Epic Banana-Steamgifts-Xianxia Themed Adventure Story

So after 7 months or so my story is back. You can check it out and find many hidden prizes. Yes. Also help me with the story and vote in the poll what should happen next. Yes. Any Questions? Yes?

MAP

Previous chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Hiding rules: I wont be lying to you. If i say there is nothing more then in that place there is nothing more to see. bISra - Yes.
Required level: 1-3. Most giveaways are 1+ but few unbundled [not all] are protected via 3+. Yes
GA will all end with end of March. Yes.

Contributors:
If you want to contribute in the future just say so in the comments - i'll contact ya via steam when the times come
Domazo - my editor and creator of 1 nonbundled ga. Thanks for helping me :f Yes
Klinge -creator of 15 ga - 12 bundled and 3 nonbundled. Yes :)
jacverdammt - creator of 5 ga. Awesome. Yes XD

TL'DR?

GA IS HERE

Previously in the SalinGol:
TE4Sq There was a young boy called Lendo who was pretty fat. Really fat! His spiritual cultivation was kind of stuck on being first level for a very long time. Yes. Yet through sheer physical strength alone, he managed to pass the first part of the test for a job that could easily change his future: spiritual fruit collector – a Banana Collector. Yes. After using his secret technique, he managed to acquire 4 bananas, but another young boy called Lau attacked him to take his hard-earned fruits. The fight had just started, when they heard a mighty squeak from the bushes. Ratz were coming for them. Yes.

Chapter 3:
It's a trap!

Even though Lendo had noticed the incoming beast later than Lau did, his reaction time was much faster. Almost immediately, he started running towards the nearby ruins. The rat had two lighter spots on its forehead showing clearly that this particular monster had second level of cultivation. It was not really that high, but one could not take such an opponent lightly. This specific kind of rat was especially vicious and merciless – they always tried to eat their victims alive and that alone was enough to strike true fear into the human heart. Additionally, every wild beast had a special connection with nature and because of that, their usage of banana power was far more advanced and powerful. To put up a good fight against it, you had to be at least one level higher in cultivation or even two, if you didn’t want to risk your life too much while at it. In this case, the beast was hunting two young boys whose strength was far from enough to face it. Lau, to put it bluntly, was scared shitless to a point that he actually froze in place. Only when the Rat came really close to him, did he finally manage to break free from his motionless freeze and he ran in the same direction as Lendo. The Rat wrinkled his nose few times and with a high-pitched squeal, it started to chase after the boys. This sound alone was more than enough to strike fear into anyone stupid enough to enter the rats’ territory.
Lendo did not look back. He knew that he wasn't fast enough to get away from this monster, but his only hope was that the Rat was not in the mood for chasing after its meal. In the same moment, he heard a horrible screech and was immediately thrown into a pit of despair. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Lau who was about a hundred meters away and was running through ruins filled with stone columns that were lying on the ground. Unfortunately for him, his quick jumping skill was no good in this situation, as right behind him Lendo saw a gray blur that was closing in by the second. It wasn't even trying to avoid the stone obstacles – quite the opposite – like a living ram, the gray rat was crushing everything that stood in its way. Fatty smiled a little, seeing that he was not the prime target, but he did not except that Lau also has noticed him. Lau knew that he was doomed, so he chose not to go down alone or rather, he was trying to get at least a small chance of surviving himself. Before Lendo could react, he saw Lau’s mad grin as he turned to him and then ran slightly past him. Fatty cursed out loud and the next thing he saw was a large gray object running into him with tremendous force. His body was struck so hard that he just flew like an arrow for a couple dozens of meters, taking with him everything he accidentally met on the way - including Lau. They would have flown a little more, but one of the ancient stone walls had a different plan in its stone mind as it stood in their way. The impact was strong enough to crush it and the entire building fell like a house made of cards on a windy day. Lendo fought with himself in every single moment trying to remain conscious, as he felt a deadly weight crushing him from above. Rocks, gray furred flesh and tons of dirt all mixed together were pressing him down with terrifying weight and Fatty realized that he cannot take another breath. In panic, he started to wiggle, but his surroundings were impervious to his effort. He even tried to use the muscles on his belly, but this method wasn't effective either. Well... he realized that maybe this was as far as he would go in his adventure. He would have lived exactly as much as he was destined to. At least, he would not die alone! There is no shame in a death like that. Bringing a stronger enemy down with you was a reason to be proud. As he was calming himself he was also slowly drifting away into the darkness of unconsciousness. Apparently, this was his fate...

