Rune Seeker

As the massive construct took a step to catch its balance, Hiral got View to activate. Time to see what we’re up against.

(Construct) Tomorrow’s Mecha-Armor, Mark G14NT – Mid-A-Rank

So little of that name even made sense to Hiral – Armor? That thing is armor?! At least the giant part was easy to understand– he focused instead on the Rank of it. Mid-A-Rank. Possibly the most powerful thing they’d encountered that wasn’t an Elite or Boss-type monster.

Then again, there seemed to be a cooldown on the powerful cannons on its shoulders. And, if that was all it had, they…

The cannons weren’t all the G14NT had.

Compartments on the legs, arms, and chest opened to reveal what looked like symmetric – but porous? – cannisters. Eight he could see, and four more he could feel on the thing’s back through his sensory domain.

Before Hiral even had a chance to wonder what the point of those was, he got his answer.

A thunderous roar accompanied dozens of somethings exploding out of those canisters like a furious swarm, trails of smoke streaming behind them. While the whatever-the-hell-they-were from the arms and legs shot straight at the party, some of those from the back didn’t seem to make the sharp turn to streak ahead, instead colliding with buildings on either side of the construct.

Where they exploded with enough force to shred the buildings. Metal, glass, and stone erupted in a line as several of the shots couldn’t make the curve work, obscuring the huge construct with the debris even as the rest of the attacks rocketed at Hiral and the others.

“Defensive cooldowns!” Hiral shouted, wings-like-petals of flames already curving around the party while Wallop stomped to the front of the group. A shimmering version of the Rune-o’s armored hide seemed to expand outward from his shoulders, creating a wall between the incoming attack and the party. Between the two of them – Seena’s and Wallop’s barriers – would they be enough?

Hiral wasn’t keen to test that, so he added his own Runes of Increase, Rejection, and Dreaming to the mix, reinforcing both his friends’ abilities. Solar energy pulsed from the other two parties, but he didn’t have a chance to look at what they were doing before the salvo of attacks arrived.

Just before the first struck, Hiral caught a glimpse of what looked like a canister of some kind, rounded at the front and propelled by fire from the rear end. Whatever it was, it struck with the force of one of Seena’s fully-powered-up Fireballs, and created just as much flame.

All at once, everything around them vanished within the firestorm, the sheer volume of concussive impacts shaking the world and throwing them from their feet. Even unable to stay on his feet, Hiral ‘watched’ the scene unfolding through his sensory domain. Watched as Seena’s almost-unbreakable defensive ability shattered. Watched as Wallop planted his feet and braced his body for the tidal wave of force and fire that hit him.

Sheets of flame and metal shards drove into the Runeocerous’s barrier – and his face – while the energy cracked under the pressure. Even behind their tank, the temperature climbed from the heat of the assault.

“Heal him,” Seena said, obviously noticing Wallop’s health dropping in the Party Interface.

Luckily for everybody, Left and Gran were already on it, needles of crimson thread and the Waters of Frey slapping into Wallop’s rear end.

One second of the cacophony turned to two, three, four… before it finally ceased. Even as the flames subsided, Wallop slumped – though he didn’t fall – and everybody else looked at their surroundings.

The other two parties were still standing, though the blood said they didn’t make it through unscathed. Even then, that damage was nothing compared to the scene around them. The road was a cratered mess, with flat surfaces being the exception instead of the rule. Buildings on both sides of the street were little more than rubble. Where parts of them somehow still stood, it was clear from a glance that wouldn’t stay true for long.

“Where is it?” Nivian asked, the cloud of debris and dust obscuring the far end of the street.

“Hasn’t moved,” Hiral said, thanks to his sensory domain. But, he could do more than just tell them. Lifting his hand above his head, he channeled energy into Separation, Rejection, and Expansion. Then, with a sharp motion, he cut his hand straight down, and the cloud of dust parted immediately right up the middle before bursting outward to clear the air.

Straight ahead of them, the G14NT stood, the canisters on its arms, legs, and chest rotating like they were preparing for their next salvo.

