Peter spoke. “It’s all ghostly looking to me.”
“Same here,” Shannon added.
Naomi gave a curious glance to Eric. “It’s translucent to me also. That means I can’t interact with it, right?”
Eric walked away from the group a few strides. His mind was working through every stored memory within The Paths that he could access. Every moment from his past timeline that was in the repository, flicked through in seconds. Nothing like this had ever come up in his personal experience, in anything he’d read, or from anyone he’d spoken to.
He spoke, and couldn’t hide the slight tremor in his voice. “I can see it perfectly. Maybe it’s meant for me and me alone.” He knew the truth of that statement, and since he could not recall anything from his past timeline, he doubted anyone had encountered a challenge like this. It could be very likely he was one of the only people to hold a primal force and face something like this.
The Graveborn Corpsestrider, seemingly a larger and presumably tougher variant of the Graveborn Striders they had just fought, began its charge across the field, several hundred feet away. It was easily the size of a semi truck, and as wide as one from the front. Eric threw his adventuring pack on the ground.
Seraphine looked back at the guards, who all affirmed verbally they only saw a phantasmal version of the entity. “Blackflame Mage Mercer—what did you do?”
“How would I know?!” Eric shouted, needing to keep his ruse going and feeling authentically befuddled at the circumstances he found himself in. He focused on the here-and-now of fighting to survive, pushing all other thoughts out of his mind and ignoring everyone else. They were safe, they couldn’t be hurt by this thing. It was just Eric and this special challenge.
He raised his hand and fired off Blackflame Bolt, sending one after another after another. Each one slammed into the entity, boring a hole into the skeletal frame and purple mana-muscle that held it together. He aimed near the joints, trying to damage the connecting parts where the legs were to cripple it and slow the thing down. The flames grew in intensity, rising higher and higher, until he had applied twenty of the damage-over-time burns.
And yet the monstrosity kept charging, now less than a hundred feet away. Eric used Ash Shroud and began moving to his left. He wanted to move to one of the sections of the graveyard that had less gravestones and more hills. With the changing elevation, he might be able to take advantage of rapid turns and his higher maneuverability. As he kept sprinting, he watched as the entity turned to line up directly with him in its headlong charge.
There was plenty of loud conversation going on in the background as his audience was not keeping their voices low. But one specific comment from one of the guards caught his ears. “Oh yeah, I’ll take that bet. No way a Reaper takes that thing out on his own. We’ll be healing him soon enough.”
I’ll fucking show you. If it uses the same strategy as the other ones did, I just need to dodge the incoming strike.
An idea flickered into his mind, and he felt his heart race. He was afraid, but with that fear was a sense of exhilaration. He’d never faced down a monster like this. He’d never dealt with a solo encounter. On top of that, he had never been without barriers and healing to fall back on. That brought a level of adrenaline he had never felt before and it made his heart race and that beat pulsed in his head.
Eric knew he had one real shot at taking this thing out: he needed to cripple its movement, and there was only one way he saw that he could do that, given his targeted fire wasn’t doing the job. He activated Sootshroud and watched as the black ash and smoke exploded out of him, completely hiding him from both sight and any non-magical detection. Another Sigil winked out of existence from the back of his hand.
I just hope it can’t detect life energy or some bullshit like that. But if its a bigger version of the other undead, then its sight and that’s it.
The enormous foe approached, and right as the center of the horse-torso bore down on him, scything blades swinging wildly to find him through the smoke, he dove between the legs which had a good six feet of clearance between the ground and the underside. While in mid-air, he turned over, landing on his back and skidding on the grass under the creature. Its form passed overhead, and he raised his hand.
Backblast.
A shockwave of black flame exploded from him, sending the monster flying up into the sky and blowing off some of the phantasmal goop making up its lower half—including the half of the forelegs. Blackflame Blaze applied once more as the fires grew even hotter, to the point that Eric felt the soothing warmth thanks to his close proximity, and his robes began to crisp ever-so-slightly.
Eric couldn’t pay attention to the audience, but the cheers of his allies forced a little grin to his lips as his maneuver obviously seemed to impress.
