Letting loose with [Infinite Sword] in conjunction with a well-timed swing of his gladius, he was pleased to see it was effective against the raptors. While not killing them outright, two of the cave rocs were disabled and rendered unable to fly. Wings clipped, the birds were forced to land, hopping around the plateau squawking ineffectually.
You have cast Infinite Sword. You have injured a Dark Cave Roc.
Once, a bird was stupid enough to come into range head on, and Jeff got to unleash [Cutting Edge]. As the bird swooped down towards him, claws extended, Jeff brought the gladius slashing vertically upwards, hacking the avian into two halves.
You have cast Cutting Edge.
You have killed a Grade J Dark Cave Roc
Reward: Two Omega Energy Points
You have successfully used your Cutting Edge Skill to slay an enemy!
Reward One Omega Energy Point
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 873
“Let’s take turns and give our mana levels a chance to recover,” Fracta suggested.
“Good idea,” Jeff replied, standing guard by her side while she deployed her magical spear.
Soon however, both Fracta and Jeff were completely out of MP and forced to rely on good ol’ fashioned brute force. More and more rocs circled them, a seemingly infinite number spewing from the caves above, and Jeff’s arm began to tire as he whirled the short-sword round and round his head. His neck ached from the constant need to look upwards.
Another factor hampering their defense was the inclement temperature. As the star-flower shed its last remaining petals, and the sky darkened, the mountain cooled even further. A thick layer of rime frost coated every surface, turning the rocky ground under their feet into a treacherous ice rink.
Congratulations! Your Combat Proficiency Skill has now reached Level 3
While hacking wildly at the avian predators above him, Jeff suddenly remembered the glowing mana pools at the base of the cliff and had an idea.
“Fracta!” He shouted, “this way!” Backing in the direction of the nearest pool, he splashed into the translucent blue mana. Concentrating on the ample supply of energy around him, Jeff attempted to pull a stream of the liquid, undiluted mana into his body though his feet and legs. A trickle of mana began to flow through his booted feet and up his legs and into his core, but not nearly enough to recharge his MP levels.
Braving the cold, he de-equipped his boots to stand barefoot in the pool, the icy liquid mana chilling his toes. Trying to ignore the freezing cold temperature of the liquid, he concentrated on the pathways running through his legs, pulling the mana up through the soles of his bare feet. This time, the torrent of power that rushed through his limbs into his Core instantly replenished his MP, bringing it back to full. He was once again able to make good use of [Infinite Sword], the ranged attack cutting a swathe through the circling rocs.
Jeff maintained his position, standing waist deep in the freezing cold mana pond. He repeated the process several times, deploying the Skill and then recharging until it became second nature. He was able to concentrate on targeting the attackers without worrying about the MP drain.
Calling to Fracta, he grasped one of her fur-covered palps in his hand and, closing his eyes, attempted to send a flow of mana her way. At first he felt a resistance, but as Fracta realized what he was trying to do, the flow began to speed up. Pretty soon she was also at full MP.
Congratulations! Your Mana Essence Skill has now reached Level 3
System Challenge: Eight becomes One—Break the Chains of Fate
Complete 5 More Tribulations to Rewrite Your Path(Adept) 2/7 Complete
Jeff was gratified to note that he had completed the second step in the System Challenge, the Adept Path, through his manipulation of mana.
“How did you do that, Jeff?” Fracta asked in a surprised tone of voice. Jeff shrugged in response.
Both fully charged, they lashed out with their Skills at the huge crows with renewed vigor. Fracta was able to throw her mana empowered spear again, but was still limited to roughly one shot a minute due to the long cooldown of the weapon.
You have killed a Grade J Dark Cave Roc
Reward: Two Omega Energy Points
Level up!
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Congratulations. You have reached Level 874
You have successfully used your Cutting Edge Skill to slay an enemy!
Reward One Omega Energy Point
Your Strength Attribute has risen by 1
You have killed a Grade J Dark Cave Roc
Reward: Two Omega Energy Points
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 875
You have successfully used your Infinite Sword Skill to slay an enemy!
Reward One Omega Energy Point
Your Offense Attribute has risen by 1
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 876
The birds switched tactics, gaining altitude and moving into a holding pattern outside the range of of Jeff’s [Infinite Sword] Skill. The flock hovered, almost motionless in mid air above them, coalescing into a dense cloud, their movements more drone like than avian. Then, moving in formation, they began en masse to drift slowly towards the cliff face. Jeff was struck by the synchronized, almost automated movements of the rocs. Each bird seemed to follow an unseen grid; their movements reminded him of the pixelated adversaries from a retro 80’s video game.
Jeff noticed one roc breaking formation, peeled off from the hovering group and flying along the escarpment, plucking up a loose boulder with its feet as it passed by.
“Watch out!” he called to Fracta. “I think it’s going to bomb us,”
And his prediction was proven accurate when, wheeling back around, the bird proceeded to dive directly at them, emitting a weird warbling cry as it plummeted down. At the nadir of its swoop it dropped its payload, casting the rock in Jeff’s direction. Luckily, the missile narrowly missed Jeff’s head, instead splashing harmlessly into the pond beside him, sending luminescent ripples across the glowing liquid.
