“I found them!”
Mikella shouted with glee to find somebody they knew at least. After overcoming several monsters and soldiers warring for dominance, she was thankful to find the lords currently fighting against the monsters beset on them by the Weaver.
Strangely enough, they weren’t lizards or anything similar to the boss, but instead golems made of different colored crystals signifying the elements. She met some of them before but put them as just the mobs for the fortress. Now she was picturing some kind of specialized institution where the golems were just the guards while the Weaver was actually some sort of secret project.
She ignored that as she called over her comrades, Myra and Piker running towards to find the Lords currently at their odd’s end.
“They look pretty haggard,” Myra said, noticing some of the wounds that look like burn marks on their skin. “Let’s help them!”
Mikella didn’t know the situation either, considering that they must have received their rewards just as they did, but that didn’t matter. With a hop, Mikella surged with electricity as she landed right on top of a golem trying to hit the lords with wind blades.
The landing crashed and broke the golem with all the force of her Dragon Descent, her sword piercing right through it and breaking it entirely. She noticed Myra shooting at a golem with several fire balls, something that she learned to do once she managed to get Fire Mastery, just like how Philip has one, and how Mikella gained Lightning Mastery. Each one glowed bright which took the earth-attuned golem down. Piker then swooped in, showing off his newly attained Ice Mastery. His blade was covered in intense frost as it took out the golem that tried to gush out torrent of blasting water, but once it turned to ice, he waded through them like it was just a snow drift.
Their arrival surprised the lords, but Val smiled widely as she ran up to them. “Oh, thank gods you’re all safe!”
She ran up and unhesitatingly hugged all three of them when they approached. Out of everyone, Piker looked the most uncomfortable, staggering away enough for Val to let them go. His face flushed slightly, but he managed to keep his calm after clearing his throat.
She recalled that Piker didn’t want to approach anyone so closely, regardless of gender. But there was also something about Val that made it difficult to refuse her good will. Mikella looked over at Val, seeing her torned up armor in places that felt as though she was in a life or death battle.
“What happened to you after we separated?” Cloud asked, turning up to them. Zacharia also came over, turning to Piker for his own report as a General would.
“We were far away and faced some Bastion soldiers ourselves. We even found a guy that was supposedly the son of the Lord in charge of Bastion,” Mikella shook her head. The thought of Zyler still made her seethe in anger. “Thankfully we managed to get away when the boss arrived and the guy just vanished to fight it.”
“The son, huh?” Cloud grimaced. “We had the bad luck to meet the Lord ourselves.”
“Is that why you look like such a mess?”
Mikella pointed out, looking over at Cloud in surprise. He normally looked well-off, but now his robes were burnt off and ripped in places. It looked nice too, possibly better geared, so to see Cloud look rattled like this was concerning.
“The Lord was Master-tier, someone that shouldn’t be messed with,” Val said, but her words didn’t carry the anger her eyes were displaying. “And just like you, he also disappeared when the boss appeared. But I don’t think we’re capable of fighting it as we are now. Have you seen it?”
“How can we not?” Mikella pointed out, turning to the giant dinosaur currently making a mess of things. Despite how close it was, they were still pretty far away. It was enough to meet and plan like this without issue, as long as they weren’t spotted by the enemy soldiers and monsters from the fortress.
“Anyways, have you seen Zeke and Clara yet?” Mikella asked what was probably the most important question in her mind. But after seeing that none of the two were with them, she frowned.
“No, we hoped that they found you all first,” Val said, now frowning herself. “If not, then…”
“They’re still out there,” Mikella said, her frown deepening. “I’m going to find them!”
“Wait,” Cloud called out, and eventually MIkella stopped herself before turning around. Cloud tried to speak calmly, noticing her clear agitation. “I know you’re worried, but consider that we all ended up as groups. Did you manage to talk to him via the rune stone?”
“Yes,” Mikella grumbled. “Zeke said that he and Clara were together.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” Val stated. “I know you want to see them as soon as possible, but trust in Zeke to take care of Clara. Plus, I’m certain that angel of hers wouldn’t let Clara be in danger if she was the one that brought her here, right?”
Mikella had to agree, albeit reluctantly, that the two were correct. Hell, even Myra and Piker mentioned the same thing. Even without the angel, as long as Zeke was around, Clara wouldn’t be in danger.
“Right now, we need all hands on deck to face this boss before it gets defeated by the Bastion soldiers,” Cloud continued. “Zacharia and I also noticed that his squad is coming over, already taking advantage of the mayhem by taking out their surplus forces. We need to head over to face the army and beat them, especially now that their leader is here.”
“Mikky, he’s right,” Myra said, holding onto MIkella's shoulder as she talked. “Hey, if anything, Zeke and Clara could be there with the squad, helping them out. Right now, we need to take over this biodome before anything else.”
Mikella grimaced, frowning deeply at the thought. She knew how important this was for the town of Eve Glade, having a biodome filled with many resources and monsters to gain experience from. The way Bastion was doing was pissing her off too, and if things went their way, it would make living in Eve Glade harder for the rest of them.
