by N H Paxton
“Hey!” A shout from above caught my attention as a rope shot down toward me.
A half-dozen other ropes all fell around the same time, then a dozen fighters rushed the wall. I was caught in the middle of the rush of new people who all started climbing the ropes. I had a bad feeling about those ropes, but the others didn’t seem to be bothered, as they shimmied right along.
The sound of an explosion nearby turned my attention to a huge plume of dust that arrived on the battlefield. A person wearing an unnecessarily large suit of plate armor knelt in the crater that had been created. He stood slowly, the armor gleaming in the firelight.
“Oh, no, what in hell.” I sighed heavily.
The armored giant pulled an absurdly large greatsword from the ground nearby, made entirely out of earth. The giant whipped the blade around as though it weighed nothing.
A considerable number of mercenaries and Crimson Alliance fighters rushed the armored menace. It seemed unimpressed by the attack, instead just sweeping the greatsword around itself in a huge arc, knocking back nearly all of the melee fighters, killing a few of them outright.
Things were about to get considerably more complicated.
Everything, Now...
THE BALLISTAE HAD STOPPED for the most part, which I thought we had the climbing team to thank for, so it was more or less safe to be out in the open again. I charged the gargantuan fighter, firing off several rounds from Gamma in the process. The bolts of chaotic energy slammed into the unearthly warrior, sending him slightly off balance.
The other fighters took the chance I had created and leapt onto the armored devil. They managed to pull it off its feet and onto the ground. The sound of crunching bodies accompanied the great clang that arose from the giant as he hit the earth.
I arrived in time to see someone mount the knight’s front side, hauling himself up on the rivets of the armor. The climber pulled a pair of daggers from his hip and jammed them into a space between plates.
Even from the ground, I could tell the armor was hastily prepared. The Rogue pried with all of his might, then a large battle-axe was added from a fighter on the ground. Then another weapon and another, until the straining of metal and the groan of steel filled the air. The metal sheets separated with an intense crunch, like a car accident back on Earth, gigantic pieces of metal chest armor falling to the ground.
A dark red substance leaked out from where the rivets had been inset. Had they been fastened into the creature’s flesh?
A mighty roar, so loud and intense that it vibrated the ground on which we stood, issued forth from the living mountain. It swiped at the fighters, knocking them off of itself. It picked up the Rogue who had started stripping its armor, bellowed at him, then slammed him into the ground repeatedly. The air filled with a pink haze as the poor Rogue was turned to paste. The gargantuan creature stood up, issuing another intense roar.
There was a red light coming from underneath the helmet that hid the beast’s head, like one might see in those old monster movies from Earth. The skin that was exposed had a pebbled appearance, like thick scales, with a deep forest green coloration. The creature reared back then leaned forward, a massive stream of flame spewing from the front of its helmet.
I retreated a few steps, trying to stay out of range of the fire breath. I brought Gamma to bear, and fired off another series of shots, bunching them together, aiming for the exposed portion of the creature’s chest. The rounds streaked through the air like shots fired from a Roman Candle, then hit with the same implosion-explosion pattern I had seen at the testing grounds.
The creature’s armor shook as more pieces fell off, the impact from the rounds dropping it to a knee. The helm’s faceplate was open, melted from the blast of flame. The space underneath was occupied by a reptilian snout and abhorrent fangs. A tag finally popped up above the creature’s head as it glared directly at me: [Armored Karvalos]. It appeared to be a large dragon, but with humanoid features. It threw its arms out and roared into the air. The Karvalos was easily as tall as ten men standing upon one another’s shoulders and half as wide. It was a walking mountain made of steel, scales, and rage.
“Vlad made angry!” I backpedaled as it rose from the ground, a number of fighters forming up in ranks in front of me.
“Raid boss!” One of the fighters shouted as he pumped his fist in the air.
I did not know what a raid boss was, but I had the feeling that I had just made one very upset. What was the term where someone had all of the enemy’s attention? Oh, yes, aggro.
