HUNTING BLADES
I stayed inside the following day and night and put what I had learned from the books into practice. I also finished reading Raw Teachings of Magik's Vol. 1. I learned constant repetition and focus applied to learning new forms of magic as it did skills.
Doing so, I was able to refine multicasting with Fire and Telekinesis after a day of practice. Having my Fire flow through Telekinesis was fantastic and downright amazing, but I still wanted my multicasting to be even more flexible.
Active Acquired:
Summon: Skeleton Kinan Miner
Waking up the next morning with a new summoning, I went into the Arachnid's Lair to test it. From out of the purple summoning symbol emerged a sure-footed skeleton. Its feet and lower legs were dense and massive. Its right arm ended in a curved two-foot-long bone spike while its left arm was a bladed shovel... hmm… interesting.
The chunks and bits of ruby puries my skeletons had mined were hauled into the oval room by me and my skeletons. I had no use for them as of right now, but I needed to keep them safe. If I could feel the radiating mana emitting from them, no doubt someone with better skills would also be able to.
After creating three Miners, I decided to try out sword combat with the dull swords I obtained from the blades against my Summoned Skeleton Kinan Slasher. I ordered it to attack and tested my ability to defend myself with a sword. Recall Memory allowed me to learn its attack pattern in seconds, so I increased my Slasher's ferocity.
This pattern persisted until I was able to best my Slasher with barely a thought. I then decided to give my Earth Sword technique a go, and I grinned ear to ear as I could block my Slasher's swing with it. I put away the dull sword and created a Water Sword in my other hand. But, since my skeleton was covered in my mana, it would cause my Water Sword to warp and lose shape whenever I blocked.
This made it challenging to maintain my Water Sword's solidity. It took five minutes of sparring to drain my mana, forcing me to rest and eat.
During our second bout, I used two separate Water Swords, making it much more challenging to maintain them after each hit. I had to switch my focus back and forth between swords as I parried my skeleton's attacks. After a minute, I desummoned the Slasher, fetched the Iron Short Sword +3, summoned a Skeleton Kinan Warrior, and handed it the Iron Short Sword +3. I formed the densest Earth Sword and went in for a parry.
Despite the short sword not being covered in my mana, it sliced cleanly through my Earth Sword and down my torso—a pool of blood exploded out of me.
PAIN
God dammit!
Just when I thought I was getting stronger, I desummoned my skeleton and retreated to my room. It had cut into my robes and tunic, but the robes were still functional—quite surprising with the number of rips, holes, and burns it had.
I grimaced—I suddenly recalled a law. I thought it to be a dumb law, but the law was accurate and true. I growled to myself and took off my robes and tunic. I returned to the Chamber, summoned my skeleton, and resumed the training. I took in the beating of every failed parry, covering the Chamber floor in blood. Whatever does not kill you will make you stronger—the Law of Growth.
My enemies would not let me quit after getting injured. They would try to kill me, and I would need to fight back. If they were to learn that I could not die, there were many things worse than death they could do, and I was not keen on experiencing any of it. I trained until nightfall and decided not to go outside. Instead, I stayed in and rested in my room, constantly scratching the areas of mana burn and scars from my skeleton.
The following day, I trained and practiced as usual, and at night, I decided to go and scout for more Blades. With the location of their hideout in my mind, the idea of them lurking around the southern wilderness bothered me. Not only that, this sensation tugging on me to go south—a sudden flash of white and they were gone—echoed in my mind.
Leaving with me was my cave, black and forest arachnid, two Slashers, a hawk, and a canine—the blindinu was tough, but its inability to see was annoying, making it unable to follow my directions timely.
Just outside my lair, I flew into the air and stared at the lit-up spec called Dagon City. I did not know what I was looking for. I could not discern any detail at this distance. If I wanted to go and check it out promptly, I would have to get rid of my familiars.
I exhaled, not something I wanted to do at this point, and turned my back on the town.
