Symbiotic: Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Sara continued her ever downward trek through tunnels and caverns. Her path was silent, as nothing lived in these tunnels but the Greatworms. And she had not run into a Greatworm in some time. The caverns she had last traveled through looked like a Greatworm had made it’s nest there, but the worm itself was long gone.

So it was with a heavy dose of caution, Sporesight probing the tunnels, and Corlace Amulet feeling for vibrations, that she stepped into the entrance of another cavern. The cavern was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow, rubble piled into a crude nest at the center. The faint glow of somethingwithin the rubble piled nest pulsed like a heartbeat, casting eerie light across shattered stone. Sara’s boots crunched against the debris as she stepped forward, shield raised, Tetsubo glowing with readied spores.

The ground trembled as not one but Two Greatworms uncoiled from the nest, their stone plated bodies grinding against the cavern walls. Their eyes burned with territorial fury, and their roars shook dust from the ceiling.

“Well… Crap.”, she muttered as she slung her Tetsubo into position. She had certainly not counted on running into two Greatworms at once. Especially two apparently Mated Greatworms protecting a nest. Two Very Angry Greatworms. That wasn’t… Great.

She slammed her spores outward, marking these Apex Predators of the tunnels as her prey.

[Ability Activated: Mark Target]

Cost: 100 microbes Current Network Capacity 2490 of (2500) 3000

[Ability Activated: Mark Target]

Cost: 100 microbes Current Network Capacity 2480 of (2500) 3000

Twin pulses lit her mind, tethering her awareness to both beasts. She could feel their movements, their lunges, their attempts to flank her and, just as importantly, she could spot their weak points.

The first worm surged forward, smashing rubble aside. Sara braced her shield, the impact ringing like a gong, silver threads dispersing the force. The second worm lunged from the flank, stone plates scraping sparks against the cavern wall. Sara rolled, dust and shards spraying, and came up swinging.

Her Tetsubo whistled through the air, sharpened iron studs cracking into stone armor as she darted around the cavern trying to stay a step ahead of the mindlessly hostile mated pair. The worm’s shell fractured at her force, shards spraying like glass. She fed Infested Strikes into her swings when they hit the right spots, spores burrowing into the cracks. The worm shrieked, thrashing as infestation spread through its seams as she ducked away from its lunge to slam her weapon into the second.

[Ability Activated: Infested Strike x2]

Effect: Infestation amplified by Mark Target

Cost: 100 microbes Current Network Capacity 2280 of (2500) 3000

[Skill Activated: Acidic Energy Conversion] -2 Temporary Mind Knowledge

Before she could reset her footing after leaping out of the range of a dangerous bite, the second worm slammed into her from the side and she barely managed to meet its strike with one of her own, trading blow for blow and, if she came out on top in the exchange, it was by the slimmest of margins. The pain flaring white hot as she was smashed between Tail and Wall, ribs cracking at the sheer force of the collision. She staggered, blood in her mouth, but forced her spores inward as she kicked off the wall and rolled away from the gaping maw dropping where she had stood a slit second ago.

[Ability Activated: Restore Self]

Vitality restored. Mobility maintained.

Cost: 50 microbes Current Network Capacity 2230 of (2500) 3000

Her wounds knit, strength surged back, and she was moving again before the worm could press its advantage, circling to try to keep one Greatworm between her and the other as much as possible.

She raced around the cavern, shield flashing, Tetsubo cracking, rubble exploding around her as the Greatworms shattered stone in their urgency to kill the intruder. Every swing was guided by her marks, she knew exactly where to strike, exactly where the seams lay.

Infested Cloud Strike. Spores blasted into the gaps between stone plates, clinging, burrowing, weakening. The worms convulsed as the spores dug into flesh, and then bit even deeper into Stone and crystal as the spores Acidic Energy Conversion liquified everything it touched, their armor crumbling faster than they could regenerate.

[Ability Activated: Infested Cloud Strike x2]

Effect: Infestation amplified by Mark Target

Cost: 150 microbes Current Network Capacity 1930 of (2500) 3000

[Skill Activated: Acidic Energy Conversion x2] -2 Temporary Mind Knowledge

The cavern became a storm of violence. Dust filled the air, spores glowing faintly in the haze. The worms roared, smashing into walls, sending boulders crashing. Sara darted between them, shield braced, Tetsubo swinging, Spores healing her whenever a convulsing slam caught her unawares.

[Ability Activated: Infested Strike x2]

Effect: Infestation amplified by Mark Target

Cost: 100 microbes Current Network Capacity 1730 of (2500) 3000

[Skill Activated: Acidic Energy Conversion] -2 Temporary Mind Knowledge

[Ability Activated: Restore Self]

Vitality restored. Mobility maintained.

Cost: 50 microbes Current Network Capacity1680 of (2500) 3000

With Sara’s 96 Speed, she was a blur. Darting between impossibly narrow openings in their defenses, she slipped past snapping jaws, slamming stone plated heads, and whip fast tails the size of food trucks, her shield flashing to deflect as much force away from the strikes she couldn’t avoid fully. Her Tetsubo swung at stone plates in crushing arcs, each strike cracking seams in their armor, each impact echoing like thunder through the cavern.