“Front line, melee tanks! Second line, get physical DPS on his ass!” The voice was familiar, strong and sure.
I turned my head and saw Eberand shouting orders, the rest of the Ebenguard surrounding him. Anya was creating a front line of tanks, setting her position and yelling commands. Her words made the air shimmer and hum, like magic. She was using buff abilities.
“Third line, we need magical DPS, focus on the weak spots that are missing armor!” Eberand yanked his greatsword from his back and fell in line with the melee DPS fighters.
“Rangers and Rogues, with me!” Ken’s voice was rich with passion as he waved in the air. Soldiers with bows, crossbows, and knives flocked to him. He created a knotted group around him, arranging the archers and crossbowmen behind his Rogues.
“Let’s kick his ass!” Anya’s pleasant voice was filled with rage as she charged, her sword clanging against her shield as she ran toward the towering monstrosity.
The Karvalos’s gaze shifted to her from me, and I felt a bit of pressure shift off of my shoulders. I looked at Ken’s group, where the ranged units were releasing efficient volleys at the enemy and the Rogues were vanishing in puffs of smoke. I should have been with them, but I wasn’t. I was standing on the sidelines.
I was able to pick Garret out of the assaulting melee group because of his oversized greataxe. He rushed in without concern, hacking away at the creature’s leg. Thanks to the heavy armor the monster was wearing, great showers of sparks exploded outward with every blow the melee team landed. Many and more melee units were striking, a few climbing up the creature’s sides, trying to get their weapons into the exposed belly and chest.
Several Rogues popped up in a random pattern, their daggers and short swords slicing at whatever wasn’t completely protected. The Karvalos reached out and swatted the air, sending a Rogue flying, his body spinning out of control through space. Another Rogue sank his daggers deep into the snout of the monstrosity, only to be wrapped in the Karvalos’s tongue and hauled, kicking and screaming, into its mouth. The violent cracking and snapping of bone filled the air as the ungodly creature chewed the Rogue to death.
A massive firestorm was falling directly on top of the Karvalos, but the flames simply slid off the creature. I saw an enormous spike of ice impale the creature’s foot, the crystal blue smeared heavily with red. A whirlwind of air, so sharp the currents of it were visible, tore at the creature’s flesh. Magic in this world was truly an impressive thing.
Another volley of magic struck the beast, this time in the form of thorned, glowing vines that ensnared the creature’s legs. Small bolts of violet and black slammed into the beast’s chest, wrapping it in unnatural fire. A crag the size of a large vehicle was ripped from the ground behind the Karvalos and flung through the air. It shattered against the beast’s flank.
For all the showmanship, the attacks were having very little effect on the Karvalos. The most effective spells appeared to be the ice ones, though even those didn’t do a great amount of damage.
The Karvalos roared and raised its free hand into the air. A brown, ugly sigil carved itself into the sky. Within a second, hundreds of spikes of sharpened stone were hurtling through the air at the mage line. Several mages were impaled outright, but most were able to escape the brutal magic attack.
Another sound, this time a piercing shriek, filled my ears. All of the spells being launched at the Karvalos stopped immediately as mages and healers fell to the g
round, some of them clenching their heads, others with frozen screams in place on their lips. I found the inside of my head buzzing; sounds were completely gone, and I was unable to speak. The pain forced me to the ground. A debuff appeared on my interface.
<<<>>>
Debuff Added
Audicum Ventelerium Rupturis: You are deafened and silenced due to a sinister spell that has ruptured your eardrums and torn your vocal chords; duration, 2 minutes.
<<<>>>
Not only did it deafen everyone in the area, it also caused silence!? What kind of monster was this thing? I shook my head as the debuff timer wound its way down. I needed to try to join the assault. I stood, my body fighting the effort.
“DeStRoY!” Gamma’s voice was gnarled and dark. It had changed from the gentle chirping I was used to hearing in my head to something much more violent.
