CHARGE: ∞/∞
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. All this without even having to activate a spell or ability. Truly, donning a Gaia Gem or Gaia Stone turned me into a god-tier warrior.
And those were just the baseline stat boosts! I scrolled through the spells available with the Storm Gem.
GAIA’S RAGE
EFFECT: LIGHTNING DAMAGE +500 ON MULTIPLE TARGETS
GAIA’S BREATH
EFFECT: WIND DAMAGE +500 ON MULTIPLE TARGETS
THUNDER FIST
EFFECT: CONSTANT EFFECT
-LIGHTNING DAMAGE +100 DURING MELEE
THUNDER BOOM
EFFECT: DEAFNESS +500 ON MULTIPLE TARGETS
GAIA’S FIRE
EFFECT: FIRE DAMAGE +500 ON MULTIPLE TARGETS
GAIA’S ICE
EFFECT: ICE DAMAGE +500 ON MULTIPLE TARGETS
And there were more, but I’d have time to admire the gem later. That big asshole knight in the silver armor reigned his troops in and kept them from fleeing. He grit his teeth, his eyes burning with the rage of a true believer.
I knew at once this motherfucker was willing to die for the Emperor, and I was more than happy to oblige him.
As I got back to my feet, tiny bolts of lightning rippled off me, and I glowed a garish white-blue that illuminated the entire hallway and made the legionnaires tremble in their boots.
“Well?” I asked. “Are we doing this or what?”
“CHARGE HIM!” the ranking knight shouted.
His forces let out a battle cry and spilled into the hallway, swords drawn, looking to overwhelm me with their numbers.
Poor fuckers didn’t realize they were running toward certain death. The other knights stormed in with them, with the ranking knight in the silver armor stomping toward me at the rear.
“HOLD ON!” I shouted at them, making them all stop in their tracks.
“Do you wish to surrender?” the knight in silver asked me.
I smiled, because I just had to try it. I mean…if it worked it would have been so badass.
“No,” I said. “I just wanted to see something real quick.”
I held up the Soulguard, lighting swirling around it, glared at the sixty enemies lying before me, and I did it.
I snapped my fingers.
Clink, went the Soulguard, as my armored fingers knocked together without any effect. I shrugged. “Ah well, I had to try it.”
“KILL THE REBEL SCUM!” the ranking knight shouted, and the men began to charge me again.
“I’ll make this quick for you assholes,” I said, then roared as I slammed my fist onto the ground, casting the Gaia’s Rage spell.
Dozens of crackling bolts of lightning rippled down the hallway toward the advancing soldiers. The magic was so deadly, they didn’t even have time to scream.
Each one was incinerated almost instantly, with almost the entire force being reduced to smoldering ashes, one after the other.
The big bastard in the silver armor wasn’t so brave after all. He turned to flee, for all the good it did, because he hardly made it two steps before he was incinerated with the rest.
The hallway stunk of charred meat and ashes, with even their armor reduced to pools of molten slag.
I walked through their ashy remains and poked my head out of the hallway. There, I saw him, that shit-eating male librarian that had given us an attitude when we first arrived. His eyes shot open wide with fear when he saw me, when he saw the elemental energy whirling around me.
“Boo!” I said.
He shrieked like a child and ran off, screaming. However, off in the distance, I could hear more legionnaires heading our way. I was just about to rush out to meet them head on when I heard Bella crying out behind me.
“Champion, Pandora’s figured out the spell!” she shouted.
“I’m coming!” I hollered back, then quickly slipped the Storm Gem back into the container. I didn’t want to risk wielding it near anyone that I didn’t want to harm. I would have to practice with it, so I could learn how to wield it without, ya know, killing everyone around me.
Plus, the head librarian had been right about me wearing the gem for too long. Though I was still able to channel the power, I could feel its energy starting to overwhelm me. Hopefully, I could learn how to control this with some practice, as well.
Back in the study, Pandora was sitting cross-legged on the floor, with the white mysticism magic fluttering around her.