But the worms were massive. Fifty feet long, weighing tons, and far faster than anything that big had any right to be! Even with her speed, she couldn’t avoid everything. Their strikes landed, smashing into her shield, clipping her side, and slamming her into walls rattling her bones. She staggered under the force, bruises blooming & bones cracking, but her spores flared inward at her call.

Ability Activated: Restore Self]

Vitality restored. Mobility maintained.

Cost: 50 microbes Current Network Capacity1680 of (2500) 3000

Pain ebbed, strength surged, and she was moving again before the worms could press their advantage.

The fight became a brutal rhythm: Sara darting in, landing a crushing blow, spores burrowing with Infested Strike, then rolling away as a worm slammed into her. Dust and shards filled the air, the cavern echoing with roars and the crash of stone against stone, the sounds repeating like the worlds angriest deadly ocean shore.

She continued to unleash Infested Cloud Strike whenever she managed to target a weak spot, spores blasting into the seams between their plates. The infestation spread like wildfire, burrowing deeper, weakening their defenses and tearing them apart from the inside as the Adid enhancement allowed the spores to feat throughout, uncaring if it was biological or mineral. The worms convulsed, their movements grew jerky, broken by spasms as the spores took their toll.

[Ability Activated: Infested Strike]

Effect: Infestation amplified by Mark Target

Cost: 100 microbes Current Network Capacity 1580 of (2500) 3000

Sara grinned through blood and sweat. Blow by blow, strike by strike, she was wearing them down. Her speed let her dance between them, her shield absorbed what it could, her spores healed what they couldn’t. She remained functional, relentless, while the worms faltered inch by inch.

The Greatworms slowed. Their lunges grew sluggish, their roars cracked with strain. Stone armor crumbled under repeated strikes, seams widened and sinew and muscle melted, convulsions wracked their bodies. They were titans brought low by attrition, by the unyielding rhythm of Sara’s assault.

She darted in one last time, arm raised high. The Tetsubo came down with a resounding crack at a weakened skullplate, spores surging into the fracture. The first worm collapsed, its body shuddering, roar fading into silence. Unable to weather the storm of Sara’s concentrated barrage without its partner, the second Greatworm followed soon after, thrashing weakly before crumbling under her relentless strikes..

[Ability Activated: Restore Self]

Vitality restored. Mobility maintained.

Cost: 50 microbes Current Network Capacity1530 of (2500) 3000

Sara stood in the wreckage, chest heaving, bruised and bloodied but alive.

The cavern was shattered and empty now, save for Sara herself and the faint glow of the from the rubble built nest. Sara’s pride was wounded, but her triumph undeniable. She had faced not one Greatworm, but two, and she had won. It may have been closer than she wished. It may have been a battle won by nothing more than attrition, and she may not have controlled the battlefield with overwhelming skill. “But the most dangerous person to fight in battle is the one who survives, and a win is a win.”

*Ding* [Your party has killed an Apex Greatworm (T2) x2]

1000 Experience being divided evenly among your party.

Error: Party size (3001) exceeds limit. Negligible experience gained.

Current Experience to next level: 515.42 of 500]

*Ping* [1500 Microbes gained. Current Network Capacity: 2500 of (2500) 3000]

Item Collected

Medium Brown Crystal x2

<>

Sara wiped blood from her lip, braced her Tetsubo against the rubble, and began to climb.

The nest was crude but massive, boulders and shattered stone piled high, fused together by the Greatworms’ great weight. At the top, nestled in a hollow of broken rock, lay the egg.

It was helmet sized, with a thick stone and crystal shell, surprisingly warm to the touch. Its surface smooth but veined with spiraling crystalline lines that pulsed faintly, like veins of light beneath thick translucent stone. An egg. A Greatworm egg. She had looted monsters, absorbed their microbes, collected crystals, and even a necklace. But this was different. A life form. A Monster Egg. A very deadly monster egg. If she left it here it would either die, or grow to kill others. Neither seemed a good idea.

She reached out, fingertips brushing the hot stone surface. The egg vibrated faintly. Pulsed with a slow but steady rhythm.

Items Collected:

Apex Greatworm Egg [T2]

[Item Identified: Greatworm Egg]

Type: Collectable / Rare Material / Potential Companion

Tier: 2 (Apex Variant)

Description: A hardened stone and crystalline egg containing the dormant essence of a Juvenile Greatworm. Fragile yet potent, it is filled with life and potential.

Properties:

• Bonded Companion: With proper care, incubation, and training or ability, the egg may hatch into a Juvenile Greatworm. If bonded during hatching, the creature becomes a permanent companion, linked to the bearer’s Soul stat.

- Companion Traits: Gains a percentage of Bonded Companion Stats and defenses,

- Growth Potential: Power scales with bearer’s level and Soul resonance.

- Limitation: Bonding consumes a permanent portion of Soul Self & Sum Stats based on power of the bonded creature, but can grant unique synergy abilities.

• Crafting Potential: Can be used in Crafting to imbue items with incredible durability, additional endurance, and even the ability to utilize, or defend against, Mind attacks.

Durability: Fragile

Weight: 50 lbs

Sara exhaled, a grin tugging at her lips. “Ooh… A Greatworm Mount?”, she chuckled.

She slid her shield onto her back, cradled the egg in both hands, and carefully lowered it into her Inventory. The System shimmered, the egg vanishing into safe storage.

"This valley will need its defenders," she whispered, eyes on the glowing dust. "And maybe… hatchlings?"

<>