As Auron activated his luck runes, he and Zander waited for the thirty to forty snake corpses to dissolve.
Looking around, the differences between the varied monsters' development was fascinating. Most of them had snake bodies entirely, but others had partially developed arms. Their limbs were currently useless, but that begged the questions: How big did these creatures get, and for what did they use those arms? In another life, Auron would have loved to spend his days and nights researching monsters like these. The once raging Peryton that now shared his headspace was auspiciously silent.
Auron wondered if he genuinely remained himself. Looking around at the corpses, he realized that he felt nothing other than his curiosity toward these monsters' biology. No doubt, no guilt. It was as if the parts of his mind that had been holding him back were smothered to death, and his personality remained. Auron crinkled his brow as he counted the many snakes.
These creatures were many. A not insubstantial pride warmed the young Rogue's belly. Their description of being able to take on kingdoms when fully grown was troubling. They would eventually likely have attacked. Though he did not know how long it took them to become fully grown. He probably stopped much pain and suffering from being inflicted on the guild. They were the people who fought on the front lines in case there was an invasion. That was not the only good news.
A deep smile gripped Auron's face as he saw several glimmers coming out of the bodies around him.
As he reached forward to grab one, a heavy dragging sound interrupted him. A look at his health bar sitting at the maximum and his mana, almost Auron felt... confident. No. Excited for more fighting.
A slow slither, and the deep growl of a hiss banished the excitement and put Auron back on alert. This was not a game.
Auron gripped the yellow mana inside his chest and initiated Magnetize. He would end this quickly.
As his gauss field activated, he lifted his hand and pulled on the lifeforce making its way toward him. He could feel its heartbeat slowly thunking in its chest.
To his surprise, it did not fly toward his blade. Quite the opposite happened. Auron fell forward slightly. This snake was much larger than the rest. Auron needed to keep in mind he could only pull that which was less than his body weight unless his plan was to fly forward instead.
As this creature seemed to be similar in weight to him, they both stumbled forward. An armored snake slithered into view.
Its wide reptilian body supported heavily muscled arms. Grey scales with the occasional red or white here, and there ran from its snout down to a long and thick tail. Black emotionless, and unintelligent eyes pierced into Auron's own. Nothing in its blank humanoid face resonated with Auron. A wicked-looking pike held in its tight grasp was all the confirmation needed. There would be no talking with this creature.
Gorgon mid-tier x 1
Level 12. Grey red. Grey white. Danger level: Yes.
This mid-sized Gorgon has survived the trials of its infancy, and with such, it stands far above the low tier version of its species. As a creature of Grey mana, these reptilian monsters form blades out of pure silver as soon as their hands are grown. Along with the magical powers granted to them, they also have been gifted with immense durability in the design of their scaled hide.
As the monster and Rogue circled each-other, a deafening silence washed over them. Zander reluctantly crawled up a sidewall to give them room after Auron instructed him to do so with a nod.
Like a machine, Auron's heart pumped steadily in his ears as they sized one another up. The old him would have been afraid of the weapon-wielding monster. Its two mana types might have been daunting in the past, but now Auron had access to two mana trees also.
Rather than feel fear, he felt outraged. How dare this creature see him as prey. Its broad and wicked mouth curled up into what looked like a smile. He knew this was the influence of his spirit's mind, but Auron did not care. He allowed the outrage to flow through his veins, fueling his battle-ready mind.
Sheathing his dagger violently, Auron prepared his right hand behind his back. Caught off guard by the unexpected movement, the creature lunged forward, leading with its weapon.
This monster had a slightly higher level, but Auron was built for speed. He danced to the side, narrowly avoiding the wild slash. Rocks and sparks danced along the blade as it bit into the stone floor.
With a thought toward his ring, the goblin blade was in Auron's hand. Flicking his wrist forward, it screamed through the air and, with a stroke of incredible luck, slipped under the large scales of the monster's shoulder.
A shriek sailed out of the snake-man's mouth.
Auron followed up the surprise attack with a call on his purple mana. As it filled the area around the two, the beast began swinging wildly. Its weapon now moved even slower to Auron's eyes due to its injured arm.
Using the slight confusion caused by his stealth, he dodged each swing easily. The snake man looked as if it was trapped in molasses. Auron felt incredible as he sped around the flurry of blows. Something was sparking within his chest. Prodding to it with his mind, he attempted to activate it.
Reaction activated.