But Zeke and Clara were constantly in her mind, warring for priority. But she forced herself to concede to their logic. Zeke is tough, and Clara should be protected by Zoan if nothing else. She disliked that angel for several reasons, but she can’t help but admit that Zoan is perfect for guarding her little sister.
“...Yeah, yeah, I know,” Mikella nodded. “Alright, where to then? Face the boss, or fight the soldiers?”
“The soldiers,” Val said, going along with Mikella’s quick change of topic. “The less enemies countering the boss, the better. The more we take out, the less enemies we face and the weaker the boss would turn out the more they fight. If we take them all out, we can face the boss when it was hurt by their attacks and take the credit for the quest.”
“It won’t be easy,” Cloud said, noticing that Zacharia and Piker finished their report and were now paying attention. “They’re gonna do the same for us. But if we got our information right, they’re desperate. We’ll use that to our advantage.”
“Let’s take out the soldiers from the interior of the fortress,” Zacharia finally said. “The ones outside are just scrubs to keep the monsters out. They’re not worth our time.”
Everyone nodded to his assessment as they planned out the best course of action. Meanwhile, Mikella kept trying, but failing, to keep her family out of her thoughts.
…..
If he was honest, he might have bit off more than he could chew with this one. But his anger, worries, and concerns all fused into a united sense of wrath that could no longer be held back.
He had to hold back his anger for quite a while now. Figuring out the fate of the otherworlders that died in the tower, their purpose regardless of their choice–it all just surged out of his body like a living thing, wanting some form of justice.
And the guy in front of him fit the bill. He may be some jackass with too much time to spare, but he was still an enemy of Eve Glade.
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The two faced each other in a closed environment as Zeke rushed on. He swung his fist into a jab only to be blocked by Zyler’s meaty hand. In retaliation, he punched back, but Zeke dodged with his increased Dexterity rune.
His mastery skill was helping, but as he fought, Zyler continued to prove his worth as a Journeymen, a true one.
He didn’t relent even after missing so many strikes. Instead, he kept pouring more and more hits like rain. Each one felt powerful, and Zeke assumed that just one could beat him senseless, so he dodged whenever he could.
But there was a big issue–his stamina. It was being drained at a fast rate, his Kinetic Perception and Endurance not high enough to regain the stamina he lost. He jumped away in time before Zyler could suddenly open his jaw to bite at his head. They closed tightly at empty air, but he grinned as he found Zeke jumping away.
“Scared already? Are my teeth so big you can’t help but run away?” Zyler laughed maniacally, wanting nothing to do with Zeke’s retreat as he jumped ahead.
With a flourish of his fingers, Zeke conjured a small barrier, his pens floating and drawing several runes like a fast-paced printer. Once he finished, a fireball that was the size of his entire body floated in mid-air. He launched the fireball right at the beast, his red eyes widening in surprise.
He should’ve done this at the start. His Intelligence was higher than his Strength, and he had the skills capable of launching spells easier. He just wanted to punch the ever-living crap out of the man before anything else. But now wasn’t the time to stroke his ego.
Still, he found himself surprised at the power of the fireball for himself. He forgot that thanks to his attribute increases, his magic power has also increased quite a bit. Seeing this for himself, he might have to consider changing things up a bit after this development.
Zyler, however, managed to dodge with ease, the fireball whipping past him and landing straight at a nearby stone structure. It exploded in a heap of flames, the stone debris flying all over, becoming charred pieces of black and soot.
Zyler landed on the side, whistling at the power. “Damn, kid. Are you a mage or a fighter? That one felt like it would hurt.”
“You wanna see it for yourself?” Zeke couldn’t help but grin, drawing another rune spell on another barrier.
“Hah!” Zyler guffawed, showing his fanged grin again.
Zeke summoned three more fireballs, each one smaller than the first and about the size of his torso in diameter. He made some minor changes, and now he felt that he could control each fireball. He launched them at Zyler, aiming straight for him.
Unlike before, Zyler actually just crashed through each one, even if one of them hit him in the side and caused the fur to burn away at the tips. But for him, it was as though he was hit with a hot water balloon as he just aimed his claws at Zeke.
He dodged in time, but found his leg caught by Zyler’s grip. He panicked before Zyler grabbed his entire leg, lifting his entire body like a doll and threw him at a nearby wall. He crashed, pain ensuing across his person as he didn’t put up a barrier in time.
He just wasn’t used to fighting in close-combat and using spells at the same time. It was too much of a mental shift at his current state. Thankfully, the pain was only minimal. Still, his body ached at the sudden throw, his mind turning dizzy, which was exactly what Zyler wanted.
Before he could even do anything, Zyler landed right on top of his leg. It crashed into his knee, busting it entirely as Zeke felt his bones snap and crack, incredible pain hitting him all at once.
He screamed, unable to handle the sheer force so suddenly and quickly. Tears brimmed at his eyes, but he shoved all of his panic and fear down into his stomach as pens drew runes on a barrier behind his back, away from Zyler’s vision.
