Chapter 43

Fighting an Angry Tyrant

I shook my head, that definitely seemed like a useless elemental form, it even had the Concept Harmless, for crying out loud. It was Fast but its only theoretically offensive trait was being so Amusing that any attackers would be too busy doing whatever their species equivalent of laughing was to do any fighting.

"Never use that form around us again." Pierce said he was looking with great concern at Ivo, who I hadn't really paid much attention to for most of my time in the form.

"That was incredibly unsettling," Ivo muttered. "I haven't had an overload like that since I tried to drain the rage from a Berzerker. That feeling of amusement was absolutely unnatural."

"I can't believe I saw you laying there and couldn't stop laughing, it was like everything was hilarious. I'm so sorry, I would have reset things sooner, but it just didn't occur to me that anything was wrong with the situation for a while." Pierce shuddered as he put a hand on Ivo's shoulder, and looked him in the eye. "Take a break, I'll stay for the rest of his testing."

Ivo nodded, and looked at me with eyes that betrayed a deep exhaustion. "Sorry Angel, it's not your fault, but I can't risk being around that again, emotional overload is a horrible experience. I'll be right outside, thankfully the privacy ward should block my empathy." He looked back at Pierce. "Make sure to set timers from now on. With emotional manipulation traits like that one had, you risk getting stuck, and I'd have to find Sam or Nefen and get them to reset it from the outside. Come out if you need me."

I felt guilty as hell, I had just let that aspect go, I saw it was Harmless, and didn't even give the slightest thought towards controlling myself. I hadn't even felt myself using my aura, but now that I thought about it, there was no other reason for the two men to be so thoroughly affected.

I tried to apologize as Ivo left, but he waved me off with a "I know, it's okay, go practice."

As soon as Ivo disappeared through the ward, I saw Pierce grit his teeth, his heart rate spiked, and his face twisted into a scowl.

"Fuck the squirrels, pick something that can fight me." Pierce growled the words through his teeth, I could see his veins bulging. I remembered Ivo saying his class made him easy to anger, and that the rage made him stronger. I could almost feel him growing more dangerous by the second.

I shifted to Mana Beast form, and switched to water, one of the elements I had high hopes for using, while I partnered with the duo. I wasn't sure if the tunnel vision it brought on would make it impossible to work with a team, but I thought that it might work if my focus was on the team itself.

In this case, I focused on one goal, defeating Pierce. The man didn't seem very patient at the moment, so I squeezed down on the core to speed my transition to whatever I ended up with.

My form became a mixture of water and ice shards that smelled of the sea. The mana that escaped when I forced myself into a faster saturation covered the area around me in frost.

I was Cold, that much I knew without checking. It was both physical, and mental, there was no anger when I thought about taking my opponent apart. Just certainty that it would be done.

I kept my shape, mostly because it was easier for my mind to work with, my teeth and claws became icicles held in place only by the magic of my elemental form. The form was expensive to maintain, perceptibly draining my water core every moment, just to exist. Moving didn't seem to take much extra power though, and I could keep up with my mana consumption to balance it.

I released my aura, just as Pierce charged me. I flowed out of the way as his mace came crashing down where I had been. The edge of the aura on his mace clipped my tail, and sent the water that it was made of flying. I lost my connection to that part of myself, having it cut off felt horrifying. I only had to spend some mana to create more water in order to restore my form, but the disconnected bits of me seemed to scream from where they had landed. It was an entirely new kind of pain.

I half ran, half flowed away from the enraged man, sending an aura at him Piercing his defenses to spread my Cold through him, trying to apply another Concept of the form, Sapping to drain his energy. I made for the water dominated section of the arena moving as fast as my frosty form would allow.

I miscalculated, Pierce was faster than a man in full plate had any right to be, faster than me with my current form. Fluid and Flowing were not the fastest combination for movement that I'd experienced. He caught up with me as I was about to turn to make my way around the wind filled ravine.

His mace came down directly on my tail, the shockwave that accompanied his swing caused my form to lose cohesion. My mind stayed with the largest portion of the icy water I was made up with as it flew away from him and the rest of my body. I held what was left of me together by sheer force of will.

I landed inside the ravine exposed to winds that threatened to blow what remained of me apart. I had no choice but to switch my core and join the wind, otherwise I would lose my life. The fact that the arena would just reset didn't matter much to my survival instincts.

Watery remnants became a roaring wind. The transition was interesting because some of my Concepts remained largely the same. I was still Cold, though it only seemed to affect my temperature, my mind was filled with the influence of Furious. I felt that I retained Piercing as well, which seemed to carry an ability to penetrate defenses. I lost Fluid, and Flowing, my movement became Turbulent, my body combined with the nearby wind and I began to Intensifying, the air mana lent its form to me gladly.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

I flew out of the ravine, intent on lashing out at the object of my fury. My windy body carried a suggestion of my mana beast self, a gust in the shape of a giant cat. I roared loudly and constantly as I flew at Pierce.

