by Stone Thomas
Nola had summoned her familiars to fight alongside us. They were four feet tall, just like Duul’s cretins, but these seraph guardians were built from golden light with little wings on their backs. Small curved beaks served as their only facial features. They held thin spears across their chests and stared the marauder down with eyeless faces.
He glanced back at them. His own eyes were seething pits of illumination. They aimed, seemingly transfixed, at the guardians blocking the doorframe.
With a grunt and a quick step forward, Balgrac the intestinal warrior jabbed his weapon at the first seraph guardian. Nola’s familiar just stood there with its tiny spear across its body. Balgrac’s sword struck the seraph’s pole and his blade recoiled back toward him from the impact.
While he was distracted, I thrust my own weapon forward. The Vile Lance, a weapon I had inherited from the last of Duul’s generals to set foot on our hill, was designed to destroy “deific” enemies — gods, familiars, and other beings infused with holy power. As the serrated spiral of my polearm’s blade passed through his body, he didn’t flinch or falter. It passed through him as if he weren’t there.
Nola?, I asked. How do we fight this guy? Only your familiars have made physical contact so far.
My seraph guardians are the product of my action points, she said. They are crafted from action energy made tangible. That’s why slain cretins, anibombs, and other familiars leak the energy that fills raw energems. If your Vile Lance did nothing, he’s not someone’s familiar.
So what is he?, I asked.
Balgrac stepped back after the guardian passively parried his attack, but there was no attempt at a counterattack. Both of Nola’s identical familiars just stood there, waiting with their spears held horizontally.
He could be a lux wraith!, Nola said.
Like, a very high-end wraith?, I asked.
No, she said, a wraith made of light. Luxomancers bend light into some wickedly realistic fighters.
How do we fight a lux wraith?, I asked.
Fire with fire, Nola said.
Light with light, I replied. Got it.
“Lana,” I yelled. “I know you’re a lighthealer, but there’s a chance your skills will actually harm this guy.”
“You want me to cast Beam of Health on the man attacking us?” she asked.
“Let’s just hope it’s opposites day?” I said.
Lana raised a hand toward the light-crafted man assailing Nola’s two guardians. A ball of energy gathered in her palm. Balgrac snapped his head toward her. It was like he could sense her power gathering. He hungered for it.
I worried he would charge toward her, but she was quick to release her spell. A beam of light erupted from her palm and splashed against the man’s chest. The bright outlines of his body glowed brighter, and the semi-translucent portions of his face and clothing grew bolder, more opaque.
“I think we made him stronger,” I said.
Okay, Nola said, then he’s not a lux wraith. Lesson learned.
Balgrac turned back toward Nola’s creations who blocked the doorway in their defensive stance. “Their bodies are warm and sweet,” he said. He stepped toward one and stared into its smooth pastel face as he pressed his sword slowly into the guardian’s stomach.
When he pulled his blade back from the guardian’s limp body I expected a gush of pale yellow life force energy, but there was none. Its body simply crumpled and vanished.
Balgrac’s body glowed stronger than ever. He must have absorbed the seraph’s energy himself.
As fighters, those little familiars were useless. We’d have to win this battle sans seraph.
“For crying out loud,” Vix said. “Something has to stop him.” Her oversized hammer began to glow. The tool was perfect for building the towers and walls that surrounded our growing village on the hill. It was also a blunt and powerful weapon, more so when she charged it with her weapon skills.
“All who serve Rigita shall perish!” Balgrac said. “I will destroy them all by—”
His sentence was cut short by Vix, slamming her weapon into the space the warrior occupied. When her hammer landed against the stone floor, an orange shockwave rippled outward. She had activated Twitch Hitter, but the man didn’t fall into the same seizure the ability normally induced. He drew that orange power into himself and reveled in it.
“By disemboweling?” I asked.
“That’s right,” he said. “If there are no guts, there’s no glory!”
