The Algaic Water Elemental surged toward them, the smaller ones fanning out to the sides. It raised its arms, drops of water falling and splashing back into the pond. Onyx slammed into the chest, bursting through the other side, trailing streams of water behind it. The glowing core had shifted at the last second.

Loch cursed. He’d been hoping to catch it off guard with the speed of Onyx’s attack. The Elemental had been too quick, moving the glowing core. The hole Onyx had made sealed up, water dripping to fill it. The water that had been pulled out flowed back into the creature.

Onyx reappeared in Loch’s hand, growing to full size. He Activated Bulwark, the energy shield growing and spreading out around his left arm.

“Pull back from the edge,” he said, wanting to draw the elementals away from the pond.

A silver blob of energy slammed into the left shoulder of the large Elemental, lines of liquid silver spreading over the surface of the Elemental’s form. The silver liquid was heavy compared to the water, sitting on top of the surface, not sinking in or even floating. Another blast caught it in the chest, a small burst of water exploding. The silver liquid spread over the wound, preventing it from closing up or the water from returning.

A flash of orange light caught one of the smaller Elementals. There was a small explosion of flames that was quickly extinguished, a small puff of smoke drifting into the air.

Loch shifted his grip on Onyx, presenting the hammer head. He moved away from the shore, the others taking positions to his sides and behind him. Adjusting his footing, Loch Activated Offensive Stance and Aura Of Attack. He also Activated his newest Ability, Breaker’s Banner. A glowing green banner appeared behind Loch, floating above his head on a pole that also glowed. Loch could feel the energy coursing through his body as the Spirit of the Banner spread out over all his people. He hadn’t gotten to use the new Ability much since the fight with the Gaunt’s Dullahan leader, when he’d Leveled to Twenty-Five. It was Spirit heavy, draining a lot to Activate and to maintain. He could have used it more but the last few fights had been started and over fairly quickly.

The Elementals were moving fairly quickly toward the group, but they still hadn’t gotten out of the pond yet. It gave Loch time to Activate his buffing Abilities.

Piper fired another energy blast from her wand at one of the smaller Elementals. It splashed against where a neck would have been, exploding a large amount of water. The liquid silver spread out, covering the wound, leaving a hole in the top of the Elemental. Loch wished they had Kim Hudson with them. He figured her Elementalist Abilities, especially the ice blast, would have done a lot of damage to the Elementals. He briefly wondered how she and Davis were doing in the Hob’s Mound. Had they finished and gone on to the Challenge Dungeon?

He pushed the questions to the back of his mind as the large Elemental finally made the shore. It didn’t stop, smoothly transitioning from water to land. Its body still ran smoothly down to the ground where a small circle of water churned and flowed. The creature, not joined by the smaller, didn’t float above the water or step, it flowed. The water that formed its base propelled it along the ground and over anything in its path, not changing the height of the elemental.

Loch thought it even moved quicker across the ground.

The large Elemental charged right at him, the others spreading out. He saw Brian rushing one of the smaller ones, the giant club swinging. It struck the Lesser Elemental, water exploding on impact. The club passed through the Elemental, drops falling to the ground like rain. Brian stumbled, not meeting the resistance he’d expected, but he recovered, shifting his feet to keep his balance. Part of the Elemental reformed, but it wasn’t as big as before.

Loch Activated Smash, the end of Onyx’s hammer glowing. He ducked under a swinging arm of the Elemental, slamming the hammer into the creature’s side. Loch felt it sliding into the liquid form, no physical resistance, but he could also feel it doing damage. It was similar to how it felt when Onyx’s hammerhead slammed into the ribs of a creature. Loch could feel the muscle and bones collapsing. Not a feeling he liked. It was similar with the Elemental. The creature had no bones or muscle, but Loch could feel something give and something break.

He pulled the hammer back, stepping around the monster, slamming Onyx into the back of the creature. It was the same. Something gave, an indication he was doing damage. But like Brian, he wasn’t meeting the physical resistance he’d expected.

Having to keep a foot planted, Loch had been able to keep his balance, not stumbling when he met no resistance. He slammed Onyx into the back of the Elemental again.

Water, feeling as hard as stone, slammed into his side. Loch fell to the ground, Offensive Stance fading away. He rolled out of the way as one of the long arms slammed into the ground, water splashing against him, soaking the ground. He looked up at the Elemental, confused. The creature wasn’t turning like he’d expected. It pulled its arms back into the body, sprouting them where needed.

Holding Bulwark in front of him, Loch caught the next swing. Water exploded against the shield. It started flowing around the energy barrier, covering Loch’s arm. It moved toward his shoulder. Loch cursed, releasing Bulwark and rolling away. The water stayed where he’d been, splashing onto the ground. Standing up, Loch kept running as swing after swing slammed into the ground.

