Icarus Awakens

With yesterday’s scouting over and the arrival of the dawn, the team prepared themselves for the hunt. The others just followed Kob without planning for the fight they were walking towards. They didn’t even pause when Daniel brought up his Encyclopedia’s entry on their quarry and asked if anyone else had information.

Frost Strangler – (3) (Monster, Elemental: Air/Ice, Stealth, Restraint)

A monster commonly found at high elevations or regions with Affinity: Ice. Frost stranglers are ambush predators that create suppressive ice Constructs to impede or slay their opponents.

It wasn’t much, but it was more than Daniel should know. His Encyclopedia was able to draw in information he didn't directly find according to the description, but the reasoning behind what it chose to display evaded him. Wishing the Encyclopedia would tell him more about itself seemed a self-defeating prospect even if he could do it. This is probably some kind of interaction with Identify Creature, though. You know anything about it Hunter?

It is very dangerous. I can barely smell it. And it is not alone. Hunter was right. The red, vaguely human outline of the frost strangler flitted about in the distance with level two and one monsters in the nearby area, a small group of young and normal shock runners. Tlara and the rest of the group were looking for a fight that combined at least one level three with enough lower level monsters to give the trainees a chance to strike without being overwhelmed. That didn’t stop Daniel from dreading the cold death he was walking towards.

“Alright, we’re close enough,” Tlara sighed. The group stopped just short of a small split in the rock that opened out into the forested pocket of ground chiseled from the mountain. The frost strangler and its company were ahead.

She’d summoned the pterodactyl that earlier patrolled Roost’s Peak as her choice of companion. Or tool, to use her word. None of the enemies they’d face were capable of flight and her monster would only be in danger if it got near something tall enough for the shock runners to cling to. What electrical attacks would do against electrical-type creatures, Daniel didn’t know.

“Now can we go over the plan?”

“We don’t do plans. Just fucking kill something.” Again Daniel expected Tlara to show some measure of bloodthirst, but she just seemed serious. “Keep up or die, and don’t get in Kob’s way or you’ll regret it. If you don’t have the instincts for this then you shouldn’t be here. Also if you don’t do what I tell you, you definitely won’t be.”

Daniel didn’t want to ask but knew it would be worse if he didn’t. He forced subservience into his tone in hopes that took the edge off Tlara’s bitterness. “So what are your orders?”

That earned a suspicious look that was significantly less hostile than average. His higher charisma really could put in work when it felt like it. “Have your ringcat stay up front to draw attention. You’re pretty much useless with that sword so I guess you can stay back.”

Burning warmth pressed into Daniel’s cheeks as he immediately regretted his tack. “You’re just trying to get him killed!”

Tlara’s smile revealed the trap he’d walked into. “Sounds like you’re refusing an order.” She stood up and airily stated, “I guess that means you can just trudge on the fuck back to the city then.”

It took everything for Daniel not to address his argument towards Kob. Something told him that may as well mean forfeiting the point. “I’m not like you. My friends aren’t disposable and I don’t use them as cannon fodder.”

“I have two answers for you. I don’t care and you do what I fucking say.”

He wanted to use his time stop to cool off, but Daniel couldn’t afford the mana. He’d have to rely on his trump card. The semantics of the deal held a loophole he was sure Tlara hadn’t thought of. Ideally he wouldn’t have used it until later than the second day of hunting with her but she’d forced the issue. “Sure, I do. Our agreement doesn’t say anything about my ringcat following your orders.”

Tlara’s glare told him exactly what she thought about how clever he was. “Fucking really? Just tell it to do whatever I want it to.”

“I can, but he doesn’t want to. I haven’t tamed him Tlara, Hunter is his own person and does what he wants to.” Daniel folded his arms and hoped that provoked the right kind of reaction. This wasn’t walking the line, this was sprinting across it while wearing a blindfold. It was worth it. After yesterday he couldn’t continue with a boot on his neck and needed to push the boundaries of the arrangement out. Lograve could say what he would about not provoking people higher than his level, Daniel was confident Kob would stop Tlara from doing anything permanent to him.

The bird woman’s feathers puffed up again as her voice rose to a volume that threatened to alert their quarry. “Fine. If that broken tool wants to stay with you then both of you fucking march into the forest and draw them out!”

“No.” Kob’s voice rumbled like distant thunder. It was the closest they got to a whisper.

“The agreement-”

“Overstep.”

