Hack, Slash & Burn 2: A LitRPG Fantasy, page 10
Another arrow—Penetrating Shot by the look of it—lodged itself straight into the skull of another of the Orc Dominators, letting a flood of Proficiency roll into them.
Not enough for a level, however. These bastards didn’t give near enough Proficiency as the Quake Mammoths they had just faced.
Part of Calder didn’t want to leave this place. He was confident that he and Peter would be able to take down the rest of the Orc Dominators—they had already dealt with three, and neither he nor Peter were even injured. But the approaching army had them at a desperate disadvantage.
This won’t be like the Battle of Berring. Calder was no coward, but he knew when continuing to fight wasn’t the right decision.
He sent a Crippling Strike at the leg of the nearest Orc Dominator then whirled and faced Peter. “Come on, let’s get you the hell out of here!”
He sprinted after Peter. The fight had barely gone on for a minute. Both Berserk and Charge remained active, which made catching up to the Hunter child’s play.
Peter saw Calder on his way and took the opportunity to stop and loose a few shots from a standing position. With Charge still active, he managed to loose a half-dozen arrows.
Another Orc Dominator went down.
Calder couldn’t see as far as he liked, but he did his best, eyeing the farthest spot that headed around the army, back toward the gates. His Portal spell, though having saved him on more than one occasion now, had an inconveniently long cooldown. He might only get one chance to use it in their escape.
The second he reached Peter, Calder focused upon where he wished the portals to appear. One would appear directly in front of them. The other, as far as his line of sight reached in this crowded area—he could see past six large buildings and through a narrow alleyway, far farther than he had been able to see from inside the tavern.
He activated the spell and shoved Peter straight through the portal, bounding in after him. When he was through, he cut the portal off instantly.
In that moment, something unusual happened—something he hadn’t been expecting. Proficiency flooded into him. But I didn’t launch an attack? He realised why as he looked behind him at where they had just come out of the portal.
The head, shoulders, and arms of an Orc Dominator lay on the ground, completely severed from its body. Calder wasn’t sure how the Orc Dominator had caught up with them so fast—how it had reached the portal in time to get partway through it—but he was shocked by the result.
He had assumed that if he cut off a portal while someone was travelling through it that the portal wouldn’t shut off until that person—or rather, being—had fully passed through to the other side.
Though he had never tested out this theory while training, and he was glad he hadn’t.
The portal had cut through the orc as it closed, leaving half its body here, and half its body on the other side of the portal.
That’s a handy trick. Calder faced forward. Berserk chose that moment to wear off, though as Charge lasted longer it was still active. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that he hadn’t gotten any Killstreaks or levels—there were plenty of enemies here, after all. And while he was glad to discover yet another strength of his Portal spell, it didn’t exactly help them right now.
“I’m following your lead, Peter,” Calder shouted. “You know this place better than I do.”
Peter glanced at his Proximity Scanner, examining the mini-map. Calder looking at his own. The only streets that weren’t cloaked in shadow were the ones he had walked down toward the tavern. Peter’s, on the other hand, were fully detailed.
That sea of red stretched all the way to the gate. The gate is going to be closed. There won’t be a way to get out. He checked the cooldown on his Dream Step and Portal spells.
Dream Step has a cooldown period of 1 minute. It can be used again in 29 seconds.
Portal has a cooldown period of 10 minutes. It can be used again in 9 minutes and 39 seconds.
With the speed they were running at, he sincerely doubted it would take them more than nine minutes to reach the wall. Besides, it wasn’t as though he could use the Portal spell to get them out of here. He wouldn’t be able to see outside of Dranador.
Again, as powerful as the spell was, Calder couldn’t help but curse its drawbacks. Though his other spells had improved as his levels and stats did, perhaps there would be a way to improve these.
“Don’t you know of any secret passageways outside of this place?” Calder asked as they sprinted around the city. Charge had now worn off for Peter, meaning Calder had to slow right down. He didn’t need to look at his Proximity Scanner to know that the Orc Dominators they had left behind were slowly gaining on them.
Charge was still active for Calder, as his Agility was more than 20 points higher than Peter’s, though he knew it would wear off soon.
They must still be Berserk, at least for a little while longer. He had noticed that the orc’s Berserk spell lasted longer than his own—at least when he wasn’t prolonging the spell with Killstreaks. He wasn’t really sure why. Perhaps spells worked differently for different races, as his stats were higher than theirs.
“Actually, I do,” Peter said. “But I’m not the only one who knows about them—my father was the one who revealed them to me.”
Calder sighed. “Well, that isn’t helpful.”
As they ran, a plan formulated within his mind. He wasn’t sure if it would work, and he didn’t really like the plan, but it was the best one he had. He looked at his Proximity Scanner again. It was astoundingly clear, now, that the enemy had access to Proximity Scanners of their own. Though he didn’t know if it was only human Darktouched that possessed them. The army—which Calder couldn’t see, so it definitely couldn’t see him—was heading straight toward them, changing course with incredibly accuracy. Fortunately, the army moved considerably slower than the Orc Dominators.
