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Notifications
> Encountered a Communicant of the Devourer, level ??.
> Communicant of the Devourer has been added to the Database. [Locked]
Communicant of the Devourer
Monster Sentry, level ??
[Light Element]
Overseer of the Devourer’s many Maws That Shape The Land For His Great Stomach, it is responsible for communing with Him when their duty is done. It is not a fighter but a Herald for things to come, arriving to the world to declare the Devourer’s victory.
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Well. That confirms that it was speaking with the Devourer somehow, whoever that thing is. Perhaps, like his name suggested, he was truly big enough to be able to consume this entire planet. And now that these dinosaurs have managed to turn this place into a flat plains, the Communicant has come to call the Devourer over. Or maybe the Timeline suggested it has been eaten? I was beginning to think that these Rifts were more that just alternate realities, but I didn’t really know or care to find out. The key thing here is the fact that it isn’t outright hostile. So that means he isn’t the boss. It made sense, since the center altar disk definitely was too small for him.
This didn’t change the fact that I would have to face the boss this time alone. No crazy overpowered Mainline family member to rely on, no invaders, nothing. Just me versus a powerful foe.
With that harrowing thought, I’d better use all 520 of these points. The number wasn’t as shocking to me as before, but it still made me nervous. I was going to be getting larger stats from now on, wasn’t I? Let’s see… Magical Power wouldn’t do much, but perhaps [Light] could permanently blind the Boss if I leveled it up with everything. Attack Power on the other hand could work if I found an opening on it.
The day started to get brighter as the chaotic battle above my head grew distant, though the scream of the Communicant’s magic tearing through the air did not seem to quiet down no matter where the beast was. The ships that followed him were vaporized instantly the second they got caught by his lasers; I didn’t even see a trace of debris was left falling to the ground. Movement Speed seemed like it would be the right call to rank up to E. So I should start there.
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— You have added 21 points to Movement Speed. You now have 500 Movement Speed (E).
— Reflex, Performance and Perception coefficients have improved slightly.
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Yeah, that seemed good to me. Something changed in the world around me, but I didn’t know what. It was far more intimate, unlike the blue boxes. The perception just sharpened, an evolution delivered directly to my eyes with the speed of a freight train. It felt like I could almost see where the loose grass and torn leaves were going before they actually went their directions.
Or maybe it was just placebo, or maybe I was beginning to really feel faster. Unfortunately for me now, I had an ugly and uneven total of 499 points left. That would mean I could split them in half, sort of, and invest them into both Attack and Magical Power. 250 for Attack, and 249 for the other.
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Kathleen Ravenclast
Human Healer, level 17
(No party affiliation)
[Light Element]
Attack Power: 750 (E)
Magical Power: 794 (E)
Constitution: 1000 (E)
Wisdom: 100 (F)
Movement Speed: 500 (E)
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Light Element, huh? No clue how that happened. The heated energy that flowed through me suddenly went molten, like a few sparks landing directly on my skin. My joints felt like they were ready to square up against anyone involuntarily. My body felt the same. I looked at my hands and wrists, same smooth skin.
Well, leveling up never felt this good. The feeling didn’t last long; its recalibration was instant, like a hammer landing on my body, ironing out everything in my muscles. Was it because I absorbed the Dewy blood and it was rebuilding me from the inside? Or the upgraded perception? I didn’t have the time to worry about it since the sky went dark again, but it wasn’t the Communicant. The daylight in the Rift just vanished without a trace. A stormy beam of light shot up to the clouds, coming in the direction of the Boss Room.
I guess he wasn’t a patient one, that powerful foe. I sensed a chill emanating from the light. The Boss was no longer waiting for me and had freed himself, probably heading towards me right now. A hissing noise approached me, cutting through the air as it grew harsher and louder. Dammit. I needed more time to prepare mentally. I’ve never fought a Boss in my life, so what do I do? Where’d the Charger go? Ugh! I scrambled to my feet, my heart pounding. All of the power bubbling inside of me seemed to evaporate, and my confidence vanished.
I found my answer when I heard the sickening noise of a slash of metal cleaving through flesh. The severed head of the Charger, or another unlucky one, flew over the Shrine’s wall as the pressure from the Boss drew closer. Damn he moves quick. I peeked through the crack in the wall, and there he was, standing on two powerful feet like a giant. He was easily twice as tall as me, covered in metal plating, and wielding a sword wreathed in lightning. He also sported a large tail, covered in scales.
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Lizardman Captain
Monster Fighter, level 13
[Light Element]
RIFT P|E|O|D|N0429FB’S BOSS UNLEASHED.
