| ? Shatter - An attack that creates a shock wave designed to break brittle substances. ?
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Gilberto
When Dave went down into the Ogres Lair my stomach tied itself into knots. When he came out covered in blood and yelling at us to run I felt like crapping my pants.
And that was all before the ogre fell down from underneath the bridge.
Mike reacted quickly.
"Stew. Terrance. Take that thing out so Dave can get away. Meagan be ready."
Stew reached the ogre first, without slowing he swung his club. The ogre took it on his shoulder only to have Terrance hit it in the face with a blast from his shotgun. It fell to the ground like its strings had been cut.
"Crap. Gilberto do what you can to give us some support. Meagan, you know what to do if anything happens." Mike gave his instructions and then took off down the slope.
I saw what he had seen. I had been so focused on Stew and Terrance I had missed four more ogres running out and surrounding Dave. Even as I watched one of them outmaneuvered Dave andgot a hand on him, grabbing him. I saw Mike circling around. I could help then.
{Fireball} hadn''t done much but I knew stone could absorb a lot of heat. I was willing to bet that creatures who turn to stone would be even more susceptible to cooling off and becoming brittle than regular stone.
While eating breakfast I had put some thought into my spells. I''d never been good at doing reports in class so yesterday when it came time to talk about me theories on magic I hadn''t shared all of my thoughts. I thought of each spell like it was a character, similar to those in the Chinese alphabet.
{Fireball} was basically the same ''character'' as {Mana Bolt} with the fire portion brought out to its max. Metaphorically I used a giant brush to draw the ''line'' corresponding to Fire, making it a larger part of the whole. To get Ice I should only have to minimize it.
Instead of bringing out the fire I minimized it.
Something didn''t feel quite right when I tried to use it. Sending it forth the spell dispersed and tore out enough of my Mana to cast several {Fireball}s.
Almost panicking I tried again this time instead of minimizing I ignored it and brought out one that felt more... opposed... to the fire. This time I managed to cast {Ice Ball} but the mana within was forced into a different form than I expected. I didn''t have time to puzzle it out.
I sent the {Ice Ball} forward and it streaked across the distance to hit the ogre holding Dave. It exploded into shards when it hit the ogres shoulder.
Mike was too close and got sent flying towards Stew and Terrance before I saw the ogre''s arm fall to the ground.
"Run! Meagan, Gilberto! Run!" Dave yelled at us.
Meagan grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away. "It''s time to go."
I followed her, running as hard as I could up the street. Meagan paced me, giving me encouragement as she glanced back periodically. What really got me moving though was the sound from the heavy footfalls behind us. The steady sound of rock slamming against the pavement.
I thought I was pushing myself as hard as I could until the sound behind us changed from a steady pounding of stone to the faster slap of fleshy feet on the road. I felt a surge of adrenaline as it gained on us.
"Little faster Gilberto. You can do it. Almost there!" Meagan''s eyes were wide as she looked back.
I pushed my heavy legs to move faster and faster until the sound of the ogre started to fall back. My burst of speed didn''t last long but luckily the ogre didn''t keep up the pace for long either. I hope they had sacrificed their speed for strength and stamina. I could tell though that my own stamina was lacking.
I wasn''t going to be able to get away. I had an idea though. If it worked we might even be able to take care of this ogre and have a decent chance to head back and help the rest.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
"I have. An. Idea. Trust me?" I gasped out at Meagan.
"What is it?" She asked me.
Instead of answering her I cast {Ice ball} and turned to shoot it at the ogre following us. The ice cracked against its knee, forcing it back and dropping it to the ground.
I grabbed Meagan''s hand and quickly pulled her around a corner. A doorway was ahead of us, I pulled her into the minimal cover it provided.
"I just need a minute. You have Imbue Spear? Right?" I gasped out.
"I''ve got it, but that one just laughed at Dave when he tried it." Meagan kept glancing back at the corner the ogre would be coming around.
We were only thirty feet from the corner, even if we had ducked into a doorway, we didn''t have much time.