Suddenly, he felt a movement from above. Even though Lendo may have given up on trying, the Rat would never go down that easily. With its strength and unparalleled life force, the monster tried to break free from the stone shackles. As it moved, all surrounding rubble moved along with it and Lendo heard that somewhere below him, something else moved as well. While Lendo couldn't do a thing, the beast caused the land around them to shake to a frightening level. Suddenly, the large stone boulders and tons of soil started to fall somewhere down and dragged with them the two struggling creatures – young human and wild rat. Lendo knew that even though he was free from the deadly weight that was crushing him just seconds ago, the impact with the ground would result in the same sudden end of his life. Despite any common sense, he waved his arms around and by grabbing stone fragments that were falling next to him, he managed to get closer to the gray monster. In the very last moment, he succeeded in catching it by the fur and managed to stay on top of it, as he was trying to use the rat’s body to minimize the actual damage to himself. A split second later, he felt a tremendous force crashing against him and his mind went blank.
It took him a while to realize that he was still alive. He was not sure for how long he was unconscious, but a sharp pain in his left arm did not leave him any time to think about that. Something was slowly chewing on his arm and that something was nothing else but the monstrous rat. It did not take a genius to see that the wild beast was in a truly miserable state, but nonetheless, it was still dangerous to the extreme. Death had opened its arms for both of them and only a miracle could save either one. As Lendo did not have enough strength to stand or even crawl away from the monster, all he could do was bite the rat in the same manner. Even though the beast definitely had more biting experience than Lendo and was better equipped by mother nature to bite various things, it couldn’t help but feel surprised by the ferocity, with which this young human boy sank his teeth into its flesh. Dying will gave him just enough jaw might to let him bring suffering to his furry opponent. As soon as he felt his mouth filling with warm monster blood, he managed to bite down even harder than before and then immediately swallow all of it down. Right after this achievement, he forced himself to roll out of the furious rat’s range. The copper smell of blood overwhelmed all of Lendo’s senses and he felt a sudden wave of heat explode inside and spread from his tummy to the rest of his body. Eating monsters was one of the commonly known taboos. People who tried doing it, usually died or if someone was luckier, then that person would turn insane and have some sort of mutation. The human body could not store and handle the raw and wild power hidden inside magical beasts. Lendo could not afford being hesitant about it, though. Using this sudden energy rush, he just rammed into the lying rat with full force. The beast was still confused about being eaten by a mere human and tried to dodge the attack, but with broken legs, it failed miserably. The boy was simply too fast and before the animal could react, he threw a punch into the rat’s side. It squealed loudly as a new wave of blood escaped from its wounds. Using the momentum, Lendo attacked a few more times until the rat’s tail put a stop to his actions by simply hitting him in the chest and forcing him to take three steps back. The boy cursed a little as he looked at the deep purple mark left on his torso, but he decided to not give in to the twitching pain and he attacked the rat again, aiming his punches to hit the in same place over and over again. Angered, the monster tried to bite Lendo, but since the boy had learned from the rat’s previous actions, he stayed alert enough to easily dodge any attack that the dying rat could throw at him. He knew he had to end this fight quickly, before his inner energy depleted itself. Both fighters’ eyes were bloodshot and none of them was willing to give up, even as their moves were becoming more and more desperate. After a few exchanges, the rat’s movement was getting slower and slower. Its eyes became cloudy, as a white fog covered his shaking pupils and it could not see anymore. The beast was fighting to take a breath for a moment and then with a silent squeal, it just stopped moving altogether. Lendo waited a while and hesitantly let the thought of victory inside his consciousness. He then gathered all of his remaining strength and came closer to the rat.
-- THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH ME! - he screamed not really believing the outcome of this situation and kicked the gray body lying before him. But to his surprise, instead of being dead and getting kicked with a dignity that only a dead corpse could have - the rat was very much alive and in a split second almost snapped his leg in two using its sharp teeth. The pain was overwhelming, but he could not afford to be drifting away right now. Without even looking, Lendo started hitting the rat’s head with his hands. He heard cracking sounds as the beast’s skull was deforming in new shapes after each hit, but even then the animal was still chewing on him. He wasn’t sure how long it took, but the next thing he could collect from memory was being a few feet away from his opponent. It was staring at him with all the surprise its face could muster, considering its head was smashed into a jelly-like state. Underneath it, one could see a growing pool of dark blood. Lendo coughed out some of his own blood as his vision became blurrier and blurrier. In his leg, there was a large gaping hole and ruptured ribs were sticking out of his side. The Rat stopped moving again, but this time there was no reason for doubt. He was as dead as only the dead can be.