*****
I decided to scout for any signs of Blades at the watchtower before heading toward their hideout. As my eyes scanned the tree-barren plains riddled with overhangs and a source of fresh water and fish, the thought of securing these wilds as my own crept into my mind. I was far from Dagon and bordered nothing but the wild... this could be my home. A place for me to do whatever I please. Thinking about it, this would be similar to what the Shinigami had in Plight of Souls.
My gaze was drawn to the glimmering void in the distance. It was shimmering in the moonlight and soared magnificently into the sky—a rising ocean. Such beauty appeared to emerge out of the darkness and flow against gravity, and I could not help but grin warmly at it.
Despite my height upon this watchtower, I still could not make out the foreboding unknown that sat within the dip of the plains between me and the rising ocean. A sudden image of flickering flame from my hawk's eyes grabbed my attention. They were east of the watchtower, towards the range of hills and cliffs I saw from here.
We left the tower and headed east toward the flickering flame that moved about frantically. A howl filled the air as we approached the rising sloped land. I saw three kinan heat signatures facing off against what seemed to be ordinary wolves.
I halted my familiars and sought to take them alone. Landing out of view within the shadows of the hills, I wanted to test my strength and commanded my (Power Affinity) Steel Longsword, Dominion Authority, into the sheath of my sword belt—it was not a perfect fit due to it being a longsword, but I only wanted to hide my Dominion Authority ability as I approached the commotion.
They caught me approaching moments after slaying the remaining wolf. I frowned at three dead females, no class kinans—Ringa, Burla, and Charla. They each wore a drab dress, and their bodies were riddled with bite marks and sprawled about on the ground. Ringa's yellow and white ringed patterned face was visible, moistened with tears, and partially smeared with blood.
I took my attention towards the Blades, and they gave me bewildered looks—only becoming defensive once I materialized my staff. There were two Warriors —Deloro and Beo, and one Archer —Des. They were lightly armored in leather pads, blood-stained Deloro's right forearm, and they were all damped with sweat.
My heart was slamming in my chest—I was nervous. Unsure of how strong they were and what secret enchanted items they had underneath their clothes, but I wanted to kill them. I wanted to drink their blood and gain more power, even though the thought of it was repulsive.
I needed to test my strength and abilities, so I put aside my weak-willed thoughts and created an earthly spear. I kept it afloat with Telekinesis using my staff alone and waited for them to react. Beo charged me with his dull blade while Des fired his short bow. I telekinetically deflected the arrow with my free hand—Beo's sword glowed a faint golden hue—Willpower—as he continued his charge.
Consuming stored mana in my staff, I Teleported the spear into Beo's torso—I failed. The spear reappeared inches in front of Beo's chest. He tried to rear back, but I commanded the spear, and it drove through him with enough force that it effortlessly ripped in and out through his back. It seemed like I could not Teleport things into a person's body. I was able to teleport things into stone boulders, though.
I took a breath—on to my second test.
DELORO
Beo!
He wailed out in anger at the sight of his fallen companion.
His other companion's flurry of emotionally misguided arrows came at me with poor accuracy. I consumed the remaining mana stored in my staff, engulfed myself in Teleportation, and aimed it just behind Deloro, who had just hurled his Willpowered sword in a fit of rage.
I vanished and appeared just an offshoot behind Deloro—my control was off, and I ended up between the two Blades.
DES
Behind you!
To hell with it—third test! I turn on Deloro, swinging my free hand and forming an Earth Blade. He blocked it in time with his Willpowered arm.
I grimaced in pain—two arrows pierced into my back. I telekinetically forced Deloro away from me. He quickly recovered and charged at me. I finished my tests and concluded I needed more practice with the latter two.
Activating Dominion Authority, my sword ejected and pierced through Deloro with blinding speed—my mental control of it was growing due to Recall Memory. It moved faster than the eyes could see—my own Petty En Sight could barely keep up.
DES
No!
