NOVEL NEXT 55. Let's See How You Like It
Mercifully, the rangers let me take a break while Draga and Saban clear a path forward. Despite Talla's healing light, I'm still sore all over and completely exhausted. I didn't take any injuries, but holding off the laser geckos still took a toll. I consider my new skill, wondering whether it would be worth it.
[Revitalization]
Draw upon the body's energy stores to dramatically accelerate natural healing and repair mortal wounds. When used to heal others, you may draw upon your own energy instead.
I don't actually know how much "energy" it uses. Will it help with the exhaustion, or make me even more tired? Will the healing interfere with the natural development of muscles? Does that even matter in a world where attribute points let you skip across a river in one casual stride?
A lot of questions, but honestly, I can barely lift my arms. It's worth a try, at least.
I still struggle to engage with skills the way Maggie or even Allie do, but all it takes is a focus of will to send a rush of soothing energy swirling through my body.
"[Stop!]" Talla shouts suddenly, causing me to jump. "[Don't use that skill!]"
The soothing feeling fades as I begrudgingly comply. "Why not?"
"[Skills like that are for emergencies,]" she explains. "[They are insanely fast and effective for their tier, but they come with a commensurate cost. I've read accounts of healers starving themselves to death within hours from overusing similar skills. That's why I favor slower healing spells that boost the body's natural healing.]"
"[Listen to the healer,]" Draga adds, tossing an entire lizard corpse down the tunnel behind us with a grunt of effort. "[If you don't think you can go on, you consult her before you do anything. If she says you need more rest, then we rest.]"
"[Makes you wonder who's really in charge,]" Saban mutters darkly.
"[When it comes to team health? Talla is,]" the leader counters flatly. "[It's not about her being noble, or a woman. A team leader that ignores their healer doesn't deserve their commission. How many times over do you think you owe your life to Talla, Saban?]"
The ranger doesn't respond with more than a shrug as he goes back to his grisly work clearing away the corpses. There are so many of them. Draga sighs and turns back to Talla.
"[How is she?]"
Talla chuckles and shakes her head. "[She's fine. No major injuries—she's just overworked.]"
"[From just that?]" Draga asks incredulously.
"[I can't speak for her life before the convergence, but she's suffering from malnourishment and judging from her build, I don't think she was ever particularly athletic.]"
Rude. She's not wrong, though. We stayed in shape enough to preserve our—or at least Allison's—vanity, but working out was never a big part of our life.
"[How long until she's ready to move again?]" Draga asks.
"[I think she'll be okay now,]" Talla says. "[But we should break for an early lunch after checking the den. I'd like to put Allie on double rations until she recovers her strength. I assume that won't be a problem given...]" she gestures vaguely at the dead lizards surrounding us.
"Oh goodie," Allie sighs. "More lizard meat."
"At least it'll be cooked," I assure her.
"True. And the rangers are pretty good cooks."
"When they aren't trying to assassinate you with spices," Maggie adds bitterly. "I'm still plotting my revenge for that."
Honestly, I'm kind of hoping for something milder anyway. Both the spicy stingroot soup and Talla's pungent garlic yogurt are incredibly intense flavors. I suppose I'd still take them over the plain crackers the rangers supplement their rations with, but it's a narrow thing. A bit of salt and some chicken broth to dip them in and I'd go for the crackers instead.
I can see that the rangers are waiting for me now, so with a groan of effort I stand back up and stretch out my arms, giving them one last shake to limber up before rearming myself and giving Draga a nod of confirmation.
Leaving the literal wall of bodies behind us for now, we head into the den proper. It's a short, but tense hike, and the air is sweltering as we get closer. The laser gecko nest is nothing like the little basking room where I completed my first hunt. There are partially melted rocks scattered around, emanating enough heat that I can see the air shimmering around them, but the similarities end there.
The first thing I notice is the smell. This is where the lizards have been living for who knows how long, and they've made a terrible mess of the place. The fetid smell of biological waste, refuse, half-rotted corpses, and other detritus stings my nostrils and makes my eyes water.
"[Blood and acid,]" Saban curses. "[How long have they been here?]"
"[Too long,]" Draga answers darkly. "[Stay sharp.]"
His words remind me that we're in the nest of a group of ambush predators. The fact that they've fled doesn't necessarily mean we're in the clear.
I scan the cavern carefully, illuminated by Talla's light and a few rocks that are hot enough to glow slightly. Among the rocks and debris, there are plenty of potential hiding spots, and I know that the laser geckos are capable of camouflage. It's quiet in here, though, and nothing seems to—
"Big magic!" Maggie warns suddenly. "Three o'clock!"
I look to my right just in time to see a pair of glowing orange eyes staring at me from where a gecko has flattened itself against one of the red-hot stones, its own reddish scales blending almost seamlessly with the stone. In an instant, the stone goes from glowing red to dull gray as the laser gecko's eyes turn into a pair of brilliant suns lighting up the cave.
There's no time to think. I just move. It's too far away to reach with my spear, and I have no confidence in my ability to dodge or block whatever it's about to do. Acting on my only remaining option, I hurl the spear like a javelin, as hard as I can. It flies straight at the lizard, which promptly reminds me that its competition is a giant spear-shooting mollusk.
The gecko's eyes flicker to the spear almost as soon as it leaves my hand, and it explodes in a wave of force and heat that sends me tumbling to the ground. Still, that moment of distraction might save me.
"[Evolution!]" Talla cries. "[Flaregaze line, tier four!]"
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"[Godshit!]" Saban swears, firing an arrow that the lizard avoids with a twitchy jerk. "[I told you not to say it!]"
"[Stick to the plan!]" Draga commands. "[Stay in formation, fall back!]"
I scrabble onto my feet and hold up my shield with both hands, the small wooden buckler feeling woefully inadequate to the task of defending me from whatever the advanced laser gecko is capable of. The lizard skitters across the stone with alarming speed, but rather than running towards us, it goes for another glowing rock. Saban fires another arrow at it as the group backs off, but it jukes to the side just in time to throw off Saban's aim.
Was that intentional, or just luck? Saban hasn't missed a single shot until now, and suddenly this thing dodges not once but twice in a row? He hisses in frustration as he nocks another arrow.
"[I could use some support here, Talla,]" he complains.
"[It absorbs heat far too efficiently for my attack spells to work,]" she responds.
The lizard ducks behind the next rock, and my stomach lurches as the soft orange glow of the basking rock vanishes. It's going to attack again. Saban's struggling to hit it and Talla's attacks are ineffective. Draga and I can't get to it in time, and even if we could, the plan is to retreat.
This is exactly what I was afraid of. Draga's concern for the wellbeing of his teammates is commendable, but his tactics aren't right for this enemy. We should be spread out and aggressive. I admit that I was wrong about the main horde, and I'm glad I followed Draga's orders then—I owe him my life. Right now, there's only one way to pay that back, and I can't do it.
"Maggie," I whisper, praying to every possible entity out there that I'm not going to regret this. "I think this one's yours."
I snatch a candle out of a pocket and tear off the cloak, dashing forward to create some distance between me and the rangers. There's no reason for us all to get blown up.
"[Allie! What are you doing?!]" the ugly muscleman shouts angrily. "[Stick to the plan!]"
"Fucking idiot," I mutter under my breath. "Gotta do everything myself."
I don't know what the hell Violet thinks I'm gonna do against this super gecko when my skills are all fire-based too, but I suppose anything is possible with enough magical power. I'm glad she's starting to see things my way, even if it means more work for me.
Skidding to a halt next to another glowing rock, I meet the surprised lizard's eyes briefly before ducking behind it. I do not wish to be exploded right now, and frankly it's a little disappointing that the evolved lizard's ability is the one fucking thing I already know how to do.
I jab my candle into the rock and wipe my forehead of some of the sweat pouring off me.
"Everyone knows the best time to try new shit is in the middle of a fight for your life," I murmur sarcastically. "Hope this fucking works."
My [Pyropathy] doesn't pick anything up from the rock, but I kindly tell it to fuck off. Is an ember not burning just because there's no rapid oxidation happening to it? Probably! I say it still counts as fire.
Despite my senses insisting that there's nothing there, I reach out with my [Pyrokinesis] and grasp at the rock. There is fire there—or close enough. If Engie doesn't want to give it up, then I'll just have to take it by force!
I pull as much on the skill as on the "fire" itself. My headache spikes, but what the hell else is new? Pain and punishment. Sorry Engie, but I'm not as simple as little Nipper. You're not gonna tame me so easily. I push past the headache and pull harder, dimly aware that some other commotion is happening around me—I guess Elder Gecko wasn't interested in waiting around.
