Ends of Magic

Stella tried to hold back the encroaching weather with her magic, but it was a doomed endeavor. The storm crashing down upon them was the size of a mountain and it was all her magic could do to blunt the force of the gale. A solid sheet of water lashed at the Grace of the Mists, and Nathan had to hold onto the railing to avoid being swept away.

The wind rose to a howl, but Khachi’s voice boomed clear and certain through it. “I stand as a rock in the tide. No storm will bend me, and no magic will break me.” A dome of light materialized around the entire ship and the wind cut out in an instant. Huge waves battered against Khachi’s shield and slid off without finding purchase.

It wasn’t like their enemies had regained control of the storm, since Nathan had cut all of the links between the enemy ship and the rest of the storm. But the enemy mage had set the entire storm up to fall on the Grace of the Winds, and now that was playing out without their oversight. Doubtless they’d had a follow-up plan to ensure the Heirs' death, but now their magic drifted aimlessly, the spell unravelling without direct control.

Nathan reeled in the extraneous parts of his aura to reduce the Stamina drain and thicken the tendrils of antimagic connecting him to the enemy ship. He started tearing at the powerful enchantments woven into the hull. The Maelstrom ship bobbed in midair like a cork before falling out of the sky. His antimagic chased it downwards, ripping apart magical sails and denying every attempt to steer the weather and soften their landing.

Hah! Let’s see how you deal with falling a few thousand feet.

Khachi was gritting his teeth under the strain of holding back the entire storm. He looked back to Eolinne for a cue, and at her gesture he dropped his shield. They were once more exposed to the turmoil of the storm. But the raging intensity of the initial moments had passed and between Eolinne’s expert piloting and Stella creating a circling shield of wind their ship wasn't immediately crushed by the weight of the storm.

Nathan spared a glance upwards to see both Aarl and Sarah still clinging onto the top of the mast. He wasn’t sure how they’d held on against the storm, but they’d managed it.

I’m just not sure it’ll be necessary. The enemies are going to splat right about…

Some kind of emergency enchantment flared deep in the enemy ship’s hull and it decelerated quickly before landing heavily in the water about a mile distant. At this range it was hard to determine details, but that crash seemed eminently survivable. He glanced at his Stamina - just above 25000. He’d burned nearly fifty thousand points of the resource over the last few minutes expanding his aura wide enough to combat the storm. It had worked, but it was an order of magnitude more than he’d ever spent on anything before.

Their enemies seemed to be coming to them regardless. The Maelstrom ship was cutting through the storm in their direction, propelled by skills and a few small physical sails that caught the gale-force winds and hurled them forwards. If they’d been thrown off by the thousand-foot drop there wasn’t any sign of it.

“Enemies approaching!” Nathan yelled. He enhanced the power of his voice with [High-tier Battle Cry], and he saw Sarah’s face looking down on him through the curtains of rain. Then she lifted her rifle and aligned it in the direction he was pointing.

Eolinne’s flute rose in a furious melody, each note slicing through the storm like a blade. The Grace of the Winds surged at her command, extra sails appearing out of silvery mist to catch the winds. The sails buckled under the force but held and their ship was sent surging forwards towards the enemy.

The distance between the two ships closed rapidly. Nathan shut down a half-dozen more attempts to regain control of the storm, as well as several attack spells hurled in their direction. At this range his aura didn’t have fine enough control to focus in on individual mages, but the cloud of antimagic certainly prevented them from casting any large-scale spells, and every time they tried it just offset the cost for Nathan extending his Aura so far.

That’s something to work on. Fine control at long distances.

A shot sounded above as Sarah’s skills were able to penetrate the obscuring rain. Moments later a few answering projectiles were fired towards them from the enemy ship. They shouldn’t have been able to fly straight through the howling winds, but the enemy builds were clearly optimized to fight in storms.

“Incoming!” Nathan yelled again as he killed the enchantments on the volley. Khachi stepped in front of Eolinne and raised his shield just in time to catch a pair of arrows that would have struck her in the chest. Up above Aarl batted away another with Jaus's enormous club.

High-tier Battle Cry 3 achieved!

Nathan got up from his cross-legged position and started walking towards the bow of the ship. He looked over his shoulder. “They’re closing. I’ll take out the mages. Protect Eolinne.” He met Khachi’s eyes and then flicked his eyes to Stella. The wolfman nodded his understanding and Nathan turned to sprint over the pitching decking towards the enemy. He used [Airwalk] just as much as he touched the deck as sheets of rain pounded the ship and made the wood slippery. Stella was throwing around an enourmous amount of magic to calm things down, but the simple fact was that she didn’t know how to control the weather and trying to brute-force a storm system was beyond her capabilities.

Though she's having more success than I would have guessed. This is probably giving her a ton of Developments.

Nathan reached the bow of the ship in time to see the shadow of a Maelstrom ship appear out of the storm ahead, closing fast. It was still too far away to see any details, but his magical senses let him pick out several sets of enchanted gear forming up on the forward deck.

