Chapter 55: Fracture - Twilight Maze (2) (Patreon)

World: MSS - Loading...

***

I slowly released Sarai, holding a finger up to my lips.  Contrary to my fear, she didn't scream her head off at me.

Aurora was already standing right next to me, her shield at the ready.  Krag’s eyes glowed an eerie blue; his hands spread out and floating traces of mana up into the snowing sky.  I drew my jagged katana, the one I had kept since the time in Oung’s dungeon.  Speaking of which, I was only on my second dungeon and already I was tackling a Fracture.

“Focus.”  I sniffed, trying to catch scent of our stalker.

But whoever –or what– our stalker was, either they had noticed our movements and hid themselves or I had made a mistake; there was no trace of the earlier signal.  Regardless, we let a few moments pass by in silence.  I heard Sarai’s heart beating rapidly, much faster than Aurora’s or Krag’s.  

A minute passed then another.

We maintained silence, each of our eyes searching for the slightest disturbance in snow or any sound other than the warbled howl of wind that came down the maze’s corridors.

Still nothing.

I heard Krag gulp before he spoke, albeit in a whisper.  “You sure about this, lad? I wasn’t aware you were a scout.”

“I’m not.”  I answered, then knelt low to the snow.  

I knew the monster was here.  My instincts screamed danger constantly.  But it wasn’t just any monster, it must be intelligent enough to know that we had noticed its presence.  Combined with the fact that we were in the Twilight Maze, there were a few suspects on the mental list which I was combing through.  

“Invisibility.  Intelligent.  Ambush-like behavior.  There’s only one monster it could be… and if we gained its attention it might be best to get rid of it here.”

Any other monsters could be waiting for us deeper in the maze.  Worst case scenario, we’d be surrounded.

I made my decision.

“We have to draw it out.”  I spoke to Sarai and Krag without turning towards them.  “The monster must have an ability to turn invisible during snowfall.  Do  you guys have any Detection spells?”

Krag shook his head.  “I’m a Priest of the Forge, lad.  Trickery isn’t my thing, better luck with that elven priestess of yours.”

I didn’t bother correcting the dwarf priest that I had met with Eltis for the first time today as well.  “Magus?”

She sniffed.  “How do you know that something’s here? You said it yourself, you’re not even a scout.”

“Do you have one or do you not have one?”

“...I do not.”

I sighed.

“Mr. Lock.  I believe I might have a method.”  Aurora spoke up, in her polite and quiet tone.  “However, are you certain the monster is still here? We cannot discount the possibility that we startled it by coming to arms and it has already left the area.  I’d prefer to save resources, including mana and any items, since we are unaware of what lies further in the mage.”

I listened to Aurora’s explanation all the way to the end, though Sarai huffed out her cheeks with impatience.  I had to agree with the elven mage, Aurora tended to be long winded –but that was only because she covered every base.  In that single sentence she had conveyed her worry, why she was worried as well as warning the rest of us that this was only a single monster.  I was starting to understand what type of role she played in a party, usually the one that was the most important yet annoyed everyone: The Voice of Reason.

Still, she was right.  This monster was only one monster, we had to conserve our resources.  Especially our mana.  But I knew the monster was still here, it was just as sinister as its intelligence.  One of the few monsters that actually employed tactics when choosing its victims.  The monster would wait until we were tired and worn out from the cold, or in the midst of battle with another creature.  

By then it might be too late for us to do anything about it.

“You’re right.”  I allowed and saw Aurora stop staring at the falling snow and at me instead.  She looked a bit surprised.  “I’ll lure it out.  But once I do, I’m going to need a spell or two to keep it in place.  It might try to run.”

“How do you know, lad? You know what creature it is?”

I didn’t want to reveal too much about my [Smell] stat nor my knowledge too much, instead I tapped my forehead.  “Instinct.”

Krag sniffed.  “Make it quick then, this snow ain’t good for my knees and it's piling into something mighty fierce.”

