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Chapter 109: Concealed Clash
🕑 Added 2023-03-08 13:00:05 +0000 UTCErani and I stood, invisible from our rings, watching as her Firebolt impacted and destroyed the first chain launcher that we wanted to destroy. That left two more in this area.
But, of course, those next two wouldn’t be as easy as the first. Because now, everyone nearby knew we were here. The Infernals were the main ones sticking around, Humans much more keen to flee from the massive Dragon that was only barely being held in place by the chains they’d set up, so they were the ones to run at us the moment the Firebolt exploded.
They didn’t know where we were exactly because of the invisibility, but they’d be able to figure it out if they tried. Invisibility didn’t protect you from leaving footprints, giving off a scent, or making noises for the keen observer to hear. So it was my job to keep them from being able to focus on finding us.
Because of the way invisibility worked, things like Firebolts would still be able to be seen, even if the caster wasn’t. That was why everyone could tell our general location – they just had to see the direction the Firebolt came from.
However, if a Spell didn’t have a visual effect in the first place, nobody would be able to tell where it came from. And I had two Spells that fit that criterion.
You have cursed Level 24 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 280.
You have cursed Level 22 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 248.
I hit the two nearest Infernals with Crippling Chill, also ready to activate Gravity Well the moment they got within range of that Spell. They paused the moment the curse hit them, glancing around wildly for their unseen attacker. At that moment, Erani and I tore off, with me following after her footsteps so we could stick together.
With my low Mana reserves, I was tempted to ask Erani to shoot at the crowd of enemies to hold them off if things got bad. But I also knew that she must’ve had pretty low Mana reserves, too. We’d both participated in that fight with the Infernals before the army arrived, and I knew she’d spent quite a lot back there. In fact, considering my abnormally high Mana/Minute, I probably had way more to spare here than she did.
“Yep, you do,” Index said. I didn’t even get startled this time at its butting in, a testament to how used I was getting to having it be there. “You’re lucky those chain launchers are fragile enough to break in one hit. Or maybe it’s that you’re lucky your girlfriend has such high-Rank Firebolts and all those Talents to make them more powerful.”
I cursed another Infernal that seemed to notice a patch of grass that got pushed aside by one of us.
You have cursed Level 27 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 220.
We were getting close to being in range to shoot another of our targets, but there were so many enemies in our way it was difficult to navigate even short distances without alerting them.
“Anyway, you might wanna hurry up with your plan here. I know you’re aware that the launchers shoot Enchanted chains, but you don’t know what they do. Sure, they’re artificially strong and limit movement and all that, but they also make the monster they’re attached to more vulnerable to damage over time. So the longer they’re attached to your good ole pal Astintash, the faster they’ll be able to kill it. You’re probably on a tighter time schedule than you realize.”
Shit! I needed to let Erani know about that compilation and get her to move more quickly. But we were too close to the enemies for me to talk without alerting everyone.
They were still trying to search around the area they’d seen Erani’s Firebolt came from, which we were fleeing from, but the Infernals weren’t stupid. Well, they weren’t exactly smart, but I had no doubt they’d realize we were moving around. And the moment they found a trail of footprints leading to us, it wouldn’t take much longer for them to find us.
And speaking of footprints, I tried my best to continue keeping track of where Erani was, but it was getting harder and harder as time passed. I still needed to find some way to urge her to hurry because of what Index had told me. Part of me was irritated it hadn’t told me before we got to the point where we needed to be silent, but the other part knew it was probably under some seriously heavy limits by the System.
I’d realized at this point that the System wasn’t just choicey about what it allowed Index to tell me, but also when. It seemed to determine specific points at which the information provided was within whatever ‘allowed’ level of helpfulness it internally kept track of, and only allow me to hear that information then. It could probably tell what I’d consider “helpful” from that damned log.
But still, free information was a lot better than nothing. I reached out, trying to grasp Erani’s arm as some sort of signal that we needed to hurry more than we thought, and after a few failed tries I managed to touch her. I felt her jump under my sudden touch, but after she seemed to realize it was me, she moved closer.
