by Aaron Oster
He must not have seen other humans just yet, Morgan thought as the beastman took up a fighting stance.
Morgan wasn’t about to play fair and allow Bart the chance to get the better of him, nor was he going to fight one on one. Still, if he wanted one of his and Lumia’s planned strategies to succeed, he’d need to set it up first.
“Lumia!” he called out, then charged forward.
Bart may just have taken it as a war cry, but Lumia would know what to do. Morgan darted in, his spear whistling through the air, on a collision course with the beastman’s head. Bart was no slouch, as he’d previously demonstrated. The beastman ducked the blow, closing in to throw a punch at Morgan’s stomach.
Morgan stepped to the side, causing the attack to go wide, only to feel something hard slam into him from the left. He gasped, feeling the pain of the blow connect with his unprotected side and jumped back as Bart took another swing. The beastman had somehow managed to hit him from a completely different angle, which meant he was utilizing some sort of skill. Not only that, but he’d managed to hit through Morgan’s shield.
He didn’t have enough information on the race as a whole to draw any conclusions, so for now, he had to be open to the possibility of anything happening. One thing was clear to him — there could be no holding back.
The spear melted, flowing over his arm and shaping itself into a bracer, protecting his forearm. Morgan then stepped forward and drove another hard punch at the beastman’s midsection. Bart laughed, one of his arms moving to counter and the other striking forward with another attack. Morgan felt the impact once again, fighting back against the pain and twisting his body with the blow to his ribs.
He pivoted, throwing another punch, but when Bart moved his arm in the same blocking pattern, he pulled the blow up short, ducking beneath the outstretched arm and tucking his arm against his chest. From here, Morgan had a straight shot at the beastman’s exposed abdomen, and while it wouldn’t be a spectacular blow, it would still hurt. Pivoting hard, Morgan drove the bracer-covered forearm into the beastman’s abdomen.
The construct morphed as he moved, growing a dozen spikes before the arm made contact. Bart grunted as he was struck, the spikes barely penetrating his hide before the blow came up short. The force of the attack drove him back, but not before he managed yet another counter. A hard blow caught Morgan in his left shoulder, driving him to his knees as the beastman stumbled back, clutching at his stomach.
Morgan could feel the throbbing pain where the blow had connected and knew that had his body not been so tough, he’d have broken his clavicle. Losing an arm in a fight like this would be a death sentence, so toughness was something for which he was infinitely grateful. Additionally, he thought he was beginning to understand Bart’s abilities.
Just a few more exchanges should do it, Morgan thought, rising to his feet and darting in again.
They exchanged a flurry of wild blows, Morgan’s missing more often than not, and Bart landing several more heavy attacks. With every attack, Morgan managed to mitigate the damage just a bit more.
“Ha!” Bart cried, striking him hard in the face and sending him soaring back a good thirty feet.
Morgan turned midair, moving his jaw from side to side to make sure nothing was broken, before landing gracefully on his feet.
He straightened, tilting his head from side to side to loosen his shoulders. He’d pretty much gotten Bart’s timing down. Now all he had to do was finish the fight. The bracer on his arm flowed downward, morphing into that of a spear once more.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” Bart taunted. “And here I thought that supermages were something special!”
Morgan ignored the taunt, allowing a deadly calm to flow over him. He blew out a long breath, then charged in once again. This time, electricity flickered up the haft of the spear as he charged it. Bart raised his hands once more, but instead of closing and swinging as he had before, Morgan released the spear. Most would assume that this would cause said spear to fall to the ground, as was logical. However, the powers bestowed upon those in Somerset were hardly ever logical. The construct shot forward, flashing across the intervening distance in a blur, and slammed directly into the unprepared Bart’s chest.
The beastman let out a grunt as the spear bit in half an inch, his tough skin stopping it from traveling any further. His confidence in winning went down as the explosion that rocked the mountaintop a moment later sent him hurling out into open space. The beastman screamed as violet lightning engulfed his falling form, crackling and burning at his fur and flesh.
He clawed desperately at the spear, trying to dislodge it as it continuously crackled and sparked. He roared, his body flaring red with his chi as he activated one of his skills. Muscles across his body rippled and bulged, his newly strengthened finger wrapping around the haft of the spear and ripping it free.
The construct disintegrated as he squeezed, shattering it to a thousand tiny motes of light.
“You cannot best me!” he roared, righting himself midair and preparing to hit the ground.
As soon as he landed, he’d dash right back up the mountain again and teach that human what it meant to be a real warrior!
“Doesn’t mean I won’t try.”
Bart whirled in midair, his hand striking out for the sneaky human’s neck. His hand never made contact, and all he hit was empty air. The beastman only had a fraction of a second to blink in confusion before he felt a hard impact on his lower back.
He let out a yell as he was sent hurtling forward and up, away from the mountain and out into open space. The attack hadn’t hurt all that much, his powerful and skill-enhanced body keeping him from taking too much damage. Still, even as he was sent hurtling out into open space, he was shocked by the fact that this human had the strength for him to feel the attack.
