Chapter 294 Salvation?
"This is a right ploppin', that's for sure" Isaac Bird growled as he fell back from the cracks in the door.
The water he'd seen had sliced through monsters as if they weren't even there, not to mention the other monsters he'd seen as they battered against the horde assembled outside the warehouse.
How could he explain it? Had some master mage and tamer heard of their plight whilst travelling past? Such a thing would be a darned miracle. Not only because a mage with the strength and means to raise two powerful pets would be a rare as hens teeth in this part of the world, but such a person would almost assuredly be part of the upper crust and unlikely to lower themselves to assisting some townsfolk and guards stuffed in a warehouse.
Isaac scrambled back onto his feet and tightened his grip around his spear once more. Whatever the reason, it wouldn't matter a bit if his people died before the monsters were killed.
"Step back from the door you bleedin' piles of flamin' trash!" he bellowed over the roar of the fight, "if that water comes through you're gonna end up in pieces and I aint' got any glue!"
The men and women who'd braced the danger to brace the warehouse door stepped back in confusion. The spray of water blasted through the cracks and soaked them but they hadn't seen the water jet itself and didn't appreciate how deadly it was.
They moved too slow for Isaac and leapt forward to pull them back. Many of them flinched as if they expected the door to be forced in the second they were no longer holding it shut but no such thing occurred.
"You and you" Isaac pointed at two of the bedraggled survivors, "get out the back and get on bucket duty, make sure there's nothing burning in here."
The two, a man and a woman who looked barely old enough for marriage but had fought their way through hell in the last week, nodded and rushed to hit the buckets. The others gathered near the wide doors of the warehouse looked to Isaac for guidance.
"Looks like help has arrived people" he told them and watched the hope blossom in their expressions.
Judging from the horrific din from outside the warehouse, the battle was still raging out there. The bellowing of monsters, the crash and thud of heavy blows and impacts rang in their ears without pause.
What they do? Just wait it out? Hope that whoever had come to their rescue was victorious?
"I'll be damned if I hide like a rat in a bleedin' hole!" Isaac bellowed.
"Form the line you idiots! You think you're rescued already? Thousands of monsters out there need killin'! You wanna live then get your arse up and in line! Spears front and at the ready!"
Isaac stormed through the ranks of his 'guards', most them fishermen and shopkeepers, as he shouted, pushed and harassed his people until he had a rag tag group of twenty formed up behind the door in the most pathetic excuse for a box formation he'd ever seen. He was damned proud of it.
Most of these people hadn't seen a monster and never held a weapon in their life. Here they were one week later with steady hands and steel in their eyes.
"If we're gonna survive then we need to get out there and help. With all the monsters distracted by the assault from behind we'll have a good chance to stick a few before they even realise we're there. Get in position now you sack of pig sick! Do I need to open the doors me bloody self?"
After another minute of furious cursing they were ready. He'd sent a runner to the roof so the archers knew they were coming out and to give them cover and he had two young boys on the door, ready to yank them open and allow the spear wielding formation to charge through.
Isaac checked his grip on the spear one more time. He'd already busted four spears in the last week, he was hoping this would be the last one he needed.
"Alright then. Stab 'em right in the face! Charge!" he screamed.
The doors to the warehouse flew open and they charged out, momentarily blinded by the sudden change in light. It didn't slow them at all as they hurtled forward, the lot of them screaming like demons of the Dungeon.
When his vision cleared he was faced with a horrifying bear monster, its fur covered body rippling with muscle. Isaac thanked any gods who might be listening as well the path just to cover his bases, since the creature was faced away from him.
"Haaaaaaaa!" he roared his challenge and stabbed forward with all his might.
"Raaaaaaa!" the townsfolk who followed him echoed his ferocity, each of them stabbed out in rough unison, taking advantage of the monsters distraction.
The twang of bowstrings rang out and Isaac was relieved to see arrows sprout on the backs and shoulders of the monsters in front. Seems like the archers received his message. Fingers crossed this'll be enough.
Isaac didn't know who had come to help them, but he hoped that with them all fighting it would be enough.
Not willing to dwell on negative thoughts, he pushed them out of his mind and focused on the only thing that mattered. Stabbing. Your shoulders don't ache, your legs aren't burning and your lungs aren't burning from smoke, he told himself, rest when you're dead!
As his mind crystalized around that one thought he brought his spear back and lunged forward again, following the instincts embedded in him by the System and honed over countless hours of practice. His waist rotated in synch with his step, transferring his mass through his feet, to his hips, to his shoulders and then to his arms and through them, his spear. At the critical moment he executed a dash, just a tiny one, a 'micro-dash' as bastard trainer Willom had described it. Put it all together and a simple thrust with a spear became something altogether more deadly.
Like a bullet, Isaac's thrust rocketed forward and pierced deep into the hide of the beast, tore through muscle and slipped past bone. With a long groan the bear slumped down, its monstrous form drained of vitality and Isaac turned to find new prey.
Except there wasn't any.
In front of him stood an amazon of a women in leather armour, covered in gore and heaving for breath.
There were several possible things happening here, but any way it went, Isaac felt like his dreams had come true.
-x-X-x-
I've started to come around to the general idea that I'm stupid. I mean, I'd considered that perhaps I was a little impulsive, Gandalf knows my decision making 'process' could, when written down, fit on the back of stamp with enough room left over for a drawing of Tiny poking himself in the eyes.
But I'd never considered myself to be a complete moron. I mean, there was that time I waltzed up to some human guards to say hello whilst I inhabited the body of a monstrous ant, but I still feel I can chalk that one up to stress and shock.
This time, I don't believe that I have the capacity to draw on excuses such as those. This goes beyond the impulsive, beyond a habitual lack of foresight or pattern of lackadaisical thinking.
This was just downright stupid.
As mana leaked out of my core, drained away into the air around me, how did I attack the monster horde in front of me? When my blood was up and the excitement of the fight was upon me, without thinking I decided that the best way to clear the chaff around the warehouse was using the empowered water cannon, pouring out my mana with unrestrained zeal to cut the monsters apart.
My mana.
I need that stuff! It is the lifeblood of my monstrous body and I literally need it to live! I was just under half empty when we made it to Midum, half of my life energy gone into the air, and what do I do? I take what is left of the mana in my core, pulled it out in huge amounts, made a water mana transformation construct, then created compressed water mana in order to hose down the enemy with wild abandon.
...
YOU IDIOT, ANTHONY!
My core gasped for breath as the final ten percent of mana in my core, the last wisp of energy I had left, stirred and sputtered about. I've probably got until the end of the day until my core has run out of gas, then the pain will come on fast. This is not good.
As keen as I am to run for the nearest Dungeon entrance as fast as possible, I want to make sure things are under control here. Not to mention I need to talk to Morrelia to find out the location of a close Dungeon entrance anyway.
Which means I need to use my mana to craft a mind bridge. Ugh. Using my mana as sparingly as possible, I weave together the mind bridge. I committed all of my will and energy to ensure that not a single iota of MP was lost without cause. It's amazing what a little scarcity can do for your outlook.
[Don't have long Morrelia, running out of mana. Everything good? You done going berserk?]
The tough as nails mercenary is stood close to the warehouse, conversing with a grizzled looking fellow in his twenties, a spear held lightly in one hand. As she heard my message Morrelia turned toward me and nodded.
[Hold on] she sent, [I'm talking to the leader of these survivors. It seems the people in the warehouse are the last ones left from Midum. He says the aristocracy fled on ships into the bay at the first sign of trouble.]
[Classy stuff.]
[Hold on a second.]
She spoke to the fellow for a few moments longer and I could've sworn he was leaning in a little closer than one would expect. Wait, now he's put his spear across his shoulders in just such a way that his biceps are featured prominently.
Is this guy putting the moves on Morrelia?! That is a brave man right there. Even as they speak she is covered head to toe in monster blood. Her berserker style doesn't exactly lead to much subtlety when it comes to fighting up close and personal.
[Is this guy cracking onto you Morrelia?] I chortled.
I could see her shoulders slump from where I stood a dozen metres behind her.
[I think so] she grumbled, [he seems pretty impressed with my efforts here.]
[Well you did fight hard. He doesn't have any credit for us monsters here?]