“What is it?” She whispered as we continued to move around the alert soldiers, so quiet I could barely hear her.
“We need to hurry,” I murmured. “Complications.”
I felt her shift under my touch as though she were glancing around herself. “Can’t move much faster without drawing attention.”
“I’ll handle it. We’ll split up, you just go. Move around back and hit the other two chains.”
There was a pause. “...Okay.”
Then she split away, and I saw her footsteps move off into the distance. I needed to stay behind and draw attention here, that way none of them would see her where she was going.
I stood and looked around. Over to my right, an Infernal gazed over in the direction Erani was moving just as she subtly pushed a plant’s branch over to allow her through to her destination. Seemed like I’d be doing my job right away, then.
The Infernal stepped in her direction, but just as it did, I held out a hand, and after a breath of anticipation, shot off a Ray of Frost.
You have struck Level 21 Infernal for 59 damage using Ray of Frost.
You have cursed Level 21 Infernal with Ray of Frost. For the next 5 seconds, its Dexterity score is lowered by 7.77.
14.2 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 215.
Instantly, the dozens of already on-guard soldiers turned all eyes on me. In the background, Astintash roared and continued to fight, but suddenly that noise seemed much less pressing as the Demons sprinted full-tilt at my now-exposed location.
I ran off in the opposite direction Erani had gone – my still-active invisibility helped keep my specific whereabouts hidden but the Infernals clearly knew I was here, and they could follow the indentations my feet left in the ground as I went.
I held back a hand and shot off several more Rays – some hitting and others not – both in an attempt to slow down my pursuers and to keep their attention solely focused on me here. Thankfully, the combination of Ethereal Armor’s discount and my Mana regeneration that was nearing 1 per second at this point helped me be a bit more liberal with my casting here.
Running through bushes and pits of mud, I was clearly leaving quite a bit of a disturbance that the Infernals could follow, but my goal here was speed, not discretion. I heard a roar of anger close to my left and realized one had flanked to my side and gotten quite close, so I immediately activated Gravity Well to slow it down, keeping the Spell active until Expedite carried me away from the burdened Demon. That Spell still had about 20 more seconds left on it before I’d have to re-cast.
When I’d looked over to avoid the Infernal to my left, though, I also happened to catch the main conflict happening in this battle through the corner of my eye – the chained Astintash fighting off the soldiers.
Obviously, most of the Melee-Types had cleared out of that area by now, leaving a decimated, blackened pit with only the Dragon in it and… the Dryad. Clearly-visible now, with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. She’d been hit, ending her invisibility and exposing her to our enemies.
Still, she seemed safe for now. She was sticking by Astintash, clearly still in communications with it as she absent-mindedly killed off anyone that the Dragon missed in its radius of destruction.
I held out a hand and shot off a few more Rays of Frost to keep the Infernals away. I’d led almost everyone fully away from Erani at this point, leaving her to easily take care of the remaining chain launchers. In fact…
I heard a distant explosion, and another glowing chain snapped off of Astintash, freeing its movement more.
Yep. Seemed like she was already on that.
A roar from my right this time – another Infernal had snuck up on me. This time I sent off an instant curse of Crippling Chill to lower its Dexterity, and turned to shoot it with a Ray of Frost to lower the Stat even more.
But as I turned around to aim my hand at its head and shoot the Ray, I saw something in the distance.
Off on top of a hill, between two trees, there was a figure. Two figures, one large and one small. They were just standing there, watching, so far away I could barely make out that they were even there, much less what, exactly, they were.
Trying not to get distracted, I let off the Ray of Frost at my immediate attacker, the Infernal.
You have struck Level 25 Infernal for 61 damage using Ray of Frost.
You have cursed Level 25 Infernal with Ray of Frost. For the next 5 seconds, its Dexterity score is lowered by 7.77.
