P-03. Trial By Magic, page 17
part #3 of PrimeVerse Series
“I kind of agree with him,” I said. “I don't know if we are just stronger than what you should be for the area, but we really haven't had too much problem.”
Kai gave us both a steely look. “Do you remember what I said? Know your enemy. The quest said we are looking for a male version. We do not know how much different the male is than the female, I am simply urging caution.”
“I think Kai’s right here,” Madison said. “I don't know what we can do differently, but I think we should focus up and do whatever we can to prepare for it. Probably not a good time to get all cocky.”
“Well, we don't even know where it is, maybe we should scout it out.” I elbowed Ryan in the ribs.
“That would be a good idea,” Kai said.
I hoped it wasn’t as large as the picture in my notebook, but Kai’s words had gotten to me. Maybe we were going to be in for a fight. PrimeVerse didn’t just throw around rare items for fun. I hadn’t seen one yet.
We followed Ryan, who used who-knows-what skills to guide our course. As we walked, the trees seemed to thin out until we came to a huge clearing, stretching both long and wide, full of nothing but tall, waving grass surrounded by the light forest. In the center of the bowl was a lone tree unlike anything we had seen before.
It might have looked larger than it was simply because it was solitary in the clearing. As we got closer, we could see it was more of a sizable bush, twenty feet tall at least. It was covered in a myriad of shades of brown, with needles like on a pine, though much closer together. It looked like it was wrapped in a gossamer webbing. I don’t know what made it click, but just like that, it did.
“That's it!” I said. “That’s the male mothsquito.”
“What? The bush? Are you sure? How do you know?” Madison asked, squinting towards the figure.
“Well, for one thing it's a big red dot on the mini-map, and what else could it be?”
Kai barked out a laugh. “In this world it could be anything.”
Ryan was staring at it intently. “I think Hudson’s right, I can make out a similar pattern in the colors as the females. We could be wrong, but only one way to find out. Hudson, why don't you go poke it. Then if it kills you, you can respawn right back here.”
I frowned at him. “Hey, just because I can death teleport doesn't mean it's a pleasant experience. No matter how many times you die, it still sucks.”
“So you’re too chicken?” Ryan asked.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “No, I’ll do it.”
“Just don't die!” Madison said as she pulled me close and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then gave me a Boost. Both were much appreciated.
“Roger that!” I selected Running to Boost and started off towards the large thing, summoning my red-furred bear on the go, who easily kept pace.
When I was close enough, I sent the bear in to attack and it took off, leaving me in its cloud of dust as it hit top speed and charged the thing. I held my ground at a distance to watch what was going to happen. I would have sent my bear from back by the group, but I wasn’t sure if that would draw aggro to the whole group or not so, lucky me, I got a front and center seat to what happened next.
My bear slammed into the tall tree-squito only to instantly bounce back on its ass. My jaw fell and I mumbled something that wasn’t very gentleman like. Maybe it was a tree after all?
As the bear got back to its feet and shook its huge bear head, it snagged a bite of the boss, leaving a small wound.
The thing before me unfurled like an umbrella opening up, its massive wings, each easily the size of a school bus, flapped open and dust rained out from them cascading over the bear who instantly fell to the ground, unconscious. Despite my distance, my hair was still whipped back from the wind of the mammoth wings, and the surrounding grass danced as if a helicopter was landing.
Where the female mothsquitos looked more moth than mosquito, besides the wings, this thing was the opposite.
There was no fur, only the chitinous exoskeleton, and instead of the fern-like antenna, it had several long, whip-like protrusions that were all swaying gently. Its six legs were fearfully long, too long for its enormous body even, like a daddy long legs spider. They lashed out at the bear in quick succession, each one coming to a point that impaled the poor ursine as easy as poking holes in bread.
It was about this time I was thankful for my ability to summon creatures and not use my own body as boss bait. Its long proboscis unfurled and slammed into the bear, drinking, draining the poor creature like a kid with a Capri Sun, sickening slurping sounds and all. In mere moments it was done, and my poor exsanguinated bear faded into motes of light, as a dull glowing light appeared on the mothsquito where the bear had injured, healing it. Great.
The male mothsquito killed my strongest pet with hardly any effort and finished him off as a refreshing cocktail. I didn't want it to spy my friends and I needed to learn more about it, so I decided to get up close and personal.
I shoved out a breath. Here goes nothing.
I ran in, summoning a Mana Arrow as I went. I launched it at the thing, hoping it would be as effective as the spell was on the females. My arrow streaked in and penetrated the exoskeleton. If the creature noticed it, didn’t react in pain. But it did turn its many-faceted eyes on me and stare me down.
Finally up close, I launched a Mana Orb, the spell exploding against it and leaving a slight mark. I was not impressed with how much damage I was doing, to say the least. I cast a light orb directly in front of its face, as bright as I could make it, finally eliciting a response. The creature flinched back, then began grabbing at the light as if it wanted to pinch its cheeks, like a grandma with a baby.
While it was distracted, I launched a DualCast stream of fire at it, and was rewarded with a crispy, charbroiled smell as my spell actually did some damage, burning a small hole in one of the wings.
