The red-silver stonework and two falling waterfalls beside the massive doors spread out before Luke. The only obstacle left was a pack of minotaurs behind a final mirror. That should get a line of crystals to light up.
“Before we move on, Sooty, let’s get that ability of yours upgraded, and it can’t hurt to look over my reward as well,” Luke said
Luke took out the Shadowmeld Spaulders placed into his Inventory. The tooltip quickly displayed itself.
[Shadowmeld Spaulders]
Quality: Rare
Armor: 9
Stats: +8 Intellect +8 Agility
Passive: If the wearer dodges an attack, movement speed increases moderately for 10 seconds.
Required Level: 18
Forged from the shrouded cloths of the elite nocturnal tailors of Elaria, these spaulders carry the silent whispers of secrets untold and moves unseen. Who leaves something like this in a pit of monsters?
Feeling the rough dark cloth of the spaulders, the exact material was unidentifiable to him. The thinness of the textile didn’t make it fragile. He put the item into his shoulder slot, and the soft cloth appeared on his body.
Sooty had hopped off Whispering Edge by now and strutted toward the final mirror they had to clear.
“Wait up, Sooty, we need to upgrade your Beak skill, remember?” Luke said.
She paused, and then her beak took on a dark mist. The mist enveloped her body, surging around for some time. Sooty let out a click of annoyance, and the vapor recessed into the stone floor. Luke wanted to pull up the Interface for the evolved Reaver Beak but had no such luck.
Sooty had flown over to the minotaur mirror. The cheeky bird perched on the silver framing. Luke swore he could see her tapping her feet.
He’d figure it out along the way then. Luke picked up his pace and stood between the last two mirrors in the central lane. The waterfalls and stone door loomed grandly over him, taking up all of his vision.
“Let’s test out my handsome looks again, shall we?” Luke said.
“Always good to have self-esteem, lad,” Wayfinder said.
Xera yelled, “Does that mean I get to slice up the walking unfriendly cows now?”
“Yes, Xera, it does.”
Luke turned his head, and he swore the mirror cracked before he laid eyes on it.
“Well, that’s certainly a vote of confidence. Not.” He said.
Sooty hopped off the top of the mirror, flapped once, then landed on his head. Luke waved his hand, and Xera formed into her wand state. The movement forced aside the crashing glass early. The poor minotaurs were busy still enjoying grass when a Reaver ruined all the precious tasty morsels by frosting them over.
Luke had come out swinging; the man cows were still disoriented by the time he charged into the mirror realm. He placed Essence Bond on one, and Essence Lanced the entire group, freezing them to the floor and ruining the area around them.
The minotaurs had bunched up, and with them only being melee users and shivering to death, Luke pressed the fight forward. Time was up, and he couldn’t be leisurely with walking steak. Sooty let out a haughty click. This was her time to show off, with an evolved ability and all, but her Reaver would wipe out all the targets at this rate.
Sooty left the comfy nest of Luke’s hair, and faint dark light swirled around her beak. The crow pierced the largest minotaur, and the innocent bovine let out a moo before having its midsection obliterated. Sooty’s beak acted like she put her beak through paper, not toughened level nineteen cow leather.
Luke happened to Essence Bond that particular cow. Sooty released Essence Screech as it died, and the strengthened bond appeared over every remaining grass eater. Only one was dead so far, but the rest had taken devastating damage.
Surging frost essence from his body into Xera’s wand body, mist exploded out. Feeling a perfect opportunity, Luke used Temporal North to double strike with another Essence Lance. The already focused frost Essence invigorated the Essence Lance, and a brilliant dawn of frost coned each minotaur.
Before the frosty cover cleared, Luke got an eyeful of the grassy fields all around him. The sun was golden, and the weather warm. The minotaur’s weapons were stuck to their bodies; their limbs refused to listen. Most were dead already. Sooty had been using the cover of blue mist to wreak havoc upon their number.
“In a rush, are we lad? Isn’t this supposed to be the final mirror? Why does it feel as easy as the third?” Wayfinder said.
“Hungry and dying Reavers are impatient, don’t you know? As for why it’s easier, probably stat and ability growth.” Luke answered.
“This is what I dreamed about with wand time; look at all that destruction. It’s so wanderful! Being able to shoot frost missiles is great.” Xera said.
Taking in the increasingly cold air, Luke responded, “Those are Essence Lances, Xera.”
“Same thing!”
“Fair enough.”
