No worries, mate. Ya’ll just owe me a favor.

What’s a little something between friends when ya’re fighting for ya heart here. For ya people.

–Zeppo Hammaltin

Chapter 29 – Heart and Hunger

A horrendous howl rent the air, reverberating through the battlefield. From above, a behemoth descended. Toki, amidst the maelstrom, stood momentarily transfixed as two adversaries in black robes were obliterated under the monstrous weight of the leader of the howler monkeys. The Alpha, now unleashed upon the human ranks, was the avatar of savagery.

The Alpha had displayed his own Dao-Bound ability, [Proportions of the Heart]. He scaled in size proportionately to his determination. Though his strength attribute was still lacking, the sheer increase in his size immediately shifted the momentum. Toki had learned that despite being the Alpha of the group of howler monkeys, he was the only mortal in the tribe. Despite having less attributes, the monkeys had an established system of voting. They elected him leader based on his intelligence—cerebral, not attribute-wise. Toki was surprised hearing that, to say the least. These monkeys are smart – maybe smarter than all of Aris…. Toki used their intelligence to the group’s advantage now.

The group of chimera monkeys split on her cue. The first squadron of twenty that had joined Toki now retreated backwards to assist their Alpha against the black-robed humans, while the remaining entrenched themselves in their war against the rats.

Shouts of fear could be heard coming from the ranks of humans as they scattered from the Alpha’s drop. The onslaught of the giant monkey and the charge of twenty additional chimeras was enough to rattle a small army, much less a dozen warriors. Although only two robed warriors were instantly deleted, the ploy created chaos on the battlefield, which was all she needed.

An additional dozen black robed warriors emerged from the shadows to assist and calm their compatriots. They have backup too, I guess.

The humans, a disorganized rabble now, launched a desperate assault against the giant beast before them, attempting to defeat him before the additional monkeys arrived. Yet, for all their valor, they were leaves caught in a tempest. The Alpha's swipes were relentless and as he landed he immediately rolled around attempting to crush the nearby warriors. His form blurred with speed that belied his gargantuan size, creating chaos among the enemies.

From the corner of her eyes, Toki spied Three—his figure slicing through the pandemonium. He nocked another arrow and released it towards her. A grin played upon Toki’s lips; she had been waiting for him. With deft movements, Toki sidestepped in anticipation, the projectile whistling past where her head had been a heartbeat prior.

It shot back and struck her shoulder, where the last arrow had hit. Shards be damned. She broke the arrow again, removed it, and started the healing process once more.

Unperturbed by the missed headshot, Three pressed forward, his four warriors—a motley crew of three men and a woman—in front of him. They moved with singular focus, weapons drawn, in a beeline for Toki. Meanwhile, Partridge slunk behind the rest, ever the opportunist, and seized the chance to vanish into the shadows as they charged. Toki watched the cowardly figure dash away, his retreat as swift as his backstab was fresh.

Her focus returned to the brigands, now closing the distance between them. Each warrior bore the scars of countless skirmishes, their armor piecemeal but robust. These warriors are different. They are closer to the spearwoman than the brothers in experience.

I only have a moment. Toki’s sharp gaze flickered around her. She looked for the rat king, wary of any ambush with his strange teleportation skill, but found nothing but empty surroundings. The rat king had slinked away in the chaos as well, leaving his minions directionless, their frenzied squeaks discordant and uncoordinated now.

Perfect.

Toki had planned out several strategies to draw out the leader and disorganize the rats, but it had been simpler in practice than expected. She observed the writhing mass of rats now bereft of command. The monkeys' simultaneous retreat had created a fissure through the battlefield, an unintended empty space where the panicked rats were hesitant to fill.

As she braced for the onslaught, her thoughts flickered to the Alpha. Stand firm. Don’t lose heart. With opportunity ahead, Toki summoned her flames and [Lessons]. The arcane flames danced from her skin to the tendrils of darkness stretched forth, hungering for her intent. She recalled the skill description. Cryptic and vague.

Skill

Information

First Burn

Description:

An inert flame that imparts intent (via enchantment, Dao-Seed, etc.) to suitable mediums.

Current upkeep / cost:

Variable manaspend

Merge / upgrade options available

Yes

“[Path of the Swarm],” she whispered. As if in response, she willed four appendages to disassemble into countless spectral claws. They swarmed, fifty-fold from each limb, rushing towards the sea of vermin. 0.4% manadraw each.