A flood of yellow mana infused with red rushed toward the Rogue's eyes in an instant. Auron's vision went from what could only be likened to having his eyes closed to opening them for the first time. His sight widened and focused simultaneously. Not only could he spot chips broken off of the bladed edge of the monster's pike as it ran by his face, but he could also anticipate the blow. The muscles of the creature betrayed its movement. Auron knew where it would strike right as it decided to do so. Unintentionally Auron used up too much of his red mana with the ability. While he channeled it to his body, the Red power source ran out, and he was left with just pure yellow mana.
Panicking, he called upon his green mana. Surging the propagation, mana met his Yellow mana, and the two combined.
Speed burst activated.
Taking a step to get to the side of the creature, the room blurred. Auron moved so fast he lost sight of where he was. His enhanced speed, too much for his eyes. Blessedly, though he could not see the path he traveled, he landed where he was aiming. Auron had moved three meters in less than a second. Using his still increased speed, he looked to the open area behind the monster.
With another step while pulling one of his steel daggers, he was at its back. Stabbing forward, his blade skittered off of the creature's hard scales. Luckily for him, his enhanced agility allowed him time. Recovering from the failed blow, Auron adjusted his attack so it would pierce under the rows of hard metal-like material.
With no hesitation, he jammed the dagger deep into the creature's neck and twisted it roughly. Penetrating the tough skin underneath was a challenge, but the damage multiplier from the backstab must have helped. The monster did not even have time to process the attack before it thumped to the ground lifeless.
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Kill or be killed.
The thought gave Auron no pleasure, but he could reasonably come to terms with the concept for the first time. He would be prey no longer.
As he took a deep breath and released it, Zander climbed back down.
[I half expected you to use one of your grenades. You really have grown Auron.]
Auron acknowledged the compliment with a stiff nod and got about searching for loot. If Zander was alarmed by the changes in Auron, he did not speak on it.
From the bodies, nearly half of them dropped loot. Auron found ten clear gemstones and five silver chunks that had the intriguing glow of mana, but these were not what he was excited for.
Steel-plated Gorgon leather gambeson. Set item. One of three. Armor made from the body of a Gorgon. Once equipped, increases Durability +20. Equipping this item increases the chances of finding the others in this set. Edible.
Auron looked down at his current gear. Its sentimental value was real, but he was in desperate need of improvement. This chest armor by itself added nearly as much protection as his entire old set. With a thought, all of the drops went into his ring. Another mental command switched out his Rat cowl for the Gambeson. He would miss having a cloak, but he would need a cloak for several reasons if he was going back into town. Preferably black. Auron would be joining the thieves guild if still possible. The thought of not being allowed back worried him, but he would take things one step at a time. Only one man actually saw his face up close.
"Zander, let's get moving." He offered his neck to his familiar after taking a small break to refill his mana bar.
Making their way to the stairs, Auron opted not to use them; he needed to work on his new magic. Aiming for the winding section above and the opposite of them, he pushed at an angle behind him.
With nothing for the magic to come to a stop against Auron was lightly pushed forward as the invisible tendrils of his magnetic magic left trails of sparks skittering along the ground behind him.
Unable to stop mana's flow in time, Auron and Zander were lightly pushed off the cliff. As the two plunged into the chasm below, Auron swore softly.
Picturing a dial, he slowly cranked up the power as he fell. With a spiked increase, he pushed up slightly as they were about to hit the ground. Rising a few feet, the two landed softly. Though he now had the mind of his spirit melded with his own, he did not know the extent of his own power. Flashes of memories from its ancient life were not helpful.
During its prime, it could feel inorganic/organic objects from leagues away. Auron was vastly shy of that power. He needed to experiment. The massive mana drain from the magic was a limiting factor, but he had cleared this section of the dungeon, so he had a little time to research.
As he wished for some sort of mana potion, he waited for his bar to slowly recover. He had leveled up a few times, but he did not want to spend the points all on mana or recharge.
The blur he had encountered while moving full speed indicated he would need to up his perception to keep up with his speed stat.
Stats:
Spiritual stats:
Health: 50
Regen:15(x2)
Mana:50
Wisdom:35
Physical Stats:
Speed: 140
Precision:50
Strength:50
Durability:50 (+15)Armor bonus
Stat changes: 30 points spent
Mana 50>55
Precision 50>75
Settling on twenty-five points for his precision, and the remaining five for his mana was the only compromise he could be somewhat happy with.
