The others didn’t need any coaxing and took off, leaving me in the dust. I had begun to think that my memory might never come back, and I was coming to terms with it. But it was times like these where I sincerely wished I knew what in the blazes was going on.
When a loud screech erupted behind me, I took off as fast as I could.
I tapped my neural link as I ran, and the display appeared before my eyes. A large dark red dot on my mini-map was headed straight toward me faster than I could move.
As it neared, I dropped to the ground and covered my head.
A gust of air sent chills down my back as the dot continued on past me.
An unexpected benefit of the neural link was that it seemed to brighten the world around me, giving me a kind of night vision. The sheer size of the creature was staggering. If I wasn’t already on the ground, I think I would have been bowled over.
It was nearly as big as the AGIS-Arrow we’d flown in on, if not larger.
Its feathers were jet black, and its talons were as long as my forearm. The outline of a small circle appeared as I focused on the bird and began to fill in a clockwise motion. When it finished, the creature’s stats were displayed before me.
NIGHTWING
LEVEL 62
TYPE: FLYING
IMMUNITY: ICE
ABSORBS: LIGHTNING
WEAKNESS: FIRE
DROPS: ???
Chet.
There was so much wrong with that list of stats that I didn’t even know what to focus on. The level alone was enough to cause me to wet my pants.
Hopping to my feet, I ran once more.
As the nightwing turned, I got a clear view of its long snake-like neck. It opened its mouth and let out another loud screech. But the sound was not what sent a spike of terror through my spine, instead it was the hundreds of razor-sharp teeth the size of my fingers lining its wide-open jaws.
If I hadn’t already emptied my bladder, I probably would have again.
Claire turned her head and saw that I wasn’t with them and started running back toward me.
And then the nightwing was diving.
“Stop!” I shouted to Claire. “Behind you!”
Claire glanced over her shoulder as the nightwing wrapped her in its huge claws and lifted her off the ground.
“No!” I shouted.
Bella, Izaiah, and Leon all stopped their flight and turned as one, drawing their weapons.
I followed suit and slipped my bow off my shoulders. I didn’t know what good it was going to do against something so powerful. I was a level 11.
Eleven. I cringed.
That didn’t matter, the nightwing had Claire, and I wasn’t about to let it have her. Slipping an arrow from my quiver, I nocked it and let fly.
The moment I did so, I immediately regretted it. I was just as likely to hit Claire as I was the creature. I couldn’t live with myself if I killed her.
The arrow slammed into the beast’s wing and stuck there like a tiny toothpick. I didn’t even know if the nightwing registered any pain. With each beat of the bird’s impressive wingspan, it soared higher in the sky.
I watched in helpless horror as Claire’s legs swung free of the creature’s grasp. If she fell at this height, an arrow through the heart would have been more merciful. Yet despite all odds, she hung on and climbed up the nightwing’s leg.
It kicked its leg out, trying to dislodge her, but Claire clung on, wrapping her arms around it for dear life.
As it stabilized, I watched in awe as she drew her sword and plunged it into the nightwing’s abdomen.
The bird let out a blood-curdling scream, and I covered my ears as pain shot straight through my skull.
My heart jumped into my throat as the nightwing dropped like a sack of rocks and then caught itself for just a moment before it continued falling again. It tried to beat its wings, but its movements were pained.
Seconds before it crashed into the ground, Claire leapt from her perch and landed with a roll. The earth beneath me shook as the great bird struck and skidded for several feet.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but my peace was short lived as the nightwing pushed itself up on its wings and whipped its head out, launching itself at Claire.
She dove to the side and narrowly avoided those deadly fangs by mere inches.
I nocked another arrow and let fly, no longer worried about hitting Claire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella and Izaiah advancing as well. Leon was nowhere to be seen.
He'd either ran, was huddled on the ground crying, or had gone invisible again.
I cursed his stupid magika. The last time he’d used it, I’d nearly killed him. What would happen if I hit him again?
I couldn’t worry about that. Besides, anything short of a lethal blow could be healed.
The nightwing attempted to takeoff, but before it rose even six feet into the air, it smashed into the ground again. Wherever Claire had hit it, she must have severed a muscle necessary for the creature’s flight.
I offered a quick prayer of thanks to whichever of the gods cared to hear it, but again my praise was premature as the nightwing burst forward, running at an alarming speed. It lunged for Bella and opened its maw wide.
Its jaw started to clamp down on her, and I screamed.
A blue orb appeared around her, and the nightwing’s bite was halted as it connected with the shield.
I loosed arrow after arrow, each one slamming into the beast’s side, but none of them had any effect. It was then that I remembered the creature’s weakness: Fire.
Looping my bow back onto my shoulder, I raised my palm and prepared to blast the creature with everything I had.
Before I could loose a bolt, corded muscles in the nightwing’s neck strained, and the blue light of Bella’s shield orb started to wink out.
Her shield failed a second later, and Bella dove away, simultaneously, as the creature’s jaws snapped shut.
