novelraw Chapter 126 - Ashlung Exorcists // Three Hungry Flowers
Chapter 126 - Ashlung Exorcists // Three Hungry Flowers
Three weeks later, Gael and Maeve crashed through Arnell’s hatch at sunrise like two dying moths dropping out of the rafters.
Gael hit the floorboards first with a grunt, coat puffing dust. Maeve floated down a heartbeat later, her umbrella slowing her descent just enough to make her landing look intentional—so it was just like every other time they crashed into Arnell’s forge. In their defence, entering Arnell’s forge the ‘right’ way—through the front door—was a nearly impossible task. Not only would they have to somehow navigate through the cluster fuck that was Ironwych’s messy metal architecture, but they’d also have to fist fight a few drunks and vagrants on their way in, and Maeve, unlike him, still wasn’t too keen on fighting randoms on the street if she didn’t have to.
Oh well, she’d be more open to the idea in a few more years.
For his part, Arnell had also gotten used to the two of them crashing into his forge through the ceiling hatch. He barely even looked up at them before looking down again, returning to his chiselling over the central workbench with his goggles on.
“... I’ll take the left side,” Gael muttered.
“I want the left,” Maeve grumbled back.
“That’s the colder side.”
“I’m hot. I want the colder side today.”
“But you already had the colder side yesterday. It’s my turn to—”
She lifted her umbrella in a thinly veiled threat, making Gael chuckle nervously and lift his hands in surrender.
“That’s what I thought,” Maeve muttered.
Together, they staggered to the two couches next to the central workbench that they’d shoved together into a makeshift bed—and then they flopped down on it, Gael taking the warmer, harder, and honestly less comfortable right side. His back protested the hard springs inside the cushion, but he’d rather deal with them than Maeve’s wrath, so he supposed he was just going to suck it up.
If we’re gonna be crashing here for a while, we should probably buy a proper bed at some point.
They reclined on their ‘bed’, sighing as they readjusted their masks simultaneously to let some air ventilate their faces. Hunting Myrmurs in Blightmarch? Easy peasy with all the overgrown vegetation naturally lending cool air to the streets. Hunting Myrmurs in Ironwych, though? Like running laps inside an oven full of metal fillings.
Small sparks spat across the dark forge with each chip of Arnell’s chisel. Save for those, there were barely any other light sources in the forge, which meant—all things considered—the forge was quite the chilly place. Gael liked that a lot.
“If Ironwych gets any stuffier, I’m going to dry out like… a slug,” Maeve groaned.
“Well, it’s not that bad.”
“You passed out yesterday on the atelier’s roof.”
“Only for a second.”
Maeve snorted, but they both know both of their muscles ached in that deep, marrow-level way that came after too much work and too little sleep. Hunting Wretch-Class Myrmurs basically non-stop for three weeks straight would do that to anyone, and though they’d gotten more efficient at it… well, at least they’d gotten what they wanted out of it.
Points.
“Status interface,” they both muttered at the same time.
[// STATUS]
[Name: Maeve Valcieran / Gael Halloway]
[Grade: F-Rank Blight-Class]
[Advanced Class: Umbrella Wasp]
[Passive Mutation: Umbral Eyes]
[Swarmblood Art: Purging Umbrablood / Umbrablood Covenant]
[Aura: 2,569 BeS / 2,018 BeS]
[Points: 778 vBe / 806 vBe]
[Strength: 6 / 6, Speed: 6 / 4, Toughness: 6 / 4, Dexterity: 5 / 4, Perceptivity: 5 / 5]
[// MUTATION TREE]
[T1 Mutations | Scent Latch Lvl. 4 / Miasma Mantle Lvl. 3]
[T2 Mutations | Basic Tarsagrip Lvl. 4 / Basic Repository Lvl. 3 | Basic ChitinLvl. 4 / Basic Chitin Lvl. 4]
[T3 Mutations | Basic VisionLvl. 3 / Basic Vision Lvl. 2 | Basic Setae Lvl. 3 / Basic Setae Lvl. 2 | Basic Spiracles Lvl. 3 / Basic Spiracles Lvl. 3]
[T4 Mutations | Basic Oviclaws / Basic Vespaclaws | Basic Vespascent / Basic Vespascent | Basic Vespawings / Basic Vespawings | Basic Abdomiflex / Basic Tarsagrip] 500P
Thank the Saintess the local Exorcists were lazy bums, because the two of them damn near eradicated at least half of the Wretch-Class Myrmurs hiding in the shadows of Ironwych over the past three weeks. Not once had they encountered a single other Exorcist pair, meaning both of them obtained nearly a thousand points each, which was almost as much as what they’d obtained in the first few months of them pairing up together.