While the three chatted in the middle of battle, Sooty continued to shine, mucking up the remaining minotaurs. The overwhelming slowdown of the upright cows proved their swings useless. They couldn’t land even a point on damage on Sooty.
The corvid got annoyed at one who got close and rewarded the beast with a Talon Strike to the face.
“That looked like it hurt,” Luke commented. The Reaver sat down on the grass. The fight had become a feast instead. He felt the remaining monster group could be used for Sooty to test out her new Reaver Beak a few times.
Each time she used it, the touched section of the monster would practically be turned into a bloody pulp. These minotaurs’ defenses were pitiful compared to the penetration Sooty gained after the evolution.
“I wonder what the details of her Tier 1 Reaver Beak are; it certainly seems deadly,” Luke said.
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“Aren’t you taking this one a bit lightly, lad? Plenty of them are still alive.” Wayfinder cautioned.
“Sooty will handle it. Better she uses this chance to adjust. She may not get any other practice for when it matters most.” Luke replied.
“Watching Sooty can be fun, too, I guess. Just don’t make it a habit.” Xera said.
A few minotaurs had the wise idea to bull charge toward Luke. Unfortunately, Sooty just claimed them as easy pickings they became.
“Won’t you test out that fancy piece you put on your shoulders? Now’s the time time, lad.” Wayfinder said.
“Great, I’ll lose some rust I gained from that dreadfully hot place we had a family reunion earlier.”
“I’m not sure that’s the right word for it, lass, but that heat certainly did a number.”
Returning to Wayfinder’s original question before they got off track, Luke spoke.
“I will. I’ve already let Sooty know to spare one; for now, she needs more practice and targets than I do.”
Keeping on his feet, Luke continued to watch Sooty. The bird’s Reaver Beak ability had turned closer into a living cannon than anything else. Talon Strike caused about the same carnage when it managed a critical strike, previously being Sooty’s most potent finisher.
Sooty became something closer to herder of these monsters, striking them every which way, ensuring they never came too close to Luke. Luke noticed his crow was rapidly becoming more adept in applying shadow essence to her beak.
A particularly agile minotaur dodged a Reaver Beak, its instincts roaring for life. Sooty let out a click, dissatisfied at the resistance. A spiked mace came down, attempting to thrash the bird. Sooty released a shade, a copy of herself. The reaction to cast Shadow Wing was overkill, but its Reaver Beak also showed incredible power. After shrugging off the sloppy mace smash, Sooty’s Shadow Wing Reaver Beaked the man-cow’s neck.
Needless to say, the aftermath wasn’t pretty, with the minotaur suffocating from its own blood. Sooty had long moved on to other remnant living cow hides, tearing those minotaurs a new one. The two aggressors corralled the monstrous cows, and the birds circled them into one standing group.
They both released their Essence Screech on opposite sides. The move drew the battle to a near conclusion; only two creatures were left standing. The shade left its Iron Feather on Sooty before turning into dark vapor, mixing with the air. Before the overly zealous corvid could rush in to finish the job, Luke said, “That’s enough then, Sooty, you’ve had your practice. And before you try to back-caw me, those remaining two are so bloodied it’ll hardly be enough to test what I need to. On you go.”
Sooty tried to convince Luke with a few coos and rattles, adapting to the no back-caw rule Luke subtly mentioned. Realizing Luke wouldn’t budge, she flew over and landed safely away from the remaining two creatures. Giving him a big pleading look with wet eyes all the while.
Having grown immune to some of Sooty’s tactics over the year they’d been together, Luke took Xera and walked over, stopping three paces away from the two minotaurs. He paced around the two, subtly staying out of their attack range, waiting for them to regain whatever speed they could in a short span.
After giving them less than a minute, he jumped between the two, reflexively pouring essence into his eyes, boosting dynamic vision. A two-handed axe and a spear rushed at him; Luke tapped the spear out of the way with Xera and dodged the two-handed axe. A rush of speed overtook his body, breaking a threshold.
Luke got used to the speed. He continued to dodge while he allowed the two minotaurs’ free reign to swing at him. Once the passive of his shoulder piece took effect, the raging beasts trying to strike him only grew in anger. Their eyes became increasingly red, with them haphazardly swinging their weapons. The two beasts couldn’t intake enough air, and their breathing sounds became harsh.
After letting his body adjust to the new speed for a few more swings, Xera flashed, and the spear-wielding minotaur’s arms sheared right off. The extra speed made his blade even more deadly. Velocity was a dangerous multiplier. The speed difference was enough for Luke to appear behind the former spear wielder before it could defend against him.
