Anti-Mage

For the next hour, Anton harassed the hordes that were trying to overwhelm the defenders of the train yard. With 173 Psychic Energy now he could easily activate Specter, scout for up to a minute, appear to use Mind Bolt on a target and flee back to the vault where he could rest. If he did one attack and then rested he could attack one target every 7 minutes with a net loss of 3 points of Psychic Energy which he could recover the third time he rested by resting for 8 minutes instead of 7.

Anton put his thoughts into action and went to work. Each time he appeared and attacked one of the creatures leading a group against the humans, mayhem broke out as they looked for him. When they finally found him he was always out of reach, standing on a building, train, or whatever else was handy before he vanished again. He had to be within 138 feet, which gave him a little bit of space. His actions gave the human defenders a chance, but not much of one.

After an hour he’d killed nine of the monster leaders, but he didn’t seem to be having that much of an effect. The hordes were still trying to get into the train yard while the humans inside held them off. All Anton could do was keep harassing the hordes by picking targets that would help the people out the most. He also started appearing in open spots among the monsters to draw their attention and confuse them, Some would turn and chase him before he used Mind Bolt and then vanished to go rest.

***

Kril-Tar-Lee’s speared a human that had dared to challenge him with its little plastic club as he thought, To be born into such slaughter, how could he not participate?. As if agree with him A female human beside the male screamed and was then silenced when his brother put his spear through her head. Both ignored the screaming infant that lay on the ground, It was pathetic and not worth the time it would take to kill it. Especially when there were so many other adults to kill that were trying to flee. Kril-Tar-Lee roared and started to rush forward but was stopped when a human male appeared directly before him with rage in his eyes and screamed before the final darkness fell over Kril-Tar-Lee.

***

Anton had been harassing the horde for over five hours when he noticed that a hole had appeared on the right flank between two buildings and rushed over to help. Some of the people who were supposed to be blocking off the ally were already fleeing as a man, woman, and infant were left behind. Maybe the man had stayed to try to hold the line, or maybe he’d been to slow to flee, Anton wasn’t sure. The man had used his last spear to kill a lizardman before he roared at a giant lizardman who had walked into the gap beside another one. The lizardman casually stabbed him through the throat while another put his spear through the woman's head silencing her. They’d looked at the infant lying on the ground and ignored it as they turned to pursue the people fleeing into the train yard.

As he looked back on what happened next, Anton would never be able to say if it was the death of the man and woman, the frustration he felt at being ineffective against so many monsters, or more likely, the way they’d looked at the infant with disdain and then walked past the little girl like she was nothing. Whatever the cause, Anton's vision went white as he watched the lizard men start to step past the infant girl towards the other people that were fleeing.

When his vision returned both lizard men and all other monsters at the other end of the ally were dead while the little infant wailed on the ground. Any other monsters nearby were also fleeing the area as quickly as they could which was causing a snarl up. Anton didn’t waste the chance and materialized next to the man and woman. He quickly searched the man and woman for identification, anything that might detail the identity of the infant, and rushed over, picked her up, and began running into the train yard. As he passed a group of men that looked like fillers for holes that were forming in the line of defense, he pointed toward the ally, “There’s no one in that ally. The monsters have backed off for the moment, but they’ll be back. Might want to reinforce it.”

The de facto leader of the five-man group nodded and rushed toward the hole while Anton made his way toward the triage area. As he came to the building a teenage girl looked at him for a moment as her eyes scrunched up in confusion, “Hey mister, I can’t see what’s wrong with you. I can see what’s wrong with everyone, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I need to give this infant to someone so I can get back out and help everyone,”

“Just take her inside, the first door on the right. Are you sure you’re okay?” the teenager asked.

“Yes, and thank you,” Anto said as he made his way into the building and tuned into a room on the right which was full of children. An older woman with a nametag that read “Pam” looked up,” Yes?”

“I was able to save this little girl after her mom and dad were killed a few minutes ago,” Anton said as he made as if to hand the little girl off to Pam.

Pam accepted the little girl, who had gone quiet when Anton had picked her up and was looking with wide eyes up at Pam, “Do you know her name?”

