We were staring at each other, the tension palpable in the air.
There was no way in the Abyss that the Technogator had just turned tail on us.
"Loke, what did you do?" Roana asked.
"He did a lot of damage. Did you go over its threshold?" Harlow asked.
"No idea, but I did break through forty-three percent of its Durability in one hit."
Some of the monsters here had a threshold for damage, passing which they would start running away to be repaired by whatever it was that repaired them, maybe the Dungeon itself. Yet, the threshold was not a universal number but something that was usually considered after the creature received more than sixty percent of the damage.
Maybe, if I had brought the Technogator at around forty percent damage, he would have escaped, and if we didn't manage to bring it down before it did, we would have simply not seen it again, at least until it healed up completely.
But what had happened now was different. The creature simply went into hiding.
Was it planning to snipe us? It was probable.
"It might come back. I think it's trying to fish us out," Alistar said.
"Fish us out. Never heard it before," Faruq said, chuckling, "I guess one never stops learning."
"Hey! It's fisher language, you wouldn't... you wouldn't understand," answered Alistar waving his hand.
Nova giggled, and Roana snorted a chuckle.
Tension successfully defused, we joined back into formation.
"Try to stay away from the water," Harlow gently reminded us.
"Sure, sweety, staying as far from those suckers as I can."
As we carried on our trip, the buzzing remained constant, but it did not increase in its potency.
We walked on the widest of the nearby metal trails that seemingly floated above the waters.
The ice was enough to stabilize them, yet it was soon apparent that the frosty layers would not be enough to support a battle fought over it, especially not a battle with mechanical creatures of that size.
A party of delvers far at my left was fighting against a small group of tech-creatures. I believed they were bipeds.
However, they had moved the fight on the ice.
It had been the worst move they could do.
The fighting was intense, and the monsters knew how much it would hold before collapsing.
When one of the humans got too far inside of the congealed pool of water, they started hitting the ground with their fists and stomping on it.
It did not take much for the ice to shatter, and when it did, the delver immediately sank into the icy waters.
He did not swim back up.
I stopped looking, turning my attention to my party.
"Stay away from the ice, no matter what."
"And you stop staring at other people; we need your eyes on the road," Roana retorted.
She was right.
I gave a peal of sonorous laughter.
----------------------------------------
It was not even two minutes after I had seen a delver die that the constant buzzing became stronger. But it was not as strong as when the Technogator came out of the water; no.
It was a multitude of high-pitched buzzing. There could have been at least… I did not know... I had yet to decipher them.
"Loki, do you feel them?" I asked, trying to check if there was even a remote possibility that he felt them too.
Yet, I only felt confusion from the lion. He did not feel anything extraneous.
But then I saw them, the origin of the buzzing. The tech-creatures were coming at us. The same bipedal creatures that the delvers were fighting.
There were six of them, plus a couple of beasts looking like wolves, and lastly, there was one massive… yeah, it was a Technorhino.
I hated Rhinos in all their shapes and forms.
Yeah, it was going to die, if that was even the right term.
> TechnoRhino of the Fallen Kingdom, Level 45 (58.969/450.000)
>
> Durability: 100%
>
>
>
> Agility: 45
>
> Constitution: 152
>
> Strength: 111
>
> Focus: 22
>
> Perception: 85
>
> Willpower: 0
>
>
>
> Strength: Horn, Massive metal body, Stomping, Strength
>
> Weakness: None
>
>
>
> Abilities: Horn Missile, Viber-Stomp
>
>
>
> The Technorhino of the Fallen Kingdom is a common tech-creature, one of the weakest in the outskirt region of the Fallen Kingdom Dungeon. However, its ability to shoot its homing missile horn is extremely accurate. It's best if killed at first sight before it targets the weakest members of the party.
>
>
Yeah, it was going to die.
I prepared three Piercing arrows; then I started shooting Trick Shot after Trick Shot into the sky. The attacking party was fairly close; my aim was good enough to land at least one of those attacks correctly.
Before they even landed, I Traced another enemy, the bipeds. They almost looked like humans.
If it wasn't for their metal frame and the absence of a proper face, they would really look like us.
> Droid of the Fallen Lake, Level 40 (365.877/400.000)
>
> Durability: 100%
>
>
>
> Agility: 65
>
> Constitution: 112
>
> Strength: 85
>
> Focus: 95
>
> Perception: 62
>
> Willpower: 0
>
>
>
> Strength: Biped Agility, High Strength to body size ratio, Hard metal body
>
> Weakness: None
>
>
>
> Abilities: Double Jump, Fast-learner, Handblade
>
>
>
> The Droid of the Fallen Kingdom, although the weakest among the creatures that inhabit the Fallen Kingdom's outskirts region, is by far the more numerous. However, their strength lies in their numbers and their ability to adapt to every circumstance.
>
> Their Fast learner ability allows them to gather intel, study their enemy, and develop speedy responses to their enemy fighting style.
