Triple X System

"How fast is this thing?" Kyle gritted his teeth, trailing at a steady pace behind the creature.

It had been over four minutes since he led the chase, but not once had he ever caught up to the Rootcrystal Deer, despite having over 200 stats in agility.

[Rootcrystal Deers are known mainly for their speed and evasive maneuvers in escaping predators.]

’Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious, oh wise sensei,’ Kyle sarcastically retorted, earning a light ’hmph!’ from Snow.

Approaching a much quieter part in the forest, Kyle noticed a strange effect he didn’t sense before. "It’s silent here."

From the pulse of the planet to the uneven flow of the black river, he had sensed all of them. Even the slightest movement within a 50-meter radius didn’t go undetected by him.

But now, there was nothing. No insectoid swarms chittering, no heartbeat, nothing.

Just pure and eerie silence that didn’t sit well with him.

[Stop!] Snow immediately shouted, a sudden realization dawning on her.

"What? Do you sense danger ahead?" Kyle hastily asked, halting in his movements.

[That’s the thing, I don’t sense anything at all,] Snow spoke in a derailed tone, further tensing things up. [The planet maintains a time interval of 5 seconds before each pulse. But it’s been over 2 minutes now since it stopped.]

She stated that, and that’s when Kyle realized an important piece of information he’d missed.

"This isn’t a chase." He frowned, eyes glowing a darker shade of red.

Pausing, Snow interpreted his words and quickly understood what he meant.

[’Of course, that explains why it didn’t attack you earlier. It was bringing you here, but why? It isn’t recorded that a Rootcrystal Deer exhibits signs of interaction,’] Snow inwardly pondered, making Kyle raise a brow.

’What do you mean attack? Didn’t you just state its high agility is used to escape?!’

[Yes, but when it feels threatened, the Red Crystal in its forehead lights up and can be used as a weapon.]

’So you’re saying this thing isn’t just fast but is also armed, and you somehow forgot to include that in your description.’

[Exactly. You’re catching on quite fast, student,] Snow nonchalantly replied.

Shaking his head, Kyle’s attention returned to the beast in front.

During the moment he pressed the brakes, the Rootcrystal Deer had simultaneously done the same. And it wasn’t a coincidence, or the presence of danger lurking. It was more of a mimic of Kyle, judging from how confidently the beast was maintaining eye contact.

"Why did you bring me here?" He sternly asked, demon eyes effect active.

Not responding, the deer didn’t budge. It was certainly unaffected by the effects of daze inflicted from the skill, which could only mean one thing.

’Its stats are higher than mine.’ There was no doubt about it.

The physique of the deer wasn’t anything eye-catching, but the characteristics it exhibited entailed this beast was far from ordinary.

"What are you and why did you bring me here?" Kyle pressed, still left without an answer.

’Inspect isn’t working on it, which confirms my theory there’s a higher power in play. Could it perhaps be one of Vladimir’s blood puppets?’

The quest tab was still very active at the corner of his view, but it didn’t provide any other details about what species or types of blood puppets he’s meant to get information on.

"Fine, have it your way." Turning, Kyle walked away, his mind made up.

Though the Rootcrystal Deer showed signs of intelligence, there wasn’t any trace of hostility coming from it. And Snow confirmed it wasn’t a blood puppet, but a live beast.

"Stop."

A single word whispered by the wind reached Kyle’s ear.

’It just spoke.’ A thrill of excitement ran down his throat with the new set of development.

"Demons don’t ask questions. Stay quiet and follow me."

The words didn’t just vibrate in the air; they echoed directly inside Kyle’s mind with an authoritative weight that made his blood simmer. A thick vein instantly bulged on his forehead, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists. The sheer arrogance of a mere beast talking down to him was enough to make his killing intent flare.

"What did you just say?" Kyle growled, his shadow elongation skill twitching under his feet, ready to bind the creature and rip it apart. His muscles tensed, shifting his weight forward to lunging position. He didn’t care if its stats were higher. No creature, living or dead, was going to order him around like a stray dog.

[Host, stop! Do not engage!] Snow’s voice cut through his rising anger, ringing sharply in his mind.

’Get out of my way, Snow. I’m going to turn this overblown venison into minced meat,’ Kyle retorted in his thoughts, his eyes burning a dangerous, dark crimson.

[Look at your back, Kyle! Have you forgotten about Elara?] Snow’s tone wasn’t its usual nonchalant or sarcastic self; it was dead serious. [She is still unconscious inside the Aegis-V suit strapped to you. If you enter a high-tier battle right now, the shockwaves alone could rupture her vital signs before the suit can compensate. You cannot afford a reckless fight.]

The reminder hit Kyle like a bucket of cold water. He stopped his forward momentum, the weight of the Aegis-V suit on his back suddenly feeling twice as heavy. Elara was relying on him. If he messed up here because of his pride, everything they had gone through to escape would be for nothing.

[Furthermore, look down. Right where the beast snorted,] Snow added, guiding his focus.