[Well] her voice turned sly at this point, [he thinks that I'm some rich wandering expert and you three are my pets.]
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
[You know what, that's probably better for him to believe than the truth. Tell him to get his people together and send them to the village, just make sure to warn them not to fight any ants that they find.]
She turned and nodded to me before she faced her would be suitor once again. If anything he'd managed to puff himself up even further. He looked so ridiculous that it's taken all of my attention. I feel like I've forgotten something...
Oh right! I'm dying.
[Any chance you could tell me where the nearest Dungeon entrance is? I'm almost out of mana and I'm gonna die soon.]
[WHAT?!]
[I did say so already]
[You didn't say you were dying!]
[Well... I'll be dying soon.]
[That's the same thing?!]
She gave us directions to the closest entrance, a small one in the wilderness halfway to the next closest town. As soon as she was done talking I told her I'd wait there for her at the entrance and my pets and I started to stuff our faces quickly with as much Biomass as we can fit in as short a time as possible.
It can't have been nice to watch since the flexing guard took one look, blanched and then ran inside the warehouse as if he were about to hurl. It was probably Crinis eating that did it, I eat in quite a dignified manner, tearing with my mandibles and then shoving my face into the food so I can reach it with my mouth which is positioned on the underside of my head, below the jaws.
So much freakin' centipede. I swear I've eaten a thousand of the horrible crawly scum. They taste awful, tear away with their horrible claws and look disgusting to boot. Ever since I was born on this world I've had an instinctive hatred of these damn things. I don't feel any real need to explain it, I just hate 'em. Am I an insect racist? Maybe. Centipedes are gross, on this I will not be persuaded.
[One Biomass gained]
[Master profile of the Claw Centipede unlocked]
By the rigid white staff of Gandalf! I was starting to think the full profile didn't exist! A thing of myth, of legend, hidden behind deep mists and beyond impenetrable mountains! I wonder what the heck it says?
Master Profile:
[Unguibus Scolopendra : Claw centipede, has strong claws and a venomous spike in its tail.
Might:12
Toughness: 15
Cunning: 8
Will: 12
Current Evaluation:
The Unguibus variety of the Centipede Genus has thus far proven to be an adequate survivor at the highest levels of the Dungeon, about to compete for food and territory against most of the solitary threats there. It has been determined that this species is worth further investigation and is currently among the more favoured varieties of the Insecta class. Further spawnings, evolution options and pathways have been developed. The species will next be assessed in two years.]
Uhh. Wut? The system, that is to say, Gandalf, is assessing the monsters in some fashion? He likes the centipedes?
He has dropped at least four pegs in my estimations. Now, let's go get to this Dungeon before I drop dead.
-x-X-x-
Holy mother of all that is good and gracious in this world, puh-lease let me make it alive! I'm burning up! The light is fading! My soul is running before the light! Is that you mum? What is that you say? You wish I'd never been born? Get the hell out of my death vision, human mum! Bring out my real mother, the Queen!
Gawd, I'm delirious. Which is interesting since I've actually not quite run out of mana in my core yet. I'm down to vapour, make no mistake, but not quite out of gas just yet.
No, wait. Check that, just ran out.
Oh my word, it hurts! I feel like my soul is suffocating!
[How much further Crinis?!]
[I don't know master, I can't see!]
DAMMIT.
[Tiny! Do you know how much further we need to go?!]
[Hurts]
[I KNOW that! More than anything in this world I know it! Do you have any idea how much further we have to run?!]
[... No]
I swear by all that is sacred and loved in this world Tiny, if I survive this, I'm going to shrink your muscles until your arms are limp noodles and you have the brain power of two young Einstein's. You won't be able to fight and will have to sit around sipping tea, discussing the latest in particle physics. Only then will my wrath be sated!
It can't be that far away. I feel as if we've been running for ten hours but that can be attributed to my panic and anxiety. If I were to try and guess now it would have to have been closer to two hours.
Argh! Holy smokes! That tickled me right in the pain zone. How do describe the pain of having an empty core? It's as if my magic lungs are empty and I'm in a vacuum. No matter how hard my core tries to pull mana in it just isn't getting anything like enough from the air above ground. My monster body consumes far more mana to operate than can be replaced outside of the Dungeon.
I need to get down below, fast!
I shoved the pain into the back of my awareness and focused on pushing my little legs until they were on the edge of snapping. I don't care if they break, as long as I get below ground and away from this agony!
As he so elegantly communicated, Tiny is suffering also. Crinis isn't quite at the point where this is going to be an issue for her but soon enough it will be. Wait, is that sign pillar Morrelia told us about?!
I ran closer for a look. Ten feet tall, the stone column stood to one side of the cobbled road, words and arrows carved onto its surface. Fantastic! We're close! I circled around the edifice and found an arrow that pointed away from the road, into the surrounding woods. That'd better be it. If I could read the native language it would help.
[Quick, Tiny! This way!] I hollered at him before I sprinted away. Trees and branches flew past my face as I motored with all of my might. I'm not willing to dash in case the drain on my core is increased but I'm sure as heck going to run as fast as possible!
How's my HP looking? GAH! Already down 10%?! This is ridiculous!
GOGOGOGOGOGO.
Is that it?! Up ahead a stone structure rose before us. A small fort in the middle of a forest. A ludicrous thing in normal times, but now, a lifesaving fortress of blessed mana.
I ran straight at the fort and then straight up the wall. Once I crested the moss covered stone I beheld the most glorious sight of my life. Inside the walls, cut straight through the earth is a wonderful crack, dim blue light leaking out of it. Precious mana! Without a shred of hesitation I leapt from the wall and scrambled toward the crack, Tiny not far behind.
Too much to describe this place as a 'fort', more of a guard post, maintained to keep an eye on this particular crack in the ground. Not wide enough to be considered a 'Dungeon Entrance' and not worth the cost of excavation the Kingdom must have decided to leave well enough alone and not worry about it.
But I will!
The pain is excruciating but I grit my mandibles and bear it. It's time to dig!
The entrance to do the Dungeon here is only a foot wide, not enough for me to slither into and certainly not enough for Tiny to back his commercial barge into. There is only one choice!
DIG!
Embrace the zen of ant living and dig you mana-less insect!
My face hands pummelled the soil at a relentless pace, dirt and stone was flung into the sky as I whipped my body back and forth, a rhythm of soil extraction achieved in a blink of an eye.
And with each blessed mandible load of dirt, the sweet, sweet touch of mana flowed more smoothly out of the Dungeon and into my parched core. It still wasn't enough, each second that passed a new kind of torture as I almost got enough of what I needed but it wasn't sufficient to quench my thirst.
Dig! Dig! DIG!
Tiny was there too, his massive hands scooped out enormous amounts of earth before he threw it over his shoulder. In a short amount of time we had managed to dig out a bowl shaped basin deep enough that both Tiny and I had our heads below ground level but it still wasn't enough, so we concentrated on digging a narrow tunnel straight down, following the crack into the Dungeon with the idea of widening it out into a chamber once we were deep enough.
The deeper we went the more mana seeped into our cores until finally sweet relief was at hand.
At that point we collapsed in a heap.
It was a few hours before Morrelia found us. I awoke to the sight of her head poked down the impromptu tunnel we'd dug.
Ugh.
This is what I imagine a hangover feels like. I feel gritty and sore across my entire body. After a few hours of torpor at the very least I'd managed to recharge my core back up to capacity, my feet helping to recharge the batteries once I'd managed to jam them into the crack.
All six of my legs twitched as I stretched them until the joints cracked. There is still some residual pain in my body from the damage I sustained when my core was empty. I wonder what exactly causes that damage? Does my body fall apart at the cellular level without mana to sustain me? Does the core draw on the energy contained within my cells to prevent itself from damage when there isn't enough mana for it?
Interesting questions.
[Tiny, how are you doing bud?]
The big ape grunted at me and raised one massive hand to slap over his head.
[Better]
[Fair enough]
Above me Morrelia has been pointing to her temple and gracing me with her traditional scowl as I've taken my time to stretch.
Hey, I nearly died, I deserve a little rest after that sort of existential crises. Did I bring the problem down on myself? Yes. Yes I did. I've resolved to try and address my shortcomings, namely my stupendous idiocy, in future to the extent of my ability. I wonder if there is an evolutionary option that would add common sense to my list of abilities?
