Fuzzy black fur broke out of the dense treeline and into the amber-orange light of the setting sun. At first, he thought it was a bear, but then it fully erged. It was a round ball of fur lifted on two skinny chalk-white legs, with arms just the sa. Each limb ended in three-fingered claws tipped with black talons. At the top of its spherical body was a small head with pointed elf-like ears, two violet-glowing eyes, and a tiny grin full of needle teeth.
The sight made him pause.
What the fuck is that!?
Of their three guesses, Lenard had seemingly been the closest this ti. The creature certainly wasn’t human or elphin. Most peculiarly of all, a translucent violet collar was fastened around its neck and a leash tied to it ran back into the treeline it’d erged from.
It fixed Adam with its bright eyes and cackled.
Then it kicked off the ground and shot itself towards him, flying through the air like a cannonball.
He panicked for a second and cowered behind one of the large rocks.
The sound of cracking stone startled him as the creature flew right past his hiding spot with a swing of its clawed foot. The side of the rock had three deep grooves carved through it.
Holy shit! That thing is terrifyingly fast!
After landing, the monster paused for a mont to reorient itself, as though the attack had left it confused. It relocated Adam, but he was already charging right at it. With a cackle, it hopped towards him, arms pulled back and ready to slash him to ribbons.
He skidded to a halt but let the montum and his thrust send the spear gliding through his hand, shooting it forwards. At the sa ti, he covered his head with the small shield on his left arm.
The tip of his spear struck the monster right in the centre of its furry round body and went in deep.
It started to cackle again, but the sound quickly died in its mouth as the fiendbarb triggered.
A cascade of internal crystallisation instantly destroyed its body from within. The glow of its violet eyes winked out and it collapsed, pulling itself free of Adam’s spear.
[Excellent! You cleared the Wave within 10 seconds.]
“What was that!?”
[This was a type of Minor Demon called a Slothling Imp.]
Damn, so Lenard was actually right about it being demons.
Hold on though. Shitbox said sloth? Like the vice? Wouldn’t that an it should be super sluggish and lazy? That was anything but!
Wave One Complete
Choose your Upgrade
Adam looked down at the dead imp, while Shitbox unfolded into a podium. The weird ghostly leash was gone, and he wondered if he’d just been seeing things.
I wonder why demons are after Belamouranthe. That can’t be a good sign of what’s to co…
Still, what a way to co out swinging. That would’ve killed
if I hadn’t used the rock for cover.
He knew that such a cheap trick would no doubt lead to way more deaths than previous stages. The fact that the imp had the sa sort of entrance as the slis would also ss with everyone’s expectations.
I hope Willow and Lenard are alright.
[20 seconds remaining.]
He shook his head.
I can’t worry about them right now. I have to focus.
Adam looked at the options available to him. Since he’d completed the wave quickly, it ant all the upgrades went up a rarity level. As a result, one of the options was epic and the other two were rare. The epic one had a new symbol that depicted a plus sign. The symbol for the parry shield upgrade showed a shield with speed lines on it.
Upgrades Available
Spear Damage (Rare) — Increases spear damage by 15%
Shield Speed (Rare) — Increases shield speed by 35%
Health (Epic) — Increases health by 10
Health? That’s a new general upgrade.
But man, it’s epic and only gives ten? That’s really low.
I’ll go with damage.
Upgrade Selected
Spear Damage (Rare)
Adam moved closer to the treeline where the imp had erged. His weapon was powerful against them, but those bastards were too fast to be allowed free rein of the stage.
Wave Two
90-Second Tir
Ninety seconds. That probably ans I have to fight two of them at once.
The sa part of the forest wall trembled as the enemies ca forward. Adam went as close as he dared, keeping so of the widely-spaced trees nearby so he had cover if he needed it.
A red liquid hand erged through the treeline, followed by a two-tre-tall bulky humanoid shape. The whole thing was made of flowing red water, although barely any of it dropped onto the understory nor was left behind on the trees it touched.
