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MAZE - Chapter 1061 - Hunt in the blackwood forest
🕑 Added 2025-05-26 11:24:37 +0000 UTCHera left the city right away. The Empress was riding Nimbus while the Atlas was using metal to carry him like a tank. He somehow was able to turn two pieces of metal into treads and then have a small seat for him to stay as they traveled. It was nowhere near as fast as the Sentinel since it was a very niche use of his legacy, but it worked and allowed them to move faster than they would on foot.
Hera was still a bit worried about the man's presence. Even though she took Helena's advice to heart, that was something easier said than done. Besides, their situation was not at all similar.
She was denied the ability to enter the Guild. Rejected due to her low attributes. Now she was being held as the next hero. The man chose to follow a group that believed humans were better than everybody else and almost joined the worst of the worst of them.
The people who were using innocent lives just to become a little bit more powerful. At least he was able to recognize the error of his ways and stop before crossing the line. Now, Hera just had to figure out if getting that close to the line was enough for her to resent him forever or not.
"We should be getting to the Blackwood Forest in 5 minutes," Atlas said through the communicator. They had synchronized theirs just as they were leaving the tower. Hera resisted the urge to say that she knew they were about to arrive and just said thank you. She pressed the button on her tablet to call Helena and the rest of the team and warn them about their location.
"Is the target still there?" the Ophidianite asked.
"We are seeing it go back and forth, but it never leaves that radius we set up previously." Helena replied.
"Got it," Hera replied and continued moving in the direction where the wendigo was supposed to be.
Helena had mentioned that they were working on an affordable version of the detection system, one capable of only short-range detection, but it could assist in a situation like that. But it wasn't done. And considering how Hera was able to see the affinity of creatures by herself, everybody felt they didn't really need something like that to be effective in the hunt.
Just before they left the tower, Hera asked Helena and her team to send detailed information about the Blackwood Forest to her tablet. That way, during the trip here, she could have her court members going over the information and telling her if there was anything she had to account for. They didn't need to be outside for that to work. As long as Hera was in possession of her tablet, the four members could access it even from inside the Empress' palace.
Hera called as soon as they arrived in the forest and had her call them back out and they gave her a quick overview of what they learned.
It was called Blackwood Forest because of the type of tree that grew here. It was a specific type of black mahogany, as they would call it, that was incredibly sturdy, getting to a point where even some more basic metals couldn't compete with its hardiness, and it could become extremely malleable as long as the proper treatment was applied to the wood.
Because of those benefits, there were two companies taking care of this specific area. They would do a rotating schedule of cutting trees down and planting them so the supply could always be steady. While that was already helpful back on Earth, inside the MAZE, it was on a completely different level. After all, they could employ the help of some mages who specialized in rapid plant growth to accelerate the process, turning something that should take several years into a months-long cycle.
Another interesting piece of information was that monsters tended to avoid that region of the area. That was because of the effect caused by the trees, more specifically their pollen and sap. If someone were to stay for a long period around it, slowly but surely they would lose the ability to see all colors. Everything would become in shades of black and white, as if someone had put a television on the highest possible contrast.
Apparently, that's how the trees gained their signature dark hue. By absorbing the spectrum of colors around it, they were able to represent the pure absence of any color with some streaks of white as they gathered the light spectrum in those specific spots.
This all meant that it was very likely that the monster they were searching for was also black and white.
Vulcan was explaining to the Empress about the area and Atlas was also listening intently to be sure that he wasn't going to drag the hero Aspirant down. But when Forge explained about that particular aspect, Atlas paused.
"Hang on, if it's taking away the color, why are the animals avoiding this place? They would still be able to see, wouldn't they?"
Lurize nodded. "Yes, but not in the same way. A lot of animals and monsters learn how to detect prey and predators by color. That's why tigers are orange. Because most animals around them are unable to see the orange and instead see green, making it camouflage with the environment. If we are assuming the monsters here have similar eyes or eyes that are not as advanced as that of a person, then it's likely that it would cause a similar effect. It will stop them from being able to see their prey or incoming predators."
"Wendigos take the power from anything they eat. Then if they started eating the trees, there's a good chance that it can replicate that effect or some version of it," Viper continued, which caused Atlas to shiver, thinking about the possibilities.
"Okay, we really need to get rid of this thing," the man said.
"That's what we came to do. And we're not leaving until we get the job done," Hera replied while already walking into the forest, moving between the trees.
"Note that the effect is not instant. It's going to take a little while for it to activate. And I have no idea how that will behave with your eyes," Filigree spoke up.
Atlas just stared at the Ophidianite, waiting for an explanation that never came.
Again, Hera might not be in the right for doing this, but she wasn't going to share her abilities with someone that she didn't trust. If that changed, then she was willing to have a conversation, but not right now.
They continued walking deeper and deeper into the forest with Hera, using her [Ophidianite Sight] to see affinities as the original skill had merged with that one. She was trying to locate anything out of place. Unlike what the device could do to track an area, her ability didn't allow her to perceive the remnants of a specific type of mana that were no longer there. That being said, if there was a large enough concentration, maybe a nest or a place where a powerful spell was used, she could still sense it.
Changing tactics, she sent four blades out, spreading them wide into a net of sorts all around the area. She also created a chain using [Blade Accord] to extend the range that they were able to scan. Not to mention having a chain dangle behind them would lure the monster into attacking one of them. That way, at least they would know where the creature was.
Seeing that, Atlas turned to Hera and asked, "I can do something similar. Is that okay?"
Hera glanced at the man and shrugged. "Sure. More eyes will always be helpful."
