Taboo Online

Lauren was gone.

One moment, her fingers had been within Luke’s reach. The next, the ground folded around her and dragged her beneath the shelter.

"Luke!"

Her scream cut off the instant the soil closed over her head.

Luke dropped to one knee and drove his spear into the place where she had disappeared. The blade punched through damp earth, tangled roots, and packed mud, but it struck nothing beneath them.

"Lauren!"

He ripped the weapon free and stabbed again. The shaft jolted between his hands as the spear sank deeper, spraying dirt across his legs and snapping a thin root beneath the blade. Even after several strikes, however, the opening was barely wide enough for him to fit his fist through.

Desperation took over. Luke dragged the blade sideways and tried to tear the ground open, but loose soil collapsed into the gap almost as quickly as he cleared it.

"Answer me!"

Nothing came from below. He heard no scream, warning, or even the faintest movement.

His grip tightened until his knuckles hurt. Every breath came too quickly, and his chest felt painfully tight, but he kept digging with the spear. Another hard thrust jarred both shoulders and pulled up nothing except a useless clump of mud.

Blue light flashed across his vision.

[Hidden Quest discovered.]

Luke barely registered the message before several more appeared beneath it.

[Rootbound Oracle Trial triggered.]

[Protect the Root Gate until the Oracle completes her trial.]

[If the Black Rain reaches the Oracle, she will be claimed.]

Luke stared at the final word.

What the hell did claimed mean?

His gaze snapped back to the disturbed ground. The roots beneath the shelter had woven themselves together over the place where Lauren had vanished, forming a dense barrier beneath the soil that resembled a sealed door.

That had to be the Root Gate.

According to the system, Lauren was still alive. She had been taken somewhere beneath the shelter to face a trial, and his task was to prevent the Black Rain from reaching her.

Luke understood the instructions, but trusting them while Lauren remained trapped underground was much harder.

He drove his spear into the roots again. The blade scraped across their hardened surface without leaving more than a shallow mark.

"Open!"

The roots did not move.

Another notification appeared.

[Root Gate activated.]

[Shelter protection has been redirected to sustain the Oracle Trial.]

[Defensive boundary compromised.]

A faint pattering sound reached Luke from beyond the shelter, and he froze with his spear still pressed against the buried gate.

Within seconds, the pattering became a roar. Thousands of droplets hammered against the weakened barrier until the quiet refuge sounded like the center of a violent storm.

Black rain streamed down the unseen walls while the remaining protection flickered beneath the pressure.

Luke’s stomach dropped.

"No."

Dark cracks spread across the invisible boundary and widened as the rain continued pounding against it. A moment later, the barrier gave way, allowing black water to spill into the shelter.

Luke tore his attention from the Root Gate and climbed to his feet.

The rain did not fall from directly above. It pushed through the damaged boundary from every side and ran across the ground in narrow streams. Water collected in footprints and shallow depressions until several dark puddles formed between Luke and the entrance.

Something shifted beneath the surface of the nearest one.

A narrow head rose from the black water. The creature pulled itself free on two long forelegs, followed by a lean body and another pair of limbs. Wet, charcoal-colored skin stretched tightly over its starved frame as it lowered itself close to the ground and bared several rows of narrow teeth.

More shapes climbed out behind it. By the time the puddles stopped moving, eleven four-legged monsters had spread across the front of the shelter, their claws sinking into the mud. They moved almost silently, aside from the low growls rumbling in their throats.

Luke’s fear did not disappear, but the monsters gave him somewhere to direct it. The quest was real, which meant Lauren had not simply vanished into the ground. She was fighting somewhere beyond the Root Gate, and the creatures gathering in front of him intended to reach her.

After fighting the Rain Flock, Luke had accepted that the Black Rain creatures were alive. That did not mean he could allow them to take Lauren.

He pulled his spear from the soil and stepped between the pack and the sealed roots.

"You’re not getting past me."

The stalkers spread into a loose semicircle.

Lowering his center of gravity, Luke slid one hand farther down the spear shaft. His breathing remained uneven, but the familiar weight of the weapon helped him focus.

He had fought creatures from the Black Rain before, and he was much stronger now. This time, however, Lauren would not be beside him. She could not expose hidden mana knots, warn him about danger outside his awareness, or stop him before he rushed into a bad decision.

The thought should have terrified him, yet a pulse of excitement cut through the fear. This was his chance to prove that he could protect her even when she was not there to guide him.

Luke activated Truth Behind Motion.

The creatures changed within his perception. Their bodies still moved normally, but something deeper became visible as Luke felt the intentions gathering behind their actions. Several stalkers meant to attack him directly, while others waited for his spear to shift so they could rush the Root Gate.

He sensed the pattern before any of them moved, but then the entire pack began to feint.

One stalker lunged with the genuine intent to force Luke backward, even though it never meant to complete the attack. Another prepared to spring right while deliberately drawing his attention left. Several more layered false attacks over the movements of the creatures behind them.

Truth Behind Motion was not fooled by any single feint. The problem was the number of intentions striking Luke’s mind at once.