Here I'd been thinking all along that I was the one stalling him so that the effects of the toxin would fade, but the archer had only been playing along to give her time to get into position.
No more games, I said to myself. Finish this. If you're right about them guarding Toot's gift, then it's time to dispatch them and move on to the next part of the challenge.
Since I was already on the ground, it was faster for me to roll once and grab her blade out of hand than to stand up. His shot had devastated her throat. The way she'd crumpled to the ground revealed that the thick, black arrowhead was protruding from the back of her neck. The tip of it was carved like a drill bit, and it was still spinning furiously.
I tried not to imagine what that thing would've done to me and snatched up the knife.
Miskatric Dagger
A simple weapon crafted from Miskatric. The blade will shatter upon penetration, with each shard separately making their way for the victim's heart.
*Nanite Enchantment*
A foe vanquished with this blade will have their Mental Ward temporarily lowered to 0 for the duration of their next life. The wielder's Mental Ward will temporarily be raised by the same amount for the duration of their current life.
Sometimes not knowing what something does is a lot better than finding out.
The archer certainly knew what I'd just picked up because he started wheeling to his right, counting on his accuracy and mobility to keep me from closing the distance and using it on him before he could pepper me with enough arrows to put me down.
Actually, it looked like he was thinking even more tactically than that. I had to give him credit. Shuffling like that put the forest at my back once again. He may have inadvertently lost an ally just now, but that didn't mean he was going to give up the strategic advantage of having a wall of bloodthirsty vines behind me.
He took his eyes off of me for a moment to glance behind himself. The look was a fleeting one, almost too quick to track. If his eyes had not been illuminated, there was every chance I would have missed it.
But they were, and I didn't. I realized that I had something else to worry about. He'd been, rightly, far more confident in the results of the fight when I was outnumbered. So much so that he might just ditch me now and wait until the odds were once more in his favor.
I couldn't let that happen. If he decided to turn and hightail it into the woods and I lost him, I'd spend who knows how long having to look over my shoulder as he returned to stalking me. Even worse, if I was right about my challenger status and the hypothesis that he was put here as an obstacle for me to bypass, than I was stuck in this part of Toot's challenge until I could get rid of him once and for all.
If I rushed him, I'd catch at least one arrow for my trouble and most likely more. Even if I boosted my speed magically, I didn't trust myself to dodge everything he shot at me. The last arrow had obviously had a special function.
What would the next one do? Tether me to the ground? Or shatter inside me, like the dagger?
I didn't plan on waiting around to find out.
I was stuck, and I knew it. The only thing I could think to do was throw this dagger at him, and I knew deep down that I'd more than likely miss. The archer moved like the offspring of a cat and a shadow. If I could get out of the way of his arrows, he could certainly avoid my projectile.
And then I'd be left empty-handed, thirty yards away from an opponent with a quiver full of arrows and a bag of dirty tricks.
You were supposed to be good at this, I chided myself. I didn't like losing, and I had never learned to take it well. Remember all that shit you talked to Zane, making out like you were the Second Coming? Hell, within five minutes of getting into the Citadel you were already bragging that your gamer status gave you some sort of advantage over everyone else. Looks like you didn't know what you're talking about...
But this was different. It was real life. It wasn't a game.
Says who?
I didn't have an answer to that question, and a realization came crashing down on me so hard that I almost forgot how much peril I was in.
It absolutely was a game. The Citadel had been set up for that purpose and no other, at least originally. So, I did what I would've done if I'd been playing a game.
I knelt down beside the corpse and looted the body. An arrow whistled over my head and I didn't pay it any mind. "Here's the thing," I told both the archer and myself as I rifled one by one through the pouches attached to a bandoleer strapped to the assassin's chest. "I think you've only ever been what you are. Am I right? Always an archer?"
15 Clay Sling Stones
These fragile projectiles are designed to carry a payload to a target via a sling. They are currently packed with Heliotropic Sting.
"But not me. I've role-played as a king. I've glided through prehistoric jungles at the head of a pack of raptors." The sling stones were no good, since I was pretty sure he was already immune to the effects of what was inside.
I kept looking.
15 Micro-Charges
Each of these marbles carries enough electricity to badly stun an opponent. Multiple applications will result in greater damage.
Better. Much better. "I've cut purses in Mumbai. I've scavenged wastelands that depict the fall of my own society."
Summoning Stone
Allows the user to call an ally to their location. Not useable once combat has begun.
That last one looked familiar. It was what the archer had used when he'd been on the other side of the trees. I left it where it was for now, concentrating instead on setting the dagger aside so that I could get as many of the micro-charges into my hand as I could at one time.
"Simulations?" the archer asked, spitting to one side in derision. "All that proves is that you're too much of a coward to have devoted yourself to truly being anything."
"No. It means I've had a turn at being everything. I was even the starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Picked up a wicked fastball, along the way."
