“I am going to start upgrading our most powerful towers, but I need to make sure their mages don’t destroy them. Can you TELEPORT their mages so that one of you three can attack them from behind?”
“I can do that. Who-“ Duke cut off his question as he saw Axis jogging back down the road giggling and flexing his claws. “Guess he’s got that position.” Duke chuckled himself before he raised his voice. “Give me a signal when you are in position!”
Axis arched his back and let loose a howl that shook the ground. Duke took that as his signal that he was in position and ready. He activated TELEPORTATION, bringing the mages between his and Jablach’s position and Axis. The momentary confusion among the fifteen mages was enough for the three of them to jump into action.
Jablach’s blades glowed with the glow of hellfire as he charged into the draconian mages. Duke’s tonfa were coated with crackling LIGHTNING as he likewise charged into the more than a dozen mages. Axis’s claws slashed through armored scales like paper as he flashed through the rear ranks of the dragonkin mages.
In moments, the remaining mages reacted, blasting out with magic and breath weapons alike. Duke twisted sideways to avoid a particularly nasty looking purple beam of energy, returning an arc of LIGHTNING in response. The arc danced along the dragonkin’s blue scales with no visible effect other than to make it smile. It responded with a deep inhale. It reared back, preparing to unleash a massive blast of its breath weapon. It threw its entire body forward to unleash its breath weapon. Duke was confused as the head continued forward to land on the ground at his feet.
“You going to just stare at it or are you going to actually do something, boy?” Jablach taunted, flicking the blood from his blades as he stood behind the decapitated dragonkin mage.
“Well, it seems we have run out of mages, and the towers are doing their job.” They all watched as the upgraded Heaven’s Wrath tower easily killed the last of the wave. Duke CLEANSED the area and the three of them. “They are starting to get up there in level. That last group was level 130. Opinions on whether we need to change tactics at all?”
Axis smiled with a combination of malice and joy that was simply unnerving. It might have been the oversized canines of his werewolf form that gave his grin the sense of malice, but it was definitely there. “I think this is working just fine. Let’s keep this up until the next big change.”
All agreed and continued to stick to the plan for the next several waves. It was the thirty-sixth wave that saw the biggest change so far. By Duke’s estimations this was where the Tier four creatures would begin. When the first creatures appeared, he IDENTIFIED them because he was sure this was an entirely different tier of creature.
*** You have encountered a Lesser Wyrmling. This is a lesser dragon. While not a full dragon at this size and age, this creature has the potential to become one of the most powerful creatures on the planet.
Tier: 4
Level: 20
Health: 612,160
Mana: 648,000
Special Abilities: Magic Resistance, Flight, Soulfire Breath Weapon, Spells
Weaknesses: Avarice
***
“Those aren’t dragonkin. They’re young dragons. And there’s almost 200 of them. There are fifteen waves left and they will all get drastically more difficult. It’s time to get serious.”
“Right. Don’t hold back from here on out.” Jablach responded.
“Claws and jaws. I will rend them all.” Axis responded as he stepped next to Duke and Jablach.
The wymlings flew along the road, still restricted by the dungeon parameters. The remaining early towers engaged them pitifully. The Acid Spitter tower’s effects were blown into a fine mist and away from the flapping wings and the Armor Breaker’s effect was unnoticeable. The group watched as the wyrmlings entered the range of the fully-upgraded Dragon’s Breath tower.
The flames had gotten immeasurably hotter with the tower’s upgrade, bathing the wyrmlings in blue flame that Duke was certain could melt steel. The wyrmlings’ reaction was spiteful at best. Most rolled over and allowed the flames to pour over their bellies looking like cats getting their favorite rubs.
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The final tower was up to its third upgrade and did seem to hurt the wyrmlings. But it did not kill a single one. Duke rose into the air as they started to come out of the range of the tower. The lead wyrmling saw him in the air and issued an ear-splitting roar of challenge. Duke remained silent as he turned to his newest Ability, greeting the emerging wrymlings with UMBRAL REAPER. With the brightness of the Heaven’s Wrath tower behind them, the wyrmling’s shadow was clearly defined and moved to immediately attack.
The elongated shadow pulled back from the ground and wrapped itself tightly around the wyrmling and began to squeeze as the creature plummeted to the ground. Duke could hear the crunching of bones and a muffled howl of pain as the next wyrmling burst from the tower’s effect and Jablach leaped to engage it.
