Those two words seemed to freeze everyone in place, but it wasn’t magic that caused it, it was fear. My body was frozen along with everyone else but my eyes rose into the air, tracking two creatures as they forced the magical fog away from the entire area with some ability.

It was hard to tell by their alien physiology but I got the distinct impression they were looking directly at me. The initial fear was subsiding and people were starting to move again until the larger of the two squid-like creatures cast a spell. I managed to get off an Identify before the spell hit.

Ulq | Void Hunter/Maw of the Void | 47/41

Xiph | Psy Commando/Maw of the Void | 45/42

My body shook as I realized they were here for me but not a single person or even the entire pirate armada currently assembled here would be able to kill these two creatures.

I felt the spell wash over the area and everyone was frozen again but a halo of golden light burst into existence above my head, washing away the spell’s effect.

The smart thing to do would have been to stay here and hope to use the pirates as cover while wearing down these creatures. But I knew that was a useless effort that would see innocent people die for me, so I ran.

I only made it a few steps when I felt the air around me pull. It felt like an enormous vacuum was trying to suck me into the sky but Sticky Grip was keeping me firmly on the ground. I tossed out an OverCharged Unstable Mana Vortex at the creatures. The cost of having to activate it with Multicast was absurd but the creatures split apart as the dangerous magic headed their way.

The magic pulling on me must have been disrupted as the pull ceased and I activated Blink Step, Charge, and my Wings to propel myself away from the battle site. Then I felt the tearing sensation that seemed to originate in my soul. My breath caught in my throat as two of my skills vanished. I didn’t have time to see which ones but I used Sunder Skill on both creatures as well. So we were now even.

There was an angry burble as both creatures suffered the same sensation. It made me smile for a moment before a blast of mana landed beside me, I stumbled from the explosion before cartwheeling out of control down the crater that the Retribution used to lay within.

I managed to tuck my arms behind my head and protect my body until I finally came to a stop. I was bruised but alive as I picked myself up off the ground. The two creatures were floating toward me and I was confused as to why they weren’t attacking me for a second. Then it dawned on me. They were resetting the cooldown of Sunder Skill.

I took the moment to glance at my skills. I swore as I saw Energy Lance and Reverberating Strike were gone. In return, I got Portal of Desecration and Mind Link. I wanted to see what they did but I didn’t have time as the larger one blasted me with some sort of beam.

My whole body shivered as my mana pool started draining quickly. I tried to Cleanse the effect and it worked as the beam cut off. I produced a mana injector from my ring but before I could punch it into my leg, it was ripped from my grasp by telekinesis and thrown into the distance. Then I felt the soul tearing pain again as two more skills were ripped from my mind.

I screamed as I clutched my head, shaking away the dizziness as I retaliated. But I only had enough mana to cast Sunder Skill one time. I targeted the larger of the two as it seemed like the more dangerous opponent.

His mind resisted my attempts though and my spell cost me another fifty mana more than normal to cast, leaving me with only dregs remaining. But the creature reeled from my attack, giving me enough time to inject another mana potion.

I lost Victorious Shout and Healing Touch and gained Instant Cast. I wanted to keep up the fight but I felt a wash of peace and tranquility flood my body and I relaxed and smiled. I cursed as the effect wasn’t considered harmful by my spells and thus reset combat yet again.

I was proven correct a moment later as the tearing sensation returned. I stumbled backward and tried casting Maddening Laugh but found the skill was gone. It would have been able to keep the combat active and keep these creatures from continuing to reset the battle.

That only left me with Cage of Vengeance. First I cast Sunder Skill on the smaller one, hoping for something I could use before I cast the cage.

I cursed my luck as I reacquired Victorious Shout. Damage wasn’t a problem, these two creatures were after my skills. The crackling red bars of the cage formed around the three of us but I swear I heard a derisive snort from the larger one as its tentacles flailed around and a glowing pattern of symbols appeared in the air.

The cage shook for a moment as the glowing symbols expanded into a vortex that sucked the entirety of my spell into its voracious maw.

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I could only stare blankly because even though the spell was gone, my mana was still reduced for the next hour. The creatures just stared at me and I was growing angry and desperate as they floated there, until one of them spoke.

“You cannot win, human. We will take what is ours but if you force us we will leave you with nothing!”

“Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. I earned everything I have and I won’t give it up without a fight!” I wanted to spit at the creatures, floating in the air without care but that would be childish, so instead, I flew at them in a burst of motion enhanced by skills and my flagging, yet quickly recharging mana.

My staff appeared in my hand, wreathed by lightning and ice. I let out a primal scream as I activated Aura of Rage and Flurry of Blows. My first blow seemed to land on the squishy creature's head, but it seemed to slide off without having any effect. Faster than I could see and before I even got a second strike, the creature wrapped two tentacles around my staff in a grip like a mountain. He spun me around like a top before I had time to release my grip on the staff and I was sent flying into the ground at high speed.

