Taboo Online

Truth Behind Motion gave him no warning. Whatever moved inside the puddle did not possess an intention he could sense until the attack had already begun.

Luke twisted aside as a long tendril whipped past his shoulder. He slashed through it before it could recoil, sending the severed end spinning across the shelter.

It splashed against the ground, lost its shape, and sank into the soil.

Three more tendrils rose from the same puddle, followed by others throughout the shelter. Within seconds, dozens of narrow black limbs swayed above the water before striking together.

Luke swept his spear in front of him. The blade cut through two tendrils while the shaft knocked aside a third, but a fourth curled around the lower end of the weapon.

He pulled back, only for the tendril to tighten. Another struck his upper arm and left a burning line through his sleeve.

Luke hissed and twisted the shaft hard enough to trap the first limb against the blade. Once it was severed, he retreated before the next group could surround him.

The tendrils followed, stretching farther from their puddles as he moved. Although they had no eyes, every limb bent toward Luke with the same shared awareness.

He cut through another, and a replacement immediately rose from the puddle.

"So that’s how this works."

Destroying the limbs achieved nothing. The real creatures were hiding beneath the water and producing new tendrils whenever he severed one.

Luke needed to attack the puddles themselves.

He prepared to use Quickstep, then noticed the mana display at the edge of his vision.

[Mana: 18/50]

He had already used the skill twice during the first wave and activated Reinforce to protect the gate. Another Quickstep would leave him with barely enough mana to accomplish anything useful.

Since Arcane Thrust cost twelve mana, he could use it only once.

The tendrils attacked again.

Luke ducked beneath one, redirected another with the spear shaft, and severed a third before it could tighten around his ankle.

Think, Luke.

Destroying the tendrils was easy. Reaching whatever hid beneath the puddles was the real problem.

He sprinted toward the nearest pool and allowed several limbs to follow him. At the edge, Luke changed direction sharply, causing the tendrils to cross and wrap around each other.

His spear plunged into the black water.

The weapon sank nearly halfway down the shaft before striking something solid. A pulse ran through Luke’s hands, but the creature did not collapse.

The second thrust weakened it. The third finally ruptured the mass beneath the surface, causing the puddle to convulse and spray black liquid upward as every connected tendril collapsed.

Luke retreated before the others could reach him.

Three ordinary thrusts had killed the creature, but remaining beside a puddle that long left him exposed. Arcane Thrust could destroy one in a single hit, yet he only had enough mana to use it once.

He needed to save it for the worst moment.

Six pools remained, some noticeably smaller than the others. Luke could not tell whether size reflected strength, but the larger ones supported more tendrils.

He moved toward the center of the shelter, cutting only the limbs that came close enough to strike him. Once several had committed to the chase, he rushed the nearest small pool and drove the spear down three times.

The hidden creature dissolved, but a tendril caught Luke’s wrist before he could pull away. He trapped the limb against the blade, sliced through it, and took a hard strike across the ribs while escaping.

Rather than spending mana, Luke threw himself behind one of the thick roots rising from the ground. The pursuing tendrils struck the obstacle and wrapped around it, giving him enough time to roll back onto his feet.

His ribs ached, but the maneuver worked.

That gave him the answer.

Luke began using the shelter against the creatures. He led tendrils over raised roots, around broken branches, and across one another until their attacks became tangled. Whenever several limbs stretched too far from their puddles, he doubled back and attacked the exposed source.

The strategy was dangerous, but it worked repeatedly. Two more puddles collapsed beneath ordinary thrusts before the remaining creatures changed their behavior.

Three pools remained between Luke and the Root Gate.

Exhaustion had begun slowing him down. His breathing came raggedly, the wound on his arm burned whenever he tightened his grip, and the ache beneath his ribs grew sharper with every sudden turn.

The next puddle kept several tendrils near its surface instead of committing everything to the chase. Luke tried approaching from one side, then the other, but the guarded limbs forced him back both times.

Meanwhile, another pool continued gathering water near the Root Gate.

His chest tightened because he did not have time for another slow exchange.

A heavy branch lay partly submerged near his feet. Luke hooked it with the butt of his spear, dragged it closer, then kicked one end toward the guarded pool.

The tendrils reacted immediately and wrapped around the moving object.

Luke followed behind it. While the limbs crushed the branch, his spear entered the puddle three times and destroyed the creature hiding beneath the surface.

Only two pools remained.

Luke drew the next set of tendrils around a raised root and attacked before they could untangle. The first thrust struck empty water, but the second found resistance, and the third collapsed the creature’s mana.

As soon as the puddle disappeared, the final pool surged and drew every remaining tendril back into the water.

The entire mass rose into one limb thicker than Luke’s torso, then swung toward the Root Gate before he could reposition.

Luke’s heart lurched.

He had saved Arcane Thrust for this.

Running would not get him there in time, and another Quickstep would consume mana he no longer had.

Luke sprinted along the shortest path, planted one foot in the mud, and threw his body between the tendril and the sealed roots.

The massive limb struck the spear shaft braced horizontally across his chest.