“We can’t head toward the gates,” Calder said. “They will be guarding them more heavily than anything else.”
“Do you have a better plan?” Peter snapped. His eyes were growing wider as they ran. Coming into the city after they had discovered it was in Darktouched control had been his idea. He must be deeply regretting his decision.
We did discover some things, at least.
“Actually, I think I do.”
“All right, what is it, then?” Peter barked.
Calder pointed to the top of the wall that surrounded the city, in a different direction to where the gate was. “We need to get to the wall. Any part of the wall, and we need to do it in…” He checked the cooldown duration still remaining for the portal spell. “No less than eight minutes.”
“Eight minutes? If we take that long to get there, the Orc Dominators will be on us.”
“Indeed. But the rest of the army won’t be.”
Peter sighed, but didn’t argue. He glanced at his mini-map and rapidly changed direction.
Calder wasn’t worried about the Orc Dominators. In fact, he was looking forward to facing them again. By his count, there would only be six remaining after one had died halfway into Calder’s portal.
The stomp, stomp, stomp of the Orc Dominators’ heavy run sent vibrations through the earth as they neared. Nowhere as strong as the Quake Mammoths they had faced, but strong enough for them to vibrate Calder’s legs enough to notice.
Calder’s Charge spell had run out not long after Peter’s. It lasted perhaps two minutes now, which was a damn sight longer than the few seconds it gave him when he had first acquired the skill. Having a lot of Agility had its advantages. Not only did it make Charge that much more effective, it made it last longer and made the cooldowns much shorter—the advantages kept compounding over and over.
Still, now the spell was stuck on cooldown along with Berserk. Calder gritted his teeth. “The second your Charge spell comes off cooldown, we’ll use that moment to take down the rest of the Orc Dominators.” The Hunter would be able to sling arrows at a devastating rate once more.
A minute passed. And then another. They rounded a corner, barrelling through a crowded marketplace. The streets around the tavern had been blessedly empty. They must have been cleared after Calder and Peter had entered the tavern. The same could not be said of this place.
Not a single one of the people within the marketplace was Touched—none of them showed up on his Proximity Scanner—which meant they were damned slow.
Which meant they might not be able to get out of the way of the Orc Dominators. Something told Calder the orcs weren’t about to slow down and step carefully around the civilians. No, they would plough straight through them to get to their target.
Calder urged Peter to stop. The Hunter skidded to a halt, his boots sliding along the cobblestones.
The crowd caught on, noticing the commotion as the Orc Dominators rounded the corner behind them. Many of them looked frightened. They began backing away, though they didn’t run—not yet. Their emperor had allied with these bastard beasts, after all.
Peter turned to face the crowded marketplace. “Make a path! Get to safety!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, which—considering his Strength—was incredibly loud.
The crowd no longer hesitated. They began to run, but Calder knew they wouldn’t clear the area fast enough for them to get through.
Peter nocked an arrow.
Calder sped forward. Dream Step had long ago reached the end of its cooldown, and his Portal spell still had a few minutes left, which meant Dream Step would be ready again before Portal was.
He reenchanted his sword with Fireball and Lightning Bolt then leapt into the air. A grin alighted his face. A thrill ran through him as Berserk reached the end of its cooldown. He couldn’t help but smile at that.
He activated the spell, a red glow encompassing him. The rage of Berserk burned in his chest, its power coursing through his veins. Its influence altered him. He could feel it, wheedling its way into his mind. He could have fought it, but right now, he needed to embrace it. He wanted to.
Why are we running from these bastards? We don’t need to run. We could take this entire army down!
While still in mid-air from his leap, Calder Dream Stepped, appearing behind the last of the six Orc Dominators. He slammed an Eviscerate strike straight into the back of its helm. His sword—blessedly—was strong enough to pierce straight through. Electricity from the Lightning Bolt enchantment on his Sage Sword shocked the enemy orc, making its entire body shake to its core.
Good, Calder thought. But the beast was still alive. He followed up the first attack with a Power Strike straight through the gap in its armour by its neck.
His blade slid into the Orc Dominator’s spine. He rode the enemy straight to the ground as Proficiency flowed in then leapt off its back.
Five left.
One of the Orc Dominators ahead lay on the ground, knocked over by Peter’s Knockdown arrow. Another orc had two arrows in its head. A third slammed straight through the slit in its helm and went into its eye.
Peter was standing his ground. There was nowhere for him to kite, which meant the orcs would be on him in seconds.
Calder sprinted toward the next closest orc, sending a Crippling Strike into one of its legs as he went. He made his way to the next. One on the ground. One limping. That left three on their way to Peter—
Make that two. Peter must have taken down one of the orcs.
Proficiency flowed into Calder as he was engulfed in light. He glanced over at the Hunter and found he was too.
You have reached level 53!
Your health, mana and adrenaline are now restored in full.
You have 10 attribute points to apply.
Calder laughed as he ran, instantly distributing the points.
Magic increased from 74 → 84!