He delivered a straight kick, and the raging bull came into the path of the other monster’s two-handed axe. The fellow minotaur hadn’t held back its swing, not anticipating friendly fire. Two halves of the beast fell, dousing the minotaur in blood. Luke had already taken a stance and thrust Xera with all the force he could muster, the blade revealing itself when the other monster fell to the ground.
Xera quickly stabbed out the Minotaur’s back, just below its heart. Swiftly shifting his grip and legs, his sword wand slid up the body upwards and out its lower neck. Xera’s blade pulsed as he did so. Casually sidestepping the desperate axe swing the Minotaur managed, Luke observed the aftermath.
He had pulled off pulsing some frost essence into Xera during that swing, much like he’d done with Whispering Edge once. The tactic was hard for him to do but effective. The monster ruptured, bleeding heavily. Luke took a single pace backward, and the creature couldn’t manage to move from its spot.
A few breaths later, the minotaur died, releasing a frosty breath. Its internals had shown signs of freezing.
My frost essence is deadly to anything that doesn’t have enough levels or frost resistance to handle it. The damage to their organs is unbelievable. Luke thought.
“Well, I think I got the hang of it. That speed boost is useful in more ways than one. Worth the effort to obtain those shoulders. Feels like the reward was more for Sooty, though,” Luke commented.
Skill points were the lifeblood of upgrading your abilities. If you could spend them, that is.
“This ice sword style is so exciting! I’ve almost got the magic like a wand, but still a sword. Ah…now I confused myself. Never mind,” Xera said.
Luke let Xera sort out her identity and confusion.
Wayfinder took the end of combat as an excellent time to speak, “Any last thing you want to do, lad? Once you leave here, the crystal will connect the beam to those immense doors. Maybe send a prayer to your maker or think of a long-lost love? Pet the feathered lass like you do?”
“No, I suppose I’ll go over the log and get a better look at Sooty’s change. That ability has become deadly, but rather than a damage boost, I feel like it’s something else.” He looked over to Sooty, “I might give Sooty a pat or two, though,” Luke said.
Luke took a seat near Sooty and began to sort what he could since he left the black mountain and cleared this last mirror realm. Various lines popped up in his vision, reflecting the recorded rewards and changes in the battle log.
[King of the Hill Quest completed. Companion awarded three skill points. Obtained Shadowmeld Spaulders]
[You have stolen 122 Health, 56 Strength, and 19 Intellect]
There was only one notice for all the stats he’d stolen. He’d either hit the cap before slaughtering the bloodthirsty cows or the gains from the battle on the mountain and in this mirror realm merged. In the end, it didn’t matter which was the case. Before he could get a feel for the stat difference, another notice popped up, serving as a prodding reminder.
[Clear the Hall and Defeat the Spectral Lord quests are still active]
“Alright, fine, I’ll listen, Interface. Less than an hour with this heart left makes me a lot more compliant. Sooty, let me run over your Reaver Beak ability while we move out of here,” Luke said.
Keeping to his word, he patted his favorite bird while holding her in his arms. Luke had already switched Xera to wand form, then holstered the wand into a belt slot. A few feet from the exit, he pulled up the description of Reaver Beak.
[Reaver Beak Tier 1]
Envelopes Companion’s next beak strike in a shadowed mist, causing deadly precision, dealing a large amount of extra damage. Attack ignores 30% of the target's armor. If the target is under essence debuffs, those debuffs are magnified by 30% for 8 seconds. 10% chance to activate Reaver’s stat-stealing. Causes a 10% reduction in the target's armor and resistances for 8 seconds. Cost: 25 Essence. Cooldown: 6 seconds.
Luke read the ability over twice. A vivid image of the armored Spectral Lord played in his mind. Then Veronica’s words about upgrading this particular ability came next.
“It’s all starting to make more sense now. Wayfinder, do you know anything about what decides if you can upgrade an ability to tier 1 early or not?”
The compass didn’t speak immediately. A tinge of uncertainty colored his following words, “The whims of those abilities aren’t perfectly known, lad, but its general likeness is that your first fancy trick tends to be easier to improve. Don’t take me words as gospel for the world’s shenanigans,” Wayfinder said.
Wrapping the blindfold over his eyes, Luke stepped out of the mirror realm and responded.
“It would explain why Infusion and Reaver Beak could upgrade to tier 1, but the rest can’t. I’ll take it for now.”
Feeling the stone beneath his feet and hearing the water crash again, Luke said, “Time to crack those doors open.”