Legendria - the tanzanite cave, Sheko ruun, knife thrower
Sheko, Mai, Raggedy, Nue, and Emilia walked in a V formation into the cavern, with Raggedy at the front to draw the monster’s aggro. Sheko and Mai stayed at the back since they were both ranged fighters at the moment. After a short distance, Mai slowed down to get some space to talk to Sheko.
"First the whole raid—fine, I’ll give you that, I think it will work out. But now, you're volunteering us to clear two caves? We don’t even know if we can beat the Cockatrice, and you insist that we’re going to fight the basilisk as well? You are so full of yourself!" Mai fumed, stomping her foot. "I didn’t want to make a scene outside where the others could hear us, but I’m telling Finn to switch with us."
Sheko jumped at her before she could send a message to Finn.
"Stop, stop, please! I’m not delusional. The Cockatrice is just level 30. I checked with the group that scouted it yesterday. It’s strong for its level, but manageable—even for one of us. Besides, we have Raggedy. I—"
"It’s a level 30 monster!" Mai interrupted. "They only go up to level 100, or did you forget? That means it's a higher level than both of us combined. And again, it's a Cockatrice—they petrify you with a look! You’re not the only one doing research here. I hope you didn’t plan on using Raggedy for this without knowing that cloth golems aren’t immune to petrification. A normal golem might not be immune either, because this is a Crystal Cockatrice!" Mai continued, not letting Sheko argue before she finished.
"Are you done?" Sheko replied, keeping an annoyed tone to mask his worry. He had actually forgotten that monsters scale differently than players and tians. _So stupid,_ he thought. "I didn’t forget. We have Emilia. She isn’t worried, and you haven’t given up on it either, so I’m assuming it has to do with Raggedy’s evolution. Or... you do trust me. So which is it?"
Mai paused at Sheko’s response before answering in a hiss, "So you made the decision based on a bunch of assumptions? This is idiotic."
Sheko, now with a smug tone, replied, "But I’m right, aren’t I? Raggedy has evolved, and you probably think that even if I’m full of myself, her new form could beat the Cockatrice."
Mai, now in a more subdued tone, said, "Fine, yes, you jerk. She has a new skill that I think will probably be enough to beat the Cockatrice. You happy? But since you’re so adamant about calling me out, why don’t you tell me what your embryo does? It’s the gauntlet on your left arm, isn’t it? Nothing else looks like a unique item—well, except maybe that pipe bomb-looking thing on your belt." She pointed to the lethal spring on Sheko’s belt.
"Okay, fine. Yes, it is. It’s called Odysseus. It makes things spin. It’s pretty distracting to use, so I don’t use it much. Also, until yesterday, the SP cost was pretty high for me to use it consistently," Sheko explained, more frustrated than he actually felt. He had wanted to keep Odysseus a secret so people wouldn’t know what his abilities were. Plus, he liked the idea of being mysterious—Dendro was a big, open-world fantasy to play in, and he could be mysterious if he wanted. There was nothing wrong with that.
Mai responded in an even tone, "Oh, I see. Sorry, I guess it wasn’t fair to assume the worst since I didn’t actually ask you about it. I hope it evolves soon, then." Her tone brightened. "Well, don’t worry! I’ll carry us for now."
Sheko wanted to argue that he didn’t need carrying, but decided against it, wincing inwardly. _This girl is really flippant. I don’t know what she thinks, but it’s not okay that I’m using her._
"Eh, yeah, thank you, but really, don’t worry. I’m plenty happy with Odysseus," Sheko answered as sincerely as he could.
They closed the distance to Nue and Emilia, picking up the pace. "You finally done with all your master talk?" Nue asked.
"Eh, sorry, yes," Sheko replied, "although we did slide a bit into planning, so I’ll catch you up. It’s really short. One of the master groups that was supposed to participate hasn’t shown up, but we’re still going for the raid. Since your mom is the highest level person here by a pretty big margin, we got the task of clearing two cave bosses. I hope we can take care of the Cockatrice, and then I’ll rush to the basilisk cave and clear it."
Emilia interjected, "I agree that we can probably do it, but you’re crazy to think you can take the basilisk by yourself. No, I’ll handle the Cockatrice. You three will kill the basilisk."
"What about Raggedy?" Mai asked, noting they had five people in the cave.
"I didn’t count her. She’s your monster, right? Then she goes with you," Emilia replied, growing impatient.
"But wouldn’t you be petrified by the Cockatrice without her around?" Mai pressed.
Emilia smiled. "Don’t worry, I’m a veteran. I came prepared. This is a Prism Lion Gambeson. It’s not a monster that appears in this cave, so you wouldn’t know about it. Prism Lions are mage-killers—they reflect spells back at their enemies, and this gambeson has the same property. Now, stop yapping and let’s do our job."