In just a few minutes, a considerable amount of snow had piled on and around us.  Sarai, physically weakest of us four, was visibly struggling to keep upright.

I saved my breath and shuffled out from the safety of Aurora’s shield.  I had been in a party with her –a proper tank– for a total of less than a day and already felt a sense of security with her standing in front of me.

The snow fell relentlessly, and it was reaching my waist now.  I waded and tried to step on top of the snow but it buckled underneath my weight.  I knew for a fact that a certain amount of [Footwork] stat and [Weight] was required for a character to be able to walk on top of the powdery landscape.  I knew that I fulfilled neither requirement because I sank right in.

I bent my knees so that the snow was chest level then started half-walking, half-swimming in a circle around them.

They watched carefully and I felt the atmosphere go taut like a bowstring about to snap.  Whatever I was doing, it was gathering the attention of something and their instincts were picking it up.

Sarai shuddered; either from the cold or from the eerie agitation that filled her mind.

We all heard a growl.

The scent of blood filled my nostrils, warning me that I was about to die.

“NOW!”  I screamed out and bounded out of the snow, my hand bleeding profusely and splashed it all over the air behind me.

While wading in the snow around them, I cut my hand on my katana.  With the [Bleed] proc, I left a trail of scarlet behind me, staining the innocent snow with steaming red liquid that was quickly turning to ice.  With that, I had agitated the monster enough to follow me.

My blood stopped midair, like it had splashed on something and forced our visitor to reveal itself.

[Namahage] - Grade 8.

The Namahage was like us in many ways; bipedal, two arms with a distinctly humanoid body but that’s where the similarities ended.  Its limbs were thick and strong, covered with long black hair that combined with dried out straw which made its raincoat.  My mind automatically filled in the blank, the raincoat was called a Mino.

The creature wore a red mask resembling the face of an Oni –a grade 5 monster.  Large eyes with thick eyelashes and fangs that protruded from its mouth, finished off with two curved horns on top of its forehead.  Behind the mask, I saw brown-black wrinkled skin like a fruit that had been left out too long.  Even hunched over, the creature was ten feet tall and right now it was swinging its cooking cleaver towards my neck.

I had my shield at the ready but had no time to cast [Coin Toss] and no buffs; I had to take this one as I was.

The cleaver tore into the Akka Xalud shield like it was a can of soda.  The chitinous material cracked and crumpled, the sound of the exoskeleton being crunched due to the force of the blow.  For one second I thought I’d have my new fingers sliced off again, but the shield held; mostly because I was midair and absorbed its momentum.

The world turned into a blur as I shot into the snow, getting buried three feet under.  There was no time to delay; in a frozen landscape like this one the Namahage would make no footsteps: it could step on top of the powdery ice like it was hard packed dirt.

Just as I expected, a flash of straws and hair knotted together came in the corner of my one good eye.  I swiveled my head automatically with practiced ease and jumped out of the makeshift snow hovel like a cat on all fours.  But I had overestimated my natural speed without any buffs and underestimated the Namahage’s reaction time; it cleaved downwards, determined to cut me in half. 

Aurora dashed through the snowfield like a tank, creating a curtain of sleet on either side of her.  She slammed into the Namahage’s leg, which was almost as big as her, and toppled it off balance.

The cleaver missed me by an inch and the snowfield eased my landing.

Sarai and Krag had begun to act.

There was another reason why I wanted to fight the Namahage besides for safety reasons; it was the best monster for us to test out our teamwork.  Even if it was for a short while, we would have to all work together.  There was no better time than now to observe what this party was capable of.

Sarai took out a wooden staff, a black orb on one end.  She swung it towards the Namahage and I saw familiar tendrils of black rise out of the ground, grabbing onto the creature’s arms, legs and neck.

｢Sarai Benepir has cast [Dark Tendrils] ｣

The creature pulled at it, testing the spell’s elasticity.  But it was no use, the tendrils acted like rubber bands, stretching then contracting in rhythm with the Namahage’s movements.  If anything, it was getting more tangled up.  

