135. Mirror’s Edge

  [REVOLVER Spell: METABOLIC SHIFT]

  [MP Cost: 10 per second]

  [Satiety Cost (PRETJORD alternative resource): 3 per second]

  [Spell Description: Chamber Two imbuement. Channeling spell. Transform Wayfarer’s Auxiliary based on the most recent [Synthesis]-eligible item consumed.]

  ***

  Serac tensed, ready to burst out of the bunker and confront the intruder. But Zacko put a stop to it with a firm hand on her shoulder. With the other hand, the Manusya waved Petter on, indicating for the latter to keep talking.

  “Y—yes, Miss, I did have some ideas. A—and it’s a good thing you’re here, because I wouldn’t have been able to go ahead on my own.”

  Stalling. Meaningless babble. Serac caught on quickly enough, and moved onto how she could best get a handle on the situation. The answer came to her in an instant. To her great thrill, it was something she’d been itching to field-test for some time (about a week, to be exact!).

  She let the boys babble on while she herself reached into her satchel, making as little noise as Rakshasa-ly possible. This time, she pulled out two different consumable items: a [Rumpepille] from the batch she’d [Harvested] just this morning as well as a [Stuffed Nokken Heart]. Another imitation of a Chef Petey special, and only the second dish in her fledgling culinary career.

  Petter’s original recipe had been a true marvel, not least for the savory juices that flowed as soon as you bit into it, giving it a delightful ‘bleeding heart’ effect. In contrast, Serac’s own interpretation was dry and a little hard to swallow, but she forced it down in several hasty bites. Her friends could only stall for so long.

  As Serac loaded up her ‘ammunition’, she puzzled over how someone might’ve spotted them. Assuming the intruder was indeed Eddur Lokksen, he would’ve needed a nearby reflective surface to peep on them—something the trio had taken pains to prevent. Serac’s gaze eventually landed on Petter’s anxious face. On the streaks of tears that had yet to dry completely. In a flash, she understood what had happened. At the same time, she decided this was one discovery she would keep to herself.

  Meanwhile, Petter continued to inform her with silent gestures that didn’t match his spoken words. A scaly finger to indicate one enemy, followed by their rough location relative to Serac’s position. She nodded her acknowledgment, then concentrated on chewing her food.

  One last tortured gulp. Pathsight rewarded her efforts by manifesting the [Nokken Heart]’s effect:

  [Wayfarer Status Effect: AMPHIBIOUS]

  A handy double buff: first to improve Stamina efficiency on land and second to slow the rate of [Oxygen] loss in water. Unfortunately, it didn’t make a Rakshasa’s dense-boned body any more buoyant, so the second effect would’ve been wasted on Serac… if she didn’t happen to have a spell to transform herself.

  Prepped and ready, Serac turned to Zacko and mouthed ‘go’. If her instincts about the task ahead were correct, it would be a rare solo effort. But that didn’t mean Zacko and his gauntleted fist couldn’t help to punch things off.

  The roof of the sandy bunker exploded, sending out the mother of all pocket sands in all directions. It momentarily stunned the eavesdropper into inaction, while Serac herself jumped in their direction, REVOLVER raised and finger on the trigger.

  [Designation: EDDUR LOKKSEN]

  [Wayfarer Race: YAKSHA]

  [Karmic Level: 53]

  [Liminal Karma: 16,380 ?]

  [ZEALOUS Instrument: SCRYGLASS]

  [Auxiliary: MIRRORBLADE]

  Who else? For one sand-swept Ksana, Serac caught sight of the top half of Eddur’s head (the see-through half) protruding just above the water. His eyes bulged upward, betraying a rare instance of genuine surprise.

  Serac didn’t give him the time to think. She fired exactly one bullet, making sure to aim it where it would spook the barreleye man most—the transparent covering that protected his brain matter and Instrument.

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  [109!]

  The bullet landed with a dull thunk. Not enough to shatter the durable covering, but Serac hoped it might at least leave a dent to affect Eddur’s vision. Regardless, she quickly moved onto her next maneuver, already anticipating her opponent’s reaction.

  Eddur disappeared into the water. A Yaksha’s natural defense against a landbound adversary. The Serac of even a week ago would’ve been stumped right then and there, but she’d since worked her newest spell into her repertoire, along with a full complement of ‘ammo types’ to fit her needs. To that end, she aimed REVOLVER’s barrel into her own left arm. That ungodly amalgam of craggy rocks and Rakshasa anatomy.

  [Chamber Two: METABOLIC SHIFT]

  [PULVERIZER Alternate Form: TERRAFORMER]

  The bullet didn’t even make a sound as it made contact with PULVERIZER. The whole thing went up in a blaze of Zealous-green fire, to then reveal an entirely new form. A rather rustic amalgam of leafy vines, sturdy tree branches, and yes, still some Rakshasa anatomy somewhere in there. With TERRAFORMER up, Serac didn’t hesitate to dive after Eddur Lokksen. Into the dark, oppressive water that had once been the bane of her Pretjordian existence.

