Chapter 28 – Wittikka

Bel wasn’t knocked unconscious or stunned for very long by the impact. Still, it didn’t feel very good to plummet into the ground at a high speed. Had he been a normal human he would have died instantly. Now he sat with a groan, muscles, and bones complaining and creaking.

“Ouch,” He managed to wheeze as he sat up. A thin layer of dirt and gravel rolled off of his armor. It was hard to breathe so he retracted his helmet, taking a deep gulp of air. It felt heavenly as the deep breath eased the cramp in his chest.

The smile was quickly wiped away as a giant fist, twice the size of his head, came barreling down and smashed into his face. His nose broke, and blood splattered everywhere. The force drove him back down and a ring of dust spread from where he lay.

“Ouch...” He wheezed as his head cleared again, just as the fist descended again. Bel having regained some of his senses now caught the fist with his hand. The strength behind it was immense but could not stand against Bel’s own. Not even as he lay on his back almost defenseless. His shield and sword had been flung away as he landed on his head.

Bel followed the clawed fist up past a grotesquely muscular and pale arm to the head of a wendigo. The creature's wide mouth and sharp teeth were open in surprise. Its pointed ears twitched, and its dark beetle-like eyes stared at Bel.

With almost no effort Bel pressed back on the fist and the creature struggled to get free. Bel frowned in anger as the situation around him came back to him in form of screams and yells. Growling he twisted and the wrist and hand tore as bone erupted from its flesh. The wendigo’s piercing scream was like a slap in the face and Bel quickly called upon his shroud.

The skill activated and spread across its maximum area. Several voices shouted in surprise and pain before Bel pulled it back toward himself, focusing solely on the monster before him. The effects were both horrible and effective.

The screams of the wendigo increased in pitch until you could barely hear them. It struggled to pull away going so far as to tear off its hand in pain and confusion. It didn’t save it. The creature started to bleed and decay before Bel’s eyes. It was so horrible and disgusting that even Bel felt a moment of pity for the creature.

A stream of energy entered Bel as he channeled the skill. The more the creature melted the greater Bel felt. He wasn’t that hurt nor tired physically, not that the skill could do much for his mind, so the energy mostly went to waste. He felt his nose shift painfully as the bone realigned itself somewhat and the wound healed over. Bel touched his nose and realized it was somewhat crooked now. It seemed this kind of healing didn’t account for bones and parts being out of place. Bel shuddered at the thought of fusing himself into a tormented lump if he wasn’t careful.

Bel brought his attention back to the situation and willed his helmet back on while he activated Oculi again. Turning the darkest night into day.

Looking around he quickly spotted his weapon and shield. Grasping the two he tried to spot the others in the mayhem around him.

They were close, fighting off a group of Leshen and Ulvs with ease. The group quickly broke through and approached him. They seemed to be weary of something. Bel was about to ask what was wrong when he remembered the screams of surprise as he activated his shroud. In his haste, he had forgotten to exclude them from the skill. The skill was intuitively easy to wield and adjust although he still needed to focus on not hurting any innocents close to him.

He felt chagrin at his actions and turned toward the group, Blurg, and Liara in the lead with the others close behind.

“I’m sorry. I... made a mistake. Again. Did it hurt?” He had a hard time meeting the other's eyes. Not that they could see his eyes either way since the only visible thing to them was two burning orbs of green fire.

“It felt like a swarm of insects was eating me, death by a million stings,” Francis whispered in the back. He quickly fell silent after Korgan looked at him with a frown. Sarah's lips were pulled back in a sneer for some reason.

“Don’t worry lad. New skills can be finicky and you are still a baby in this world. You learn as you live.” Korgans words were harsh but said in a gentle tone. Bel felt the knot of guilt loosening somewhat.

“He’s right. You can’t be faulted for fumbling. However...” Liiaras tone was anything but gentle.

“You are like a rampaging Minotaur in heat Bel. You can’t help yourself or know better sometimes. That is why you must be better. Think before you act.” Bel felt his face flush and his shoulders dropped. She sounded like his mother when she was disappointed in him, a feeling his mother had felt far too many times.

Bel hadn’t thought about his mother in a long while. The guilt returned tenfold. He wondered where she was right now, what she was doing. Did his sister move back home now that he was missing? Bel felt sick to his stomach realizing he had no idea how much time had passed on Earth. For all he knew, it could have been a hundred years or five minutes.

“My Lord. Should we not keep going? The incident is already forgotten in my mind.” The Warlock said. His voice was as polite as before.

Bel moved his gaze toward the man who started to sweat profusely before bowing when he remembered Bel's earlier words.

“Ah, excuse me Master Bel.” he stammered.

“No, you’re right. I got lost there for a moment, thinking about home.” The others could hear the longing in his words and wisely chose not to say anything.

Bel cleared his throat and blinked away unshed tears. He didn’t notice the compassion on Liara’s face.

“Enough of this. Let’s kill these monsters.” The group had been somewhat unmolested for now. The horde sensed the much weaker prey around them. The wiser of the group was wondering why the Wildcaller wasn’t exerting more control of his minions, not that he needed to. The horde was about to overrun the town anyways.

“Blurg, you and your Beastkin take the right flank. Sarah, take the others and protect our left flank. Aegon, you and your friends cover our backs. Liara and Korgan, with me in the center.” Bel spoke without thinking, he used an authoritarian tone he didn’t know he had. Too late he realized he might have offended Blurg with his words.

The giant Bearman only nodded with grim determination on his alien features. The others nodded as well, similar expressions of excitement and resolve on their faces.

Liara and Korgan looked at him, the first with a steady gaze, the other with a pleased expression and a muttering of aye boy.

Bel ignored the awkwardness he felt and instead turned toward the enemy. A group of ulvs and wendigos. A string of insults, warcries, and one-liners came to mind but he knew this wasn’t some glorious movie battle. This was life and death, and death had come in person.

Bel screamed in rage and charged the lines of the enemy. Before colliding he sent his shroud forward, keeping his friends and allies in his mind to not hurt them. The shroud hit the front line and the monsters screamed or shrieked in pain. Their discipline which was already flaky at best, melted as the pain struck them.

The shroud was spread to its maximum and so it didn’t do much real damage. Bel and his companions clashed with the line and the creatures died in droves. Bel sent sweeps of his sword in front of him, cleaving and dismembering with ease. Korgan had activated his Berserkers Rage and his axes moved like drumsticks, sometimes hitting so hard he caved in heads instead of cleaving them.

Liara was like the wind. Bel realized he hadn’t seen her truly fight before. It had been pandemonium in the fight against the Devourer and in the church she had taken a defensive role. Her chainmail and shield were like a blazing sun in the night and her right hand held a small sword. Bel thought it could have been a rapier, he was no expert in swords though.

The priestess carved the creatures before her into pieces with quick trusts and slashes. Her attacks were imbued with a golden light and it caused the flesh of the monsters to sizzle and boil.

Several notifications joined Bel's growing list in the corner of his eye as skills leveled up and kills were earned. Bel went all out for the first time in a long time. Using every skill in his repertoire he raised the monsters he killed, turning them upon their former comrades. He threw necrotic bolts at faraway targets, and he formed his shroud into different shapes and used it to slice and kill as much as he used it to replenish his tired body.

Soon the group had carved their way deep into the horde and Bel could see Gorban standing behind a cart, safe from arrows and projectile skills. The orc was muttering something and holding his right hand forward. His left hand held a large glaive, the weapon glowing with ominous brown and green colors.

A Wendigo threw itself at Bel and he ducked underneath its arms. Inspiration struck him then and he formed a long-segmented blade, almost like a spider's leg, from his shroud. He speared the creature through the throat. The shroud easily pierced its tough hide coming out the other side clear of blood. With a flex of his mind, he pulled on the shroud and the creature was flung away. A wicked smile appeared on Bel’s face. The shroud was using his stats and that meant it held his strength as well.

From his back, seven more of these skeletal forms appeared, like wings. Bel pushed forward and the blades struck all at once. Eight creatures died screaming and then he kept going. He started to spin around and deflect the few attacks that made it through, with his shield and sword. Bel heard himself laughing from the sheer exhilaration of his momentum.

“I am the King of Blades!” He shouted, knowing no one would understand the reference.

He should have seen the fist coming, as this was embarrassingly similar to what happened when he tried using the shroud to fly. The giant fist appeared almost out of nowhere, smashing into Bel and sending him flying. He landed on a few broken bodies, and they kept him from breaking every bone in his body.

“Again... Fuck.” Bel stood a little groggily his vision swimming for a moment before the healing of his shroud cleared the worst of the pain and discomfort.

The Wendigo alpha stood before him, its movements so fast he could barely track them. This is what Gorban had been doing, the creature was so juiced up that Bel could feel mana leaking out of every pore in its body.

Bel flared his eyes and information flowed into him,

Wittikka – Wendigo Alpha (Elite) - Level 57 Imbued

Wittikka was the first monster tamed by the cruel Wildcaller Gorban, Bronze Champion of Morkin. The creature grew from each enemy it devoured and soon reached the Alpha stage of its kind. The creature is now a mindless thrall imbued with so much mana it's coming undone at a molecular level.

Bel wondered for a moment if the text was modified to his understanding or if this world knew about molecules. He didn’t waste time pondering the thought though as he was forced to fight for his life.

Wittikka came in hard, its arms swinging wildly, hitting his allies as well as Bel and his hastily raised shield. Bel was in trouble, and he searched for his allies with his eyes. The initial attack had thrown Bel away from his friends and they were all currently trying to make their way over to him. The horde had received new orders and their loose cohesion had been tightened. Bel realized Gorban had lured them in and was now tightening the noose.

“Fine. Let’s dance.” Bel screamed in the creature's face. At least he tried as the thing towered over him, easily four meters tall.

Each blow that landed on Bel sent him skidding across the dirt, digging several furrows in the muddy ground. Blood and other offal had soaked into the ground turning the once-packed earth into mud. The smell was starting to bother Bel as well. His senses had increased with his attributes and the sounds and smell around him were hard to ignore at times. He had seen movies and read books depicting great battles. Many told about the smell, but it was one thing to read it and another to live it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It didn’t help that he was regularly knocked prone and more often than not he fell face first. His helmet wasn’t water or mud-proof and after getting to his feet for the third time he started to get angry.

With a shout, he rose and faced the giant crazed beast. Using a move from the dungeon he let the creatures blow land on his shield and with a twist he sent the punch sliding off his shield. The force still knocked him sideways but he managed to regain his footing fast enough to kick the creature's elbow. An audible snap sounded and the wendigo screamed in pain. The pain only seemed to last for a moment as Wittikka snapped its bones back into place and resumed his attack.

“Fuck. He’s healing faster than the Devourer did.” Bel said to himself. His mind trying to find an advantage he could press or a plan he could enact.

Summoning his shroud arms again he stabbed forward and pierced the thick skin of the Wendigo in several places. He tried draining as much energy as possible but he barely managed to hurt the thing. The creature slapped him so fast and hard that he was thrown on his back once again.

Bel could sense the mana in the creature dim by a small amount. He was surprised he could sense the difference. It felt like he hadn’t taken more than a drop out of a giant swimming pool.

“As you wish you Gorban. Death by a thousand cut’s it is.” Bel whispered as he cracked his neck.

Bel readied his attack and when the creature lunged for him, he charged it. The giant creature slammed into Bel’s shield and Bel was almost thrown back. Had he not set his feet. Instead, he was only pushed back several meters as the creature pushed at his defenses.

Suddenly a giant roar could be heard and Bel sensed a shift in his mind. He had been too distracted but luckily, this was an ally. A large stone mallet descended on the wendigos head. The monster was caught flatfooted and his head hit the ground so hard it bounced once.

Solomon was already winding up a second attack.

“Master. I will help you.” Bel was glad to see his minion. It felt like they had been separated for an eternity and not just less than two days.

“Solomon, good to see you. Keep it busy.” Bel looked for the other sensation in the back of his mind. Ignatius was descending from the air next to him.

“Master Bel. Greetings.” The skull was smiling, Bel could feel it.

“Ignatius. Long time no see. I need to finish this thing off, got any advice? Quickly if you’d please.” Bel added the last part as Solomon was backhanded so hard, he was sent flying.

“Of course, Master. This is a brute type of monster. High Strength and Constitution. Normally it lacks any regeneration abilities but as your skill revealed. It has been imbued. I doubt the skill used on it has the... drawback of yours. Although yours are meant to cause as much destruction as possible hence the exploding minions. The differences in skills are clear as a Wildcaller is meant to preserve one's minions while yours are more disposable. Now I’m getting distracted again. As I was saying, the creature is all about strength and now speed but not intelligence. Confuse and subvert it and you should be able to bring it down.” Bel didn’t even admonish the skull. It felt good having the long-winded minion back.

The information wasn’t anything new unfortunately so it still seemed his idea of a thousand cuts would have to suffice.

“M’Lord. Do you need help?” The voice came from under his left elbow and Bel jumped in fright. Looking down he saw the halfling, DingDing. A knowing smile on his face as Bel landed on his feet again.

“I’d love some. What can you do?” Bel’s voice was not deeper and manlier than usual he was certain.

“This thing is nothing to my wit and daggers. Give me a clean blow and I’ll cut its throat.” He sounded both confident and bragging. “This fang contains the poison of a green Wyrmling.” DingDing held up the dagger fashioned from a giant tooth.

“If I can get it near the head or heart it should knock it out...in time.” His smile never wavered and a glint in his eyes told Bel he was quite confident in his words. Bel felt a smile creeping on. He didn’t know why but he was starting to like this guy even though the bragging.

“I’ll get you an opening. Don’t take too long though. I’m starting to feel exhausted.” Bel said.

The halfling nodded while pulling his hood back up, vanishing from sight.

“Be careful with that one Master. He is... ambitious.” Ignatius whispered next to his ear.

“I hear you, Ignatius. Get the others to form a perimeter. Solomon and I don’t want anyone gatecrashing this fight.”

“Your will be done, Master.” Ignatius zoomed away; he seemed faster than before.

Bel took a deep breath then he flexed his leg, sending every bit of strength he had into them. He accelerated faster than a speeding car. With a crash, he tackled the wendigo just as he was about to hit Solomon. The draugr had been forced back by the enraged monster and was solely defending himself.

The hit made the creature stumble and it caught itself with his right hand on the ground. Solomon took the opening and with a giant swing hit the creature on the forearm, breaking the bones and causing Wittikka to fall to the ground.

“You take his right side I have his left. Try forcing it to the ground.” Bel ordered. The draugr responded with a nod and the two got to work.

Their teamwork seemed to confuse and frustrate the creature. When it tried to get up, Bel or Solomon punched or cut its arms, when it focused on one opponent the other hit it around its neck and shoulder. Screaming in frustration it tried grabbing them both.

Bel dropped his sword and shield and grabbed the descending fist. Solomon likewise caught the other fist aimed at his face. He didn’t have the same strength as Bel, but he was still plenty strong. Especially when working in tandem with Bel.

The two managed to pull the arms of the creature apart, forcing its face down into the muddy ground. The wendigos clawed feet found no purchase on the bloody ground.

“Now!” Bel screamed, his arms straining to the maximum. His shoulder felt like they were a second away from dislocating themselves.

From out of thin air a small being appeared on the creature's shoulder. With a flick, it slammed two daggers into the neck of the creature. Just below its skull where its spine began. The creature stilled for a second before releasing a scream of pain that made the entire battlefield still for a brief moment.

Wittikka suddenly buckled and both Bel and Solom were caught by surprise. They were forced off their feet and the creature slammed them together like a pair of cymbals. DingDing was sent flying and his small form disappeared in a cluster of ulv's racing across the ground trying to get passed Bull, and Francis. The pair fought in tandem, Bull taking the brunt of the charge while Francis danced around cutting hamstrings and throats with ease.

“What is this, the third time today?” Bel groaned as he rolled to his feet. His armor saved him again. He could feel Solomons's pain though, a sensation that was both strange and surprising. He would have thought the undead was immune to such things, but apparently not.

Concern welled up within him but as he looked at the draugr he saw that the undead was crawling away, swearing but not in immediate danger.

Bel turned toward the screaming creature and he saw that it was still up. This time however it was wobbling and disoriented. Bel quickly picked up his sword and charged. With a cleave, he slashed at the creature's leg. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn’t cleave through it in one blow. Instead, he cut so deep he severed the hamstring and the giant muscle snapped.

Going down on its knee the creature caught itself once again. Bel’s second blow caught it by surprise in its confusion. Bel jumped with his knee first, taking the wendigo in its jaws so hard its neck snapped back and its body followed. In an astonishing feat that no one could ever hope to manage back on Earth. Bel landed on the creature's chest.

With some difficulty he summoned his shroud again, the pressure on his mana and mind heavier than ever, and then he plunged the eight arms into the chest of Wittikka.

He knew that he couldn’t drink all that energy and mana, it would kill him. Instead, he vented it. Like a giant spigot, the mana sprayed into the air, only visible to Bel and a few others.

The creature groaned weakly, trying to get him off. It seemed the skill and exhaustion had caught up with him though and as the monster deflated its attempts stopped. The poison was doing its work as well and soon the creature lay there on the brink of death.

Bel stopped just before, a thought coming to him, a plan for later. Jumping off the defeated wendigo he ran over to Solomon who had propped himself up against a piece of wood, probably from the palisade.

“Are you going to make it Solomon?” Bel kneeled by the huge man. He realized he had no idea how to help his minion. Looking him over he saw that his right leg was bent at an angle just below the knee.

“I am fine Master. Get back into the fight. I am already healing, there is so much death mana in the air. I will be back in the fight in no time.” Solomon sounded as stoic as always. The kindhearted undead seemed embarrassed. Or rather, Bel knew he was embarrassed, he could feel every emotion of Solomon’s like they were his own.

“You did well. Now I need you to get better and then I need you to secure that creature. Do whatever it takes to subdue it and keep it secure.” Bel grabbed the undead’s leg and pulled the bone back into place with a sickening crunch. Solomon didn’t even flinch at the pain and his leg started to heal.

“Bel!” Liara called him.

Bel got to his feet and made his way over. Cutting down any monster that came close.

“One threat down.” He said as joined up with the others.

“That was some fine fighting, Unclean one,” Blurg said with respect, except for the last part.

“Thank you. Did anyone see what happened to DingDing?” He asked a little worried for the man who helped him. He didn’t know him or his motives, but he didn’t want to see the man hurt.

“That Warlock went after him. I suspect he’s fine. Rogues have a knack for getting out of trouble.” Silvero the fox answered as she flittered past shooting arrow after arrow into the horde.

“Good. Let’s focus on the next problem. We need to get to Gorban. What has he been doing?" Bel looked at the last place he saw the orc. To his surprise he was still there, muttering and channeling some skill. Something was not adding up to Bel.

“He’s still standing there lad. Hasn’t stopped muttering once. Damn right weird is what it is.” Korgan muttered loudly before splitting a Leshen with his axe.

“I noticed that too. Something is going on and the fact I can't tell what is bothering me.” Liara had her usual frown and she seemed more anxious than usual.

“You are correct, elf. This orc is a cunning foe, and standing there makes him a tempting target. He doesn’t even seem to have his pet Leshen around.” Blurg said in his deep baritone.

Those words finally made Bel realize what was off. The orc was alone, standing in the open and tempting them. He sent Wittikka to slow them down but he was nothing but a sacrifice, a distraction. Bel was both sickened and impressed by the cunning orc. He sacrificed a great asset who he was intimately connected with.

Bel pumped as much mana he could into his eyes and looked at the orc. There was a strange haze around him. Like heat rising from a road in the summer. The orc suddenly shifted like static. Bel’s eyes widened in understanding.

“It’s an illusion. I don’t know why I didn’t connect it earlier.” Bel flicked his eyes around the battlefield, looking for something. His hand glowed black as he charged a Necrotic Bolt. He pumped as much mana as he could spare into the skill.

“There!” He saw a shimmer close to the hole in the palisade. With a thought he sent his bolt flying across the field. Luckily, he aimed with his eye and mind, otherwise, the shoot would never have hit a target that far away.

He could see his bolt hit and something fell over. A notification popped up and he didn’t repress it.

You have killed a Djinkar Alpha level 56

A wave spread from the body of the creature dispelling the illusion of the orc. Showing an empty spot in its stead. Several creatures also disappeared and the horde severely diminished.

“Typical orc dishonor.” Korgan spat and growled.

“Truly the scum of Eshander.” Blurg agreed.

They seemed to be bonding over their mutual hate of orcs.

Bel ignored them and kept searching for his target. That is when a notification appeared and it seemed it was one everyone could see. They stared at the text for a moment, surprise on their faces.

Gorban Je’Klaz conquered the charter of Linchester. Claim disputed by defending forces. The Heman Empire will lose control of the Zone at the next sunrise.

“What the hell is that?” Bel asked.

“He has taken the Charter. He now controls the entire zone and all its resources, and he also has access to its control node.” Liara looked at him like he was stupid before remembering herself.

Bel cut her off before she could apologize and explain further.

“Don’t worry I got the gist of it and no we don’t have that in my world.”

“Where is the charter?” He continued.

“It is at the mayor's house, I think. Gorban probably snuck passed us while we were busy here. His pet Djinkar must have used her illusions sparingly or we would have noticed something was wrong much faster.” She answered.

Bel understood now why the defenders hadn’t been overrun yet. The horde was much smaller than he thought.

“I’m going after Gorban. You stay here and help Gilroy mop up the remaining monsters.” He ignored their protests and summoned something he had never tried to summon before. Out of the ground, a skeletal steed emerged, its hooves burning with green flames. He didn't have time to wonder why he could summon something he hadn't raised before.

“Bel stop. You can’t go alone, lad.” Korgan stepped into his path. The dwarf was splattered in blood and his eyes were tired, he was breathing heavily.

“Take Francis and Sarah with you at least. The rest of us will join you as fast as possible.” The dwarf’s tone was calm but firm. He knew he would be of no help in a battle between champions. The dwarf was secretly impressed by the fortitude of the young human.

“Master Bel! Please, take me with you as well. I can help.” Aegon the Warlock stepped forward, the giant Baldurr and DingDing at his back. The halfling looked roughed up but otherwise fine.

Bel looked at the thin man. He still wasn’t sure about the trio, but he had chosen to trust the halfling, and that had worked out. He made a decision.

“Fine. You, Francis and Sarah, the rest of you help the townspeople before more of them die.” All this time whenever someone died, he had felt it. He was connected to death and now more than ever. He had never fought this long or used his skills this much. He felt the blade on his back. Authority of the dead it said in its description, and he was starting to understand what that meant. It was starting to get to him, the deaths and all those people he couldn’t save.

With a flick of will, his skill activated, summoning three more steeds.

“We ride.” He didn’t need to steer with his hands or feet and neither did his companions. The mounts turned as one and galloped deeper into the city. It was time to end this.