A man made of blood? he wondered. Although its arms, torso, and legs were way thicker than normal.
He noticed the sa translucent violet collar and leash again.
That has to be a clue to sothing.
The figure erged fully from the treeline and Adam shot forward, driving his spear right into its body. Like the slis of stage one, there was a solid core in the middle of it, but it was the size of a coconut this ti.
Before he could even worry about how tough it’d be to destroy the core, the fiendbarb triggered and the lumbering man of blood froze in its place. Its entire body then imdiately solidified like glass and started to crackle and pop dangerously.
Oh shit!
Adam quickly dove behind a nearby tree, just as the monster exploded like a shrapnel grenade, driving blood spikes the length of his forearm into the ground and nearby trees.
[Excellent! You cleared the Wave within 5 seconds.]
“What kind of monster was that?” Adam asked. He peeked out from behind the tree to witness the devastation, only to realise that two of the blood spikes had pierced all the way through his cover re centitres above his head.
Yikes.
[This was an Elental called a Blood Golem.]
Interesting that Shitbox actually explains what the enemies are. I should’ve asked about it earlier. There might be a lot of hints I’ve missed.
I hope I end up fighting more of those elentals, since my fiendbarb is clearly a hard counter. If I didn’t have it, I doubt it would be a simple opponent.
I’m still trying to figure out what the enemy pattern is though. So far it doesn’t really make sense.
Perhaps the leash ans they’re all tied to sothing, like a demon lord, perhaps.
Wave Two Complete
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Choose your Upgrade
Upgrades Available
Spear Growth (Rare) — Increases spear length by 45%
Shield Speed (Rare) — Increases shield speed by 35%
Luck (Rare) — Increases luck by 3
Damn, no epics this ti…
Definitely no on the growth upgrade.
Luck could be useful, but I think I’m better off trying to reach the next evolution so I can afford the second sheath from Alivida.
Upgrade Selected
Shield Speed (Rare)
“Status.”
Player Status
“Adam Fischer”
Hoplite
Level 12
Stats
Health — 100
Stamina — 150
Mana — 0
Damage — 100%
Defence — 100%
Speed — 165% ( 15%)
For a second he was confused as to why his defence had gone down, but then he rembered that it had been increased by his bone armour.
“Armant.”
Weapon Status
Spear & Parry Shield
Common Quality
Level 10
Stat Upgrades
Spear Damage
45%
Spear Speed
45%
Spear Growth
30%
Shield Parry
1.5 seconds
Bash Damage
10%
Shield Speed
35%
I’m close.
Two more waves and I can evolve again.
Wave Three
90-Second Tir
Ninety seconds again, he noted.
Adam clenched his sli glove grip on the spear, staying near the tree that’d saved him from the golem’s explosion while preparing for whatever might co out of the treeline next.
The trees rustled on his left and right, eight tres apart. Before he had a chance to pick which to respond to, two slothling imps popped out. One of them cackled and shot towards him. The other beelined for the carriage.
Shit!
In his attempt to imdiately respond to the waves, he’d overextended himself and left Belamouranthe vulnerable to attack.
The imp flying at him with its claws out forced Adam to defend himself, while giving the other free rein.
Chiiing!
With a last-second parry, Adam caught the imp’s talons on his shield and deflected its attack. The creature spun in the air, before hitting a tree and collapsing. The disorient effect ant it didn’t imdiately get back up.
Adam stabbed it in the back, pulling his spear free as he sprinted after its twin. The runaway imp was already half-way to the carriage, and it was much faster than him.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
He switched his spear to his left hand and aid his sli glove into the air, trying to predict the path the imp would take.
As he ran, he fired off the acidic glob. It flew like a softly-thrown baseball and landed only about a tre in front of the minor demon.
The surprise caused it to stop for a mont to investigate.
Thank God these things are idiots!
