Ethan could feel the life being squeezed from him. The edges of his vision darkened as the enormous worm wrapped itself more tightly around him and the stone pillar upon which he was pinned. Ethan was facing inward, struggling to think through the lack of oxygen, and pain of his broken arm.
He’d been unable to teleport away, but he knew he had more options, they were just so hard to remember as he felt his body crushed. He could see the red veins of his eyes as oxygen became even more scarce, and somehow that brief glimpse of color was enough.
He channeled Flare, and the least likely Familiar to thrive in this environment came to his rescue. Revan dropped directly onto the terrorvermis’ face, claws raking as his teeth bit deeply into the thick flesh of the monster. The creature howled in fresh pain, and whipped the top half of its body around, trying to dislodge the furious beast.
Revan clearly understood the stakes, and only clamped on tighter as he was shaken around violently. Ethan was finally able to breathe as the worm uncoiled further, trying to gain more leverage to throw off the furious firecat. Ethan wasted no time, stabbing wildly with his left hand until the terrorvermis finally released him. Ethan had to force his bruised body to scramble upward, trying to get away from the two monsters brawling.
He turned back just in time to see the worm–stretched as far it could away from the pillar–slam Revan into the stone, finally dislodging the dogged Familiar. As his faithful companion fell backward, paws flailing, Ethan had to fight an overly emotional reaction. Flashbacks to a Disney movie from his childhood came unbidden.
Thankfully Revan wouldn’t be trampled beneath stampeding wildebeest, as Ethan immediately dismissed the Familiar. Unfortunately that left the enraged worm with only a single target, and it spun around rapidly, seeking. Ethan had to grit his teeth against the pain in his arm while making his escape, leaping to a nearby pillar.
As he did so, foot-long stone spikes flew from the terrorvermis’ mouth. Several embedded themselves around Ethan as he landed, with a few even striking him in the back. His armor prevented them from penetrating far, but he let out a surprised sound of pain as they dug into the soft flesh beneath.
“Two rare abilities?!” he grunted while scrambling behind the pillar. He knew monsters could manifest any number of powers outside the basic ones listed in the bestiary, but he’d yet to encounter a creature with more than a single surprise up its sleeve. He fought to maintain a detached calm through the pain and anger, knowing it would do him no good.
The fight wasn’t going well, the red and black worm being much faster and more mobile than he’d expected–even without taking its unusual attacks into account–but he could see the area he’d marked earlier, and resolved to complete his plan. The problem was that he was a concerning distance away from where he needed to be, and the worm was already coming for him again.
He channeled Dimension, a rift taking him out of harm’s way a moment later. Deevee raced away, the twin-headed hydra splitting and trying to make a path to Ethan’s destination, but the terrorvermis moved rapidly through its territory, using its body like a coiled spring to launch toward him. It could also clearly see the little serpents, as it would sometimes leap before Ethan could even teleport.
He needed to buy more time, and he was burning mana. Thinking quickly, he shifted his vision back into the Astral before jumping again, barely staying ahead of the determined monster on his heels. Deevee understood his goal, and one of its bodies moved to the tiny spark of light Ethan could see glowing on a nearby pillar.
The next time he appeared through a rift, he immediately threw a dagger, piercing into a large, nesting bird. The terrorvermis was right on his heels, but slammed into the pillar in confusion when its prey suddenly disappeared. [Fleeting Shadow] did its job, using the dispersed energy from the kill to render Ethan briefly invisible.
He did something a little foolish then, as the worm crashed face-first into the stone beneath him. Ethan lashed out with [Knife in the Dark] his wakizashi piercing into the beast from above. He didn’t wait to follow up with another attack, leaping away as quickly as possible, leaving the monster to howl in pain.
“That was stupid, Dr. Bishop!” he muttered to himself as he searched for another bird. He knew he should be moving as quickly as possible, and using his short window of stealth to reposition, but he was still new at this. It was harder than he thought to completely control the anger that came with being injured by an opponent. Each throb of his bloody, broken arm seemed to be a battle call for revenge.
