Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

A party of five

Led by Kawasha, Aaron and the others gradually made their way towards Zofran forest. Walking was a tiring job, especially for Aaron and Zach, who were not used to travelling such distances in the real world on foot. The forest was over 4 miles away. Aaron desperately wished he still had a mount. But there was no way he could obtain another one so easily. There were no shrines nearby, and the only points of interest marked on the map were an Energy Fountain located on the beach and an unexplored cave further north.

For the present, they had their goal set before them. Aaron knew he could come back and explore these places later, but now he they needed to reach the forest. The group walked slowly across the narrow grassy path, surrounded by thickets and headed towards their objective. Aaron used his Pyro Vision skill from time to time to check for any threats. They eventually arrived at the forest after a long and tiring march.

“Catch your breath. You’re gonna have your work cut out for you,” Zach said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Are you gonna use the scroll now?” Aaron asked.

Zach nodded and answered, “This is a very old and low level scroll. To have any effect on the forest and its surrounding areas, I gotta use this right here. I don’t think the spell is gonna cover a very large area.” Slowly, he took out the Weather Scroll from his bag and carefully unfurled it.

“None of our elders could ever use any of those special scrolls,” Kawasha remarked.

“Yeah, no doubt, man. I don’t think anyone in your tribe is a wizard. The scrolls are only meant for magic users like me.” Zach looked at Aaron and waited for him to get ready.

Aaron knew now the hard part was about to begin. He would need to protect Zach and make sure nothing could interrupt his spell casting. Any attacks or status effects could cancel the casting and ruin the scroll. “Alright everyone, here’s the plan. I want you to help me defend Zach.”

“Why would that be needed? I don’t sense any wild animals nearby,” Mawanko said. So far he hadn’t seen any wild animal tracks or heard any growls from the beasts.

Aaron soon cleared his confusion by explaining why this precaution was necessary. “Zach is gonna have to chant this spell aloud and it’s gonna take a while. Hobgoblins are drawn to magic. And magic from an old scroll is definitely easy for them to sense. If they come after us, we have to defend Zach, till he can finish his spell casting.”

“What kind of a spell is this?” Nashoba enquired.

“It is a pretty low level Frigid Scroll which casts a frigid spell that lowers the ambient temperature. It isn’t as effective as a Seasonal Spell which can change the seasons in an instant, but it should get the job done,” Zach explained.

Nashoba and Mawanko looked at each other in confusion. Neither knew much about magic craft and this explanation made very little sense to them. Eventually Aaron explained that Zach was basically going to cast a spell to make it as cold as winter there.

“Are you guys ready now?” Zach asked, ready to begin casting.

“We are all set, bro. Mawanko has our back and Nashoba and Kawasha will watch the front. If any beast or Hobgoblin gets past, I’ll deal with ‘em”

“Alright, here goes!” Zach held up the scroll and began reading out the cryptic chant needed to cast the spell.

Unlike the Elite and higher ranked scrolls, the Common scrolls needed the caster to manually read out every word accurately. Zach slowly and carefully started reading out the words in a rhythmic manner. Most of the words were common to Evolution Island’s magic system, but some of the parts of the scroll had been so badly discolored that he had a hard time understanding what the words were. Midway through the spell casting, he slowed down to take a closer look at the next words and found them blurred. All he could do at that point was somehow piece together what seemed to fit that line.

“Ara...Ura...”

“What’s the problem?” Aaron asked, moving in close to take a look at the scroll himself. “Oh damn, these words are both blurred out.”

Zach looked at him, and gave him a peevish smile. He couldn’t actually talk or it would break the spell and he’d have to start over again. Peering into the crumpled paper, he tried to make out the last few words.

“Aranor Uraul... Varoul Meroul Ziroul!”

Having read the last words, he breathed a sigh of relief and watched as the scroll disintegrated. The spell had been cast successfully and was now starting to take effect. Zach was surprised that he had completed the casting without alerting any of the Hobgoblins or enchanted beasts.

“You did it, bro!” Aaron exclaimed aloud, bumping his fist with Zach.

Just then, they heard a crowing coming from deep within the woods. Aaron suddenly felt hot, as beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead. The temperature instead of dropping had actually risen by quite a few degrees.

“What the hell did you do?” Aaron asked, his eyes widened and his mouth agape.

“I...just used the Frigid Scroll.”

“Are you sure that was a Frigid Scroll?”

“I mean...he said that it was.”

“Zach! Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a Frigid Scroll before!”

“The Frigid Scroll and the Tropical Scroll both look the same. Just a few words are different that’s all.”

“Oh f**k!” Aaron cursed as the crowing noise became even louder. “That was definitely a Tropical Scroll. You raised the temperature so much; it summoned a f*****g mini boss!”

“You don’t think...”

“Yes! There’s no mistaking that sound. It’s that damn Cockatrice!”

Aaron’s words sent a chill down Zach’s spine. Of all the enchanted beasts he hated the most in Evolution Island; the Cockatrice was on the top of his list. It was the most unforgiving mini boss on Solaris and a nightmare for low level players.

“What’s going on? Mawanko, what creature makes that crowing noise?” Nashoba enquired.

The expert hunter looked clueless now. He had never encountered any beast or bird which made such a strange high pitched crowing sound. He stood there silently, unable to answer the chief.

“It’s a Cockatrice...an Albino Cockatrice!” Aaron came in with the reply.

“What is a Cockatrice? Is it a beast?”

“A Cockatrice is a hybrid between a dragon and a rooster. It spews toxic fumes with every breath. Its poison is so potent that it can kill a grown man in minutes.”

“But you can kill it with your powers, right?” Mawanko cut in eagerly.

To his great horror, Aaron replied, “The Cockatrice is essentially a member of the dragon family, which makes it completely immune to all fire attacks. We’re screwed.”