Chapter 45: Blood, Fire & Shadow (6) (Patreon)

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In his 10 years of living as a denizen of MSS, Arione had seen it all.  Grade-10 monsters that he used to avoid out of fear –sweat pouring down his brow and trying to quiet his breathing– and Grade-1 monsters who slumbered in their hidden lairs, ignoring all but the strongest of prey.

He had also seen his own fair share of adventurers.  Those still green behind the ears, not knowing that the best place to hunt was Ragnia Mountain for beginners, to seasoned adventurers hidden throughout the continent.

In Arione’s opinion, the biggest difference between them was the willingness to kill.  Many adventurers had a habit of hesitating when delivering the killing blow.  The natural tendency of man was to shy away from violence.  That’s why there were weapons, it decreased the amount of stress people’s psyche experienced.  Beating someone to death with your bare fists was a completely different experience than shooting someone with a gun after all.

That’s why most players never made it out of their starting zones.  A human being from the modern era just couldn’t overcome the barrier fast enough.  That split second between life and death, that moment was when everything was decided; those would continue to live and those who would fade into nothingness.

Lock moved like he’d been born and raised in this world of monsters.

Arione saw Lock’s sword aimed straight towards his neck.  The elven mage had all of .5 seconds before the blade decapitated him and he avoided death by the hair of his teeth; activating a mana barrier to block the slash and ducking.  Steel whistles behind his head and the mage knew that his mana barrier was broken.  He saw the metal greaves on Lock’s knee heading upwards towards his face, trying to smash his nose in.

Unfortunately for the slave-swordsman, this wasn’t Arione’s first time at the rodeo.

Arione created another [Mana Barrier] but instead of creating it perpendicular to Lock’s kick, he angled it slightly upwards.  Lock’s foot hit the barrier then slipped off of it, continuing its trajectory upwards.

“Now it's time to get rid of this spell.”

He had no idea how Lock had cast [Dark Tendrils], the other player wasn’t a mage.  He was definitely a Core user.  Arione had a few suspects in mind and now was his time to test it out; as a Fire and Wind focused mage, there were plenty of spells at his disposal which could free him and test out how theory at the same time.

Arione gathered Mana deep within his heart, stacking circles upon circles and moved his hands in familiar rhythm.  He expelled the mana in an explosive wave and they caught fire the moment it came into contact with oxygen.

｢Arione Popwindale has cast [Mana Ignition] ｣

The fire cleansed away the dark tendrils that were wrapped around him and Arione tried to step back; but his knees buckled.  He had forgotten about the wound that Lock had left him right before Clover arrived.

The fire washed over Lock and… did nothing.

It didn’t slow him down at all..

He just charged straight through the wall of flames and lifted his sword, trying to get at Arione again.

The elven-mage needed to gain distance.  And fast.

Without the dark tendrils getting in his way, Arione’s hands were free to move at their full speed; they blurred as he went through the necessary hand seals.  This time he gathered the mana in front of him like a wall; imagining that he was creating sheets of wind and then pressing them into one another –layer after layer– then sent it flying towards Lock.

Lock did something Arione had never seen before.  The slave took a knee, set his shield at an angle and pushed his body against it.  Then the instant before the wind hit him the slave cut the wind wave with his sword; the dregs of the spell were directed away by the angle of Lock’s shield.

He had just cut wind.

Lock’s black eyes peered out from behind the shield and slowly, he got to his feet.

Arione suppressed a shiver.

First, when Arione had sent a series of debuff spells at Lock, nothing had worked.  He had actually sensed Lock’s mana circulate faster throughout his body, in the patterns of buffs related to attack, speed and defense.  It was only when Scarlet used [Back to Square One], that Lock had lost some of those mana qualities.  Arione could safely surmise that Lock had a passive that reversed buffs.

Second, Lock was immune to magic damage… under some certain conditions.

Third, he’d use [Hateful Wound] or something like it.

Fourth, he’d stolen Arione’s spell and somehow disabled him from using it.

