Chapter 115: Encounter

"I will investigate this environmental anomaly," said the Collector as it stood up straight on its tail, its four firefly wings unfurling from seams in its back carapace.

"It is said that not in centuries has any living being managed to come to Vimur," stated the elder in palpable awe. "To think we...the people of Gob, so lost and so devolved, manage now to uncover history that not even the mightiest of Adventurers could."

"Likely, such a presumption holds true only for humanoid species. The presence of Grain and these primally dense specimen known as 'wraiths' indicate that any species that relies upon connections with 'gods' would fare poorly here," said the Collector. "Yet, that does not exclude the possibility that there are threats of monstrous nature still present."

"We will come with you," said Thokk with a resolute nod. He gripped four daggers of solid light in his hands while the elder rested on his broad shoulder. His red eyes gleamed with determination. "If there is any threat to the king, then I will be the first to eliminate it."

"This form of mine is capable of aerial maneuvering," said the Collector. "But your forms are not capable of such. To access the environmental anomaly below is to scale this cliff face of one hundred meters."

The Collector understood that in order to investigate this Jotnar's hand, it would have to do so by itself unless it was willing to wait for the goblins to slowly climb themselves down the icy cliff face. No doubt, the physically superior carrier elite specimen could likely simply run down this this surface with expert agility, but the comparatively far less coordinated and physically gifted champions could not manage such a feat.

"I can still go," said Thokk. He bid a champion come forward, and he transferred the elder to the champion's shoulder. "This-," He stepped to the edge of the cliff face and looked down at the almost completely vertical one-hundred-meter drop. "Is nothing to me, my king, I swear it."

"My understanding of your capabilities are thorough. I have already calculated you are capable of such movement. Yet, thinning the combat capacity of this swarm to such a degree would be inefficient in the case that a threat arises here while I am below," stated the Collector. "Instead, you are to guard the swarm until I convey communications that should suggest otherwise."

"Understood, my king," said Thokk, though with some regret, evidently strongly desiring to stay by the Collector's side.

The Collector could theoretically utilize its burial tusks to summon two further elites, but they, as beings summoned, would cost constant mana to materialize and maintain. Such a cost was inefficient considering that there was not even a certainty that there were threats.

Knowing this, the Collector leaped upwards, pushing off with its tail before flitting its flaming wings in what was not an insectoid buzz, but a roar of flickering flames. Entering into the barrier generated by the Jotnar hand immediately altered patterns of environmental effects within it.

This, however, the Collector expected. Wind currents within the barrier swirled in a spiral pattern towards the base of the hand just as the water body surrounding it formed currents in the same pattern.

The wind currents were not strong enough to hamper the Collector, and it made its way almost unobstructed to the highest point of the arm: the open palm reaching out to the skies.

As the Collector grew closer, the scale of the Jotnar hand became more and more evident. The Collector itself was now three meters tall, but the Jotnar hand alone was almost 50% larger than the Collector, quite capable of wrapping its fingers around the Collector's sizable form entirely.

And, when the Collector grew close enough to hover in front of the hand, it sensed the magic generated from the body part to greater degree. There was a thin, highly protective barrier around the hand that was imperceptible from a distance.

The nature of the barrier was pure mana of immense scale. Similar to the forcefield generated by the sorcerer the Collector had fought in the Darkwoods. Yet, of a vastly denser and stronger magnitude.

Impenetrable by ordinary means. Yet, assessing the flow of magical energy charging the barrier itself showed that it was powered by the base of the hand, where all environmental mana in the area seemed to spiral towards.

The Collector decided to investigate further, postulating that there was potential for it to find an energy source for this barrier and tamper with it. If it was one that relied upon Primal Density as was often the case with objects related to the environment or creatures completely unrelated to tinkerers, then it could breach it with the Firefly Shinchu's light.

The Collector flew downwards, to the base of the pale blue arm jutting out from the water, and here, an interesting phenomenon occurred. When the Collector neared the arm, inscriptions became visible upon them, glowing with deep blue light as if sensing its presence.

The Collector felt a tingling sensation within its cells, specifically in the Primal Density that charged them. The sigils were reacting to the presence of Primal Density.

If this area was meant to be discovered, then, it was meant to be discovered by beings with sufficient Primal Density, not tinkerers.

However, analysis of the script did not correspond with any literary form imbued within the Collector's memory. What it did notice was that the specific patterning of this script formed a rectangular doorway imprinted upon the breadth of the arm to match the Collector's physical dimensions, as if beckoning it to enter through.

If this hand approximated an artificial dungeon as the Collector theorized, then likely, this was the entrance to it.

Yet, the Collector did not have much time to ponder this before the inscriptions faded in an instant, the light dying down as if a switch had been turned. The earth shook tremendously, the water body surrounding the arm bubbling in violent waves, and then, calm.

The water settled into a placid stillness; the spiral pattern of its currents faded. The winds returned to normal. The barrier surrounding the arm dissipated, and so too did the larger barrier generated from the arm that formed a roof to block Grainfall.

The Collector went on immediate alert. If it was not the one to have disabled the dungeon, then something else was.

As if to confirm the Collector's theory, a creature emerged from the Jotnar's arm, appearing from a ripple in space localized on the giant's flesh.

The creature emerged and hovered in the air like the Collector, though unlike the Collector, it did not seem to rely upon any physical mechanisms of flight.

The Collector made an immediate and thorough physical and magical analysis of the creature.

The specimen was slightly shorter than the Collector. Approximately two and a half meters in height. It was, however, equally as wide, promising a physical bulk capable of matching the Collector in a test of sheer musculature.

The creature possessed both reptilian and aquatic features. Its entire body was covered in countless grey and white scales that functioned like tightly woven armor plating, and these scales, the Collector could tell were highly flexible in nature, shock-absorbent and abrasive to the touch, capable of reflecting some damage from blunt physical blows back to an aggressor.

The specimen was bipedal, though with its slightly hunched upper body and double-jointed digitigrade legs, it was evident that it could easily maneuver in a four-legged form as well. Its arms and legs were thickly muscled, scaled, and its fingers were tipped with shorter, stubbier icy white claws than the Collector's meant more for gripping and hooking.

Crystals of ice protruded from some parts of its scale plating. Specifically in the shoulders, neck, and back.

A large dorsal fin protruded from the specimen's wide back. To match the aquatic adaptation, the specimen also possessed a lengthy, muscle-padded tail that ended in twin fins capped in spiked protrusions of ice.

Its head and neck were sizable compared to its body, with the specimen possessing an enormous, elongated jaw that was slightly open even in a neutral position, revealing multiple sets of fangs crackling with magical energy.

The ocular system of the specimen comprised of two eyes on the sides of its head. The eyes were deeply blue with black, slit pupils that focused on the Collector.

A row of gills on the specimen's enormous neck flared as the creature bared its fangs in a semblance of a smile.

In terms of magical energy, the Collector did not even have to encase its ocular systems in flow sensitive mana to tell. This specimen's magical energy levels were exceptional. Quite easily a direct match to the Collector, perhaps even slightly exceeding it.

An immediate and extreme threat.

The Collector and the specimen stared at each other for precisely one second before the specimen's smile widened, baring more fangs, and in that very instant, the Collector sensed a change in intent from the specimen from curiosity to hostility.

Reacting to this, the Collector made an immediate attack, stabbing into the now opposing creature's side with an unsheathed monomolecular claw.