AA. 78 (Patreon)

It wasn’t long before the attackers emerged from the treeline. The clear sky and unusually bright moonlight made it impossible for them to conceal themselves on the arid road. A pair of Cursed Ones identical to the specimen they just fought led the group. Smaller, great-dane-sized creatures followed them, followed by armored or robed individuals with the locals’ features followed them. They carried a variety of weapons, and given their pace, Nil assumed they’d reach the mansion in an hour. The roof had suffered significant damage, and Nil considered ripping bits free to use as projectiles. 

Nil doubted he could muster enough power with Expend to take out the giant pair. His accuracy dropped significantly with distance as well. It was more a mid-range skill than a long-range one. But if he surprised them and successfully landed a couple of hits, there was a chance he could disable, if not kill, one of the smaller Cursed Ones or humans.

Scourge agents. They’re Scourge agents, not humans.

Before Nil could enact his plan, scratching sounds reached his ears. It sounded like nails scraping against wood and stone. His eyes darted to the black columns of smoke in the distance. They were villages. If the Cursed Ones started the night’s journey at either location, it was likely they had spawned their standard minions.

Just as Nil completed the thought, the bat-faced and eared humanoid creatures crawled over the edge of the roof. They were almost identical to the creatures he faced on his first quest, except they had longer, spider-like legs and leaked Cursed Energy. The purple aura around the talons appeared especially noxious and terrifying. Nil knew at a glance that Absorb wouldn’t do much good against them.

Nil considered stirring Song Yun but then decided he didn’t need her yet. He could deal with the small fry alone. Her strength was best saved for the approaching force. The pair claimed to have sealed all ground-level entrances, and the windows had bars made of ‘spirit-forged iron.’ Nil hoped that meant the man-bats couldn’t break through them. They had no choice but to climb over the roof.

Almost sure that he could take the creatures, Nil approached in a neutral state with supercharged speed. While sprinting to a creature making a beeline for the estate’s interior, he kicked a man-bat just about to climb onto the roof. He heard a loud crack as it disappeared over the edge. Wary of the claws, Nil didn’t throw himself at the second creature. Instead, he used the momentum for a flying kick. 

Despite the enhanced hearing, the creature didn’t react. It appeared focused on nothing but its goal. The blow folded the man-bat in half. Nil didn’t bother using Expend and supercharged strength before striking the beast’s head with a right hook. He caved in the skull. The Cursed Ones transformed their victims into speedy, stealthy attackers but did nothing for their strength or durability. 

The creatures that came next didn’t have blinders on. Nil found himself fighting two man-bats simultaneously. They attacked in unison, slashing and stabbing at him with their long talons. Nil supercharged speed, doing his best to avoid the attacks, bobbing and weaving. The talons dripping with Cursed Energy came uncomfortably close several times but never struck home. The nimble and speedy attackers were too feral and lacked coordination. Nil had no trouble playing the man-bats against each other, blocking one’s attacks with the other’s body.

Nil waited until one over-extended and tripped over his foot. He grabbed the creature, spun it around, and threw it at the other beast, pouring a significant quantity of energy into the act. Long spidery limbs tangled with one another, and the pair landed in a heap. Nil used an Expend-powered axe kick to end both simultaneously.

Finesse has progressed to Iron 5!

A third man-bat appeared on the roof, and Nil turned a corpse into a projectile, knocking the creature off. It went flying and landed on the cracked stone outer terrace with a sickening crunch.

Nil returned his attention to Song Yun. The woman hadn’t moved. She appeared deep in her meditative state. Energy swirled and gathered inside her in the same manner as Kim Hwan. Except the volume was significantly higher. The individual streams thickened and moved like a viscous fluid. It was a brief glimpse, but Energy Instinct highlighted the thick magic's faint pathways as they swirled and explored the young woman’s body before reaching the vortex in her solar plexus.

Unlike Kim Hwan’s energy absorption technique, Song Yun’s appeared deliberate and directed. She absorbed a rainbow of colors, but nothing but pure silver reached her center. Nil couldn’t tell whether she filtered out the unwanted elements or converted them into the form she desired. 

“Song Yun!” Nil yelled when more beasts climbed onto the rooftop. They came over opposite edges, and he couldn’t deal with them alone.

The young woman’s eyes snapped out of her trance. She appeared comparatively refreshed and stronger than before. Silver light flowed from her hand along the shaft when she grabbed her spear and coalesced around the spearhead. A pair of spectral copies appeared, floating over her shoulders as she sped at the man-bats. They seemed more solid than the copies Nil saw earlier. The conjurations were more opaque and appeared carved from moonlight. The spectral weapons followed Song Yun’s thrust, ripping her first target into several pieces. She knocked another with a spear swing before skewering another.

Song Yun’s grace and agility made her a wondrous sight. Unfortunately, Nil didn’t get the time to enjoy the spectacle or study how the energy continued to move through her. He had man-bats of his own to fight.

Since Nil couldn’t trust Absorb against the creatures’ talons, he relied on Expend and his meager energy stores to turn pieces of the broken roof into artillery shells. Supercharged strength added to his destructive power. Not all of his throws hit, but those that found a home, snapping limbs, caving in rib cages, or crushing skulls. He focused on the beasts making a beeline for Song Yi until a mass of them came directly at Nil.