I could really use that.
I sighed wearily and crafted the necessary mana to form the mind bridge with Morrelia.
[Hello Morrelia, what is it?]
She snorted from her position handing upside down in a tunnel.
[Slept enough down there, Anthony? Any chance you want to get of your lazy backside and do some work?]
[Hey! I'll have you know my business district is diligent and flourishing! We're very excited to be announcing the delivery of new products that will cause our target demographic to positively melt!]
Bemused, Morrelia shook her head.
[As usual I have no idea what you are talking about. We have serious business to deal with. I've found the tracks of another group of monsters heading north. By the looks of things there is a massive Garralosh type monster with them. If we hurry we might catch up to them before they make it Liria.]
Well now. That does sound interesting. Another one of the big momma crocs eldest children caught gadding about on the surface?
How delicious.
-x-X-x-
Tiny, Crinis and I hauled ourselves out of our temporary respite home to join Morrelia on the surface.
[What happened to the survivors of Midum?] I queried.
[They're getting their stuff together and heading south as quick as their legs will carry them. It might take them awhile to get on the road though, they have almost the entire city to loot after all] Morrelia smirked.
[How much of that stuff is going to be useful? If they turn up with a mountain of vases and precious jewels they are going to be pretty damn useless when they get to the village. I don't think they even have currency there yet.]
[Oh I've no doubt there will be some idiots who prioritise valuables, but I think that most of them will be more sensible and bring things that will be actually useful. I'm expecting quite the interesting haul.]
Judging by the dangerous glint in Morrelias eyes there is assuredly something she knows that I don't. As long as it doesn't affect the colony in any way, then I don't really care what they get up to.
[So ] I prompted her, [what about this trail you found?]
[Oh, right. When I following you to this location I happened to notice that something had carved a path through the forest before doubling back and heading toward Liria. Judging by the tracks there is absolutely a big beastie in the mix.]
[Interesting] I mused out loud, [perhaps their core ran out of mana, forcing them to turn back to the city in order to recharge? It isn't as if they have a local guide to point them toward every little crack in the ground after all.]
Morrelia leaned toward me, interest pain on her face.
[So the mana on the surface is too thin for you? Is your core really that developed?]
My antennae waved self-consciously.
[What? Are you core shaming me? Yes, the mana on the surface is too thin for me and Tiny both. Is that so weird?]
She shrugged.
[You just don't seem to be large enough or evolved enough to have such a strong core. Most creatures from the first strata are able to run around on the surface if they break out of the Dungeon. There are powerful exceptions of course, I doubt Garralosh could last up here more than ten minutes.]
[Is she really just a first strata monster? Seems to me that the mother of those beasts would be too much of a big shot for the top layer of the Dungeon, surely?]
Morrelia paused for a moment before she looked at me oddly.
[You aren't wrong] she said finally, [she is way too strong to be as close to the surface as she has been. Mostly because she's been prevented from getting any lower.]
Something about her tone tells me that she won't be much more forthcoming on that topic, so I let the conversation lapse as we find the trail and start a high speed chase.
Thank goodness I managed to get a food a quick nap. Core aside, I needed the rest. There has been way too much running about up here! It shames my ant self to say it, but this is just too much damn work!
Morrelia is keeping a few things from me, specifically about the Dungeon and Garralosh, but I don't mind that too much. If someone spent their entire life fighting against monsters, it would be a little tough to turn around and trust one with all of your most precious secrets. Especially those pertaining to security.
How exactly would you prevent a powerful monster from moving around in the Dungeon? Sounds like some sort of nightmare. Couldn't they just dig? Thinking about the pathetic hands on the crocs, I don't they would be very effecting at digging actually. Sad for them, forever denied the true light of zen.
Once we are on the trail Morrelia transforms from a taciturn warrior to a wolf on the hunt. Her body language changes completely. Gone is the relaxed but wary stance, the watchful eyes flicking amongst the shadows, ever watchful for the slightest hint of a threat. Now her every muscle radiates focus and intent. Leaned forward as she runs, her eyes are alight with a hunger that wasn't there before, her lips peeled back to reveal too many teeth her entire expression has transformed to that of a beast. Her head jerks back and forth and she follows the tracks, seeking any sign of monsters having snuck off or others joining. So intense is her focus I think she could tell me exactly what monsters make up this group we're following.
If this is another one of Garralosh' big kids, then managing to fight one whilst they are potentially drained of mana and suffering on the surface is a perfect opportunity. We managed to beat one last time when they were on a full tank and we've powered up somewhat since then, not to mention we didn't have a murderous berserker with us at that time.
Run, run, run. I feel like I've well and truly covered my step count for the day but it doesn't end. Through the woods and then out into open farmland the chase continued. I'm interested to see that a significant number of farm animals remain on the surface, wandering here and there as they grazed on the grass. Most of the fences have been knocked down or have large holes in them where monsters have passed through, so the cattle and sheep and free to explore the world at large.
I suppose they mustn't give Biomass when consumed, otherwise the Monsters would have chowed down on these guys for sure. I wonder why they don't? Is Biomass an intrinsic property of a monster body?
Interesting to think about... someone smarter than me will have to work it out.
Our pace is fast and relentless. After four hours of solid running, by which time Tiny is seriously flagging, we start to catch glimpses of our quarry. A small pack of beasts, mostly offspring of Garralosh, with a few others types thrown into the mix for giggles. Sure enough, in the centre of the group, looming over the other monsters and emitting a suffocating pressure is a massive Croc, clearly the same size as the Garralosh Commander we fought in the Marsh Expanse.
As we draw closer to the enemy Morrelia gripped her weapons tightly and I swear that as we ran she began to growl under her breath. She appears to hate these more evolved Croca Beasts even more than she hates normal monsters. Which is a heck of a lot of hate.
[Looks like it might be a Garralosh Commander] I tell her, [Ever fought one of those before?]
She replied only with a shake of her head, her focus still laser-like on our quarry.
[Watch out for the two mouths, the flame attack from each is pretty deadly but the last one we killed had this wicked blue flame, crazy dangerous.]
The news that I'd fought one before seemed to shock Morrelia enough that she actually spoke back.
[You've fought one of those before?] she asked doubtfully.
[What? Why do you constantly underestimate my incredible power?! Not only did we fight one, we killed it and feasted on its sweet Biomass! Impressed?]
She shook her head, not to deny my achievement but more in puzzlement.
[They don't come up this close to the surface, ever. For one of them to be on the surface is beyond strange. Normally they stay close to their parent, reluctant to leave her side. If they are up here, does that mean that ...]
[Big momma croc is up here as well?] I finished her thought.
A moment of silence falls over us as we contemplate what that could mean.
[If you see a mega crocodile .... Run] I advised.
I certainly would!
-x-X-x-
We gained on our quarry with every passing second but they weren't aware of us in the slightest. I could see them clearly now, twenty to thirty Croca-Beasts at various stages of evolution surrounded by a similar number of other, first strata Dungeon monsters. In the centre of the pack, a large hulking form ran surrounded by their more diminutive cousins.
From one hundred metre away, I could it was another Garralosh Commander. One of momma Garralosh eldest children. That loathsome over and under jaw, those massive, bulked shoulders and the writhing triple tails. Seeing one of them again brings back nightmares. Tiny, Crinis and I all suffered at the hands of the first one of these we brought down, I'd rather not get my back zone chomped off this time if I can help it.
[Let me lead off] I tell Morrelia, [I can clear off a lot of the chaff with one surprise attack.]
Focused on the enemy ahead, she only glanced at me once, raising a single eyebrow to express her doubt before nodding.
What a ridiculous lack of faith! She won't question me again after she behold the sheer destructive potential of gravity! It's time to unleash the bomb!
I take a moment to congratulate myself for not drawing on the raw mana of my core, but instead remembering to utilise the gravitational mana within my Gravity Mana gland. The gland will increase the drain on my core as it seeks to replenish the mana it's lost, sure, but it's still a lot more manageable than pulling mana straight out of my core and blasting it everywhere.
