Devourer Class

Galahad sat for two hours in his room, unmoving with his eyes shut and breathing slowed. He was meditating on the floor of his room until noon nearly approached.

Like a lot of times he needed to figure something out, he would stop moving and slowly sift through his memories/sensations up until the moment, to figure out what he needed to do next.

His extreme meditative focus was what allowed him learn how to conjure his mana tethers when he was first training to become an adventurer for the guild. It also developed into his terrible habit of dozing off in various places.

Mana tethers were the specialty of supports magicians. For magicians, a common class type was normally attack mages or support magicians. He and Rosetta were common class types, meanwhile someone like Nurse Pavell was a healer magician, ranked an uncommon class.

Among the sentient and bipedal species of Endora, they all shared the four types of adventurer classes; Battle, Magician, Creation, and Summon. Each one has a ranking system for how probable it was to have certain category of class.

Though many people could be categorized under the same type of adventure classes, their individual skills and power were unique to themselves.

Galahad wasn't thinking about any of that during his meditation though. What he tried recalling was any information about when the changes first started happening to his body. It obvious he remembered the changes began as he passed out by the pond and woke back up.

The part he couldn't figure out was the cause of his new ability of feeling different and being able to predict the arrow shot to some extent. Those of course seemed minuscule to the fact that his brain was somehow showing him options to absorb mana orbs and plastering words across his mind.

He also noticed that he kept having this strange hunger his body kept producing ever since waking up by the pond. Something odd must have happened there, but the only thing was the suspicious dream he vaguely recalled.

The dream seemed like a distant memory, where the details were hazy and only the key emotional feelings were left behind.

'Looks like I am gonna have to visit the pond again. Though, this might be the first time I hope the elf isn't there.'

*****

Galahad listened for the sound of the forge's fires to start running and shop door opening before sneaking out his window and climbing down the water pipeline attached to the outside of the building. He was pulling out all the stops to leave the building completely unnoticed, something he hadn't done since he was younger then Brett.

When he scaled down the side, it was hard to imagine he was the same person that needed a cane to walk not even a day ago, especially when he dropped the last twelve feet and rolling silently into the alleyway, as not to be seen.

He had grabbed the cane from the main living room and hid it in the alley so his parents wouldn't be suspicious about its sudden lack of usage.

Soon after escaping his home, He was walking back to the forest with the little pouch of mana orbs in his hand. As he travelled, he kept using 'Yes' to confirm the consumption of mana orbs every once and a while to get a feel of the mana orbs he absorbed.

[ +25 XP ]

[ +25 XP ]

He consumed the last of the level one orbs, leaving his progress bar at: [ 475/500 ] lvl. 2

'I wish this new skill or system would let me know when I could unlock my class. I thought most classes were normally unlocked when a child was around five and their bodies naturally evolved to level eight.'

Galahad watched as the last bit of level one mana orb mist submerged into his skin. 'Then again, none of this is normal.'

Galahad was still contemplating how to get back in the dungeon. He didn't have a team to go with, he had no Karmic plate to serve as an entry, and he can't just bribe an employee of the guild to let him.

Galahad knew he needed to figure something out quick. Each second he spent on the surface was letting the Spriggan and Blemmyae working towards their goal.

Without realizing it, he had finished his walk to the pond, or at least what was left of it. He barely recognized the place now; Apharine's tree left an settled mound of dirt, streaks of grass were dead all across the clearing, and a massive tree had recently fallen across the clearing and straight into the water.

Upon closer inspection, Galahad realize the tree trunk had fallen after a chunk was mercilessly taken from its base. It was the tree that took the hit of the first arrow that was fired at him.

"Holy shit, she really wanted to kill me last night." Galahad said to himself.

"I can't say I blame her." Boomed a powerful and deep voice from above.

Galahad jumped at response and turned to see the source. No one was standing nearby or up in the tree branches. Only the wind and birds made noise, confusing Galahad even more.

'If I'm starting to hear the gods from above, maybe I should have slept a little bit more before leaving today.' Galahad thought before a giant shadow flew over him.

The shadow belonged to a large, light brown hawk that circled around the clearing twice before finding a place to land.