  [Wayfarer Status Effect: HYPOXIA]

  Two status gauges to keep track of now: the ever-present creamy-orange of [Satiety] and the fast-ticking light-green of [Oxygen]. Thanks to [Amphibious], the [Oxygen] meter moved slowly, giving a Rakshasa plenty of time to stay submerged. Instead, it was the orange gauge she had to worry about. Even with the [Rumpepille]’s [Hunger]-slowing effects, [Satiety] ticked down at one point per second. Serac had roughly two minutes before she must either shut off [Metabolic Shift] or top herself off with more food.

  Costly and risky, but the reward was well worth it. Serac channeled her [Hunger] into an image of chasing down her prey. Here, underwater, TERRAFORMER translated the image into a bundle of vines that splayed out behind its wielder. The vines then spun at speed, generating enough thrust to float and propel a whole Rakshasa, dense bones be damned.

  Of course, Serac couldn’t let her Auxiliary do all the work. She’d already gotten some practice in, enough to know how to kick and when to paddle with her free arm for change of direction. It wasn’t perfect by any means, nor anywhere near as graceful as a real-world Nokken, but for now, it’d have to do.

  On this occasion, it did the job. Eddur had gotten a head start, but he wasn’t the strongest swimmer in the Kronvakt. Serac’s monstrous imitation of an amphibious Wildspawn proved a knot faster, allowing her to make up the distance in a matter of seconds. When she got near enough, she swung her left arm around and switched the image in her mind to that of casting a net. The vines splayed out once more, this time to close over a barreleye man.

  But Eddur was, not for nothing, a Kronvakt team leader. He evaded capture with a sudden burst of speed, evidence perhaps that he’d baited his pursuer into committing her net. He followed this with an upward kick, shooting out of the river entirely.

  I knew it wouldn’t be so easy. Serac switched TERRAFORMER back to propeller mode, following Eddur onto land. Her head (especially her horns!) was on a swivel as she broke through the surface, the better to see and read where her prey had scurried off to.

  Eddur’s dripping figure crouched over the riverbank, about ten yards upstream. He was already in the midst a teleport, as evidenced by the ‘window’ he’d cut into the river’s surface. A portion of the water had slit open as though it were a throat someone had taken a knife to, even down to the lurid-red ‘blood’ that gushed out from the edges. Such was the gory and deeply weird magic of Eddur Lokksen, he of the BLADE that opened portals between MIRRORS.

  [Auxiliary Technique: CUTTING EDGE]

  Serac had witnessed it once before, during a sparring session between Eddur and Skjal. As such, she knew of certain limitations to the technique, including a slight delay in cast time. It was too late for Serac to cover the ‘entrance’, but she still had a chance to shut the door on the ‘exit’.

  A reflective surface large enough for a barreleye man to fit through. Something he can maintain visuals on, using his upward-gazing SCRYGLASS. Serac saw it. A giant Crown-leaf hung over the woods further upstream. Upon its curved surface, a glistening, man-sized dewdrop reflected the moon above. Already, the moon’s reflection had split open, spilling blood-red onto pale-jade. If Eddur were to make the jump now, he’d surely have the gap needed to complete his escape.

  Eddur bent and disappeared into the ‘slit throat’ upon the river. As for Serac, she focused on her fundamentals. Aim, lock, fire. A bullet cut through the dewdrop and popped it like a ‘blood balloon’. It wasn’t the first and nor would it be the last time her little boomstick served a practical purpose.

  Robbed of a landing spot, Eddur’s lurching figure reappeared in the air, mid-teleport. He dropped onto the riverbank below and landed on his back, along with some hefty fall damage.

  [272!]

  Serac broke into a sprint, knowing she had precious little time before the barreleye recovered from his fall. No matter what, she couldn’t let him get away. Couldn’t let him take what he’d overheard back to the palace proper. It was time for TERRAFORMER’s land-based magic to shine.

  As soon as she was within range, Serac knelt and shoved her left hand into the ground, grabbing a clump of damp soil as she did. TERRAFORMER’s vines and branches took root and grew, slithering across the earth before shooting out from under Eddur’s feet.

  The real-world Nokken was a master of camouflage, borrowing and blending into everything it could find in its wooded habitat. Serac couldn’t render herself nearly as ‘undetectable’, but she could make herself ‘overgrown’. Perhaps even enough to wrap around her prey and hold him in place.

  Eddur, knife in hand, did the predictable and sensible thing of hacking away at the vines and branches. It allowed him to evade capture for a while longer, but it also played into Serac’s hands. For even as she sent some of her TERRAFORMING extensions at Eddur’s feet, she’d diverted the rest to form a perimeter around both of them.

  That was how Serac built her second bunker on the night. Instead of sand, this one was made of overgrown vines and branches, dense enough to shut off a hunter and her prey from the rest of the forest. To deny the latter access to any ‘mirrors’ he might cut into.

  Eddur stopped his hacking as soon as he realized what had happened. Serac too rose to her feet, slowly and cautiously, knowing the next few moments could make or break her night and indeed her whole adventure in Krongard.

  As Serac pondered her next, crucial steps, two distinct colors demanded and dominated her attention. One was the creamy-orange of her [Satiety] gauge, already down to its last third and steadily ticking down. And the other: the sickly green of Eddur Lokksen’s MIRRORBLADE—reflecting not the moon, but the murky depths of his own [Hunger].

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