Hero of Midgard 3: A LitRPG Adventure, page 39
“I will eat you instead, Karl!” the Trickster cried, digging his mechanical mandibles into Karl’s bracer; in his free claw, he summoned a blue plasma ball to launch at Karl’s face.
“Trickster!” Karl shouted in shock, headbutting the creature. The plasma ball launched back into a Mongolian gladiator, catching his fur armor on bluish fire. The little devil whipped out his Hel’s Chain next, nearly smacking Karl in the head.
“Karl!” Kara cried, raising her Baldr Light Shield as she sliced the neck of a nearby Indian warrior. He was somehow immune to the fire damage of her blade and still managed to strike back, forcing her to barely parry his sword.
As Karl struggled to rip the Trickster free, Mýra hurled the last two Greek firebombs she had into the oncoming crowd before drawing Karl’s bow. Björn roared with exhilaration, sweeping enemies aside with his Bifrost battle ax while raising a Bifrost shield that locked into Kara’s, funneling anyone who tried to rush them along the ground.
That still did nothing to stop the tens of thousands of audience members pouring in from every side. There was no way they could kill them all, nor should they.
Karl drew on his strength, tearing the Trickster free and hurling him across the arena. The metal squirrel slammed into a group of audience members who had just reached the arena floor.
Karl cursed as he tried to raise his bow. His hand throbbed, not yet fully healed by the System. Even with Endurance of the Einherjar rapidly restoring him, it still hurt to grip the Tentacle Bow, which thankfully clung to his hand due to its unique nature.
The glowing red ichor flowing from the bow drifted in all directions as enemies closed in. Lightning slammed into Karl’s back as several Jupiter- and Thor-blessed warriors struck him with summoned bolts despite the clear sky.
His body absorbed only half the damage, but it was still too much at once.
He did the only thing he could think of. He paused time with Urðr’s Vision.
He still had more than half his Stamina, having done little besides wrestle the Trickster, but he had no idea what to do when the five seconds ended. He made the first—and likely best—choice available and shoved his Swedish meringue cake into his mouth.
The buffs surged through him, restoring Health and boosting damage and resistance for him and his allies for two hours. Hopefully, it would not apply to the Trickster, who was now his enemy for the time being.
What are you going to do, little wolf? Fenrir teased in his mind.
As the last two seconds ticked away, Karl still didn’t have a full plan. He only knew one thing—he had to stop the audience from reaching the battlefield. Fighting tens of thousands of people would be suicide. And also super immoral.
He burned precious Glory and extended Urðr’s Vision by ten seconds.
Glory (−1,000): 3,300
With his hand feeling steadier, Karl activated Rune of Overpressure Leap Mk II, launching himself eighty meters into the air—more than enough for what he needed next.
Glory (−190): 3,110
Let’s hope this works, Karl thought as he began to fall back toward the Colosseum.
Like a machine gun, he fired all twenty Currentsteel Tidemark Arrows into the metal platforms extending from the bleachers. Each arrow embedded, pockets of superheated steam and compressed water primed to detonate, frozen in place as time remained paused.
He fired one final arrow at the ground to Elf Leap himself and avoid being crushed by the impact beside Kara.
When time resumed, the platforms erupted. Steam and water tore through the metal, collapsing the access ramps. Only eleven people died, as Karl had aimed carefully for the joints to avoid slaughtering innocents.
The arena ring became a moat of destruction as the rest tumbled into the hypogeum below, scraped and bruised, but alive.
That still left nearly seven hundred gladiators trying to kill them.
Strength (+110): lvl 18 (10/190)
Wealth (+22): 8,422 Gold
Glory (+360): 3,470
Level (+1): 51 (40/520)
Skill Points (+1): 1
“What’s next?” Kara asked, just after Karl drove his Shard of Máni into the Indian warrior’s neck, who had been battling her.
“This way,” Karl said, signaling for Björn, Mýra, and Kara to grab onto him. He activated Eagle Eye Shot, zooming in to three times his normal range, and fired past the horde of gladiators to reappear on the open sands near the mote of destruction he had created.
