by J P Carver
Courage is waning in most, but in a state of darkness courage is a firefly the blinks in the black. If you can find it, it could light your way through even the most shrouded of nights.
Applies a buff to strength and negates damage to health for ten seconds or until the shield takes 400 damage. Shield scales with Affinity by 50 points per level to a cap of 1000.
Charges: 2
Cool-down: 1 minute
Affinity req: 8
“Dammit, both would be really useful,” Geo said, looking over the two spells. The ice would make hitting things a lot easier, which he had a lot of trouble with when deaden limbs failed. Though, with the higher affinity that spell had a better chance of working and gave him three charges.
A shield would save him from a deathblow and buff the stat he was working to build. After a few minutes he decided on Summon Courage. He had a giant frog with a giant sword to fight so almost double the health would be useful even if it was only for ten seconds.
You haven’t found any new weapons? Cotora asked as he closed the logbook screen.
“No, which is a major pain. What level is Kaeru?”
Well, he’s a sub-boss monster, so around level five I think. But his stats don’t really line up with yours.
Geo went to the door and listened. He could hear the deep breathing of the frog, but it was soft, almost as if it was sleeping. “Do… do I need to kill the frog?”
Toad. And not doing so would bring dishonor to our entire station.
He looked at the glass eye that was Cotora and shrugged. “Not really seeing a problem with that.”
Cotora gave a huff. ‘Course you wouldn’t. Besides, I just made that up. He has the key to Peyton’s chambers—not that kind of chamber, sicko.
“Wh-what? What are you yelling at me for? I didn’t say anything.”
You were thinking it, she huffed. But the point still stands. You want to get to the second floor you have to go through Peyton and to do that, you need the key which Kaeru will drop.
“Kinda figured it would be that way. I can attack him while he’s sleeping right?”
You are a demon in human skin.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said and quietly pushed open the door. The giant toad sat in the middle of the hallway, his sword in the crook of his arm. It moved with his breathing and his large eyes were closed tight.
Geo stepped out into the hall, his weapon raised, and crossed to the sleeping frog. The moment to strike came, but before he could do so the large yellow eyes opened and Geo stumbled back.
“You’ve come out of hiding, Geo-kun?” the toad asked and stood towering over Geo. “I’m crossed with you, but that will come out in our fight.” He walked away without another look and after a few seconds, Geo followed the strange toad.
They entered into a long, high room. Down the middle was a walkway about eight feet wide. On either side was grating that went another three feet before it opened to show a green liquid that bubbled and flowed. The stench was worse than anything Geo had smelled before and he covered his nose.
“This shall be our battlefield. If you want to get to my Mistress, Geo-kun, you’ll have to defeat me for I am her guardian. Because of that, I can not allow a rascal such as you to meet with her.”
Geo didn’t see the sword until the last second and dodged to the right, his boots rattling the granting.
The blade left a long scar on the stone as Kaeru dragged it back. He sat back on his legs, his chest puffed out and he smiled grandly at Geo.
“Well done, I believe you’re the first to ever see that coming. I was right about our battle.”
Geo said nothing and kept his eyes on the sword. It came again, and he was fully ready for it. He dodged it just as it was about to connect, but it didn’t matter. Something else hit him so hard that he flew back across the room and slammed into the stonewall. His head rang and his vision danced. He had forgotten to watch out for its feet.
Geo’s health was still in the green, but the hit had a taken a good chunk out of it. Kaeru didn’t move from his spot, just rested back into his previous stance.
“Bastard frog…” Geo muttered as he pushed himself to his feet. He walked the few feet to pick up his sword and then continued until he stood in front of the toad which regarded him with eyes half closed.
“That would have killed a lot of adventurers… strange that you seem to have most of your health. What level are you? Six or seven?”
“Three,” Geo said and raised his sword.
The toad’s eyes widened. “You should have died, yes, that much I know. You may be an interesting opponent, Geo-kun. Please, continue to give your all and stay interesting”
“I plan on it.” He rushed forward and saw Kaeru's blade move. He was ready and slid under it. He activated
Even with the spell, the leg moved so fast that it clipped Geo and knocked him from his feet. He rolled out and continued forward.
A hand came down and swatted him away, leaving his sword embed in the large toad and it looked like little more than a pin compared to the toad’s size. Geo rolled across the floor, wishing he had activated his courage spell, but he had honestly forgotten about it until he was tumbling like a rag-doll.
