Guinevere blocked Mira’s shortsword.
“Good, but mind your footwork,” Guinevere said.
Mira panted. “I’m more of an archer.”
Guinevere rolled her eyes. “Fine we’ll work on your archery; but you really need to shore up the areas you are weak in. What’s your archery title?”
Mira looked uncomfortable. “Isn’t that a bit rude to ask.”
“I’m training you and I need to know where you’re at,” Guinevere said. “I assume you have a weapon title.”
“It’s Archer Novice,” Mira said. “I’ve been shooting since I could walk, I feel like it should be higher than that though.”
“Weapon’s tiles can be misleading,” Guinevere said. “They don’t actually correlate to skill all the time. You could be an excellent swordsman but still only be a Novice Swordsman in the eyes of the system. It has to do more with your fighting style.”
“You have to either develop a effective style that the system can recognize or be trained by someone with a weapon’s title higher than your own.”
“Can you even train me in archery then?” Mira asked skeptically.
Guinevere grinned tossing her hair back. Snatching up her nearby bow and a handful of arrows she drew back and fired. As far as Mira could tell she wasn’t even aiming but each arrow hit its mark on the targets sending them swaying back and forth on their rope tethers.
“I’m a Journeyman Archer,” Guinevere said.
“Why?” Mira asked in astonishment. “I’ve only ever seen you use a sword.”
“I’m a Sword-Master,” Guinevere said. “I can train you up to Apprentice Archer, but you’ll need a trainer with a higher title in archery to take you further or develop it yourself.”
Guinevere put Mira through her paces, drilling her on how to grip her arrows to nock them faster and how to pull them from her quiver with minimal movements. She had her practice shooting from awkward positions and while moving to push her out of her comfort zone. She went on for hours until Mira was dripping with sweat and ready to pass out from exhaustion.
“I…got…the…title….” Mira gasped as she tried to catch her breath.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective, receive training in archery from someone with an Archer title at least two levels higher than your own.
Reward: Archer Apprentice.
*Archer Apprentice: You damage with the bow is increase by two stages.
“About time,” Guinevere said. “How are you feeling?”
“Like… I’m gonna…die,” Mira said collapsing to the ground and heaving for breath.
“Good that means I worked you hard enough,” Guinevere said sitting down beside her. “Archer Journeyman will raise the damage stage again but after that you just get a attribute boost when wielding a weapon related to the weapon title.”
“What is the rarest title you’ve ever heard of?” Mira asked.
“Some titles are unique,” Guinevere said. “My title, the Winter Lady is unique, it boots my Frost damage and gives me immunity to Frost while I have it equipped. The rarest title I’ve ever heard of was Survivor III.”
“What’s that do?” Mira asked.
“It made him almost immune to most insta kill abilities, the amount of damage you had to do to him in one hit for it be a lethal wound made it basically impossible. Titles like that are the reason you have to prioritize skill with weapons above all else. It doesn’t matter how strong or powerful your abilities are. Eventually you’ll run into someone who has a counter to all the abilities you’ve come to rely on and only your skill with a weapon will save you.”
----
My hand grabbed the lip of the cliff and I pulled myself up. I looked down at the forest hundreds of feet below, I wasn’t afraid of heights but my visions of falling to my death had given me wariness about being close to edges. I’d made sure to make another chain and grappling hook before coming up the mountain.
I was now in the mouth of the Roaring-Bear, the name of the mountain. It was a massive flat area with grass growing in the rocks and scraps with short trees and bushes scattered about. A cave rested in the throat of the Bear where I was told Urso made its lair. I approached causiously my eyes scanning for threats, Karnen had the constant job of monitoring my Foresight even though I could still easily do so. Our combined efforts helped to pick out the best possible future from what I could see.
Voidra scanned for any strong emotions to pinpoint potential ambushes. While I hadn’t asked the spirits to take up residence in my soul I’d at last found a use for them.
“Anything?” I asked.
I can’t detect anything, Voidra said. I need to be within five yards to detect much.
“Then let’s go,” I said pushing forward.
Chill winds whipped around the plateau blowing snow down from farther up the mountain. When I got close to the cave, I smelled rot and death and animal excrement.
There is rage ahead, though it slumbers, Voidra warned.
I brought out my stone spearheads, sawblade and the bone weapons letting them hover above as I closed in on the cave entrance. A deep, resonate growl sounded from the darkness. The ground shivered as Urso exited his lair. The bear was the size of a cargo container his shoulders fifteen feet from the ground. It looked like it had tufts of fur but it was actually just spikes of granite that rose from all over its body forming a heavy lair of defense.
Urso, the Mountain Prince, Gifted- beast/mountain-bear (rabid), Veteran, Rank: 349
This creature was even stronger than the Storm Pheonix had been, I didn’t know what it meant that it was rapid and wondered how a gifted creature would even contract rabies.
Urso roared and I was thrown back a dozen feet as the force of the sound wave picked me and all the rocks up and flung us into the air. I teleported down behind the bear striking out at its legs with my clubs. My attacks bounced off its armored hide only a few flakes of stone coming off. I turned incorporeal as Urso back kicked me. His claws went through me and I felt the disruption but took no damage from it.
“Chain Lighting,” I said blasting a torrent of lighting out from both hands as I double cast the ability.
Urso twitched but was not stunned by the lightning. He whirled around with a speed that seemed impossible for something so big. Foam bubbled at his lips, and he bit down but I rolled back then stabbed forwards.
“Hell’s Talons!” I shouted my nails growing in thickness and length.
I left deep furrows across his face, but he yanked back before I could do much more. Purple flames liked along the marks I’d left but they soon faded into nothingness. Digging his claws into the ground Urso charged me. His foot impacted the ground and a crack formed and shot towards me widening as it went. I jumped to the side as the ground gave way and dropped away beneath me. The earth snapped together crushing the rocks that had fallen in.
Landing on the ground I staggered as it shook and trembled underfoot. I dropped to the ground bouncing a few inches into the air as Urso swung his claws past me. I pushed off the ground and got my feet back under me. Moving with the swell of the ground I propelled myself upwards jumping forty feet into the air. I grabbed my wyvern bone spear and fell jamming the spear into the mountain-bear’s shoulder with my weight and momentum.
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Urso bucked and I was tossed with such force and speed that I couldn’t even teleport before impacting the side of the mountain. I heard my iron hard bones crack as my ribs bent inward and my femur struck a protrusion of rock. Groaning I pushed myself up my left leg dragging as I took a step. Urso charged me again.
I dropped all the stone spearheads which were just pinging uselessly off the bear’s stone fur; grabbing a boulder the size of a Volkswagen I hurled it at Urso. The boulder hit and Urso’s charge was changed into a scrabbling side as he was driven off his mark skidding past me his claws ripping up the earth and sending up a cloud of debris as he passed.
Picking up boulder after boulder I pummeled Urso with them. It turned out the weakness to earth was more earth. Urso roared as his head and sides were hit with bolder half his size staggering him and knocking him down every time he tried to get up. Piles of rock fragments began to form around him as the rocks shattered on impact and were pulverized by Urso’s swipes to fine dust and gravel. He let out a roar that shattered all the rocks in a fifty-foot radius around him, but I just brought in more.
A boulder smashed down into his head and Urso let out another roar of fury as the stone plating of his fur began to crack around his neck and head. The rock around Urso began to shift and move rising up over him forming a dome. I kept trying to smash the dome but no matter what I threw at it nothing could get through.
A minute passed and finally the barrier disappeared. Urso stomped out of the dome and swiped a boulder out of the air roaring in defiance. All the cracks in his stone armor had filled with a golden glowing light and the light shone from his eyes as he turned to stare me down.
“That’s not a good sign,” I said looking over all the cracks I’d caused that appeared to be healed if not made even stronger.
Thunder filled the air as Urso roared and I felt a dull pain as internal organs were liquified by the sonic attack. My eyes watered and felt like wobbly jell-o as the waves of sound battered my body. Urso charged me as I was staggered.
Attack coming in from below and behind! Karnen warned me.
I dived forwards towards the bear which seemed to surprise him as I rolled underneath him as he charged right passed. A pillar of jagged earth like a massive spear shot out of the earth ramming into where I would have been but instead just shattered off of Urso’s chest.
Urso kicked backwards his foot taking me in the chest his claws ripping through my ski leaving deep gouges. The claws went through my muscle but didn’t get past the bone my skin had reduced their force enough even if hadn’t been tough enough to keep from being shredded by his claws. I slammed back into boulder the size of Urso and felt my spine crack. Ignoring the pain, I pushed up my body trying to resist my commands but my mind wone out.
Getting to my feet I raise my hands.
“Chain Lightning!” I snapped the words tight and clipped.
Forking lightning snaked out at Urso searing his rear leaving black scorch marks marring his stone hide. The bear let out a growl of fury and turned around only to get another blast of lightning to the face. His body locked up as he finally failed an Endurance check.
Lightning arced out again and again as I spammed Chain Lightning on Urso. He mostly was able to ignore the stun effect, but he couldn’t make the Endurance check every time. I stepped forward after every casting closing the gap. My mana was at sixty percent, but I still had plenty in the tank to get the job done.
I was only five feet away. The golden light had faded from Urso’s eyes leaving only the bloodshot maddened gaze. He snapped at me but I ducked under his jaws and struck up under his chin.
“Hell’s Talons,” I said.
The stone under his chin was weaker than the rest of his body and my claws broke through a torrent of hot blood spilling out. Slashing down I widened the wounds purple flames spreading along the wound as the Curse damage took hold. Urso brought his head down, but I side stepped and slashed my talons across his left eye.
Yanking his head back Urso exposed the underside of his chin again. I grabbed my second wyvern bone spear and lunged forward driving it up through the weak point I’d made and into his brain. Urso roared pain and anger reverberating out the sound enough to throw me off my feet.
Pushing back up I got ready to continue the fight. Urso staggered towards me then collapsed his body giving out one last shudder before going still.
174 rank points gained.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 10,240 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 249 out of 10,240. When you complete this quest, you will gain 2,048 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
Something flew out of Urso’s chest and flowed inside me through the wounds in my chest.
You have absorbed a Curse of Madness which has bonded to your Power Attribute and will fuel and guide your soul’s mutation when you pass the Veteran limit for your Power Attribute.
Ability Gained, Voice of the Chasm (Rank 1); Your vocal cords have been enhanced to project both sound and terror filling your enemies with fear as they hear your voice, your words echoing and reverberating in their minds. You voice becomes deeper and more resonant and can be heard clearly even in the battle as it reverberates through the air. You can project your voice to be 10 dB louder.
Causes fear in enemies within 15ft who fail a Spirit check and hear you.
Cost: 4 mana per second while active
Upgrade this ability to increase how loud your voice is and the range at which its effects take place. Each rank up increases your Power Attribute by 1.
Before I even had time to fully read the post battle results and my new ability, I received a new message from the System.
Congratulations! You have raised one of your Attributes beyond 50 the Veteran limit. Your body will now physiologically change to adjust to this increase to keep your Attribute from killing you.
My spine which had been twisted from hitting the boulder painfully began popping back into alignment and searing pain wracked my body.
Your use of strong emotions as a power source has been detected, a new internal organ has developed, Enmity Gland, it will now release a flood of chemicals when activated alongside your Adrenal Gland. This will heighten all emotions you are experiencing to make better use of them.
My mind went blank for several moments as rage consumed me. When I came out of it my hands were bloodied from smashing into Urso’s side. I staggered back as with great mental effort I wrestled my rage into submission.
Blood was pouring from my chest where the claw wounds resisted my regeneration. I downed a healing potion and packed the wounds with dried Cauter Fennel. The fennel caught fire burning my chest hair but sealing the wounds shut. My regeneration slowly fixed all the damage but there were four new pink lines across my chest from the scarring caused by the ability and my method of healing it.
My pants were shredded again. I didn’t even bother changing them yet I was quickly running out of clothes since nothing but my armor and cloak could survive my fights. I looked over Urso but there was nothing to skin. Pulling off his armored plates I sniffed at the meat but recoiled. A foul smell hung emitted from the flesh and blood.
Cutting off a piece of the meat I held it up and inspected it.
Rabid Bear Flesh: Type; Food, Rarity: Rare. Mana infused meat of an earth bear inflicted with a deadly curse. Consuming the flesh will inflict the permanent condition rabid on the creature.
Discarding the flesh I made sure I didn’t have any open wounds the blood could get in. I dug through to his bones but they crumbled to dust when I removed them. I pulled an arrow out of Urso as I dug into his shoulder and examined it. I hadn’t used any arrows on him so I knew it wasn’t from me.
Cursed Arrow of Rabis: Type: Ammunition, Rarity: Very Rare, when embedded in a creature for longer than an hour the creature becomes afflicted with the permanent condition Rabid.
Interesting, I thought. Someone deliberately targeted the earth bear. It wouldn’t have been the Ursine Clan, this was their sacred animal. The Wolf Clan could have done it but from what I’d seen of them it didn’t fit them. That left the Dragon Clan, given their history it was more than probable that this was their handywork.
Taking the arrow with me I left Urso’s corpse behind and descended back down the mountain. I’d have to see how Kas’tu would react to the news that the Dragon Clan had cursed their Sacred Animal.
----
King Palamedes surveyed the royal army. Six thousand soldiers stood ready in orderly ranks the Sleeping Dragon crest of Dracon on their chest.
“Citizens of Dracon!” Palamedes spoke his voice ringing out so all could hear thanks to an ability. “Camelot has declared war on our nation, they think that since we have no champions among us that we are fair game and their rightful conquest. King Arthur believes that a god choosing his son as a champion justifies their expansion.”
Murmurs and spitting among the soldiers gave a subtle backdrop to his speech.
“But we are the children of dragon slayers! It was our ancestors who drove out beasts, monsters, chaos spawn, cultists and barbarians. Our ancestors bleed for this land for the people of Dracon. We do not need the courtly etiquette and intrigue of the court of Camelot, and we reject their attempt to assimilate and annex us!” Palamedes voice rose in pitch and fervor his ability raising the spirit of his men and hardening their resolve. Some might have considered his use of a mind ability on his own people as unethical but Palamedes was not a man given to softness.
“Are you ready Andromeda?” Palamedes asked.
“Yes father!” Princess Andromeda said saluting. She was the last of his children the rest killed in duels, assignations or against monsters on the boarders of their land. Her dirty blonde hair was cut short at her shoulder her green eyes flashing with pride and ambition a spattering of freckles softening the look of avarice on her face.
“This will be a test of your power and leadership daughter,” Palamedes said placing a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “One day you will be called to prove that you are worthy of my crown. People will look back to this war and it will determine if the wiccan places the crown on your head.”
“I will not fail you,” Andromeda promised. “Camelot will regret the day they ever stepped foot on Dracon soil.”