As if something has broken loose, the heat from the rock drains away into my candle all at once, leaving the stone ice cold to the touch. The candle doesn't like that. It's not fire, light, heat, or combustion—I mean, it is all of those things—but first and foremost it's candle. It's the very essence of candle and whatever that means to whatever created it.
Remove the fire from a candle, that's not so bad, it just goes out. That makes sense. That's still candle. But add a whole bunch of extra heat? Not fire or fuel, not brightness, just pure heat. Whatever holds the concept of candle stable within it struggles to make sense of that. The flame flickers slightly, then takes on a more pronounced bluish hue near the bottom of the wick.
What have I just accomplished? I don't know. But it means that the lizard isn't the only one that can absorb heat!
Right, now it's time to—
The rock I'm hiding behind explodes violently, sending me flying across the cave in a cloud of shrapnel before I land with a painful crack and roll to a stop against another glowing rock.
"Ow." I groan, reflexively jerking back from the searing heat of the rock.
While I'm here, I steal the heat out of that one too, turning the candle just a little bluer. The wax starts to deform and melt slightly at the tip as I stagger to my feet. Huh, that's new.
I quickly scan the room for that bastard lizard and find it skittering towards the last hot rock in the room, on the far side of the cave. I move to race after it, but only make it all of one step before falling flat on my face.
"Fuck!" I groan. "Allie, I think you're hurt."
"She's not here right now," Violet responds. "But I might be able to heal you."
A cool and relaxing feeling flows through me, and I clamber to my feet. The pain is gone, but I feel sluggish all of a sudden—woozy. Like I haven't eaten or slept in days. A problem for later, in other words.
I focus my attention back on the lizard, but even through my now thoroughly cracked glasses I can see that I'm too late. The Elder Gecko is perched on the rock, its searingly bright gaze leveled right at me.
Time slows down, and the first thing I feel is the magic hitting me. It's so basic—so rudimentary. A tiny, almost insignificant step up from my basic spell that transferred all the fire from a candle to a goat man's head. It's transferring the heat into me alright, but with a little tweak. Heat makes things expand, and the Elder Lizard's heat really makes things expand. Every cell in my body suddenly wants to be about ten times larger than it is.
That, some weary voice of reason tucked deep into the corner of my mind reminds me, would be bad. But you know what? What is that if not combustion? That's almost the definition of fire! My skills don't even fight me on it this time. In the instant between the gecko's gaze hitting me and Allie's body decorating this cave in a fine red mist, I snatch away every last bit of that fire and shove it deep into the candle.
It flares up like a blowtorch, bright blue and vibrating as the wax rapidly melts away. It's lost all semblance of stability now, and while I don't know what's going to happen when it runs out of fuel but still has an entire fourth tier lizard's worth of combustion in it, I know I don't want to be next to it when it does.
Fueled entirely by adrenaline and sheer force of will, I force my weary arms into action, pulling back my arm and drawing on [Strong Arm] to help guide my hand.
"Let's see how you like it, you scaly piece of shit!" I taunt the lizard, pitching the candle across the cavern, where it skips and bounces at the creature's feet, the wax rapidly burning away like a fuse.
I dive behind the boulder, crouch down, squint my eyes shut, and plug my ears. Then...
...
Nothing? Really? Shit, did it just eat the magic out of the candle?
"Huh," I muse, unplugging my ears and peeking nervously out from behind the rock. "I really thought that would—"
The candle detonates. All I see is a blinding flash of light before I'm hit with a bone-shaking wave of force that would be far too insulting to describe as a sound. It reverberates off of the cavern walls, shaking my entire world in a deafening roar that feels like it lasts way too long.
All I can do is curl up into a ball and try to ride it out. I'm not sure how long I stay like that, clutching my head protectively against the debris falling from the ceiling, unable to hear anything but the loud ringing in my ears. The words in my minds are a cold comfort as I ride it out.
[Level up!]
Pathfinder is now level 6.
Savior is now level 3.
Firecaster is now level 4.
+4 Power.
+2 Resilience (Violet).
+4 Awareness.
+2 Awareness (Allison).
+2 Ego (Violet).
+2 Will (Allison).
Then, the world stops shaking. Eventually the ringing fades and a soothing warmth envelops my body. I roll over onto my back and blink the spots out of my eyes, looking up through cracked glasses at the stunned faces of the three rangers.
"Did—" I cough up a lungful of rock dust then try again. "Did I get it?"