Chapter Seven - Knox & Nightshade in the Valley of the Mantis
A/N: Skills Appearing in <<-->> are skills used with "Path of Silence" (meaning he is not saying them aloud)
Wind came down from the mountains that surround the valley, creating a constant breeze that moved through the tall grass. The wind generated an endless rustling noise that would soon dull one's senses and leave them jumping at shadows. It was an ideal hunting ground for the large inhabitants... and yet, something else had recently begun to hunt within the grassland.
The giant Mantis froze. It had been tracking a sound but now something felt wrong... The head swiveled as it surveyed its surroundings and the wings on its back shifted nervously. Then out of the tall grass a violet crescent flew! The surprised Mantis tried to dodge but still lost one of its legs from the attack.
The Mantis panicked. Its wings snapped open in an attempt to fly a short distance away but something landed on its back. The Mantis began to buck wildly as one of its wings fell to the ground. Another violet crescent appeared from the grass and took out the other front leg and the Mantis’ body crashed forward.
There was a brief flare of pain at the base of its neck and the entire triangular head of the mantis fell from its shoulders.
_____________________
You have leveled up!
Knox hopped off the body as it began to turn gray and disappear.
“Looks like we’ve got this down pat. Adding you to my "Always See" list was a good idea. Now you can see me even when I'm stealthed. Maybe now, we can try and lure more of them at once?”
'If I hadn't added her, she would have kept hitting me...'
“Yeah... Punishing Wave can handle up to five mobs at once but I think we should stick to two or three first. It would be useful if you had some ranged attacks too... Why don’t you use throwing knives?”
Knox looked embarrassed.
“Uh... I forgot to buy some... Cara City doesn’t have any merchants really and when I went to the shop in Carbondale... I totally forgot.”
Nightshade sighed...
“Fine, I’ll make you some but you have to show me your stats! Oh, and give me any warrior items you find!”
“Ah! That reminds me...”
Knox dug around in his bag and pulled out two items. One, the large Greatsword he’d taken from the bandit leader and the other, a red steel breastplate that the Salamandra Lord had dropped. Knox handed them to Nightshade.
Do you wish to give these items to Nightshade?
Yes/No
“Yes.”
Nightshade took the items and immediately shouted.
“Identify!”
Giant Fang
Durability: 37/70
Attack: 27-39
A Greatsword created from the fang of a giant wolf. Due to the unique material the blade is surprisingly light while still providing excellent damage.
Bonuses:
Attack speed increased by 10%
+20 Str
+15 Agi
Requirements:
Lv60
205 Str
Smoldering Salamandra Breastplate
Durability: 75/75
Defense: 45
An iron breastplate tempered in extreme heat, combined with the scales of a Salamandra. This armor absorbs heat.
Bonuses:
+10% Fire Resistance
Small chance to absorb fire based attacks.
Requirements:
Warrior/Knight or Paladin Class
Lv80
220 Str
150 Vit
“...”
“...”
“PUNISHING WAVE!”
“GAAH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?”
“FOR NOT GIVING ME THESE SOONER!”
“SCREW Y— GAAAH”
Once Nightshade was done beating Knox she spoke again.
“Now show me your stats!”
“Why should I?”
“PUNISHING WAVE!”
“SHIT! Alright! But let me see yours too!”
“Why the hell should I let you?”
‘As unreasonable as always...’
“So, I can tell what items you can use... and I’m curious.”
“...”
“...”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
*SLAM!*
As soon as Knox got off the ground, they both called out... “Stats window!”
Status WindowNameKnoxAlignmentChaoticLevel104 (0% UNL)ClassAssassinTitleSalamandra SlaughtererFame675Infamy375Health4980Mana975Strength176(+15)Agility382 (+85)Vitality73Endurance103Wisdom23Intellect38Luck269Insight95Fighting Spirit75Leadership8Attack180Defense52Magic ResistanceFire5%Water0%Earth0%Black Magic15%+ 15% To Strength, Agility and Luck.
+ All stats increase by an additional 25% In the Dark.
+ Enables you to equip class specific items.
+ Enables you to learn Alchemy to the stage of master.
+ Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Stealth and Dagger Mastery.
+ Increase Attack Power of Daggers, Katars and Throwing Weapons by 25%.
+ Increases fame for successful Assassination Quests.
+ Increase Critical Hit Chance by 5% & Increase Critical Hit Damage by 20%.
