The Land: Monsters

by Aleron Kong

  “Shit!”

  His healing spell failed. Richter was about to curse his Exhausted debuff again, but another prompt appeared.

  Life magic cannot be cast while your bloodline is active!

  The defense from Harden had saved his life, but he’d already found a weakness in his new power. He knew that Vile bloodlines had something to do with Death magic. Now he learned that using his bloodline cut him off from his Life spells. It meant that while Harden could increase his defense, he couldn’t use magic to heal himself. Now wasn’t the time to worry about that though, so he just resolved to own the pain. He had problems. Looking at the slime, he amended his thought. Much bigger problems.

  The slime had stopped searching for an entrance to his shield and had instead gathered itself in one spot. As Richter watched, the creature began to quiver violently. To his horror, it forced a tendril through the shield! He stared in shock. That shouldn’t be possible. The only thing that could pass through a magic shield was… That was when he realized it wasn’t overcoming the defensive magic, it was bypassing it.

  Magic shields were powerful defenses for magi, but they had their weakness. Lower level shields, like his own Weak Static Earth Shield, would stop swords, arrows and magical attacks from other Basic Elements, but it would not prevent other Earth energy from passing through it.

  The body of the stone slime must qualify as Earth energy, at least in part. If it was fully resonant with the spell, it could have passed through the shield like it wasn’t even there. Thankfully that wasn’t the case. But completely in sync or not, it was clearly able to use its Earth nature to bypass his defense. Which meant that instead of having minutes to recover and strategize, he only had seconds before it would be on him again. Hence, his completely reasonable expression of shock and dismay.

  “Shit!”

  Richter racked his brain while a quarter of the beach ball-sized slime forced its body through his shield in a second. He came up with an idea, but it meant taking a serious risk. He went for broke. Reaching out to his bloodline, he dismissed the Harden effect, letting the power leave his body. After that, he furiously cast, praying his magic wouldn’t fail him again. He gave the spell as much of his diminished concentration as he could. Just as the monster made its way all the way through the shield, he took a step back and finished his next casting. Relief flooded into him even as magic flowed out. He could use Life magic again!

  Another shield sprang into existence, this time gold in color. A second bubble of magic now surrounded him. It arrived in the nick of time. A moment later, the stone slime had crossed completely through the Earth shield. The monster wasted no time before flinging its body at this second barrier. Richter was well aware that without the defense his bloodline offered, the next time the slime touched him would probably be the last.

  The chaos lord started another incantation, resisting the urge to rush. Every second counted and he couldn’t allow for a miscast. Golden light surrounded him again as healing magic flowed through his body. The pain in his face and shoulders faded as tissues reknit. Unlike every other time he’d healed himself, this time his red health bar did not refill. Cursed with the Dehydrated debuff, his health wouldn’t refill until he found water. Of course, that would be a moot point if he didn’t survive the next few minutes.

  The slime was stretched over the surface of his Life shield, like oil over a golden ball. Seeing the monster pour itself over the gold film, only three feet away from his face, was macabre and disturbing. It was not nearly as disturbing as what it did next though. A thick tendril coalesced on the side of it, about the size of a cop’s baton. The protrusion changed in color from the grey-black of the slime’s main body, to the color of pure grey rock. Richter remembered the description that said it could focus the stone inside of its own body to one specific spot. Then it slammed the rock club down on his shield with a solid thud!

  “Well that’s not good.”

  The monster raised its tendril, then slammed it down with even more force. A small web of cracks appeared on the magical shield, making Richter curse. He knew that the Life shield wouldn’t hold for long. Not only did it have less HP than his Earth shield, but it also had a lower defense. If the slime kept up its attack, there was nothing keeping it from getting through in seconds rather than the minutes Richter had hoped to buy himself. He needed a plan and he needed it now!

  The chaos lord took stock. His health was down nearly 10%. The slime hadn’t been in contact with him for long, but the fact that it had enveloped his head had apparently increased the damage it could wreak. His stamina was nearly full, and his mana pool was still around 70%. Unfortunately, the only spells he could cast through the shield were Life magic. The only offensive option was Weak Life Bolt. The damage it caused was so low he could spam it all day and not make a dent in the slime’s health.

  Richter’s mind worked furiously. How the hell was he supposed to kill this thing? He didn’t have any armor. Even his bone club was out of reach. He’d dropped it when the slime had first attacked. Now his club was on the other side of the tunnel, the slime between him and it. Even if he had the impromptu weapon, the monster had a high defense. His sonic spell had definitely hurt it, taking away about 10% of its health each time, but it had a one-minute cooldown. He couldn’t cast it continually. Even if he was able to rattle off the spell one more time, it would be on him right after that.

  It continued to pound away at his shield, widening the cracks. Richter only had seconds left before it would break through. If it covered his face again, he was done! He blinked, fear gripping his heart, threatening to overwhelm him for a half-second before he pushed it down. With anger, he realized his Ravenous debuff was compromising his emotions again.