“We can’t let it keep doing that,” Nivian said. “We need to take the fight to it.”

“Go,” Hiral said, the others waiting for their raid leader’s permission.

With the word, the Death Knight blurred forward, his familiar movement skill making Hiral grin despite the situation. A line of skeletal hands reaching from the ground stretched behind him – the only way to easily track his rapid movement – and then he was there, hammer slamming into… what looked like the G14NT’s toe.

Others weren’t far behind, Seeyela appearing with a Bamf to land on the thing’s shoulder cannon, while Yanily slammed into the other with an Aspect-empowered Skyfall+. His Dragon’s Breath came a second later, though even it didn’t seem to be enough to destroy the weapon.

This enemy was A-Rank, after all.

Wallop – all healed up, thanks to Gran and Left – used a Charge ability similar to Nivian’s movement skill, getting him to the fight almost instantly. That just left one more tank, and it didn’t seem Ilrolik had a movement ability like the other two. Instead, the woman just started lumbering forward, her party at her side as she went. Each step built up speed though.

Built up power.

The Juggernaut tattoo wasn’t just about size and strength. No, once Ilrolik got going, she’d be unstoppable.

“Hiral?” Seena asked him – her own fiery attacks spinning to life – when she noticed he wasn’t racing ahead with the others.

“Something else is coming,” Hiral said. “From the other direction. Smaller. Faster.” He turned his head as if he could see it, the buffs amping up his sensory domain to absurd levels. The thing couldn’t be more than seven or eight feet tall, but it was skimming along the ground at an impressive speed. “No, not one. Two.”

“It could be bad if they interfere,” Seena said. “This thing’s armor is stronger than anything from Tomorrow’s Vigil or that Reinforced Runeocerous.”

Seena was correct. The G14NT was going to take all of them to bring down. All their focus. Well, at least most of them.

“Right and I will deal with the new ones coming,” Hiral said. “If you think you’ll be okay.”

“Nivian has an ace up his sleeve, if it comes to it,” Wule said, though Hiral noticed the healer hadn’t used the party chat to tell them that. He’d said it only so Seena and Hiral could hear. Something Nivian is keeping from the others in his party?

From Politet?

“You really think a lot of yourself, don’t you?” Seena said to him with a raised eyebrow. Then she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Do not do anything that makes me worry. You hear me?”

“Yes Ma’am!” Hiral said.

“Right…” Seena said.

“I can’t keep him out of trouble,” the double said immediately.

“Not that,” Seena said. “You be careful too.”

“We will,” Hiral said. “Left,” he looked at his other double. “I’m leaving you in charge of the raid group.” That, he made sure to say over the party chat so everybody knew to listen to Left. If they had a problem with it… well, too bad.

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Then, judging the distance until the two new blips arrived, Hiral took a deep breath and gathered his solar energy. The buffs from the three groups were already impressive, but this would be an A-Rank opponent. By himself, if he and Right needed to split up to deal with the incoming pair.

His heart beat faster, and it wasn’t just the left-over effects from the Aura of War. He was excited. A flex of his solar energy flared his pseudo-aspect, the edges of his coat transforming into white, sparking energy to match the Edictshe’d unlocked, and maximizing the roughly thirty-percent increase in attributes he got from them. Another touch of energy transformed the ring at his back into its horned form, the Crown of Amin Thett settling across his skull.

Something about it just felt right, like the horns helped his solar energy flow even more smoothly through his body. Or, maybe helped him notice how to move it more efficiently? Something to explore later – they had things to do.

“Ready?” he asked Right.

The double just punched the open palm of his other hand, Meridian Lines flaring purple and red, and his own Coat of Amin Thett glowing fiercely.

Reaching out with his scarves, Hiral wrapped Right up tightly. Then, instead of dashing down the street – like he normally would – Hiral launched straight up. Dust that had lingered near the back of the group shot outward in a shockwave from the burst of Rejection, and Hiral and Right were above the tall buildings a second later.

