The captain looked around with wide eyes, which Kyle had no patience for. Grabbing the man roughly by the collar, he pulled him closer.
“I asked what you did. Tell me, now!”
The man gulped, then took a deep breath before finally responding.
“We picked up some interesting mana signatures from the sea floor, and dropped some reconnaissance units to get a better picture. I swear, that’s it!”
“How many units?”
“Eleven, sir.”
Kyle swore. He’d planned on confronting the D Grade eventually, though he’d hoped to have more time to plan the encounter. Instead, this moron left a trail of resources right to the camp.
“Get your men back to the shuttle and take off as soon as you can. I’m not going to be able to protect your people when the fight kicks off.”
Without waiting for a response, Kyle darted towards the beach with HASTE active. He heard a soft snap from behind him as C.H.A.D.D. broke a fern frond, activating its map. The salty air rushed past him, followed by a projection of the area. A powerful mana signature was at the edge of C.H.A.D.D.’s range, moving through the depths of the water towards the shore.
Another explosion rang out, and Kyle heard frantic screams. The white sand beach came into view, and Kyle saw three of the expedition members running towards him, not pausing to give him a look as he passed them. There was an unmoving form on the beach, a woman’s body lying still near a large crater in the sand. A surge of revulsion and disgust moved through him at the sight. These bastards just left her. Before he had a chance to examine the area more thoroughly, Auric Perception alerted him to a large movement of mana. Moments later, he saw the pristine blue water swell, then explode out towards the beach.
The blast ripped a trench through the beach, sending a cascading wave of sand and steam skyward. Another crater was formed, and Kyle took in the scope of the attack. Not as powerful as the Eye. It was an impressive attack, though it lacked the magnitude of the giant moth’s blasts of wind. Another click sounded behind him as C.H.A.D.D. updated its map, and Kyle saw the creature approaching even closer from the water. Soon, it should be in sight.
Looking around, Kyle opted to stay back towards the edge of the forest. If possible, he didn’t want to get dragged into a close-ranged fight in the water, nor did he want to fight in the sand. The rockier ground where he stood provided more secure footing, and Kyle hoped the beast wouldn’t be able to use the same large-scale water attacks from the shallower water near the shore. He could feel the beast through his Auric Perception, and he grabbed a handful of bamboo seeds from the bottom of the pack, scattering them in the area before him.
As he watched the water, he activated IDENTIFY. The first thing he saw break the surface were two angry, violet eyes. The orbs appeared to be on stalks, followed by the creature’s head. Its carapace was a resplendent rainbow sheen, catching and reflecting the light of the sun in a cascade of colors. Kyle could see the mana flowing through it, a fierce storm of energy suffusing every cell of its body.
He met the gaze of the creature, and nearly flinched as he saw swirling mana condense into its eyes, focused on him. It has an optical skill as well. Kyle felt exposed as it regarded him, its eyes glowing with the power of its skill. There was a quiet moment as the two of them sized one another up. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore were the only things breaking the silence.
Kyle felt mana slowly condensing in the water near the creature, and braced himself. He anticipated that there would be another explosive blast, and was taken by surprise as the water began to swirl around the beast, then rise into the air like a tornado. The water spout climbed ten meters into the sky, and Kyle was forced to dodge to the left as a superheated blast of water was shot out from the tower and struck the area where he’d been standing. He heard the sound of debris clattering off of his armor, and the cloud of steam and sand obscured his vision.
C.H.A.D.D., fortunately, was not hampered. An orange flash of warning sprang to life before his eyes as Kyle continued moving, dodging two more blasts. The drone projected an image in the corner of Kyle’s field of vision, and risking a glance, he got a full picture of his opponent.
It looked like a strange cross between a lobster and a shrimp, with three sets of claws held tightly to its upraised torso. Its abdomen had multiple thick legs covered by an armored skirt that rested over them, and from what he could see the creature’s entire body was as brightly colored as its head. Multiple long whiskers extended below its eye stalks, making it appear to have a large bristly moustache.
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Despite its strange appearance, the sheer amount of water it was controlling gave Kyle a good idea about its specialties. That, and the fact that he had one attribute that hadn’t been improved by Adaptive Anatomy. This thing is a mage. Kyle wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the first vision he’d seen, but looking at it now he felt confident that it was a ranged combat specialist. Given the complexity of what he’d seen in the creature – that he’d taken to calling the Storm – Kyle also knew that it had a lot more options available than just shooting out the explosive blasts of water.
