by Konrad Ryan
Fat Jack was surrounded. The wolves eagerly jumped over each other to get to the target of their fury. Besides the force field covering his head, there wasn’t even any exposed ‘Jack’ left. Wolves shredded skin, revealing endless yellow fat, but Jack’s health bar barely trickled below 95%.
Despite the rage of battle, Fat Jack’s laugh pierced the snarling mass of wolves. The wet gurgles of the dying and the crunch of bone from Tad’s huge slashes were not enough to drown out the big man’s laughs.
“Do better than that son or I’ll soon be little more than bones. Can’t use wave of regeneration either, once a day that one.” Fat Jack smiled pleasantly, as if it were a particularly nice day at the beach.
Was the man insane? How could he be so unconcerned as wolves ripped the flesh from his bones? If nothing else, the pain should have kept the smile from his face, and yet there he was as pleased and as round as a pumpkin.
Tad struggled to keep up with the swarm of wolves, redoubling his efforts. He abandoned his greatsword in favor of the two Wraithford axes, summoning them from his dungeon pouch. He spun, crushed, and sliced wherever attacks landed. Like a windmill, Tad’s arms blurred. Step by step he carefully circled Fat Jack, sheering the wolves off his skin, but not getting too close to wound the man. A bloody mist filled the air, each swing turned more wolves into piles of meat and fur. He spun, dispatching them as fast as he could, but they came faster. There were hundreds already surrounding Jack as Tad fought to stay close to him, and even more were still pouring down the mountainside.
Pure violence wasn’t working. He needed more. His mana had been depleted from casting both his ‘clone’ and ‘enhance self’, but some had refreshed while they waited for Ethan to finish his fight. His mana sat at 74. Tad swung at wolf after wolf. What more could he do? Maybe he could make a passageway out of firewalls with Fat Jack at the back, so the wolves would have to go past Tad to get to him.
Tad slashed six more wolves with a single slice, but he discarded the idea. One wolf, chopped in half at the spine, continued to claw at the ground with its forepaws, inching its way toward Fat Jack until the moment life bled out of it. Firewall wouldn’t even slow them down. Some would die in their frenzy, but more would just take their place a moment later.
Quake. It had to be quake. The information of the spell appeared at the thought.
*Quake: Consume 80 mana. For 10 seconds, you can control spikes of rock and earth at will.*
It only lasted for ten seconds, but at this speed, ten seconds felt like a lifetime.
Tad cursed. A quick glance showed another mana had replenished, but he was still five off. It wouldn’t be long then. With his stats doubled, even his mana regenerated twice as fast. With 600 regenerated to full each hour, that should be around one mana every six seconds or so. Thirty seconds, max. Tad prepared himself to fight for three lifetimes. Tad cut his way through more wolves to close the distance that had grown between him and Fat Jack in the sea of snarls and teeth. With swift cuts Tad knocked wolf after wolf off the large man’s body, but more filled their spot.
Jack’s health bar showed 75% and was dropping quickly.
Would he make it thirty more seconds?
“C’mon son, you’re making me nervous.”
Tad gave up his spinning strategy and slashed huge arcs in front of him, trying to kill all the wolves before they got to Jack, but plenty of them ducked his attacks, or leapt over, nimble and speedy as they were. Warrior monsters were something else. Tad felt another drop fill inside his mana pool.
76 mana. Wouldn’t be long now.
If only he had more hands. At the thought he tried to twist his cloak into a hand above his shoulder, the cloak lifted for a moment, then dropped, lifeless. He still couldn’t use it in battle, not like that. Atop the hill where Liz and Ethan had disappeared, a rolling wall of flames exploded across the sky like dragon fire. The entire heavens transformed into a sea of swirling flames before suddenly extinguishing. Sweat dripped off the tip of Tad’s nose from the heat, but he didn’t even pause at the display, slashing his axes viciously through a pair of wolves.
What was that?
Tad couldn’t get distracted, he had enough on his plate here. “Hold on Jack, a bit more.”
Four giant wolves soared through the air overhead as they ripped into Fat Jack as chunks of his health disappeared.
