by R J Triveri
With the scan still in effect, Nyx only had a moment to scream a warning as the status changed. “Stop!”
Allen Lee - Damage Received: 92% Integrity Remaining
Another attempt was followed by another failure as the beast ran into the attack. Instead of shattering under the force, Allen’s spear exploded in a shower of steel and wood and forced him back at least four feet.
Warning - Your weapon has been broken. You have been disarmed. Please equip a new weapon.
Without warning, Mac leapt into action and stood on guard between his friend and the approaching glass spawn as they called over to Nyx. “What just happened?”
And just like that, her face fell. “It had a status effect,” she began cautiously before looking back at the screen. “But it’s gone now. Kick its ass before it comes back!”
“Gladly.” Claws unfurled, Mac flung them at the creature with the full weight of his body behind it. In an attempt to test its resolve, he used a basic slashing attack. With his claws a full rank of damage above Allen’s spear, Mac had full confidence in his attack’s potential.
The glass spawn that had come from the blue light screeched out as the claws raked across its face. Its hands reached to cover where its eyes had been just a moment before, but it wasn’t enough to help as Mac came back for a finisher. “Rive!” To the tone of the command, the claws began to glow a soft white and sing through the air as they collided with the head and shattered it, and the rest of the body, in two.
The particles that made up the glass creature exploded into a blizzard of pixels again, but there were no bytes to be had. This time, the creature’s crystalline swarm condensed into a long, clear shaft with an impossibly clear spear head. Almost a mirror of the weapon it had destroyed, the spear clattered to the ground with the loud, resounding vibration of crystal before settling down onto the cold, dark stone.
“Well, that’s interesting,” Dante commented as Allen got up and walked over to the spear.
“Anyone mind?” he asked with just a bit of sarcasm while he bent down to pick the weapon up to examine. “No? Good.”
“Anything special about it?” River asked as Mac put a hand on the Allen’s shoulder.
“Besides the fact that it’s made from crystal? It has an interesting ability,” he commented before reading off the item’s screen as it sat in his hand, freshly equipped.
Crystal Mirror’s Spear of the Life Tree
Variant: Reflection
Level 2 Focusing Spear
Basic Damage Rank 3 - Above Average Pierce Damage
Basic Damage Rank 1 - Average Blunt Damage
Attack Speed - Average
Variant Attributes:
Mirrored - This weapon is an exact copy of Spear of the Life Tree made from crystal.
Shatterproof - This weapon cannot be broken by normal means. Reflective Force is exempt from this ability. Mirrored weapons will not regenerate when a Shatterstorm is broken after its destruction.
“Shatterproof, huh?” Allen said as he studied the stats of the familiar weapon. “According to this, it won’t shatter unless put against something using the ability Reflective Force. From the description, I’m guessing that’s the ability you saw?”
“Yep,” Nyx confirmed. “It was only there when you attacked it.”
“Well, that’s just a great thing, isn’t it?” River sighed. “Is that going to happen every time we try to attack?”
“That doesn’t make any sense though,” Dante pointed out. “The first one broke so easily when Allen attacked it.”
“Right,” Nyx added before looking at their group’s leader. “What do you think?”
“Well, let’s see what we’ve got,” River began as she pieced it together. “It began moving when you targeted it or when Dante touched it.”
“Right again,” Nyx smiled. “It broke with almost the first attack too and shattered with his skill.”
“But not the second time,” she pointed out, shutting down Dante before he got the chance. She grinned at that. It was her turn to be the clever one. “Instead it got that ability and broke the weapon.”
“No, it broke when Mac used his skill,” Nyx corrected.
It did, didn’t it, River thought as an idea formed.
“I break and shatter, but my experiences will live on to make the whole strong,” Dante repeated to himself. Recognition triggered in their eyes at the same moment, but he was just a moment faster. “Something will only work once against them!”
