Beastborne

by James T Callum

He could hardly believe what he just read. Hal was so stunned, he barely registered the husk bearing down on him.

  Shaking his stupor, Hal worked [Brilliance] up and over. He brought the blade down in a savage diagonal cut, opening up the husk from shoulder to hip. But he didn’t see the creature behind that one, its wicked jagged-toothed blade already falling for Hal’s shoulder.

  He tried to lean away to lessen the blow but already knew he would be too slow to avoid the worst of it.

  The sky darkened for a moment and a deep resounding clang echoed across the area, accompanied by shattering glass. Ashera, shield raised in Hal’s defense, blocked out the feeble light of the Manashield. With a bellow of rage, she pulled back and swung her massive hammer with all her might, shattering the husk in one swing.

  You defeat the [Crystallized Husk | Lv. 16].

  Ashera blocks the [Crystallized Husk | Lv. 17], receiving 15 points of damage.

  Ashera hits the [Crystallized Husk | Lv. 17] for 230 points of damage.

  Ashera defeats the [Crystallized Husk | Lv. 17].

  You gain 400 Experience Points.

  You absorb 20 points of Eldritch Essence.

  You earn 40 Sparks.

  Ashera joins the Party.

  29

  Unwinded, Ashera raised her hammer and let loose an inspiring battle cry that seemed to push the fatigue right out of Hal’s tired muscles. Hal blinked hard to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

  Another swipe of Ashera’s hammer broke two of the creatures apart and a wide swing of her shield arm deflected the blow of a third. Whether it was some magic Ashera didn’t know she had or her presence, Hal felt renewed.

  Ashera uses Battle Cry.

  HP, SP, and MP restored.

  Ashera defeats the [Crystallized Husk | Lv. 25].

  Ashera defeats the [Crystallized Husk | Lv. 26].

  You gain 600 Experience Points.

  You absorb 40 Eldritch Essence.

  You earn 60 Sparks.

  Monster Attunements Available

  Eldritch: 1

  Fear Killer 0/5

  Every attack has a 10% chance to inflict the Fear status affliction. Any creature under the effect of Fear takes 15% more damage from you.

  Lv1: 10% Chance | 15% Damage Increase

  Lv2: 15% Chance | 20% Damage Increase

  Lv3: 20% Chance | 25% Damage Increase

  Lv4: 25% Chance | 30% Damage Increase

  Lv5: 35% Chance | 50% Damage Increase

  Elder Prowess 2/5

  Eldritch creatures are deeply attuned to the ebb and flow of mana, making them unparalleled practitioners of the darkest magicks. All magic is 10% more potent.

  Lv1: +10% Magic Potency

  Lv2: +20% Magic Potency

  Lv3: +30% Magic Potency

  Lv4: +40% Magic Potency

  Lv5: +50% Magic Potency

  He didn’t hesitate to get Level 3 of Elder Prowess.

  A quick glance at his stats showed his HP, MP, and SP had all gone up a small amount, his SP more than any others at 75%.

  He locked eyes with Ashera for a moment, grinning at her. “I told you I’d need you.”

  Before she could respond, Hal ducked under Ashera’s outstretched shield arm and cracked the pommel of [Brilliance] into the creature’s belly, expecting to shatter it in one blow. Stumbling from Ashera’s shield bash and further caught off-guard by Hal’s attack, the creature staggered back but did not shatter.

  Mira plummeted through the sky, replacing the creature’s spine with her halberd. She landed lightly, pulling her weapon free of the crystallized ground with a flourish. “Good of you to finally join us!”

  A streaking series of arrows flew around the trio, striking nearby husks and detonating with blue manafire. They turned to regard the source of the attack. Elora waved from her perch atop the wagons next to Angram and Yesel. <“If you’re done patting yourselves on the back, I suggest you look to the south.”>

  For a moment there was a reprieve. Noth leaned on her scythe as the four allies turned to look southward as one.

