Keymaster

by Sergey Zaytsev

  Lesser Screamer has been defeated!

  XP received: 2,000

  Quest available: Population Control: Screamers

  Note: This is a one-time territorial quest.

  Progress: 10/100.

  Reward: 10% of current level XP; 1 skill point

  Accept: yes / no?

  Countdown: 30... 29... 28...

  “I told you to stay back,” Stinger grumbled, coming closer and sheathing his daggers. Sweat glistened on his flushed face, but the battle left no other trace on him, save for a few new holes in an already shabby jacket, and a couple of scratches on his cheekbone that would heal in an hour and leave no trace behind. “As you can see, it’s fun, but you have to repair your gear. It’s always like that with packs.”

  Having accepted the quest, I looked at the bodies that lay scattered in the snow. Damn it, he took them out so quickly.

  “By the way, this is only the beginning,” he grinned. “Their ‘mother’ will be coming now. You can join as soon as I pin her down. It’ll be easier against the boss since it’s alone even though it’s stronger. And yes, I defeated her before. I’ve been here a couple of times already to farm XP. Okay, we’ll talk later.”

  Following his gaze, I saw a big mound rise in the distance. The ground cracked and the “mother” climbed onto the surface, layers of snow and frozen soil falling off her.

  Screamer Matriarch

  Level 25

  HP: 5,450

  “Good God!” came out of Stinger’s mouth in surprise. “I’ve not seen one above level twenty! It must be because you’re here!”

  I cursed mentally.

  I hadn’t yet seen such a grotesque creature. Her wide frame, made out of the same material as her “children’s,” was supported by short legs that were protruding from a broad base and were covered with bristles. And like her spawn, she was sharp-nosed, with a face that lacked eyes. Dozens of flexible, whip-like tentacles that grew from the middle of her torso clicked nervously...

  She stomped in our direction with the speed of a bullet leaving the barrel, leaving behind a wide and deep trail of trampled ground and snow, ploughing through the terrain like a bulldozer.

  “She does pure physic damage. She has no special attacks, not even screams. But she fights like mad.”

  Stinger unsheathed his daggers again, twisting his wrists to warm them up, and squinted.

  “We’ll have to run around. You’re dead if you stay still,” he said, laying out his plan. “I’ll keep her busy while you hit her from afar. Heh, the difference in your levels is too big... Scratch her then, anything will do.”

  “You sure don’t lack confidence. How did you deal with her the last time? Poison?”

  “Yes,” he confirmed with a grin. “Had to keep applying it for five minutes straight. This one will most likely take longer than that. Don’t get close and don’t mess around, and keep your pet away from the tentacles, else they’ll crush it. You’ve been warned.”

  I got a chance to see how he had done it before. Activating Dimensional Shift, he dashed ten feet forward like a blurry shadow, instantly generating aggro with a simultaneous jump and a lunge. But he jumped not to attack the boss, but move aside. A dagger flashed in his right hand. The same colorless, oily liquid poured out of the gash. Having jumped a couple of steps away without using any of his abilities, Stinger ran around, not allowing the boss to take aim, and landed a couple of sharp, accurate strikes. Tentacles whipped around him, always a split second too late, raising clouds of snowy dust.

  As soon as the fight began, I was ready. More than five minutes, you say? This’ll be a great opportunity to level up Lash of Pain, especially since Flamespear and Windspear can’t penetrate these creatures’ defense. I had to increase my reputation with my patron. And I had one esc for Soulcatcher... Wait, one?

  Correction, I had a lot of them! Stinger had given me permission to collect loot!

  “Quiet, Fury, quiet, you still have to take me back… You’ll fight later.” After calming down the agitated Direcat again and forcing her to stay in place, I used Lash of Pain on the boss. It seemingly had almost no effect on her. She shuddered barely noticeably and slowed down for a second. However, this was enough for Stinger. The smart tank quickly realized what was happening and cut one of the tentacles clean with a powerful blow. He then retreated.

  I had no time to observe. I ran to the Screamer that I had personally killed, opened the loot menu, and dispelled the corpse. Without waiting for it to crumble into dust, I did the same to the rest of the corpses. When I returned to the first one, I found a smoky gray esc glistening in the snow.

