Unknowing of Gordeau’s encounter with Mavistere, the party steeled themselves for what they believed would be their final battle. Aurora’s hands crackled as she began charging up a Lightning Weave, Arthur charging out in front with a Challenging Moxie.
The majority of the monsters were still of the goblin variety, even though the monsters were far more varied than they were inside the building itself. Hobgoblins had been symbols of fear for the group of survivors, but after their level ups and Arthur’s arrival with his passive buffs, they’d become just another mob. Such was proven when Arthur crashed into their frontline. Even without activating his Aegis Arts, the broken elite monsters were sent tumbling back after attempting to impede his advance.
A skill he did activate, however, was his favorite skill to date for dealing with groups of enemies.
[Challenging Moxie]: Expend a stack of [Audacity] to inflict [Enraged] on all enemies within 10 meters of you. Gain a stack of [Audacity] for every enemy inflicted with [Enraged].
While only elite monsters populated the roof, none of them had the requisite willpower to deny the Enraged debuff. A vast chunk of the enemies on the soaked battlefield roared challenges at Arthur with their different tones of voice, spittle flying that was indistinguishable from the hammering rain. Their eyes aglow with searing fury, they converged on the Audacity Knight with reckless temerity.
Aurora was hanging in the storming air, charging a Lightning Weave with both hands outstretched in front of her. Electricity danced between her fingers, her eyes closed as though the vicious monsoon were her own warm bed. Gideon and Ema were not so passive.
While Gideon was not on par with Mira Seigan for her ability to deal disastrous amounts of damage, his capabilities were no longer impeded by the terrain. After the previous battle, he’d put the rock pieces back into his Vault by activating his Orbital Belt to draw them all to him. Now that they were in another fight in a matter of minutes, the skill was in full effect once again.
Since their situation was no longer a duel, Lightning Fetter was no longer a good option for boosting his passive damage effects to a third level. While she could use the skill to connect him to three or four enemies, they would die far too quickly for it to be worth the mana cost. Aurora’s time, as inactive as she was, was best spent charging the attack that would deal the most damage to the most enemies.
Ema was passive as ever with her interventions, but her presence was nonetheless felt, also as ever. She didn’t need to heal, shield or buff Arthur, instead choosing to spend most of her time backing up Gideon in his repeated advances. During this battle, he made use of a Polarity he hadn’t in a while.
[Polarity]: Passive - Allows the user to switch between [North] and [South] modes.
- [North]: Enhanced STR and VIT. Some skills can only be activated in [North] mode, while some can be activated either way as chosen with the {Interchangeable} tag.
- [South]: Greatly enhanced DEX. Some skills can only be activated in [South] mode, while some can be activated either way as chosen with the {Interchangeable} tag.
While in his North Polarity, several of his skills had different effects from what he normally employed. Stellar Collision now gave him healing and shields correspondent to how much damage he dealt with the skill. Comet Swing became a heavy blow that crushed bone and caused dizzying effects.
[Dazed]: Inflicts lightheadedness, dizziness and confusion. May cause the afflicted to suddenly lose balance.
[Concussion]: Inflicts nausea and slower reactions. Decreases ability to focus.
The effects that Comet Swing doled out in its North Polarity were afflictions of the mind that were usually borne through being hit in the head. These effects were only slightly useful in the current situation, however, as Arthur’s Enraged combo all but ensured their demise with only two swings. Stellar Collision’s North mode allowed him to fight among the horde with relative safety and without fear of being hit with an offhanded strike.
It wasn’t long before the Lightning Weave was ready. The charging time was far reduced, as though the roiling skies themselves had assisted. Power crackled; overwhelming forces danced across her body with each flash that traveled from head to toe. She didn’t let it stay there long.
When she finally released the skill, it rushed out of her like an angry attack dog. Connecting with one, then two, then three enemies, it spread and multiplied as it bounced between hobgoblins, giant wolves, and living trees. More than a few times, a streak of lightning cracked down from the clouds onto the beleaguered monsters, turning already blackened flesh to ash.
