Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 371 CULMINATION

A bus sized tentacle barreled toward me. I ran along the green tentacle underneath me, speeding up my time to make it away in time. The new tentacle began to swipe toward me, running on the tentacle I was using as a path. My mind sped up, the tentacle still moved quickly. I released the Timeflow and jumped up and over the 14 foot tall tentacle to land on it lightly.

Running along the new one I powered my body with Nen, sparks running across my armored body in case I was struck again. The conglomeration of tentacles in front of me was an ugly maw that was ready to eat me at any moment. Though gigantic, it wanted to eat humans for some reason. I doubted I would fill it’s belly very much, wherever that was. But whenever I got close to the monsters, they were ready to attack and focus only on me. 

We were back in the swamp zone. Months spent on Dagobah, I had been able to train enough to kill the Antlions easily. After that we made our way back to the true foes, and received more than a few quests to kill this or that next challenge. 

First there was a carnivorous horse. They had traveled in packs on the border of the swamp-zone. Huge beasts, with thick muscles and sharp teeth, they had been terrifying and their own challenge. When you fought one you fought a whole herd. It had taken me a week to kill my first group, but eventually they became easy as well. I received an Item Choice for beating them. 

My next kill quest was a flat fish that looked like a carpet. They would stay on the bottom of the swamp pools. When I noticed it for the first time the monster wrapped around me when I stepped into a pool. Nearly suffocating me I received a quest for a Pet Evolution and Weakness Eliminator and killed it with a lot of Sparks and ripping apart with my Nen strengthened body. 

Last was an electric eel. Unlike the other 8 foot long ones I had run into, this was a mother of an eel that made rounds in a huge channel that skirted the edge of the swamp area. My Spark did nothing to her, and it had taken me a couple of weeks to beat her. When I did I received a new item. Bonus Upgrade+. 

Normally the Bonus Upgrade was used to make my Resistance’s stronger. My Medium Psychic and Minor Identity Theft were my only resistances, so I used it on Psychic. It actually upgraded to Major Psychic Resistance, and since I was in worlds where psychics were a huge issue, I was happy with the reward. 

After that I ran around the swamp zone and didn’t receive any more notifications. I latched onto another bird, forcing it to take me in the opposite direction of the original bird. Instead of finding a new zone I found that the swamp area simply became worse. The gravity increased and the Cthulhu monsters became bigger and stronger. 

I found a nice spot to get used to the gravity and set out on killing my original monster target. The Cthulhu monsters were a whole other problem though. Before I had only seen their mouths and tentacles. Latched onto one of the birds I was able to see their tops. Above the mouth was a huge hot air balloon sized head that held their main body. A bitch to get to, the tentacles were a forest of death as I attacked and retreated over the last week. 

My training continuing on with my skills, I was getting closer to my new fighting style as I practiced daily. And today was the day I was going to prove the tentacle beasts weren’t at the top of the food chain anymore. 

A new tentacle swiping at me I sped my time up again. The Weakness Eliminator I had gotten I used on my Time Lag. This eliminated the cooldown on using my ability. I was able to speed my time up more often, and practice it more. Still requiring a huge amount of energy I used it at strategic times as I sped up to dodge this way or that. 

The Cthulhu monster wised up as I got closer to the main body. Raising high up in the air I was dragged way over the thick fog. Sun leaking out I couldn’t help but look behind me. Hills far in the distance all around me, they were the top of the Cthulhu monster heads. Impossibly big, these things had been a pain in my ass for too long. 

Drawn back to my task at hand, I Fused 2 fingertips to the exterior rubbery skin of the monsters. Holding myself there so I wouldn’t fall, another tentacle swiped. I pulled my fingers out, unfusing instantly and latched on again. Chakra no longer needed to stick to things I began to run on all 4s up the beast. My fingertips sinking in near instantly. I popped them off as my other fingers sunk in farther up. 

For the first time ever I made it past the tentacles. Letting out a yell of joy I rested in the alcove where the tentacles transitioned into the bulbous head. The sun out, other monsters far off, I felt more alive than I could ever remember. Starting from scratch on the totem pole had really put it all into perspective. I was fucking amazing. 