  Now, having gotten “ammo,” it was time to heal.

  A hand gesture, as if throwing a dagger, and the translucent blade, having formed during the flight, plunged itself into the monster, binding me to it with a ghostly thread. Her HP sank dramatically when the first part of the ability worked, and then slowly reached the yellow zone when the second part took over.

  I didn’t know how bad my state was until a wave of energy flowed into me. I managed to forget how much this had helped me in the lair. It was as if a pair of invisible wings sprouted from my back; my body was filled with strength; excitement and fighting spirit lit a fire in my heart. Energy elated me like a shot of vodka on an empty stomach. But then, the plain trembled, and my vision got hazy.

  You have suffered a Serious Injury.

  Time until full recovery: 4 hours... 2 hours... 1 hour...

  As soon as my vision cleared, I discovered that Fury had recklessly charged at the boss at full speed. She had freed herself of my control and rushed into battle. Oh fuck!!!

  In addition, Stinger, surprised by the fact that the boss’s HP began to decline much faster than before, hesitated and immediately paid for it. Several tentacles wrapped themselves around his torso, pressing his arms to his body, and jerked him up into the air. Several other frantically whipped the immobilized target, tearing off bits of leather armor. Protective auras sparkled as if they had short-circuited from the tremendous pressure and blows. This was where the rogue-tank spec showed its faults. He had to move, or he’d die quickly.

  So I had to move.

  Activating Metamorph, Fury grew her powerful armor on the run, slowing down only slightly, and buffed herself with Shellplate Defense and Berserker Rage. Burst Attack sent her flying forth with the speed of a bullet. Miraculously, her clawed paws went through the boss’s body like a hot knife through butter, forcing it to react to the new threat. A couple of the tentacles moved away from Stinger and focused on her. But I wasn’t about to allow the boss to hurt my kitty, so I hit it with Lash of Pain, allowing Fury to use her Mortal Sting. Soulcatcher was still working, eating away the boss’s HP. The extra energy was boiling in me, unable to find a way out. I stood there, dumbfounded, until an excess of energy made me cast Flamespear. The spell hit, charring the skin. So that’s why I dealt so easily with the Demons in the lair... Soulcatcher reduces the enemy’s defensive stats, allowing other abilities to cause much more damage!

  “Don’t ruin... Don’t ruin the skin, you idiot!” Stinger shouted hoarsely, seeing what I was doing.

  I grunted, wondering what else to do. I was ready to take on the whole world. But I didn’t have to do anything. The boss’s HP reached the red zone. Throwing the tank away as if he were a rag doll, the Matriarch turned in my direction, waved her tentacles around in powerless rage, almost hitting Fury, and...

  And collapsed.

  Screamer Matriarch has been defeated.

  XP received: 8,000

  You are exhausted. You require rest and food.

  No shit I’m tired... For some reason I thought that I would awarded more XP for such a heroic victory...

  Chapter 41

  Soulcatcher’s effect ended with the death of the boss; a burning, throbbing pain immediately pierced my right hand. My skin felt like it had been scalded with boiling water. I gasped, sheathed the dagger, and grabbed my biceps with my left ha
nd in a vain hope that that would appease Alan’s raging Sign. While the energy was still coursing through me, I barely felt it, although it began to throb almost immediately. But now, when the energy had dissipated, it mercilessly reminded me of its presence. What the hell do you want?! Do you react to adrenaline? To Lash of Pain? Will this happen every time?! What a wonderful ability! Surely, I have nothing to complain about!

  But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

  The Sign didn’t torment me for long, and the pulsation began to weaken quickly. However, taking its place, hunger plagued my healed guts. It was like Famine itself had come to haunt me. Superfast regeneration solved my HP problems but gave rise to other ones, like the depletion of the body. Swallowing hard, I stared at the boss’s corpse and moved toward it like a sleepwalker. That is, without thinking. The dagger had again appeared in my hand on its own, and my gaze went over the corpse, searching for a good spot to plunge the blade into.