Maybe he’s a shared hallucination, Nola said, like the five second rule.
A hallucination wouldn’t destroy your familiars, I said. At that point, Balgrac stabbed the second bird-beaked guardian in the gut, earning his body a brilliant gleam from the influx of fresh energy. The guardian didn’t lash out in its own defense. It just stood there, impassive as Balgrac destroyed it.
Vix powered up her hammer again, the orange glow drawing Balgrac closer. He scanned her body, from her eyes, narrowed and focused, down to the leather top that held her breasts close together, heaving with each breath, and then to the tight, firm muscles that led from her bare stomach toward her skirt. He pointed his blade at her navel.
“No,” I said. I dashed in front of Vix, blocking Balgrac while Vix’s hammer grew brighter. “You’re through here, Balgrac.”
“I’m just starting,” he said.
I lifted my spear across my chest in the same defensive posture as Nola’s first slain familiar. It didn’t work. Balgrac thrust his sword through my weapon as if it weren’t there, stabbing his blade into my gut.
There was no pain, no blood, no tearing of skin or ripping of internal organs. There was, however, a sharp sense of cold and a bowel-obsessed man with his arm elbow-deep in my large intestine.
I panicked and twisted toward Vix. If he had reached through me, he might have gotten Vix too, who stood just behind me with her back against the wall. She had moved aside though, in time to avoid his spectral blade.
I stumbled backward. Vix’s hammer was pulsating now, a neon orange glow that drew Balgrac’s attention. “Cancel it, Vix.”
“He’s hurting you,” she said. “I have to do something!” Her weapon shone brighter as her energy poured into it.
“It won’t work on him,” I said. “It will make him stronger.”
“It’s too late,” she said. “I have to release it!” Her arm moved of its own accord, swinging her hammer in the tight space, through the incorporeal man that threatened us and onward, continuing its inevitable arc until her weapon crashed into my side.
“Oh, gods,” she said, “I’m so sorry!”
My ribs absorbed the full impact. I had never been Walloped before. Now I could say, I wasn’t into it. As pain washed over my body, I was powerless to move or even breathe. I would stay stunned that way for a few seconds, thanks to Vix’s special abilities.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. I always knew Vix was a stunner.
Maybe he’s an astral projection?, Nola said.
Now you’re just guessing!, I said. How do you not know what this guy is? You’re the goddess of clever insight, can’t you whip up something insightful for us?
I’m trying, she said. I’ve never seen anything like this guy before. He popped out of a void of pure darkness and seems uncannily attracted to anything that glows. He’s like a trans-dimensional moth.
Then I’ll be the flame that gets him out of here, I said.
“Hey, Ballsack,” I said, ignoring the throbbing pain in my side and the ice coursing through my veins. “What do you think of this?”
I activated Piercing Blow, a skill I had mastered recently, which would improve my attack power fivefold. That got his attention. His eyes transfixed on the tip of my Vile Lance, the pitch black metal building a white sheen as my action points poured into it, filling it with power and energy.
“Vix,” I said. “Do not follow me. I’m getting him out of here.”
I used my illuminated weapon as a lure, leading him out of t
he recovery suite and through Nola’s temple. As we neared Nola, she sneezed again, drawing Balgrac’s attention to the glowing goddess and her crystal shell. I couldn’t let him get near her or siphon off any of her godly energy.
“Glowworm, eyes on me.” I shook my lance to get his attention back.
“Your body must be strong to house so much power,” he said. “I can’t wait to get inside you.”
I ignored the odd compliment and cracked open my skillmeister menu. A new skill sat there, waiting to be unlocked. Skiller Instinct. It would let me learn what other skills sat further along my skill chain and what the attribute requirements were, allowing me to better plan my future progression, and everyone else’s.
I didn’t want to spend XP in a panic on skills that weren’t a surefire thing, but all my XP would be useless if I died here, so I got to work.
