[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon]
“I can’t, Nuri. No more blood on my hands!” Avelina hisses.
“I know, I know,” I say softly. “I hate to drag you back into this mess, but I’m worried that the monster isn’t the only danger after yesterday’s dust-up.”
“I’m not sure it’s safe to leave you here with Irving in town,” Melina says, clarifying what I’ve only hinted at so far. Who knows who’s listening? She smiles at her twin, placing a soothing hand on her arm. “You won’t have to fight. We just want to keep you close by in case of trouble.”
“I’ll take care of him,” Lionel promises. He clenches his fists at his side, glaring out the window of the [Hunter]’s Lodge at Totten’s tower. His eyes burn with dark and unrelenting hate, which unsettles me to no end. What happened to my happy-go-lucky friend?
“They won’t let any of us in there,” Mikko says. “Camryn already warned us off. Trust me, I regret not finishing the job, and I think she knows it.”
“They won’t let any of you in there,” Lionel counters. “I’m a [Healer], remember? I’ve got access to patients. I can make sure that he’s still in a deep sleep when we go to finish the job. Or that he never recovers at all.”
“Whoa, slow down!” I say, holding up my hand. “I don’t like him, either, but think about it from his perspective. He just lost his friends, and he saw Avelina’s spell blow apart boulders and send them raining down on other [Hunters].”
“Now you’re blaming me?” Avelina snarls. She yanks away from her twin, shaking as her eyes light up with inner flames.
I lower my hand and soften my tone. “No one’s blaming you, Ava. We’re on your side. I only meant that he lashed out in anger, but from his incompetent point of view, he thinks he’s justified. I don’t think it’s right for us to respond by murdering him!”
Mikko slams his huge right fist into the open palm of his left hand, making me jump with the resounding smack. “And if he recovers and tries again? I shoulda smashed him like a bug. It’s my fault for chickening out!”
The fury radiating from Avelina winks out. She leans against the wall of the small room in the inn, lowering herself to the floor in a dejected heap. “Nuri’s not wrong. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault! I messed up my spell. We could have killed it instead of retreating. This whole disaster is my fault. My fault. My fault.”
Something about the flat, dead tone of her voice scares me even more than the waves of anger rolling off the rest of the team. Something is seriously wrong with my friend, and I don’t know how to help her. That’s one more reason to get to Gilead as soon as possible. If there are [Healers] for the body, then surely there are some for the mind.
I sink down next to her and heave a heavy sigh. “It’s not your fault, Ava. If anything, it’s mine. I never should have gotten us wrapped up in politics and power struggles in Mahkaiaraon. Once it went all sideways, I should have called off the mission and gotten us out of there. At the very least, I shoulda handled things myself. It wasn’t fair of me to make you do it. I’m sorry.”
Things were so simple when we left Silaraon. All we had to do was investigate a problem on our way to the Menders. I thought we’d take care of a few monsters, sell some glass, and be on our way. I’m not sure I’m cut out for leading.
“We’ve talked about this before, Nuri,” Avelina says, her voice still dull and heavy. “Not your fault. I wanted to help. I’d do it again.”
A terrible idea takes root in my mind. I pat Avelina on the shoulder and stand up, leaving her along with her thoughts. I make eye contact with Lionel and motion outside with my head. He follows when I excuse myself from the room in the [Hunter]’s Lodge, joining me as I walk down the hallway to a quiet corner.
I scan the area with my passive Domain senses, careful not to probe the mana barrier and cause any alarm. Confirmation that we’re alone makes me feel a little better about voicing my thoughts aloud, but I’m still nervous that someone is spying on us. The [Hunters] have a lot of variety between their Class Skills, but they all seem to have some sort of sensory boost. If my words reach the wrong ears, then we’re all in trouble. Assuming, of course, that they can piece together my meaning.
“You wanna explain yourself?” Lionel huffs.
“I want you to heal as many [Hunters] as you can. We need everyone at full strength for tomorrow’s execution. No one left behind.” I give Lionel a significant look, and his eyes widen as he catches my meaning.
“I’ll do my best,” he promises solemnly. “May I borrow one of the sets of glass cores? I’ll probably run out of mana long before my work is done.”
“Take two. We’ll need the rest for tomorrow. Get some of the [Hunters] to carry them over to the healing wards. You’ll probably need to stay closer to three paces apart with these. They’re stronger than the last one I made. Higher resonance.”
Lionel nods. “I don’t know if I can save lives, but I can probably make enough difference to tip people over the edge if it’s a question of fighting or not fighting. But can’t we wait longer for more to heal up?”