Probably the crew getting ready to board. Though it could be a bunch of suits of empty armor getting ready to make the jump.

He shook his head. He would be able to feel any magical automata from here, and this wasn’t that. This was ten fighters decked to the nines in enchanted gear preparing to assault the Grace of the Mists. Sarah’s rifle cracked overhead and one of the figures fell. They got back to their feet after a moment, the magic on their helmet sturdy enough to withstand a large-caliber bullet to the nosepiece.

The question is, when do I wipe all of their enchantments? As soon as possible, or at the moment they commit? And should I delete everything or leave some of their magic intact for loot?

Nathan’s hesitation made the decision for him as the enemy ship put on a burst of speed. With an ululating cry the enemy fighters leapt into the air to board the ship, most of them aiming straight for the bow where he was standing. The sound cut through the storm unnaturally clearly, and froze Nathan in place with a sudden bone-chilling fear. The noise was definitely a skill, or a series of skills. It reached back into his brainstem and awakened instincts that had served the ancient ancestors of humans well. It bypassed his rational thought and told him that he was a small furry mammal, and the battlecry belonged to a predator. A predator so far above him that his only options were to hide or flee.

It took Nathan a half-second to shake off the effect, and it pissed him off. He leapt into the air and lashed out with his concentrated aura, stripping all but the hardiest of enchantments off of the would-be borders and the archers behind them. Two of them depended on enchantments to make the jump and the sudden lack of lift sent them tumbling into the storm-tossed waves.

But in that moment Nathan became the target for every one of the elite fighters coming for him. Axes and other hurled blades tore through the rain and a trio of archers remaining on the Maelstrom ship tracked him with their arrows.

Forewarning 2 achieved!

He juked, implementing the Insight he’d figured out earlier when playing clay pigeon for Sarah. It was all about convincing the enemies he’d committed to a motion, then using his skills to pivot out of the way the moment they committed in turn. The storm made it easier, disguising his motions and letting him hitch a ride on the gusts of wind for sudden vector changes. Nonetheless Nathan felt pride as he dodged all of their attacks, including a half-dozen arrows and a whip still enchanted with potent force magic.

Congratulations, you have developed the [Effortless Dodge] utility skill into [Evasion].

Utility skill: [Evasion]

This skill will help you move to dodge attacks easily while deceiving your foes as to your intentions.

The ships began circling each other like sharks, Eolinne’s flute forming a counterplay with the gusts of wind and booming lightning of the storm.

A saber-armed woman leapt off a rope she was swinging on and flew in his direction. He dodged straight down, feet thumping on the deck as she sailed overhead. Without a backwards glance she took off down the length of the ship towards where Eolinne sat. As soon as she was out of sight the dimensional wizardry attached to the ship swallowed her whole. The remaining six fighters congregated on Nathan, forming a loose cordon and pressing it in to keep him pinned. He took a few wounds in quick succession, though none were debilitating. He considered trying to break through the encirclement but opted to keep their attention focused on him, kicking out to knock somebody’s leg out from under them with the sound of breaking bone.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

His allies attacked the flankers in a coordinated salvo a moment later. Another bullet from Sarah nailed one of the flyers in the head, and this time their helmet didn’t save them. A quick laser-beam from Stella caught a man wielding a huge spiked shield across the side and the explosion of superheated steam blasted him clear off the ship.

But it was Aarl who claimed the spotlight, falling out of the storm like a metallic statue with a greatsword in one hand and a trident in the other. A man who’d been dancing along the winds spun and crossed his short-swords to block the blow, but the disintegration-edged greatsword sliced through weapons, arms and torso in a single cleaving blow. The trident’s haft extended to pin the person Nathan had knocked over to the deck.

The enchanted whip whip cracked towards Aarl with supersonic speed, pushing him backwards with blasts of force as he tried to close the distance.

Nathan was engaged in a duel with a knife-wilder who moved with incredible speed. Unfortunately she seemed to rely on flicking knives at eyes and striking at vulnerable spots. Those tactics didn’t work well on Nathan and he accepted a knife in his eye socket and a sliced throat to deliver a punch to the chest that caved in the woman’s sternum and drove shards of bone into her heart.

Spellslayer level 540 achieved! You have killed the accomplished duelist Efne Bloodkerk in close combat!

The wounds did distract Nathan enough that the mages aboard the Maelstrom ship had a chance to act. A trio of powerful spells flew towards where Stella and Khachi protected Eolinne, and Khachi’s golden shield blossomed to block them all. The storm mage reached up into the storm once more, and they called a torrent of lightning down upon the Grace of the Mists. Again Stella caught the spell in a magnetic grasp and redirected it - this time directly onto the enemy ship. Their mast exploded, sending wooden shrapnel flying in all directions as fires flickered to life and were immediately quenched by the downpour of rain.

