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Chapter 77 - When Life Burns
🕑 Added 2023-10-10 19:12:50 +0000 UTCChapter 77
When Life Burns
It came like a storm.
Branches of the tree sprung out in droves, belting out like tentacles. Dozens of them came flying towards Ethan, while dozens went for the other kids. Ronald quickly covered up for Elijah while Mingzhu managed to make herself just invisible enough that the branches skirted sideways and flanked Ethan. The latter danced–his feet moved back and forth as he swung the sword in a repeatedly circular fashion. It wasn't a particularly good style for fighting people as it left far too many openings, but for cutting down rather thin branches, it was perfect.
He was like a whirlwind, snapping every attack that came forth before it could touch him, inching closer and closer toward the tree. Ethan had a lot of experience fighting using short swords, bows, and daggers–but mostly short swords. They were his primary weapon of choice for over twenty years, and though he never quite touched the best of the best, he was still one of those who managed to survive for that long.
Every non-named monster had a pattern, as though it were a game. And the Guardian’s pattern was woefully simple–in bursts of 6 seconds, it would send out precisely 73 branches to attack. By default, there was an even split of branches for every party member, but Ethan easily incurred more toward himself by simply frontlining aggressively.
The number of branches never seemed to change, even as they cut them down by the dozens. The cut parts turned to ash and fluttered away, making way for the new ones.
Ethan finally managed to land within a few feet of the tree; the latter wailed as its branches unfurled wildly and violently before springing forth in a perfect convergence toward him. All 73, dashing directly at him from all directions. While Ronald thrust forward with the quick jab, Ethan used both Crimson Blade and Sanguine Snap; the former spun like a mill and broke apart the branches’ formation while the latter wrapped around them tightly and yanked them to the side while Ethan himself rushed further forward and began slashing away at the main body of the tree.
Though there wasn’t an exact pattern for how max Health scaled based on Levels, there were still some rough outlines, especially for non-named monsters. For a Level 45 non-named monster, the general rule was that they had about three times as much Health as an average tanker of the same Level. While Ethan’s max Health curve was well ahead of everyone else, on average, tanks at Level 45 had anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 Health. Which meant that the monster’s health was likely around 6,000~ at most.
It was a fairly high number, especially considering that, for the most part, only Ethan and Ronald attacked, and while Ronald’s DPS was fairly decent, Ethan’s was still on the low end of things. However, the saving grace was the fact that the monster didn’t actually have any defensive stats–as long as they managed to hit its trunk, they dealt the full brunt of damage to it.
From the far edge, Mingzhu observed something she could not comprehend while desperately attempting to hide Elijah with her shadows to no avail. The way those two fought was unlike anything she’d seen so far. She’d watched some of her seniors fight the roaming monsters that appeared recently, but even people with the Classes that were clearly ‘melee’ still used guns and rifles for the most part, preferring safety over all else. Ethan and Ronald, however, seemed hellbent on being as close to that monstrosity as possible–Ethan especially.
There was something wild in his approach–he nicked the straying branches that tried to wind around his feet like tentacles and disrupt his footing, summoning strange apparitions of blood in the shape of weapons and tentacles to contend with the rain that fell upon him. As the monster’s HP declined, the speed at which the branches moved seemed to increase. Soon, the branches were snapping like whips, producing thunderous sounds as their rate of recovery fell from 6 seconds to just 3. It seemed all but impossible to even run away, let alone fight. But they did.
Ethan stuck to the tree’s right and forced it to slowly turn around; Ronald, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction, attacking when the two were furthest apart. It was a coordinated waltz in the rapids of savagery, instilled with calmness and confidence that stirred even her.
The tree wailed once more as its Health dropped below 10%. Red liquid, almost akin to blood, began to ooze from the cracks of its bark as its 73 branches multiplied… and multiplied… and multiplied…
Over a thousand hands were shadowing the invisible sky, each trembling and tearing with excitement as they began to shudder and shake. Ronald drew back in front of her and Elijah, shielding them, while Ethan remained standing. He was tiny, a mote in the raging inferno. A tiny cloud in the storm. Yet, he beheld it.
The thousand branches dove down like bolts of thunder, all speeding toward him. Ethan craned his neck for a moment before pulling back just enough to gain momentum–blood burst out of his body like a leaking balloon, but instead of splattering on the ground, it shot above him in droves, spawning floating blades of blood. Not quite as thick and beautiful as the blade leading them, but mesmerising nonetheless.
The two sides clashed in a baptising sight–hundreds of branches splintered, their parts flying outward like bullets, while the bloody blades were decimated. At the end of it all, eight branches managed to pierce through Ethan–it was a ghastly sight and Mingzhu was just about to rush over when she felt an arm on her shoulder holding her back. Looking to the side, she saw that it was Elijah who merely smiled.
“He’s fine,” the boy said. How was he fine? He was full of holes and profusely bleeding. Levelling up did not restore Health, it did not heal wounds, it did nothing. So, how was he fine?
