“Population centers have been observed to endure more struggles from the Star Stream.
Where there is upheaval there is opportunity.”
~Merchant King Darius
Bestial howls met Devin’s furious roar. His storm-gray ring cut a sharp boundary around him as he cleaved through bodies with his bare hands. The forest-green flakes within the circle sent waves of healing life force into his body, sealing gruesome cuts in seconds, while the crimson flakes responded to his wrath, giving him greater strength in return for his sanity.
His higher cognitive functions slowed while his baser instincts exploded with a primal intensity.
Devin didn’t think; he moved, and he killed. Blood seeped into every crack and orifice on his body. He was so deep into the horde of monsters he couldn’t see the walls anymore—only claws, teeth, tails, scales, and fur filled his eyes.
Yet despite the endless slashes, stabs, tackles, and mauling, Devin reaped every life that wandered within arm’s length. His magic circle kept him going, healing every wound he took in exchange for the fatal ones he dealt.
The beasts should’ve stomped over him; he should’ve been nothing more than a bump on the road instead the insurmountable wall he was proving to be. It was all due to Collect Potential which turned out to be more interesting than he thought.
Collect Potential (Rare)
Skill/Instrumental
Vampirism isn’t limited to the undead
Reap what your enemies have sown
Cantrip Class—Meta-Scores
Collect the resources of the fallen
Evolvable
With such bland flavor text and effect, Devin had underestimated how valuable the card was, especially in his hands. [Seize] wrung every bit of potential out of the dead monsters at his feet; life, stamina, and arcanium along with the leftover shards, He took everything he could and used it to fuel his rampage.
With countless deaths occurring in his domain, he was a nearly unstoppable reaper, culling the monsters wherever he went.
Devin laughed as blood rained over him, losing himself in the endless bounds of power. That was until an iguana bigger than any alligator Devin’s ever seen slammed into him, digging its disgusting claws into his throat down to his chest.
His yell turned into a gurgle as he stabbed his hands right into the monster’s neck. His skills ripped into the reptile's body, dominating every inch of it before turning it into a golden, iridescent bonfire with [refine].
The arcanist gurgled until his throat healed along with his chest and every part of his body as he infused enhanced life into his body. His mind stuttered awake, aware of the countless monsters mobbing around him. He instantly manifested an item card from his Side Deck.
Ball (Common)
Item/Atomic
A really bouncy ball
Cantrip Class
[Bounce]
The manifested, red, bouncy ball that fit snugly in the palm of his hand. Although it was a common card and pretty weak compared to the literal magic other cards can do, Ball had a pretty interesting effect with his own energy. Possibly due to his newly revealed boon.
Extreme Alignment (Instrumentality)
Your aether drastically
leans towards the use of tools,
items, equipment, and artifacts.
Lesser affinity for all other alignments
Due to the boon and his aether alignment, Devin could imbue his own properties onto the ball; the same properties created by his magic circle, his skills, and cards.
A flare of [refine] enriched the life and arcanium he poured into the ball before he let loose a wild pitch with the last bits of his fading power. The air whistled as the ball cut through the air towards the closest monster. The reptilian monster ignored it, thinking nothing of the small toy.
The red ball caved its face in, splattering its brain as it drove massive amounts of resilience-borne weight into the monster's skull. Regeneration kicked in, dividing the ball into two before they smashed against each other, ripping out of the monster’s body in two separate directions.
Devin caught his breath as his wounds healed. He watched the red ball obey his will, decimating any approaching monsters with their multiple numbers and great resilience-induced mass. It was a little gruesome how a children’s toy could be turned into a weapon of mass murder.
It’s not murder, they’re attacking us first.
He suddenly felt queasy, realizing how much blood and guts he was covered in. Why did I jump in there when I could’ve been just throwing these Balls? Devin couldn’t think of the answer while being surrounded by the dead, dying, and rabid monsters.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Looking around, Devin noticed there was only one other arcanist fighting in the horde, and they were fighting in the distance. Recalling the item, Devin infused another salvo of energy into the toy before throwing it back.
