Alex’s jaw was tightly set. In the back of his mind, he already regretted using up the Sheath of 100 Blades. He’d thought that it would be a good idea to test the artifact’s full strength against the only decently strong group of undead they had encountered. But now seeing these absolute monsters somehow way outside their usual confines of the city, he truly wished he hadn’t fully used it up yet.
He watched as Jaco’s back quickly grew smaller. Though he tried to keep up, Alex just couldn’t match the Druid in running speed as he sped up. But perhaps it was more than just a raw difference in Agility. When Jaco had moved forward to meet the high-Level undead, there’d been a shift in his expression.
Before the appearance of these undead, Jaco had taken the role of a hands-off teacher. Somewhat protective, but largely removed to allow Alex to do all the fighting and earn the subsequent Experience. But as of a few moments ago, that had changed.
His entire demeanor shifted. Upon seeing the monsters and looking at their Levels, Jaco’s eyes had noticeably brightened. When he had just charged forward, it hadn’t been out of a sense of duty. Not toward just protecting Alex nor the camp as a whole. But instead, he’d seemed brimming with excitement. Even now from being, Alex could see the small grin that had formed on his face.
Some people did feel proud about getting stronger. Others fought out of a sense of duty and simple desire to protect others. And then they were still those that simply weren’t built for fighting. Of these groups, Alex fell into the first.
Yet Jaco fell into a smaller class of his own. Of those that loved to fight for the sake of fighting. That felt pride and passion not just after getting the reward, but from the heat of the moment itself. While he’d once criticized them for not getting too complacent by treating fighting like a game, it was clear that he enjoyed the adrenaline rush.
But that did make sense. What kind of person Jaco was before the Apocalypse, Alex wasn’t very sure. To be alone in the city for weeks at a time within the heart of danger, however, did require a certain kind of mentality. At least, when it came to doing so without going completely insane.
That difference between them was made clear. As the Druid even further surged forward, the teen had already started to slow down in order to pace himself. There would only be a few more moments left until Jaco’s running caught the attention of the undead. So it'd be from near his current spot that Alex would stay back and try to help from a distance.
I just have to use Minor Slash whenever there’s an opportunity. If I can’t go into melee, then that’s the only way I can help. It just has to be enough damage for the System to reward me with a shape of the Experience, he thought to himself.
Then if it was enough for him to all the sooner reach his Class Evolution, then that’d bring him closer to actually being able to more directly fight the next time this happened. His grip tight around his sword, Alex’s body went tense as he readed himself.
As he did so, Jaco’s body shifted and changed. His form enlarged and morphed into that of a giant brown bear. It was then that the group of undead turned to see the bear quickly charging their way.
Jaco seemingly just ignored the rest and went straight for the strongest one, the Revenant. Alex watched as before the bear could attack, a dark cloud surrounded the undead. At the same time, an inky pool suddenly appeared around its feet.
Upon seeing the black liquid and gas, Alex’s eyes widened with surprise. Just where had they come from? The Revenant hadn’t made any movements or any other obvious indications that it was summoning something? It’d just been a clear area one moment, and then filled with these two substances the next.
Still unfettered, the large bear stood up on its hind legs before swiping down at the Revenant. But before his claws could tear off its head, the pool of ink-like liquid surged forward like a tidal wave. In the same moment, the dark cloud split off into dozens of chains that quickly began to wrap around the Druid.
Jaco! Alex internally cried. The teen saw the kind of trouble he was now in. Because as Jaco was being assaulted by the gaseous chains and being hit by the liquid, the Black Skeletons were moving to attack him from all sides.
Now was the time for Alex to help. To at least distract a few of them with a Slash or perhaps aim to cut through that cloud. But before he could even give his body the command to swing his blade, the situation just as quickly turned on a dime.
The bear’s chest suddenly inflated. It expanded out past what should have actually been physically possible. Then pointing its head directly toward the lines of chains, it released a booming roar. The roar was deafening, even from the distance where Alex was standing. As the cry echoed across the area, it had to be loud enough to be heard from the camp itself.