The Raging Tyrant swung his giant, aura wreathed, mace at the wind that approached him. Part of me lost cohesion as his weapon's aura sent the wind that composed that section of my body scattering. The displaced air was not lost to me, and the temporary discorporation didn't stop the part of me that made it past from slashing at him with claws made of wind as I flew past.

I drew blood, my attack was drawn to and through the weak points in his plate armor, I heard him cry out in pain.

Then I heard him shout. "To hell with this test, fight me as yourself. "

I fought the compulsion to do as he commanded, but whatever he did overpowered my will, and I was forced to comply.

I gathered the errant parts of myself back together into an approximation of my physical form, and slowed as much as the windy air mana allowed. When I shifted my core back to its pure state I was several feet off the ground, I did my best to hit the ground running. My instincts took over the landing, and I succeeded in minimizing the damage as my newly corporeal limbs met the hard ground around the ravine.

I slowed my pace and circled back to face my opponent with my lips curled back in a vicious snarl.

I was surprised to note his condition. He held his mace ready in both hands, but it looked like he was straining. Blood ran freely from the wounds I had inflicted with my windy slash. There was no aura surrounding his weapon.

I paced around him, not trusting him to truly be as weak as he looked. As I circled I saw him begin to hold the weapon more easily. I knew then the command had taken something from him, something my hesitation was allowing him to recover.

I sprang at him, intending to bat at him with my paw, I didn't bother extending my claws, they wouldn't be likely to find the weak points in his armor. I hoped to knock him down so I could pounce on him.

He attempted to block my strike with his mace, and succeeded in minimizing the impact, but he was still tossed a few feet towards the ravine.

He somehow managed to land on his feet, his stance wide. His left arm wasn't looking so good, it shook slightly as it helped bear the weight of his weapon.

Even with the shaking arm, he seemed to hold the weapon with more confidence. His head darted to the side, and he started to try to move so his back would not be to the ravine.

I attempted to cut him off, but jumped back when he swung his weapon at me. The heavy mace might not carry the devastating aura it once had, but it still had the power to break my bones.

My staff companion was sending requests through our link that I allow them to help, the compulsion to fight as myself forced me to forbid it.

I began to charge my horns, something I should have been doing from the start. The power for a lightning strike took a few seconds to build.

I made an attempt to swipe at the quickly recovering tyrant, but he forced me to pull back with another quick swing. I saw the aura begin to form as the weapon moved.

I growled at the man, trying to strike again while he recovered from his swing. He managed to maneuver the butt of his mace into the path of my paw. The force of my attack tore the mace free from his left hand.

The mace head struck the ground and the aura blasted into the rock below, sending shards of stone at us. They pinged off Pierce's plate armor, and embedded in my skin drawing blood.

I jumped away from the man in shock, the sound of the blast, and the feeling of even the slight injury from the stones cutting into me made me instinctively retreat. My right paw felt tender where I had made contact with the butt of the mace, causing me to have a slight limp as I returned to pacing around my opponent.

My withdrawal gave him ample time to recover his grip on his weapon, and the strength in his movements grew by the second.

I was trying to put his back to the ravine again, but he would not have it. He started towards me, swinging his mace in figure eights and I was forced to continually give more ground. The aura on the mace grew again, the man was feeling more dangerous with every passing moment.

My horns were charged and ready, so I released the energy, there was a flash, and a louder than normal explosion of sound. I was struck by a disorienting wave of force that traveled through my body, rattling my insides, and causing me to lose my balance and fall. My vision, ruined by my own lightning, was too blurry to see the condition of my opponent.

I smelled burnt flesh, and heard a yell followed by the stomping of feet. I recovered my vision just in time to see the aura covered mace crash down heavily on my skull.

Match End

Winner Pierce

I was a demihuman again, and my staff was practically cursing me out over the link for telling it to stay out of the fight.

"That compulsion was nasty. You made me cut off most of my class, and send my staff away." I said, mostly to explain to my companion exactly what had happened.

"Heh, Tyrant's Decree, I don't use it often. But if you thought that was nasty, imagine being compelled to laugh while someone you care about is lying in front of you collapsed on the ground from an overload." He sounded like he wanted to take the mace to me again, I didn't blame him.

I lowered my head, and even went so far as to crouch down submissively. I wasn't sure if it would be enough, but I felt so guilty having it described that way.

"I'm sorry, I wish I'd known, I wish I'd cut that core as soon as I registered it as useless." I lowered myself even more, and closed my eyes, presenting a target to Pierce if he wished to take it.

The man roared and I heard the sound of his mace slamming the ground. I heard him take a few breaths.

"I know," the man growled, "I'm well fucking aware that you're too incompetent to have done that on purpose."

I cringed at his tone, his words hurt, because they were so true. My instincts pushed me to grovel before the man who had shown such power over me. "I'm sorry, I'll do better, I'll learn." I hadn't felt such pressure to submit since I first met Samuel.

"You had better. This could lead to our death if you don't. Whatever, let's continue testing. We seem to have verified some things, let's see how the squirrel responds to the other elements, if nothing else you can learn what not to ask the mana for."