He knew throwing all ten of his attribute points into Magic was a bit of a gamble, but if it affected the cooldown of Portal or Dream Step like Agility did Charge, it was a worthy investment. Besides, he didn’t need any more Agility to take on the remaining Orc Dominators.
Especially now that all his spells had finished their cooldowns by gaining a new level.
Calder activated Charge. They tore through the remaining orcs, making quick work of them—even quicker than he had expected. By the end of it, Calder was breathing heavy—not necessarily from exhaustion, but the thrill of battle and the power of Berserk running through him.
He finally fought the influence the spell had upon his mind, his own mental faculties taking back control. Something he was getting better at the more he used the spell during combat. He might feel all-powerful in that moment, but that didn’t mean they would be able to take down an entire army on their own.
Calder had to focus.
He hadn’t realised he was so close to gaining another level. He supposed they had gained a lot of Proficiency when taking down that small battalion of orcs that had been after the Light Nexus in the Dark World. Now, Portal and Dream Step had both been restored.
I suppose I didn’t need all those points thrown into Magic. At least not right away. Though he knew it should pay off down the road. Calder glanced at the Proximity Scanner. The army was nearing, but still not close enough to attack. He looked over at the wall—he could see straight to the top of its battlements.
Calder smiled. He could execute his plan. “Peter, stand here.” With the tip of his sword, he pointed to a clear area next to one of the Orc Dominators.
Peter did as he was told, a dubious look on his face. “Shouldn’t we be, you know, running?”
Calder sheathed his sword and gripped the man’s shoulder. “Meet me in the Dark World.”
Peter blinked. He opened his mouth just as Calder disappeared.
There wasn’t time to stop and chat.
Calder Dream Stepped straight to the top of the battlements. He didn’t need to glance down at his Proximity Scanner to know there were Darktouched up here. Orc and human guards alike ran toward him, sounding an alarm.
He ignored them. The orcs weren’t tall enough to be high level, and he doubted the humans would be high level either. Instead, he focused on what he needed to do. From this distance, Peter was but an ant on the ground, next to a larger, dead ant—the Orc Dominator he stood beside—but Calder’s Perception let him discern the Hunter clearly.
Peter had an arrow nocked and was frantically looking left to right. He glanced at his Proximity Scanner, but Calder was too far away to show up on it.
Calder focused. He had never used the Portal spell for distances this far apart. He stared at the spot next to Peter, then looked over the other side of the wall. He could see the Emperor’s Woods—burnt to ashes as they were—and a small clearing in them.
Looking from one spot to another, Calder cast Portal. An arrow struck him, piercing the inferior Imperial armour he wore easily and lodging itself into his side. He barely winced—the attack was weak one, more of a nuisance than anything else.
A portal appeared next to Peter. Another one materialised in the Emperor’s Woods.
Calder felt a pang in his stomach, as though something were pulling at it intensely.
The spell. It’s using far more mana than usual! He’d had no idea that the distance he made a portal affected how much mana it used. The mana drain was instant, not constant, which was good—it wouldn’t take any more than it already had.
But it had also taken everything that he had, which would make what he needed to do next a little more difficult.
Gods. Why did I never test this? He had only ever used the skill over short distances. There was another problem, too. The portal… it appeared to be unstable. Instinctively, Calder understood why. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he knew. These temporal spells seemed to grant him a small amount of knowledge as to their operation. It was a phenomenon he had first experienced when originally gaining the spells during his fight with the Orc Destroyer.
The portal was unstable because it had needed more mana than he’d had in order to be stable. Which meant there was a chance, any second, that it would fail, and there was no way for Calder to warn Peter of that.
Come on. Hold. Calder gritted his teeth.
If that portal failed while Peter was halfway through it, he would end up just like the Orc Dominator that had been sliced in half.
Another arrow slammed into Calder—this one in his left leg—then a Fireball crashed into his chest.
Calder ignored the attacks, even as an Orc Raider almost reached him. He pulled out a mana potion from his pouch of holding and drank it greedily, the contents pouring down his throat. Even as he drank, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Peter.
The potion did its work, filling his mana reserve up to halfway.
The Hunter hesitated, then sprinted through the portal.
The portal faltered, then disappeared. The stability had reached its end. Calder took a step forward, slamming a lazy Shield Bash into the Orc Raider that approached—more to get him out of his line of sight than anything else. The orc was launched backward and fell straight down the wall. It didn’t scream. It had died the second Calder’s shield crushed its chest.
He stared at the spot Peter had been standing in. There was no trace of him—and no trace of half his body left behind. Calder whirled, looking at the spot he had created the corresponding portal, and sighed in relief as he saw the Hunter in the clearing.
Even from here, he could make out Peter pulling a Portal Stone from out of his pouch and tossing it to the ground.
Calder took another mana potion for good measure, bringing his reserve back to its fullest. As he concentrated on the place he wished to go, about to use World Step for the first time, he realised that if he hadn’t had just thrown 10 points into his Magic attribute, that portal would have failed even faster.
It could have killed Peter. Or left him behind, which would have amounted to the same thing.
