CHAPTER 4: THE CURSED PEAKS
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Dawn painted the Cursed Peaks in hues of blood and gold. I rode out from Stonecrest's postern gate alone, a lone figure against the immensity of the mountains. The weight of the keep's hope was a physical pressure on my back, almost as heavy as the pack of supplies and the Moon Touched Sapphire resting against my chest.
The System provided a subtle, persistent guide. When I paused, unsure of the path, a faint, shimmering arrow, visible only to me that would overlay my vision, pointing the way deeper into the jagged wilderness. It was the [Quest Log] subtly manifesting, guiding me toward the objective: [Location: Nyx's Lair].
The first day was a brutal lesson in terrain. The trails were nonexistent, replaced by treacherous scree slopes and knife edge ridges. The thin, cold air burned my lungs. This was not the sanitized adventure from the novel; this was raw, punishing nature. My meta knowledge gave me the destination, but it didn't spare me the journey.
As dusk began to bleed the color from the world, I found a shallow cave to shelter in. Chewing on tough dried meat, I watched the interface.
[Time Until Demon Tide: 61 hours, 14 minutes]
[Distance to Objective: 12.7 miles]
The numbers were a cold splash of reality. I was making slow progress. Too slow.
A low growl from the cave entrance froze the blood in my veins. Two sets of baleful, green eyes shimmered in the fading light. Shadow Stalkers. Wolf-like creatures infused with minor demonic energy, the vanguard scouts of the coming tide. In the novel, they'd been a minor nuisance for a well-armed patrol. For a lone traveler, they were a death sentence.
They moved with unnatural silence, their forms seeming to drink the light. My heart hammered. I had a sword, but I was no master swordsman. Not in this body. Not yet.
The first beast lunged, a blur of fangs and shadow. I barely sidestepped, the wind of its passage cold against my face. My sword felt clumsy in my hand. I swung, but it anticipated the move, twisting in mid air and raking its claws down my arm. Fire erupted along my bicep, and a chilling numbness followed. Venom.
[Status Alert: Minor Paralysis (Stack 1). Dexterity -5%]
The second Stalker circled, ready to strike while I was distracted. Panic threatened to choke me. This was how it ended? Not in glorious battle, but as a forgotten meal for beasts in the mountains?
No.
The System. The Bazaar. I had no Points, but I had knowledge.
As the second Stalker lunged, I didn't try to slash. I dropped my sword. The move was so unexpected the creature faltered for a split second. In that moment, I grabbed a fist-sized rock from the cave floor and, pouring the meager trickle of mana I possessed into it, I hurled it not at the beast, but at the cave wall next to its head.
The [Mana Conductor Arrow Blueprint] I'd seen wasn't just for arrows. The principle was the same: channel mana into a material to create a concussive release.
The rock exploded against the stone wall with a sharp crack and a flash of blue light. It was a pitiful display compared to what a real mage could do, but it was enough. The sudden noise and light startled the creatures, their shadowy forms recoiling.
It was the opening I needed. I snatched my sword back up, my injured arm screaming in protest, and with a strength born of desperation, I drove the point through the eye of the first, still disoriented Stalker. It dissolved into wishes of black smoke and a small, dark crystal.
The second one snarled, but its courage was broken. It melted back into the deepening shadows of the forest.
I slumped against the cave wall, gasping, my arm on fire. The notification was a welcome sight.
[Combat Victory! Defeated 1x Shadow Stalker.]
[Passive Quest Completed: First Blood]
[Reward: +30 Plot Points]
[Loot Acquired: Minor Shadow Crystal]
Thirty Points. It was a lifeline. I immediately accessed the Bazaar, my mind racing. I couldn't afford a healing potion, but I could afford knowledge.
[Purchase Confirmed: Basic Wilderness Survival (Skill Manual).]
[-30 Plot Points]
[Remaining Points: 0]
Another flood of information, this time practical, immediate. How to move silently, how to identify edible plants, how to navigate by the stars, how to treat wounds with poultices. I found the herbs the manual described just outside the cave, mashed them into a paste, and applied it to the claw marks. The cooling sensation was instant, and a moment later, a notification cleared.
[Status Alert: Minor Paralysis (Stack 1) - CURED]
I let out a shaky breath. I had survived. Not through overwhelming power, but through quick thinking and the System's versatility. I pocketed the Shadow Crystal, sensing it might have value later.
The second day, I moved differently. The [Basic Wilderness Survival] knowledge was integrated into my muscles and mind. I was quieter, faster, choosing my path with an instinct I hadn't possessed before. I avoided another Stalker pack by spotting their tracks and circling wide. I drank from clear streams identified by the manual, and ate hardy mountain roots that staved off hunger.
The System's guiding arrow grew brighter, more insistent. The air itself began to change, growing thick with a strange, staticky energy. The very rocks seemed twisted, pulled towards a central point ahead. The pull of a massive, wounded creature.
By the afternoon of the second day, I stood at the mouth of a vast chasm. It wasn't a cave, but a great tear in the mountain itself, as if the peak had been clawed open. The air hummed with power, and a deep, rhythmic sound, like the beating of a colossal heart, echoed from the depths. A faint, silvery mist clung to the edges of the rift, the telltale sign of a dragon's breath.
This was it. Nyx's Lair.
[Time Until Demon Tide: 46 hours, 3 minutes]
[Primary Quest Updated: The Dragon's Bond]
[Objective: Descend into the chasm and locate the wounded Night Fury.]
I looked down into the abyss, my stomach clenching. The path down was a series of jagged, unstable ledges. At the bottom, shrouded in mist, was my destiny.
I had made it. But the hardest part was just beginning.
CHAPTER 4 COMPLETE
Next: The descent into the chasm. Leo confronts the trapped and terrified Nyx and must perform the ritual while facing the dragon's pain and fury.
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