Psychokinetic Eyeball Pulling

Chapter 119: Primal Jungle

Her hand reached through the tear in space. Astrid’s body jolted as if she had just experienced a terrifying nightmare. She opened her eyes as she gazed at Lisa’s fearful expression and collapsed straight into her warm embrace.

Astrid had escaped.

Astrid braced herself as Rachelle’s fire healing seeped into her skin. Her muscles felt like they were being forged within a fire as the deflated, and battered fibres were slowly being restored.

A few minutes had passed and the muscles in her arms had only just been restored, yet Astrid stood up. There wasn’t any time to waste.

The dungeon prompt was still within her System and she wouldn’t let Leena spend even one more moment within the unknown land on her own. Astrid had attempted to kill whatever monster was responsible for it, but now that was impossible–she had to join her.

They were a team.

Astrid flexed her arms and felt a sharp pain that seeped all throughout her arms.

“Sit back down, I've only finished the rudimentary treatment.” Rachelle placed her hand on Astrid’s shoulder and attempted to push down, yet Astrid was sturdy as a steel wall.

Astrid shook her head. “I need to leave.”

“Let’s go then,” Brett said. “We can’t leave her on her own.”

Not only Brett, everyone else stood up that had received the invitation.

Rachelle sighed. “Alright, just take care. Alright?”

“You got it.” Astrid smiled and hugged the regal looking woman.

“All of you,” Daniel continued, “Come back in one piece. That’s an order.”

Astrid gazed at everyone's faces as she was about to enter an unknown land.

Lisa was steeped in worry. The mother figure of the group who could always provide the warmth and sensibility that Astrid expected of her.

Rob lifted his thumb with a wide smile on his face. Just like his Class, he was the wall of the group and never showed an ounce of weakness. Whenever she looked at him, he was there to help motivate her. As if he was supremely confident in her every action. Just his presence alone filled her with safety.

Rachelle held her hands behind her back, she held a smirk on her face, but just like Lisa–Astrid saw concern within her greedy eyes. Unlike her Class would lead her to believe, she was a stronger attacker than a healer. She had witnessed the anxiety within her, but it would entirely get away with her inferno-like temper.

Losef smiled and nodded. He was always so calm and professional. The man held a gentlemanly aura, yet he was the one to always move first against his opponents. Whether it was against monsters… or humans.

Lastly there was Daniel. He seemed to always know where to go, and guided them through any terrain that they encountered. He was always sure of himself on the surface, yet Astrid had witnessed the desperation that boiled within him. The desperation for answers.

Astrid nodded and without knowing what dangers lurked within the dungeon, or where it would teleport her–she accepted the dungeon invitation.

You are entering the Dungeon - Primal Jungle.

Astrid’s eyes snapped open and immediately surged her Psych Domain all around her. She needed to know what threats were near her. With a detailed check, she wasn’t able to identify anything. Her team was nowhere to be seen as it filled her with a sense of urgency.

Especially for Leena and Calum–the two lowest levels. She just hoped that they had managed to enter with each other, and that Astrid’s start was unique.

The previous humid air of the jungle had now increased by threefold. She held her hand above her eyes like a visor as the sun belted past the thick tree foliage high–very high above.

She was caught in surprise as the trees were so tall that it was difficult to fathom. Even the bushes completely dwarfed her in size. They were at least fifteen feet tall, and those were just the smallest ones. The trees alone seemed to go on endlessly into the sky above.

Shit, just how far do they reach?! Astrid gawked. She was even concerned that they would spontaneously combust with being so close to the sun, or maybe it was just an illusion.

Shaking her head, she found herself rooted to the spot. Where the hell do I go?

“If there is nowhere to go, then that only leaves forward!” Pupil exclaimed.

“And where did you learn philosophy?” Astrid thought. But she agreed with the little black blob that used her body as a home.

“Philosephee?”

“Never-mind.”

Astrid used [Crash] as the dense bush was completely obliterated around her. While Rachelle was healing her wounds, she had restored a good portion of her mana in combination with a mana potion.

Avatar of Mana also worked absolute wonders for her regeneration capabilities. It cemented itself in her mind that it was the right decision as she felt like a never ending fountain. Whenever she didn’t use any Skills, that was.

That in combination with [Crash] being a low mana consumption Skill–especially for how strong it was, made it a super effective machete for a jungle expedition.

She walked through the thick jungle for a good few minutes until she broke out into a clearing.

