by Aleron Kong
“Wha-” Sion began, but he cut his question off because a moment later, the spider began to change.
The tips of its legs grew sharper and its body narrowed, looking sleeker. Fangs grew longer and adopted a poisonous green color. Its eyes grew so large they merged into one long band across its face. Even more interesting, the thousands of facets that comprised its cycloptic eye grew bright and shining, like countless emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds fused together.
Know This! Your spell Akaton Evolution has evolved your Chokespore Arachnid into a Mesmer Spider, 1 of 4 possible evolutions. Attack +2. Speed +5. Special Ability: Entrance
The Companions stared at it in surprise, including Richter. He hadn’t known what to expect, but he wasn’t disappointed. This thing was looking crazy cool! He quickly explained his new spell to the other men. They each looked a bit uncomfortable hearing he had so casually bandied about a Higher Energy spell. They were used to his strange ability to do the unexpected and impossible though, so they accepted his words without further comment.
Richter sent the spider up one of the columns with a mental command. Its sharp legs found easy purchase on the red crystal as it got into position. If a clustered pack of the tuskers rushed them, the arachnid could launch a surprise attack from above. The spider could bite, but its main attack came from the holes on its back. Each could release fungal spores which, when inhaled, incapacitated targets for a time. Then it could use the sedating venom in its bite to render its victim’s unconscious.
Between the summoning, the evolution, loading his spell ring and casting mist lights, Richter had little mana remaining. He could have drunk a mana potion, but he had precious few left. It would come down to physical combat, he decided, needing to grow those skills anyway.
With all of that done, Richter filled Alma in on the plan. She readily agreed, seeing as how it meant she could start attacking immediately. She flew higher and in tight circles around the glowing red crystal, still unseen by the monsters below. Then she sighted on one of the larger ones near the middle of the herd and cast Weak Lightning Bolt.
Her body glowed golden a moment before the spell finished, and then a bolt of yellow lightning streaked away from her draconic snout. It crossed several dozen yards in a blink and the Air magic struck one of the larger boars just behind the shoulders. It let loose an oink of reflexive pain that turned into a squeal of rage. She had been hoping that the Stun effect of the lightning spell would kick in, but even with her 50% bonus to Air spell strength, the spell was still weak ranked. Some of the smaller sows ran away from the main pack, but most of the tuskers fixed their eyes on Alma and grunted in anger.
As mad as they were, there was no way for them to retaliate against the dragonling. Alma didn’t help their mood by trumpeting her superiority while she coasted above them. She made sure to pass only a few feet above their heads to add insult to injury. There was still no real danger to the cocky familiar. The tuskers may have been extremely dangerous to land-bound creatures, but they sure as hell made terrible jumpers. The monsters reared their heads in a vain attempt to gore the dragonling, but she just laughingly trumpeted again, glorying in her own magnificence once more. She attacked again.
Her body glowed yellow a second time, and a circle of shining dust appeared just below her. Some of the roars of anger turned to porcine cries of pain and panic. Glitterdust did very little actual damage at first, but the thousands of shining particles had sharp edges. They found their way into the eyes of several of the vicious pigs, who were blinded for a short time. A bare moment later, she cast again.
Alma cast Weak Life Bolt and a beam of golden energy struck another tusker. The spell only caused eight points of damage, a drop in the bucket considering the +10% HP bonus that creatures of the Dungeon of Bloody Chaos enjoyed. Still, it added to the growing pandemonium and caused more of the creatures to scatter.
She flew straight up and in an instant her speed-enhanced body was lost to the poor eyesight of the koran tuskers. They didn’t have to wait long to see her again. She flipped end-over-end, and with a flap of her wings dove down towards the monsters. A cone of pure psychic energy shot forward from her small frame. While one of the tuskers had been able to shake off the Stun effect of her Air magic, they had no defense to the Deeper Magic, Thought.