“Not if we want to kill the beast. We have to strike while it’s still wounded. What sets this type of threat apart from Gold and below is that its body is reinforced by mana. That means it’s able to use mana to boost its healing. Monsters this powerful can recover from almost anything with enough time. Except maybe the blinded eye,” I say. “It’s pretty tough to reconstruct an eye. Delicate structures.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Lionel says, looking at me skeptically. “What have we fought so far? I thought we’ve taken out mid Gold threats.”
I shake my head. “Nah, not even close. A monster like the Oletheros is probably firmly in the upper Platinum tier. Its regenerative properties are limited only by its access to mana.”
“But Gold is when cores form, I thought,” Lionel replies. He crosses his arms, giving me an annoyed look. “You and Melina wouldn’t shut up about it after taking that class with Ezio. If that’s true, then the creatures we fought in the Rift back in Mack-town were gold.”
“Mack-town? Your nicknames are the worst,” I say, bursting out chuckling. I didn’t realize how much I needed the emotional release until I find myself leaning against the wall, shaking in almost uncontrollable laughter. After the non-stop tension of the fight with the Oletheros and Irving deciding to blame Avelina for the deaths, I’m ready for a reprieve.
“Well? Ya gonna answer my question?” Lionel demands. “This is important, Nuri. I’ve got a lot riding on this.”
Copying my mentor, Ezio, I use my best professorial tone of voice. “Technically, Lio, a creature in mid to upper Silver can have a core, since that’s when their mana channels bridge the gap between metaphysical and the physical realm. The difference is that in Gold, the core solidifies and becomes far more substantial—and valuable. We never found a core big enough or rare enough to claim that those monsters were Gold.”
Lionel seems to deflate. “Not even low Gold?”
“Nope. Our team isn’t strong enough for that.” I pause, running my fingers through my beard while I consider the scenario. “Actually, as a team, we might be able to take on a low Gold threat. Definitely not individually. Only Mikko would survive in a solo battle, and I don’t think he has enough damage to outright kill one, even with a hammer blow to the head. We’d need Ava to blow it up, or I’d have to use sharpness to slice it apart. Otherwise? We’d be in big trouble.”
“Could you, uhh, not tell any of the [Hunters]?” Lionel asks, his face flushing. “I may have been bragging that we’re a Gold-ranked team. They think it’s hilarious since we’re all crafters originally, but they’re impressed. If they find out we’ve only fought Silvers, my reputation is sunk. Don’t make me buy my own drinks at the pub!”
“That’s what you’ve been doing at night after we’re done crafting?” I ask, caught between embarrassment and admiration. “That’s one way to get free mead.”
“The spiced wine here is pretty good,” Lionel says. “Azariah may be kinda scummy, but he sure knows his way around the bar. He hasn’t led me astray yet.”
“Let’s get back to the others. I need to talk with them about our plans. You gather up the cores and head over to the healing ward. Get them in fighting shape. We don’t have much time.”
“Yessir, Boss,” Lionel says, throwing me a sloppy salute. He swaggers off, humming a jaunty drinking tune to himself as he goes.
Seeing him act more like his goofy self is a weight off my mind. I was starting to worry that all my friends are going to come out of this adventure broken beyond repair. If Avelina and Lionel aren’t immune to the pressures of combat and loss, then what hope do the rest of us have? They’re two of the happiest, most laid-back people I know.
Well. Ava’s not laid-back. But she’s usually fun and a little bit goofy. Those two don’t tend to brood like Melina and I do. Even Mikko is more prone to introspection and moments of doubt than Ava and Lio.
I put the thoughts out of my mind and return to the rest of the team. “Gather around. We need to figure out what our plan is for the final hunt.”
Mikko shivers. “Don’t call it final. That sounds ominous.”
“We’re going to finish it,” I say with more confidence than I feel. “I promised Javier that we’d take out the Oletheros. Don’t make me a liar.”
“Do we have a plan for Irving?” Melina asks. She pointedly doesn’t ask about Lionel, and I wonder how much of my scheme she figured out on her own.
She’s always been insightful in a way that shocks me. There’s something strangely prescient about her view of the world that defies explanation. Sure, she’ll say she just looks at trends and reads body language, but her eerie ability to predict what people will say or do next borders on something straight out of legend. I often wonder if with her time-related abilities and her penchant for study, she’ll eventually evolve her Class into a [Seer] once she hits the Second Threshold someday.
Most people never make it there, but if there’s one person I know who has the rare drive, opportunity, and talent to reach those heights, it’s Melina. I’m going to do my best to chase her the entire way.
