Luke sucked in subarctic air. His right arm inside the boss strained and shook. Gravity felt heavy on Luke’s body.
He knew he needed two more seconds to reform Xera and pull her out of the bison’s body. He took Whispering Edge out and flexed his left arm. Unfortunately, the bison’s neck was outside his swing range. He tried accumulating Frost Fall’s ambient frost to try an iced arc to extend the length of his attack.
The boss, however, would never allow this pest to get its way for long. The horror effect ended, and it attempted to crush Luke with its steel-like jaw immediately. Luke trusted in Sooty’s Iron Feather and let Whispering Edge puncture into the weak flesh around the jaw.
More damage stacked onto Onelius, yet it only served to agitate the bison boss. His jaw crushed Luke, and Sooty’s Iron Feather snapped in half. Distressed, Sooty was about to use Shadow Wing, but Luke refused to let her. Luke’s body pressed into the bison’s, his right arm went deeper into the open wound, further lodging Xera in place. While Whispering Edge pierced through the bison’s mouth and cut into its roof.
A threatening -301 appeared in Luke’s vision. His HP dropped to 1075.
Luke spat blood that rushed up from his squeezed organs, “That much, even with Iron Feather? Then again, that should’ve crushed me to death.”
His body felt more resilient after breaking through the Vitality threshold, let alone talk with relative calm; his brain should be mush. Luke was in disbelief at how different anatomy worked once stats modified it.
Pushing down the useless thoughts, Luke took action. He activated Temporal North, another Essence Lance appeared within Onelius before Xera’s wand tip. Her form empowered the ability to its maximum under tier 1. Luke mentally commanded his skill to implode. The black ice covering Onelius cracked open, and Essence Lance’s shards wrecked its organs and viscera for a second time. The resulting 424 damage showed Luke had surpassed the boss’s tenacity.
Onelius roared angrily, bounding around, crushing more raid members underfoot. Since Onelius continued to press down with its jaw to crush Luke, the Reaver sliced through its mouth with Whispering Edge.
A continuous stream of 20 damage flooded Luke’s vision every second. He really was being crushed under the pressure and weight. His HP had reached under 750. By this point, he had relentlessly brandished both Whispering Edge and Xera. He’d turned Xera back into a sword the moment he was able.
Luke heard a thunderous suction sound coming from the battle below him. In no position to worry about it, he hacked away at the boss, racing to slice the boss to death before it crushed him whole. Essence Bond dissipated from Xera. Luke was nearly forced to use Essence Fissure with the current circumstances. His ‘raid members’ had been less than useless so far.
As he initiated Essence Fissure, the boss abruptly shuddered, then outcried in tremendous pain. The crushing pressure lifted somewhat. Luke held back, and he heard a furious caw nearby.
Unseen by him, Sooty ripped through Onelius’s other eye with Talon Strike, empowered with Shadow Essence. She thoroughly shredded the visual organ and pushed deeper, reaching for the bison’s brain.
Connecting the sound, Luke refreshed Infusion on Sooty and Xera. The extra kick allowed Sooty to Reaver Beak into a defenseless nose ridge, further damaging Onelius. Luke tore Xera from the wound she was mired in. With an extra blade free, he forced himself up against the pressure. A waterfall of blood greased him. With the extra distance, he ripped Xera across the bison’s neck.
A fatal -99 damage ceased the creature’s movement. In a final defiant act, Luke felt a high-energy explosion beneath him, and a screen arose in his eyesight.
[Onelius, The Black Death, has cursed your raid with his death. A rapidly damaging effect will remain on your body for six seconds]
Another notice dominated his perception next.
[As your innate element, frost, has been developed, Onelius’s Black Ice Curse is nullified on you]
Luke took no time to celebrate; as the monster’s body fell, he returned Whispering Edge to his Inventory, extricated his left arm, and then pushed its head off him. He surprised himself with how easy it was to lift a head weighing hundreds of pounds with one arm. Stats and adrenaline went well together.
