RD 2 Ch 18 (Patreon)

Chapter 18

I stayed back, firing off Blood Bolts next to her and placing Blood Hexes on them to weaken them for the others. The group quickly mopped up the cyclops as they came.

Zane waved to me. “Are you debuffing them?”

“Yep. Working on leveling the skill,” I lied a little.

“Me, too,” Nyx said. She’d been working on petrifying arrow. She’d recently hit level ten and gotten a new ability: Petrifying Gaze. She seemed reluctant to use it.

Zane nodded at both of us. “We were going to split up into a few groups to go look at the sanctuaries. I think that’s the best way to find Galen’s group.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded.

“Then, I’d like to ask the two of you to push forward the farthest to check what I think might be the most distant sanctuary.” He pulled out a map and quickly showed me what he meant. “We’re about here, and this one is a little out of the way. I wanted to ask you two to go see it.”

I nodded. “Easy enough.”

Nyx raised an eyebrow. “That’s far.”

“We can make it easily. We might have to rest there before coming back, though.”

“That’s fine.” Zane smiled. “If it's you, Bran, I can rest assured that you’ll be fine.”

Lisa, Zane’s future assistant, was hanging back over his shoulder waiting to talk to him.

He did a double-take and pulled her aside for whatever he needed.

“She’s going to get in his pants before the end of this,” Nyx whispered.

“Get your head out of the gutter,” I grumbled.

“Everyone is going to be sleeping with someone. Especially if we have to wait in a sanctuary for two weeks? Yeah, a group of horny eighteen-year-olds are totally going to be chaste.” Nyx shook her head.

“Then who do you have your eyes on?” I asked, getting my bearings and heading in the direction that Zane assigned us.

Nyx fumbled over her words before spitting it out. “He probably doesn’t even realize. Sometimes he can be really dense.”

“That’s a shame,” I said. “If he’s that dense, you just have to be forward with him. Most guys will act once they realize what’s happening. I mean, you’re looking pretty wicked with that hair.”

“Yeah. Well, I kind of want to let the changes finish before I do anything. Get a real gauge of his reaction the first time he sees it.” Nyx was blushing so bright red that I thought she was going to pop.

“Ah. That makes sense. But, Nyx, if the looks are what turns him away, he wasn’t a good guy to begin with. You’re a catch, and any guy would be lucky,” I encouraged her.

“I’d hoped he’d say something like that.” She looked towards the group for a moment, and I briefly wondered which guy she was looking at.

“Which guy—”

Nyx ducked her head. “Let’s hurry. Maybe if we have some spare time we can find a boss for you to fight.”

I rubbed my hands together at the idea. “Let's hurry.”

***

Katie Heros was moving with her group, keeping an eye out for anything in the forest. She played idly with her hair, thinking of how to get Bran once again.

A rustle in the bushes made her stop. The monsters weren’t that subtle. They stormed through this place louder than a work crew.

Her group got a little farther ahead of her, and someone slipped out of the bushes. “What are you lingering for?”

Katie smiled at the woman in front of her. “You’re with Galen’s group, right? Zane is going to check all the sanctuaries for you.”

The other girl was pretty but not pretty enough to be a threat to Katie’s goals. “Oh?”

“The way you are sneaking around, I assume you going to ambush Zane?” Katie asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the other girl said. “Just caught your group and was following to see what would happen. You’re taking this easy.”

Katie shrugged, a smile blossoming on her face. “I am a simple girl with a simple goal. You see, Bran Heros made me his blood whore and controls me. I want to talk to Galen.”

The other woman raised an eyebrow but didn’t seem to know what to say.

“Well, I’m here.” Like a shadow stretching out of the dark, Galen Heros appeared with a massive and ornately decorated scythe on his back. “Banshee bloodline. Nice.”

“Thank you.” Katie curtsied. “I’m just a servant for my master.” She smiled leaning into the role. It was so easy to imagine the vampire lord playing games and using her to get Galen to attack Zane.

This way Bran was part of the problem as well, and perhaps she could use this to blackmail him. It was all so easy.

Some would call her a manipulative bitch. However, Katie just knew what she wanted. Now, she was in a world where magic existed, and power could tip the scales in your direction.

Galen cut an imposing figure with his brooding face and that scythe, but it was nothing compared to Bran.

“Get to talking!” Galen snapped. “Who’s Bran?”

“The Vampire Lord class with SSS-ranked bloodline,” Katie explained. “He’s the strongest in our group by far.”

“Stronger than Zane?” Galen frowned. “No way.”

“He’s got Regeneration. He fought a level fifteen mini boss on his own and came out completely untouched.” Katie smiled at their surprise. “But right now, Zane sent him with Nyx, the medusa, to go check one of the other sanctuaries. Meanwhile, he split the rest of our group in two to find you as quickly as he could. With the levels going up, he wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Galen barked a laugh. “Okay? I’m perfect. This is letting me level more than I expected.” The scythe rang as he pulled it off his back. “The cyclops have practically no spirit. I cut through them like butter.”

Katie inspected and was surprised to see he was already level eighteen. “No spirit?”

“Reaper as a class attacks spirit rather than vitality.” He grinned. “Means that those stupid cyclops just die in a hit or two. That Bran probably would, too.” He swung the big scythe around like a toy. “Thanks for letting me know about their movements. Are you and Bran changing sides?”

“I’ve been with them a day. What sides have even been picked?” Katie shrugged. “Bran only wants blood to feast on.”

Galen’s blade was suddenly at her throat. “I don’t much like backstabbers. Nor do I like games. Where is Zane?”