Zyler closed in, ready to open his jaws and take a further bite out of him. He was aiming for his jugular, and no amount of Vitality would help him survive this.
He finished the runes before that could happen as a surge of wind exploded from behind him, not only taking him but Zyler along with him. The two were blasted apart, surprising Zyler enough not to recover in time.
The two landed on the ground, distanced by a few feet between them. Zeke, despite the pain coursing through him, felt relieved as he tried to get up but failed spectacularly. He looked down at his botched leg and grimaced at the sight. It was gruesome, the bone sticking out behind his knee, his leg twisted in a way it really shouldn’t. It looked almost cartoonish even, but seeing it in real life was horrifying.
“Gotta say,” He heard Zyler speak up, forcing himself to look at his enemy. He stood, both legs standing with no issue despite having air knocked into him like a cannon. “You’re more durable than any mage I killed. I don’t know where you came from, but you clearly got balls on ya. But having balls ain’t enough. You gotta have power, and lots of it.”
He flashed his canines, and for once, Zeke saw a semblance of wisdom behind his red eyes.
“Because this world would do way worse to you than what I did to that leg of yours.”
Zeke wasn’t quite sure what Zyler was on about. They’ve only been at it for about two minutes, yet he felt Zyler change in a way that made him different than what he presumed to be. He didn’t like it. If he could, he would love to just talk things out, give him his perspective as to why they needed this biodome.
But he knew deep inside that it didn’t matter. It’s all about control and greed for them, and for Eve Glade–in a way, it was the same. He refused to give in, even if pain ensued further and further through his entire body.
He refused to stand down and let others walk all over him. He already had literal angels doing that, and he refused to have someone else do the same.
He stamped down his need to lay down and rest, to heal the pain and just run. He stood on his good leg, giving himself some room to maneuver his messed up one.
“Don’t bother,” Zyler grinned. “It’s all over for you. Ain’t no way that leg is gonna recover fast enough for you to–”
Zyler suddenly stopped as Zeke went ahead to cast his spell. Looking at his leg, his eyes picked out the strangled channels, putting aside the muscle and tendons that were beyond recovery by normal means.
Thankfully, he had something that could recover him outside normal means. He cast Recovery, and poured all of his enhanced magical energy through his leg.
His mana flowed through the channels like liquid flame, coursing through his muscles, tendons, ligaments, and even the marrow of his bones as the energy collided and fused. With his order, he forced whatever remained outside of his channels to fall to his will.
Pain ensued in a way that was even worse than before. If the pain from earlier was like hitting against a wall, this one felt like getting grinded against the wall, only that the wall had ridges and small spikes that made it extra painful, just because.
But he kept going, ignoring the cries of his body as his leg was getting twisted around, shaping like clay to his wishes. His knee popped back into place, his bones forced themselves down into his skin, and the rest of his leg returned back into its original shape. It was like the time he fixed up the forge so long ago, and even then he continued to try to fix any other equipment he could find.
Unfortunately it was harder than he expected. The forge itself was created with lots of runes and enchantments that made it easier for his Recovery to work on. But any other equipment that was just standard had nothing to use his Recovery on. If they were enchanted or had runes drawn on them, that might work, but only at a limited range.
Zyler kept silent as he watched, his words left trailing into the air as Zeke received a few notifications for the action.
> Pain Resistance Level Up! It is now Level 3.
>
> You have gained +4 VIT from your skill.
> You have gained +2 END from your skill.
…..
> Steadfast Mind Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> You have gained +2 SPI from your skill.
> You have gained +2 END from your skill.
>
> Steadfast Mind has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied:
>
> -Increased mental defenses
> -Increased mental focus
> -Advancement available
…..
> Skill Advancement has commenced.
>
> Your skill Steadfast Mind (Uncommon) has advanced into Steadfast Mind (rare).
>
> You gain points based on the advanced rarity:
>
> +9 SPI
>
> Your skill Steadfast Mind has been reset to Level 1. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired before the advancement.
…..
> Recovery Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).
>
> You have gained +2 INT from your skill.
> You have gained +2 SPI from your skill.
>
> Recovery has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied:
>
> -Increased healing
> -Increase sensing
> -Decreased mana consumption
> -Evolution Available
> -Advancement available
Zeke breathed, the notifications not only filling him with power, but affirmation that his actions were right. That he wasn’t trying to win a losing battle.
The pain just vanished. It was still there, his resistance skills only making it a ghostly pain that can be easily brushed aside. He stood on his legs, looking up at his enemy who remained watching.
He stomped his former botched leg down hard, and his buffs flared as the ground cracked underneath as a show of force. He glared back at Zyler, ready to go at it again.
Zyler just stared blankly for a second, then shortled. Then he finally busted out laughing, as though his mind finally broke.
“That is so fucking metal!” He flashed another canine grin.
Zeke really needed to find out where all these people from a different world kept finding these terms from his old world.