Δ
Skillmeister View of:
Arden Hochbright
Base Attrib. / XP to Next / Intended Change / Cost
-
12 Constitution / 300 XP to Next / 12 –> 15 / Total XP Cost: 975
-
12 Vivacity / 300 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
20 Strength + 6 Bonus / 500 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
11 Hardiness + 6 Bonus / 275 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
12 Focus / 300 XP to Next / 12 –> 15 / Total XP Cost: 975
-
32 Resolve + 3 Bonus / 800 XP to Next / none / Total XP Cost: 0
-
TOTAL BASE ATTRIBUTE XP COST: 1,950
Stats Affected by Change
-
[Constitution] Health Points (HP): 1200/1200 –> 1500/1500
-
[Vivacity] Action Points (AP): 240/240
-
[Strength] Phys. Damage Inflict Range: 260-317
-
[Hardiness] Phys. Damage Block Range: 92-129
-
[Focus] Mag. Damage Inflict Range: 120-146 –> 150-183
-
[Resolve] Mag. Damage Block Range: 189-266
Skills For Weapon Class: Polearm
-
Piercing Blow 5. MASTERED. Damage multiplier of 5.0. [35 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 20]. Mastered skills cannot be improved.
Spear Cannon 2. When HP is at or below 10%, shoot a beam of light from your spear to damage enemy attackers, with a Strength multiplier of 3.4. [24 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 10, Hardiness 10].
Improve to Spear Cannon 3 to increase HP threshold to 15% and Strength multiplier to 3.8. [26 AP to cast] [Requires: Strength 12, Hardiness 12] [375 XP to improve].
Intended Change: None
Cost Subtotal: 0
-
Call to Arms 1. Call your spear to your open arms from distances up to 10 feet away. [20 AP to cast] [Requires: Constitution 12, Focus 6].
Improve to Call to Arms 2 to increase range to 15 feet. [20 AP to cast] [Requires: Constitution 14, Focus 7] [250 XP to improve].
Intended Change: None
Cost Subtotal: 0
-
TOTAL POLEARM SKILL XP COST: 0
Skills for Special Class: Skillmeister
-
Precision Training 7. Reduce the XP cost of skills and attributes by 7%. [Passive] [Requires: Focus 11, Resolve 17].
Improve to Precision Training 8 for XP cost reduction of 8%. [Passive] [Requires: Focus 12, Resolve 19] [3,000 XP to improve].
Intended Change: None
Cost Subtotal: 0
-
Leveled Playing Field 1. Increase an attribute by one for any person without spending XP if that attribute is 5 less than their next lowest attribute. [Passive] [Requires: Focus 12, Vivacity 12].
Improve to Leveled Playing Field 2 to reduce attribute gap to 4 points. [Passive] [Requires: Focus 13, Vivacity 13] [750 XP to improve].
Intended Change: None
Cost Subtotal: 0
-
Locked. Skiller Instinct 1. Make a random future skill visible in your skillmeister view of any individual. Maximum uses: 1 per person at a time. [40 AP to cast] [Requires: Focus 15, Constitution 15] [375 XP to unlock].
Improve to Skiller Instinct 2 to decrease AP cost. [30 AP to cast] [Requires: Focus 24, Constitution 24] [750 XP to improve].
Intended Change: 0 –> 1
Cost Subtotal: 375
-
TOTAL SKILLMEISTER SKILL XP COST: 375
Summary
-
Available XP: 2,917
Cost of Intended Changes: 2,325
Precision Training Discount (7%): 163
Total Adjusted Cost: 2,162
Total Projected Remaining: 755
Confirm?: Yes / No
∇
I moved in short, measured steps through Nola’s temple while I confirmed my own personal upgrade. The impact of each footfall sent small vibrations up my body that forced my ribs to scream out in pain. Still, Balgrac followed, mesmerized by the energy held by my weapon.