  He used that anger to focus. He wasn’t going out like this. He just needed some help. Richter’s fingers contorted as green light surrounded them. His concentration debuff weighed on him, but he was no simple conjurer of cheap tricks. He was the Master of a Place of Power and soul bonded to a psi dragonling! His mind was trained and his will would not be denied.

  Richter finished the last syllable of the spell and stepped back at the same time. His shoulders brushed the edge of the Life shield, banishing it. The slime fell several feet to the ground. At the same time, a rent in space appeared, bringing with it the scent of evergreens.

  Before the slime had even hit the ground, a saproling had stepped through. In a perfect world, Richter would have dual cast the spell, raising the creature’s level and combat power. He couldn’t risk a spell misfire again though, or even worse, spell feedback. That would be a death sentence.

  He also couldn’t spend his MPs frivolously. At skill level 14, Dual Casting increased his spell’s power by 156%, but it also increased his spell cost by 272%. His new Water Mastery would help with that, but it would still be a horrible drain on his magic reserves. He had to hope that the base power of the spell coupled with his rare Summoner’s Ring would make it strong enough to hold the slime back for a few precious seconds.

  Richter eyed his summoned creature even as he began his next spell. The saproling had taken the form of a four-foot-high badger made of living branches and leaves. Two dark stones nestled where its eyes would have been. He stared into the stones, making a weak psychic bond so that he could control it mentally. All of this took barely a second.

  The slime quivered for just a moment. It was about to attack Richter again when the saproling hurled itself at the black monster. It was no match for the slime, but Richter wasn’t done yet. Praying for a good result, he began to cast Akaton Evolution. The cast time was four long seconds. He had to hope that his level twelve summoned monster could hold back the level thirty-seven monster for at least that long.

  His mind was clouded and his body ached, but if there was one type of magic he could use without fail, it was Chaos. The words of the spell, which had always flowed as easily as water, were now even more familiar. They caressed his lips like cool silk. His relationship with
Chaos was a love affair that not even his debuffs could affect. The two spells dropped his mana again, this time by nearly two hundred points, leaving him with barely four hundred points. It didn’t matter. It was time to go all in.

  The slime was quickly dissolving the saproling. The creature was biting and clawing the ooze, doing some damage but not nearly enough to matter. The forest elemental was simply out leveled. Truth be told, even if they had been the same level, the slime was just a superior monster. It had a body that could harden like stone and eat like acid. How could a creature made of leaves and wicker resist it?

  Of course, Richter had never expected his saproling to defeat the slime. Not as it currently was. Four seconds elapsed and the roiling grey energy surrounding his arms shot forward in a beam toward his summoned creature. Prompts appeared and were consumed by his mind as Akaton Evolution did its masterful work.

  Know This! You have cast Chaos Magic for the first time since your ascendance to the Legendary incarnation of a Chaos Lord. Your understanding of Chaos and its magics has increased. +30% effectiveness of Chaos magic!

  Your spell Akaton Evolution will now list the total number of possible evolutions along with their rank and maximum tier, though you must successfully discover the evolutions to gain full knowledge of them.

  Know This! Higher-ranked evolutions are generally stronger than lower-ranked, but are less likely to appear.

  Know This! Your increased power with Chaos Magic has unlocked a new evolution for your Saproling.

  Know This! Your spell Akaton Evolution has evolved your Saproling into an Albino Arborast, a rank 3, Unusual Evolution. This is 1 of 4 possible evolutions. The maximum evolved tier of your Saproling is Tier 1.

  Attack increased by +10. Defense increased by +8.

  Special ability: Rage – increases Strength, Constitution and Endurance dramatically for a short time. Mentation decreased during this state. When Rage has elapsed, the creature will be weakened for an extended period of time

  Richter watched as all color was leached from the saproling even as the slime continued to try and consume it. What had been a losing battle for his summoned creature changed in that moment. The saproling no longer looked like a badger composed of loose branches. The gaps in its body completely filled in. Its leafy exterior was replaced with sculpted muscle that stood out starkly under its white fur. Two large rabbit-like incisors filled its mouth, and it stood on two strong back legs. The knees inverted and its arms ended in gorilla fists. The slime continued to do damage, but its body was no longer large enough to easily envelop Richter’s summoned creature.

  The process of evolution was nearly instantaneous, yet there was one fleeting moment where the monster, pet and summoner took stock of their new normal. Richter shattered that stillness with vindictive glee and a single psychic command.

  *Rage*

  The already muscular Albino Arborast triggered its special ability. Its stats shot up considerably and its body changed once again. Whereas before it had the physique of a martial artist, now its muscles nearly doubled in size. It let loose a shriek, and grabbed the slime trying to erode its chest with two impressively large white hands. The evolved pet completely disregarded its own pain as it plunged its hands into the thick gel of the slime’s body. It lifted the viscid creature off the ground and then screamed at the monster with a furious anger. Blood and melted flesh streamed down the arborast’s arms, marring its white fur, but in its fury it didn’t notice. All it cared about was causing pain to the creature that had hurt it.

