The Grand Weave

"Thirty seconds till the swarm arrives," Eodyne shouted from the top of the pillar.

Teddy grunted a reply and activated his Aura of Furious Aggression along with his Aura of the Radiant Defender. He timed his skill activations perfectly. Instead of aiming its lightning attack at Igas, the massive jellyfish turned and discharged a lightning bolt at Teddy. Thanks to his shield and aura combined, the attack stung worse than its actual damage.

With a stomp, Igas launched himself into the air, using his skill to summon a pillar of ice beneath his feat. Once he reached the ceiling, he jumped once more and kicked off the stone roof to send himself flying toward the monster.

Even with most of the monster's attention focused on Teddy, two of its seven tentacles flung backward to intercept the living missile. However, before they could lash out at the oni's limbs, a pair of purple barriers sprang into existence and blocked the attack.

Unimpeded, Igas swung his greatsword downward and sliced into the jellyfish monster like it was made of paper. Bisecting it completely, the monster began to split, but the strange goo-like material that made up its body began pulling itself back together.

Unfortunately for the monster, it was already too late. Teddy deactivated his aura skills as he watched Igas' ice slowly freeze the goo until the jellyfish became a frozen statue. With a simple kick from the big man, the monster shattered into a thousand pieces.

Teddy turned, jogged past Celanae, and stopped at the hallway's southern exit. It was hard to see past the unnatural darkness that shrouded the dungeon, but thanks to his enhanced senses, he could barely make out the swarm of monsters coming their way.

"Eodyne stun shot when they reach ten paces," he called out loud enough for Isaac to hear them.

He didn't need to call out Isaac's orders. The rogue already knew what he needed to do after Eodyne activated her skill. Years spent training together in life-and-death situations instilled an instinctive trust in each other. And with that came a decent understanding of what each other wanted.

Ignoring Igas, who stepped up beside him, he turned and watched Celanae erect long barriers at the sides of the corridor's entrance. This way, the swarm would be forced to funnel directly into a straight line instead of spreading out across the room.

Thirty paces, twenty-five... fifteen. The golden mana inside Teddy's chest was built with a steady flow that begged for release. Raising his mace, he banged it against his shield, channeling a tiny portion of the mana, and sent it out like a bell. Every one of the crab-like monsters felt the mana wash over them and sped up in response.

Finally, as the first of the monsters reached within ten paces, a single shot silently sailed through the air like a bolt of lightning impacted the middle of the swarm. Briefly shielding his eyes, Eodyne's lightning unleashed into the monster's body and penetrated through the side of its shell. Bouncing from one monster to another, her attack was relentless as it chained through their bodies, stunning them in the process.

Once the lightning died, Isaac finally revealed himself. The rogue hung upside down, half his body submerged in the shadows. Extending his arm, he grasped an unseen knot of strings connected to one of the limbs of each monster. Closing his fist, he tugged, and the swarm was pulled into a ball of crashing bodies.

Trusting Isaac to get out of the way in time, Teddy channeled all of his prepared mana down his arm and into his weapon. The silvery metal became enveloped in a blinding light that pierced the gloom. With a single swing, his Crushing Radiance activated.

A massive golden version of his mace came rushing downward in the air above the swarm. The golden mana met crab shell and won. The monsters' shells were cracked and shattered within a second as their bodies were flattened against the stone floor.

With his attack done, he lowered his weapon and held out his shield. Positioning himself to cover both Igas and Celanae, he watched as her barriers formed over the corridor's entrance, sealing it shut.

Exactly five seconds after the monsters died, their remains pulsed with a flare of chaotic energy. The shards of their mana cores floated in the air as the energy swirled. Bracing himself in case the explosion was strong enough to break through her barriers, Teddy planted his back foot into the ground and leaned into the shield.

The cluster of explosions rocked the dungeon, and the vibrations were felt beneath their feet. Celanae tisked as the first layer shattered. Luckily, that layer took the brunt of the explosions, and only one other layer was destroyed. Slowly, she undid her skill, and the blast of air that came spilling out of the corridor spread out.

They all immediately covered their noses and coughed as the stench threatened to do more damage than any of the monsters managed to inflict.

Isaac's voice sounded out from Teddy's right. "Fuck, that is awful. Why is there a smell? Do you think they're designed like that, or did the dungeon get lucky?"

Eodyne, who used her wind manipulation skill to cleanse the air around her, scoffed. "Probably a coincidence. The dungeon is not smart enough to create this on purpose."

Together, they moved away from the corridor and retreated toward the jellyfish's frozen remains. After another three minutes of walking, a stairway came into view. With a collective sigh of relief, they walked down the stairs and entered the safezone.

Summoning their chairs, they all sat down and relaxed while Teddy pulled out some food and drinks. Passing it around so they all had something to eat and drink, they began their rest.

Teddy ran his thumb across the bottle's lip and stared into the darkness covering the safezone's ceiling. Celanae noticed this and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay? You look concerned," she asked gently.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Igas added.

He sighed and took a sip of his drink before answering. "I am. With Arturous there, I know he'll be fine, but still. The more I get to know him, the more I think we'll have to watch out for him in the future."