The massive hawk spread its eight foot long wings to descend quietly onto a thick branch for support, then glared at Galahad. It stared intently at Galahad for a moment with a hint of intelligence behind its black eyes.

"You reek of the filth from below, I can tell you that does not normally spark politeness from forest dwellers, human." It snapped at him. The word 'human' sounded like an insult by the way the bird clicked its beak together.

"I-I... come again?" Galahad let out in a voice that was one octave higher than normal.

The hawk actually spoke to him, what dream was he living in now? Galahad felt his brain was short circuiting and unintentionally asked the giant animal to repeat itself.

"You appear like normal prey, but your soul smells strongly of the disgusting beasts that grow out of dirt."

"I'm… sorry. I haven't exactly had the best time in the dungeons." Galahad's voice dropped back to normal when his confusion changed to anger. 'Where does a big talking chicken roast get the right to criticize me, and I thought Casmus was rude.'

"Don't be sorry, your presence and smell might actually be of use to me."

"Umm, do you need my help for something?" Galahad asked sternly.

"I don't need help." Sneered the hawk, turning its beak up to the sky. "I am Solteer, king of the valley skies, I do not need the help of such a weak and flightless creature."

"Wait wait, you're one of the three kings?" Galahad dropped the agitated attitude and was immediately shocked at the discovery of the animal staring down at him.

It was Solteer's turn to be equally surprised, as his black eyes grew in shock "You've heard of us? Who revealed to you the existence of the kings?"

Anyone who revealed their existence of him and the others to a lowly human were surely going to meet a gruesome end. Feathers across his c.h.e.s.t began to rise in agitation.

"Oh uh, I assume you met a Dryad by the name of Apharine?" Since she had left the forest, he figured revealing her connection with him was more likely beneficial than harmful in this situation. Solteer can't hurt her if she's no longer near her forest.

The feather's on Solteer's c.h.e.s.t flattened immediately. "..... Hmph, I should have expected that from her, she tended to run her mouth when someone is willing to listen." Mumbled Solteer. He pretended to be scolding her for leaking such knowledge, but his tone failed to hide a hint of sadness.

'He doesn't seem truly angry at Apharine. Perhaps he actually care for her?' Thought Galahad. 'Then maybe he misses her too.' Galahad was already starting to feel sad about her leaving, it seemed like a lot of people have been disappearing from his life lately.

"She must not have a good taste in acquaintances if she speaks often with you. No matter, I returned to where she had abruptly uprooted her tree without telling us. I planned to ask her to assistance for a situation, but I cannot sense her presence in the forest."

Galahad sat down on the fallen log and picked at the dying bark. "I thought you didn't need help. Anyway, She said she was leaving to confront someone she's been hiding from for a long time. Apparently I've been helping her getting ready for that moment up until a few weeks ago."

"Hmmm." The Hawk pondered Galahad's words. As he did this, Solteer's body was giving off a small glint of yellow light and began to decompress. His large body slowly shrunk down to a foot tall version of itself in less than half a minute.

Solteer flapped his wings twice before swooping down and sitting himself on Galahad's shoulder. His small frame weighed down with almost no pressure at all on Galahad's good shoulder. He just stared at the tiny bird who conjured magic right before his eyes.

"She can handle herself, but thank you for helping her." Solteer clicked his beak in a less angrier tone. "I ask you follow me for a moment, then I can try to help you with whatever situation lead to you destroying parts of my forest. I'll lead the way."

The small hawk pointed his very sharp beak further into the forest. The place Galahad never entered because of the dangers lurking within. Apharine's clearing was a nice little sanctuary, but everything outside that was screaming danger in the back of Galahad's mind.

'Well this is better than not getting skewered by the angry a.s.s elf.' Galahad thought before stepping further into the trees.

*****

Galahad walked through the foggy parts of woods while Solteer guided him. The hawk would just point his beak in a direction like a little compass to guide Galahad. Sometimes Solteer would click his beak and the mist of the forest would suddenly part like it was a living being that was under the king's demand.

"Just so you don't have to keep calling me 'Human,' My name is Galahad Mystroff."

Solteer didn't give off any reaction to indicate he heard him. Galahad didn't press on and looked around the forest. He saw an occasionally weird shaped mushroom or slow moving vine that wrapped itself around the trees. Such things didn't seem possible with the change in seasons.