Aarl won his duel by using his free hand to hurl the invisible ax at his opponent, disguising the motion as an attempt to catch the whip in his empty hand. His opponent slammed to the deck nearby even as Sarah shot down the last boarder. Aarl descended to reclaim his ax and snatch the force whip that had survived Nathan’s aura. They turned together towards the Maelstrom ship. Nathan was just about to jump into the air and counter-board when a deep booming sound thrummed through the air. It was like somebody had struck a massive drum that resonated both audibly and magically.

Nathan held out a hand towards Aarl and sent his aura questing over to the other ship. He’d scanned it from a distance, but hadn’t really had the resolution to pick out individuals. Now he did, and he didn’t find anybody on the other ship. At least no mages or people wearing enchanted armor. There was something going on in the space above the ship, a diffuse cloud of magic that didn’t feel like a spell so much as mana infused into a skill.

Then what’s going on? What was that?

The drumbeat sounded again, thoom-thum, this time accompanied by a pulse emanating from the hull of the Maelstrom ship and propagating through the water below. It attached a tether of wizardry to the Grace of the Mists, a construct that sent a tremor through the barrier between the physical world and the place where mana pools and divinity lived.

Oh hell naw. I think they're trying to summon something and direct it at us.

Nathan turned his focus to unraveling the wizardry that had been attached to the Grace of the Mists. It wasn’t overly complicated or built to resist tampering, but it was something new that he wanted to understand before he destroyed it. He grew momentarily confused as he picked apart the wizardry. It didn’t seem designed to do anything beyond pulse occasionally like a beacon. He dismantled the wizardry with a bit of his aura, then turned his attention fully to the mystery aboard the other ship.

It pulsed with magic again, and Nathan parried the second attempt to attach a beacon to the Grace of the Mists. There wasn’t anything he could do about the surge of wizardry going in every other direction, unless he wanted to expand his aura again. But instead he focused on the ship and the strange cloud of magic hovering over it. It wasn’t a spell, and resisted even directed attempts to disrupt it.

I’ve got a class skill that says that my antimagic works on anything not based in physical reality. Even though this is a skill, it’s a skill based in magic. I can break that.

He probed for details, first noting that there were three separate mana pools smeared across the ship. Then he saw the way that the mana was constantly swirling and eddying, never pausing. He struck with his aura, aiming to lock the mana in place with [Magical Manipulation].

Arcane Insight 4 achieved!

The mana congealed and three figures dropped to the deck, stumbling as they hit the wood at awkward angles. Sarah’s rifle fired from the rigging above and one of the figures dropped. A quick laser blast from Stella dropped the second. The third tried to spin up a shield spell but Nathan ripped it apart in time for Sarah’s second round to strike home and splash a red cloud into the storm.

A clean sweep.

Nathan looked back towards the aftercastle where Eolinne sat to see what their next move was. He wanted to go search the maelstrom ship for loot, but didn't know if that was the right choice. He'd broken the tether that had attached itself to the Grace of the Mists, but the summoning call had still gone out. But it could take hours for anything to come of it. Eolinne answered his question as her flute surged and had to hold on as the Grace of the Wind accelerated away at high speed.

Aarl glanced over at him, looking clueless. “Why are we running?” Then he shrugged and started policing the bodies and gear that had fallen to the deck.

"I think the Maelstrom ship summoned something," Nathan replied, then bent to help him.

They both jerked back upright as a deep roar shuddered its way through his bones. He looked around nervously for the source of the noise but couldn't find it, even as the sound continued on and on. Then with a sound like a waterfall, a massive head rose from the water on the far side of the rapidly receding maelstrom ship. The creature’s head was fifty feet across and the entire front of it was taken up by a huge gaping lamprey mouth ringed with sharp inwards-facing teeth. The massive maw rose high into the air atop a thick, muscular neck and then struck at the other ship, burrowing into the wood like a power drill. Five more heads broke the surface all around the Maelstrom ship, diving in to join the feast.

[Effortless Dodge]

This skill will help you move to dodge attacks easily.

[Evasion]

This skill will help you move to dodge attacks easily while deceiving your foes as to your intentions.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Arcane Nullfield 8

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 6

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 8

Class: End of Magic level 759

Bottomless Stamina : 23925/76900

Indomitable

The Undeniable Strike of the Antimage

Stamina Burn

Momentum Mastery

Stoneflesh

Arcane Nullification

Galefoot

Close Quarters Mastery

Boundless Aura

Denial of Mysticism

The Ending of Magic

Aura Projection

Selective Dispel

The Living World

Class: Spellslayer level 540

Regenerative Focus: 3124/5500

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Sneaky Blow

Antimagic Stealth

Magical Manipulation

Lethal Index

Wizard Resistance

Magic Jammer

Controlled Failure

Utility skills:

Tranquility 3

Inspiration 8

Impulse 3

Mystical Discernment 3

Forewarning 2

Arcane Insight 4

Evasion 1

Mental Vault 5

Tutoring 9

Parkour 9

Visibility Control 5

High-tier Disguise 5

High-tier Battle Cry 3

Aura Control 5