>
>
"The bipeds are dangerous; deal with them as fast as you can, or they will learn how to fight you and defeat you. Give it your all because they have a high defense. And Nova, watch out for their Handblade."
Stolen story; please report.
But I could feel she was scared; it was only natural.
"Ye-yes!" was all she managed to say.
The three Piercing arrows fell, all three of them correctly hitting the Technorhino.
One reached it on the back of the head, the second one between the shoulder blades, the third on its spine. The Trick Shots did the same. But then they exploded.
The explosion caused much major damage to the beast, especially because before exploding, the arrow traveled deep inside of the monster's armored hide.
The creature fell down, immobile, yet I felt no whispers. It was likely paralyzed but still alive.
Yet, the monsters would be upon us in seconds. They were indeed fast, and they did not even blink at their colleague's demise; they kept running at us.
Nova, Faruq, and Roana would deal with the Bipeds; Alistar and Harlow placed themselves in the front, ready to intercept the quadrupeds instead.
> Technodog of the Fallen Kingdom, Level 42 (112.006/420.000)
>
> Durability: 100%
>
>
>
> Agility: 80
>
> Constitution: 117
>
> Strength: 65
>
> Focus: 45
>
> Perception: 102
>
> Willpower: 0
>
>
>
> Strength: Quadruped Agility, Massive metal body, Perception
>
> Weakness: None
>
>
>
> Abilities: Claws, Fangs, Taunting Cry
>
>
>
> Although not as dreadful as other creatures, the Technodogs of the Fallen Kingdom, which spawn from the Dungeon, can be hard to face while alone.
>
> They always come at least in a pair, and their pincer maneuver turns even more complex when there are a higher number of them.
>
>
"Watch out for the dog; they can taunt. And they've got enough Focus to Taunt you, Star."
"Not if I can Taunt them first!" He said. And he was right.
These creatures' Willpower was zero. I did not know if it was something peculiar to the Dungeon-borne as a whole or just to tech-creatures.
"Incoming!" Faruq shouted, and we got ready for their assault.
The buzzing broke when they got close enough, and at the same time, Roana started throwing her knives with her mind powers. One of them, one of the droids, launched itself right at me.
It was instantaneous and outrageously wild.
I wouldn't be able to evade it.
Yet the bastard met solid air.
It was a shield of Flow that shattered right after, with a grunt from Nova.
"Thank, sis."
"That hurt," she said. But she was focused; her weapons were at the ready.
The next moment, Roana's knives started flying at the creatures like Flow-missiles.
The biped, hit full in the stomach by one of the knives, was sent tumbling on the ground, rolling for the force of the impact. Roana did not wait; with a shout, she Commanded another to run the downed creature through. It did.
Then they were upon us, and the melee started.
Harlow intercepted the dog, flinging it in the crystal-clear ice.
Alistar slashed the other one with his huge glaive, pinning it down, and started punching it with his arm shield.
Faruq Hastened himself and started juggling a couple of bipeds.
I raised my knife and focused on defending Nova, Roana, and myself.
If only I had a strong enough clock-arm, I could do much more damage in melee, but for now, my knife would have to be enough.
The bipeds were agile, damn agile. I had to give it my all with just keeping up with one.
However, the one shining the most among us was undoubtedly Harlow. She skillfully used her massive armor to block the bipeds' attacks and hammer them with critical blows.
Nova was good too, and she was making use of the movements from the Form of the Spiral and her enhanced Stamina to make continuous fast movement switches.
If she kept that up for long without her enhanced Stamina, she would be soon left without the energy to move, but she wasn't.
When Roana hit up close the creature with another one of her knife missiles, launching it away and giving me enough space to throw one knife in the sky, I took that chance to transfer into the sky and draw a Piercing arrow.
The enemies noticed me, but even if one of them tried to jump, they could not jump as high as I did.
I launched the first arrow at the dog that Alistar had downed; weak point sight told me that the nape would be the best place at which to aim.
Alistar’s Strength was still not enough to deal major damage to these creatures, but he could indeed keep one of them pinned down. The only thing he lacked was an active taunting Skill; his passive taunting had not activated fast enough to win over the creatures' mad approach.
Yet the arrow did his job, then the Trick Shot following up with a boom ended the creature's nonlife. I could feel the whispers.
As I fell from the sky, I noticed Loki trying to keep the dog Harlow had flung away from joining back in the fight. I aimed a regular arrow at the creature.
As I transferred right on top of it. Spectre's Dignity at the ready, I plunged the knife deep inside its nape region.
The creature fell down, immobile, but I did not feel any whisper; I let Loki finish the job.
Instead, I threw my knife back toward the group and jump-started into a run.
When I transferred, I carried with me the momentum of my dash and used it to slam my feet on the frame of one of the bipeds assaulting Alistar, who was protecting Nova and Roana.
Then my knife dug into its red-highlighted solar plexus.
Whispers.
I turned around, noticing Nova being shielded by Alistar, she was finishing one of the bipeds with her rapier. It was the last of them.
The creature dropped on the ground with a metal "bang".
"Woah. Did we really already take care of them all?"
I could not believe it, but we indeed had. We had destroyed them all.
"It seems so," Alistar grunted. "I don't like that I can't damage them, no matter how many they are, Brandish Spear is ineffective."
Indeed, if he could damage them, he would have been able to take them all on by himself.
"Not yet," Harlow said. Then she ran at the downed Technorhino, ending its nonlife, raising her metal arm up and bringing it crashing down through the monster.
That was some serious power.
"Now we did," she added with a smile as she came back.
I smirked, turning to look at Alistar, who chuckled a soft “Damn..” then, like all the others, I took my chance to focus on my whispers.
You've earned 4507 + 4025 + 4259 + 4015 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next TechnoHunter level: 296.127/360.000
You've earned 4154 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next Red Tamer level: 149.516/330.000
Loki has earned 4154 Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next level: 202.507/260.000
Form of the Vector has reached Practitioner Level 7. Expertise for the next Form of the Vector's level: 1102/70000
"I leveled up to 16!" Said a still excited Nova.
"Congratulations growing monkey!"
She could get all the way to the Advanced Class if we kept going at this place.
However, I could not lower my guard, not now.
"Alright," said Harlow, "Since these creatures do not usually offer many Stones or Crystals, there are still a few things which are worth taking out; of course, it's not a job that can be done here. We should drag their bodies back to the Flow-cart. However, for now, the ones precious for me are the Technoperegrines. Those things are precious for my research; there are other important creatures too, but we won't see them before we reach the Median Ring."
The Median Ring.
Three rings marked the Fallen Kingdom's outskirts; the Outer Ring, the Median Ring, and the Inner Ring; after that, there was the Fallen Kingdom entrance. That was where the Citadel stood, and inside of it, the real Dungeon, the Castle with its two spires, lay in wait.
We were at the outside edges of the Outer Ring, and there was still a lot to go before we reached the Median Ring, yet the more we advanced toward it. The more unstable the platforms on which we walked became.
Luckily, once we would reach it, the web of metal trails would become much more prominent, and the water would stop being a problem, but that also meant that we would face a higher number of ground creatures.
Anyway, I doubted we would push ourselves all the way to the Median Ring, even the creatures' levels would increase, or so Logan said. It was already enough for us to fight creatures with levels higher than ours. I would not push my companions to fight monsters with twice or thrice our levels.
"Are you ready? Or do you need a break?" Harlow asked the party.
"I'm good; I'll just take it a bit slower until I recover my Stamina," said Faruq.
He had managed to fight two of the bipeds by himself, he stood on their same ground, as fighting prowess meant, and he managed to kill them both by himself. I guessed he would have been able too even before the upgrades and probably with his previous swords.
We got back on track; we could push ourselves more. The only thing we would have to look out for was to always have a way out.
----------------------------------------
"For Sun's sake, where are all the monsters?" Alistar was livid.
And he had all the rights to.
We had walked almost all the way to the median ring without encountering any more monsters. We could turn to one of the tight metal corridors that passed through the ice to reach nearby paths and change the trail on which we had started our journey, but we could end up getting in the way of another party.
The buzzing had become so low that it almost felt unnatural; also, the fact that the other parties were receiving constant attacks and the creatures had ignored us for this long… it just smelled wrong.
I started feeling uncomfortable with the situation.
"I don't know… but I feel something's wrong," said Roana.
"Yeah, I have the same feeling. The buzzing… it's like it has lowered. It was stronger befo-"
I hadn't even stopped talking, and my brain started buzzing. It felt as if someone had taken my brain and started shaking it.
"Watch out!" I yelled, "They're coming!"
"Where? Where from?" Somebody shouted.
"Everywhere… no! From the lake! They are coming from the lake! Run back! Back!"
I realized too late what was going on. They had been ignoring us, forcing us to go on and delve deeper in, closer to the Median Ring, where escaping would be harder.
As we tried to back away, an enormous Technogator appeared, shattering the layers of ice that covered the lake.
> Technogator of the Fallen Lake, Level 85 (7.465.998/8.500.000)
>
> Durability: 57%
It was the same one I had injured.
Son of a Moon walker.
It was closing our way out. The metal trail on which we stood had become way narrower; his body entirely blocked us the passage.
But if it was only for that...
The creature was not alone.
Another Technogator had appeared from the water and blocked our passage to the Median Ring.
We were literally in the worst situation we had ever faced.
I was about to curse out loud for the ugly situation when Nova spoke.
"Loke…" she said, "I'm scared."
I looked at her; there was terror in her eyes, a terror that she was trying to swallow down with all her might.
I couldn't allow that.
Nova did not have to fear anything. She was my sister. My muse. My hope.
As long as I was around, she would not have to fear for her life, or I could not consider myself her brother.
So, I smiled.
"You have nothing to fear, little monkey. They are trying to scare us? Big deal…" Saying so, I caressed her head and launched her the most confident look I was capable of. "That just means that you will get to see your brother be the knight in shining armor."
I would have to call forth the Night Hunter.