I was done talking. Virtual reality had given me some muscle memory and I was determined to make use of it. Perhaps he could have dodged the dagger, but when I wound up and fired a fistful of pellets at him, I knew as soon as they left my hand that the spread would be unavoidable. It was as near as I could get to a pitch, right down the middle of the plate, and at least some of them would be sure to hit him.
Just in case, I let my magic bump their speed as they flew straight and true.
To his credit, he avoided most of them, though one exploded at his feet. The radius of the lightning that strobed from the impact point caught him, though he had a lot more to worry about from the three that detonated on his body. The archer's hip, chest and head were all lost to my vision in quick succession as a blinding cascade of electrical power rattled through him.
The air stunk of ozone and charred flesh, and some of the micro-charges that had missed him started small fires nearby. It would've been an issue if the forest hadn't suddenly disappeared.
I was through to the next level of the Yvarre'en gauntlet. "Strike three, fucker. You're out."
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
At least the bodies didn't vanish along with the landscape. I needed a chance to pick them clean, since I was low on gear.
Plus, I wanted that bow. I'd done some archery in the past and proven myself not to be a slouch at it, and the chance to engage at range wasn't something I intended to overlook.
But first, I had to take the arrow out of my arm. Judging by the cruel curve of the barbs I could see along the base of the arrowhead, it was going to do at least as much damage coming out as it had going in.
I took a deep breath and held it, bracing myself for the pain. Even though I chickened out a couple of times, eventually I got up the nerve to grab a spot high on the shaft and—
I triggered a hidden button and the barbs slid up into the arrowhead, allowing me to extract it cleanly.
"Thanks," I said to it as politely as I could. "That saved me
some grief."
Now that I wasn't walking around with an arrow in my bicep, I could get down to the serious business of looting the dead.
Individual: Zurra Devar
Species: Anulkin
Citadel Rank: 49,311
Highest Citadel Floor Reached: 7
Victory over Selkin Devar has earned you 489 Experience
Individual: Garin Devar
Species: Anulkin
Citadel Rank: 46,430
Highest Citadel Floor Reached: 7
Species Save Point: Anulkin Temple - Floor 7
Victory over Garin Devar has earned you 511 Experience
Hmm. I took a moment to ponder if they were related by blood or marriage before I realized that I may well be assigning human ideas to them. For all I knew, it may just be a naming convention that I didn't understand. Maybe every single one of them shared the Devar part of their title.
But did it matter? Probably not, but the longer I was allowed to stay here the more the world of the Citadel fascinated me. I guess I was just enamored by the privilege of existing in a place that offered me more than a series of agonizing headaches and auditory hallucinations.
I headed over to the archer. Even though he was the farthest from me, his weapon was the one that interested me most. If he faded out of existence before I had a chance to take a look at it, it'd be my own fault for waiting.
Phasic Warpthrower
This complex bow is an elegant mix of old and new. Wielders will find the Phasic Warpthrower to be a weapon worthy of the sacrifices necessary to make full use of its properties. Best paired with a Phasic Field Generator.
*Conditional Requirement*
Phasic Weapons can be bonded to the wielder through Magic Unamity. Without this, the item will be left behind upon death and some features will be unavailable for use. Magic Unamity requires the wielder to voluntarily transfuse their Magical Aptitude with the item in question. Magic Unamity can be ended at will, resulting in the item becoming unbonded.
Phasic Field Generator (Quiver)
Phasic Field Generators are a staple of Anulkin society. They allow their user to call forth items that have previously been stored within the Phasic Field. In this case, those items are limited to ammunition for the paired Phasic Warpthrower.
*Conditional Requirement*
Phasic Weapons can be bonded to the wielder through Magic Unamity. Without this, the item will be left behind upon death and some features will be unavailable. Magic Unamity requires the wielder to voluntarily transfuse their Magical Aptitude with item in question. Magic Unamity can be ended at will, resulting in the item becoming unbonded.
Summoning Stone (Used)
At one time, this allowed the user to call an ally to their location. There is no way to recharge this item.
As soon as the Warpthrower was in my hand, it shifted and stretched. Both of the Anulkin were shorter than me, but after a couple of seconds the bow was the perfect size for my frame.
I didn't see the downside in the Magic Unamity thing. If I noticed it was bleeding away too much of my ability, I could always just cancel it. Without that bond though, if I died I'd leave it and the quiver behind if and when something finally got the upper hand on me in here.
The bow felt so good in my hand that it was just about prize enough for all the grief I'd gone through so far. Toot's artifact was an unknown quantity, but between this thing and the quiver, I was pretty damn happy with my haul.
Speaking of the quiver, I picked it up and looked inside. When I waved my hand over the top of it, I felt a little static crackle against my palm, but that went away fairly quickly.
Would you like to allow your Magical Aptitude to be temporarily diminished through Magic Unamity? You will earn the following boons.
Phasic Warpthrower
*Item will remain with you upon respawn
*Item becomes indestructible
*Bow's string may be used as a cutting tool - will not harm wielder
Phasic Field Generator (Quiver)
*Item will remain with you upon respawn
*Will craft arrows from raw materials
As much as I didn't want to water down what my magic was capable of, those bonuses sounded too good to pass up...
