Gene flew off to let Kumo and Zuls know they were needed. Synexus and Shell took off in the direction that the owl had pointed them in. In all honesty, neither of them thought it was pertinent to the quest given to them, but they knew that optional objectives did exist and perhaps this was one of them.

  Roughly half an hour later they were all brought together once again. Prith and Vorin had backed away from the strange illusion creature and were keeping an eye on it. Shell and Synexus arrived with the rest of the party following shortly after. Zuls had the strange creature in tow. Synexus immediately focused in on it.

  Name: Unnamed

  Species: Pathfinder

  Discoveries: 159

  His face scrunched at the limited information. It went on to list skills that were all focused on discovering new things or exploring new places. Zuls noticed and used her mana to let the beast know it was okay as he pressed his sensors to the rough skin.

  Pathfinder: These animals are quite intelligent when it comes to making discoveries whether it’s a new place or idea. A hierarchy is formed in the swarm based on the number of discoveries made by an individual. Each new discovery brings with it a new skill. This species is constantly moving with the pursuit of new experiences in order to grow.

  He related to this animal. Not only did they have similar excitement to discovering new things, but the entire species progressed based on the discoveries they made. His hand was still resting against the strange skin when his sensors picked up a second genetic code.

  Symbiolashata (rare): A symbiotic plant species that has evolved to grow within other living beings providing them with oxygen in exchange for nutrients. It is unknown where this plant originated.

  “So, what’s his name?” Zuls nudged Synexus telling him to snap out of it.

  “He has no name. His species is quite incredible though. They are known as Pathfinders and their entire societal hierarchy is based on how many discoveries they’ve made.”

  “Amazing! I’ve never encountered such a curious creature, now it makes sense.” She moved her hand over the rough skin of the pathfinder. “What should I call you?”

  He nudged her hand and made the softer cackle noise again.

  “Call him Synexus, they are basically the same person.”

  The party laughed at Kumo’s comment while they started moving towards the mysterious illusion.

  “You could call him Dive. I thought he was going to hurt you both earlier.” Shell recounted her tale of seeing the situation from a distance.

  “It was impressive form, but no that doesn’t feel right.”

  “What about Pincer, the Roughskin? Because people really should be warned about how abrasive the skin is.” Kumo suggested.

  “Rough shell, soft heart. Kinda reminds me of you Kumo. Big, bad tempest on the outside, but a softy on the inside.”

  “Hey, I was just throwing out an idea. No need to be mean about it!”

  Another round of laughter paired with a cackle from the pathfinder rang out alerting the illusion of their arrival.

  “What about Pioneer? He has made 159 discoveries. I would say that warrants the title.”

  “Oh, Synexus, that’s perfect!” Zuls scratched his hard skin. “What do you think, Pioneer?”

  A glow from the pathfinder radiated out along the flat surface of the surface rod before stopping at the edge of the forest. Synexus focused on him again to see what changed.

  Name: Pioneer

  Species: Pathfinder

  Discoveries: 160

  On top of having a name, the number of discoveries ticked up one and he now had a new skill named The Power of a Name etched into his soul. Along with the excitement, a new message appeared.

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  New Optional Objective Available!

  Optional Objective: Help Pioneer free his people from the bubble to continue their exploration across the stars.

  “Well would you look at that. Sounds like we were destined to meet, Pioneer. Captain, I say we complete the optional objective.”

  “We will do our best, Zuls. Let’s focus on the task at hand, however.”

  Pioneer let out a wheezing cackle when it became clear they were walking into the forest. Zuls touched him to calm his fears and felt how much her new friend was shaking. It was a feeling that transcended fear. Pure terror.

  Synexus used Mana perception like Gene had and saw the cloud of mana that made up the illusion. Deep within were two confluxes of mana. One was pouncing on the other.

  “Our target is that way.” Synexus pointed towards the feeding ball of mana.

  It took some coaxing, but Zuls got Pioneer to follow them into the illusionary forest. They passed through whole trees even though their brains screamed at them not to. Synexus saw the ball of mana stop eating and start moving towards them. Several condensed mana appendages formed and moved quickly along the surface floor towards them.

  “Contact. Straight ahead!”

