Jeriah surveyed the battle as ants ranging from the size of mastiffs to ponies climbed the walls. He only interfered where needed. The ants were all in Mortal rank and he’d get only a smattering of rank points from them. Better to let their soldiers kill them, most of their men had been ungifted criminals and outcasts before but after nearly two weeks of constant monster attacks thanks to the presence of the nearby champions all surviving men under his command had at least a few abilities. Combined with the attribute-boosting power of the Warlord’s Dominion they each fought like those at the beginning of Veteran rank.
A monstrous ant the size of four warhorses burst from the ground.
Ember-Ant Queen, Gifted- beast/ember-ant, Mortal, Rank: 136
The ants swelled in number around their queen pouring out of the tunnel she had emerged from. An archer raced along the top of the wall. Jeriah didn’t remember his name, but he was one of the men the warlord had arrived with. He’d since become a powerful warrior his arrows finding their mark every time and ripping through anything they hit.
The ant queen reached to the top of the wall, but she was met by a wall of spears. Her mandibles tried to cut through the shafts of the weapons, but they rebounded off the metallic coating the warlord had put over them. They stabbed forward and the ant queen was riddled with holes and collapsed off the top of the wall falling to her death below. Joining the mountain of corpses below. The rest of the remaining ants soon followed.
Tobias nodded pleased with the outcome. Three men had died but other than that every other soldier had come out stronger from the fight.
“Drag the bodies inside and see how we can store the meat,” Tobias ordered.
“Can you eat ant?” one man asked dubiously.
“We’ll find out, if not we’ll be eating snake again,” Jeriah said.
There was a collective groan at that. The presence of the champions had ironically made the siege easier for them. They hadn’t been prepared for a siege and only had enough food to last for a few days but thanks to the constant monster attacks there was always a fresh source of meat. Their latest kill had been an elephant-sized rattlesnake, it had been a tough fight forcing Jeriah and his brothers to get involved but they’d won the day. The snake was edible, but no one particularly liked the taste of it.
“We ready for the dungeon tomorrow?” Madrid asked Jeriah.
“Yes,” Jeriah said lowering his voice to a whisper. “It’s Tobias’ turn on guard so he will be here with Rejiah to keep guard in case the Lunarens attack.”
This was their greatest secret. The existence of the dungeon was something they hadn’t revealed to anyone outside their family. They had especially not revealed to their men the tunnel their sister Aralith had created with an ability that led only a few feet away from its entrance.
They’d been able to do the dungeon twice since Mordred had told them about it and had already gotten several magic items each. They hadn’t received anything on the level of an artifact but every piece of magical gear they collected was a marked increase in their individual power. With the dungeon being Veteran ranked it also allowed them to farm for some rank points that the mortal-ranked creatures that attacked them couldn’t provide.
Tobias had even gotten a new ability. The death ability let him inflict a wicked curse with his weapon attacks that increased all damage that the target took. He’d raised the ability to max rank and now any creature afflicted by the curse would take an extra three stages of damage from all attacks.
“When the Lunarens attack us again they’ll be in for a big surprise,” Madrid said with a vicious smile. “It’s time to remind them who the lords of this forest are and that their kind isn’t welcome here.”
---
Down in my tunnel, I didn’t feel the rays of the sun. I woke and stretched. Clasping my cloak around my shoulders again I removed the bars from the entrance to the tunnel and stepped out into the forest again. The sun had risen fully over the horizon, and I estimated the time to be around seven or eight in the morning. I turned to the west and started my run again.
I continued to scan the ground around me for materials. I stopped every thirty minutes to cast my spell to locate nearby Gifted but I’d yet to locate any which I found surprising and annoying. I saw a few patches of Red Yarrow and Cauter Fennel, but I didn’t even bother to pick them because I had so much.
Leaves and twigs crunching and snapping underfoot I sped through the forest. I kept moving at my breakneck pace, I was still amazed at just how fast I could move, and thanks to my huge mana pool and the ability to use mana instead of stamina with Heightened Speed I could keep it up for a hours without stopping. My speed was incredible, but the novelty was starting to wear off with every mile that passed. The mountains loomed large ahead, but they were still a day out despite how close they seemed.
I finally spotted something interesting as I scanned the ground around me. It was around three in the afternoon the sun having crossed the zenith of the sky. A flowering plant with yellow metallic petals.
Aurum Garlic: Type; Medicinal, Rarity: Rare. A type of garlic that is powerful enough to give greatly increases the resistance of those who consume it preventing them from suffering most negative conditions for a short period of time. Highly rare only growing in areas with massive amounts of mana.
Digging down I pulled out large bulbs from the ground. Shaking off the dirt I placed around fifteen clumps of garlic in my storage pouch. I scanned the area around and found a few more clumps of garlic and collected it as well.
As I moved along the ground searching for more of the garlic I stepped out from under the trees into a massive meadow. The forest ended and I had a clear view of the mountains in the distance. The towering oaks and trees rose behind me, but they cut off giving way to a flowering prairie. The grass was filled with wildflowers for miles and miles to the mountain foothills.
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This is a pretty place, Karnen said.
“I wouldn’t have pictured you as someone to like nature,” I said.
Why not? I was a ranger before my death, Karnen replied seeming somewhat offended.
“I didn’t know that about you,” I said with a shrug. “The only thing you’ve ever told me about is your quest for vengeance against your ex-fiancé.”
I will have my vengeance on her, Karnen swore.
“There you go,” I said. “You realize she’s dead by now, right?”
Oh, trust me, the bitch is still alive. She found a way to extend the lifespan of living creatures with sorcery before we parted. It’s actually one of the reasons she betrayed me, Karnen said.
“Interesting,” I said. “Well if I come across some centuries-old witch I’ll be sure to give her a good thrashing for you.”
Continuing my search along the ground I wandered out into the massive field of wildflowers. I was about a hundred feet out into the field when I came across a new magical herb. It was a low-growing bush with luminescent purple flowers and inch-long thorns.
Mystic Rose: Type; Medicinal, Rarity: Very Rare. When consumed greatly increases mana regeneration rate for a period of time. Highly rare only growing in areas with massive amounts of mana.
I carefully snipped the rose blossoms off the bush but leaving the plant intact. I managed to collect about three jars full of the petals storing them away before moving on. I continued scanning the field. It was full of Red Yarrow, Cauter Fennel, Ghost-blossom, Emerald Jewelweed, and even Scourge Rose.
This continued for several miles as I progressed toward the western mountains. It wouldn’t be until I was in the center of the meadows that I’d realize just how screwed I was.
--
The blast of pollen hit me in the face disorienting me again. Every possible future I saw was distorted like a fever dream. Every direction was filled with danger and unavoidable attacks. I blocked the thorny whip with my club. Black lines traced under my skin even as my blood tried to burn the poison out. I staggered onwards. I’d tried teleporting but I’d gotten so dizzy after reappearing that I hadn’t tried repeating that again.
A sound went off to my right and I rolled forward the snapping jaws of a giant venus-flytrap closing on where I had been. At first, I’d tried killing all the creatures I’d fought. The problem was they died easily but there was no end to them. I wasn’t even getting progress for Blood and Souls. I could detect some Gifted out there and suspected the plants were some type of summon or ability and didn’t count as real creatures.
The only thing keeping me alive was my Bestial Senses, I’d grown dependent on Foresight and rarely paid much attention to my surroundings; until now.
“What are you sensing, Voidra?” I asked. Thanks to almost all my most powerful abilities being countered I’d been forced to get creative.
There is something hungry lurking ten feet in front of you, Voidra said. Her ability to sustain herself on emotions also proved to be a method of detecting creatures in stealth.
Attack coming in from behind, Karnen said.
I jumped forward losing my balance and falling face-first into the wildflowers taking another breath of the thick pollen hanging in the air. Behind me, a thorn whip as thick as my thigh slammed down where I’d been standing.
Since the spirits could see everything, I could see that also meant they had access to my Foresight. Karnen had the job of watching the “screens” and deciphering the everchanging interpretations into something useful.
The problem was the pollen. I couldn’t avoid the clouds of stuff that were shot out from the field around me, and it disoriented me. I felt sluggish and dizzy and my thoughts were all garbled. I couldn’t run at my full speed or teleport, so I was forced into a slow march as I scanned for the constant threats and ambushes all around me. I’d never been a soldier, but I was pretty sure I was going to have some serious PTSD after this.
Pushing myself back to my feet I staggered on. My eyes darted side to side; every sound, smell, and sight was magnified tenfold by my Bestial Senses as I searched for the plant monsters. I looked at the distant horizon that marked the end of my floral nightmare. Bestial Senses, Troll Hide, Black Rage, and Magma Heart(s) were the abilities that kept me moving.
Troll Hide ensured I regenerated from the constant wounds I suffered and reduced the duration of the debuffs I kept acquiring. Black Rage boosted my might with every one of the plant minions I took down letting me push past the sluggishness caused by the pollen. Magma Heart(s) let me regain stamina and mana with each of my kills; a necessity since I’d stopped regenerating anything thanks to one of the debuffs I was under.
Something wrapped around my leg. I ripped up and dragged the root monster into the sunlight and ripped it apart with my bare hands. A boost of mana and stamina hit me, and an instance of Black Rage was refreshed, and I kept moving forward. Everything was a red haze due to my cloak, but the damage boosts it gave with each stack let me kill every monster with one hit.
Duck! Karnen shouted.
I dropped down and two thorns the length of an arrow whizzed overhead. Another one hit me in the back just under my pauldrons. Snarling I ripped the arrow out and moved forward. I wanted to stop and rest so badly but I knew if I ever stopped moving, I’d never get up again. I resigned myself to the misery before me and continued my endless march.
---
Ammerila lowered herself by the rope from the ceiling. Her feet made no sound on the marble floor of the royal bedroom. The Assassin crept forward her form melded into the darkness as the aura of silence surrounded her. This was where she thrived, not in the chaos of a battlefield but in a hunt against the deadliest of prey. She had been in the city for two weeks waiting for the return of the champion. She’d taken the place of several servants using her ability to take on the appearance of those she’d killed. The ability even let her copy the description of her victim so even when gifted analyzed her she would appear as just a common servant.
The man rested naked in the bed two women he’d taken into his harem curled up on either side. Ammerila smiled the expression hidden by her mask. She drifted up on the bed her ability Feather Step made it, so her feet didn’t so much as compress the feathered bed as she crept across. Raising her artifact dagger, she poised and then struck.
Her mask let her say the activations for half a dozen of her abilities without being heard. The champion didn’t stand a chance. Each one of her abilities added Extreme damage to her attack. Her attack took him under the chin and up into his brain.
68 rank points gained.
Ability gained, Death Marked: You place an invisible mark on a target within 60ft of you increasing all damage you deal to that target by one damage stage. The mark lasts for 1 hour or until moved to another target.
Cost: 45 mana per application.
Upgrade this ability to increase the range it can be applied, the damage increase, and its duration. Each rank-up increases your Perception attribute by one.
Ammerila remembered her time before being a champion and her first job as an assassin. She’d been a clueless thug then; she’d slit his throat then. A beginner’s mistake, such an attack wasn’t instantly fatal, the man had shot her in the gut twice before going down. His blood has also sprayed everywhere leaving her stained in his blood and nearly getting her caught by the authorities.
Looking down at her target Ammerila smiled. There was no blood here, the only thing that marked where she had stabbed him was a dark bruise under his chin where the blood pooled under the skin. The two women sleeping by their dead lover didn’t stir as she padded off the bed. Ammerila enjoyed her work, there was nothing like the end of a patient hunt when you were rewarded with the payoff for all your hard work.
Ammerila disabled the wards on the window of the room. It was easy to do from the inside. Swinging the window open she scaled down the outside and disappeared into the city.