Skyflare (Rise To Omniscience Book 3)
Page 13
Better put its attention back on me, Morgan thought, speeding up his pace and readying his opening move.
Sure enough, as soon as he used Starbreaker, the wolf’s attention was back on him. It rose swiftly to its feet, baring its fangs at him and growling low in its throat.
Morgan was already in the air, his palm upturned as the tiny, super-dense ball of gravity began creating a miniature star. Power crackled over him as he floated ten feet up, and the swirling ball of red and orange grew in size and intensity. This attack had cost him a massive chunk of his RP, so Morgan really hoped it would at least damage the beast enough for Sarah to finish it off with her attack.
He could see her now, standing on top of the ridge of rubble and forming a massive block of ice shaped into a wedge. Her face was tight with concentration as the block grew in scale and mass.
The beast roared then, so loud that it shook loose a cascade of rubble from the surrounding piles. Morgan winced at the volume, but his attack was nearly complete. The swirling ball of super-heated gas and compressed air was over four feet in diameter. It was a good foot larger than it had been previously, and he’d been forced to raise his arm over his head as it grew.
Morgan tried to think of something appropriately scathing to say to the beast before launching his attack, but as usual, nothing came to him.
“Screw it,” he said, then launched the attack.
Morgan activated his flight skill, rocketing back over fifty feet in a matter of heartbeats as the attack sailed at the beast. The area of effect had drastically increased since he’d upgraded it, and he didn’t want to be caught in the blast zone. He watched the beast carefully to see its reaction, but he never could have guessed what it would do next.
The beast waited until the attack was almost on it, then, it coiled its muscles and launched itself to the side. Its fur flared a brilliant gold as it did so, and its back half was wreathed in golden fire. The attack hit, and the skill expanded with a massive explosion. The ball of plasma and gas expanded in an instant, covering the full area of effect.
The wolf was caught on the outskirts of the attack, but no serious damage was done as its golden shield protected it. Morgan could see a fine web of cracks spreading from where the attack had caught it, but other than that, the beast was unharmed.
All of this happened in a matter of seconds, though to Morgan’s increased perception, time seemed to be moving a whole lot slower.
“Shit!” he growled, using Sarah’s favorite curse word.
He hadn’t been expecting the beast to dodge. Then, the beast did something else unexpected. It fired back with its own attack. Not directed at him, but at Sarah.
It spun quickly in place, gathering a ball of golden light before its mouth, and firing it up at her in a condensed beam. Judging by the angle and speed of the attack, Morgan knew that Sarah would not be able to react in time, and an attack like that one would most definitely kill her.
He knew he only had seconds to act before the attack struck, so he activated Explosive impact and dashed forward for all he was worth. He ran straight through the open area, and past the massive wolf. He could feel the time counting down in his head and watched as the beam inched ever closer to Sarah. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to move faster.
He raced the beam as it inched forward, feeling his timer nearing the end. Putting on one last burst of speed, Morgan threw himself in front of the beam, activating his shield as he did so. Then everything sped up.
Morgan grimaced as the attack slammed into his chest, sending him flying back. He could hear cracking sounds as the brilliant, gold light washed over him, and screamed his defiance as he dug his feet into the ground. The attack pushed him back, tearing up twin furrows in the crystalline glass.
“Sarah! Attack it!” He yelled as loud as he could, trying to push his hands before him to try and stave off the powerful beam.
He wasn’t sure if Sarah could hear him or not, but Morgan stood his ground, even as he felt his shield giving way. He was honestly surprised it had lasted this long, but guessed that it must have become infused with more divine energy since he’d absorbed all those cores. The heat was starting to get to him as well, and sweat beaded his brow as he felt his skin beginning to blister.
Then, the stream of burning light abruptly cut off, leaving Morgan to stagger forward. A second after that, a wave of icy water washed over him, knocking the wind out of him, but also instantly relieving the burning sensation the fire had left.
Morgan shook his head, trying to clear it through the haze of pain. Then Sarah’s voice cut through it like a knife.
“The beast still isn’t down! It dodged my attack!”
That got his attention and Morgan’s eyes finally came into focus. He saw a gigantic block of ice lying on the far side of the open space, and could see the massive furrow it had gouged in the glassy surface. The wolf was emerging from behind the ice block and despite having a slight limp, seemed to be whole and undamaged.
Guess ranged attacks are no good, Morgan thought, taking a quick look down at himself. His shield was still active, though it was layered in so many cracks that he was shocked it had survived.
His shirt, on the other hand, had not been so lucky. It had been completely burned away, leaving him bare-chested. His skin, while carrying a pink tinge and feeling a bit raw, didn’t seem to be damaged.
Morgan flexed his fingers as the beast roared and a circle of golden spears appeared over its head.
He could still move alright, but this fight would be nearly impossible if he kept throwing attacks from a distance.
Morgan gathered himself, then dashed forward, using his Goldfire skill as he did so. The small purple flame sprang up, and he threw it at the wolf.
This attack wasn’t meant to actually do any damage. Rather, its purpose was to ensure that the beast’s latest attack would be foiled. It worked like a charm. The tiny purple flame hit the ground just inches from the wolf and it was forced to leap aside as it expanded into a roaring configuration of swirling golden fire.