“No, but I did grab these,” Anton said as he handed over the man's wallet, the woman’s hand purse, and a small baby bag. “I just grabbed what I could and brought her here,” Anton said.

Pam took the items and opened the baby bag. In the top flap was a picture of the little girl with the name “Rebecca “Beca” Kingsley”

Now that she was safe, Anton turned to leave and muttered “Beca, such…a…pretty…” before the floor rushed up to meet him as darkness enveloped him.

“What, where am I?” Anton called out as he sat up in a bed.

“There you are,” a young man in jeans and a shirt said.

“Where exactly am I?” Anton asked as he looked around and didn’t recognize anything.

“You’re in the medical building you walked into, just upstairs in one of the rooms. When the healers couldn’t find anything wrong with you and couldn’t heal you they put you in this room and told me to wait until you woke up because they thought you’d over-strained yourself. The doc said you’d wake up when your mind caught up to what your body did or some other such nonsense.”

“How long was I out?” Anton asked.

“It took them about 10 minutes to get you up here after you passed out, and it’s been about 50 minutes, so just about an hour I’d guess.”

“And you’re here to just watch over me and make sure I’m alright?”

“In a manner of speaking. I’m also supposed to make sure you aren’t a danger to everyone else. My name is Jay by the way.”

“Anton,” Anton said.

“So, do you know why you passed out,” Jay asked.

“Not a clue but I’ll check really quick,” Anton said as he pulled up his notifications and combat log.

As Anton looked over the log he realized that he’d killed 34 lizard men when he’d done whatever he had. As he zeroed in on that portion of his combat log he noticed a new Entry

Psionic Skill Unlocked, Spectral Scream –

Cost: 100 Psychic Energy:

Range: 10 feet + 1 foot per Willpower Attribute Bonus.

Effect: The Specter reaches across the dimensional boundary and releases a psionic wail into the minds of all targeted individuals within range. All affected targets must immediately make a Willpower check against the attack.

Targets make a will save. Any Mental Defense plus Willpower Attribute Bonus versus the users Skill Level + Willpower Attribute Bonus. Failure indicates that the target is affected by an overwhelming sense of fear and must flee the area.

If the user's willpower Attribute bonus is higher than the defender's the defender also takes damage equal to the difference in Willpower Attribute Bonus.

Example. The User has a Willpower of 18, The defender has a Willpower of 16. A Willpower of 18 has a Willpower Attribute Bonus of +4 and 16 Willpower has a Willpower Attribute Bonus of +3. The Defender would take 1 point of physical damage.

Well Damn. If most creatures had a willpower between 10 and 50, with his Willpower at 250 the minimum amount of damage he would have done would have been 95 points. That was an extremely powerful attack. Anton checked his combat log and realized that he’d killed 34 lizard men and caused those who had survived to flee. Sure, they’d have more hit points, but their will had been lacking which allowed Anton to scare them away.

Jay coughed to get Anton's attention before he said, “I was supposed to ask if you knew how all the lizardmen in the alley were killed. None of them had a mark on them.”

“It would seem I did something that I couldn’t do before and because I forced it, I over-taxed myself and passed out. The dead lizardmen are my doing. Are we still under attack?”

“Yes, though no one has seen any lizardmen except the ones we found dead,” Jay said.

“That’s fine, I’m going to go see what’s going on and see where I can help,” Anton said before he vanished as he activated Specter. Anton watched as Jay looked around frantically. He could sit here and try to explain, or he could get out there and help. Anton rose through the ceiling.

Anton looked to the south where the houses were still on fire, but it looked like the hordes were starting to make their way past the fired areas and were pushing up to the barricade. Anton moved around the barrier and found a weak spot near the post office on 2nd Street North on the east side of the train yard. A group of giant humanoid things that resembled…ogres. Ogres? If there was a multiverse patent office someone would be getting in some trouble or would the people that used them for their games on Earth?

A loud crash brought Anton's attention back to the fight at hand. So, he could continue the hit-and-run tactic against single targets with short breaks or he could strike once every 25 minutes or so and hopefully spread fear and death to a bunch of monsters. Fear and Death it was. Besides, he didn’t have to materialize to use this skill which meant that he could use it without worrying about his safety.

