With two shamans left, Sooty tried to assassinate another. The warriors put stacks and stacks of weapons in her way. They would not let another bird of death take the remaining shamans.
One completed ritual was all the forest trolls needed. The berserker transformation would push them far above their intended limits.
Sooty helplessly brought her body out of the range of the warriors, waiting. Luke turned Xera into her sword form. With the warriors focused on the wrong side, two swords mutilated a pair of forest trolls from the back.
Stepping forward, Luke doubled-slashed the back and neck of another troll in front of the other two. Finally, some warriors noticed a new enemy in their ranks and turned around. Luke could only evade with a rain of axe blows coming his way.
Two shamans still breathed. Luke could smell the bloody metal of his two swords. The other unit of trolls were beginning to run at him. Their thundering footsteps were mad with rage.
Not yet.
Noticing they had the slow on them, there would still be a few seconds to act. Luke charged in, taking three blows. Evading and dodging what he could, he didn’t accomplish too much, but he achieved his backup goal: he had the attention of the warriors who formerly focused on Sooty.
Sooty used her Essence Screech, killing one shaman and wounding the warriors around Luke severely. As Luke took advantage of the warriors reacting to a deadly blow, he cut his way out. Executing one troll through the groin with Whispering Edge. Then, in a whirling motion, his two swords lobbed off the head of another troll in the way of him leaving the encirclement.
Dashing out, he avoided being enclosed from all sides.
Sooty dove, her Iron Feather surrounding her. Reaver’s Beak powered her next attack; her target, the last shaman, shot off a lightning bolt. Sooty traded this blow so she could deal her own. Her beak shattered the chest of the shaman, killing it. Sooty used her bloody talons on the shaman to push back off into the sky, avoiding the warriors.
Luke raised Whispering Edge and used its active on the group of troll warriors behind him. He needed both sides to slow down to reach his target destination. Luke ran to the north, with both groups of trolls trailing after him.
With both sides being slowed, Luke got into the rows of statues. Sooty was flying overhead of him. It was best to employ guerrilla tactics for the rest of the fight. The thin gaps of the statues stopped a flood of troll warriors.
Luke was bleeding quite heavily. Those three strikes did a number on him. The wounds were closing with the passive regeneration of the Coven Lord’s Pendant. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about bleeding out.
He was in a predicament, though. One or two more blows like that could kill him. He’d have to bet on healing through damage. Those rings would be saving him again today. Luke prepared the best he could, diving further into the statues. He had Sooty fly another direction from him. Two groups of warriors took the bait, going after her. A fresh Infusion powered his two blades.
He was still faster than the trolls by a large margin, even if they didn’t have a slow on them. The statues limited his mobility, but they did the same to the trolls. Angry grunts could be heard all over.
When Sooty brought a significant minority to the other side of the statues, she immediately zipped back to Luke. She was to be his eyes in the sky.
"Smart use of the wee lass's wings, lad. You're catching on. Keep at it, and you might prove yourself more than a simple numpty before long," Wayfinder remarked, a note of approval threading through his usually gruff demeanor.
“You’re not going to turn me back into a wand again, are you? Being a sword in this situation is so much more fun!” Xera had her thoughts as well.
Luke was busy running from several trolls, so he didn’t answer. Luke was currently in the process of getting used to Sooty’s way of telling him what troll was where. For example, a strong feeling of “behind three” would mean a troll was three statues back, or it could mean three trolls were behind him. Luke and Sooty tried to work out the Reaver Link’s communication kinks.
Once Luke got his crow’s code down, using his superior eyes in the sky, he started to get to work. First, he managed to be guided to an isolated troll, which had gone too far ahead of the pack.
Taking Whispering Edge, Luke struck it in the back of the knee. He ducked, anticipating a backhanded spear swing from the troll. His guess was right on the mark. The troll’s spear swung above his head, and the air rustled his black hair.
“Let me!” Xera pleaded. Luke didn’t have time to react to her antics and plunged the talkative sword through the armpit of the troll.
Luke ripped the sword back out and ran off. The troll chased, only to have a talon tear apart its left side. It wouldn’t survive. A low caw was the last thing the troll heard before bleeding to death.
“How could you do that to me? Who wants to go through the stinky pit of a troll.” Xera was displeased.
“If you’re not going to cut where I need you to, I’ll leave you here.” Luke had enough.