The golden spears vanished as soon as it moved, and Morgan used the extra time it gave him to quickly check his RP.
He only had around 200 left, which was not nearly enough to use Storm Blade. He would have to go in bare handed until it regenerated.
Morgan used a tiny bit of his RP to activate his Perfect flight as he neared the beast, launching himself into the air and slamming a heavy fist into the side of the wolf’s jaw. There was a loud boom as his blow sent a fine line of cracks across the golden shield surrounding the beast. The wolf, already off balance from dodging his attack, stumbled, then cracked to the ground with a howl of rage.
He landed next to the fallen beast, pivoting quickly to the side and lashing out with a powerful sidekick. Another web of cracks spread from the point of impact, driving the beast across the ground and tearing a deep furrow in the crystalline glass.
A barrage of tridents made of ice smashed into the shield as the beast tried to rise, driving it to the ground once more, and further straining the shield. Morgan grinned when he saw this, and dashed after the beast, who was getting back to its feet and snarling in rage.
Leaping into the air, Morgan struck one last time, hammering a powerful roundhouse into the wolf’s ribs. There was a sound of shattering glass as the shield finally failed under the assault, and Morgan’s leg impacted with the beast’s unprotected side. The power of the blow was greatly reduced and did little more than leave a bruise, but the shield was finally gone.
Morgan dropped back to the ground, narrowly avoiding the wolf’s slashing front claws. It turned to face him, golden eyes burning with anger and lunged. He quickly moved to the side, but the beast had been expecting that and adjusted the angle of its attack.
Morgan grimaced as a pair of steel jaws narrowly missed his shoulder, but the beast’s teeth weren’t its only weapons. One of the spiraling horns on the wolf’s head punched through Morgan’s weakened shield, shatterin
g it in an instant. It then continued on, catching him on the right side of his chest and tearing a bloody furrow across his ribs.
He dropped backward onto his hands, going with the blow as the wolf moved forward. He then pushed up with his legs, slamming both into the underside of its jaw with a sickening crunch. The wolf’s momentum, aided by his attack, sent it sailing over his head and well past him, but they weren’t in the clear yet.
Morgan could tell just from the feeling of the beast’s core, as well as the power of his kick, that it was still a dangerous threat. So, not wasting a second, he sprang back to his feet and leaped at the wolf’s exposed back. Just as he reached it, golden flames flared around its body and Morgan only just managed to cross his arms in front of his face before the attack hit.
He cried out, unable to stop himself, as the burning fire seared the skin on his forearms and chest. He slammed into the wolf, as the fire hadn’t been powerful enough to knock him off his course, but all he did was bounce off it and hit the ground below. Wincing in pain, Morgan moved his arms from his face, every movement an agony for his burned skin.
He gasped for air as a heavy paw landed on his chest, and his eyes met the slitted pupils of the divine golden-bristle wolf. Its cat-like features twisted into a pleased grin, and Morgan understood that the beast knew exactly what it was doing. Gritting his teeth as the beast’s claws dug into his chest, Morgan attempted to raise his arm for an attack. The wolf was quick to react, however, and Morgan screamed as his arm razor-sharp teeth sank deep into it. Muscles tore, and bones snapped in the grip of those powerful jaws, and Morgan pummeled the side of its head in an attempt to make it let go. Then, with a savage twist and a horrible crunching sound, the arm was torn clean off in beast’s powerful jaws.
Blood pumped from the stump in a rush, and Morgan felt his vision swim at the sudden onset of pain and subsequent blood loss.
So, this is it, he thought as he felt the crushing weight on his chest intensify and the look of feral glee on the wolf’s face increase. All the fights he’d been in and all the beasts he’d faced had led to this. He’d known it would happen eventually, he just wished it hadn’t been so soon.
Then a distant sound reached his ears. Someone was screaming. Morgan tried to move. He knew who it was and he couldn’t allow her to endanger herself like that. But it was no use.
The wolf turned its head away from him to look back and see what all the commotion was, only to have Sarah bury a trident made of ice straight into its right eye.
Morgan watched in awe as Sarah landed next to him in a crouch, as the wolf staggered away, howling in pain and shaking its head to dislodge the weapon.
“Damn, you look like shit,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm.
He could tell, however, that she was doing her best not to break down right then and there. She quickly removed her belt, then wrapped it around the bleeding stump of his arm, ignoring his cry of pain and pulling it tight.
“There. That’ll do for now. Now come on, we have a job to finish!” She grabbed him by his other burned arm and dragged him to his feet.
Morgan groaned in protest, but forced himself to remain upright.
“Looks like you saved my life, yet again,” he croaked as he took off from the ground and winced as Sarah tightened her grip on his raw shoulders.
Due to his Perfect flight, he was able to get a safe distance from the beast to drop Sarah before trying to decide how best to execute their next move.
First thing’s first, he thought.
“Get me some ice. This is not gonna be pleasant,” he said, watching as the wolf shook the weapon loose and turned its one good eye on them.