Getting to his feet, he found his health in the yellow. He ached, but there wasn’t any real pain in his body. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and cursed.
“First fight and already took a good bit of life from me. Very impressive, Geo-kun,” Kaeru said as he pulled the sword from his leg and then tossed it toward Geo. “Let us continue as I am curious how you still live with the hits you have taken.”
Geo had been wondering the same. Each hit that connected felt like it should have ended him twice over, and yet his health wasn’t that bad. He looked down, and he realized the source of his survival: the spider armor. It gave better protection against blunt and slashing attacks. He grinned and popped a healing draught. He could tank three or four of the toad’s hits before needing to heal.
That didn’t change the fact he still had to damage the toad enough to kill it. The bar above Kaeru’s head had dropped a good amount, but to Geo’s surprise it also was ticking back upwards. A minute and all the damage he did would be gone. He would have to be more aggressive.
He rushed him, the only thought in his mind was to do damage and stop the regeneration.
A cloud of purple appeared from behind Kaeru’s head and started to fill the space between them. Geo ran into it, coughing as it felt like the purple smoke was full of needles that he had just inhaled. It was poison.
He didn’t see the blade until it was too late as it cut a swath through the fog of poison. The broad side of the sword hit him and while his armor absorbed the impact, the hit sent him into the bubbling ooze.
It burned everywhere it touched, the pain so intense that it felt like he was melting. He looked down at his hands. He was.
Geo woke screaming, the pain still imprinted into his memory. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was in the safe room again and that his flesh hadn’t completely melted off his bones. He looked around just to reassure himself that there was no leaking green ooze.
You lasted far longer than I expected against the toad, Cotora said. How d'you die?
“It doesn’t matter, it was my own damn fault,” he said and stood. He checked over his equipment and then looked at the glass eye of Cotora. “I’m going to beat him this time.”
If she replied he didn’t hear it as he headed out of the door, determined to kill the toad. He felt he could do it, he just had to avoid being knocked off the platfor
m. He didn’t have a plan, just a desire.
A status popped up as he stepped out onto the stone.
Determination is now +6
Psyche is now 91
Calling a Toad a Frog
Geo stopped a few feet from the toad who was smoking and watching the bubbles pop lazily in the ooze. He dropped the tip of his sword on the stone which echoed in the large room.
Kaeru looked up, a smoke ring escaping his large nostrils. He grinned. “Back sooner than expected. Good, have you learned anything from our last fight?”
Geo nodded slowly. “Greed. It was a lesson I’ve been taught a lot on this floor, but never really took to heart.”
Kaeru beamed and then laughed. “Oh thank the heavens, Mistress worried you would never grasp that flaw in your fighting. You saw my health restoring and just couldn’t resist. Can you now?”
“We’ll have to see,” Geo said and raised his longsword. “Are you ready?”
“I am,” Kaeru said and got to his feet. He stowed the pipe in his robe, planted his feet, and picked up his sword. “Come, Geo-kun.”
Geo dashed toward the toad, but he wasn’t rushing to attack, instead he wanted to watch Kaeru’s reaction to a frontal assault. How he defended himself, how he moved.
Geo saw the slap with the sword coming and slid to a stop just before it. It missed wildly which made Kaeru spin to regain his balance.
Taking advantage of the overextension, Geo used his skill
Kaeru took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at Geo. “I still haven’t figured out how you withstand my kicks. What have you leveled to make it so?” He stroked his long beard and his tongue darted from his mouth slightly. “It’s not your level. It’s your equipment. Yes, that makes more sense. What are you wearing there?”
“Just your average, everyday armor,” Geo said as he attacked again, calling for
Geo didn’t need to tank the hit from the leg this time as he could just move out of the way. He wailed on the front of Kaeru, tearing his robe to shreds, while keeping count in his head. At eight seconds he darted back out and felt the wind break behind him as the sword cleaved the air he was in a moment before. The gust sent him tumbling, but he regained his footing quickly.
Kaeru’s health bar showed to be a sliver above half health, but already regenerating. With two
Tanking the hits was something he could do, but each one had enough force behind it to send him end over end. Taking the hit wouldn’t allow him to continue to do damage. He needed to think of something else.
“Hey, frog!” he called and Kaeru jerked in surprise and then turned his big eyes around the room, as if looking for someone else. He then pointed at himself with one long finger. “Yeah, you.”