The gods had been right! The human scourge had grown stronger since they’d last ravaged their continent, and if they had fighters like this, they had to be stopped! Bart was snapped from his thoughts as the human appeared before him, a new spear clutched in his hand.
Bart turned, activating another skill, and struck out. The human tried to dodge but was once again unsuccessful. His Homing Blow always hit where it was least expected, so there was no way this human could avoid it.
Bart felt another hard impact, this one to the side of his head. Stars danced in his vision this time as he was sent hurtling farther out. He shook himself, trying to clear his vision as his anger grew. The scourge would not best him, even if he had to take this entire Beast Zone down to do so.
As he flew, Bart reached for his most devastating skill. Acid Tsunami would bathe everything in a five-mile radius in burning acid, and the clouds that rose after its activation would burn everything else from the inside out. The green acid began to build up in his hands, even as he regained his equilibrium.
He wasn’t worried about hitting the ground from this high up. A fall like that wouldn’t even slow him down, so it didn’t really matter if he activated this skill on the ground or in the air. The only problem was that he needed time to activate it, and the supermage likely wasn’t going to give him any.
The human came rocketing towards him once again, his fists now cloaked in violet gauntlets. Bart whirled, kicking the air powerfully to change his direction. He had no real power up in the air, but he had been trained to fight against aerial supers and mages. Sure, he hadn’t gotten a whole lot of practice, but when enough strength was put behind a blow, one could create a shockwave powerful enough to give them a change in direction.
As he shot forward, he could see the surprise in the human’s face and knew he had him dead to rights. Bart let out a cry of triumph, his glowing green fist flashing out to deliver the attack in a focused blast. It seemed he’d had nothing to worry about after all. Except, instead of hitting the human, Bart’s attack met only empty air once again.
In his excitement, he’d forgotten about the supermage’s incredible speed in the air. Still,
it wasn’t a big deal. He had his attack, and all he had to do was hit the supermage where he was least expecting it. Bart whirled in place, already throwing his attack at the expected target. Again, the supermage was gone.
For just a moment, Bart was confused. A massive explosion then went off under his feet and sent him hurtling upward at an astonishing speed. The beastman cried out in pain as his legs were wrenched in opposite directions, forcing him to do a full and extremely uncomfortable split. The worst part of it all was that he had no idea what the supermage had just done.
There was no electricity nor a single point of impact, which meant he was using a different skill. He’d successfully thwarted numerous attempts at a counterattack and had come at him from every angle except the one he’d been expecting. Even as Bart reached the crest of his rise and began to fall once again, he began to realize just how much he may have underestimated this human.
He’d been warned numerous times not to engage by the leaders of his Guild. His job had been only to locate and report, but pride had gotten the better of him. The gods had said that the humans were weaker, and when Bart had heard the word weaker, he’d blocked out everything else. All the warnings, cautionary tales, and fear had gone out the window. He’d seen this as an opportunity to make a name for himself, to bring honor to his race.
It wasn’t too late to turn this around. He started to formulate a plan to be able to come out of this alive. All I need to do is—
The supermage appeared before him, thrusting forward with his spear once again. Bart threw up a block, sure he could knock it to the side, even with a lack of footing on which to brace. He screamed in pain as the human’s attack easily slammed through his defenses, punching into and then through his shoulder.
Bart lunged forward, trying to wrap his arms around the supermage, but he vanished once again. He flailed for a moment, unsure of where the next attack might be coming from, and that was his undoing. Instead of attacking again, he heard the human’s voice call from some hundred feet away.
“Lumia!”
There was a roar from up above, and suddenly the moon was blotted out by a mass of glittering silver scales. Fire brimmed in the beast’s belly, and Bart barely had time to activate his emergency beacon before his body was engulfed in flames. His defenses held up for barely an instant before he was burned to a crisp. Even as life fled his battered shell of a body, Bart knew that at the very least, he’d managed to alert the others of his demise. If anything were to come of his death, he hoped that the others currently scouting here would take it as a cautionary tale.
Morgan watched as his plan came to fruition in a beautiful and satisfying way. He’d used all of Gold’s lessons to great effect. He’d successfully confused his opponent, kept him off balance, and made him keep guessing. And, by the end, he was so disoriented and unsure that he’d hesitated at a key moment. Sure, it had been a little touch and go, but in the end, it had come out in Morgan’s favor.
The fact that the beastman had been able to move through the air had been a surprise, but Morgan had reacted quickly enough to avoid the blast that the creature had been building up.
The beastman had been arrogant and cocksure. Convinced of his victory, he’d underestimated Morgan’s power and, thus, had given Morgan the advantage he’d needed to win. The last attack, where he’d driven the spear through Bart’s shoulder had been the last component needed — a distraction of pain and shock, and a test to see how much it would take to damage him. That had given Lumia the time to get into position, as well as all the information she needed on how strong of an attack she’d need to use.
Even now, as her Hellfire Storm blazed around him, black and crimson flames reducing the beastman to ash, Morgan had to wonder if the continent he now knew as Faeland would be full of fighters as strong as this man had been. If Bart had been a bit more careful and perhaps a touch more experienced, this fight may very well have played out differently.
