Chapter 16- Trials of the Independent 2
The young chimera quickly got dressed, he wet his clothes so it would keep him cool in the sun.
He scraped pieces of brain and fur off his axe as he was walking towards where the horde appeared before. All the bodies were gone, Morpheus was shocked.
‘The dungeon must take them back.’ He concluded.
00:32
Status
Health:6860/6860
Stamina:9900/10050
Mana:3360/3530
He was ready, more ready than the last time, feeling refreshed and agitated for the fight to come. Hearing the drum of the horde, his heart pumped to match it.
(Shadow Wolf, Level 46)
(Shadow Wolf, Level 51)
(Goblin Scout, Level 42)
(Goblin Scout, Level 54)
Goblins had joined the horde, archers at that. They let their arrows fly towards Morpheus, one caught him in the leg, but he yanked it out and threw it on the door. He let off a roar of his own as he dashed into the next horde of fifty enemies.
The numbers were increased and this wave included goblin archers. Their arrows could barely pierce his skin but he focused them out anyway. The young chimera knew slightly sentient monsters could pose more problems than a monster who follows its instincts.
He used Arcane Step to weave between the wolves as he headed for the ten goblins standing out the back.
Morpheus swung his axe, instantly killing two of them and knocking three back. He crouched and spun around with the axe’s momentum cutting through the three that were knocked back. He jumped using Taste of Talaria and slammed his axe down on a goblin, splitting him in two and spraying dark blood everywhere.
The rest of the goblins in the back were cleared up easily with a few swings of his axe. The wolves did not pose a challenge to him. Arcane Step took them off guard and they stood no defence against Arcane Strike.
The first wave posed a threat because of his discomforting arrival. But now, he was enjoying it, to challenge hordes of monsters, he was getting stronger and more adapt at fighting. He could sense an attack coming from behind from Arcane Pulse, even then it would cause a cut that could be healed.
The next wave which came was the same as the last, except with more higher level goblins and wolves. He had gone through ten levels by this point and none felt like a true challenge. On his tenth level break he checked his level up.
‘Congratulations’ you have levelled up Level (64) (1 stat point available)
...
‘Congratulations’ you have levelled up Level (69) (6 stat points available)
He wasn’t happy with how low his levels were progressing, he would have to kill higher level beasts. He put the rest of his points into wisdom, to increase his mana regeneration.
He stretched and prepared himself for the next wave, he heard the rumble. What came in the horde was unexpected, a large wolf came bounding up the scorching hills.
(Alpha Shadow Wolf, Shadow Shifter, Level 83)
“So a challenge then?” He asked himself.
“I accept!” He joked.
The Alpha was followed by thirty shadow wolves, it was controlling them to surround him.
Suddenly the whole desert turned into darkness, he switched on to his night vision but still he couldn’t see anything. They disappeared before his eyes. He heard them, but he couldn’t see them. Suddenly a wolf bit into his arm, tearing off all the leather armour. He hacked at its back, to which the wolf let go.
The young chimera ran back as fast as he could, the darkness followed him. Eventually the bright scorching sun beamed over him and he saw the horde chasing him.
His only option was to fight with his eyes closed, to sense them. Even though it would be disconcerting to him, it seemed like his only option. Morpheus concentrated on feeling everything around, he could sense the shadow magic coming closer towards him.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. He slammed his axe down on a red outlined image of a wolf. More lunged at him, they met the blade of Black Steel Force.
A dozen shadow wolves had been decimated when the image of the Alpha came into his sense Range. The Alpha was three times the size of the others, its teeth and claws included. He used Arcane Step to move out of its way and slaughter the rest of its brethren.
If he could get the Alpha on its own, he concluded it would be easier. So he danced around the Alpha, beheading and crushing the other wolves.
Now it was just him and the Alpha, he turned and faced it with his eyes closed still. It tried to bite him but Morpheus was just too fast, his training and skills helped him avoid attacks the Alpha tried. Morpheus eventually began to draw more and more blood from the overgrown wolf, staining himself and his axe more.
The Alpha fired a ball of shadow magic which hit Morpheus and seemed to latch and cling on to him, restricting his movements.
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He tried to use Taste of Talaria to move, but the strange shadow shadow magic constricted his abilities and his physical movements. He tried to jump away but the Alpha sunk his teeth into Morpheus's right leg. It rag dolled the young chimera, beating him off the ground as it’s teeth sunk deeper and deeper until his leg was ripped off from his thigh.
He screamed in pain as he flew tens of metres across the dusty hills. Morpheus landed with a hard thud and tumbled a few more metres. The young chimera was dazed and in pain, he could see the shadow wolf with his own eyes which meant he was thrown far.
Blood was gushing from his leg, his normal healing barely making a difference. Morpheus concentrated all his mana on repairing his leg. Like he had done with other people, bone grew, followed by arteries and veins.
The Alpha was almost upon him again, his sight vanished and he was once again in the shroud of shadows. He dashed to the side and swung his axe into the Alpha’s shoulder, splitting the bone in two, causing it to let out a howl.
He carried on chipping away at the Alpha, more deep cuts appearing on its body staining its fur. The young chimera noticed the sudden slowness in his enemies attack, bringing his axe to his side he put all his strength into a swing which embedded his axe into the Alpha’s throat.
It whimpered and soon dropped dead in front of him. He yanked his axe out from underneath the beast and began to slam his axe repeatedly into the dead carcass. He was frustrated at losing his leg, it showed he was still inexperienced. Morpheus knew that himself was only to blame but it still helped to relieve his anger.