“Yeah, we’ve got it covered,” I say off-handedly. “Now, let’s talk about combat roles. We’ll be down Avelina, so we lack range unless I use my [Arcane Domain]. That’s always the goal, since it’s got great offensive options, but we have to be cognizant of its drawbacks. Maintaining control over the mana in the area surrounding the Oletheros is really hard. Contesting a Rift is more difficult because it requires more finesse, but this monster is strong. Really strong. I think it may be more powerful than the Lesser Rift that claimed my hand.”
Rakesh perks up. “Ever since you mentioned a Domain, I’ve been looking into it on the side. Even Ezio wasn’t particularly well versed in that language, but I found some research from an old Palladium-ranked adventurer who talked about how high-leveled beasts develop control over the mana in their surroundings. That would technically put this past Platinum. As strong as it is, though, I don’t think it’s very far into Iridium. Just over the line, perhaps? Point is, it’s rare, even among the most powerful monsters in the world. This beast has some sort of Domain, but it’s lacking aggression and offensive range.”
That puts things in a new light for me, and I nod in appreciation. Rakesh always puts in good work. “Thankfully, for all its size and physical prowess, it doesn’t have much fine control. Its Domain is downright sloppy. But what worries me the most is its Skill. That Dominion rune is nasty, and we can’t risk fighting on multiple fronts.”
“Taj and Camryn says they’ll have to hobble the lizards and leave them behind before we reach the ravine,” Rakesh reports. “Not all of them were affected; by my estimation, its Skill only covers an area about one hundred paces around it. I also noticed that it had to remain relatively stationary while it cast the Skill. Even if its leg heals up, we might not need much mobility.”
“It only lasted one minute and fifteen seconds, according to my time Skill,” Melina adds. “I finally ranked up my temporal fields after using them so often in fights, and now I have an intrinsic sense of time. Maybe we can bait it out? I could try to seal off the targeted lizards and accelerate the effect, so that it wears off after three seconds in the real world. Then we strike after it’s used up most of its mana in the attack.”
I let out a whistle. “Clever! You’re up to a twenty-five-to-one ratio for your time dilation? That’s impressive! But can you sustain the Skill across so many mounts? I’ve never seen you create that many temporal fields at once.”
“That’s the biggest problem with the plan,” Melina allows.
I snap my fingers. “Then we combine your plan and Camryn’s! What if we bring only a handful of the mounts, and leave the rest back at our forward operating base? We’ll harass it until it tries to take over the lizards, and that’s when I’ll strike through my Domain. I don’t know if it will be able to contest me while it’s running its Skill.”
“Not a bad idea. What should I do while you’re busy?” Mikko asks. “It grates against my pride to watch you all fight while I stand by and watch. Doesn’t seem right.”
“Keep people alive if you can. Use your shield instead of your hammer. It’s barely gotten any use since I made it,” I say, teasing my brother about his tendency to focus on only one thing at a time. “Too bad I never figured out how to grant it the same barrier that the badger used. If only I had stronger Viewing back then.”
“Nuri. That’s it!” Melina says. “Copy the Skill and use it against the monster.”
“No way,” I say, shooting down the idea instantly. “I can’t decipher its Skill and turn it on the Oletheros like that. For one, I lack the time and expertise. Not even Scalpel could figure that out by tomorrow. Besides, I’m too weak. Maybe if I were already in the Second Threshold, I’d be able to take over the lizard mounts. A monster with its own domain? Not a chance there. It’s got a built-in defense that I can’t pierce.”
Melina’s face falls, but she seems to intuitively understand the difficulties. She collects herself a moment later, nods, and doesn’t push the issue. “All right. I think we can bait out a moment of weakness, though. If you cut it open, or blind its other eye, then maybe the [Hunters] can finish the job. Think any of them are up to the task?”
“Maybe. I’m worried that we’re only whittling down its scales and skin.”
Mikko makes a fist. “We need to get to the heart or brain. Find a way to tear it apart from the inside out.”
“Not likely that you can cut that deep, given the beast’s height and heavy bone structure. You’ll have to find a different strategy,” Rakesh says, weighing in on our proposals.
“If someone can cut a path for me to get close enough, then I’ll turn its heart to glass,” I say with more bravado than I really feel. It’s risky, but it might be our only chance.
Rakesh runs his finger along the list of names in his notebook, lips pursed. “Can any of the [Hunters] actually do that? I’m not sure we can rely on them.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it,” I reply, a sly grin slowly spreading across my face. “Just imagine the fame of whoever lands the killing blow.”
