Hack, Slash & Burn 2: A LitRPG Fantasy, page 23
Pain seared into Calder’s legs as he waited, as spittle from the Ice Yeti dripped from its fangs down onto his head.
Dream Step has a cooldown period of 35 seconds. It can be used again in 3 seconds.
Gods. The smell of the beast’s maw was almost enough to do him in as it was.
Two seconds.
Calder’s whole body tensed.
One second.
The Ice Yeti’s teeth sunk into his forehead, the pain unbearable.
Dream Step reached its cooldown.
Calder teleported straight out of the enemy’s grasp. Sword and shield still within his grip, Calder appeared above the Ice Yeti that had been in the process of biting his head off.
He sunk an Eviscerate straight into its spine, then a Power Strike for good measure. As this was the Ice Yeti he had been weakening already, that Power Strike managed to take it out.
Proficiency flooded into Calder. A white light surrounded him.
He had gained another level, and now only nine of the Ice Yetis remained.
Calder’s eyes widened as text superimposed itself over his vision.
Chapter 26
With greedy eyes, Calder rapidly read the text that appeared.
You have reached level 60!
Your health, mana and adrenaline are now restored in full.
You have 50 attribute points to apply.
Avatar of Light boost: +5 to all attributes.
Avatar of Light – Temporal Boon Spell unlocked:
Time to Die – Automatic
Choose three of the following spells:
Mana Blade – Active
Body of Flame – Passive
Shockwave – Active
Burning Devastation – Active
Distilled Rage – Passive
Strike Advantage – Passive
Aura of Fear – Passive
Last Ditch – Passive
You have 10 minutes to make your choice! If a choice is not specified, the spells will be chosen at random.
Calder could barely believe his luck. Not only had he gained 50 attribute points for reaching level 60, he had also gotten another +5 to every single one of his attributes with something called an “Avatar of Light” boost. It was nothing like what he had gotten when he had become an Avatar—that had been a whopping twenty points in each—but it was still a significant boost.
He had also unlocked another Temporal spell, though as it was described as “automatic” and as he had never encountered that before, he wasn’t sure what it did. A name like “Time to Die” sounded rather ominous, too.
Calder stared at the list of spells, noticing he had only ten minutes to decide unless he wanted the decision made for him. Staring at them as he was, he almost got hit by one of the Ice Yetis’ strikes.
Right. I’m in the middle of something.
He dodged out of the way, rolling across the snow. As he did, he reactivated Charge and Berserk, feeling a burst of renewed energy. Considering how tough that Ice Yeti Alpha had been, Calder realised he might not be able to defeat these bastards unless he applied some of the newly gained attribute points, and maybe even chose some of those spells.
While Calder was still filled with determination to become a teleporting fighter, he realised he may have been neglecting some other important attributes. He needed to become stronger, and even faster than he already was, if he were going to face enemies as powerful as these.
And he really needed to boost his adrenaline reserve, something he knew needed more Stamina and Strength. His Stamina was fairly high—especially with the boosts provided by his armour and shield—but it clearly couldn’t handle how many strikes he dealt out. His Perception was still fairly weak. Had it been higher, he would surely have managed to dodge that damned tree being flung at him. But Perception didn’t seem to make the difference between his life ending or continuing on, so he left it where it was.
He quickly made his choices.
Strength increased from 116 → 126!
Agility increased from 141 → 156!
Magic increased from 143 → 158!
Stamina increased from 133 → 143!
Gods. He felt the changes instantly. Though he had gained more attributes at once than this, the 75 total attribute points was nothing to sneeze at. That one level had provided him with seven levels worth of difference.
He turned to face his enemies, a great big grin on his face. He could only imagine what an outside observer might think if they saw his face. He would no doubt look like a lunatic. Though the wound the Ice Yeti had inflicted on his head by biting into it had healed, the blood from it dripped down into his eye. Calder wiped it away and watched as nine massive monsters surged toward him.
Having just gained a total of 20 points in Agility, and with both Charge and Berserk active, Calder was able to think incredibly fast. Though usually Berserk might impede his decision making abilities, right now his mind felt… clear. As though he knew exactly what needed to be done.
Able to think as fast as he was, he went over the spells he had to choose from. He wanted more information about each, but apparently the System wasn’t willing to offer any, as try as he might he couldn’t gain more.
And it expects me to choose so quickly?
He went through them, one by one, wondering what each might do.
Mana Blade sounded like a hybrid spell, which instantly piqued his interest. He didn’t know what it did, but he was glad to find it as an option. Whatever it was would be powerful, considering his strength in the Magic stat.
He moved to the next—Body of Flame. Was that a defensive spell, like the spell the Ice Yeti Alpha had on him? Hurting those who struck him?
Calder moved past that. He was more of an offensive fighter than a defensive fighter. Help killing these bastards was what he needed right now.
Shockwave sounded like a pure Mage spell. In fact, he was sure he had seen Luceen use it before. Though it intrigued him, he moved to the next few.
