Plague Tank: A LitRPG Adventure (Getting Hard Book 2), page 22
It took time for Gibil to stop crying, so I answered some emails while he downed the bottle and shot off different theories about why Yusa rejected him.
After he finished the [Peely Fruit Wine], he finally asked me what I came for. I told him about Healer Gula’s request.
“Thank you for the wine, insightful youngling,” Gibil said. “Truly thoughtful of you, bringing me what I need the most in my sorrow. Thusly, it pains my heart I cannot give you what you need. I’m in no state to hunt, much less leave my home. Other Pathfinders may have Vinereaver prickles in stock, but I’m not aware who has returned from their hunts. Deep apologies, considerate youngling.”
This is a bit of a pickle. A prickle pickle.
“Healer Gula mentioned it’s fine even if the thorns came from baby Vinereavers,” I said. “Pathfinder Gibil, do you think I have what it takes to hunt one myself?”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
“Hear ye! Hear ye! The proclamation of Herald Stone!” The furry Crobels stopped tending their plants and looked at me with curious, round eyes. “I know I’ve stolen some of your food before, and that was a sad affair for all of us… mostly you. I regret to inform you that I’m back for more. And I’ll have to kill some of you too.”
Feeling guilty that he couldn’t help even after I brought his favorite drink, Pathfinder Gibil readily agreed to reveal the easy way to collect Vineweaver prickles. I brought along [Peely Fruit Wine], expecting him to be in a sorry state after reading Yusa’s letters. But I didn’t think my gift would become a guilt-tripping tool.
I’m just going to pretend that I, the Great Herald Stone, planned this.
According to Gibil, a seedling Hermit Vinereaver lived near our village. It was weak—which was good news—and couldn’t compete with the adult ones, so it didn’t dare travel to the other side of the cliff walls.
My updated [Tattered Map] showed the place where Crobels lived was also the home of the Vinereaver. However, it was shy and secretive. I had to do something drastic to draw it out of its hiding spot.
Gibil explained that the seedling Vinereaver and the Crobels had a symbiotic relationship.
The pastel-colored monkeys kept the area clean and conducive to plant growth, while the Vinereaver protected them. Unfortunately, to force out the Vinereaver, I had to kill several Crobels. And to anger the Crobels enough that they’d stay and fight instead of running away like they usually did, I’d have to trash their crops.
With deep regret, Herald Stone, the Reluctant Destroyer of Crops, set forth to spread destruction—I walked up to the various plants and pressed [Harvest] whenever the option came up.
The Crobels cowered in fright as one patch of plants disappeared after the next. Their incessant chattering flitted through the trees.
They dawdled on their stumpy legs or clumsily plodded on all fours, scrambling to hide in the bushes. But those bushes also vanished as I harvested them. More and more herbs filled my inventory. I hoped that Gula could make healing potions from the fruits of my carnage.
How can these tiny little things move so fast?
I chased after three Crobels, each sporting one of the primary colors. I could cast [Enraging Call] to grab one, but Gibil cautioned me that if I prematurely killed a Crobel while they were in ‘Flee’ mode, the rest would be harder to find.
They dove among Rapdom plants, the large blue celeries that Healer Gula previously requested me to find. “And harvest,” I said with a sigh. The Rapdoms disappeared, exposing the scared little monkeys. “Can you guys attack me already? The sooner you do, the faster we’ll get over this—oh, hello there. Are you ready to fight?”
The [Lvl 11 Red Crobel] bared its tiny fangs while its blue and yellow friends fled. As it hissed, its reddish fur stood on end like a cat. I thought it would transform when it became enraged like the Mirdabons, but it stayed the same form, just a bit angrier.
I switched to my [Heavy Spear] but didn’t attack. I trotted deeper into their territory and continued gathering crops; I needed more of them to attack me. The first Crobel that found enough courage in its heart to fight the world-ending monster ambled after me. Whenever I’d stop to harvest, it swiped with its short claws.
The small nick on my health bar instantly disappeared. In turn, a chunk got removed from the Crobel’s health because of my retribution damage. And it also got Burned because of my [Mantle of Kindling].
I turned around to face it—time for some testing.
Casting [Greater Pyro Shell], I converted part of my Ancestral Shroud into a barrier.