The man nodded with a smile and unraveled one of the metal pieces around his waist. That piece was quickly split into several parts and reconnected to form thin wires that were likely able to work as traps. He sent them out in a similar fashion as what Hera was doing, but he was focusing on a single direction instead of being able to sense everything. His range was not as wide as hers, but it still was impressive.
Seeing that, Hera changed her court's formation and refocus more on their back, just so they wouldn't be caught off guard by a surprise attack from behind. She even started using the [Sonar] spell in hopes of finding the creature, but instead of keeping it constantly up, she would just fire it off every once in a while to avoid scaring the monster away.
The minutes turned into hours as the effect of the Blackwood Forest became more and more pronounced. It reached a point where Atlas confirmed he couldn't see color anymore. Everything was in shades of black and white.
Hera, on the other hand, still had a few options. For one, the colors were muted but not gone, as her attributes and physiology offset the effects. Secondly, she could offset that effect to some degree. By using her infrared sight, the Ophidianite was able to see color. More specifically, she saw the changes in temperature as changes in color. Doing so would push the effect of the forest away, only for it to slowly creep in once again.
It was a tug of war, essentially, but one that Hera could keep up for as long as she wanted. After all, that change barely took any effort from the Empress. It was as natural as blinking to her. Not just that, but thanks to [Army of One], the entire court could do the same since the effect came from a skill.
Sometime after Atlas mentioned that the effects of the woods had gotten to him, Hera and her court started to notice some movement. There was something approaching, something that they couldn't quite understand what it was, not at first. The closer the creature got, the easier it was for her to understand that this was the wendigo they were looking for.
She quietly mentioned to Atlas that they had something coming. She also mentioned the direction, but said that she wasn't going to move until the creature was about to strike. It was clear that this was an ambush predator, and the best way to fight against one was to ambush it during its ambush.
Atlas understood Hera's idea and continued moving while keeping an eye out for any incoming threats. The man also retracted some of the metal wire he had placed in the area, since it was clear that it was not working as he hoped. Not just that, but having that piece of metal closer would allow him to fight against the creature a bit better using his legacy. Not that he was completely powerless right now, as having the various pieces of metal around his body was more than enough to give him some protection in case anything was to happen.
And just like he was expecting, thanks to Hera's warning, the monster didn't take long to show itself. Hera saw as the creature, who was completely black with some white stripes almost like a zebra, emerged from behind one of the trees. She could see that the colors were not exactly like the ones from the wood, but at the same time, without the strange shade of blue created by the sunlight reflecting on its skin, it would be almost impossible to discern the creature from the trees. Which was in all likelihood exactly what the monster wanted.
The wendigo slowly moved towards Atlas, and at first, Hera thought this was another version of a panther like the one she fought all the way back in Brinefront. But suddenly the creature stood up on its hind legs, revealing two arms, much like that of a gorilla, with another set of arms growing from its back. All of its hands had retractable claws, and the face looked very much like that of a monkey. However, the creature had no tail and no fur. It was all just skin and muscle. It was also not red in any part of it except for its eyes, which could be seen clearly by the Empress, but looked completely invisible to Atlas. That was due to the fact that the intensity of the color of its eyes was the same as the intensity of the color of its face, making both blend together with the only significant difference being the actual color, which didn't exist in the black and white world that the human was seeing.
The Empress slowly started to approach her companion, despite still feeling unsure if she should trust him. Yet, she wasn't going to leave him to die at the hands of a creature like that.
The wendigo jumped on top of Atlas, who heard the noise and quickly unraveled some of the metal around him to protect his body, forming a suit of armor. The monster sank its fangs into the man, trying to grapple him using all four arms. But Atlas had another idea in mind. He jerked his shoulders, causing every part of his armor to wrap around the wendigo, forming almost like a cocoon that trapped it inside. Following that up, he slammed both his hands on the creature's stomach, which caused it to go flying backwards.
Without letting the monster even collide with something, Atlas created a chain connecting the wendigo to himself and spun it around, trying to use the momentum to hit the monster against one of the trees. The attack worked, and the creature slammed against the trunk while it tried to break free from the barrage of attacks. But even then, it was nowhere near enough to kill the beast. Atlas spun again, taking the opportunity to slam the monster once more against the trees.
Hera was about to get closer to start helping with the attack when Atlas turned around and spun in a different direction, aiming at what he assumed were a large group of trees.
"No, don't!" Hera gasped, but it was too late. Atlas swung towards this larger black shape, and it hurled the wendigo directly at it. But instead of seeing the monster slam against something solid and drop to the ground, the monster and the metal around the creature all vanish into the darkness.
"What?" Atlas gasped, not sure about what had just happened.
"Shit," Hera cursed and rushed towards it.
"What happened?" the man asked, and Hera sighed.
"You just threw the wendigo inside the dungeon."
"They can enter dungeons?"
"Apparently they can. I had no idea about that either."
"So, what do we do next?" Atlas asked, worried that he might mess things up even more if he were to start moving on his own.
Hera sighed. "I think we need to go inside to go after it. I mean, your metal is attached to it, so in theory, if we go now, we're going to be in the same party as the wendigo."
"Wouldn't it be better if we just left and waited for it to get out?"
"Then we're going to leave a wendigo inside a dungeon to complete it before letting it come out. Do you know how many levels that could give it? We didn't even know that wendigos going inside dungeons was possible. And what if they can do more than just go inside? What if it completes the quest? Can you imagine if the wendigo gets a title, a skill or something worse? And that's not the worst part. Imagine it takes it days, weeks, hell, even years for it to finish. When it comes out, it will be a beast that no one will be able to kill. We need to finish it now when it's weak."
Atlas's eyes went wide, and he turned back to Hera. "Then we follow it?"
"Let's go."
The two of them walked inside the black shape that Hera could see was the entrance of a dungeon. The only dungeon inside this forest.
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