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As soon as his Status disappeared, he spotted me. He gripped his two handed sword with mighty hands, raising it above his head. If an enemy was preparing an attack, then there was this rule: No matter how distant he appears to be, he's definitely in range. Move, you idiot. Energy crackled past me from the winds, drawn directly into the tip of his blade like a lightning rod from the world itself. Then he swung, unleashing a massive fan of magic that sliced through the air towards me. I dove, my face eating static and green dirt. The wall behind me uprooted into the air, instantly vaporizing into dust, and suddenly I was exposed out on the battlefield.
After the cloud descended upon me, I took cover behind a mountain of rubble. I sputtered, I was already on my feet, but my mind was racing faster. I needed to get more in the open so I could dodge more easily. The dust cleared a bit, and I realized that the rubble was actually piles of dissolving bodies piled up everywhere. Black mist spewed into the sky as they faded, both armour and flesh disappearing before my eyes. Whether the battle had ended because of the Rift’s changes or from natural causes, it was good that they were dead, but bad because they were useless. They weren’t going to help at all.
How can I defeat this guy? The Lizardman was already closing in on me, with an entourage of lightning bolts falling from the sky on his steps, swinging his sword down at me with devastating force like thunder. A crescent of light flashed down its channel, carving a crater with its explosion of electric energy where I was moments before. It cleaved through the piles of armoured corpses and earth alike, sundering everything where I stood.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
A cloud of blood, ozone and dirt erupted upward, but the flash of blue cleaving towards me was easy to see. I ducked again, but was close enough to hit him with something. This time, I swung my staff hard into his metal plated leg. Something cracked, but it wasn’t the Lizardman’s leg. Instead, it was the wood of my staff shattering into disappointing fragments. I cursed, tossing my poor Staff’s remains aside. The heat from the magical sword scorched some of the dirt falling, turning them into hard fragments. I heard a yelp of pain, indicating that my strike did some tiny form of damage to him, but it was quickly followed by a furious roar.
He swung his tail right at me, but thanks to my Movement Speed, everything seemed to be in my control. I leaped out of his range, drawing the Howler Dagger. Perhaps, I should have started with this thing. The metal it was made from probably would zap the shit out of me if I came into contact. Did I have anything worth a damn in my Item Box? He was winding up another spinning slash that vomited sparkling lightning, while I did my dodging. He aimed low this time, but I simply jumped. That’s when I saw it. There in the top row of the Item Box’s panels, sat the Minotaur’s Horn. Another cloud of burning earth plumed into the air, and I made use of my speed to get some distance. My boots were slipping down the rocks and slopes created by his magic’s heat, making my stomach do a flip as I clamored along.
Hovering it above his head could make swift work out of him, right? The Lizardman howled, calling forth more beams of blue lightning from his sword. Pale azure spots pooled beneath me, and the hairs on my skin stood on my arms. I jumped out of the way, and more lightning bolts struck where the zones were. Now, there wasn’t just a crater. A sizeable chunk of the field was missing by the time his lightning storm attack stopped. For a level 13 Boss, he packed a punch. I squinted through the haze and found him standing menacingly in the center, his stupid head still searching around for me. Ha! Stand right there, you ugly fiend. Your beautiful murder is coming!
The Item Box’s portal, however, didn’t allow me to deploy it directly above his head. I’d have to lure him closer to me and time it right. I needed a strong distraction. I tapped into my magical core. Seeing his exhaustion, I knew he had some time before he could go all out with his silly lightning spells. His crackling blade also seemed to be out of juice at the moment, now appearing as a regular longsword. I, on the other hand, could only use [Light] with my hands, drawing his attention my way. The Item Box’s panel hovered only a few feet in front of me, which was apparently the only range I had with it. Screw it.
“[Light]!” I let the magic tear through my arm. The Skill let out a blinding wave of energy of my own, slicing harmlessly through the air and successfully catching his attention.
The Lizardman, caught off guard, howled and raised a hand to his face in apparent agony. An old trick, but quite effective. He was stunned! I slid down the slope keeping an eye on the Item Box’s screen, my hand hovering over the menu so I could tap the Minotaur Horn. I hope this crushes him! He recovered, swinging his sword with a vicious hiss at me, but it was too late. I was already right in front of him and my hand had already pressed the button.
With a bright white light, the square materialized above him. The horn came out, sharp side first, smashing him into the ground and pinning what was left of him into a new crater. The sword that was in his hand flung to the side after its owner got crushed. I breathed heavily, seeing a new notification tag above the Lizardman Captain’s head as I approached him.
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— Lizardman Captain, level 13 [Incapacitated].
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What was left of him snarled at me as I raised my dagger above his head. I was surprised to see him able to glare at me. He currently was a crumpled mess of blue blood, crushed armour and gored by a giant horn, after all. He was clearly uttering something mean in a language I couldn’t understand, but I frowned anyways.
“Don’t be a sore loser, Mister,” I sighed. “You’re the one who attacked first.”
