The Essence blast imploded right above the central mass of eels. The moisture slickening the eels worked against them. Instantly freezing their legless bodies.
Losing all forms of mobility, not to mention taking massive damage, the fate of these deadly eels was sealed. Still, Luke was tired of holding back his cards. Several of the eels had already died on impact.
The rest would soon visit their eel brothers and sisters in heaven.
Holding nothing back, Luke chained the use of Temporal North into another Essence Lance. With intellect giving magic power, his spell abilities continued to deal more damage; two shots wiped over half the eels out.
Stepping calmly to the mostly frozen eels, a few tried to counterattack. A shade appeared, taking each blow for Luke. Rather than dive in, the shadow only let out its screech. Its critical effect was applied, and each eel had a symbol resembling a death’s head hawk moth materialized on their bodies.
Its role over, the shade kept near him, acting as a flying guard. Sooty blazed through the remaining eels with her Talon Strike. Cycling through her attacks as she pleased. Refusing to drop his combat sense, Luke gazed out of the mirror realm from the entryway.
Ensuring there were no other eels waiting, he shifted Xera back into a sword. Luke precisely swept the blade across the battlefield with the twilight vanguard's aid. The terrain and elemental advantage were too strong.
The pure mage-type monsters had lost their distance. The Luke and Sooty predator team meticulously and surgically upended lives. The shadow assisted where it could, still keeping back to guard Luke as its main priority.
The shade absorbed the few water blasts the eels managed. When the nigh-invincible guard had its limited duration come up, the eels left alive could be counted with one’s fingers. Like a soldier solemnly combing the field, Luke would stab and snuff out the last embers of resistance. The sight reminded him of his short days in the military. He went in as a naive boy, thinking he’d be some hero, and came out a completely different person.
And by “went in,” he meant drafted. Masses of people vanishing caused martial law to be declared, and all able-bodied men without particular professions were inducted into the military. Luke was on the luckier side, becoming a mechanic for aircraft, not that he was any good at it. You’d think a mechanic wouldn’t go to a war zone. The last days of a civilization always threw logic out the window.
Snapping out of it, he came back to reality. Sooty was looking at him with concern. Luke had been standing there for nearly half a minute.
Thinking Luke was having difficulty adjusting, Wayfinder said, “You’ll grow used to it, lad. Luckily, the birdie lass finished off the last few for you in time. The last stretch is in sight.”
Xera, feeling like she had enough of being mopey, said, “Don’t worry, master. We’ll get out of this stupid cave today. Sooty and I will make sure of it!”
Luke chuckled at Xera’s purposeful exclusion of Wayfinder in that statement. Not correcting the group’s slight misunderstanding, he stepped back into the mirror hall, out of the Infernal mirror realm.
Not wanting to risk a bout of rumination, Luke placed the blindfold over his eyes again once he faced in the proper direction toward the doors. He felt the weight of Sooty landing on his left shoulder.
“You two know the drill by now. Let’s check out the last set of mirrors in this row. Once we understand what we’re dealing with, I want to target the mirrors with gray crystals above them.”
“Aye, two-shiftin’ lassie, let’s inspect some glass.”
“Only because master said to.”
“Sooty, close your eyes, pal. Trust these two to be our sight,” Luke said.
Luke briskly walked forward, unable to check if his crow had closed her eyes. Stopping only when the two artifacts said to.
“Turn yourself to the right a bit. Me peepers can’t gaze with you facing forward while I’m still hangin’ around your neck.” Wayfinder instructed.
Xera didn’t have that issue while looking at the mirror to the group’s right. She began to describe what she saw.
“This one will be exciting. Look at all those red eyes! They’re everywhere. Isn’t Sooty an expert with eyeballs? We will be fine.”
Xera had managed to explain precisely nothing except for the fact what was in the mirror to his right had red eyeballs.
“Wayfinder? What is she talking about?” Luke asked.
“The lassie means exactly that. You’ve got a medium-sized group of red-eyed mind flayers. Each, at level 19, they’re a mix of agility and magic, much like your feathered lass. Me clasp feels there’s maybe twenty of them in there.”
Just twenty? That doesn’t sound too bad.
“Switch me to your other hand. I can’t see the other side like this. Your body is in the way, Luke.” Xera said.
Adjusting Xera to his left hand, the sword wand began her observation. At the same time, he tilted himself so Wayfinder could also see. The duo took some time, taking in the sights before them. Then Wayfinder spoke first.
“This one has a practical battalion of low-end minotaurs. I had no idea the cow imitators could be this low-leveled. These are all level 19 as well, although you’ve got about sixty grazing around.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Luke didn't like the sound of that.
“Their battle axes and war hammers are huge. They all have a bunch of up-close and personal weapons. Why don’t they have any swords, though? Don’t they know swords are the best? Let me show ‘em!” Xera added on.
This time, the two had given him worthy information. While Xera’s view was more out of self-concern with swords, knowing none of them had a ranged weapon was vital for Luke. While returning to the very beginning of the row, Luke decided if it came to it, unless the gray crystals gave a surprise, he would pick the minotaur mirror.
“You’re back to the very start. You can stop here.” Wayfinder served as his eyes once more.
Taking off the fold, his cheery bird partner greeted him with her head in his immediate vision.
“Well, hello again, Sooty, it hasn’t been long.”
Caw!
Luke would never grow tired of his bird pal. The Reaver Link subtly influenced that, if he had to guess. Keeping his vision high, Luke accounted for every gray crystal left.
So far, the group had only interacted with two, and the other rows only had one. Sooty had been gathering light again, especially after they finished clearing the eels. Activating the next gray crystal should go smoothly.
Assuming they could handle whatever was in the mirror realm below it.
