A massive fist crashed down towards my head with the force of a meteor. Seven massive claws dug broadsword sized holes in the ground around me, and they were filled with a deep red water, which flowed up into the shapes of seven monsters.
Each monster was unique, but each had a rippling sort of skin that was being pulled in and shot outwards into spikes from a ball of the same golden gravity as was held in the elementals. The massive stone beast sat down on its ass, staring down at the water monsters and clapping its 6 stone hands. On the third clap long strands of the monsters connected to its fingers, each of the monsters having a connecting point on each hand.
With the closing of one of the giant's fists each of the monsters began to circle around me. The spikes of water around their body centered before solidifying into a weapon for each of them. The moment they held their weapons the strings on their back twitched and they were pulled into a wide circle around me, crouching down and brandishing their weapons. After another quick twitch of the strings three of the seven beasts dashed at me, one like a man with large, feathered wings and horns carrying a spear, another a bipedal lizard carrying a chain whip, and the third a turtle carrying a gnarled staff.
The winged man flew forwards with the force of a landslide, sending out a spear thrust towards my head, watery feathers falling from its wings. I barely managed to turn my head from its wings before I was impaled, getting a deep scratch along my cheek and ear in return.
Before I could try to retaliate, a storm of red flower petals surrounded me, leaving thin scratches all along my arms and chest. Each time one hit my horns or left leg, a flare of the Goldflame burst out, incinerating all of the petals around it. I turned to find whatever caused the petals, but the spear wielding man flew by again, leaving another gash on my cheek. Suddenly there was a whip in the storm, tearing through the air and tracking massive trails in the ground. I tried to guard against the attacks with my blade, but for every whip swing and spear thrust I blocked a dozen petals hit me. As my wounds bled all around me, I felt a burning feeling, and saw flecks of gold and black around the edges of my vision. Suddenly my wounds were filled with a burning feeling, and I looked down.
The hundreds of scratches along my body were filled with the gilded black stone of some of my horns, small lines of fire tracing through them. Immediately the lancer rushed towards me again, but aimed for where my head had been, so rather than cut through my skull I was kicked by the trailing foot. Spinning to the ground, I had the breath knocked out of me by a rock and could see the whip slashing down towards my head like the hammer of God.
This sudden thought enraged me, and without knowing why I raised my arm towards the whip, forming a fist with my clawless, pale fingers. the remainder of my horns gathered into my palm, forming a spike with a hole the size of my hand in the back. Grabbing the spike from the air, a plume of golden fire burst out from it into a pair of batlike wings on the sides of my knuckles. My fist rocketed to meet the whip, and the red chain shattered, shortening it by several yards.
As I grew more confident in my ability to win the battle I decided to experiment. Cycling the energy in my body the way my father showed me, I pushed it into the point where the grip met the spike, and told them to separate, trying to tie them together with a string of what I understood as physical reality. After half a second of dodging flower petals and spear strikes the spike dropped off my hand, with a golden tether tying the two pieces together. Lifting my hand, I pulled on the cord of light holding the spike and handle together, and the wings flared. The spike lifted from the ground slowly, then shot forwards, tearing a massive, steaming gap through the petal wall, and the string grew taught. Yanking my arm back, the chain pulled from something it had stuck in to rocket back to me, stopping in the air a few inches from my hand.
At that moment my lupine companion joined the fray, jumping through the hole in the curtain of flowers to stand by my side. Unlike my wounds, his were smoking, and a red aura surrounded each of his injuries. Understanding what he was after the brief interlude between fights, I inspected him with the trait I had gained.
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[Regis, Summoned Infernal, Level 20.79 (Restricted)]
My mind reeled when I inspected him, not expecting him to be stronger than the puppet master I was fighting, but before I could question him on anything the spear wielder dashed by again.
Ducking back, my inspection caught the monster as well, and that same righteous anger I had after comparing the whip to God's hammer returned.
