Chapter 63: Fracture - Twilight Maze (10) (Patreon)

World: MSS - Loading...

***

“Kyrian, how’s your mana?”

“Just a few minutes more.”

“Eltis?”

“Same, honey.”  

“Skaris? Aurora? Weapons? Armor?”

“Ssslaveborn.  Ssstop being a pesssst.”

I tried not to let the worry show on my face but it was starting to come out in other ways, namely by bothering my party mates.

“Sweetie, the more you bother us the slower we’ll be in getting ready.”

“I concur with Ms. Eltis.”

I nodded, getting sulking against the wall of the igloo.  There was no way to tell the time but I was growing impatient; we should be chasing against the Neung-uh now.  Also, if I was being completely honest I wanted to get some farming done.  Yes, the monster wave was dangerous but as I previously stated it was also an opportunity.  Rare monster drops such as Ice-attuned metals which could create Uncommon or even Rare items.  There was also the chance that a weapon or armor could drop as well.

Still, I waited a few more minutes.

“I am ready, Lock.”  Kyrian finally stirred from his meditative stance; getting up on his feet.  “But I’d like to go over our plan one more time.”

True to his adventurer background, Kyrian laid out the plan once more that I had set previously.

“Our primary goal is the Neung-uh.”  He drew a small stick figure with a fish head on the ice with his finger.  “Secondary goal is the Inuho-oh.”  He drew a small bird.

Skaris snickered at the art which earned him a glare from Aurora.  Just like Kyrian, the female warrior took these briefings seriously.

“If we’re forced to fight, we fight the Inuho-oh.  But I’d prefer to avoid it if possible.”  I commented, looking each of them in the eye.  “The Inuho-oh has three active abilities; [Flaming Winds], [Shriek] and [Fire Cloak], which are all dispersion type attacks, meaning it covers a lot of ground.  Having a Tank cover our back isn’t the best option against this type of monster, it’s best to have someone mobile who could attract its attention and get it off our track to take the rear.  Which would be me.”

Usually, buying time for the party would be the job of the Tank; which would be Aurora in this case.  But Aurora didn’t have an ability which would let her defend us from AOEs yet; nor did I expect it of her.  It was best if I took this job.

“Mr. Lock.  You are… unexpectedly well versed in the ability of monsters.  Considering your background… I must say I am surprised, to say the least.”

Shit.  I said too much.

“It’s a monster that’s common in a lot of regions.  It’s present in the Samak Desert as well.  We were told to watch out for it.”  I lied, easily.  Since most of my time as a slave had been spent training apart from Skaris, he wouldn’t know either.  Also it wasn’t a lie that the Inuho-oh was present in the Samak Desert too.

Just very very very rare.

Aurora nodded in acceptance.

“Right.  Our protocol if we face other parties?”  Kyrian looked me in the eye.

I had purposefully left this part out of our plan.  It had been good when I was with L’teya and Clover, both of them too inexperienced to ask me about the parts about my plan that I had glossed over.  Kyrian forced honesty out of me.  Damn, he was my friend but he could be annoying sometimes.

“I… am not sure yet.”  I sighed.  “Baran’s party might be hostile, but we don’t want to start the fight.  We’d have to play it by ear.  Dibo… and Krag as well as Track didn’t strike me as the type to start meaningless fights.  We can play it safe with them.”

Skaris said nothing but his eyes told me all I needed to know.  He didn’t trust the other adventurers to play fair.

“But just in case, we stay in formation.  We don’t go within striking distance.”  I amended.

“I must point out, Mr. Lock, that both parties have a mage.  In addition, Baran is an archer.  If it comes to a ranged fight, we are at a disadvantage.  I advise closing the distance first chance we get.” 

Damn.  Aurora was right.  She was just as bad as Kyrian when it came to poking holes in my plan… though they both had good points.

“That could be construed as an attack.  We want to prevent infighting as much as possible… we still have the guardian of this Fracture left to deal with.  But just in case, Kyrian be ready to respond in kind; Aurora, be ready to shield us all.”  I looked around.  “Anyone else?”

Kyrian and Aurora had said everything they wanted.  Skaris and Eltis didn’t care much in the first place.

“Sssslaveborn.  I tire of all this talking.  Let usssss leave now.”

“Ok.  Let’s go.”

Taking the lead, I finally brought us out of the Igloo.  As soon as the our rearguard, Skaris, came through the entrance, the shelter collapsed immediately.  Within seconds, it dissolved into the snow.