The two looked at him, slightly annoyed at his interruption. “We figured that out,” River said, looking at Nyx, a little embarrassed. “I think we did anyways.”
“Who’s useless now?” she answered with a grin before flashing Dante a rather large smile. “Let him have it though. He’s cute when he thinks he’s the first to figure it out.”
River’s gaze turned to daggers as her friend rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, just got excited,” Dante sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed for the second time as Sedai whined just a bit as she hid behind his legs. “Gee, thanks.”
Nyx grinned before turning back to River. “Like I said, this place was built with puzzles for five in mind. We’ve used spears and claws already. You’ve got a sword if I remember right, Dante’s got magic, and I have my daggers. All we have to do is trigger the last three and we should be home free.”
Mac sat back and listened before shaking a head in dismissal. “You’re forgetting something.”
“And what’s that?” River asked as she processed everything Nyx had just explained.
“My attack was a full grade above Allen’s both times. Sure, I damaged it, but Allen was able to break off its arms with a single attack. I had to use my skill to split it.”
“In half,” River reminded him.
“Still,” Mac sighed. “If we use stronger and stronger attacks, we could be in trouble a lot sooner rather than later.”
Taking a few moments to test his new spear, Allen held it like a staff and looked to Nyx. “What about the plaque?”
“Door,” Nyx said instantly. “The door.”
“Brilliant,” Allen scoffed. “What about the door?”
“Guess we’ll find out when we take out the rest of em,” Dante offered. “If we’re going by scaling damage, I think I have the highest burst among us, so I’ll go last.”
River nodded. “Makes sense. Since Allen has a focus back, he should be able to heal you pretty easily.” She turned to Nyx and pointed to the one outlined in red. “Which means you’re up. Show us what you’ve got.”
She smiled, nodded, and got up from her spot on the plaque. “Ask and you’ll receive.” A pair of daggers flashed into her hands. Unlike most the group had seen, the pair didn’t resemble each other so much as they seemed to be part of something larger. The first was longer and curved almost to the length of a short sword with shimmering silver inlay while the other was shorter and would have easily fit within the arc of the first. Both gave off a soft glow that illuminated her lower body as she spoke a single word.
“Stealth.”
With that, Nyx was gone.
Chapter Thirty: The Door
True to the rogue’s form, the creature didn’t even have a change to move when it activated before it decayed into a shower of snowing, white, glass dust and another word appeared soon after.
“Is,” Dante read on the plaque as the word stopped writing itself. “The door is.”
“Swing and a miss,” River sighed as Nyx came back to join the group. She had to admit though, the rogue wasn’t a bad addition to the team. “Not bad, Nyx.”
The woman grinned and, in a flash, the daggers were gone again to wherever Nyx sheathed her weapons. “I tend to do well when I can set things up enough.”
“I didn’t even see anything,” Mac commented. “You must have quite a few perks to not even have an outline or light distortion while you’re moving in stealth.”
Another smile flashed, and Nyx took the compl
iment in stride. “Like I said, I won’t hold you back.”
Looking at the two remaining lit statues and back to the plaque, River had an idea as she unsheathed her sword. “What if we trigger the last two at the same time? Maybe the status only triggers if the spawn is destroyed in combat while the others are still frozen?”
“Sounds like it might work,” Dante agreed tentatively. “Seeing as we’re the last two, I don’t see how it matters now though.”
“If it works, it’ll save us a little time,” she assured before walking towards what she deemed her statue. The one outlined in red. “Take the other one, and I’ll deal with our little friend here.”
“And if it doesn't work?” Allen asked as he continued to evaluate his new weapon. “I assume I’m supposed to pull your asses out of the fire?”
River grinned at his passive-aggressive words and put her hand on the statue’s head. “That’s what healers are for, aren’t they?”
The scowl on his face said it all, but before he could respond, the glass creature came to life and quickly began its assault. River was put immediately on the defense as it pressed forward. Faster than the last three, the spawn quickly unleashed a flurry of slashes from its dagger-like claws. A few caught River on the arms and legs, but none of them were deep enough to inflict the bleeding status.