-- I can't give up... - Lendo was losing his strength at a frightening rate, but he still could not accept the outcome of this situation. After all those years filled with constant humiliation, he had finally succeeded – not only did he manage to pass the initial test, but he also found his first bananas. All by himself! He was not sure what to do next. His instinct led him to the only possible solution. He started crawling closer to the monster’s body. Even though he knew that by eating corrupted flesh, he would probably end up dying, he desperately needed some new source of power, because it was leaking from him by the second. The taste of warm blood spread all over his taste buds and then almost in an instant, it filled his belly. His eyes turned red and his entire body stiffened in intense pain. It felt like being roasted on a slow fire and at the same time knowing that you had brought it on yourself and couldn’t do a single thing to stop the suffering. But he kept on eating, because he knew that there was no other way for him to have at least a chance of survival.
Suddenly, Lendo let out a surprised cry, almost forgetting about the pain, as he noticed something. In the rat’s flesh, he found a small gray marble was emanating a gentle mysterious light. He just could not believe his eyes. This tiny thing was lying on the palm of his hand and he could feel a strong power radiating from it. He knew that his condition was critical, to say the least, and he couldn’t get better by any normal means. Maybe it was time to do something totally insane. If the beast had cultivated long enough, then inside it, the banana power would have formed a crystal core. Once that happened, it would not only grant a new level of strength to the monster, but also act as a solid foundation for its future growth. Lendo had heard that some cultivators used those cores to strengthen their weapon and magic formations, but what that he was about to do was truly nuts. He knew that he had to act fast, as the scent of blood would surely lure other rats to him. And in his current state, he could not afford this to happen.
Without any hesitation, he placed the gray marble in his mouth and swallowed it down. His mind went blank for a split second. From his eyes, deep red tears marked two straight lines across his face, as what he was experiencing right now was utterly horrifying. His earlier pain was a simple child’s play in comparison to the misery he was currently experiencing, but once again, the one thing he could do was to endure it.
His awareness was suppressed to such a point that he couldn’t see or hear the thousands of high-pitched roars and rocks falling from the ceiling, as countless rats began to descend from the surface. They were coming here for one simple purpose – to kill the intruder and eat the bodies – both his and the one belonging to their fellow companion.
At the same time, Lendo felt like he had entered a whole new dimension. All he could see was a strange darkness around him. It was everywhere, making him taste it with every single pore of his fat body. It was full of viciousness and raw power. He was still in pain, but his suffering was somewhere else entirely. Locked away behind a strong wall of consciousness. He knew that in this place he was nothing more than a speck of sand in a desert of darkness. It seemed like it could consume him at any time, but in his heart he felt that it was the other way around. By simply letting it in, he started to refine it. Endless dark grayish clouds were entering his body’s meridians and strengthening them up to new heights. This strange sensation was comfortable, but he had to stay alert, as even a small mistake on the road of cultivation could lead to irreversible damage. He could sense that his soul was slowly being carved into the shape of a big majestic banana. It was the pinnacle of his spirit comprehension and if he were to succeed, then he would no longer feel inferior to the other children from the village. His focus was undivided, as the power was in his reach.
Countless rats were coming down from all directions. The dead rat wasn't really important in their ranks, but attacking one of them, even if he was on the lowest step in their hierarchy, was like attacking them all. Vicious eyes were piercing through the human youth sitting in a lotus position next to the dead monster’s remains. They wanted to attack right away, but they grew confused, because the boy was emitting a faint qi that that could only belong to a rat. The beasts were waiting for their leader. Whatever his decision, they would follow without any hesitation. Thousands of rats encircled Lendo and they would not leave, before they had tasted blood.
Fatty did not know about the danger he was in, while he was enjoying his sudden power up. Having eaten his opponent’s core, he was now feeling an enormous gratitude. It was something like an after-death friendship that you could only find in situations like these. Instead of any unwanted mutations, he acquired a much better physical foundation that would definitely bear fruit in the future. His eyes snapped open and he let out a delighted sigh. His qi was circulating with an astonishing speed through his large fat body. But his joy did not last for long as he realized that innumerable rats were staring at him with eyes filled with killing intent. Lendo was aware that he was much stronger than before – he estimated that in a fair fight, he would now be a match for the rat he had killed earlier, but facing hundreds of rats by himself? Simply impossible! Despite the fact that his wounds healed up almost instantly, he still was heavily injured inside and his power was thrown out of balance. Even at his full strength, handling this situation was outside his capabilities. And no Matter how hard he looked around, there was no way to escape at all.