“So that’s what happens to temporary shelters.”  Kyrian noted.

“I must admit, it’s my first time observing a temporary shelter within a dungeon, or staying in one as a matter of fact.” Aurora chimed in.

“Come on.”  I brought their focus back, there was no need to waste our time about something that had already happened.  “Let’s go.”

Our initial plan was simple; look for th Neung-uh by following the swarms of monsters.  As long as we could avoid the Inuho-oh, I was fairly confident in our ability to slay the rest of the monsters in this dungeon with relative ease, as long as they were Grade 8 and below.  To prove my point, a pair of Lesser Ice Drakes –Grade 8– lumbered into our view.

Quadraped creatures that resembled Komodo Dragons, except there were icicles growing our of their backs like a stegosaurus.  Their mouths constantly leaked white mist; a sure-sign that they had a breath weapon at their arsenal.  One was large enough to rival the Inuho-oh in height if it had been standing on its hindlegs.  But as it was, the monster was roughly twenty feet long including the tail.

“Kyrian, Eltis, conserve your mana.  Skaris, stay near them.”

Aurora and I rushed the smaller of the two, we had fought together enough times to know how to take care of this.  I immediately ducked underneath the Drake’s snapping jaw and left a long cut on its chest, inflicting a [Bleed] status.  I continued the incision and left its stomach open as well, though not deep enough to disembowel it completely.  The drake tried to snap at me between its legs but I was already gone and attacking its friend.

Using the first drake’s leg as cover, I utilized a hit and run tactic with the larger of the two.  I slammed my new [Frost Covered Shield] into its nose.  The shield nearly cracked with the blow, straining under the force of the blow.  Following up with my katana, I sent three neat strikes, two at its eyes and one meant to skewer its tongue.  But I was a touch too slow and it opened its mouth while rearing back –bleeding from both eyes– and let out a breath of fine mist that enveloped me.

But I was underneath the body of the first drake, covered in shadow.

I felt the passive from the Shadow Mimic Wolf come into play and the mist passed around me, harmless.  Instead, the passive played with Arcane Masochism to give me a much needed kick-start, an attack boost.

Darting forward, I ran up the overgrown lizard’s leg and started slashing into its neck.  With its ice breath on cooldown and the lack of flexibility in reaching its own neck, the Lesser Ice Drake fell for the last time.  A resounding thud nearby told me that Aurora had finished off the smaller one as well.  Making sure to loot all the drops, we continued on our way.  Encountering a more monsters, I knew we were on the right track.

｢ Lock has slain [Lesser Ice Drake] ｣

｢ Aurora Candrian Vetilian has slain [Frozen Agwi] ｣

｢ Aurora Candrian Vetilian has slain [Frozen Skeleton] ｣

｢ Lock has slain [Winter Centipede] ｣

…

｢ +6 EXP ｣

｢ +4 EXP ｣

｢ +4 EXP ｣

｢ +0 EXP ｣

…

“Ssslaveborn! When issss it my turn?”  Skaris whined as Aurora and I finished off another group of monster ourselves.  So far, Kyrian and Eltis hadn’t had to step in at all.  The plan was going smoothly.

“...The next pair of monsters, you and Aurora can take care of them.  I’ll stick with Eltis and Kyrian.  We’ll just rotate in the same formation.”

“Is it really necessary to keep guarding us?”  Eltis sighed, starting to grow lax.  “Perhaps this Neung-uh have all been hunted already by the other two parties.”

I shook my head.  I knew they hadn't.  Because killing all five Neung-Uh in this Maze would open up the boss-room early.  That was one of the good things about killing the Neung-uh, we could skip the survivalist phase which was meant to wear us down.

“You and Kyrian are pivotal.  I can’t have you two spending mana unless in the direst of situations.”  I stayed near the two backliners as Skaris took the lead with Aurora.

The red-scaled warrior fought with deadly efficiency and though he only had two Cores, he was just as effective as me.  Everytime his burning spear cut across a monster, it left a trail of fire that burnt flesh.  Despite my warning about conserving mana, Skaris activated [Hand in Hand], creating a transculent clone of himself.

“Shhaaaa!”  Skaris hissed the strange battle cry he often did, his clone mirror his movements.  The true power of the Inmyunho’s Core ability, [Hand in Hand], lay in the fact that the clone also mirrored its user’s other Core Abilities at no additional cost.  Plus, it received the user’s equipment bonuses as well.  The Inmyunho’s spear also burned with bright red flame, melting the hard hides of the Frozen Agwis.