The thing finally had enough of my antics and ignored the light in favor of sending a spear-like leg straight towards me, which I deftly dodged, putting me right in line for one of its other legs to impale me fully. It lifted me up by the wound as if I were a marshmallow he was about to roast, and the last thing I saw was its proboscis breaking through my ribcage and draining my fluids.
Then the world went black.
Chapter 23
“Hello Hudson,” Minuitt said as I reformed in front of her. I was in the Adjudicator’s main room, with the viewing port replaying my last few moments with the male mothsquito. There were some things you just didn’t need to live through twice.
Minuitt and the Adjudicator sat across from each other in comfortable looking chairs that faced the screen. Between them was a small round table with various snacks and drinks.
Minuitt looked dressed to kill in her business attire, reminding me of that game with the Umbra witch who wore glasses. Tight, black leather that hugged every curve. Meanwhile, the Adjudicator was wearing the form of a red-headed teenage male, complete with freckles.
“Are you guys, like, dating or something? How come every time I’ve been here lately you’re always together? And why do you always have food? Do you even need to eat?” I asked instead of a greeting.
Minuitt laughed while the Adjudicator stood and walked down the steps of the dias their little viewing party was on. “We do not need to eat, however we find that partaking in some of the more... mundane things you viators do, makes you easier to relate to.”
“You should try burnt meat on a stick, then. Not that... well, all those glorious things you have in your spread.” I tried to look away from the pizza, which was only a sampling of what covered their table. The ooey-gooey melty cheese and thick hunks of curly pepperoni... I wiped my mouth.
“It has been some time since you have been back,” the Adjudicator said, ignoring my food comment, “and you have brought us much entertainment.” His laugh seemed much too deep for his current persona. “Now, tell me. What do you mean by dating?”
I cleared my throat. I kept forgetting how this ‘all knowing being’ hardly knew anything about humans. “Like, are you... uh... romantically involved?”
It continued to stare at me.
“You know, like... do you miss her when she’s gone?” I asked.
More staring.
“Do you, uh... how can I say this... want to be close to her? To touch her? More than anyone else?” What the hell?! How did I get here and why couldn’t I stop? I wanted to crawl into a hole. “You know what? Forget it. Never mind.”
It cocked its head at me. “We have not done the mouth thing where we connect tongues that you and Madison seem quite fond of, if that is what you mean.”
Minuitt laughed loudly and stood. “Yet,” she said, looking far too sultry for me to be present. The Adjudicator cocked an eyebrow at her, and I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to brush my teeth.
I looked up from the ground to find Minuitt was closely watching my face. When I caught her eye, she flashed a smile I couldn’t quite read. “That’s not important right now though, Hudson. We need to focus, as your little group is going to be exterminated.”
I was stunned for a moment, “Wait, what? By the mothsquito?”
“Not your party. Your entire village.”
The Adjudicator nodded. “What Minuitt says is correct. Chaos is gathering strength, and something that we had hoped would not happen for some time has started occurring. New viators are arriving and choosing to align with the faction of Chaos. There have even been some that have reincarnated already and chosen that path. If you do not act quickly, you may be overrun.”
This information set me on my heels. I was actually speechless.
“Now we have his attention.” Minuitt said. “This contest may very well go to Chaos first if you cannot put a stop to it. That is why I’ve teamed up with the Adjudicator on this.”
“Yes, it is imperative you stop it from winning. In the year that Chaos wins, many of you viators may be driven to madness. Permanent death may even be possible,” the Adjudicator said.
I felt heat rising in my chest. “Why aren't you helping then?! You say that the Archon of Chaos cheats, why can't you? He shouldn’t be able to win if it isn’t a fair competition. If it’s so important to stop it, what are you doing to help?” I did my best to keep my voice even, but the anger was seeping through.
The Adjudicator crossed its arms. “I must play by the rules, it is part of what I am. Although my agreement with Minuitt has given me some leeway.”
“And I force you to work a little more outside your parameters,” Minuitt chimed in. She touched its arm in a way that made me raise an eyebrow.
“Where do you think those Insight bonuses came from?” the Adjudicator asked.
“You sent me those? That wasn’t part of the Archive skill?” I asked.
“I work within the rules, however some rules have room for, well… adjustment. The probability of the Insight bonus on that skill being one of them.”
I thought about what I had gained Insight bonuses on. Mothsquitos didn’t seem like a useful tool to help with the oncoming chaos, but Core Mastery did. “So you think Core Mastery can help against the Archon of Chaos.”
It nodded. “Very good, Hudson. You are starting to pay attention. You have everything you need to win the fight, but you must accelerate your growth.”
“You can’t do it alone though,” Minuitt said. “You are going to need your friends and the villagers to grow faster, as well. That is why I gave you those blueprints. You must get them built.”
“We’re working on it. Just trying to finish collecting the Bonded Mana, as you know. We have no idea how much we need or even how much the items we already have can give,” I said.
“I’ll give you a hint. If you complete the quest you're on, you'll have enough.”
I huffed out a breath. “Well, that’s something at least. Any tips on how we can do that? The boss took all my best and didn’t even blink.”