I called upon the Fire magika within me and demanded that it launch three blasts of fire. Power coursed through my body and gathered at my palm, then I recoiled as one after another, three fireballs lanced out from my hand and raced towards the nightwing.
The first one hit the creature broadside, but dissipated, having little effect. The next slammed into it a second later and hit it with enough force to cause the nightwing to lift its right leg as it was pushed off balance. The third fireball crashed into its body and sent it tumbling to the ground.
“Yeah!” I shouted as I pumped my fist.
When the dust settled, the fire had left no marks, and the nightwing was already beginning to stir.
Chet, chet, chet.
I glanced at my MP.
65/110 MP
Nothing I did hurt this thing.
While I stood there dumbfounded, my friends took advantage of the situation. They were at a much higher level than I and might prove more adept at scoring some damage.
Claire grabbed hold of her sword, which was still in the nightwing’s side, and wrenched it free. Black blood spilled forth from the wound. The bird’s giant wing flapped and slammed into her, sending her soaring through the air.
“Claire!” I shouted.
Bella had her own sword drawn and swung it down, connecting with the creature’s neck. Her weapon bounced off as if the creature were wearing armor. She lifted her weapon and connected again and again like she was chopping wood.
The nightwing’s neck arced towards her, and it once again snapped its maw at her. She changed the angle of her swing and managed to block the creature’s attack, her sword lodging between the bird’s teeth.
As it swung its head once more, it wrenched her weapon from her hand and tossed it aside.
Bella raced away, diving for it at the same time that Izaiah charged in. All the while, the nightwing flipped onto its side and began to regain its footing.
His sword bit into the creature’s wing, and the bird howled in pain. Placing both hands onto the hilt of his weapon, Izaiah ran forward,
driving the sword deeper.
The nightwing spun, but Izaiah never let go of his weapon as his feet lifted off the ground. The force of the movement caused the creature’s wing to snap in half, and Izaiah went flying.
Once again, I dropped to the ground and covered my ears at the nightwing shrieked in pain.
That howl of pain was intensified as a whirlwind of fire engulfed the creature. I turned my head to see Claire marching toward the nightwing with both hands outstretched.
I hadn’t asked her what magika stones she’d found in the jars we’d recovered, but there must have been something stronger than a Class 1 stone. It was either that or this was what magic looked like in the hands of an adept.
After another ten seconds of continued use, Claire fainted.
The fire disappeared and revealed that the nightwing had collapsed and lay very still—a giant smoking mess.
The smell of burning flesh permeated the air.
I had claimed an early victory too many times in this battle to allow myself any hope. My patience regrettably proved my reservations as the nightwing began to stir yet again.
“Oh, come on!” I yelled. “Just die already!”
It started to rise when its body went rigid and fell to the ground.
Leon materialized straddled atop its neck, his sword deep in the nightwing’s skull.
A second later, the creature faded like the razorclaw had done, and Leon dropped to the ground.
Twenty-Seven
My affinity mark pulsed as I leveled up, and my neural display updated my stats.
LEVEL 12
120/120 MP
7,900/12,000 EXP
3 AP AVAILABLE
All that for one level?
Across the plain, I saw Izaiah’s and Bella’s marks flash as well. Leon’s went off three times.
That kill bonus really made all the difference. No wonder Rayf was fuming mad when I killed the razorclaw.
I rushed over to Claire and helped her to her feet.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“I’m fine. Just a little weak. I manaburned there at the end,” Claire said.
I focused on her, and my neural link scanned her, bringing up her stats for me to see. She hadn’t leveled up, but I took particular note of her MP.
-10/412 MP
12,320/42,000 EXP
“You used over 400 MP?” I asked, incredulous.
“A Class 3 magika stone requires 30 MP per use,” she explained. “To sustain it as long as I did, I had to use a lot. It was a worthwhile sacrifice, even if I lost a magic point in the process.”
“Can you stand okay on your own?”
“I—I believe so,” she said.
I let go of her, and she immediately fell forward but caught herself and straightened, momentarily grasping the side of my arm for support.
Bella and Izaiah ran over to join us.
“That was amazing!” Bella cheered. “You need to teach me how to do that.”
“You’d have to break your oath first,” I commented with a smirk.
“Maybe I will,” Bella answered. “I don’t see what good it does us out here, and if what Claire says is true—about the Omnis—then it sounds like everyone will be breaking their oaths soon enough.”
“Well, you won’t have to make that decision anytime soon,” Izaiah said, frowning. “It’s not like we’ve got a merchant that sells stones nearby.”
I left them and walked over to where Leon sat, still kneeling on the ground. A blue magika stone was in his hand.
“Fantastic job, Leon,” I said, dropping to my knees beside him.
“Yeah,” he said, his tone flat.
“What’s wrong?”
“I—I don’t know. I just felt so helpless,” he said.
“What do you mean? You killed it,” I told him.
“Yeah, after Claire nearly fried the thing, and Izaiah chopped off its wing,” Leon replied.
