ROTLE- Chapter 142- Life Moss (Patreon)

“Who?” the young lady asked, confused.

Drax paused. Had he heard wrong? She’d been talking about a Lord Lacheart just a moment ago. Lacheart was a unique name, even on Earth. So unique that every now and again people had made fun of it, talking about how pompous of a name it was, as if the person had been doing their best to sound important.

“Aiden Lacheart,” he repeated.

Sitting opposite the girl, the boy who looked a lot like her, handsome for a man as she was terrifyingly beautiful for a woman, slipped a table knife discreetly beneath his hand. He probably thought he’d been sleek with it.

The young lady never took her eyes off Drax. “My apologies,” she said. “I do not know anyone by that name.”

Drax opened his mouth to argue the matter when he paused. Was he stupid? All she had said was that she did not know Aiden, so why was he about to press the matter?

It’s a damn fixation on Aiden, he concluded.

Ever since Aiden left the palace taking his brother and a knight with him, Letto had grown solemn, quiet. Letto had become the opposite of the boy he once was. And Aiden had been the cause of that.

Drax remembered how Letto had always tried to befriend Aiden back in school. He did his best to make Aiden feel like a friend whenever Aiden had been nearby. It didn’t matter if his ex-girlfriend had been around or not. Suddenly, Drax had Aiden on his mind most times. When they fought or practiced, he wondered if he was now as strong as Aiden. When he leveled up, he wondered if Elaswit’s words about Aiden probably on his way to level one hundred were true.

It was always about Aiden, he realized.

“What of Ted Lacheart?” he asked, doing his best to make sure his voice was calm, harmless.

The girl shook her head easily. “My apologies, sir. I do not know anyone by that name.”

Ariadne got up from the sit and strolled over to them, hips swaying in something of a seductive manner. Drax had fought and practiced with her long enough to know that while she hadn’t always walked like that, it was not done for the sake of seduction. Somehow, the sway of her hips while she walked was a side effect of the way she fought. Anyone who had fought alongside her would know that her body moved in ways that would make a man with lesser self-control wonder in distraction.

Standing next to the table, Ariadne offered the young lady a smile. “You said Lacheart. We heard you clearly.”

“Let’s all be peaceful now,” the man with her said. “We did say Lord Lacheart, but we do not these people you are talking about.”

Drax’s gaze moved over to the man’s hand intentionally. He paused long enough to let the boy know that he was aware of the weapon.

The boy didn’t flinch.

“We know a Benelit Lacheart,” the lady said very quickly, as if trying to deescalate a situation. “And his sister, Felae Lacheart.”

Drax shared a look with Ariadne. When the girl had spoken of Benelit Lacheart, he had been planning on asking her what the man looked like. Aiden could’ve easily been moving under an assumed moniker. But a sister? Well, that changed a lot of things.

Ariadne let out a resigned sigh, most likely piecing things together as he had.

A frown of slight annoyance on her face, she turned away and returned to the table. The Lachearts were important to her, too. But she had her own proper reason for it. Drax remembered—he was probably the only one that did—how she had cried the night she’d heard that Ted had run off with Aiden.

Drax had understood her sadness. He understood why she had reacted to the Lacheart name. She and Ted had had something of a relationship before he’d gone. They’d known each other long enough, hung out a lot, made love to each other on more than one occasion.

Drax paused. Made love?

Nobody said that. Well, people his age back on Earth didn’t say that. A few months on Nastild and he was talking different. Regardless, her fixation on Ted was the fixation of a lover scorned. A boyfriend who had ghosted her, broken her heart.

If Drax found Aiden, it would lead to a conversation. But if Ariadne found Ted… well, Ted better be stronger than her in all areas because Drax doubted the existence of a conversation would be part of what would happen.

Then again… he thought.

Considering the fact that Ariadne hadn’t had another guy in her life since Ted’s departure, maybe she was as likely to kill him as she was to jump his bones.

“My apologies,” he said with a slight bow of his head to the young lady. “We must be mistaken.”

“Is your friend missing?” the lady asked before he could leave.

Drax looked at her. She looked so caring, her eyes so soft with worry. Grey eyes rimmed in amber looked at him as if he was important.

“Yes,” Drax answered. He could not help it. He had been rude to them earlier, barging in on their conversation. It was only fair that he give them answers as well. “He was… a friend.”

“And his brother was an asshole,” Ariadne scoffed in derision from her seat.

Lord Thompfer closed his eyes at her language.

The lady gave him an odd look. “I’m guessing you’re looking for brothers.”

