“Meng! Keep the moss over the areas it has already traveled. It should weaken and slow it down,” Storbon said through the party-linked sound transmission devices.
“On it, boss!”
Meng led the moss back to a dead patch of ground and it started to slow down. They continued to attack it, burning away more of the moss. It fell apart even faster than before.
The moss didn’t move to the greener areas filled with life, only pursuing Yao Meng, who only had to move at a slight jog.
Finally the moss fell apart and collapsed onto the ground in a mound of half-burned brown moss with a tombstone above it.
Yuli’s last spell was dismissed as a grenade went off.
“Looks like we cleared the second level,” Storbon said.
“You have passed the second level of the battlefield dungeon.” Egbert’s voice confirmed Storbon’s words.
Everyone was covered in a golden glow as Experience entered their bodies.
Glosil shook his head. He seemed a lot more relaxed than normal. Without having to worry about being the boss, he was even having fun.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty more levels to go.” Yao Meng smiled and then looked at the brown mass by his feet. “How the hell do we harvest this?” Yao Meng crouched down, pulling out his alchemical tools as he started to test the leftover brown moss.
Chapter: Dervin Swamp Event
The group was moving through the swamp, their guard up as a ranger led the way.
“So when did you guys drop in?” Matt asked Erik and Rugrat in a low voice.
“Nearly over a year ago now. You?” Rugrat asked as Erik checked on the casualties. The rest of the group watched them closely.
“A year, maybe two, hard to tell times with different realms and seasons. It was all this government conspiracy, UFO stuff when I left,” Matt said.
“Do you know why it happens?” Erik asked.
“I’ve looked into it, went and talked to a few people and studied in a few libraries. No one knows why it happens. The Ten Realms has always had people in it. There aren’t just humans; there are other intelligent species, even half beast races and elementals. Looks like the Ten Realms just does it to add new blood and ideas into the Ten Realms. It happens randomly and the people are picked without any care for their physical status, age, position, or what they’ve done.”
“There are gods—maybe they’re the ones?” Rugrat asked.
“The gods are gods in name only. They’ve reached the pinnacle of the Ten Realms, but that doesn’t mean that they can control the Ten Realms, just parts of the population in it.
“Take the Alchemist Association or the Blue Lotus. It is known that the Alchemist Association was built by the Alchemy god. It has strict guidelines on who can join but if one wants to be tested on their skill, they must do so freely. The Alchemist Association is more like a university back on Earth. You can join the religion but you still have your job, house, and rest of your life unless you dedicate yourself totally and become a teacher, department head or whatever. If you’re tested and become a part of the Alchemist Association, you can still open your own sect, or join Alchemy sects. It just grades and says that you’re qualified while giving access to more items. Those resources aren’t free but they’re at least available,” Matt explained.
“What about the Blue Lotus?” Erik asked.
“The Blue Lotus has an incredible amount of power. Even the Alchemist Association members are highly respectful to them. I’m thinking that the god that made the Blue Lotus is a bit more powerful, or they have some immense powerful backing to be stronger than a god,” Matt said.
“How was Earth when you left?” Matt asked after a few moments.
“It was normal. People are getting used to it. Treat it like a new kind of cancer, just a death sentence for someone who gets the Two-Week Curse. Everyone knows about it. Few thousand people have gone missing by now,” Rugrat said.
“Have you met others?” Erik asked.
“No, you’re the first ones. Not many people make it past the First Realm and there are trillions of people over the Ten Realms. A few thousand people from Earth? Going to be near to impossible to meet them. You found anyone?” Matt asked.
“Only you,” Rugrat said.
They fell into an awkward silence for some time.
Erik cleared his throat. “So you’re a summoner?”
“Yeah, though I’m hoping to build up some contacts with the Sha people. They’re big in the Fourth Realm—war fighting group, have gunpowder weapons,” Matt said conspiratorially.
“Yeah?” Rugrat leaned in closer.
“They come down to the Third to get ingredients for their gunpowder—don’t really sell to outsiders. I don’t have that kind of ability with making the items. I was an architect back on Earth. How about you guys?”