  Beyond the eager dwarves that hacked apart the weakened husks Elora just blasted, there was a new wave of creatures coming. It didn’t escape Hal’s notice that as soon as the Manastorm hit Stage 2, the creatures all jumped up roughly 10 Levels, presenting a much more significant threat.

  Worse, the new creatures coming toward them were larger and meaner with strange aberrant qualities. Two creatures walked in lock-step, 20 feet tall and half as wide. On the sides facing each other, they sprouted a series of those bizarre crystals that appeared to be in the middle of melting.

  Red-purple lightning crackled between the two creatures, climbing from the lowest crystals from the ground up to those attached to their faceless heads like some disturbing Jacob's ladder.

  As they watched, the lesser creatures shifted and folded with sickening cracks and fleshy pops. Even as they charged the Manashield the husks transformed into further abominations.

  But through them, Hal noticed something in the distance. It was almost impossible to see when there were so many creatures on the battlefield but now that they were thinning to make room for presumably stronger creatures, Hal could barely make out the shimmering rift in the distance.

  He pointed it out to the others. <“Elora, how’s your Ultimate looking?”>

  Nearly half an hour of fighting weak creatures wasn’t much, not to mention they had been down a single member of the party during that time before Ashera arrived. Hal was sitting at 67% Ultimate, the golden glowing bar inching ever closer toward completion. But not soon enough.

  Fighting weaker enemies, even deceptively weak ones like the husks, barely moved the bar.

  Noth pointed her scythe toward one of the lumbering giants making its way toward them. “Incoming.”

  “If we focus on the stronger monsters,” Ashera said, rolling her shoulders and getting into a battle stance. “Then we can build our Ultimates faster. But to what end?”

  “I saw something in the distance,” Hal answered, recasting Feather Barrier and spreading it to all of his party members, renewing it for some while granting it to Ashera for the first time. “I can still feel the pull toward it. I don’t know what it is but standing here fighting hordes of enemies clearly isn’t doing much, is it?”

  Hal kept a weather eye on his Strain. Throughout the fight, he was doing his best to manage it, keeping it under any Affliction Levels to prevent a runaway buildup. Even after careful metering of his Beast Magic, he was still sitting at 11 Strain, just under the first Affliction Level which would trigger at 15 Strain.

  While the increased damage would be useful, the greater Strain accumulation and the higher MP cost would be hard to control if the fight dragged out much longer.

  <“You guys do realize I can’t hear you when you don’t use the party communications, right?”> Elora said with more than a little acid in her voice.

  Hal repeated himself for Elora’s sake just as a long arm swung down to crash into him. All four of them dove aside as a streak of blue lightning cracked through the air at the same time as the colossal fist slammed into the ground.

  Elora uses Pinning Shot.

  The [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35] suffers 120 points of damage.

  Additional Effect: Bind.

  Hal got his feet up under him first, using the speed boost of Convergence to quicken his movements. He found he no longer needed to coat himself in an essence in order to trigger Convergence.

  As long as he was using Splice, the ability automatically triggered. Better yet, the more he used it the finer control he seemed to have. With a little conscious effort, Hal could provide an additional boost to specific limbs.

  A dark phantom of a diving bird screeched to life and dove at the towering creature with its arm stuck in the ground. Just like with Enchainment, the act of attacking the creature broke the binding enchantment. But it had served its purpose.

  Hal wasn’t the only one who took the opportun
ity to attack.

  Elora covered the distance with amazing speed, running up the recently freed crystal-fused arm and drawing back on her bow. Just as Hal’s Divebomb hit the giant, Elora let loose a brutal point-blank arrow blast. Deep purple mana lanced through the creature’s smooth head and sped off into the distance outside the Manashield.

  Noth swept her scythe at the creature’s ankle, severing it in one hearty blow. A mighty hammer strike cracked the Crystallized Brute’s other leg. And as it was reeling from the sudden, savage assault, Mira dropped from the sky impaling it through the middle and shattering the creature’s essence into a thousand glittering shards of light.