“I am a toad, Geo-kun. Please, don’t insult me.” For the first time Geo heard an edge to Kaeru’s voice, and it was a little unnerving.
“Whatever. You’re holding back, aren’t you?”
Kaeru cocked his head. “Am I?”
“I think you are. Why?”
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, my dear Geo-kun. This is not my usual arena and so my natural abilities are somewhat limited.”
Geo threw a knife and it hit Kaeru in the arm. “I don’t want you regenerating even more. If they’re limited, then why are you here?”
“That is something you will—stop that, I am not a pin-cushion,” he said after Geo threw another throwing knife. “My mistress is the one that created the dungeon, I have no say in it. You are wasting precious time.”
“Nope, just gaining it,” he said and checked his skill. It was back up. He’d go all out, all three things he’d learn would go into this attack. But he couldn’t attack directly, he needed to get the toad off balance to allow the full impact. He also needed to watch out for the poison cloud.
His best bet would be to get Kaeru to try to hit him, but he’d been only counter attacking so far. “Hey, frog!”
“I told you—”
“What? I know you aren’t a toad, you’re a frog. A simple little frog. You probably grew up in some second rate swamp. What am I saying? You grew up in a puddle. You’re still a tadpole—”
The sword came down and shook everything so hard that stone dust showered the walkway. Kaeru was up on his legs now, hunched over as his head would hit the ceiling. He stalked forward, towering over Geo. “I am Kaeru. I am a god among simpletons like yourself. You are nothing. A fly I will devour.”
Geo couldn’t believe those insults hit the mark. This guy wouldn’t survive a day around Cotora.
“Maybe, but I’m still not a lowly frog,” Geo said and readied his sword before charging. He called on
His sword went through the toad’s abdomen, sinking deeper and deeper and Geo put everything he had into the attack.
Kaeru bled green all over the stone, one of his long-fingered hands was clutching at the wound. His breathing came ragged and he staggered a few steps. “I see now…”
Geo got to his feet, huffing. It hadn’t been enough and all his skills were on cool down except for
He shook his head. Greed had killed him last time. He’d wait. He’d plan. He didn’t get the chance as it was Kaeru’s turn to charge him, sword held high, blood leaving a river of green behind him.
Geo tried
They both dropped to their haunches, their blood mixing in the lines of stone. Geo struggled to look up and found Kaeru looking down at him, smiling even while green blood trailed for his lips.
“This time it was my greed that did me in. Well done, Geo, even if I do not see why Mistress would want to help someone… someone like you.”
The toad exploded in a shower of green and brown sparks. A large golden orb floated where he had been. Geo went to reach for it, but found that his left arm was gone. He could feel it still, like a phantom limb, and he had to remind himself that it was AR, not real life. Still, looking down at a missing arm was disturbing.
The golden orb popped open when he touched it. From it spilled five items, one of which was the key. He decided to go through them later and opened his inventory and looted all. A notification popped up.
Sub-Boss Killed! You've been granted bonus XP!
He stood slowly, his pants soaked with green and red blood. He glanced at his health bar as he started the trek back to the safe room. There was only a tiny red sliver at the corner.
The consequence of calling a toad a frog.
Into the Chamber
He pulled still burning web from the front of his armor and stood before a pair of doors made of rotted wood and rusted steal. He had died a dozen times making his way to these doors. Mostly to the red spiders as they spat globs of flaming web. He really didn’t like the creatures in this game.
The fight with Kaeru had given him a few upgrades and one more level. He put the point into strength to scale with his
Frostblade Indigo (Purple)
Attack: 110
Those who desire control will find their hearts as frozen as they wish others were.
A longsword quenched during forging with the blood of an ice wyvern. Causes frostbite with each hit. If frostbite is fully applied, speed of target drops by 10%.
With
A shield had also been among the things that were dropped. He didn’t like it at first because it slowed him down, but the fire spiders and the one alligator he encountered made him see how useful it could be. He couldn’t believe there was an actual alligator in the game, but the thing broke his legs twice with its tail. He learned to kneel and block after an attack.
Steward’s Heater Shield (Green)
Defense: 60 (220)
A shield should only be a tiny respite. If one uses it continuously, they will find themselves beaten down until all they can do is cower behind it. To move forward, one must attack as much as they defend.
A metal shield with a worn crest of an eagle on it. Provides good protection against all attacks.