by Dakota Krout
A ball of water landed on her next, soothing the burns and restoring some of her lost health. Another landed on her, and she was able to shake off the impact and rejoin combat. Joe sent a few balls of water at Dylan, healing the bruises and reinforcing bones that were about to break from the strain of repeated blows. Casting healing spells was drawing attention back to him, and the Wolfmen started attempting to get around the other combatants to reach him.
Guess dropped from a branch, swinging her daggers down to take out the Shaman in a single blow. Just before her attack landed, the Warrior in charge of protecting the frail magic-user spun around and slashed out. Guess was sent flying backward, but she left one of her daggers in the Warriors’ arm. His sword arm went limp as Guess crashed to the ground, spitting up a mouthful of blood. Tiona took advantage of the wounded beast’s sudden weakness to deal a finishing blow, and the Warrior’s head slid to the ground.
One of the Warriors broke off his siege on Dylan, twirling and running at Joe. Joe didn’t see him until the last moment, having sent a healing spell at Guess. Joe turned his head just as the cleaver slammed into his neck, and the Warrior was blinded by the blood that sprayed over him. Joe slid to the ground just as the Warrior charged back to attack Dylan from behind. The Shaman was coaxing another ball of fire to his palm, and as he raised it to throw it at Tiona again, an arrow punched through the fire and the Shaman’s hand. A look of horror flashed across the Shaman’s face before the spell detonated. Charred beyond recognition, the Shaman swayed and slumped to the ground.
“I’m back! Sorry I’m late!” Chad called as he fired another shot from his bow.
“Better late than never,” Tiona ground out as she attacked one of the Warriors harrying Dylan. “They got Joe.”
“Damn!”
A swift kick to the back of his knee dropped Dylan to the ground, unable to maintain his position. Tiona killed one of the fighters as the other swung at the fallen Bulwark. He was stopped short as a spike appeared and skewered him. The Wolfman looked down, saw the hole in his body, and looked back toward Joe. The ritualist was standing, channeling the spike with one hand as he made a rude gesture with the other. The spike vanished as did the light in his foe’s eyes.
Joe stepped forward, rubbing his neck as he healed the others. “That sucked,” he said in a raspy voice. He coughed wetly. “I sound like I’ve been smoking for a decade.”
Tiona just stared at him. “How are you alive? Your head was basically cut off!”
“Robes, and no matter what we say, this is a game,” Joe replied carefully as his voice returned to–mostly–normal. “These robes are a magic item. If something just about kills me, it sets me back to one health. Same thing as when the silver wolf ambushed us, remember?” Joe didn’t feel like explaining the limitations of the robes. No need to give away all of his trump cards at once.
“I want some,” Guess piped up. This got a laugh from the group.
“It actually sucks pretty hard.” Joe wheezed, spitting out some blood. “Yeah, there is the great perk of not dying, but… my head was basically severed. Do you know what it’s like to feel that, survive, and then have it reattach as I heal? It’s…”
There was silence for a moment. Dylan spoke softly then, “How do you do it? It nearly broke me when I was…”
Joe thought for a second. “It must be the pod balancing out my mind as the trauma ends. Thanks to Tiona, I finally understand how it is doing it, but…” Joe stopped speaking as he remembered that he wasn’t in a pod. Technically. The game was able to impact him in a more… direct fashion.
A notification blinking gold pulled him away from his line of thought. As soon as it had his attention it displayed its words as Joe was lifted from the ground on a surge of golden wind.
Quest complete: Disarming the Warriors. Exp: 1000! Return to the quest assigner for monetary rewards, or work at the secondary objective for additional rewards!
Quest updated: Witch hunt 1/5.
Skill increased: Mana manipulation (Novice V), Heal (Novice IX). Exp: 90.
You have reached level six! You have gained one point in intelligence, wisdom, and perception. You have five characteristic points to distribute and sixteen unused skill points!
Joe settled down onto the ground, a wide grin on his face. “Oh heck yes. I feel good. Guys. Guys. I have five characteristic points to use. I’m about to be able to walk at a normal human pace!” He started reaching for his status window to add in the points, but Tiona caught his hand and stopped him.