The cyclopes was not idle during the party’s fight to get closer to it. It fired searing hot lasers from its lone eye, burning furrows in the wet flooring and boiling the water that pooled in it. It evaporated the rain that had still been falling in its path, but it stopped dead upon colliding with Arthur’s shield.
[Wooden Bulwark] (Rare): A large, wooden shield. Its heft is cumbersome, but its robustness is reliable. Susceptible to fire damage.
- [Defensive Stance]: Grants enhanced damage reduction from the front.
- [Barkskin]: Enhanced damage reduction while in contact with [Wooden Bulwark].
The Wooden Bulwark was a shield that Arthur had received as a reward from the Undersea Redoubt dungeon. Arthur had later learned from Gordeau that the chest he’d opened took the user’s desires into account when distributing rewards, which was why his and Mira’s were different. Mira’s rewards were incredibly powerful items, as what she’d wanted most was simply power. Arthur wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he’d received a shield, an item for creating a familiar bond, and the Aged Blade. Arthur guessed that he must’ve just wanted things that didn’t break easily, as his sword was shattered during that fight.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
The Wooden Bulwark had a weakness to fire damage that would normally already have the shield in ashes. Arthur’s silent champion of a skill, however, did not allow for such insubordination.
[Mighty Escutcheon]: Passive - Empowers your shield to enhance durability according to rarity.
The shield he held was of the “Rare” variety, and the resulting durability granted for that rank was enough to stave off the incendiary effects of the laser. It pressed down savagely against the wooden shield, flash evaporating any water that had previously been on its surface.
Normally, the weight tolerance property was a part of the strength stat. The properties of stats decided what each stat did, and Arthur had moved weight tolerance to his vitality stat a long time ago. As Arthur’s vitality stat was practically galactic, his weight tolerance was similarly unflappable. This meant that when the cyclopes’ eye beam struck his shield, it barely slowed down his advance despite its elephant weight.
Arthur pushed on through the hordes of monsters. Most had already fallen to Aurora, but those that were left continued to attack. None made it through his armor, but their attempts still rattled his body inside.
As soon as the cyclopes began shooting lasers at them, Ema immediately struck it with as many debuffs as she could muster. She wasn’t sure which stat would deflate the eye beam, but eventually settled on lowering its defenses instead, trusting Arthur to weather the assault. Aurora had already begun charging a surely to-be savage Lightning Bolt, leaving the fight until then to her friends.
While Gideon was currently in his North mode, that didn’t mean his high dexterity got any lower for it. He moved for one of the large monster’s legs, aiming to cut a tendon and debilitate it.
Just because it was currently firing a laser with equatorial heat didn’t mean it couldn’t move. It lifted its leg to bring down onto the small man, but for just the smallest of moments, its leg Seized up. Using the opening, Gideon darted around the leg and struck at the other, causing the monster to roar in pain. Lifting its club, it made an enormous swing towards the cause of its agony.
Arthur was there in a flash. He put his shield up, braced for the blow with both arms, and activated two skills.
[Ironclad Will]: You are much harder to move, topple or stagger against your will. Physics still applies to the terrain. Can be broken by an enemy higher level than you. If [Champion’s Mantle] is active, grants a diluted version of this skill to allies within area of influence.
[You and Me]: Inflicts [Enraged] when an enemy strikes your shield. Expend a stack of [Audacity] to inflict damage in retaliation.
The tree sized club swung in a ludicrously powerful arc, heading straight for Arthur. It connected with his Wooden Bulwark.
The sound of a bomb going off rang loud and clear over the storm. Rain, still falling from the sky, was displaced from the force of the blast alone, creating an area around them that was dry for only half a second. The ridiculously gigantic club was thrown back, the seemingly unstoppable force meeting a truly immovable object returning its kinetic energy. The cyclopes lost its balance, stumbling back with a confused look that soon morphed into an Enraged face. The fact that it had taken damage from its own attack as well did not improve its mood.
Gideon didn’t waste any time. Switching his Polarity to its South mode, he ran forward, lowering his weight with his new Massivity skill. Making a leaping jump for the monster’s wide, red eye, he switched the Polarity of that same Massivity skill at the last moment. Doing this allowed him to strike the cyclopes heavier than before, with a dagger straight into its only eye.
