by Elian Tars
It was a strange feeling; I was fighting six huge monsters at once and was glad, thinking to myself how there were “just six” of them. After fending off twelve amphibians that acted as a whole and kept preventing me from jumping, I had enough space to act. They still fought in a coordinated manner, but they couldn’t block me anymore; not to mention that there was more space left for me to maneuver.
I jumped onto the nearest Frog’s back, and paired a Trident of Darkness with a Power Strike. Two amphibians jumped up in the air, as if deciding to crush me and their friend, but I managed to dodge and fell onto the decayed ground again.
The Aura of Darkness worked on one of the tree Frogs; the monster slowed down, and I marked it as my next target. A few quick stabs with the trident and I dealt a critical hit; by the moment the effect stopped working, the creature had lost more than a half of its HP.
I jumped back to avoid another Frog, parried the blow of the third and, going round it, jumped onto the back of the fourth.
Trident of Darkness
Power Strike
I decided not pull the trident out of the decayed creature’s head; holding it with one hand, I cast Tranquility with the other. The effect didn’t work at the first attempt. In the next moment, the Frog suddenly fell and rolled onto its back.
By some miracle, I managed to jump off in time to avoid being pinned to the ground. However, The Dagon’s Slayer’s Trishula remained in the enemy’s head. Maybe it got buried even deeper, because Frog’s HP lowered by quarter.
There was nothing left for me to do but take the Crossbow of the Master of Fast Shooting out of my inventory. Quick actions demanded quick thinking. In order to use the weapon’s full potential, I needed to materialize a bolt out of my inventory and place it in the flight groove more often than once per second. I also needed to duck and aim.
The most disappointing thing was that some of the shots couldn’t pierce through the Frog’s skin. Those that managed to do it dealt about 50 points of damage. I was under the impression that the Frogs had some sort of defense against long-ranged attacks. It could also be that the percent of blocked damage depended on the amount of damage itself; the weaker the damage, the stronger the block.
Nevertheless, after wasting a good amount of bolts, I was finally able to defeat the first Frog. The Frog, in whose skull my trident was stuck, was still lying on its back without any intention to get up. That was a canny move. The one who controlled the creatures decided to sacrifice one of the wounded fighters just so that they could prevent me from getting my trident back.
I stood still, thinking. Although I had defeated my first enemy with the crossbow, and although I could keep a safe distance away from them, this way of fighting wasn’t for me. It took too long. If it had been me against six, the crossbow would’ve lead me to victory, but it won’t work against twelve opponents as there was almost no space left for maneuvering and I couldn’t parry their hits with the crossbow. While I was poking the enemy instead of cutting them to pieces, Vella was having a hard time fighting.
She was losing her HP much faster. Six enemies of such a high level were undefeatable enemies for her.
Four Frogs surrounded me and, raising their head, spat acid into the sky. Not only was the attack of each beast much more powerful than before, but they had also united against me. I managed dodge most of it, but the spit that got me was enough to lower my HP to less than thirty percent.
And then there were also the wild pain and paralysis… I couldn’t even cry; both my body and vocal cords refused to work during those three agonizingly long seconds. It felt like I was being skinned alive. I couldn’t move; all I could do was watch as the Frogs approach me.
At that very moment, trying to separate myself from the pain, I remembered that I had another trick up my sleeve.
Chapter 13
The Powers of Light
Acrobatics definitely improved my reaction time. I analyzed the situation in the blink of an eye: four Frogs dashed at me from all sides, hoping to finish off the pesky enemy.
They would reach me at the same time, but paralysis would wear off sooner than that.
In an instant, I made a decision.
I materialized a phial of the Enhanced Healing Potion that I got from Una as a humanitarian aid. Only those who had the maximum amount of HP of no more than two thousand could restore their HP with a usual healing potion. But the one I held right now raised the limit to six thousand. Of course, it was a lot more expensive than a regular one.
At the same moment, one of the bombs that I had received from Tael a while back appeared in my right hand.
A gulp. A throw. A jump backwards.
“Boom!!!” My HP, which had just been restored to max, got lowered by a third. A new bomb appeared in my hand at once. One more throw…
The first explosion had sounded before the creatures of Decay reached the place where I stood a second ago; the second explosion happened when the shell-shocked frogs froze for a moment while they will still standing close to each other. Their bodies protected me from most of the shrapnel.
Two out of four stunned beasts remained. I materialized my old trident and attacked the nearest one.
Trident of Darkness.
Power Strike.
One of the Frogs fell, but I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye and quickly move aside. It looked like the one who was controlling the Decayed finally give up on keeping the Trishula away from me. The Frog got back into the ranks.
But what could two wounded creatures do against me?
I finished them off rather fast and got my weapon back. By this time Vella had hardly ten percent of HP left. Her opponents looked pretty beaten, but all six of them were still alive.
“Grrrr!” the Bullkorg growled, dodging the attacks of two Frogs at once. Her HP got down to worryingly low figures. Without a moment’s hesitation I jumped into the thick of it, got hit on the back, but managed to reach the surrounded Vella.
I materialized the Enhanced Healing Potion and poured it into her mouth.