“The big ones! Get the big ones!” Jack’s laughter was now gone, his voice frantic and worried.
Tad burst toward the four gigantic wolves, switching back to his sword in an explosion of black mist. Tad slashed, the four larger wolves sizzled in the acidic attacks, their health bars dropping in an instant. They were surprisingly easy to take down, completely obsessed with the large man they hunted. Tad fought frantically. He had to buy more time. He fought and fought; it felt like an eternity had passed. If only he could cast brilliant burst, or speed of the conqueror, there were just too many. His arms were weary at maintaining his top speed for so long.
What more could Tad do? Fat Jack’s health was under 35%. He couldn’t use his cover skill, not until Jack was unconscious, and somehow Tad didn’t think he would last a second taking those ferocious attacks, especially receiving double damage.
“Cover your ears!”
Tad slammed his fist to his ears.
“Rebuff!”
The shock wave hit and the wolves flew from Fat Jack with it. Tad sliced them in half in the air, then sped to Fat Jack’s bloody side. If all he was doing was buying time for his spell, then he should give up on his full body defense approach. Instead, he could keep one side clear, as much free from wolves as possible.
Tad summoned Raekast’s Fang in his left hand, Metzlegoph’s greatsword in his right. Tad cleaved the charging wolves, his back pressed up against Jack’s side, and used the speed and precision of his fang to pick off the wolves that evaded his attack. He concentrated with all his force, brought all his might to arms, and a glance behind showed that the bleeding had staunched, if only somewhat.
Fat Jack’s health had dropped to under twenty percent, but like dew from heaven, Tad felt the last drop of mana he had been waiting for, the last trickle of fuel for his spell. Tad glanced at his mana.
*Mana: 80/600.*
“Quake!”
The earth began to shake.
Chapter 35
Tad gasped as the earth below his feet became part of his body. It felt like nerves had shot out from his feet and spread throughout the dirt below. Tad could feel the caves and tunnels beneath them, hundreds of feet below. There was no life in the earth beneath. Nothing. No insects, no critters, nothing. But the earth was his.
“Help me!” Fat Jack said. His voice a weak plea, but the mass of fur and teeth continued to devour him.
Tad raised his hand. With it, spikes of earth jutted from all angles, surrounding Fat Jack in a throne of spikes and stone. Yelps of pain cried out as dozens of large, emaciated wolves were impaled by the swift thrusts of rock.
Dozens more wolves sped past Tad toward Fat Jack, but Tad stretched his perception, since it was more useful than his eyes, especially with this spell. A flick of Tad’s wrist sent a javelin of earth through the approaching wolves’ hearts. Other wolves crawled through the gaps of the spikes, digging frantically to tear more flesh from the large, bloody man. Tad raised his other hand. A second volley of earth tore from the ground, forming a dome, a barrier around Fat Jack several feet thick.
He’d suffocate.
At the thought, Tad pushed slightly, and thousands of tiny holes formed, the dirt pushed outward, falling from the surface of the sphere. Dirt cascaded down the dome in great rivulets like insects fleeing their pursuers, like rain down the side of a massive stone. Tad then clenched his fists, hardening the earth beyond what was naturally possible.
The wolves bit and clawed at the massive earth enclosure, causing cracks with their great strength. It wouldn’t last long.
Tad turned toward the stampede of wolves, each as big a
s a horse, galloped down the enormous hill toward them. Tad waved his hands in front of him like a conductor impassioned by a frenetic melody, each wave of his hand summoned sharp spikes of earth. Dozens of spikes erupted from the earth and crunched the bones of wolves. Yelps and cries rang out once more as many wolves met their demise. But it wasn’t enough. There were too many, and Tad only had so much time.
He needed a tear, a rent of the earth.
Tad focused, becoming one with the earth. He could feel its solitary depths as a wave of emotion flowed through him. Like before, when he had crushed the fingerteeth of the Wraithford clan, he and the earth became one. This earth below him, however, wept. It wept that there was no life within its mass. It was so alone. It was barren, nothing lived within to share their warmth, life, and motion.