Guilt-ridden for a few weeks after my run-in with Mikhail, I felt alive again. I felt like this was what I was meant to do. Challenge myself, grow stronger, adapt and react. I let out a sigh as I said, “Summon Tabi.” 

The cat appeared at my feet. “Finally make it?” She asked. 

I nodded, grabbing the scruff of her fur as I jumped 20 feet in the air and fused to the head of the beast. A tentacle hitting where I had been a moment ago, the body was knocked back by it’s own force. “Stop hitting yourself!” I yelled. 

“Quit playing,” Tabi said. 

I rolled my eyes, but cleared my mind at the same time. Letting my feelings leave me I became as tranquil as possible as I slipped into Kame Mode. My strength and stores of energy mostly restoring I stayed in the mode and Tabi began to absorb into me.

Her body morphing from the form of a cat into a blue flame she entered my chest. The blue flame engulfing my bloody and beat up armor. My body didn’t burn but chakra filled me. Like I was in a weak fire or dipped in a mild acid, my skin began to itch. Using my Timeflow to speed me up, I focused the chakra she was gifting me into my feet and began to run up the elliptical head of the monster. 

Empowered by her strength I didn’t hesitate. Pouring chakra into a ball I layered more and more in the sphere. An old friend to me, it was like riding a bike. The power was the paint, my attack was the brush. I threw as much as I could into the immensely condensed ball of power and sent the chakra into the beast. 

Like a cannonball the chakra hit into the Cthulhu’s head. The balloon-like head denting I pushed the chakra away harder and harder, but knew it wasn’t enough. I began pouring more chakra into another ball. Far more power this time I had an infinite amount to use, but my mind could only process so much. As my skin began to burn I threw the new ball forward. Farther away and more momentum in the attack this one stabbed into the side of the body. Blue blood gushed out and the original chakra ball sunk in. 

Both doing huge damage, my time caught up and I began to drop more quickly. The blue and black flames around me flickered and began to shoot away from me. Tabi forming a few feet away she began to grow as we separated. Still unable to hold our combined form for long we didn’t push it during the real thing test.

Latching onto her we dropped into the fog. She grew to the size of a horse, and despite the gravity she landed as light as a…cat. Bounding forward she ran us back to the monster as it began to screech in pain. Finding one of it’s tentacles Tabi jumped onto it and began to run us up it. The blue flames at her feet caused scorched marks wherever she touched the tentacle. 

Wind roaring in my hair I trusted her to take care of things for a moment. Slipping into Kame Mode again I wasn’t risking anything as our vertical climb became horizontal. 

“On you!” Tabi yelled as she began to shrink. I jumped off and used a huge Nen wave to blast the tentacle underneath me. The limb burst and blue goo shot out as I fused myself to the short end of the tentacle. The monster pulled the limb back toward it’s main body. Surprisingly it stumbled a little as it repositioned another couple of dozen tentacles. 

When it noticed us on it’s limb it began to slash other arms toward us, but then the second stage of my plan began. A new Cthulhu monster struck the now injured one. 

I had only seen it once, but the Cthulhu beasts preferred to eat one another for some reason. One had made the mistake of stepping on the Mother Eel before I killed her. She had electrocuted the tentacle beast, causing it to freeze up. It wasn’t long until the closest Cthulhu had come by and eaten it’s sibling or whatever. Almost ravenous as it consumed it’s twin I learned the easy way that the real way to win was to make them kill each other. 

It wasn’t like I wasn’t prepared to kill it on my own, but I kind of hoped to get double rewards for killing 2 at the same time. Making it entertaining for those that were watching my fight. At least that’s what I pictured the Moderator was doing.  

The Cthulhu Monster I was on was tripped. The new one had swiped half of it’s legs out from under it, causing us to fall a great distance. I climbed up the severed tentacle to get to the main body. My fingers dipping in slightly to Fuse and release. I made it up as the new monster towered over the one we were on. 

“Fuck they’re quick,” I said to Tabi. Any weakness in their enemies was enough for the Cthulhu monsters to give their all. I began climbing up the slowly deflating head of the monster we attacked. When I reached the top we were just over the top of the fog. Staring up at the salivating maw of the new beast it raised it’s biggest tentacle up and swung down. 

