Chapter 415 - Tamers War - Single Obstruction (2/2)

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Chapter 415: Chapter 415 - Tamers War - Single Obstruction (2/2) When a creature reached the fifth of the ten development phases, it underwent a transformation greater than any previous rank. Platinum rank was the first where creatures truly prepared for their ascension, the metamorphosis to become a dragon, the pupa after the egg. And this came with significant power increases that redefined the rules of combat. The very air around a Platinum-ranked creature became saturated with mana so dense it was visible to the naked eye. Hagen and his team could deal with a Gold 3 if necessary, working together, although they would prefer to avoid it for the sake of a faster mission. The logistics of such a battle would be complex, requiring perfect coordination and likely some casualties if not extremely careful. But a Platinum beast was almost unknown territory for most. Although Hagen had some experience in fleeing from them, he was hardly an expert in fighting them. The gap between Gold and Platinum wasn’t just numerical... It was qualitative. ’Maybe we could wait?’ Once a creature ascended to Platinum at this depth, it would immediately try to go deeper. That would make it inevitably fall into the zone they now called Deep Gold, the territory where mana had been corrupted and become incompatible with common creatures. There, the corruption influence network of the great living crystal extended like deep and pulsating roots that day by day made that enormous purple crystal grow in Yino’s territory. The crystal was a living entity of sorts, feeding on the corruption it spread and growing stronger with each passing moment. Deep Gold was a completely distorted ecosystem where abyssal creatures thrived in incredible quantities, almost pressed against each other in the highest population density of all depths. It was a writhing mass of corrupted life that existed in numbers that defied comprehension. But a Platinum creature couldn’t be harmed by them. Being more than a full rank above, the energy was simply too dense for abyssal creatures, who could only reach Silver 3, to affect it. The sheer power differential created an impenetrable barrier, like trying to harm a mountain with raindrops. The numbers of abyssals were incredible, but for a Platinum they were completely irrelevant. The Platinum also wouldn’t stay to eliminate them for much time. The absence of compatible mana would push it to leave the place soon, digging deeper until reaching Platinum-density mana that would be its new natural home. A Gold 3 creature, on the other hand, couldn’t do the same. Although the individual damage that Silver 3 creatures could do to it was little, the amount of abyssal monsters was absurd, and in the end it would be death by a thousand cuts, exactly what kept the ecosystems separated by rank. The reason there were so many abyssal creatures was the ridiculous quantity of monster "cubs" that climbed to their correct mana ranks pushed toward the surface by survival instinct. It was these young beasts that became corrupted by spending enough time in the corrupt zone, if they weren’t devoured first or managed to crawl among the thousands of monsters until finding an exit. The process was brutal, most died, but those who survived populated the upper zones. The resulting population density from the transformation or absorption of the majority was ridiculously larger here than in almost any other place in the depths. But the small offspring were also numerous in the lower levels, and in numbers there was relative safety. When a Gold 3 ascended to Platinum and crossed toward the greater depths, the disaster it left in its wake in the deep gold zone allowed a good quantity of young beasts to cross without being corrupted, maintaining the constant flow between levels. It was a cycle that had been functioning for decades, maintaining the balance between power zones. Nature, even in the abyss, found its own terrible equilibrium. Hagen observed his team as they breathed carefully above the massive presence. The creature below continued its transformation toward Platinum, oblivious to the thirty humans moving like ghosts above its lair. But waiting until it finished transforming wasn’t an option, Hagen finally decided. Each minute the creature got closer to Platinum, the more dangerous it would become. And they didn’t know exactly how long it would take to finish. Hours? Days? Weeks? They had two options: move slowly and trust in not being detected, or generate a distraction so the beast would ignore them while they passed. This time they carried several abyssal summoning crystals and a corrupt flow from so close would attract numerous beasts. Although they would be much weaker than the creature and would need greater effort to do real damage, they could cause enough annoyance to distract it. But that would imply spending some of the crystals they would need to eliminate the World Dragon’s Light. Hagen didn’t know if it was a good idea, especially without really knowing if they would have enough upon reaching their final destination. The mission parameters had been clear about the importance of reaching the target, but they had also emphasized the need to arrive with sufficient resources to complete the objective. He was trying to decide when movement began below. The ground trembled slightly, and everyone felt how the massive presence stirred. It seemed he wouldn’t have another choice... the creature was waking up, and they would have to act quickly regardless of which plan they chose. But what happened was the least expected. ♢♢♢♢ Among all the most perceptive of the group, including Hagen, they seemed to feel the same energy signature emanating from the creature. It felt like a tentacle emerging from the beast... But that didn’t make any sense. The closest thing to a tentacled beast in this zone were the back legs of Greater Deep Terrors, evolutions of Deep Assassins, but they didn’t use their tentacles for digging. Only for collecting the cores of their prey after the slaughter. Leviathan Worms also didn’t have tentacles, nor did any other beast from this zone or depth... Another "tentacle" began to emerge from the deep, and then another. The signatures were also weird. "What the hell...?" muttered Sergeant Dax when something emerged from the ground a few meters away. But when Hagen managed to see the first one more clearly, he realized his error. It looked like a tentacle, but it didn’t move like one. It was too rigid, too... vegetal. "It’s not a tentacle," he whispered, his voice loaded with incredulity. "It’s a root." Wood. The element that should be receiving energy from the sun, that shouldn’t be found in abyssal depths, much less in a beast so close to Platinum. "Impossible," murmured Lieutenant Korr, but more roots were emerging throughout the area, each the thickness of an adult trunk and pulsing with power that made the air itself vibrate. The energy emanating from them was wrong on every level. The "enormous beast" began to emerge completely from the ground, and what they saw defied everything they knew about deep ecosystems. It was completely made of wood... not just influenced by the element, but literally constituted by it. The bark was black as midnight, shot through with veins of condensed mana that pulsed like a heartbeat. They didn’t have time to wonder why such an anomaly existed. The roots moved with speed that belied their apparently rigid nature, launching toward the group like giant spears. Hagen shouted a dispersal order just as the ground where they had been standing exploded in splinters of rock and wood.

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