I made sure I preserved some attention to ensure I don't run into a fence before I tasked my sub-brains with drawing out the mana, whilst I devoted my main mind to compressing it down. Working in tandem, the two sub-brains took hold of the deep well of gravitational mana within me and poured I it out for my main mind to grasp and compress.
Then compress it again. Then compress is some more.
Although my stats haven't changed since my last evolution, my ability to work with and to handle mana certainly has. My ability to compress mana has improved due to levelling the Forceful mana skill to level 9, my ability to focus has and endure mental strain has increased thanks to the oh so handy cerebral endurance skill line and my control has jumped by leaps and bounds due to my earnest levelling of the meditation skill.
Compared to when I first started, grasping and moulding my mana are tasks I can complete with relative ease! I mean, it's still hard as hell. Once compressed the mana roils and fights against my control as much as if ever has. My will is wielded like an iron vice, the mana is pressed and held, unable to escape and with no choice but to submit to me.
At least, sort of.
The more dense the mana becomes, the more unruly, as if repelled by an unseen force it struggled to be released from my grasp. Compressed, squashed and compacted, the mana changed, became deeper, darker and more potent. If I slipped at this stage then the results would be catastrophic as the mana expanded rapidly in a similar fashion to, you know, an explosion.
There is high reward for this type of spell, but there is also high risk.
As I wrestled internally with my spell, we continued to pursue our enemies, running behind them at break neck speed. Advanced Stamina has levelled twice since we left the nest. When I considered all the freaking running I've done, that doesn't seem like enough!
The Croca Beasts don't seem to be built for extended runs, their bodies are a bit larger than their limbs seem to fit and their impressive bulk must make it tough to run this far. The same goes for Tiny and he's approaching the end of his rope, so they must be also. These big monsters are built for power in bursts.
Thankfully it means that we've caught up to them.
Fifty metre behind them now and they still haven't noticed our approach, so intent are they on running towards the capital. At least, Morrelia assured me they are headed to the capital. Or at least, what's left of it.
[How much longer?] Morrelia demanded tersely.
[Oi! I'm manipulating the controlling forces of the universe over here. If I slip in my control then we'll all die a horrible death!]
[Then why are you talking?]
Argh!
Embrace the meditation, emotions are a distraction I can ill afford.
Calm. Calm.
Not so calm.
Within me the energy of my spell underwent a transformation and turned into the now familiar, near black gravitation energy of the Gravity Bomb. In my mind the spell appeared as a rotating sphere, it's edge smooth as if cut by a laser and a terrifying pull emanated from within.
Happy to oblige, I fed more and more mana into the spell, allowed it to drag and yank at my gravitational mana as all of my minds struggled to direct and contain it. Without the razor sharp clarity afforded by my meditation skill I wouldn't dare to push this far, in all previous attempts at casting this spell I would have released it at this point, or just held onto it until I was ready to release. But this time I felt I could go further.
More mana. Still, more.
Onward and downward it spiralled into the core of the spell which only grew more dense and heavy as time passed.
I hadn't had much opportunity to test the limits of gravity mana gland since I'd last upgraded it to +15, consolidating my capacity upgrades to grant yet more capacity. I've pulled a torrent of mana out of the gland at this point but I can feel there is a ton more to give.
In the back of my mind I shivered thinking about what kind of devastation a Gravity Bomb would cause were I to dump all of my mana into a single one. I doubted I'd even be able to control it.
[Forceful Mana has reached level 10, upgrade available]
[Forceful Mana -> Condensed mana. This skill further schools the user the ways of mana compression, instructing in the more elegant method of mana condensing]
Not a great time but sure! Go for it!
The more mana I poured into the bomb, the darker it became and the faster it rotated. I felt the spell scream out for release as I continued to force and force more energy into it. And it changed, growing heavier within me. The sheer density of the mana exuded a menacing pull that I began to feel within my very carapace.
It was at that precise moment that the Garralosh Commander froze in place before it whipped it's hideous double jawed head around and looked directly at us.
Oh nads!
Fire!
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWL!
As if all the screaming banshees of hell had been unleashed on the world in an instant, by spell tore into existence before me and howled towards my foes.
-x-X-x-
What exactly has my mana become? What is it that I have unleashed?! The Gravity Bomb that I unleashed is smaller than my previous efforts but is far more menacing. Reality itself seemed to groan under the weight of this, thing that I had made, this small rotating orb that drained the light from its surrounds as it moved through the air.
Even the monsters who were the unfortunate targets of my orb of death seemed to sense something wrong was headed their way. Fear, terror, even, overwhelmed the poor beasts. As my spell descended, a dark avatar of air rending death, they scrambled to escape its path, climbed over each other, clawed and tore at those who got in their way.
And all the while the dreadful shriek emanated from the Gravity Bomb as it pulled the atmosphere, as if a whole had been punctured in the sky and the world rushed to fill it.
What the heck is going to happen when it hits?
Come to think of it...
[Tiny, Crinis, brace for impact! And maybe back up a bit.]
I heeded my own advice and scrabbled back a few steps before the spell finally impacted. The monster who was my primary target, looming large over its smaller followers, thought fast, snatching up a smaller Garralosh Infant in two of its four claws and in a horrific feat of strength hurled it through the air to take the brunt of the spell.
I didn't hear if the Croca beast made a noise before it was consumed, so deafening was the wind that whipped around us, stirred the grass and sent the trees to creaking. The moment the spell impacted against the unlucky croc, it expanded, swallowing it whole. In a flash the Gravity Bomb had manifested its full glory, a near black, revolving sphere that dragged its victims within to crush them into a particularly spicy meat ball.
There were a few changes this time. Deep in the mediation skill I observed the destruction impassively. The energy of the Gravity Bomb was greater than any I had cast before. Flickers of black lightning emanated from it, almost invisible as they appeared and vanished so quickly is was hard to say if they had existed at all.
What I can see, can feel, is the horrific pull of the spell as it attempts to consume all within its reach. The grass swayed towards the sphere as the wind rushed to fill it. I resisted its force, hunkered low and digging my claws into the dirt with all of my strength.
Belatedly, I reach out to Morrelia. [Hold on! You don't want to fall into that!]
[You think?!] she roared back, looking rattled.
[Yes! Yes I - oh you were being sarcastic.]
The monsters haven't fared well. The spell was set off before it landed in their midst but it was close enough that most cannot resist its dreadful pull. They struggled with all of their might but to no effect, one by one they were dragged into air and fell into the Gravity Bomb.
They made not a sound once they were caught in the spells grasp. If they did, it was snatched out of their jaws by the howling wind. Once within the sphere itself, they vanished, not to be seen again.
Well, not looking quite the same, at any rate.
Though it felt much longer, the revolving sphere lasted only a minute before it flickered out of existence, leaving a core of crushed material suspended in the air that promptly fell to the ground.
Due to its quick thinking and powerful physique, the Commander-Croca is still standing, but it's detachment of followers has been reduced to a few Titan-Crocs and a mature Dragon-Wolf hound.
These Gravity Bombs are becoming serious business.
It seems I'm getting closer to getting myself consumed by the spell each time I cast it.
[Can you hit it with another one of those?] Morrelia queried as she readied her blades.
[Nope. Takes a bit of time to charge it up and friendly fire is a real issue. Once we start fighting it'll be impossible to cast it safely.]
[Well then] her eyes narrowed as a fierce expression seized her face, [time to take the fight to this child of the beast.]
That's another thing I liked about Morrelia, she seemed to hate the Croca-Beasts just as much as I do.
[Tiny, Crinis. You guys remember how it went down last time we took on one of these things. It wasn't great. We all nearly died and my backside was reduced to clear. Let's be a little more careful this time. Tiny, I want you to hit and run, you gotta stick and move. You stay too close to him you're going to get torn up. Crinis, stay sneaky, wait for your moment, then hit the arms like you did last time. We've trained for this people. Be careful!]
[Yes Master! I won't fail you!] Crinis declared passionately.
[Hrn!] Tiny grunted, his eyes alight at the oncoming challenge.
He's not listening is he...
Sigh.
[I'll stay back to start with and join the fray later. Try not to die] I tell Morrelia, but she isn't listening either. I can see from her expression that she has begun to work herself into the rage she needs to unleash the benefits of her class. Possessed by her anger and bloodlust she walked towards the towering Croc-commander, blades gripped in her hands.