River Hexi - Damage Received: 93% Integrity Remaining
The clang of metal on crystal was only amplified as Dante’s beast roared to life.
“Got my back?” River called to her friend as she blocked another attack with a ring of metal.
“You have to ask?” Dante asked with a knowing grin as he got back into form. “Pyros!”
Skill cost extracted - Familiar skill: Rebuff triggered! Dante Rior: 97% Integrity Remaining
Dante’s grin grew as he watched the skill cost cut in half as his familiar glowed a soft white. With his focus in hand and Sedai at his side, he was a force to be feared as a jet of pure-white flame leapt from his outstretched hand, warped the air, and collided with the glass monster’s face. The screech of pain it created as its face distorted was enough to rile the other into more frantic attacks.
“Is it dead?” River asked as she finally managed to go on the offensive against her own opponent. “Cleave!”
The blade began to glow as it swept across the Shatterswarm’s chest, leaving a clean, deep wound. A slow bleed of clear liquid seeped from the wound and down its chest as it changed stance and screamed at her. Its clone, face melted into a drooping mess, did the same with less successful results as the pair’s attacks doubled up.
“Not in the least,” Dante said almost happily as the beast reared up again.
Together, the partners did their best to avoid the attacks until they were pressed back to back. “Seems familiar,” River said with a smile.
***
Off to the side, Nyx and Mac studied the plaque, wondering what its purpose was and making small talk as Allen kept his eye on the fight.
“One more attack, I’ll bet a hundred bytes on it,” Allen said as he leaned on the staff, slightly bored.
“Two,” Nyx said confidently. “Two attacks at least, and make it two hundred.”
He grinned, looking back at Mac. “What about you?”
He studied the plaque a bit closer, sighed, and shook his head. “We’re all idiots.”
***
“They’re on the ropes though,” Dante pointed out. Melted faces, bleeding wounds, chipped all over, the remains were still fighting though. Holding out his hand again, Dante grinned as the creature rushed him. “Pyros!”
Skill cost extracted - Familiar skill: Rebuff triggered! Dante Rior: 94% Integrity Remaining
Sedai growled at his action but glowed all the same as his cost was reduced. Another stream of molten energy surged forth and collided with the creature’s face, but nothing happened as it screamed in primal rage and collided with his chest, head first and superheated.
Damage Received: Dante Rior - 84% Integrity Remaining
Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Burn. (10:00)
“Dante! Watch it!” River cried, but it was too late. His weight was already pushing back into her.
With no support, the pair stumbled into an unprepared Shatterswarm. It seemed just as surprised as River was as all three tumbled to the ground with little remorse, but it recovered quicker and dug its dagger-like claws into River’s thighs.
Damage Received: River Hexi: 80% Integrity Remaining
Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Bleeding. (:30)
“Son of a bitch!” River screamed as she brought her blade down onto the Shatterswarm, only for it to be rebuffed with a crystalline crash. If anything, the creature grew more annoyed as it tore the claws out to try and bring them down again against her skull...
“Defensa Prime!”
Skill cost extracted - Allen Lee: 60% Integrity Remaining
… only to have them bounce back with a pair of broken hands. The pair backed off as a golden light shimmered around their prey, and a new status perked up on the combatants’ screens.
Blessing: Defensa Prime - Deflect any physical attack for the next thirty seconds. Damage attempted in this way will be returned to the attacker two-fold. Defensa Prime is only effective against Wild Ones (:26).
“Sanando Maxima Duo!” Allen called next, and the pair felt a rush of life return to their wounds. Dante’s burning flesh lessened and River’s thighs no longer bled the seeping, white pixels.
Skill cost extracted - Allen Lee: 45% Integrity Remaining
“They adapt, remember!” He winced slightly as the pain set in. “Forgot how much that one hurts.”