Choking back tears and cries of his own, Tad sent his consciousness even deeper into the earth. He could feel his own essence, the shadowy film of his soul leak out and mingle with the earth below. He could feel each step of the massive wolf pack above as they trampled on his surface with no respect to the desires of the ground below, only fueled by their own lust for flesh. But what of his desires? Why should they share a pack, have brothers, sisters, friends or family, when he was so alone?
Tad cried out, and he tore the earth. His ribs broke, his flesh tore, a gaping wound, a massive hole appeared in his chest, fresh blood spilled from the wound. Panic filled his mind from the pain rippling through him in great waves. Tad pulled back, separating his consciousness from the earth below as the fear of death filled him.
For just a moment, Tad saw the scene before him. A massive chasm opened beneath the wolf pack like the jaws of some huge unseen predator. The earth swallowed its prey whole into the black pit below. Its victims tumbled to the unknown depths into the great crack had had formed, from the great rent that had split the hill into two.
Tad felt his chest. His hands came back dry, his ribs unbroken. The pain hadn’t been his. The warmth hadn’t been his blood, but the blood of the wolves, drunk up greedily by the weeping earth beneath. Huge gulps of air rushed into his lungs, his head dizzy from the pain that had filled his entire being. He had to fix it. He couldn’t leave the earth below with such a wound.
Once again Tad joined with the depths below, but somehow, not as deep. Waves of pain greeted him once more, but this pain was nothing compared to the torture that Zero had put him through, where every moment he wondered when his sanity would break and succumb to the madness that would relieve him from the pain. Compared to that, this was a shallow slice, or a broken bone perhaps. Tad was in control.
With a great tremor, the earth below slammed closed as relief filled Tad. Relief from the pain, relief at not being alone, relief as the blood of the wolves warmed the cold, dead earth beneath.
*You have leveled up!*
*You have leveled up!*
*You have leveled up!*
Suddenly Tad was sucked back into his own body. He fell to his knees, retching as a wave of both nausea and healing passed through him. The transition back to his body had been instant and jarring. His mind reeled to escape against the confines of his tiny mind, no longer sharing its home with the endless expanse of earth below. It was a relief. The quake spell must have ended. The thought pushed its way into his head.
Dizzy, Tad turned toward Fat Jack’s sphere. A hole was punched into the side from which snarls and growls emitted from within.
Fat Jack!
Tad charged inside. Several dozen wolves had broken through the sphere of earth protecting Fat Jack and were once again savaging his helpless form. Tad brought death to each of them in an instant, his great two-handed sword sliced and crushed his distracted victims, Raekast’s Fang finished those Tad missed. It was easier to fight creatures with Fat Jack around, it could hardly be called a fight, more like a slaughter. No wonder he was the best shield in the business.
Brief silence filled the air as the last wolf’s snarls died. Fat Jack’s ragged breaths broke the silence.
“Thanks… Tad.”
Tad looked over at the large man. His health bar had dropped below five percent, and blood streamed down every inch of his exposed skin. His pale and clean face was a stark contrast to the gory mess of his body. It was hard to look at, in all honesty.
“They… all… dead?” Fat Jack said. “How?” Great pauses hung between each word as he fought to catch his breath, and the man seemed weary beyond human capacity.
“See for yourself.” Tad clenched his fist around the hilt of his dagger and smashed it into the side of the large earthen sphere. The entire side of the sphere exploded away in a great chunk. Fat Jack’s eyes widened as he surveyed the great scar in the earth. It rose where the two sides had crashed back together, forming a ridge up the entire hill, almost like a seam.
“I’m… not sure what I’m looking at.”
“I used a spell, quake. The earth… uhh, swallowed them whole.”
“Holy creator, son. You are strong as an ox, but you got spells too? Now I gotta have you for my handler.” A weak smile appeared across Jack’s face, before a coughing fit took him, blood poured from his mouth.
“Ethan told me not to heal you but…”
“Don’t. Fat Jack’ll be fine, and you’ll waste any magic you have left.” Fat Jack looked toward the hilltop, eyes distant. “You should hurry and help them against the boss. Would be a shame if your lass died here.”