Why are they just standing there? Why don't they attack me? - Lendo whispered to himself. The situation was hopeless anyway, but he wanted to understand this phenomenon. As far as he knew, that could be the key to his survival. He had no idea that it was another present from the dead rat, who had unwillingly shared some of its aura with Lendo. Normal rats would never have the courage to attack a fellow rat, unless the king had ordered otherwise. But what he also didn't know was the fact that the beastly presence inside him was fading away by the second and it would not take long before it disappeared completely. Up until nOw, Lendo hadn’t had the time to look around and see exactly what the place where he ended up was like. The entire cave was quite large and it was shaped like a valley. On the stone walls, Lendo saw thousands of magical signs that were emanating a delicate bluish glow. It had to be one of the ancient formations! His father had told him about them, when Lendo was little, in one of the many legends about the land called SalinGol. Regardless of how strong one was – when in front of an ancient formation, no one could afford to be careless. Lendo was trying to find a way out, but wherever he looked, he saw more and more rats.
After a couple minutes passed, a few beasts came closer and Lendo couldn’t help but fight back with all of his freshly-acquired might. After each hit, a single rat was thrown back into the swarming gray furry sea, but then new ones would come ever closer and their anger was becoming more and more apparent. It was evident that the situation would soon spiral out of control as the monsters would definitely go berserk.
Suddenly, a mighty roar filled the air. It was so loud that the earth itself shook under Lendo's feet. The rats that were swarming near him fell back immediately and regrouped in smaller and thicker formations, while trying to locate the new enemy. And there he was! Standing near the edge of the stone valley was a large bear. From his sharp teeth to his fabulous fur, he was like a prime example of how a bear should look like. He had been watching the situation unfold from the beginning.
-- LEAVE HIM BE! - he roared angrily, but because he saw no effect from his warning, he just pressed his paw to the ground and the earth shook again, even stronger than before.
Lendo’s mind was spinning uncontrollably. The situation had gone from bad to simply insane.
-- Who are you? - he asked, looking witlessly at the bear.
The bear looked down at the silly boy below and said slowly:
-- Is it really the best time to ask such a question? I'm Joa – the bear said.
-- Joa? - Lendo could not bear what was happening – Joa who?
The bear cast a gaze straight into the fatty’s eyes and said once again:
-- I'm Joa the Bear. The beariest bear on this forsaken earth! - he roared and one could hear a hint of pride in those words. - And if ya don’t want to die so soon, you better start solving this puzzle.
Before Lendo could ask him what puzzle the bear was talking about, he saw that right under his feet ancient formations had begun to glow, showing him 5 empty plates and a set of numbers. It gave him a strangely familiar feeling, but it was nowhere close enough to help him solve this mystery. In the meantime, the rats had begun to get closer to him again. At first, they were scared and confused by the sudden appearance of the mighty Bear, but since he did nothing more than roar from up above, the rats decided that it was high time to go into action and eat that weird young fat fellow. They could feel courage slowly filling their wild hearts, because the Rat King himself was very near and would show himself any minute now.
Lendo tried everything to solve this ancient riddle, but he was getting thrown off the correct path more and more each time he tried, as the answer was somewhere else - beyond his reach. From time to time, he glanced back at the Bear, but he clearly was not goning to help him. Lendo could almost swear that he saw ridicule in Joa’s brown eyes. The young boy was trying to remember the teachings of his father Zelghadius, but the riddle was too ancient, too complex and confusing. He cursed and yelled in despair at the top of his lungs. His fat fists slammed down onto the ground as he could not grasp the true meaning behind those numbers. To his surprise, right at the same moment, the stone cracked and a few lines showed up on the surface of the five stone plates. In a matter of seconds, the cracks spread all over the floor and right in front of Lendo, an energy vortex appeared. Lendo knew that it was a portal, exactly like the ones from the fairy tales, transporting anybody who would enter to a new place. The portal seemed inviting, but despite that, he had to remember that the unknown could be even worse than his current situation. There was also one more reason that made him hesitate.