Tlara returned to a shrill whisper. “He’s just making it up so he won’t have to lose his fucking pet! What would you rather risk, Khare or that thing?”

“Can you prove it?” Daniel was beaming, now the one whose trap had been sprung. Taunting Tlara was easier than he thought. She must have a low charisma. “I’m fairly certain you don’t have a truth-detection power, none of you do. You can either argue with me and draw attention, or we can get to work without pointlessly using team members as sacrificial lambs.”

Tlara had no proof but she did have anger. The avianoid would find some way to get back at him, but there was no time before the fight for her schemes. Kob ended the squabble not with words, but by vaulting off the ledge and dropping to the forest floor. The minor earthquake this caused alerted everything to their presence. Red outlines started to move towards them.

The benefit of not having a previously discussed plan was that Daniel was free to fight as he saw fit. He had no idea how to fight the monsters charging his position other than to draw his crossbow and hope he wouldn’t need to use his talon hands. Khare stayed with him while Sigron followed Kob a short distance away. Tlara was the last to go, glaring at Daniel and raising a hand at her pterodactyl which made it grow slightly and move faster.

She’s a terrible person, but I wouldn’t mind that kind of ability for you, he thought to Hunter. And if you borrowed it from me, we could buff each other!

Focus. Look at the walls. We are not as safe here as you think.

The Artificer gulped as he took the point. The shock runners would have no problem clinging to the side of the valley to bypass Kob and reach their position. Falling back through the crevice behind him would only give him less room to maneuver. Well, it’s a good thing you’re big enough to ride now. If enough of them get here we’ll need to beat it fast.

I don’t like that idea. Hunter had so far firmly resisted the thought of being ridden which dashed Daniel’s hopes of mounted archery.

Khare, the level one gestalt Martialist, was also making their preparations. An impressive amount of weapons hidden in the mass of vines were retrieved, with two entire belts of daggers starting to twirl on plant tendrils. It seemed like they could throw all of them at once with some accuracy. “Hey, Khare,” Daniel said quickly. “We haven’t talked before, do you have a plan for if the monsters get here?”

The acorn eyes turned to him. “Kob.” The tree-like voice was almost falsetto compared to Kob’s earth-breaking tenor, even if it was still deeper than his.

“Huh. Well, I guess they are level four.” Daniel suddenly wondered if there was a reason the rest of his companions weren’t worried about set plans. “I haven’t seen anyone that powerful in action yet. I know I have my differences with Tlara but I just wanted to say we’ve got your back. Level ones have to stick together, right?”

Khare’s grey aura was unimpressed, but gestalt did respond with, “Accord.” That was probably a good thing and not a reminder that Tlara all but had a leash around his neck.

Daniel went prone on the ledge and steadied his crossbow, feeling like he should adjust a scope he didn’t have. Hunter was now too tall to steady himself on unless the ringcat lay on his side, and that was not a position to be in during a fight. Snap Shot made bracing unnecessary, but Daniel wanted all the accuracy he could get. Only 15 of his 20 bolts were ones he was willing to fire. The other five were more experimental and reserved for emergencies. Curved purple spines had been fixed into the metal shaft to poke out from the tip. The process of creating these had actually led to a new, if shoddy, formulae.

Lightning Bolt (Formulae: Enchanting, Construct, Domain: Enchantment, Quality: Shoddy, Level: 0)

A normal crossbow bolt fitted with Special Item: Lightning Spine commonly salvaged from Monsters within Region: Thormundz. This bolt has been enhanced with Type: Lightning damage as well as the unique properties belonging to the material used to augment it.

Creation of this item requires no Mana or significant time beyond assembly. Use of special item: lightning spine required in sufficient quantity to create this item

He’d only tested out one so far given his limited number of lightning spines. The bolt had exploded about 20 meters away, meaning it could deliver a destructive burst if he aimed properly. It seemed any kind of fast movement, not just falling, would build charge in the spines and decrease their momentum in turn. If it hit too soon, however, the bolt wouldn’t reach the kaboom point and would deal less damage due to its slower momentum. Daniel was sure he could make more things with these, but all of his supply had gone to making explosive bolts because, you know, explosive bolts.

