The shroud of mana flowed around Garth as he rounded the corner and saw the scene at Central Health. True to Amir’s words, the entire area was swarming with the winged ants. He could hear the sounds of combat coming from the middle of the mass, and swore. Without being able to see where his people were, large scale attacks were off the table. At least for now.

Mana blazing to life in his limbs, Garth dove straight towards the sounds of battle. His blade sang as it carved a bloody swathe through the insects, whose mandibles and claws were unable to pierce the shroud of mana.

One minute.

Soon, Garth found himself standing alongside the exhausted defenders, many of whom looked to be half-healed soldiers from the frontlines. Blood dripped from many wounds, and more than a few bodies were unmoving on the ground. Something about the sight made Garth ache. These people – his people – had given so much to try to protect the city and their loved ones. The pain of loss was still so real after the cataclysm, and before they could even get back on their feet this happened.

“Get behind me.”

Garth’s voice was quiet, yet the mana infusing him made his command clear. White-blue energy swirled around him, and quick slashes with his blade helped clear the area. He breathed slowly, time seeming to slow down as the last of the soldiers got out of his range. Ants were closing in, but it was too late for them. Garth’s focus sharpened. Control. Don’t hit the buildings.

Forty seconds.

Garth’s blade blurred. The ants immediately around him were diced into pieces. He took a step forward, then two. More ants fell, and the ones closest to him were reduced to mist. A third step, then a fourth. Now the clearing in front of Central Health was devoid of life, the ants nearby cut to ribbons by countless AIR BLADES. In this state, with LEADER’S MANTLE active, his abilities were elevated to an entirely different level.

Thirty seconds.

The exhaustion from the boosting skill was beginning to set in. He’d killed no less than fifty ants in his attack, but knew there were still more. Dashing around the perimeter of Central Health, he saw several ants congregated in a side street. His sword blurred, and they fell lifeless to the ground. Continuing his circuit, two more groups of ants fell.

Fifteen seconds.

Garth’s body was growing numb, and darkness encroached around the edges of his vision. A harsh buzzing drew his attention to the sky, where he saw two more of the insects attempting to get to the top of the building. He attempted to launch another AIR BLADE, but his arm just twitched in response. I should have time… A loud clatter resounded as Garth’s sword fell to the ground out of his unfeeling grip. He felt the mana surrounding him disperse, and looked up at the two ants, still flying skyward. Not like this.

He was simply too exhausted. The chains of quick attacks pushed his body past its limit. As he looked at the sky, a bolt of lightning struck each ant, followed by twin lances of fire. Garth couldn’t help but smile. His team had come through. He heard the shuffling of clawed feet on cement, and knew that there were other ants approaching. He closed his eyes, and waited. He was satisfied. Garth had done what he could, and a lot of lives were going to be saved.

“There he is!”

The sound of the ants was suddenly drowned out by a rush of footsteps. Grunts and screams of combat followed soon after, and he could only assume that the defenders had rallied for one more push.He felt a hand on his chest, and soothing energy began to flow through him. His muscles spasmed as the damage was slowly knitted, sending needles of pain through his body.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“That hurts, dammit.”

Garth opened his eyes to see Johannes staring down at him, sweat already beading his forehead.

“If you’d stop getting hurt so badly, you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

Despite the jab, Garth saw relief on the Healer’s face. Garth grunted and sat up. He was exhausted. His mana reserves were empty. Reaching down to the ground, he picked up the beautiful curved blade. Even though his arm was shaking, his grip was firm. He turned his eyes to where a group of defenders tried to hold a half dozen ants. Johannes stepped in front of him, arms crossed.

“Garth, you’re not in a condition to fight.”

“Neither are they. Thanks, Johannes. Now get out of my way. I have work to do.”

Straightening his back, he entered the fray. Even as worn down as he felt, Garth was still at an entirely different level compared to the injured soldiers. His slices weren’t as neat, but his blade still intercepted mandibles, countered lunges, and brought a swift death to each of his opponents. Garth could feel the eyes boring into his back as the last of the ants fell, his sword buried to the hilt in its forehead. Ripping his weapon free, he turned to face the brave men and women who’d come out to support him.

“I don’t know if it was bravery or stupidity that brought you all out here. Either way, thank you. Now, let’s get back to the doors. There’s still cleanup to finish.”

~~~

Victor DeRosa was having a great day. While it was unfortunate that he had to utilize his Transportation Array, it was worth the cost. He and Reynolds were back at DeRosa’s compound near the outskirts of the city, with the corpses of nearly twenty of the infested ants. From the moment he’d heard of the fungal infection, Victor knew that there was an opportunity. Under ordinary circumstances, infected creatures would die soon afterward. In this case, not only did the ants not die, they didn’t even seem weakened. Even more interesting, the number of mutated variants seemed extraordinarily high; far beyond what the data indicated was normal among the other insects.

Reynolds was already drinking one of the potions he’d prepared beforehand, and Victor walked over to him. Despite being uninjured, Victor took one of the bottles for himself, pulling it to him with a tendril of mana. He admired the ruby liquid within before taking a sip. Warmth spread through his body, easing aches and relaxing his muscles after the day’s exertions. He closed his eyes to relish the feeling, standing in silence until it faded.

“Councilman, sir, will this be enough samples?”

“Prior to our engagement today, I established a delivery protocol with Central Administration. I’ll have plenty available to begin my research.”

“Is there anything else you require of me, sir?”

“Not at the moment. Go and get treatment, then some rest, I’ll send for you if anything changes.”

Reynolds nodded as he left the room, moving stiffly. DeRosa shook his head as he turned back to the ants. Warrior-type classes are such a waste. Victor understood the necessity for them, though he loathed them at the same time. Reynolds needed to damage his body and put himself at significant risk to even get close to mirroring the level of destructive power that DeRosa could bring to bear. It was a truly disappointing reality.

With a sigh, he activated MANA WHORL and lifted the ant bodies, bringing them into his second lab, adjacent to the one where Valentine was being held. He exchanged his combat robes for appropriate protective gear, and got to work dissecting and examining the corpses. His eyes widened as he beheld the beauty in front of him. The fungus had long stalks woven throughout the entirety of the ant’s body, which even now released a gentle pulse of soothing energy.

Focusing on it, DeRosa used AURA INSIGHT, a kaleidoscope of colors appearing before his eyes. The fungus was still alive, at least somewhat. He could see the colorless grey atmospheric mana get drawn in, and then converted into something unique to the organism. The soothing energy that he’d detected appeared to him as green, and as he suspected there was more than met his eye. Beneath it, there was a deep purple energy, moving in concert with the rejuvenating waves.

Turning to another ant, this time with the fungus destroyed, he compared what he saw. He could see echoes of the green energy in the creature’s tissues, seeing signs of minor recovery before the beast expired. At first, there didn’t seem to be any traces of the purple energy, until he looked more deeply at the fungus itself. While it didn’t cause direct damage, it was clearly central in some capacity to the fungus’ ability to manipulate the ant. The more the fungus accelerated recovery, the deeper the capability to control it.

Fascinated, Victor continued his examinations, oblivious to the world around him. Ideas were forming as he analyzed more of the fungal properties, and just as he was running out of samples, he got the notice that Central Administration had finished the cleanup, and were making their first delivery. DeRosa smiled knowing the bodies would be deposited outside his lab. Soon, it would be time to begin testing his applications.