“Yes,” Drax nodded. “They were a part of our team. Ted was older and Aiden younger.” He didn’t know when he pulled a chair from one of the tables and placed it next to hers. He paused before sitting down. “May I?”

The lady looked at her brother who shrugged with tense shoulders.

To Drax, she nodded. “You may.”

Drax took his seat, breathing her in. With his increased perception he sometimes caught whiff of people when he was close enough without intending to.

He would’ve liked to say that she smelled of something pleasant or amazing, but the truth was that she just smelled normal. She smelled of clean clothes and generic soap.

“Drax,” he said, offering her his hand.

“Teneri,” she said, shaking it with a smile. “And this is my brother, Jank.”

Her brother frowned a little before holding his hand out for a handshake of his own. Teneri’s hand was soft, so soft and gentle that he didn’t want to let go.

He let go of it and shook the brother’s hand.

People on Nastild, he had learned, tended to have surprising names. The soldier that had helped them sneak out of the palace once upon a time and was here for their mission with them was named Ded. It wasn’t spelled the same, but it was odd knowing someone’s name rhymed with ‘dead.’

Now, he was meeting ‘Jank.’

“So these brothers,” Teneri began, “if you don’t mind me asking, which of them has earned the violence of your friend over there?”

Drax chuckled. “The older one, Ted.”

“Oh.” She folded her arms, placing them on the table. She had forgotten all about her food while her brother was very aware of his. “And what did this Ted do?”

Drax opened his mouth before remembering that Ariadne’s experiences were not his to share.

“You will have to ask her,” he said. “I seek Aiden because he is a friend. She seeks his brother for her own reasons.”

“Oh.” Teneri looked down and away. “My apologies, my brother is always saying how I’m a gossip and don’t know when to stop asking questions.”

“What I say,” Jank interrupted around a mouthful of meat, “is that you’re a loud mouth who likes to eaves drop and nobody’ll love you for it.”

Drax paused, shocked. That was harsh.

“You love me for it,” Teneri said, unfazed by her brother’s words.

Jank paused, thought about it, then sighed in resignation. “It’s not like I have a choice.”

Then he returned to eating.

Drax looked from one of them to the other. That had been… interesting.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently, “but do you mind if I join you for dinner? My companions have been kind of dreary this morning.”

Teneri gave him a kind smile. “Only if you’re willing to tell us more about these friends of yours. Your relationship sounds… interesting, my lord.”

Drax waved the title aside. “Just call me Drax. And the friendship is more tragic than interesting if I’m being honest.”

Jank let out a sigh, rolled his eyes, and returned his attention to his food. Drax knew that look. It was the look a brother gave when he thought a man was hitting on his sister because he thought she was beautiful while he, himself, could not see her beauty.

But he was wrong. Drax wasn’t hitting on his sister. He was simply having a nice conversation with a stranger. It was a change of pace to chatting with members of his team or anyone who knew who they truly were.

He had to enjoy it now that he could, because according to King Brandis, when they returned from this task, he would announce their presence to the entire kingdom. The whole of Nastild would know that they were powerful heroes important to the crown. As for their identities as people from Earth, that would remain a secret a while longer.

Enjoy your anonymity while you can, he thought. Enjoy it while you can.

…

Aiden said nothing as they strolled down the road path of the cave. He cast his thoughts to his memory, pulling up what he could remember of the map. Pathways came alive in his mind, different ways to their destination. Perfect recall wasn’t something people gained until they were at least in the level two hundreds. Even then, it wasn’t necessarily perfect recall. For all your increased perception, to memorize things, you had to actually memorize then, it simply became easier as you got stronger.

So, Taeli was a useful scout having a perfect recall.

Aiden, however, while not having perfect recall, knew how to commit things to memory when he wanted to. The path they were currently walking would lead them down to another fork in the road. If they took the left turn, it would lead them farther away from their destination.

With the path committed to memory, he placed a casual touch of will on the [Pathfinder] skill. In time, he would use it. He had already confirmed that the skill could direct him to anywhere he wanted to go to, as long as he knew the way there.

Will it take me to the Order, too? He wondered.

Perhaps he would check once he was done with this. As he walked, the thought dwindled in his mind. Checking was likely a bad idea. The location of the Order was so protected by spells and enchantments of so many kinds that even if his skill led him there, there was a chance that it would also lead the Order to him.

He pulled it away from his mind. The day would come when he would have to meet the Order and have a conversation or two with them, but that day was not today. In truth, he would need them, but he would bargain.

