Aster Loka
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Chapter 73
🕑 Added 2022-02-09 18:03:21 +0000 UTCThe Rift Cat was perfectly happy to be fetched. It had returned to its original room, but the moment Levi came close it sprang at him with a vicious snarl of frustrated fury. It was all he could do to keep ahead of it, even with his full stamina reserves.
The cat did hesitate at the boss room door, pausing for just an instant before charging in after him. Levi tossed the shadevine at it the moment it was inside, not holding out much hope, but the moment it was in midair the shadevine twisted itself into a curve, then snagged the cat’s tail just as it passed the arc of its flight, twisting immediately around it and grabbing out with more tendrils to secure itself in place. The cat didn’t notice, entirely focused on its quarry.
Then the rest of the team struck. Gordon stood back with Flomper, in a fast and furious battle like this they wouldn’t be of much use and were more of a liability to be protected than anything else. Cen and Centoo flanked the cat from either side, while Skarm crouched low on Centoo’s head, ready to pounce. Frosty had taken up residence on the ceiling, spitting webbing down at the cat from above.
It teleported away the moment the centipedes came close, appearing behind Cen with its claws out. Before Levi could even shout a warning, Skarm had leapt at it head on, his own claws bared and horn lowered. The cat blinked away once more, crouching by the side of the room, but unlike its home room where it could hide and blend into the shadows, the boss room was lit sufficiently that the black lump in the corner was immediately visible even without the aid of the lens.
Instead of finding a safe spot to recover, it had simply cornered itself.
Levi noted the useless shadevine still wrapped firmly around its tail, but despite the steady contact its health hadn't dropped very far at all.
Level 2+
(Rift Cat)
Health 99%
Then the battle commenced in earnest, and the rift cat quickly proved that though its natural inclination was ambush and stealth, it was perfectly capable in a straight ahead fight as well. It could give even the Dire Turkey a run for its money, but this time Levi wasn't alone.
Centoo and Cen took the brunt of the attacks, being the largest and quick to interpose themselves and their armor-plated bodies between the cat and any of its other targets. Skarm jumped in and out of attack range in a asynchronous rhythm, slashing and retreating. The cat was fast, but not able to keep up with three attackers at once.
Before they could get too comfortable, its teleport cooldown came off and it decided to do something else: go for the gremlin.
It teleported just above Skarm, who barely had enough time to crouch and orient his horn at the descending cat before it slammed into him. Levi heard a crunch and the sharp snap of breaking bone echo around the room.
Even with all the centipedes rushing to Skarm’s defence, they were too slow. Frosty spat webbing at the cat’s face from close range, and Levi grabbed the offending feline in a Beast Bite, but it teleported out of his grip and left Skarm’s crushed form lying on the floor. He was still alive, but only barely, his neck at the wrong angle and health dropping by the second.
Levi ran to him, pulling out one of their last few health elixirs as he did. Applying it topically was much less effective than swallowing it, but in his current condition Skarm wouldn’t be swallowing anything.
He only took enough time to stabliize his minion's condition, then jumped back into the fight.
Gordon threw Plus to Flomper. "Get him onto the cat somehow," he ordered, and the cynomis disappeared into the floor again. The cat's health was dropping, but not nearly fast enough. Levi could swear he saw its health tick upwards once in the lull between attacks.
Taming this cat would be no easy feat. But the challenge of it only made Levi that much more determined. He cared for his gremlins on an emotional level, but until they were much higher level they'd continue to be sub-optimal fighters.
Flomper dove at the cat, shadevine extended in her paws, but it teleported away before she reached it, reappearing above Cen.
The cat landed directly on the centipede's vulnerable back and started tearing into him with deep raking slashes of its obsidian-black claws. Centoo, who'd been guarding the unconscious Skarm, sprang to his brother's defence, getting in several good swipes against the Rift Cat before it teleported away again.
Level 2+
(Rift Cat)
Health 72%
Flomper jumped at it just too slow, throwing Plus in its direction, but the shadevine missed completely and she had to go retrieve it to try again.