Sarai was skilled, as she should be.

I sprinted towards the creature, my usual speed dampened by the piles of snow, and left three criss-crossing slashes on the creature’s all too human-like thigh; the cuts began to ooze big fat drops of dark blue blood.  As the Namahage struggled, they began to flow freely; turning the ground into the color of a blueberry slushie.

We had managed to immobilize the creature but there was a problem.  Not only was it ten-feet tall –more like twelve as it stretched to its full-height and tried to escape from the spell– but it could stand on top of the snow, which added three to four additional feet to its already impressive height.  I would have to leap fifteen feet into the air to even reach its head; not to mention the ground was slick with slush.

Krag came forward and put his hands out like he was warming them in front of a fire.  His eyes glowed blue and whenever he moved, they left long trails of mana in their wake.  The Priest’s hands began to glow with orange light and he touched them to the snow.

｢Krag Mason has cast [Heat] ｣

The snow underneath the Namahage’s feet abruptly melted and it fell to the ground, the tendrils lashing themselves onto its body.

I didn’t waste this chance.  Activating [Coin Toss], I felt [Arcane Masochism] activate in conjunction; the [Coin Toss] had been a debuff.  My feet began to nearly glide over the ground; a [Speed] buff then.  I launched myself over the fallen Namahage’s body and attempted to stab it in the throat.  But the creature lowered its chin and blocked my strike with the wooden mask.  In the meanwhile, my depth perception had been messed up.

I landed right next to the creature’s face.

It lashed out vehemently, raising its mask to reveal ape-like fangs that extended long past the midpoint of its open maw and snapped at me.  I raised the shield in defense but the monster bit through it like it was a piece of twig and I felt loose splinters fly by me; a stinging sensation on my cheek told me that I was cut.  I backpedaled out of reach, nearly falling backwards as the snow caught on my knees.

It wasn’t a moment too soon; the Namahage’s fur and straw merged together and turned into icicle blades, cutting through the [Dark Tendrils] spell.  The monster got to its feet, a nightmare ice sculpture resembling a fusion of a porcupine and ape, then lumbered towards me.  Aurora was at its feet in a moment and hefted her silvery lance with grunt, threatening to pierce the creature’s face.  But the icicles got in the way, knocking her weapon off point.

Then she planted her shield on the ground, channeling mana into it.

As the icicles on Namahage’s feet came into contact with her shield, I saw the female warrior angle the shield upwards then shove it into the monster’s stomach, breaking the icicles apart.  Her shield discharged silvery mana which coalesced into the same shape as the weapon and punched the ape-monster.  The maneuver carried the creature upwards a few inches then toppled it backwards.  The Namahage fell on its back.

｢Aurora Candrian Vetilian has cast [Capsize] ｣

I recognized the move, the heavier your opponent the higher the chances of flipping them over.  The Namahage, despite its light footwork in this environment, was more than heavy enough for a 100% chance.

Not wanting to lose this chance, my legs burst into movement; I was already behind the creature.  As it was falling, I held the katana overhead like an executioner then beheaded the creature in one stroke as soon as it fell to the ground with a loud thud, sinking through the slurry left behind in our battle.

Snow continued to fall.

“Aye, not bad for a first fight.”  Krag looked at all of us.  “Nice job, young miss.”

Krag had praised Aurora in particular and I saw why.  Not only did she pull her own weight, she had done more than her fair share of work.  If I was playing the game, Aurora would be the MVP of this battle.

Krag and Sarai had fulfilled their responsibility: utility support and immobilization.  Since no one had gotten hurt, the priest didn’t really have his chance to shine.  To be fair, a priest’s true value lay in healing so by casting [Heat] he’d done more than he needed to.

On the other hand… I needed to be harsh on myself.

Against a grade-8 creature, I had two mistakes.  Aurora had saved me both times.

My depth perception was off and it was leading to lethal mistakes.  

