by Aaron Oster
“I’m nearly there,” she said, wiping the sweat from her brow and taking a sip of water from the makeshift mug she’d created.
“That’s great! I’m nowhere close, though, even after all those beasts. I still need over 270,000 energy.”
Sarah just shook her head, marveling at the amount they’d managed to collect in a single day, and it wasn’t even half over yet. As far as she could tell, this stage was quite a bit larger than the last and the beast attacks were far more frequent than they had been on previous stages.
In addition, they were running into evolved beasts every once in a while and they proved to be difficult fights, even with their massive increase in power.
She handed Morgan the mug, which he took from her with a grateful nod and downed in one gulp. This stage may have been cooler than the last one, but it was at least eighty degrees right now. With no breeze, it felt even hotter.
There was a loud skittering noise from off to their left and a massive red and black lizard emerged from one of the many side tunnels on the stage.
“Looks like an evolved beast, if I’m not wrong,” Morgan said, dropping the cup and taking a running leap at the beast.
She watched as he used his condensed wind blade to punch a massive hole through the beast’s chest. He then reached in and ripped the core free. She gagged, watching his arm emerge, dripping with blood and covered in gore.
“Why didn’t you use the rod?” she exclaimed as he absorbed the energy.
“Seemed like a waste of time,” he replied with a shrug. “Besides, the armor is self-cleaning and I have four more pairs I can change into.”
Sarah just blew out a breath and shot a freezing cone of water at him, completely drenching his right side. Morgan sputtered and cursed as he was soaked, and glared at her as she walked past him with a smug grin.
“One of these days, you’ll be on the other end of a soaking,” he muttered, and she had to suppress the urge to giggle.
It took them the better part of the afternoon to find the Arc’s territory, as the increased beast population and the confusing mess of tunnels led them to make one wrong turn after the next.
“Finally!” Sarah said with a groan, as they spotted the large tunnel leading into the final room of the stage.
She was just about ready to drop. They’d been fighting non-stop for the last six hours, a feat which she was quite impressed with. She was absolutely certain that they would not have been able to manage, had they still been at their earlier ranks.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that we’ll be facing some sort of lizard,” she said as they entered the tunnel.
“Really? And what gave you that idea?” Morgan asked.
He was in a very good mood, having gotten to fight more that day than he had in a while. Sarah still hadn’t reached rank 19, as Morgan had insisted on doing the bulk of the fighting.
“Don’t you think we should at least try to get to the next rank before taking on an Arc that is likely much more than we can handle?”
“Stop worrying,” Morgan said with a wave of his hand. “Nothing bad will happen.”
“Famous last words,” she muttered as they came to the end of the tunnel.
The room was a large open cavern and Sarah had to wonder at the laziness of whoever had created this place. Couldn’t they have mixed it up a bit? Why did every Arc room need to be a damn cavern?
Then her eyes fell on the monstrosity lying in the center of the room. It was a lizard, as she had guessed, but it bared only a passing resemblance to the ones they’d been fighting all day. It was a light red in color, with a smattering of gray and white scales across its belly and back.
Its body was compact like that of a bear’s, instead of the long sinuous bodies they’d become used to during the day. Its legs were short and powerful looking, tipped by four steps of wickedly sharp claws. It had a long, sinewy tail that twitched around behind it and after getting a good look at its face, she saw that it resembled a cat’s more than a lizard’s.
The most notable feature, however, was the long line of black and red spines running down its back. They were currently lying flat and she had to wonder what purpose they served.
Probably nothing good, she thought as she turned to see Morgan’s reaction.
He predictably looked excited at the prospect of fighting, but there was no way she would let him fight that thing yet.
“Morgan, judging by how that thing looks, I’d say it’s an intermediate beast. I don’t think we can win against it if it’s over rank 18. I suggest we leave now and come back once we break through into the next tier.”
For a moment, she actually thought he might see sense, but then he shook his head and used his wind blade.
“You use your icy wave and I’ll charge it head on. With our new power, we should have no problems taking it down. With my heavy impact skill and the correct wind blade, I’ll have an effective strength of around 390. There’s no way the lizard could stand up to an attack like that, even if it is over rank 19!”
Sarah let out a long breath. She recognized that look in his eyes. The gleaming, almost predatory, hunger for battle. The need to go out and pit himself against the strongest of foes, despite the odds. Up until last night, she’d wondered just where this lust for battle came from, but now she was only concerned.
He didn’t think straight when he got like this. Sure, he kept his cool and didn’t rush in blindly without a plan, but he’d ignored some huge dangers that had almost gotten him killed in the past, and she had a feeling that they couldn’t take this beast on as they were now. She had to put her foot down.
“I won’t fight that thing with you,” she said, folding her arms and staring him down.
“We can’t win and I won’t help you get yourself killed. Now use your head. You can’t win this fight alone, so if you go in now, you’ll lose.”
Morgan paused for the briefest of moments, his battle haze breaking for that moment, then a violent shiver ran through his body and he grinned at her.
