Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

Just as the words left her mouth, a sharp cry pierced the air from above. A large hawk circled in the sky before descending swiftly to the ground.

The hawk landed on the green grass close to the edge of the red patch where the giant plant dominated. It scanned the surroundings cautiously for any threat, but already Uhtred and Zara had reined in their cosmic essence more tightly and hidden themselves before it even descended.

Sensing no threat, the large hawk hopped around and tilted its head from side to side, as if searching for something hidden in the dirt.

Slowly, it began heading straight for the red earth. It approached hesitantly, lifting its talons with deliberate care, acting as if it knew that approaching the bare patch was a massive danger. Yet, there was something irresistible about the red earth in that spot, an unseen pull that made it want to go forward.

It moved gently, slowing down to a literal crawl as it crossed the boundary into the red sand. Then, at the very last second, the hawk burst forward with such a blistering speed that even Uhtred and Zara were thoroughly shocked.

They barely saw its movements. The hawk flashed across the ground like a streak of lightning, scooped up a large mouthful of the dark-streaked red earth, and snapped its wings out, about to successfully take off into the skies with that same terrifying momentum...

But it never made it.

Out of nowhere, a dense, heavy mist suddenly spread from the base of the plant, flash-blanketing its path of escape.

The moment the hawk made contact with the vapor, its entire body froze. Its wings locked mid-flap, and it came crashing down like a stone. It hit the ground hard, and its body began to spasm violently.

Uhtred and Zara had barely recovered from the shock of the weird succession of events when the cloudy mist that had appeared so suddenly began to disappear, retreating back into the body of the plant creature.

As the last of the mist entered back into its body, the red earth beneath the fallen hawk started to roil. The dirt twisted and cracked as thick, fibrous roots punched upward through the surface.

Those black, necrotic-like strips crossing the red earth weren’t just stains in the dirt at all, they were actually individual strands of the creature’s root system.

The black roots wrapped tightly around the spasming hawk, pinning and binding its body before dragging it downward, pulling it into the earth and straight toward the main body of the plant creature to be digested.

In a few seconds, peace and quiet was restored as if nothing had happened at all.

"Okay... So it can move," Zara muttered.

"I’m not surprised. It’s fucking Australia after all," Uhtred snorted, then sat down heavily. He got into a comfortable position and stared straight at the plant creature, preparing to study it.

At least now he knew its effective range. But then again, that could have simply been a bluff, and the plant’s reach could be much further.

It was why he was content to stay where he was and observe. If the need arose for him to observe more closely, only then would he move.

"So what do you think? Can you analyze its technique?"

"I should be able to. This plant is the perfect specimen to study. It has grown so powerful, yet its range of movement doesn’t seem to go beyond this clearing," Uhtred said. "There’s something in the red earth surrounding it that seems to draw beasts here for it to devour. But I reckon that is not its only method to gain cosmic essence. It must have a different technique it uses for harnessing the ambient essence in the air. That’s the only way it could have grown so terrifying."

"And I’m guessing it has something to do with that weird dance it’s been doing, right?" Zara asked the obvious.

Uhtred nodded in assent, then settled himself. "Keep watch while I observe..."

He went into a deep state of focus, and Zara disappeared behind him, keeping watch on the surroundings while he deciphered the plant creature’s technique.

.

.

Minutes passed, then hours. Before Zara could realize it, Uhtred had spent a whole day in the same spot with his eyes peeled on the plant creature in focus.

Several beasts had wandered into the vicinity over the course of Zara’s watch. And unlike the hawk, which had been eaten up by the giant plant, many of these beasts were much smarter and were able to snap out of the enticement induced by the red earth.

Of course, there was also the fact that Uhtred and Zara were present, so maybe that had something to do with it. But in any case, there had only been a few beasts that had succumbed to the enticement.

In those cases, Zara had stepped in to either kill them before they even entered the clearing, or chase them off entirely.

Aside from the beasts, nothing much had occurred. There hadn’t been any ancient variant sightings. It seemed unlike the previous trial where everyone was focused on slaughtering the other side, the cultivation objectives of this trial had made both the ancient variants and humans more focused on their personal growth than on hunting down others.

The calm quiet, save for the occasional beasts, had provided Uhtred with the environment he needed to decipher the plant creature’s essence cultivation technique.

Uhtred had looked like a madman several times. There were times he would speak to himself at length. Other times, he would scribble things on the ground, but for the most part, his eyes were distant, sometimes closed in pondering. He would try to replicate something and fail, only to try over and over.

The essence emanations from his body had even begun to get so wild at times that Zara was concerned he would draw too much attention to their location... However, now it seemed all of that had paid off.

A bright gleam was in Uhtred’s eyes as he finally looked toward her and cracked a smile.

"I’ve figured it out."