From the pure, almost explosive force it wrought, the majority of chains were instantly blown away. Now free from them, Jaco brought his front paws down and slammed them into the ground. Multiple spikes of earth shot out all around him. Some blocked and attacked the Black Skeletons, while the rest disrupted the liquid currently slamming into his torso.
Then before the Revenant's substances or the Black Skeletons could recover, Jaco followed it up. His maw still wide open, a mass of flames shot and coiled around the Revenant. Before the fire reached it, however, a partial dome formed to protect it. The dual layers of inky gas and liquid shuddered under the ferocity of the fiery attack. But even so, they managed to hold and defend the undead on the other side.
Before the fire breath could keep the pressure going, the Black Skeletons had moved to counter attack. Acting at the same time, they collectively rushed to attack Jaco from the back and sides. Yet Alex watched with amazement as the moment before impact, a tortoise shell appeared on the bear’s back. The incoming strikes only seemed to graze the shell as they almost harmlessly clawed its surface.
Jaco then ceased his fire breath. And the moment he did so, the Revenant quickly reacted. Its gas and liquid remained joined together as a singular substance. But while floating in the air, they reshaped into a cone. One that, at least from Alex’s perspective, seemed to be spinning at a high rate.
A couple of seconds later, the dark cone flew toward the bear. And rather than try to also just tank through this attack, Jaco’s form quickly shrunk down. Where his upper body was just a moment ago was just open air. A hawk shot away, nimbly dodging the Black Skeletons that then tried to reach for it.
This is just… wow, he thought to himself. Even if the teen became much stronger than he currently was now, he still couldn’t quite imagine himself performing the same way. Jaco had already been ahead of the curve as a Druid. Yet even with his own future Class Evolution, would the powers and then Levels gained afterward really be enough to close that kind of gap?
But despite how awe inspiring the battle was, it also presented a problem for Alex.
There just simply wasn’t an opening for him to attack. Even though it remained fairly still, dealing damage to the Level 40 Revenant would be nigh impossible for him. Just getting through the automatically moving gas and liquid was already likely more than what his Ability could handle.
In that case, he wanted to at least land a Slash on the Black Skeletons. But even for them, he couldn’t find an opportunity. Though his Ability moved quickly through the air, they were clearly quicker. The moment Alex sent one out, he already knew that they’d be long gone before the attack arrived.
Alex found himself grimacing with frustration. All he wanted was just a moment, a chance to actually do something. Anything.
A part of him was tempted to just spam out Slash after Slash in the hopes that at least one of them would land. But the rational part of his mind was still able to recognize how poor of an idea that’d be.
That the most likely scenario was that they’d all just miss anyway. Yet even worse, there was also the possibility of a Slash hitting Jaco. Even if it probably wouldn’t really hurt the Druid, it could still make things worse as a sudden distraction.
—--
Jaco’s heart was racing within his chest. He hadn’t expected such foes to appear while on what should have been a fairly casual stroll around. Especially not the Level 40 Revenant, which was obviously a superior variant of the Lesser Revenants he’d fought before. And not only was it a new kind of monster, it also had a new power as well.
Along with the gaseous substance that the Lesser versions manipulated, it also controlled a liquid. During the battle so far, he’d already tried to see if it could be influenced by his Elemental Offense Ability. Unfortunately, the answer was very apparently a no for that question. Unlike actual elements, the stuff controlled by the Revenant didn’t even appear on the radar for that part of his senses.
The Druid considered how he wanted things to play out. While still in thought, he dodged an attempt by the gas to restrain him. Sadly for the undead, there was simply no world where they could match the speed and reaction time of his hawk form with the fly aspect. Perhaps for starters, he could simply fight while staying in this current shape.
Hmm. Yeah, that might be a good idea. Both that gas and liquid can only move so quickly, after all. So let’s give that a try and see if I can’t just wear it down.
The most costly part of a full transformation was the initial activation. So while it’d still be draining to repeatedly use the hawk’s Temporary Abilities, just maintaining these forms was a low cost in itself. So just staying like this to make use of his superior Agility didn’t seem like a bad plan.