“Ujo for sure… the combination of reversing debuffs and [Hateful Wound] is a dead giveaway.  As for the other… What the hell could it be? Magic immunity? There’s about a dozen monsters that give you [Magic Immunity] but nothing that disables someone’s spell.  But that doesn’t matter if I can’t figure out a way to get through his [Magic Damage Immunity].”

Lock rushed Arione again and the elf took to the air, bombarding Lock with blades of wind.

They hit Lock dead on and did nothing.

Arione smiled.  “Ok then.  How about this?”

Arione’s mana spun around him and descended towards Lock like a hurricane.  Lock frowned and tried to get out of the way but something was wrong.  The wind wasn’t just moving, it was sucking him in towards the center.  The slave planted his feet and then stabbed his sword on the ground but Arione continued feeding more mana into his spell –creating full blown hurricane speed winds– and Lock felt his grip on the sword slip.

Lock made a split second decision: if he tried to fight against the spell, he’d lose his sword and be sent flying anyways.  The answer was simple, he stopped struggling against the wind’s momentum.  Lock withdrew the blade from the stone and felt his body get launched towards the sky.  At first, his body floated like a feather than as Arione activated the spell; he shot up like there were rock boosters attached to his ribs.

｢Arione Popwindale has cast [Updraft] ｣

Arione wasn’t trying to damage Lock directly anymore.  He was trying to kill Lock through fall damage.

Arione’s grade of 2 wasn’t just for show, the damage was devastating to the landscape.  As Lock’s body was launched into the air he saw that he wasn’t alone in the air; pieces of broken houses, corpses, monsters and even winged centipedes were caught in the updraft.  Lock tried to twist his body, he had to regain control over his footing.  Even if it was him, a fall from this height would kill him.

100 feet.

200 feet.

300 feet.

400 feet.

Lock felt queasy.  He’d never been afraid of heights before, having spent most of his childhood years on the top floor of the highest skyscrapers of New York City.  But he quickly found out that it was one thing to be protected inside a structure rooted to the ground; another entirely to be in freehal with the wind roaring in his ears.

Then the wind stopped.

His body flipped in the air and he saw a glimpse of the moon, shining bright above him.  In the horizon he saw the [Mother Centipede], her gaze fixed on the roof of the temple.  There were tiny figures on top of the rooftops, and dozens of corpses.  There were four figures in all, too small for him to make out who they were.  He was too far and too high up.  But for one blissful moment, everything was still and he was flying.  

Then Lock fell.

The wind shrieked as he began to pick up speed and the sense of zero gravity disappeared as the gut-wrenching grip of free fall took root in his stomach.  Lock realized that his mouth was open; he had started to scream without realizing it.

Arione saw the slave start to fall, headfirst.

A death sentence for anyone without flight abilities.

But despite the scream of terror the Slaveborn’s eyes stayed calm.  He looked to and fro, looking for anything that he could use.

“Stay calm.  Stay calm.  Stay CALM.  There IS a way out.”  Lock told himself.  “He messed up.  Capitalize on his mistakes.  Just like in the game, a single mistake is deadly.  Calm down and THINK.  Do NOT let fear overcome your senses.”

If Arione had used a more focused spell that sent Lock and only Lock into the sky, perhaps the battle would be over.  But whether it was due to impatience or hubris, the spell had been messy. Arione had powered the spell with too much mana.  There were hundreds of debris in free fall with him.for Boulders, broken off parts of buildings and corpses; Lock was willing to use anything.

But he couldn't move.  There was nothing for his hand to grab ahold of or his feet to step off of.  For force to be applied, he needed to apply it on something.

Until he spotted the Winged Centipede homing in on him like a bird of prey.

Arione’s eyes widened in shock.  There was no way that he could-

In an awe-inspiring display of bodily control, Lock bent his back so far his forehead almost touched his foot.  But the maneuver allowed him to dodge the Winged Centipede and grab ahold of its antennae.

Then, Slaveborn stabbed it in the side of its head with his sword

Screeching, the centipede bucked and turned trying to throw Lock off.  Starting with the sword embedded in the monster, Lock slowly regained control by wrapping his limbs around the creature.  First with one hand then hooking both knees over his makeshift mount.  With brutal efficiency Lock cut off its limbs which were lacerating his arms and legs.  

