Sometimes, Maya still had trouble believing she was the leader of Insurge Faction. That she was now in charge of almost three hundred people all told.
The thought should have been scary. It should have freaked her out how many people were relying on her to make a good decision. Shouldn’t she be paralyzed by the thought that she could fail them if she ever had a lapse in judgment? She was run ragged by just her lone son. How the fuck did anyone function when one had this many dependents?
And yet, as the Faction had continued growing under her guidance, her worries had faded. People could work together well, once given some guidance. People wanted to work together well, to come and be a part of some sort of rudimentary community.
Now more than ever, when they were all stuck in this unfamiliar situation, likely permanently. They had to do their utmost to cooperate. To contribute.
It was just sometimes difficult to believe that Maya’s main contribution was the direction she could provide.
Huh. Who’d have thought leading community organization efforts like the yearly marathon in Bridgeport would have been useful in this new world of theirs?
It was that feeling of responsibility that had made Maya decide how best she could inform the rest of her Faction what she, Gritty, and Ray had planned. She couldn’t give anything away. Too risky. Nevertheless, they needed to be prepared.
There was going to be a struggle, if their plan worked out, and they had to be ready. So, a day before the meeting with the Wild Tides, Maya had gathered most of the Faction together.
She wasn’t great at speeches. There was nothing to give a speech about. All she wanted was for them to be prepared.
So, all Maya did was tell them about her feelings. She told them that the Faction meant something. That they were all a part of something bigger than any of their individual selves now. They had already been working well with each other. Now, it was time to work for each other.
She couldn’t very well tell them the exact plan. Not with the infiltrators among them.
“Our new friends will be here during the meeting,” Maya reminded them at the end. “If you see a blue armband, you’ll know they’re on our side.” She took a deep breath. “We might be meeting to discuss things civilly with the Wild Tides, but don’t let your guard down. If things go south for whatever reason, have faith in me, believe in each other, and remember one call.”
Maya looked them all over, meeting as many eyes as she could. They waited with their breaths held, making no sound at all, letting her voice take up the entire room.
“Insurge Faction,” Maya said, raising her volume so that she could be heard far and wide. “To battle!”
----------------------------------------
For just an instant, Ray was frozen. A new Tower Node? Here? The only explanation he could reach was that Derrick had one with him. It was the reward from establishing the dungeon that had revealed its presence to Ray.
With a force of will, Ray focused. He had only the briefest time to take in Derrick’s information with Presence of the Primordial.
[Presence of the Primordial]
Derrick Orden [Denizen]
Race: Human
Path: Path of the Emissary [Epic]
Class: Apostle [Uncommon] [Tier 2] at Level 17
Skills:
Projection [Tier 3]: Project any force generated by your body a distance away from you. At Tier 3, this spell amplifies a force by 3x its original magnitude and can cast the projection up to 15 meters away.
Retributive Knowledge [Tier 1]: Learn the ins and outs of any ability used against you.
Call Upon [Tier 4]: If you possess any items above Denizen-grade, you can now channel their strength. At Tier 4, this spell grants you 2 abilities lasting 2 minutes total.
Divine Seeker [Tier 2]: Detect the presence of any ability, item, or being above Denizen-grade in your vicinity. At Tier 2, this spell’s range extends to 20 meters.
Liturgical Following [Tier 5]: Raise your might proportional to the number of followers under your banner. At Tier 5, this spell raises all your stats by 1 point per 50 people in your following.
Sacrifice [Tier 3]: Channel the power of your followers for a short duration. Can be configured to grant a passive boost to all stats and skills or manifested as a blast of Mana. At Tier 3, this spell temporarily disables the Mana conduits of 6 nearby followers and lasts 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Repression [Tier 4]: A small chunk of all energy directed at you is stored nearby instead of striking their target. Once activated, this spell expels all stored energy as either a barrier or a beam. At Tier 4, this spell absorbs 8% of all energy directed at you at all times.
The only reason Ray was able to get a decent look at the list of everything Derrick had was because of the chaos unfolding everywhere. Shouts and screams rang out as the battle began and the combatants squared off. Things were turning into a pandemonium.
And all Ray could focus on was the man before him, who was busy giving his subordinates rapid orders.
Not only did Derrick have an Uncommon Ascension Class, he also possessed an Epic Path too. Path of the Emissary, whatever that meant. And he was at a level higher than Ray.
But the one thing that took Ray’s attention the most was one of his spells.
Liturgical Following.
