A Big Eater

We were all surprised by the fact that Rex was able to move much faster than any of us. That difference in speed only increased once we started to reach the city proper and the debris covering the streets became an issue for us. He didn't have the issue. He could just jump from rock to rock, lifting a few stones to give him a better platform to reach a new spot, and just kept going without even thinking twice. And in the end, we did the exact same thing. We started jumping from one piece of debris to the next, just moving as fast as possible towards the giant Eater.

Now that we were approaching, we caught some glimpses of its form. And while there was no unique feature on its legs, or something that could make it look like a very specialized type of Eater, the size was still something to consider. It should have around 4 meters [13.1 ft] in height. And that was considering the distance between the ground and the tentacles that were flocked on top of its body. If we were going to count the ones stretching, that size could easily double. But there were also fewer tentacles from the top of it. At least less big ones. There were only two massive tentacles that seemed to follow its size coming from above, and the rest were smaller ones. Much like the ones we would see in any regular Eater.

The monster made my heart pound in my chest. This wasn't the first time I was going to face against an Eater. It wasn't the first battle against one of those creatures. Hell, the first time I truly fought, one of them was before I even had the System. This magical power that was able to make me perform impossible tasks.

But I never actually chased after them.

Our fights were always a reaction to them chasing me. This was the first time I was going to be on the offensive. I was the one rushing towards one of those creatures, wanting to destroy it.

As we approached, I was finally able to check the information of the monster with the System.

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Big Eater - Tier Two

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The name almost made me chuckle. Almost. Instead of having Dire or Giant, it was just Big Eater. Tier Two. As if it was one of the simpler kinds of monsters. But the situation didn't amount to humor. Around it, there were dozens of Rodenti skittering and trying to stop it. Some looked young, others older. But none of them looked particularly like a seasoned warrior. Rather, this looked like just the locals that lived in the area and they were doing everything they could to stop the beast from approaching.

It was pretty obvious that things were dire, as the Rodenti attacking were mostly Tier One. With a few even at Tier Zero. And even the strongest looking ones were not to the point of being saturated.

We didn't wait any longer to interfere. The first thing that any of us did was rush in the direction of the monster. Rex was already throwing a few boulders at the creature, but they seemed to do barely anything against it. Then again, he was only Tier One. He was saturated, yes, and we had learned that he was level 19. But we all got the sense that things really shifted once you reached Tier Two.

The difference from Tier Zero to Tier One wasn't that stark. It was there, of course, but in hindsight, it felt more like a small gap. A large step you had to climb over. But from Tier One to Tier Two, that step became a chasm. It was like someone was trying to jump from one side of the street to another.

Doable, sure, but still something that took a lot of effort. Which meant that from Tier Two to Three, the difference should be even more. Maybe something that would amount to the effort of jumping over an entire house. Meaning that from Tier Three to Four, that chasm might actually be starting to compare to natural formations. The types that would make anyone freeze when thinking about jumping over them.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I focused on the task at hand. Fighting against this Giant Eater. I quickly activated {Elemental Imbuement}, letting some water cover my staff. The element itself wasn't as important as the effect that could come from {As I Flow So Does The Current}. After all, combined with that one ability, it made me almost twice more powerful. At least when I was half covered in water.

Michael quickly fired several arrows using {Loom's Volley} at the beast in hopes of hindering its movements. But each projectile only bounced off its skin harmlessly. Even the power of a Tier Two skill wasn't enough to pierce the monster. Astrid walked closer to one of the legs and triggered {Emerging Glacier}, sending that wave of ice crashing underneath the Eater.

The attack was not only enough to mess with its footing but also to damage it somewhat. A few of the shards of ice were able to pierce and penetrate the large leg. Not so much due to the power of the attack, but the weight behind the Eater's movement.

Even then, the monster didn't stop. It continued moving forward while some of the tentacles lashed out at the new attackers. I also joined the fight, not really using any of my skills, just making sure that my attacks would spread water all over it. A few moments later, I shouted for all my companions to hear.

"Back!"

We all jumped away, letting Riley use a spell. The one that was supposed to be something important for her old master. A small lightning burst called Thundering Burst. Or at least that was the best translation they could come up with for that spell. Even then, the attack was only enough to cause the monster to have a quick spasm before it continued moving. Although with that attack, we were finally able to change its target. It was no longer heading forward into the city. But now it was moving towards us, the newcomers that started attacking it.

More of the tentacles lashed out, trying to grab at us. But despite its size, or due to its size, they were too slow to catch us. Everybody, even Riley and Rex, were more than able to move fast enough away to avoid the incoming attack. The initial attack came in a wide arc that everybody managed to dodge. Either by ducking, jumping over it, or just moving far away enough in Michael's case. But the second came right after, causing us to have to scramble quickly to not be caught by the incoming blow.

We tried to approach it again, but the monster sped up its response. Instead of hanging back to hit us with the bigger tentacles, it used the smaller ones in order to attack. This was quickly starting to become a problem. Michael was using {Splintering Shot} in hopes of making the sharp projectiles do something on the creature, or covering the rest of us, but once more to no avail. It seemed like the fact that this was a Tier Two Eater was playing a big part in how it was able to defend against our attacks.

The other Rodenti were not helping anymore. They seemed to be scared of us or realizing that their help might not be beneficial in any way. The only good point of this situation was the fact that the Tier Two Eater didn't seem to be able to do more than just use its body. Maybe all of its skills were focused on turning it this big.

