“I missed that feeling,” Kael said as he watched Elijah trying to get a feel for his new body.
“Let’s get going,” Aric said as he stood up and continued to walk toward the marker. Kael and Erik walked behind him and Elijah followed them as he took a last look at his new status.
Chapter Begin
If all the supernatural abilities and his transformation weren’t proof enough that Elijah was in another world, the sight in front of him was. It made him realize once again that this world is different from what he was used to.
Their group stood at the edge of a huge valley that was located within the mountain landscape. It stretched forward for hundreds of feet and Elijah stood a good distance away from the edge as the side they approached turned into a cliff that extended at least fifty feet down. It was one thing to climb a tree, knowing that he could use the branches around him to catch himself in case he fell. Here, there was nothing he could catch himself with.
A huge valley within a mountain landscape was nothing unusual on Earth. But the literal hole in space at the bottom of the valley was. Tears in the fabric of space flashed at regular intervals around the abomination of nature and Elijah couldn’t help but stare at the phenomenon. What the-?
“A rift!” Erik nearly jumped in excitement. Elijah got goosebumps when he looked at it the rift. It was a portal that seemed to lead to nowhere. Although they were so far away, he was pretty sure that even at a closer distance nothing but pure darkness could be seen inside.
The cracks in space filled Elijah with a sense of dread, but they didn't seem to be dangerous, judging by the few dozen members of the Cloud Raiders guild around it.
Kael grabbed Erik and Aric by their clothes and lightly pulled them both back while warning them. “They could detect us. I think those are actual members of the Cloud Raiders.” Elijah also took a few steps back.
“Probably. They’ve better weapons on them. Four archers, six melee.” Aric said after he laid down and crawled to the edge of the cliff again. “They have all directions covered.”
“Tunnel again?” Erik suggested before Aric shook his head. “Would take too long. There could be more enemies inside the rift. Let’s try to take care of those ten before others arrive.”
“Let’s just rush in. Erik can create a small cave inside the cliff for us to take cover in. We can throw all our attacks at them from above.” Elijah suggested. Aric hesitated for a moment before he agreed. “Actually, that’s a good idea considering it comes from someone who had fear written over his face moments before.” He laughed as Elijah frowned.
Kael pointed to their right. “Maybe I could ambush them from above? My fire attacks won’t be as effective from a distance. You three can distract them before I take care of the remaining enemies.”
They all agreed to the plan and Kael began making his way to another position on the cliff while Erik created a way through the cliff. A few minutes later the three of them were inside a cave carved into the cliff. Erik didn’t create too big of an opening, only enough to let them shoot their attacks comfortably.
After Kael was in position, Aric opened the assault, shooting several consecutive arrows in seconds. The enemies saw the attack coming but one of them didn’t manage to evade the initial volley. They began attacking their group immediately and two of them even began running towards their position.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Elijah and Erik joined as well. Elijah shot crude wooden spears he created from nearby roots and Erik tried to crush their enemies with boulders taller than Elijah. While Erik’s and Aric’s attacks connected, Elijah overestimated his abilities after reaching Tier 2. It was true that he had better control than before but the further his root spears traveled, the more they lost their form only to harmlessly drop down.
Aric began laughing at Elijah as he continued shooting one arrow after another. Erik joined him as Elijah tried the same tactic again. “I’m sorry but you should see the face you were making.”
“Bring me down,” Elijah demanded before Erik shook his head. “We should wait for Kael first.”
“He’s already above them.” Aric pointed out. Elijah’s eyes widened as he saw Kael at their height, mid-air above their enemies. “What’s he doing?” He gripped the edge of the opening. “He’s going to fall!”
Erik put his hand on Elijah’s shoulder as he stepped next to him. “Just watch.” Elijah’s eyes followed Kael and he expected the man to plummet to the ground but instead, the man seemed to be floating. His descent was smooth and controlled and he used tiny blasts of fire to control the landing.
While the enemies didn’t see Kael approaching them from above, two of them were already scaling up the cliff.
Aric shot another arrow which multiplied midair before he fired a few arrows at the enemies who were approaching them. The two ignored his arrows and continued climbing. “They’ll be here in seconds. You guys take care of them, their archers are returning fire.” Aric said as he shot down a few arrows with his own.
Erik took a glimpse over the edge as he tried to use the cliff they were scaling up to impale the enemies. He only managed to raise small bumps along the wall, slowing down their enemies somewhat.
“One of them is interfering with my manipulation. Can you take care of them, Elijah?” Elijah nodded as he and his minion readied themselves. This was his first fight as a Tier 2 and he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Let’s go. Elijah glanced down and before he could react his minion jumped off the edge. Erik shouted something behind him and tried to catch the minion but he was too late. They watched as the minion fell towards both enemies and landed on one of them, clearly taking the man by surprise as no one expected one of them to jump over the edge.
The man screamed in fear all the way down as the minion began entangling him with its wooden limbs before they both landed with a sickening crunch even Elijah could hear. They had no time to watch if the minion still lived as the second enemy reached their cave seconds later.
“Well done, Root!” Erik shouted and laughed as the walls and the ground around them came alive and bound the enemy.
“Are there more enemies inside the rift?” Aric asked the man without interrupting his rain of arrows. The man continued to struggle inside Erik’s shackles as the ground rose to enclose him completely in stone. Only his head remained free and the only thing he could do was shout insults at their party.
Elijah ignored the man as he watched the minion below. He still felt the connection to his wooden soldier and was relieved when the minion began to rise again. The man the minion dragged with it was dead, leaving only four enemies alive.
“Let’s get down,” Aric said as he stopped his assault. Kael was now above their remaining enemies and surrounded them in a sea of fire.
Erik pulled a layer of stone over the mouth of the captive before he picked him up and created a small platform for them which descended like an elevator along the cliff. Aric assisted Kael by continuing to shoot arrows at their enemies.
“Where did you get that quiver?” Elijah asked as he realized that Aric’s quiver was nowhere near empty and seemed to be refilling arrows on its own.
“It’s a reward from a Tier 2 rift. It provides arrows as long as you provide the mana. That’s why I have to take breaks and regenerate mana between fights too.” Aric answered.
After they arrived on the ground they began moving towards the center of the valley. Elijah sprinted ahead to help Kael with the last two enemies. His minion joined him but it was significantly slower than usual, its wooden body covered in small cracks.
Kael shot several fireballs at the two enemies, taking one of them down while the other managed to evade the attack. Seeing his last friend die, the man turned around to flee. He managed to evade all attacks Kael shot at him as he began bolting away.
Kael started to pursue him and continued to shoot one fireball after another before Elijah’s hand stretched forward. His arm was much faster with his heightened attributes and he managed to grasp the man’s whole body after enlarging his hand. The man’s cry was cut short as Kael’s attack landed on him.
Aric already killed their other captive as he refused to answer any questions and did the same with the enemy Elijah captured after it became obvious that he didn’t intend to cooperate as well.
The only thing left to do was to explore the rift.