Galahad noticed a few light blue moths floating throughout the mist. They wouldn't seem so strange to find in a forest, but winter had just arrived. Any insects or bugs should be dead by now, while their future generation of eggs laid dormant in the dirt for spring.

"Do those blue moths control the mist? It would explain why it moves unnaturally."

Only silence from the hawk, although Galahad could have sworn he gave him a little eye roll. The kind of roll that said, "Well no shit."

"So why is it you need me?"

Solteer sighed and finally spoke. "There is a rift in the forest."

"Like a civil war?" Galahad pictured a war with various animals line up at either side to maul one another.

"No, a physical rift in the forest. It leads into the chaos that is the dirt dwellers."

Galahad froze for a moment. "The dungeon opened up to the surface? I didn't that still happened."

"There is clearly a lot you don't know. Rifts open up all across Endora almost everyday, they leak out the simple creatures from below and they like to cause problems for Me and many others that exist in this realm."

"Huh, I had no idea. If you almost have to deal with this on the daily, why can't you do something about this rift in particular?"

"What use do you think my wings and talons will be for reconfiguring the ground?" He said while stretching out his wings to prove his point. "The other kings have the capabilities to treat such issues in their territories, but if I asked for their help, they'd use it against me for decades to come."

"Why would they hold it against you?" Galahad asked. He assumed it was the pride aspect Apharine always spoke about when she often brought them up.

"We determine many years ago that the forest wasn't meant to ruled under a 'single banner' as humans like to call it. We split the forest into places we could best manage and maintain our own independence. The passing of years have developed our relationsh.i.p.s into more of a symbol of strength. If I show weakness, they may feel its a chance to absorb some of my land and creatures if I don't prove worthy to uphold the land with my power.

"Huh I didn't think the kings would withhold power for such petty things."

"Its not petty when the creatures in our territories are what make our regions flourish, those water sprites are a part of me territory, they do create the mists to conceal us from the humans that ravage our homeland."

"You mean bandits?"

"Bandits, mercenaries, scavengers, it doesn't matter. All humans that come through my home are only here to take, but I will not be stolen from and be taken lightly."

"I can promise you I am just trying to find answers, nothing more."

"Hmmm, we shall see." Solteer said while squinted his black eyes in thought.

The ground started becoming more coarse and rocky, making Galahad have to watch his footing more and more. He felt the ground was changing into an uphill slope, making his trek even more exhausting.

'All the stories Apharine told me were making these kings out to be basic creatures with minimum intelligence trying to rule like... well animals I guess.' Thought Galahad.

"Usually Apharine or any other creature with earth magic could bring the rift to a close; but now I fear something else has been meddling with the rift. Even with Apharine, I believe there is a terrible entity making the rift an extreme challenge."

Eventually they arrived at the top a summit that looked over the world below. From here, Galahad could see the city of Teramore with the three resonance crystal towers along its outskirts, and the large stone spire of the gate in the middle.

"It's very peaceful up here." He said with his eyes on the horizon.

"The view of human civilization often displeases me, but in a way, yes it is peaceful." Agreed the bird at his shoulder. "I often realize that I take the serenity of the skies for granted."

Solteer spread his miniature wings out to feel the small winds of the summit hit his feathers.

"Of course remember to miss it when I have deal with pests at a time like this. This way small human." Solteer said while pointing his beak further up the mountain side.

Just a few hundred yards away, Galahad and Solteer made their way through cold, dense mud puddles and over big roots to find a giant boulder sitting on a cliffside. The boulder was a piece of limestone that stood sixteen feet tall, there was nothing strange about it, except for the perfect split that went straight down the middle of the rock. It almost looked like it was an artificial break that was done by intelligent beings and not nature.

"This is your problem? Surely something that lives close enough to here could fix this problem."

"It is not so simple human." Solteer shuffled his feathers, then continued. "Your eyes do not see the rocks. They do not want to close, that is because something is forcing them apart like a doorway."

When Galahad approached, he felt wind pushing out of the crack ever so slightly. The familiarity of the air was enough to confirm it led straight into the dungeon. It was a place Galahad didn't think he would be entering again so soon.