He rolled down the small, grassy incline as the figure came crunching down past him as its momentum carried it down into the dirt. As he came to a stop at the bottom of the small hill, he glanced at his left hand. Only two Sigils remained hovering above it.
That full-restore thing that The Paths gave me didn’t give me my Sigils back. Damnit, I wanted to save some for the Corpse Amalgamation.
He stood and fired off more Blackflame Bolts, targeting the rear legs in an attempt to burn them off. He was partially successful, and began to run away as he lobbed shots at the now-hobbled enemy.
It would be morbidly comedic if not for the impending threat of death: an injured ghost-skeleton-centaur the size of a semi-truck chasing after a guy wearing a robe and firing off black flames that looked like paintballs in comparison to the size of the monstrosity. The comedic factor was nullified for Eric because he knew if the thing got too close, the scything blade would kill him before the guards could do anything to save him.
Blackflame Blaze continued to build up applications, more and more, until Eric couldn’t see any trace of the creature; it was just a moving mass of fire; a pyroclastic entity that shrieked and howled as it chased its prey while its body crumbled to ash. The downside of the Trait was showing itself: the initial damage inflicted was so low that the damage-over-time effect wasn’t potent enough to kill the thing quickly.
. . .
Eric knew his victory was inevitable. The thing was hobbled enough, and he had enough stamina left, that he could just move away from the thing and keep hitting it from afar, mana dipping lower and lower.
He glanced over at the audience, and saw some money in the form of both coins and scrip changing hands between the guards. Seraphine was furiously taking notes. Shannon gave him a thumbs up, Peter nodded in an ‘attaboy’ way, and Naomi just stared, as if studying intently for a test.
. . .
Finally, after what felt like an hour but in reality was around five minutes, Eric had to stop running and slow to a walk. He was fully tapped out of mana yet again, and it felt like he had run a marathon. The creature pursuing him was relentless, fueled by a programmed instinct to follow a function to chase down and destroy its foe.
However, Eric’s Blackflame was able to burn away whatever force sustained its being, and because of his earlier move that blew off several limbs, he was able to keep his distance.
Leveling up had a side effect of increased his mana capacity of his inner reservoir to the point that he was able to fire off more of the Blackflame Bolts than in the zombie encounter, but he was at the point where if the thing wasn’t dead soon, he would need to get over to Shannon and borrow her crossbow and bolts to keep the fight going.
He only stopped when the thing finally collapsed and turned to a pile of ash.
The rapid flash of white-on-black text filtered across his vision. But it was not just the usual words of post-combat he expected. There were two extra lines at the top he had never seen before.
[Additional Challenge - Cleared!]
[Ember Acquired.]
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Then the regular rewards for the chamber being cleared and combat ending began to process across his vision. He did not gain any extra milestone progress from the unique encounter.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have 2 level-ups to process.]
[Blackflame Mage 6, 7.]
[Choose a Skill and Trait to increase. Then repeat this once.]
Cinderburst and Sootshroud. Blackflame Blaze twice.
He’d decided to focus his build on the damage-over-time burn, to really narrow down on that specific element and make that core to his entire Class. It seemed like the strongest Trait out of them all, and central to the identity of the primal force as a whole.
[Confirmed.]
-----
Skills:
Cinderburst 3 - The area of effect increases in size. 70-foot radius.
Sootshroud 2 - The area of effect increases in size. 15-foot radius centered on user
-----
Traits:
Blackflame Blaze 7 - Increase burning damage-over-time to 35%.
-----
Eric glanced over at his allies, and saw they were in the trance. Seraphine was still jotting down notes, but the guards were now staring at him. He quickly stared off into the distance once more, trying to portray that he was still in The Paths like the rest. Thankfully, he was a good distance away, and thus doubted they noticed his glance.
Before Status and Secondary, I want to use an Ember. Index, use one on Blackflame Blaze.
[Confirmed.]
Eric felt the same cooling sensation as when the Ember first had manifested upon entering the mega dungeon. It was soothing, like he had just stepped into a pool on a hot day. He felt refreshed, and the chilling sensation ran up and down his body as The Paths put another message in his vision.
[Blackflame Blaze has evolved!]