Status WindowNameNightshadeAlignmentNeutralLevel92 (30% UNL)ClassWarriorTitleScourge of the GoblinsFame130Infamy380Health6200Mana625Strength371 (+45)Agility182 (+40)Vitality204 (+62)Endurance58Resilience35Perseverance52Wisdom10Intellect10Luck0Fighting Spirit290Leadership0Attack141Defense125Magic ResistanceFire10%(+10%)Water0%Earth0%Black Magic0%+ 25 Str, Agi & Vit
+ Increase HP by 50 and Vit by 1 for every 10 Str
+ Increase damage with all melee weapons by 25%
+ Increases experience gained toward Melee proficiencies by 15%
+ Enables the use of three layers of armor; Cloth, Leather & Plate
+ Enables you to learn Blacksmithing to the level of Master
+ Enables you to equip class specific items.
‘Well that outrageous fighting spirit is no surprise... But, damn, warriors have some nice stats!’
“How is your endurance so high? What kind of training did you do to raise it?”
Nightshade asked, looking puzzled. Knox’s face turned white and his mind began pulling up images of his training with Vennec...
You have been poisoned. HP will decrease until cured.
You are bleeding. HP and Stamina will rapidly decrease.
You have died from loss of blood.
You have died from bludgeoning.
You have died from falling from a great height.
You have died from poison.
You have died from internal injury.
Knox was brought back to the present with a slap from Nightshade.
“You don’t want to know...”
Knox shuddered.
“Well whatever... I can easily make some throwing knives you can equip. When we rest later, I’ll craft you some.”
“Cool. I wanna watch you make it, since I’ve yet to see how most of the professions in RR work. I’ve really got to pick a profession. My class can learn alchemy... but I really don’t want to.”
“Whatever. Now fetch.”
“...”
Knox slipped into the tall grass again in search of more Mantises. They were around level 100 to level 130 and they gave really good exp with the 2x bonus. Knox had already leveled four times in a day.
Knox targeted a group of three Mantises. He stopped within thirty feet of them and snapped a twig that he’d picked up from the ground. The Mantises lifted their heads in unison and three triangular faces swiveled in Knox’s direction.
‘That is sooo creepy...’
He moved away in the direction of Nightshade, being sure to create enough noise for them to follow, but not enough for them to locate him. Every now and then, one of the mantises would fly into the air for a short while and Knox had to drop to the ground and activate his <
He dragged the mob all the way to Nightshade and they began their attack. This time, instead of attacking from a distance, Nightshade rushed forward with her Warrior skill “Charge” and stunned the lead Mantis. Knox moved in from behind, keeping his <
<
- Sneak Attack!!
- Critical Hit!
- Backstab Damage +250% Target unaware of your presence!
- Target’s Leg is severely damaged. Speed Reduced by 25%
- Stealth disabled from executing an attack.
He backstabbed the leg joints of the Mantis on the right, crushing one of its rear legs and throwing it off balance. Once all the Mantises were focused on Nightshade, Knox would appear from behind, cutting their legs out from under them or slicing off their wings if they attempted to fly away.
The wings were especially dangerous. They could snap open without warning and the edge of each wing had many sharp blades that could deal a lot of damage.
The Mantises launched their “Wind Blade” at Nightshade and slicing blades of wind would fly at her. She dodged some attacks, and took others but seemed relatively unaffected.
‘Damn... Warriors are so tough! If I took that many hits, I’d probably be dead.’
“Shockwave! Punishing Wave!”
Knox watched as Nightshade slammed her foot into the ground, sending out a blast that stunned the three mantises and then chained her stomp with Punishing Wave. It was a simple but effective fighting style. It kept all the monsters in front of her stunned most of the time or knocked off balance by Punishing Wave.
Knox used backstab with impunity on the stunned targets; breaking legs and wings. When their HP was low enough, he’d go in for the kill, severing their necks from their bodies.
The Mantises had very hard carapaces and Knox didn’t know enough about bug anatomy to go for the vitals. It limited his options for attack, making him rely heavily on Nightshade’s AOE (area of effect) damage.
Once the rhythm was established, they became faster at locating the Mantises. They lured a few away and killed them, before moving on to slaughter the next group.
They killed over a hundred and fifty mantises in the first three days and by a rough estimate, Knox figured they were a little more than two days away from the shrine...
They walked into a clearing, with stones placed along the edges. Each stone had a weird glyph engraved on it. Knox had come to associate the runes with ‘safety’, since they were the same ones that always protected the safe zones in the dungeons.
He dropped to the ground with a relieved sigh.
“We’ve been going for about twenty-two hours straight... We should take a break.”
Nightshade snorted but sat down anyway, which meant that she was probably tired, too.
“Fine. I want to repair my gear anyway. And I’ll get around to making you those knives.”
Knox watched with interest as Nightshade pulled out a bunch of different molds, while stoking the fire of her portal forge. She started from raw metal ore to molten liquid that was then poured into the molds.
“The molds are Royal Roads version of ‘system’ assistance. They make it easier to mass produce items like arrowheads and knives. As long as you have the required blacksmithing skill and the correct mold, the system will do the rest.”
“That seems kind of easy.”
“Yes and no... The products created this way have lower stats but in the case of items that need to be mass produced this way is more efficient.”
“Then maybe... no never mind.”
“What?”
“Well, I was thinking then maybe you could help me with the profession I’ve been considering. Almost no one has it because it requires blacksmithing too...”
“What is it?”
“Engineering. Most people haven’t bothered with it because they think it has no combat use but... I’ve been thinking that it could be really useful.”
Nightshade was quiet for a moment before nodding.
“You’d need help with manufacturing some of the parts, right? I can do that but why don’t you just learn blacksmithing? It would make your life easier.”
“It would also be a rather useless talent for me too... My class needs to get repair to intermediate before I can even learn blacksmithing. At the same time, creating the few pieces I need for engineering would help both your skill leveling in blacksmithing and my engineering.”
“Okay... but why do you want to learn engineering in the first place?”
“Secret.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Tell me or die.”
So, Knox told her...
_____________________
Nightshade handed Knox his first five throwing knives about thirty minutes later and Knox began practicing...
‘This is so embarrassing.’
Knox had been throwing for a little over an hour and he hadn’t managed to do it right yet... Oh, he could hit the target but he somehow kept managing to hit the target with everything except the blade! Each throw was an experiment. At first he had to get used to the weight and how much strength he needed to apply to hit the target.
On an impulse he flipped the knife in his hand so that he was holding it by the blade.
‘Maybe like this?’
He cocked his arm back, felt the weight of the blade against his finger tips... and threw! The knife spun just once and then...
*Thunk*
It sunk into the old leather chest armor he was using for a target, like a knife through butter! He didn’t immediately go to retrieve his knife instead he closed his eyes and tried to engrave the feel of the throw in his memory.
Taking a deep breath, he picked up another knife from the ground and threw.
*Thunk*
New Skill: Throwing Mastery
*Thunk*
*Thunk*
He kept going until he had exhausted his five knives.
“Show Skill, Throwing Mastery.”
Throwing Mastery (Lv.1 1%) – Your proficiency with all throwing weapons is increased. Rocks, Throwing Axes, Knives, Spears, Shuriken, Chakram, Darts, Boomerangs, etc.
Attack speed increased by 3%
Range increased by 5%
Accuracy increased by 10%
‘If I keep practicing this every day, I wonder how useful it could become...’
_____________________
Nightshade waited calmly until Knox had been hitting the targets for a couple of hours. Her hammer barely slowed as she continued to practice her smithing, all the while keeping an eye on ‘him’. When she decided he had enough time to practice with his new toys she got up and approached.
They stood face to face.
“How long have you known me?”
“Uh... Since we were three?”
“And how many times have I given you something for free?”
“Now that you mention it... Uh... I’m drawing a blank.”
Nightshade nods.
“Never. So now you are going to play with me for a bit.”
“Wait wha--?”
You have challenged Knox to a duel.
Nightshade watched as Knox’s eyes scanned over the system message and just like she had expected... His whole demeanor changed. His stance became loose and confident. His eyes seemed to glow with excitement and his lips spread into a feral grin.
*Shiver*
‘It always sends shivers down my spine... How he changes so much the second anyone challenges him.’
Knox has accepted the duel.
Duel begins in 30 seconds.Rules: Three Hit VictoryDeath: DisabledSkill Usage: Unlimited
Nightshade readied her sword and stood facing Knox. She chose a two-handed grip and even though it presented her whole body to attack, she was confident that it wouldn’t pose a problem for her. She watched as Knox pulled his daggers from his sheathes and stood ready, his eyes focused on her.
3
2
1
BEGIN!
A black aura surrounded Knox as soon as the duel began but Nightshade had already seen burst and began her counter. She began to swing her sword, the blade already glowing violet.
“PUNIS— What?!”
