by J. Cee
A single errant porcupine hit Ceph’s face, drawing a sting of pain. His blood pool dropped two points. Aeri was right; they were dangerous. Ceph batted the porcupine away while stepping on a black mouse.
“Ceph, the kill chain. Hurry,” Aeri said.
“Sorry.” Ceph cut across the rats. Some had recovered and dispersed, but he managed to catch five rats in one sweep of his dagger.
“Gophers left.” Aeri was already throwing the brown rodents over her left shoulder.
Ceph cut two porcupines, but was distracted by the third when it puffed up into a ball of spines. His dagger caught on a small reddish mouse.
“I hate mice!” Ceph started the kill chain again, having to stab and swipe at the larger animals in three separate motions to reach a five-animal kill chain.
Ceph and Aeri’s teamwork was slowing the tide of rodents, but they still threatened to overrun Aeri. He saw her skin still glow yellow from an Interference Shield.
“Don’t forget to use Rejuvenate,” Aeri said. “I need a Soulstrike barrage from you after the gophers. I’m saving my spirit for shields.”
“Oh right. I forgot.”
Rejuvenate. Ceph activated his healing ring, feeling a warmth spread through his body. He cleared the cluster of gophers with his dagger and then sent three Soulstrikes into the horde of rodents.
They were doing it. By culling the population with the kill chains and supplementing with Ceph’s intermittent Soulstrikes, they managed to keep the rodent attacks under control. They still had to kill random single creatures, but individually, the rodents were weak. Ceph and Aeri had found their rhythm. They could survive.
Ceph remained optimistic until thirty minutes were almost over. “How much longer?” he asked.
“One more minute. Capybara right.”
“How do you even know that word?” Ceph cut the cluster of large rodents down.
Somehow, Aeri knew how much time had passed to the very minute. Ceph wasn’t surprised. He now understood how Aeri used regeneration rates, cooldowns, and other intrinsic timers to maintain a precise count at all times, but it still impressed Ceph how she managed to keep track of everything, no matter what.
Ceph checked his blood pool one more time. One hundred twelve. His blood pool still decreased at a slow pace, but lasting one more minute would be simple. Then, the flood of rodents increased tenfold.
“Mole left, vole right!” Aeri shouted frantically.
“Mole is left and right? What?” Ceph cried back to Aeri in confusion.
“No, vole is right, not mole. Just get the kill chain.”
Aeri’s motions sped up, but the massive influx of rodents was too much to handle. They were being overrun by the creatures. The creatures soon completely covered Aeri.
Aeri’s muffled voice came out from under the clump of fur. “There’s too many. Soulstrike clear. Now, now!”
Ceph sent Soulstrikes into the mass, abandoning any attempt at a kill chain. He checked his spirit pool. Twenty. That meant ten more Soulstrikes. Aeri’s own Soulstrikes emerged from the crowd of tiny mammals.
Despite the Soulstrikes, the creatures soon swarmed over Ceph’s body as well. He fell backwards as he struggled with matted fur forcing its way down his throat. He bit down hard, wretched, and spat, clamping his mouth tightly shut as something brushed against him. He couldn’t see anything now, but he knew his blood pool must be dropping quickly. His body stung with a hundred little bites and scratches. How long could he last?
Using the last of his spirit, Ceph cast an Interference Shield. The pain subsided. He knew Aeri was protecting herself as well, but she had been using her shielding frequently during the challenge. He had no idea how much spirit she had left.
“Aeri!” he tried to call out, but he didn’t know if she had heard him. “Aeri!”
Ceph groped about with wild abandon, tearing small creatures from his eyes only to have a fresh set of furry bodies blind him again. Soon, he was covered in a mountain of mammal flesh, plunging him into darkness.
“Aeri!” Ceph screamed.
In an instant, the pressure of the wriggling fur bodies was gone. Ceph heard a tiny pattering sound. He craned his head towards the source. The mouse spirit guardian sat on its haunches, clapping its front paws.
“Congratulations to a splendid victory,” the mouse squeaked.
Aeri stormed over to the tiny creature, bending low to glare at it. “What was that at the end? We nearly died.”
