Alan's Spell appeared to become far more solid. The expanded wind blades had been further compressed, condensing down into vicious-looking half-moons of what Alan could only describe as crystallized air. The edge of each glass-like blade was no longer smooth. They were now jagged with layer upon layer of deep serrations.
During the compression process they shrunk down from four times their original size to just over double. Once the unexpected Spell Evolution stabilized, Alan's new and improved blades began to rotate like boomerangs. Like a pair of defensive moons, they settled into a slow orbit around his body.
Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Wind Blade] has successfully Evolved into the (Common) Spell [Orbital Blade]!
(C)[Orbital Blade] Lvl 1- Upon casting, this Spell compresses air into as many as 3 large serrated crescent blades. Blades will orbit caster until used. Blades can be thrown at any foe up to 50ft away, dealing Wind damage, or left in place as a trap that deals Wind damage. Chance to cause dismemberment. Damage, distance, and chance of causing dismemberment increase with Spell Level. Cost increases with Spell Level.
•Cast time: 10 seconds •Cost: 175 Mp each
•Cooldown: 1 minute
Alan's eyebrows raised in surprise as the top half of the Sentinel's head opened up, revealing two hovering, crimson orbs that had been kept hidden within. At the same time, its halberd started to glow with a similar bloody hue. Alan assumed an attack was Eminent, so he directed the first of his two [Orbital Blade]s to go on the attack.
The Sentinel swept it's halberd down diagonally, executing a feat that Alan wouldn't have believed was possible had he not seen it with his own two eyes. The arrowhead-shaped stone tip of its halberd struck the approaching Spell head on. The tip of the weapon let out a dazzling flash before it shot out a thin beam of energy at Alan.
Unable to withstand the force from the descending halberd, Alan's Spell ruptured into tiny shards that flew out in all directions. The broken pieces only traveled an additional foot or so before they lost what was left of their energy and dispersed. The Sentinel's crimson beam attack kicked Alan's barrier like a horse. A frown appeared on his face when the whole thing shuddered, threatening to fail. His defensive whirlpool spun faster, spreading out the damage across its surface, and reducing the risk of a puncture.
Alan sighed a breath of relief as the laser-like beam fizzled out before it could make it all the way through.
He refused to give the beast a chance to recharge, he couldn't afford to allow it to go on the offensive. In a bid to keep it on the back foot, he released his other [Orbital Blade]. The sentinel was still off balance from it's overpowered crimson attack, so it had yet to regain a solid stance. It was unable to put up any defense as the second serrated blade struck it in its cracked shoulder like a jackhammer. The heavy blow tore its arm off and flung the severed limb into the wall where it promptly broke apart. Reduced to a scattering of stone fragments.
Alan even received a notice that he'd hit the Sentinel with a 5 second (Stun) Debuff. By this point, he'd used up so much of his Mana Pool that he was becoming dizzy. His (Basic) tiered Mana Potions weren't even able to put a small dent in this loss, so he instead pulled out his Warlockwood Staff. Alan took the opportunity to drain the backup Mana he'd stored within it . While not enough to fill him back up, it did restore a large portion of his Mana Pool.
The staff was already tickling the back of his mind, begging to be refilled. But Alan found the call to be acceptable. He'd honestly been expecting the Staff to simply take anything it wanted. As it had when robbing him of 1000 Mp when it first came under his ownership.
I wonder if the MP HAS to come from me.. He wondered, and just like that, an idea began to form. Alan pointed the orange gem on his staff at the Stalwart Sentinel and shot forward while the beast was still stunned. He thrust his staff forward and jammed the triangular orange stone deep into one of the many gaping cracks marring the Dungeon Born's torso. Shards of the beast's chest were knocked loose and fell away.
Alan pressed forward, twisting his staff and grinding the gem in deeper. He willed his Staff to feed, to which it gleefully obliged. The gem began to emit a faint orange glow as it sucked energy from the Dungeon Born creature. Alan channeled the Mana through his staff and into his Mana Pool. By the time his reserves were back to full, the black stone around the ravenous orange gem had turned chalky and grey. The hungry staff then refilled itself on the Sentinels Mana.