-----
Trait:
[Dire] Blackflame Blaze 7 - Adds a burning damage-over-time effect to all of the user’s Skills and Rotes that inflict damage, dealing an additional 35% of the total direct damage over [5] seconds. If reapplied, all burn timers refresh.
-----
Name: Eric Mercer
Classes: Blackflame Mage 7
Maximum Sigils: 5
Rotes: Blackflame Bolt, Ash Shroud
Equipped Skills: Backblast 2, Cinderburst 3, Blackflame Beam 2, Flashstep 2, Sootshroud 2
Traits: Sheltered Flames 1, [Dire] Blackflame Blaze 7, Vital Heat 1
Body Enhancements:
-----
Loadout Slots: 5
Gear:
Parts & Components: 30x Duskbound Zombie Material, 10x Duskbound Zombie Ash
Embers: 1
-----
Huh. So if I get this right, the same amount of damage is inflicted in half the time. That means, overall, a higher damage output, since I would be doing, say, ten damage in five seconds, rather than ten damage in ten seconds. It’s great if I can keep applying more burns and keep refreshing them, but not if I have a lot of targets I need to keep applying and refreshing the DOTs to.
He glanced at the still-smoldering ash pile.
Would’ve been great to have earlier in this single target scenario.
Eric turned fully to face the other Summoned and their observers. Seraphine was now looking up at him and gave him a curt nod. He didn’t know how to interpret that, whether it was approval or acknowledgement. The guards were talking to each other, hushed enough that Eric couldn’t make out their words.
Well . . . this is definitely going to cause some differences compared to the other timeline. Nothing for it but to push on, see what changes, and alter my game plan on the fly.
Eric dusted himself off and slipped on his monster-harvesting gloves. He grabbed the bag of ashes and added the Graveborn Corpsestrider ash ball to the bag, shoving it down to join the rest. He ignored the chatter happening between Seraphine and the guards as he went about his business of gathering up ashes.
I get special challenges that only people like me who have this primal force can tackle. The only positive to it is that I get an Ember, and as I just learned, those are pretty useful. Horizontal progression of abilities, or alteration of their core mechanics? That’s unheard of. Normally when they upgrade, they just gain a new function, or increase an existing one.
Shannon and Peter jogged over toward him, while Naomi followed at a rapid walk. The guards and Seraphine remained over near the chamber’s entrance.
“That was insane! You got under the thing and blasted it so high! Good move, sweet dive.” Peter said with a huge grin on his face, blood still dripping down his body.
“How’d you heal that injury you had earlier?” Naomi asked.
“You okay?” Shannon asked.
Eric addressed each in turn. “It was a good move. I just automatically healed when the thing appeared. I’m fine, just tired.” He looked at Seraphine and the guards, who were all whispering amongst themselves. “Seems like what happened to me hasn’t happened to them before.”
“What did happen?” Naomi asked, understanding his double meaning.
Eric whispered, sure that given the distance between him and Seraphine, and the fact that armored guards were moving next to her and his volume would be enough to prevent her from hearing him. “I heard that voice. The same one from touching the Summon Stone. It told me that I was holding a primal force . . . whatever that is.”
Eric held up his left hand and turned it so that the two remaining Sigils were visible. He was completely guessing at this point—educated guesses, but still guesswork. “The only thing I can think of is that when I was in The Paths, and in the library, the Class I selected was really unique. Maybe . . . maybe in that library, each Class has something like mine. A primal force.”
Something like the truest expression of a Class’ identity? He added mentally. Or that the most powerful type of each Class is also called a primal force? That’s the best I can come up with at the moment.
“Damn, man.” Peter shook his head. “You got a super special Class? Lucky.”
“I wouldn’t call that lucky,” Shannon replied. “He could’ve died, and there’d be nothing we could’ve done to help! He was the only one able to interact with the monster.”
“But I didn’t die,” Eric replied. “Now let’s get the rest of these Monster Parts and take stock of resources. I’m down to two Sigils.”
Naomi held up her hand. “One here. I upgraded Shannon’s arbalest, crossbow, and handheld variant though.”
Shannon held her hand up. “I have one left as well.”
Peter grinned, holding his hand up. “I have three left. Looks like I have the most now.”
Good. We still have some resources. The upcoming obstacle course might be tricky for Naomi with her injury, but other than that? I think we can do it.
