98 Purple Mana-core Hunting (1/2)

Ed flipped through the guidebook and studied a crude map. The settlement was right next to the hole, which according to the map was the only entrance and exit. The settlement stretched west and east all the way to the natural cavern walls, making it relatively easy to defend against mutants. To the north were a series of tunnels that twisted, turned, and intersected with each other. They stretched for many kilometers and led to many other large caverns. It was essentially a maze of death.

With nothing holding him back, Ed immediately set off for the northern tunnels. The shacks grew sparser as he continued north, eventually being replaced by crude forts and towers which were used to guard the settlement against the mutants. It was only 15 minutes before he reached his destination.

”Hunting group of 20! We need 3 more members before we set out! Experienced hunters only!” A fat white man yelled.

”Elite 10-man squad. We need 2 more to leave!” A short black man advertised.

Ed rose his eyebrows in surprise. This place was even more lively than the settlement. There had to be at least a thousand people here. They formed different groups and had to actively recruit members despite most of them already belonging to race gangs. There were even a few groups with mixed members that clearly disliked each other but set aside their differences to hunt together. 'How strong are the purple mutants that it even forces people that hate each other to work together?' He wondered.

As Ed walked through the crowds, the groups actively turned their eyes away from him. No one wanted to recruit a newbie into their group. Even more importantly, they didn't want to recruit a cripple! He calmly walked past all of them, entering the nearest tunnel. Laughter echoed behind him as he went, the men scoffing at the idea of a new cripple entering the maze alone.

'This place would actually be quite nice if it wasn't for all the purple smoke.' He thought as he walked along a winding purple river of lava. The purple smoke coming from it never ceased, causing a stinging sensation over his whole body. However, he was slowly growing used to it. 'I wonder if the smoke is related to the stronger than normal bodies down here?'

After walking for nearly an hour, he exited the first tunnel and entered a large cavern. The purple lakes of lava lit up the cavern, revealing a bare empty land. There wasn't a single mutant from what he could see, but there was a small group of four Latino men. They stood defensively next to a lake, their bodies stiff and their breathing rough. It was as if they were preparing for the fight of their lives.

Ed walked over and glanced at the lake curiously. The men still hadn't noticed him at all. ”Yo!” He waved towards them.

The startled men shouted as they immediately jumped to the left and right, turning around to face the newcomer.

”AGHHH!!!” One of the men screamed as a purple tentacle exited the lava and pulled him in.

”Fuck!” A man with a handlebar mustache yelled. He eyed the other two men and they all nodded to each other. They instantly moved back from the lake, retaking their defensive positions next to Ed.

”Hmm?” Ed smiled towards them, not feeling afraid at all. This was another group of weaklings. They likely only had weapons due to joining a race gang. They were clearly inexperienced at dealing with purple mutants.

”Listen up, Pasty.” The mustached man frowned. ”There's a mutant in that lake, and it's already taken six of our men. Each time we retreat or lose focus, it renews its attack. If you even think of running away, we'll push you down and fall back further.”

”Isn't it kind of early in the caverns to already run into mutants?” Ed questioned.

”Of course not!” The man yelled. ”Don't you know anything?! All the underground rivers and lakes are connected. Shit! We've really got dog shit luck today!”

'Hmm...' Ed watched silently for several minutes, prepared to defend himself against the men if needed. However, he quickly grew bored. 'I don't think this is the first mutant I want to fight. It looks way too weak. Otherwise, why would it stay hidden within the lava?' He shook his head and waved towards the men. ”I'm leaving. Standing here like a statue isn't going to accomplish anything.”

”I don't think so!” The mustached man pointed a spear towards him. The other two men lifted a spear and a sword as they encircled Ed.

Ed's eyes glazed over from his lack of interest. He walked straight towards the mustached man and grabbed the spear, yanking backwards as he did so.

The man grunted as he struggled to hold on, causing him to fall to the floor. Several purple tentacles snaked out of the water, shooting towards their group!

”NO! NO! NO!” The mustached man screamed in horror as a tentacle wrapped around both his legs and pulled him backwards. He clawed desperately at the ground as he went.

Tentacles shot towards the other two men as well. The spearman tried to block, but the tentacle easily wrapped around him and pulled him backwards. Surprisingly, the swordsman managed to hack at a tentacle and chop off the tip, allowing him to survive as he fell back.

”Ah, it'll be annoying if you escape and tattle on me.” Ed frowned as he stepped forward. He lifted his foot up and lazily pushed it towards the man's chest.

”DIE!” The man's eyes turned red as he rose his sword high and chopped downwards. However, Ed's foot connected first, sending the man shooting backwards like a cannonball. He splashed into the lava lake and struggled to swim out. It was only a brief moment before more tentacles pulled him under, causing him to disappear forever.

'I don't get it.' Ed sighed while he crouched down and picked up the dropped sword of the man. It was mostly black with slight traces of purple. 'Seems to be a pretty crude way of melting manullium into iron. Do they not have ordinary fire down here?'

Suddenly, two red eyes popped out from the lava lake. A jellyfish-like body with over a dozen tentacles surrounding it appeared. The tentacles waved menacingly in the air, as if they were dancing in celebration of the slaughter that had just occurred.

Ed rested his head on his fist while still crouching and lazily staring at the mutant. 'Are the rumors about the purple mutants exaggerated? I guess I can be considered pretty strong within the esper circles by now... but there were plenty of espers just as physically strong as me in the encampment... Whatever, I guess I'll just kill it since it finally came out of hiding.' He stood up and began walking towards the mutant.

The octopus-like creature screeched as it swam to the edge of the lake, its courage growing bolder in the face of a single opponent. It had already killed ten of these weak espers, and it thirsted for more. They were unlike the prey it usually fed on, which had tough bodies and revolting taste. The espers were tender and juicy, as if they had come from another world. It shot three tentacles towards the remaining human.

Ed swung his sword at the first tentacle, managing to sever it as he jumped backwards. 'Things are such a pain in the ass with one arm.' He sighed. 'Maybe I'll make four arms in the future. I have a tendency of losing them.' He glanced down at the sword and opted to abandon it. He hurled it forward like a throwing knife, sending it spinning through the air. It landed dead center on the mutant's head, causing purplish blood to spray out.