“Let’s go!” I yelled more to myself as I kept hold of the rubbery body. When the tentacle hit the body of the one I was on it felt like a tree 20 feet in diameter had hit the earth next to me. Able to feel the force of it try to throw me back, only with Timeflow was I able to be missed by it. As time began to speed up I reached out touching the tentacle that had struck the downed Cthulhu’s head. Fusing both together with a concentrated burst of strength. 

I sent my power out in a huge wave. Similar objects able to be fused much more easily. I was able to stick them together for about 10 feet. As the standing Cthulhu began to raise it’s arm, so did we. The head of the downed beast raising with it. I whooped and jumped off the head. 

Landing in the pile of root-like tentacles I moved to where one of the standing tentacles was stepping on the damaged Cthulhu. Fusing them together as well I ran through the forest of limbs and did fused more tentacles together. 

When I couldn’t find any more I watched and waited. Eventually the Cthulhu stopped trying to dislodge its arm from the head of the other and began to walk. As it did it tripped. Tentacles stuck together the beast teetered over and landed toward us. 

Tabi and I ran like hell out of it’s path. Practically flying out of the way as the monsters hit hard. A great boom sounding in the air. I began to run toward their heads. Finding the entangled beasts trying to gnaw at one another I threw in Nen blasts as I got closer. Both turning to focus on me for some reason their tentacles swiped for me, but they got in one another's way. 

I made it to them, narrowly escaping the mass of tentacles thanks to my Observation Haki. The monsters able to sense me somehow; their foul smelling maws ignored one another as they tried to move toward me. 

“They after me or you?” I asked, Tabi. 

“You,” she said and spit a huge wave of blue flame at them. The closest one hissing as she burned it, I focused my Nen into my pointer and middle finger. Glowing brightly I ran toward the one she was attacking. Jumping up I touched it’s skin and shot my Nen as far into it’s body as I could and sliced downward.

Blue blood poured out as it screeched, but it wasn’t dead. The other one starting to gnaw on it the cannibalistic monsters were going to take a while to kill. Shooting Sparks into the first one, recharging with Kame Mode I attacked again and again. Tentacles eventually finding us we played jump rope while sending in our attacks. Iit took hours to kill both of them. 

When we were finally finished I was covered from head to foot in blue blood. Tabi able to stay clean somehow, her fur glowed brightly as we stepped out of the mess. Beyond exhausted we walked along the long limbs until we were in the swamp again. I received my notification. 

I let out a sigh as a tentacle stomped a few yards from us. Both jumping, we felt more monsters on the way. Running away we made it out of there without much issue. An actual hill next to us I ran us to the top and was happy to see it took us above the fog. Watching as the balloon shaped heads of the Cthulhu monsters began to attack one another for the feast of 2 of their brethren, it was worth all the effort. 

“Thanks,” I said to Tabi. She purred from my shoulder. I moved my hand up to pet her but she hissed. 

“Don’t you dare,” she warned. I looked to my palm to see it was covered in blue blood. Chuckling, I pulled the hand back as a new quest appeared. 

“No freaking way,” I said, shaking my head. 

“What?” Tabi asked. 

“World Lasting Physique,” I said. “It finally appeared.” Since I couldn’t access the 3rd world in the Comic Hall, I was worried it wouldn’t appear. I guessed after enough quests in the world I would get it eventually. I brought up my status screen. 

It had been a long time on this planet. For some reason it was one of my better training arcs. Perhaps figuring it out on my own. Maybe pushing past limits again. Like starting a game over that you had already beaten. This was all strength I had received before in the Manga Hall, but it still felt new. My effort had paid off, and I was legitimately strong again. 

“Jeez,” I mumbled. “The more I think I know, the more new things pop up.” I didn’t think making my own skills had been a thing, but there it was. Adaptability was now a bonus on my status screen. Unsure how useful it could be, I still felt more than accomplished. 

“Any idea how to get off this rock?” I asked, Tabi.

“A few,” she said. “Rest up and we can start looking.” I nodded, tired and ready for another nap as the monsters fought and ate one another. 

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