Then I bent down and stopped an attack from the [Lvl 11 Red Crobel] with my shield. The effect of [Mantle of Kindling] activated, replenishing a small portion of my AS because I successfully performed a Head-On Block against a Burned enemy.
This was the first time I’d seen this effect of my newest skill. I did Burn the Limerian Toads when I farmed them, but it was awkward to Head-On Block tiny monsters as I had to bend down, so I didn’t really bother doing it that much. The Limerian Toads were half the height of Crobels but twice as wide.
Slowly but surely, other Crobels decided enough was enough and fought back.
Nervous chattering faded as furious hissing like static in ancient TVs became louder. They crowded around my feet, biting and clawing at my legs. It was like getting attacked by a rainbow’s worth of fur-covered bean bags.
There was another thing I wanted to test.
Morabodry | Item Level: 10
Rare | Consumable | No Requirement
A mild poison brewed from the extract of choice herbs and infused with toxic effects by arcane magic. It causes the poisoned unit to lose (1% of Max Health+24) per second. It also hinders the senses and induces sluggishness, reducing Accuracy and Attack Speed by (7%). (If applied to equipment, it has a 10% (+2%) chance of poisoning the enemy per damage instance. Poisoned Status lasts for 4(+3) seconds.)
Duration: 15 Minutes
Uses: 5/5
My choices were to either coat my gear with the poison or drink it and then use [Cloak of the Plaguespreader]. I opted for the first one. I didn’t have anywhere to slot a Skill Shard and didn’t want to use Lesser Skill Points to level it up. More importantly, I was about to fight a potentially strong opponent, so I didn’t want to poison myself.
The system prompted me to choose which equipment I should apply it on.
Bawu had explained that it should be something that could inflict damage. I didn’t want to coat my [Heavy Spear] with [Morabodry] as I’d be dual-wielding shields in a serious fight. That left me with either the pieces of the Bramble set I wore—crappy gears with retribution and nothing else going for them, not even a set bonus—or my [Thorny Worn Targe].
Whenever a monster attacked, I’d deal the total retribution damage from all of my gears, not just from the specific one hit, like a shield, for example. Restricted only applying Morabodry on a particular item—well, I could coat others too since I had eight bottles and each with multiple uses—logic dictated that the monster should attack the poison-coated item to get poisoned.
I settled on my [Thorny Worn Targe] to test.
Thorny Worn Targe | Item Level: 7
Rare | Shield | Off-hand
68 Armor
23% Chance to Block 75 Damage
Head-On Block 150 Damage
Deal 150 Retribution Damage to the enemy each time you execute a Head-On Block with this Shield
Requires: 20 Might, 35 Vigor
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+35 Retribution Damage (Neutral)
+73 Health
+12 Vigor
A bright violet sheen enveloped my [Thorny Worn Targe], then faded until the color was barely noticeable. Tiny bubbles floated off my shield as if it were giving off noxious gases.
I held off blocking and observed if I’d poison the Crobels attacking me. Several of them died, and their buddies filled their spots, but there was no indication that they were poisoned. Next, leaning on my spear to balance myself, I bent as low as possible to perform Head-On Blocks properly.
The furious swipes of Crobels hit my [Thorny Worn Targe]. The same bubbles from my shield began to rise out of the fur of a [Lvl 9 Green Crobel]. The movements of the poisoned Crobel noticeably slowed. Its short arcing paw lagged behind its fellows. Its strike didn’t connect; its claws sliced air—[Morabodry] also reduced Accuracy.
Given that its attack missed, my retribution didn’t poke it back. But the poison ticks hurt it during its short duration.
“Should I buy a full set with retribution?” Bending down to block short buggers was too much of a hassle.
But equipment with retribution meant it was one line less that could’ve been a defensive stat. I could have retribution gear only for my lower body and at least one shield with retribution for attacks above knee height. I didn’t realize I’d encounter a problem such as this.
Several more minutes passed. The giant monster that was me continued to wreak havoc on the Crobel civilization.
I waded through the surging chubby monkeys and continued to farm the remaining plants as they fruitlessly struggled to stop me. My [Greater Pyro Shell] exploded, mowing down many of their numbers. Others died to my retribution damage, Burn, and poison ticks.
How much more must these cute chubby monkeys suffer? For how long must this destruction go on?