The legs that he couldn’t reach with his sword, he ripped them out one by one.  Then he grabbed a space between its carapace right around the back of its neck and pulled hard, steering it towards Arione.  The elf-mage saw Lock’s expression and it wasn’t one of fear or excitement: just grim determination.

Arione burned the creature out of the air, hoping to incinerate Lock along with it.

Lock’s body burst out of the explosion and landed on a piece of falling debris, holding onto it with his shield arm and one leg.  Then he bounced off of it and grabbed another.  He repeated the maneuver again.

Arione shot out a blade of wind, cutting the slab of stone in two.  But he was too late, Lock had already jumped off of it and found another foothold.

Then again.

Then again.

And finally Lock’s two feet were on the ground again.

He was bleeding from a dozen different cuts on his arms and legs.  Still, he remained standing.

Throughout it all, Lock’s eyes never left Arione.

Slaveborn took a step towards Arione.

Arione unconsciously took a step back.

Then he began to laugh.

A month.  This guy was in MSS for only a month? This monster?  This guy was a [Player]???

“A fucking month and you’re what? Grade 6? 5?!”  Arione laughed then stopped abruptly, bringing his hands together.  “What were you before coming to this world? An olympian? A fucking gymnast? Are you really a player from Earth?!”

“Must be nice having everything handed to you on a platter.”  Arione taunted.

“And you didn’t?”

“I fucking worked for my magic!”  Arione snarled.  “I’ve been in this world for 10 fucking years, protecting this world from people like you.  Coming in and acting like you're gods.  I love this world.  People like you just want to use it.”

Lock narrowed his eyes then smiled.

“10 years… and you’re still stuck at Grade-2.”  He promised.  “Give me two more and I’ll have caught up to you.”

Lock wasn’t bluffing.  He truly believed it.

Just two years and he could catch up to the mage.  

Arione’s eyes turned flat.

“You’re going to regret that.”  He looked back at the [Mother Centipede].

She was still shrieking and dropping her children.  But she hadn’t fully descended, nor had she ascended into the clouds.  Half her body remained inside the portal and half outside of it.  Arione wondered how long it would take to get out of her range if he used his magic.

Arione had been holding back.

If a grade-2 Mage went all out here, it would only exacerbate the situation.  But this Lock character was starting to grate on his nerves.  He already didn’t like him, the man had somehow gotten his hands on Cores that made him extremely difficult to kill as a mage.  Plus the way he moved… he’d never seen players move like that.  It was like he wasn’t someone from the real world, he moved like he knew how to fight.  

All the players he’d seen had been people who relied on their overwhelming stat, Core synergy and at times, spells to force their opponents to submission.  But Lock… he fought like an actual swordsman.  He knew how to attack someone’s weak side, maneuver his body and use techniques outside of just abilities.  

Arione had to admit it.

Lock Slaveborn was strong.

Like he’d said before, Lock had come this far in only a month.

He could let loose here…

But to do so would be to gain attention.  Already, his mana sense warned him that Enla Enla and Suri were on their way here.  So far they were attracted to the [Mother Centipede] only; lured here by the overflowing amount of mana.  But if the elven mage were to use any of his spells of grade-3 or higher, it was possible that they’d notice him too.  That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs, even if it meant having to let Lock go free.

Yet, the mage wanted to teach Lock a lesson.

While Arione contemplated, Lock was also thinking of countermeasures.  It was painfully clear that the mage was holding back and Lock knew why.  Arione was afraid of attracting monsters towards him.  To be frank, Lock was starting to think this might not be the best idea.  Arione had an arsenal of spells at his disposal and Lock had a measly three Core ability.

In terms of versatility, Lock was at a complete disadvantage.  For any of his offensive abilities to work, he had to land a blow on the Mage.  Yet, the Mage hadn’t even shown half his hand yet; Lock was sure of it.  Whereas the Mage could sit back and continue to throw spells at Lock to see what worked and what didn’t, Lock was risking life and limb to make sure they didn’t work.  