“Wait!” She was squinting at him uncertainly. “Are you saying you’re about to cross a threshold?”
“A threshold? If you mean getting my stats to a basic human level, ten points, then yes.” Joe’s smile was slipping a bit as she shook her head.
“Wait until you are in a safe area,” she unceremoniously ordered. “You are almost assuredly going to pass out, and it is going to really suck for you. Also, take some time to read the guild wiki. As long as you are in-game it is available to you, and you keep not knowing important things.”
“Are you being serious?” Joe’s certainty wavered. “C’mon, I’ve been waiting for this-”
“I am.” She smiled at him though. “Feel free to bring your stats up to nine though! Just, don’t go to ten.”
“Fair enough.” Joe dramatically frowned then rolled his eyes. A few more hours wouldn’t bother him much. Looking at the stats that were just… abysmal… he found that with the five points he could bring two of his three physical stats to ten, but one would not be able to make it. Strength, dexterity, or constitution. His first instinct was to bring strength and constitution up, but… he needed to be practical. As he started to get higher levels of spells and rituals, he was sure that dexterity would come into play. Maybe… if he could make hand motions faster or more accurately, could he cast spells quicker? He was almost sure of it so he put one point into dexterity and two into strength. The remaining two would need to wait until he got home, apparently.
They barreled along the path, eager to make progress in their remaining quest. Joe found it a bit easier to keep up, but in reality, a two percent increase was not enough to show a significant change. The day was drifting towards afternoon at this point, and if they wanted to finish the final quest, they needed to give up on stealth and subtlety. Their full frontal charge may have been a mistake because as they rounded a trail they came upon what appeared to be a sacrificial altar. The altar itself wasn’t the issue; the fact that it was surrounded by a small swarm of Warriors and a few Shamans–all of whom turned their heads to observe the interruption as the party came crashing into the open–was a bit troubling. For a moment, there was silence as the two sides simply looked at each other in shock. The stalemate was broken by a plaintive cry.
“For the love of all that is good, help! They’re killing us!” A woman bound to the altar was at just the right angle to see the arrivals.
Joe felt sick as the Wolfmen remembered what they were doing. Without any further pause, the main Shaman grimaced and plunged his dagger into the bound woman’s heart. A deep throbbing filled the air, and Joe began to feel a buildup of power. The hair on his arms was tingling, standing on end as the abundance of mana created physical after effects. The Shaman beckoned, and a Warrior grabbed the next bound human and started dragging him to the altar.
Timed Quest alert: ‘Blood for the Beast God.’ You have stumbled upon an altar that Wolfmen are using to commit dark deeds. After losing the better part of their territory to human invaders, the Wolfmen are attempting to assert their dominance in a horrific way. Stop the Wolfmen before they are able to complete their ritualistic sacrifices. Sacrifices: 4/10. Rewards: variable.
Alternatively, you can choose not to help the humans. If you do nothing, you will gain the option to change your race to ‘Wolfman’ if the human Kingdom falls. You will also gain the title ‘Racial Traitor’, allowing you to kill humans for experience! Betraying and attacking your teammates will increas
e your starting favor with the Wolfmen by +1000.
“I’m going to assume right now that none of you are stupid enough to betray us and that you want to save those people,” Tiona snarled as she slapped the notification out of her view. “Battle formation. Guess, take out any targets of opportunity. Joe, healing only unless it is an emergency. Chad, try and mess with any spells coming our way. Dylan, let’s put that new class to the test.”
Dylan’s only response was to slam his fists together and roar at the Warriors standing between him and the people they needed to save.
~ Chapter Twenty-seven ~
The altar was raised a few feet off the ground, but wasn’t huge or imposing like Joe would have expected from a sacrificial altar. Of course, in his mind, a sacrificial altar should be a huge Mayan structure that thousands of people gathered around for religious purposes. This was just a stone bed that was currently coated in flowing blood. Human blood. Joe shook his head to clear his thoughts just as the first few Warriors rushed at them. Dylan took center stage, holding off two of the four Warriors with ease while Tiona and Guess each stepped in to hold off another.
