Sam sat at the entrance of the cave and stared out at the path that wound along the cliff face. The narrow ledge jutted out precariously from the rock, and beyond, it dropped into a layer of cloud, the ground a mere suggestion beneath the impenetrable grey mass.
His breath formed a haze of mist in front of him, and he clutched the [Cloudrunner Ursine] pelt tighter around his shoulders. The past few days had been a whirlwind, and the steady grind was finally catching up with him.
Their time at the forge had been short-lived, just long enough for Arther to give some cursory repairs to their armour before sending them on their way. Sam had been keen to try out his weapon’s new ability, but it meant they’d gotten little to no sleep.
He felt like he was still paying for it.
He shivered as he turned back and headed deeper into the cave. Molly had ensconced herself firmly by the entrance, and he’d long learned to trust the boar’s sharp hearing when it came to approaching threats. Siel sat by a small hearth set farther back into the rock, methodically imbuing a bundle of arrows.
They’d purchased a thousand of them the last time they’d gone to town, but it always seemed like they were on the cusp of running out. The Iron rank shafts weren’t overly expensive, but it was still a hit every time they needed to buy more.
To make matters worse, they’d both noted a significant decrease in their efficacy against Bronze tier monsters. The bear whose pelt Sam wore had taken a whopping forty arrows before finally going down. The number of holes made it nearly worthless, but it served well enough as a blanket.
Siel was deep in concentration, so Sam took a spot beside her by the fire, busying himself with his tafla. He’d once again moved his countdown timer into the center of the screen, the urgency of the clock a significant reason for his lack of sleep.
[Ring Purge Initiates In: 06:17:12:41]
Less than a week remained before the gates would open and a supposed calamity would be unleashed upon whoever was unlucky enough not to have gathered the toll. The past six weeks had been both the longest and the fastest of his life. The days had long since blurred together, with only his sporadic Dungeon encounters distinct enough to break up the monotony.
His body had been broken and stitched back together more times than he could count, yet only a few of the more potent wounds had left any scars. His pinky still twinged on occasion, especially on those mornings he awoke from one of his recurring nightmares.
It hadn’t all been for nothing, though. He was stronger than he’d been when he’d first woken up in the forest. Hell, he was stronger than any human on Earth had ever been. Molly had gotten stuck in a mud patch a few days prior, and they’d decided to try and pull her out rather than burn the storage cooldown.
It hadn’t been easy, but Sam had actually been able to near-singlehandedly drag her out of the bog. He didn’t have a scale, but he had to imagine she weighed at least a ton. He hadn’t squatted very often back home, but he’d apparently added a zero to his max rep.
The progress was laid out even clearer on his tafla, with many of his skills already reaching first-evolution limits. He was keen to see what choices he’d be given when he reached the second Ring. If he reached the second Ring.
Name: Samuel Lin
Race: Human
Patron: N/A
Class: N/A
Rank: Bronze
Titles
[Child of Babel]
[Deific Mark]
[Rodent’s Resilience - Tier 9]
[Apostate - Tier 10*]
[Giantslayer - Tier 5*]
[Dominator]
Achievements
[First Blood]
[Frugal Beastslayer]
[Frugal Usurper]
[Skill Morph]
[Mana Network]
[Trailblazer]
Enhancement Skills
[Iron Skin - Tier 5*]
[Battle Healing - Tier 5*]
[Prototype Cor - Tier 4]
[Kinetic Discipline - Tier 5*]
[Arcane Eyes - Tier 5*]
[Mental Fortress - Tier 3*]
Martial Skills
[Basic Shield Proficiency]
[Simple Melee Weapon Proficiency]
[Spear Mastery - Tier 9]
[Longinus Strike - Tier 5*]
[Light Armour Proficiency]
[Hammer Mastery - Tier 8]
[Medium Armour Proficiency]
[Shield Mastery - Tier 5]
[Platebreaker - Tier 4]
[Spira: 71,835]
He noted the asterisks beside many of the skills, the tiny indicators taunting him.
Soon, he muttered to himself. There was a certain level of frustration knowing that the spira was going to waste, but at the same time, it set him up with a glut of choices once they made it through the gate.
His nose twitched as he glanced around the cave, a lingering odour still hanging in the air. It was clear the outcropping had at one point been used as some sort of ogre outpost. The remains of a door had barred the entrance, and a few broken clay vessels had been strewn across the floor. The fireplace was the most intact part of the shelter, and they’d taken advantage of it. The cold had risen steadily the higher they’d climbed, though fortunately it wasn’t as bad as it had been in the north.