“Oh yeah,” Right said. “Bout time you did this.”

Hiral could only smile at his double, his sensory domain locking on to the two approaching shapes several streets over, and he changed direction. Gravity and Rejectionrocketed them over the roofs of the buildings, before Hiral swept down to intercept their targets.

And, interesting targets they were.

Even though there were similarities to the G14NT, these constructs sped upright along the street, horizontal wings and some kind of powerful propulsion jetting them forward. They didn’t have shoulder-mounted cannons, and instead carried something similar to Romin’s Runic Blunderbuss – except made of metal – in their right hands. A thick, metal belt connected the weapon to the constructs’ backs, and a pair of curved blades extended from their left wrists.

All in all, they didn’t look as heavily armed – or armored – as the G14NT, but they could have more of those hidden cannisters of exploding shots. They couldn’t be underestimated.

In that second of inspection, Hiral’s View also managed to activate, and he got a name to go with the appearance.

(Construct) Tomorrow’s Mecha-Armor, Mark W45P – Mid-A-Rank

A wasp?

As if their opponents felt them coming – or felt View being used on them – the two fast-moving enemies split up immediately, one darting in a direction to take it toward the healers and Seena in the back. The other, it moved toward the melee taking place against the G14NT.

“Throw me at the one heading for the front,” Right said. “Throw me hard or I’ll never catch it.”

A quick calculation, and Hiral had to agree with his double. Splitting up – dramatically – was the only way they’d catch both enemies.

“Good luck,” was all Hiral said to his double before slipping under him and putting one hand on the sole of his left boot.

Knowing what was coming, Right crouched immediately, before they both acted in sync. For Hiral, he hurled Right away, throwing a massive boost of Rejection in with the physical motion. In that second of Hiral’s arm extending – and before the Rejection took hold – Right leapt, his legs fully straightening at the same time Hiral’s arm did.

In perfect unison, Right launched away with enough velocity to put the two speeding constructs to shame. Or, were they armors? Whatever they were, with the double sent flying after his target, Hiral had his own to deal with.

Using the momentum of his own body twisting to throw Right with all his strength, Hiral flipped in the air before powering in the opposite direction with another powerful blast of Rejection. The air screamed past his ears as he shot towards the back of the W45P, claws of Separation forming in preparation for catching up.

Except, the W45P seemed to know he was coming, twisting in the air with whatever it was using for thrust pivoting so that it was flying sideways. Almost immediately, there were clear issues with its flight stability, but it was the weapon coming up in Hiral’s direction that demanded his attention.

Thanks to his high Atn, he saw the armored finger squeeze the trigger, and Hiral Rejected to the side just as the weapon spat its payload. A rapid dun-dun-dun-dun-dun echoed from the rifle, slugs of solid metal cutting through the air in a stream to follow Hiral as he dove out of the way.

Down and to the side, Rejection poured out of Hiral’s hands and feet to push his speed, before he reached the wall of the nearest building, then sped along it. Behind him, the chain-fire of solid projectiles impacted the glass and metal, a cacophonous shattering filling the space as Hiral raced ahead.

On the street, the W45P practically spun in place, the barrel of its weapon trailing behind Hiral while the muzzle flared from the non-stop fire. Glowing lines – rounds that almost looked like they were onfire to Hiral’s eyes – exited the barrel every tenth shot or so, drawing a clear line where the assault was aimed.

With every foot Hiral traveled, the results of the onslaught expanded in his sensory domain. Glass fragmented. Metal tore and buckled. Even Hiral’s reflection passing over the windows a foot away from him rattled from the constant impacts. Worse, the shots were gaining on him.

He wasn’t going to be able to cut down towards his target – not yet at least – which made the claws of Separation on his hands completely useless. Letting the ability fade, he was going to need to use his RHCs, but drawing them would slow him down since he’d lose that extra source of Rejection. That… really wasn’t ideal with the shots right behind him now.