He turned tail and fled—bastard. After shooting me in the back, I gave him a taste of his own attack and commanded my sword to impale him through his back. I reached behind me with my free hand and pulled the arrows out. My robes will eventually become tattered rags if I continue to sustain damages like this.
I exhaled in relief and telekinetically pulled in the bodies for a messy meal of blood. As I drank, I played around with the barely visible energy of Teleportation—allowing it to dance along my fingers. My hand was severed last time because I did not cover myself in Teleportation. This spell took mana control, manipulation, and emission to a new level. Its casting time was incredibly long, and my teleporting range was limited to roughly ten yards of visible sight.
Vampor Increase:
Petty Night Vision (5%)
Petty Sound Vision (5%)
Petty Blood Control (5%)
Petty Blood Manipulation (5%)
Petty En Scent Detection (5%)
Stolen story; please report.
Petty Danger Sense (5%)
Petty En Reflexes (5%)
Blood (10%)
Wiping my mouth clean with my robes, I left the dried-out remains to be eaten by my familiars, and once done, we headed back to the old watchtower. Halfway there, my hawk noticed more movement and light—it was coming from Perkin's old camp?
Judging from the signals and murky imagery—at least eight individuals. I raised myself high into the air—just high enough that I kept a connection with my familiars. It was time to see how strong my familiars were.
I commanded them onward towards the camp, and as we drew near, I gained sight of the Blades long before they noticed movement. Ignoring their names, I squinted with Petty En Sight and made out three Warriors, two Archers, a Brawler, a Cutthroat, and a Knight.
A Knight and a Brawler, two second-tier classes among them. But having classes is meaningless if they lack the skills and ability to back it up.
The group of Blades was investigating the camp as my party of familiars collided with them. My two Slashers charged the three Warriors while the Knight exclaimed in disbelief,
KNIGHT
Skeletons and arachnids!?
My cave arachnid stabbed at his torso, glancing off the iron puri chest plate the Knight wore while my black arachnid leaped into the air, attempting to land on him with its sharp webbing pulled out between its limbs.
KNIGHT
Keep an eye out!
He screamed as he attempted to best my cave arachnid while Quickstepping out of the way of my black arachnid.
KNIGHT
Something about this is not right!
I kept my gaze wandering while maintaining a safe distance to avoid them noticing my stare. But at the same time, I could not see if any of them wore enchanted armor. The Warriors' attacks bounced off my Slashers, but the Warriors kept formation, parrying every attack given out by my Slashers. The Cutthroat and Archer kept their distance, firing arrows that plunged deep into my undead—but my undead shrugged off the physical pain and continued their assault.
Two Warriors fell victim to a surprise jet of webbing that pinned them in place. They struggled in vain as my Slashers pounced on the opportunity to finish them off—relentlessly swinging their blades, sending gushes of blood and bits of their flesh into the air.
I glanced over at the Brawler—he was chasing around after my canine and constantly missed his Willpowered strikes, pounding the ground with each failed attempt. Finally, frustration kicked in, and he Quickstepped after it.
My canine did not stand a chance and was done the second it was caught. The last Warrior was outnumbered by my Slashers. He cried out in agony as the Slashers tore into him. The Cutthroat pulled out a knife and Quickstepped towards my black arachnid—thinking he caught it off guard by attacking from behind.
I smiled softly at the turn of events—my black arachnid spun on him and sliced into his leg. The two Archers exchanged fearful looks and slowly retreated as they fired. The Cutthroat scrambled away frantically from my black arachnid. The Knight, with his Quicksteps and other unknown defensive skills, was fending off my Slashers, forest arachnid, and cave arachnid on his own. His entire Willpowered body was protecting him from slashes and poison—
No… I squinted… the poison was getting through, but he was enduring it. The Archers took notice of the poison corroding into the Knight's leather bracers and backed away even faster. The Cutthroat squirmed in pain as my black arachnid bit into his stomach, feasting off chunks of his flesh.