Kyle shifted his gaze to the patch of dirt right beneath the Rootcrystal Deer’s hooves. The creature let out a low snort, shaking its head in apparent disappointment at his outburst. As it did, a thick, crimson gas puffed from its nostrils, instantly etching a perfect, small circle into the dark soil.

The moment the red gas touched the earth, the ground began to violently vibrate. Kyle took a step back, his hand instinctively reaching behind him to steady Elara’s armored pod.

Before his eyes, the earth split open. Pale white roots broke through the soil, rapidly growing upward and thickening into trunks. Within seconds, a cluster of bizarre trees sprouted into existence. They were identical to the ones he had observed at the outermost edges of the forest—stark, pale white bark marred by unsettling black spots, topped with leaves that burned a unnatural, fiery red.

But these trees carried something new. Hanging heavily from the twisted white branches were fruits that looked superficially like blood-red apples. However, as Kyle’s vision zoomed in, he realized they weren’t stationary. The skin of the fruits rhythmically expanded and contracted. They were pulsing with life, beating like exposed, detached hearts in the eerie silence of the grove.

The sheer magical output required to forcefully accelerate the growth of such high-grade corrupted flora with a single breath was staggering.

[That gas contains heavily concentrated blood-essence mixed with planetary mana,] Snow analyzed, a screen flashing briefly in Kyle’s peripheral vision. [If you fight this creature here, it has the home-field advantage. It can turn the entire environment against you in an instant.]

Kyle swallowed hard, forcing his anger down into the depths of his chest. He exhaled a long breath, letting the demonic glow in his eyes fade just enough to signal a temporary truce. "Fine," he muttered aloud, though his tone remained sharp enough to cut glass.

Without waiting for another word, the Rootcrystal Deer turned its back to him, entirely unbothered by the threat he had posed just moments prior. It began to walk deeper into the silent zone, its hooves making absolutely no sound against the earth. Left with no better options and a ticking clock regarding Elara’s condition, Kyle followed, keeping a steady five-meter distance.

As they walked, the silence grew heavier, pressing against Kyle’s eardrums like deep-sea pressure. The pulse of the planet was still completely dead in this area, creating a vacuum of sensory data that made him hyper-aware of his own breathing and the soft hum of the Aegis-V suit on his back.

Ten minutes of silent trekking brought them to a massive clearing that left Kyle completely rooted to the spot.

Standing in the center of the clearing was a tree that could only be described as ancient. It completely dominated the landscape, dwarfing every other piece of flora in the forest. Kyle’s eyes traveled across its massive base. The bark alone spread out to a staggering width of 32 meters, its roots mapping out like giant, coiled wooden serpents frozen in the dirt. It towered into the dark sky at a height of 50 meters, its canopy blotting out whatever faint light remained.

Inscribed across the entire surface of the pale, spotted bark were glowing, intricate runes. They rippled with a faint, rhythmic magical frequency, acting like a barrier or a massive sealing array.

But the most striking feature was at the very center of the trunk. Embedded deep within the ancient wood was a giant, bright red crystal. It was a massive 24-meter display of crystallized power, pulsing in tandem with the blood-apples Kyle had seen earlier. The light it emitted bathed the entire clearing in a ominous, crimson hue.

Kyle stared at the crystal, feeling an intense pull from the blood-essence swirling inside it. He could feel his own internal energy reacting to it, a subtle hunger gnawing at his parasitic traits.

He closed his eyes for a split second, processing the scale of what he was looking at, before opening them to glare at the back of the deer.

"You had plenty of chances to kill me out there," Kyle said, his voice echoing off the massive trunk of the ancient tree. "With your speed and whatever power you just used to grow those trees, you could have ambushed me. Why didn’t you attack?"

The Rootcrystal Deer slowly turned around, its glowing eyes reflecting the crimson light of the giant central crystal. It looked at Kyle, then down at the mechanical suit strapped to his back, before looking back up into his eyes.

"Because you are not a threat," the creature replied calmly, its telepathic voice completely devoid of mockery. It was stating a simple, calculated fact. "At your current level, your demise would require minimal effort. Eliminating you would be a waste of resources."

Kyle’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t let the insult bait him this time. He took a step closer to the ancient root structure. "Then why bring me here? What do you want with me? If this is about Vladimir and his blood puppets, I don’t have time for riddles."

The deer stepped toward the massive 24-meter crystal display, the runes on the bark flaring slightly as it approached.

"Vladimir is merely a symptom of a much larger rot," the creature whispered, the wind picking up around the clearing, making the red leaves hiss above them. "I did not bring you here because of him. I brought you here because we share a common alignment. A necessity."

"A necessity for what?" Kyle pressed, his hand gripping the hilt of his concealed blade.

The deer stopped, its silhouette framed perfectly by the blinding red glow of the ancient crystal.

"The fall of Lucifer," the creature stated clearly, the name sending an involuntary chill down Kyle’s spine. "The Demon King. That is our common interest. And if you wish to survive what is coming, it will become yours as well."

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