“It’s all right, you did the smart thing. You were what, a level eight? Now, you’re an eleven like me,” I said. Then I remembered I’d leveled up. “Well, almost like me. I’m a twelve now.”
“I don’t deserve this,” he said, offering me the magika stone.
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Claire said as the others joined us. “You killed the nightwing; the loot it dropped is yours. What did you get?”
“Class 3 Steelskin stone,” Leon answered.
“Whoa, that’s awesome,” Izaiah said.
“What does it do?” I asked.
“Steelskin is a Guardian’s best friend,” Bella explained. “Do you remember when I was whacking at the nightwing’s neck and nothing was happening?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding.
Bella answered, “It was using Steelskin. Most physical attacks are immune to level differences. If a level five man punched a level one hundred, it would hurt just the same. Now, this creature was like the size of a house, so your arrows probably didn’t do anything to it anyway, but my sword should have sliced into its neck. I’d have killed it a lot sooner if it hadn’t used Steelskin.”
“That’s a pretty handy tool then,” I said.
“I guess,” Leon said. “Not like I can use it all that much, three times and I’m out of MP.”
“As you level up, you’ll get more MP, and you’ll be all right. You’ll be glad you have it then,” Claire told him.
“We should probably get going before any more of those things show up,” Izaiah said.
“There are more of those?” I asked.
Bella snorted. “You think there’s only one nightwing in the world? You kill it and the whole species is gone? Nightwings are the major predator in Valeria. Granted, they’re pretty territorial, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any more around here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if another has moved in by the next time we pass through.”
“Izaiah’s right, though,” Claire cut in. “Even if the odds are slim, we shouldn’t take any chances. I didn’t level up, so my MP didn’t reset like all of yours. If we encounter another one, I won’t be of any help. As it stands, I’m going to be pretty fried for at least two or three hours. Without a draught of magic, it will take nearly seven hours to completely recover my MP.”
“Ouch,” was all I could say.
“It is what it is,” she replied. “Let’s go.”
Leon stood, then popped the Steelskin stone into an empty socket on his chestplate, right next to his Stealth stone.
Retrieving my arrows from where they’d fallen when the nightwing faded, I slipped them into my quiver while Bella recovered her discarded sword.
When everyone was ready, we headed off toward the mountains once more. Light still occasionally flashed in the distance, the war still ongoing, both sides completely oblivious to the battle that just took place no more than five miles to the south of them.
We didn’t encounter any further trouble the rest of the way there, and two hours later, we found ourselves at the foothills of the border between Allyria and Balgyra.
Before we started our climb, Bella stepped out in front of us and cleared her throat. “Now, before we go in here, we need to be prepared for the possibility that we’ll be arrested and executed on sight,” she said.
“What?” I blurted out.
“Lucian did just declare us traitors,” she answered, as if that should have been obvious.
“He declared us traitors,” I snapped back.
“That’s what I said,” she responded.
“No, I mean like, all of us except you. Or do you need to be reminded of that fact?”
“I am not your enemy, Aren!” she yelled.
“Could have fooled me,” I muttered under my breath.
“What was that?”
“Can we just go now?” I asked.
“Hey, chill,” Claire said. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but in my world, you two are inseparable and hopelessly in love. This is not how I expected either of you to act.”
>
“You’ve already said things are different this time around,” I said, crossing my arms. “I doubt she electrocuted me and locked me in a library in our past life.”
“Doesn’t sound like a bad place to be stuck,” Leon whispered.
“Shut up!” I shouted.
“I said calm down!” Claire yelled. “Whatever differences you all have with one another, you need to set them aside before we start the climb. If we don’t have each other’s backs—if we can’t trust each other—then we’re going to fail.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Claire was right. If I couldn’t trust Bella, I’d be glancing over my shoulder the whole time, and if I looked at the wrong time, I could end up dead.
I didn’t really want to do this in front of them all, but it seemed like as good of an opportunity as any. “All right, then. Bella, the jig is up. I know. Why don’t you just tell everyone now?”
Bella recoiled and furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
She scoffed. “I seriously have no idea what you want me to say.”
“Fine, if you’re going to be that way,” I said, turning to look at the others. “Bella is a Balgyran spy.”
“What?” Claire and Izaiah said together.
Leon coughed and about choked on his own saliva.
Bella looked confused, then her face turned into a smile. She chortled and then erupted into full on laughter. “You’re joking, right?”
I stood there in silence.
“Right?” she asked again.
I didn’t answer her.
Her expression changed from one of humor into horror. “You’re being serious? You think I’m a spy. Is that what this is all about?”
“Guys, stop,” Izaiah said.
“No, let it ride,” Claire said. “I meant what I said about trusting each other. Let them clear the air.”
“It makes sense,” I said to Bella.
“Oh, does it? Really? I didn’t turn you in when I found you out of your room, I tried to save your worthless hide, I helped you escape the palace, and I made it possible for you to escape the wildfire. How could me being a spy possibly make sense?”
Sworn Guardian: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (Forbidden Magic Book 1) Page 20