“I guess we’ll just have to see!” And with the sound of rushing wind, he dashed from the tunnel exit and into the cavern.
30
Katherine ducked the swiping claws of an eight ton steel-mane jaguar, then brought her massive mace around in a powerful swing, caving in the beast’s side with a clang of metal on metal. She felt the reverberation run through her hand, and her lips quirked upward as the cat slammed into the opposite wall, black blood oozing from the massive rent in its side.
“That’s the spirit!” Gold exclaimed, as his diamond golem tore through another one of the beasts.
They’d been fighting through the Zone for the last ten or so hours and despite the desperate need to help Morgan, Katherine had to admit that she was enjoying herself.
When was the last time she’d gotten to do some actual training, or face any real sort of challenge? The beasts they’d been fighting so far were around rank 42, so they didn’t pose a serious threat to her, but they were slowly growing stronger.
Gold walked up next to her and gestured at the dead monster lying in a pool of spreading blood.
“You gonna get the core?”
“Of course,” she replied with a snort, flipping her still perfect hair and holding out a hand. A second later, the core tore itself from the beast’s chest and flew to land neatly on her palm. She then opened a spatial tear and unceremoniously threw it in.
“I do have to wonder how you’re still spotless after the killing spree we’ve had so far,” Gold commented as they walked down the stone corridor.
“You look to be just as clean as I am,” she replied.
“Ah, but that’s because I’m a mage. I don’t attack head-on. You, on the other hand, should be covered in gore, but you’re spotless. What’s your secret?”
“Practice,” she said, speeding up and walking ahead of the annoying man.
Gold was insistent, however.
“Oh, come on, you can te
ll me. I won’t tell anyone else.” He held up a hand, pinky extending outward.
“Pinky promise!”
“Screw you, asshole,” she replied, just as another group of beasts came into view.
Thank God for small favors, she thought as she charged into battle.
***
Morgan sprinted into the room, watching as the lizard-cat thing rose from its prone position on the ground and issued a roar in challenge. He heard Sarah cursing away at him from the mouth of the tunnel, but ignored her.
He could take this beast on his own.
He grinned as his body tingled with pleasure and anticipation. He collided with the lizard with astounding force, activating his shield as he did so. His wind blade shrieked as it skittered over the monster’s tough hide and Morgan spun in place, lashing out with a powerful kick that sent the lizard into the opposite wall.
He stopped for a moment as the lizard tore itself free and violently shook itself to get rid of all the rubble sticking to its hide.
Morgan frowned as the beast let out a rattling hiss. It began to glow a bright red and its long red and black spines rose from its back, crackling with black colored lightning.
The beast didn’t have a scratch on it. All he’d managed to do was piss it off.
A wild grin spread across his face as the lizard launched itself at him with blinding speed. It wasn’t nearly as large as some of the beasts he’d faced, but it was a whole lot faster. Morgan used condensed wind blade, then crossed both of them to catch the oncoming blur of teeth, claws and black lightning.
He narrowly avoided being hit by the beast’s claws, retaliating with four quick strikes of his wind blades into the creature’s skull. Every blow bounced off and Morgan cursed as he was forced to jump back.
He used gale force and heavy impact, rolling to avoid another flurry of wild slashes from the beast, then sprang to his feet and dashed in to attack its unprotected side. That was when everything went horribly wrong.
The beast let out a rattling roar that shook the entire cavern, then a nimbus of crackling lightning spread outward in an ever expanding dome. Morgan tried to move out of the way, but he was going too fast. He leaped into the air, using his flight in a desperate attempt to avoid the crackling energy, but to no avail.
Morgan felt his body go numb as the lightning struck, completely shattering his shield and sending him crashing to the ground in a twitching, writhing heap. He vaguely heard Sarah screaming in the distance and tried to get up, but his body refused to respond to his commands.
He gritted his teeth against the pain. His entire body felt as though it had been completely fried.
He could vaguely see the lizard slowly making its way towards his prone form, but no matter how hard he tried to move, his body just refused to respond. He then desperately tried to use his skills. If he could fly, then he could get away. His skills refused to activate.
He gritted his teeth, trying to force his unresponsive body onto its side. He’d almost managed it when a sudden spasm wracked him and he was forced on his back once more, body twitching as the electricity continued coursing through him. Then, he felt a heavy weight land on his chest and he could no longer stand the pain. Morgan blacked out.
***
Sarah let out a scream of horror as she watched the nimbus of black lightning strike Morgan midair. She watched as his body contorted and twitched as the electricity crackled through him, frying his nerves and cooking his internal organs.
She stood frozen as he hit the ground, his body still twitching every few seconds from the aftershock. He didn’t get up.
“No,” she whispered as she watched the nightmarish lizard approaching his still form.
He couldn’t be… Morgan was too strong to have…
Sarah could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as she saw smoke curling up from Morgan’s blackened and burned body.
“No!” she screamed, feeling the tears now pouring down her face.
