Lee stood far behind the other worried and stalwart adventurers as the enormous basilisk approached their position. Alongside him were a few familiar faces from the past few weeks. Those familiar faces were spellcasters—spellcasters who could now cast healing spells. It wasn’t all of his ‘students,’ as others went ahead with their party members to join in on the incoming action, but with him here, there shouldn’t be much need for rear support as he could heal all those near him simultaneously.
Apparently, this was known as ‘Area of Effect’ by the adventurers. Spells or abilities that could cover a wide area were both helpful and harmful and needed to be known ahead of time. They were helpful in that a fireball could blow away multiple enemies at once and harmful in that the same spell could blow away your enemies and your allies if it were thrown haphazardly.
When it came to his Healer’s Beacon, all the adventurers wanted to know how many could be affected at once, the range, the cooldown, the duration… a host of questions.
None of which he answered, but he at least let them know that he would heal anybody that came to him.
Jeremy’s class was apparently defensive in nature. With his low level, he chose to stay near the rear alongside him as a defender incase anything managed to slip by the front or came through the ruined buildings by the sides. His face was set in determination as he scanned the surroundings with his sword and shield at the ready.
Regina was somewhere in the front, coordinating with the rest of the adventurers. Lee wasn’t quite sure how strong she was, but he assumed she could at least easily make it out alive unless she got stomped on.
Something he tried not to think about and didn’t think was very likely.
The ground faintly quaked as the basilisk's heavy footfalls drew near. The rumbling slowly ramped up in intensity, indicating that the oncoming battle was finally about to begin. Small talk ceased, and the only sounds other than the profound impacts of heavy footfalls were the shifting of leather, unsheathing of weapons, and the tightening and strain of bowstrings held steady.
Without any fanfare, nearly every arrow was loosed. A raining bombardment of arrows launched high into the sky, casting a shadow like a passing cloud overhead the adventurers in the front.
Next was the colorful array of spells of multiple elements cast by mages and other spellcasters. Red hot, scorching rays of flames, blazing orange balls of fire, and searing white flickering projectiles of various forms flew through the air in what would normally be a breathtaking display. Earthy brown lumps of dirt and gray stone boulders launched into the air, seeking to return an unwanted favor. Hazy and wispy arrows of air deceived the eyes of all but the most aware. Pale blue orbs, discs, lances, and water rays rained in an unrelenting torrent of force. Bright light and dusky shadows flew interspersed unerringly toward their target.
Within the phantasmagoria of magic, Lee could see multiple different unknown elements. Billowing white and hazy steam shot out like a supercharged fog machine of superheated air. Shockingly fast, azure bolts of lightning snaked through and raced the other spells in the air to hit their mark. Twin tornados, one gray and the other black, sprang forth from nowhere at the base of the basilisk, grinding down the thick, murky green hide of the basilisk with their dust and blinding the three clenched shut eyes with smoke.
The familiar pale blue shards of ice launching forward to impale their oncoming foe knocked Lee out of his reverie. Lee quickly took a step forward and pointed a finger toward their foe. A frigid lance of glacial ice materialized, letting off frosty wisps of sub-zero air before launching forward and creating a sound of cracking thunder.
His Spear of Eternity shot forward and embedded itself deep between the basilisk’s collarbone and right shoulder. A deep, low barrotone wail filled the air as the bombardment of arrows and spells rocked the basilisk in the face, chest, legs, side… everywhere. It stumbled slightly but quickly caught itself before turning to face the recognized threat.
The bone-shifting reverberating call echoed outwards, causing most of the nearby adventurers, including Lee, to cover their ears in wracking pain. The basilisk diverted its course and sped up in a charge, obviously aiming to trample them all underfoot.
Yells of courage and the clanging of steel erupted as the front line of melee combatants entered the fray. As soon as the foot fell close enough, the multitude of melee weapons sprang into action. Some even threw chains and nets made of rope on the towering legs in the aim to lock down their opponent, but its overwhelming strength made all attempts at pinning it down futile.
The next step shattered morale, as a sickening squelch could be heard even from Lee’s position. A wave of crimson gore was jetted forward to coat everyone near the impact zone, causing cries of panic and fear to rise up among the ranks of adventurers.
Unexpectedly, the basilisk took a hasty step backward. Another reverberating call of pain was sent out into the world.
Looking up after launching an ineffective Icicle Spear, Lee spotted the cause. Regina hung with two evil-looking snaked daggers embedded into the left eye of the basilisk. In less than a second, she ripped her weapons free, twisted in the air, and flew overhead everyone nearby, landing at Lee’s feet.