Morgan hadn’t pulled out any of the big attacks, but he had been forced to use his Maximum Increase to injure the man. Even his Stormforged Spear, charged to capacity, hadn’t taken him down, although it had incapacitated him until he’d used a body enhancement of his own. Still, the sheer, raw power of this creature was astounding, and Morgan knew that the fights ahead would be far more difficult.
They’d been victorious tonight, but this signaled the end of his training. Come morning, and Morgan knew that he would have to leave and begin the mission that he and Gold had been planning since his training had begun.
6
Morgan sat with his back to Lumia’s side, watching as the sky lightened in the distance. The drake had gone back to sleep pretty quickly after the fight, though Morgan had found sleep impossible. Instead, he’d spent his time replaying the fight in his mind, compartmentalizing all the information it and the beastman had imparted, and filing them away for further use. Once that was finished, he spent the rest of the night sitting there, curled up against Lumia’s warm flank while the drake slept the rest of the night away.
As much as this was his last night here, it was hers as well. For her to be leaving the home she’d known all her life was a much bigger deal than his departure. He’d be with her the entire time, though, and he knew that would ease her nerves somewhat, even if it didn’t take them away entirely. Now, he was simply waiting for the sun to rise and for the arrival of his trainer.
He needed to speak with Gold before he left, as the man still had some last-minute knowledge and advice to impart. For just a moment, Morgan debated messing with the man by simply leaving and forcing him to come and find them. Then he remembered that Gold could simply travel through space at will and dismissed that ridiculous notion.
Having been disturbed in the middle of his nightly review of his status, Morgan pulled it up once more, noting that his fight with Bart had given him a bit more energy, though not much. Lumia had been the one to kill the beastman, so she had likely gotten most of the energy. Still, he had his skills to peruse, so he didn’t linger on that fact for too long.
Skills:
Hypersonic flight - Manipulate gravity and air to reduce your weight and move through the skies. You can now reach your maximum speed instantaneously. There is no longer a weight limit. For an additional cost, you can briefly increase your speed to hypersonic levels.
Cost - 50 RP per second
Max. height - 450 Ft
Max. speed - 250 Ft per second
Hypersonic Speed Cost - 2,800 RP
Duration - 20 Seconds
Cooldown - 24 hours
Maximum Increase - Manipulate gravity and air to maximize your speed and power. (Currently Agility & Strength X4). Additionally, you may draw out the full potential of your inner self for a short period of time for an additional cost. This will give you a massive +25% boost to all your attributes (This stacks with the first effect).
Cost - 700 RP
Duration - 20 seconds
Cooldown - 25 seconds
Increase Cost - 2,500 RP
Duration - 75 seconds
Cooldown - 6 hours
Stormforge - Manipulate gravity and air to forge solid whirling constructs in the shape of your choice. You can change the shape of your constructs without dismissing them. Constructs can now be projected. For an additional cost, you can charge your weapon constructs with electricity. You can continually stream RP into a construct for a sustained electrical current.
Cost - 500 RP per construct
Duration - Until dismissed
Charge cost - 350 RP
Duration - 10 Strikes
Electric Current cost - 125 RP per second
Earthen Shift - Shape the earth as you see fit, control it in its many forms. You can now use elements in the ground to your advantage. Finesse increased by 150%.
Cost - 100 RP per second
Nature’s Wrath - Infuse your body with the energy of the world and harness the power of nature from your surroundings. This skill has no time limi
t but will cause significant strain on the body. It will also drain reiki in ever-increasing amounts the longer it is used.
Cost - 5 RP per second; cost doubles every 10 seconds
Cooldown - 1 hour
Compression - Compress the air however you choose, you can create massive air pockets at will and expand them to the maximum your power will allow in its current state.
Cost - 500 RP
Gravity Tear - Your power over gravity is such that space can no longer contain you. Vast distances can now be covered at the maximum speed your body can currently handle. Short distances can also be covered in small bursts called Blinks.
Cost - 75 RP per second
Blink Cost - 100 RP
Sunblast - Harness the power of the planet’s star within yourself and control it at will. This skill is stronger in the daytime, and weaker at night.
Cost - 400 RP per second
A lot of his skills were currently maxed out, meaning that they could no longer be increased by infusing them with more energy. He had a feeling that once he reached the Pinnacle, he’d be able to continue growing them. For now, he was quite happy with what he’d accomplished in two short years.
Traits:
Dense body Max. - Your body has undergone an evolution and has become denser and more compact. All physical attacks are now 49% less damaging, and all skill-based attacks have a 4% chance of failing to damage you at all. This is the maximum your body can manage in its current state.
Recovery Max. - The spirits of the air have blessed you with the power of healing. If you can survive for 3 hours after being wounded, no matter the injury, your body will be completely healed. Your body will begin healing immediately at 20% per hour for 3 hours, and the last 40% will heal at the end of the 3rd hour. This is the maximum your body can manage in its current state.