A dozen dropped at once in response to her Psi Blast, like marionettes with their strings cut. All the monsters caught in the twenty-foot radius of her primary attack began bleeding from the eyes, nose and mouth. Finally, the third effect of her ability completed the task her master had set her. Four of the tuskers were afflicted with Disorient. Two ran amok and the sharp spikes on their sides made bloody furrows in the others. Another two immediately started attacking the rest. The madness was complete. Alma gave a high-pitched roar of triumph and chanced raking her claws across the back of one of the fleeing sows. Several long gouges appeared in its flesh and its pain-filled squeals joined the wondrous racket the rest of the monsters were making. The dragonling’s bloodthirsty cry echoed through the cavern.
Richter and his Companions had been watching the entire attack on his Traveler’s Map. It wasn’t exactly cable, but the show was definitely Netflix-worthy. An involuntary smile crept onto his face as he saw Alma absolutely own twenty monsters and make twenty more flee in terror. He even chuckled a bit when she bloodied her claws on the back of the fleeing tusker.
A part of him paused to reflect on that while they watched the show. It wondered when blood and battle had become something that he not only accepted but craved. Had he been corrupted by The Land or was he just discovering what he always had been - a predator like his soul familiar? Then a tusker caught sight of his Companions, and the time for introspection had passed. The time of blood and battle had come.
The creature squealed and began racing towards them. Richter took the time to use Analyze.
Name: Koran TuskerDisposition: Angry
Koran Tuskers are pack hunters. The hardened bone that juts out from their bodies has sharp edges and points. The creatures have poor eyesight but excellent hearing and senses of smell. Territorial and aggressive, they attack other creatures if they come across their path but will run from larger monsters.
Level: 12
Health: 309Mana: 22Stamina: 365
Strength: 14
Agility: 21
Dexterity: 22
Constitution: 28
Endurance: 36
Intelligence: 2
Wisdom: 2
Charisma: 4
Luck: 11
Richter spared a glance for his Companions. Terrod hefted his shield and braced himself to meet the animal’s charge. Sion began imbuing his arrow and Randolphus… well, Randolphus just continued to lean against one of the pillars looking bored. As the tusker ran closer and was joined by two others, the chaos seed reflexively tried to make a war party. He cursed his own stupidity when a red prompt appeared.
Dungeons are for Adventure, not War! All bonuses from War Leader Badges and Promotions are suspended while in a Dungeon or Labyrinth.
Richter was still swearing when the battle began. Sion fired his imbued arrow to claim first blood. It streaked across two dozen yards in an instant, blue energy and yellow lightning playing around the shot. When it struck, there was a small boom and it detonated against a monster’s snout. Blood, meat and teeth exploded out from the shot, but the creature was not yet undone. It screamed in pain, but also in mindless fury. The tusker continued to race towards them, but now its face was a macabre horror, missing both nose and lips but still possessing one foot-long tusk and half of its sharp teeth.
The chaos seed fired his own arrow. He didn’t invest any mana as his reserves were still low. Even without magic, his moonstone arrow packed a serious punch. Using the new technique Randolphus had taught him, his combat log instantly told him how much damage he’d done.
BEGIN COMBAT LOG
Richter strikes Koran Tusker for 270 damage: [(+18 Recurve Bow of the Wo
od Sprite + 8 Moonstone Arrow) + 34% for level 17 Archery + 76% for 38 points of Dexterity) – 1 Armor] x 4 Critical Hit for Collapsed Lung.
Koran Tusker has a Collapsed Lung. -50% exercise tolerance. -15 HP per second.
END COMBAT LOG
The yellow-white arrowhead sank deep within the body of the charging monster. It stumbled forward another step before collapsing with a wheeze, the fall driving the arrow in even further. Its belly swelled once more with breath before it exhaled for the last time and died.
Richter was thrilled to now be able to use his combat log without it being distracting. The info was a bit technical, but it was awesome all the same. A thought was all that was required to adjust his settings to provide less information in the future. It was done before he even nocked another arrow. As he sighted on another monster, there was a broad smile on his face. He loved this shit!
His moonstone arrows probably cost several silver each, a fortnight’s pay for most workers, but there was no denying the damage they inflicted. The fact that his last arrow had penetrated the tough muscle of the tusker so deeply was the only reason he had obtained a critical strike. More monsters began charging them and Richter fired again.