The description said that it would raise his stats depending on the number of people in his Faction. Now Ray understood why he was so determined to take over the entire Floor. The more people Derrick controlled, the stronger he would be. Literally. An ability like that seemed insane on the surface.
After all, how many people were part of the Wild Tides by now? Several hundred had to be the bare minimum. Ray wouldn’t be surprised if it was in the low thousands.
That meant Derrick’s stats were shooting through the roof. Insane.
[Warning!]
Presence of the Primordial indicates you have been marked as an enemy by Infiltrator’s Mark [Tier 2]. Presence of the Primordial has negated the effects of Infiltrator’s Mark [Tier 2].
Ray twisted around. One of the two infiltrators was hurtling away from him. The other one looked confused.
“Oh no you don’t,” Ray said.
Then he used Shatterclaw.
The man had no defence against the spell. He cried out as the black-red claws of the spell tore into him and left him bleeding to death, his flesh rotting and his body malforming.
“Great job, Raymond,” Derrick said.
Ray slowly turned. He hadn’t been so foolish as to grant the worthless infiltrators all his attention. He’d still had Derrick in his sight. The Wild Tides leader was too dangerous.
And confident.
It was clear that, despite sending off everyone else around him to deal with the Insurge Faction, he had remained here all on his own to deal with Ray. To be fair, he was definitely strong enough, so the confidence wasn’t unfounded.
Still. It was a bit surreal. Here was Ray, standing in the middle of unbridled chaos unfolding around him, yet he had no trouble focusing only on Derrick. It was as if the rest of the entire battle was happening through a screen, removed by several degrees from the reality of his confrontation with the leader of the Wild Tides.
“I was wondering when we’d finally get to meet,” Ray said. “Too bad you’re meeting me alive instead of dead.”
“Yes. It would have been simpler if that really had been your head, but oh well. I’ll just kill you now.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“You sound far too confident.”
“I’ve got good reason to be. It’s been ordained that I shall kill you.”
With a little tug, Derrick removed his coat. He let it fall to the ground. Ray’s initial impression was right. The man was really well-built. Under the coat, Derrick’s torso was naked, revealing a muscular body pitted with some scars here and there. The sensation of authority coming off him was now joined by one of growing power.
A strange locket hung from his neck, an item clearly interacting with Mana, according to Presence of the Primordial. Ray received no information about it.
Light shimmered around Derrick’s hands. A second later, both his forearms were covered in a strange, feather-covered and talon-tipped gauntlets.
At the same time, an even stranger sensation began wafting off Derrick. It was more overt than his powerful, controlling nature. A living aura filled with a jittery brittleness overtook Ray, like he was on a field strewn with broken glass.
[Warning!]
Presence of the Primordial indicates your foe has Called Upon the Tower Node of the Fleshcrafter.
The Fleshcrafter… those twisted talons on Derrick’s forearms… Ray was starting to get an idea of what exactly this Tower Node represented. But Call Upon granted Derrick two specific new abilities. What were they? Presence of the Primordial didn’t tell him. Shit.
Derrick grinned. He light in his eyes held the promise of a violent death.
Then he roared. “Projection!”
Ray was already flinging himself back with Primal Summons calling up Soaring Wings while activating Occultic Apparition with his other Talisman. Unfortunately, without the Shaper Raiment on, his speed was more limited than usual.
Plus, he was literally trying to run from sound. Fast as Ray might have been, he wasn’t anywhere close to Mach-speed.
The roar struck him with a storm of ripping air. His clothes tore apart, his skin splitting at far too many places as he was forced to close his eyes. Damn, these flimsy robes he had stolen off the dead guy were really bad for protection.
But Ray sent some Recovery to heal the most distracting of his smarting wounds as the roar passed him by and he could open his eyes again. He had given himself some distance from Derrick. Good thing, too. That roar of his—clearly one of the new skills he had gained with Call Upon—was bad enough. Ray didn’t want to feel the effects of Projection too.
“Sprightly little guy, aren’t you?” Derrick said.
“How’d you know the head was fake?” Ray asked.
“Just a hunch, and some clues indicating that this whole thing was a setup. I had prepared my counter setup to your setup, but it seems you had also prepared for my counter too. Congrats. You should be proud of it while you’re still alive. I’ll pray for your soul once you’re dead. You’ve earned it.”
Ray didn’t know just how Gritty had pulled it off, but he knew it would have been impossible if not for her. She deserved some praise once this was done.