  The slime was slammed down onto the rocky floor of the tunnel and the arborast began to pummel it. Thick fists rose and fell while it carried out an attack of caveman-level savagery. The grey-black blob fought back, forcing stone particles to the surface to increase its defense even as it lashed podocytes across the albino’s skin. The arborast’s flesh became a ruin of red in seconds. It might have succumbed, even its Rage state, but for one thing. The one fact that had always helped Richter himself prevail against impossible odds. It was not alone.

  Golden light suffused the arborast as Richter cast Minor Slow Heal, followed by Weak Haste. His pet’s bloodied white fists began to rise and fall faster. The chaos lord targeted the slime next, this time with Water magic. It only took a second to cast Weak Slow. All three spells were boosted by his Mastery in those elements. Coupled with Richter’s insanely high Intelligence, the spells were game-changers.

  The fight was over; the monster just didn’t know it yet. What Richter had realized when he was watching the slime beating on his shield, the sound reverberating like the footsteps of doom, was that he could not defeat the slime as a man. He couldn’t calculate, hold back, or try to weigh costs and benefits.

  It was a monster. It would kill him or it would be killed. That oneness of purpose was a strength. If he wanted to survive, then he needed to do the same. It was time to go all in. When he’d broken his own shield to summon the saproling, he’d risked his life. If he had faltered or delayed for even an instant, his life would be over.

  That was what it meant to live as a monster: life and death, separated only by a moment. There had been no surety of success, but that was fine. Assurances were hollow lies cherished by those who loved order. He was a creature of Chaos. He didn’t need platitudes or false safety. All he needed was the impermanent perfection of the truth. And the truth right now was that he was fucking this motherfucker up!

  The slime’s health dropped rapidly under the arborast’s assault. Richter had no idea how smart the ooze monster was, but it seemed to be perceptive enough to recognize that the black man, rather than the white creature, was the real threat. It tried to break away from his albino pet, but the chaos lord simply cast Weak Sonic Wail again. The cone-shaped attack enveloped his summoned creature as well, but another healing spell fixed that damage. The bigger threat of using the sound spell indiscriminately was that attacking a summoned creature risked losing control over it, though here his mental training made that unlikely.

  After that, the battle became predictable. Anyone that had ever seriously gamed knew a simple fact of combat. When two melees went at it, the one that had magical support, especially if they had a healer, would be the one standing at the end. Despite the still drastic difference in levels, Richter’s wide array of spell buffs let him support the arborast as it continually pummeled the slime to death.

  The beatdown took a while. While he waited, Richter considered using his Blood magic on the thing. Having a tamed slime that could sneak up on other creatures could be very useful. In the end, he decided against it for a number of reasons. First and foremost, in his current state of emotional volatility and decreased concentration, he’d almost certainly be overtaken by the unrestrained id of the Deeper magic.

  Besides, Blood magic was not to be used lightly. It had a cost beyond mana, requiring health and sometimes stamina as well. Losing more HPs would not be a good idea, not with his debuffs preventing healing. Finally, the spell might not even work on slimes. They didn’t exactly have blood after all. There was so much he didn’t understand about Deeper Magic; it just wasn’t worth the risk. Instead, he just kept buffing his summoned creature while it did the heavy lifting. Minutes later, the battle was done.

  The stone slime’s body shriveled in death. It leaked fluid across the tunnel floor, no longer the size of a beach ball. It was now only softball-sized and might have been mistaken for a simple, lumpy rock if Richter had just been walking past it. The arborast continued to pound on it, but in its reduced form it seemed to have lost all of its fluidity. The albino’s fists still made dents in the dead body, but had no more effect than a pizza man pounding dough. Richter briefly considered trying to pull his summoned creature away, but then thought about its enraged state and his decreased concentration. When he’d hit it with the sonic attack, it might very well have turned on him if it wasn’t still fighting the slime. Safer to just dismiss it back to where it came from.

  With an exertion of will, an
other rent in space appeared and the evolved creature passed through it back to its home. He wondered if it would turn back into a saproling, or if some weird quirk of magic would leave it in its newly evolved form even after it had returned to its original plane of existence. The chaos lord shrugged. He’d probably never know.

  The effects of his battle adrenalin faded, leaving behind an involuntary tremor in his hands. Coupled with his existing debuffs and the depletion of his magic, Richter only had the energy to crack a half-manic smile before collapsing to the ground in a half-stumble, half-fall. He looked at the body of the monster he’d slain, and thought, “Ha! Blue screen, muthafucka!” before he lost his grip on the conscious world.

  CHAPTER 24 – Day 151 – Juren 2, 0 AoC

  “Gah! Clown penis!”

  Richter jerked upright in confusion. That feeling swiftly morphed into panic. He was blind again! He felt a nearly pants-wetting terror at the thought that another slime was on his head. But over the next few seconds it all came back, and he realized that it was just that the spell which let him see had elapsed. He cast Darkvision in a state of near-terror. His head darted up, down and all around, scanning for more monsters.

  With a profound sense of relief, he realized he was still alone in the tunnel. He put one hand to his chest while he waited for his heart to stop thudding. The shriveled body of the slime still lay next to him, and a blinking light in the corner of his vision let him know that he had notifications waiting to be read. He allowed himself a few more calming breaths before he addressed the waiting information.