"I need to know Imbue. Let me hold your spear while you cast it." I held out my hand.
Meagan slowly lowered her spear into my hand while giving me a confused look. "Alright."
My breath had slowed almost to normal by the time I grabbed her spear. I watched her glance back one more time.
"Whenever you''re ready, Meagan." I smiled when she looked at me. "Don''t worry. You can always run if you need to."
"I''m done running away." Meagan looked into my eyes and I saw her smirk. "Unless I have to of course. Here it comes."
I closed my eyes and focused on my Mana Senses. I could feel the spell spreading over the spear and coating it like an arcane skin. I grimaced, that wasn''t the heart of what I wanted. The essence of what I needed.
I moved my hands and lay them on her arm. "Again, please."
I caught the edge of the formation as it expanded. I moved my hands and put one on her head and one on her stomach. Since magic is stored in the abdomen and manipulated by the mind I should get what I needed now. I hope. "Again."
I heard the ogre as it walked down the street and stopped across from us.
"Gilberto. It''s here!" Meagan said.
"Once more please. You should out run it easily." I wasn''t going to get away from the damn thing, I might as well try my plan.
I saw all of it this time. How Meagan relied on the system to form the magic. The... mechanical... precision of it. Most importantly though I saw the formation. I saw how it both resembled and differed from Mana Bolt. Just like I had hoped, they were both basic spells. They were almost more useful in how much you could learn from them than what you could do with them.
"Alright. I got what I need." I grabbed her spear and focused on it.
I had figured out Fireball already so all I needed to do was transfer the elemental segment from one to the other.
| ? Imbue Flame(Spear) Unlocked ? |
"We need to spread out. When I cast my spell I need you to hit it as close to the same spot as you can." I started moving before I was done talking.
The ogre was back in stone form and was grinning as it walked towards us.
Reducing the fire in Mana Bolt had created ice ball but that wouldn''t do what I needed. I found another element in the formation and brought it forth and made it as pure as I could. Pure in element and as cold as I could get it.
This only took me a few seconds but when I open my eyes I could see Meagan was about to step up to the ogre. I feed mana into the formation and yell at Meagan. "Not yet! Wait for me!"
She pulled back and I released the spell.
| ? You have created a unique spell! Original Mage Title gained. ? |
The perfectly round orb of supercooled water accelerated forward and struck the ogre. The water started crystallizing as soon as the orb broke over the ogre''s face. It invaded the mouth and nose, even the eyes of the ogre, and expanded as it turned from a liquid to a solid.
"Now Meagan, hit him!"
The ogre stumbled around in a circle making for an awkward target. Meagan thrust her makeshift spear forward and misses. She jabs again and hits the ogre in the side of the head.
CRACK!
With a sound like a gunshot a fist sized piece of rock falls to the ground and the ogre released a muffled roar.
Meagan struck again and again until the ogre was laying on the ground with only a stump where its head had been.
I had fallen onto the ground once the ogre was dead. Meagan turned to where I was sitting and gave me a wide eyed look. "What was that?"
"Besides closer than I wanted? Just a new spell I came up with. I wanted to actually make stuff colder instead of just hitting it with a hunk of ice."
"And this?" Meagan shook her spear at me.
"I needed to apply heat too. So I figured out how to apply elements onto weapons from your spell. Well onto spears anyway." I shrugged at Meagan.
"Why did this work?" Meagan kicked at the chunks of stone on the ground. She looked like she was getting a little worked up.
"Right. Sorry about that. Still kinda in the magical headspace. Cold can break rocks, it just needs a bit of help. Ice expands and creates cracks that eventually breaks the rock. I just put everything together in a more extreme fashion than the usual cycle of seasons. I used your spear to provide thermal shock. The sudden heat caused breaks because of the different densities."
I stood up from where I was sitting and brushed my hands off.
"Ready to head back and see if we can get everyone out?" I asked.
