Dallion continued walking through darkness like an ant on a chain. It felt as if no sooner hed enter a chamber when it would end, and Dallion would have to spend close to a minute walking along a bridge to the next.
The next three chambers nothing happened, causing Dallion to wonder what was going on. It was only at the next one that Gleam caught a glimpse of the second guardian. It remained a mystery how exactly she managed to do soNox wasnt able to sense a thing and no matter how much Dallion focused he couldnt see anything even using his music skills. Nil had speculated that it could be due to the shardflys nature. Being a native creature of the wilderness, it was expected she had so sort of chanism to sense threats and prey, so here it would be no different.
At the threshold towards the new combat chamber, Dallion stopped.
Get ready, he said. Within seconds, all familiars returned to his realm, ready to erge the mont he gave the order. Until then, Dallion was going to slowly advance, making sure he spotted all the threads that the next spider had placed.
Are you sure that its a spider? Dallion asked.
No doubt about it, Gleam replied within his realm. They are very specific. Ive no idea if its the sa one. It might be a bit stronger, or weaker.
Slowly, Dallion stepped through the invisible barrier that marked the start of the chamber. A tunnel remained until there. At present, the tunnel seed lit, although darkness continued further in.
Music and forging, Dallion thought.
Threads of various colors beca visible like laser beams in an after-hours disco club. Try as he might, though, Dallion couldnt see the effects the threads would cause when disturbed.
Therere a lot of threads this ti. A lot more of them are in color.
Dallon looked so more.
Stay put, Ill try sothing.
Dallion summoned his dartbow. Target markers appeared on the nearest threads. Exhaling, Dallion squeezed the trigger.
The first few bolts acted as Dallion had expectedthe mont they touched the thread, they froze in place, remaining motionless in the air. That was to be expected. To his annoyance, though, there was no logic between the colors and the effects.
When the next arrow hit the thread, a blast of fire appeared, expanding rapidly.
Shield! Dallion jumped into a crouching position, holding the aramdil shield in front of him. On cue, the piece of equipnt expanded, just as the wave of fla passed over Dallion, escaping into the open.
That was quite close, it also showed that Dallions original plan wouldnt work. No matter their speed, if Nox and Gleam snapped a single thread, there was a high chance that fire or sothing equally harmful would follow.
Change of plans, Dallion moved the shield once the fire wave had passed. Ill try to snap the threads with the guardian on them.
Thats absurd! Nil shouted. The only thing youll achieve is a path to failure.
There were no two ways about itslowly and thodically targeting thread by thread would have proven a lot safer. The only issue was that Dallion didnt want to remain in the swords realm for weeks. Rather, it was ti to combine athletics and acrobatics. A new set of markers appeared, depicting how Dallion should move his body to reach the chambers center. Taking a deep breath, he rushed forward, doing twists and sorsaults like a thief in a spy movie. The actions felt remarkably easy then suddenly a blue rectangle appeared.
ACROBATICS SEQUENCE COMPLETED
You can bend your body up to 180 degrees.
It had been a while since Dallion had received an explanation rectangle. Compared to the other bonuses for completing a skill sequence, this wasnt the best, although it didnt stop Dallion from using it imdiately to bend while jumping in such fashion that his legs moved above his head and landed first on the spot he wanted.
COMBAT INITIATED
Breaking the next sequence, Dallion leapt towards the nearest wall, just in ti to avoid the next guardian. It looked identical to the first, with one minor differenceit was half the size.
LEVEL 2 GUARDIAN
Species: BLADE SPIDER
Class: SKY SILVER
Statistics: 100% HP
Skills:
- Puncture Strike
- Thread Weave
- Cyclone Spin
Weak Spots: None
Normally, if a creature was smaller, that was a good thing. At present, that wasnt the case. For one thing, the spider was a more difficult target, for another it could pass through the gaps between threads, activating them at touch.
A new wave of fire surrounded Dallion, this ti reducing his health by half.
Lux! Dallion split into instances. In so he aid at the spiders legs with his dartbow. Targeting was difficult, always missing by inches.
All three familiars leapt out. Lux chased after the guardian, flying past threads in an attempt to attach itself to the enemys back. Once that happened the battle would be over. But as Dallion had learned from the expeditionguardians were quick to pick up things. What had worked as a charm the first ti, now seed next to impossible.
Slow, Dallion thought as he summoned his harpsisword. His familiars had allowed him a mont to play a few chords without having to constantly protect himself. However, that didnt prevent the spider from triggering an explosive thread now and again.
A second blast reduced Dallions health by another third, before the music took hold. It only created a mont of hesitation, but that was enough for the firebird to latch onto the spiders back. From that point on, it was entirely Luxs show.
Avoid the threads! Dallion shouted as he continued to play. Smash him into the walls!
With enough weight added to the guardian, Dallion unsummoned the harpsisword and replaced it with his dartbow.
I want a ricochet shot, Dallion thought.