The pit they were in was too dark and cramped to test his speed, but enough time had passed that he could get back to trying out the range and power of his yellow mana driven magic.
"Zander, I may need you to play goalie with my body."
His familiar cocked his head to the side at the odd expression.
"Just stop me from hitting any of the walls if you can. I am going to go full output with this magic. I do not think my mana will last." Auron checked that all his gear was secure and stood in the middle of the pit. He peered into the darkness above him. Far away, almost too far to see, wisps danced in their usual patterns near the ceiling. No way he would be able to reach that height, right?
Gripping the power inside of him, with the help of his body gemstone and mind orb, Auron maximized it for the first time.
Gauss field activated
Auron felt lines of electricity run along his body. The feeling tingled and made him want to run all of his energy out.
The mana cost to hold this state was minimal. When he moved his hands, they flew through the air rapidly and drained his mana bar slightly.
Before pushing on anything, he closed his eyes. Various snake sized holes that were burrowed deep into the walls at his sides allowed him to explore the range of his magnetism. His limit seemed to be about five to seven meters in an orb around himself. The edge of this orb was constantly pulsing and moving as if alive. Waves of electrical current flowed off of his hands into his surroundings. The energy harmlessly passed over Zander. He could feel a few tiny snakes as they lazed about in their subterranean home.
Material that was alive felt much different in comparison to the ground. Auron could feel the electrical impulses in himself, Zander, and the monsters. They felt right. Material like the rock walls, and floor, on the other hand, felt foreign, almost wrong. What confused him were the deposits of hard material that responded to his power how life would. Perhaps the term organic had a deeper meaning than he currently understood.
Fueled by this aversion to being surrounded by lifelessness in the hole, Auron decided to give his body magnetic properties.
He began to hover, and his mana bar ticked down at a more rapid rate. With a thought toward the ground, he repelled himself away. As he soared upward, he continued to push until the earth was at the edge of his magical range.
Like a rocket, he shot five, ten, twenty meters upward, and his speed just started to decrease. He could feel the dead ceiling approaching as he yelled to Zander.
A second too late, a pillow of thick wind formed above them. Auron flailed as his feet became level with his head, and he made a human-sized snow angel in the rock above them. They were traveling at such astronomical speeds the wind, and even a push against the stairway's roof did little to slow them.
Failure.
Zander rushed to heal Auron as he simultaneously created a ramp of wind to set them down on the nearby stairs.
Auron fought to remain conscious as he rolled down Zander's mystic path. His nearly empty mana and health bars played a duet of agony on his body and mind. His unique attribute had likely saved him. Near-death experiences were becoming all too frequent. As Zander healed him, a wheezing laugh escaped him. Zander seemed to be in high spirits as well. They both knew if Auron could master this power, he would be formidable. If only his body was not so fragile. He needed some way to tank damage. Something about his battle style required tweaking. The Reaction ability was promising, but it was not enough. His speed when adding green mana to yellow was also great, but he would lose his vision while moving. Not something useful if there were multiple enemies. As Zander healed his mangled body, Auron thought about the many potential paths forward.
Auron did not want to push all of his points into durability with the mana drain of his magic that was no longer an option. After a long rest, he was back in fighting shape. The crack in his skull took the longest to heal. Auron missed his hood. Though he knew it would not have done much to stop his collision damage, he felt exposed without its comfort. Running a hand through the hair on the back of his head, he noticed he was covered in monster blood. Well, a decent mixture of monster blood and his own. Taking out his bucket, Auron cleaned the evidence of battle from his body while continuing to go over the choices he had. Before becoming overwhelmed with all he needed to do, he made a shortlist of things he could accomplish first.
His first goal was going to be to complete his armor set. He needed to be more durable. The second goal was to beat the dungeon. Easy peasy. After that, he would venture back to the city and either use stealth to acquire a hooded cloak, or possibly a disguise. Auron did not want to think about whether or not he would be recognized as the one who freed the spirit. So he just focused on the first step.
Zander, back in place on his shoulders, shared his determination as they entered the next room. Ripping out his dagger, Auron got to work.
As the Rogue and his familiar traveled further into the dungeon, they did not hear the sound of a large chain rattling down into the entrance pit.
A Draconic being clumsily scrambled down. His struggle, eventual fall to the ground, and his patchwork armor making a massive ruckus also went unheard.