“I’ll behave. Luke, you know, you’re getting exhausted. Why not try to get away from the trolls enough to use that limiting Interface of yours?” Xera shifted gears, noticing Luke’s breath getting increasingly ragged.
Luke would suck in as much air as he could, but it was never enough. Even with him forcing breaks in between, the constant waves of monsters wore him down. At this rate, it wouldn’t be the trolls that killed him. It would be a mistake from exhaustion. Xera had a point.
“There’s too many around for that, Xera.”
“You’re not seeing it; when there’s a will, there’s a way.” Xera was adamant.
"If you keep tangling with those brutes and find yourself unable to leg it, it'll be weariness that'll be the death of you, not their clubs. Use that boulder you call a head for once, lad. There's a reason a Reaver has a companion; don't forget it," Wayfinder admonished with a gruff push toward strategy.
Luke began to rack his brain with both artifacts urging him in the same direction. If he and Sooty could kill the nearest trolls, then she leads the rest away so he can drop combat…
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Once the thought popped into Luke’s head, he knew that was the way to solve this trial. The only other kind of Reaver that would make it through this would be one that overly prepared before coming here. Luke wasn’t in that category of Reavers. Instead, he’d have to use the mechanics of his class to its fullest.
Using her aerial view, Sooty told Luke three trolls were closing in on him. Luke gripped his two swords tightly. Once these three trolls were off his trail, Sooty should be able to misdirect the rest for him.
If she were to dive in again and help him, the trolls would get a more precise idea of where he was. To prevent that, he told Sooty to stay in the air unless a golden opportunity presented itself.
“Watch out, master!” Xera shouted. She redirected herself with her conscious will.
The sword positioned herself to help parry. A troll approached him, prepared to fight, arms bulging with its attack. Luke accelerated to his body’s limit. A polearm came slashing down, looking to cut him in half. Luke forced it to the side using Xera. The resulting gap let him plunge Whispering Edge into the troll’s chest.
The troll’s eyes widened, and its grip faltered. Luke had Xera finish the job across its neck. With him kicking its body forward, Whispering Edge slid out the troll’s chest. Another of the trolls had caught up to him.
Luke stepped back, but his body wouldn’t listen rapidly enough. The troll landed cut to his upper leg with its sword. Seeing the corpse of another troll behind Luke, it roared at him. The troll’s tribal tattoos began to glow while swinging its blade ferociously.
The attacks were broad and inefficient but too fast for conventional dodging. The troll's body shifted consistently; Luke saw a pattern immediately.
Luke’s mouth opened wide, an unhinged look beginning to form. “A game of whose more aggressive. Alright then.” His legs pressed forward, taking a sword cut to the shoulder.
Whispering Edge faithfully gutted the troll’s side, but it stubbornly remained unaffected, returning a pierce to Luke’s legs.
Shoving Xera in one motion, she pierced into its rib cage. Whispering Edge was set to another task; with an awkward adjustment to posture, Luke managed to cut off the thumb of the troll's hand.
That only made the troll’s strikes more straightforward. Another cut appeared on Luke’s back. He rotated around, going around the edge of another statue. The stone blocked a strike for him, and Xera was sliced down to cut the troll’s wrist off.
She didn’t cut all the way through, stuck in the bone. “Darn it, decades in that chest made me so blunt. A little help here, compass. Why is troll bone so tough?”
Luke answered for Wayfinder. Whispering Edge’s side was used to hammer down once, and Xera sliced through the wrist. The troll, barely noticing the loss of its hand, scrambled with its other arm to steal back its sword.
Taking the opening, Whispering Edge finished the job Xera started. He let the sword gouge through the troll’s body. The bleeding would do the rest. Luke started to do a mix of stumbling and running. His legs were getting worse; he’d also lose his speed advantage at this rate.
Sooty had been keeping an eye on him; she wanted to help several times, but Luke was adamant. Her relief would assist for the moment, but then even more trolls would come after.
No, he’d have to get the last one down by himself. Luke was no longer in the northern portion of the room, now having turned enough to be in the west. Grunts, snarls, and roars were the musical cadence behind him. Only one section of the noise was much closer than the rest.
Luke thought This one will end up finding me.
Going one lane deeper into the rows of statues, he waited. Sooty would send a signal. Luke pressed his body against the statue, hiding himself as best he could. The second passive of Whispering Edge, noise reduction, would have to cover for his breath. He couldn’t stop sucking in air even if he wanted to.
