Chapter 15:

Having done the first of his chores, Cort left for the forest once more. This time, he only brought along his weapons.

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Despite the relatively calm appearance of Phentar’s forest, it was in fact still an extremely dangerous place. One step into the wrong territory could bring you face to face with certain death. If one wanted to traverse it in relative safety they would have to memorize the general layout.

Luckily the animals within Phentar were not very complex in nature. Generally consisting of critters typically indigenous to forests in Cort's own world, Phentar’s woods was populated by wolves, bears, foxes, deer, and other mammals. Add onto that the various birds and, to a lesser amount lizards, and you’d have the typical forest environment.

That was fine and all, but what interested Cort more was the role magic had in this ecosystem.

Magic, or Origin, was a wondrous form of energy that seemed to have the odd effect of enhancing certain attributes in beasts. Whether it was in terms of speed, strength, or even defense, Origin elevated the animals of Himmel to unbelievable degrees. If even the weakest of the magically enhanced animals made its way to Earth, it would be worshiped as a god. And it wasn’t only the physical attributes that were enhanced, even the animals’ intelligence was clearly abnormal.

‘But luckily for me, it’s not just them that get to reap the benefits.’ He thought as he squeezed his fist-shaped hand.

He did not notice it the first few days, but slowly, he began to realize the changes occurring in his body. Like dry land when given water, his body sucked in Origin in large amounts, and as a result, his strength grew. Although the increase was barely noticeable, he could still feel it clearly.

Cort longed for the day when his wounds would fully heal, so that he may test his newfound power. But now was not the time.

He stopped moving as he noticed movement up ahead. Quickly hiding in the nearby bushes, he steadied his breath and attempted to reduce his presence.

Tentatively parting the plants, an animal made its way through the forest. It looked like a deer, but unlike their normal appearance, this deer was completely white in color. That coupled with its crystal-like antlers, gave the deer an almost holy appearance.

This was another example of how oddly Origin affected animals, where others got to experience an increase in physical ability that directly aided in survival, this deer seemed to evolve oppositely. Its fur was soft and silky, its antlers looked crystalline and were probably brittle to the touch, and its round pure eyes radiated innocence and gentleness. A savage beast this deer was not.

Creatively named snow deer, this seemingly unremarkable animal was now before Cort as it munched on some plants. However, if that was all there was to this animal, no one would have paid it any mind, least of all Cort. It was when people discovered how comfortable its fur was, or how pretty the jewels made from its antlers were, or even how tasty the flavor of its meat that the deer turned from waste to treasure.

Thus the deer was viciously hunted, but despite their constant efforts, humanity never had its fill, partly due to the inherent greed laying not so dormant within, and partly due to another, more fascinating reason. Nature is balanced. Nature has to be balanced. The weak, without the aid of any special characteristic, are meant to die. How then does a seemingly useless deer flutter its way through such a sanguine lifestyle?

The answer quite simply was coerced cooperation.

Cort let loose his taut bow as an arrow screeched its way towards the seemingly unsuspecting deer. And just as the arrow was soon to seal the creature’s fate, A long scaly tail intercepted the arrow's trajectory. The sound of metal hitting metal rang out within the forest followed by the loud, and slow trudging of what seemed like a massive beast.

From where the tail emerged among the bushes a large head appeared.

Cort stared the massive turtle in the eyes, no longer fazed by the oddness of the situations he was placed in.

The dark green turtle was nearly eight feet tall taking into account its shell and the overall length of its shell was around fifteen meters.

This mammoth of a being was now regarding Cort with cold, lazy eyes. He could feel the contempt coming from it.

The deer watched the interaction with an innocent expression while chewing on some grass.

Cort stood from his hiding place among the shrubs. As he rehung his bow.

The two stood still for a moment as each studied the other.

Valiantly, Cort puffed his chest before turning around and fleeing.

Contrary to the usually slow image of a turtle, this beast chased after the human with eerie speed.