Chapter XXIX - Healing potions dont regrow limbs
| ? {Minor Regeneration} Unlocked ? |
| ? {Minor Regeneration} - Recover a set amount of HP over time. ? |
I had hoped that the Heal would get overcharged and recover a bit more health. This new spell though would help even more than a few more HP.
I tilted my head back and slammed it into the ogre holding my right side, activating Shatter as I hit it. I reeled back with my nose now flat against my face. I threw a wild hook at the ogre on my left while I fought the nausea I felt from headbutting a rock. I managed a glancing blow and knocked his hand away.
I stood up and jumped through a gap in the ogre''s encirclement. I stumbled as I hit the ground but caught myself before I fell to the ground.
The regeneration was taking care of the nausea but not quick enough.
"Damn you fools! Break his bones!" The Ogre Leader stood up. As he stepped off the throne I saw something behind him. A golden rip glowing in the very air.
I noticed another ogre still in stone form and pushed the glow from my mind as I darted forward and delivered two quick jabs. It stumbled back and I saw a stone heart in the ruins of it''s chest.
"Quit using Stone Flesh you cretins! If you can''t figure out the timing against one human I will have to kill you all and start over from scratch." He motioned the ogres to ignore Mike and Stew and surround me. I hoped my friends had passed out rather than died. There wasn''t much blood but their crushed limbs looked pretty bad anyway.
The Ogre Leader pointed at the one closest to the caverns exit. "You go block the exit so he can''t escape when he outmaneuvers one of you imbeciles."
The ogres started giving me dirty looks. I laughed at them. Apparently I was making them look bad in front of their evil overlord.
"What? Did you think I would just lay down and die for you? I saw a baby half eaten on the ground. I''m going to crush you all to dust." I was grasping at straws now and just hoping I might be able to psych one out for an easy kill.
That plan didn''t seem to be working. With the ogre in position to block the exit the rest advanced on me without any hesitation.
Things weren''t looking good for me. All of my success so far had been a mix of being underestimated and then pulling workable ideas straight out of my ass. The ogres were no longer in stone form, so I could injure them but they were no longer weak to a single strike. Three were now far too tough for me to take on by myself.
Especially with their leader in the background as a final opponent.
I glanced down at Stew and Mike. They had stopped moving and grown pale in the dim light.
I had to try, no matter what.
Darting forward I telegraphed a strike. Behind me I could hear the other two ogres starting towards me. My punch missed as I rolled under the ogres outstretched arms.
A loud crack sounded from the caverns entrance as I saw Meagan fly over the ogres headless body with a flaming spear.
"Kill them!" The Ogre leader shrieked out. He waved the ogres away from me and started towards me.
"Dave! No! Gilberto I need you to prime these three, now!" Meagan yelled.
I had finished my roll next to Stew and Mike. I quickly thrust a hand to each of them and shoved all my mana into two heals. I stood and turned to face the leader bearing down on me.
One, then two, of the ogres rushing Meagan stumbled to a halt with what looked like black ice encasing their head. Meagan thrust quickly and the head of the first fell to the ground in dozens of pieces.
The third ogre saw Gilberto standing in the entrance as Meagan swept her spear at the second. Instead of falling to pieces his head cracked down the middle. His body fell bonelessly to the floor.
Before the final ogre could reach Gilberto an orb flew between them. It struck the ogre on the shoulder and neck freezing the ogres throat. It stumbled towards Gilberto for a few steps until Meagan struck it on the ice from behind. It coughed, blood flying from its mouth, and then attempted one more step only to fall onto the ground and start seizing.
The ogre leader roared and swung a fist at me. I tried to block only to find that using all my mana had left me unsteady. I didn''t have enough strength left and my arm was knocked down, broken, and I was swept away. When I landed it felt like half my ribs were broken.
"I will crush you all and use your twisted remains to rebuild my forces! Nothing will stop me from being the ruler of this parasite infested hole!"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Gilberto was standing unsteadily with a sheen of sweat on his face.
Meagan looked at him. "Can you manage another?"
He nodded. "Should hurry though. Your Imbuement is probably about to wear off."