“What’s it health at?” Her voice was barely raised and still somehow monotone, given their situation.
Lee flicked his eyes toward the basilisk, revealing its health.
HP: 72%
HP: 73%
“Seventy-two percent, but it just went to seventy-three.”
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Regina gave him a slight nod, then flew away into the distance behind him without another word, seemingly abandoning them all.
Lee threw out some more Icicle Spears, Earthen Strikes, and Death Bolts as the adventurers and himself fought a retreating battle. Lee kept checking the basilisk’s HP after a few spells, but quickly determined that whatever resistances it might have was more significant than their output of intermittent damage. They were still doing damage and slowly whittling away at it’s seemingly enormous health pool, but they would all be trampled to death well before they finished the job.
HP: 67%
HP: 68%
The more time that went by, the more adventurers that were lost—Felled by casual walking. The melee combatants were next to useless. Their weapons were either not suitable for the job against a level one-hundred foe, or their strength and skills were not up to the task. They were the first to fall victim to the basilisk’s lumbering form.
As they fell back, spells were flying less and less frequently. Lee continued his onslaught of spells, but as people began fleeing and sprinting past him, he, too, slowed down in his barrage. By now, they weren’t even dealing enough damage to get through the basilisk’s regeneration. It really put into perspective how powerful his own healing was. To any foe unable to kill him outright, he was going to be a giant thorn in their side.
As the ranks of adventures crumbled and all cohesion was lost, Lee turned to flee alongside the final remnants of their quick five-minute battle. As he fled, he quickly spared the basilisk a final glance.
HP: 76%
Before he could look away, a gleaming silver bullet smashed into its right leg. Another deep reverberating wail sprang out from the now slowly toppling basilisk. All of the fleeing adventurers paused in their retreat and turned to watch the scene unfolding in front of them.
The basilisk was large, but watching how slow it seemed to fall really put the creature's sheer size into perspective. As it crashed into the ground, it felt like an earthquake had ravaged the land. The gleaming silver bullet traveled up the creature’s leg and onto its face. Once still, Lee could make out a figure. It was Hemsworth—adorned in his steel armor.
Right after, a horde of screaming knights encircled the basilisk, slashing and impaling the creature with steel spears and swords. Hemsworth himself continued to slash away as he traversed the downed creature, rending its flesh with relative ease.
Lee stood stock still in awe at the display of martial might. Regina flew above the knights, calling out and gesturing toward weak points, shoring up the encirclement as the basilisk wiggled, struggling to right itself.
Adventurers yelled out battlecries and began streaming past him as he stood in the center of the cobblestone streets, some knocking into his shoulder as they sprinted in with renewed vigor. Lee twisted and turned, eyeing all of the formerly fleeing adventurers' return to the fray. He quickly cast Swiftness over and over again on all those nearby who looked capable enough to withstand its effects.
Lee felt a strange sensation filling his being. A warmth formerly unknown to him surged into his chest. He slowly walked forward, then transitioned into a jog. That jog turned into a sprint. Then, that sprint included spells. Death Bolts, Icicle Spears, and Earthen Strikes flew forward as fast as he could cast them.
Everything was looking up. Success was on the horizon.
The basilisk wailed and struggled to right itself as the adventures arrived. The formerly useless chains and rope now proved their worth as they rooted the basilisk down on the ground. The knights, unlike the melee-focused adventurers, were insanely effective. Hemsworth, in particular, carved ghastly-looking grooves into the thick hide of the creature, rivers of blood leaking from the gaping wounds.
HP: 54%
HP: 53%
HP: 51%
HP: 50%
A deep-seated, creeping chill suddenly ran down Lee’s spine. His arm hair stood on end, and the former warmth that filled him faded away—snuffed out like a candle in a storm. All of the adventurers who surged forward slowed and stumbled.
Lee didn’t know what happened, but there was something wrong. Something terrible and all-consuming. He wasn’t sure if it was some weird instinct or his wisdom stat, but he knew deep inside that misery and anguish were coming. And it was coming soon.
His thoughts slowed and became jumbled as he came to a standstill. He had lost all of the wind in his sails, and worry wormed itself to the forefront of his mind. He looked around, scanning, and wanted the danger to be from somewhere else—something other than what he knew it was from—almost pleading with the universe for something else to be the cause.
He released a shaky breath and moved his eyes forward to face the basilisk. Hemsworth was still hacking and slashing. Regina still hovered in the air, but everyone else was still.
Then, Lee saw the cause of their troubles.
A third eye was glaring at them all.