Here we go...
The Croc and the last of its retinue have begun to make moves. Having sensed the oncoming conflict they have spread themselves and begun to approach us. The Croc-Commander's steps thundered in our ears and caused the ground to tremble with each tread of its feet.
Before it can get too close I prepared to unleash my ranged barrage. My sub-brains whir into high gear and begin to draw out gravitational mana independently as they each weaved a gravity bolt. Sunk deep into my mediation they constructed the spells at a rapid pace as I lowered by body, arched my abdomen high to present my famed commercial district.
Have a taste of what your sibling couldn't stomach!
POW!
A jet of acid streaked through air to splash against the Croca-Commander's scaled hide. The monster didn't bother to deflect or avoid my strike, not threatened by it in the least. Doesn't mean I'll stop!
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!
Along with this salvo of acid, the first two gravity bolts streaked forth, another two entered production the moment they were released. Again, whether through confidence, arrogance or stubbornness the Commander refused to dodge, it's body splashed with acid that hardened even as it burned.
Likewise my two bolts stuck home on the beasts left leg, the force of gravity would be increased on that one side, perhaps enough to slow the beast. If it wasn't enough, no matter. If two bolts aren't sufficient then I will shoot two hundred!
[Enhanced Precise Shooting (II) has reached level 2]
Nice! I like this skill since it's applied to both my spells and my acid. Double value!
I slowed the pace of my acid barrage and allowed my main mind to form gravity bolts also. I'm unwilling to invest my attention to create condensed bolts, since I need my wits about me for the fight. Just like the last time, quantity will need to win over quality in this contest.
As I peppered the commander with magic and acid, Morrelia had circled to the right as she sought to cut off the remainder of the goon squad whilst Tiny circled to the left, for once not listening to instincts and closing in at the first opportunity.
No, wait a second. There he goes.
Dammit, Tiny!
-x-X-x-
I had to give it to Tiny, he'd tried. He'd given it a red hot go. His untameable hunger for battle is well known. I can still remember him as a not yet full sized ape when he threw himself onto a giant rabbit that reeked of the putrid scent of un-death. Even then, his face had been alight with the joy of battle.
I just wish that he'd be better at choosing his battles.
Tiny bellowed his rage at the giant Croca-Commander and smashed his fists into the earth and struck himself on the chest in a fearsome display of physical power. There is no doubt that he has some serious pecs on him. The musculature on this gorilla has always been potent, there has never been any question of that. If only his mental attributes were given a small slice of that pie, I wouldn't have to worry so much.
Confronted by this obvious challenge the Croca-Commander turned its hideous double mouths toward my dim-witted ape pet as it's triple tails writhed through the air behind it. The Croc was a fearsome sight, it's scales glittered in the surface sunlight like hardened gems. Beneath that hard defensive exterior it bristled with physical might, massive shoulders and chest muscles that provided power to the four arms, each of them powerful in their own right and tipped with those razor sharp claws than glinted as they reflected the light.
Atop all of that rested the sickening double mouthed head. One set of jaws rested atop another, each one studded with razor sharp teeth that poked out here and there. A phenomenon that caused the Croca-Commander to appear as if it had two sinister grins at the same time. Smug, in a word.
I hurled my just completed gravity bolts at the commander and turned all of my minds toward assembling a mind mana transformation construct as with all the haste I can muster. If Tiny is going to go in and duke it out with this damned monster then he's going to need all of the help he can get, otherwise I expect roasted gorilla will be on the menu for these remnants.
Mind magic in combat has been something I've been forced to experiment with since I wasn't able to select Gravity Magic affinity after reaching a sufficient level in water magic. In order to make full use of the skill I decided to focus on using it to distract and trick my opponents in battle.
The basic concept is quite simple: use the attributed mana to construct a bridge between your own mind and that of your enemy, then you can craft little 'packages' of sensation or understanding and blast you opponent with them, distracting them, cause them to feel pain that isn't there, hear sounds that aren't real.
Lightning began to crackle around Tiny as he started his charge, electricity writhed over his body inn thick ropes and flickered and shifted constantly. The Croca-Commander watched his approach, a contemptuous gleam in its eye. Unhurried, it opened its lower jaws at a relaxed pace, allowing the black flames to leak and play across its teeth.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! My emotions roiled in the back of my mind but deep within I continued to be locked in the calm of the mediation skill. My three minds operated inn harmony as they weaved and folded the construct into place. Not a beat once missed once it was finished, the very second the final thread of mana was in place, mana was drawn out of my core and fed to the construct, the raw mana emerged out the other end as glimmering mind mana.
Now make a dang bridge! My panic and desperation slid along the outside of my awareness as Tiny continued to charge directly towards his own imminent, crispy doom. It's happening too fast. I don't think I'll be able to make it!
The neck of the Croca-Commander bulged as it lunged forward and unleashed a torrent of black flame toward the charging Tiny. The heat seared the moisture off my eyeballs from fifty metres away, so intense were those flames. When my vision cleared, Tiny was nowhere to be seen. In desperation I tuned every sense to its utmost limits and tried to seek him out. In no direction could I see him, my heat detection was completely frizzled due to the residual energy from that flame blast.
I refuse to accept that he is barbequed!
Even the satisfied look in the Croca-Commanders eyes mocked me. The giant beast turned toward me next, ready to deal out more flammable death.
Then my antennae reported something strange. Their ability to glimpse into the future was giving me a tickling insight of a future event. An impact or tremendous proportions.
I looked up.
And Tiny crashed down.
Holy moly! I knew he had some serious spring in his legs but I had no idea he could get that high! When the flame had been belched out in his direction he must have leaped straight over it, achieved the kind of air time that Jordan could only dream about, before he collapsed down on the Croc like a falling mountain.
BOOOOM!
The ground quaked as Tiny struck home with an overhead smash. Taken by surprise the Croc could only weather the blow as best as it could, upper body hunched over as its legs buckled, struggling to absorb the impact.
Unwilling to let go of the momentum, Tiny unleashed his fists and lightning in their full glory, his body rotated like a pro to transfer his weight into every strike. Each time his fist contacted Croc scales, electricity danced along his arms and discharged into the beast, scorching it.
Nice! Time for the bridge!
With a deft final few weaves the bridge slammed into place and my mind was connected to that of the foe. One mind immediately dedicated itself to holding the bridge and transformation construct in place whilst the other weaved together our first mental assault against the Croc.
[Get in there Crinis! Whilst Tiny has him distracted!]
[Right, Master!]
Out of the long grass an explosion of tentacles occurred not twenty metres away from the Commander. Crinis had done well to sneak as close as possible, keeping a low profile in order to take advantage of this moment.
Weighed down by my gravitational magic and distracted by Tiny's relentless assault, the Croc wasn't able to react in time to escape the grasping limbs of Crinis and she locked onto the enemy in seconds. Her tentacles latched onto one arm like an iron clamp and that was all it took, in moments more limbs had lashed out and used their leverage to pull her main body toward her victim, where she would begin her dark work.
Then I felt something roll down the Mind Bridge and slam into my awareness like a truck.
-x-X-x-
Dazed, my minds went blank for a terrifying moment before clarity returned to me and I focused my awareness on the mind bridge that connected the Commander to me. What the hell had just happened?!
Somehow, in the midst of all that it was enduring in this moment, the damned Croc had possessed the presence of mind to detect the mental connection that I had created between us and use it to strike at me directly.
Really, you stupid Croc!? With a giant bat faced gorilla punching your lights out and a writhing mass of tentacle death descending upon you, the little ant who'd created a mind bridge threatened you the most?! I think you have messed up your priorities!
Another pulse of mana flooded down the bridge, but this time I was prepared and focused my will to resist the impact. I felt as if I'd braced myself to be hit wrecking ball. The mental strike smashed into my awareness and rattled it like a tin can. I grit my mandibles and brought all of my Will to bare in order to prevent myself from blacking out and dropping the bridge.
If the stupid Croc is so threated by the mind bridge them I'm sure as hell going to maintain it. Even if it's going to burn through mana faster than I wanted to, especially after coming so close to having exterminated myself through this exact problem.