That meant he wasn’t entirely surprised as a thin jet of water punched a hole through his shoulder pauldron. The combat armor blunted the strike, and against his absurdly high Endurance and Enhanced Carapace it didn’t manage to break skin. On the other hand, it was such a quick technique that Kyle hadn’t seen it coming.
“C.H.A.D.D., keep an eye out for – “
Another lance of water struck him in the chest, interrupting his thought. Then a third hit his leg. It caused him to stumble just long enough for one of the larger blasts to hit him, and the explosion sent him flying away towards the forest. Steam burned his lungs as he breathed, and he felt the concussive force of the blast all the way through his body. It wasn’t a big enough hit to take him out of the fight, but it still hurt like hell.
Without waiting to be struck again, Kyle reached out tendrils of mana to some of the bamboo seeds he’d spread across the area. The blasts had scattered them further, though there were still plenty to create small pockets of cover. C.H.A.D.D. helped guide the mana, and in moments the bamboo had grown to a respectable height. Jumping behind the barrier he’d created, Kyle breathed out a quick sigh of relief as ADAPTIVE REGENERATION soothed the aches.
“Tell me what you’ve picked up, C.H.A.D.D. What’s the play?”
A blast of steam struck the wall of bamboo, and Kyle dashed away as a second explosion blew it away entirely.
[IT IS AN INTERESTING ORGANISM, DR. MAYHEW. IT APPEARS TO BE DRAWING IN AMBIENT MANA DIRECTLY FROM THE WATER. DESPITE ITS ATTACKS, I AM NOT DETECTING A NOTICEABLE DECLINE IN THE QUANTITY OF MANA FLOWING THROUGH IT.]
“So the Storm is using the ocean like a battery?”
[ASSUMING YOU’RE REFERRING TO OUR ADVERSARY, THAT’S AN APT DESCRIPTION.]
Kyle considered his options as he dove behind another wall of bamboo, hissing from the lance of water that grazed his thigh. He was currently out of range to use PARASITIC RESONANCE, and given the height of the Storm’s tower of water he would have to be practically right under it in order to cover the distance. Getting that close provided other challenges, as dodging the Storm’s attacks even at this range was difficult. The closer he got, the less time he would have to react. No matter how he sliced it, he would take hits. Unfortunately, without an effective means to fight back at this range Kyle didn’t have many choices.
He was reminded of his fight against Carlyle, and his general lack of options against enemies who could bombard him from a distance. He’d made progress with STORM SHELTER and PARASITIC RESONANCE, but that was a weakness he’d need to keep working to shore up.
Another explosion rocked the beach, and Kyle dashed out amidst the sound of splintering bamboo. A lance of water caught his side, followed by a second that scored the back of his neck. Next should be the blast. Kyle was beginning to piece together the pattern – the Storm could use two of the lances in quick succession, then seemed to need to recharge, relying on the larger and less precise strikes. A surge of mana was Kyle’s warning, and he activated STORM SHELTER.
The blast slammed into his shield without leaving a mark, and he deactivated his skill as he continued his dash, ducking under another large blast that was aimed for where his barrier had been moments before. As he closed in, he could feel the tremendous energy flowing into the beast from the ocean. Kyle was still in good condition despite taking some hits, but the Storm didn’t appear to have exhausted a single drop of mana.
The beach had been ripped apart by the continuous bombardment, peppered with craters and trenches from the series of attacks. The woman’s corpse was buried under a new mound of sand. The closer he got to the creature, the more confident Kyle felt that he’d have to find a way to remove it from the water. He grunted as two more lances of water pierced his armor, this time drawing blood as the pressurized beam finally managed to pierce his skin. ADAPTIVE REGENERATION was already at work patching up the damage, but it reinforced what Kyle knew. As long as it was immersed, it was invincible.
As Kyle closed in on the edge of the water, the Storm did something new. The sea seemed to come to life, waves infused with mana surged around him before crashing down. Instinctively, STORM SHELTER sprang to life, holding back the tide. The water retreated, then slammed into the barrier again, submerging it.
With IDENTIFY active, Kyle saw the distinct pattern and flow of the Storm’s mana in the water all around it. It was mind-boggling just how much water this creature could move and shape, even with its mana being continually replenished. Controlling the water spout it rode, in conjunction with all the waves, were feats Kyle doubted he had the power to match. A pit formed in his stomach as he considered the implication. PARASITIC RESONANCE relied on Willpower to directly damage an opponent, and in the Storm he may have met his better.
The waves retreated, preparing to crash down again, when suddenly they paused. Looking up, Kyle saw the attention of the creature shift skyward, and as he followed its focus, he saw its target. The Corthian Mining shuttle had taken off. And they were flying directly past the monster.