Soul of Blades - Chapter 12: Clash at the Summit (Patreon)

Behind and almost beside him, the horde of wolfmen and titanapes pursued relentlessly. Their thunderous footsteps pounding a drum-line through the mountain, and their growls filling the air. Battles erupted all around him as the jungle denizens clashed, trying to impede each other's progress. Projectiles flew through the chaotic scene, aimed at him, as the others recognized his head start and sought to close the gap.

Alex weaved through the chaos, narrowly avoiding magical attacks and incoming rocks, his enhanced dexterity sending careening up the mountain. His focus remained on reaching the summit, his determination unwavering. Each action he took was swift and precise, a clear sign of his skills and newfound strength. But he knew he couldn't afford anything less, any mistake too big could be his last.

Phoenix Leap. Alex was a streak of desperation, a blur of fear wrapped in a blaze of magic. His heart pounded increasingly with each narrow miss, a drum thrumming in his skull. His sword, and his Skill, was his lifeline, his flight, his defence. It was all he had.

The world blurred as he leapt. Phoenix Leap. His body streaked up the mountain, a human comet ignited by desperation and resolve. He was no longer running; he was flying, leaping off panels of mana-hardened air. His feet barely brushed the rough surface of the mountain.

Growls sounded all around him. Snarls. Roars. The steep ground seemed to tremble beneath the weight of the fury that chased him. Hundreds of monsters. Creatures that a few weeks ago would have been from his worst nightmares, were now made flesh and fury and claws.

Behind him, the Wolf Alpha leapt from the throng. Flame and fury personified, the hulking beast became a fireball, roasting any beings from all sides that came too close as it raced up from the bottom of the mountain. A halo trailing fire and death. The alpha roared. A true comet amongst shooting stars, it was a beacon of rage. It discarded the pack, no longer on the ground, but in the air. Soaring from one rocky outcrop to the next, it followed after Alex with a single-minded determination.

It was unstoppable.

And still, Alex leapt. Over boulders, across precipices. Scarcely touching the ground. He danced on the wind, a phoenix in flight. Up and up and up, ever towards the summit. His escape, his victory.

He mistimed his skill within it’s one second cooldown.

The ground came up to meet him.

Desperation gripped him, there were hundreds of them, but determination fought it back. Again, Phoenix Leap. The world dropped away. Gravity lost its hold and he was flung higher up the mountain.

Air rushed past him.

His feet touched the rock, briefly, just enough for another leap. His mana drained with each jump, a burning strain against his life-line. He grimaced, pushing through the sensation. His mind focused on one thing: reach the top.

Another leap.

His world was sky, stars, and the cold mountain air. His chest pounding a steady rhythm of survival, a drumbeat signaling his need to ascend, to evade, to survive. Phoenix Leap, once more.

The Titanape pack leader emerged in a spray of bodies. Its massive form dwarfed the Alpha, an intimidating silhouette against the starlit sky. It's cold roar shook the mountain, loose rocks falling to cause mayhem below. Fiery explosions rocked its side, and it quenched the offending entity with the squeeze of a hand the size of a man.

[You have defeated level 46 Apex Canid]

Alex blinked in surprise at the sudden notification. Ah, he thought, so experience can be shared, but there's a penalty. He was jerked away from his thoughts as the ground trembled once more.

The Titanape pack leader launched up, uprooting the surrounding rocks and bodies in its wake. Heaving its massive body off the ground, it bounded after Alex. A living avalanche, tearing through the mountainside, scattering rocks and monsters alike in its pursuit. At the sight of the new arrivals, the climbers turned more relentless, more savage.

Alex pushed on.

His body ached, his mana was dwindling, but the need to survive drove him forward. Another Phoenix Leap. The world dropped, then surged up to meet him. He was a puppet of his own desperation, on strings of taut mana.

With his dwindling mana reserves, each leap Alex took was a risk. A gamble. There was a second between leaps during the cooldown where he was completely vulnerable, like the ticking of a clock. At times he had to calculate and time each leap to stay close to the ground, ready to spring a way using nothing but his stats if need be. And at other times he would stay in the air, out of range of magical barrages. It was a constant risk. A prayer sent up to a sky that didn’t seem to care. Alex twisted mid-leap, glimpsing the chaos below. The alpha was closing in, it was relentless. It was fury and flame, wrath and heat. Moving with inhuman speed, it was an unstoppable force. Each burst of flaming speed brought it closer, each roar burned the very air around Alex. Behind, the Titanape crashed through. Every bounding leap it took was an earthquake. Every roar, a thunderclap. The mountain shook, and the rocks trembled continuously. The beast was catching up, its mass and might carrying it through the storm of fury.

The pack leaders had caught up to him, and all around, monsters howled their hunger to the winds.

The Titanape leader lunged. Fingers the size of Alex’s torso reaching out to crush him. His heart froze. The ground beneath him trembled. He was in mid-leap, and there was no place to dodge. No place, but up.

Phoenix Leap.

Mid-leap, Alex called for his status screen.