“Heh, I don’t know what I expected,” Ray said. “Of course, a stupid cultist is going to rely on hunches and prayers.”
“A cult, is it? And what are you a part of? A nice, little commune who all work together for the benefit of everyone else in it? Don’t lie to me, Raymond. Whatever your Faction might be doing, you are no less of a cultist than me.”
Ray faced him with a frown. “You’re insane. I don’t go around forcing people to join any Factions. I don’t go around starting wars and subjugating others.”
“You’re distracted by the set dressing. The end result is the same. Look deeper, and you’ll see—we’re both at the top. I’m no fool, and neither are you. The only way anyone can climb this high is by taking advantage of others. The only way we can reach the top is by pulling down those might do it before we can. You know that’s true, Raymond.”
“Why are you so desperate to convince me of anything?”
Derrick grinned, a mad light in his eyes. “Because I know you’re hungry for power. You want to stand at the top, just like I do. Because our ultimate goals are the same. The only difference is that I deserve it because I am fated to achieve all that I desire. Because I am chosen.”
Ray’s mind was trying to whirl a little. Chosen? What in the world had he been chosen by?
More importantly, did this guy not care that he had activated a timed ability that was going to run out? All around them, the battle was raging. Was he so sure that his Faction was going to win that he could spend time talking with Ray instead of dealing with the main threat?
“I’m done talking to a lunatic,” Ray said. “I don’t care how right or wrong you are. To me, you’re a fucking obstacle, and I’m not going to let any obstacles stand in my way.”
Ray’s arm moved fast. A quick cast of Chaos Chymify to send a spiralling bolt of black-red energy at Derrick. He dodged it with ease.
“Alright, then,” Derrick said. “I thought things could be different, once you realized how hopeless your Faction’s chances are against the Wild Tides. But if you want to die, then I’ll oblige.”
Another roar, another blast of ripping, twisting air that struck Ray too fast for him to dodge. He staggered in place, distracted for just a second. And in that second, Derrick had nearly closed the distance.
There was still a few feet of space between them when Ray noticed his opponent’s approach. But it was still too close.
Even as he flung himself even farther back, Projection came into play. Derrick punched low. Despite being nowhere close enough, the blow connected around Ray’s guts, sending a wave of pain roiling through his stomach and kidney area.
Ray sent a burst of Recovery to fix the issue as he took to the air. If he flew higher up, he ought to have an easier time of dodging. Hopefully.
Sound, of course, didn’t work like that. But Ray’s move was for the best. Derrick’s roars still reached him, but with the far greater distance between them, their efficacy was decreased. Ray could even keep his eyes open, and he didn’t need to waste his Recovery on the minor cuts and gashes it left.
But he was also way too distant. Almost none of Ray’s spells would reach Derrick from this distance. Staying this far away would only lead to a stalemate.
“If you want to die,” the leader of the Wild Tides shouted. “Then stop running like a coward!”
Ray ignored the taunt. He needed a plan of attack. Settling on one, Ray shot in.
He had already been condensing Mana into True Mana. There was still over half of his total capacity left, but he crushed a Mana crystal just to top himself off. Although, he wouldn’t need to use his stores. His Hallowed took care of the first use of True Enhancement on Soaring Wings.
The feathers jutting from his black lengthened and glimmered with chaotic energy. When Ray flew at his enemy, he really did feel like he could have unleashed a sonic boom.
That wasn’t literally true, but it sure felt like it.
Derrick responded with another roar. Ray was ready for it. He sent out a pulse of Mottling Membrane. The barrier spell wouldn’t block it entirely, not at its Tier.
But it did enough to reduce the roar’s impact. That was vital. At this close range, that roar would probably have shredded Ray’s skin, but with the defensive spell saved him.
Just enough to continue his forward, wing-powered momentum and emerge from the barrier with a True Mana enhanced Shatterclaw, the cost of which was taken care of by the Silver True Mana Bracelet.
The gigantic black-and-white arm crashed into Derrick. He was fast. Not only had he blocked it by crossing both his arms just over the point of impact, he had also activated his other skill.
“Repression,” Derrick said.
The power behind Ray’s enhanced Shatterclaw should have sent the man flying. Asshole was only able to hold his ground because of his Liturgical Following spell giving him an insane stat boost. Ray could only fathom just how high Derrick’s Resilience had to be.
Even worse, Repression was drawing away the Shatterclaw’s power. Streams of energy were breaking through the reddish outline of the arm, turning into a thousand glowing motes around Derrick’s body.