The battle was joined as the first of the shock runners charged at Kob and Sigron. The Knight held up his impressive shield, light flashing across it twice as an ability was activated. Fire sprung to ring the blade of his short sword, held in front of him like a torch. Kob’s readying was far more impressive. A shock wave pulsed from them as cracks began to appear in their stony hide. At first, Daniel was terrified an unseen enemy had damaged them. Then, vines as thick as electrical lines ensnared the shards of stone, and the giant was transformed into a whirlwind of plant and sharp rock. This drew most of the jolts of electricity which harmlessly deflected off the stone wielded by the mass as weapon and armor. Holy shit. I can see why they don’t worry about fights going bad, Daniel thought to Hunter. The first of the lizards was crushed by Kob while the rest scattered.

Unlike the ringcats he had faced before, the shock runners attacked with the entire group at once. Ten young and eight fully grown came from the trees and along the tapering walls. Tlara was between the monstrosity that was Kob and Daniel’s position. She fought more like a drone pilot than an actual participant in the battle. Her beast did the fighting while she focused on buffing it and keeping herself safe.

To give the pterodactyl credit, the lightning emitted from the spine on its head did char shock runner flesh when it struck away from the spines of those creatures. On a handful of occasions, Tlara shouted "Elemental Overload", creating an enormous burst that outright killed the level ones she targeted. She didn’t spam this, either due to the mana cost or a cooldown.

Khare writhed in place, and several daggers flew out towards the shock runner leading the group on the left wall. Daniel sighted the same target, activated Snap Shot through will alone, and felt the ability guide his sights home. The effect was rather powerful since he just had to aim in the general area of a creature and let the ability take over. Not to the level of Kob, not even close, but it was a dramatic improvement to his combat potential. The bolt flew in a clean arc to the creature’s prominent eye with enough force to drive it through the socket, and the monster fell dead off the wall. I just killed a level two, he thought with a sense of pride. On purpose, I mean. That was almost too easy.

Pathetic prey to have such a weakness, Hunter commented, then looked around sharply. Where is the ice man?

“Hey, the frost strangler’s gone!” Daniel called out as he realized the outline was no longer visible.

“Stealth ability. Fuck, I can’t sense it either,” Tlara confirmed, differences put aside as an enemy greater than them both was roaming the battlefield unseen.

Daniel couldn’t let it distract him. Shock runners were approaching from both sides and coming right for him. Their lightning was currently directed at Kob, Tlara, and Sigron as they were at a poor angle to hit the two on the rise. The monsters seemed very ill adapted to attacking a target head on but could expertly kite an enemy by running around it. They were also weak towards the front as his one shot kill showed, but that was the only one he'd managed over the new minute. Though some of the shots hit the fleshy orbs, none broke through to fatally wound. Khare’s follow ups often did the job, though the gestalt focused on the left side. Two of Daniel’s crossbow bolts were committed to the right side before the reason for the gestalt’s neglect was revealed.

The initial pulse from Kob had puzzled Daniel. It wasn’t like Thomas’ Nova ability that knocked people down. It didn’t carry real force or pressure but had struck his senses like a depth charge. Another blast was issued and gave Daniel a better idea of its source: tremendous expenditure of mana.

The second pulse was accompanied by a contortion of the gestalt’s vines. Some rooted in the ground, while the rest concentrated the stone armor shards into a shell at the other end. In seconds, this mass whipped around twice and then stretched towards the shock runners on the right wall. All there were left broken and smeared.

Most of the shock runners lay dead and Daniel was just about to think the frost strangler had run when it struck. Sigron had spent the battle tanking the main shock runner force effectively when ice sprung from the ground like a bear trap. If Sigron’s legs weren’t as well protected as his chest it might have taken his foot completely off.

Kob’s mass instantly enveloped the Knight and left only bloody ice when it moved from where Sigron once stood. He, he’s alive right? It was hard to make out, but Daniel could see Sigron’s aura within Kob’s writhing sphere.

“Fuck, invisibility!” Tlara was running back to Daniel’s position the moment the attack came.

Invisibility. That terrified the Artificer. Hunter’s amplification of his Identify Creature power had made him feel invincible whenever they weren’t actively fighting. Threats could be detected so far out that he could always run away before getting into any real danger. Now there was something within reach that could kill him without leaving even an aura for him to detect.

The frost strangler victimized Tlara’s pterodactyl next as a rod of ice shot from the ground, into the air, and closed around its neck. “It’s Aquakinesis!” Daniel suddenly realized. Monsters can have class powers!?

“Wither!” Kob’s voice shook the trees. Shard carrying vines were striking the ground at random. No, not at random. It took Daniel a few moments to see the pattern. Grass on the ground was slowly freezing in a trail retreating from the giant. He would have never noticed it, not unless he had hours to observe instead of seconds. Kob, however, had instantly recognized how to track the enemy.