I didn't want to have spend my mana quite so profligately as this but these big monsters aren't the kind that we can take on without going all out. I just hope that I don't end up in empty core territory again, that sensation was... uncomfortable, to put it mildly.
But how can I utilise this bridge to attack the Croc? Come to think of it, how on earth is this Croc using the Bridge to attack me!? I doubt very much that it's capable of constructing a mana transformation construct, does it have a mind magic gland? Why the heck would an evil two mouthed Croc have a need for a mind magic gland?! This horrific looking monstrosity hasn't communicated with another organism except through the medium of fire in its entire life!
The beast appeared to judge that I'd been incapacitated by its mental strikes and turned its attention to fending off the relentless assault from Tiny. Repeatedly rocked by the apes tremendous fists the Croca-Commander has taken some damage, blood dripped from a number of open wounds where Tiny had managed to crack its scales.
Now the Croc had enough room to swing with both arms on its right side, the wide swipe forced Tiny to retreat backwards and the Croc made use of the space to open its top jaws as it unleashed a gout of fire towards my ape pet.
What I saw then I shall never forget.
Tiny had been falling backwards, off balance after the savage swing from the Croc, the follow up fireball should have turned him into a roasted side of ape, but instead, a miracle occurred. One moment, Tiny was flat footed as he stumbled backward, the next moment he'd risen onto the balls of his feet, his tense expression faded to be replaced by one extreme calm,. Then he floated to one side, executed a graceful pirouette and avoided the flame breath of the Titan Croc with ease.
What the hell was that?! When did you learn how to move with such, such grace and precision? His feet flickered so quick was his movement.
Wait a sec.
Is that fancy feet?! That suspicious dance related skill? When the heck have you been practicing that you brute?! Have you been dancing when I can't see you, you cursed ape?! If you had a skill that was so useful why the heck didn't you let me know about it? I'll ignore the fact that I could have checked the details by examining his core but I'll put that to one side. I never bothered because the name of the skill seemed to be so frivolous that I didn't think it mattered. Even now, as I pictured myself dancing and floating around enemy strikes, my six legs flailing in the air, I just don't feel like the skill would be for me.
It's sure to hit flame strike missed, the Croca-Commander was slow to react to this light footed ape and Tiny slid to the creatures side, raised his fists and continued to deliver justice. By now Crinis had managed to bind two of the creatures arms together and begun her gruesome work, the teeth that lined her tentacles ground and sliced away at the Croc who appeared to be less than enjoying the experience.
This damn Croc. It's so damn tough it'll take some time for Crinis to get through, and though Tiny is doing good work, the damage hasn't piled up as quickly as I'd like. The thing that we need to keep aware of is the mana attrition we are experiencing. I've burned through a chunk of my reserves already by creating this mind bridge, and the trickly of mana from my core into the Gravitational Mana gland is a constant worry.
Similarly, Tiny has expended lightning with every strike, and his core needs to replenish two mana glands, which will increase his expenditure. The Croc must be suffering in a similar way. As a matter of fact, it should be worse. They're a long way from the nearest Dungeon entrance and according to Morrelia have been marching straight back toward the capital, no doubt to enter the Dungeon there and bathe in the sweet, sweet mana there.
Considering that the Croca-Commander is two or more evolutions ahead of me, the drain on its core must be significantly higher. The Croc seems to have been willing to unleash its flames quite freely so far, I wonder how much further it can afford to do so.
Morrelia has swept into the battle by this stage, cutting through the chaff like a double bladed demon. Deep in her Berserker rage she roared and screamed at her foes as she lacerated them with her twin swords, causing her to be covered in gore.
Nasty.
At least she's kept the small fry off our backs.
Time to deal with this Croc. Distracted my Tiny and Crinis I reach deep into myself with all of my minds working together in concert, exerting the full force of my intellect upon my mana. Inside me the mind mana transformation construct glows like an ethereal arch and I bring my will to bare, producing mind attribute mana and condensing it swiftly.
With my improved skill and the concentrated effort of all of my brains I weave together a sending for the Croca that is based off an experience that I shall not soon forget: the searing, agonizing pain of an empty core. Deftly I weave in the pain, the fear, the desperation and uncertainty into a tight little ball that I fire across the mind bridge and straight into the Croca-Commander's brain.
Enjoy that sucka!
-x-X-x-
When my dish of curated agony arrived at its destination the Croc responded much as I would have expected, with unabridged terror and anguish. The sheer terror and pain of ones' core being drained is unique experience and I'm glad I had the chance to share it with this particular Croca-Commander. I feel gratified that I suffered for a noble cause.
Stunned by the sudden arrival of such a dense and rich package of sensation through the mind bridge that connected us, the Croca appeared to be unable to resist its effects and succumbed for a moment to the illusion that the sensations it felt were real and not, in fact, crafted by a nefarious ant.
In my experience utilising mental warfare, I've found that it's generally the case that a monster has a chance to 'resist' your sending through sheer force of mind. I have suspected that this resistance is based upon the Will stat in some way, which is why I had been worried the Croca may be somewhat impervious to my mental strikes. Not so. It seemed that the impressive physique of the Croca-Commander hadn't come without a cost.
Tiny, we have found your spiritual brothers here in the Croca-Beasts! Tough as nails and just as intelligent!
The monstrous crocodile reeled in horror at the pain it felt emanate from within, arms flailed and the creature attempted to fling Tiny and Crinis away but the two pets were persistent, not willing to allow the beast to escape.
Chance!
I flexed my legs and dashed toward the Croca at full speed. I closed the distance in a few seconds, my mandibles opened wide and ready to deliver their own particular brand of law and order.
CHOMP!
I poured my strength into the muscle that lined my head and bit down with every ounce strength in my body. One bite is never enough! No ant was ever intended to win through an alpha strike! Bite, Bite and Bite some more!
I wasn't willing to continue to empty my mana from my core, so I refrained from infusing my mandibles with mana and relied on their base destructive power. I'm the first to admit that my destructive power is somewhat lacking, that's nothing new, but with my skills and high level of mutation I can at least contribute something on the ground level.
I'm not willing to keep flinging spells, that's for sure! After so recently going through the experience myself, I'm in no hurry to taste of those delights once more.
Forced to use Splintering Chomp due to the solid defences of the Croca, I work as mechanically as possible, bite, open, bite, open, as I tried to pierce through the hard scales of the monsters' leg and puncture the sweet, succulent muscle tissue beneath.
Tiny continued to unleash his barrage of punches even as his feet flickered above the ground as he shifted his weight to suite his punches. Electricity sparked and danced every time he struck home and the damage was piling up.
For her part, Crinis focused on keeping the two arms she had control of bound and contained as her saw teeth went to work. In order to escalate her damage she switched gears slightly and shifted her head so that she had access to chomp down with her terror inducing teeth on the Crocs shoulder.
Which may have been a mistake since the pain of having those fangs sink deep into its shoulder seemed to be enough to shock the Croca-Commander out of the delusion that I had supplied it. Its eyes flashed red as it bellowed with frustration and rage. Still light on his feet, Tiny managed to slip out of range as the Croc flailed at him with its two free arms, its claws raked through the air leaving a shining trail of light as it executed a skill.
Holy mackerel! That looked sharp!
Quick as beat the Crocodile switched its play and turned to snap at Crinis with its vicious upper jaws.
[Crinis watch - ] I called but not quickly enough.
Thankfully it didn't matter as Crinis artfully dodged, her entire body morphed out of the way, her shadow displayed its flexibility, and incredible ability to compress itself, her body chose to be where the jaws were not.
[Nice, Crinis! Be careful up there!] I cheered.
I wonder if that's a skill that she picked up? That level of movement, the speed she was able to do it, I haven't seen her do anything like that before. Her body has always been somewhat, amorphous, able to be compressed from her full, inflated ball of death down to a mere softball of implied illness.
This is a different type of shift, as the Crocs jaws closed in she retracted the part of her body that would have been bitten, whilst leaving the rest of it alone. For a moment it even looked as if the Croca had bitten a chunk out of her since there was nothing but air remaining when it withdrew its teeth.
I refuse to sit by and let the pets do all of the work!
HAH!
