Wind whipped past his face, causing his eyes to water slightly as Blake soared across the landscape on the back of his Scorch Dragon. The cool air was a stark contrast to the warmth emanating from the dragon’s scales beneath him.
A breathtaking view of the countryside stretched out below. The vibrant tapestry of greens and browns was an experience he would never tire of.
Upon reaching the area indicated by the map marker, Blake circled around the location of the scout camp. The faint scent of a fire reached Blake’s nostrils, confirming the presence of the camp.
Blake guided his Scorch Dragon to a gentle landing nearby.
The sound of rustling leaves and snapping twigs filled the air as empowered Challengers, wielding various power card weapons, emerged to confront him.
One Challenger brandished a flaming sword, the heat of the flames causing the air around it to shimmer and distort. Another Challenger had stone swords in place of hands. The final challenger sported boulder fists, each movement dragging their massive and heavy hands behind them.
They eyed Blake warily as they approached, their weapons at the ready and their faces etched with determination.
Blake steeled himself in case they attacked, but he held up his hands in a defensive gesture.
“I mean you no harm,” Blake called out, keeping his voice steady and calm. “I was given this location by Samuel Jackson. I believe he’s your leader. I just wanted to confirm that your camp was actually here.”
The challengers exchanged wary glances, their weapons still held high. The one with the flaming sword stepped forward, suspicion lingering in their eyes.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth? You could be a spy for Clay Atlas, or worse.”
Blake took a deep breath, knowing he needed to tread carefully. “Samuel trusted me with the location of this camp, and I’m trying to help him. I have no allegiance to Clay Atlas or any other corrupt force in this world.”
The challenger with the stone swords for hands narrowed their eyes, scrutinizing Blake intently.
“You show up here on the back of a terrifying beast like that and expect us to believe that you’re just some innocent bystander?” he asked.
“I understand your concerns, but I assure you, my intentions are pure. Samuel Jackson has been helping me, and I have no reason to betray him or any of you.”
The boulder-fisted challenger stepped forward, their voice deep and rumbling. “We’ve been betrayed before, and we’ve paid the price for it. You’ll have to understand if we’re not quick to trust a stranger who comes flying in on a powerful monster.”
Blake nodded solemnly, empathizing with their caution. “I understand, and I don’t blame you for being cautious. But I promise you, I’m on your side. I helped save Randall from the water treatment plant down south, and I believe they managed to secure some parts that Clay Atlas really wants. I just wanted to make sure that I hadn’t misplaced my trust in Samuel as well.”
The challengers hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances once more. The mention of Samuel Jackson seemed to have given them pause. Though they remained tense, they lowered their weapons slightly.
“Tell Samuel that I’m still working on some things, but I’m hoping to find a way that he and his people will be able to enter the city without being detected,” Blake said. “I don’t have any details just yet but give me a couple of days.”
The man wielding the flaming sword nodded. “Go, be on your way. We’ll pass the message onto Samuel.”
Blake nodded, commanding his Scorch Dragon to take to the skies. As they soared through the air, he steered the dragon northwards, in the direction of Erda the Cataclysm.
Simultaneously, he scanned the landscape below, searching for another lake where he might be able to clear a rock crab infestation for some easy experience and rewards.
After some time, his keen eyes spotted another sizable body of water called Steamboat Lake. He directed his Scorch Dragon to descend for a closer look.
As they neared the shoreline, Blake’s grin widened. The beach was full of rock crab tracks.
Determined to draw the rock crabs out of their murky aquatic lair, Blake instructed his Scorch Dragon to land with a heavy thud in the shallow waters. The resulting tremor and splashes rippled through the lake, alerting the hidden creatures to their presence.
The water’s surface churned and bubbled. Rock crabs emerged from the depths as if Blake had sounded a dinner bell.
The majority of the crabs were quite small, but a few larger ones had emerged from the depths, their pincers snapping menacingly. While none of them matched the size of the two boss monsters Blake had previously defeated, they still posed a threat.
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Claws snapping, they swarmed toward the disturbance. Little did the rock crabs know that they were about to face a Level 10 Scorch Dragon.
The Scorch Dragon unleashed a torrent of scorch rays upon them. The crabs scuttled and scrambled, trying to dodge the barrage of fiery beams. The cries of the rock crabs and the crackling of the scorch ray had filled the air, creating an intense symphony of destruction.
Blake guided the Scorch Dragon expertly, weaving through the onslaught of rock crabs and picking them off one by one. The beach was soon littered with the shattered remains of the defeated crabs.
After dispatching fifty or so rock crabs, Blake was rewarded with a couple more power cards.
Most of the cards that appeared were merely Level 1, but Blake was far from disappointed. By breaking them down and infusing their essence into his existing cards, Blake could exponentially increase their power.
One of the cards he received was called Shell Armor, the initial evolution of the Carapace Armor that Samuel had obtained back at the water treatment plant.