“Basically a monk, healing, and punching,” Erik said.
“Ranged rogue.” Rugrat pulled out one of his crossbows and passed it to Matt.
Matt grabbed it and looked it over. A smile appeared on his face, seeing the geared system from compound bows back on Earth. “Well shit, how much you asking for?”
“Forty gold,” Rugrat said.
Matt looked it over. “I can do twenty-five.”
“Thirty-four,” Rugrat said.
“Thirty-two and you’ve got a deal.”
“Done,” Rugrat said.
Matt pulled out the gold and passed it to Rugrat.
A chittering roar came through the forest that made everyone’s hairs stand on edge.
“What the hell is that?” Erik hissed.
“It looks like the other corrupted Elkta picked up our trail,” Clarissa said.
“Pick up the pace. I don’t want to be stuck in no event. Leave it for the military types to bolster their Strength,” she said.
The ranger nodded and pushed on faster.
More growls and roars answered the first as trees could be heard breaking in the distance.
“Sounds like they’re not too happy.” Rugrat pulled out another crossbow.
“You got any more bolts?” Matt asked.
“Reloader, three gold; arrows, four gold per dozen,” Rugrat said.
“That’s nuts!”
“Demand and supply.” Rugrat looked back and grinned before pulling out a reloader and a quiver of bolts and passed them to Matt, who smiled even in the tense situation.
“What kind of creatures can you summon?” Erik asked.
“Shadow wolf, scarenn swarm, and variant lightning wolf that you guys saw,” Matt said.
“Okay.” Erik nodded.
There was a grunting noise from the side as a tree was launched, sailing through the air and slamming into one of the people in the caravan. They didn’t have time to scream as the tree trunk crushed their skull against a boulder.
A couple cried out and the others pulled out their weapons. One ran over the tombstone, taking their gear as their body started to dissipate.
An Elkta charged through the swamp. Its rotting body slammed through the trees and brackish water.
It wasn’t alone; four other Elkta could be seen approaching.
The group didn’t slow down as the ranged members started to hit the Elktas. They yelled out as their wooden bodies were hit but they didn’t stop, the pain only fueling their rage.
“We need to slow the Elkta, get some distance—break them down and hit them when they’re alone,” Erik yelled.
“I’m summoning my shadow wolf. It can hit them from behind and his attacks are stronger when unseen,” Matt said.
“Hold the ropes for the beasts,” Rugrat yelled, firing with his crossbow.
Erik raised his hands. Mana bolts shot out of his hands, tearing at an Elkta as it turned away, trying to stop the relentless barrage.
The Elkta continued right into their formation.
“Buffs!” a melee type yelled out. His body glowed red as Erik stopped firing on the Elkta with Mana bolts, revealing i
ts burned and damaged body.
Buffs fell on the man as his aura jumped in power.
He ran forward. His hand slid over the blade, coating it in poison. As he dodged the Elkta’s front foot, his sword shot out, cutting off the Elkta’s leg. He jumped to the side, touching on a boulder and jumping above the Elkta. He grabbed the Elkta’s side, using the vines to gain purchase as he stabbed his sword into the Elkta’s side and then ripped it out, covered in green blood.
The Elkta tried to hit him but its missing leg made it tilt to the side. The swordsman jumped away and springboarded forward, again stabbing into the Elkta’s back.
He went for a third blow as the Elkta was having a hard time getting back up.
“Louie, get back here! It’ll be hard to move!”
Two more Elkta were rushing the formation. The other two were slower, but only just.
Rugrat turned, digging his feet in as he slid around. He pulled out two crossbows, applying Explosive Shot and firing the crossbows. As they disappeared into his rings, new ones would appear.
There was no fear, no confusion on his face, just reaction, altering his aim to be in line with the Elkta’s movements.
The Explosive Shots hit true as the Elkta was leaping over a boulder. One hit it in the neck, another in the chest. The explosions covered it in poison and burns.