Looking down, he could see that the debris had caved in the rim of the hypogeum floor, exposing what looked like another chamber beneath. But there was no time to investigate.
“Now this is a real fight,” Björn said, laughing as he wiped blood from his helmet.
“Thank you for not killing all the innocents,” Mýra said, looking down at the people clambering through the ruined hypogeum below.
“How do you want to deal with him?” Kara asked, blasting a nearby gladiator ten meters away. She pointed toward the Trickster, who was hurling himself past a group of Egyptians resurrecting fallen gladiators with their necromancy god’s powers.
Karl immediately summoned a blizzard for twenty seconds to buy time and followed it with a Glacial Arrow aimed just beside the Trickster. The blast of ice trapped the squirrel without killing him from the immense frost damage.
Karl Elf Leaped to the impact point, grabbed the frozen Trickster, and hurled him down into the hypogeum, where he would hopefully stay for now. He didn’t have the heart to kill him, nor did he want to.
“Stay at the edges!” Karl shouted as he left an ice trail behind him, forcing pursuing gladiators to slip. He activated his Grave Silence Rune and vanished for ten seconds.
Glory (−225): 3,245
As Kara, Björn, and Mýra held the perimeter and attacked the mostly blinded gladiators, Karl used Dual Shot to take down two Romans who raised their spears and unleashed a blinding white light. Karl was immune to blinding effects, and his arrows found the eye slits of their plumed helmets.
Strength (+20): lvl 18 (30/190)
Wealth (+4): 8,426 Gold
Glory (+60): 3,305
Level: 51 (100/520)
But no matter how many Karl dropped, there were still far too many. He used magnetic arrows to trip those on the outskirts, but before his allies could finish them off, they had to Elf Leap again to escape the horde.
Many enemies could fly or summon lightning, and others fired homing shots from divinely enhanced bows that struck Karl and his friends repeatedly, draining their Health. Karl ate the last of his Swedish meringue cake, restoring sixty Health and forty-five Stamina, instantly refreshing an exhausted ability.
He immediately used it to summon another blizzard, this time peppering the outer ranks with Venomcore Fanghead Arrows. Soon, those ran out as well, along with his Resonant Pullhead Arrows, after they had taken down over eighty gladiators.
By then, Karl was exhausted, and hundreds remained. His Health regeneration continued stacking from his Title effects, with most of the kills credited to him at forty, which was an insane amount. But he was no one-man army, and the Health of his wife and friends was dwindling too low; they could not go on much further.
Strength (+400): lvl 20 (40/210)
Wealth (+215): 8,641
Glory (+1,260): 4,565
Level (+2): 53 (310/540)
Skill Points (+2): 3
Focused on a shooting duel with Diana-blessed, Ullr-blessed, and Native American warriors firing glowing spectral arrows, Karl lost track of Björn and Mýra. He turned to see Björn tangled in glowing spectral webs while Mýra—translucent with Hel’s Mantle—was nearly mauled by spiritual animals summoned by one of the Native Americans.
“Karl, it’s too much!” Mýra cried, her body drenched in blood as she shot an arrow into the chest of a hulking Roman gladiator five times her size. The shirtless brute punched her in the throat, knocking her back and sending her Hököga Bow clattering to the ground.
The giant raised his gladius to her neck.
Karl activated his Punch-Clock Heart to reset Rune of Overpressure Leap Mk II and triggered it.
Glory (−190): 4,375
He rocketed forward, scooping Kara up in his arms along with Björn and Mýra, slamming into them before arching upward and carrying them into the sky.
“Everyone still alive?” Karl asked.
“Look out!” Mýra shouted as Umbra unleashed fire from above and the golden eagles fired metal talons like bullets.
Karl pivoted midair, barely dodging the barrage before crashing back down.
“Stay at the edge,” Karl said as he Elf Leaped them to the far side of the arena, where gladiators had not yet gathered.
“I don’t think we’re going to make it,” Mýra said as they regrouped.