“Hmm… if Skaris continues on the Flame Spear build, I need to get him [Everburn], [Burn! Burn! Burn!] and maybe a passive related to [Pierce] or [Double Stab].  I’d also like to get his racial trait unlocked… Maybe if I win the bet, Dibo could help with that; he could put in a good word with Track.”

With no connections to the beastman community in Jayu, I was at a standstill on how to unlock Skaris’ racial trait.  Unlike humans who unlocked [Aura] at level 25, beastman’s racial traits worked a lot like the orcs.  They could receive the a trait of their choosing from a specialist; choosing from one of the five elements; Fire, Wind, Water, Earth and Lightning.  Though I was leaning towards Fire for Skaris, it also depended on his opinion too.

“Burnnn!”  Skaris hissed.

“I think he’d be fine with fire.”  

A soft glow enveloped me.

“Lock, your soul has grown.”  Kyrian congratulated me.

“Sssso have I.”  A familiar glow was also covering Skaris.

Dam.  At this rate he was going to hit level 30 and have two open Core slots.  I really needed to get him a Core.

Hmm… maybe the Inuho-oh might not be a bad target after all.  It would be risky but if it dropped a Core we could trade it in for something else.

No.  I’d be risking the party’s life to raid a Grade 6 monster.  I could risk a lot of things but not their lives.  Especially Aurora and Eltis; they were with us temporarily.

We continued along.  Aurora, Skaris and I switching off and defeating the monsters in front of us.

Finally, I saw a familiar bubble floating in the distance and a creature walking within like it was on a treadmill.

Skaris made a motion to rush towards it.

“Don’t!” I hissed and thankfully, the lizard beastman halted.

“We’re going to spook it.  Let me try and get on the other side.  Aurora, It’ll try to run this way; block it off with your shield.  Kyrian, come with me.”

Kyrian and I crept along slowly, sticking on either side of the walls.  

Twenty feet.

Fifteen feet.

Ten feet.

We were so close that I could smell the strange scent of salt-water coming from the beast, mixed with a hint of the fish-market during closing time with tones of frigid snow stinging the tip of my nose.  I glanced ahead to make sure no other monster was present.  Then just like we discussed, I signaled to Kyrian and simultaneously, broke out into a run towards the beast.

｢ Kyrian Tricilan has cast [Lightning Strike] ｣

Lightning landed on the ground right in front of the Neung-uh’s path and blackened it, instantly evaporating snow to steam.  The Neung-uh spun around as I ducked underneath the bubble and blocked off its escape route.  I saw the others join the fray, Skaris’ spear tip alright lit with flame, accompanied by the silver sheen of Aurora’s lance.

The two weapons pierced through the bubble and stabbed into the monster’s stomach.

“Kuuuurrraaahhh!”  He’s fingers scrabbled at the weapons, Skaris’ fire filling our part of the maze with the scent of burnt fish.  I saw it gather its breath for a loud cry.

“Shit! Kill it! Quick!”  I jumped up as well and stabbing the Neung-uh in the neck.  I used [Hateful Wound] and the laceration opened up, blood spurting out in a fountain from its throat.

Aurora and Skaris stabbed it a few more times and the monster fell to its snowy grave, [Monster Call] becoming a choking gurgle in its last attempt to screw us over.  If we had let it activate [Monster Call], it would have been trouble.

“What’ssss thissss?”

The Neung-uh was often referred to as a bonus monster in the Twilight Maze.  First, you could kill all five of them to gain access to the boss room early; meaning you could skip Pahse 2 which was supposed to last a week.  Secondly, it dropped some nice stuff.

Gold coins and pearls decorated the floor.

Finally, it always, always dropped a specific Metal.

Smithing Materials in MSS weren’t rare, almost every monster dropped them.  But like all things, the drop rate depended on the rarity.  The Neung-uh dropped Moon Steel, which could be used to create Unique items.  Until I found Artifacts, Legendaries and Pluralities for end-game gear, Uniques would have to do.

“That’s Moon Steel.”  Aurora gasped.

“It could fetch a small fortune.”  Eltis muttered.  Of course, she wouldn’t know about monsters but knew the market price of drops.  Typical member of a Church in MSS.