The Elkta’s roars were silenced as more bolts hit it in the arms and face.
“Covering!” Erik yelled as he was on a rise, firing at the same Elkta with Mana bullets. Each bullet cracked as it passed through the sound barrier. They were more compressed and powerful as they hit deep.
Matt’s shadow wolf appeared. It was thin, looking like a thing made from black vapor. Its claws shining as it cut at the Elkta, tearing out the back of its leg and making it fall forward.
“Moving!” Rugrat yelled. He turned and ran, bounding past Erik and covering one hundred meters in seconds.
Erik looked at the other Elkta that was closing off to his side. The rest of the group was dealing with it.
A holy bolt of light hit it, burning a hole in its front arm.
Arrows stuck out of it, leaking green blood. Louie, using his buffed strength, rushed in and used a bola. The weighted cord wrapped up the Elkta, causing it to slam face first into the swamp, falling into a pool and sending a wave of water forward.
Creatures that had been hiding under the water’s surface appeared, attacking the Elkta that had entered their territory, shredding its face.
“Covering!” Rugrat yelled, shooting past Erik.
Erik turned and ran toward him, seeing the group all fanned out, still running. Matt was with the two startled beasts, keeping them contained and checking on the wounded.
Erik put his hand on Jaidong. The man was stable, still unconscious as he was strapped to Erik’s back.
Erik didn’t even feel his weight anymore as he passed Rugrat and turned around again.
“Frag out!” Rugrat yelled. He hurled a grenade at a new Elkta that was passing the one Rugrat had peppered with arrows and Erik with Mana bullets.
The grenade went off as if it were a fifty-pound bomb.
The Elkta was pushed to the side, having to fight to keep its footing as it rushed forward, madness in its eyes.
Another entered the fight and directly used its thorn attack.
Matt let out a cry as he was hit, protecting the two beasts.
Erik gathered Mana in his hand and cast Simple Ranged Heal. The healing spell fell on Matt, reversing the effects of the thorn.
There were two others hit by the thorns. Erik hurled Simple Ranged Heal at them, but the group was coming to a stop.
“Group together!” Erik yelled.
“Covering!” Erik yelled as he fired on the second Elkta that was focused on Rugrat.
Rugrat turned and ran back.
“Do as he says. We’ll pull back slowly, lame these two, and then keep going!” Clarissa said.
The group started to move, two grabbing the wounded and pulling them back first.
“Covering!” Rugrat yelled.
“Moving!” Erik turned and ran back, passing him and heading for where the group was forming up.
Erik checked his Mana; it was nearly refilled.
He cast Hallowed Ground. A spell formation appeared on the ground for a second before a faint red mist materialized above the ground before turning into faint flames.
People started healing in the three-meter-wide area.
“Melee to the front! Ready yourselves!” Clarissa said.
“If the Elkta reach the circle, they’ll be burned,” Erik said, having to swallow. He was drained of all energy.
He turned and pulled out a grenade, pulling the pin and tossing it over Rugrat and putting it right in the Elkta’s path. “Move!” Erik yelled.
The grenade went off, cutting up the Elkta’s face and chest.
Rugrat used the cover to rush backward.
Roots shot out from one of the three lamed Elktas that were still ambling forward with their serious injuries.
They appeared in the Hallowed Ground, burning and slowing, as the melee types attacked them.
Erik smashed his fist into one that tried to spear him. It exploded as Rugrat passed him. He turned and went toward the Hallowed Ground. He’d recovered enough Mana; a surge of power rushed out of him as the Hallowed Ground expanded to four meters wide.
These Elktas are big targets but they can take the punishment.
Another person was struck with a root that shot through the ground, going through their leg.
Another cut the root, leaving the wooden root in the person’s leg.
The Hallowed Ground was burning the root away and healing the person at the same time but not everyone was inside the Hallowed Ground.
“I’m running out of loaded crossbows. I’ve got ten left,” Rugrat said to Erik, leaving him a silent question. Should I use my rifle?