The sounds of battle attracted more and more of the tuskers. All around the cavern the beasts began to run towards the Companions. If Alma hadn’t scattered them first, the party might have been overwhelmed. Even with the tuskers coming one at a time, the herd began to press them.
A monster raced around the side of one of the columns and tried to ram Terrod. The captain swung his shield down and to the left, deflecting the charge. The tusker’s momentum carried it forward as the captain jabbed down with his sword. The tip scored deep into the creature’s back, but nothing vital was struck. It turned quickly and tried to gore him again, but Terrod had already reset his position, shield held in front of him.
Sion helped him by shooting it in one leg. The imbued arrow didn’t have much charge, but it was more than enough at short range to pop the sinews of its flesh like cooked spaghetti. It went down with a crash and Terrod stabbed deep into its side. He half withdrew his sword, but when it started to buck he shoved his weapon into it again. This time, the blade pierced its heart and the monster lay still.
Sapir transformed once the battle began. He changed from a sweet eight-inch-tall figure with the countenance of a ten-year-old to a dangerous fey creature. The celestial pixies were each born with the ability to shift into a Battle Form. His features grew much sharper and the light yellow of his hair deepened to an intense bronze. His wings turned metallic and the edges grew razor sharp. Even his tiny teeth and nails grew sharp and jagged. He flew around Sion snarling at the tuskers.
Four of the tuskers rushed Sion at once. He fired the imbued arrow he had charged on his bowstring for one second. The arrow struck a beast in its side. Skin was sheared away leaving a bloody mess, but with minimal mana invested not much damage was done. The blow still knocked it off balance though and it face-planted, flipping end over end. When it stopped moving, it squealed in pain while blood continued to leak from its body. The sprite fired another arrow. This time he didn’t imbue it. Instead, he used his subskill Stun Shot. His stamina immediately dropped thirty points, but the arrow stopped the tusker cold. Its limbs went limp even as its momentum carried it forward several more feet.
Sapir shouted unintelligibly in his high-pitched voice. With his metallic wings fluttering faster than the eye could follow, he extended both arms with his fists clenched together. A beam of yellow Air magic shot forward, striking another tusker in the snout. The monster squealed in anger. It wasn’t harmed much, but the pixie’s attack afflicted it with Stun. The tusker dropped, leaving it wide open to attack.
Sion dove to the side to avoid the other tuskers’ charge. His body tucked into a ball like an acrobat with his bow held lengthwise across his body. He rolled twice before popping back to his feet. Within a second, he had nocked another arrow and activated another subskill, Double Shot. In the space of another second, two arrows were flying at point blank range. While the subskill drained even more stamina and caused a drop in his accuracy, the enemy was less than two yards away. The first arrow struck the top of the creature’s back and did minimal damage. The hide and bone were thickest at that point. The second arrow, by an ounce of luck and a pound of skill, sunk into the monster’s throat. It went down, hacking up blood by the cup.
That left only two monsters on their feet. They attacked, unafraid despite the deaths of the others. Sapir had been drained by using his Force Blast, but he tried again. This time, the yellow light only flickered around his fists before winking out. The pixie screamed in frustration but, with the careless invincibility of youth, just threw himself at a tusker. The boar-like creature had been stamping, about to rush Sion, but now it tossed its head wildly. Sapir was scratching at its face and eyes, and the pixie’s keen-edged wings were doing even more damage as the tusker struggled. Sion hated to see his meitu’meidon in danger, but was a hardened warrior. He kept his eye on the prize. The sprite dropped his bow in favor of drawing the elementum short sword gifted to him by Richter. He faced the remaining tusker, circling as he waited for his perfect moment.
The tusker charged. Quick like a darting viper, Sion stepped to the side and swung his fey blade. It sliced through tusker’s back leg like a cleaver through water. A shard of jutting bone was shattered in the same strike. Blood fountained from the wound, staining the ground. The monster gave a too-human scream as it collapsed, the other three legs scrambling to keep it upright.