He threw Onyx, the hammerhead slamming into the chest of the Elemental. The glowing core had shifted, the hammer sinking deep into the liquid body. Water surged around the weapon, trying to trap it. Onyx disappeared, back in Loch’s hands.

Not sure what he expected, Loch Activated Precision Strike. The only thing that lit up was the glowing core, which kept moving throughout the Elementals body. The only place it didn’t move was into the arms. There had to be a way to quickly destroy the core.

A pulse of silver energy slammed into the Elemental, splashing off a piece of it. The first bolt that Piper had fired, the silver had faded from the Elemental. Loch couldn’t tell if it was healing itself or just transferring part of its current mass around as the holes made had sealed up. Either way, it made it hard to tell how damaged the thing was.

He could hear the sounds of fighting around him, not sure how it was going. Loch could kind of see through the Algaic Elemental, but it was like looking through rain covered glass. There were flashes of light around him, different Abilities going off. He thought he saw a smudge of black through the Elemental, some kind of ink summon. The black smudge seemed to be getting bigger. Loch took another step back, swinging Onyx in front of him to hold the Elementals attention.

Water erupted from the chest of the creature, splashing everywhere, drops striking Loch. A black horn followed, a large body pushing through. The horn was attached to a thin head, followed by a wide body with four stout legs. Loch stepped to the side as the inksummon ran past, slamming into a tree as it tried to turn. The summon looked vaguely like a rhinoceros. The basic shape was there, but lacking details. A quick sketch by Piper.

The Algaic Elemental didn’t move, the arms hanging limply at its side. There was a cavity in its lower half, the water completely missing. The glowing core had moved to the edge, almost breaking out the top. Loch threw Onyx, the hammerhead striking the core.

He twisted away, raising a hand, as water exploded. It splashed against him, covering his body, drenching his clothes. Loch pushed wet strands of hair out of his face as he turned to look where the Elemental had been. There was nothing left but a giant puddle on the ground, the glowing core floating in the middle.

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The inkrhino ran past, heading for one of the two remaining lesser Elementals. It slammed into the closest, completely destroying the creature. Loch watched the core fly into the air before crashing down onto the ground. It pulsed a couple of times before dimming. The final one didn’t last long.

Notifications flashed across Loch’s vision as he dismissed them. Colored sparks of Spirit danced around the clearing, entering each of the group, even the scavengers. Loch walked over to the core, nudging it with his foot.

“Are these useful?,” he asked Cerie.

“They are the same as the golem cores,” the fairy replied. “With the right Class, they can be used to summon and control elementals. They are safe to pick up and carry,” she said, anticipating Loch’s question.

The core was about the size of his fist. It felt warm to the touch, but fading as the energy faded. He picked it up, surprised at how light it was. Tossing it into the air, Loch caught it. Smooth and round, the core was a solid blue color with some shine that caught the light as he moved it. Walking over to Piper, he placed it in the bag she held open. The Lesser Elemental cores were smaller and went into the bag as well.

“Will they respawn,” Loch asked, looking out into the now calm water of Demon Pond.

“Eventually,” Cerie answered. “Once the ambient Spirit in the air gathers enough to form the larger Elemental and it gathers enough power to form the smaller.”

“How long will that take,” Jenny asked.

“I do not know for sure but at least a week. Most likely more.”

“It’s a Spawn Field,” Piper asked, closing the bag and shifting it on her waist.

“In a way,” Cerie answered.

“At least it wasn’t a demon,” Loch said, motioning for everyone to get moving.

***

They camped for the night, what felt like a mile from the pond. Loch wasn’t sure of the distance. It probably wouldn’t have been a mile pre-Connection. The entire Gupta trail network past Demon Pond was only a couple miles in total and they hadn’t walked far enough to hit the main Gupta trail.

There had to be a way to tell the new distances. They couldn’t rely on any old maps or even their memories. The world’s Core was deceptive in how it had, and still was, increasing the size of the planet. It was feet here and there, just a small amount between recognizable landmarks. Something that wouldn’t be noticed. But over the distances, it added up with more increases in the areas no one would be able to tell. Bigger additions. Dozens of feet instead of two or three.

Loch hadn’t walked the Demon Pond trail extension enough, and it had been years since the last time, that he couldn’t judge where the distances had been increased. He just knew they had. He knew the rough distance from the Pond to the main trail. Not even half a mile. They’d traveled twice that now.

