Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

I have a plan!

Pelting Rain was an Aquamancer’s most versatile skill. It could be used in a variety of different ways. For one, it was extremely effective against large groups of fire Elementals and other enemies who had fire-based attacks. Though the skill was basically an Exploration skill with zero damage, it was lethal to all fire-based life forms on the island. Most Aquamancers heavily relied on this skill to put out forest fires and create an environment more suitable for them.

Since Aaron used to play as a Pyromancer, Zach had never actually had the opportunity to use this skill. Unlike the other AOE skills in his arsenal, the Pelting Rain skill had the greatest area coverage and, if used at a high enough level, it could very easily cover half of the island. Even at level 10, Zach was pretty sure the skill would cover the entirety of Zittorac Forest.

Unlocking his skill, Zach looked at Aaron for confirmation. “You sure you want me to go through with this?”

“I’m sure, bro. Do it now.”

“f**k it. Here goes!” Zach stretched out his arms on either side, pointing his open palms towards the sky and looked up. “Use skill: Pelting Rain!”

Nashoba and the others looked on in astonishment as dark rainclouds appeared out of nowhere and blocked out the sunlight. The clear blue sky disappeared behind a veil of troubling grey. Thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by flashes of lightning. The wind quickly picked up and with a chilling crackle, the clouds burst at their seams. Large drops of icy cold rain fell from above, sweeping over the entire forest. The thunderstorm caused the temperatures to fall and a strong wind started blowing from the east.

“f**k!” Aaron shrieked in pain as the raindrops drizzled against his skin. Flames erupted from his body for a split second, before being put out by the rain. The swirling flames inside his eyes fizzled out and he felt a sudden weakness take hold of his body. His legs started shaking and his arms became stiff. The Pelting Rain skill of an Aquamancer was worse than what he had faced earlier when the weather had turned. His HP started dropping more rapidly than he had imagined and all his stats became halved.

Zach soon realised that Aaron actually didn’t have any plan to deal with the rain. He had just put his life on the line without any real strategy in place. “You said you’re gonna be fine. You don’t look fine to me! Is this your damn plan?”

“Just keep going...I’ll be alright.”

“Screw that, I’m gonna cancel my skill right now!”

“No! Just keep going....I...can take it!” Aaron grunted, gritting his teeth. “Open inventory: access potions.” Tapping the menu on his Z-band, he selected the healing potions from his character’s inventory. A vial of healing potion immediately appeared in his hand. He quickly uncorked it and slurped it down in one go.

Zach kept going, focusing all his power into his palms. The weather worsened by the minute as the rainfall became more intense and the winds picked up speed.

“It’s working....” Aaron pointed at the sky. The Pterosaurs were having a difficult time staying airborne in that windy weather.

“They are leaving!” Kawasha exclaimed from behind.

The Pterosaurs had had enough and they eventually flew off in the direction of the mountains.

Meanwhile, Aaron was desperately trying to keep his HP from hitting zero, by chugging potion after potion. He had already gone through 5 vials of healing potions, but his HP was being drained much faster than he could replenish. By the time the rain stopped, Aaron was down to his last healing potion and his HP had been reduced to just 100. The wet status effect was still active, but the HP decay stopped after a few seconds.

“We did...it!” Drenched from head to toe and shivering like a wet raccoon, Aaron looked at his group. “I...think someone else should take...the lead.”

“That was your plan? Just popping one healing potion after another?” Zach asked, annoyed like hell.

“Yeah, I didn’t really have the time...to think,” Aaron replied with an awkward shrug. He could tell from Zach’s expression that he was thoroughly pissed at him for his reckless behavior. “Come on, cheer up. I didn’t actually die. Look, I still have 100 HP left. What matters is, we got rid of the Pterosaurs. Let’s get on with our quest.”

“Right, things worked out fabulously. Next time you have a death wish, I’ll be more than happy to help, bro.”

“Look, you can’t expect me to play a game without taking any risks.”

“This isn’t a game, Aaron!” Zach looked him dead in the eye, his expression changing from annoyance to concern. Somehow, he felt he was responsible for getting Aaron involved in all this. After all, he was the one who had introduced him to this game. And now he had accepted Gilbert’s side quest without a second thought. “If anything were to happen to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself. I just want you to remember, if you die out here, it’ll be game over for me too.”

“Let’s just hope the respawn mechanics work well,” Aaron replied. “We should get moving now. Kawasha, lead the way.”

The group traversed the forest with measured steps, with Kawasha leading the way and Mawanko keeping watch at the rear. They stopped at last, near an enormous oak tree with twisted branches covered in strange black leaves. Aaron noticed two hollows in its trunk and something didn’t feel right.

“That is the Crying Oak, up ahead,” Kawasha whispered, darting his keen gaze towards the old tree.

“We must make an offering to the Slumbering Deity if we wish to pass,” Nashoba advised.

“No,” Aaron cut in. He had picked up on something which no one else seemed to have any clue about. His suspicious eyes roamed over the branches and something caught his attention. Every branch ended in woody finger-like projections which were stained with blood. It didn’t take Aaron long to realize what he was looking at. “There is no Slumbering Deity living inside this tree trunk. This is not what it looks like. It isn’t an ordinary tree, it’s a man-eating oak.

“You mean like the ones we had in 'Forgotten World'?” Zach asked.

“Yep, exactly like the ones in 'Forgotten World'. I’m pretty sure now that Gilbert took this forest from that game.”

“That game’s over a decade old. I don’t even remember much about it.”

“I only remember playing the main campaign once. And this oak was right there.”

Confused by what these two boys were saying, Kawasha and Mawanko looked at each other. They had no idea what Aaron and Zach were talking about. All they could make out was that Aaron had called the tree a man-eating oak. They had heard tales from their ancestors about the fate of those unfortunate souls who ventured too deep into the forest. Many Cayuga hunters had died in the forest, and their remains were discovered at the foot of the gigantic oak tree. And as time had gone by, the Cayuga had woven a legend around this very tree and attributed the killings to a hungry deity dwelling within its hollows. It had never occurred to them that the tree itself could have been responsible for the attacks.

“Trees do not kill humans,” Mawanko spoke out. “Speaking about such things will only upset the deity. We must pray to her!”

Having their old beliefs challenged made them feel embittered, but Nashoba couldn’t bring himself to distrust Aaron’s words. Before Mawanko could do anything reckless, the chief caught his arm. “We must trust their judgement.”

“But chief!”

“If the boy says this tree is a man-eater, it must be so. He has no reason to lie to us. Get back and keep quiet,” Nashoba ordered in his commanding voice. Instead of doubting Aaron, the chief asked him for advice. “The sun is almost overhead. How do we get past this man-eater?”

“We need to be quick. I’m not strong enough to kill the Oak, but I can buy us some time.” Aaron tapped on his Z-band and prepared to use his 3 remaining skill points.