The main Shaman began chanting, and just as he reached a crescendo… his knife began to descend. An arrow bounced off the blade, turning it and knocking the dagger from his hand just before impact. The Shaman ended up punching the bound man in the chest decently hard, but a few seconds of breathlessness was a welcome result for the human. The Shaman looked over to see Chad making rude gestures before loosing another arrow at him. Not reacting in the slightest, the Shaman watched as the arrow bounced off a translucent shield that the force of the bolt revealed. A small lightning bolt jumped from the altar to the Shaman as the spell that he had been attempting to cast created backlash, but he simply tilted his head and cracked his neck before sauntering over to retrieve his dagger. The other Shaman looking on seemed to be holding their breath until he returned, shuddering with glee when the chanting began again.
“Ha! Filthy mongrels!” Dylan shouted at the Warriors he was holding off. He bashed one on the snout as he parried a blow from the other. “I got my shield mastery to Beginner three already! Your attacks mean nothing!”
The Wolfman that had been struck reeled backward, grabbing his nose as it streamed blood. He snarled animalistically, and started hacking at Dylan with brutal overhand chops as the other tried to slip around Dylan’s defense with a more tactical approach. The brutal chops were easily predicted, even if they were powerful, and not one of them slipped by.
“You should probably call this mutt’s older brother!” Dylan called to no one in particular. “It seems his little sister stole his weapon and armor and is playing dress-up!”
Foam appeared around the Warrior’s mouth as his eyes lost all sanity. He tossed aside his sword and started slamming his claws into the obstacle in his way, trying to tear Dylan apart with his bare hands. When he was easily blocked, he tried to grab the shield and pull the Bulwark off balance–failing miserably. He dropped to the ground, a spike of shadow having stolen his life before he noticed the damage accumulating.
“Joe!” Tiona called angrily as she whirled around her opponent and eviscerated him. “What did I tell you not to do?”
“Oh come on!” Joe laughed as he tossed a healing spell at Dylan. “That was a perfect opportunity; I had to take it.” Tiona didn’t say anything else, but her silence only ensured that the conversation would be happening at a later date. Joe looked at the altar and heard the chanting once again reaching a peak. As he noticed an arrow get deflected by a shield a subordinate Shaman was maintaining, Joe had an idea and grimaced. As the knife came down and slammed into the captive’s chest, Joe channeled a ranged healing spell. A flow of water reached the attempted sacrifice and settled into a laminar stream. The Shaman pulled the knife out of the human, already motioning for another sacrifice when the bound man coughed.
The Shaman looked shocked–even more so when the feedback from his failure to complete a sacrifice at the correct time hit him–finally noticing the stream of water connecting the humans together. He shrieked, his ears flattening against his head as he snarled at Joe. Seemingly reaching a conclusion, he waved at two of the lesser Shamans. They left the area around the altar, joining the fight against the adventurers. At this point, Guess had been injured fairly badly but was surviving thanks to a hastily wrapped bandage. All but the last Warrior facing Dylan had been felled, though there were other Warriors that were currently assisting the Shaman. These Warriors were motioned to join the battle as well, and Joe winced as he noted how heavily equipped they were. These were certainly the elite of the Wolfman race.
Now facing seven enemies, the party closed together again. Joe stopped healing the sacrifice, knowing that the magical Wolfman only stabbed at the peak of his chant. He healed Guess to the maximum amount–unable to heal the fractured bones in her hip–noting that his mana was down to a quarter as exhaustion began settling on him. Joe grimaced as he thought about Tiona’s orders. He should have listened; over half of his mana had been used for that channeled spike. It was refilling fairly quickly thanks to his huge regeneration, but the battle was nowhere near over. In fact, it looked like the battle was just getting started.
