Azarinth Healer Chapter 611: Catching up

Chapter 611 Catching up

Ilea smiled, feeling his curse waver before it vanished entirely.

The man nearly stumbled as she held on, his hand reaching around her back before he hesitated.

She didnt care, giving him the ti he needed after all this ti he may have spent entirely devoid of human contact.

He breathed in sharply before his hand ca to rest on her back, and then his other. He hugged her back, his head coming to rest on her shoulder before a sob went through him.

Its okay, Ilea said, her voice shaking slightly. Im glad we found you. Im glad youre alive, she murmured.

Its its really you, Kyrian said after a while, his voice dulled by the heavy steel plate around his body. He had let go of the chains in his right hand, the large steel links simply floating in the air behind him.

Its , Ilea said and moved the ash away from her face.

Ilea I knew you would find , he said, his voice cracking a little before he hugged her with renewed vigor. I didnt know what to do I, he said before he turned around, letting go of her to grab the chains again. The Wyvern carcass had started to slide away. Im Im sorry.

She watched, fascinated as the four large chains tightened around the massive body, the two remaining chains quickly spinning around it too before he pulled, Kyrians body itself floating up before he moved closer to the tunnel. Ilea identified him in passing, following him inside as Feyrair made space for the two humans and the corpse.

[Mage lvl 412]

You definitely havent been idle, she thought, grinning as she saw the look in Feys eyes. Hes human, just in case you didnt know.

He hissed and crossed his arms before he started to laugh.

Kyrian let go of the chains when the body was secured, glancing at the elf before he turned to Ilea. I I dont know what to say.

Nobody on the isle?, Ilea asked.

He shook his head lightly. No. Nobody I could find. Plenty of monsters, he added and laughed awkwardly, glancing at Feyrair before he stopped. I was alone, he said and nodded to himself a few tis, glancing back at her a few seconds later, the chains rippling slightly as they pushed against the Wyverns skin. I was alone here, he said again and touched his shoulder.

Im sorry. For taking so long, Ilea said and walked over to him, carefully touching his arm. He flinched at the contact. For leaving you alone.

It wasnt your fault, Kyrian said. I never blad you. I did bla Arthur I did bla him, he said.

Arthur is dead. Felicia was the one to kill him, Ilea said.

That seed to do sothing, Kyrian stumbling back before he sat down on the bloody Wyvern corpse. He laughed, a wave of curse magic flowing out before he repressed it again. Im glad it was her, he said finally, his voice deep and in control. Im glad it was her.

He sighed deeply, shuddering slightly before he talked again. Oh and I did bla myself. At first. For not being able to help. I was afraid you had died can you believe it? You? Die? he didnt laugh this ti. But I moved past that. There was only one thing I could do. But I failed at that as well.

You didnt fail at anything, Ilea said. You survived. Even if you had just hidden, scavenged, there would be no sha in that. But well you went with the Shadow way, she added and gestured to the dead monster.

He grunted. Tough ones, these. Northern Bluetail. Wind and Water magic, especially deadly close to the ocean. Wouldve thought theyre better fliers but I wont face one of them underwater again until I get a major evolution, he said with a chuckle, slightly patting the dead creature. I do hope you saw the warnings. You ca through the gate? Or did you fly here?

The gate, Ilea said. Whats their level range? she asked, not able to keep her interest at bay.

Still the sa Ilea. Im glad you didnt change. But I did have a small hope to have grown stronger than you. Stupid, now that I think about it. Cant imagine what kind of monsters you fought when I think back on the years I spent on these isles, he said and quieted down, shaking his head lightly.

Ilea smiled. Ill tell you all about it. Whens the last ti you had a good al?

The steel mage looked at the Wyvern for a few seconds before he sighed. They dont taste good. Fish is better.

I can imagine, Ilea said before she pointed to the elf. Thats Feyrair by the way. A Cerithil Hunter I t on my travels. Hes an elf who fights Taleen machines.

Kyrian looked him up and down. Not how I imagined them. Welco to the Krahen Isles, Feyrair. Im Kyrian.

Feyrair removed the armor on his head and bowed lightly. Its good to et you, Kyrian, friend of Ilea, and hunter of the Northern Bluetail. I too would be interested in knowing more about these creatures.

I can see why you like him, Kyrian said. So are as low as six hundred, others Ive fought a few four marks even, but those are rare. Farther out, deeper down.

Feyrair glanced at Ilea and grinned.

A al sounds good. The Vrayar must be starving too, Kyrian said and stood up, grabbing his chains before he started pulling the creature down the tunnel.

What happened when you ca here? Ilea asked, walking next to him, the elf a little further back.

When I ca here when I ca here. I was confused. Of course I was. I understood what had happened. Arthur had sohow teleported us into a Taleen dungeon, though I was alone so I assu you resisted, or you were moved sowhere else, he said.