A large portion of the Beast's chest was now a brittle grey mess. Alan jumped back several feet. Once he had sufficient distance he launched a [Spectral Firebolt] at the wound, hoping the Spell would be more effective against the grey dust. Just like he'd hoped, the chalky stone residue lit up like a bonfire. Out of the corner of his eye, Alan saw Su'ong peeking around the wall, watching his fight. Alan targeted his ally and cast [Vortex Shield], and received another instance of [Aquatic Repulsion] for the effort.
Alan linked his sight to her vortex, which allowed him to view her side of the wall. Sure enough, there was no sign of the other sentinel. Instead a solitary (Silver) Loot box was sitting in a shallow divot. Seeing his ally had already finished her own fight, Alan resolved himself to pick up the pace.
He rushed forward, but he saw a sudden red flash, and an alarm of danger roared out in his mind, causing him to dive off to the side. His hasty dodge was just in time to avoid being impaled by the sentinels thrown halberd. It had somehow managed to phase directly through his [Vortex Shield] without damaging it. Though he was able to avoid being straight-up impaled, the long weapon still managed to cut deeply into his left side before it was painfully deflected off his ribs and phased through the other side of the whirlpool.
The spectral flames of Alan's spell only seemed to grow stronger as they greedily hollowed out the Golem's abdomen. They quickly reached the glowing orb in its chest, starting to sputter and spit as the source of the purple light momentarily dyed the flames a dark blue. Alan knew he'd found the beast's weakness when its body began to shudder uncontrollably. The Sentinel's inner-light was consumed by blue fire, and it collapsed to the floor in a motionless, smoking heap.
Stolen story; please report.
Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 17 Stalwart Sentinel!
Your Exp Percentage is set to 50%.
+125,401 Exp gained!
Remarkable! You have reached Level 19! +35 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available! You have 43 unallocated status points.
346,819 Exp to next Level!
***
Su'ong witnessed the end of Alan's battle from where she stood, peeking around the corner. When the second Sentinel fell to her partner's impressive Spellcraft, she received another dose of Experience for his success.
Remarkable! Your Party leader has defeated a Lvl 17 Stalwart Sentinel! Due to effects of Party leaders Dungeon Explorer Title, 25% Bonus Exp recieved. Party leader has set your Exp Percentage at 50%.
+12,540 Exp gained!
22,780 Exp to next Level!
As the remains of the beast sank into the floor, the flames of Alan's Spell soon returned to their usual ghostly green coloration and faded away. Su'ong cut off her connection to the floor, and the wall she'd made faded into dust. "Not to brag," she said, failing to keep a grin from brightening up her features, "But I finished mine first."
***
"I'm completely satisfied. My face isn't melted off again..." Alan replied with a shrug and a grimace. Su'ong looked at him like he'd suddenly grown an extra set of eyes. "Why would your face be melted off?" She asked, not bothering to try masking her confusion. " Those stone simpletons didn't possess such an ability." Alan sighed in exasperation and ran his hand down his face, trying his best to be patient while his throbbing ribs healed. "It's a long story," Alan replied dryly, "but if not for the System's healing, I would have been melted down into a puddle of Human soup several times over before ever meeting you."
She began to giggle, and slithered over to stand next to Alan. She slowly circled around him, looking for wounds. He turned to look up at her in surprise, finding nothing at all amusing about the raw memories of acid and fire. Hearing her laughter, Alan felt that anger was probably an overreaction on his part, but it was a sore subject. He sucked in a deep breath, and slowly released it in a steady flow. "So what now," he asked, trying his best to mask his irritation.
"I guess we look for the way forward!" she replied. Once she was satisfied that her search of Alan wasn't going to turn up any grievous wounds, she gently pat his head, and headed over to retrieve her (Uncommon) Loot Box. She opened it up, and a bright flash of silver light flooded out.