This time, Anton was able to note how he could choose the targets, which he found out was easier to just set up exceptions and let it hit everything else. Also, it seemed that the kill radius was about 138 feet from the focal point of the attack though there seemed to be a secondary fear attack that was caused outside of that radius Anton believed that was just a monster's courage failing it as a lot of its fellow beings died.

Also, while Anton had watched the people defending the train station shoot and attack the ogres with little or no effect, his Spectral Scream killed all 15 of them. They’d dropped as if the force animating them had their strings cut. The look of surprise from the humans was quickly replaced by elation as they rushed forward and looted the bodies.

Anton returned to the central building of Trainyard and reappeared next to Jay in the room he’d woken up in.

“Whoa, What!” Jay screeched.

“Just me,” Anton said.

“Where did you go?”

“Here and there. Hey, I have a question for you, is there any specific person in charge?”

“Yeah, Major Findal is in what he’s calling the war room,” Jay said.

“Could you take me to him, I need to see what I can do to help,” Anton said.

“Okay,” Jay said as he left the room and led Anton to the 3rd floor where a man was sitting at a table with map of the area on it.

“What can I do for you Jay?” Major Findal asked.

“Hey Major, Anton here has asked to talk to you to see how he can help out.”

“Well, I’ve got a moment now that the giant creatures to the east have been dealt with, at least for a minute. What can I do for you Anton?”

“Are you active or were you retired before this kicked off?” Anton asked.

“I’m retired. So, what did you want?” Major Findal asked showing a little irritation for the first time.”

“You know that problem you had with the Ogres?, Yeah I did that?”

“You did that? Weren’t you unconscious just a few minutes ago,” Major Findal asked.

“I was, but that was because I unlocked a new skill that allowed me to kill the lizardmen,” Anton said.

“That was you too?”

“Yep,”

“Okay, assuming what you’re saying is true, your power must be limited. How often can you do that?” Major Findal asked.

“Right now, about once every 25 minutes or so,” Anton said.

“So, you’re here to find out where the best places to use your ability are or to coordinate attacks with our teams,”

“Yes sir,” Anton said.

“Okay, give me a few minutes. Jay if you could show Anton to the canteen so he can get something to eat and a drink, I’ll get something set up here.”

“Yes, Sir!” Jay called out as he looked at Anton and said, “This way.”

Anton followed Jay down to the canteen on the first floor. Lunch consisted of a soda and a granola bar which he realized he wasn’t really hungry for. He could eat, food was good, but he still didn’t feel like he needed to eat. Something else was replenishing his energy levels.

30 minutes later Jay appeared back at his table, “The Major is ready for you.”

“Sounds good,” Anton said as he stood and followed Jay back to the Major.

As Anton entered the room he found five others plus the Major, Jay, and himself in the room. Anton looked around the room. The five newcomers all looked apprehensive while Major Findal looked thoughtful. Instead of saying anything Anton just stood there and waited. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Anton is it; my lieutenants have let me know that a huge force is amassing where Cooper Avenue goes under West Division Street. Before I can start making plans that include you, I need to verify that you can do what you say,” Major Findal said.

“Fair enough,” Anton said as he nodded his head. “Is now good?”

“Now?”

“Sure, now.”

“How long will it take you?” The Major asked.

“Be back in less than a minute,” Anton said as he activated Specter and headed south. At his current skill rank of Scarce Rarity Level 2, he made it to the underpass in 6 seconds. As he looked around he noticed that there was a black portal under the bridge that goblins were pouring out of. Anton floated over to the portal and tried to look through but all that appeared was darkness. The goblins were simply stepping out of the darkness and heading north up Cooper Avenue North. Which was flooded with goblins. If he had to guess there had to be 5,000 of the creatures in the area.

Anton reached out to touch the portal and his hand passed through it which meant that whatever it was, it didn’t reach into his current dimension. Good to know. Next, as he looked around he realized that these goblins were all very low-level or ill equipment because most didn’t have any weapons. The flow from the portal kept pushing the goblins on the street who were trying to make their way north to make more room for those behind them.