Camp was the same as the other nights. Tents spread out around the fire that they kept going throughout the chilly night. Watches were set. The area was crowded, not a large clearing, the tents closer together. The forest was loud. They heard the howls of wolves and yips of coyotes. Birds and other small nocturnal scavengers crawled through the branches of the trees.

Nothing came close.

Loch walked the perimeter, unable to see the stars through the gap in the trees. Smoke from the fire curled up, disappearing into the night. The fire cast flickering shadows against the sides of the tents and the trees. Beyond its warmth, the night was cold.

Winter was coming.

He wasn’t sure but thought they had passed into Fall already. Leaves were starting to change color. Fall foliage had always been a huge tourist attraction in New Hampshire. The trees in the White Mountains to the north with their vibrant colors had drawn thousands to the state. Loch wondered what they looked like now with the ambient Spirit in the air.

Did the Whites even still exist?

What kind of monsters were now roaming those mountains?

It had been a couple hours of driving to get up there. How many weeks, or months, of walking would it be now?

They had always taken it for granted how far they could travel in a single day by car. New York City was five to six hours away. Boston was just over an hour. They could drive through multiple states in a single day. He’d once driven ten hours straight coming home from Washington DC.

Now it would be months of travel to get anywhere. Would they ever be able to even go somewhere as far away as DC?

He supposed that someday there would be caravans traveling the world again. Early pioneers traveled out west by caravan and wagons. They could do that again, forging new trails where the ruined roads were impassable.

It would just take years to get to that point.

Portals would make it easier to travel great distances, but Cerie had said that those were rare even in the old Clans like the Silver Bark. They required a lot of Resources and Energy. Most people still traveled by foot, using portals to cut months of travel down to a week or two. But they had no one that could create portals. He doubted anyone on Earth did.

Loch felt isolated.

He was used to a world where he’d had news from all over the world at his fingertips. He had access to information from anywhere and about almost anything. There were conversations about upcoming sporting events, who to vote for in local and national elections. He could talk with someone from across the country. Loch had worked on projects with a dozen people, none of them in the same office or same states. He traveled across the United States and even to other countries.

How long had it been since he’d spent days in Northwood without going somewhere else? During the pandemic? In a normal week they were probably in three or four of the surrounding towns, even over to Concord or Rochester, with the girls various activities or work. It was almost a daily occurrence talking with someone that didn’t live in town.

He wanted to know what was going on across the world. They had the Ranking Board, but all that did was tell him who was Leveling and what Clans were growing. Nothing about the status of the world or if there were any invaders that had actually taken over parts of it. Were there areas where the original governments were in control and things were relatively normal? Had any parts of the world been completely wiped out and were now just home to monsters?

There was no way to guess from the Clans and people on the ranking board. Loch could guess at relative locations based on names, but it said nothing about size. He could estimate the rough sizes of the Clans above Clan Brady just based on the size of his Clan. It would be extremely rough. There was no way to tell if the Clan directly above his was larger by ten people or ten thousand. He knew his Level along with Harpers, so could make a guess where everyone in between them on the Ranking Board fell, but how many were closer to Harper and how many closer to him? What Clans did they all belong to?

Did they even belong to Clans?

He pulled up the Ranking Board, the first time he’d looked at it in a long time.

LOCHLAN BRADY

OROKU YOSHI

DIANA BREKHOV

JAKOB VOLLMER

THOMAS BLEDSOE

KATE BARTON

BRET BENOIT

ZACHARY GOOSEMAN

KARL BEAN

ROSARIO GURIRA

A new name had entered the top ten, which had had some fluctuations in placement. Loch was still at the top, which oddly gave him a sense of security. If he was the strongest in the world, which was weird to think about, that meant no one could take what was his away. He could always protect the girls and his people.

The Ranking Board was just the humans. There was no way to tell what and how many invaders there were in the world. Cerie was sure, and it had been confirmed by Elora, that the Silver Bark Elder in charge of the elves in the Northwood area was Level Twenty-Five. Named Hoskia Silver Bark, he’d be capped at Twenty-Five by the Connection. Little River Stone had hinted that the Sil-Te-Cah was Level Twenty-Five. How many others?

And just because they were at Level Twenty-Five, the same as Loch, he didn’t doubt that they’d end up being much stronger than he was. Those Adapted would have years, maybe decades, of experience. They would have enchanted weapons. Not just one or two, but many. They’d have all their Abilities capped by the Connection, but all those Abilities would be at the maximum allowed Rank, where Loch only had a couple at Rank Two.

Loch didn’t like his chances of surviving against one of them.

Which was a huge worry. The chances of having to fight Hoskia Silver Bark were pretty good.

If he couldn’t face the Silver Bark Elder in battle and win, there had to be another way.