He had things that they needed, and the Order never broke their word. So, when the time came, he would bargain—make a deal.

He almost laughed thinking about it. Making a deal with the Order was something he would’ve never thought possible in his past life.

They walked a while longer, Oncot keeping as close to Aiden as possible. Aiden wondered if the man still had his praise in his mind. There was no denying that Oncot would be a powerful addition to the team, but he would also be a liability.

Oncot was most likely on the path to the [Berserker] title. He probably had a lesser version of it. There were a few that Aiden knew of. Slight variations. Nothing with as much oomph as [Berserker].

The problem with that was that he would have to find the man constant life-threatening battles. He would’ve been alright with it if not for the fact that it would endanger the others. But they could really use a tank in the team.

Slowly, as they walked, flickers of light began touching the edges of the cave, trying to peek out from behind the darkness. The world grew clearer very slowly.

Aiden’s gaze moved from side to side, taking note of the growing light.

Life moss? He wondered. They were a kind of plant that slowly lit up in the presence of human life. Well, not just human. It came alive in the presence of sapient life.

The problem with them, if he was right, was that they did not react in the presence of monsters.

Dreg’s eyes darted over to Aiden very quickly. It told Aiden everything he needed to know. Dreg knew exactly what they were and he was alert.

“Stay alert,” the archer said, holding his bow at the ready as the cave grew brighter, white light as if from fluorescent bulbs filling the place. “These are called Life moss. They light up when people pass by.”

Aiden summoned his bow. The weapon was weighty in his hand, but not heavy. He relaxed his grip on it and placed a casual hand on the quiver at his hip.

“Is that an enchantment?” someone asked.

Aiden turned his head to find Nesa behind him. She was one of the twins, the one that had no real interest in Jang Su while her sister always kept pace beside Jang Su.

To her question, Aiden nodded absently.

“You have an enchanted quiver?” she asked, her steps slowing down as she slowly fell to the back of the line.

It was not lost to Aiden that their formation was a mess until it was time for combat.

“How much was it?”

Aiden held back a frown at Elami’s voice. He was not a fan of questions.

“I won it in a game of cards,” he answered. “The other dude almost lost his mind.” He patted the quiver. “It’s been a useful thing ever since.”

Elami nodded. “Poor craftsmanship, if you ask me.”

Aiden raised an intrigued brow. “Why do you say so?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Elami’s eyes watched everything except Aiden, ever alert. “The enchanting is top notch. It’s the material of the item that’s poor. It is never advisable to enchant poor work. A true enchanted item should be as masterful as the enchantment itself. You’ve got good enchantment on a poor quiver.”

Aiden would be lying if he said that he was not impressed. The [Healer] knew his enchanttments. And he was right, it was good enchantment on a poor quiver. Why? The answer was simple.

Aiden had bought a basic quiver and proceeded to enchant it. there were two enchantments on the quiver. On the outside was an enchantment that helped to keep the arrows from falling off if he moved around too much. On the inside was a lightning enchantment that activated if he channeled mana into the arrows as he picked them out. It gave the arrows a lightning effect.

“Massive arrows, too,” Elami said. “But I guess you would need large arrows for a bow this large.”

Aiden’s perception flared and he turned on instinct. An arrow came free, and he notched it immediately. Drawing back on the bowstring, he took aim and released.

The arrow boomed through the air, trailing a very quick path through those in front of him. It slammed into the wall of the cave. It pinned itself into a patch of white moss on the wall right next to Jang Su’s head.

“Stay frosty,” Aiden said, keeping only calmness in his voice. “It’s an ambush.”

The entire team moved into motion as a loud wail erupted from the wall. A white [Doppelganger] dropped from out of the wall. Jang Su’s sword flashed out, quick as a man blinking. There was a flash of white as the steel of his blade caught the light of the moss before returning to its sheath.

The monster’s head hit the ground with a plop. It was all the herald the cave needed. The monsters came blending out of the walls. Aiden could not help but be impressed.

Dull white, the [Doppelganger]s were concealed in the darkness of the cavern. Dull white, they were also concealed by the bright white of the moss. He would’ve laughed in compliment if Valdan and Ted weren’t currently at risk.

Taeli flashed from across the distance. The blade of her shortsword slashed a line across the neck of one of the creatures. The creature staggered back but did not fall. Aiden put an arrow in its arm. The arrow blasted the entire arm away. The monster looked down at it with a featureless face.

