Chapter 15 - Stick and Move
I lunged forward, thrusting Hunty’s spear into the writhing mass of scourge-touched bodies, aiming for a glinting pair of eyes that stood more still than the rest. My aim was off, but it didn’t matter. The monsters were packed against my cell so tightly, I couldn’t miss.
The spearpoint struck something soft then penetrated through, the flesh of one of the black ones only offering minimal resistance to the precisely sharpened edge.
Scourge-Touched Goblin takes 7 damage. (Piercing)
Scourge-Touched Goblin is bleeding.
Skill unlocked: Spear.
Your current skill level is 1.
In fact, it was so easy, the surprise and subsequent overbalance nearly killed me.
The black ones reached for me as they pressed up against the root bars, slashing wildly as I got within striking distance. Dozens of long, spindly arms with razor sharp talons that wanted nothing more than my blood formed a barbed wall of death that I would have been wise to avoid touching.
So, when the spear went through my intended target instead of stopping as I expected, I tipped forward into a blender, my only saving grace being my core arm that the goblins couldn’t scratch or tear. I steadied myself on one of the goblins’ arms, grasping it by the elbow to support my weight and keep from falling all the way forward.
It grabbed my metal bicep, clawing and digging at the unyielding material. It succeeded in pulling me forward, though. Other claws raked across my chest, my face, and my spear arm. They tore wicked gashes across my flesh, the skin parting easily under their piercing tips
Scourge-Touched Goblin attacks you for 3 damage.
Status gained: Bleeding [.5 HP/sec]
Scourge-Touched Goblin attacks you for 2 damage.
Status gained; Bleeding [1 HP/sec]
Blood trickled down into my eye, blinding me on one side. My feet scrambled at the stones to get away from the attacks, but the floor was already slick with splatters of blood. Shifting tactics, I kicked at the bars, feeling my foot make contact with the Mendau roots and propelling me backwards, tearing me away from all of the swiping claws and leaving bits of myself behind in the process.
Strong, spindly fingers were still wrapped around my prosthetic’s bicep, trying to haul me back into the fray. I did a little grabbing myself.
Devouring Grasp [5 MP/sec]
The goblin’s forearm disintegrated into tiny embers of orange. Within the cacophony of shrieking, yowling voices, one such voice took on a distinctly more strained pitch.
You gain knowledge of material: Goblin Bone [1/10]
You gain knowledge of material: Goblin Bone [2/10]
By some miracle I still had the spear. The scourge-touched tried to grab the end of that as well, probably thinking of pulling me in along with the weapon, but whatever I’d hit with my initial thrust covered the entire front in blood and… other fluids, making it too slippery to properly grasp. I jerked it away, cutting more flesh on the return. Their blood spattered and splashed on the floor and against the walls, intermingling with mine.
“Come on, you little shits!” I bellowed in their faces. “I’m right here!”
I got to my feet and set myself, spear out, ‘shield’ arm in front, weight equally distributed this time, and I thrust again at a pair of eyes. This time, I had the presence of mind to only let myself reach so far. Again, I scored a hit, closer to where I was aiming this time. The reflective orbs jerked and fell away, to be replaced by another set.
You take 1 bleeding damage
Scourge-Touched Goblin takes 6 damage. (Piercing)
Scourge-Touched Goblin is bleeding.
This time, I didn’t leave the spear inside my target long enough for it to be grabbed. I was set again within half a second.
Then I thrust again and again and again.
I found a rhythm. The scourge-touched weren’t overly concerned with their lives, and they pressed mindlessly into the gaps between the roots, their rabid fervor at being close to me drowning all sense of self preservation. Those in front were mobbed from behind, pressed so close they could barely move except for where they tore at the Mendau roots or swiped at me when I came close enough.
Stab. Set. Stab. Set. Stab. Set.
I cursed at them over and over until I was hoarse. I vented my hate on the black ones, made them the objects of my wrath.
Occasionally, I grew overzealous and came away from a thrust bleeding again.