Perfect way to launch a career, particularly if the old boss is laid up and can’t lead. Let’s just hope the right man for the job takes the bait. Two monsters, one stone.
=+=
Setting up a meeting with Camryn takes less time than I thought. As soon as I send word that I want to talk, an honor guard takes me to Totten’s tower, where Camryn is acting as commander while Javier is in recovery.
To my surprise, Irving is there as well, propped up on cushions while Lionel channels his [Healing Touch]. The open collar of Irving’s white cotton shirt reveals an angry, red, jagged scar extending down across his chest, but he looks like he’s close to getting back to his feet.
“I’ve been thinking about the lizard mounts,” I announce without preamble. “They’re the key to the entire fight.”
“We’re not taking them,” Irving says. “And I don’t want that girl there, either.”
“She wasn’t attacking you,” I say, forcing myself to remain as calm as possible. No need to antagonize him right now. I need to get Camryn on my side, and starting an argument in the middle of a planning session is counter-productive on that front.
“Don’t care. She’s not reliable. Accident or not, she’s dangerous,” Irving replies. He’s still glaring at me, but he’s speaking more reasonably than I expected.
“She’ll stay,” I say, holding up my hand like I’m conceding the point. “But we should bring the mounts. I’ve got an idea.”
Irving snorts. “Not a chance. If the Oletheros usurps them again, we’re done for. They stay. End of discussion.”
“Just hear me out. I’ve got a plan.”
“Go on, Nuri,” Camryn says, looking between me and Irving. She looks like she wants to say something more, but she swallows her words and settles for uncomfortable silence.
“Thanks. I think you’ll approve once we explain the goal. We’ll leave most of them behind so that we’re not compromised. That’s smart,” I say, nodding to Irving. Might as well flatter him as much as possible if I’m going to get him to go along with our mad gamble. “But we noticed it’s not a long Skill, and it’s limited in area of effect. Melina has a temporal Skill field that’s a perfect counter. We trick it into triggering the frenzy, cut off the mounts from normal time by trapping the lizards in her acceleration fields, and let them harmlessly run out of time. When the Skill is over, we remount and strike the monster while it’s still weakened from the mana expenditure.”
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“It’s too risky,” Irving snaps immediately. “What if she can’t keep them contained? What if controlling half the mounts means that it can force the effect to last twice as long? You’ve got no idea what kind of variables you’re messing with.”
“All good points,” I say in a conciliatory tone. “But you’re overlooking my ability to contest its control of the mana in the area. Remember how I blinded it? Well, that was while dealing with its willpower directly. If its focus is split while it’s trying to control the lizard mounts, then I can cut it faster and deeper without wasting energy getting through its metaphysical defenses.”
Hope leaps into Camryn’s eyes at my words, and exultation rushes through me. I’ve got her now. All that’s left is to convince Irving to deliver the blow. I glance over at him, biting my lip and scrunching up my face. “I can blind it. I’m sure of that. But I don’t think I can cut through its scales with my attack. Or, at least, not as deeply as a spear can penetrate. Javier had the right idea going for the heart like that.”
“I’m the best spear-wielder now that the [Principal Hunter] is fighting for his life,” Camryn says slowly. She shivers involuntarily. “But I don’t fancy getting so close again. I’m not as tough as Javier is, and you saw what the monster did to him. He’s got way more survival Skills than I do. Mine are all related to tracking, killing, and skinning. Maybe if I’d already upgraded my Class or reached the Second Threshold, then I’d have a chance.”
Irving perks up. “Ha. Burden of command too much for you already? I’ll do it. Spear or knife—it’s all the same to me. Don’t worry your pretty little head, Cam. I’ve got this.”
My grin grows wicked and sharp-edged. “We have a deal, then? Sounds like you’re the right man for the job.”
=+=
It’s all happening too fast.
That’s all I can think when we ride up to the familiar ridge again, navigating by the light of the moon. Ominous in the silvery light, the knife’s edge of the ridge takes on a bloody aspect in my mind. I force myself to continue onward, walking on foot now that we’ve dismounted, leaving the majority of the lizards behind.
We’re ready to do battle with the beast. The [Healers] in Halmuth worked overtime to get as many [Hunters] as possible back on their feet. They lost another man and two more women to grievous injury over the day, bringing the death toll up to fifteen, but the rest are fighting fit.
Last night already feels like a distant memory, yet here we are, walking in the same path a day later. I know the reason for taking swift action before the Oletheros is fully recovered, but it’s still disconcerting. Wounded or not, the massive monster is my team’s most fearsome test yet.