“At the very minimum it creates Unique items.”  I explained.  “In the right hands, it could even create Artifacts.”

Of course, the chances of that were low.  We’d have to find a Grade-3 Smith and above for that.

“So how should we split it?” Kyrian asked the really important question.  It was really for the benefit of the Aurora and Eltis; between Skaris, Kyrian and I we all knew who needed it the most.  

Me.

Aurora cleared her throat.  “The traditional method of adventuring as a party dictates that we check to see if anyone wants the item first.  Then we will proceed accordingly.  If no one wants it, we simply sell it to the Guild and split the profits.  If only one person desires it, they take the item and pay the rest of the party members their part of the market price.”

“We can dessssscide later.”

“Afraid not, Mr. Skaris.  Matters like these are important to the longevity of a party; I’ve seen more than one internal squabble among adventurers concerning loot.  I advise that we proceed here and now while we have a moment’s respite.”

“So… does anyone want it?”  I asked.

“I could use a new staff.”  Kyrian spoke up.  “I’ll throw my lot in.”

What was this guy saying? I was the most under-equipped here.

“Ssssso will I.”  Skaris joined in.

I felt my mouth hang open.  But I just bought both of them brand new equipment…

“Naturally, I shall be joining in as well.”  Aurora stated, then looked pointedly at me.  “Mr. Lock? Are you opting for the gold instead?”

“No, of course I’ll join in.”

“Then as the only unaffiliated member, I’ll be doing the drawing.”  Eltis winked at us.  “Dice or Lots?”

“Lots.”  We all said at once.

Eltis took out a bundle of sticks and marked them with our initials.  She shook them in a can and drew it.

I’m ashamed to admit I prayed to the Nine.

“Hmm… seems like Kyrian wins.  Congratulations, sweetheart.”  Eltis handed the Moon Steel ore to the mage.

Tch.  I could’ve really used it.  If anything I might have been able to trade it in for a Unique Item that could have replaced the sight in my other eye…

“Lock.  This is yours.”  Kyrian handed it over to me.

“...Are you sure?”  

“Yes.  Didn’t you spend most of the money we got from Marc and Yousef on our equipment instead of your own? Once we get back to Miltus, we should look for a smith.”  

“...Yesss, I wassss about to sssssay the sssame.”

Somehow Skaris was less convincing.  Still, I was touched by Kyrian’s sentiment.  Damn, it really was nice having a friend looking out for you.

We continued transversing the Maze.  Though they didn’t know it, I was constantly reading the map above us.  I knew the patrolling paths of the Neung-uh by heart and led us closer to it.  Slaying more monsters along the way, it was finally time for Kyrian to level up.

“Is it time for another Mana Core?”  I asked.

“Not yet, but soon.  I can feel the room in my soul start to grow.”

Damn.  I really hoped that my bet with Dibo would work out.  Without Mana Cores, Kyrian’s growth was stalled.  The only way to get Mana Cores would be through a Mage Tower… or the Black Market.  Though the latter had its own dangers.

“Mr. Lock, ahead.”

Another Neung-uh.

“Ok.  Let’s use the same tactics.”  

Kyrian and I crept along the same as before, sneaking up on the unsuspecting Neung-uh.  Behind us trailed Aurora, ready to block off its escape route with her shield.  Skaris stood at the ready.

“Now!”  

Kyrian’s lightning spell flashed and the Neung-uh stopped.  It gurgled like a fish out of water and turned around, facing us.  It slapped the surrounding bubble, creating countless more which formed a wall around itself.  But I had successfully surrounded it on the other side.

“Now!”

Just as we were about to kill the creature we trapped and surrounded, there was a bright flash of light.

｢ Sarai Benepir casts [Dark Tendrils] ｣

｢ Sarai Benepir casts [Lower Defense] ｣

｢ Baran Benepir casts [Chained Arrow] ｣

A swamp made entirely of darkness formed beneath our feet and tentacles reached out, entangling all of us except Eltis who stood a ways back.  I fell to the ground as it pulled on me, Skaris and Aurora realizing what was happening and trying to use their extra reach to strike the creature.  But an arrow came from behind me and stuck itself inside the creature, which wailed in pain.

The chain pulled taut and the creature was whisked away.  Looking behind me, I saw Furgrin deliver the final blow by stabbing his daggers into the creature’s head.

I changed my opinion of Baran.  He was something even worse than a murderer.

He was a KSer.

***