“I apologize. I got caught up in the excitement and wanted to see what would happen.” The mouse bowed and flicked its tail. “You survived, though, didn’t you? Here, your rewards.”
A wave of blue light washed over the dagger in Ceph’s hands. He almost dropped the weapon in surprise but caught it before it reached the ground. Aeri was examining the katana she was holding.
“Yours.” Aeri held out the katana to Ceph. “Mine.” She pointed at the dagger. The two exchanged weapons.
Ceph wanted to question Aeri about the weapons, but she turned towards the spirit guardian again.
“After surviving that, have we earned the right to any other reward? Knowledge, perhaps?” Aeri asked.
“Another reward? My, my, isn’t that presumptuous?” The mouse crawled up Ceph, perching on his shoulder to look Aeri in the eye.
“The last spirit guardian, the white stag, rewarded us for his test,” Ceph said.
“Hmph.” The mouse made a sneezing sound. “That peg-headed beast and I are nothing alike.”
Aeri scowled. “Fine.”
“On second thought, I do feel a touch frisky today. Come here, big one.” The mouse reached up to hang from Ceph’s left ear.
‘“Hey,” Ceph objected, but he bent his head to the side. He tried not to move as the mouse rested its face at his ear’s opening, its whiskers tickling him.
“A word for you alone,” the mouse whispered into Ceph’s ear. “Beware, betrayal. Its sign is six, six, six.”
“What?”
The spirit guardian scampered onto the cavern floor.
“A pleasure meeting you. Farewell.” The mouse flicked its tail again and the two Onceborn found themselves outside the cavern, holding their weapons.
“What just happened?” Ceph asked.
Aeri raised an eyebrow. “You tell me. What did the mouse say?”
Ceph paused. The spirit guardian had said the message was for him alone. But why would he trust a crazy little mouse that had tried to kill them? Of course he would tell Aeri. It was Aeri.
“He said something about betrayal. Beware, betrayal. Six, six, six.”
“Is that all?”
“He said not to tell you.”
Aeri frowned but didn’t reply.
After an uncomfortable period of silence, Ceph swung his katana. “Hey, what about the weapons?”
Lore. Ceph inspected his left inner forearm. Katana. Grants the skill Steelstrike.
“What’s a Steelstrike?” Ceph asked.
“A Steelstrike is a basic attack with no spirit cost. It varies from weapon to weapon. Yours does ten percent of your maximum blood pool as damage.”
“No cost? Isn’t that really powerful?”
Aeri nodded. “It can be. You pay a regeneration cost, though. Your spirit won’t regenerate while you wield a weapon. So don’t run around with sharp things in your hands unless you have a good reason for it.”
“That still seems overpowered. All those free attacks.”
“Well, there’s a cooldown. You can only attack with your Steelstrike once every two seconds.”
“How does that work? I can’t just swing the sword around?”
“No, you need to activate the Steelstrike skill with your swing. Otherwise you’re swinging a lump of metal that won’t harm an Everborn. Think of it more as a conduit for your attacks, like a Soulstrike you cast through touching.”
“I guess that’s a relief. I thought for a second I’d have to learn real sword fighting. Can you imagine that?” Ceph traced a figur
e eight in the air with his katana’s tip. “En garde!”
Aeri groaned. “That’s a katana, not a rapier. And you do have to master sword fighting for defensive purposes.”
“Why?”
“Even if you don’t use a skill, a weapon can always block incoming attacks, like other Steelstrikes or even Soulstrikes. It’s called a parry.”
“Oh.” Ceph sheathed his blade. “What about your dagger? It looks a bit fancier than my sword. What’s so special about it?”
Aeri twirled the dagger in between her fingers and then sheathed it. She attached the sheath to her right hip. “This dagger fits my fighting style. Its Steelstrike only hits for one point of damage but has a one second cooldown. Half second with my harmony.”
Ceph processed what Aeri had told him. “So the Steelstrike skill is different.”
“Yes. Different weapons have different Steelstrikes,” Aeri explained. “This Steelstrike also has another effect. If my dagger hits an unshielded opponent, it stuns them for a second. Stuns interfere and cancel any skills in progress.”