Eventually, the lights went out, either from running out of fuel or the black ones’ bodies blocking every square inch of my door. I activated Detect Goblin, the first ability I’d unlocked from affinities so long ago, and the seething mass of scourge-touched goblins practically ‘blinded’ me, the concentration was so intense. It shone like a beacon. Closing my eyes didn’t help matters either. I wasn’t seeing them with my eyes.
Acclimation to my new senses was slow, but eventually I was back in the swing(stab) of things. Experience messages were rolling in.
Scourge Touched Goblin defeated.
You have been awarded 22 experience points. [10 base (-2 level, +2 nemesis, +10 group,+10 chain, -8 non-combat class)]
I had to minimize my log after a while, finding the messages too distracting.
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Stab. Set. Stab. Set. Stab. Set.
The black ones were endless. No matter how many I killed, more would take their place. The muscles in my arm tired, and my legs burned from having to crouch and step during my thrusts. Sweat poured off my body, and my lungs were on fire.
My form suffered, carrying me into some close calls. The System repaired my body for me over time, closing wounds that would have bled a normal person to death, but the gouges and scratches wore me down, not just from the blood loss but from the pain. My body was quickly running out of adrenaline and my mind tired from the constant state of alertness and overstimulation.
My rhythm slowed until it stopped altogether, and I slumped to the floor against the wall opposite the door.
Defeated. Exhausted. I sat there, the cool of the cave rock soothing my aching body, the System going to work on my HP.
It was pitch black, but Detect Goblin turned my cell into a horror show of light. Blood and gore littered the walls and the floor, soaked into my clothes, my hair. I reached over my shoulder and extracted a severed claw from a groove in between the segmented plates on my back.
Indefatigable, the Black Ones tore into the Mendau to get to me. Hunty’s body was long gone, replaced by more roots and rabid faces. Gurgling screeches smothered all other sound, while the faces of my would-be killers slavered with long tongues snaking forward to taste my scent.
With a trembling hand, I summoned my clay cup and rope from my spatial storage, watching it appear from nothing with a dim glow. I did the same with a piece of meat from the bundle Tiba had given me. Once I’d drawn some water from the underriver, I shakily popped the jerky into my mouth and chased it with the entire cup of water.
I was wrung out, spent. My mind and body felt numb yet raw, like I’d been dipped in a frozen lake and left out to dry in the wind. One by one, I consciously relaxed my muscles and closed my eyes, looking for peace amidst the nightmare. I turned Detect Goblin off to decrease the strain on my mind and let the world go back to the dark once again.
The scourge-touched didn’t make it easy with the racket they were making, but I did what I could to soothe my psyche, trusting the rest of me to follow.
We sat like that for a while. I’m unsure how long. My Engine status winked out a long while ago, so I had no way of keeping the time. However, my HP slowly ticked up from 10 to 31.
I had no idea what my regeneration rate actually was, but it was at least something to watch. My max appeared to be 45 now. I wasn’t sure when that happened, but I didn’t want to bring up my log. Not yet. Looking at it meant thinking and decisions and all that stuff I wasn’t ready for yet.
Breathing deeply of the blood tinged air, I took up Hunty’s spear yet again, climbed to my feet, and activated Detect Goblin to bring back the nightmare of luminescent gore and hungry maws.
—---------------------
I popped another bit of dried meat into my mouth, gnawing at the tough sinew as I pondered my next move. I’d slept twice since the monsters had invaded my cavern, and I was pretty sure I was no closer to exhausting their numbers than before. They still crowded up against the bars of my cell trying desperately to reach for me, but they’d grown quieter as time went on.
Yes, if I moved suddenly or approached them they would be back to barking and howling and slashing to get to me, but for now they seemed content to watch and make sure I didn’t leave.
That worried me. What’s worse, it piqued my curiosity to the point that my rhythm of set, stab, set could no longer divert my mind enough to drown out my real thoughts.
Despite myself, I’d liked Hunty. I might have even thought of him as my friend.
It was ridiculous. Our first moment together, he stabbed me then he became my jailer.
Of course it was ridiculous to feel anything but contempt for the guy.