The Brawler Quickstepped in and smashed his fist into the side of my black arachnid, sending it tumbling along the ground. But it seized the momentum, recovered, and rolled like a bouncing black ball with speed and precision. It turned—aiming for the Brawler. The Brawler dodged its lunge, but by the looks of his sluggish movements, he was getting tired.
My black arachnid landed—continuing its rolling—and turned again. The Brawler readied himself and extended his left arm—his left palm extended before him while his right hand balled in a Willpowered fist at his waist—
BRAWLER
Iron—
My hawk slammed into the Brawler's face, distracting and knocking him off balance. My black arachnid spun into the air, extended its sharp webbing between its limbs, and gave the Brawler a bloody hug—the webs slicing through him cleanly.
The Archers cursed out in horror and called out for the Knight. The Knight distanced himself, and for a moment, I thought he was going to flee, but instead, he took a posture and clutched his broad sword firmly with both hands—
KNIGHT
Heaven—
He vanished! And my forest arachnid exploded in half as the ground underneath it ruptured into two.
KNIGHT
—and Earth!
He reappeared, slamming his sword into the ground, unleashing a tidal wave of destruction that swept the rest of my familiars, including the fallen Cutthroat. The Archers halted their retreat. They stood still with the Knight, waiting for the debris to clear.
But unfortunately for them, I could see and did not need to wait for the debris to clear. The Knight was down on his knees—drained of energy. My black arachnid sprang from within the cloud of debris, but the Knight crouched further, ducking out of the way. I was astonished that he anticipated that, but poison spewed moments after he ducked and burned his medium helm and face.
My black arachnid spun around again and gave the wailing Knight a bloody hug from behind. Unfortunately, the Archers had already turned tail. I was tempted to step in, given how quickly they were moving, but I refrained and let my two arachnids catch up.
My cave arachnid leaped over them, raining down poisonous acid as it landed before them. They cried out in agony and attempted to flee west. Hmph, they were lost in their frantic attempt to flee and ran to the edge of the river—trapped.
My arachnids webbed them, preventing them from fleeing into the river. The Archers struggled in vain as my arachnids bit into their lively meal. I lowered myself towards the aftermath. I closely observed my black arachnid. It barely had a scratch on it despite taking such a heavy blow from that Brawler.
My cave arachnid was still regenerating a few gashes on its limbs from the Knight's glancing swings, and my hawk suffered a broken beak and neck after smashing into the Brawler at full speed. Finally, after the debris had cleared, I saw my two Slashers were still functioning after the Knight's last attack.
Either way, I was content with the strength of these few. I could only imagine how dangerous I would be with dozens of familiars under my control. But the idea vanished as I pondered how to feed such a force.
I Summoned Skeleton Kinan Warrior and had it fetch the other bodies while I squatted down and searched through the items dropped by one of the archer's Inventory—nothing useful.
My skeleton Warrior dropped the corpses at my feet as I finished scavenging through the trash the Blades dropped. I grabbed the Brawler's corpse and bit into his neck while my mind wondered about the number of Blades that might be at the hideout.
Vampor Increase:
Petty Night Vision (23%)
Petty Sound Vision (23%)
Petty Blood Control (23%)
Petty Blood Manipulation (23%)
Petty En Scent Detection (23%)
Petty Danger Sense (23%)
Petty En Reflexes (23%)
Blood (42%)
After draining each one dry, I stripped them of their clothing and fed them to my familiars. I searched through their belongings and found one (???) Ruby Necklace that one of the archers had worn.
I unsealed it—(Fire Aptitude) Ruby Necklace, Petty Fire Resistance and wore it around my neck.
Aptitude Obtained:
Petty Fire Resistance
Aptitude Increase:
Petty Fire Resistance (2%)
Nothing else of use was found except for some bloody bracers and their weapons. I Stashed their weapons and felt myself become heavier—my Inventory was reaching its limit.
PAIN
Time to head back.