Taeli scoffed in annoyance and leapt forward. She was almost on it when a massive hand shot out from one side of the wall and pinned her to the other side.

“Taeli!” Dreg barked in worry, drawing back an arrow and firing. The arrow embedded itself in the massive arm.

Slowly, the arm bubbled. Taeli was still pinned to the wall, blood trickling from her nose as she struggled to get free, the arm crushing her more and more with every passing moment.

The arm continued to bubble as Dreg released another arrow into it, then another. Oncot looked at Aiden. Aiden ignored him, arrow notched to his bow as the rest of the monsters slowly crawled out of their camouflage in the walls.

He counted twenty, and they were still coming.

Frowning, he realized that he would have to adjust his plans. Some people were going to level up before they got to the crystal. He would have to make sure that regardless of how high the levels got, Valdan and Ted remained the highest.

Grumbling at being ignored, Oncot finally left Aiden’s side. As always, he moved with a speed that was unfair for someone of his height and width. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the arm pinning Taeli to the wall.

His cleaver came down on it, cleaving it in two.

The arm fell and Taeli was released. She gasped for breath as she dropped to her knees. Her anger was in her eyes, every therapist’s favorite client.

“We’re used to this,” Aiden said, moving over to Valdan as the [Doppelganger]s watched them. “Nothing new. Put them down and move on. Got it.”

None of them moved yet, not even with Oncot currently standing in their midst.

Aiden handed an orb that fit perfectly in his hand to Valdan.

“What’s this?” Valdan didn’t take his eyes off the monsters.

“An enchantment,” he answered. “If things get overwhelming, throw it at your feet with enough force to break it.”

Valdan nodded, slipping the item into his pocket.

“Why aren’t they moving?” Ted asked, curious. “Is it like the first draw thing?”

Aiden wasn’t sure. He had already drawn first blood, then Jang Su had taken a life, then Oncot had severed the arm in two. He had expected the [Doppelganger]s to be rabid by now. But they were calm, controlled. They hadn’t even morphed forms or anything.

Should I be worried?

Aiden realized the necessity of his thoughts when something finally happened. The ground erupted in a bush of white. It swallowed the severed arm before falling back down like cut grass.

White fear crawled up Aiden’s legs as he looked down at the white moss on the ground just beneath him. They were all standing on the white moss.

It’s not Life Moss, he realized in slow growing horror.

The [Doppelganger]s knew it, too. He’d thought that they’d been camouflaging themselves in the white of the moss and had come out to ambush them, but he had been wrong. They had not been camouflaging.

“It’s not Life moss,” he said in a worried voice.

Dreg was already taking a cautious step back. “If it’s not Life moss, then what is it? And how the hell did it do that?”

The [Doppelganger]s hadn’t been ambushing them, they’d been hiding to survive. Aiden’s attack on the one that had been close to Jang Su had just triggered them to come out. He had caused them to come out of hiding.

This was the very opposite of Life moss. Life moss illuminated when sapient beings were near it, the same as this one. This one, however, became rabid at the taste of blood of any kind.

This was Death moss.

“Everyone, [Dash] to me, now!” Aiden barked, unclipping one of the pockets of his soldier belts. An orb fell to his hand as everyone turned to him.

They were late. The moss was already moving around them. The [Doppelganger]s displayed an expression as the moss rose. Fear.

Everyone blitzed through the distance, going straight for Aiden. Taeli hesitated. The moss exploded in a cacophony of flowers.

Aiden knew at this very moment that not everyone would make it to him on time.

Worry, however, clouded his judgement as he realized something else.

Even the [Doppelganger]s were darting to him.

Aiden grabbed Valdan by the arm and drew him in as he slammed the orb into the ground. It shattered on impact.

He watched everything alive reach for him as the enchantment began to take effect.

The world erupted in dark blue mana. The bright white of Death moss filled the air, corrupting it.

Aiden’s eyes widened in horror as he watched Ted cross the distance to him.

Ted was too far away.

He won’t make it.

He leapt forward, reaching for his brother.

Oncot suddenly appeared beside him. The large man grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. Horror became dread as Aiden’s move came to a halt. He rounded on the man, pulling his arm with all the effort he could muster.

People did not simply survive an attack of this magnitude from Death moss. Not below level one hundred.

Aiden opened his mouth to demand his release when Oncot moved. He blurred into motion, leaping out of the effect of the enchantment.

He went for Ted.

The world went dark as blue-black mana fought with bright white, sealing them off.

Aiden’s interface flashed to life with a notification.

[You have used Enchantment of Protection]