Skarm's health finally regenerated enough to wake him up, and he wobbled unsteadily a moment before his eyes cleared and he leaped back into the fray. His horn was still missing, it would take more than a few minutes to fully regenerate, but he still had his claws. He jumped at the cat before Levi could order him back, slicing another few percents from its health with his stacked bonuses.
The third time, Flomper managed to slap Plus onto the cat's leg. The shadevine immediately wrapped itself around the limb, slowly working its way up and out of the line of fire, and the cat's health began to drop more steadily.
Level 2+
(Rift Cat)
Health 65%
Finally, they were making some headway.
But that didn't make the challenge any less. Having once again used all its teleports, the cat was back to direct combat and dealing at least as much as it took. The way Cen and Centoo were holding its attention away from the weaker fighters was admirable, but at this rate their health was dropping just as fast as the Rift Cat's, and Skarm would go down if the cat even grazed him.
They'd have to fight it down again and again, until Dismay was able to decrease its innate resistance enough for Levi to succeed in taming it, and at the rate things were going he'd probably lose all his other minions in the process.
For a moment he wavered, tempted to just kill it and be done rather than risk the rest of his team, but... however hard he tried, he really wasn't one for playing it safe. He had his heart set on capturing this cat, and that was what he planned to do.
"Centoo, over here," Levi called. He fed the centipede a health elixir, then stood guard until he'd recovered from the aftereffects. Centoo immediately returned to the fight, and Levi called Cen over to do the same. If he had more potions, they could keep this up indefinitely, but he didn't have any more left after this.
Level 2+
(Rift Cat)
Health 28%
Flomper was doing her best to trip up the cat from below and throw off its attacks, but more often than not it was simply too fast for her to keep up.
Frosty had gotten a few good hits in with her webbing, then froze it with her frost breath to further slow the cat's movement. One of its front paws was stiff and restrained, but its overall speed and power were enough that it hardly seemed to matter. She kept trying to hit it again, but its movements were too fast and her mana was low.
Cen and Centoo were just below half health by the time the cat's health dropped into taming range.
"Gordon! Now!"
He cast Dismay, drawing the cat's attention to him immediately. Levi jumped in, slamming his sword down onto the cat's back before it could get to Gordon, then the centipedes were back surrounding it and reclaimed its attention.
It took less than a minute to bring it back down into taming range again, but Centoo was looking precariously close to single digit health by then. Levi cast Tame, praying it would work, but received only the same alert as always.
RESISTED
"Again!"
Gordon cast Dismay again, then swallowed a mana restorative as the fight continued. Skarm leapt in front of the cat's claws to save Centoo, dropping its health as he stabbed his own claws into its vulnerable paw pads, but the weight of its attack still dropped him to 0.
"Come on..." Levi cast Tame again, his heart thundering. This was too close.
RESISTED
Again. The cat's health jumped as Gordon cast Dismay a third time, but that still gave Levi only an 18% chance of success next time.
Frosty finally managed to tag another of the cat's legs, freezing her web onto its back leg this time and slowing it considerably. It teleported away, and Levi spun to find it had jumped to Centoo's back. He ran it through with his sword, but didn't activate Beast Bite for fear of killing it outright.
"Dismay!" Gordon shouted, and for a moment Levi hesitated. The cat's health hadn't changed, it was still at 4%. He cast Tame immediately.
RESISTED
Then he saw Centoo's health jump up, and Gordon's next cast brought it up even further.
Levi wasn't sure about the other implications of using Dismay as a way to heal their own minions, it felt risky, but as they weren't in a Control dungeon and nothing here had the ability to exploit a weakened mental resistance except the two Tamers, he silently applauded Gordon's ingenuity and returned to trying to tame his Rift Cat.
RESISTED
RESISTED
RESISTED
But, as it turned out, 18% was enough.
Minion limit full.
Rift Cat cannot be tamed.
Would you like to unbind another minion now?
Levi dropped Shadevine from his roster like the useless limp rope it was, and the cat's frantic clawing abruptly ceased.
Tame: Success!
Would you like to name ‘Rift Cat’ at this time?
----
Heya, Aster here! I thought it would be fun to open the option to you guys and see if you have a good idea for a name for our new plus kitty! So go ahead and leave any suggestions in the comments, and I'll decide on one tomorrow.