Digging deep it reared back and crunched down with a Splintering Chomp. A resplendent crunching sound rang out as my mandibles pierced through the crocs scales and bit deep into the leg beneath. With a load groan the commander staggered to one side and I seized the opportunity to pull it off balance and threw my weight to one side, gripping the earth with my claws and hauling on the Croca-Commander with my jaws still lodged in its leg.
Timber!
-x-X-x-
Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, the Garralosh Commander tilted to one side before it came crashing down to the dirt.
BOOM!
The ground vibrated under the weight of its frame as it slammed down, rattling my legs and sending me scrambling to ensure I wasn't crushed as it came down. Ha, ha! That's how it's done! I hope Tiny saw that, he'll be irritated to no end that I managed to bring it the ground before he did. Gweheheheh!
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" someone screamed.
Ah?! Morrelia?!
She's finished off the chaff already?! Focusing my near 360 degree vision I can see that its true, the broken and sliced remains of her foes litter the ground behind her as she charges toward us, her eyes burning with rage and her face twisted in a vicious snarl. Her two blades are held low and pointing directly at the Croca Commander as she charges, her dash skill allowing her to move with unnatural speed.
You want to make your glorious entrance now?! When the work is almost done!? Well, I guess it doesn't matter that much, help is certainly welcome when challenging a monster as powerful as this, even wounded as it is.
And we have wounded it. Crinis has been biting and sawing away at two of the monsters' arms and shoulder for a while now and her work has been rewarded. The scales have been penetrated and ichor is dripping down from between her tentacles. It won't be much longer and the Croc is going to be down to half arms. Even if she doesn't get that far, those two arms don't look as though they'll be much use in the near future, not without some serious healing.
Tiny has done more work, certainly more than I expected him to be able to do. His punches have impressive destructive potential on their own, powered by his massive physique, but with him discharging bolts of electricity into the Croc with each blow he's been savaging the inside of the monster just as badly as he has the outside. Of the three of us, the most raw HP damage has been dealt my the ape, for sure.
My own contributions have been a bit more on the utility side, slowing the monster, gumming it up with acid, weakening its defences and attacking it mentally in order to provide openings for my two pets to take advantage of. I don't mind playing the support role for now but I have to say I don't feel it suits my temperament, I want to be right in the thick of things, slapping down the enemies of justice with my face hands. Hopefully after my next evolution I can address my current physical weakness.
All in good time. I still need to try and finish absorbing the rare core before I can even think of evolution.
Arriving as a storm of metal, Morrelia begins stabbing with incredible ferocity before the Commander can even right itself after falling to the ground. Her two blades don't bite too deep with each strike, but sheer weight of attacks is going to add up quick at the pace she's going. At this speed she might even be the one to score the last hit.
....
w-, wait a sec!
THAT EXPERIENCE IS MIIIIIIIINE!
[Tiny! Hold down the handbags arms on your side. Jump on them if you have to! Crinis! Wrap up his jaws!]
[I might not be able to hold too long Master! Holding its arms together is already stretching my limits!]
[Just do it! I only need you to hold for a little while! We can't let Morrelia steal the experience!]
[What!?] Crinis roared, appalled at the thought, [how dare this woman dream of stealing experience from Master?! It won't happen!]
As if possessed by a demon, Crinis lashed out with her tentacles, wrapping them around the Croca-Commanders jaws and straining to hold them shut.
[Nice, Crinis!] I cheered.
Even as she moved, Tiny had followed orders and leapt bodily onto the creatures other side, landing heavily on its arms before simply throwing his whole body down on them, using his weight to pin the limbs to the ground. The Croca-Commander writhed and fought to resist the grip of the monsters wrestling it to the ground. Had it been at full strength then I doubt we would have been able to achieve this, the damn thing is simply too strong. But here and now, on the surface? This Croc is running on fumes.
This is my chance!
With all four arms accounted for, the twin jaws sealed by the limbs of Crinis and the tails pinned down by the creatures own body, there will never be a better time to strike than now! Morrelia has continued her furious flurry of strikes, her arms and chest coated with the ichor that is now spraying for the deep wounds she is beginning to inflict. I'm not even certain that she's trying to steal the last hit, I think she's just deep in the depths of her rage, but I can't give this up! I've gotta go fast!
Desperate to achieve the last hit, I draw out mana from my core and direct it into my mandibles as I launched myself onto the struggling monsters chest. The Croc struggled even more furiously when it realised it was being stepped on by an ant, literally, but there was nothing it could do in the moment as my mandibles began to glow bright with the influx of raw mana.
I'm going straight for the throat!
*Shattering Bite!*
With a ferocious crunch, my mandibles extended out as my energy manifested itself in air and came down with the satisfying sound of a symphony of smashed scales.
Not enough! Let's keep this wagon rolling!
*Bite!* *Bite!* *Bite!*
With each chomp I dig deeper and the Croca's struggles grow weaker, until finally...
[You have slain level 53 Garralosh Commander]
[You have gained experience]
[You have reached level 27, one skill point awarded]
[You have reached level 28, one skill point awarded]
[You have reached level 29, one skill point awarded]
[You have reached level 30, one skill point awarded]
YASS! The XP is MINE!
Take that Morrelia you poaching - ...
"ggggggGGGGGGGGRRRRRROOOOOOOWLLLLLLLL!"
....
What the heck was that?!
-x-X-x-
That growl was so low, and so powerful, I could feel it rattle my external bones. What in the name of the ever loving ant queen is going on?!
Tiny, Crinis and I froze in place the moment we heard that unearthly rumble, still locked in our moment of triumph over the fallen foe. The Croca-Commander lies still beneath me, its neck torn asunder my mandible assault and I allow the mana to fade from my choppers. Morrelia is standing to one side of the monster, both of her blades buried halfway to the hilt in its flank as she comes out of her berserk rage.
Her face appears red and gaunt as she heaves deep breaths into her lungs, the light of anger and bloodlust fading from her eyes and clarity of thought returning. She looked down at the defeated Croca-Commander as if surprised to see it there, a flicker of confusion came over her expression and she slowly shook her head from left to right.
Grooooooooowl!
Again that deep rumbling growl rattled out from a distance, seeming to shake the very land itself beneath our feet. The only one present in the moment to not appear nervous at this development was Tiny, who only appeared satisfied as he gazed down on his defeated foe.
Checking on my core hastily I see that there is still a good 50% capacity still in the tank. The fight was a lot shorter and sharper than I expected it to be, most likely due to the Croc not being able to fully utilise its ability due to wanting to conserve mana itself. I shouldn't discount the possibility that the Croc was already extremely low on mana, which may explain the relatively low amount of fire it spat at us.
If I recall correctly, the first Croc-Commander we fought burnt down a good section of the Marsh expanse without even trying. I've no doubt this double chinned beast could unleash a similar level of devastation if it so wanted. Inside the Dungeon that is, up here? Who knows?
Satisfied that I wasn't likely to run out of mana in the short-term future I begin work on re-establishing the mind bridge to Morrelia that I had let lapse during the fight. I'll still need to be careful, mana-wise. I burned a good chunk of gravitational mana in the fight and I can feel the gland drawing away mana from my core to replenish its stock. Normally, not a problem, the core is replenished a heck of a lot faster than the gland can drain it away, especially when I can get my feet stuck into some Dungeon turf. On the surface, my core does not absorb mana fast enough to sustain me under ideal circumstances, let alone with any extra demands on it. I'll need to retreat back to our mini-Dungeon base to refill the tank before we go any further. Better safe than sorry.
[What's the problem Morrelia? You're looking a little confused?]
[Have you been hearing those growls?] she asked, a little vaguely.
[Well, yeah? Of course. I felt like my carapace had been jammed into a sub-woofer. Way too much base. Do you have any idea what might be causing it?]
Instead of answering my question, Morrelia posed another of her own.
[Do you know what species of monster this is?] she asked, pointing at our victim.
[Yup. Garralosh Commander, no doubt about it. One of the eldest children of Garralosh herself. This is the second time we've put one down] I boasted a little bit, even as my antennae wave back and forth attempting to sense the source of the intimidating noise.
[Have you ever seen it?] Morrelia asked faintly, [Garralosh, I mean?]
Surprised by the question, I turned my whole body to face Morrelia.
