And just like that, large amounts of ground energy began converting into solar energy.
He controlled as much as his crux would allow him before sapping it from the ground, right into his crux.
He quickly noticed that the toll he felt from using Kumulipo spells was very different from that of the normal crux. Where the normal crux felt like it was melting his brain if he strained too much, this instead felt like his mind was being frozen.
In fact, what he was feeling couldn't even be called mental strain. It felt freeing, like his burdens were being chilled away, leaving an ice-cool breeze within his mind.
It had been a long while since he felt this good.
"Look," Avankor whispered grimly, staring toward the piece of land Lucius had absorbed energy from. it had been reduced to a grey state, its once vibrant textures now dull and lifeless.
~This isn't surprsing,~ Lucius thought to himself. This just proved that this world's physics followed the laws of conservation of energy.
~I could probably fix this with solar cleanse,~ he thought to himself. With the amount of energy he had absorbed from the ground, his crux was filled to the brim. Even though it was still basically the size of a pinhead.
Strangely, the moment he attempted to switch back to his original crux, he felt an extreme heat run up his body.
It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, and he knew that if he continued he would be consumed by the hot white pain.
He quickly stopped the attempt, just as it was about to completely consume him. ~Of course it won't let me use both in quick succession,~ he thought to himself. If that were possible, there was no doubt that he would be among the top 5 strongest beings in the forest.
The ability to absorb energy nearly infinitely, whilst cooling off the mental strain from using solar crux spells. He would effectively be an infinite, unyielding machine... infinitely attacking, infinitely healing.
~I can only dream now,~ he thought to himself in disappointment. ~But still, at level 100 I unlock the ability to have a second crux. Perhaps instead of the radiant index, I'll opt for this one.~
Though this was something he still had a lot of time to think about.
"I'll fix this later, have you guys rested?" he asked.
He was met with silence, as the chief and Avankor were still staring at his crux as if it were a ghost.
"We have to get moving," he said whilst snapping his fingers before deciding to recall his crux. As it joined his body, he felt an odd satiation, as if he had just feasted at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"Ah-yes, you're right," Avankor replied, still in a sort of daze.
"Good. We'll be approaching one of the golems to the south. They're currently far away from all the other golems, so if things go to shit, we can attempt to take it down," Lucius explained, before pointing in the direction of what he was calling south.
Of course, the directions he was using were made on the assumption that this world's sun rose in the east and set in the west. Though even then, he doubted that it was the case.
He had instructed the group to approach slowly and silently, encouraging them to use the vegetation to their advantage. However, he came to learn that these guys were no novices at hunting tactics.
The chief camouflaged himself, only his outlines causing slight distortions around him. Avankor on the other hand, got into an odd prone-crawling stance, keeping his tail on the ground, which reminded Lucius how similar the former's race was to Earthen salamanders
Once they got close to the creature, Lucius whispered for them to stay behind while he attempted communication..
The golem in question was currently munching down on a pile of fruits it had collected. It was slightly smaller than Cregnog in build, and though it was just an observation, its eyes seemed to hold less intelligence than that of Cregnog's.
"Hello there," Lucius called out almost awkwardly.
The golem abruptly stopped what it was doing before looking around. Once it noticed Lucius atop one of the trees, it quickly stood up, towering to just around 6 meters tall.
"Do you happen to know anyone called Cregn-" Lucius was bout to ask before a loud roar interrupted him. The smell of rotting fruit caused him to gag, as the golem's foul breath lashed at his face.
*
"Puny creature!" the golem shouted, before swinging at the tree and smashing off the branch that the puny creature had been standing on. The golem looked at the debris, searching for the squashed remains of its prey, however, it was surprised to find that its prey was now nestled atop another branch.
"I'd like for you to reconsider," its prey said next. Gevrot did not like the way the puny creature spoke. It spoke words Gevrot could not understand, and so it decided to swing at the tree again, destroying yet another branch.
"If you aren't willing to communicate, I'll leave you alone. Sorry for bothering you," the puny creature called out from higher up the tree.
Gevrot did not understand what kind of trickery the creature was using to move so fast. Neither could it understand the complex words that came out of the creature's mouth. However, Gevrot was certain of one thing, the creature thought it could run away after Gevrot had already decided to eat it.
"Puny creature, die!" Gevrot shouted, before clapping its hands like its tribesmen had taught him. Red energy defused from its hands, before sending out a powerful shockwave that knocked over every tree in a 5-meter radius around it. The large crater at the center made it seem as if a small asteroid had crashed into the forest.
Gevrot was certain that this would be enough to kill that pesky creature. Even the ugly, rotting beasts that sometimes attacked Gevrot fell to this attack.