Another Elkta unleashed its thorn attack as it rushed forward.
Matt was there in time to create a Mana barrier, stopping it from hitting everyone. He quickly downed a blue potion. The paleness in his cheeks faded as the shadow wolf appeared behind the charging Elkta and raked its stomach, leaving a trail of green blood as the surprised Elkta let out a cry of pain.
With the wounded, they could move but only slowly; if the Elkta caught up to them, they’d be done for. If the Elkta got too close, they could use their close-range attacks to reap lives.
“I’m going to need buffs. Rugrat, get ready.” Erik untied the straps connecting him to Jaidong. He looked to the mages but they weren’t casting any buffs, ignoring him and casting them on their own people.
“Clarissa,” Matt said.
“We don’t have enough to go around,” she said, clearly putting a line between them.
Erik let out a bitter laugh. “Fuck it.” He stopped supporting the Hallowed Ground. Without the strain, his Mana started to refill quickly.
He rushed out at the Elkta. Freed from his load, he could move swiftly. He jumped between trees, using them to get higher. He jumped over an Elkta’s head as it tried to swipe him back down to the ground. Erik barely got a hold on the Elkta. He wrapped his left arm in a vine and used his right to smash into the Elkta repeatedly. Under the repeated hits, he pierced the Elkta’s back and fired Mana bullets out of his hand.
The Elkta cried out in pain and reared up as Rugrat fired.
The round pierced through the Elkta’s head, blowing a dinner plate-sized hole through it, ending its yells.
Erik pulled out his green blood-covered hand. He paid no attention to the new tombstone and launched off, running at his next target. He dropped to the ground as its arm expanded, sweeping over his head as Erik hit rocks and tree branches.
Rugrat fired over Erik, hitting the Elkta’s other leg and dropping it. It slammed into the ground and flipped over.
Erik rolled over and got up, his legs forgetting how to work as he fought against the pain and discomf
ort.
He jumped forward and punched the Elkta in the head. Each of his hits flowed, with his muscles and his Mana empowering each other. His second blow pierced the Elkta’s eyes, making it cry out and nearly tossing Erik, who held on and used Mana Bolt inside the Elkta’s head.
Pure chaotic Mana surged into the Elkta’s head, causing it to explode and sending Erik flying backward.
He hit a boulder and slammed into the ground.
His vision was blurry, his head pounding. He spat out dirt and shattered teeth as he pulled out healing powders and poured them into his mouth.
The shadow wolf hit another Elkta, causing it to fall to the ground. Rugrat fired into it.
His rounds punched holes into it, but still it wouldn’t die.
The three that they had maimed were moving forward still, pressuring the group.
“With me!” Louie yelled out.
“Louie!” Clarissa yelled.
Louie didn’t care as he rushed forward, leading the melee types, passing Erik and striking out at the Elkta. One was hit and sent flying by the blow; another was crushed under an Elkta’s feet.
Erik grunted and ran forward into the chaos as spells rained down on the Elktas.
Erik used his strength to put the Elkta off-balance, opening them up for hits and taking their attention away from others.
Four more people were injured and one killed before they destroyed all of the Elkta.
Erik cast Hallowed Ground, organizing people. “Put the wounded into the Hallowed Ground. Protect outward. Give them Stamina and health concoctions if you have them.
“Rugrat, I need your help. I’ll triage; you stabilize,” Erik said.
“On it,” Rugrat said.
Erik’s head was starting to clear. His body hurt but he wasn’t critically injured.
People were brought in front of him. He ran through them, prioritizing them and passing them to others to be watched or stabilized by Rugrat if they were in a bad way.
Erik used his spells to pull the worst together. He didn’t heal them all the way, just making sure that they wouldn’t die and moved on.
It was some forty minutes later before he stopped.
“Why aren’t you healing them all the way?” Clarissa demanded.
“They’ll live and they’re stable. Stamina and health concoctions will sort them out. Not sure what might happen so I’ll heal them periodically but I want to have Mana to use in a fight,” Erik said.
The Third Realm Page 8