“You want me to leave you? I can’t do-”
Fat Jack slapped Tad across the face with a bloody and gnarled hand, more to punctuate his words than to hurt Tad. “Go. If you take me with you, the boss will finish me off. From this distance he could resist my charms, but up close I don’t think anything can resist my sexy body.” Jack flashed his teeth in a blood-covered grin. “Liz and Ethan might be struggling. I couldn’t feel his power, but I can’t imagine that he is weak with that chain or with underlings this strong. They need you. Even that might not be enough.”
It made sense, but it still felt wrong to leave him here. Alone. If Tad had missed a wolf or two, Jack would be helpless and they would eat him alive.
“Go!”
Tad hesitated for one second, but had to try something before he left. He wasn’t sure if it would work due to the sheer size of Fat Jack, but it was worth a try. “Jack, take this.” Tad summoned his resizable gaseous breastplate.
Jack laughed. “No way that tiny thing will fit me.”
Tad ignored him and tried to push the armor over Jack’s head. It warped, impossibly large, and covered his enormous torso, all the way to the ground, leaving no flesh exposed. The burnished steel looked good on the man, and his tiny arms wiggled excitedly.
Immediately, the loudest fart Tad had ever heard rumbled the earth beneath. Like a great crash of thunder, or a quake deep beneath, until it wound out into a squeaky whine. For a moment, it sounded like Jack had cast quake all on his own.
Fat Jack’s eyes popped wide open in surprise. “Excuse me!” Color touched his cheeks. “What did you do to me?” Again, the thunder hit, Jack’s armor trembled at the vibrations.
Tad laughed. “Call it revenge, Jack.” But already what little was left of Jack’s exposed flesh steamed, and his health above his head slowly rose, already ticking up to 6%. Jack would be fine.
Tad sprinted toward the great hill, leaving the sputtering and, for the first time since Tad had met him, speechless Fat Jack behind. But with how fast he was healing, even if a couple stray wolves found him, he would out heal their damage. Tad worried more about what was happening on the hill. What had that fire been? Tad’s earth scar marred the hill’s previously smooth surface, the grain that had grown up the hill, now trampled where thousands of wolves had poured down the side. The top of the hill was scorched and burnt, flames extinguished, but smoke still rose from half-charred stalks. Maybe Liz and her dad had already killed the boss…
A blast of power from the golden chains shot through the silvery night from just beyond t
he crest of the hill, causing the grains to bow in reverence. Nope. The boss was still very much alive.
Hopefully, the same could be said about his friends.
Tad reached the top of the hill, but the image he saw stopped his feet. Two wooden posts jutted from the hilltop, both of his friends were unconscious, health bars brought to zero. Nails had been driven through their palms, affixing them to the poles. Liz’s long blonde hair covered her face, matted with blood. Tad looked closer. It wasn’t a nail. It was a claw. The wolfvoid must have stabbed his claws through their palms and broke it off. Tad examined the small humanoid, whose eyes never left Tad’s. Sure enough, two of the claws on his hands were jagged and broken.
Up close, Tad examined Fenrir. He was even smaller than Tad was, wolf-like ears perched on his head. His face was handsome, but fierce, his yellow eyes gleamed in the silver light, teeth bared in a snarl were pointier than Tad’s own, but not as pointy as Leo’s had been. A bushy tail sprouted from the back of his loose trousers, his bare chest covered with a sheen of silver fur, but powerful abdominal muscles lay just beneath. He was an intimidating figure, but most of all was the sheer power of the chains that contained him.
“Turn back infected one, it is not too late for you. But do it quick, the madness is returning.” The voice was barely a growl, the consonants of each word were harsh and sharp, the language he spoke was being translated.
The health bar above the voidwolf’s head was at 89%. The sight shot electricity throughout Tad’s body. Liz and Ethan were both able to beat their battles alone, including potential minibosses. They should have been strong enough to hold on until Tad made it to help. He had been fighting for a couple minutes max, but somehow this wolven void was this much stronger than them.
There was no way Tad could beat it by himself, even if he was twice as strong as when he had defeated the werewolf twins.
“If I go, can I take my friends?”
The voidwolf’s yellow eyes gleamed dangerously at the question, and a hint of madness swam somewhere in those liquid pools.