A thousand motes that coalesced and formed a beam.
Ray had known that was going to happen. Bless Presence of the Primordial. As soon as the blots of energy had started coalescing, Ray had flung himself over Derrick with his wings.
Then he had brought down his other arm, another enhanced Shatterclaw materializing thanks to his second Talisman and the True Mana he himself had gathered so far.
But that was when Derrick revealed the second ability he had obtained using Call Upon.
He pushed off the first True Mana Shatterclaw, then spun. In an instant, he turned into a whirlwind of claws, glowing slices of air ripping around in a devasting funnel. It was even ripping apart his Shatterclaw arms. Insane.
Ray was already throwing himself back, but then Derrick shouted.
“Projection.”
Oh, fuck. Ray used Sphereguard of Chaos. The orbs formed up only to be sacrificed immediately, taking the power of the projected slices of air to let Ray get away.
He was really starting to miss his Shaper Raiment.
A roar blasted him, staggering him. He lost control of his flight, quickly falling to the ground. Heart thundering in his chest, Ray turned to see Derrick rushing in. The man was not going to allow him a moment’s worth of breathing room. He was almost upon Ray.
A quick cast of Shatterclaw brought in the chaotic arm to hammer Derrick, but he quite literally deflected the arm aside and continued charging in.
Thankfully, Ray could cast separately with each of his Talismans. Just as Derrick reached his location, Primal Summons finished summoning up the Greater Windbane Maw. Mana Imbuing had crafted it in place of his arm, hiding most of the summoned maw under his sleeve. Until Derrick had gotten too close and saw the head.
“Die, asshole,” Ray shouted
Derrick’s eyes went wide as Ray jerked his arm up. The Windbane Maw gaped wide as it blasted Derrick with chaotic fire.
His forward momentum was too strong for him to dodge quick enough, and he got a face full of the flames that ate away at his flesh, boiled his blood, and ruptured the vessels. But the roar he screamed out snuffed out the fire and sent Ray flying backwards.
All for the best. Ray needed to keep some distance, and this only helped.
The fight began following a pattern. Derrick would try to close distance via various means while Ray tried to maintain some good separation between them. Meanwhile, they both flung out their abilities, trying to one-up the other and land a blow that even their Recovery wouldn’t be able to heal.
It was almost like a chase. Ray was surprised they hadn’t collided with any other combatants all over the area.
The reason behind maintaining the distance was simple. Derrick’s stats superseded Ray’s too much. His Strength, Agility, and Resilience were too high, and the lack of Mana crystals and sheer power behind spells like Repression and Projection suggested his Intellect and Spirit were huge too.
All of which disadvantaged Ray greatly. He couldn’t even proc Insanity with his attacks. When Derrick didn’t destroy the bolts of Chaos Chymify with his roars, he simply dodged them. Annoying.
“Is this your plan?” Derrick shouted. “Keep running until your Mana runs out? Projection.”
He had aimed a projected kick. Ray was actually able to dodge it without needing his wings. Primal Summons’ timer had run out. He grinned at the look on Derrick’s face.
“No,” Ray said as he straightened. “My plan was to let this whole battle play out long enough we regained some parity.”
“You…”
Derrick’s posture changed. He began looking around while still keeping an eye on Ray. A sudden worry took over his expression, though he quickly calmed it.
“Where the hell do you think you’re looking?” Ray asked as he crushed another crystal, replenished his Mana, then summoned Soaring Wings to charge straight at Derrick.
The leader of the Wild Tides turned just in time to see a massive True Mana enhanced Shatterclaw slam in his direction. He barely managed to cross his raptorlike arms again in time.
But it was different this time.
Ray’s grin widened as his Shatterclaw arm connected, then finally managed to push Derrick off his feet. The man fell, rolled, and was back upright in a second. Only to face Ray’s other arm punching in with a second Shatterclaw arm.
He tried to deflect the gigantic limb of chaotic energy with his forearm, but it didn’t really work. Ray’s arm was stopped, sure, but Derrick staggered in place as well. He paled. Ray didn’t waste a second to ram in his first arm. A one-two punching motion, just like he had trained with Gritty.
This time, when he connected, Derrick was thrown back by half a dozen feet.
“Looks like you know what’s going on,” Ray said. His skin danced, his heart soared, his spirit ascended. Victory was his for the taking.
“This is impossible,” Derrick shouted. “We can’t be losing.”
“Doesn’t matter which side is winning or losing. You’re losing your followers. And that’s why, you are going to lose to me.”