The other card he acquired was a Level 1 ability called Crab Hammer, which was the precursor to the Crushing Grip Sarah had received. It turned the person’s hand into a crab-like claw, which let them smack people with it.
Blake began to see differences between the crabs as he killed them. Some were focused on attacking, whereas other ones had thicker armor to protect themselves against attacks.
Blake studied his new cards while killing crabs. He ultimately decided against using them himself, since he could only hold up to 8 cards total. He was already carrying 6 cards, so only had room for 2 more before his current card slots were exhausted.
If Blake took a ninth card, his other options were to reject the card or break it down and infuse the stored anima into one of his other cards. This option came as a surprise to Blake, because in New Meridia you had to pay for the privilege of destroying a card to infuse your others.
When Blake chose to break one Shell Armor card down and use it to infuse power into his Radiant Colossus, he soon saw the difference.
Empowering a card with an identical card, or one from the same family, gave the biggest boost. The power was almost completely retained when the cards were merged.
However if the Challenger decided to empower another card of the same element, the power transference was much lesser. Destroying a card instead of adding it into your deck when you already had the maximum number allowable cards provided an even smaller boost.
It was the least efficient way of combining cards, but this was a numbers game now. Amassing a huge number of cards, then rinsing and repeating the process, was a more effective use of time as waiting for the stars to align for the perfect fusion or taking one or two cards back and forth from the Wilds to New Meridia to break the power down properly.
As the battle drew to a close, Blake’s Scorch Dragon reached Level 11. Blake commanded his Scorch Dragon into the air.
Having successfully cleared the lake of its rock crab infestation, Blake decided to search for areas populated by stone golem creatures that he could eliminate en route to his confrontation with Erda the Cataclysm.
The last place Blake had encountered a significant number of stone golem creatures was the quarry, but they had since been cleared out.
Despite his determination, Blake’s search for a ravine filled with stone golems proved fruitless. The landscape stretched out below him, a mix of forests, hills, and rivers, but none of the locations he spotted seemed to harbor the creatures he sought.
Disappointment crept in, but he refused to let it deter him.
And he did find some more rock crabs which was a nice bonus!
As Blake touched down on the back of his Scorch Dragon at the edge of another lake, he employed the same tactics as before. With the creatures’ focus on him, he summoned his three single anima monsters – the Stone Slasher Golem, the Berserker Wolf, and the Pyrestalker.
The battlefield came alive with the sound of clashing weapons and the crackling of fire as the trio of monsters engaged the rock crabs in a fierce battle.
Meanwhile, Blake sat down, relaxed, and let his summons do their job.
Curiously, despite being smaller than the last lake, this one held a far greater number of rock crabs than the last. As they continued to emerge from the depths of the lake, a sense of excitement began building within him.
The number of rock crabs hinted at the possibility of another boss monster lurking nearby.
Wave after wave of rock crabs crashed against Blake’s monsters.
With each defeated foe, their power grew.
Finally, Blake’s tingling crabby senses were rewarded. A colossal, lobster-like crab emerged from the murky waters of the lake. Its massive form cast an imposing shadow over the battlefield, but Blake wasn’t worried.
His monsters launched a coordinated assault on the monstrous crab under Blake’s commands. The Stone Slasher Golem’s swords cleaved through its armored limbs, focusing on the soft spots at the joints, while the Berserker Wolf’s ax shattered its shell. The Pyrestalker’s flaming claws and teeth burned through its exposed flesh, and the Scorch Dragon’s rays cut through the air, leaving smoldering scars across the creature’s body.
The monstrous crab fought back with savage ferocity, attempting to overpower Blake’s monsters with its sheer size and strength. Yet, their combined might prove too much.
As the final blow was struck, the giant lobster-like crab crumbled. With its demise came a massive influx of experience for all his creatures, including the Scorch Dragon. Another power card materialized above the corpse.
The card was none other than Carapace Armor, the very same one Samuel Jackson had received back in the water treatment plant.
Blake sacrificed one of his Level 1 Crab Hammer cards, sunk the anima from the destroyed card into his Radiant Colossus, and took possession of the Carapace Armor card. This is one he’d be taking back to the city with him.
Blake’s mind raced with ideas. Although he couldn’t combine his Scorch Dragon or Radiant Colossus with any other cards, since they had already undergone fusion, his Crusher Minotaur might benefit significantly from being paired with a massive suit of armor.
Of course, there was a trade-off to consider: the Minotaur might lose some of its agility and maneuverability in exchange for the added protection. Nevertheless, Blake had other high mobility options already and could use another armored heavy-hitter.
After completing his battle with the rock crabs and gathering loot, Blake noticed he had approximately 10 minutes remaining on the summon timer for his Scorch Dragon.
Preferring not to fall off his mount mid-flight, Blake mounted his dragon and took to the skies, flying toward Erda the Cataclysm.