Anton floated just above the goblins, moved to a location that put him at the center of the largest grouping, and then activated Spectral Scream. This time the effect was much more pronounced and visual as the goblins all around him dropped dead while those outside of his range ran away in all directions. Even so, more goblins kept flooding out of the portal. Anton noticed that he’d received multiple notifications but ignored them for now. He floated back to the room with Major Findal and deactivated Specter after only 30 seconds.

“Back already?” one of the lieutenants said with a slight sneer. I told you major…” one of the lieutenants started to say before he was cut off by a voice calling from the window.

“They’re all dead!” a young woman looking through a cheap telescope at the window said.

“What do you mean they're all dead?” Major Findal asked.

“I mean that a huge group of them that had come out from under the bridge just dropped to the ground and they’re not moving, though I see some more coming from under the bridge and others are fleeing to the east and the west,” the woman with the telescope said.

“Yeah, they’re coming out of a magical portal under the bridge,” Anton said.

“How many do you think you killed?” Major Findal asked.

“No idea. Let me check my notifications.”

While Anton checked his notifications the others whispered. It seemed that he had killed 3,606 level 1 goblins as there was only one notification with a total number of goblins. He’d received 120,200 XP which had catapulted him 3 levels to level 16. Also, his Spectral Scream had leveled in one fell swoop. It looked like passive skills leveled with use while combat skills level based on how many times they were utilized successfully against different creatures. His Spectral Scream Skill had jumped to Scarce Rarity, Level 7. Anton pulled up the skill.

Spectral Scream (Specter) –

Cost: 100 Psychic Energy:

Range: 470 foot radius (352 feet + 1 foot per Willpower Attribute Bonus.)

Effect: The Specter reaches across the dimensional boundary and releases a psionic wail into the minds of all targeted individuals within range. All affected targets must immediately make a Willpower check against the attack.

Targets make a will save. Any Mental Defense plus Willpower Attribute Bonus versus the user's Skill Level + Willpower Attribute Bonus. Failure indicates that the target is affected by an overwhelming sense of fear and must flee the area.

Those affected by the Spectral Scream automatically take 46 points of damage. If the user's willpower Attribute bonus is higher than the defender's the defender also takes additional damage equal to the difference in Willpower Attribute Bonus.

Example. The User has a Willpower of 18, The defender has a Willpower of 16. A Willpower of 18 has a Willpower Attribute Bonus of +4 and 16 Willpower has a Willpower Attribute Bonus of +3. The Defender would take 47 points of physical damage.

The range had increased and now the skill automatically did damage, even to those that were fleeing. That would make it easier to hunt down and kill the people he was trying to help. Anton wondered if he’d get some XP if the creatures he attacked were killed by others. If so, that could be the best of both worlds. Especially when he started targeting creatures he couldn’t kill immediately.

Additionally, his Goblin Slayer title had leveled to Goblin Slayer 2 at 2,000 goblin kills and Goblin Slayer 3 at 4,000 kills. The rise in skill level had increased his damage bonus to +15% against goblins. Anton couldn’t help but smile as he allocated his attributes. Once he was done his Psychic Energy had increased to 207. He almost had enough energy to use Spectral Scream twice before he had to rest.

Anton brought his attention back to the room where the Major was looking at him patiently. Anton cleared his throat before he said, “Sorry, I had a lot of information to go through. It looks like I killed 3,606 goblins. Though I will be honest, they were packed together down there.

“And you can use that attack, how often?” Major Findal asked.

“It’s pretty taxing but I can use that skill once every 20 minutes or so. 25 minutes just to make sure I have enough energy. So, twice an hour.”

“And you're not worried about getting attacked while you go out to use the skill?” Major Findal asked.

“Not an issue,” Anton affirmed.

“Okay then, go take your rest, and then we’ll get to work.” Major Findal said.

“Sounds good, where would you like me to wait?” Anton asked.

“The room where you woke up is still available, you can go meditate there,” Major Findal said.

“Meditate?” Anton asked.

“Yes, meditate. If you don’t have that skill I would strongly suggest that you pick it up, it’s great for mana regeneration,” Major Findal explained.

Anton thought about it for a minute but if it could help mana regeneration, maybe it could help with Psychic Energy regeneration, “I’ll do that, thanks,” Anton said as he made his way back to the room he’d woken up in and closed his eyes. Again, as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep.