NOVEL NEXT 1.57: Pressure
Liz's POV
Liz had opened her eyes to the loudest roar she'd heard so far, and barely thirty minutes later, she already had managed to pick up enough fragments to unlock her first Prime form. Heck, she was only minutes away from unlocking the second.
If I could even stop for a second, she thought as she leapt away from the cliffside as a jet of pressurized water came up at her. Wind whistling in her ears as she dropped back down to the tunnel's lip, she kicked off the air with her new Prime boots right as she was about to splatter on the cliffside, slowing down her fall before landing seamlessly on the ledge. With a flick of her finger, her crossbow unloaded and blasted a water monitor's brains off moments before it could get to Audrey and Gerald.
Once more, they were holding the tunnel, shooting from above and dealing with the stragglers while Ethan thinned the herd out from below. The swarm had turned relentless over the last few minutes, but it didn't seem to matter to him. Whenever he'd go, blood sprays and flying viscera followed as he tore the creature like some sort of walking, talking blender. Still, Liz wondered. What had riled the creature up so much? What was happening?
Something must have whipped them into a frenzy. Liz suspected the two mighty roars they'd heard had something to do with it. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what her second form was going to be.
Considering I got Strider's Boots for armament, I bet it's going to be mobility based as well…
The name of the Path was growing on her already. At first, she'd been a bit surprised, but she quickly realized it fit her perfectly, and with every dodge she made, with every smooth repositioning she accomplished, she felt her heart soar. She felt… so free. And the name of the path fit.
Prime Arcanum of the Free Strider. I wonder what the others had gotten… I could ask when we take a break. If that ever happens.
Liz channeled an [Exploding Projectile] into the blue glowing bolt, exhaled, and pulled the trigger.
It wasn't that she was complaining about the easy fragments she was earning. It was just that the swarm was relentless and even with Ethan tearing through the bulk of them, they were slowly but surely being overrun.
They couldn't hold the area forever, and as she took a quick glance around, she saw a couple more tunnels being contested. One of which drew her attention more than the others.
… Are those the high-schoolers?
***
Ethan's POV
Flames raged around Ethan's new claws, pouring out of the talons like a blowtorch. On a whim, he'd moved [Scorching Enhancement] to his claws instead of the scales as the monitor weren't doing nowhere near enough damage to warrant the extra protection, and Ethan quickly figured that while he couldn't command the flames as well without [Arcanum of the Fire Elemental], he could just… turn up the mana being burnt around his claws, which ended up generating and intense, churning blaze around his hands. It was easy. Almost as if the new [Draconic Claws] were both amplifying the flames and helping him produce them for a much lower cost than it would have been without them.
A second moss-covered monitor ambled out into the clearing and screeched when it saw Ethan before it spat a globe of green-coloured water.
[Swamp Monitor (I) - Lvl 57]
Ethan didn't intend on getting hit by this one either, so summoned the Prime wand and let out a [Gout of Flames] to counter the oncoming projectile. He didn't even need to use Essence to knock the spell away from his own, but he would have if it hadn't ended up detonating from the gout. Because he wasn't letting that stuff get on his scales. He wasn't sure why that water was coloured that way or what it would do, but he wasn't finding out unless he was forced to.
Where are these swamp monitors coming from? And how come they're different without being of a different tier?
Either way, he wasn't saying no to some extra fragments and maybe a level.
Foul green water splashed on the churned soil separating him from the monster, and acrid vapor rose between them, making Ethan wrinkle his nose as he took a step back.
Nasty…
He didn't know if it was poison, acid, or just gross water. He just didn't want to be touched by it, even if his [Sapping Scales] or his Toughness could neutralize it.
"[Do you mind telling me before you send such disgusting filth my way?]"
Ethan glanced aside and saw the cat hop atop a water monitor's head and bite down on its neck before summoning a point-blank jet of fire, punching straight through the scales.
"Why are you not with the others?" called out Ethan as he sprinted toward the moss-covered monitor. Usually the Ignisra preferred to stay back and hang around the others, watching over them and generally being the lazy cat that she was, but right now, she was only a few paces away from him, in the thick of it.
"[They awakened their Arcanums. They're not cubs anymore and so, they need to rely on their own selves.]"
Ethan tore the throat of a water monitor on his way to the big one and jumped to the left to dodge another lurid green orb before he stole a glance back and saw the freshly levelled team holding up the tunnel.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
He focused back on his opponent. The swamp monitor lunged, jaw glowing green, and Ethan took a step to the left and punched up at the oncoming maw, fist blazing with scorching fire.
The black, shining, talons met the summoned green-hued scale with an impact that made Ethan's feet dig into the soft soil and for a moment, it was as if a fireball had detonated. Flames surged around them, instantly charring the moss clinging to the monitor's scales and setting fire to wispy fungi and moss under their feet. Ethan thought he saw shock in the creature's feral eyes before it disappeared into the storm of flames he summoned.
A second later, the flames dissipated to reveal a smoking and burnt monitor. It wasn't dead yet, but it's summoned scales were gone, and one of its eyes was burnt shut and from then, the monster was easy to bring down.
You have defeated [Swamp Monitor (I) - Level 57]
You have reached Level 48. 1 stat point awarded.
A few yards away, the cat leapt into the air and blasted a group of lizards with a fireball. "Any clues about what those roars had been?" Ethan asked.
"[Something we both need more levels before facing.]"
"We? And what makes you think we can't deal with it as we are right now?"
Ember hopped on thin air and came to a stop on top of Ethan's horns. "[Yes. We. I spared your life for meals and loot. I don't intend on going home empty handed. As for levels, that roar had whipped even level 57 monsters into a frenzy. It could only be at a higher level to control all of these things. I'm thinking level 65 at the minimum. Maybe even a tier 2. Which likely makes it—or them—rift guardians.]"
Ethan looked up, unsure how to react to this new development. Not about the monsters and danger. No, he had no issues with that. It downright sounded awesome. He was more worried about the cat taking a liking to his horns and wanting to sit on them.
And what's this about loot?
The cat jumped off and blasted another clump of monster before she landed once more on the soft soil. He was about to point out that they never agreed on him handing her loot or anything of the sorts, but refrained. As much as Ember could be prickly and standoffish, she was a teamplayer, and she did help him—and the others—quite a bit. By both answering his questions and providing protection. So he didn't mind sharing some loot with her.
I don't know about her using my horns as a seat though, he thought as sent another [Gout of Flames] at the monitors approaching the tunnel before he shouted. "What kind of loot are you looking for?"
"[Information. Spells. Rare primagems. Anything valuable, really. Enough to afford living comfortably and in luxury.]"
Well, at least she knew what she wanted. Still, Ethan frowned as he sprayed his surroundings with fire, finishing off a few dazed lizards. "Didn't I offer you spells and a primagem recently?"
"[Those were neither rare nor valuable. Plus, if you get stronger, I could get my hands on something better.]"
Ethan chuckled and glanced toward the deeper end of the cave. He couldn't see much but glowing mushroom trees from this angle, and occasionally a flare of light of a random color here or there, but not much else.
I'll take the wings for a spin once this mellows down.
Ethan was about to ask what would be considered valuable when Liz called out to them and slowly, the two made their way back to the tunnel, clearing any monster too stubborn to die or too distracted to pay them any mind, only to watch Gerald sprinting away as fast as his feet could carry him. Ahead of him, Amelie was a blur of movement, popping in and out of existence before she disappeared behind a clump of monitors.
Ethan blinked. He hadn't seen her display such speeds before. Turning to Liz, he gave her a puzzled look while Audrey finished picking up some fragments, eyes vigilantly scanning their surroundings as she did.
"The coach needs a hand! Gerald and Amelie went to help", Liz said.
Both Ethan and Ember's head swivelled toward the clump of monitors, then the horns began glowing.
"Hmm. I could do with a jog," he casually said.
***
A quick brawl later, Ethan stood to the side and took stock of the coach's people. Considering their state and numbers, Ethan was pleasantly surprised they hadn't lost any of theirs. True, they looked absolutely awful, many of them were sporting bruises and bloodied clothes, but they were levelling, and they were alive.
Ethan ignited his right hand to burn away the blood as he felt at his own body. [Mana Heart] was still doing its thing, staving off the mana-exhaustion and fatigue, and this swarm had allowed him to get a decent chunk of points in Essence, brining him closer to his goal though he will still need some more before he could afford the tier upgrade for his Prime Arcanum.
I can still go, he thought. And he would, in a few minutes.
Ethan took a look around. The wave had finally abated, but it had taken nearly ten minutes of non-stop fighting for the monsters to stop coming at them. A few of the high schoolers were sitting, gasping for air, while their coach went around checking on them one by one. In the meantime, Liz made her way to Ethan, hurriedly hobbling toward him to get away from an irate Amelie. Audrey was already standing close to him, and Gerald was catching his breath, eyes closed.
Glancing at the silver vambraces and matching breastplate, Ethan wondered what the man's vision had been about. The man had a different air around him ever since he'd taken his nap, and as their companions finally approached, Gerald opened his eyes.
He's definitely different.
If Ethan hadn't been with the man over the last few days, he'd think he was looking at somebody else. There was a new, steely resolve in his eyes as he looked at the coach and his students. He was standing straighter, and there was a certain… air of confidence he was exuding. As if some of the general anxiety had fell away, replaced by… something Ethan couldn't put his finger on.
The older man gave Ethan a smile as Liz glanced about, a puzzled look on her face. Amelie was hopping from one foot to another, seemingly itching to get back to fighting, while Audrey just stood there as she rested an elbow on her tower shield, patiently waiting to see what this was about.
Gerald looked around at them, took a deep breath, then spoke. "I'm leaving the team."
Ethan blinked, slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that.