[Ah, no. Why? Have you?] I asked incredulously.
GGGGROOOOOOOOOOOOWWLLLLLL!!!!
Again that bone rattling growl!? What in the name of heck is it?
[I think we might be about to] Morrelia muttered.
Waaaait a second. That is the sound of GARRALOSH GROWLING?! I though it a freaking earth tremor or something! No way a monster can make that kind of noise?!
[Are you sure?!] I demanded.
She turned toward me.
[You want to find out?]
[Absolutely not!]
I barked out orders to Tiny and Crinis.
[We are getting out of here on the double! I want to take a few cuts of this prime Croc and then we skedaddle, stage left!]
Morrelia didn't bother to wait for us, turning to run as soon as she realised what we were doing and sprinting at top speed back down the trail we followed.
Tiny and Crinis leapt into action and I assisted in the rather disgusting task of Biomass butchery. The whole Croc was way too heavy for us to carry, but were we really willing to leave behind hundreds of Biomass points lying in the dirt?!
We may be stupid but at least we are stupid for greed!
[Cut like you mean it Crinis! We need to be out of here five minutes ago!] I bellowed.
[What's a minute?!] Crinis wailed.
[Just hurry up!]
In reality it only took two minutes for us to finish separating the two arms that Crinis had been working on during the fight and one of the legs which Tiny promptly picked up and we were out of there!
[Go! Go! Go dammit! Move those legs!] I roared at Tiny as he struggled to run whilst carrying his grisly cargo under his arms. Crinis collapsed onto my back the moment we were finished carving and retracted to her compact, travel sized sphere.
Dashing with all of our strength the trees became a blur as we raced as quickly as possible to put distance between us and the scene of the battle. The inside of my carapace was sweating bullets at the thought of big momma Garralosh rolling over the horizon and burning us all to death in an instant.
Horrible visions of six headed crocodiles with nine tails fill my mind and it isn't long before I'm focusing my attention on the horizon behind us, waiting to see if our doom approaches!
[Come on Tiny, run faster! Eat an arm or something, pick up the pace!]
Only too happy to oblige, Tiny continues to run whilst stuffing his face as we flee from the shadow of the mother of all crocodiles.
-x-X-x-
We ran as if the devil himself we behind us liberally applying a pitchfork to our most tender commercial interests. Tiny was significantly slowed by having to carry his Biomass burden but I didn't consider leaving him behind for long. We eventually made it back to the small Dungeon entrance we had used previously and dove inside, slaughtering the small number of spawned monsters before standing still, earls peeled for any sound of encroaching doom.
[You hear anything Crinis?]
[Master, I don't have any ears.]
[You know what I mean! Do you detect anything?]
[... No. I wasn't able to detect anything on the surface either. Whatever was making that noise was far outside my range.]
[Fair enough. How about you, Tiny?]
[Whurfft?]
[Get that Biomass out of your face dammit! And why would having food in your mouth make your mental voice sound different? Do you hear anything?]
[No...]
[Good!]
Somewhat of a surprise, Morrelia had chosen to join us in the Dungeon. Perhaps she wanted the shelter of being concealed below ground level. She seemed to be fairly shaken after that fight. I don't know why she was so rattled, but I can only imagine she has good reason. I haven't seen her do anything she wasn't absolutely sure of.
[You feeling a little better?] I asked her.
At the moment she had her ear cocked into the air, her face was intent as she listened for any hint of pursuit. She didn't respond for a full minute until she seemed to feel confident there wasn't anything coming after us.
[I think so] so sent, [I just couldn't believe that a creature like Garralosh could actually be on the surface.]
[Yeah, shouldn't that be impossible?!] I protested, [its painful enough for me to be on the surface, some gigantic monster, that is hundreds of years old should have evolved ten times more than I have, should be drained of mana after a few minutes on the surface, surely?!]
Morrelia looked at me carefully for a moment before she continued to speak.
[How much... do you know, about Garralosh?] she asked with some reluctance.
[Pretty much nothing. From the system messages I get when I eat monsters I know a little. That the various Garralosh monsters are her offspring, that she's a giant Croc and that she raised her children for some sort of purpose. That's about it.]
Morrelia appeared to think hard before she continued speaking.
[I can give you a little more than that, though speaking too much would break faith with people I care about, so I won't tell you everything.]
I sense secret knowledge!
[Whatever you're happy to share, I'll be more than grateful for!] I tried to appear harmless and cooperative.
Morrelia snorted, seeing through my guise in an instant.
[You've been willing to help my people so far, Anthony. It's only fair that we help a little back. Now. Firstly, I'll say that Garralosh is probably not as highly evolved as you might think.]
[but how could that be?] I wondered, [she's hundreds of years old, isn't she?]
Morrelia nodded. [She's around two hundred and fifty years old. Nobody can know with precision unless they were there to see her spawn but that's the best guess.]
[So how could she not have evolved much? I've evolved three times already and I'm not even a year old!]
[You're not one year old?] Morrelia's eyes suddenly narrowed as her voice became sharper.
[Ah.. Yes? Friendly person who is an ally? That shouldn't be that surprising should it?] I shrank back a little from her cutting aura.
Seeing my attitude Morrelia's expression softened. [It's a little unusual that would be this strong, this young, according to what I know of Monsters. I was honestly shocked when you unleashed that... ball of death. What was that?]
Aha! The excellence of my magic has made an impression after all! I swelled up with pride.
[That! That was my Gravity Bomb! Fearsome destructive power, no?] I boasted.
[Gravity?] Morrelia asked, her face intent, [Is that the type of mana you used?]
It was my turn to become a little evasive. I don't intend to give up all my secrets, woman! Perhaps a little wisdom is finally starting to blossom in me!
[Let's not worry about that too much] I deflected, [we were discussing the giant crocodile who is apparently out to eat us?]
Visibly disappointed, Morrelia nodded and continued with what she had been saying.
[Garralosh has been prevented from descending deep into the Dungeon. I won't go into too much detail but suffice to say that she hasn't had access to the higher tier monsters and cores she would need to evolve to a massive height. We believe the last time she successfully evolved was seventy years ago.]
[Wow! That is a long time to not progress. Wait a second. Did you say something about cores?]
[I did. Why?]
Cores.... Cores.... Something about cores.
[Crinis?]
[Yes Master?]
[Did any of us take the core out of Garralosh Commander that we killed?]
[You ordered me to focus on the arms and then run, Master. I thought it was odd, but I didn't want to question your orders.]
Oh my Gandalf. There's no way...
[Tiny...] I asked desperately, knowing the answer before I even asked the question. [Did you collect the core?]
The big ape just shook his head, almost proudly. [Nope!] he declared, thumping himself on the chest for emphasis.
DAMMIT.
To the immense and visible confusion of Morrelia, I flopped onto my back and started thrashing at the dirt with my legs, a tantrum of the finest quality.
I could have used that stupid core! Not for me (god no!) but for Mother! If I'd come back with a second rare core then surely the Queen could have been persuaded to accept it, allowing herself to evolve into a powerful form that could support the entire colony and more importantly, keep her safe! Such a waste! Anthony you freaking moron?! What's a hundred Biomass compared to the rare core!?
As quickly as I'd flopped onto my back, I froze and flipped myself over again.
[We have to go back!] I declared to Morrelia.
Her eyes widened. [What?! Are you insane? What will happen if you run into Garralosh?]
[I need the core out of that monster! That's a rare core that we left behind out there!]
She froze.
[You didn't get the core?!] she demanded incredulously, [you stayed back there just to get those limbs?!]
[You freaked me out!] I defended myself, [we heard some supernaturally loud growling and you panicked! Then I panicked!]
[Even so, I'm not going back there just yet. We should lay low for the time being and head back out tomorrow.]
[There is no chance the core will still be there by then! I'll go on my own, nice and stealthy. I'll take a quick peek, grab the core if I can then return. Ok?]
I turned to my two pets.
[I'm going to go back and take a look for the core, you guys stay here with Morrelia and regroup. Feel free to eat what we took from the commander. I'll be back as soon as I can.]
With that said I didn't pause to see if anyone had a response before I ran up the wall and back out onto the surface. If I can get that core for mother then I sure as hell am going to!