One by one Chariot gathered to the source of thundering sounds. Two orcs laid dead, perfectly intact, two severed in parts and one beaten to death. In front of them stood Ashley with a smile that almost hummed and Shin patiently watching the carnage unfold.
Lethal blows fell on the blood orc one after the other, some blocked, most landing clean. A punch against Karla’s guard knocked her flying, and just as quickly, she burst back striking more. A mad barbarian in brutality, her technique honed efficient to a point of awe. But still, she was losing.
The blood orc she faced was different. Donning a necklace of claws, bones lining its fur clothing, its eyes within the white skull painted on its face gleaned more intelligent than its kin. Faster than the amazon and three times stronger by the sound and impact of its strikes, far more durable and its aura seemingly endless.
A mauling clawed hand slashed deep across Karla’s arms, and blood gushed out violently. A thrust sliced across her neck. A swipe ripped over her cheek. Wound after wound piled up in her relentless assault, her regeneration too slow to keep up. But she did not waver. She did not question. She did not fear because such things did not exist within her. Karla thought nothing besides victory, and victory was her opponent dead before her.
The blood orc’s hand pierced straight through her guts and her fist crashed against his chest. The orc vomited blood from its ruptured heart as Karla darted back out of his arm, and a flying knee cracked the orc’s jaw. A hand swift as lightning sliced through her throat, unevenly against her armor like bones. And an elbow cracked the side of the blood orc’s head. Wildly, madly, the martial genius fought on, the hole through her torso and severed throat barely registering in her mind and doing nothing to lessen her ability. But her regeneration had stopped.
“We need to step in.”
“No.” Shin gave Kamala a blunt and calm refusal, not taking his eyes off the fight for a moment.
A vicious kick slammed Karla into the plateau in the distance. The skull faced blood orc shifted its gaze to the rest of the party as most braced for a fight. And the orc spun into a thrust that grazed Karla’s face as she bounced the monster off the hard ground with a harder punch.
The orc sprung to its feet and weathered the onslaught again. Slowly and gradually, the aura around Karla’s strikes became sharper. Urgency flashed in the orc’s expression instinctively and it’s attacks became sharper and fiercer in return. Through the wounds, through the brushes with death, Karla pushed herself further, higher.
A thunderous elbow shattered half the orc’s face, aura sparking erratically. A left punch broke its ribs as the aura sparked even more. An intensity and depth flowed through the core of Karla’s being, her Will breaking through a limit. She swung her leg more brutality, more destructively than ever before and red bolts of aura surged around. Her foot connected clean and exploded the orc’s head whole.
The skull faced orc swayed and collapsed before, its head quickly regrowing from the neck up. Karla stood over, eyes as focused as a predator in the hunt and stomped down, over and over. The ground beneath them shook slightly with every blow as she stomped and stomped until finally she had victory.
[Ancient Blood Orc Bloodseeker (legendary) - Greater Monarch]
Strength - 4871
Agility - 3405
Constitution - 3911
Vitality - 5853
Dexterity - 3945
Perception - 3210
Force - 1920
Spirit - 2156
Control - 1916
Willpower - 2284
Skills:
Greater Bash, Greater Rend, Supreme Unarmed Combat, Overpower, Haste, Flash Step,
Traits:
Bloodtracker (mythic), Primitive Mind (mythic), Rapid Regeneration (legendary), Diamond Body (legendary), Diamond Mind (legendary), Diamond Soul (legendary), Greater Poison Resistance (legendary), Greater Disease Resistance (legendary), Greater Curse Resistance (legendary), Nightvision (epic),
“Congratulations.” Shin praised.
Karla turned away from the greater monarch legendary variant, her blood covered body in ruins, and smiled so cheerfully and purely one could forget the carnage that surrounded them.
“Dynamic~” Karla shifted cutely to the golden light that enveloped her, Kamala rapidly healing her wounds now that Shin’s embargo was lifted, and smiled at the stoic priestess too.
Donny glanced around, relaxing just a bit. “Still got some time left… but probably best to wrap things up early today.”
“Yeah…” Yen agreed, annoyed they didn’t even get the two more pairs of plants they planned, let alone the three she wanted. “At least we know what the main threat here is now, we can plan around it… Just need to watch out for the main main threat. These bullshit trials aren’t going to let us off with only a variant.”