Apparently the deafen and silence didn’t have an impact on Living Weapons. I felt the urge to crush everything in my wake, and I gave in. I needed to fight, I needed to annihilate this excessively large threat. I shouted a battle cry and unleashed a chaotic volley of Chaos Bolts at the Karvalos. They ripped through space and stuck in the flesh of the creature. That was different.
Blood sprayed out from the locations where the bolts landed, then minor explosions ripped through the Karvalos’s flesh.
“ImPaLiNg ChAoS,” said Gamma, his words a grating pain in the back of my head. This new flavor of Gamma’s voice would take some considerable getting used to.
The debuff wore off, and the fight was joined once more, the melee fighters assailing the creature as hard as they could before a change overtook the Karvalos. It clenched its fists and began inhaling deeply.
“Returning fire!” Eberand’s voice rose over the battle din as everyone in melee range backed away, the tanks all raising their shields as one. A blue light enveloped the tanks as a series of chants rose from the back ranks of the group.
The Karvalos’s chest bloomed red, then it exhaled, spewing flames from its mouth in a massive cone in front of it, engulfing the entire group of tanks. One of the blue shells failed under the assault, the tank screaming as his flesh melted from his bones, his scorched body collapsing under the weight of his armor.
The Karvalos followed up his deadly flame attack with a powerful swipe of its greatsword. It wiped out another tank, who was torn in two at the abdomen.
From what I could tell, The Karvalos wasn’t even below 75% yet, despite all of the spells, arrows, and punishment that we were raining down on it.
A gentle light floated above another of the tanks. He rose from the ground, his body carried on a beam of light that expanded like a pair of angel wings on his back to a young woman in the rear guard wearing a pair of robes that glowed a pleasant light blue. I had never seen a recall spell before; it was a sight to behold.
I turned my attention back to the Karvalos, who was now focusing on Anya. He slammed his greatsword into her shield, then used the momentum to bash his other hand against her weapon.
She was doing an excellent job of parrying and blocking his attacks, but she was looking pretty beat up. Blood ran from her hairline and down across her face. Her plate armor was dented and no longer the shining image of protection it once was.
Anger burned in my chest, watching the beast’s onslaught. Her shield lagged just a half second too long, a result of her fatigue and injury, and the greatsword bit into her shoulder, driving Anya to the ground. An intense fury sparked in my soul, turning my emotions white hot.
My vision narrowed on the Karvalos, everything around it going black. I saw a point of weakness in its chest, where one of my Impaling Chaos shots had landed. The wound was still wide open, and the thick muscles of the creature’s chest were visible. My sight zoomed in, almost uninvitedly. I felt power flowing through my hands as I raised Gamma, taking aim.
A notification bloomed in the middle of my vision for just an instant before I dismissed it, the power threatening to overwhelm my senses.
<<<>>>
Living Weapon Skill Unlocked!
Skill: Soul Shatter
By focusing the intensity of absolute chaos, the mind and soul of the living weapon and its creator are melded briefly, creating a terrifying bolt of energy. This ability strikes with the intensity of Chaos Incarnate, rending soul and body alike.
Skill Type/Level: Active/Level Null
Cost: All Spirit
Effect: Deals damage equal to total Spirit consumed x 10. This ability cannot be used more than once every 48 hours and only triggers under very specific circumstances.
<<<>>>
“Soul Shatter!” I shouted as I held the trigger down.
The weapon kicked in my hands, building a charge I hadn’t constructed the device to handle. It whined as the crystal within Gamma’s stock glowed and blossomed, then, as if shot from a cannon many times larger than the barrel was, an impact shock wave preceded an almost invisibly small sphere of energy. The recoil from the shot nearly knocked me off my feet, but I held on, staggering.
Time slowed as the sphere traveled through time and space, jerking and jogging, almost completely unstable. My vision traveled with the bolt, and the faces of the fighters flashed by, anger and fear forged in their features.
The bolt sank directly into the wound within the chest of the Karvalos, then it imploded. There was a moment of complete silence as sound itself was consumed by the salvo. An eternity passed before the energy exploded outward, tearing the Karvalos to pieces. Gore rained down for hundreds of meters, followed by a stinking, pink mist that seemed to simply float in the air.