Yet the plan quickly went awry. The Druid would swoop around and try to get around the liquid and gas and claw at the Revenant. But in each attempt, before his strike actually landed, the protective substances would be back in his way. He tried to throw out a few elemental attacks first to either distract or destroy parts of each one. However, even then, that still proved to not be enough.
It wasn’t just a matter of being fast enough. When it came to defense, the dark liquid and gas were practically automatic in their behavior. It’d been something similar when it came to the Lesser Revenants. But with this more powerful one, that concept had clearly been kicked up a notch.
Well shit, this already isn’t going nearly as well as I hoped. Alright, screw it. Time for a change in plans, he thought to himself.
Jaco had an idea for what at least part of the current issue was. And while it was partially due to the substances automatically defending the Revenant, that wasn’t the only thing. At the same time, he had to always be aware of the Black Skeletons and mindfully dodge their attacks. While he’d gotten pretty good at multitasking different opponents in a fight, they still ate up quite a bit of his focus.
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So the Black Skeletons would have to go. Rather than disregard them as weaker enemies to be taken care of later, his priorities would need to be reversed. Then once they were taken care of, he could give his full attention to the Revenant.
With a few beats of his wings, Jaco soared higher up by a few dozen feet. His intention was to blast the undead with a torrent of winds to pin them down. And then like those in the fortress, finish them off with a powerful attack.
As he flew higher, the Black Skeletons gathered directly underneath him. Then before he could put his plan into action, a sideways arc of pure force slammed into one of the undead from behind. Jaco glanced over to the source of the attack, and confirmed that it’d been Alex taking his chance to fire a Slash.
Yet when he then glanced back down, his wing beats faltered. Rather than keeping its attention on, the Black Skeleton that got hit was now turned toward Alex’s direction. The Slash should have barely been enough to leave even a small chip in its bones. But even so, even that little amount of damage had grabbed its attention.
And just a split-second later, it charged at Alex with its full speed. Jaco internally cursed as he turned on a dime to follow right after it. With a flap of his wings, a wave of forceful wind was blasted toward the undead. It slammed into it and made it stumble. But the undead just stabilized and immediately continued its trajected path.
Oh come on! You’re supposed to be mindless! So just look at me again, you son of a bitch! Jaco internally complained.
Alex, to his credit, immediately disengaged upon seeing the incoming Black Skeleton. The teen had already turned his back and started to flee. He quickly ran as quickly as he could to try and get out of sight.
With a few more wind blasts to give the teen more time, the Black Skeleton’s focus finally switched again. Mentally, Jaco breathed out a sigh of relief.
He glared at the undead and swooped down to attack it. As he dived, his talons cracked with blue electricity as Talons of the Tempest went into effect. His claws stretched out and were aimed right for its skull.
This Black Skeleton was one of the slightly weaker ones at Level 34. So with the gap between him and it, it was easy for Jaco to tear it up while it was still alone. After his talons tore apart its skull, it then fell apart and collapsed against the ground.
EXP Earned!
He’d gotten a bit panicked when it had made a run for it to attack Alex. But the teen had managed to disengage and followed the plan.
Something which Jaco internally approved of. Because while it was one thing to make a plan, executing could easily fall apart in a moment of panic. So now that Alex was out of immediate danger, Jaco was again able to give his full attention to the rest of the undead.
As he’d given chase to the one Black Skeleton, the others had tried to chase him in turn. The Revenant was also moving to catch up to him. But it, notably, was going a fair bit slower. Seeing the opportunity presented before him, Jaco wasn’t one to waste it. While the two types of undead were separated, he’d quickly dispatch the weaker ones.
Flexing his talons as they still crackled with power, the Druid rapidly set out to do just that. And with his prior experience on how to deal with them and the current Level gap in his favor, he made short work of them.
EXP Earned!
EXP Earned!
EXP Earned!
Notifications appeared one after another as Jaco began to take them down. But then upon the defeat of the second to last Black Skeleton, a different gold screen accompanied it.
EXP Earned!
Level Up!