Aside from missing so many [Hunters], the only difference between today and yesterday is that Azariah is nowhere to be found. He gave us a map leading to the beast’s lair, in case it retreats from the canyon, and now he’s hiding in Halmuth. I try not to hold it against him. We left Avelina behind, after all, since Irving joined the expedition.
Yet there’s a part of me that wishes Azariah would put skin in the game. It’s hard to trust someone who lets others do all the hard work, even if he did give us a clear pathway to find the monster’s cavern if it fled.
Sure enough, a forward scout runs back to the group a moment later. “It’s gone. We’ll have to move on to the next location.”
I’d hoped we might have wounded it too badly for it to drag itself away, but that’s life. We return to the lizard mounts at a jog, ready to move out. Riding on an extended saddle behind a [Hunter] isn’t the most comfortable way to travel, but it’s far faster than I could run on my own, so I simply hang on and trust that I won’t fall off and be trampled to death.
Traveling through the canyon soon reveals trails of dark blood, glistening under the stars in the pre-dawn gloom. It’s a small stream almost ankle high, which makes me wonder just how much blood the monster contains within its enormous body. All of the people tracking it down don’t have that much fluid combined. Any lesser beast would have long since succumbed to its wounds and bled out by now.
Following the trickling rivulet means that we hardly need Azariah’s map. Even when the blood dries up, and the wind’s blown away the furrows in the sand, the [Hunters] are experts at tracking. They may not have been able to find the lair on their own, given the vast Barrens, but now they’ve got their prey in their sights.
An hour later, we approach an obsidian ring in the endless waves of red dirt and golden sands. It looks like it’s been formed out of immense heat and pressure, which makes me wary. If the Oletheros possess a flame attack, then we’re not prepared for this fight.
Stop it, Nuri. Don’t borrow trouble. You’ve got enough on your own. This is probably the work of an ancient Rift, scarring the land and leaving behind this strange, glass-like formation after it collapsed.
Cool logic prevails over my worries, but there’s still a small voice of terror in the back of my mind. What if we’ve overlooked something? What if we’re just food for the devouring beast, serving ourselves up on a platter?
Mana lamps bloom in the darkness, lighting up the steep descent into the cavernous system. Camryn and Irving take point, while my team falls back to the middle of the formation. A heavy rearguard watches our flanks, just in case we’re walking into a trap. Mikko joins them, but the rest of us are huddled together in what we hope is the safest place.
“Contact ahead!” a soft voice whispers. The sound carries strangely, echoing through the tunnels without losing any fidelity. I wonder if it’s a Skill at work, ensuring communication without alerting our target.
My entire body tenses up. This is it! Mana swirls all around us in extraordinary quantities, thick and hazy in my Domain. Roars fill the chamber ahead as my spears carve through the skin and scales of the beast.
We abandon all pretense of stealth, charging forward to join the fray. There’s no turning back now. Kill or be killed!
Blood covers the floor already by the time we dash into the vast cavern. Flares of mana flash past us, striking the monster and failing to punch through its armored hide. Only the arrows and spears I created do any damage, biting deep and drawing its dark, peculiar blood.
The Oletheros is so big that I can’t see all of it at once. It stretches on and on, coiling its huge, muscular body around towering stalagmites the size of houses. Despite all the blood, it seems more annoyed than truly injured. Our weapons might be sharp, but so are the little razor blades that I use to trim my beard. They might nick my skin and draw blood, but they’re never going to kill me.
I can’t shake the worry that all the damage we’re doing is like nicking the beast. Despite cutting through its armor and slicing its skin, we’re not really getting anywhere useful. Have we even penetrated past its thick layers of fat underneath its skin?
Within my Domain, I sense its irritation, anger, and confusion. I fold a blade of intent and thrust at the monster, probing its defenses. It growls, but bats away the attack with ease.
“Stop circling!” I holler at the top of my lungs. “Everyone attack at once. We need more pressure to force it to fall back on its Skill.”
The [Hunters] follow my lead, abandoning self-preservation and dashing forward to stab their spears in as deep and viciously as they can, shouting out battle cries and hewing holes into the monster’s side.
Their all out assault finally tips the snake-like creature over the edge. It gulps in a vast volume of air, then releases it all at once in an explosion that flings away the closest [Hunters], scattering them across the cave. At least two do not rise again.
Trumpeting in challenge, the beast draws on its mana, drinking deeply of its reserves to activate its Skill again. I shout in warning, and the well-trained [Hunters] tug their reins, guiding their mounts closer together so that Melina can reach all of them with her own Skill.