As if guided by malevolent spirits, the swarm descended upon the rats like a tempest. The creatures squealed as shadows pierced their ranks, the horde choreographed by Toki's foundational knowledge on swarm dynamics. The monkeys, emboldened by this spectral assault, rallied with renewed ferocity and charged, their howls rising above the clamor.

The rats recoiled, then rallied in an offensive. Am I cornering rats?

Stand firm! she commanded. Her words were not for human nor primate ears, but for the shadow swarm she had given birth to. Toki controlled a sizeable shadow swarm of 200 small shadow claws, but despite her experimentation the day prior, she was still naïve to the nuance of war tactics and the practical usage of such a small army. Many shadows dissipated under the assault of the rats. She had to focus her efforts in replenishing the shadows by distributing manadraw into other shadows and splitting them manually.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I’ll have to create an enchantment to automate this. This is too distracting.

She dismissed the stray thought for now, as four figures emerged ahead of her. Three led them from behind, obscured by a cowl over his head.

The first, broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, carried a large mace that seemed too heavy for him to carry. His eyes, a pitiless grey, betrayed no hesitation, no fear—only the cold certainty of a seasoned killer. He drew mana to himself and the mace lifted with ease.

Beside him loomed his comrade. Twin daggers gleamed in her hands. Her gaze flitted across the battlefield, calculating, dissecting the tumult with the precision of an executioner and opportunist. She pulled mana towards her feet. Speed, possibly?

The third brigand wore a smirk like a scar. He held a crossbow in his grasp. I’ll take him out first.

And the last, a giant, bore neither sword nor bow. His weapon and mana was his presence, his fists like stones. A pugilist.

Toki met their advance with a sense of calm. Her last shadow appendage turned into a solo phalanx shield. 20% manadraw. In her other hand, her hammer ready to clash with the party. "Come, then," Toki murmured, her lips curling into a wry smile. Toki’s heart pounded with the ferocity of a war-drum as she stood her ground.

The brigands circled like carrion birds. The macewielder dashed at her ahead of his team, steel arcing down in a crescent towards Toki.

“You fool!” Three exclaimed.

Instead of parrying, she rolled forward. Toki’s hammer splintered bone with a sickening crunch, and the warrior stumbled forward, his leg crumpling beneath him. She smashed her shield into his head, knocking him unconscious.

Two other melee brigands came forwards, exposing the archer behind. Toki sent a portion of the shadow swarm to descend upon the archer – a relentless tide of darkness. Twenty shadows clawed and gnashed at him, dragging the hapless brigand into their shadowy embrace. Screams melded with the din of battle. A single crossbow bolt shot upwards in defiance but failed to accomplish anything.

[Level up: Level 47]

[[Dearly Departed] has pilfered Dao of Sentience (18/500)]

Toki dodged and weaved, each movement a dance on the knife-edge of survival. The pugilist and rogue were the most dangerous of the four. Toki pulled the two claws towards her, but the pugilist unleashed an aura of light that disintegrated the shadows.

Blades kissed her flesh with affection, leaving behind crimson blossoms that bloomed across her skin. She allowed these lesser affronts, her focus honed on the lethal threats that sought to unravel her existence, especially the attempted grapples from the pugilist. [Requests] would heal the knife wounds soon enough. The pain still distracted her and arrows continued to shoot forth. Each finding an opening between the pugilist and rogue, though none were lethal, the ones that missed, always wound up in her shoulder.

As she separated from the two melee combatants in a fleeting lull, her gaze flickered towards Alpha. The giant lay entangled in the snare of what appeared to be ropes, but upon closer inspection, revealed themselves as tendrils of a darker, more insidious nature—slithering, living chains binding the noble beast. His howls of defiance rang through the cavern as his kin fought desperately, a whirlwind of fur and fang clashing against the human oppressors seeking to quell their spirit. He’s shrinking. Fuck.

"Stand fast! Blood begets blood," she called out to the Alpha, her voice a rallying cry amidst the cacophony. "Fight!"