The trail of death followed Tlara. The Beastmaster was nimble and had the sense to withdraw her monster before it was choked to death. It dissolved into dust that flowed towards her. Daniel didn’t entirely understand how her powers worked, but based on her failure to produce another beast it was unlikely she could before the frost strangler was on her.

Despite the brutish strength of Kob the frost continued its pursuit. Nothing should be able to survive the giant’s strikes, nothing under their level at least. Maybe it was traveling underground? No, Kob was hitting with enough force to create craters. It was also possible that the frost effect on the grass was delayed and the monster was ahead of where it appeared, but Kob was hitting close enough that something should have happened to the creature.

Instead, it was gaining on Tlara. She would die, or at least be gravely injured. Do I want that? Daniel asked himself. It was a fair question. She’d probably cut and run were their places swapped. Anyways, what could he do that Kob couldn’t, that anyone else here couldn’t? Damn it. Daniel stopped time and burned about a quarter of his remaining mana in the process.

What are you doing!? Hunter’s thoughts carried fear and confusion. His new intelligence hadn’t changed how much the ringcat despised being frozen in place.

I’m the only one who can save her. But I don’t know if I should.

That doesn’t make any sense.

It’s a damage immunity. I think. To Daniel, this was a classic ghost-type monster. In most games physical attacks wouldn’t touch them, but magical attacks? Since Hunter wasn’t familiar with video game logic Daniel didn’t explain that part of his reasoning. That thing took out the guy with the fire sword and the lightning bird first. They’re the only ones with attacks that aren’t just physical, that it knows of at least. Kob should be pounding it into sand but their vines are probably going straight through it. I need to use a lightning bolt.

Why stop time?

I needed to think, and I’ll need to use it again. You’ll see.

The lightning bolts were kept in a separate pouch on Hunter made of tougher and thicker leather than normal. Theoretically, they’d be a danger to the ringcat should a creature with lightning abilities target his area. Taking one out took a little longer than Daniel thought, but he still had enough time.

He took a knee on the ledge and trained his sights to follow the running bird woman. “Tlara! Drop when I tell you to!”

She was using most of her air for running, but managed enough to force out, “Don’t you dare.”

“Oh fuck you too, just do it! And stop moving side to side!”

“Are you trying to shoot me!?” The frost was almost at her heels and she was bleeding from ice shards embedded into her back.

“What do you think?!” It was almost within range. Despite the initial intent of the bolt’s design, Daniel wanted the bolt to strike the monster just before it exploded. That meant waiting until Tlara was almost under him. “Now!”

Daniel fired the lightning bolt manually with a short use of Moment of Clarity, instead of using Snap Shot. He couldn’t trust that it would compensate correctly for what was about to happen to the bolt and had needed the other ability to work out where and when to fire. As soon as it was released, lightning began sparking and the bolt behaved differently than the ones before. He’d aimed ahead of where the frost strangler should be, leading the shot for when the bolt’s momentum slowed. If it traveled too far before hitting something, the explosion might have hurt Tlara. That wouldn’t be the end of Daniel’s world but would probably make any reconciliation with her impossible. It also might not be enough to kill the level three monster. Instead of exploding, the bolt buzzed midair. Purple lightning connected with one of the larger spines on the closest shock runner corpse just as the bolt lodged into something invisible, the electrical energy coursing over it giving it purchase.

“Kob, toss the body!” Daniel shouted, but vines were already wrapped around the shock runner’s corpse. Were they anticipating that? he wondered. For someone who appeared to prize brute strength, Kob’s fighting instinct was flawless. Shock runner corpses were juggled one at a time over Daniel’s lightning bolt. Electricity arced again and again into the invisible creature to reach the lightning spine within it. The frost strangler’s endurance must have been low enough that it couldn’t resist the chained stun effect, allowing Kob to continue roasting it into oblivion. It grimly reminded the Artificer of what might have happened if the sparkbat swarm had overwhelmed him back on that island.

A charred blue corpse suddenly appeared and began sloughing into a pile of viscous jelly. Tlara had scrambled away to watch the execution and had made it outside of the splash zone. Once it was clear there was no threat, vines parted to allow a very injured Sigron to exit. The phone in Daniel’s pouch vibrated.

You have accomplished Feat: Slay Monsters and Feat: Invention.

This has unlocked potential for growth. Three Advancement Potential have been awarded. You may assign them with Function: Settings in addition to expending potential through normal methods.