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Activating my Viewing, I watch the runes with single-minded focus to see how the Oletheros uses its Skill to usurp the lizard mounts, trying to commit them to memory for later. As I suspected, the twisted Skill is some sort of combination of its natural Domain and a working of esoteric runes related to ownership, power, and domination.
“Now!” I call out to Melina, just before the Skill completes its nefarious work. I’m cutting it close, but I don’t want to take the risk that we’ll tip off the monster to our plans by starting the temporal fields too early. We don’t want to lose our chance to turn the tides.
Bubbles of time bloom into existence across the battlefield like deadly roses. The lizards caught within thrash about violently, expending their energy without touching a single [Hunter], slashing and biting at nothing as their bodies contort under the force of the domination.
At the moment the Oletheros’s attention is split, I lash out with my prepared attack of violent sharpness, pouring mana into my Domain and slicing apart the eye of the beast. The sheer amount of energy flowing through me is intoxicating and excruciating all at once. It burns, screaming through the rough-cut channel in my chest that allows me to bypass my core and cast more advanced magic, but the power is addicting.
The monster screams, recoiling from the white-hot pain in its eyes. Connected like I am, I feel a dim echo of its agony burning in my own eye.
“Irving!” I shout, my throat straining with the intensity of my scream. “Kill it, kill it now!”
Contesting the Oletheros directly feels like I’m trying to wrestle against the entire ocean, an overwhelming flood of rage and hunger and low cunning. Dimly, I’m aware of my brother’s strong hands under my shoulders, holding me up as I battle the beast.
I’m not sure who’s more incapacitated—the monster, or me. I shove back against its hideous strength one last time, then release my Domain with a groan.
Irving carves through the air, spear outstretched, cutting a heroic figure in the darkness of the cavern, backlit by golden plumes of mana from the lamps as he plunges into the exposed chest of the Oletheros. The sharp spear slides through the overlapping plates of the monster’s armor, piercing so deep that Irving’s hands and arms sink into the wound, disappearing up to his elbows before his momentum is spent.
The monster judders, its entire body shaking with pain. I’m glad I released the Domain a second before the spear strike, or else I’m scared that the backlash would burst my heart like a sledgehammer smashing an overripe tomato.
I watch with grim satisfaction as Irving’s spear pierces deeper and deeper, severing skin and scales alike. He cuts deep, opening a path to the center of the Oletheros. The monster writhes and undulates, its powerful body pulverizing boulders and toppling pillars of rock. All the while, Irving’s body is carried along by its death throes, like a knotted bit of rope shaken about by a mad dog.
Deep within me, an urge to help my fellow man stirs to life. I shuffle forward a half-step, almost convinced that I should intervene, but a cold voice in my mind whispers that Irving is a venomous snake. He’s a naked blade at our backs; leaving him alive will cause problems for us down the road. I can’t allow that to happen. I don’t want to leave him in charge of the [Hunters] in Javier’s absence, either.
The beast’s thrashing slows at last, but it’s not dead yet. All around us, the broken and battered bodies of [Hunters] cover the ground like dead leaves dropped from a shaken tree in late autumn. My Domain passively informs me that half of them still draw breath. I can’t rely on them for what’s next.
“Swap!” I yell, and Mikko tosses me a fresh glass core. I’m not quite depleted, but I don’t want to risk running dry halfway through this crucial step.
Draping the chain of glass beads around my neck, I sprint forward, diving into the bloody hole that Irving gouged at the cost of his life. Hand outstretched, I force myself through the gore and viscera, seeking an artery. Caustic blood pours over me, burning and foul, but I push on and find the pulsing blood vessel I’m looking for.
[Vitrification], I intone in my soul, pouring all of my mana into my hand-crafted Skill. The power explodes out from me, seeking the monster’s heart. I find the beating organ at the very edge of my consciousness, and throw the full force of my domain into guiding the Skill toward the only vulnerable point in the enormous city-killer.
The Oletheros must have an immense Resistance, since my magic rebounds like it hit a brick wall, but I call on sharpness, overlaying my Domain with a blade of intent, and drive past its natural defenses. It spasms, nearly crushing me as its muscles contract, and seeks to crush me with its natural Domain.
In that instant, I switch tactics, dropping my Domain and focusing solely on my Skill. I dump every last drop of mana into [Vitrification], shoving past the wall with a desperate burst of power. The Skill connects, transmuting flesh and blood into glass and finally killing the beast.
I slump over, falling out of its body. Mikko’s there to catch me, cradling me in powerful arms as he runs away from the lethal death-throes. His worried face fills my vision.
I cough weakly and try to smile at my brother. “I’ve never been so happy to see your ugly face, Ko.”
“I’ve got you, Nuri,” Mikko says, his eyes like flint as he sprints away. He doesn’t even crack a joke, which scares me that not everyone made it. After he rounds a corner in the tunnels and brings me to safety, however, he sets me down gently and smiles.
Mikko wipes the blood off my face. “We did it, bro. You did it. That was amazing!”
“The team?” I ask, struggling to sit up.
“Safe. Unlike some.” He scowls darkly.
“Bad casualties?” I ask in a subdued voice. I don’t trust myself to ask the question that’s really on my mind, in case others hear the vicious satisfaction in my voice at the news of Irving’s demise.
Back in the cavern, the thrashing stops. The ground no longer trembles with the defiant last convulsions of the enormous beast. We regroup with the rest of the [Hunters], make sure my team is safe, and cautiously return to the main chamber of the cave.
I wave to Camryn. “Is it over?”
“Come see for yourself,” she replies. Her voice is bone-weary, despite how short-lived the battle was in the end. She leads us the rest of the way inside, and we tiptoe in her wake.
My pounding heart and quivering breath don’t settle until I see Irving’s crushed body for myself. Mangled beyond repair, the upper half of his body is obliterated. There’s no doubt that there’s no breath left in his lungs. Even so, a part of me fears he’ll drag himself back up to his feet, leering at me with a bloody grin, and come after my team with his knives.
Beyond, the Oletheros is unmoving.
“We did it!” Taj cheers suddenly, jabbing his spear point-first into the dirt. He throws his hands up in the air and dances in a circle, laughing hysterically. His actions seem to break the somber mood, and he’s mobbed by other [Hunters] who are equally ecstatic, whooping and hollering as they celebrate the death of the city-killer.
Yet not all is well.
Half of the [Hunters] are more solemn, staring at Irving’s corpse. Some are nursing their own wounds. A few of them are sobbing, kneeling down in the dust and trembling. I wonder if any of them lost friends or lovers to the monster’s rampage.
“Work’s not done,” I rasp, interrupting their grief. My throat’s still raw from screaming so loudly for Irving to attack the Oletheros, but I couldn’t hold back my desperation and urgency in the moment. All of our work would have gone to waste if he didn’t strike right then. I try to keep talking, but I devolve into a coughing fit, unable to continue.
Lionel places his hand on my back, channeling his healing Skills, and Melina offers me a flask of water. I drain it in one long gulp, fortifying myself for what’s still to come, and swap out a new set of glass cores so that I’m not useless after draining the last set to vitrify the entire heart of an Iridium-ranked threat.
I clear my throat, able to talk again after the water and Lionel’s [Healing Touch]. “This monster was probably upper Palladium, or maybe even Iridium rank. A beast of this size and power has a huge core. Guaranteed. We should harvest it while it’s still suffused with mana. If we leave it for the monster to rot, then the core will also decay. Is anyone here able to help me harvest the beast core?”
“Carving into a carcass that big could take days to find the core,” Orav points out. He’s shaking from the fight, covered in blood not his own. His dark eyes look vacant. “Not worth it. The blood scent will attract other monsters soon. We should get our wounded back to Halmuth while we still can.”
I nod slowly. “Normally, you’d be right, but I have mana senses that will speed it up. I can pinpoint its core right now. Are you willing to start digging?”
“Lead on. After what you’ve done for us, I’ll do anything you ask,” Orav pledges. “Might even come with you when you leave town.”
Oh? Interesting proposal. I wonder if this is how Totten will spy on us. I know the stout overseer means to keep tabs on us, but I suspect that Orav is simply sick of dealing with things out of his control. Of course, joining us isn’t the smart move if he wants to stay out of trouble.
Butchering a beast this large is the work of days, normally. With my direction, however, we follow the blazing bonfire of mana in my Domain’s vision, carving a path to the core within an hour. If not for the imbued spears, they never could have cut through the beast’s hard scales or tough hide. Even its muscles are resistant to mundane blades. Its flesh turns aside my belt knife like it’s a dull piece of wood instead of a sharp blade.
Tired but determined, we push onward. Finally, we reveal the core, gleaming in all its glory. Opalescent and lit with inner fire, it’s almost as large as my torso. I’m not even sure how we’ll transport the core, but I’m not about to give up the chance to craft something magnificent out of it. I direct the [Hunters], showing them where to cut it free.
Severing the pathways is important so that we don’t let it leak any mana. In a smaller core, like the few low-quality ones we found in the Silver-ranked monsters in the Rift by the Old Keep, the mana channels are already tenuous at best. The size and density of those cores were hardly impressive to begin with, so just lifting them out of the monsters was enough to stop the flow of mana and break the connection.
Finally free! I think in glee.
Mikko lifts the core out of the monster, hoisting it overhead with both hands. Even though it’s still dripping blood and ropey viscera, it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve seen in ages. I can’t wait to get to work on the core, although I’m not sure what I’ll make out of it yet. If it were a little smaller and lighter, then maybe I could use it directly as a replacement for my own core, but I’ve heard that beast-human hybridization like that is frowned upon in most places.
I shake my head. Scalpel has ruined my sense of normal. Besides, it’s better to use it for a larger project. I’m not sure what we’ll do with it yet, but I’m not going to pass up an opportunity like this.
“How are we gonna carry it?” Lionel asks, leaning over to speak in low tones. With all the [Hunters] around, he may as well have announced it from the rooftops, though. More than a few angry glares shoot my way.
“That’s the beauty of a muscle-bound brother,” I reply, grinning at Mikko. “About time we put him to good use.”
Mikko squints at me. He purses his lips and shakes his head sadly. “Is that all I am to you, Nuri? A pack mule? First I carry you to safety. Now I carry your core around. Soon, you’ll make a saddle so that you can just ride on my shoulders everywhere.”
“Of course not! You’re also pretty good at getting hit so that I don’t have to,” I reply with an innocent smile. “But your saddle offer is fantastic. Best brother ever.”
“You can’t take that!” one of the [Hunters] protests. “A core that size? It’s priceless! We need it to rebuild Halmuth.”
My Domain billows out, sweeping over the man, and he slams down to his knees before I even consciously realize what I’m doing. Emotions running hot, I glare at the other [Hunters], daring them to contradict my claim to the huge core.
“Stand down, Shuk,” Camryn barks. “None of you are crafters. What are you going to do with it?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Shuk snaps.
“Sure it does,” Taj interrupts. “You think any of us survive today without Nuri? Don’t be selfish.”
“Then he can buy it off us! Give the money to the families whose sons and daughters, husbands and wives died today and yesterday,” Shuk interjects hotly. “We already paid for the spears. Why should that crafter get double?”
Camryn bristles at the mention of the dead. “You think you’re the only one who lost a friend? Without Nuri, we wouldn’t have been able to kill the Oletheros. If it came for Halmuth a second time and didn’t get bored of batting around the gate like a child’s toy, could any of us have fought it off?”
No one answers. They already know that the monster was well beyond any of them to handle, apart from imbued weapons. Even then, finishing it off was a close thing.
“Totten keeps a fund to care for families,” Orav says. “No one is getting cheated out of anything. Nuri earned the right to take it, if you ask me.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re miserable and wanna leave. You think you’ll get in good with them and live off the profits when they sell it,” Shuk accuses. His right hand strays dangerously close to his knife.
What is it with deranged [Hunters]? I thought Irving was an isolated case, but he seems to be fairly typical.
“No one is trying to cheat anyone out of anything,” I say, raising my voice. Even though I know all the [Hunters] can hear me, I want there to be zero doubts about what I said. “The beast is dead. Halmuth is open to trade again. Totten forced me into a terrible deal for making you the spears, but my team hasn’t been compensated for blinding and disabling the Oletheros, healing Javier, or the kill itself. All I’m asking in exchange for my troubles is this beast core, which I’ll remind you that I still have to register with the state. Any of you wanna deal with that mess of paperwork?”
Predictably, no one volunteers other than Rakesh, who’s waving his hand in excitement. I give him a pointed look, and he puts his arm down.
“I can use the core for crafting. You’ll get plenty of money selling off the other parts. Plate armor made from the scales of this beast, plus my imbued spears, will absolutely put your gear in the upper echelon in the Barrens. You’ll be set up for life. That sounds pretty good to me for a couple day’s work.”
“Put away the knife, Shuk. We’ll let Totten sort things out,” Camryn says. To my relief, Shuk listens to her warning, although he grumbles the whole way back to his mount.
Mikko stashes the core. The rest of us collect our gear while a few of the [Hunters] wrap the dead in a long strip of cloth.
Too many dead.
Triumphant nonetheless, we return to Halmuth. Now that we’ve slain the monster, the way forward is finally open. Our time in the Barrens is drawing to an end.
I can’t wait for what’s next.