  Rising to his feet and shaking off the snow, Stinger walked over to the corpse and kicked it several times, as if testing a car tire. Then he sat down on the monster’s head as if on a stool. Everything was better than sitting in the snow. He observed as I moved toward him, feeling like my limbs were made of lead, and with a greedy gaze of a zombie.

  “Hell, you look like shit,” he said once I was two steps away from him, sounding as if nothing had happened. “Don’t even try to loot it, or I’ll tear your head off!” he warned. “You’ve almost spoiled everything! Why did I bring you here?! For the skins, you dimwit! And what did you do? You almost let my efforts go to waste!”

  The sound of his voice brought me back to reality. With an effort, I pulled myself together, stopped and saw the corpse in a completely different way. By Alan’s grace! Was I really going to eat this abomination?! I must’ve gone nuts. The stench was so strong that it made my stomach turn. It was as if the boss used some sort of a bio-weapon before its death! Alan have mercy on us! All right, what’s with me and mentioning Alan so naturally? It’s becoming disturbing. Something’s changing in me, and I’m not sure if it’s happening on my free will...

  Shaking my head and driving away those anxious thoughts, I forced a grin.

  “Actually, I just saved your skin, or didn’t you notice? Do you think that our lives are more important than loot?!”

  The successful outcome of the battle made me forget that I was angry with Stinger for not warning me about the boss. Having gained XP and restored HP, I was even grateful for the tour. He put me back onto my feet in a rather radical way, without knowing it himself. Gloomy discontent was replaced by sympathy, and our partnership progressed.

  “Actually, this is all because of your Mark of the Apostate, it fucked us over,” Stinger countered, shrugging his broad shoulders. “We could’ve done it without complications, but my shield gave in faster than I expected. I overestimated my strength… A bit.”

  I frowned, puzzled. I’ve already forgotten about the damn Mark, but it would remain a sight for sore eyes for another five levels, extending its “lovely” debuff to my allies. Indeed, this could affect the tank. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to figure out why Soulcatcher had done such mad damage. I would figure it out as soon as I took care of my burning hunger and put my dispersed thoughts in order.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get enough from the boss to make you an entire outfit,” I said reassuringly, evaluating the part of the corpse that was still intact. “Is this freak edible?”

  “Nah, this rubbish’s pure poison even without me working on it,” Stinger grinned knowingly. He threw open his jacket, fished out a half-empty leather bag from it and threw me a slice of dried meat with some rubbish stuck to it from his personal supply. “I knew that hunger would get to you as soon as you begin to recover.”

  “And why do you carry your backpack under your jacket?!”

  “I don’t like things dangling off my back. They hinder movement and it’s easy to lose them. It was just a short trip, nothing special. Now chew.”

  Pulling out another piece, he looked around, puzzled. “And where did your beast go?”

  Fuck...

  He hadn’t finished speaking when I ran off, sensing the direction in which Fury went. In hindsight, it came to me that the hunger and powerlessness were not purely mine. Fury lay in the snow, hiding behind the monster’s massive groin. Raising her head, she looked at me briefly and lowered her head onto her front paws.

  Falling to my knees in front of the Direcat, I inspected her for damage. Letting out a sigh of relief, I gently patted her neck. Everything was fine. Her stamina was almost at zero and her energy was just barely in the red, but she was fine. Now that I calmed down and that the hunger had temporarily receded, it was difficult to figure out how I pushed her beyond her limit of extreme exhaustion. My recklessness almost killed Fury, my own pet, which I tried so hard to protect! Metamorph, Burst Attack and Mortal Sting; all of that combined used up 110% of her energy!!! What kind of an idiot was I?! Soulcatcher paired with Spiritual Link were the only things keeping her alive. Not even the euphoria caused by Soulcatcher and the empty stomach could excuse me.

  It was painful to watch the beast force itself to chew a miserable piece of meat, and swallow it with great difficulty.

  But everything was going to be fine now.

  Worried about the noise, Stinger came closer to inspect its source. I silently extended my hand and snatched the bag of supplies from his hands. Not expecting such treachery, he let go of his property, looking surprised as I unceremoniously shook out a few more pieces of dried meat onto the snow. I silently handed the empty bag back to its owner.