Stomping forward the last massive ogre snarled at Gilberto and Meagan. "Petty tricks are all you have. Strength will overcome."
The ogres body turned to stone. Unlike all the others that had a gray almost cement look he was a dark granite.
"I am a past master of dealing death unlike these fools. No more talking. Only dying is left."
Gilberto stepped closer to the ogre as it began to accelerate towards him. Meagan lunged forward and stabbed towards the ogres groin.
It didn''t even slow down just brushing the spear away like it was a fly. The blow did draw the ogres attention for an instant. Gilberto cast the orb as soon as the ogres eyes had flicked to the side.
Even with the distraction the ogre dodged nearly all of the orb. Meagans spear snapped, the threads of fiberglass creating a small cloud.
Gilberto ran to the side with the ogre gaining on him. Looking around I saw my hammer laying on the floor just out of my reach. I flopped over and dragged myself far enough to grab the weapon from the floor.
"Meagan!" I called out weakly as I tossed my hammer towards her.
She scooped it off the floor and ran to help Gilberto. Staying in the blind spot created by the ogres frozen eye she jumped and whipped the weapon around in a fast arc. The head of the weapon struck the frozen area with the full force of her run as well as the whipping motion she had used.
The side of the ogres head shattered revealing a bloodshot eye as the ice fell off. The ice did take the side of the skull with it.
"Tricks do not give true strength!" The enraged ogre turned from Gilberto and began advancing on Meagan.
I had continued dragging myself across the ground while they fought. Finally, I could grab Meagan''s broken spear. I forced myself up until I was standing and hurled the broken haft at the visible brain on the side of the ogres head.
It clattered against the side of its head and fell on the ground, doing no damage that I could see. I groaned in pain and frustration as the fiberglass hit the floor.
An enraged shriek came from the ogre as it focused on me. "Why won''t any of you die!"
Meagan took advantage of the ogres distraction to duck down and around the massive granite leg, grabbing the spear haft, she jumped onto the ogres back. Before it could reach back and grab her Meagan jammed the spear haft through the hole in its head and started jerking it around wildly.
Pieces of stone brain started falling to the ground. As Meagan managed to force the jagged end of the spear further and further in, the ogre first stopped moving then began trembling.
The ogre stopped moving, finally completing the transformation into a statue, and slowly began to topple to the side. Meagan hopped off as a notification appeared.
| ? Ogres'' Den Quest Completed! ? |
| ? You managed to find the only way to survive and keep the ogres'' appetite under control. ?
|
| ? Reward - One Gold coin per combatant. ? |
| ? One Shadow Level is available through Soul-Link. Would you like to accept it? ? |
| ? Yes ? |
? No ? |
I selected Yes and then ignored it for more important stuff. Like my friends. And horribly broken ribs.
"I need some help with Mike and Stew... I don''t have any Mana and I''m...in a lot of pain." I gasped.
Gilberto hurried over to me. "What about Terrance? Where is he?"
I glanced at what was left of his body and shook my head. "He didn''t make it. I don''t suppose you know any healing magic yet?"
"Sorry that wasn''t one of the things I learned in the last fifteen minutes. What should we do?"
"I''m not sure. We need them to last until I get some Mana back I guess. Maybe tournequets?" Looking over at my friends laying on the ground I wished I could do something. Whatever I had managed to do with my heal seemed to have brought a bit more color to them and slowed the bleeding. I still didn''t think they could last until I would be able to heal them. Meagan seemed to know the most about first aid out of all of us.
"Meagan. What should we do?" I asked.
I turned and saw Meagan still standing next to the fallen ogre.
Gilberto gave me a questioning look when Meagan didn''t answer.
I winced as I tried to shrug then called out again. "Meagan? Is everything OK? We need some help over here."
Slowly, she turned around with a faraway look in her eyes. "Yea, I think it will all be OK. One second."
Before I could ask anything else a small pouch appeared sitting in front of her. She grabbed it and brought it over to us. "One for each of you."