Caution! You have been bestowed the (Mana Regen) Buff. Mana Regeneration rate increased by 10% for duration of Buff.
Duration: 5 minutes.
Aside from her Buff, Su'ong was awarded with 400 (Silver Grade) Lotus coins and a (Silver Grade) Tutorial Token. After storing her loot, she returned to Alan's side and waited for him to deal with his own loot box.
Alan touched the lid of his (Uncommon) Loot Box, and when prompted, he selected his Yes to open it. As expected, a bright silver light radiated out of the chest.
Caution! You have been bestowed the (Mana Regen) Buff. Mana Regeneration rate increased by 10% for duration of Buff.
Duration: 5 minutes.
He retrieved 400 (Silver Grade) Lotus coins and another (Silver Grade) Tutorial Token from the box and placed them all into inventory. Although the Sentinels had both been defeated, Alan still hadn't been given any kind of notification of completion for the boss room.
"What now?" Alan groaned, hoping Su'ong could provide some answers. "Do we keep searching the room? I haven't received a quest update or anything like that."
Su'ong declined to reply. She instead glared down at Alan with annoyance painted across her features and wandered off.
Thanks for the info...Alan thought sarcastically, studying his strange new companions back as she made a slow lap around the clearing. Well, shit. I think I made her mad...
A slight sense of danger brushed against Alan's awareness. He glanced at Su'ong, only to see she was still casually making laps around the empty pond. Her relaxed demeanor gave no indication that she'd sensed anything out of place.
Alan was learning to trust his instincts, and right now they were telling him that they weren't alone. He activated [Examine] and peered around the room while trying to remain calm and not any draw unnecessary attention to himself.
He slowly spun around, inspecting everything that fell under his line of sight. He performed a detailed examination of his surroundings, yet the search revealed nothing unexpected. Alan took a calming breath, and wiped the sweat from his brow. His gaze returned to the stone pillars surrounding him. There were countless places out there among the densely clustered stalagmites for something to hide. The best he could do for now was remain calm, and stay aware.
Perhaps he was being overly anxious, but Alan decided to warn Su'ong, just as a precautionary measure. He utilized his Party chat features, and began speaking into her mind.
<"Be careful over there, I don't know what, or where it is, but I'm damn sure something's watching us.">
<"I agree"> Her reply was almost instantaneous, though she seemed distracted.
Alan instinctively knew she was right. Regardless of what they might be up against, he had no doubt that it was an even worse idea to be stuck defending themselves from an unknown, unseen, and worst of all, fully prepared enemy. He had no way to determine when, or even where an attack would come from. He worried they could even be up against another weird Elemental beast like that horrendous Sandstorm. Or perhaps something even worse.
Alan thought of his Tower shield and knew that he wasn't taking proper advantage of all of his defensive gear. He was still in possession of an additional layer of defense after all. He felt foolish for failing to use everything at his disposal. Yet the shield was just too damned heavy to properly wield with one arm, not to forget cumbersome.
The threat of an impending attack was a heavy weight on his tired mind. He was fairly certain that by now he could be considered at least halfway capable of looking out for himself.
And if he failed to do so, he was dead. Plain and simple. After arriving at the Tutorial, he had almost died within an hour. Only to get back up and have his will and resolve tested again and again. Alan had long since come to terms with his own mortality. The risk of death was even starting to bring him a strange thrill. There was a small corner of his mind that raged against the restraints he placed on himself.
His Emotional Stockpile was helping to keep him level-headed, but the near-constant theft of his emotions was leaving him with little more than thoughts for naught but improvement. Of honing ones edge against the harsh whetstone of reality. A part of him that sought nothing more than to be done with concerns and constraints. To be set free. He found he longed to spread his metaphorical wings and soar. But most of all, he desperately wanted a shower and a nap.
Soar my ass right into bed, Alan thought wistfully, failing to stifle a yawn. When was the last time I got some actual sleep?