Level 40 to Level 41
Jaco’s hawk mouth slightly opened. It was close to a grin as this form would get. He hadn’t expected to reach Level 41 from the Black Skeletons, but it was a welcome surprise. It seemed that after killing the three Chosen and however much extra EXP he got from the Minotaur, he’d been rather close to the next threshold.
The final Black Skeleton was one of the stronger ones at Level 36. Between it and the Revenant, what were the chances that could push him up by one more Level? The System’s rules for Experience when it came to a difference between Levels still felt a bit weird at times.
Like how he’d only gotten a couple Levels from slaying the Minotaur, despite the massive gap that’d been between them. Something which would have been expected from a monster maybe about five Levels above him. Yet definitely not from one that was so much higher of a difference than that. But in any case, just the possibility was already enough to give him a second wind of excitement.
EXP Earned!
He then just as quickly killed the last of the Black Skeletons. And with that, only two beings remained in this battle. Him, and the Revenant. The two stared each other down for just a split-second, but then Jaco was the first one to act.
The hawk dived for the undead, intending to finish what he started earlier. Now that the distractions were taken care of, he believed that he could potentially outmaneuver its defenses now.
His talons swiped at the left side of its skull. But then the inky liquid shot up as a pillar and forced him to back off. He rapidly blasted some wind at its chest and swooped around to strike from a different angle. But as the liquid blocked the wind, the gas still managed to get in the way of his claws.
He kept trying for a bit longer. Yet it was soon clear the same story as before was once again playing itself out. Now feeling a bit frustrated, he decided to move away from speed and back to raw power.
Jaco’s body grew in size as he shifted back into his bear form. He attempted to slam into the Revenant. But the moment he did so, the liquid gathered around its feet and carried it away. And at the same time, the miasma turned back into dozens of chains that began to swarm him. Yet with another use of Fearsome Roar, he blasted away the chains and chased after his prey.
A game of cat and mouse then ensued. Where unfortunately, he was just a much slower cat. Even when making sure his slotted aspect was that of the fly, the added reaction time just couldn’t help. The other partial transformations didn’t help either, when he tried them out to make sure.
So in his hawk form, he couldn’t overwhelm the undead’s defenses. And as a bear, he simply lacked the speed needed to capitalize on tearing through them and creating an opening. Jaco was in a pickle. But for more than just that.
Because every time the Revenant condensed the black liquid into a shape that it then attacked with, Jaco had been forced to dodge. Each time, his gut instincts screamed that even trying to just tank it would be a horrible idea. Even with the hardened flesh of Primal Ferocity to add more defense, that’d remained the case.
The gaseous chains had been both searing hot and freezing cold, and extremely painful as a result. Considering that it was only with this stronger Revenant and not the Lesser ones, he assumed that the liquid would be even more painful. Which would be why his instincts so loudly warned him to not get hit while it was fully condensed as a real attack.
I could potentially try to just go back to my human form and give up on the shapeshifting. If I instead just rely on my Elemental Ability to do lots of heavy damage, then that might work. Hmm, just how much Mana would I need to spend to finally overwhelm it, though? he asked himself.
Jaco considered his options. There were still some cards being left on the table. The first was utilizing the Abilities from his Secondary Class. But he quickly dismissed them. Against a Ghoul, they’d only done a bit of damage. So against this thing, their effects would likely be negligible at best. While using them would siphon some EXP toward his Secondary Class, it simply wasn’t practical in terms of the Mana spent.
Especially not while his Druid Class could also immediately use the Experience bump. That’d give its Abilities a further edge against the Chosen Few’s leader, since it seemed that one’s Level was a factor in their Abilities' power. How exactly it worked while also relating to Spell Power and Stats, he wasn’t sure. But just the difference in their efficacy between his two Classes suggested that idea.
His second idea went toward what was still inside his Bag of Holding. At any point, he could always rely on the Hell Potions and Elixirs he still had. But Jaco quickly dismissed that too.
While the Revenant was tough, it was still a monster at his Level. He could definitely find a way to beat it without using up those precious consumables. They were better suited for future foes that were actually above him in Level and couldn’t feasibly be beaten without their use.