“I’ve figured out the spell, Earthman,” Pandora said.
Malia was weeping, hugging Ivus. “Father, please…”
“It’s okay, daughter,” Ivus Raydon said with a hint of defiance in his voice. “You’ll be safe with Gamelord and the Mananymphs.”
“But I don’t want to leave you,” she said.
“You must,” he said. “Because it seems that I’ve accidentally made us join the rebellion,” he laughed. “When Gamelord leads the rebels in overthrowing the Emperor, you’ll have to come back here and take my place as head librarian.”
She wept and kissed him, then stepped toward me. “I love you, father.”
Pandora suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Are you sure you can do this?” I asked her.
“I’ll see you in Homehold,” Pandora said, grinning.
Her eyes pulsed with white light and immediately, she vanished in a burst of brightness.
“Thank you, Gamelord,” Ivus said as we shook hands.
“No, thank you,” I said. “Without your help…”
“Go now,” Ivus said. He began wheeling himself out of the room, where the soldiers would be flooding inside any moment. “I’d like to look my murderers in the eye, rather than hide like a mouse.”
Chapter Fifteen
We arrived back in Homehold, inside Duke Gladios’ chamber, right after Pandora appeared. Therena and Sephara were there, apparently having reached some kind of peace agreement so they could work on Marcus some more.
“You’re back already?” Therena asked in confusion.
“Because the Earthman is a Champion, you fool!” Sephara said as she launched herself into my arms.
“Yeah, well, we were almost taken by the goddamn Imperial Legion,” I said. “Somebody tipped them off about us.”
Therena grimaced. “These bastard informants…”
Sephara paused, looked over my shoulder, toward Malia. “Who’s that one?” she asked, gesturing to Malia.
“The future head librarian of the Imperial City,” I answered. “Because of her father and his sacrifices, now I’ll be able to face the Necromancer on an even level.”
Therena’s eyes widened. “And how did you manage…” She stopped, looked at Pandora, and frowned. “Pandora, are you okay?”
The moment I turned to Pandora, I saw all the color drain from her face. She collapsed to the floor a second later.
“Pandora!” I shouted, as we all went to tend to her.
She was breathing, but weakly, and she’d been rendered unconscious.
“It must be from her casting the teleportation spell,” Sephara said. “The force of casting the spell had been too much for her to bear.”
Malia covered her mouth, horrified. “She’s not…dead, is she?”
Sephara shook her head. “Not dead, no, just severely weakened,” she said.
“Can you heal her, Sephara?” I asked.
“I can,” she said confidently. “But it might take me some time. Pandora must have truly overreached with her mysticism abilities, because it appears as though the magic has completely overwhelmed her physically.”
“I’ll get her to our bed chamber,” I said grimly as I scooped the Mananymph into my arms.
“No,” Sephara said. “We’ll take her to the infirmary. There, I can take better care of her.”
The infirmary, full of healers and low level mages, wasn’t far from the duke’s chamber. However, since I’d taken off the Storm Gem, I’d been running on a ton of energy. Leftover, residual e
ffects from wearing the gem, I thought.
The moment I lay down Pandora in one of the many beds and the healers came to assist Sephara, I felt lightheaded. The color drained from my face. Even the healers who were tending to Pandora began to take notice.
“Champion?” Bella asked. I hadn’t even realized she’d followed along with us.
“I’m alright,” I said. “I’m just…just…”
At that, I didn’t even have enough strength to stand under my own power. I went sprawling to the floor, feeling like a giant had just punched me in the skull. I didn’t pass out, though, and within a few seconds, the dizziness began to clear up.
Sephara was by my side, trying to make sure I wasn’t going to pass out. “Idiot Earthman, say something to me,” she said.
I laughed. “Even when I’m about to puke, you just can’t help but call me that,” I said. “That’s probably what I love most about you.”
I told her not to bother casting a healing spell on me, then explained what had happened when I wore the Storm Gem.