“The second sanctuary from here. At least, that’s where he’s heading,” Katie answered, not even paying attention to the blade. “If you touch me, Bran will tear you apart.”

“Doubt it.” Galen snorted. “If he’s strong enough to take on a mini boss on his own that’s one thing, but everyone has a weakness. I’d bet his spirit is his. What are his stats like?”

“Can’t see them. No one can. All our inspections just bounce off.” Katie smirked. “He’s probably got some Blood God bloodline from the ancestor himself.”

She had to stop from smiling when Galen frowned. “Never heard of that before. You, Beats?”

“Me neither.” The woman who had first stepped out shook her head. “Don’t like this girl, either.”

“She’s fucking nuts,” Galen agreed. “But she’s being useful. I like useful people.”

Katie just swayed in place smiling. She was going to get Bran to make her his blood whore. If it meant killing Zane and turning him into an accomplice, then so be it. Zane didn’t matter to Katie.

She could tell that Bran was the apex predator here, and she wanted to attach herself to him. More importantly, she needed to kill Nyx and make sure that whoring bitch stayed away from her man.

“I do have one request. There’s another woman with Bran. The SSS Rank Medusaic Archer.” Katie smiled. “After you kill Zane, I want her killed or otherwise outside of Bran’s reach.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beats frowned at her.

“I think she means make her… undesirable.” Galen made a face. “We’ll just kill her if your information is good. Otherwise, you’ll be the first one that I put outside of anyone’s reach.” He nicked her throat as a warning.

The feeling was nothing compared to being bitten by Bran.

“Twisted bitch.” Beats looked her up and down. “You going to come with us or go back?”

“My place is by Bran’s side. But because he’s away, I’ll stick with you.” Katie smiled. “I’ll even put a dagger in Zane’s back if that’s what it takes to prove myself and Bran.”

“Don’t kill him. He’s got plenty of items on him to keep himself alive.” Galen’s smile grew predatory. “Instead, we need to bleed him dry. Keep him away from the sanctuaries and make him use all the trinkets his family gave him.” That scythe slid back over his shoulder. “Then let the monsters do the finishing blow. You need to be careful. The elders of the clan can smell a lie a thousand miles away. We need to be able to tell the truth when we say ‘Zane was killed by monsters’. Everyone else? Well, we can get away with more.”

“Perfect.” Katie smiled brightly. “I’m Katie. Pleasure to work with you.”

***

I pulled my sword out of a cyclops and wiped my brow. “See? That petrify spell isn’t half bad.”

“I thought for sure I was going to catch you in it.” Nyx blushed. “Are we almost there yet?”

“Soon. It shouldn’t be much farther. A lot of abilities take your intent into account. Like, did you mean to hit the ally, too?” I smiled at her. “Or we could let you hit me with it a few times and see if I get a resistance to it.”

“I’d really rather not use it on someone else,” Nyx said. “Also, what if a mirror actually reflects it?”

“Unlikely, unless the mirror is a system item with some sort of reflect magic in it,” I told her.

“How do you know all of this?” She picked up her arrows.

“My father taught me.” It was an easy lie to lean on. And it was a heck of a lot easier than trying to explain that I’d traveled through time. Add to that the ancient beast said it was impossible unless the world had helped me.

My mind was still a little stuck on that idea of the world or the system assisting me. Frankly, I didn’t like that something else was going to share the credit for all my blood, sweat, and tears, even if it was an impossibly powerful being that quite literally gave everyone their strength.

That the stupid leech gave something else credit for my brilliant strategy to go back in time irked me.

“Still. It’s incredible the depth of knowledge he managed to instill. I don’t think I’d remember half this much.” Nyx got her arrows and put them in the quiver. She was using fewer of them as she worked on her abilities, several of which generated arrows.

“Helps when you have the lesson quite literally beaten into you. Really helps it stick.” I chuckled humorlessly. That answer hit a little closer to the truth than I liked. “Think they’re in this sanctuary?” I asked, picking my way through the forest.

“Doubt they got this far. You ran like a madman to get us this far, and not everyone can so easily kill cyclops. Though, there are fewer of them than I expected,” she said after a moment.

I nodded. It did feel like the monsters had thinned a bit.

My mind flitted back to Galen’s class. Reaper. I had seen one before and vaguely recalled their abilities. They revolved around melee-type spirit attacks. Which meant he could probably carve his way through these cyclops if he wanted.

The trees gave way to the sanctuary just a few hundred yards ahead of us.

“There it is, Bran!” Nyx bounced on her feet and rushed forward.

I paused. The air had a stillness to it that set off alarms. “Nyx, stop.”

If Galen had thinned some of the cyclops population around here, then why hadn’t he killed all of them?

There was a honk like a goose in the air, and a swarm that covered nearly half a mile of the sky rose from the trees.

They looked like some sort of metallic goose as they all honked out of sync and made enough noise to be deafening.

Nyx’s eyes opened wide as the swarm fixed on her and descended.

I took a step forward, activating Charge for its speed, rushing to Nyx and knocking the wind out of her as I dipped my shoulder and flipped her over onto my back. I put as much of my strength and agility into my gait as I could, rushing towards the sanctuary.

[Stamphilian Birds S Boss

Level: 16

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Intelligence

Spirit

Skills:

Swarm S

Knife Feathers S

Sharp Beak S

“What the fuck are those? Murder geese?!” Nyx shouted.

“Swarm type. We need to get cover!” I shouted over the noise as blade-like bronze feathers started to slash through the air. More than a few of them hit me as I pulled Nyx in front of me and let my back take the hits.

The blades cut through my skin like a hot knife through butter and burned the whole way through.