Chapter 57
Expert tracker
The whipping wind died, with the speed of his pumping legs, as he came to a stop.
A smile slowly ran from his face.
He felt the heavy turning of his MOSTLY full Core.
"Damn, I've been wasteful," he muttered to the silent woods.
The Momentum pumping through his limbs retreated, going home, flowing and compressing.
Once again, it felt full to bursting.
Thin streams of silver power flung off from the rotating, regenerating Core.
He focused, pulling, collecting, and cultivating the minute scraps.
The streams slammed home at speed, joining their brothers in their chaotic flowing dance.
Each pulse of energy sent a tremor through his sternum, a reminder that his ever so precious flesh and bone was the only thing containing the expanding pressure of his Core.
His calves and tendons ached, the chi no longer feeding them a constant stream of power.
He shrugged.
Momentum can’t be stopped.
“Must. Get. Bigger. Ball!"
At least the careless use of his precious resource had paid off.
Ken had swiftly made it to the scene of the Epic Bear Battle.
He studied the historic battleground.
He noted the ripped up sod.
Analyzed the bent grass blades.
Examined the broken trees.
Sniffed the air.
Good thing there's that obvious trail it made because none of that shit was useful.
He walked the Yellow Bush Road, a winding path of uprooted shrubbery, slashed trees, and knocked over saplings.
The scenery changed from hefty maples and oaks to areas of sparse, ancient pines and heavy granite formations over the course of a couple miles.
His new muscle flexed, bounding over rough rocks and fissures crumbling away into darkness.
I feel like a billy goat..
I could eat some billy goat right now..
I've never actually eaten a billy goat..
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Finally, he found signs of flattened, deep impressions in the rocky earth.
Evidence of scraped stone.
Small dunes of finely pulverized rock swirled about in the wind.
It looks like something heavy walked here.
A lot.
He canvased the area, following any clues he came across, until he caught a pocket of deep shadow out of his peripheral vision.
He approached the oval shaped void carefully, some odd feeling putting him on edge.
The opening had old scars slashed into the edge, like it was forcibly widened.
Sharp edges had since been worn smooth.
Like coarse fur rubbed passed it, over and over.
He shivered.
Skin prickled as he felt the cool, dense, stale air.
A heavy, unseen hand pressing against his chest.
Tasting of minerals and something ancient—a predatory scent that made his legs coil like a spring, ready to bolt.
Hands twitched as the subcutaneous muscle fibers flooded with chi.
His heart and Momentum pounded in his ears as he jumped into the void.
The cave was empty.
He flicked sweat from his brow, shaking his head,
“Heh, scared of some strange hole are ya? Get your shit together.”
He still couldn't shake the odd feeling.
The air felt thick, heavy, and resonated with a constant, low, rhythmic vibration.
Ken’s eyes focused in the gloom, searching for the source of his unease.
There was a jagged wound in the back wall of the cave, stale air flowing from the heart of the mountain.
Shattered debris littered the threshold.
The pitch black tunnel twisted down, sharp edges stained, sticky and glistening.
Like a big fury something forced its way out.
“Trapped in a mountain.. I kind of feel bad for him now..”
In the center of the small cave, cool air flowed over the black crystalline stone, half embedded in the floor.
The grizzly's secret stash.
Smells like damp iron and ozone.
“So I'm afraid of a rock...”
He stared at the raw, faceted obsidian, slowly shaking his head.
“They were right, masculinity has fallen off.”
Ken swiftly approached and knelt, feeling the subtle vibration on the skin of his knee.
Grimacing, he tore his glare away from his torn pants, looking at the black mirrored surface.
Thousands of distorted Ken’s grimaced back, reflected in its countless faces.
With one last suspicious glare towards the tunnel, he placed his hands on its slick surface, and closed his eyes.
Chi revved up, testing the stone, trying to get a feel of it.
Hollow. Empty.
Memories of rage flashed– crushing weight, endless darkness.
“Fuck that bear. I’d kill him again if I could.”
He could only draw the barest trickle of energy from its surface.
“Alright, this confirms it, you can get chi from the environment.”
He looked to the obsidian shard,
“There are treasures, probably naturally formed.”
Head turned to the gaping hole in the wall, eyeing the tufts of fur stuck to the edges.
“And beasts can make use of them, becoming something… more.”
A plan began to take shape in the darkness.
Sudden realization brought him jumping to his feet.
“This will draw things in! What could be heading this way right now?…I wonder…”
He stopped his wonderings with a violent shake.
“Eh, who cares.”
Teeth shined in the darkness.
“I need more beast balls.”