“Healer!” I shouted as I ran to Anya’s side. Her body was brutalized, but I was fairly certain she was still breathing. I ignored the looks on the faces of the people I passed by—I just needed to get to Anya.
I arrived at her side and let out a sigh of relief as she coughed and sputtered, facedown in the gore-spattered dirt.
“L-Lord Vlad...” Her words were unsteady and shallow, almost a whisper. I grabbed one of her gauntleted hands and waved down one of the healers I had shouted at. A large, rotund fellow in robes that were entirely too tight, with an unruly mop of black hair on his head, leaned over and waved a hand over Anya. A peaceful light covered her body, and her breathing steadied.
“She was almost gone. You were right in time.” The healer’s voice was high pitched and slightly annoying, but he had saved a member of the Ebenguard, so I let it slide.
“Hey, dude. What the hell did you do to that thing?” One of the rangers, a crossbowman, helped me to stand.
“No idea. Felt anger, then explosion.” I raised an eyebrow at a timer I had in the corner of my interface, it was counting down from 48 hours...
I reached down to some large chunks of remaining Karvalos, looting my share of the drops.
<<<>>>
Gauntlets of the Embersmith
Armor Type: Heavy; Gauntlets
Class: Rare
Base Armor: 25
Primary Effects:
Increases Smithing skill levels by (1)
Increases level of produced items from the Smithing skill by (1)
Reduces Smithing time by 33%
<<<>>>
Leggings of the Everhunting
Armor Type: Medium; Fine Leather
Class: Rare
Base Armor: 27
Primary Effects:
Improves Stealth skills by (2)
Backstab skill + 2
<<<>>>
Ring of the Weary Guardian
Armor Type: Ring
Class: Rare
Primary Effects:
+3 Intelligence
+4 Constitution
+25 Health points
<<<>>>
In addition to the gear, two pieces of which I was completely unable to wear, I received ten gold, forty-five silver, and eighteen copper. A notification popped up after I finished looting him.
<<<>>>
x1 Level Up!
&
nbsp; You have (5) undistributed attribute points!
You have gained (1) proficiency point!
You have (8) undistributed proficiency points!
<<<>>>
Reaper of Chaos has Leveled Up!
The Reaper of Chaos has grown a level and will now be more capable of assisting you in battle. As a result, the Living Weapon’s stats have improved! You have also unlocked the Living Weapon’s skill tree! You may spend proficiency points within the skill tree like your own trees, unlocking new and powerful abilities.
<<<>>>
Reaper of Chaos – eX
Weapon Type: Engineered; Chargebow
Class: Legendary; Two-handed
Base Damage: 58
Primary Effects:
+22 points shadow damage + (0.3 x character level)
+22 points fire damage + (0.3 x character level)
Intelligence bonus: 0.5 x character level
Spirit bonus: 0.5 x character level
Secondary Effects:
Charges explode on impact, dealing AoE damage in a small area at the site of impact.
Living Weapon
Chargebows do not consume ammunition
Skill tree unlocked
<<<>>>
Gamma’s skill tree flew up in front of my face unbidden, and it was truly a sight to behold. There were a lot of skills tucked inside it, and I was terrified to know what it truly was capable of.
<<<>>>
<<<>>>
AS SOON AS I DISMISSED the skill tree, I got several Skill Unlocked notifications.
<<<>>>
Skill Unlocked!
Skill: ShadowFire Bolt
Utilizing advanced technology and a little bit of luck, the Reaper of Chaos fires bolts of ShadowFire energy that implode at the site of impact, then explode, dealing fire and shadow damage in equal measure.
Skill Type/Level: Active/Level 1
Cost: 5 Spirit
Effect: Deals ShadowFire damage on impact equal to your Ranged Attack Strength or Spell Attack Strength, whichever is higher. Half of this damage is shadow and half fire. The area surrounding the point of impact is dealt damage equivalent to 70% of the base damage.