The latter, Ilea said.

The girl make it? She was close by, he asked.

Maybe. She got stranded in the north, not quite as hard to escape from as this place, seeing your level, Ilea said.

He snorted. Yeah. He paused for a mont. Well the platform was there so I knew there was so way to operate it. But I didnt have a way to even activated the damned thing, and I tried. A lot. I tried a lot. But I had to get food too, shelter, needed to know where I was, how to get back. If the gate wasnt an option, more conventional travel had to do. Well you being with a Cerithil Hunter, was it? You both know the machines well. I do now too, he said and snickered. I do.

Did you clear out the dungeon? Ilea asked.

Not until half a year ago maybe? A little longer perhaps. Praetorians were hard to crack, but once I had my third Class it beca quite easy. A little disappointing to be honest, but by then the machines werent particularly impressive anyway, he explained.

Ilea grinned, glancing at her teammate. You got a third Class? So you killed a level seven fifty creature and survived battling three four marks?

Wish it was just three, he said. Four marks that is. There are a lot of them here, especially near the volcano and down in the depths, let alone the ocean. I wouldve reached the mainland a year ago if it werent for the Bluetails.

But you had to kill one too, or contribute to a kill, right? Ilea said.

Got lucky. You know the monsters here dont all work together. There are clear hierarchies, and they think Im at the very bottom. Not that I belong there. Not anymore. But were small, and I suppose for most humans it would be true, he explained and glanced back at Feyrair. Not sure about Elves. I hear youre strong.

They start at two hundred or sothing, Ilea said. Not particularly impressive either.

Fey hissed.

You know its true, she added.

Third Class gave a lot more regeneration. I guess I got inspired by you, he said with a chuckle. And I got a teleportation ability finally. Not sure how I survived without that beforehand. Made everything much and when I say much, I an a fucking lot, easier.

Yeah, it was the main reason I didnt die in my first month here, Ilea said, thinking back on her early Drake fights, the thugs who had kidnapped Alice, and getting away from that elf below Riverwatch. She glanced at Fey.

What? he asked.

She hissed.

Congratulations on the third Class then. I dont think a lot of people get it that early to be honest. Do you have third tier General skills too? she asked instead.

I dont think a lot of people are teleported to a set of isles with this many high level monsters, let alone a seemingly ceaseless supply of Miststalkers. With nothing else to do but getting stronger, Kyrian said. No I havent gotten those yet. Would be interested in how it works.

Ill explain it to you, Ilea said. So resistance training and youll be there in a few months, Im sure. Now that you can heal yourself, itll be even easier. Hows your Pain Tolerance?

The man shuddered. Oh second tier. Im glad for that one. One of the reasons Im still alive. And I dont heal, I just regenerate quickly. Its not quite as precise or useful as your spells, but it does the job, especially coupled with my curses. I did get many resistances, so even at the end of the second tier by now, he explained.

So you didnt clear the Taleen until half a year ago? Ilea asked, bringing the conversation back to the previous topic.

The Taleen provided a good challenge but when I ca out of that town and found where I was. Well the lightning and the mists were disconcerting. I rembered your stories from the demon realm thought I might not even be in the sa realm anymore. But I adapted soon. Trained with the Miststalkers for months, working on my skills and resistances until I could slowly overwhelm them. The Taleen coupled with the Miststalkers provided good levels and when fishing beca the most dangerous activity of my day to day life, I moved on to explore the isle. Turned out there were a few more.

The Bluetails nearly killed many tis. That was before I got my third Class too of course. I wandered around and fought. I fought and fought. But many of the creatures turned out too dangerous to face and I had to retreat many tis. I couldnt just go at them directly either. Only the Miststalkers and non Praetorian Taleen were things I could directly face at that point. The returns werent good anymore however, barely a trickle despite fighting them alone.

How did you fight them then? Ilea asked.

Not your way, Kyrian said and snickered. I prepared traps entire areas covered in curse runes, steel chains, spikes, spears. Everything I could think of with the skills I had. And then I waited. Bait turned out to be more effective, so I used that. Large fish, birds, the rare creatures I managed to hunt. Few on these isles but so manage to survive here. I rember the first Bluetail I caught. Level seven hundred. I wouldve fled had I known its power. But it never found , hidden away just a few dozen ters above the laid out traps. A slow decay. Three days I ditated, drained, and cursed the creature until it finally died.

No others ca to help it? Ilea asked.

Theyre not exactly bright. Even the ones I catch hardly ever attack the runes or chains directly. Theyre more confused if anything. Confused and furious, that soone dared ground them. After that it just beca easier. So escaped of course, their magic too much for my steel back then to handle for prolonged periods of ti. So were just too strong to begin with. But I could gain a few levels with each one I managed to take down.