He quickly conjured the purple flame using Goldfire, and slammed it into the stump of his arm, gritting his teeth against the searing agony as he cauterized the wound.
“Holy shit!” Sarah exclaimed, quickly washing the wound with icy water as soon as he’d moved his arm.
She then let out an involuntary scream as Morgan grabbed her around the waist and used Explosive impact, only just managing to dodge a hail of golden spears that the wolf had launched at them while he was ensuring he’d stay alive until his Recovery trait kicked in.
He just really hoped it could regrow a limb.
Setting Sarah down, Morgan flexed his left arm. It wasn’t as badly burned as the right one had been, as the right had taken the brunt of the damage.
“Same plan as always. I don’t know why I thought I could do this without you,” he told Sarah, giving her a pained smile.
“If you die, I’ll kill you,” Sarah threatened, and Morgan grinned.
He then turned back to the beast and saw it had been readying another attack in the few seconds he’d spent talking.
Some beasts just have no manners, he thought, dashing from the pile of rubble and running at the wolf at full speed. His RP had mostly recovered and he activated Storm blade, charging it as soon as he formed it into a long saber. The purple blade of energy screamed as it oscillated at nearly a thousand times its normal speed, sending arcs of electricity sparking, not only over the blade, but running up his entire arm.
A hail of golden spears shot at him as he approached, and Morgan wove his way between them, pulling to one side or another each time one flew at him. A ring of golden fire came next, and the wolf sprayed the ground before him in a cone, the heat so intense that it began melting the glass beneath their feet.
Morgan gathered himself up as the attack approached, and launched himself into the air, leaping over the roaring cone of flames. He then caught himself with his flight skill and rocketed forward, keeping his eyes locked firmly on the beast’s one good eye.
Its right horn was cracked, and blood leaked from the ruined eye, caking the side of its golden muzzle in black blood. The same inky substance that had leaked from the corrupted beasts poured out from the wound, proving that it was not a natural beast, but rather an abomination created by human beings.
Morgan screamed, pulling his blade back as he fell on the wolf from above. The wolf roared back, gathering golden light in its jaws in an instant, and firing at him. He released his flight skill, and fell from the sky, the beam of searing energy missing him by a hair. Then, he plunged the screaming blade through the abomination’s forehead, releasing both charges from the blade into the beast at the same time.
Black blood sprayed from the injury as lightning coursed through the wolf’s brain, killing it instantly. Morgan fell to the ground then, too shaken to catch himself in time, letting out an explosive breath as the wind was knocked out of him and pain flared in his body once more.
He groaned, rolling onto his better side and watching as the wolf’s body vanished in a puff of inky smoke, leaving a glowing golden core behind. He looked at the core for a few seconds, before he rolled onto his back and started laughing.
Despite the enormous pain wracking his body, his missing arm, and the numerous burns, cuts and bruises, this had been the best fight of his life!
15
Sarah came running just a few moments later and crouched down next to him. She quickly scanned his body and began conjuring cold water to wash his wounds.
“Do you think that arm will regrow?” she asked, keeping her eyes away from the limb in question, and focusing on washing the blood away from his chest where the wolf’s horn had cut him to the bone.
“The trait does say that I will recover from any injury, so yeah, probably,” Morgan replied, trying to keep the pain from his voice.
“But that’s only in another twenty hours from now,” Sarah said, closing the cut off with a blast of ice. “Will you survive until then?” she asked, finally meeting his eyes.
He grinned at her, doing his best to be reassuring.
“I’ve survived worse, but if you bring me that core, I might be able to speed up the process.”
“How?”
“Advanced beast cores have extra attribute points. I only need it to have two, as I’ve got one saved.”
She placed the core in his left hand and he sighed, feeling the light pulse of power emanating from its depths. Not wasting another moment, he opened its properties.
Name: Divine Golden-Bristle Wolf Core
Rank - 28
Total available energy: 186,978/186,978
Total available AP: 44/44
This core was taken from a divine golden-bristle wolf. Experimentation with divine energy has corrupted this wolf and made its energy unstable. Absorbing it may be dangerous for anyone lacking in divine energy, but will be highly beneficial for those who do. As this core was taken from an Advanced beast on the cusp of evolution, the amount of available energy has been nearly maximized.
“Perfect,” Morgan said, absorbing the everything in core.
His body shuddered as the energy entered him, and Morgan felt his back arch in agony as the divine power of a near Pinnacle beast poured through his veins. Compared to this energy, the other corrupted cores felt like a pale imitation. The purity of the energy flooded his body with new strength, and he knew that he would have no trouble surviving until his trait would heal him.
Even now, he could feel the energy pouring into his core and the crackling golden ball of energy expand. Then, the unexpected happened. His entire core grew. As the crackling golden sphere contained within his reiki-heart expanded, the sphere of reiki expanded along with it. By the time it was done, it had nearly doubled in size, and was now taking up vastly more room than it had before.
He gasped as a fine web of gold and purple then extended out from the core, and wove themselves throughout his body, pushing themselves into his muscles, nerves and even his bones. When he next opened his eyes, Sarah once again noted the golden lightning flickering across his pupils, but this time, it lasted several seconds before wearing off.