight nor defend themselves.

Kazuki as well stared back. For him, it was a strange thing. He didn’t know why he had initially followed these little creatures nor what he was expecting from following them. Seeing the silver in their eyes though he felt it. It was the light itself. Like an instinct to be near something bright in this endless darkness. Kazuki, looking at the light in their eyes, coveted it deep down.

It was in mankind’s nature to seek fire and this glow from their eyes called upon that nature within Kazuki.

(What am I doing? I followed them all the way here and for what?)

*Haaa*

Kazuki felt his stomach churn and tighten due to hunger and sat down to rest.

He had found no food and had wasted time following these porcs he felt anxious and decided to take a small break and look over his equipment.

Checking his rubber footwear, there were small tears in it. The y wouldn’t last much longer. Kazuki took the pair off and stuffed them in his pocket.

(There’s no use wearing them until I get back to the cliff wall and cross over the mouth of the cave. I’ll have to be careful where I step though as to avoid those needles scattered about.)

Checking his rubber rope, he had about 10 feet of it, and it too was wearing thin. One of his gloves was still ok and could still be worn but his other he had converted so that it could carry a few needles he had picked up. His map had a few more entries in it but that was it. Next was his black ruler. It was currently shaped like a sword. Its hilt however was shaped wider and bigger. Even though it was bigger than normal, Kazuki could still handle it like a regular sword and found no difficulty in wielding it.

Inside the hilt was three individual chambers. Each one would hold either filtered water, that stunk to the high heavens. Azirian blood in case the stalking monster showed up and Kazuki could use the blood as camo. Last but not least was the acidic chamber, which of course would hold acid. However, Currently, Kazuki was completely out of acid and filled that chamber up with the river water instead.

Kazuki felt a bit parched at the moment but he couldn’t just drink the river water. It continued even more dark energy than air down here. Kazuki nearly died from swallowing some of it earlier. To straight up consume it would be like drinking a bottle of death itself. This was not mere water. Just like the air in his surroundings and the dark energy that filled his body, that energy simply couldn’t just be filtered out from the water.

Kazuki had tried to remove the dark energy from his body several times. He had used his ki to try and force it out yet the dark energy seemed to cling to every fiber of his being. No matter how hard he tried to surround it with his ki and pull it out, it wouldn’t budge, not even an inch.

Kazuki swirled the hilt of his swirled and listened to the water splash about for a moment before he set it aside.

Lastly, he took out a rock from his pocket. It was one of the rocks Kazuki had witnessed the porcs chowing down on. Holding it in his hand, the rock seemed normal in every facet if not slightly heavier than other rocks. Since it was right next to the river, its body was smooth to the touch.

(It seems the river has worn this rock down to make it smooth.)

Kazuki tapped it a few times as he would a rubber rock. The rubber rocks had a peculiar sound compared to other rocks.

Kazuki heard nothing similar to the rubber rocks he had found.

(Why do those porcs eat this?)

Kazuki then curiously sent a bit of his ki into the rock and immediately found something odd.

Inside the rock, there were tiny specs of something within.

(What is this?)

Kazuki squeezed the rock in his hand with a little strength and the rock shattered to bits. As soon as it shattered Kazuki was slightly taken aback.

As bits of rock and pebbles fell away, a powdery substance was left in his hand and this powder gave off a small silver glow.

(This powder, it’s glowing like the porcupines’ eyes. Is this why their eyes are that color.)

An earthy like smell filled his nose.

(It even smells like them.)

At this time, a small porcupine that had been watching Kazuki came out of its rocky burrow and casually strolled up to Kazuki. It came close to Kazuki’s open hand and Kazuki was about to pull his hand back but his curiosity began to grow and he remained perfectly still and observed.

The porcupine stopped right in front of his hand and opened its mouth revealing several sharp teeth. Kazuki felt a bit of cold sweat run down his back but he remained like a statue and simply waited. A second later, a tiny tongue extended from the porcupine’s mouth and it began to lick up the powder directly from his hand. Only a few seconds later and all of the silver glowing powder in his hand was completely lapped up.

Kazuki then noticed the eyes of the porcupine began to glow slightly brighter. The porcupine then looked Kazuki up and down and sniffed around him as well until it sniffed at his pocket.

Kazuki already knew what it wanted and pulled out the rest of the rocks he had gathered from the bank of the river. He had two of them. He tossed one a few feet away and the porcupine, like a happy pup, chased after it and started chewing on it as soon a sit got a hold of it.

The last rock Kazuki held in his hand. With a slight squeeze, he broke it apart and revealed more glowing powder. Looking down at it for a moment, he slowly brought it up to his face.

*Sniff sniff*

(It really smells like mud but the effect of this powder, I wonder.)

Kazuki shut his eyes and slowly extended a tongue.

The taste of dirt-filled his mouth.

(I knew it, this taste bad. Compared to the filthy water though, it’s not something I can’t handle.)

Kazuki swallowed and sensed the inside of his body. He made sure the powder wasn’t poisonous to him. After a moment, he soon felt dark energy swirl around his eyes. He was about to stop it but found that the dark energy wasn’t actually hurting him and felt pleasant. His eyes felt slightly cool for a split second before they felt normal again.

(So it doesn’t seem to have a negative effect but besides that, I don’t feel anything different.)

Kazuki shrugged his shoulders and opened his eyes again.

…

Kazuki froze on the spot.

(I…I can see!)

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