With his back free from danger, he ran back to the wall, using a divot between bricks as a foothold to make it all the way up. God, I already miss Rage. Devin thought as he collapsed onto the rampart, out of breath and shuddering from phantom pains.
Despite being under the influence of the card—and possibly his growth tree—his body still remembered the natural weapons of those monsters ripping into his body, drawing buckets worth of blood.
Matter a fact, I do feel pretty lightheaded, He noticed the world spin as his activated circle did its work. He leaned on the wall to hold himself up, the darkness of unconsciousness creeping on the edges of his vision. Hopefully, it can restore blood too.
“Are you a fucking idiot?!” The sergeant major's voice yelled over the sudden discharge of bullets right into his ear, which his magic circle quickly repaired at the cost of a hundredths of a percent of life.
“You don’t have to yell in my ear.” Devin fingered his ear with a pinky. “What did I do?”
“You started the fight too early, you fucking idiot!” He yelled even harder. “We had to send all the other supers after your stupid ass so you didn’t die. A few even suffered injuries because of you.”
Devin stood, trying to shrug off his blood loss. “Where are they?”
“Why?” He managed to ask between his seething, gnashing teeth.
“So I can heal them,” He put it simply, walking off to heal the people who had tried to help him.
“Oh, no you don’t.” The sergeant major kicked him in his knee, putting him on his ass. “Sit down, and wait until we CALL YOU TO THE FRONT LINES.”
Devin tiredly nodded, his circle pulsating in rhythm. “Yessir.”
“Good.” Then the old bastard left, yelling more orders at the soldiers who rained gunfire at the approaching tsunami of monsters.
Geez, that old man has more strength than I do using Rage. Devin wondered what other abilities that bastard was hiding. Instead of trying to contribute to the defense with the soldiers, he contented himself with waiting with the other civilian arcanists, all of whom were dressed in a mix of dirty cold weather clothing and various pieces of equipment that glowed on their torso, feet, neck, and occasional face.
Everyone carried a weapon, and they were all looking at him.
“Welcome, brother.” Someone in one of the bigger groups in the front half of the formation waved towards him, beckoning him over. “We saw your exploits in battle and admire the cloth you’re cut from.” The pale man said, exaggerating his t’s in a british accent. He wore a red cross armband.
“Don’t mind him, he’s one of those Lost people.” A woman with a wand by her side said seeing the weird look on Devin’s face.
“You were in the U.K. when all this went down?” Devin asked.
“I’m afraid so,” The man sadly shook his head. “Was camping in a forest with the rest of my mates, but then I woke up here. Don’t know where any of my mates are either.”
“It’s alright.” A tall man covered in armor from the neck down elbowed the British man. “You’re one of us now.” The man crossed the gap in the group to shake Devin’s hand. “Name’s Martin, leader of the Bainbridge Defenders.”
Ah. These are the people Ken was talking about. Devin had to admit, Martin’s confident smile as he donned that bulky, silver armor seemed like the exact type of person that Ken would admire.
“Ah. Devin.” He returned the greeting stiltedly.
“Devin.” The British man dragged out with his accent. “Nice, strong name. Name’s Peter.” He shook his hand as well. And like that he was introduced to the group of eight one by one, familiarizing himself with the men and women that consisted of the team. There was even a teenage boy, dressed in wizard garb; robe, hat, and staff included.
“Do you have a team, Devin?” Martin asked, unaware how much the name grated against his nerves.
“Um, not really. I guess I do, but they’re probably defending the other sides of the town.”
Martin nodded. “Understandable, you are welcome to join us when the time comes, if you are interested.”
“I’ll think about it, but I mainly work by myself.” Devin told half-truthfully.
“Well, the offer stands irregardlessly.” Martin gave him one more nod, pulling his team into a huddle to plan the upcoming fight.
