CHAPTER 4
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Choice Made:
[X] Rushing in might seem stupid. But [Gae Bolg] can help you carve a path forward with a few well placed shots… It'll be harder, but you'll definitely be doing more damage faster to whatever's in between you and the rift.
- Effect: [Gae Bolg] Charges expended as a result: Massively reduced minion groups
- Effect: Pierced Back Injury added
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POV: ???
Metal on tile
The cracking of broken glass
The rasp of steel being drawn.
And then the quiet click of a blade being sheathed.
She let out a breath, and opened her eyes.
The five Mesmers around her split in half. An icy frost coating where her blade had cut through their metal forms.
Honestly, she’d expected the [Blossom Cut] skill to have been a waste when she’d reached level 20.
She was a Blue afterall. Meant to be in the back and protected while the Reds fought ahead of her.
Well, it was certainly showing its worth now.
Aya was blitzing through the frankly ludicrous number of Mesmers this tower was filled with. Having foregone her usual battleaxe for a pair of long steel blades.
Decorated with hearts of course.
She sighed at Aya’s childishness sometimes… but even she could not deny that she was one of the stronger Reds she’d seen.
A whirlwind of pinkish red light that darted from enemy to enemy, cutting through each with an ease she sometimes struggled to replicate.
God… why had she decided to take on such a motivated rival.
She shook her head, thumb idly flicking the small damaged bunny plush charm on her blade's hilt.
She wouldn’t beat Aya in kill count… honestly, she was sure her rival was holding back to not damage the building too much.
On this floor at least.
Close corridors and Magical Girls did not mix.
At all.
The walls were scarred and broken, telling tales of a long fought battle.
And this had definitely been a long one.
She probably could wipe out this entire floor… but they still had another seven or so to go before they reached the second rift.
The first had been on floor twenty.
This one, the second, was on floor fifty.
There was one more on floor eighty or so.
Another pulse of alien energy rippled through the building.
The thick inky tendrils encroached on her mind.
But she forced her way through. Dispelling their corruptive influence with a bit of will.
She was a Blue damn it. She wasn’t going to fall to magic!
Efficiency be damned, she could just take some mana pots and be back at full in a few minutes.
“Argent! Cover me!”
She closed her eyes to focus, feeling the warm liquid of her magic flow down her arms and drip into the tier 2 spell she was casting.
The sound of feet softly stepping in front of her and the warm heat that blew her hair back telling her that Aya was back.
The three circles of magic bloomed into existence above her, spinning rapidly before falling at her feet.
A loud bell chimed.
And an explosion of ice shredded everything around her.
Aya was fine, she was near her.
The Lopers, less so.
The blast had radiated out of her. First freezing the creatures and then shattering their forms as though the metal was glass.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
[Shatter] was an expensive skill, especially as a tier 2. But the mana cost was well worth its wide range and destructive potential.
The casting time was a worry though.
She wished they had a green on their team sometimes. But Aya covered that field well enough.
Her earpiece started buzzing, and she smoothed down the blue and white fabric of her magical girl outfit as she waved at Aya. Adjusting the captains hat on her head a little too.
Aya, of course, dashed forwards towards the remaining stragglers, busting straight through frozen walls without any loss of speed as she herself tapped her ear and walked forwards.
“Azure… I thought we were limiting damage to the environment?” The director’s voice came through.
A rumbling voice like what she imagined gargling gravel did to you. Yet there was a warmth she still wasn’t too accustomed to hearing in it as usual.
“It’s fine. It’s not like we’ll be fined for it or anything. Did something happen?”
Her voice was an annoyingly high pitch… she hated how her Magical girl transformation did that.
Ruddy, her Fae, said it was to appear less threatening to people. She really doubted being dressed in pastel colours and having a high pitched voice made girls with magic that could obliterate buildings any less intimidating.
“Just an update, the drones we’ve used for recon have all gone silent. Reached floor 80 then shorted out or glitched. The ones outside the building reported a staggering large burst of void energy around thirty or so minutes ago. And our scanners are telling us that the area around the floor is getting more and more packed with it.”
She’d felt that of course. Aya hadn’t, but she couldn’t fault her more physically inclined Magical Girl. A wave of blood and death had filtered down from the upper floors. A wellspring of raw emotion that roared at her to slay more and more creatures.
It hadn’t done anything to her of course. Aya had been snapped into a barrier as soon as she’d sensed the wave coming. So they were both fine.
But the wave was worrying.
She nodded after a moment. Blade slashing out at a Warrior as it lunged at her, two handed sword swinging at her head.
She parried the large blade with her katana, [Parry] activating and boosting her perception a few times over to let her slowly shift her weapon into the best position as her boosted counter cut the monster in half.
She gave her blade a flourish, and went back to following the path of destruction left by Aya.
“Are we expecting trouble?”
The Director grumbled something under his breath.
“If we’re lucky, it’s just the rift upgrading. If we’re not, then we’ve got at least a Tier 4 creature up there.”
That made her stumble a little. Most tiers above two and a half were rare. For a Four to be there…
“Should we be pulling out then?”
There was more grumbling and then a sigh.
“The government wants eyes on what’s up there… and as the only two current Magicals in Delaro City, that means the two of you will need to head on up.
“And fight a tier four?! We’re only rated for tier threes at most, Director.”
She could hear him shaking his head, the gravelly voice coughing over the line.