Their progress was quick and easy, thanks to Nue and Emilia supplying a substantial DPS boost beyond Sheko's and Mai's improvements from the previous day. Emilia's Strong Swordsman job had granted her the Quake Strike skill, making her their best area suppression fighter. While it might have been dismissed as a simple fact since no one else had skills suited for the job, every time she cracked the ground with her strike, the entire cave rocked. Sheko assumed that, like her armor, the granite-colored sword she now wielded was also an incredibly potent item. None of the monsters that had posed issues the previous day could survive Emilia’s violent onslaught.
Sheko, however, was concerned about her liberal use of such powerful skills. "Emilia, shouldn't you slow down? We're almost at the cave's edge, but you’ll run out of SP at this rate. You've already used that skill a dozen times."
Emilia scoffed. "Your worry is misplaced, but you're somewhat correct. I still have over three-quarters of my SP, thanks to my Restless Berserker job. It gives me back some SP whenever I kill an enemy."
Sheko began thinking about the possibilities of such a skill. Odysseus, his embryo, used SP to activate its abilities as well, and was probably much more efficient—at least against single targets—than Emilia's Quake Strike.
"With that skill, you probably never run out of SP in a fight. It sounds amazing. What are the requirements for the job?" Sheko asked, giving Emilia his full attention.
She smirked at his question and spun to look at him, pretending to size him up as she continued walking backward, keeping pace. "Just because you're a master doesn't mean you can just get any job you want. You're not even on the right path to consider the job. But to give you a basic idea, you have to kill many enemies moments after meeting them—no hesitation once a target is known. Past the time limit, they become ineligible. There’s a minimal power requirement too, but I wouldn’t worry about that. There’s no point in a prospective Berserker hunting goblins to train. You have to be brave for this path, right?"
She paused, expecting a response. When Sheko didn’t realize she was waiting, she raised her voice. "I said, right?!"
Sheko replied hastily, "Yes, of course! A Berserker should train against a challenge, not a safe bet."
Emilia gave him a scrutinizing look. "And what do you think of that idea—as a fighter at the start of his journey?"
Sheko paused, then answered honestly. "I think it’s a stupid philosophy to follow as a warrior. You should go into battle assuming you’ve done everything in your power to hedge the odds in your favor. That mindset is for duelists and crazy people."
Emilia relaxed her expression and turned back around to face forward. "Then you see what I meant? Your mindset is just fine, but it’s not the mindset of a Berserker. And if you can’t change that, you’ll only be a mediocre Berserker at best. Now be quiet—we’re close to the Cockatrice. My danger sense is telling me we’ve been spotted. Eyes forward, 50 meters ahead, slightly to the left."
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Mai took out four poison cloud vials strapped together from her inventory and handed them to Raggedy. The giant doll started to spin, turning her arm into a giant sling in the process, but she was built for bulk, not speed. Sheko stepped forward, dodging under her outstretched arms, and touched her torso. The blue spiral fractal spread over her body, and he activated Tied to the Mast, linking her orientation to the ground he had marked earlier. Raggedy’s spin immediately slowed as her motion was now connected to the ground—its weight and friction with the earth too much for her to continue. Sheko then deactivated his skill to preserve his SP.
Both Raggedy and Mai jumped at him simultaneously. "Why did you stop me?! How did you stop me?"
Sheko answered simply, "I wasn’t sure you’d be able to hit it from this far away at that speed. Were you going to hit it?"
Mai thought for a second. "Oh, I think so? But what does it matter? It would’ve just cost me some potions—it’s not the end of the world. But how did you stop her? Raggedy definitely has higher strength than you."
Sheko pointed to the similarly marked patch of ground and his gauntlet. "I told you, my embryo spins things or well its theme is spinning. In this case, I linked Raggedy and the ground, so she had to spin with enough force to also spin the ground. I actually evolved today, same as you. My new ability lets me link two marked targets. Now, great idea on the poison—just let me help."
Mai slapped her forehead. "Oh yeah, of course! I’m here making a slingshot, and you have a spinning embryo. Let’s do this."
Sheko explained his ability fully this time, then marked Raggedy again before moving away. Raggedy stood still for a moment, then, in the blink of an eye, spun twice. The vials almost slipped from her hands prematurely, but she managed to hold on until the last moment, launching them before falling to the ground. The vials flew like projectiles, breaking mid-flight and releasing their contents. The Cockatrice’s exposed head between its wings was coated in the potion, which quickly evaporated into the air, masking the creature in a green cloud.