  You cast Divebomb.

  Synergy Triggered!

  The [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35] takes 275 points of damage.

  Elora uses Lightning Shot.

  Savage Attack!

  The [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35] takes 557 points of damage.

  Noth hits the [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35] for 101 points of damage.

  Additional Effect: Bleeding Darkness.

  Ashera hits the [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35] for 200 points of damage.

  Mira uses Falling Spear.

  The [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35] 550 points of damage.

  Mira defeats the [Crystallized Brute | Lv. 35].

  You gain 2,200 Experience Points.

  You absorb 20 Eldritch Essence.

  You earn 220 Sparks.

  Strain Affliction Lv.1 (Taxed).

  You have taxed your body beyond normal limitations. Channeling Beast Magic has its costs and each use of the magic warps your body in new and unforeseen ways. Using Beast Magic beyond this point risks more than your health.

  Beast Magic Efficacy +20% | Beast Magic Damage +20%

  MP Cost +10% | Strain Accumulation +15%

  Here we go, Hal thought to himself. The boost Elder Prowess gave his Divebomb was surprisingly noticeable. The familiar tension invaded every inch of his body. Besal battered against his cage, somehow more eager than usual to be let out.

  You need me, Besal snarled in Hal’s head. This foe is beyond you. Join with me again that we might survive the day.

  30

  No, Hal replied. This is my fight and I will win it through my strength and that of my allies. I will not lean on you like a crutch.

  We shall see about that, Besal grumbled. Despite his words, he did calm down. Enough so that Hal could feel in control once more.

  Not that Besal threatened to wrest it away from him, but the very act of another intelligence trying to break free within your own mind was very distracting.

  That lone Crystallized Brute was enough to push Hal’s Ultimate up to 75%. “Look for more of those creatures,” Hal said. He turned to Elora. “Once your Ultimate is ready, I’ll need you to clear me a path forward. Right there, do you see that distortion in the air?”

  Elora nodded. Several of the brutes were between them and the shimmering Hal pointed out, not to mention a score or more of the empowered husks. Hal knew without a shadow of a doubt that he needed to get to that distortion.

  The source of the Manastorm was there.

  And with the Area Effect poisoning the air, he seemed uniquely capable of reaching it. At least he hoped he was. There was a bit of a leap of logic in assuming the remnants of the Manaseed within him would shelter him from the Manastorm’s Caustic Air.

  All in due time, he reminded himself. They would have to survive long enough to build up their Ultimates. And even once that was accomplished they would need to clear out the monsters between their current position and the distortion.

  Even if Hal reached it, he wasn’t sure he knew what to do once there. It wasn’t like any of his powers ever came with an instruction manual, especially the more esoteric ones.

  The ground trembled with the quaking blast of another brute’s arrival. Not just any giant, but the twinned version Hal saw earlier. The creatures lumbered in synchronized movements, arcs of purple and red lightning jumping between their crystal clusters.

  A handful of dwarves were batted aside and one was crushed beneath the heavy foot of the creature. The creatures spread their arms wide and opened a vertical rift of jagged crystallized bones upon their chests and let loose a rending blast of lightning. The air reeked of ozone. And when the smoke cleared the group of heavily armored dwarves was nothing more than a smoking crater.

  There were easier targets around, ones that they could down with efficiency before those creatures got off more than one or two hits. A few of those fights and their Ultimate would be charged – aside from Ashera’s - and Hal could put an end to the Manastorm.

  Or so he hoped.

  But he couldn’t stand idly by while his people were attacked. The Bouldergut Clan was under his protection. Hal pointed at it. <“We’re taking that down.”> He summoned the [Chain of Binding] and wrapped it around his left forearm. Hal put away [Brilliance] and extended his now empty hand to Mira. <“You ready, fly girl?”>

  Mira raised a brow at him then smirked that cocky grin of hers. <“Try not to break your legs on the fall, beast boy.”>

  <“Do try to catch up,”> Hal said over his shoulder as Mira launched them into the air.