[Unnamed Holy Water Figment, Lancer Angel Type, Level Unavailable]
Losing all vestiges of caution I had, I threw my spike towards the winged lancer, and snagged its wing. Immediately it began to burn in a circle of golden fire, reaching the body of the angel before it stopped. Pulling the spike at an angle it ripped through the body of the man in a wide, golden arc, tearing it in half and leaving the tear burning through the remainder of the body. The top half crashed down to the ground, splattering into a red puddle before sinking into the dirt on the ground. The lower half soon followed.
Before I could do anything, a whip of red chain came hurtling towards me. I didn't have time to jump out of the way, but Regis shoved me and sent me flying, landing in a roll a few yards to the right. When I turned around, he was a bisected lump of gold and silver, a pool of white blood and organs spilling out. His left head, the one not pressed into the ground, gave me a small nod, before his fur burned away in a gold fire, leaving behind a pile of rocks.
Angrier than I thought I would have been, I threw the spike in my hand towards the end of the chain until I felt the wire vibrate and go taught. Yanking as hard as I could the lizard man flew towards me, a hole burning in its leg. Before it could stand up, I rammed my sword into its head, burning it away in less than a second. The moment it was dead, I ran out to find the turtle I believed to be creating the petal curtain around me.
Crashing through the water wall, I could feel as dozens more small cuts covered my body, but no more golden fire filled my wounds, no more burning softness healed me from the inside out. When I broke through, my entire body was bleeding, and I was covered in a sheen of pearlescent sweat. The turtle looked at me, a smile on its reptilian face, and lifted its staff. Behind the turtle a massive red geyser erupted from the ground, the water solidifying into the rippling shape of a twenty-foot tall, gnarled tree covered in small leaves and flower petals.
At that moment reality set in, and I realized that there was no way I should have been alive. I was barely level two and had almost died several times fighting level one monsters. There was no way I would be able to fight against some form of angelic beasts that I couldn't begin to identify. The only reason I had been able to survive this fight was because I had been too lucky for my own good. There was no way I could beat this thing. If only I could have had more time to--
Ding! Title gained: Anxious. You are now anxious about failing and disappointing yourself and others. Minus 5 wisdom in stressful situations. Chance of anxiety attacks in stressful situations.
The staff came crashing to the ground and the turtle vanished, replaced by a storm of fluttering flower petals shaken from the tree's branches. A single petal fell faster than the rest, a small seed like a bubble resting on it, and neared the ground quickly. When it struck another tree sprouted up, repeating the cycle again and again. When I was surrounded by thirteen trees, each with thousands of leaves hovering down, waiting for the smallest signal to rush at me.
A resounding smash sounded, like a boulder falling from a mountain peak, and the leaves rushed forwards. A moment passed, and the leaves were barely an inch from my face, rippling edges and veins visible. Then they fell in a massive puddle of red around me, completely drenching my legs and feet. The golden pattern burned for a moment, but I barely noticed. A few yards away from me, staff raised, the turtle smiled and dissolved into a cloud of gold-tinged red mist, mouth opening in a silent scream.
To my right I heard the sound of an explosion and a massive surge of gravity struck me, lifting the dust and water around me into a ball of red mud, creating a small dry space around me.
Turning to my right I saw a small, perfect orb of stone and metal fall to the ground, making a hole the size of a horse. Just above the ball was my father's hand, holding a solid black dagger. He turned to me with a small smile, then my vision was covered by a message.
Ding! You have discovered a new effect of Goldflame. When injured by a holy effect with Goldflame cycling, any object infused with the energy will fill the wound and begin a sped-up healing process.
Ding! Trait Subskill: Physics Manipulation; Compressed blade has reached Tier 2. Through necessity and understanding this skill has upgraded to Compressed Weapon. You are now able to form any object considered a weapon with the ability.
Ding! Gained 1.45 level progression (33%).
The moment I was done reading, I fell, the fire and black stone falling from my weapons and wounds back into claws.