Sadness and rage threatened to overtake her as the lizard stopped before Morgan and placed its leg on his chest, as though to claim his prize.
“You’ll pay for that, you bastard!” she screamed, feeling her voice crack and blood coat the inside of her throat. She used icicle barrage, sending one volley of icy spears after the next into the beast, screaming incoherently all the while.
It staggered back under the assault, but her attacks didn’t seem to be doing anything at all. She gritted her teeth, summoning a massive amount of water and feeling her MP plummet. In a matter of seconds, it bottomed out and she screamed again, unleashing a massive torrent of frozen water at the lizard.
As soon as it struck, she froze it solid, leaving the beast encased in a four foot block of ice.
The beast was as good as dead now.
Her eyes fell on Morgan and her rage wore off, replaced instead by vast, crushing sadness.
This was all her fault. If she’d only agreed to fight alongside him, this never would have happened.
Hot tears streamed down her face as she walked over and crouched down near him. He looked even worse up close. His face was blackened and burned, with huge patches of blistering skin showing through. His hair was almost completely gone and the stench was almost unbearable.
She felt bile come up in her throat and felt on the edge of panic. Her heart was beating so rapidly in her chest, that she felt as though it were about to come out. She began to feel lightheaded and the world started swimming in her vision.
She suddenly heard a loud ominous crack and her head whipped up, eyes widened in horror as a massive crack spread across the surface of her ice block.
How the hell was that thing still alive?
She let out a snort and looked back down at Morgan.
Did it really matter? What was the point if he wasn’t around? She’d just let the beast have her and her misery could end.
Her eyes slid away from his face, roaming over the rest of his body and she felt her heart skip a beat. Despite the gruesome appearance of his face, his armor appeared to be completely undamaged. She quickly placed her ear down to his chest and after a few tense seconds, heard the slow beat of his reiki-heart.
He was alive!
Sarah felt her tears of despair change to those of joy in an instant.
But how?
She heard another crack and saw the fissure in her ice block widen.
No time for that now. She had to get him out of here.
She carefully slid her hands under him and quickly stood, cradling him in her arms. His body was a good deal bulkier than it had been the last time she’d carried him, so it was a bit awkward, but she managed it all the same.
There was a loud explosion of shattering ice, followed by the rattling roar of the lizard, and Sarah took off for the tunnel exit. She heard the sound of sharp claws hitting the ground behind her, but didn’t dare look back.
She was almost there. Just a little bit more…
Sarah cried out as a sharp pain flared across her back, then she barreled into the tunnel and the sound of pursuit abruptly stopped. She kept running, moving at least halfway down the tunnel before coming to a stop.
She crouched then, placing Morgan gently on the ground and panting hard as she tried to recover her breath. She could feel a sharp, stinging pain from her back and knew that she was at the very least bleeding from a nasty gash.
She’d recovered enough MP by now, so she quickly erected two ice walls to either side of the tunnel, then she flattened a sheet of ice against the wall to examine her back. She could see a long, jagged tear running from her left shoulder to the center of her back. She quickly reached down and pulled her uniform over her head, wincing at the discomfort it caused.
Looking again, she let out a sigh of relief as she saw it was only a scratch.
Guess the armor was actually good for something, she thought, crouching down next to Morgan.
She gently ran her hand over the blackened armor, wondering how he could pos
sibly have survived the attack. Her question was answered a moment later when her fingers reached his waist and didn’t find even a single tear in the armor.
She carefully curled her fingers under the hem of his shirt.
She gasped as she pulled his shirt up to reveal only slightly burned skin underneath. Tugging the shirt up further, she discovered that the same held true throughout. While his face was horribly damaged, his body seemed to be almost completely unharmed.
Her eyes began to water again as she pulled his shirt back down and looked at his ruined face. He’d gotten horribly hurt, and all because she’d been a stubborn idiot. His body might be fine, but with damage like that to his head, who knew if he’d survive?
Sarah wanted to dissolve into a wailing mess of self-loathing and pity. She wanted to curl in on herself and cry until there was nothing left to give, but she couldn’t. Her resolve hardened as she looked down at her best friend and the only person she loved in this entire world.
He would survive the next twenty-four hours, and once that time passed his recovery trait would heal all of the damage. He would be good as new.
She leaned down, placing her lips on his now blackened and burned ones. She’d wanted to do this for the longest time, but had never had the courage to do so. Sarah straightened up, wiping away her tears and took a deep, shaky breath.
He would survive. No matter what.
31
Morgan took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was lying on his back and staring up at a leafy canopy above his head. Bright sunbeams came through, leaving dappled spots across his shirt. He slowly sat up and his momentary confusion melted away as his eyes took in a familiar clearing.
A small cottage stood in the center and a dark-skinned man sat before it, reading a book.
What was he doing back here?
Morgan cast his thoughts back to what he’d been doing prior to coming here, but he was drawing a blank. Shrugging to himself, he rose to his feet and headed into the clearing.