  “You really are insane, you know that?” Mira shouted at him over the roar of the wind in their ears as she soared through the sky, their heads barely grazing the underside of the moonlight Manashield.

  Hal grinned at her, dropping party communication as she had, “Normal is boring, now throw me at him.”

  Without the slightest hesitation, Mira twisted her hips and flung Hal around in one full revolution before letting him fly like a loosed arrow toward the twinned giants.

  He immediately fell into spellcasting, knowing he had to make as big an impact as possible. He chain-cast Divebomb three times in a row, feeling his Strain mount with each cast. He pushed through it, already halfway to the creature now, his phantasmic spells leading the way.

  Strain Affliction Lv.2 (Savage).

  Most mortals would have fallen at this point. Few Chimera Knights even reach this pinnacle of savagery. But a Beastborne thrives on the knife’s edge of destruction. It is there that they find both greatness and despair.

  Beast Magic Efficacy +60% | Beast Magic Damage +60%

  Essence Tier +1

  Max HP +10% | Max MP +10%

  MP Cost +15% | Strain Accumulation +25%

  Just what I was hoping for, he thought. Tapping into both eldritch and aberration, he created black-boned limbs that stuck out like spider legs from his back. Each of the six limbs were angled forward and tipped with wickedly barbed points he could use to stab.

  Hal summoned Goblin Rush, wrapping himself in the phantasmal blades of a wildly slashing goblin. Turning his body into a living missile aimed straight at the towering creatures that were looking to finish off the stunned and helpless dwarves.

  He crashed into the creature seconds after his triple Divebombs connected. His Goblin Rush cleaved through, but only just. He focused all his effort on casting Goblin Rush over and over, maintaining the spell that was simultaneously protecting him and dealing devastating damage to the creature.

  His spell carved through the creature and his concentration shattered to flinders as Hal impacted upon the hard ground. He rolled with the bone-jarring landing, absorbing as much impact as he could.

  It still hurt.

  The impact jarred Hal more than he thought it would, as he struggled to gain his sensibilities he noticed the upper half of the rightmost giant squirming beside him. It reached out with a single weakened claw and then fell limp, scattered into shimmering light and bits of crystalline shards.

  With Edge of Disaster, Hal moved with preternatural speed. The haste effect for each point of Strain made him move well over 30% faster than he usually could. And that made his reactions that much faster as well.

  So as the Gemini Giant’s foot came down to crush him, Hal rolled and pushed with all his might. His black bone appendages thrust again
st the hard ground and pushed him away in the nick of time.

  Launched through the air and away from the quaking ground, Hal righted himself and used his bone appendages to catch and soften his fall. They were far stronger than the shadow limbs he used before. Mostly due to the enhanced essence tier from his Affliction Level.

  There was something else to them as well. They were solid matter, hinged and designed like spider legs that could bend in any direction he desired. Being solid must have something to do with the strength of them.

  No, that didn’t seem right. Hal pulled out [Brilliance] and watched the Gemini Giant warily as it howled and stomped around in a rage. The strength of his essence was probably a direct correlation to the strength of the limb.

  By channeling his two strongest essences, eldritch and aberration, his conjured limbs were that much stronger. He caught sight of one out of the corner of his eye and shivered. He much preferred the look of his shadow-limbs.

  Function over form, Besal said into his head. You mortals are too caught up in appearances. Power is power. Use it.

  He still couldn’t believe the amount of damage he wreaked on that thing. It was a sobering reminder just how much of a high risk, high reward the Fabled Class Beastborne was. At Strain Level 2, all of his Beast Magic hit harder and was more effective – though he wasn’t too clear about that last part.

  With the boost from Elder Prowess, he was punching far above his current Level. And still, the Gemini Giant stood. Or rather, half of the creature’s twinned bodies did.

  The rightmost creature was reduced to little more than a pair of upright legs.