She pulled out two glass vials from the heavily padded interior and handed them to Gilberto. After he took them she gave another to me.
Inside was a black fluid with flecks of light in every color I knew and a few that I had never imagined. Suddenly it bloomed and became a deep red color.
"What are they?" I asked.
"Major Healing Potions. Where''s Terrance?" She replied.
"He didn''t make it. Where did you get them?" I said.
"And how do you use them?" Gilberto said.
"They''re potions so just...dump them in their mouths? What happened to him?"
The question from Meagan was directed at me but I was feeling a little woozy as well as confused by everything that seemed to be happening. I decided to trust Meagan and popped the cap and swallowed the entire contents of the vial she had handed me.
It tasted like air and rainbows with a very viscous texture that almost made me gag. Luckily it dissappeared off the back of my tongue and continued down as a wave of warmth that left behind the feeling of a now whole body. No excrutiating pain from moving bones or anything.
I smacked my lips and looked at Gilberto and Meagan looking back at me. "I don''t know if that tasted vile or not but the healing was quite a bit more pleasant than my own. Seems safe enough. Let''s get those two healed up." I got up from my position without a twinge from my previously broken ribs.
Gilberto poured a vial down Mike''s mouth. "I hope it doesn''t go in his lungs or something."
"It would be a crappy healing potion if you could die from aspirating it." Meagan held out her hand and took the other potion back from Gilberto. She poured it into Stew''s mouth as Mike started groaning.
I remembered the experience from swallowing the potion that had then turned into a feeling. I didn''t think we had to worry about drowning in a healing potion either.
While Mike and Stew began to come around I told the others about what had happened. As I talked I kept my eyes on my recovering friends. I felt a prickling in the corner of my eyes when Mike sat up and tried to run his hand over his head.
"I guess Healing potions don''t regrow lost limbs." Meagan said.
"I''m so sorry you guys. I never meant for any of this to happen." I said.
"What the fuck happened to my leg!" Stew yelled out.
"Hey, guys. I''m not sure it''s that bad though. There''s..." Meagan tried to keep talking but Stew yelled over her.
"You''re right Meagan. Maybe I can just walk it off!"
"Stew."
"What is it Mike? Did I stick my foot in my mouth? Good thing I''m sitting down cause I can''t do that from a standing start anymore!"
"Dammit Stew. Don''t make me slap you!" Mike waved his stump in Stew''s face.
Stew looked a little stunned at that and stopped yelling.
Mike motioned at Meagan with his stump. "Please continue Meagan. You had something to say?"
Meagan looked disquieted at Mikes gesture but began talking.
"I don''t think you noticed but this place is looking different now. I got a notification when that monster finally went down." As Meagan talked we looked around.
The cavern was looking different, far less fleshy and more like it was made from rock. The torches were the same but the walls looked much closer to worked stone than flesh. Even many of the corpses were fading into floor which was turning into flagstones.
"This place has something called a Fount and when we finished the quest we captured it. We got a Keep as well. Once it''s done we can create a village. I have a progress bar that shows it should be done soon. Once it is more people can access the menu. I traded my gold coin for five major healing potions.
"There are more things on it though. Items like restoration potions as well as skills and abilities." Meagan said.
"Why didn''t you buy a restoration potion instead of healing potions then." Stew asked.
"Everything is different prices. I could afford healing potions to heal everyone for one gold coin but that same cost only covers one restoration potion. Then you would have been out of luck since it would have gone to Mike. He is far less annoying than you."
After watching the walls I decided to interrupt and ask a question. "How long until this is all the way changed?"
I couldn''t see the changes while watching but glancing away and returning my gaze small differences could be seen.
Meagan shrugged. "Half hour? It''s gone pretty far while we''ve been talking."
"We should head back and let everyone know what happened." I looked around at everyone.
"I don''t think I can. Someone needs to be here so we have a claim to this place." Meagan said.
"I''m not going anywhere without my leg." Stew said.
"You said it would only be a half hour?" I asked Meagan.