A jarring force slammed into her blade just as she’d been about to activate the skill, a number of rapid hits that made her sword vibrate in her hand.
Sword skill interrupted.
‘A sword skill can be interrupted by negating the sword motion?!’
Nightshade tried to recover and slammed her foot on the ground, even as she saw Knox closing the distance.
“Shockwave!”
It was a desperate measure because it could easily be dodged but she had never expected him to negate her Punishing Wave so easily... As she feared Knox jumped without hesitation and her shockwave did nothing to him...
‘I lost to him again?! Damn it! All I’ve got to do is land the three hits!’
She swung her sword, not bothering with a sword skill, aiming for the center of his body with the huge blade. Then she just stared open mouthed...
Knox reached out with one hand and used the flat of her greatsword to change his trajectory in midair. Nightshade watched in stunned disbelief as he swung his body around and brought his foot crashing into her chest.
1 Hit to combatant Knox.
2 Hit to combatant Knox.
Before she even hit the ground he somehow managed to hit her again.
‘They say I’m a monster... But that’s only because he hardly ever gets serious.’
3 Hit to combatant Knox.
Duel over. Winner: Knox
The system message popped up as Nightshade was lightly tapped on the shoulder by Knox. Nightshade looked up at the smiling face above her.
"Stop grinning idiot."
“So, what do I get for winning?”
“You get to take me out to dinner.”
“On second thought, victory is enough of a prize for me.”
“Too late. Saturday. Your shitty uncle’s restaurant.”
“That old bastard will try to dock my pay or something.”
“Just let him try. You did blackmail him with a visit from me to get your job there in the first place didn’t you? Consider this just enforcing your threat.”
Nightshade smiled sweetly as Knox’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
‘I gain victory even in defeat! This means I am superior!’
Just then, Nightshade’s stomach grumbled; then an answering grumble came from Knox. Her happy mood evaporated as she pulled out her supply of jerky and barley bread...
“We should kidnap a cook or something.”
Knox complained as he nibbled on his barley bread with a disgusted face. Nightshade couldn’t help but nod at this idea.
“I can craft chains with my blacksmithing.”
“I know a few poisons that if not administered regularly will result in extreme pain.”
The night continued on as Nightshade and Knox discussed how they could potentially enslave a cook... and for some reason cooks all around the Versailles continent woke up shivering in fear.
_____________________
Knox landed on the back of the Mantis and slipped his dagger into a gap in the exoskeleton. Without even waiting for it to die, he quickly hopped to the next Mantis. He landed with his knees on either side of its head and with a twist of his body, he broke its neck before dropping to the ground.
He looked over in time to see Nightshade finish cleaving her Mantis in two and nodded to himself.
‘It really is easier with her. When she is done using her sword skills they barely have any health left. I just have to sweep in to cripple or finish them off.’
“It has become so easy to fight them... Almost boring.”
“Yeah but the temple is just ahead so we shouldn’t be here too much longer.”
Knox and Nightshade cut their way through two more groups of Mantises before finally reaching the bottom step of the golden shrine. It towered three stories into the air, with golden roofs held aloft by white stone pillars. The wide stairway led upward toward a huge arched doorway, with statues of golden warriors standing sentinel on either side.
“Hmm... It’s a lot bigger than it looked from the edge of the valley.”
“No duh... It’s called perspective...”
Knox sighed... He had meant that it looked bigger than it should be but he knew it would be useless to point this out. Nightshade walked past him and almost had one foot on the first step before Knox grabbed her by the armor and yanked her to the side of the steps.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Knox raised an eyebrow, picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it casually onto the second step. A ten foot geyser of fire exploded outwards where they had just been standing, burning the tall grass down to the roots.
“My job.”
“Oh...”
“Let your trusty Assassin lead the way.”
Nightshade nodded in agreement.
“It’s what slaves are for, after all...”
“What was that?!”
“Nothing... nothing... You lead the way.”
Knox disabled a dozen traps just to make it up the steps. If he had been alone, he would have triggered some of them on purpose just to see what they did. But with Nightshade right behind him he dutifully disabled or led her around each one. It took them a whole three hours to get up the steps but at least, for Knox, each trap he disabled had the chance to give him a small increase in his Luck and Insight stats. Halfway up when his Insight reached level 100 he gained a new skill.
New Skill: Sixth Sense
“Show skill, Sixth Sense.”