“Come on, let’s help him gather up the smelly parts,” Shannon said.
Eric went about his business, keeping an eye on Seraphine, who regarded him with both curiosity and awe from her post. It took the Summoned a good ten minutes to gather up the Monster Parts and ashes given how spread out the corpses were, and Shannon had a look of disgust on her face as she tried to wipe her hands off on the grass.
“Why did I touch it?” she loudly complained as she shook her hands.
Eric chuckled at the slightly comic sight, and the break in tension was just what he needed as his brain had a momentary reprieve to contemplate the encounter.
He had done well, all things considered. No injury, albeit more resources spent than he would have liked, and he had gained another Ember.
They’re potent. That seemingly minor alteration effectively doubled the damage-over-time that occurs. I just wish there was a way to make my Rote more potent too. Actually wait, it did say when I first got one that it can be used on my Rote. Now I’m curious . . .
Index. Use an Ember on Blackflame Bolt.
[Confirmed.]
Eric felt that cooling sensation again. The Ember flared to life in his right hand; the white flames were once again wreathed with the black outline, and then they surged into his palm and shot down his arm, infusing his body with the soothing chill.
[Blackflame Bolt has evolved!]
Rote:
[Scorching] Blackflame Bolt - Launch a bolt of Blackflame that impacts a singular target, dealing [moderate] damage.
-----
He held his left hand up and willed a Blackflame Bolt into existence. It manifested, yet instead of being the size of a dart, this time it was the size of an arrow. He let the power fade as it sucked into him with that reverse-sneeze sensation that caused a ripple of disgust to flow down his spine.
Naomi walked over. “What was that?” she whispered.
Eric looked over at their other two allies, who were busy trying to wipe monster goop from their hands on the grass, and spared one more glance at Seraphine, who was still with the guards and distance. He whispered, “Well, the monste—”
“Not the monster.” She gestured to her palm and made a fwoosh noise. “Your flame just now was bigger.”
No harm in telling her. She might be able to figure it out.
Eric continued, “When I got into the dungeon, passed into it, I received an Ember from The Paths—I think it’s a unique horizontal progression mechanic. When I killed that thing, I got another Ember. I just used both. One on my damage-over-time Trait, the other on my Rote. That’s why it looked different just now. I used the second one.”
She narrowed her gaze, her voice staying at a whisper but her words becoming more precise. “I concur. You have a unique progression mechanic that seems to be locked to these primal forces.”
“There can’t just be one primal force, and I got lucky with Reaper having it," Eric replied. "I have a hunch each Class-type has their own.”
“Seems reasonable. In your past, did you ever have a chance to re-visit that library?”
Eric nodded. “There’s a means of acquiring a second Class directly from The Paths. The same goes for your third Class. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Gotta catch them all?” Naomi asked with a grin.
“If we can,” Eric replied with a smile. He was already learning more about her this time around, and that filled him with a sense of belonging and kinship with a fellow nerd. “But, even if I got two more, you got two, and both Peter and Shannon did the same, that’s only nine out of the ten Class-types.”
Naomi shrugged. “Still, if we all got this horizontal progression? Maybe we could even all interact with those types of special encounters and tackle them together.”
“Maybe.”
I’ll have to ask her what her favorite game in that series is, Eric thought. And her favorite starter. You can always tell if someone is an asshole or not by what they choose. I’d bet she’s a water-type main.
When he saw Peter and Shannon come over, their hands stained green from the grass and ichor that refused to come off, he raised his voice and called, “I think you’ll have to wait until we get some soap and water.”
Peter grumbled and Shannon sighed. Naomi pointed to the next tunnel across the field. “Let’s go. Peter’s slowly bleeding out, and this leg hurts like a bitch.”
He let out a barking laugh. “I barely feel it.” However, a look of concern passed over the athlete’s face. “But we’ll go fast, since you’re hurting.” He hefted his maul and led the group as they went toward the next objective.
Eric lingered at the back of the group so he could turn to look at Seraphine whose face was inscrutable from that distance. He hoped he had impressed her, but knew that the solo encounter would raise additional questions.
I better come up with some answers for when she inevitably asks.