He tensed, putting both swords in a parallel position to his body. Essence oozed from his hands, and Infusion augmented them. The troll would speed right by him. Its steps grew louder, vigorously searching for the human Reaver.
Now.
The two swords came out perfectly timed thanks to Sooty's accurate information view. They found purchase on the troll’s lower sides, wrenching deeply into its body. Luke placed a foot in front of himself; the two blades came out the troll’s stomach.
The combination of a sneak attack and Wayfinder’s passive Twilight Vanguard paid off. Both swords landed a critical strike, and the troll fell to its knees, grunting. It tried to warn its war brothers, only to find its throat refusing to open.
The madness of the moment overtook Luke. This constant wear had pushed him to the edge. He slowly took Whispering Edge, balanced it on the opening mouth of the troll, and twisted it as he shoved it down.
Retrieving the blade once the troll was done choking on three pounds of steel, Luke moved on. Sooty had been keeping a far enough distance. Most of the trolls figured the human was right under her. With Sooty flapping in the opposite direction of Luke, the majority of trolls veered her way.
Finding a spot as good as any, Luke leaned against a statue. The sounds of the trolls grew faint. Sooty wouldn’t be able to get them much further from him. An aura stopped pressing down on him, and the Interface did its job. The battle wasn’t over, but Sooty let him escape combat. As a result, Luke had a few messages pop up, but none for Sooty.
[You have reached level 18. Acquired four skill points]
With the sheer number of monsters he fought, even if many were under his level, two level-ups came as no surprise to Luke. With the level-ups being distributed, his wounds healed up. The loss in stamina remained. However, he was recovering quickly, with his body back to perfect health. His heart was already slowing in its beats. He desperately craved water at the moment.
[Xera, the Sword Wand, has evolved to Uncommon Quality]
Throwing three skill points into Essence Fissure, Luke ran into an issue. Despite having two points remaining, none of them could be used. Everything else required him to go up in “tier.” Luke had half an idea of what that meant but no idea how to go about doing so.
Now’s not the time to ask. I have to hurry.
While the warriors were basically harmless to Sooty, it’s not like they wouldn’t eventually spread out more to find him. There was always a chance one would chance upon him resting in this corner as well. The sooner he stabilized his gains, the better. As Luke pondered his next move, Xera couldn’t contain her excitement.
She reveled in her newfound capabilities. "Look at me! I'm practically sparkling! I could take on the world—no rust, no dust, ready for action."
"Lass, you never had a speck of rust to begin with," Wayfinder interjected, his voice grounding to Xera's exuberance.
Xera's reply was quick and lively, brimming with her characteristic moodiness. "Oh, quiet you. I'm having a moment here. Let me enjoy it. This is my time for glory!” she rebuffed.
Luke brought up a condensed version of the changes to Xera. Turns out, she wasn’t taking any experience at all, based on her experience bar not increasing beyond what he willingly gave her.
[Xera, The Sword-Wand]
Quality: Uncommon
Level: 3 (0/20)
Stats: +12 physical damage, +12 magic damage
Passive - Essence Theft: Each swing has a 2% chance of stat steal from a target. Includes spells channeled through the sword wand.
Active - Advanced Form Shift: Use 5 Essence to shift between the two forms of Xera. 3 second cooldown.
Sword: Grants an additional +5 physical damage on hit.
Wand: Essence debuffs and buffs applied to targets, allies, or enemies are 6% more effective.
Even Luke had to admit Xera was already a better sword for casting abilities. The difference would widen if he were in a situation to turn her into a wand. Whispering Edge was better used with physical attacks for now.
The requirements for evolution nearly tripled, with her having to be level 10 and for him to steal 200 stats to evolve her to a rare quality weapon. She was already as valuable as one at this point. Taking some leftover experience, Luke quickly brought her up to level seven. He would regress to level 17 if he leveled her anymore, so he stopped. Doing that sharpened her, Xera's physical and magical baseline damage increased each level.
Incredibly aware this was not a safe place to leisurely go through the Interface log, Luke searched for the last critical piece of information, how many stats he stole.
[You have stolen 9 agility, 17 intellect, 39 strength, 80 HP]
Even with the stress of his environment, Luke’s lips betrayed an inevitable smile.
“See! That trickster Interface must’ve given you a ton of stats, right? Now those trolls will be my sword food,” Xera was spot on.