“A Gaia Gem!” Sephara cried out, grinning. “Earthman, I had no idea. No wonder you’re suddenly so weak. Until a mortal trains with a stone or a gem, they shouldn’t wield one for more than a moment or two, if that.”
“Yeah, I guess I learned my lesson,” I said, and I wasn’t lying. At the moment, I didn’t think I’d be able to take on Robbin and Piper in a fight, much less a lich or a ghoul.
Sephara did cast a quick restore fatigue spell on me, which at least helped me get back up to my feet, with Bella’s assistance.
“You scared me, Champion,” Bella said.
I laughed and touched her cheek. “I’ll be fine,” I said. “I just think I need to rest for awhile.”
Seeing that I was going to be fine, Sephara’s mischievous smile returned. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek then returned to Pandora. “Away with you, Earthman, before you faint again and give me a heart attack.”
“C’mon Bella,” I said, smiling self-deprecatingly. “Help your Champion walk to his bedroom so he doesn’t fall over and knock himself stupid.”
Bella giggled and assisted me across the short walk to my bed chamber. More and more, she seemed to be warming to me. Now, she wasn’t quite so embarrassed to look me in the eye. She didn’t blush every few seconds, either.
“You were…very brave back in the Imperial City, Champion,” Bella said.
“Bravery had nothing to do with it,” I answered. “I just had to do what I had to do.”
“You should have seen your face, just a few moments ago,” she said.
“What?” I laughed. “When I almost passed out?”
“You jest too much,” she answered, giggling. “I meant the look of worry and love on your face when Pandora fell ill.” She paused for a moment, thinking about it. “I can tell how much you care for, well…”
“The three of you?” I asked.
Well, that did it. Now she was blushing again. “Yes,” she answered quietly. “It’s…different for me, after being held prisoner by such cruel creatures for so long. And before that…” she paused again. “I thought I’d surrounded myself with loyal friends. When the Emperor came to power, and then the Necromancer began his dark reign, they proved to be anything but loyal.”
She stopped there. I guessed she still wasn’t ready to tell the tale of her betrayal, and I wasn’t going to force her. Instead, I pulled her back to me, right in there in the middle of the long hallway leading back to my bed chamber.
She looked up at me, her nervous, innocent eyes gazing up at mine. I touched her cheek gently. “You’ll never have to question my loyalty,” I said. “And as long as I’m breathing, I won’t let the Emperor or that Necromancer asshole so much as touch you.”
Bella smiled her adorably shy smile and nodded. “I know this, Champion,” she answered.
We crossed the hallway, then went into my bed chamber. I was still feeling weak, and nearly lost my balance on the way to my bed. Once more, Bella assisted me. I removed my armor, dropped my pack, and set my weapon down. When I fell into bed, I sighed in relief.
I rolled onto my back, staring drowsily up at the ceiling, and already I felt the creeping exhaustion threatening to put me to sleep.
In the middle of the room, Bella had sparked the hearth to life. There’d been a chill in the air, but now the fire was going, warming the room. My eyelids got heavy. When Bella was finished with the hearth, she joined me, sitting on the side of my bed.
“It’s been so long since I haven’t felt afraid,” Bella said as she took my hand in hers. “It’s been so long that I haven’t been filled with despair.”
I yawned, then rolled to my side to get a better look at her. She curled her little foxtail behind her. “You don’t have to be afraid or despair anymore,” I said.
“Promise me something, though, Champion,” she said.
“Anything,” I answered.
She squeezed my hand tight. “Promise me that you won’t wield the Storm Gem in battle again,” she said. “Not until you’ve had a proper amount of time training with it.”
Bella had a point. Though I’d hardly scratched the surface of the abilities the gem would give me, even wielding it for those few minutes had left me utterly exhausted. Thank God I hadn’t worn it during a longer battle. It would have left me defenseless.
“I promise,” I told her. “Because I won’t be much good to anyone if I let the gem kill me in the middle of a fight.”
She smiled at me. I smiled back. The next time I closed my eyes to blink, they didn’t open back up again.
*****
I stirred in the middle of the night. The hearth was still going, nice and warm, but I had a surprise waiting for me.