During his run, Cort studied the turtle. Its shell was large and nigh impenetrable and its stumpy legs left deep and heavy footmarks with every step yet despite its weight and stature, it moved with unnatural haste. It looked like its main means of attack was its agile whip-like tail that was around the same length of its shell, though judging by the thing’s jaw muscles it also seemed to pack one hell of a bite.

In regards to its speed, the turtle was about half as fast as Cort in his peak, which was incredibly impressive.

Breaking down the fight, it was obvious the turtle outmatched him in nearly every physical aspect. He knew he had no way of breaking through the turtle’s shell. Even with his handguns, he doubted their ability to pierce it, which leaves him with few choices in combat. But for now, the simplest method was best.

Turning around while equipping his bow and nocking back an arrow in one fluid motion, he aimed towards the beast’s left eye.

Once again the arrow was blocked by the thing’s tail as Cort clicked his tongue. Moving slightly to the side, he dodged the whip of a tale which continued moving even after blocking the arrow. The attack deeply gouged the ground beneath them, but neither minded.

Thinking quickly, he dashed towards the beast while dodging the tail’s attacks. Readied arrow at hand he fired once more directly after another of the beast’s failed attacks. The tail was too far from the head to block, so Cort thought he had a chance at success. But he was proven wrong by the turtle’s following actions. Rapidly retracting its head back into its shell while shifting itself forward, the turtle evaded the arrow which struck the shell barely leaving a scratch.

Cort lifted his eyebrows in slight surprise at the sight of this, but soon panic overtook him as he dodged away. The turtle’s massive figure lunged forward towards the ground he once stood upon. The shell struck the earth with force so great, a miniature earthquake erupted. Struggling to regain his footing, Cort’s vision suddenly heightened as time slowed.

‘Danger’ He thought to himself as he shifted his gaze to his side.

The tail came barreling towards him, leaving disrupted air in its wake.

Bending his back as far as he could, he barely dodged the sneak attack.

Withdrawing completely, he hurriedly took several steps back. By this point, the turtle had managed to dislodge its shell from the ground.

Cort regarded the creature with more caution, he had come so close to death many times during that encounter, and his opponent was a fucking turtle.

“This is going to be bothersome.” He muttered as he once more charged towards the beast.

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Few minutes passed as man and beast traded blows.

The beast’s appearance was unchanged save for a few scratches around its neck and head.

As for Cort, he was now slightly panting as he once again stood facing the beast. But unlike his troubled appearance, his eyes were calm as a calm smirk surfaced on his face.

“Got you.” He muttered before running towards the turtle.

Once again he nimbly made his way through a barrage of high-velocity tail whips before aiming his arrow towards the thing’s eyes. The turtle once again ducked its head within its shell and shifted its body forward.

Already familiar with this routine, Cort jumped to the side to avoid the turtle’s charge while he simultaneously unsheathed his sword.

Just as the monster’s head reappeared from its shell Cort slashed forward with his sword while dodging another tail strike.

Oddly enough the attack wasn’t aimed at the beast’s head but rather the ground under it. Thinking that its opponent had missed, the turtle’s retracting head once again sprung up as it opened its mouth for a bite.

But the bite would never happen. Cort slashed the earth deeply before thrusting his sword upwards, the blade did not touch the beast but that was never his intention.

The dirt he unearthed from the attack was launched upward with his thrust and it made its way towards the thing’s eyes. As the soil made contact with its eyes, the turtle growled in irritation and it continued its attack with closed eyes. However when its bite made contact with nothing but air the beast grew confused, then angry. Opening its eyes the turtle searched for the human but could not see him.

Hearing the faint rustling of trees, it reflexively looked upwards only to be met with the cold shimmer of a descending blade. In a panic the turtle tried to hide its head within its shell, but alas he was too slow.