As the energy collected, my spear glowed brighter and brighter. I felt it build up. I tensed my muscles against the strain and building pressure to let my Piercing Blow explode in one powerful thrust.
I had never tried to hold out for so long. I fought against my own skill as best I could, walking backward through the open doorway to Nola’s temple and into the sunlight.
Just as I was ready to explode, Balgrac made his move. He lunged toward me as my spear arm rammed ahead, ejecting a torrent of brilliant energy meant to quintuple my attack damage.
I turned at the last moment, avoiding Balgrac and depriving him of the energy he lusted after. The force of my attack carried me face first toward the ground ahead. The Vile Lance fell from my hands, but didn’t roll far. I glanced up to see Vix and Lana, watching from deep inside the temple.
Then Balgrac’s blade stabbed through my lower back. My whole body chilled as he drew the very warmth from my blood. The longer he held his attack, the more my body seemed to turn into a block of ice.
Call to Arms should have beckoned my weapon toward me, but it wouldn’t activate. I strained for my polearm, grazing my fingers against its pole as it lay just out of reach. Pain from my damaged ribcage racked my body. I rolled the weapon closer with the tips of my fingers until I could curl my hand around it. I tried again to charge it with a Piercing Blow in a last ditch attempt to distract Balgrac. Nothing happened.
I had a full 240 action points before the fight, and had only used 35 of them on a single Piercing Blow, yet my skillmeister menu told a different story. My AP was down to 12 now, and my remaining XP was down from 755 to 690. Balgrac may not make physical contact with me, but he was injuring me all the same, sapping me of my energy and experience.
Still, my attacker couldn’t pin me in place without a physical body. I used my Vile Lance as a crutch to get back to my feet and activate Skiller Instinct, hoping a Balgrac-busting skill lay just over the horizon.
Δ
Skiller Instinct Preview: Arden Hochbright: Polearm
Locked. Vault 1. Leap five feet with your polearm for a jump attack. [30 AP to cast] [Requires: Hardiness 15] [125 XP to unlock].
∇
Vault was a non-starter. Combining a high jump with my attack sounded cool, but no amount of hang time would make my attacks any more effective against my current enemy. Still, I might as well use my remaining XP on something before Balgrac siphoned them all away from me.
I improved my Vivacity twice, improving my maximum action points by 40, and adding those AP to my new reserve. I contemplated spending them all on another Piercing Blow when Balgrac lunged at me again.
I dipped out of the way. The longer I avoided him, the weaker his light shone. With each failed thrust, he spent the energy he had taken from me. His body began to glitter as energy evaporated from his form.
He shielded his eyes from the morning sun and cursed under his breath. “This place, it’s too
harsh,” he said. “I need more time. The war on Rigita demands bodies on the front lines.” He rushed toward the entrance to Nola’s temple, but two newly-conjured seraph guardians blocked his path. They stepped forward, refusing him entry as his body continued to dim. Small flecks of energy drifted away.
“There will be more,” he said. “Our army prepares for its second coming. Rigita will regret embarrassing Lord Duul.” As he spoke his final words, the last of his energy wafted upward with the wind.
I was frozen inside and out, shaking and unsteady. I started to lose my balance and lowered myself to the ground, lying back to let the sun’s rays warm my face.
Lana draped a blanket over me while I shivered. I pulled it around my shoulders and buried my face inside its folds.
“Sorry it’s damp,” she said. “Jorgo always was a sweat factory.”
+3
“Are you okay?” Mamba yelled. She ran down the front path that led toward the temple, taking impressively long strides in her new six-inch battle heels. The wrap she wore around her waist swished beside her while long dark hair brushed past her rich red skin. “I was visiting the farmers when Nola called. I ran as fast as I could, even as fast as I couldn’t a few times.”
“My ribs are sore,” I said. “I got a little hammered, but—”
She ran right past me and threw her arms around Vix. “Were you hurt?” she asked. “What about the babies?”