Roaring in pain and anger, it swung its weapon about. Cyclopes weren’t very smart on principle, but adding anger and pain to the mix made it ignore the fact that it could simply grab the creature off of its face with its free hand. It instead swung its arms in anger, and Arthur grabbed one of its legs with both arms. Gideon used Massivity to lower the boss monster’s weight by half.
The giant came crashing down with a mighty pull. It hit the floor with a loud crash, water and rubble flying about under its weight. Just then, the group would have felt another tremble from the building, but they were too focused on the battle to address or even notice it.
When the monster hit the floor, Ema made two moves. First, she buffed Aurora to the maximum her skills would allow. Then, her arms shot out in front of her in a grasping motion, attempting to Seize the enormous monster’s entire body. The reason Ema froze the cyclopes now was to give Aurora a clear shot. Even though she was calling lightning from the sky, with the enhancements the System allowed, even that could be dodged. Ema aimed to reject the cyclopes such a chance.
Aurora swayed in the air with the wind. The energy coursing through her body harmonized with the storm, like a synchronized heartbeat. Her skill’s charge was faster than ever, and it was ready in half the time that it normally would be. The taste of the rain on her lips was rapturous, the sound of the sky ready to crack like an egg symphonic to her ears. She knew that this was where she belonged, truly and without an iota of doubt. Despite all this, she didn’t miss the opening her friend made for her.
Long, normally vibrant brown hair stuck to her face and back, baggy clothes that now clung to her as well; she brought her hand down like a gavel.
The resulting blast could hardly be called a Lightning Bolt. The sky opened up with its passing, a thunderous slash of light savaging the oxygen in the air itself. It hurtled toward the boss monster like a dame rushing to meet a long, lost love.
The cyclopes was currently under the maximum amount of debuffs Ema could muster. Aurora was under the opposite of the same, receiving the maximum amount of buffs from her friend. Arthur’s passives were still in full effect, as always, and to make a bad situation for it worse, the Enraged effect was on full blast. Aurora was in the most optimal conditions she could possibly be in, with every single stack of Static thrown into the mix like chocolate chips added to an already delicious cookie batter. Every single thing that might have been done to increase the damage the boss would take had been done.
The Lightning Bolt alighted on the strongest monster the survivors ever faced like a gentle touch of radiant death.
Nicholas Sherman looked up at the top of the building the party had entered. There had recently been a commotion up there, but he lamented that his eyesight wasn’t yet good enough to pierce the night. He was about to sigh, when suddenly a flash of light filled his view. His arm went up reflexively, but it was gone as soon as it came. What wasn’t so quick to disappear, however, was the house sized explosion that now decorated the building top. What also transpired was a tremor that rivaled an earthquake. Somehow, the power of the Lightning Bolt traveled through the building itself to transfer its force to the ground below.
Sherman lowered his arm, looking in awe at the conflagration through the storming rain.
“Hang in there… kids.”
None of the group were under 18 years of age. Especially Arthur, who was 21. Even so, to Sherman, they would always be the kids that he helped develop.
The woman looked up in the storming weather after the flash of light. She’d been hunting for the Rads, or the Eradication faction, sent out on a mission from their posting board. Taking a break because of the storm, she’d set up a cozy little tent in an area with at least moderate shelter from the rain. Mixing an instant coffee, the flash of light followed by the tremors initially had her thinking she was under attack. Rushing outside with her long gothic mace in hand, she was met with a huge explosion on top of a building in the distance.
As her class was attuned to the ice element, something that could cause that explosion of fire and force would be a problem for her to handle. Judging by the distance, however, whatever caused it either had no interest or knowledge of her at all. Hopefully.
She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. The rain hammered against her relentlessly, soaking her quickly despite her efforts to avoid such a fate. A smile crossed her face as curiosity entered her mind. Sweet, sweet curiosity. Maybe she could… add a quick reconnaissance mission to her report for extra credits.