His hissing and growling responses were cut short the moment I stuffed my Howler Dagger into his exposed neck. The second he died, daylight returned and the plains transformed back into its weird alien colours. Purple and green grass painted the land, laden with those strange crystals and twisting spires. Not a single dinosaur or armoured figure was around after he died.
That easy to clear a Rift, huh? I leaned on the Minotaur Horn, which was still embedded into the ground. The exhaustion had evaporated, replaced with a surge of energy expanding rapidly inside of me, but the mental toll was gaining on me. The Plus Menu’s notifications were chirping away in my ear, probably proclaiming something good inside them. No doubt I had a lot of status points now to spend, and who knows what else. But for now, I slumped to the soft ground, felt this Rift’s gentle breeze and caught my breath.
-X-
When Elise Ravenclast arrived at the Rift, the aftermath was particularly more interesting than she imagined. Neither sibling made it out alive it seemed, yet it collapsed. No, she sniffed the air. One of them died. None of these worms explained anything to her, as per usual. She ignored the quivering soldiers that were kneeling before her. The lovely corpses of useless batchlings strewn across the camp had tasteless blood, so her gaze swept over them quickly. She toyed with a little metal butterfly pendant around her neck, watching for disturbances in the distorted space where the Rift left.
Then she saw it— a small trace of magic twinkling like a downed insect wing. Following where it landed, her fidgeting hand paused right on the butterfly’s antennae. A lonely, single blue ribbon lay on the ground near footsteps leading down the mountain path. She didn’t need to guess the person who killed all of the Bearer’s children.
Giselle Flametongue. The Butcher. The dog of King Beaumont.
Her particular brand of violence against Hunters was amusing to Elise. She thought about sending one of her lovely butterflies to study her, but alas, blood had to be spilled elsewhere. But this magic— She traced a small residual spark that only she could see. Light elemental magic. Meager, yet unique. Pretty, yet incredibly ineffective.
Elise stood still and contemplated for a moment. She recalled what Eleanor and Emily said about a certain child from… Batch 1061? She recalled the number in her head. The Wet Nurses tending to the Bearer believed that 1061 child to be defective, one born of pure magic without any strength. They worried over what she represented— the Bearer was dying and producing failures. Yet Eleanor gave her that... thing. Oh, Mother, what was the meaning of this?
Elise stroked the butterfly’s wing in deep thought.
But this magic proved otherwise. It was Healing magic, but it couldn’t mean what Elise’s experience and instincts told her, right? Did that child truly heal Giselle? And what for? House Beaumont could be dealt with in due time, but what compelled the girl to heal and then flee down the mountain?
A slight disgust welled up inside of Elise, causing her to snap the butterfly’s wing off between her fingers. It regenerated instantly, giving off a malevolent red aura. Healing was hers alone to command and all healing was for the Bearer. How dare that experiment…! How dare she use healing on another insolent creature!
Elise’s anger cooled into a renewed focus. She remembered more clearly now. The person who healed Giselle was the same girl little Emily took an interest in. She also was the same batchling who dared to look at her for a brief moment before choking on the Ritual Blood. She heard the captain of the investigation team’s knee make a thud on the ground, and turned to see his eyes glued to the floor. Not even someone as strong as the captain dared to look at her or her Death Spear, but that child did and somehow survived. Her finger softly resumed its petting, feeling the cold metal of the butterfly pendant.
Ah, Elise could see it now. The Bearer didn’t produce a failure, what her two dear idiot siblings saw. It had placed all of its hopes and future on one child. But why her? It was clear that her little brother and sister were not worthy of the Bearer’s mantle. Was she, Elise Ravenclast, also unworthy? No.
It had to be me and me alone, Elise thought. I am the worthy one.
She almost began her journey back to her quarters, nearly forgetting that the captain had been kneeling behind her, shaking like a leaf in the winter wind.
“Speak.”
“Lady Ravenclast, regarding the Rift’s collapse, we have found two things,” the captain said. When Elise didn’t say anything in response, he continued. “First, the Rift Boss was defeated by someone on the inside, closing it for good. The second, we have recovered Lord Ethan. He is… alive and ready for your attention.”
The captain’s voice trailed off, his face turning paler when she started to move past him back to the Castle. She had several plans to set in motion, so she didn’t care whether Ethan survived whatever hell he went through or not.
“That’s good,” Elise finally said. “Clean up this mess and await further orders.”
The magic had revealed a name to her just then: Kathleen Ravenclast. A name she’ll remember from now on. She hid a smile like a dagger, lifting the pendant to her mouth before giving it a kiss. The little butterfly wriggled, as if it was prey whimpering before being devoured. Elise held it up before her, willing it to life. The butterfly shuddered, then flapped its wings. It was going to find her new target. As soon as the little one flew off, another butterfly grew in the empty space. Satisfied, Elise walked away.
Don’t disappoint me, Kathleen Ravenclast. What will the Mind say about you, I wonder?