I felt the hard rock give way to my body as my impact created another small crater. Only a quick activation of Unstoppable Force prevented me from breaking my back upon impact.

I lifted myself out of the rubble just in time to have two more skills ripped from me. My mana had recovered enough so I retaliated in kind. This time I lost Festering Wound and Second Chance. I winced at the loss as what I gained was not worth the exchange. Warp Perception and Void Lottery. Although that second one seemed to anger the smaller of the two as it lashed out.

Tentacles of dense water tore from the ground. I managed to dodge the first two but the third slammed into my midsection with enough force to launch me across the crater. I slammed into the ground two hundred feet away and wheezed to catch my breath through broken ribs. I managed to cast Rejuvenate and look up as the larger one seemed to be lecturing the smaller one.

I took the opportunity to try and flee. I made it twenty steps this time. A new record. Before both creatures appeared in front of me. I felt my body lock up as they pulled two more skills from me. As soon as my body was free, I hit them with Frostwave. The smaller one squealed as frost coated its body but the larger one just used some sort of fire shield to block the attack.

I realized my mind was beginning to slip into fight or die mode and I belatedly cast Sunder Skill but could only afford to do it once. I decided to focus on the smaller one. He seemed like the weaker link. If I pissed him off enough maybe he would outright kill me, denying them their prize.

The exchange was Arcane Bolt and Godly Might on my end to a skill called Depth Charge from the smaller hunter.

I was finding a lot of issues with the skills I was acquiring from these creatures though. They needed more than two hands to cast.

“Enough!” the larger one mentally commanded. I felt the impulse to stop but my spell activated again and the golden halo washed away the compulsion. I wish that had been the end though. I felt all my limbs jerk painfully outward as if someone attached ropes to the ends of them.

I screamed as my joints protested against the force. But something slammed into my face, seeping through my helmet like it wasn’t even there and covering my mouth and nose. I struggled fruitlessly against the invisible binding spell as the creatures took turns ripping skills from my soul. My body writhed in agony as the little one, named Ulq, seemed to take particular joy in his task. The bigger one, Xiph, had a detached air of indifference as he stood there and held the magic that prevented me from retaliating.

After a few minutes, I heard the smaller one speak telepathically. “Got. One.”

The only thing I had been able to do other than struggle was to watch more and more skills disappear from my list. So I noticed the skill he was referring to was that GLOB skill I hadn’t been able to find any use for.

It seemed like his announcement pulled Xiph’s attention from me long enough for me to pull my one arm free.

I didn’t waste time aiming it at the pair and firing off the blast of mana.

I got a satisfied scream from the pair as the magic holding me in place vanished. I hit the ground with a grunt and managed to pull the substance off my face before it felt like the weight of a mountain suddenly pressed me down.

“No more!” Xiph screamed into my mind. I didn’t even have time to recover my wits before I felt my body tossed into the air, then forcefully slammed into the ground. The impact jarred my head and I saw stars but the action repeated a few more times.

I felt bones break and ligaments tear as each impact shook my body. I felt like a ragdoll in the hands of an angry child and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop the abuse. I crashed against the ground again before the Angry Xiph threw me hard against a pile of loose rocks from all the craters.

I felt my body crash through the top layer of loose rocks before it slammed against the hard ground below. My last thoughts before I passed out were of my failure to deny these bastards what they came for.

***

Xiph hissed as he gently probed the bubbling skin from this infuriating human attack. He had lashed out as recompense but it was below him to be so undisciplined. Xiph blamed Ulq for distracting him at a critical moment with his stupid celebration of recovering the GLOB tracking spell.

The only thing that brightened Xiph’s mood was the fact that Ulq had taken the brunt of the mana blast as was writhing on the ground in pain. Xiph let him suffer for a bit before he cast a healing spell on the two of them.

“Quit acting like a bottom feeder and let’s finish up here!” Xiph rebuked the younger Maw.

They found the human in a rock pile, it was thankfully unmoving and their work proceeded at a rapid pace. Another three minutes of stripping skills and they had everything they came for.

If Xiph was a petty sort, he would strip all of this human’s skills. And if there was any chance this human would survive in the crushing depths of their homeworld to take revenge, he would have killed him but there wasn’t. Xiph only wished that outsiders understood the danger they were being saved from but telling them never worked so it was far easier just to remove the threat by force and return to their world. Xiph made sure that Ulq cast the duplicate Sunder Skill to the void, he knew how tempting it could be to have the duplicate skill but balance must be maintained. There couldn’t be a repeat of the devourer war.

Xiph and Ulq retreated through a portal as the loose gravel and dirt covered the unconscious human as he lay at the edge of the crater.