---
Chariot approached a chasm under the reddening sky. The journey back had been nothing to speak about compared to their stint in the basin. Healed up and energy recovered a bit more, they had the ability to remain if they chose to but none did, even Shin. Surviving during the day was challenging enough, few among them were interested in learning just how much more difficult it was at night.
“I need to sleep…” Yen grumbled, glancing over to Jean. “Switch with me in the shift. You need to train anyway. Oh yeah, what are you gonna do without your puppets?”
“I brought material to make more.”
“Cool. Can I watch?”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Do what you want.”
Mujin fell to a knee, hazy eyed, strained deep breaths with sweat pouring down his face profusely. The rest of party snapped on guard for any threat surrounding them as Kamala tried her skills.
“It’s not an affliction… What happened?”
“...ever since I used Dragon Strike… It hurt before… but not like this.”
“What’s the skill description?” Yen asked.
Mujin truly began to show the toll upon him as he forced out his words. “...add… a wisp of dragonic… true magic… to an attack…”
“True magic?”
“Know something?” Donny asked.
“I mean…" Yen mused. "I don’t know if it translates, but true magic is probably like meta magic or wild magic or something. Might be a soul thing. Maybe it’ll get better if we buff up his soul toughness.”
Mujin paused for only a moment, then ate a golden fruit.
“You seriously didn’t have it already? What did you give up?”
“...Courage…”
“What you used against the t-rex? That’ll be mostly obsolete soon anyway. Pick up a general mind defense ability when you get a chance.”
Yen handed him three fruit from her bag. Kamala and Dante did the same, and Jean gave four. Mujin fused and ate as he needed, soon his complexion seemed to improve and he rose to his feet, not fully well but well enough.
“Fixed?”
“I can manage…”
“Good e-”
“People.” Basem warned. The party turned to see another of a similar size stopping on the opposite side of the chasm entrance, with some familiar faces.
“Oh look, the main char-” The sight of a heavily armored man with golden eyes stole her attention.
“It’s been a while-”
“Hand over the Atreus.” Yen cut off Leon’s calm greeting with a domineering intensity.
The atmosphere turned heavy as most of Leon’s party turned hostile at the demand. All great lords, all with legendary tier classes. Leon with the simple but broad Spellsword class. Suyin bearing the evidently martial arts oriented Mystic class. Ti, the dark red haired girl a Spellthief. The sky blue haired Grace with tired eyes now with the Hierophant class. Joining those four they had already met were five others not quite forming a full party.
A bald thin dark skinned man with pale eyes dressed in monk’s robes.
[Human Dragon Disciple (legendary) - Greater Lord]
A white hair boy in his late teens in casual rogue’s attire.
[Human Incanter (legendary) - Greater Lord]
A green haired young man, pale and mysterious in loose cloth clothes.
[Human Shinobi (legendary) - Greater Lord]
A tall clean shaven man with brown skin, the sides of his head bald with low cut neatly lined dark hair on the top of his head, donning heavy armor and sleek accompanying tabard with no heraldry.
[Human Hedge Knight (legendary) - Greater Lord]
And lastly, the tan golden eyed Sacred Shield at the center of the tension.
“Who do you think-”
“Your new tank tried to kill us twice, so you’re going to hand him over.” Yen cut off Suyin, a dense firebolt concentrating in the palm of her hand. “You can always find another Atreus. They seem to grow like weeds.”
“Consider it payment for stealing the second stage boss and move on.” The mystic asserted.
A trace of mocking superiority enter Yen’s intense expression. “It’s called strategy. Are you still whining about that?”
Yen’s firebolt pulled from her hand, forming in the young Spellthief’s. But quickly the girl panicked as the spell started to writhe erratically. A several layered barrier enveloped it just as it exploded, containing the impact fully with just two layers. The exchange an innocuous one but it brought the situation to a boiling point.
“Fight~?” Karla asked as the guard’s of both sides raised to act at the slightest signal.
“There’s no need to fight.” The hedge knight strolled out to the center in calm demeanor. “There may be slight grievances between our parties-”
“They killed my brother!”
“More than slight grievances. But that does not mean we cannot find amicable ground in these hard times. For who among us does not wish the best for those they keep close? Fellow compatriots, nay, friends. Are we not all the aboard the same ship in this stormy sea? Let us not add more enmity but take this opportunity to make amends so that one day we may all dine together in peace.”
Donny glanced over at Yen halfway through the hedge knight’s speech who softly told him to shut up, returning his focus back ahead with a smile. Screeching of a raptor horde interrupted the standoff. Each side looked to their leaders and Shin and Leon nonchalantly ran down the chasm together. Pausing slightly, the two parties followed after, sticking closely to their side of the pathway, guarded against one another. In moments they all passed through but little other than their surroundings had changed.