“Well, no shit. We were out exorcising Myrmurs twenty-two hours a day for the past three weeks,” he mumbled mostly to himself, squinting painfully at the bright letters floating in his vision. “Never doing that again for at least the next… year or so. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Maeve said tiredly. They were absolutely drained. Even still, Gael would say it was all worth it. A thousand points were a lot to work with.
Without a word, they agreed on their first set of upgrades.
[Basic Tarsagrip Lvl. 4 → Basic Tarsagrip Lvl. 6]
[Basic Repository Lvl. 3 → Basic Repository Lvl. 6]
[Basic Chitin Lvl. 4 / Basic Chitin Lvl. 4 → Basic Chitin Lvl. 5 / Basic Chitin Lvl. 5]
[Basic Vision Lvl. 3 / Basic Vision Lvl. 2 → Basic Vision Lvl. 4 / Basic Vision Lvl. 4]
[Basic Setae Lvl. 3 / Basic Setae Lvl. 2 → Basic Setae Lvl. 4 / Basic Setae Lvl. 4]
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[Basic Spiracles Lvl. 3 / Basic Spiracles Lvl. 3 → Basic Spiracles Lvl. 4 / Basic Spiracles Lvl. 4]
[Points: 778 vBe → 29 vBe / 806 vBe → 9 vBe]
Talking was unnecessary. Upgrading their tier three mutations aside, upgrading all of their tier two mutations to at least level five was long overdue, because if Gael recalled Maeve’s very first explanation of the system correctly…
Ah-hah.
Here it is.
[Branch Mutation Selection available for T2 Core Mutation ‘Basic Tarsagrip’]
[First Branch Mutation Option: Hardened Tarsagrip]
[Brief Description: The Hunter’s hands and forearms’ bone density will further increase. At maximum level, the toughness of their hands and forearms will be twice that of their toughness level]
[Second Branch Mutation Option: Apotoxic Tarsagrip]
[Brief Description: The Hunter will evolve specialized arteries and veins inside their hand, allowing them to release toxic blood through their palm when they squeeze tightly]
[Third Branch Mutation Option: Crushing Tarsagrip]
[Brief Description: The Hunter’s hand muscle density will further increase. At maximum level, their grip strength will be four times that of their strength level.]
[Branch Mutation Selection available for T2 Core Mutation ‘Basic Repository’]
[First Branch Mutation Option: Flexible Repository]
[Brief Description: The Host’s hive-like combs on their back will develop thicker, more elastic walls, allowing them to store more fragile substance with less risk of damage while moving around]
[Second Branch Mutation Option: Expanded Repository]
[Brief Description: The Host’s hive-like combs on their back will double in number. At max level, they will have a total of twenty hive-like combs]
[Third Branch Mutation Option: Stasis Repository]
[Brief Description: The Host’s hive-like combs on their back will secrete a specialized biochemical preservation fluid, allowing them to preserve organic material within that will not decay, rot, wither, or be affected by temperature fluctuations in the environment]
For Maeve, the choice between ‘Hardened Tarsagrip’, ‘Apotoxic Tarsagrip’, and ‘Crushing Tarsagrip’ for her Branch Mutation selection was easy enough.
For Gael, the choice was also pretty easy.
“I’m going with ‘Crushing Tarsagrip’,” she mumbled. “You?”
“‘Stasis Repository’,” he answered, glancing over and shooting her a frown. “You just don’t want me to run off while you drag me around shopping in the Black Bloom Bazaar, right?”
“And you just want to store cold alcohol in your back without having to worry about them going stale, right?” she shot back.
“... Let’s also look at the options for ‘Basic Chitin’, yeah?”
[Branch Mutation Selection available for T2 Core Mutation ‘Basic Chitin’]
[First Branch Mutation Option: Apotoxic Chitin]
[Brief Description: The Hunter’s / Host’s thin chitin plates will become slightly toxic to foreign organic materials that hit them at sufficient strength and speed]
[Second Branch Mutation Option: Hardened Chitin]
[Brief Description: The Hunter’s / Host’s thin chitin plates will become slightly thicker. At max level, they will be twice as tough as their toughness]
[Third Branch Mutation Option: Shedding Chitin]
[Brief Description: The Hunter / Host can manually shed their chitin plates, allowing them to become temporarily lighter. The chitin plates will naturally regenerate over a long period of time]
The options for ‘Basic Chitin’ was a bit of a tougher choice. ‘Shedding Chitin’ didn’t sound particularly useful—they could just offset any additional weight the chitin plates posed by increasing their strength and speed—but he could see a point for ‘Hardened Chitin’. Considering how much Blight-Class Myrmurs hurt, it might do Gael well to invest in more defense…
But he also had to admit, maybe he’d be better off not thinking he was going to be invincible walking into fights with ‘Hardened Chitin’.