Thankfully he didn’t have to pay for the lapse this time, as a dagger was quickly passing through another bird, this one attempting to take flight. The worm continued its pursuit, but Ethan managed to stay just ahead with this new tactic. [Fleeting Shadow] was his least used ability as he tended to hunt individual targets, but understanding its utility, he’d made sure to do some experimentation.
It didn’t pull its power from Ethan’s own mana, instead using the burst of energy that flowed into the Astral when a living creature died. That could be an extremely helpful effect, but it simply didn’t work with anything too small or weak to fuel the ability. Ethan had stamped on quite a number of bugs to confirm that fact, but fortunately many of these birds were just large enough.
He made slow, steady progress toward his destination. The real challenge was following a path that presented more birds to kill, which turned his desperate sprint into a zig-zagging marathon–though he was at least able to reduce his reliance on rifts. Slowly the plan worked, the worm always a step or two behind, hunting him as much by following Deevee as catching sight of Ethan himself.
Once or twice he needed to hurl a dagger or two in order to keep the terrorvermis following, but soon enough they neared a small circle of pillars that abutted the nearby river. A single, larger tower of stone was surrounded by three thinner ones, and they were much farther apart here, requiring Ethan to use a rift just to reach the formation.
He looked down, confirming that Last Resort had charged five runes. “Better be enough,” he said, watching the worm spring toward him. It hesitated before joining him at the edge of the forest of stone spikes, but one final leap brought it to the closest narrow pillar. It was far enough that the monster barely made it, and needed to slither back upward to get closer to Ethan, who stood at the top of the central column.
As soon as it made its final leap, he threw three more daggers, one for each of the small pillars surrounding them. When the worm began hastily climbing toward him, he looked at it with a grin, then snapped his fingers dramatically. The creature paused at hearing the explosions, watching the other columns of stone shatter and collapse.
Whatever magic had created them had left them brittle, and they crumbled into nothing, tumbling downward to disappear into clouds of dust. That left the single, central pillar upon which both opponents now rested. Around them was just open air, and a deadly drop. The worm seemed unphased, slithering inexorably upward.
The column Ethan was standing on was much too thick for [Volatile Infusion] to destroy–maybe a few dozen could do the job, but he lacked the time and mana for that method. Instead, he continued to grin until his prey was closer, preparing himself, and wanting to accumulate as much Dimensional mana as possible.
When he could wait no longer, he whispered “Rift,” and was gone before the terrorvermis could strike. It moved to the top of the pillar, its many eyes searching until they caught sight of Ethan, high above it, teleporting over and over, from high to low, building up momentum. It couldn’t have known what was coming.
Ethan hadn’t planned for this part to be done with only his left arm working, and needed every ounce of speed he could gather. He was also very aware that he needed enough mana for at least one extra rift in order to survive, so as the wind buffeted him so hard he could barely keep his eyes open, he finally acted.
A final rift opened at a sharp angle, only a couple of dozen feet away from the thick pillar. The worm reacted quickly, starting to coil downward, but it wasn’t the target. With an awkward, left-handed draw of Last Resort, Ethan flew forward, the inverted blade glowing hot with red, deadly energy. It slashed through the stone smoothly, not even arresting his momentum.
That left Ethan in freefall heading toward the ground, and he used his last rift to reverse that direction, sending him flying upward, back to the distant pillars. It was a rough landing, and he reflexively used both hands to grip the stone, only to scream in agony as broken right arm bent once more at a disturbing angle.
Ethan had to focus desperately to keep from falling, but his training paid off, and his climbing skill served him well. He pulled himself higher, securing his hold with raw strength, rather than risk spending more mana, then let out a relieved breath. At last he was able to turn, and look back at his handiwork through blurry eyes.
The terror worm was still there, wrapped around the stone pillar, and staring back at him. It was clearly much too far for the beast to jump, and its odd, pointed face searched fruitlessly for a way to reach him. Ethan couldn’t spot the slash he’d made, though he knew it was some distance below the creature.
“Come on, come on…” he pleaded. At last the worm appeared to give up, and began the slow, methodical journey back to the ground. It was the beast’s weight that finally did it. It only moved a few more feet before the column began to quiver, being just as brittle as its smaller neighbors which already lay broken below.
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Cracks opened up in the stone from what had to be the wound caused by Last Resort, shooting upward and downward as the worm froze in place. There were echoing sounds like ice breaking, and all at once chunks of rock seemed to explode outward, the pillar’s tremendous weight causing it to split.
Ethan smiled in relief as he watched the entire column break like a tree struck by lightning. He clearly hadn’t cut all the way through the thick trunk, but its own mass was completing the job as the many tons of stone began to crumble. He watched the terrorvermis fall as its perch disappeared underneath it, dropping hundreds of feet onto the sharp rocky ground below.
A system message popped up, confirming his victory.
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Congratulations! New Title Earned!
New Title: Checkmate
Turning a losing battle into a victory, and defeating a powerful opponent through strategy and planning has granted you a new effect! All attacks (both physical and Astral) which are made against unaware enemies, or catch enemies by surprise will deal increased damage!
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Ethan let out a long sigh of relief, leaning his head against the pillar he clung to. He’d tried this strategy first, of course, destroying several of the smaller columns at the beginning of the fight. The worm had proven frustratingly capable of leaping away, however, and he’d known he would need to isolate it.
As he slowly climbed down, swollen right arm hugged to his chest, he considered that he was glad he’d spoken to the other Hunters before taking on this opponent. Apparently the bestiary was far from all-knowing, and his instinct to use Last Resort on the terrorvermis itself had been a mistake. “That’s how you get two worms,” he grumbled, quoting the gray-haired woman who’d fought one long ago in the mountains.
“Didn’t say anything about god damned spikes though,” he said as each movement sent pain shooting through the shallow wounds on his back.
***
After awkwardly digging through the fallen rocks–Maggie ‘supervising’–Ethan finally found the remains of the terrorvermis. Thankfully it was still sparkling, and he looted it gratefully with his left hand, his right bandaged after painfully setting the bones.
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You have looted [Dawn Rank Terrorvermis]
You have received:
* 7 Dusk Coins
* 243 Dawn Coins
* 1 Terrorvermis Gem (Dawn Rank)
* 14 Terrorvermis Leather
* 1 Augment Rune Stone ([No Escape], Dawn Rank)
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“Augment Rune stone? That’s new. I’ll run it past Kenji when we get back to town.” He turned, sending a silent call to his demon Familiar, who appeared a moment later. “Giant worm bastard is dead, time for my prize.”
Tomo looked down at the monster corpse, slowly disappearing into light. “There will be much to discuss from this battle, but you were victorious.” He turned away, pointing. “I was able to see some landmarks I recognized from atop the pillars. If we follow the river south, we will find the location we seek.”
Ethan did as instructed. Maggie trailed behind, ever watchful, ever unhelpful. It took nearly an hour of hiking over the rocky terrain to find the right spot, but thankfully the pain was already fading from his broken, swollen arm. It would likely still be days in healing properly, but thankfully [Hydra’s Focus] was slowly making him ambidextrous, and his left hand would be sufficient for now.
Ethan followed a dry riverbed up a small hill at Tomo’s direction. Apparently it had once fed into the large, impassable river to the west, though clearly times had changed since the days of the demon’s former master. The land rose up around them as they continued on, until the depression Ethan walked in was deeper than his head.
Finally they came to its end, where a small cave-in had apparently blocked an entrance. “Oh wonderful, I was hoping to have to move more rocks with one hand.”
“Unnecessary,” Tomo said, pointing to a tiny, hand-sized gap at the top. Ethan scrunched up his face for a moment before realizing what his Familiar meant.
A moment later, Deevee disappeared through the hole, and Ethan used a rift to join the hydra shortly after. His nightvision kicked in immediately, as he’d appeared in a small cave. One side had clearly been the source of the water at some point, but now it was little more than a dry, dusty room, and he had to duck a little to walk around.
There wasn’t much to see, but Tomo quickly moved over to a fair-sized lump resting on top of a natural shelf of rock. Ethan followed the demon, finding that there was actually worn cloth over the object, a single preserving rune visible as he pulled it away. Beneath was a chest, unadorned and simple, save for more runes lining the top.
“Press here before opening,” Tomo said, indicating two specific symbols, which glowed when Ethan obligingly pressed his fingers to them. There was an answering hiss, and the chest opened slightly.
Smiling in delight from the experience of opening ancient treasure, Ethan slowly lifted back the lid, then excitedly examined what was within. Some of it was clearly just keepsakes, with several interesting pieces of art that he carefully placed in his inventory, but there were a few objects he could sense had some form of enchantment.
“Why did he leave all this here?” Ethan asked as he removed a simple tea set covered in crude Japanese designs.
“My master was here for a long time, and outgrew many of his possessions as he gained power. He left numerous caches like this one in his travels. The idea that he might retrieve them some day with his people was a source of comfort.”
“I’m sorry he didn’t get the chance, but I appreciate it all the same,” Ethan replied, lifting out a long pipe. The Mad system flared to life.
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Kemuri Pipe [Dawn Rank] Rare
Special Effect: [Smokescreen]
Once lit, this pipe may be used without the need to add any flammable materials. When the special effect is activated the released smoke will gather in enclosed spaces, creating a thick cloud that is difficult to see through. Those of higher rank will be able to use Astral senses to peer through the smokescreen.
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Ethan smiled. “This is useful,” he told the Familiar.
“My master was fascinated by runes, and learned much of them during his time here. I believe the original intention of that pipe was simply to smoke without access to the plant he knew, but he felt compelled to add something.” Tomo pointed at the tea set.
“That item is of a magical nature as well. It only requires water to create Tea of Renewal, which increases vitality, and speeds healing.”
“What, seriously? Is that allowed?” Ethan asked.
“No, but you will find that many powerful Hunters seek ways to skirt the Church’s rules on healing. My master was very proud of that item, one of his fondest moments was sharing that tea with a High Priest, who didn’t notice its blasphemous effect.”
“That’s fantastic. I think I’m starting to like your master.” He continued searching through the chest, which included fabrics and other non-magical objects, eventually finding a book, and two Rune Stones.”
“My system can’t identify these, any idea what they are, Tomo?” The demon hurried over, his draconic face making the expression that Ethan had come to recognize as a smile.
“They are what I was hoping we would find. My memories of these days are not without flaw, but I knew he’d left these objects somewhere.” He indicated the stones. “Those are Knowledge Stones created by my master personally. One contains techniques for fighting humans, the other for fighting monsters.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Why would he even make these?”
“Those, and many copies,” Tomo clarified. “He was here a long time, and taught his ways to many disciples over the years. We may even encounter living practitioners if we venture far enough from this land.”
Ethan nodded, wondering about the stone with techniques for use against other people, not liking the implications. “Is this different from what you’ve been teaching me?”
“It is identical, but will save you many years of training. I do not recognize the book, however. May I see it?” Ethan obliged, opening the book and slowly leafing through the pages for the incorporeal demon. “Ah, an interesting find, but one less relevant at the moment.”
“What do you mean, what’s it about?”
“It is the guidebook he used when creating his personal equipment, such as the sword and coat you now wear. I suspect they are well beyond even Miss Selina, but still valuable.”
Ethan agreed, putting the book in his inventory, then pulling out the last object from the chest, a small pad of delicate paper. Again, his system flared to life.
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Loyal Origami [Dawn Rank] Epic
The user of this item may create Origami servants, which remain animated for a duration determined by the mana infused. These servants possess basic capabilities which align to their form, and will follow the creator’s commands as best as they are able.
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Surprisingly, Tomo clapped his hands in delight. “Make something!” he said, sounding jubilant. Ethan removed a piece of paper, not sure how to react to the overly serious demon’s sudden display of childlike emotion. He was about to explain that he didn’t know how to make anything–his only experience being a crane he’d done in grade school–when the paper began folding itself.
Tomo watched in fascination as the paper rapidly formed into a perfect facsimile of the crane Ethan remembered, before flapping its little wings and taking off into the air. “I’ve missed this!” the demon said, sounding somewhat melancholy.
Ethan watched the crane for a moment, sharing the demon’s wonder, then told the little bird to fly around the cave. It did so immediately, moving at an impressive speed. “Come to my hand,” he called after a moment, and it did so, landing on his upturned palm.
With a moment’s concentration, Ethan sent a flow of power into the paper, which began to glow with a red and purple energy. A grin spread across his face. “Oh hell yes. I think I have a new favorite thing.”