"I'll bond with the gear," I said.
Magical Aptitude temporarily lowered by 50%. Magic Unamity may be concluded at any time, although may not be reinstated until the following day.
The bow and the quiver grew warm, but even though it felt like they should have burned me, the feeling evaporated without causing damage.
"Was that it?" I asked. When I didn't get an answer, all I could do was shrug. "Okay," I said, reaching into the quiver. "Give me an arrow."
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, one appeared between my thumb and forefinger, the iridescent green feathers of the fletching butting up against my wrist with the arrowhead still hidden in the darkness of the quiver. I withdrew the missile and inspected it.
It was exactly as it should be, pristine in every way.
By way of experiment I replaced it, and once the arrow was three-quarters of the way inside, it disappeared from my hand.
I didn't think that asking for every piece of ammunition was going to cut it, so this time I just sort of mentally imagined the arrow I wanted. And, just to see if there were any left, I pictured the black, drilling arrow like the one that had so recently killed his partner.
It arrived in my hand. I felt the torque of the spinning tip, and when I withdrew the arrow from the quiver I had to hold it tighter than I expected. The business end of it dipped menacingly, as if it were hungry to bite into my flesh.
"And... I think I'll just put you back," I whispered as I returned it to the quiver where it belonged. Thankfully, it went without a fight.
The Anulkin had worn the Field Generator on his back, but I'd always preferred it strapped to my thigh. Fortunately, its straps were either already set up for that as well or it had transformed into a suitable configuration while I'd been experimenting with the quiver.
Either way, now that I had a worthwhile weapon in my hand and a stockpile of who-knows how many arrows hanging from my thigh, I was ready to take on the world.
Which was good, because the world was getting brighter around me.
I hurried over to the other body, but she didn't have anything I hadn't already pilfered. Not one to waste anything useful, I carefully found the same button in the fletching that I'd discovered on the arrow that'd pierced me. Once I pressed it, the drill bit reversed and the shaft of death backed up into my hand as it pushed its way out of her vertebrae.
I slid it safely into the quiver and let my mind return to the unused Summoning Stone I had gotten from her earlier. Who should I use it on, and when? Now that I was out of combat I assumed I was free to use it, though that didn't mean that I knew which of my Faction members to call.
Actually... On a whim, I took the unused Summoning Stone out and pushed the button in the middle of it.
You may summon one willing ally from your Faction. Who shall it be?
"Toot," I said, though that message had taken the wind out of my sails. I thought I might have found a way to either trick the Citadel into bringing Toot back from wherever he'd gone or, at the very least, verifying that he was well and truly AWOL.
There is no Contestant currently in the Citadel by that name.
Shit. What had been Toot's real name, anyway? I tried to remember if he'd told me or not, but if he had I couldn't remember what it was.
It had probably been a dumb idea, anyway.
I took a couple of seconds to yank out the arrow, replace it in the quiver and inspect my hit points one more time. I was down to 9, and, without a way to heal, that situation didn't show any signs of improving any time soon.
The wounds hurt, but at least I didn't feel like they were slowing me down yet. That couldn't last for long, and if and when they started detracting from my other statistics it wouldn't take long befo
re I was down for the count.
Even if it had been an option, I wouldn't have risked attempting to backtrack to the one and only Safe Place I'd found. Those vines and branches scared the crap out of me, and I couldn't imagine what Toot would say if I missed out on his 'gift' because a fucking tree killed me.
Actually, I probably could, and it wasn't pretty.
I put the Stone back in my pocket. It may well be a better idea to save it until I knew what sort of obstacle I was trying to overcome. Even though I couldn't use it once combat began, if I saw a situation that would require Sabine's speed and I'd already summoned Atlas for his bulky durability, I'd have wasted my chance to react logically.
It was more and more obvious that I was being run through some sort of gauntlet. The forest hadn't faded away until I'd defeated the Anulkin. Whatever lay ahead would exist for the sole purpose of testing me.
I was still pretty sure that the Yvarre'en had lied to the archer and the assassin in order to trick them into lying in wait for the 'challenger'. That didn't exactly sit well with me, but the only thing I could do was accept that the pair that had been lured into this odd pocket of the Citadel had somehow earned their fate.
It wasn't as if they were dead for good. Somewhere up on Floor 7 they'd eventually respawn, no doubt annoyed but none the worse for wear.
Better to think of them as sentient traps, and nothing more.
As carefully as I could I found a way to put the Miskatric Dagger into my boot in such a way that I didn't have to worry about stabbing myself. Bow in hand and quiver strapped firmly in place, I made ready to move on.
As the light came up even more I saw that I was in a wide canyon. The walls were made of something strange, and when I took a few steps toward one I felt the ground wobble beneath my feet. The ripples I'd created ran ahead of me in ever-increasing circles.
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