Ceph looked at the sheathed dagger and whistled. “Now that’s overpowered.”
Aeri smiled. “Not really. The stun has a one minute cooldown, and you can’t choose when to use it. It always activates when it can, even if it’s wasted.”
“It still sounds better than this.” Ceph indicated his katana.
“A weapon like this dagger takes a lot of practice to use well and fits with my high harmony. Plus, it’s better if we have complementary skills. Your Steelstrike is better suited for dealing raw damage, and it fits your high blood pool.”
It was true. Ceph’s large blood pool meant that his spirit pool was small and his Soulstrikes weak. He didn’t want to give up the comfort of having a large amount of blood, but it did leave him somewhat lacking in the damage department. The Steelstrike drawing on the blood attribute would be a big boost.
“Maybe. You’re only saying that to make me feel better.”
Aeri shook her head while still smiling. “Take my one point damage. Do you know what that’s for?”
“Well, it’s not much damage. You can attack quickly, though. Hm.” Ceph frowned while thinking. “Ah, I see. Pinging. You can ping with that dagger. That’s super useful.”
Aeri had mentioned pinging briefly during their training back by the lakeside. They hadn’t spent much time on team tactics, but a ping would take down an enemy’s Deflection Shield with a quick attack to leave him open for subsequent stronger attacks.
“You remembered.” Aeri seemed pleased with Ceph’s reply. “I can cut down Deflection Shields with the dagger, letting you have your turn with a big damage dealing Steelstrike.”
Ceph nodded. Their different balances of power and weapons made them better suited for different roles. He was glad he didn’t have to be the one with forty or fifty blood, though. That reminded him to check his status. Corpus.
“Two power points again,” Ceph said. “That’s pretty good progress.”
Aeri cast a glance back at the cave. “We should head to the Pits. No more challenges.”
“Yeah, about that. You think fighting the Everborn will be safer?”
“No, not safer. More predictable. The spirit guardians are acting erratic. I don’t like that.”
“At least we got these.” Ceph bent low and drew his katana in a mock killing strike. He tried to resheath the katana but fumbled trying to line up the tip of his blade with the sheath’s entrance. His left arm hung at his side.
“Here, let me show you.”
Aeri stepped behind Ceph, placing her right hand over Ceph’s. Ceph grimaced as she took hold of the stump of his left wrist, but he didn’t resist. Aeri guided the end of his left arm and placed it under the sheath.
“Hold your arm here, and guide the blade’s blunt edge. Like this.”
Aeri’s hands were soft and warm as she helped slide the length of Ceph’s blade into the sheath. The hilt clicked against the end, but Aeri continued to hold Ceph for a moment.
“Your hands feel smooth,” Ceph said. “Do Onceborn hands ever get calloused? If we’re invincible to normal damage, I mean…”
Someone whistled.
Aeri spun around, her hand on her dagger’s handle. Ceph searched the trees around them. The long shadows cast by the setting sun camouflaged any watchers.
A figure stepped out from behind a cluster of trees. “Speaking of smooth. Those are some smooth moves. Her, not you.”
Inspect. In Ceph’s eyes, the figure’s aura lit up a deadly orange.
Chapter 12
Ceph crouched with his hand on his new sword. “What do we do,” he whispered to Aeri.
“Whoa, hold on. I’m not looking for any trouble,” the figure stepped into the light, holding up his hands.
Standing before them was a man dressed in brown leathers from head to toe. His hands were gloved and the lower half of his face was hidden behind a dark brown mask. Dark eyes loomed within the shadows of a hood.
“I do have a question on the nature of the relationship between you two,” the masked man said.
“Relationship?” Ceph relaxed his pose.
“Stay sharp,” Aeri warned Ceph.
“You both have the same ring on your hands,” the masked man said. “You wouldn’t happen to be married, would you?”
Ceph help up his right hand in confusion. “This? No, no, not married.”
Ceph paused. Did the Everborn have unusual marriage customs he didn’t know about? He had heard strange stories about people living on the other Lines. “We’re not married, right?” he whispered to Aeri.