“It cannot blink, it has no eyelids,” the Adjudicator said. I snapped my head towards it to retort something when I saw the small smile on its face. Maybe it was getting better with sarcasm. “You can defeat it, but to do so, do not rush. Take some time and earn the win.”
“What? Take my time? What is it with you two; hurry up or take my time?” I shouted, losing my grip on restraint.
Minuitt rolled her eyes. “What the Adjudicator means, is you need to level up first. The monster is level 10, and an epic. It is meant to be defeated by a full team of at least the same level.”
“Wait, how come you just came out and told me that? Why couldn't the Adjudicator?”
“Because,” Minuitt said, “the Adjudicator is a drama queen... king... er, being.”
I looked at the Adjudicator who reddened in the face a bit. “Seriously?”
“Your time runs short, do you have any further questions?” it asked.
I concentrated but didn’t feel the pull of the light yet. I think it actually was embarrassed.
“Yeah, what can you tell me about level 10? I want some knowledge that can help us, and having to die to talk with you is pretty frustrating.”
It nodded slowly at me, “I cannot-”
I cut it off. “Don’t give me that ‘I can’t tell you’ shtick. When I first got to this place, you were all excited about sharing secrets with me, and I feel like since the Archon of Chaos entered the scene you’ve been so tight lipped that it’s almost not worth talking to you.” I folded my arms across my chest and stared at the Adjudicator.
Minuitt chuckled, and the Adjudicator looked at her with a flat stare. She cocked her eyebrow at it and motioned towards me. It sighed and turned back to me. “Perhaps you are right. I have been adhering to the letter of the law too tightly, and not the spirit of it.”
“I have no idea what you mean by that,” I said, “but if it means you’re about to share more information with me, I’m happy to hear it.”
It nodded and began pacing as it talked. “When a viator attains level 10, they are given their first path choice. A path choice is exactly that; a way to help plan for the future and select a direction in which you want to focus. Path choices are broken down into the four basic attributes, and another choice given by the abilities you have developed. This is yet another reason why learning as much as you can is important. I may not give you much detailed information, but after you have chosen your path, you will be at another tier of power.”
I mulled the information over. It was an interesting idea, and I was excited to get to that point. “What do you mean by ‘another tier of power’?” I asked.
“You are close to attaining it, I will not spoil that surprise,” it said with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah okay, well, do you have anything to tell me that will help me focus so I avoid mistakes with my path choice?”
“Good question,” it said, excitement shining in its eyes. “If you wish the fastest way to power, focus on that which you have two of.”
Minuitt tsk’d. “Again with the drama.” I felt the pull of the light coming as she made eye contact with me. “Tell Madison, if she wishes to have the most I can offer her to select the ‘Mind of the Mage’ path. She will see it soon.” She eyeballed the Adjudicator. “That wasn’t hard, see? No need for riddles.”
The Adjudicator folded its arms and watched me. “I have every confidence in you.” I heard it say as the light pulled me to my special respawn menu.
Chapter 24
I selected the area where I had last seen my friends and respawned, the glowing blue lights swirling to form my body. “I’ll be back... and I am back!” I said in greeting. Nobody got it.
“Well, that looked tough,” Ryan said. “Should we go get more people to help? He smashed you like you were the bug.”
“Did you learn anything from the Adjudicator?” Madison asked. “Took you awhile.”
“I did, in fact, learn something from the Adjudicator. Also, your future patron says ‘Hi’.”
“Huh, are they always together?” she asked.
“Well, they didn’t use to be, but now I guess they have some kind of alliance, so they are working together. I almost wonder if it's something more.” I shuddered. “It’s actually a good thing, because the Adjudicator tries too hard to be mysterious while Minuitt is much more pragmatic.”
“What did you learn, Hudson?” Kai asked.
“Right, so, first thing, we need to get to level 10 before we fight that boss. I threw everything I had at it and was about as effective as trying to chop down a tree with a fish. But I guess at level 10 we get to choose a path, some kind of game mechanic, that puts us at ‘another tier of power’. I didn’t get much more information about the paths, although,” I looked at Madison, “Minuitt said that if you pick the ‘Mind of the Mage’ path, it's optimized to work well with being her vassal.”
“That’s good to know, but it’s a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?” Madison crossed her arms.
“I mean, I guess? I thought you’d already decided to do it, anyway?”
“Well, mostly, yeah, I just don't like someone thinking they know what I’m going to do before I do it.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot how mysterious you like to be. Maybe we should switch.”
She looked at me with a very Kai-like flat stare.
I chuckled. “I also learned that taking down the boss should get enough magic essence to finish the enclave.”
“That is good news,” Kai said. “We have spent quite some time out here, we should try to make it back soon.”
“Right. And now the uh, bad news to go with that.” I grimaced. “It looks like Cora is getting pretty powerful. I guess people are still being brought into the game or are reincarnating and getting to choose her faction as a starting point. So she will more than likely have a big ole army, at least of gromlins, since they can do that gross spawning thing.”
Ryan sighed. “This place is getting more complicated. I just want to go out in the world and explore without the worry of a psycho-succubus trying to take away everything I like.”