Nearly five hundred gladiators charged again, summoning divine magic and raising the dead with necromancy and too many other powers to count. Beyond them, the crowds still raged along the outskirts, hurling anything they could toward Karl for denying them their holy bread. A few braved the jump to try to kill Karl, but it only led to their sickening downfall.
And ahead of them, the Emperor and his sons watched with calm restraint. Maximus was waiting, provoking Karl by putting him into a corner with no way out, like some animal. Karl looked at his pregnant wife, bleeding yet determined to fight to the end, as were Björn and Mýra. A hot, unbridled rage stoked within Karl at this doom the Emperor inflicted upon him, reminding him of one of Egil’s favorite poems:
A sword age, a wind age, a wolf age. Shields will be cloven.
I agree with the wolf age, Fenrir growled, his voice dripping with excitement at the plan forming in Karl’s mind.
As do I, Karl and Kara said at the same time. It was time to clove the Roman Emperor’s shield.
41
VALHALLA, I’M COMING
The Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin cued in Karl’s mind as he and Kara transformed into werewolves and charged at the screaming horde of gladiators. Björn and Mýra raced behind them to take cover and fight from the opening they would make in the coming slaughter.
Every fiber in Karl’s being exploded with rage. His mind fixated on the Emperor as he ran; it was his dark, helmeted face on his thoughts as he activated his Moonflayer Veil and Moonfang Strike. His glowing moonlight claws and the terrible force with which he and Kara both leaped forward simultaneously caused an explosion of gore as they barreled through the first three rows of warriors.
Their combined force took down at least seven gladiators and maimed four more, but Karl and Kara were just getting started.
Karl honed his attacks around Kara while invisible, ripping tendons from unsuspecting warriors who could not see him but felt every strike as he tore with his teeth and pummeled with his claws. One warrior, a Greek woman wielding a glowing white spear, must have been blessed to fight monsters like Karl, because she struck his arm while he was still invisible. Karl’s Health dropped by a shocking fifty points, the pain burning as peroxide poured into an open wound.
He slashed at her with a claw, only for it to burn and deal little damage. She stumbled back, not knowing where the attack had come from. Karl chose a specific blessing for her, marking her with Beta’s Mark Rune, granting him fifty percent increased damage against her and slowing her by fifty percent.
He unleashed himself on her, focusing on claws rather than teeth, which still burned, but enough to break through her holy armor glittering with white starlight. It was no match for his aggression.
Alpha Path: lvl 16 (150/260)
Glory (−255): 4,120
Wealth (+23): 8,664 Gold
Fully united through their Pack Link, Karl and Kara mowed down gladiator after gladiator in perfect synchronization. They maimed one target so the other could finish them, and sometimes Karl grabbed Kara by the leg and spun in a violent circle while she gutted anyone nearby.
Björn defended them from behind, mercilessly cutting down anyone who tried to take advantage with his Bifrost battle ax. Mýra disarmed enemy casters, including a group of thin, unsettling Spanish warriors who sent glowing, beautiful, yet terrifying fairies after them, which she overcame.
In Karl’s unfiltered rage, he dragged them toward the center of the horde, where they became surrounded by gladiators of every kind pressing in from all sides.
A flurry of arrows struck Karl’s back, paralyzing him for a few seconds, and Kara as well. It must have been another Diana-blessed attacker, because his Health dropped massively again, burning worse than anything he had felt before.
Healing rain and glowing circles erupted everywhere as enemies with healing blessings restored their forces while pressing closer. An African warrior slashed Karl’s hip with a decorated spear while another stabbed Kara’s thigh, making her scream.
Karl decapitated one attacker, but the man reappeared moments later, several meters away, safely out of reach.
Dozens of mirages of a Persian warrior distracted Mýra, hurling fiery serpents that bit her neck before freezing on her Cryocoil armor.
A blast of water smashed into Karl’s face and knocked him into Björn. Björn remained standing, immune to being staggered by Karl’s fall, but the distraction allowed a Greek warrior glowing red with the blessing of Ares to engage him with twin gladii, pulling his focus from the hundreds closing in.