"You and that damn Felkin. I still don't understand why Uncle B took so much interest in him," Isaac complained.

Teddy frowned and stared at the rogue. "Isaac. From the moment you met him, you have been exceptionally aggressive and antagonistic. More so than usual. You need to let it go."

"And I told you why! Being around him is maddening! That amnesia story of his is dragonshit, and you know it. You can't trust a single thing about him. Or perhaps we stop ignoring the fact that his god shows up in person and treats him like a favoured son."

The group was silent for a while. They were long used to Isaac's thorniness, but they could recognize the emotion in his voice.

Finally, Eodyne set down the arrow she was refletching and spoke. "We don't ignore that; we'd be fools to do so." When Isaac began to open his mouth, she held up a hand and stopped him. "However, we have no reason to distrust him either. I spent the day with him. He seems genuine. How he treats his familiars is reminiscent of how my people interact with spirits. He truly views them as his companions and loves them so. I trust him."

"That means nothing. So what if he treats his spirits nicely? That has nothing to do with his mind. He cycles through emotions faster than Arturous can eat food. Every other second is spent between anger, sadness, and excitement over and over again. He's an emotional bomb waiting to happen."

"And this is why Uncle warned you about that skill. You'd be fine if you just put on the suppression amulet he bought you."

"Not the fucking point."

Throughout all, Celanae was staring at Teddy's face, gauging his reaction. Eventually, after Isaac settled down, she tapped her bottle against his, producing a loud clink that made the others look her way. "Isaac's grumbling aside, you said we might have to watch out. What did you mean by that?"

Teddy set down his drink and looked them all in the eye. "You've noticed it. We all have. He's bloodthirsty at times, and even if I know why; it doesn't change that fact. I'm sure he doesn't realize it, but we know he's self-destructive from the interrogation of the adventurers back in Edolus. With his skillset, I'm positive it'll only lead to further problems."

Isaac cut in again, pointing his finger at Teddy. "What do you mean you know why?"

"Not for me to say. That's his information to reveal."

"Oh fuck off. Does this have anything to do with his legacy? And why he claims amnesia?"

"Yes, but again, not for me to tell."

Isaac grunted but relented and let Celanae retake control of the conversation.

"I know you're not worried about him harming us, so what then?" Celanae asked.

"I'm afraid he'll push himself to a point where he can't save himself. He already shows signs of seeking out danger with little regard for his own safety. We're adventurers, and I get that. We face monsters and dangers that others normally avoid. Still, there's a hard line between thrill-seeking and being apathetic to your own life."

"And you think this because of your legacy mark? It's giving you information again?"

"Exactly. And the worst thing about it is I'm not sure even he understands what he's doing."

Celanae paused and looked at the rest of the group. Isaac looked annoyed, which wasn't surprising. Igas looked concerned, but mainly for Teddy. Lastly, Eodyne had her lips pursed while she sat silently, her eyes storming with more lightning than usual.

"Then the answer is pretty simple." She summoned a journal from her dimensional space and pulled out a pen. "We'll do our best to guide him when we think a bad habit starts to form. Uncle did ask us to help train him. I'm sure he meant more than learning how to be a proper adventurer."

Teddy smiled in response before picking up his drink and finishing it. Eodyne shook her head while Isaac scoffed lightly. She paused when Igas looked off into the distance and scratched his chin.

"What's wrong?"

Igas stopped scratching his chin and leaned back into his chair. "Are you sure we're not overreacting here? He does have a healing skill, and from what we've seen, it's pretty effective. Wouldn't be the first person to be a little reckless when they know they can afford to be."

Teddy sighed and threw his sandwich at the oni. After it bounced off Igas' head, he summoned another to replace the one he had thrown. "Have you ever doubted my intuition? I thought we learned the last time you ignored me and had all your money stolen by that merchant's daughter."

Igas unwrapped the sandwich and took a big bite. After chewing it slowly and swallowing with an audible gulp, he held up a finger. "Ahh, true, true. But we found a use for all those crappy daggers, didn't we? I bet those bandits were limping for months. You know they couldn't afford a health potion between the nine of them."

Teddy laughed, and the group returned to relaxing like they were supposed to be doing from the start. He enjoyed the sandwich and contributed occasionally during Igas and Isaac's banter. All the while, he kept a silent communication open to his soulbond and listened as the bear sent over a running feed of thoughts and emotions as the big guy followed behind Cyrus.

After an hour of relaxation, he put the chair back into his storage and rolled his shoulders. Picking up his mace and sliding it through the loop in his belt, he grabbed his shield and walked down the stairs and out of the safezone.

"Incoming, three undead, priest regalia. Plans?" Eodyne whispered.

Teddy rolled his shoulders and strode forward, unbothered. "Separate two and leave one to me. Igas, work with Celanae to see what they're capable of. Isaac, Eodyne, keep the second stunned and check its resistances. I'll handle the third."

Activating three of his auras, he smashed his mace against his shield and flared his mana. A few skulls were perfect to work out some of his stress.