With only a few seconds to come up with a plan before they settled in, Nyx was the first with an idea. “Switch targets, people!”
“Why didn’t I think of that,” Dante said, careful about the slow burn still on his chest despite the armored robe. “Think it’ll work, River?”
“Got a better idea?”
He didn’t have a response as he blocked another attack with his stone gauntlets to lessen the impact.
Damage Received - Dante Rior: 79% Integrity Remaining
“I’ve got it, Dante!” she stated as she twisted herself to catch the head of the beast cleanly with her blade. “Blade Rush!”
“Pyros!” Dante added as he rolled to her side. Sedai growled in response and backed off as the attack took shape once more.
Skill cost extracted - Familiar skill: Rebuff still on cooldown! Dante Rior: 73% Integrity Remaining
The white-hot stream of fire burst forth and collided with the chipped, broken spawn at the same moment the blade finished cutting though the head of his original spawn. With a shattering of glass, the two beasts fell to the ground and shattered to join the rest of the Shatterswarm as dust in the wind.
Grin on her face, River walked over and offered a hand to her fallen friend. “Nice job. Haven’t seen you use Pyros that much in a long time.”
Taking her hand, he just grinned a bit as Sedai jumped up his back to his shoulder and preened happily. “Fulgoris might be my bread and butter, but it isn’t the best for dungeon diving in a group now that it’s mutated.” He reached for Sedai’s head and gave her a slight ear rub. She eagerly leaned in and accepted the petting. “Gotta hit all the weak spots, River, and thanks to her, it didn’t hurt as much.”
Despite everything, a sense of pride swelled inside their fearless leader’s heart. The teamwork had gone well, Allen had a great reflex for healing, and the rest of the team carried their own weight well. At least, everything seemed to be going well until Mac cursed as he looked down at the plaque. “Damn it!”
Attention quickly turning from their success to him, River made a dash for her team’s position with Dante following closely in tow. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to the plaque? What’s it say?”
Mac looked to Nyx and shook his head. “We’ve wasted twenty minutes.”
; There weren’t nearly that many words to spare…
“What do you mean?” River asked.
More for seeing than speaking, Dante looked down to see what had been revealed. “Oh, damn it.”
In script, the message was now as clear as day.
The door is under me.
“But why didn’t it show up when you detected?” Dante asked as Mac and Allen got on either side of the plaque and lifted it to reveal a glowing door. “Doesn’t detect show off hidden things and stats?”
Nyx nodded and grumbled just a bit under her breath. “It wasn’t hidden though. If it had been locked or blocked by a requirement, it would have shown up, but I’m betting that we could have lifted it at any time.” Nyx seemed very familiar with how her skills worked, so the frustration of the simple mistake seemed to get to her. “It’s a loophole in the ability that the dungeon’s design exploited.”
“Damn logic,” River groaned as she joined Mac and Allen. Taking the bottom from her perspective, she gripped the metal edge and gave the order. “We all lift together?” The two others gripped the edges of the plaque and nodded as she began the countdown. “Three, two, one… lift!”
Three at once, the group tried to pull the plaque up, but all they got for their efforts was a status message.
Warning: Cover cannot be removed with the current number of party members (3/5)
Cursing again, River looked back at the rest of her party. “Get over here, you two. We need a few more muscles to move it.”
“Right,” Dante said as he took the unoccupied top.
“Got it, boss,” Nyx added before she took a spot next to River.
“Let’s try this again,” Mac said and began the countdown anew. “Three, two, one… lift!”
At the slightest exertion of the five, the plaque vanished and sent the group falling back on their respective asses with a firm, satisfying thud and a flurry of curses.
“I hate this place!” River screamed as the curses from her lips faded. It took her a few moments, but she finally got back to her feet and looked at where they had just been. A softly glowing pool of light illuminated the area like dawn. Though it was only four feet long by four feet wide, it was more than enough to lighten the mood a bit.