Then there were the other moments. How he shared his rations with me sometimes. The jokes. The way he looked out for me with the other guards and pleaded to Kuul for more humane (gobline?) treatment. His first instinct was always to protect others, Tiba especially. Hunty would never let Tiba be affected by the evils of the world. He would do anything to see her happy and safe, and, to an extent, he did that for me as well.
Hunty also died for me.
Like Vince.
What do you do to make up for that kind of sacrifice? What did I have to do to make up for costing the multiverse two good lives?
You could start by not dying during the Tutorial. Who dies during the Tutorial, really?
Wiping a tear from my cheek, I laughed slightly as the warm wetness erased that part of my hand from the world. The rest of me was covered in goblin blood, making me visible to Detect, at least in outline, but that spot was a break in the filth, the only clean spot on my entire body.
So absurd. It was all so absurd.
Shuddering, I laughed some more. Uncontrollable, violent laughter. The kind of laugh that bursts out of you like an alien parasite and does its best just to leave behind nothing but an empty husk. I laughed until it hurt. Then I laughed because it hurt.
The scourge-touched hated it, joining in in their own way with hoots tinged with bloodlust and evil.
Shaking my head and breathing deep, I got myself back under control.
I’d had enough of this place. It was time to get back to the business of escape, not just from the cave. From Ralqir.
I brought up my log.
Level up!
You are now level 5.
Max HP +5
Max MP +5
+1 attribute point.
Ability Unlocked: Trigger
Achievements awarded this level:
Big Spender: You have spent 8,000% of your total mana pool this level. [+1% mana regeneration per second.]
Dedicated: You spent most of your time dedicated to your craft this level. [+1 Spirit]
Doing Your Part: Some of your creations have been used against agents of the Scourge. [+200% experience awarded for new designs next level]
Synergetic Synthesis: You have performed the prohibitively difficult and costly feat of combining three or more abilities to form a new one. [+50% level rate for all component abilities. ERROR: Ability:Volatility:class_mismatch]
I had been waiting for this ever since Shape hit level 5 and gave me a choice. Five seemed to be a significant number in everything so far, and I didn’t want to make a permanent choice for my main ability until I knew what I needed. Apparently, my class got a new toy at 5.
Trigger: Create a pocket of latent potentiality within your creations that may be activated by mana. [Cost: conditional]
Okay. If I was reading the description correctly, that meant I could… What? Make my constructs do things by injecting mana? I could, sort of, do that already with Automate. There had to be something more to it.
I’d experiment with it once I got a chance.
Level up!
You are now level 6.
Max HP +5
Max MP +5
+1 attribute point.
Achievements awarded this level:
All Natural: You have spent 80% of this level with full mana. [+1 body]
Doing Your Part: Some of your creations have been used against agents of the Scourge. [+200% experience awarded for new designs next level]
Spirit of the Warrior: You gained 51% of your experience this level from defeated foes as a non-combat class. [+3 spirit]
Rift Hunter: You gained 51% of your experience this level from Nemesis tagged foes. [+1 to all attributes]
Level up!
You are now level 7.
Max HP +5
Max MP +5
+1 attribute point.
Achievements awarded this level:
All Natural: You have spent 80% of this level with full mana. [+1 body]
Doing Your Part: Some of your creations have been used against agents of the Scourge. [+200% experience awarded for new designs next level]
Spirit of the Warrior: You gained 51% of your experience this level from defeated foes as a non-combat class. [+3 spirit]
Rift Hunter: You gained 51% of your experience this level from Nemesis tagged foes. [+1 to all attributes]
That was… a lot to parse. The achievements and their meanings, I would have to study sometime later. Just skimming the surface information told me something, but I was sure there was more there to glean.
I felt around in my spatial storage, taking inventory. I had about twenty pounds of iron, some in ore form, some as worm constructs. Additionally I had maybe a few days worth of food, a few bundles of Mendau wood, four pounds of limestone, and six pounds of aluminum.
The dark ones stared at me with their beady black eyes, watching my every movement, waiting for the moment I tried to escape or slipped into their reach.
For my part, I was thinking again. For the first time since the lights went out, my brain was engaged, and the pieces of a plan were slowly taking shape.