The targeting markers changed, showing the theoretical trajectory bounce off the wall. In the past, Dallion would never have tried such a shot. Now, it was ti to do it.
Ti seed to freeze. Dallion split into five instances, each waiting for exactly the precise mont to shoot at the wall so as to hit a moving target from a specific direction. In four of the instances, the shot missed anywhere between inches to half a foot. The last instance, though, was successful.
While no damage was dealt, the bolt hit the blade spider along a free corridor between the threads. Unable to trigger any more traps to gain the upper hand, the guardian was slamd into the wall, receiving just enough damage to get shocked.
Yes! Dallion thought, as waves of relief swept through him. He had won this fight as well. There was no recovering from such an attackfive seconds inability to move might as well be five hours. The firebird imdiately took advantage, thrusting the spider to a spot on the opposite wall, repeating the action again and again.
Like a ball, the guardian bounced on and on until at one point it finally disappeared, leaving nothing but a blue rectangle behind.
Good job, Dallion said, as the rest of the chamber lit up. Lets rest a bit. He sat on the floor.
Clearing the whip blade was turning out more tedious than he thought. Rather, not tedious, but simply exhausting. The battles were more like puzzles than battles. All that Dallion needed for a victory was one good stun attack. After that, Lux could easily handle the rest. As he had seen, each next guardian would provide its own peculiarities, making the puzzle more and more difficult, but on the whole, defeating all guardians seed within the realm of possibility.
You need to pace yourself better, dear boy, Nil said. There are five more. And that is assuming there are no changes in guardian types further on.
Right, Dallion thought, as he gasped for air. One issue with combining athletic and acrobatic skills was that they tended to exhaust him a lot faster than standard fighting. At the guild Dallion had cleared whole artifacts without breaking a sweat. Here, he needed to rest after spending two battles that lasted less than a minute each.
Five more, he groaned. Still, it was going to be worth it. Do you have any scrolls on fighting with such a weapon, Nil? Dallion asked out loud.
My original does, though not in the library ring, the echo replied. A lot of the really exotic weapons are not present in the library. Keep in mind that at the ti you didnt know neither athletic nor acrobatic skills. All you had was guard, attack, and music.
Looks like youre on your own from here on. Gleam landed on Dallions chest as he lay on the floor. With so many booby-trapped threads, the kid and I will cause more harm than good.
The kid? Dallion raised his head up slightly, looking at the shardfly.
Nox, Gleam replied.
Nox a kid? Well, technically, he was, but it was weird hearing the newest familiar address him in such fashion. Not that the crackling seed to mind. Clearly, the shardfly must have been sothing very scary in the wilderness, for him to accept this new role.
Im sure youll be useful, Dallion replied. Especially you. I think its ti for a few illusions.
Nope. Wont work here. Theyll see through any tricks. Maybe when I increase a few levels, I might have a chance, but right now, you can forget it.
Theres nothing you can co up with?
Hey, youre the brains of the operation! the butterfly snapped back.
Shes got you there, the armadil shield laughed. To her point, maybe thats sothing youd better use at the arena than here. People are much more likely to fall for tricks than guardians.
No Nox, no Gleam, and pretty much no armadil shield. If the destructive nature of the threads was anything to go by, a shield would be of limited help from the next battle on. There was the option for Dallion to cocoon himself and roll through the threads, but that sounded a bit extre. Also, there was no telling how much damage the shield would suffer. Lux and Harp seed to be the ones to win this fight.
After half an hour, Dallions health was back to full, although he still felt slightly tired. While resting more was an option, sothing drove Dallion to continue. He stood up, stretched, yawned, then continued forward to the next golden bridge.
The further Dallion went, the more unnerving it beca not having any common creatures. Nil had explained that there were simply too few adequate artefacts to co to any conclusions. While so of the basics had beco well known, the relation between a sphere item and the creatures within remained a mystery. The only thing that was known for certain was that fulfilling the artifacts destiny would remove all creatures and guardians from the item, transforming it into an empty shell.
Im thinking of creating a connection between the observatory and Vermillions islands, Gleam said. Or better, from the dryads tower to the ocean.
Dallion only snorted. He had given up reminding her that they hadnt even claid the sword yet.
Better, I'll talk with Gen how to rearrange things. Your domain is rather poorly kept. So rooms are completely empty, while others are overcluttered.
Overcluttered? Dallion thought. To his knowledge, there were only two rooms that could be considered overcluttered, three if one considered the ring library.
You like open spaces a lot Dallion muttered.
Everything with wings likes open spaces. Especially those from the wilderness. Even the dryad likes the shardfly stopped mid-sentence.
Dallion imdiately split into three instances.
Sense sothing? he asked. There was supposed to be quite a while before the next guardian. So far, it seed that the guardian arenas were positioned at every three chambers. Clearly, there were exceptions.
Yes, Gleam replied. And its not a spider.
What is it? Dallion summoned his harpsisword again.
I dont know.
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