Burning Devastation sounded like another hybrid spell. Could it be a mix of Mage and Berserker? That and Distilled Rage sounded right up his alley. Distilled Rage was clearly of the Berserker class.
Strike Advantage took his interest more, however, even if he didn’t know what it did, he liked the word advantage.
It boded well.
Do you know what any of these are? Calder asked Graham, giving the ghost permission to see what he saw.
I do not, I’m afraid. My class went down a… different track. There are class manuals that can be bought from certain stores, if I recall correctly. Perhaps you should attain one.
Calder ground his teeth. Class manuals? Did Luceen, at least, not know about those? He would have a conversation with her when he returned. Unfortunately, he had no time to go find one at present.
Aura of Fear and Last Ditch also sounded intriguing. Honestly, he wished he could choose all of the spells.
Instead, he went with his gut, as that seemed to be the only option, and chose his three spells: Mana Blade, Burning Devastation and Strike Advantage.
Instantly, the spells became available to him.
The Ice Yeti Alpha was the closest opponent, sprinting over the snow toward him. Calder grinned at the beast. I’ll save you for last. He cast Dream Step, appearing behind the straggler at the back of the pack, which limped from wounds Calder had caused it earlier.
He moved fast. Even faster than before. Those twenty points in Agility were currently at least tripled by the passive spells he had activated. As it was a passive spell, Calder cast his newly gained Strike Advantage spell as well.
A yellow glow enveloped him, and he got an intrinsic understanding of what the spell did: Each time he struck an enemy without his attack being blocked or dodged, each of his strikes would deal 1% more damage. The passive spell would cease working if he hadn’t struck anything for more than fifteen seconds, or if one of his strikes was unsuccessful. Though he sensed that “fifteen seconds” had potential to lengthen as he improved in strength.
It was as though the information entered his mind, like the skill itself was informing him of what it was. He had felt something like that before with other spells, but not this strongly. Perhaps one’s natural understanding of spells only increased as they gained more and more levels.
Calder’s grin only widened. The spell would work absolutely perfectly with his fighting style.
His first strike of choice was Burning Devastation.
The spell practically overtook his body. Instantly, half of his adrenaline reserve and a quarter of his mana reserve disappeared as flames erupted across his sword. These were not the flames of a Fireball enchantment. This was something more.
The Sage Sword’s very blade glowed a deep red, and Calder struck out at the Ice Yeti. Ten strikes came out of him in quick succession. There was something more in the weight and power of those strikes.
Before the final strike could hit, the Ice Yeti was already dead.
The last few strikes kept coming, however, as though they needed to be delivered even though nothing stood in his way. Calder briefly worried that these strikes would count as failed strikes for Strike Advantage, but as he retained the glow around him, apparently that wasn’t the case. Perhaps it’s because these strikes have no target. Which made him wonder how intuitive the spell was. Would it understand if one of his strikes was a feint, intended to miss?
Once the tenth strike was delivered, the flames were no more, and his body was fully back into his own control.
The Ice Yeti had been torn to shreds and burnt to cinders.
Calder looked at the next nearest Ice Yeti. The other ones had turned to face him after he had Dream Stepped. Was that… trepidation in their posture? They’re afraid. They’re actually afraid of me.
Good.
Calder sprinted toward the closest Ice Yeti and cast Mana Blade. Words erupted from his mouth, as they did when he cast other Mage spells, “Volatilis gladius!” He felt a tug at both his mana and his adrenaline. A sword made from pure energy—one that resembled his own Sage Sword—appeared in the air above him.
It flew straight for the enemy Calder ran toward, slashing itself across the Ice Yeti’s face. A magic flying sword? It hadn’t at all been what Calder had expected. It slashed at the enemy rapidly, its strikes seemingly as fast and strong as Calder’s own.
The spell’s usage entered his mind.
Mana Blade created a weapon of equal strength to the one the caster wielded, and could be wielded at the same level of strength, speed and skill as the caster, but it only lasted for thirty seconds.
Calder laughed aloud as he saw the blade strike at his enemy again and again. It might not fit his fighting style as well as Strike Advantage and Burning Devastation, but it didn’t lack appeal, that was for sure.
A second before Calder reached his enemy, he tested a theory. He cast Lightning Bolt and Fireball onto his Sage Sword. As his own blade erupted in flames and electricity, so did the Mana Blade he had created. That’s absolutely perfect.
After taking so much damage already, the Ice Yeti went down to a swift Power Strike.
Calder’s adrenaline reserve felt far more robust after he had gained fifteen attribute points for it, but the Burning Devastation spell would eat half of that no matter how big it was. It would also eat a quarter of his mana reserve no matter what, though he sensed that would change as he grew stronger.
Fortunately, the spell didn’t hinder regeneration.
The yetis surrounded him. Their anger seemed to radiate off them in waves. Especially the Ice Yeti Alpha, who came at him with a vengeance.
But Calder was too swift to be hit. He slashed at the alpha. Once. Thrice. Ten times. Bleeding Strike. Crippling Strike. Eviscerate. With Strike Advantage active, his attacks grew in strength with each successful hit—and every one of his hits had succeeded.