The largest Warrior–easily the highest level Elite–approached at a jog. His movements were so fluid that when he was dodging it almost looked like Chad’s arrows were poorly aimed. The Elite half-turned as he got close and swung his cleaver almost casually at Dylan. The Bulwark caught the blow with a grunt, actually being forced back a few feet as his armor vibrated under the powerful blow. A fireball hit the ground at their feet causing blisters to instantly form on any exposed skin as the flames washed over the group.
Joe quickly countered the blaze with his healing water spells, but frowned as they only healed half the amount they normally did. It seemed that the magical flames were going to need a more concentrated healing effect than he was currently creating. Not good! The Elite was battering Dylan around like a practice dummy, and the other three were closing in quickly. Joe looked around for a solution to the issue and saw that Guess was running into the forest. He almost called out, but stopped himself at the last moment. If she was trying to circle around, he didn’t want to ruin the element of surprise for her. Tiona shouted a warcry–boosting their stamina and strength by a small amount–and launched herself at the incoming Warriors.
Her sword was flashing back and forth; her skill allowing her to hold off the two Wolfmen on her own. She wasn’t able to strike devastating blows, but she and they were beginning to bleed from multiple cuts. Fortunately for her, she had a healer in her corner. As she wore them down, she was able to continue battling unabated. She needed to stay close to the Warriors, because any time she broke away to gain distance a fireball exploded against her. Chad was doing his best to break whatever magical shielding the Shamans were using, but no matter what angle he tried his arrows continued to bounce off the shield surrounding the two of them.
Quest updated: Blood for the Beast God. Sacrifices: 5/10.
Joe’s head jerked to the side as he got the notification; he watched as the unsmiling Shaman tossed aside a corpse and motioned at one of the few remaining members of its race to bring forward another human. Joe shouted in fury and started swinging his scepter at the Elite attacking Dylan. Sadly, he was unable to damage the massive Warrior with his pathetic attacks. A backhanded blow sent him reeling and coughing out blood. He instantly healed himself and tried to think of a way to be more helpful. Breathing deeply, he stared at the Warrior Tiona was fighting and prepared himself. Carefully positioning his hand, he made the required gestures and created a spike under the Warrior’s foot just as he stepped backward. Expecting solid ground, the Warrior’s ankle turned and he fell with a startled yelp.
Tiona didn’t miss the opportunity, and sliced open the Wolfman’s neck with a flick of her wrist. She tumbled to the side as a fireball whizzed by her head, and after regaining her footing, she began fighting the
other Warrior one-on-one. Now that she was able to focus on just one battle, the Wolfman started to lose badly. In just a few moments he fell as well, surprise etched across his beastly face.
“Tiona!” Dylan shouted as a bright blue fireball cast jointly by the two attacking Shamans burned through the air toward her. “Stand behind me!” His legs seemed to move almost of their own accord, and he blurred as he sprinted at triple speed to get between her and the fireball. Dylan’s arms slammed together, and he jammed the completed shield into the ground. The fireball detonated against the man, and screams filled the air as the metal he was covered in became superheated. The blast was otherwise entirely negated thanks to his position, but his armor was glowing as red as it had when it was being forged.
Dylan continued to yell in pain as the armor applied a damage-over-time effect to his body. Joe threw a ball of water at him in an attempt to heal and cool him, but it was a poor decision. The water almost instantly turned to steam, scalding Dylan's face through his visor and pulling another pained cry from the man. Another ball of fire was being formed between the two Shamans as they chanted together, but it seemed that Guess decided to return to the battle in the nick of time. She sprinted up to them as their brows furrowed from concentration, and plunged her daggers into the mana shield covering them. Again and again she stabbed as the fireball began to roil. With a sound like glass shattering, the shield broke and her daggers plunged into unprotected kidneys.
Freezing as the pain and shock overcame him, the Shaman lost control of his portion of the spell. Guess only had a second’s warning but managed to squeeze herself behind his rigid body. The fireball exploded wildly, finishing off the damaged Shaman and critically wounding the other. An arrow was finally able to sink into the downed Shaman, ending his existence. Chad shouted in pure exaltation as he watched his opponent expire from his feathered shaft.