The Cockatrice let out a horrifying shriek before running out of the toxic cloud. It seemed unfazed as it spread its wings and blasted forward, closing the distance in three seconds flat. Sheko, behind Raggedy, had no clear line of sight, and Mai was out of position to his left. Nue and Emilia, however, showed their experience. Emilia quickly retreated, grabbing Mai’s wrist to pull her back into position, while Nue held her ground against the Cockatrice. As the monster attempted to peck her skull, Nue intercepted the attack with the middle of her staff, turning her defense into a counterattack, striking the Cockatrice’s neck before swinging at its head with the staff's other end. Her staff glowed with golden power, but the Cockatrice recovered in time to block with its tanzanite wing and retaliated by kicking Nue in the torso, launching her back several feet but failing to knock her down.
The Cockatrice then turned its attention back to its original target: Raggedy.
Raggedy was back on her feet but was still disoriented, barely able to protect herself. She raised her arms defensively as the Cockatrice leaped into the air, coming down with a vicious strike, its gem-tipped talons aimed for a simultaneous rending attack. Just then, a blue throwing knife hit the Cockatrice's right leg, cutting it slightly, but more importantly, transferring the marking from the knife to its leg. The Cockatrice's leg immediately jerked to the left, twisting its body and throwing its attack off course.
However, the Cockatrice quickly adapted, slashing again still midair with its left leg, which was still in reach. Though this weaker attack nearly sheared Raggedy's arm off at the elbow, it was a far better outcome than the devastating, likely fatal blow that had been intended.
"Get back! Clear the area!" Emilia shouted as she leaped into the air, easily clearing five meters. Her warning gave Nue just enough time to escape the area of effect of Quake Strike.
Emilia's attack landed squarely on the Cockatrice just as it was recovering from its own assault. The creature was only able to defend itself with its wings as it braced for impact.
Emilia was launched backward safely, while the Cockatrice was crushed under the force of the strike. Both of its wings, nearly shattered, now lay motionless over its head. The shockwave traveled through its body, and the leg Sheko had cut earlier broke under the force. Finally, the impact reached the ground beneath the Cockatrice, cracking the earth.
Disoriented and on its last sliver of health, the Cockatrice defiantly unleashed its most powerful attack—its petrifying stare. Mai, Sheko, and Raggedy were caught in its deadly gaze. Raggedy, mid-step and rapidly crystallizing, managed to land a final strike to the Cockatrice's beak with her damaged arm, now glowing green. Her arm fully detached from her shoulder and detonated in a green cloud. Then, her second arm, fully crystallized, detached as well, halting the spread of the crystal over her body.
The Cockatrice began to disintegrate, leaving behind a pair of undamaged wings, talons, and a pair of large tanzanite gems. After inspecting the remains, Sheko and Mai realized that the tanzanite gems were, in fact, the Cockatrice's eyes.
Emilia convinced Sheko and Mai to leave the loot with her, promising to split it later. She put the items into a spare inventory she had brought specifically for that purpose, giving Sheko the key. Without the key, Emilia could only store items but wouldn’t be able to take them out.
Once they were done, they contacted Finn to update him, explaining their plan to move on to the emerald cave next. Emilia would handle the Cockatrice on her own when it respawned, while Sheko, Mai, and Nue would deal with the basilisk.
Mai then began the process of breaking apart Raggedy's crystallized body while repairing her using her new skill, Arts and Crafts, which allowed her to heal Raggedy by directly spending MP. The efficiency of this skill would improve as her DEX increased. The process of freeing Raggedy was tedious, as completely breaking her body would kill her. Since Raggedy's crystalized form had lost many of the immunities inherent to a cloth golem she couldn't survive the injury debuffs she'd receive, no to mention the damage she'd receive.
In Dendro, HP represented the amount of damage a body could handle, but complete destruction was far more than what was needed to kill someone. When a player hit negative HP, a timer would begin, counting down to their full death. The more damage beyond 0 HP, the shorter the timer. Healing could extend the time before death, but it couldn’t restore someone to positive HP unless special skills or items were used.
As they worked to free Raggedy, Mai explained the skill she had used to finish the Cockatrice.
Fumigate with it Raggedy could detach a limb from her body, transferring any debuffs afflicting her to that limb. Once detached, the limb became a weapon, similar to Mai's poison vials. The detached limb would store the debuffs until it was detonated, either by destroying it or by Mai's mental command, releasing the debuff in a small area and affecting everyone inside.
After explaining this, Mai walked over to where Raggedy's crystallized arm rested on the ground and placed it in her inventory.
"Off to kill a basilisk, right?" Mai said cheerfully.
Sheko, realizing the weapon they now had, smiled back. "Absolutely, let's do it."
With just five minutes left until the Cockatrice would respawn, Sheko, Mai, Nue, and Raggedy set off in a race toward the emerald cave.