The effect worked, and the dog healed in no time. But, unfortunately, that did not last for long. It looked like the strength of the Spit depended on how frequently you used it. The creatures hadn’t wasted the skill before, and were now they showering us with heavy rain of acid.
Again I felt the terrible pain. Again I wanted to cry but couldn’t… I saw Vella out of the corner of my eye; she had thirty percent of HP left and looked like a burn victim. I probably looked just as bad.
The effect of my Aura worked, and one of the amphibians slowed down. I felt that I could move again. I jerked forward, freed one hand, did a somersault and jumped onto the head of the Decayed. The monster, unaware of my agility, let go of my wrist.
Trident of Darkness
Power Strike
“Vella, run!!!” I roared at the top of my voice the moment she was free of paralysis. “That’s an order! I’ll handle this!” I shouted, repeatedly piercing the enemy’s head with the trident.
I had no time to say anything else; the amphibian, just like its friend earlier, fell to its side. However, this time, I was ready to such a turn of events. I didn’t let go of my weapon.
I was afraid that Vella would show extra devotion and decide that it would be better to die than leave her master alone. But she made the right decision — she bit the nearest Frog and set off running at full speed away from me. The amphibian followed her. Good girl, Vella. She made the most of the situation; she didn’t die and she managed to keep one of the enemies busy.
The Frogs stopped huddling in groups now, and I had too little HP left to throw grenades haphazardly. Two wounded Frogs, one of which had already been slowed down and one that was barely standing on its feet, were approaching me. The latter would be my first target.
Cutting down the number of enemies from six to four, I got stuck playing leapfrog for quite some time: jumping, ducking, and counterattacking. I felt I that was winning. But if the cooldown
of their acidic spit ends soon, I will be a gonner.
It wasn’t without a reason that they said that “the skillful were lucky”. One of the Frogs got slowed down by the Aura; a couple of seconds later I speared another with the Trident of Darkness. The occurred critical hit defeated the main target; in addition, the slowdown also worked on one of the secondary targets. I defeated two more enemies before the amphibian who ran after Vella returned. The dog was running after it fearlessly, trying to catch up to it and aggro the enemy.
“You did well! Get some rest!” I shouted. Our eyes met for a moment, and she nodded obediently, but then decided not sit idly and started finishing off the unconscious enemies that were lying around, while her master whatever remained of the amphibian army.
Soon, we were both done. Vella’s HP slowly restored itself, but we still had no more than fifteen percent of our total HP.
“Good dog. Thank you for coming,” I muttered, patting her head tiredly. “I would’ve been dead otherwise. I’m really glad to see you, my dear.”
“Grrrrr!” she murmured quietly, fawning upon my shoulder with her heavy head.
I turned to the lake. Just as I had thought about restoring my stats before approaching it, a wave of acid-green energy rushed past me and fell into the water.
“Shit…” I hissed and looked into the dog’s clever eyes. “Run to the cemetery at once the moment I order you to do so. It’s not far from here. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
“Woo…” she grunted quietly.
The dog’s discontent was drowned by the waves and the slapping sound of wet feet on the decayed grass.
Tree Frog Shaman Changed by Decay
Level 100
HP: 8745/8745
On the lakeshore stood a Frog leaned onto a black staff and wearing a cloak made of hides. Despite having clothes, and despite being as big as a two-storied cottage, it looked just like the other Frogs.
Looking at this giant, I realized that I will probably not be able to defeat it even if I had a full HP bar. The difference between monsters’ levels meant not only a difference in HP, but also in their abilities and the damage they dealt.
It looked like I was right not to use the Altar of Light on weaker enemies. Of course, it will be a pity to spend my reserve of lives, but I couldn’t let myself die without doing the best I could. Besides, I was now much more interested in learning what was so important about the thing that the Frogs were protecting that it made the Decay reach out to it. If I retreated now to regain my strength, I would have to fight this big guy later anyway; there could be more ordinary decayed beasts roaming around here by that time.
And there was no guarantee that Vella and I would be able to simply run away.
Without the slightest hesitation, I materialized the Altar in my hands and pointed it at the giant creature.
Use all the lives! Activate the “Power of Light”!
Attention!
The amount of lives saved by the pure being must be dividable by 50 to activate the “Power of Light”.
So I could spend either a hundred, or one hundred and fifty? Let’s use all then.
Ether feeling that something was wrong or just being tired of waiting, the Shaman lifted its stuff in the air, preparing to cast some spell.
“Use one hundred and fifty lives to activate the Power of Light,” I ordered.
The Altar became so hot that the smell of burnt skin filled my nostrils. I bit my lip in pain, but managed to hold the Altar in my hands. The giant got hit by an incredibly bright beam of light. For a moment, everything around us became so bright that it hurt my eyes, and then everything was back to normal again. The Frog fell limply onto its knees with a hole about six feet in diameter gaping in its chest.
The “Power of Light” (х1.5) has been used.
The “Altar of Light” has been overloaded.
The “Altar of Light” won’t be available for the next 36 hours.
