Path of Dragons

Elijah bounded off the embankment, using his enhanced Strength to launch himself at the enormous crab. At some point within the past few weeks, the crabs had experienced another growth spurt, and they had reached absolutely gargantuan proportions. With claws as big as motorcycles and a body that would rival a Volkswagen bus in size, it truly had earned the monster label.

With that increase in size came the mixed news that they’d begun preying on one another. Usually, when he came within a few hundred yards of the beach, his ears would be assaulted by the thunderous sounds of clacking claws and colliding car-sized crabs. On the surface, that didn’t seem like such a bad thing, and usually, it made hunting the distracted or often-wounded creatures much easier. However, their increased size and decreased availability presented a new problem.

Food storage.

Ever since the very beginning, Elijah had depended on the crabs as his primary source of protein and fat. He’d supplemented it with various small game and fish, but crab meat had always been the backbone of his diet. And though he often found himself looking at the lumpy bits of white meat with disgust, he knew he couldn’t afford to ignore such a ready source of food.

However, because the crabs had grown so large and combative with one another, when he killed and harvested one, he was forced to make that meat last. Which wouldn’t have been a problem if he had some means of refrigeration, but with spring already turning to summer, crab meat was quick to spoil. So, he’d ended up wasting far more than he ate. Again, that wouldn’t have been such a problem if they’d remained as numerous as before, but due to their habit of fighting and killing one another, that just wasn’t the case anymore.

Still, that was a problem for another time, and Elijah focused on the fight at hand.

Or rather, the slaughter.

For all their size, the mutated crabs were completely incapable of keeping up with Elijah’s enhanced speed. Even if he’d been in human form, he could have run circles around the thing. The only dangerous bit came from how quickly it could bring its oversized claws to bear, but Elijah was an experienced-enough crab hunter that he was never in any real danger.

First, he let his bounding leap take him to the top of the creature’s muddy brown shell. It spun in circles, trying to dislodge him, but he dug his claws into the surface and raced towards its head. Once there, he lashed out with his claws, severing the creature’s eye stalks. It let out a whistling howl – a sound that enormous crabs apparently could make – as it tried to buck him off, but Elijah was already on the move, leaping from his perch and landing on the rocky shore.

Once there, he raced off into the nearby brush where he waited for the crab to lose interest. For all that the crabs had grown in size, their intelligence had not increased apace, and as a result, they were just as stupid as always. A good thing, too, because otherwise, Elijah would’ve had difficulty bringing them down.

Once the crab lost interest, it meandered around, confused and lacking the senses it needed to navigate the world. Even if Elijah left, it would soon succumb to some other predator – or to another crab. He didn’t revel in the thing’s suffering, but killing was a part of life in any ecosystem. If he wanted to survive, the crab needed to die by any means necessary. Suffering just didn’t enter into his thought process. It couldn’t.

Now that he was out of combat – a nebulous state that he couldn’t really explain, save that he knew it when he felt it – Elijah embraced Guise of the Unseen, letting himself fade from view. It wasn’t invisibility. Not exactly, at least. But it was the closest thing to it, and he knew that most creatures would have trouble detecting his presence unless he got really sloppy.

Which had happened more often than Elijah liked. While he had the instincts of a hunting cat to call upon, he was still new to it all. As such, he’d experienced almost as many failures as successes. So, he’d learned to handicap his prey any way possible. Thus, his attack on the crab’s primary sensory organs.

He stalked forward, confident in his ability to remain undetected as he passed beneath the monster’s shell. Because the crabs had a habit of standing extremely still when they couldn’t see – it was a new development from the unmutated versions, but Elijah had observed it on enough occasions to trust it – he moved beneath the creature’s body without hesitation. Once he reached the appropriate spot, he lashed out, plunging his claw deep into its relatively unprotected underbelly, and destroying the nerve center closest to its head. With that done, he darted out from beneath it just before it collapsed.

It wasn’t dead yet, but it was only a matter of time before it succumbed.

As he watched it slowly die, Elijah regretted that he couldn’t have finished it off more quickly. Before, when he could simply flip the thing on its back, it was easy enough to destroy the second nerve cluster and kill it, but with how large it had grown, that was simply impossible. So, he had no choice but to watch it slowly perish.

However, only a few minutes into the process, an acrid scent wafted toward Elijah. The moment it hit his nostrils, he dashed away. It was just in time, too, because, only a second later, a Voxxian monster the size of a pony crashed into the spot he’d just vacated.

Like all of the Voxx Elijah had seen, this newcomer was reptilian in appearance, with viridian scales, wicked talons, and sharp teeth. However, this one was also equipped with a thick, meaty tail that reminded Elijah of a crocodile.

Except for the spikes jutting from the end.

It recovered quickly, spinning around and using its tail as a weapon. Elijah leaped high into the air, avoiding a blow that would surely have skewered him, but the lizard-like Voxx was ready for that move, and it continued its spin by aiming a raking claw in his direction. Elijah tried to twist out of the way, but being suspended in mid-air, he had no leverage. So, although he managed to avoid the worst of it, he still took a blow to his side.

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Blood gushed from the resultant wound, showering the Voxxian monster in red rain. It opened its mouth and screeched in obvious ecstasy as the momentum of the attack sent Elijah spinning through the air only to skid across the rocky beach before colliding with the dying crab.

He ignored his wound, leaping to his feet just in time to dodge the Voxxian monster’s next blow, and he managed to clip it with a responding attack that easily parted the scales on its shoulder before landing lightly and taking off into the brush. The lizard-like Voxx crashed through the forest after him.

Elijah had come a long way since his first encounter with a Voxxian monster, and so he wasn’t the helpless prey he’d once been. No – he’d spent weeks honing his skills as a hunter, and now that he’d recovered from the surprise attack, it didn’t take him long to gather his wits and turn the tables on the creature.