It would be pretty nice to have someone to depend on, Devin thought ruefully. It’s my own fault for prioritizing time with a girl instead of keeping track of the twins. I wouldn’t fault them if they hated me. He sighed, letting his magic circle dissipate into his vault on cooldown.
Something skittered up his jacket, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. Dewey reprimanded him in her cute squeaks, daring him to forget about her. “How could I do that?” Devin smiled. “You’re too big a bundle of shards for me to forget about.
Dewey slapped his neck with her paws. He assuaged her with a couple of shards, which she hastily snatched and shoved into puffy cheeks before he changed his mind. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. If you got damaged, let alone destroyed, I don’t know what I would do.”
The mouse spirit pointed out Ball in his Side Deck. He looked at her in confusion. “Yeah, what about it?” He asked, to which she pointed out that Devin could just manifest Ball with its card, and deposit her into his Side Deck. “But you’re a summon. That’s not how it works.”
The mouse spirit rolled her eyes, transforming into a stream of shadows that flew into his chest directly into his deckspace. The bond between them dimmed as the shadows flew deeper into his deckspace than it ever had before, kicking Ball out of its slot in his Side Deck, and gracefully depositing itself in the vacant spot.
Tracing exactly what Dewey was doing as she crossed the devastating currents that served as the boundary between the main and Side Decks in his deckspace, Devin’s jaw dropped at how easily she transitioned between the zones. He summoned her without issue with only a pinch of arcanium. She rose from the shadows of his hoodie, her legs crossed and her nose upturned in pride.
In his Side Deck, Devin wouldn’t be able to utilize her magic circle, but it was good to know it was possible.
“Yes, I will worship your genius.” Devin rolled his eyes, but said it anyway. He was happy that he could bring his buddy into battle with him, which seemed like it was going to happen sooner rather than later.
He had her switch back to his Main Deck so he could use her circle, rearranging his decks until another surge of gunfire made it impossible to meditate and delve within his deckspace.
Multiple machine guns supported by hundreds of rifles fired nonstop at the approaching wave of mutated beasts, yet the monster army was as numerous as they were relentless. For every monster that the soldiers fell, three more took their place, slowly but surely getting closer, and closer to the walls.
The bullets painted a river of streaks through the air with the colorful tracers, but their path stopped abruptly against the tide of flesh that wormed its way forward no matter how much lead that was poured into the wave.
“SUPERS!” A loud voice commanded. Arcanists, both civilian and military, lined up at the gates. One by one, the soldiers vacated the top of the walls, with the machine gunners as the last ones out, laying covering fire at the surging mass of monsters.
“GET READY!” Those with long-distance abilities climbed to the top of the wall, while Devin and the other close rangers ran up the conjured stairs to the other side of the mud-filled ditch, which disappeared in the wake of the last soldier crossing. A rainbow of light shone over Bainbridge as tens of supers activated their magic circles at once.
The magicians lobbed balls and arrows made of fire, lightning, ice, and other elements, holding back the line just enough to let the machine gunner leave the wall.
“GO!” The mages overcharged their abilities all at once, and various magics exploded in the horde with elemental payloads. The fighters threw themselves into combat, those with shields, armor, and heavy abilities at the front to break through the snarling wall of monsters.
Devin’s body shook as he rebounded back due to a lack of strength. Not willing to engage in a battle of strength without Rage backing him up, and with it being questionable to use. Devin manifested another item from his vault.
An aura of dread proliferated through the area, billowing over everything within hundreds of feet.
Although the range was smaller, the effect was more pronounced, entirely ignoring the arcanists he considered allies while trouncing the monsters into submission. They were still inflicted with the overflowing fury he’d only ever seen during these nightly hordes, but they avoided him like the plague. Those who couldn’t get away in time were petrified into a shivering heap.
Devin thought he would have an easier time thanks to his Spear of Fear, yet his hair stood on end as something exploded in the distance.
The next thing he saw was rows of razor-sharp teeth closing in on him.