Feyrair hissed, shaking his head.

Had I treated them as opponents, I wouldve died, Kyrian said with a shrug. So I treated them as prey. Quite effectively I have to say. Their corpses attracted more of their kind, sotis seven or eight dying in a row, trying to feast on their brethren.

Could work with your kind too, Ilea said, looking at the elf.

Says the one whose species sets pyres alight to send off their dead, gathering dozens more around the beacon. How very effective to avoid predators, Feyrair said.

Stop bickering, Kyrian said. I simply did the most effective thing I could think of. This has no connection to funerals or eating habits.

Were just ssing around, Ilea said.

Feyrair hissed, in an affirmative way.

I knew you would co for at so point. I just knew it. The Divination cast on made sure I never forgot. It was Cless, wasnt it? he asked.

It was, Ilea said.

Kyrian laughed. I knew it. I knew it. That wonderful spirit. I knew you would co, but I didnt want to be rescued, didnt want to be useless. So I fought. I killed. I trained. I did what I had to to survive and to advance. The caverns below proved treacherous, any creature ready to fill the tunnels with fire and lava, or simply collapsing an entire section when it felt too threatened. Most of them can burrow too.

It was during one of those cavern dives that I ca upon two competing Wyrms. I had seen a few before, two tis barely getting away with my life. No teleportation. I watched them battle, for hours, the heat and magic palpable from hundreds of ters away. Monstrous beyond anything I had seen. No offense, Kyrian said, gesturing to Ilea.

She just blinked her eyes.

One of them was badly injured after the fight. It fled, barely managing to reach its burrow where it simply fell asleep. Can you imagine? A massive creature of fire and lava, just sleeping, he explained.

I can. Yes.

It never woke. I did the sa as I had with the Bluetails. Prepared my runes within its very burrow, my magic and life likely so insignificant it either didnt register or it was far more injured than I thought. My chains were there but I doubt they wouldve done much had it woken up. But it didnt. It just slept as the curses took hold, as I drained it of mana and health. I nearly died just staying as close as I did, Kyrian said and laughed again.

Humans, Feyrair said and hissed again.

We do make use of the opportunities we are given, Kyrian said and chuckled to himself. If you think less of for that, Feyrair, then so be it.

I think you did really fucking well, Ilea said with a smile. I had to get my third Class to kill my first solo four mark. I did fight it sowhat directly though.

Youre as powerful as a four mark? Kyrian asked.

Not exactly. Fought it for ages, and I had to recover my mana constantly. A long battle of attrition, but I ca out on top. Mostly because it was stupid, she said.

He nodded. Seems to be the only way we can stand up to true power. For now that is. Youre close to five hundred. And you have a third Class too. We will get there, he said. What kind of magic did you get?

Space, Ilea said. t a few more Fae, the little guy we once rescued back with our team, she said and paused for a mont. She had yet to bring it up. Later, she thought. So now I can teleport even more effectively, and got so other cool shit.

Cool shit, Kyrian mused and snickered. Well things beca easier after that. Teleportation coupled with the other direct improvents and higher regeneration allowed to hunt the Bluetails more effectively. I didnt have to resort to trapping them. I could face them. And thats been what I did since then. So exploration here and there but the Iznakor dungeon offered little and the keeps strewn throughout the isles are far more dangerous than simply fighting Miststalkers, while offering fewer rewards. I do still wonder who built them, and why they were abandoned. The Golems and Gargoyles are impressive too. Perhaps not as much as the machines of the Taleen but certainly better than anything else Ive ever seen. The caverns below are far more dangerous compared to just fighting Bluetails, so I mostly avoided them after I managed to kill the Wyrm. I wouldve escaped in ti. But now that youre here well Im not sure. But Im glad, he said.

You can figure out what you want to do in your own ti, Ilea said. A lot happened in the past two years. Plenty to talk about first, to give you so perspective.

Im more interested in that al right now, Kyrian said when they reached the keep again.

Ilea watched as the flail like chains rippled with magic, unwinding from the massive Bluetail corpse before they slamd down on it, ripping away chunks with sheer brute force. Blood and guts splattered onto the stone ground as the tal mage continued to devastate the body.

They cant handle the tough scales, he explained before walking to the locked door where the birds were kept. You two can handle a bit of soul magic?

We t them earlier, Ilea said.

Are they bait? Feyrair asked.

Kyrian chuckled as he walked inside, the chains on the birds falling away as he went to one knee and hugged the approaching creatures. Hush, yes, yes. Food is here. Dont be greedy, Jas!

Theyre not, Ilea said, crossing her arms as she watched the blood of the Bluetail pool out onto the cold ground.