One mistake.  One mistake was all it would take for Lock to lose.

Arione had already made several.  But the best Lock could do with those was survive.

Taunts not withstanding, Lock was losing.

Not only that, he was on a time limit.  If monsters were gathering here, it was in Lock’s best interests to escape.  Unlike Arione who had [Levitate] and a transport item –the flying disc that Clover, Scarlet and L’teya were on– Lock only had [Shadow Blink].

They both reached the same conclusion at the same time.

Arione moved first.

His fingers blurred, faster than before.  But Lock was a gamer at heart and was starting to see through Arione’s seal patterns.  The elven-mage wasn’t casting [Updraft] like he feared, the spell was something else altogether.  In fact, it was a completely new combination of seals.

“Fire and Wind Mana Cores as a Grade-2 Mage.  So his build… it definitely has to be that.”

Mages advanced by absorbing Mana Cores, similar to adventurers.  Depending on the type of Mana Core that a mage absorbed, they could cast spells of the appropriate grade and element.  For example, as a Grade-8 mage, Kyrian absorbed three Mana Cores in total: Light, Earth and Water.  By using a combination of the three, he was able to cast lightning spells.  His ‘blind’ debuff was a sub-class of his Light Mana Core.

Then by absorbing Mana Cores of the same element and higher grade, Mages could cast more powerful spells.

By looking at a Mage’s spell kit, one could roughly deduce what their Core makeup was like… and reverse engineer the spells they were hiding.

Like Lock was doing now.

“He’s a Temperature Mage.”

Just as Lock finished figuring out what Arione was, the temperature around them rose by at least twenty degrees.

The surrounding area already had an elevated temperature due to the raging fire all around them; it had kept most of the centipede-type monsters from straying into their battle.  But now, the searing neighborhood had reached its boiling point; Lock saw droplets of sweat hit the rock and sizzle.  The Winged-Centipedes that had begun circling the area plummeted towards the ground; their insectoid wings wilting.

As soon as they splattered against the ground, they began to smoke.

The monsters were being roasted inside their own exoskeleton.

｢Arione Popwindale casts [Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo] ｣

｢You have entered a Special Field: Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo ｣

｢ Field Effect - Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo is now active ｣

｢ Field Effect - Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo: You take constant fire damage｣

｢ Field Effect - Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo: -15% Flame Resistance｣

｢ Field Effect - Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo: A Random Ability, Skill or Spell is Sealed ｣

｢ Field Effect - Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo: [Coin Toss] has been Sealed! ｣

Lock felt it when [Coin Toss] disappeared.  It was a mental awareness, a feeling akin to something in his backpack falling out.  The metaphysical weight of the ability was no longer there; meaning that the skill had been sealed.

“So this is what it feels like.”

Rather than panicking, Lock stayed attuned to his body.  He could feel his health being sapped away, as if the constant stinging sensation on his skin wasn’t enough.

[Arcane Masochism] and [Gloomy Disposition] wouldn’t work here.  What Arione was doing was far beyond just casting a simple low level spell.  He had created a [Special Field].  In MSS, [Special Field] effects didn’t count as magical, physical or even debuffs. They were a separate category: environmental.  The only way to reduce environmental damage was to have immunity to the corresponding element: in this case, fire resistance or fire immunity.

There was a downside to [Special Fields].  Everyone inside the field was affected, no exceptions.  Meaning that the caster would be affected as well.  Normally, you’d only create a Special Field for which you held the advantage.

But by the look on Arione’s face, Lock could tell that something very precious had been sealed.  This spell was always used in conjunction with another spell; [Virgil’s Guidance].  It negated all the negative effects of [Memories of Hell: First Circle] and added fire-type environmental damage to all your attack, spells and abilities.  Yet he wasn’t casting it.

Arione’s one ace in the hole to overcome Lock’s magic damage immunity had been locked away by his own hands.

Today, the gods had chosen to frown upon the elven mage.

｢ Field Effect - Memories of Hell: First Circle - Limbo: [Virgil’s Guidance] has been Sealed! ｣

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