“What do you say?” The hedge knight continued. “Peace?”
“Peace does sound good, yeah.” Donny responded.
“Wonderful!”
“Life’s all about bonds, innit, gotta protect them.”
“Unquestionably.”
“Donny.”
“Tristan.”
“Tristan, yeah. Proper knight name ting, yeah. But see, Tristan, it weren’t even two weeks since the last time we met your friend. So I’m wondering how strong them bonds really are.” The atmosphere around Donny stilled, his casual demeanor contrasting the subtly threatening tone. “Your friend, your good close friend, yeah. Did try to kill us twice. And now you’re asking us to allow it, mate, I can’t really do that.”
The Hedge Knight’s jovial expression remained, but a firmness about it took hold as he listened to Donny talk calmly.
“We can do this the hard way if you want. But by the looks of things, I don’t think you really want that. Far as I’m concerned, you man have one outlier and some liabilities. Now we are going to kill that gold dickhead you picked up. If you get in the way a lot of you are gonna die.”
“Silence.” The Incanter Nagi spoke and it seemed like the world spoke with him.
A strange sensation fell over Donny, harmless it seemed but sound had abandoned him. He didn’t attempt to speak or change his expression in the slightest, just shifted his observant eyes to the white haired boy without a trace of fear or concern.
“Try whenever you want.” Nagi said with bored confident eyes. “We have more than one ‘outlier’.”
Donny remained unwavering, his demeanor bordering between waiting for them to attack and ready to attack at his own leisure. Some kind of ability that brought whatever the incanter spoke into effect, he assumed. Going down that line, the boy could have done a lot worse, which meant this move was probably a probe into what they were capable of. Donny doubted Yen or Kamala’s epic tier Dispel could do anything, so the best move would be to do nothing and make them think they were hiding the means to handle it. And that’s what Donny did.
“Fight~?” Karla asked again, this time to Shin directly, her words laced more eagerly. “I can kill him now.” The Atreus scion’s face shifted at her revelation, unnerved and fierce.
“Do you really want to fight?” Tristan asked. Something about his presence changed. Deeper, firmer. A resolve within the pleasant reluctance.
“Not really.” Shin answered honestly, mostly indifferent to the situation.
“We can’t just let him get away with this. He has tried twice, he’ll try it again. He needs to die now.” Yen argued.
“Fine with us.” Suyin lowered her stance just slightly. “It’s better for us with you out of the way.”
“Wanna fight?” Shin asked Leon.
“No really.” He returned the words in his own casual tone.
“This is the perfect chance to secure your place at the top.” Suyin argued.
“I don’t really mind… Besides…” Leon turned his whole focus to Shin, uncaring of everything around him, a depth and absence to his presence. “I wanted to ask someone similar. What is it you want?”
Memories of a red haired woman floated through Shin’s mind, wrapped in warmth and light that seeped through his hollow eyes. And a depth found his nonchalant words as he spoke with the will of the world. “A flame.”
Leon stared for a few moments in calm composure. “Why?”
“I love her.” Shin answered with no pretense or hesitation, words that drew the attention of Chariot.
“Is that enough?”
“Yeah.
“I see…” Leon’s smile mellowed. “We might not be that similar.”
“What do you want?”
“Let’s see… I’d like to do something that matters.” Leon turned calmly with those words and walked away. Gradually, the rest of his party followed and in a flash they headed out of sight.
“Stupid…” Basem criticized as he dropped down from the cliff and rejoined the group, his absence only just now realized.
Yen sighed, in full agreement. Admittedly, she wasn’t too keen about fighting them but she couldn’t deny she’d feel better if there was no need to worry about them. She looked over at Shin, something else of importance on her mind.
“So… You’re actually in a relationship? Feels kinda weird somehow, no offense. Doesn’t really fit your character. What is she, girlfriend, fiancée?
Shin tilted his head. “No?”
“Huh? But… ah, whatever…” Yen dropped it, chalking it up to another ‘shinism’ as well as the topic of personal questions resurfaced in her mind. “What was he saying about you being similar?”
Ashley giggled at the question looking back over her shoulder at their side. “They’re not similar at all.”
“All this aside,” Donny spoke, his voice having returned. “Time to get back to the beach. We should probably look for a different entrance too.”