In that moment of distraction—the plight of her ally—Toki felt the bite of cold steel through her back, a sharp reminder of her own peril. It missed her heart and her spine, but she felt her lungs sear with pain. An arrow followed suit and ricocheted off her shadow shield, still finding purchase in her thigh. Pain flared, white-hot and blinding—her concentration faltered. She dodged again before the pugilist locked her in embrace.

Toki steeled herself against the agony, her grip on her hammer unwavering as she rolled away. She turned back to face her remaining foes, her chest, thigh, shoulder, and left arm now bloody. A horrible series of howls rang out followed by a savage roar. The Alpha is free. It was worth it. If I can just hold on a little longer.

Multiple monkey death howls in succession had invigorated the spirit of the tribe, and more importantly, the Alpha. The tide of battle shifted, imperceptible at first, then a torrent that swept the robed warriors into disarray. The monkeys overran their ranks. Their howls rose, not in fear, but in triumph, piercing the din of claw and bone. The robed warriors had begun their retreat

Toki broke the shaft of several embedded arrows and pulled them out. As her injuries had begun to heal, her remaining [Request] stacks had also begun to dwindle. In her concentration, the shadow swarm had not been as effective as she had hoped. Despite this, with her lungs healed first, she had staved off the most dangerous injury.

In the chaos, Three mirrored the realization dawning on every villain: the moment for retreat had arrived. He had accomplished nothing. With a cold, pragmatic twist, he turned on his heel, abandoning his brigands to fend off Toki's fury. With allies no longer defending him, he would be picked off when the first squadron returned.

Toki summoned another shadow appendage now that she had spare manadraw. 20% + 20% on claws, 60% on swarm. As she pirouetted between her assailants—she now unleashed her hammer and claws in revenge. Without the ranged advantage, Toki now swept through the two remaining warriors.

The rogue lunged, overzealous, her blade arcing with desperation. Toki sidestepped and her shadow claws parried in a blur of motion. Her hammer found its mark with her swift counterattack. A sickening crunch resounded, the brigand’s gasp lost amidst the noise of the battlefield, her form crumpling to the blood-soaked earth.

[[Dearly Departed] has pilfered Dao of Sentience (21/500)]

The pugilist, now the only remaining fighter, narrowed his eyes then raised his hands in surrender. Toki was about to attack, but decided to leave him be, and turned to chase after Three.

Toki's gaze cut through the battlefield, locking onto Three's retreating silhouette. Coward. Her thoughts dripped with disdain. She surged forward through the battlefield. Through the turmoil, Toki's pursuit was singular, a huntress chasing down her prey. Her leg and body screamed in protest, healing slowly, but still bloody; still, she pushed onward, driven by something intangible—something fierce and Twice-born.

“I’m going after him, finish the battle here!" Her command was met with an immediate surge of motion from Alpha.

"Stay! Finish this," the Alpha commanded the monkeys, his own eyes ablaze with purpose. The monkeys howled in assent as they turned to confront the rat tide, a maelstrom of fangs and fury.

Together, Toki and the Alpha hastened after Three. The Alpha had shrunk back to his original size for convenience. The labyrinthine paths of the underground realm beckoned, but they were tight. The duo returned to the fork. Four sets of footprints went into one of the unknown corridors, while an army of footprints went towards the underground city. Without hesitation, they chased the four footprints.

The path wound before them, serpentine and slick with slime dripping from the walls. Only Toki’s fire illuminated her surroundings. She channeled [Lessons] while she had the chance. At the corridor's end, she saw them—Partridge and Three, locked in heated dispute.

"Zeppo?" Toki breathed, the name a ghost on her lips. Recognition flared within her—a twist in the narrative she hadn't anticipated. Three, or Zeppo as it was now revealed, the unassuming and friendly barkeep whose ale had quenched many a parched throat, stood before her with a serious expression.

"Last words?" Toki declared, her hammer gripped with white-knuckled resolve. She squared her shoulders, prepared for the skirmish that loomed, the next chapter in this grim saga.

“Toki, it wasn’t my fault! I… there was nothing I could do… he would have taken the fa—"

"Wait, Five… Tokyo!" Zeppo's voice cracked like a plea, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "I'll try... I'll try to drop the bounty on you. We can talk this out."

But before more could be said, a shadow detached itself from the wall, materializing into a robed warrior. Their presence was a chill upon the air.

"Is this Five?! You asshole," the voice exclaimed.