The Legendary Fool

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Tom watched as a shimmering blue light enveloped his form, ensconcing his body in the fraction of a second. Then came the pressure, his breath hitching as the color drained away from his face. It felt like his entire body was being crushed by a giant hand, before he was yanked forward without any warning.

The next thing he knew, Tom found that he was experiencing a whole new range of sensory feedback, entirely divorced from the peaceful environment he had been experiencing in the city’s plaza.

The din of battle filled his ears as Tom found himself instinctively drawing upon Warrior’s Shardsong, as both the war cries of climbers and the clacking, inhuman calls and screeches of Nether Beasts filled the air along with more complex sounds, like the crackling of flames, the crinkling of glass and the ear-piercing roar of a mighty beast that had Tom fighting to avoid dropping his sword to shield his ears with both hands.

The air was heavy with the acrid stench of decay and the metallic tang of blood, of stinging sulfur and burnt ash.

Tom focused his gaze towards the source of the turmoil.

‘Holy shit,’ Tom thought as he took in the battlefield in its entirety.

They had been teleported a fair distance away from the battlefield, far enough that they weren’t at risk of being caught in the crossfire, but nothing that couldn’t be covered in a few minutes of sprinting at top speed.

In the center of the battlefield, Tom found the source of the ear-piercing roar he had been subjected to moments ago. The Nether Beast easily cleared ten feet, which on its own wasn’t particularly impressive. However, its lumbering body was chiseled out of a dark violet crystal in a roughly humanoid shape. Its legs were too stocky, like two thick pillars that were necessary to support its bulk and its arms were too long, dropping down to the creature’s knees.

With three eyes that glistened like gemstones, two placed horizontal like a human’s and one vertical above it, a sculpted nose and mouth, the creature seemed more construct than creation.

Tom watched as the Nether Beast lumbered forward, his gaze intent as he watched a spear fashioned out of the earth made contact with its abdomen, only to shatter into countless pieces. Jet streams of flames licked harmlessly against its crystalline body, a layer of shimmering translucent energy shielding it against the scorching heat. A climber slashed at its ankles with a giant axe, only for the recoil to send the axe flying away from his hands.

Finally, the crystalline nether beast, which Tom believed to be the Stygian Titan, retaliated. Its right fist was pulled back before the Stygian Titan sent it blazing forth, angled towards the ground before him.

A climber stepped forward instead of retreating, the glowing red emblem on his chest armor mirroring that of the hundred or so climbers behind him, the ones who had been raining down attacks on the Stygian Titan.

It wasn’t hard to guess that the man who had taken the lead was one of import, his heavy-set silver armor glimmering even in the distance, only overshadowed by the massive tower shield that he held before him, unmoving in the face of the oncoming attack.

Just before the Stygian Titan’s fist made contact, a pure white aura erupted forth with the climber as the epicenter.

Tom’s eyes went wide in astonishment as it wasn’t the tower shield wielding climber that had been crushed to death, but rather the Stygian Titan’s fist that was deflected away with nearly the same amount of force it had committed to the attack with. It was sent stumbling backwards for a few steps, buying the tower shielding man’s forces another few minutes as it tripped onto it’s rear.

One look at the sleek, cuboidal metal building in the distance, behind the red emblem warriors, told Tom why the tower shield wielding warrior was choosing to stand his ground against the Stygian Titan instead of retreating or plain fleeing.

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He wouldn’t be surprised if the red emblems were the ruling guild of the city.

Dealing with the adaptive shielding of the Stygian Titan was clearly beyond his current abilities if a hundred climbers working together couldn’t manage it. Even now, as a barrage of attacks struck the forcibly seated Stygian Titan, it remained unscathed.

It seemed like an unconquerable challenge, but Tom knew the system well enough by now. His attention drifted in search of the Nether Shamans.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The deathless sentinels had to number in the hundreds, if not exceeding a thousand in count. Roughly seven feet tall, the creatures reminded him of the Nether Lich, except with key differences. Even from such a distance, Tom could tell that these deathless sentinels lacked a gem as a source of energy, like the Nether Lich had possessed.

Their bones were a faded white instead of charred black and instead of a staff, most of them were utilizing mundane looking sword, spear and other melee weapons. Their bones were held together by sinew that looked more liquid metal than flesh and their movements were repetitive and mechanical as a few on the periphery of their formation attacked climbers that had, more than likely, teleported in just like Tom and his group had.

Though it was the formation itself that made no sense to him, until he located his first Nether Shaman.

Floating a few feet above the ground, Tom initially figured that the hideous, four foot tall creature with shriveled, violet skin, a skull that bulged backwards and a jeweled staff in hand, was protected by a spotty sphere of light.

When he focused more intently, Tom realized that it was instead the same, translucent shielding as the one the stygian titan was using, except it was being tested by way fewer attacks.

For the Nether Shaman floated in the center of a sea of deathless sentinels, a circular formation that it was the epicenter of. And there was not one Nether Shaman, but as Tom’s gaze swept across the battlefield, he found a total of five, each guarded by a sea of cannon fodder deathless sentinels.

Only ranged attacks had any chance of getting through, but the Nether Shamans didn’t seem concerned as they gesticulated with their staff, either giving orders to the Deathless Sentinels or making sure that the adaptive shielding around the Stygian Titan lasted.

There was no doubt in Tom’s mind that the Nether Shamans were the source of the adaptive shielding.

“How do we approach this?” Aleph asked, her voice raised to be audible over the din of the battlefield.

“The Deathless Sentinels don’t seem very dangerous,” Tom voiced out his thoughts. “If they were anywhere near as powerful as a Nether Lich in these numbers, there’s no way the Nexus City would’ve been able to hold on like this.”

“I’m not opposed to going for the easy targets on our first run,” Zirel chimed in, his tone tingling with excitement. “Unless you’ve got a way to take out the big guy.”

“The big guy?” Tom repeated, a mirthful chuckle escaping his lips. “No way. Those floating shamans though… maybe,” He cryptically replied.

“How risky is it?” Aleph asked. “This battle isn’t worth our lives.”

“It isn’t,” Zirel nodded. “But if there’s a way to knock one of those creatures out of the sky, the rewards are well worth it.”

“I have no idea if it’ll work,” Tom replied with a shake of his head. “Let’s kill fourteen of these Deathless Sentinels first. Then, we can try our little gambit out. If the shamans are controlling that entire army, we won’t fare too well if our assassination attempt fails. It’ll be good to have an emergency teleport available at a few seconds' notice.”

“So? What’s the plan,” Zirel asked.

Tom didn’t hesitate to explain what he was thinking. If there was any miscalculation he was making, it was best for it to be revealed now.

“That…could actually work,” Aleph admitted.

“I can remain in stealth and take out the last Deathless Sentinel if you fail,” Zirel offered.

“Yeah, that’ll be ideal. Thanks, Zirel.”

“Don’t mention it,” Zirel replied, before he blended into his environment.

“You ladies done?” Aleph playfully teased.

Tom chuckled, before shaking head, “About as ready as I can be against an entire army.”

A moment passed before Zirel spoke from next to Aleph, causing her to lightly flinch, “Hey Aleph, how about a competition.”

“Your terms?” Aleph asked, taking a step away from Zirel, not having expected him to sneak up on her as a mock revenge.

“Whoever kills more sentinels wins.”

“You’re on.”

“On your call then, my lady,” Zirel said, drawing upon the noble form of reference for one of Aleph’s stature.