“Instead of looking down on Sarai, I should be focusing on pulling my own weight.”  I sniffed.

“Thank you, Aurora.”  I thanked her while wiping the Namahage’s blood off of my katana.

“It was nothing Mr. Lock.”  As usual, the gray-haired beauty did not smile.  In the frozen landscape, it was only fitting.  “This was only possible because you were able to find the monster.  I must admit, I was half in disbelief that a fighter such as yourself could detect such miniscule clues.  I am curious as to what method you used.”

I smiled in her stead.  “Trade secret.”  

At least by being the one to alert the party to the presence of this Namahage, I contributed to this battle outside of fighting itself.  

“Don’t compliment him too much.  We all saw the mistakes he made.”

I fought back a scowl at Sarai’s comment.  Since the elf was in a party with Pyret, another sword and shield fighter, plus Baran her brother the archer, it was only natural that she’d catch the mistake of a martial fighter like me.  She was used to seeing my type run around the battlefield.

“True.  But his value lies in more than just fighting; initially I was worried about how well we would fare due to the lack of a scout or wayfinder.  But it seems Mr. Lock can fulfill the role of a scout adequately, or at least from this one instance alert us to the presence of nearby monsters.  For example-”

“Er- lad, your shield.  It’s gone, aye?”  Krag wisely cut Aurora’s explanation short.  While I appreciate the lance-user coming to my defense, I saw the sparks between the elven-mage and her come to life once more.  The less they conversed, the better.

I took the shield off of my arm to take a better look.

It was the Akka Xalud shield that I had looted back in Samak City.  The top half of it was missing now, bitten off by the Namahage’s bite.  The lower half was caved in towards the missing piece, from when I had used it to try and block the cleaver.

“I should have angled the shield to drift the strike; not take it head on.  If only I had my full vision…”  

I found myself finding excuses again.  “No.  I just wasn’t good enough.  That’s it.  Move on and focus on the Fracture.”

Still, I’d miss the shield.  Without the shield, I could swing the katana with both hands.  More power behind my strikes meant heavier blows.  But I liked having the shield.  My fighting style relied on fast combinations, aimed at weak points for a single lethal blow.  Having the shield meant I had room for mistakes and could protect myself, and it could be used offensively in a pinch.

More versatile.  More ways to kill.

“It’s gone.”  I roused myself out of my internal musings, answering Krag.  I unclasped the shield from my forearm and threw it to the ground.  “Did the Namahage drop anything?”

Aurora and Sarai, who were near the Namahage’s corpse –which was turning to ashes made of light and dissipating while floating upwards– shook their head.

“Just a few coins.”  Sarai sounded disappointed.  “Speaking of, we never discussed how to split what we find.”

“Split four ways evenly until we find the rest.  Then we can go from there.”  Bartering with other adventurers had been one of the first skills I learned while playing MSS.  Gold was a must when trying to get stronger, “If there’s an equipment drop and someone wants it, they pay its market value to the other three upon our return to Miltus.  If two people want the same drop, we draw lots.”

“Aye, that’s the proper way to go about it.”

“Those are acceptable terms.”

“Then I’ll hold these in my ring.”  Sarai didn’t wait for anyone to object, making the few silvers disappear.

I saw the elven woman frown then look down at her hands.  She opened and closed them multiple times, looking up at Krag.  He had the same expression, one of confusion then of sudden realization.

“By the forge, my mana isn’t coming back.” 

Aurora closed her eyes and when she opened them, I saw disappointment and worry.  

“That seems to be true for me as well.”

“One spell or ability each.”  I spoke and they turned to me as one.

Krag’s eyes widened in shock as he understood what I was saying.  Aurora’s lips thinned, the only hint of concern.  Sarai was a bit slower on the uptake.

“One from each of us?”

I shook my head in a negative.

“Now that we know what we’re capable of… one spell or ability.  Per monster kill.”

Krag swore under his breath.  “Hammer and forge, what have I gotten myself into.”

***