A monster standing at a height similar to a three story building jumped at the sudden noise of Astrid’s explosive [Crashes]. Its entire body was covered in thick flesh and a pair of short, stumpy horns stuck out of its bulbous head. The creature had a long neck, long enough to reach the delicious leaves of the lowest trees.

It looked at her with caution before trotting away in trepidation.

Grass eater? Astrid guessed. After all, not everything in Ruitera was determined to strip her flesh and swallow her bones. It seemed like the same went for this dungeon as well. Although it did come at a great surprise.

She was half tempted to kill it for the experience, but finding her friends was the top priority. Astrid didn’t want to get caught in a fight, only for it to call its senior brother or something. That would be a total shit show.

Finally, Astrid was able to get a clear view of the sky. There was the overly bright sun, which was normal. Then, to the other side lay three entire whole moons–which was less so.

Astrid took out a couple of flares from her backpack and held them within her palm. She was going to use them on the ground, but she doubted they could reach so far into the sky. So the only thing left was to fly and use it higher up.

She tapped her foot for a while as she patiently waited for any scary looking flying monsters to streak through the air, but there wasn’t any. There wasn’t even a single bird chip, which did in fact fill her with a sleight apprehension.

The stories from the Wayfarers had led her to believe that if there were no sounds of birds, then a dangerous monster lurked close-by.

If that was the case, then perhaps it would be safer up in the skies. Besides, it was the fastest way to travel.

Every time she used [Crash] to clear the jungle, time was wasted.

With her mind made up, she connected to the matter within her body and leapt up. She shot into the air, then used Leivitate to continue further past the trees high above.

She didn’t feel safe flying through the tree-line as she could only imagine what kind of monsters would lay their traps there.

“Like spiders?” Pupil said, and it was faint, but she felt like she could hear Voidmare giggling in the background. As if they knew her disgusts and fears. Well, they were in her mind, after all.

“Yes, like damned spiders.” Astrid spat inwardly and broke past the tree-line into a wide expanse of nothing but light blue, and verdant green.

She scoured each side of the horizon until she was confident it was clear, then fired the flare. The orange trail and brightness from the beacon was just barely discernible.

I hope they can see that… It didn’t fill her with much hope. None of them could fly, it was basically up to Brett to reach up for the chance to see it. Or if they found a wide open space, clear of trees.

However, she looked all over the place. There were only a few locations that were spared of the primal-like jungle. Shaking her head, she dropped back down through the jungle canopy.

Immediately, she blasted her body to the side with a [Crash]. She careened through the air, barely dodging a set of razor sharp claws that threatened to rake her throat out.

The monster moved through the air like a bullet. It rotated its body and landed on a tree trunk with its powerful leg. They were like a dual-action system. Firstly they halted its lightning fast momentum instantly, then, like a spring, the momentum locked its long, spiky legs into a squat–then the monster fired straight for her once more.

Now that the surprise attack was over, Astrid could finally make out the matter of its body but she wasn’t given time to think about anything as the monster approached her at high velocity.

She sent multiple [Crashes] into the air in quick succession as blood cascaded down like a scarlet shower. Yet the momentum of the beast’s monstrous jump brought it forward.

Astrid dodged to the side as the monster once again landed on another tree.

It seemed that the monster was out of moves having lost its ability to sneak attack. It attempted to shoot back at her, but before it could cock its legs back the monster’s eyes bulged.

Astrid pulled them out of their sockets, and as if she planted a bomb within its brain, its head blew up.

With the monster dead, she carefully returned to land. A second later, the body of the beast slammed down next to her–along with the shower of red that followed it.

You defeated a - Strengthened Femora - level 93!

Extra experience is awarded for defeating an enemy levels above!

I hate it when things jump out at me! Astrid fumed as she kicked the femora’s corpse.

Now that she managed to get a closer look at it, it was a strange looking thing. It reminded her of the mantis species, although much larger… and superhuman. It almost looked humanoid, but it was still far too insect-looking to be considered so.

Shaking her head, she needed to create a base of operations.

Thankfully, the land around her was completely flat and vast, at that. Usually, one would stay away from wide open land–especially being surrounded on all sides by thick jungle. Ambush. It happened enough times that any adventurer that had any segment of experience stayed cleared of.

But for Astrid, it was perfect.

She just had to do some intense excavation, and a whole lot of metal building with Psych Warp.

Well, better create a home for the others. Hopefully they arrive soon. Astrid wiped the sweat that dripped from her forehead and got to work.