In a flash, Jablach was mounted between the creature’s wings and was slicing off thick slabs of scales, skin, and muscles. The creature tried to turn its neck around and bite him, but it was at that point that Jablach cut through something important to its wings and the both of them came crashing to the ground.
Axis surged forward and leapt to engage the next one through, tearing into its neck with a savagery that was difficult to watch. Blood fountained as he tore a critical artery out with his fangs and rode the beast to the ground only letting go just before impact.
By the time Axis and Jablach were back on their feet, Duke was busy engaging the dozens of wyrmlings that were bursting out of the curtain of light. Umbral shadows crawled all over the wyrmlings but more than one had been able to target Duke with their breath weapons in the meantime.
Duke was no stranger to pain, and he knew from experience that the pain of burning alive was among the worst types of pain. The wyrmling’s breath weapons were like nothing he had ever experienced before. If not for the combination of his Mental Fortitude, Armor Skin, and SPELL RESISTANCE, he would have curled up in a fetal position screaming. As it was, the creatures’ attacks burned him at a spiritual level. It felt like his very soul was engulfed in flame and being seared away layer by layer.
He responded, lashing out in pain at a level deeper than thought – and his UMBRAL REAPER Ability answered with all-consuming hunger and desire for retribution. Shadows creeped up and over all the young dragons. With impossibly sharp claws scales were torn off, falling to the ground like rain. When all the scales were gone, the shadows sliced into the skin beneath, slicing off ribbons of bleeding flesh. One by one, the wyrmlings fell to the ground twitching out their last ragged breaths.
Duke returned to the ground staring at the unholy carnage his newest Ability had wrought yet again. “There has to be another way.” Duke kept repeating the phrase like a mantra. He did not immediately notice when Aurelia wrapped him up in a hug. When he realized it, he held her tighter.
“Duke, what happened?”
“It was their breath weapons. All my defenses were not nearly enough. Not even close. It hurt my soul. It burned my existence and I reacted. I struck back with the deepest part of myself. It was almost as painful to experience my own savagery explode outwards like that. I felt each slash. I felt every cut like it was me making it.”
“It’s ok now. Rest. We have a few minutes before the next wave.”
Axis came over to sit by Duke against the wall of the base defensive tower. “We’re not going to talk about that. OK?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Just take the next wave off. Let the rest of us handle it. Greslarnier has upgraded the first Enhancer tower. Jablach and I are going to engage the next wave out there to soften them up. We’ll then fall back here and let the towers do whatever damage they can before we finish them off. Don’t worry. We’ve got this.”
Duke looked up, his eyes sunken and hollow and just nodded. He felt Axis get up and briefly watched him and Jablach move down the road to the first Enhancer tower. He wanted to get up and help them. He knew that was his role. That was why he was here. Instead, he retreated into his messages.
***
Your Aerial Maneuvering Skill has increased to Practiced 37
You Meditation Skill has increased to Initiate 24
Your Tonfa Mastery Skill has increased to 143
Your TELEPORTATION Ability has increased to Master 31
Your REGENERATION Ability has increased to Adept 124
Your LIGHTNING Ability has increased to Adept 21
Your OVERCHANNEL Ability has increased to Adept 47
Your MENTAL FORTITUDE Ability has increased to Practiced 62
Your UMBRAL REAPER Ability has increased to Adept 11
Your SPELL RESISTANCE Ability has increased to Initiate 31
Your CLEANSE Ability has increased to Practiced 32
Your RESTORE Ability has increased to Master 61
Your IDENTIFY Ability has ranked up to Practiced 8
Your INVENTORY Ability has increased to Practiced 34
Your ARMOR SKIN Ability has increased to Adept 37
Your FLIGHT Ability has increased to Practiced 54
Your COMBAT SENSE Ability has ranked up to Practiced 2
Your AURA of PROSPERITY Ability has increased to Initiate 18
***
Duke numbly read through his Skill and Ability increases before another notification got his attention.
***
You have been subjected to Soulfire. Your exposure was not sufficient to assimilate this into your Abilities. Gain additional exposure to gain this Ability.
***
Duke stared at the notification for a long minute before dismissing it with a shake of his head. Not going to subject myself to that again if I don’t have to. No fucking way. Distantly he was aware that the next wave had begun and he pulled himself out of his thoughts.