Sixth Sense (Lv. 1 0%) – You posses the uncanny ability to sense danger and abnormalities around you; traps, ranged & stealth attacks may trigger this skill. Success of the skill relies heavily on your insight stats Vs the insight stat of your opponent.
You can now see targets using stealth, hide, camouflage and misdirect. This ability triggers automatically if the right conditions are met.
“Nice. An automatic skill! Don’t have to train this one.”
Knox and Nightshade reached the top of the stairs. They looked up at the giant arched doors and the beautiful statues on either side. The statues were rather stunning depictions of two warriors; one with a shield and spear and the other with a broad axe resting over one shoulder. Nightshade walked over to one of the statues and looked up at it.
“It’s sooo intricately carved... Except...”
Then Nightshade kicked it in the shin.
“OWW!”
“...statues don’t breathe.”
The giant gold humanoid was hopping around on one foot, holding its shin and screeching. Meanwhile the other statue covered its face in apparent shame at the antics of its companion.
“We haven’t been around humans for awhile... Guarding this tower has made us forget a lot...”
Knox spoke up.
“So your job is to defend this place right?”
“Yes. Our orders are to kill all intruders.”
“Perfect! You see we came here to warn you about a threat to this beautiful shrine!”
“What? Where?!”
Yelled the first golden statue. That would be the statue hopping around on one foot.
“Quiet Borry. They’ll tell us in a moment. WON’T YOU?!”
Suddenly the second golden statue’s spear was at Knox’s throat but he didn’t even blink. He was more focused on the killing intent that was being directed at him from Nightshade.
‘Apparently... She wants to fight rather than talk but I have a feeling that these guys are...’
“Well, you see... we aren’t sure if you’ll be strong enough to defend... so maybe you should hide inside the shrine for protection.”
“Preposterous! We are both over level 300! We will easily defend this place from any who come...”
‘Yup. Definitely going with plan B.’
Knox shot a look at Nightshade before continuing.
“That’s just the thing. The vile enemies who are planning to attack have decided to not fight you fairly at all! They said you can’t move from this spot so they simply have to attack you from within the tall grass.”
“WHO CAN’T MOVE FROM THIS SPOT? WE SIMPLY CHOOSE TO GUARD THE TEMPLE FROM HERE!”
Roared both the golden giants.
“Tell us where they are!”
“Just down these stairs! They are hiding in the grass, planning to launch vile arrows and magic at you while remaining hidden!”
“Let’s go Borry! We will take out all these intruders!”
“Yes, Morry but... Who will guard the Temple entrance while we are away?”
Morry looked deep in thought for a moment and Knox could almost see the light bulb appear above his head.
“Would you adventurers guard this entrance with your lives?”
“Well... I don’t know. We aren’t as strong as you... Sir Morry.”
“You look plenty strong. I’m sure you can do it!”
“Yeah! Have faith in yourselves! Good shall always prevail!”
“Well okay then...”
“Alright. Let’s go Borry!”
“Roger that Morry!”
Knox watched as the two headed for the stairs without the slightest bit of hesitation.
‘Maybe this won’t work? Could they be...’
As soon as the two golden giants took the first step down, Knox pulled Nightshade against the wall. The floor flipped up behind the giants turning into a huge battering ram that smashed Morry and Dorry in their golden asses.
“HUH?!”
Was all they had time to say before they flew head over heels down the stairs. Triggering every trap that Knox had avoided along the way...
As they rolled down the stairs, Morry and Dorry were impaled by metal spikes; barbequed by a huge explosion of fire; frozen by an icy wind that covered them from head to toe in frost; sliced by a giant guillotine that popped out of a step.
And when they finally, reached the fifth step from the bottom, they were crushed between two enormous stone blocks that were trying their best to meet in the middle, without any care for the Morry and Dorry obstacles in the way.
Morry and Dorry crashed to the ground at the foot of the stairs and the great arched doors opened inward.
“Huh... So that’s what the traps do.”
“That was kind of like that incident with Mr. Larr, the basement and the erector set...”
“Now that you mention it... Yeah...”
Knox and Nightshade turned and walked into the golden temple.
You have entered Aerouant’s Temple.
_____________________
“H...ey... D...orry... How come we forgot about the traps?”
“Not sure... Maybe we’re getting old?”
“Yeah... Maybe. Let’s hope our new friends will be able to defend the temple.”
“Yeah...”
To be continued...
_____________________
Author's notes: Comments/Critiques & Opinions Appreciated! If you see a mistake please point it out to me!
Special Thanks to: deathninja, Exninja & Kaine