Thirty six? One point five? That’s a modifier, right? It appears that if you use this skill at its minimum capacity, spending one hundred lives, that is, the Altar would be blocked for twenty four hours... Was I getting that right? This wasn’t the highest price to pay for such power, but it only proved that it should be used only in the case of an emergency as you’d be left without a powerful weapon for twenty four hours otherwise, and in this dark world you could meet an enemy much stronger than yourself several times a day.
But all of that didn’t matter now. The most important thing was that the beast, now free of Decay, was just a few feet away from me.
The Tree Frog Shaman
Level 100
HP: 2/5236
The acid-green blisters disappeared from the Frog’s skin, turning into wounds covered with a dark-blue crust. It looked up at me with dim cerulean eyes and managed to say:
“Th-tha-a-nk… You-u-u… I be-e-g-g… You… Save… The chi-i-i-ld-re-e-n…”
Its right hand got covered with the layer of crystal clear ice, making it look like a spearhead. With a swift movement the Shaman cut its belly open. Dark-blue blood gushed onto the decayed grass; paying no heed to it, the amphibian dug its left hand into the opened hole and took out a small and muddy, semi-transparent sac.
Having done this, it died. A thought crossed my mind: “I’ve killed him!” But the system message that appeared in front of my eyes informed me that I’ve received only a third of total XP; the Shaman and the Decay got one third each.
Vella sniffed loudly and warily arched her back. Her eyes were fixed on the sac that was still lying in the dead Frog’s hand. I could see even from afar that something was chaotically moving inside it. Coming closer, I saw tadpoles, swimming swiftly back and forth and glowing with a barely visible neon light.
“So these are the children it was talking about…” I drawled thoughtfully.
I turned my head, looked at the lake and froze. The clear water turned into a dense, impenetrable swamp. Was it because I had killed its keepers? Not likely… It was probably due to the fact that the thing that the Frogs had been protecting so fiercely was now lying on dry land.
I didn’t know whether I was right or wrong, but it looked like the tadpoles were the source of the energy. Just standing near them made my stats regenerate faster than usual. And it was here, on the Territory of Decay, where the air itself dealt damage. So what kind of an effect would they have in the living part of the world?
“Grrrrr!!!” Vella suddenly growled and turned around. I was about to turn around as well, when something heavy hit my stomach, throwing me several feet away and knocking me down.
Chapter 14
Necromancy
Paw, the Wight-Familiar Spirit
Level 60
HP: 978/978
It looked like it had been a fox long ago; but now, the creature’s shabby, half-rotten coat was mottled with countless holes, through which dried flesh and bones could be seen. Having rammed into my stomach, the undead that came out of nowhere jumped back quickly, landed on all its fours and, running swiftly around me, attacked me from the back as soon as I got back on my feet.
You have received 61 points of damage.
It had little HP and dealt little damage, but what a speed of movement and attack it had!
You have received 58 points of damage.
I wasn’t able to duck again.
Aura of Darkness
The fox got behind me, and I had almost dodged the attack this time, but it still managed to bite my side.
“Grrrr!!! Woof!!!” I heard Vella’s voice from the left, about fifteen feet away. Getting distracted for a second, I saw what my dog was doing; Vella got her teeth into the throat of a huge bull. The beast looked frightening; he must’ve been the biggest in his cattle, when he was alive. His proportions were all jumbled up now, but his coat, which must’ve been shiny and beautiful in the old days, was matted and hanging like a fringe, revealing the bones and dried innards to the world. Instead of eyes he had, just like the fox, em
pty eye sockets with cold, blue light dancing inside them.
Horn, the Wight-Guard
Level 60
HP: 2978/3345
You have received 60 points of damage.
You have received 61 points of damage.
The fox kept running around me and, launching forward, it would, from time to time, dig its teeth into my body. It was quite an annoying enemy. Not even my improved reactions, owed to the upgraded Acrobatics, helped me defend against it.
With its first attack it pushed me away from the sac with the tadpoles. I had to go back for it and hide it in my inventory, otherwise, if I died here, all my efforts would have been for nothing.
Having missed a couple of attacks, I got to the Shaman’s body, reached for the sac and… The fox hit me, knocking me down and pushing me back.
The situation didn’t look favorable for me, but I either got lucky or the Old Man somehow managed to influence the ability he gave me from his divine plane.
The “Wight-Familiar Spirit” has fallen under the effect of your “Aura of Darkness”.
The “Wight-Familiar Spirit has felt the “Tranquility of Darkness”. The “Wight-Familiar Spirit” loses its desire to fight with you and your squad.
You have defeated the “Wight-Familiar Spirit”.
XP received: 4,785
Getting my bearings, I began casting Tranquility of Darkness on the bull from afar. The effect didn’t work on the first attempt; I rushed toward the sac, noticing out of the corner of my eye two human figures that were coming fast at me. Turning around, I saw a girl with bluish skin pointing at me with her index finger and a thin guy with disheveled black hair following behind her.
Constant fighting in the dark world improved my ability to make decisions quickly. In less than a second, the question “Who is that?” popped up somewhere in the back of my mind. I read their descriptions and, putting my right arm up in front of me and looking at the guy, I cried: