Chapter 102 – Overleveled

The keep fell within the hour, and Jack was starting to appreciate the fact that everyone here had likely outgrown the first floor. Jack really hadn’t had much opportunity to fight alongside other adventurers, and seeing everyone in action made him realize just how strong everyone was. Sure, he had been running around the back lines squashing raiding parties, but this was a different spectacle entirely. This was a collection of the strongest humanity had to offer. Abilities of every nature reigned down from the skies above or tore out of the ground below.

Swords shot out beams and arcs of energy, spears put holes the size of cannonballs through men. Warriors walked around like unstoppable juggernauts as impenetrable earthen armor clung to their bodies.

Jack watched as Devin, the U.F.E. commander, took on a group of soldiers. Three white ethereal swords hung in the air as he exchanged blow after blow. He used the swords like a boxer waiting to throw the perfect punch. He would trade blows with the Crowen soldiers, dodging, deflecting, and countering. Then one of his swords would rip through the air like a deadly punch, cutting through their leg, slashing their shoulder, or piercing into their skull. Then a new sword would materialize in the air and take its place. It looked incredibly annoying to deal with, and Jack was glad the swordsman didn’t seem to remember him.

Next was Hank. He was another warrior that was part of the group that had taken in Sam originally. Jack watched as Sam fought alongside the man. Hank stood in defiance against half a dozen soldiers, not a single blow making it past his shield. He had some sort of rebound effect, and every blow he countered, he sent back twice as strong. Hank didn’t seem very focused on offense, though, only on being a large, impenetrable bastion of defense. He left the offense to Sam.

Jack couldn’t help but feel proud of Sam. His teleport had changed in interesting ways, turning into some sort of time warp ability, and he used it with a deadly effectiveness. Much of his fighting style now revolved around covering as much ground as possible, all in an elaborate setup. People had taken to calling him the ghost, because his [Chrono-Warp] created a faint ghost like after image when he warped through his opponents, appearing in their blind spots in a dangerous swing of his oversized sword or blasting them with a barrage of his [Chrono-Missiles].

Jack never saw Hannah, but her [Rain of Destruction] marked her presence well enough, fire pouring out of the skies. She was using the crystal bow she had gotten from the queen. Every once in a while, a prismatic arrow would streak through the sky, hitting a target and letting loose an explosion of napalm and razor sharp crystal shards.

Then there was Rodeo. You could find him by the panicked screams coming from his direction. Jack wasn’t actually sure if he was killing anyone or not. The man simply stood there with his arms crossed, the same wolf-like smile on his face as he watched the battle rage on. Anyone who got close enough to him instantly fell to their knees, clenching at their heads and letting out a blood-curdling scream. Rodeo seemed to revel in their agony.

Above all, there was Gideon. Jack hated how much the dragon impressed him. He had three mana drops in his core, and a fourth on the precipice of forming. Maybe if he used all four of them, he could catch up to Gideon, but that would be it. When the dragon stepped out of the Barracks, he exploded in radiant golden flames. Enormous wings of golden flames erupted from his back and wrapped around his hands in a pair of deadly, flaming claws. He cleaved through enemies with ease, uncaring and unflinching, as he waded into a mass of enemies. Anytime it seemed like the enemy might overwhelm him, he simply took to the skies and breathed down golden flames, resetting the battle completely.

Jack tried to get a grip on just what Gideon’s powers were. It seemed to be a lot like Sarah’s, in a sense. Her rains were refreshing to friend while making foe feel tired and lethargic. How her spell differentiated between targets, Jack had no idea. Sarah said the Tower helps with target designation for AOE spells, but Jack never found that to be the case with any of his.

Gideon’s flames seemed to have a similar effect. Any ally they washed over seemed to give them a blanket of confidence, and even some degree of protection. Soldiers rallied behind his flames with ease and fought with a renewed vigor and confidence. It wasn’t like the berserker auras from Gurthok’s village. It was more than that, more controlled, more inspired, and far more dangerous. His flames didn’t fuel rage, they fueled passion and glory.

Enemies, on the other hand, they simply burned through like kindling. Jack was yet to see anything his flames couldn’t burn through, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the dragon was holding back or not. It seemed like if Gideon wanted to, he could have laid siege to the entire capital by himself. One thing Jack had learned about the dragon is he made an effort not to interfere with the affairs of humanity too much. He was happy to teach, and help, but he seemed to want humanity to achieve things themselves, not because he carried them to victory. Jack wasn’t sure what that was about, but it did make him nervous. He still hadn’t decided if he was going to follow through on killing Gideon or not, but the gap in power was becoming more apparent the more he watched the dragon fight.

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

Jack gripped his daggers and bit down in frustration. He liked his abilities. He had even grown to appreciate his weird mana core. In a one-on-one fight, he was king. But here on the battlefield, he was starting to feel a little helpless. If he was being honest, he was already a little tired from fighting his way out of the barracks. Sure, he could use a mana drop, but it would wreck his channels. He needed to save them for the king, a fight they assured him would be a tough one regardless of if they got the jump on him or not. In addition, he was still holding out for an opportunity to jump Rodeo and couldn’t be using his mana drops haphazardly.

To Jack’s surprise, Rodeo hadn’t started messing with his head yet. Jack had already vowed that the second the man started crawling around in his brain, he was going to kill him, but Rodeo seemed fine to keep his distance for now.

“Tired already?” came Gideon’s voice as he swooped out of the sky. “I lost count after about fifty or so. How about you?” the dragon grinned.

“Fifty-one,” Jack lied, pulling out his flintlock and loading one of Sam’s bullets inside. He leveled it at a Crowen soldier who had gotten the jump on another U.F.E. soldier and put a bullet through his head before he could finish his swing. “Make that fifty-two.”

“I’m certain you would never lie about such a thing. Our honor is at stake after all,” Gideon said, eyebrow cocked and a knowing smirk on his face.

Jack stared out across the battlefield. He watched as Sarah sent volleys of water that sparked emerald and blue, splashing out across allies, bringing them back to full strength.

“Our honor is the only thing at stake here, huh?” Jack asked.

“Nothing we say or do can sway her. She makes the choice. Not us.” Gideon said, following Jack’s gaze and landing on Sarah. “I should tell you; Sarah and I belong together. I’m happy to stand back and wait for your affair to fizzle out, but it will fizzle out, of that, I’m sure.”

“How can you be so sure?” Jack asked, instantly annoyed.

“A god told me.” Gideon said with perfect sincerity.

Jack honestly wasn’t sure if the dragon was trying to get in his head or if he was telling the truth. Normally he would have thought of that as bullshit, but Jack had met gods, so it was at least within the realm of possibilities. Now if that god was telling the truth or just causing trouble, was another question entirely.

“Thought you just said she had a choice in the matter, but you seem pretty sure of the end result.”

Gideon didn’t respond at first, he only continued to stare at Sarah.

“Welcome to the heart of my problems,” Gideon finally said after a long moment.

Jack opened his mouth to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean, but a shout from the commander interrupted him.

“Soldiers, we have secured the barracks!” Devin screamed. A resounding huzzah was the only response he got. “Everyone knows their jobs, see to it that you achieve your goals. The sake of humanity rides on this very fight. Form your teams everybody, the siege continues.”

Another round of cheering happened as soldiers quickly refreshed, drank potions, got healing, and fell into groups.

Jack finally spotted Hannah, and she sent him a wave as she made her exit out the front gates of the barracks. Hank and Sameera of the U.F.E joined her, alongside Maximillian and several of the other U.F.E. soldiers.

“Hey.” Sarah said, walking towards Jack and splashing some water on his face. “Look alive, you’ve got a job to do.”

Jack spit the water in his mouth back out at her.

“Gross!” she laughed. Jack just grinned back, savoring every second of her voice.

“Let’s have a real talk once this is all done.” Jack found himself saying, the words spilling out of his mouth unprompted.

“Are you capable of a serious conversation, Jack Atlas?” Sarah asked, cocking a mischievous eyebrow at him.

“Maybe,” Jack grinned. Sarah looked at him for a long second, then her eyes wandered just past his shoulder. He turned around to see Gideon talking to Sam, his hand clasped on his shoulder and Sam flailing his arms excitedly about something.

He looked back at Sarah, who was staring at him again.

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid, and we can talk. Deal?”

“I don’t know-“

“Jack, promise me.” This time, Jack was the one to let his eyes wander. They landed on Rodeo, who was staring at the two of them. He grit his teeth in frustration, then he looked back at Sarah.

“Okay. I promise.” He nodded. Sarah took his hand and squeezed it, then walked over to Sam and Gideon, joining in on the conversation before pulling Sam away towards her group. Jack watched as she said something to Gideon, and the dragon watched her walk away, a sad smile on his face.

“You ready Jackie-boy?” came Rodeo’s gravelly voice from over his shoulder. “You better make sure you're focused up. Don’t need you getting distracted and making a mistake.”

Jack spun on his heels, staring at his old master. “I don’t know how you think this is going to play out, but rest assured, I’m going to kill you before this is all said and done with.”

“I look forward to it.” Rodeo grinned.

“Well then gentleman,” Gideon said, walking back up to the two of them, “shall we go kill a king?”