14.2 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 106.
The Ray left my hand, a bright light flashed, and as expected, the now-weakened and damaged Infernal fell back and away from me, leaving me safe to continue fleeing and serving as a distraction.
But the moment that happened, I saw a hint of movement from the two figures. And in that second of time, I figured out who the two of those people were. It was the Archer and the axe-wielder – Asmo and the other royal guard. They’d been standing and watching. And in the next second, I figured out what the hint of movement from Asmo had been.
You have been shot. 56 damage.
Your Health is 177.
An arrow flew true through the air and straight into me. It was only because of my heightened reflexes from Expedite and the moment’s warning I’d gotten from the long range that I was able to slightly twist my body and allow the arrow to only slice along my stomach.
But still, the arrows shot from a high-Level Archer would deal significant damage no matter where they hit you. And, no matter how much damage anything did, it was still damning to me.
Invisibility has been lifted due to you taking damage. You are no longer under the effects of invisibility.
The Infernals charged at me with renewed ferocity now that I was fully visible to them and I scrambled to move around the mountain face to avoid being in direct line of sight of that Archer, Asmo. Damned woman had gotten a clear shot on me from that far away? All from a single shot of Ray of Frost?! I knew her senses would’ve been enhanced from her Stats and Talents, but that was ridiculous.
With this many enemies chasing after me, now that I’d lost my main advantage slowing their pursuit down, they quickly began gaining on me. And unlike when I just had to fight off one or two at a time that happened to get close, this time it was all several-dozen of them at once. No way a few Rays of Frost could push them off.
So I activated Expedite on myself, lowering my Mana to 71 and stacking with the first instance of the Spell to raise my Dexterity to a blistering 81. And then I cast it on myself again, further increasing my Dexterity to 112. My legs were moving faster than I thought they could, taking my body places more quickly than I could think.
I acted purely on lightning-fast reflex, instinctively climbing up a cliff face and putting a great deal of distance between me and the Infernals. With three stacks of Expedite on me, I easily outpaced their clumsy movements.
But still, it took every drop of effort and focus to avoid slipping up as I moved. I wasn’t used to this level of Dexterity, and I had to constantly readjust my movements mid-step to keep myself from slipping and falling. My entire mind was dedicated to making sure I could move forward one more pace, then to move the next, then the next, blocking out everything but that.
After a few seconds, that ended as my first stack of Expedite wore off, and my Dexterity fell to a more manageable level. But still, just those five or ten seconds put a massive amount of distance between us. I kept running, now fully out of sight of Asmo from the rock face I’d put between us, and I could relax just a bit.
And I opened my senses back up to the world just in time to hear the third and final snap.
Erani seemed to have destroyed the last chain launcher, and I looked back to see Astintash shaking that Enchanted shackle from its body. Now with much of its strength returned, it shoot violently, and…
Snap, snap, snap.
The rest of the chains broke off, too. It flapped its wings dramatically, as if trying to sear its imposing figure into the eyes of everyone to see its renewed glory.
And just as I thought it’d take to the skies, ready to sweep across the battlefield and burn every last soldier around to a crisp, it did something unexpected.
It lifted up a hand, claws extended – was it about to take a swipe at something?
But no, it lowered the claw gently to the ground – toward where the Dryad was standing, and touched her lightly on the forehead. It was strikingly similar to when the Faerie Queene paid her Tribute, back when she was just a Nymph.
And then I realized.
The Dragon was giving the Dryad a Tribute. That was what they were bargaining for. I’d been so wrapped up in the fight, I’d forgotten to account for something so obvious. And apparently, they’d worked out a deal while I fought.
When she’d gone from a Nymph to a Dryad, I still remembered the intense increase in power she’d gone through. Now, she was getting a Tribute from a fucking Dragon.
She fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the physical changes onset by the Tribute began to take place. In just a second, she’d get to her feet, a completely different species empowered by Astintash’s Tribute.
Just what would those changes be?