Aeri scowled. “Of course not.”
The brief moment of panic tinged with excitement vanished. “Right, of course not. Definitely not married. No way I’d ever marry someone like you.”
Aeri scowled even more.
“That’s not what I meant. I mean like—”
“Very good! I’m a bit sentimental myself,” the intruder said. “In that case, I’m sure you’ll have no problem handing those shiny trinkets over to me.”
The masked man held out his right palm.
“The rings? You want the rings?” Ceph stammered.
“We need to run. Get ready,” Aeri said in a quiet tone.
“I heard that,” the masked man said, taking off his gloves. “Perhaps my good side would make you reconsider.”
Ceph stared at the curved talons that tipped the gnarled fingers. The figure removed the lower half of his mask, revealing a monstrous mouth filled with spiky teeth.
“A demon!” Aeri hissed.
The demon chuckled politely. “I’ve been called worse. If you know what I am, you should know that running is pointless.”
“What’s he mean?” Ceph whispered.
“Once a demon catches your spirit’s scent, it can find you no matter where you are.” Aeri drew her dagger. “We have to fight.”
“But he’s orange!”
“It won’t be easy, but it’s our only chance.”
“What if he only wants our rings?”
Aeri’s look told him what she thought of that idea.
“Come on. Give me a chance.” Ceph gave Aeri’s dagger-wielding hand a gentle downward push.
“Fine.”
“I thought I had your relationship figured out, but you surprise me. Interesting. I like interesting,” the demon said.
“Um, so the rings? Is that all you want?” Ceph asked.
“No,” the demon said.
Ceph’s face fell. Aeri raised her dagger again.
“I’d like a matching gold crown, a belt made of unicorn leather, a crystal sword of sunfire…” the demon continued.
“I mean from us. Is that all you want from us?” Ceph asked.
The demon grinned, showing a row of fangs. “I suppose that would do.”
Ceph sighed with relief. “See?” he said, turning to Aeri.
“One ring,” Aeri said.
Ceph and the dem
on both looked at her.
“I beg your pardon,” the demon said.
“We’ll give you one ring if you let us leave,” Aeri said.
The demon flashed a toothy smile. “I like this one. She’s a charmer.” The demon drew a deep breath. “And such a strong, clean smell.”
“Why is everyone always talking about how we smell?” Ceph muttered.
“But no. There are two of you. I want two rings,” the demon said. “Perhaps a little motivation would convince you.”
The demon surged forward in a blur with its claws extended towards Ceph. Violet energy, like that of a Soulstrike, crackled between the talons.
Ceph yelped in surprise but managed to cast both an Interference and Deflection Shield in quick succession. His skin shimmered, first yellow, then blue, as he took a step backwards.
He was too slow, but Aeri wasn’t. She tried to block the demon with her dagger, but the small weapon was nothing more than a nuisance to the clawed attack. The demon slashed at Aeri’s dagger with its right hand while raking its other hand’s talons across Ceph’s body. Ceph cried out at the shock of pain. The demon leapt back to its starting position.
Corpus. Ceph’s heart thumped. He was down to forty-five blood points from the single attack. His shields hadn’t mattered at all. All of his training had counted for nothing.
“The rings.” The demon pointed at Ceph with a claw.
“Okay, okay.” Ceph trapped his right index finger in his left armpit and struggled to remove his ring. “Aeri, your ring.”
A frowning Aeri pulled her own ring off and then helped Ceph remove his. She looked at the two golden circles in her hand before tossing them at the demon.
“Satisfied?” Aeri asked.
The demon caught the two rings, one in each hand, and held them up to the light. “Ah, terrific. Exactly what I wanted.”
“Can we leave now?” Ceph asked.
The demon wasn’t paying attention to them. It shooed them away with a wave of a clawed hand.
Ceph turned to leave, but he noticed that Aeri was about to speak.
“Come on, Aeri.” He tried to pull her away, but she seemed set on saying something to the demon. Ceph groaned. What if the fickle demon changed its mind? “We should go,” he whispered.