Calder didn’t even bother considering creating another set of portals. He didn’t need any tricks to win this fight. He simply hacked and slashed at the bastard beast until it finally went down.
It didn’t take long for Proficiency to flood into him, though he was a little surprised he didn’t gain a level—he had already killed several yetis since level 60.
I’ll gain another before this battle is done.
The other Ice Yetis flung themselves at him, further enraged at the death of their alpha.
Calder welcomed them with their own deaths.
His strikes were too fast to be dodged or blocked. Too numerous to be endured. They grew and grew in power. The third last Ice Yeti went down in four strikes. The second last in three.
The final went down to a single Power Strike.
With nothing left to hit, the glow of Strike Advantage soon dissipated, and with it the advantage he had gained.
But what an advantage it had been!
He looked at the notification that had sprung up somewhere during the fight.
You have reached level 61!
Your health, mana and adrenaline are now restored in full.
You have 10 attribute points to apply.
Calder smiled, allocating the ten points as he harvested and looted the corpses of eleven powerful Darktouched enemies. He divvied up the points a tad more equally than he had in the past, adding a bit more to Stamina than anything else, as he was starting to realise how important his adrenaline was becoming during fights where he couldn’t gain Killstreaks.
As great as Killstreaks were, he unfortunately couldn’t rely upon them.
Strength increased from 126 → 128!
Agility increased from 156 → 158!
Magic increased from 158 → 160!
Stamina increased from 143 → 147!
Once he had looted the last of the Beast Elementals, he stood to his full height and stretched out his back. The rage he had felt upon coming to this Dark World mere hours earlier had finally disappeared during that fight, but the worries and fears for his world remained.
He had gained much on his excursion, but he knew he couldn’t stay out here hunting on his own. He had other responsibilities to attend to.
It was time to return to Berring.
Chapter 27
Calder World Stepped straight into the middle of Berring.
Graham appeared beside him, an eyebrow raised. “The others are waiting for you in the mayor’s house. I’ve told them you won’t be long.” He folded his arms at his chest. “I trust you won’t make me into a liar?”
“Are you angry with me, ghost?”
Graham raised his chin. The intensity of his gaze spoke volumes before he even opened his mouth. “You’re responsible for much, Calder, and you wouldn’t be where you are without me. I’m sure you remember that. I taught you how to create portals. How to create Weapon Stones. The weight you feel upon yourself… the weight of the world, so to speak… I feel that myself. I had many failures in life, I would rather not have any in death. So please, do not abandon your people.”
Calder had been about to walk to the mayor’s house, but he felt frozen in place by the ghost’s words. “I wasn’t abandoning them.” Though he did feel a stab of guilt at saying that. They had tried to contact him many times over the past few hours, and he had been ignoring them completely. “I just… needed to clear my head.”
He walked past Graham. Did he really need to justify himself to a dead man? Perhaps I do, because he’s right. As he had spent enough time away from the village already, he sighted the mayor’s house in the distance and Dream Stepped straight to the gate then headed up to the meeting room where he knew he would find the others.
They sat around the table, a mug of ale already poured for him at the head. Calder eyed it.
Peter shrugged. “Graham said you’d need that.”
Calder sat down and clutched the mug in his hand. “Graham’s right.” He sipped the ale.
Yesna’s eyes glazed over. “Level 61. You’ve been busy. Weren’t you supposed to meet with Ballam in Kashan?” She gave him a severe look.
“Level 61! What have you been up to?” Luceen asked.
Calder sighed. Instead of answering, he took another sip of his ale—this one far more generous than the first.
Peter crossed his arms at his chest. “We’ve been trying to contact you. All Graham said was that you were ‘busy.’ I assumed now that communication was restored, we would be more… transparent. Wasn’t that the whole point of having the Spirit Construct back? I mean, you literally died to make that happen.”
Calder placed the mug back on the table. He had drained it all. He looked at Yesna, Peter and Luceen, avoided their questions, and ploughed on. “I wasn’t able to convince Ballam to help change the Protectorate’s mind.”
Yesna lowered her head. “I was afraid of that.”
“Even after you told him you were an Avatar of Light?” Peter asked. “I had hoped that would give you a meeting with the Protectorate.”
Luceen shook her head sadly. “I told you those people won’t change their mind.”
“Ballam told me it wouldn’t be wise to share my… status, with the Protectorate. He said they would take me away from Halanor and force me to do their bidding. Though he said it somewhat less bluntly.” Calder itched to get another drink but fought the impulse. He couldn’t turn to drink to soothe his worries.
As a tavern owner, he had seen what that did to people. It never helped. It only ever emptied purses and made things worse.
“So they really are just abandoning the whole world, as Peter said?” Yesna asked.
Luceen’s eyes looked sad. “I always thought the Soldiers of Light were better than that.”
“They will be leaving in a week’s time. But before they leave for good, they will be evacuating much of the world,” Calder said.
Yesna perked up. “Evacuating the world? You mean to say that many people will be saved? That’s something, isn’t it?”
