I sprinted back to the portal on my still healing leg, tripping several times and doing minor damage to my health bar. I was still reeling from the sight of the unresponsive falcon lying in my bed. That would be another friend that ended up collateral damage. I would be a murderer 5 times over. I needed to figure out a plan for the next beast wave level in the next 2 minutes.
If I tried to run from the wave now the falcon would be trapped in the mine when the beasts converged on it to destroy it. My anger at the framework bubbled over and I vented my frustration by shouting as loud as I could to the empty forest. Thankful there was no one around to hear. Doubt , grief and anger warred in my mind.
I stared down at the portal, seething from anger, trying to think desperately of what to do. Placing the major directly in front of the entrance seemed like it would be playing directly in the hands of the framework. It was both rewarding me with these bombs and punishing me by showing what can happen when they are used. I took out a simple bomb and lobbed it at the portal and detonated it on the frame out of petty spite. I was shocked to see my combat log update.
Combat Log - Simple Bomb*Enhanced Explosion - deals 600 damage to ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!ERROR!ERROR! Wave not released. Information restricted.
I was confused now and the timer was down to less than a minute. I took another simple bomb and threw it at the portal this time watching to see the bomb fly through the portal and disappear. I triggered the detonation and was shocked to see my combat log update again, more error messages that I didn’t understand the meaning of, but damage was definitely being done. I decided to risk it all and took out the major bomb. I sent a thought back to my friend lying in the bed back in the mine and walked up to the portal, checking the time.
00:00:34
It was now or never, I hefted the heavy bomb and tossed it as hard as I could and stepped back. I emptied the rest of my bandoleer of simple and standard bombs, including the left over shrapnel bombs and tossed them all through the portal as well. I turned my back to get the maximum shielding from my cloak and braced myself against the ground. I thought of the falcon and my mother as I detonated the major bomb, standard bomb and shrapnel bombs.
There was a loud roar from the portal, the entire world shaking as the explosion chain reacted. I remained crouched down until the sounds had stopped. I turned and looked at the devastation. The portal was gone, the ground near the area was swallowed by a crater 30 feet across and at least the same deep. There was a massive dust cloud swirling around the crater.
Congratulations! You have slain the Beast Wave Leader!
Congratulations! You have survived Beast Wave Level 7!
Congratulations! You have reached level 21!
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Congratulations! You have slain the Beast Wave Leader!
Congratulations! You have survived Beast Wave Level 8!
Congratulations! You have reached level 22!
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Congratulations! You have slain the Beast Wave Leader!
Congratulations! You have survived Beast Wave Level 9!
Congratulations! You have reached level 23!
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I stood and stared out at the giant crater where the portal had been floating numbly. I walked over to the edge. I briefly scanned my notifications and realized the 10th level wasn’t over. The hair raised on the back of my neck and I searched through the dust cloud looking for anything moving, straining my ears, wishing I had my ever faithful companion watching from the sky.
It took a few minutes for the dust cloud to completely dissipate and I saw a body down at the bottom of the crater. It was large and vaguely humanoid. I triggered Identify.
Crucian Elite - Event Beast Wave 10 Leader - Level 27 - Health 30/2200
I tried to creep down to the crucian elite and drew my new knife to finish this cursed event. I was halfway down when it groaned and rolled over. I drew back sharply and waited.
“Ahh what happened? The portal was breached? This isn’t possible”. It rolled over to its side and puked out on the dirt next to it. It looked over and spotted me. “Who are you? How did you do this?”
“My name is Sylar. I destroyed the portal and I have to kill you to end the beast wave.” I answered before I could even think about it.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Kill me? Hah. I am of the Crucian Elite. I will be the one doing the killing now.” It spit out a clump of dirt and blood. “Your little magic trick might have destroyed the portal and my retinue but unless you have another one up your sleeve your time has come to an end, and I bet if you had one you would be using it right now instead of that little toy in your hand.” The crucian elite began to stand and orient himself.
If the crucian closed to melee range I knew I was in trouble, I had never excelled in hand to hand combat. I wished I had my bow, I had foolishly never recovered it after falling from the tree, too many things happening too fast. Heart racing and blood rushing through my ears drowned out the world for just a moment of clarity.
I checked my inventory and mentally confirmed that I was out of bombs. I had nothing left I could use offensively. “Why are you doing this, why did you come here?” I asked to buy time to think.
The Crucian chuckled “You think I chose this? You think any of us choose this? Come to a foreign world to be murdered for sport? The framework does what it wants, it uses all of its subjects as disposable toys when it suits it”.