Instead of the eyes, Cort aimed for the beast’s neck hoping it wouldn’t be too difficult to pierce. His luck was good and he managed to pierce the beast’s flesh with minor difficulty. Summoning his remaining strength, he thrust the blade deeper into the monster's flesh. Blood gushed like a fountain as the monster howled in pain.

Cort knew his time was limited and as the world slowed down in his eyes, he could see a frenzied tail make its way towards him. Having no time to breathe he let go of the sword as he knew the tail was as hard as the thing’s shell and attacking it would be a futile task.

After barely dodging the attack he landed back on the ground before readying his bow.

Despite its frantic state, the turtle did not forget about the fight and it refocused on the human.

And as the arrow once again made its way towards its eyes, the beast reflexively attempted to retract its head, only to be met with searing pain. The lodged sword prevented the turtle from retracting to its shell. It howled in pain as it began to flail its tail wildly in every direction. The beasts frantic movements were enough to stop the first arrow but not the second.

As if possessed by a spirit the second arrow miraculously made its way past the frenzied tail and it pierced through the beast’s eye.

Losing any semblance of reason it had left, the turtle grew desperate and began to retreat while wildly flailing its tail about.

Cort remained calm as he allowed the beast to escape. Cort himself withdrew into the leaves of a nearby tree, disappearing from sight.

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The turtle managed to calm itself as it made its way back. Though despite the calm facade, the turtle knew the truth, it was approaching death. Behind it, a thick trail of blood shimmered with the moonlight. The source of the blood, its wound, was still pumping out large quantities of the liquid.

Yes, its death was near, but before that, it had a mission.

As it neared its destination the turtle’s footsteps grew weaker but through sheer will, it persevered. Finally, it reached its goal.

A distance away from it, the deer was happily munching on some leaves without a care in the world.

Happy at the sight of its friend, the turtle’s weakened gait regained some strength as it made its way towards its friend.

Even in its dying moments, the turtle had one goal in mind, protecting its lifelong friend.

From its birth, it was strong, so strong in fact it did not need a mother. And so from the moment it could walk it was abandoned by her. Afterward, the turtle lived a life filled with battle and with each consecutive win, it grew lonelier. Soon enough its territory was filled with nothing but corpses.

Then on one fated day, a hapless helpless baby deer made its way towards its land.

At first, the turtle thought it was another threat and readied itself for battle. But upon seeing the baby deer’s harmless appearance, it couldn’t bring itself to kill it.

And so their tale began, the turtle and his only friend. The two looked nothing alike yet they stuck to each other like glue. For once in its life, the turtle was not alone and all was good.

Unfortunately, good things come to an end.

The turtle was blinded on the left side, and it was on this side that Cort hid a distance away.

Just as the turtle appeared before the deer, a blur appeared beside the former.

The turtle saw nothing but felt the weight on its neck, and before it could react it was beheaded.

Cort dismounted form the beast, bloodied sword at hand.

After a few moments of staring at the stiffening corpse, he turned towards the deer.

Survival was the most important goal to any animal. Above all else, it is the protection of oneself that was the fundamental drive behind everything.

Yet in its dying moments, it was not itself that the turtle thought about, but rather this deer. Why was that? Was it some form of deep friendship forged through years of battle? Bullshit.

The answer was of a more nefarious kind. How does an animal designed merely to be the ultimate pray survive?

You see, where the deer lacked in physical strength it made do with something else, charm. The deer would seek animals in a fragile state of mind and exploit them for its benefit. Through the use of a unique kind of magic, it made itself appear more appealing.

Worse yet, the longer one would stay around the deer, the deeper entrenched they would become. Through the promise of love, companionship or even something as simple as friendship the deer ensured its survival.

However, a question does come to mind, in the case where its protected met an untimely end what would the deer do?

Cort thought of this as he reached a hand out towards the deer.

The deer obediently made its way to him and began to lick his hand. Cort could feel the effects of the deer’s magic, he found himself caring for the deer’s safety. Such a cute deer, such a helpless, hapless fool.

Survival was, is, and will always be everything.

Cort killed the deer.