[Unassigned stat points: 25]

He had 25 free stats, and instantly dumped them into dexterity and intelligence. He put 11 into intelligence, thinking that he needed to increase his dwindling mana pool even more than his reaction time, and hoping the stat truly made a difference. He then placed the rest into dexterity, 14 stat points- to survive he needed the speed to escape their clutches more than anything.

[Strength: 67 (53)

Dexterity: 120 (83)

Endurance: 61 (42)

Intelligence: 106 (73)

Wisdom: 41 (28)

Unassigned stat points: 0]

All of that was done in an instant.

He shot upwards, exhaling in relief at having timed his leap correctly, narrowly escaping the Titanape leader’s grasping hands. He felt the beast's cold frosting breath against his dangling feet. A scream of fury shook the air beneath him, but he didn't look back.

As he leapt upwards, the pack leaders shot past, up the mountain towards the peak, leaving him behind to chase after their heels.

They left him in the dirt to chase after their prize.

One more leap, then another. His body protested, his mana flared, strained, threatened to go out. He clenched his teeth, squeezing one leap after another from his dwindling reserves.

Alex was right behind them now, the pack leaders, and they were too distracted by their goal to notice. He could feel the heat of the Alphas flames ahead and practically grab the heels of the giant titanape leader as he leapt to reach the summit.

But he was still behind. They would get there first, and then what?

A shriek tore through the air. A gargantuan bird swooped down in an explosion of molten stone, talons extended towards them. Without missing a beat, Alex twisted in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the deadly spray. He felt the hot rush of air as it swished towards them, its phantasmal shriek ringing in his ears.

It careened into the Alpha wolf and Titanape leader. And a battle ensued.

It was mayhem. A tumult of fang, claw, and flaming feathers. Amid the chaos, Alex found an opening.

Phoenix Leap.

He flew past the airborne brawl, his eyes fixated on the peak just a little distance away. The summit was in sight. So close he could almost touch it.

Alex glanced back. For a moment, his eyes met the Alpha's. The wolf's gaze was pure fire, an inferno of determination that reflected his own. It was filled with hatred.

No more time.

Phoenix Leap.

His mana, was barely a whisper. But still, he pushed on. One more leap, just one more.

Summoning the last reserves of his energy, he made one final leap. The world blurred around him as he defied gravity once more. The wolves and titanapes were left behind, unable to match and survive the three unstoppable titans battling in their midst.

Finally, the summit.

As Alex landed on the summit, a moment of respite settled upon him. The mountain peak stood silent, as if holding its breath to peer at the victor. Alex took a moment to savour the accomplishment, the realisation that he had surpassed the odds and survived, That thanks to the head start his cave had given him he had made it. Another realisation washed over him in waves, carried along by the summits cool air. He had done more than just survived as the countless beasts and monsters pursued him; his goals had changed, if ever so slightly. During the melee and desperate chaos, he had found himself shifting away from mere survival- he had sought victory, craved it. And in its place he had found evolution. He had grown more in that battle, and in this week than he had in his whole life, changed not just in technique or capabilities, but in desire.

The wind howled in his ears, the world fell away beneath him. He stood alone, the sole human in a war of beasts and monsters.

But the battle was not over.

He turned back, watching the battle rage below him. The wolf, the ape, the bird - they fought, engaged in a primal and savage display, torrents of flames, frost, and explosions rocked the mountainside.

He could still hear the battle cry of the Alpha wolf. The ground shaking roars of the Titanape. The shrill ethereal shrieks and chimes of the monstrous juvenile phoenix. The sounds of the battle seemed faded and distant at the peak of the mountain.

But he had made it. He was at the summit.

Alex moved towards the center of the peak, the wild dance of cool and warm winds ruffling his hair. He noticed molten rock sputtering beneath his feet, as small flames danced in the corner of his eyes. The peak was alive, resonating with the same wild energy that had carried him this far.

In the heart of this maelstrom, there was a massive whirl of ash, floating in the air. It shifted every moment, an ephemeral entity of color. The ash was painted in shades of red, yellow, and orange, each tinge interspersed with gray and black. It was a living storm of color, suspended in the mountain's heart, as if a token left for him alone.

His prize.

He approached the ash, his eyes tracing its ceaseless swirls. It was a captivating sight, a living painting that drew him in. He stretched out his arm, his fingers itching to touch the floating spectacle.

[Consume?]

The system's notification snapped him out of his trance. A choice laid out before him. His heart pounded in excitement, the only sound that seemed to overpower the fierce wind. His arm wavered in the air, and he swallowed, a knot forming in his throat.

"Yes," he said, his voice clear and firm, but barely audible in the swirling wind.

Immediately, the ash responded, springing to life. It shot towards him, covering him in an instant. The warm particles seeped into his clothes, his eyes, nose, and mouth. His world turned into a haze of colour and warmth.

Everything went black.

There was no more wind, no more fire, no more ash. Only darkness, encompassing, enveloping, cradling him in its embrace.