  “What are you...? Oh, I get it.” Having seen my pet’s miserable stats, he calmed down. “Fine then.”

  “Yeah. Just saving my pet,” I grunted anxiously. “We’ll manage.”

  “Yes, yes, I said that I don’t mind. You want to be a masochist and starve, that’s your choice.”

  “Thank you for the kind words.”

  “You’re welcome, Wise,” the corners of his lips curved into a smile, revealing strong, white teeth. “Listen, while your pet is resting, let’s deal with the skin.”

  “Do those Screamers respawn quickly?” I asked anxiously, raising my eyebrows.

  “Once a day, but that’s not the issue. As the lift’s caretaker, I can’t leave my post for too long or I’ll be punished, and they’ll replace me. Let’s flay it already. Is it fit for armor? Don’t tell me that our work has been for naught.”

  Understanding his eagerness to get a new item, I patted Fury on the back again, mentally asking her for forgiveness, stood up and went to the monster, observing the metallic skin. It was clear that it wasn’t really metal, but its appearance hinted at it having special properties. The damage we had caused to it wasn’t that big. Stinger’s daggers left a dozen or so cuts, Flamespear a charred spot the size of a soccer ball, and Fury’s claws left a gash at the base.

  “I think it’ll do. I don’t see any issues, it looks promising,” I stated my verdict. “I’d craft something for myself, too.”

  Visually measuring a 3x3 piece, I thrust my dagger into it. That is, I at least intended to do so.

  The blade slid off of the skin, scratching the creature’s side, and the tip almost stuck itself into my knee by the sheer force of inertia. I managed to pull my hand back at the last moment, getting away with a scar and a hole on my pants.

  “Fuck this metal crap! The dagger can’t cut it!”

  “The dagger’s not the problem,” Stinger explained condescendingly, clearly enjoying my confusion. Damn, he knew that this would happen, but he still let me try. “Levels matter even after the monster has been killed. You can dispel it, but to skin it... Now do you understand why we needed the Screamers? Your level 15 can cope with them. But you’ve dispelled them and deprived us of raw materials.”

  “It was necessary, I...”

  “Yes, I get it, I get it. But why all of them? Got carried away, or what? Okay, rookie, wat
ch how it’s done,” Stinger pushed me away, taking out his sword. “What would you do without me...?”

  “I’d be recovering in the gatehouse and looking after Tinnie,” I snorted. “I wouldn’t be wandering around the valley in search of adventure under the questionable patronage of a stranger.”

  “Go and loot the escs,” Stinger ignored the jest and put his bag in my hands again.

  Good idea, I thought, but lingered for a moment, observing him work.

  He really was more skilled than me. Though he cut through with it with great effort, and his bearded face quickly turned red from strain as the creature was three levels above him, he managed. Looking at the resting Fury, I went to collect the loot and, while wandering around, looking for the obscure hexagons in the snow, I went back to thinking about the fight.

  Actually, I was sure that if I hadn’t used my precious Flame but a regular dagger, Soulcatcher’s damage would’ve been pathetic. But I was glad to be wrong. I made a mental note of it, so that I could use it to my advantage the next time.

  The first thing I reviewed was the battle logs, but only the last couple of hits were recorded, without detailed calculation. The lingering damage was breathtakingly huge; one and a half or even twice as high as the estimated rate.

  So, about Soulcatcher’s four-times higher instant and lingering damage. Its damage output depended on strength modifiers, dexterity, and class spec talent points, each of which gave 1% damage. To that we add the passives... Damn, it was already quite good even without Flame, about 1,500 damage. At the same time, the Matriarch wasn’t a Chaos creature, which meant that it should’ve deflected a solid amount of the incoming damage. Fury also contributed with her Burst Attack and her Mortal Sting added a few percent to Stinger’s poison... But it was Soulcatcher that killed the Matriarch, dropping her HP by about 2,500. Where did the extra 1,000 come from? The first thing that came to mind was the influence of Alan’s Sign. It was no wonder that it had gone mad immediately after the use of Lash, which, since I had almost no reputation with Alan, practically caused no damage, but only inflicted agony to the enemy and slowed it down. And yes, I couldn’t ignore Spiritual Link...