With another attempt, I jumped using {Formless Swipe - Emperor} while the empowered elemental effect was still wrapped around my weapon. I slammed my staff over and over, hitting the creature in several spots and letting the water spread. It wasn't enough to make it completely soaked, but it was getting more moist with each of the impacts. Thankfully, getting close to it was going to be a good idea. Instead of having to worry about the larger tentacles, we only had to pay attention to the smaller ones, and most of them were not long enough to reach me on the ground. Unless I was jumping, in that case, the tentacles would try to lash out at me. Even then, they were not as strong as I was expecting, and it was easy to push them away once I was attacked.

I went around the Eater like a roach trying to escape a shoe. Once I cleared the beast from the other side, I turned to my companions to see what they were doing. Michael had given up on trying to damage the monster and was now using his arrows as a way to push back against the tentacles, slowing them down enough just to allow the others to escape its grasps. Riley kept weaving different spells to attack, but it was pretty obvious they didn't have a way to do a significant amount of damage. Astrid, on the other hand, was following me much closer.

Once I finished covering the monster with water, she swung her axe on the creature, activating {Frosted Swarm}. Thousands of tiny spider-like shards of ice appeared, starting to crawl all over the Eater, focusing mostly on one of its small groups of tentacles. The spiders were able to reach the main body and continued to spread in all directions. The Eater tried to push forward, but its leg buckled, causing it to collapse onto the ground.

I shouted, and Riley quickly jumped towards me.

"Take me to its mouth."

"What?"

"Take me to its mouth. I have an idea."

"What are you talking about?" I still didn't get why they were asking that.

"Can you take me there and then jump away without being caught? If so, take me near its mouth," Riley pressed.

It was a bit of a tough call. There were countless tentacles whirling in there, but they also seemed to be as weak as the ones that were flailing on the bottom. I turned back to Riley, who had a confident expression, and shook my head.

"Maybe. But I'm not entirely sure."

Riley nodded, "That's fine. I trust you."

"That makes one of us. What are you trying to do?"

"My big skill," they replied.

It took me a moment to realize what they were talking about, but I understood. The one skill that came from that creature. Turning to Riley once again, I just said, "This is a really bad idea."

Before they could say anything, I took them in a princess carry, leaving my staff behind attached to one of the pieces of rock on the ground, and started jumping all over the area. Despite the place being worked on, there were not that many large structures. A couple, yes, and a couple that seemed to be old ships. Massive ships that ended up ramming into the beach and were now being used as houses by those who lived nearby.

Climbing one of the ships, I, along with Riley, reached a spot that was tall enough. Making sure that jumping towards the Eater was a certain thing and catching them in my arms, I did just that. I jumped over the bow of the ship and into the very center of the Eater's body. The moment I did so, the tentacles reacted. The smaller ones snapped in our direction, and trying to capture us in any way they could. But I wasn't about to let them. Kicking and pushing the tentacles away, I waited as Riley prepared that big skill.

They didn't rush it. Even if there was a way for it to be instantly activated, but doing so would result in a less optimal version of it. As the skill would just spread wildly. And if they were to stop and actually think about things, the skill could be directed or controlled to grasp a specific area. As long as it hit the constraints of the skill itself.

I kept jumping and kicking the tentacles away, and I could hear Riley cursing under their breath now and then as the movement made them lose track of what they were doing. But there wasn't much of a choice, as just leaving the tentacles to grab us would only result in our doom. But Riley wasn't playing around either. They were doing their best to speed up the process.

In less than a minute after we were on top of the Eater, they tapped my shoulder and said, "Let's get out."

I couldn't really understand why we were supposed to go if nothing had happened really, but I wasn't about to argue with them. With them still in my arms, I jumped away, hoping to get out of there. And just as my feet were about to leave the Eater, an explosion of silk unraveled around us. This was the skill {Thousand-Loom Dominion} that Riley had, and it was pretty obvious this was very powerful. As the moment the threads unraveled, they quickly snapped the tentacles, forcing them to be stuck to the Eater's body. As a matter of fact, most of the Eater's body followed that pattern. And the grasp wasn't gentle in any way. It was violent, making the tentacles crash into the body even to the point of breaking parts of the shell.

If that wasn't enough, the threads of silk started to lash out, hitting everything that was around them. When Riley activated the skill, the silk came out of them, covering a considerably wide area. That wasn't affecting just the monster, but also the surrounding buildings. But even then, everything was attached, connected to each other.

However, once I pulled Riley away, the threads of silk seemed to have lost their guidance. They were no longer just attacking our enemies, but everything. From the Eater itself to the walls to the surrounding houses. If we were in a place with more people, I was sure that everybody was going to get hurt by that. But by the time we landed back on the ground, there was enough damage caused by those threads on the Eater that it had fallen. Large pieces of the rubble piercing its massive body as not even the monster's own shell was able to survive under its own weight. And now it was being attacked by Astrid once more, who swung her weapon a couple of times, finishing up the creature.

We all felt a wave of particles rushing into us, confirming that the monster was dead. And with a sigh, everybody looked around to gather their bearings. But instead of a group of happy and excited people, safe at last, we were met with hostility. As more Rodenti had appeared, we realized that they looked even more hagerd than the first batch. And instead of being thankful for us helping them, they were angry, upset about something. And that something seemed to be us. Which meant that despite having just saved a bunch of Rodenti, we might still have to fight even more of them for some reason that I couldn't truly wrap my head around.