But a quick look at the W45P showed its stability hadn’t improved at all, the whole thing wobbling as it spun. If Hiral could get behind the stream of gunfire, there was no way his enemy would be able to cut back fast enough. The only problem was that the easiest way to get behind the shots was to go through them. Nope. Just. Nope.

Well, if he couldn’t go through, how about around?

Time for something new.

With no time like the present, Hiral spooled solar energy into his Rune of Gravity, beginning the process of tethering himself to the side of the massive building ahead of him. Holding that from actually activating, he added power to a thin layer of Attraction on his hands and feet – though he didn’t complete it yet either. There was still one more thing he needed to do.

Judging the distance to that next building – fifty feet that’d be gone in less than a second – Hiral moved power first into his Rune of Time Dilation and Contraction, then Separation, Unsealing, and Dreaming. As the powers combined, he focused his will – his intent – on his connection to the natural laws of the world. In this particular instance – momentum.

As the world slowed, the familiar – but almost comforting – pain ramping up in the back of his head, Hiral worked on bending reality to what he needed. Around him, the Edicts flared to life from his working, arcs of power like cracks in the air spitting outward. But reality wasn’t so easy to manipulate. It resisted him. Fought him for every inch.

No, that wasn’t right. Not every inch.

The space around the Edicts was under Hiral’s control. He could feel it. They were just too far apart, he almost hadn’t noticed.

So, what if I move them closer?

A flex like it was one of his own muscles brought the Edicts in closer – or, at least how he perceived them – and the space around him came under his control. Just like that, he severed momentum’s hold over him with a snipof Separation, then also let go of his time runes, and the Runes ofAttraction and Gravity he’d prepared immediately activated.

The building that had been beside him suddenly became under him, while he twisted and dropped into a crouch. Behind and to the side, the line of rapid-fire slugs closed the distance, shattering the glass and tearing holes in the trailing Coat of Amin Thett as they raced to catch up to him.

They were so close… but not fast enough, Hiral leaping along the wall on a micro-burst of Rejection that sent him into a roll up the building. RHCs came out of their holsters as he went, and he spun as soon as he reached his feet.

The line of shredded building continued on past him, the W45P unable to keep up with his sudden change in direction, and Hiral slipped energy into his time runes once again. As soon as the world slowed, he closed his fingers over his triggers while focusing on what he was going to do. Unfortunately, he’d learned he couldn’t use Power Attack+ while his time runes were activated, but at least he still had Piercing Shot+.

A second of frozen time, that was all it took, and Hiral released his runes. Four searing bolts of Impact erupted from each of his RHCs – the first two from each weapon empowered by the runic circles floating in front of the barrels. Even as glass shattered and fell towards the street below, his shots reached his target, though he wasn’t quite as accurate as he would’ve hoped.

The spread from releasing the simultaneous salvo had seven of the eight blasts scoring hits on the flying target. Two bolts scarred the wings – but didn’t break them – another glanced off a foot, one off a leg, two to the chest, and the final one into the shoulder. The leg and chest seemed to take the most damage – thanks to Piercing Shot+ – but it was really the two hits to the wing that were the most important.

Already off-balance from the strafing line of constant fire – Didn’t the damn weapon have a cooldown? – the hits to the wing finally sent the W45P wobbling out of its stationary position. That was Hiral’s chance, and he released the hold on his Gravity rune and pushed that power into Rejection. A cascading, circular wave of shattering glass exploded from his feet as he launched off, while claws of Separation formed over his right hand. Piercing and Expansion grew from his left, and he cocked his arm back.

Two small micro-bursts of Rejection correcting his flight lanced him towards his target, blade of piercing striking out to skewer the W45P.

Except… he’d underestimated the thing, and even though it didn’t have complete control over its flight, it must’ve felt him coming. A burst of its thrusters jerked it out of the way at the last second, Hiral’s spear of pure Piercingschinging across its arm, and then he was past. Another burst of Rejection caught him before he face-planted, and he spun to find the armor’s weapon already swiveling to put him directly back in its line of fire.