“Wait, your world was taken by the framework too?” I asked.
“I don’t have time to answer the questions of a child. The more kills I achieve the greater my reward on my return. I am sorry Sylar, this is the way the framework is.” The crucian did actually look sorry, for what little it was worth.
Steadying myself, I took a new look at the elite, his body was lean and rippled with muscle, scars criss crossed his arms and chest. He was clearly used to combat, I wouldn't stand a chance. I did the only sensible thing left to do, I ran.
Sprinting as fast as I could and hoping beyond hope that the injured crucian wasn’t fast enough to follow. I needed to make it to the mine and grab the falcon, then disappear. Adrenaline helped me forget my injured leg and make it back to the mine in record time. Dashing through the common room to the door to my room and I was about to grab the falcon when I heard the crucian yell.
“Stop running boy.” I turned to see the crucian walking into the common room, not even out of breath. “My level may be suppressed by the framework to suit its little games but my attributes are not. I have the attributes and body of a level 97 Crucian Elite. There is no running for you.”
Stopping dead in my tracks so as not to give away the location of the injured falcon. Thinking at least one of us could survive this. My mind was racing as I desperately thought of what to do. I turned and ran to the crafting hall and locked the door to the alchemy room behind me. I heard the crucian sigh in a humiliating way.
Anger warring with sadness as I contemplated the moment of my death. I scanned the alchemy table looking for anything that could be a weapon but found nothing but containers and scattered ingredients. I grabbed my knife and faced the door.
The door was knocked off its hinges as the crucian stepped inside. I triggered Identify and his health was back up to 75. His regeneration was insanely fast.
“This ends now, I can tell that there are cities nearby that have not completed their events. If I arrive in time I can reap even greater rewards.” He advanced before I could even think of one of the thousands of questions in my mind to ask, trying to stall.
There was a loud shriek as a gray shape slammed against the back of the crucian, he turned and spotted the falcon and swatted it out of the air. It crumpled against the wall it had hit. I lunged forward and stabbed the crucian directly through the neck. It caught me with a backswing so strong I flew against the wall of the alchemy room and hit it hard enough with my shoulder to break it, screaming in agony.
My health bar went down to 1/4 instantly. The crucian looked truly angry now as it staggered towards me still bleeding from its neck. I triggered Identify and its health was down to 14. This was too close. I couldn’t die like this. I rolled over and grabbed a glass container when the crucian kicked me in the side hard enough to crush ribs, the glass container breaking in my hand.
“You go to your judgment now boy, may the framework find you worthy”. The crucian said in a soft sympathetic voice.
Swiping out a broken shard of glass I managed to cut the crucian across the leg. My vision was fading, my health bar blinking red. I stabbed again as the crucian went to kick me in the side. Catching it behind the ankle. The kick lost most of its power, allowing me one final chance to live.
The Crucian tried to plant its weight on its injured leg and fell backwards. I rolled over and crawled towards it, stabbing with the glass fragment everywhere I could. It was groaning, red foam coming from its mouth.
Crawling to make it level with its head I stabbed it directly through its eye. It died with a whimper and notifications flooded in. I flopped over on my back taking deep shuddering breaths. Not fully believing I was still alive. I pulled a health potion from my inventory and chugged it, waiting for the relief that barely came. I was injured everywhere, it would take days to heal.
My thoughts went to the falcon, I was down to my last health potion and I knew it needed it more than me. I blindly opened item boxes looking for health potions and ignoring any other notifications, not receiving any. I cursed the framework and crawled out of the alchemy room. I saw the bird on the other side of the large crafting hall and continued to crawl over to it. I collapsed near it, placing my head near its head as it opened its eyes and gave a pitiful chirp.
I triggered Identify and it was at one health. I quickly tried to give it the last health potion but it wouldn’t open its beak. It stared at me intensely. I felt a strange presence in my mind, like someone shouting at me from far away.
The falcon continued to stare. I reached out mentally to the presence, it was the falcon trying to communicate, I knew it but didn’t know how I knew it. It sent over a picture, just one picture, of a large tree near the clearing. It was a tree I had walked past many times but never paid attention to. It sent another picture of a branch high in the tree, out of reach of other predators, in the branch was a nest, in the nest an egg. It chirped at me. I knew what it wanted.
“I will, I will, I promise I will, I swear it, I swear it, please don’t go, I need you, I don’t want to be alone” I whispered, tears flowing freely now. The falcon reached forward and pecked me on the head and chirped sadly, I watched as the light faded from its eyes.