The volume of man-bats forced Nil to activate Absorb despite its probable effectiveness. He also supercharged strength as he dove into the mass of them, dancing around and through the beasts, striking only when the opportunity revealed itself. He focused more on throwing the creatures into one another or redirecting their blows to cause entertaining, friendly fire cases.

Pained grunts burst from Nil whenever a claw raked his skin. Their ability seemed similar to that of the still-missing Fatima’s conjured blood blades. He suffered scratches and surface lacerations, but, fortunately, Absorb kept them from cutting deeper. The last arena match had taught Nil not to discount the danger. Constant and steady blood loss had almost led to a loss and would almost certainly get him killed now.

Death by a thousand cuts.

Nil waited until he was just about to be overwhelmed before releasing a pulse of energy from his entire body. Much to his surprise, his clothes held. The edges frayed and ripped, but the rest remained in one piece. The Nexus had put him in clothing to match the local culture. It featured black trousers and white robes. The latter suffered more damage than the first. 

The closest man-bats’ bones snapped, and the pulse pushed all of them away. He unleashed a barrage of blows, following each clean hit with a burst of energy from his fist or foot. He had durability supercharged, minimizing the damage to himself. Each explosive Expend took out multiple specimens. Then, the sound of Kim Hwan fighting below reached his ears, and Nil knew that the current strategy was unsustainable. So, he abandoned the creatures attacking him and fled toward Song Yun.

“To me!” he yelled and was relieved when she didn't question him or hesitate before complying. Hordes of man bats pursued both of them, and Nil gritted his teeth as his back and shoulders suffered several scratches.

Toggled Supercharging has progressed to Mortal 9!

When Nil reached Song Yun, he wrapped an arm around her waist and dove from the rooftop. Having Absorb activated during the landing ensured Brutal Battery's stores stayed at a decent level. The spearwoman retreated to Kim Hwan, and the pair kept their backs to the metal door, using their ranged attacks to take out the approaching monsters. Meanwhile, Nil stood just in front of them, acting as the vanguard and taking out all that got close. When there were no opponents within reach, he turned rubble into projectiles, disabling a man-bat every throw or catching them during their descent and ensuring they plummeted to the courtyard. Bones broke on landing, temporarily removing from the fight.

Absorb has progressed to Iron 4!

The fight dragged on, and Nil felt his ability to activate Absorb at the moment or just after impact improve significantly. He grew more consistent and confident and enjoyed the fruit of the months of endless training. The man-bats’ wild movements didn’t just cease touching Nil. Instead, they followed through and often over-extended before losing momentum, giving him the perfect opportunity to capitalize on openings. It wasn’t perfect, and he suffered several lacerations—some deeper than others—but successfully avoided getting overwhelmed.

Just as the numbers started dwindling, the building shuddered. Nil wasn't sure how much time had passed but was sure the Cursed Ones and Scourge Agents had arrived. Bits of the roof rained on the courtyard following every ram, and Nil’s heart leaped into his throat. He was exhausted and had lost a lot of blood. Song Yun and Kim Hwan were relatively uninjured, but they looked more tired than he was. 

Song Yun claimed the salve container from her retainer and slathered its contents on Nil’s back and arms. The man-bats had shredded his robes, and he removed the garment altogether since the loose, dangling pieces inhibited his movements.

“Thank you,” Nil said. 

Song Yun nodded. “Neither I nor Kim Hwan have much Qi remaining. It won't be long before this fight turns into you facing the demons and their worshippers alone.”

“I wouldn't count on that sister,” a soft, melodious voice spoke. 

The metal doors slid open and arcane energies almost identical to Song Yun’s poured from the sealed room. However, the magic was thicker, brighter, and significantly more potent. Nil had to cease channeling Energy Instinct so he could see the woman that stepped into the courtyard. The energy flowing through and around her was much too bright.

Song Yi, the new immortal, looked so perfect she might as well have been computer-generated. Nil had seen Gold Realm individuals like Adrian ‘Wildshape’ Wilson, who embodied the peak of human beauty with ideal shapes and features but still carried imperfections. Song Yi did not.

“Get inside the cultivation chamber,” she told her sister. “You too, Kim Hwan, Honored Summoned. I do not know my new strength and would rather none of you fall to my technique.”

Song Yun and Kim Hwan didn’t question the superior cultivator. The pair bowed and retreated into the rune, which was covered in alien shapes and glowing patterns. They marched to its center, sat cross-legged, and immediately began cultivating. Nil joined them. He kept Absorb active and tried to mimic their breathing and whatever else he was doing but failed. Nil’s body and mind weren’t built for it. So, he watched as the immortal unleashed her technique.

A concentrated spear of silver light formed in her hands, and when she threw it, the weapon disintegrated the building’s opposite side, and all that stood beyond it. Clouds parted, and the brightness turned the night into day for several seconds. It was the most beautiful and terrifying sight Nil had ever seen.

You have completed your quest!

You have gained 400 Schema Credits!
You have gained 3 Schema Tokens!
You have been granted probationary access to the Moon Rabbit Emporium.