Adam switched the spear to his dominant hand again, and then he pulled it back behind his shoulder and threw.
He’d never been an athletic person, and his physique was only thanks to countless hours spent at the gym, fuelled by a desire to lose weight. He’d never been good at sports or anything like that, but the spear flew through the air as though it’d been thrown by an Olympic athlete.
The System must really be compensating a lot for my terrible hand-eye coordination.
The imp finished investigating the puddle of acid that’d eaten through the grass and poised itself to leap right at the carriage in front of it.
Then Adam’s spear struck it in the back, piercing all the way through its round body and pinning it to the ground.
It was dead before the fiendbarb even triggered.
“Holy fuck,” Adam muttered, looking down at his hands. “How did I just do that??”
Maybe spear-throwing isn’t actually such a terrible idea.
[Well done! You cleared the Wave within 20 seconds.]
Damn, no bonus this ti.
Adam walked up to the dead imp. He put his shoe on its back and tore out his spear, pulling a bunch of brittle blood crystals out as well.
Wave Three Complete
Choose your Upgrade
Upgrades Available
Spear Speed (Common) — Increases spear attack speed by 10%
Bash Damage (Rare) — Increases shield bash damage by 15%
Dodge (Uncommon) — Grants a 10% chance to dodge a direct attack
Before picking an upgrade, he walked up to the carriage and opened the door.
“Are you alright?” he asked the elphin girl.
She was seated on the cushioned bench and looked kind of bored.
“I am. How long before we resu our journey ho?”
He smiled. “Not much longer now. But stay in here, okay?”
“Understood.”
Adam closed the door again and returned to the upgrade podium.
“What am I fighting next?” he asked Shitbox.
[I cannot say.]
He shrugged. “Worth a try.”
[10 seconds remaining before your upgrade choice is forfeit.]
“Relax. I’m picking now, ain’t I?”
He reached out and touched the shield symbol, figuring his shield’s bash damage was blunt and could therefore offset his inability to pierce armour.
Upgrade Selected
Bash Damage (Rare)
Alright, what next? Three of those imps? More of the blood golems?
Wave Four
150-Second Tir
Nearly double the tir?? That can’t be good.
Then the ground rumbled and shook.
From down the end of the field, sothing massive broke through the treeline, toppling trees in its wake, though they conveniently collapsed to block off the path it’d taken. Adam was already running down the slope to et it, but the sight sent a chill through him.
It had a lot in common with the slothling imps but towered over them at more than four tres tall. And that was despite its hunched posture. It walked like a gorilla, leaning on its two bulky arms, while its legs were crouched. Like the imps, its upper torso was covered in fuzzy black fur, and its lower body, legs, and arms were white as chalk, but unlike the imps it was a muscular beast. Its round white head protruded from the fur-covered torso and was about the sa size as Adam’s. Black eyes with violet pinprick pupils stared at the carriage, and its needle-toothed mouth had a massive under-bite.
KHA-KHA-KHA! the beast laughed.
If that thing is as fast as the imps, I’m fucked…
“Shitbox, what the hell is that thing!?
[This is a Minor Demon called a Slothling Ogre.]
Yeah, that checks out, I guess.
Adam clenched his jaw and ran to et it.
Unlike the imps, it ignored his presence and lumbered towards the carriage. Fortunately, its pace was slow, but it was clear that it would make it to the elphin girl within two minutes if Adam did nothing to stop it.
As he ca closer, he saw that it too had a violet leash around its neck.
Seriously, what is that? So kind of enslavent spell??
With a shout of effort, Adam hamred his spear into the ogre’s left arm, hoping to disable it. The fiendbarb tip skidded along its alabaster skin, failing to pierce. It managed to draw a line of blood though, which quickly crystallised the surface of the shallow wound.
The ogre grunted in pain and swung the arm out to bat him away as though he was nothing but a botherso mosquito. Adam barely ducked the lazy attack. The swing created enough wind to push him back a step.
I’m 100% dead if it hits !