Besides, having toxic chitin plates sounded sick. He wouldn’t ever have to throw a punch in retaliation to getting hit in a bar ever again.
“You made your choice?” he asked.
“Yep,” she said plainly. “Let’s do it.”
[Basic Tarsagrip Lvl. 6 → Crushing Tarsagrip Lvl. 6]
[Brief Description: The Hunter’s grip strength is currently three-point-two times that of their strength level. Subsequent levels in this mutation will continue to increase their grip strength. At max level, their grip strength will be thrice that of their strength level]
[Basic Repository Lvl. 6 → Stasis Repository Lvl. 6]
[Brief Description: The Host currently has six hive-like combs on their back, which can preserve organic materials and prevent them from decaying, rotting, withering, and being affected by temperature fluctuations in the environment. Subsequent levels in this mutation will continue to increase the number of combs. At max level, there will be ten hive-like combs on their back]
[Basic Chitin Lvl. 5 / Basic Chitin Lvl. 5 → Apotoxic Chitin Lvl. 5 / Apotoxic Chitin Lvl. 5]
[Brief Description: The Hunter / Host has grown chitin plates across their bodies that are currently half of their toughness levels, and which will become slightly toxic to foreign organic materials that hit them at sufficient strength and speed. Subsequent levels in this mutation will increase the toughness of these plates. At max level, the chitin plates will be as tough as their toughness level]
The Branch Mutations began rippling through their bodies. Gael didn’t know what it felt like for Maeve, but he’d describe it as cold fingers tracing his spine and surgically adding new nerves to his new upgrades… not that he could remember the last time he’d needed any surgery on himself. He only felt his skin splitting in various places under his clothes, his muscles contracting and relaxing in violent bursts, and his body feeling like it was going to explode with all three Branch Mutations trying to emerge at the same time.
Now would be a good time to get drunk, but he’d already drank too much over the past three weeks and made Maeve unhappy.
“Let’s… get… the tier 3 Branch Mutations next time,” Maeve hissed between bouts of gasps and groans, rolling over to bury her face in a pillow. “Gotta… wait out the mutating part… a bit.”
“Yep,” he groaned back, his bones still creaking. “But I also… gotta check on my favorite smith.”
While Maeve curled on the couch in a heap of quiet, murderous groaning, he peeled himself off the couch and limped towards Arnell.
Arnell looked up from the workbench, goggles pushed high on his forehead.
“All done?” Gael asked.
Arnell grinned, wiping his hands and putting down his chisel right on time. “Honestly? This is kinda fun. Could get used to working on things like this.”
“It’s a good career choice,” Gael said, swiping his hungry flower glove back from the smith. “Bioarcanic engineers make a lot more money than whatever you’re making as a smith. You could finally afford soap.”
Arnell made an offended noise. Gael ignored him. He slid on the glove, flexed his fingers, then tapped his little finger against his palm—and instead of one hungry flower blooming, three massive petaled maws snapped out like giants, gnashing at the inactive machines around the forge.
Arnell yelped and dove behind a table, taking cover for dear life. Gael just laughed. He couldn’t believe his eyes three weeks ago when he randomly stumbled on two more hungry flowers under that water-ridden bridge, but he had to believe it now.
“Oh, this is great,” he cackled, admiring the terrible beauty of three three giant man-eating blossoms erupting from his hand. “Absolutely magnificent. Do you understand how much easier it’d be for me to fight three drunks down at the bar at the same time now?”
He lifted his little finger again, and the flowers recoiled, folding in on themselves as they dried and curled around the glove like satisfied beasts going back to sleep. The bioarcanic glyphs gleamed softly as well, and he studied the handiwork for a bit. Arnell’s carvings were precise like nothing else.
They might just be even better than mine.
“Good work,” Gael said, giving the terrified smith a thumbs-up. “Feel free to keep my book on bioarcanic engineering a little while longer. I might have more equipment for you to upgrade for me down the line.”
“As long as I get paid next time,” Arnell muttered.
“What was that?”
“S-Sorry.”
Then Gael turned back to the couch. “You good, dearest wife?”
She lifted one hand. It trembled. It was the universal sign for ‘I am living, but please let me sleep in peace’.
“We are sleeping first. I’m fucking wiped, too,” Gael muttered back, “but after we wake up, we’re busting down that abandoned factory tonight.”