The tree fell with the last wail, becoming ash–as did the branches that managed to pierce him. As they vanished, Mingzhu expected blood to pour out even more violently… but none came. And he remained standing, the sword in his hand vanishing. A string of notifications assailed her sight though she ignored them all, focused on the tiny figure that now seemed a looming mountain.
“What in the God’s fuck…?” she mumbled.
“I know, right?” Ronald sighed. “He really is a showoff.”
Meanwhile, Ethan cursed under his breath as he used Hemomancy to clean himself. Though he was never in danger of dying per se, being stabbed eight times, especially so deeply, hurt quite a lot. He wasn’t expecting the ‘last bout’, at least not on that scale, though was rather lucky that it was just the number of branches that increased and not their thickness or durability.
Stretching lazily, he looked over to the side where a string of notification windows floated, informing him of the success as well as the rewards. However, rather than immediately focusing on them, he spun back and walked over to the kids–Ronald was busy sifting through the notification windows, Elijah seemed punctuated with guilt because he didn’t do anything, and Mingzhu… well, Mingzhu was Mingzhu.
“Motherfucker, how are you so strong?!!” she exploded immediately as he joined them. “Shit, you really are a fuckin’ smurf! Did you know what the boss would do? How’d you know? Can you teach me? Shit, you gotta teach me how to fight! You went woosh, swoosh, boom!! Fuuuck, I got a bit wet watching you, I gotta admit. Goddamn, you better do kidnap me and teach me how to fight! Shit, just thinking about it is making me hype!”
"..." She did have quite a few loose screws, though that wasn't exactly a well-kept secret. Over all other things in life, what Mingzhu loved the most was looking cool and being a badass. And she knew no shame in pursuit of those goals. "Quit yapping," he moved her head away, as it had gotten a few inches from his, and pushed through. "Let's go back to Delilah. We'll return as soon as I distribute the rewards."
“Hey, don’t ignore me–”
“Shush, another time,” he interrupted and she listened, turning mum. At least, that was the good part of her. “So, how was it?” He asked Ronald. “Any jitters?”
“Crapton,” he sighed. “But you already knew that.”
“Yeah, you were consistently either rushing it or late to it,” Ethan said. “Despite the fact that not a single branch ever went your way after the initial burst.”
“... yep, this is what being a coward looks like.”
“You’re not a coward,” Ethan said. “You’re traumatised. Big, big difference.”
“Traumatised?” Mingzhu chopped in. “Hey, I’m traumatised too.”
“... weird thing to bond over,” Ethan looked at her oddly. “What are you traumatised by?”
“Shit, what, are you saying that just because I’m braver than you I can’t have trauma?”
“No, I’m saying I don’t think your underdeveloped brain has the capacity to develop trauma.”
“... fuck, that was good.”
“Thank you.”
“I was the third child in China during the one-child-policy reign,” she suddenly said. “A girl, no less. Parents were already in hot waters because of Chen, the younger brother, so when mom got pregnant with me… they had no clue what to do. My childhood memories are made up of basements, shoddy attics, and having six different names growing up. ‘Tell no one, Mingzu’, mom used to say, ‘if you do, they will take you!’. Shit, imagine being six and being told if you slip up once, something horrible will happen to you.”
“... lots of horror stories from that period of time.” Ethan said.
“I’m the happy ending, after all.”
“...”
“Fuck, forget that,” she quickly shook it off. “What about the rewards?”
“Why? You want them?”
“The fuck I do. I’m just curious what kind of rewards are given. Shit like items, right?”
“Remember that emergency quest that popped up a while back?” Ethan asked.
“Hm? Ah, yeah, about some dungeon in the U.S. poppin’ like a pimple and how it can be prevented?”
“Yeah. One of the rewards is one of the items listed in that quest.”
“Eh? Shit, really? Wait–fuck, that’s why you were here! You knew! Man, you really are a smurf, huh?” she sighed. “Well, it doesn’t matter. As long as you teach me, I won’t tell anyone you’re a smurf.”
“... you’re simply built different, huh?” even Ronald was looking at her oddly.
“Shit, you’d be too if you had to put up with shit that I did. Imagine being a pretty girl in the military, surrounded by horny dudes who all think they’re a gift from God. If you’re not built different, you won’t be getting built at all. Shit, just thinking about those dudes is giving me the creeps…” it was remarkable, at least to Ethan. She hadn’t changed, at least outwardly, in the slightest. For over twenty years, she’d remained the same–through the hell of it all and becoming one of the strongest people on the planet… she remained just as she was when she was nothing but an underappreciated private.
It wasn't as though there was nothing to break her. Her life was far from easy and smooth sailing. But, unlike Ethan, she was never wholly undone. She’ll make a fine mascot, huh? He mused as he listened to her retell Ronald and Elijah her first few weeks in the military, brushing past experiences that sounded beyond harrowing with a boastful smile on her face and confidence to match it. Ah, and a tongue to curse it, of course.