Jumping from the lifeless body, Luke landed in the red snow, Xera in his right hand. He immediately looked for Sooty; the bird lay on the snow, covered in a black substance and blood.
Luke practically teleported to his companion, moving so fast that a snow trail rose behind him. A health potion appeared in his right hand as he dropped Xera, letting the artifact puncture the tundra beneath them. He drip-fed the potion to his crow using his left hand to support Sooty.
A +300 appeared over her head, only for a -75 to come the next. Three more arose, and Luke could only watch. He tried to take the black substance off Sooty, but it tenaciously stuck. His eyes became bloodshot, as his eyes landed on an overwhelmed healer, the damage stopped.
[Your companion, Sooty, has survived Onelius’s curse]
Luke inspected Sooty and grew mortified by what he saw on her panel.
[Sooty]
Level: 24
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HP: 149/1126
Her level rose to level 25 the subsequent second, healing her. But Luke had seen enough to make him furious. If he hadn’t given Sooty a potion…
It was best not to think about it, but Luke grew irate.
“These fuckers begged me to help them, do nothing, don’t heal Sooty, leave her to die, and the healers are doing WHAT?” He heaved, and his entire body shook, “What was Sooty to them? A decoy so they could live?”
Luke tracked one healer, currently keeping two people alive; the other, the same elf with black hair who dragged him into this mess, was cleansing herself and healing a maimed hunter. The hunter sobbed next to his dead demon gorilla pet. The rest of the healers had died during this ‘raid.’
The Reaver cared little. No, that was unable to describe how he truly felt.
They would pay for their incompetence. While a voice in the back of his head told him to be happy Sooty survived and she had reached level 25, no amount of rationalization worked.
Five items glittered around Onelius’s corpse. Luke scanned the war-torn area. He discovered the source of the last explosion. The third Ice construct turned into an ice nova. Two frostbitten corpses remained in its epicenter. With a quick observation, including himself, eight people survived the ill-prepared raid.
That was seven too many. Luke menacingly stepped forward, a new round of ice formed in a circle around him. He came close to a weakly breathing rogue. Xera hung above the rogue’s chest.
Wayfinder took a risk, “Don’t do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life, lad. I’ve not a clue what made you change your fancy to help these louts, but remember it.”
A moment’s hesitation allowed words of wisdom to permeate Luke’s mind. Saving him from an impulsive decision.
Sometimes, son, a man will be forced to shoulder more than he can bear. If you refuse to let it break you, you’ll become a hero. But you’ll always be my pride and joy, even if you struggle. Remember that.
Luke fell to his knees, uncaring of the rogue in front of him. His voice trembled, and he held back tears, “It’s so hard, Dad. Where are you…”
Sooty supported Luke as she could, standing firm on his shoulder, communicating calm through Reaver’s Link. Luke got ahold of himself quickly. A display of weakness here could be fatal. He laid eyes on the rogue about to die and exhaled. Boiling rage rose, but he pushed it back.
Another healing potion came out his Inventory, and he poured it into the rogue’s mouth. Life sprung from within, and his condition stabilized. Another +300 appeared over the rogue’s vicinity in Luke's vision.
“Thank you…” The rogue said, his volume low. His chest began to rise at a healthy pace.
“You should thank the man who raised me. Normally, I’d let the scum whose cowardice and greed nearly got Sooty killed enjoy an ever so long, painful death. Another part of me wants to thrust my sword into your chest, even now.” Luke let go of the man and stood up. Blood rushed to his head.
The rogue shuddered, unable to reply. Fear entered his eyes as he caught sight of Xera. A bead of sweat ran down his face.
Luke listened to his better side and didn’t rip the man’s throat out. He inspected the remnants of the raid. The two healers teamed up by now, trying to save the other four living members, excluding the rogue near Luke. The lion's share of their effort was on the last member in danger.