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“Alright, I’m done.” Siel stored the last of her arrows and pulled out a bowl of soup. She’d made a pot when they’d stopped for lunch, and for the first time, it had been good enough that they’d both decided to save some for later. Sam had discovered what he thought was MSG the last time they’d stopped by Evelyn’s shop, and he hadn’t hesitated in buying it. His father had used it liberally in all his cooking, and Siel had quickly learned the value of a hearty pinch in any meal.
“You should get some sleep,” she said between bites.
“That bad, eh?” he asked, his voice coming out as a croak.
“I have discovered what fatigue looks like among humans. You seem to have passed that, and moved straight on to corpse.”
“Oof,” he mockingly imitated being stabbed in the chest. “You’re not wrong, though. I feel like death. It’s just that every time I try to sleep, all I can think about is how much we still have left to do. It’s like every moment we’re not hunting is a moment wasted.”
“I understand. But if you don’t sleep, you’ll get us both killed.” She opened her mouth to say more when Mai sauntered into the cave and settled directly into Sam’s lap. Both Warriors sat stunned, surprised by the Familiar’s sudden appearance.
Sam hesitantly reached out a hand and scratched the sphinx behind one of her large, tufted ears. She let out a deep purr, the sound not dissimilar to that of an outboard motor. Siel simply shrugged and went back to her soup.
Neither of them had been able to make much progress with the Familiar. They’d discovered she was able to weaken her connection to Siel to the point where the sylvan could barely feel her presence. She never went far, but it was still disconcerting that she retained almost all her autonomy.
“She’s right, you know,” the sphinx said, voice echoing telepathically. “You look like shit. Your [Mana Network] won’t function properly when you’re this worn down. It’s not just a physical limitation–your magic will be weaker too.”
Sam raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Siel. It was easily the most the Familiar had said since she’d first been bonded. They’d attempted to ask her questions during their travels, but she either ignored them outright or responded with snide comments. Sam’s first attempt to use his weapon’s new skill had been met with raucous laughter.
“That being said, I think you will need to hold off on your nap. There is an ogre warband farther down the path headed this way. There is an area up ahead where you can set up an ambush. I wouldn’t recommend fighting them here.”
Sam’s jaw fell open at the cat’s casual cadence. She seemed completely unbothered by the apparent impending danger. “Were you off scouting?” he asked, incredulous.
“I was off looking for suitable prey for my dinner. If I discovered a band of roving ogres, it was by complete coincidence.”
Siel let out a muted chuckle as she quickly set about packing up their camp. Sam was left holding onto the cat until it became obvious she had no plans on moving.
He gently lifted her and set her down before dashing off into the night. He knew she’d follow when she felt like it. Siel was still able to utilize some of her skills, even at a distance, so her actual presence in the fight wasn’t strictly required. Sam was still dying to know what she was capable of, given that she was technically an [Epic] level boss.
The party moved quietly along the cliff, using their arcane vision more than their eyes as the sun wrapped its way around the horizon. Deep shadows loomed behind every rock, and Sam’s already frayed nerves were set further on edge.
After a few minutes of hiking, they came to an opening in the rock. A wide clearing materialized in the side of the cliff, large enough to house a small village. The remains of crude huts could be seen under a light dusting of snow. Sam felt something crunch under his boot, and a closer inspection revealed it to be a charred hunk of bone.
Scorch marks covered the walls, and he could detect traces of mana in the frozen earth.
“There was a fight here, probably at least a week ago. I’m guessing another party came this way.”
“Do you think they survived?” Siel asked, poking through the remains of one of the huts.
“I’m not sure. Given that we’re about to fight a group of ogres, I’m leaning towards no.”
Siel nodded and laid her hand upon the ground. Sam could sense, rather than see, a network of vines burrowing their way through the earth. It was slow going, as most of it was rock. The scant soil was barely enough to cover the shoots as they wove their way around the entrance to the village.
“Do you think they’ll check this place?” Sam said as he pressed up against the stone wall, summoning his spear and shield.
“I would if I were them, especially given the state of the War.”
Sam grunted in assent and settled in to wait. The shape of the village did a fair job of reducing the wind, but it was still bone-chillingly cold.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long.
The sound of heavy footfalls reached his ears, and he raised his hand to signal Siel, who had taken up a position on a ledge high above the opening.