“Just need to know if it’s a Four. We can drop the building on it if it is. Head up to floor 80 and check it out. Tactics says that the elevator shafts should be clear. Or, you can do the Magical thing, and bust through the floors.”
She blinked. Looking up at the ceiling and then doing her best impression of The Director. Damn high pitched voice.
“I thought we were avoiding damage to the environment?”
He huffed at her, and she could hear the eye roll even through the sounds of combat ahead.
The larger gash marks and flaming refuse telling her that Aya had pulled out her axe. Probably against a Shielder or a Scout…
“Heh cute. If the idiots upstairs want to send my girls on a scouting op, they can pay for a few broken floors. Try to avoid damaging more stuff, but floors are fair game if you need to get up faster. Command out”
And then it was quiet again.
She spotted Aya pulling her axe out of the chest of a Shielder. The thick metal figure was twice as tall as she was.
It was currently on the ground as Aya’s axe smashed into it again and again.
It wouldn’t last long.
But…
She flicked her hand up, the warm icy liquid of her mana dripping from it, and sent a pair of [Ice Spike]’s through the heads of two Scouts behind Aya. The large bulky rifles they were holding clattering to the ground as their sleek forms did the same.
She sighed as the Shielder died. Aya joined her in walking towards the elevators…
Honestly. They wouldn’t even be on this floor if it wasn’t for the stuck elevator blocking their path up. And the instability in space that was warping the shaft from floors 40 to 45.
Aya rested her axe on her shoulder as Azure explained the message. Aya nodded along before unsummoning her axe. Five or seconds later, her two swords were back in their sheathes at her waist.
And they crashed through the ceiling.
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POV: Filia
You backpedal as fast as you can, bringing up [Gae Bolg] like a shield, using the weapons flat barrel to deflect the massive white sword into the ground.
It crashes and embeds itself into it but you don’t get any time to celebrate, ducking down to avoid the claws that lance out from behind, trying to take your head.
Your back hurts from the last surprise attack, a trio of cuts where one of Mesmers had snuck up on you while you were in the melee.
Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to charge into the fray with a long range weapon and only seven shots…
Well, it had gone pretty well to be honest.
You had been able to push deep into the enemies lines. Each shot from [Gae Bolg] taking out three or four Mesmers or the other, sleeker looking creatures, Scouts according to Elly.
You’d immediately put a target on them when you noticed that they had rifles. And even more so when one shot had slammed into [Babr-e Bayan] with enough force to lift you off your feet and throw you a meter or so back.
You’d slid on your back and flipped back onto your feet.
Then fired off a bolt in return.
Unfortunately for the two scouts in that particular grouping… yours was bigger.
Unfortunately for you. The mob then charged in.
You twisted and turned, minimizing damage as much as you could, [Babr-e Bayan] helping to to turn grazes into misses and gorges into mere cuts.
But the pain was still there.
You smacked a scout aside with [Gae Bolg], using it like a bat to do so… it probably wasn’t a good thing to do with the weapon, and it almost seemed to growl in your head on impact.
You’d apologize later.
It didn’t break though. Not that you got much of a chance to inspect it.
That… thing was on you before you could.
It was taller than the Mesmers. Maybe three times your size, with a sword as tall as it, and an equally tall shield. The shield and blade were made of a gleaming white metal, polished so much that you could see your reflection in them. Armor styled like that of a knight on its form.
The center of its sword had golden runes all along it, and the shield had them around its edge.
The shield had taken a shot from [Gae Bolg] to its center. The red spear-like bolt of energy still embedded in it as you pushed yourself to the side, rolling back to your feet and then bolting further to the left as more golden bullets ripped the floor up where you stood.
They stopped when you slid under a waist high wall and then behind a pillar. Catching your breath as faint purple energy rippled around your form for the smallest of seconds.
You didn’t know what it was… but it was the only thing keeping you alive in this moment.
It left you colder and colder with each use though… and even then, it was more a subconscious use then something you could control. Helping to give each step just a little more distance, each movement just a little more control.
Honestly, it was probab-
You duck and roll, throwing yourself to the side as the pillar you were behind explodes. The spear of red energy from [Gae Bolg] having melted through it and then the wall behind it.
Did… Did that knight just throw it back at you?!
You looked at it for a brief moment. Watching it heave its sword out of the ground with a scorched hand. The metal armor having melted a little. But looking mostly intact.
You fired the last bolt from [Gae Bolg] in that brief moment, but it shifted, the spear shaped bolt aimed for its neck hitting it in the pauldron instead.
Three deep bassy sounds come from its helmeted head… almost like it’s laughing at you.
But you turn your attention to the two Mesmers and a pair of Scouts that rush up towards you. One scout aiming its rifle in your direction as gold energy flares to life in its barrel.
You…
[ x ] Dodge the bolt and the Mesmer swipes, , summoning [Curtana] and blasting towards the Scouts. It should have enough range to stun them for a moment. (50% Chance of working, 40% chance of Injury, if it works, both Scouts will be thrown back either way)
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Charges:
[Gae Bolg] : Recharging - 3 turns remaining
[Curtanta] : Full Charge
[Grendel’s Arms] : Full charge (10)
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Injuries:
Pierced Back - (Reduced Flexibility ( -10 to dodge chance)) (Major Health drain (Negated by Angels Halo)) (Only takes effect in Boss fights) (Heals in 10 turns)
Minor Cuts - ( Minor Health drain (Negated by Angels Halo)) (Heals in 3 turns)