Sion didn’t pause. He stepped past the downed monster and stabbed his blade into the tusker his meitu’meidon was fighting. Sapir was forgotten by the beast as this worse agony consumed its consciousness. It tried to turn, but Sion kept his blade in its side. Its movement sawed the elementum weapon into its own organs and it stopped in pained shock. The sprite quickly removed the blade, slashing right then left in quick succession. His powerful weapon cut deep into the back of the beast’s front leg and the front of the creature’s back leg. It crashed to the ground just like its fellow. In the next ten seconds Sion delivered the coup de grace to the two tuskers he’d disabled and the one he had stunned. Blood fountained into the air and he was left standing in a circle of his dead.
More of the monsters arrived.
A pair of tuskers came from the right, charging directly at Randolphus. Richter sighted on one of the monsters, concerned for the Spy, but then Randy disappeared. Even with him watching, the chamberlain could use Stealth with ease. The creatures stalled their charge for a moment, confused by his disappearance, but then they ignored their confusion and started running at the chaos seed. He loosed his bow at one, but the arrow was deflected off a ridge of bone, doing little damage. Richter dropped his bow and drew both short swords to meet their charge.
Both monsters died before they had crossed half the distance to him.
Randolphus had phased back into sight in midair. He had jumped perpendicular to the first beast’s charge and plunged a heavy dagger down just above its shoulder blades. His strike was as powerful and precise as a matador’s. It severed the creature’s spine and the tusker fell to the ground, limp as a jellyfish but still alive. It mewled on the ground, head thrashing slightly, but no motor signals could reach its body.
The other creature had time to register the attack on its fellow, but couldn’t arrest its own forward momentum. Within seconds of his first strike, Randolphus threw two small daggers. The first hit the tusker in the haunch. Faint lines of electricity radiated out from the wound, but nothing else happened. The second dagger had a much more impressive effect. The six-inch blade sank into the muscle of its back with a sizzle. A split second later, the Burn enchantment triggered. The entire body of the tusker was immolated. Its squealing turned into a high-pitched keening as it lost all reason. It ran off in a random direction, trailing fire into the darkness. Randolphus took off in pursuit, another dagger already in hand. Before he had ta
ken two steps, his body disappeared into Stealth again.
Richter started to grab his dropped bow, but three tuskers came around one of the columns all at once and barreled down at him.
*Little help!* he thought to his familiar. Then he jumped as high he could. His short swords were powerful, but they weren’t much use against a collective ton of charging monster. The tuskers were running close together so he cleared most of them, but a spur of jagged bone scraped his calf. A muted curse escaped his bared teeth as he started bleeding.
You have suffered 11 damage!
You are Bleeding. You are losing 1 health every 1 second.
The tuskers turned to attack again but were struck from above. The mesmer spider arachnid descended from where it had perched unseen. It dropped onto the back of one of the tuskers, its eight legs piercing the tusker’s sides like a sadistic vise. The spider bit into its victim’s neck and an acidic poison began to spread. The tusker spasmed in pain, several organs pierced, as the spider rode it to the ground. Its fellow turned to enact revenge, but the arachnid triggered its special attack. A cone of prismatic light shot from its one long eye and entranced the tuskers.
The light continued as the spider skittered closer. It bit each tusker once, injecting more venom. The two monsters collapsed, green foam proof of the poison in their bloodstreams. The spider then, almost delicately, walked over their bodies, puncturing them again and again with its sharp legs. Now with its prey severely wounded but still alive, the arachnid lowered its head to the puncture wounds and drank in the dissolved slurry of blood, muscle and viscera that its poison had left behind.
Richter sent the spider a mental command to abandon its meal and attack the two tuskers that Terrod was fending off. Blood still dripped down his leg, losing him a point of health every second. It was nothing compared to the over six hundred points of life he had at this point though. Richter removed an herb from his bag and placed it in his mouth. It was slightly bitter, but forest sage had healing powers that slowly replenished his health. It could only replenish ten points over five minutes at baseline, but his forty skill levels in Herb Lore increased the HPs replenished by +120%. He knew his wound would be healed in less than three minutes.