Rough voices soon joined the footsteps, and Sam steeled himself for the impending fight. It was bizarre to think that somehow this had all become normal. His heart barely quickened as he watched the three ogres squeeze through the crack in the rock and began poking through the detritus.
A warm streak of anger twisted its way through his gut as he thought back to his first encounter with one of the muscular humanoids. This group looked much the same as the one he’d fought by the river, only they were better armoured. Each carried a comedically large bone weapon strapped to their person, but otherwise gave off no magical aura. The one in the center stood a full head taller than his companions, and it was clear from the way he ordered them around that he was in charge.
“Mjolna’s almost in position,” Siel said from her vantage point.
Sam sent back an affirmative, not shifting from his hiding place. He was using [Apostate] to completely mask his presence, but he knew he’d be discovered if they continued their search. A few moments later, a scraping sound came from the opening, and all three ogres immediately turned and drew their weapons.
To their credit, none of them panicked, and Sam could even detect smiles on their brutal, tusked faces. Each one took up a position around the entrance, their backs towards him. He cracked a smile of his own as Molly’s snout poked through the opening, causing all three enemies to flinch.
There was a momentary pause before all hell broke loose.
Siel activated their traps at the same moment Sam charged at them.
Vines burst up through the ground and latched themselves to the ogres’ thick hide boots. In the same instant, Molly crashed through the rock and took the lead ogre directly in the chest, lifting it off the ground as the boar careened through the clearing. The other two reacted sluggishly, which allowed Sam to slice the hamstring of the other smaller ogre, while Siel put an arrow into the chest of the leader.
In a matter of seconds, all three were wounded, and Sam couldn’t help but laugh as he batted away a clumsy retaliatory strike. The creature was strong, but it no longer felt like punching a brick wall. Both ogres, left with no other immediate target, pounced on him with an animalistic ferocity.
He didn’t bother with finesse as he recklessly traded blows with the barbarians. It was obvious that they relied solely on their superior physicality to overwhelm their prey, and actual martial prowess was a secondary consideration.
How was I ever afraid of you? Sam thought as he parried the blow from the leader. Despite being almost seven feet tall, Sam didn’t find it nearly as imposing as some of the other creatures he’d fought. Compared to the [Cliff Adder], the ogre was positively puny. Sam knew that when the fight was done, he’d no longer have nightmares about these creatures’ hands around his throat.
Siel landed a few more arrows, and Sam could already see the vines creeping beneath their skin. Their movements became frantic as they were steadily worn down. He noticed that they’d occasionally emit a faint red glow, but if the magic was meant to do something, it didn’t seem to have much effect.
It was only after the third time the leader tried it that he realized it was likely some sort of healing skill. Sam shook his head as [Decay] did its work. It turned out that the skill impacted all healing, not just natural regeneration. Sam could see that the wounds had already begun to fester, making it even easier for Siel’s [Creeping Arrows] to do their work.
Sam continued to dance backwards as the ogres’ attacks grew more and more desperate. It was clear they understood their dire situation and were doing everything possible to eliminate Sam before succumbing. He had to give them credit–they weren’t cowards. They knew their deaths were only a matter of time, and they were doing everything in their power to ensure that he joined them.
Their fight was interrupted when the body of the third ogre landed with a sick crunch between them. Both ogres froze, heads turning to see Molly up on her hind legs, before she crashed back down with a loud bang. The ogre she’d tossed was mere inches from death, arms and legs crumpled beneath them.
Sam exchanged a quick look with both the remaining enemies before flashing them a wide grin. He activated [Helheim’s Grasp] as he plunged his spear into the chest of the downed monster, piercing it through the heart.
For a long moment, nothing happened, and the leader let out a derisive laugh.
“Do you think we care if one of our own is–” his gravely voice was cut off as the ogre beside him keeled over, clutching his chest.
“What?” The hulking monster barely got the word out when his entire chest caved in, evaporating into a fine red mist. What little remained of the torso imploded, the now disconnected limbs striking the ground with a wet thud.
Sam stood there, stunned, staring reverently at his weapon.
Siel scampered down the cliff to join him, covering her mouth as she surveyed the scene. “Well, I think you’re starting to get the hang of the new ability. I knew it would be powerful, but I wasn’t expecting this.”
Sam looked down at the now-dismembered ogre, its face frozen in pure shock.
“Yeah, neither were they.”