Then for his Druid Abilities, there was the third unused card. The new Ability upon reaching Level 40, Manifestation of the Wild Elemental.
Now while test driving a new power in the middle of a tough battle seemed like a bad idea, it wouldn’t be the first time. And it had always worked out for him in the past. So why would now be any different? To that end, he decided to just go ahead and try it.
Jaco focused on the Ability. Then in an instant, visions flooded inside his mind. He was the incarnation of fire that could burn through anything. The earth that could withstand even the biggest levels of damage. The winds that could sail across the entire planet. The water that could eventually erode all things.
In a moment, he knew which one to select first. Still in his bear form, Jaco’s body underwent a change. His flesh still had a stone-like texture from the mountain reinforcement of Primal Ferocity. But stone-like was not the same as actual stone. With that Ability, it hadn’t meant that his body was under the influence of being controlled like the actual element.
Now, however, even the smallest strands of fur turned into rock. This wasn’t just a layer that protected him, but the real thing. He sensed that even the inside of his body had turned into rock. At the same time, the effect of Minor Primal Ferocity was still mixed in. Jaco quickly realized that the two Abilities stacked with one another.
He’d already used up a good amount of Mana by switching animal forms a few times. Then between maintaining Primal Ferocity and now this Ability, his Mana pool was suffering for it. He’d only be able to sustain this current state for a short amount of time. But in the back of his mind, he already understood that it’d be enough.
Now a kindred part of the very earth beneath his feet, Jaco willingly used Lesser Elemental Offense on himself. As if he were just another boulder to be thrown, he waved a heavy paw and flung himself forward.
The Revenant quickly formed the dual barrier to protect itself. Yet even as the Druid was moments away from slamming into it, his gut instincts remained quiet. Trusting in that fact, he waved again to further accelerate his momentum.
With a thunderous crash, he smashed straight into the undead’s protection. The entire thing quivered under the weight of his impact. Then just a moment later, its integrity failed as it was forced aside.
The liquid attempted to reform around the Revenant to pull it away. But Jaco raised his paw, his claws ready to slash. And when he brought it down, he did so with both his own natural force and the full power of Elemental Offense to push it even further.
The stone claws tore right through the last second defenses that tried to get in a way. And before it was fully able to escape, they cleaved through the front half of the undead’s head. But would just the front half be enough?
Just for good measure, Jaco quickly reacted. Then activating Wrathful Claws before his swing finished, the claws suddenly grew longer. So while partway through the skull, they went all through it for the rest of his mighty swipe.
EXP Earned!
Level Up!
Level 41 to Level 42
Jaco’s eyes instantly brightened. With that golden screen, he had earned his reward. As the stone returned to flesh that was shrinking back down into a human body, the young man grinned.
It had a very high Mana cost associated with it. One that would make any kind of sustained usage unlikely. But he was now sure that Manifestation of the Wild Elemental would be a worthy addition to his regular arsenal.
From off to the side, he heard footsteps approaching. Jaco turned and saw Alex making his way toward him. The teen’s eyes were wide as he looked between all the slain undead scattered around.
“Holy crap, you really did it. I only saw the very end, but was that some kind of new Ability you used?” Alex asked.
Jaco nodded, a satisfied grin still on his face. “Yep, Manifestation of the Wild Elemental. Got it right when I reached Level 40, just haven’t gotten around to trying it out until now. Pretty awesome though, right?”
“I’ll say. Just makes me wish I already got to my Class Evolution too. If I could get a new Ability that’s anything like that…” he trailed off.
“You’re almost there,” Jaco said as he patted the teen’s shoulder. “I got two whole Levels from that fight.”
Alex rapidly blinked. “Woah, really? So you’re already Level 42?”
“Mhmm. So if we end up seeing more strong undead around, you should also see a spike in your Levels sooner than later. As long as they’re actually closer to your current Level, anyway. But come on, it’s time for us to actually head back to the camp and let them know what happened,” Jaco suggested.
The teen quickly nodded in affirmation. Though the wonder on his face made it clear that he was still ready for more action. That was something Jaco definitely could relate to. But for now, they needed to return and talk to Noah.