Luke took the time to go over his gains. Summed up in just one short message. Wayfinder had not leveled this time. The compass was a black hole when it came to experience requirements.
[You have stolen 57 Intellect and 69 HP]
Every time his intellect qualitatively increased like this, Luke experienced a revolution in his essence. The firepower of his damaging spells increased, and the amount of essence he could contain increased moderately. The regeneration felt faster as well, although the effect was slight.
As for HP, he felt healthier, and Luke’s constitution would strengthen.
The eels were practically a pure intellect-focused beast-type. Trying to maximize the mechanics of his class, Luke kept it in mind to clear out a level 18 or 19 agility-focused mirror as well.
As for strength, the minotaurs would cover that. He was sure of it. Making his way to the row left of the one he just left, Luke took out Whispering Edge. Rather than go to the gray crystal in this row, which floated above the next mirror, Luke paused.
Tapping his foot on the silver-red stone, he listened to the crashing waterfalls.
“Hey Xera, what’s in the mirror on the right?”
“Just a bunch of level 1 cave rats. Why?”
“Let’s shatter it.” Luke’s expression morphed into one of curiosity.
Turning his head, the mirror cracked like an egg. The transparent shards flew, and the poor cave rats charged for their life. They’d have to try again next time. Not even bothering with his other spells much, Whispering Edge was calmly swung repeatedly as needed. Soon, the cave rats were no more.
Sooty had a questioning gaze burning through Luke. The man instead shifted his eyes onto the corvid. She had gained even more swirling light around her. The issue of doing a series of risky fights that let Sooty gain enough light to transfer to the cloudy gray crystals was solved.
If the most manageable first set of mirrors in each row gave Sooty light, it’d quickly be enough for the small amount of gray crystals. Plus, it’d be neat to have light crystals for each set in all five rows. Enjoy the small things in life, you know?
A piece of caution remained with Luke. His two artifacts would still check every mirror to prevent any nasty surprises. He might survive if he broke a mirror realm containing monsters akin to siege beasts.
But if he lost all sense of the situation and broke a mirror with its version of leviathans? Luke wouldn’t have to worry about his heart anymore, at least. He’d be gone before it mattered.
The second purpose of wiping out the innocent cave rats was to prove his theory. Whispering Edge had Infusion powering it during the fight. He’d have stolen at least one stat point. Reading his battle log, no mention of stat stealing could be found.
That’s definitive proof, then. I can’t just farm low-ranking monsters for stats. I’ll only waste my breath.
“Let’s get it all out of the way. By clearing out each low-level mirror, Sooty would have enough light for the gray crystals.”
“An efficient plan, lad, let’s get to it then,” Wayfinder said, “that heart of yours is countin’ on it. Usually easy or not, have us old artifacts lay eyes on the glass first, just in case.”
“Who are you calling old? Ladies are eternally young!” Xera pridefully stated.
“Older when I call you a girl, then much younger when I call you old? Some principles you have, lass.” Wayfinder said.
Before they could do a rather pointless argument, Luke sent a message to Sooty. The bird pecked both artifacts repeatedly, and the two begged for mercy before anything could begin.
“Thanks, Sooty. I’ll need you on artifact watch duty from time to time.” He said.
Sooty let out a rattle while bobbing her head.
The one-man party proceeded to wreck several mirrors. In a rapid period, Luke and Co gave eternal rest to plenty of serpentizers, goblins, slimes, and other manner of the bottom-of-the-barrel beasts.
Sooty was more of a light ball than a crow by the end. In the process, Luke hadn’t stolen a single stat point. Knowing he was no longer considered part of the world's lowest echelon was reassuring.
Even if it meant growth would take more effort.
The first Reaver must’ve had no thoughts of trickery at the beginning of the mirror realm, as none of the first sets in the five rows had a ‘surprise’ waiting. That could be the first Reaver’s way of training wheels—a fair warning of the real dangers of these mirrors.
With the groundwork out of the way, Luke returned his focus to the main objective. Clearing out the remaining gray crystals. There were only four left. Of those, two were on the second echelon of mirrors, and the other two on the third.
Luke felt like clearing out the left side on a whim. As such, he found himself back in the spot where the cave rats were wiped out. Breathing out, Luke strode forth. Letting Xera take a cursory look, he was given the green light. With the comment, “They look like fun to slash!”
Making sure everything was Infused or, in Xera’s case, Essence Bonded, the mirror to his right let out an ear-deafening sound. Glass rapidly fell to the floor. The realm before him was dark, and an eminence of deathly wind surrounded the entrance.
Ignoring the uninviting atmosphere, Luke made his way into the place. Small groups of lesser liches patrolled the interior. Tombstones decorated the rotten soil. A decomposing smell of dust and bone assaulted his nose.
Xera was ready, “No blasting, just a hack and slash this time. I feel like sword form.”
Feeling like he could give in to his odd sword wand, Luke didn’t comment. Instead, he cast Essence Bond on the first group he could see without taking Xera into wand form, per her request.
The screen of the lich he attacked popped up, likely due to his subconscious thought.
[Lesser Lich]
Level: 14
HP: 237/237
Beings that failed to master the dark arts. Early.
Sooty had pent-up energy, not to mention light, so the bird drew all of the attention. She was happy about it, having nothing to do for the past couple of mirror realms. The crow gleefully released a caw and took a few liches out of their peaceful undeath.
Wanting to keep his sword wand satisfied, Luke cleaved through plenty of liches. Still respecting the power of magic, he cast Essence Fissure in an effective shot, pressing all but two groups of liches to the ground. One of them being the current group, they were slicing apart.
A few fireballs and frost blasts managed minor hits on Luke or Sooty.
These liches were in for a rude awakening if they thought that would be enough to save themselves.