Bella was in bed next to me, curled up against me, and she was laying her head on my chest. I thought I was dreaming, until I saw that she was awake, as well.
Her eyes were looking into mine, and her face was illuminated by the crackling fire. Without a word, she ran the fingers of her left hand down my face.
She took a deep breath. There was a faint look of trepidation in her eyes but, a moment later, she kissed me.
It was a tentative sort of kiss, soft and sweet, but gradually she wrapped her arms around me.
I slid my arms around her, holding her by the waist, her body felt so small and soft against my own.
I ran my fingers through her light brown hair, over her little fox ears, and she gasped pleasantly at the sensation.
We finished our kiss. She was smiling, looking into my eyes again, and then she lay her head back down on my chest and gazed up at me.
“Do you mind waiting just a little longer?” she asked me nervously. “You know, a little longer before we…”
I held her tight, hugging her. “We can wait as long as you want, Bella,” I said. “There’s no rush at all.”
I yawned as she nestled against me. I must have slept twelve hours or more, I thought, and the sleep had done me well. I pulled up my stats with my Second Sight. Whatever exhaustion had struck me from using the Gaia Gem was cured.
Part of me wanted to grab the Storm Gem from my pack, slap it into the Soulguard, and resume practicing with it at once. I couldn’t wait to square off against the Dark King, and see his eyes fill with dread when he realized what I was wielding.
The only thing stopping me was Bella, now sleeping soundly on my chest.
However, our peaceful night wasn’t meant to be.
Not long after I realized she was asleep, through my window, I heard the panicked cries of Homehold soldiers. Bella roused at once, looking around frantically. “Champion, what is that?”
I got up out of bed. “I’m not sure, but it doesn’t sound good,” I said.
I went to the window and gazed out, toward the south. Archers bearing torches on the battlements were shouting for the guards on the ground to open the gates. Beyond the city walls, I could see maybe a dozen riders gunning down the road, toward the city, with a few
of them carrying torches.
“Something isn’t right,” I said. “I’ve got to gear up.”
I made a quick save point then hurried to put my armor on. I kept the Storm Gem in my pack, just to keep it close. Bella was sitting in the bed, terrified.
“Just stay inside this room,” I told her. Then I remembered those Imperial eyes and ears, I remembered how ruthlessly cunning the Imperial agents could be. I didn’t want to leave Bella defenseless.
I slipped the Imperial agent ring off my finger, then quickly slid it onto her hand. The paralyzation enchantment should have been more than sufficient to keep her safe, in the chance that any enemies attempted to reach her.
“Just use that ring on anyone acting suspicious,” I said, then gave her a long kiss on the lips.
“Be careful, Champion,” she said, as the sounds of more screaming soldiers came in through the window.
I hurried out through the bed chamber door, and Bella locked it behind me. Everywhere, groggy soldiers, who’d just been roused from their sleep, were hurrying down to the gates.
Sir Lucien came running toward me. “Gamelord!” he said.
“Sir Lucien, what the hell is going on out there?” I asked.
“The southern garrison has been overrun,” he said. “Lord Blackfyre’s forces are moving north, toward us.”
Chapter Sixteen
I peered through the looking glass as I stood atop the southern wall with Sir Lucien and Duke Gladios. Dark though it was, there were enough torchlights burning in the lich lord’s citadel so that I could spot it out in the distance.
“Bastard must have teleported it to the south sometime after midnight,” Duke Gladios growled.
“Aye,” Sir Lucien answered. “Thank Mother Gaia they didn’t appear any closer.” He grimaced. “Still, those men in the southern garrison never had much of a chance.”
On the way to the battlement, Duke Gladios explained to me that the lich lords were careful about how close they teleported their citadels. If they came too close to an existing city, they’d do as much damage to their sprawling, haunted keeps as they would to the city they burst into.
“It’s not an exact science at all,” Duke Gladios said. “That bodes well for us, as much as anything does right now.”
Monstergirl Quest Book Two Page 13