He quickly grabbed its body and put it into his Bag of Holding. He trudged back over to the place he was thrown from in which he found his leg covered blood. He shuddered and took the boot off of it, which made him think about if his tatoos could be removed. He dismissed the thought, the last thing he wanted to do was anger the gods who gave him the mark. ’If a beast tore his arm off, so be it.’ he thought.
Snapping back to reality he jogged back over to the river and took a plunge into it, not even caring about his clothes. Bringing up all his new notifications.
…
You have levelled up Flow of the Valkyrie Level (14)
You have levelled up Arcane Pulse Level (14)
You have levelled up Arcane Rebirth Level (18)
You have levelled up Spartans Essence Level (17)
You have levelled up Battle-Axe Arts Level (17)
‘Congratulations’ you have gained Shadow Magic Resistance. You have been shrouded in shadows.
…
You have levelled up Shadow Magic Resistance Level (3)
You have levelled up Taste of Talaria Level (12)
You have levelled up Arcane Hardening Level (12)
You have levelled up Arcane Step Level (16)
+1 Vitality
+1 Constitution
‘Congratulations’ you have levelled up Level (70) (1 stat point available)
...
‘Congratulations’ you have levelled up Level (73) ( 4 stat points available)
Morpheus was happy with his level ups. He understood that levelling was going to be harder the higher he progressed. He put all four of his points into wisdom, feeling that it was not right to have the rest of his stats so high. He was sure he could figure out how to level up luck and charisma at some point.
He realised the impact of Arcane Hardening caused on his body. The Alpha had to bite down with all its might and ragdoll him to remove his leg. The leather armour was useless to him at this point, he would rather fight in his underwear than armour. He soon acknowledged that his private’s would be too open and dismissed the thought.
4:23
The time was closing in on him, Morpheus got out of the river and pulled a cigarette out of its box.
00:58
He packed his mouth with a goblin skewer and washed it down with water.
00:23
He dried his hands with his cloak and grabbed Black Force Steel. Morpheus ran over to the ‘killing site’ as he called it.
The rumble happened again, but what emerged wasn’t a shadow wolf or goblin. It was a grey wolf.
(Psycho Harbog, Level 64)
“What the fuck is a Harbog!” He exclaimed.
The Harbog was a grey wolf, but it looked like it had been taking steroids since it was born. The shadow wolves looked like children inn comparison to this monstrosity. There were roughly thirty of them and behind them were again thirty goblins.
He quickly formulated his attack plan. All the goblins were archers, or so that he could see. Morpheus decided on taking them out first, like he had done every time.
He ran towards them, his heart beating like an engine. He leapt over all the harbogs and into the goblins. Pieces of goblin flew through the air as Morpheus swept through the whole lot, his axe not stopping in its rotations.
All of the goblins had been slaughtered and now he was just left with the harbogs. One jumped at him, aiming for the kill at his neck, he spun around and attempted to cut it into two but his axe lodged in its stomach.
“Ah, fuck.” He whispered to himself.
He pulled it out and retreated, using Taste of Talaria to jump over the horde. Morpheus began to run in circles, with thirty angry and ravenous harbogs behind him.
The young chimera couldn’t split them in two, making it harder for him to kill a horde. Their skin was much tougher than the shadow wolves, so he decided that he would have to cut into their skulls one by one. All while sticking to the edge of the horde so he doesn’t get overrun.
He carried out his plan smoothly, Morpheus found out that even their reactions and speed had increased dramatically compared to the shadow wolves. He whittled down the horde slowly, making sure each hargon was definitely dead.
And finally wave twelve was over and Morpheus took a breather. The Hargon were a strong enemy and he had to use his full strength to even kill one.
He took a dip in the river and soon he was ready for the next wave.
Wave thirteen began, the rumble followed by a stampede. But these were white wolves, they looked beautiful and majestic, not packed with muscles. There was thirty of them all sprinting towards Morpheus.
(Psycolf, Level 65)
Behind the wolves were roughly ten orcs, all carrying either a mace or a sword.
(Orc Brute, Level 73)
(Orc Warrior, Level 69)
Morpheus was worried, he had never encountered another type of magic wolf. The normal shadow wolves never used any magic but he wasn’t about to dive head first into an unknown enemy.
Morpheus circled round the horde. He could feel a slight pain in his head, a sort of ringing feeling but nothing too severe.
‘Congratulations’ you have gained Mind Magic Resistance. You have felt the power of a mind beast.
‘So its mind magic.’ The young chimera thought to himself. He was confused though, he thought it might be some illusion magic if it could mess with your mind.
He brought his axe down on the leading psycolf aiming for its head, the axe went down with no resistance but the ringing in his ears spiked suddenly as the psycolf died. It seemed to be some sort of suicide act, to injure its enemy as much as possible for the others.
Arcane Rebirth kept the ringing in his head to a minimum as he slowly killed the psycolfs that came too close to him. Morpheus almost felt bad to kill them, their pure white fur made them look sacred and majestic. He didn’t think twice about and slaughtered almost all of them.
You have levelled up Mind Magic Resistance Level (2)
The horde was losing its numbers and eventually the only enemies that remained were the orcs. These orcs were alike the ones in the dungeon except at a higher level.
The orcs seemed so slow compared to the speed at which Morpheus was fighting. He weaved in between their clubs and swords, cutting off their legs then beheading most of them. He needed to injure them first in order to kill them, the young chimera had difficulty reaching their heads without affecting his fluid motion.
Morpheus pulled his axe out the last orcs head, he was getting tired and agitated.