  The party spread out to flank the mana appendages destroying them before they got ahold of anyone. Seconds later a large feline with a leathery fin running the length of its spine pounced from behind one of the illusionary trees. Low growls accompanied the vicious three rows of razor-sharp teeth. Prith rolled out of the way while simultaneously pulling his sword for his sheath.

  From his side, the tail ending with a ball of spikes came towards his head. His sword went up to cut the tail before it collided with his face, but the force and toughness of the skin proved too much for the sharpened blade. Prith was sent flying through some of the imaginary trees. The rest of the party formed a circle around the beast and set up their defenses. Gene perched themselves onto Pioneer’s back and they hovered above the rest.

  Rumbling roars came from the dangerous cat. Its eyes flicked back in forth looking for the weakest link in the circle. The spiked ball at the end of the tail swayed side to side picking up speed for an attack. Its fin folded down and showed off the barbs along the edge—some kind of projectiles. Claws bit into the hard surface and teeth were bared. Up above Pioneer let out a worried cackle causing Zuls to slightly look up which was enough to make the cat pounce.

  In an instant the beast was in the air right above Zuls looking to bite into her throat. Sharp barbs shot from the spine in multiple directions likely to keep the others from reacting as quickly as they could. Zuls didn’t need anyone to react, however. A gout of flame erupted from her mouth and the cat cried in pain. Still, it fell through the flames and bit into Zuls. She screamed and pushed as hard as she could only for claws to dig into her. Powerful jaws pushed the teeth in deeper—her body wavered—blood gushed out squeezing through the teeth. Then the pressure released.

  From up above an angered crackle rang out and Pioneer shot his tail down to protect his new friend. He was too late and watched as the monster bit into Zuls. Barbs bounced off his tail as it continued downward, spearing into the cat and ripping it away from his friend.

  Zuls body crumpled to the ground and the sweet sound of the ocarina filled the air. Her attacker was speared to the ground by the tail of Pioneer, but the cat lived. It wriggled and tried to claw at the tail. Pained growls and whimpers started to mix with the song of healing, creating a dizzying array of noises. The others had deflected the barbs as best they could and ran towards Zuls. Prith appeared from out of the trees that were slowly fading and drove his sword through the skull of the cat in fury.

  “I barely saw that thing move!”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Prith. None of us could keep up with it.” Vorin kneeled next to Zuls.

  Synexus ran over with some juice that he made from his healing fruits. The cold juice went down her throat. Some splashed on her face and ran down to mix with the blood all over her. Bite marks showed on the base of her neck and shoulder. If the cat had aimed a bit higher, she would have instantly died. Even with her condition now, her body probably took most of the health points to keep her alive. Fortunately, the juice would help her natural regeneration, which is boosted by Vorin, to refill her health resource. Wounds already started to close.

  Kumo screamed and let out a torrent of wind. She had been able to keep the barbs from hitting her and Synexus but failed to react quickly enough for Zuls. She could catch lightning. How was she not fast enough to take down a cat?

  “She’s going to be fine, Kumo. It is okay. We underestimated our foe. Next time, we will do better.”

  “But this time, we weren’t good enough, Synexus! She could have died. It was one cat and we had it surrounded.”

  “A worthy opponent shows us our weaknesses, Kumo. We know now that we must get faster and stronger.” Prith sat there with Zuls blood on his hands.

  “You would have been able to stop that attack if it was any of us that had taken that first blow.”

  “True, but we can’t control everything. We are class chosen. Nothing is guaranteed.”

  Kumo started walking away towards what looked like the first structure they had seen since arriving on the floor. It was instantly noticeable after the trees disappeared. Synexus ran after her while the others stayed to protect Zuls until it was safe to move her.

  Gene flew off the worried Pioneer and followed Kumo and Synexus toward the structure. Kumo got there first and stopped in the doorway.

  “What is it?”

  “Another reason to hate that monster.”

  Synexus and Gene peered around her to see inside the dark building. Reflecting the sliver of sunlight coming in through the doors were piles of bones. Each one had gnawed marks. Thousands of victims.

  Their feet moved over the piles of bones and crunching snaps filled the small building. A small circle of bone dust sat in the center of the room clearly marking where the monster slept.

  “Whatever secrets lie in this place. We won’t find them with all these bones.”

  Synexus nodded to Gene.

  “Let the excavating begin.”