In the corner of his eye, Lendo saw a human body lying between the rocks. Lau may have been a jerk, but he did not deserve a cruel fate like this. This one thing was certain. Fatty would not be himself, if he left any human being to be eaten by those filthy rats. Especially, if there was even a chance that both of them could survive. Grinding his teeth, he ran towards his fellow villager. To tell the truth, he was not sure, if Lau was still alive, but that wasn’t the most important thing. What mattered most, was the need to prove to himself that even after he ate the monster and became infused with its energy, he was still the old Lendo. He had to believe in that with all his heart! Joa frowned when he saw that this young boy was clearly throwing his life away for some stranger. He could feel and see any spiritual being in a ten kilometers radius, so he knew that Lau and Lendo were not related by blood. Moreover, they had fought each other not that long ago.
-- Pff... He is a human after all – Joa sneered and with a strange bear smile, he simply disappeared, dissolving his body into a brown mist. In a few heartbeats, it was gone completely.
At the same moment, Lendo was focused on pushing through the countless rats. The appearance of the strange portal and the even stranger mighty bear had been enough to confuse the monsters. On top of that, their opponent was almost dead a few minutes ago and now, not only was he as good as new, but he also emanated a spirit aura unique to the rat species. Using this momentum, Lendo got to Lau in no time. He grabbed him like a sack of potatoes and just as he was ready to go back, everything around him just froze. All the monsters looked in one direction and lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound. At the east wall, an enormous rat had appeared and he was currently descending towards the battlefield. If a normal rat could be compared to a horse in size, then this one was no less than a large elephant’s size. His fur was dark as the night and his entire body was covered in countless scars. One of his eyes was foggy, but the other was so fierce that one could feel petrified by a single glance from it. The other rats were stepping to the side in a hurry, because they knew if any of them were too slow, they would be courting death. There was no pity or mercy in the natural world and strength and fear were the only rules that were to be obeyed. By simply looking at the incoming Beast, Lendo knew that he could not afford even a single exchange with the enormous rat. He knew that there was no time to fight the other rats and if he wanted to live, not only should he leave Lau behind, but also pray for a miracle. A lot! Unfortunately, he was out of miracles for the day. Taking all this into account, he suddenly jumped on the back of the closest rat and then before it could react, he jumped on another and another. The Rat King saw that his prey was trying to escape, frowned and shot straight like an arrow, in order to catch Lendo. Even considering the fact that the fatty’s way was not obstructed, the Rat King was ultimately closing in as the gap between them was shrinking at a terrifying rate. The other rats also started to fight back against the human youth and in this moment, he knew that he would not be able to make it. He roared in regret and using all of his might, he jumped up and threw Lau into the portal. Lau’s body flew over a few dozen rats and was sucked directly into the swirling energy pool. Lendo smiled lightly as he started to fall back down. In a blink of an eye, rats covered up the struggling fatty, waiting for their King to execute the proper punishment to the intruder. But Lendo’s luck had not dried up yet, because the large beast that was rushing towards him did not calculate all things properly. The ground was made from unexpectedly hard stone that could not be penetrated by the monster’s claws. When the Rat King decided to slow down a little, he realized that it was no longer possible. With a high-pitched screech, he just rammed into the human youth and his smaller followers, sending them flying in all directions. Lendo coughed up some blood and using this brief moment of freedom, he ran straight into the portal, pushing the confused rats to the side. Thousands of beasts roared in fury as they saw Lendo disappearing via the portal gate. Some of the more hot-headed rats tried to follow him into the unknown, but they failed as some strange force expelled them out. The Rat King stared at the magical vortex for a while and then he just sat down in front of it. His instincts were telling him that whatever went inside it, had to return the same way. Eventually. Monsters had a much longer lifespan compared to humans, so waiting a few days or even weeks was not a problem at all.

Lendo felt like he was hit by a battle ram. His ribs were hurting like hell and gave a cracking sound whenever he tried to move. He focused his newly-acquired banana power on healing. Moments later, he let out a sigh of relief as the pain was slowly fading away. He was surrounded by complete darkness. Suddenly, a light appeared before him and it was shaped in a human form. Only then did he realize that right beside him was the strange bear he saw earlier.
-- So how did you get here? – an old voice emanated from the light – Which method did you use to solve this riddle?
The Bear once again turned himself into mist and flew over to the light source. He whispered something to the mysterious person hidden inside and then materialized next to it. The glow suddenly grew smaller, as this time the voice had a hint of disappointment in it:
-- Ah... So it was by brute force. Well... There is always a way.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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