Onelius’s curse had different damage amounts and length periods depending on one’s resistances or level difference. It claimed one more life, a mage who breathed his last from the final damage tick. Both healers working on him looked downcast; their mana had run dry too soon to save the man.
The Reaver returned to Onelius’s decaying body. Already in the process of rotting back to the earth, far more rapidly than the process would be naturally capable. Five items glowed in silver or gold, the snow’s reflection made each more resplendent. Luke inspected one of the two that glowed gold.
[Black Ice Mantle]
Quality: Rare
Stats: +9 Agility +9 Strength +9 Intellect
Passive - Onelius’s Tenacity: Adds 150 Health Points, slowly repairs itself and one other designated item. Grants five frost resistance.
Level Requirement: 25
“This has got to be one of the best capes you can get before tier 1. I’ll take it as the first payment. With stats like these, I’m surprised it’s only considered rare in quality. What’s the next quality level? Unique?” Luke asked himself, remembering Sooty's Spatial Feather.
Wayfinder shook but kept to himself. Unwilling to risk being heard a second time around unreliable company.
Luke picked up the other item glowing gold, almost dark gold.
[Onelius’s Hide and Horns]
Quality: Exceptional
Type: Crafting Material
Unascended Leather Workers and Black Smiths would drive themselves insane to have the privilege of fashioning an item from this crafting material. A successful crafting feat would have them enter into the 1st tier.
“That goes in the Inventory as well.” Luke ignored the six pairs of eyes watching him.
The last three drops were an illustrious bronze-colored cloth and two pieces of equipment. The first equipment piece, a black and blue spear; the other, silver boots. Before Luke could appraise them with the Interface, a disgruntled voice rang behind him.
“The drops belong to the raid as a whole; they are not your property alone. Who are you anyway? I don’t remember inviting you to the raid.”
Luke casually equipped Black Ice Mantle before turning around to the voice. Night Shade cape, the item he replaced, entered into his Inventory. Without appraising the remaining three items, he placed them into the Inventory for temporary safekeeping. Depending on how things went, he might gift them with an item or two.
Maybe.
By now, Luke’s magnanimity had bottomed out. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, “You didn’t invite me,” he pointed to the elf healer with black hair, “she did, so I could save your hides. You could start with a thank you instead of demanding for items I earned.”
The only tank to survive the raid, an elf woman with golden hair and green eyes, covered in silver plate complimented by a teal shield, admonished Luke, “Have you no shame, farworlder? The Black Death was only taken down by the combined efforts of the raid. Return the items to the open so they may be distributed fairly.”
“And what is ‘fairly’ going to look like?”
After she dug her shield into the ground, the elf placed both hands on it; she said, “What are you? A ferus? As is-“
“I was a ferus, yes. What’s it got to do with a fair distribution?”
The elf scrunched up her face and closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them, “Allow me to educate you then, ferus-”
“My name is Luke, not ferus, elf,” Luke said, intentionally trying to get under the elf’s skin. From the looks of it, he succeeded.
“As you wish, Luke and my name is not ‘elf’ either. You may refer to me as Ludia.”
Luke sheathed Xera and said, “Okay, Tank.”
Ludia stomped her foot before controlling herself, “Enough of you. You shall return those items and be on your way. They belong to the original raid members,” she gestured to the other five people standing near her, “that being these courageous folk-”
“That rogue looks ready to piss himself. I did say I wanted to stab him in the chest though, can’t blame him.”
“Would it kill you to let me finish?” Ludia said, frazzling her hair.
“No, but I would rather kill you if you seriously think I’ll hand over everything after your ‘courageous folk’ put my companion too close to death.”
Luke withdrew Xera, then refreshed Infusion on himself and his blade. He struck a line in the snow.
“Cross this line before we come to a compromise I can approve of, and I’ll kill you. My assistance is not free, elf.”