And while he might’ve been comparatively vulnerable on the beach, he was completely at home in the forest that had been his home for the better part of a year. With the failure of its ambush, the monster never had a chance.

Over the next few minutes, Elijah engaged in hit-and-run tactics. He didn’t try to kill the thing with a single blow. Instead, he utilized the death-by-a-thousand-cuts mentality. Soon enough, the wounds he’d opened with his first few attacks began to fester, and the monster stumbled. It quickly righted itself, but it was the beginning of the end.

Contagion, the passive ability that came with Shape of the Predator, usually didn’t come into play. However, in a long and drawn-out confrontation, it showed its worth when the accelerated infection began to do its work. Elijah could have left it there, and like he’d done with the crab, simply waited on the monster to die. However, he chose to use the encounter to hone his skills. So, over the next hour, he continued to harass the creature until, at last, it fell over and died.

Elijah approached, ignoring the acrid scent assailing his nostrils as he beheld his handiwork. The Voxxian monster’s scales had become a mass of shallow cuts, and the barely-visible flesh beneath had turned a sickly green color with infection. It had been a useful fight, but even the day’s two kills hadn’t given him enough energy to gain a level.

Which was frustrating. It had been almost a week since he’d achieved level eighteen, and he’d yet to progress any further. That stall had already resulted in him falling off the ladder, which only exacerbated his annoyance.

After ensuring that the monster was dead, Elijah returned to the beach to find that his crab was already being consumed by another of the creatures. So, with a feline sigh, he set about repeating his actions, killing the oversized crab with little difficulty. Then, he let Shape of the Predator fall away, resuming his human form.

Of late, he’d spent most of his time as a mist panther, and as a result, returning to his natural body left him feeling momentarily awkward. Once he’d taken the time to harvest the huge crab’s claws, he set off back to the Grove. Along the way, he stopped by to wash the blood from the wound on his side. Upon inspection, he saw that the monster’s attack had actually exposed his ribs.

After cleaning up, he continued on his way, carrying an enormous crab claw on either shoulder. Once, he would’ve had trouble with such a feat of Strength. Certainly, when he’d first washed ashore, he’d have been entirely incapable of even dragging such heavy appendages. But now? With his increased Strength, the only barrier was how awkward the burden was to carry.

When he reached the Grove, he took a few moments to look around before heading to the underside of what would become his house. The roof still wasn’t finished, so he’d yet to move in. However, it was growing closer to completion with every passing day. Still, he found it difficult to take pleasure in its construction.

Because he was frustrated with his slow progress.

Elijah had never been the most competitive person in the world. Sure, he wanted to win any competition he participated in, but losing hadn’t put him in a foul mood. Not like it had with his sister. Indeed, she had always been the truly competitive one, and if Elijah was honest, he’d half expected to see her name at the top of the ladder. She was the high achiever, after all.

But now? Having tasted a bit of success, Elijah desperately wanted to continue climbing the ladder, and not just for the sake of doing so. He knew he needed to get stronger. The Voxx continued to assault his island, and even if they hadn’t, there were the people across the strait to worry about. If he truly wanted to protect his Grove, he needed to grow more powerful, and fast.

And just when he’d started to roll, his progress had stalled.

His frustrations continued to mount as he stored his crab claws away in a woven basket he’d made for that very purpose. Then, he removed his clothing and cast Healing Rain. A small, localized storm cloud manifested, and a moment later, a steady drizzle fell from the sky. Elijah sat down and placed his hand over his wound before casting Touch of Nature. The combination of the two healing spells quickly mended his flesh, and soon enough, Elijah was entirely whole.

But he was still too frustrated to sink into meditation, so he took a few moments to inspect his garden. The berries he’d grown were almost ripe, which would be a boon for his food supply. To quicken the pace, he spent an hour steadily pulsing Nature’s Bounty.

After that, Elijah made a circle around the Grove, using his spells to ensure that the trees continued their own growth. According to Nerthus, the Grove would continue to mature, and that it would eventually encompass the entire island. Hopefully, at that point, the steady invasion of Voxx would cease.

Once he’d completed a few circuits around the Grove, Elijah retreated to his temporary home beneath what would become his permanent house, and ate some stew he made from mushrooms, wild onions, and, of course, crab meat. It was not pleasant, but he ate it anyway.

As he sat there spooning the vaguely edible concoction into his mouth, Elijah pondered the nature of life. Survival, he reasoned, wasn’t enough. Not really. Eventually, endeavoring to simply live another day would lose its luster. He missed people. He missed good food prepared by people who actually knew what they were doing. He missed his family. He missed so many things about his old life.

Sure, he’d gotten a second chance when his terminal cancer had been cured. He even got magic powers out of the deal. But was he really living?

No. He certainly wasn’t.

It was at that moment that Elijah resolved to change that. He still needed to ensure the Grove’s survival, and eventually, he would have to do something about his aggressively industrious neighbors across the strait. But once he’d accomplished those goals, he decided to look for civilization, to find his sister, nephew, and sister-in-law, and to actually start living his life.

But as he looked up at the star-filled sky, he realized that those goals were probably a long way from becoming reality. For one, the world had been transformed. One of the very first notifications he’d read said that the Earth would experience selective randomization. And clearly, they had alien visitors. The fact that he’d helped kill a goblin, gnome, and dwarf proved that much. So, he reasoned that finding his way back to Seattle would probably be much more difficult than he could imagine.

Sighing, he laid back and closed his eyes. It would be difficult, sure. But that was fine. He had magic powers, after all. He could handle a little journey. With that in mind, he felt a little better about his situation.

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