It was too much. They were going to lose.
“Karl, your Reiði Points!” Kara cried out.
As Karl caught a Roman’s sword with his claw and split it in half, his own blood splashing across his eyes, he realized he had reached the threshold to unlock the final Alpha Path blessing.
Alpha Path (+1): lvl 17 (0/270)
Reiði Points (+1): 10
Wealth (+36): 8,700 Gold
Glory (+30): 4,150
Level: 53 (340/540)
Tossing the gladiator aside whose sword Karl destroyed, he summoned the final ability.
Solar Eclipse: Fenrir’s Devouring Shadow — Once per day, activate a total solar eclipse across a 120-meter radius for 60 seconds, suppressing all natural and magical light. Enemies inside suffer –100% vision and accuracy, and –50% movement speed, while the user gains +300% attack speed, +300% damage, +300% max Health, and +50% max HP regeneration per second for the duration. All affected enemies are afflicted with Sunless Curse, reducing all healing and regeneration by 50% and dealing 10 shadow damage per second, bypassing armor and resistances; enemies below 25% HP are overwhelmed by Fenrir’s Terror, causing panic and loss of control. When the eclipse ends, the sun’s return detonates in a radiant shockwave, dealing 3,000 radiant damage, blinding enemies who live for 10 seconds.
“This better be worth it,” he roared, purchasing the ability Fenrir had spoken of so often.
The sky instantly darkened as a total solar eclipse swallowed the arena. Only Karl and Kara could see. He wasn’t sure if Mýra or Björn could see without Lunar Sight, but he knew their enemies were blind. Gladiators stumbled in shock as ten points of shadow damage began eating away at their Health.
Some nearby were overwhelmed by Fenrir’s terror, screaming and clawing at their faces as they ran blindly.
Karl rose to his feet, power flooding through him. His attack speed, damage, and maximum Health tripled, while his regeneration surged fifty percent faster than ever before. He knew it was Fenrir strengthening him.
As much as he hated the wolf god and his curse, this was the one moment he was grateful to be Fenrir’s chain.
Contestants Remaining: 600
Karl threw himself into the blinded horde, arms and teeth becoming a whirlwind of destruction. Precision vanished, replaced by pure annihilation.
He activated Moonfang Strike and Moonflayer Veil, further amplifying his damage, though it was nearly pointless now. Each claw strike was already an instant kill.
Karl roared as the lyrics of Immigrant Song continued to thunder through his mind while he tore through helpless gladiators like a scythe through a field. He was so engrossed in the bloodlust that he almost didn’t notice the golden-black glory raining down from the eclipse. It was far more than he had ever seen before, draining into the arena floor.
There was no time to question it.
Karl’s might became so great that he racked up enough Reiði Points to buy all the Path of the Savage Berserker abilities.
Rage Unleashed — For 10 sec, gain bonuses based on missing Health: +1% Attack Speed per 3% HP missing (max +30%). +1% Damage per 3% HP missing (max +30%). At ≤30% HP, attacks apply Blood Mark for 3 sec: Marked enemies take +10% damage from you. Effect ends early if HP exceeds 85%. Stamina: 22 Cooldown: 28 sec
Feral Claw Swipes — Unleash 5 rapid claw strikes over 1.5 sec, each dealing 80% weapon damage. Each hit has a 35% chance to apply Rending Bleed: Deals 8% of the target’s max HP over 8 sec. Stacks up to 2 times. If a target is Blood Marked or Bleeding: Final strike deals +40% damage and briefly staggers (0.5 sec). Stamina: 32 Cooldown: 15 sec
Blood Frenzy — Enter a frenzy for 12 sec: Deal +35% Damage. Take +25% Damage from all sources. Gain 15% Lifesteal from melee attacks. Each kill restores 8 Stamina and extends duration by 1.5 sec (max +9 sec). While active, you cannot drop below 1 HP for the first 2 sec of activation. Stamina: 40 Cooldown: 45 sec