Fracta wasn’t as fortunate. Despite her near-invisibility she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; the next volley scored a direct hit—a large lump of granite striking her thorax with a disconcerting thud. The offending fowl returned to the main group, awaiting its turn to reload, cawing raucously in triumph.
Jeff winced, feeling her pain. “Are you alright?” he called, concerned. Fracta took the hit stoically, without uttering a sound, but glancing at her system stats, he noted that her HP was dropping dangerously low. He himself was not faring much better.
Already covered in cuts and scratches from the razor-sharp talons of the rocs, he received a serious concussion when another boulder from above landed on the side of his head. Had it not been for the looted helmet he was wearing, he would probably have been knocked unconscious.
A Grade J Dark Cave Roc has critically injured you. You are bleeding internally. Ongoing damage received.
Warning! Your HP is extremely low at 10%. Death is imminent.
Dizzy and disorientated from the blow to his head, he quickly pulled his last two Potions of Healing from his ring, passing one to Fracta before downing the other. “Last ones left,” he said grimly.
Their HP bars surged but their wounds remained only partially healed.
You have partially restored yourself with a Potion of Healing. HP: 45
Out of potions, Jeff resorted to sharing his [Bag of Fairy Life-Cap Mushrooms] with Fracta, which boosted HP by two points with each nauseating mouthful. “Thanks a lot for these Jeff, but they do taste disgusting!” Her antennae drooped as she ate, her chromatophores flashing a bilious green. Jeff agreed, barely keeping the fungus down long enough for the buff to register.
The ferocity of the aerial bombardment increased still further, the dive bombing rocs now descending in pairs; both dropping their stony payload at the same time.
Sudden movement at the cliff face made Jeff’s eyes widen. A fresh torrent of birds cascaded out of the caves, blighting the skies with their passage. These fresh additions to the flock moved into formation and further replenished the ranks in the sky.
The rocs flapped overhead, taunting the exhausted pair with their strangely intelligent caws.
“Jeff…lookout!” and “Fracta…over here!” they called down, parroting the pair’s voices.
Fracta took another hit to her upper body, while Jeff was knocked over by a glancing blow from a falling stone.
A Grade J Dark Cave Roc has injured you
Helping him up with her pedipalp, she said urgently, “We’ve got no choice, we’ve gotta make a run for the far side. If we stay here we’ll be flattened.”
Jeff was about to agree, despite a persistent feeling he had that the rocs were toying with them. Would the flock go all out if they tried to beat it for the other side of the plateau? he wondered.
His question was soon answered. Another Contestant rounded the flank of the mountain and, sizing up the situation, decided to make a run for the far side. Rushing across the plateau, the bipedal creature, a white-furred rabbit-analog, hopped furiously, her powerful hind legs propelling her past the caves, huge elongated ears dangling behind her as she powered across the the plateau.
She almost made it, too, before the flock shifted and coalesced overhead, a torrent of birds shooting down from the main cloud and enveloping the struggling rabbitoid, physically lifting her off her huge feet and propelling her into the air, shrieking. Jeff and Fracta, who had been cheering the plucky rabbit on the whole time, fell silent as the entire flock converged on her, their sharp beaks and talons rending her limb from limb.
Feeling physically sick at the sight, Jeff racked his brains for a solution. Then, cursing himself for a fool, he suddenly remembered the shuriken he had looted off the Tawg.
Pulling the wickedly sharp, eight pointed ninja star from his ring storage, he funneled 10 MP into the weapon, which glowed briefly. Toggling the crosshair in his HUD and taking aim, he cast it skyward at the nearest of the two birds approaching on their bombing run, with spectacular results.
Spinning through the air, glinting wickedly, the shuriken struck the lead bird squarely between the eyes. The roc silently plummeted downwards, dead before it hit the ground. The weapon, deeply embedded, glowed briefly, then somehow extracted itself from the bird’s skull and shot back towards Jeff.
You have killed a Grade J Dark Cave Roc
Reward: Two Omega Energy Points
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 874
Jeff braced himself for the shuriken’s return, wondering how he would safely retrieve the insanely sharp blade. However his fears were allayed when the star decelerated as it approached, then hovered in front of him, glowing faintly.
Simultaneously, Fracta, making it look effortless, took out the other approaching bird with her spear.
Wasting no time, Jeff plucked the slowly spinning star out of the air in front of him. After spending the 10 MP required to recharge it, he hurled it at the cluster of birds in the air, while simultaneously activating his [Cutting Edge] skill.
This time, the shuriken, plowing through the center of the flock, sliced through the wing of one bird, rendering it unable to fly and knocking it out of the sky, squawking.
You have crippled a Dark Cave Roc
Without missing a beat, it carried on with its trajectory, slicing through two more of the mobs which were busy reloading with rocks by the scarp.
You have killed two Grade J Dark Cave Rocs
Reward: Four Omega Energy Points
Your Cognition Attribute has risen by 1
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 875
The introduction of the shuriken to the fight was a game-changer. Rinsing and repeating, Jeff and Fracta took full advantage of the plentiful source of MP gushing around their feet to methodically annihilate the remaining flock of Cave Rocs, Gaining a ton of Omega Energy as well as banking some serious coin in the process.
Level up!
Congratulations. You have reached Level 1000
Evolve Your Grade Y/N?