NOVEL NEXT 1.30: Crown
Ethan roared in pain and exhilaration as fire exploded out of the monitor lizard's jaw and nostrils. He was most definitely doing damage, and he was only seconds away from brining the powerful beast down. But just as he was hurting it, it was hurting him.
Ethan was being rag-dolled by the monitor. It was wrenching him around, slamming up and down as it tried—and thankfully failed—to tear his arm out of his shoulder. Toughness made his body much more resilient that he'd expected, but even though he was holding in there, he was still being jerked around like an uncoordinated chew-toy.
The lizard thrashed with pain, smoke billowing out of its mouth, dragging Ethan's arm along with its powerful body as it did, but Ethan grit his teeth and endured the pain. His claws dug into the crumbling tissues of its throat as he screamed with pain, hoping his arm wasn't about to be torn off. He never stopped pumping fire down its gullet and at some point, a terrifying crack resounded through his bones and body but thankfully the lizard's thrashing was already slowing, and a few seconds later, it finally dropped on its stomach. Black, acrid smoke billowed out of its mouth and its ribs, the flames having charred their way out of the monitor, and a moment later the notification rang in Ethan's ears.
You have defeated [Water monitor (I) - Level 42]
You have reached Level 33. 1 stat point awarded.
Congratulations. "Hidden quest: Reach the highest level of your group" completed.
One magical item token awarded.
Ethan wanted nothing but to drop on his back and take a breather, but he briskly dismissed the message and haphazardly pulled his hand out of the jaw of the beast, wincing in pain as he dislodged the sharp teeth out of his arm. Nervously, he pulled himself up to his feet and only spared one quick glance at his mangled arm before he briskly ambled toward the two corpses to collect his fragments.
He the first batch of fragments and was about to head to the second when he froze and grew excited. Right next to the smaller lizard's still smoking corpse, a round blue-colored bead was lying on the churned soil. Right next to its open jaw.
Ethan picked it up, finished collecting his fragments, and briskly made his way toward the tunnel leading back up. His right hand was not liking the movement at all, but the flames helped him push through the pain.
The air was acrid in his still sore throat, but he couldn't dally. The notifications and rewards were nice, but he couldn't celebrate just yet. Not when he could barely feel his fingers and when he could hear the approaching calls and hisses of more monitors. Without looking, he willed the flames to lick higher, coating his lacerated and broken arm in more fire. It helped lessen the nauseating pain
It had been a gamble, and yes, he beat his opponent somewhat like he had planned, but the damage was pretty extensive. He knew there was at least one break, and he was pretty sure his right shoulder was dislocated as well, but Ethan didn't stop. Soon, he was at the wall, but if he wanted to get to the exit he had come from, he was going to have to climb at an angle. With one usable arm.
Damn. Should have thought this through a bit better.
Gritting his teeth, he started climbing.
***
A minute or two later, after cursing himself endlessly for his reckless strategy, Ethan disappeared into the tunnel and finally took a look at the damage.
First, the broken bones. That part wasn't as bad as he though. Only his humerus was broken. But both his elbow and shoulder were dislocated. Ethan knew he should have been in absolute agony right about now, but between his stats and the flames, he was… functional.
As for the skin and flesh, his Toughness tried its best, but it hadn't been enough to prevent the monitor's teeth from shredding and gouging his arm pretty badly. He couldn't see bones, thankfully, so this shouldn't be too tough to heal.
Well, I intended on retreating anyway. And with all the monitors out there, it's better to give it a chance to calm down before I head back down.
Ethan coughed, breaking the monotony of his echoing steps in the purple-lit tunnel, then pulled the flames tighter around his mangled arm so they wouldn't burn the mushrooms and moss lining the walls of the tunnel. He was going to be in here for a few minutes, and if those mushrooms happen to be of the magic kind, he didn't need to impair himself any further.
Once the sound of hissing faded in the background a few minutes later, Ethan finally felt comfortable enough to take break and sit down. Taking a quick look at his right arm, he found that the lacerations around his biceps were slowly patching themselves up already. He considered setting his dislocated shoulder and elbow, but the break would make that stupidly painful and difficult to get right.
I'm heading up… I can get Amelie's help to heal the break, then the rest should be easy.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Ethan was confident he could even heal the break given a few hours, but he'd rather not waste so much time.
He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes as the pain flares slowly receded, then opened them again. He'd stalled enough, it was time to see what he was working with.
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out an oddly cold and wet bead of glass. He glanced down at it, then up at the prompt that popped in front of him.
Assimilate [Breath Gland (Tier-2)] from spellcore?
A wide smile stretched across his lips, then it broke out in a chuckle that quickly turned to a groan as his injured arm protested the movement.
That looks like an Enhancer-spellform. Something to cast spells out of one's throat?
He liked it, though he didn't have a spot for it just yet.
Speaking of… What's going on with the Prime Arcanum?
Prime Arcanum of the Juggernaut - Activation in progress (1/3):
Spells: None
Spellforms: None
Prime forms: [Lance of the Juggernaut]
Traits: [Universal Tongue, Enduring Brawler, Child of Flames]
Tier: 1
Spell Capacity: 0
Spellform Capacity: 0
Form Bonus [10%]: [Lance of the Juggernaut: +10% to Might, +10% to Mana]
Essence: 3
Fragments: 161
That had been a productive fight. He was already very close to unlocking the second form, and he was sitting on three new stat points, ready to be assigned.
And it only took an arm and barely an hour.
Ethan rolled the bead in his fingers. There was a lot he could do with this little spell, though he would have to replace [Claws] if he wanted to use now. Which he would rather not. But if he did, [Scorching Enhancement], coupled with the Lesser Arcanum's fire manipulation's title would allow him to breathe fire at his opponents, and it wasn't as if his hands would be empty. He could use the lance as a weapon.
The explosive effect needs essence though… and that doesn't seem to replenish as fast as mana. I'm gonna have to ask Ember about this.
Ethan rolled the bead once more, then, not wanting to risk losing it, he assimilated it. The spell dissolved into a clear blue light, then sunk into his chest.
Next, Ethan checked his remaining notifications. Specifically, the hidden quest. As he perused his interface, he noticed a small change that drew another smile on his face. A little reward for having reached the highest level in the group, he assumed.
Right next to his name, on his stat page, there was a small crown. It was silly, but he kinda liked seeing it.
Let's see what kind of magical item I'm getting for this achievement.
Select a magical item from the list below:
Shardpurse: A soulbound runic wallet to hold your fragments.
Spellblade robes: A set of clothing enchanted to be highly resistant to the user's own magic.
Dimensional pouch: A low-grade pouch with a spatial enchantment to increase its storage capacity.
Harvester's dagger: A low-grade dagger that improves the odds for the formations of a spellcore or primagems.
Fire primagem: A low-grade gem holding the concentrated essence of fire.
Ethan blew out his cheeks and glared up at the tunnel ceiling. "Can you make my choice easy? For once?"