As soon as the ogre resud its lumbering crawl, Adam moved in again, striking the sa spot as before. The sound of crunching glass preceded the tip of his fiendbarb entering the ogre’s arm. When the relic triggered this ti, it completely crystallised the veins from the forearm to just above the elbow joint.
It tried to swat him again, but its own strength worked against it. The crystallised forearm broke off and flew across the forest field, landing in the grass with a thud.
The ogre paused and suddenly focused its entire attention on Adam.
Uh oh…
With a loud groan, the towering monster lifted its upper body and stood to a height of six tres. Then it slamd back down with its left stub and right arm.
He had plenty of ti to find cover, since it was slow, but even from behind a sturdy rock ten-plus tres away, he felt the earth tremble and heard two trees co crashing down.
This is basically a boss in its own right!
What in the world will I be facing in the last wave??
Adam peeked out from behind the rock and saw that the ogre had resud its course towards the carriage.
Oh no you don’t!
He ran towards the demon, coming up from behind where he was unseen. Due to the way it moved along the ground with its legs crouched, its back was sloped.
This gave Adam a terrible idea.
Since the arms and legs were difficult to damage, he had to go for the parts of its body covered in fur.
But first he fired the sli glove at its lower body, trying to make sure it wouldn’t go anywhere. The glob struck the alabaster legs, but it was slow to dissolve its way through the tough white skin. Still, the beast groaned in pain again.
Adam hopped onto its back and drove his spear down into its fur. The fiendbarb triggered and crystallised its wound. When he pulled the tip out, chunks of brittle flesh and blood crystals followed. Then he hamred it down again in a different spot.
And again.
And again.
The ogre tried to shake him off, but couldn’t, and its remaining arm wasn’t able to bend back far enough to reach him.
Adam continued up its back, stabbing repeatedly as he climbed, until he was right behind its short neck and alabaster head. With a furious shout, he drove his spear right down into the part where the furry body transitioned into pale-white skin.
The relic triggered and the ogre imdiately collapsed onto its belly. Adam tumbled off its side, landing on his butt in the grass. The amber-orange light in the sky reflected off the monster’s dead eyes.
[Well done! You cleared the Wave with more than half the ti remaining.]
He was breathing rapidly. His furious attacks had seriously drained him, and he needed to catch his breath.
I wonder how I’d have done it if I didn’t have the fiendbarb. Though perhaps the lack of armour penetration is the reason why it was so tough to kill?
Still, that was one hell of an enemy… Makes
worried about what cos next.
Wave Four Complete
Choose your Upgrade
Adam spent most of his thirty-second break to just get his breath back. He knew that if he went into the boss battle with no stamina in the tank, then he’d end up dying. He was starting to realise that magic-based weapons had a benefit over physical ones, since they used mana to attack and therefore allowed their wielders to reserve all their stamina for manoeuvring and dodging.
Although, there might be so severe side-effect to running out of mana, and perhaps it isn’t so easy to replenish? I’ll have to ask Willow about it when I get back.
[10 seconds remaining.]
Adam sighed and got to his feet.
Upgrades Available
Spear Growth (Uncommon) — Increases spear length by 30%
Shield Speed (Uncommon) — Increases shield speed by 20%
Defence (Rare) — Increases all defence by 15%
Damn, unlucky. Both of my weapon upgrades are bad.
Defence honestly looks pretty tempting. My next weapon upgrade is my twelfth though, so I’d be a fool to take it… Right?
But man, 15% extra defence is hard to say no to.
[5… 4…]
I think I’ll do it.
Upgrade Selected
Defence (Rare)
Okay, that might’ve been a mistake…
I guess I’ll have the evolution to look forward to after I kill the boss, he told himself, as though this had been his plan all along.
With a nervous feeling in his stomach, he moved down to the mid-point of the forest arena, giving himself plenty of room to respond to whatever threat was coming.
Wave Five
240-Second Tir
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