Not that long.
A piercing shriek drowned the hissing of the Crobels. They all looked at each other and gave me a good snarl before rushing away.
“The villain finally appears to—Hang on. I’m the bad guy here, aren’t I?”
The branches high above me rustled.
The baby Vinereaver? Was it among the trees? I expected it to be hiding underground. The adult version had a penchant for tunneling its vines into the earth.
The shriek reverberated once again, louder and shriller this time. What I suspected to be the Vinereaver shook the branches in anger, causing a shower of leaves. I moved out of the way just as my new opponent fell from above.
WHAM!
The violent vibrations of the quake traveled through my hooves and up my legs. I moved as if in slow motion, and my vision was hazy. A negative status!
I still got caught in the AoE? Though my shell didn’t pop, my health bar dipped a bit as my shell didn’t completely negate all damage. I trotted a couple more meters away before turning around to look at my opponent—[Lvl 17 Monkey Idol: Moa Manot]
“A name? This is a boss?” Mini-bosses and Elites were stronger variants of regular monsters, while bosses had names.
Given Zoar Elab’s strength, I should’ve expected that the baby Vinereaver was also a boss. Kezo had mentioned that besides Buvalu, the overpowered Mirdabon, there were three other bosses on this side of the cliff wall. Moa Manot must be one of them.
Like Zoar Elab’s Living Statue phase, Moa Manot controlled a large monkey statue. It looked like a Crobel on steroids, with more pronounced fangs, larger eyes, and longer claws. If it stood beside me, it would come up to the abdomen of the upper half of my body. Despite being short, it was thickset, about as wide as my shoulders.
Thorny tendrils wiggled out of the cracks of its body. Then it lashed at me.
I raised my shields and braced for impact.
WHAM! The tendrils connected with my shields. My [Greater Pyro Shell] didn’t explode.
“Looks like I don’t need to ask Kezo for—” The Monkey Idol shot spikes out of its mouth and lashed out with its vines again. I was caught off guard and wasn’t able to block them. This time, my shell did explode. “Okay, to be fair, my shell was already damaged.”
I should be tanky enough to take this guy on with some [Greater Pyro Shell] spamming and fully stacked [Ancestral Constitution].
Lvl. 4 Greater Pyro Shell: Glorious blessings of the ancestors coat you with a formidable barrier of protective flames that boosts your defenses and absorbs (68% of incoming damage) up to the amount of Ancestral Shroud/Energy spent to summon it added by (21% of Armor). When the barrier expires or is depleted, the damage absorbed is dealt to nearby enemies.
Grants: +225 Armor
Cost: 23% of Max Ancestral Shroud for Mardukryon; 15% of Max Energy for other Races
Duration: 18 Seconds
Cooldown: 7 Seconds
Lvl. 6 Ancestral Constitution: Mardukryons inherited but a minute fraction of the divine solar vitality of their ancestors.
Passive: +350 Armor and Magic Resilience, +13% Armor and Magic Resilience, + 350 Health, +250 Ancestral Shroud, +5% Physical and Magic Damage Reduction
Each time damage is received (Max stacks [6]):
+ 55 Armor and Magic Resilience, +20 Health per Second, +80 Health, +50 Ancestral Shroud
Duration: 30 seconds per stack
“Let’s do some monkey business!” I grimaced as I looked around. Nobody else was here. The Crobels had gone into hiding. The only one who heard my awful embarrassment of a line was Moa Manot.
That cemented its demise.
I cast my barrier and charged at the Monkey Idol. I zigzagged to avoid the flying thorns and blocked those I couldn’t evade. As I neared the boss, I inflicted it with [Withering Brand] boosted by [Enfeebling Burden], Ocadule Shards that Kezo had given me.
Lvl. 6 Withering Brand: A long-forgotten incantation that targets an enemy with a curse, reducing its Movement Speed, Attack Power, and Magic Power by 30%.
Cost: 75 Energy
Duration: 15 Seconds
Cooldown: 7 Seconds
Lvl 1 Enfeebling Burden (Link): Enemies under the effect of linked debuff-type skills will suffer an extra 5% more of their debilitating effects.
By lowering its Attack and Magic Power, I boosted my survivability. [Withering Brand] should have a massive effect on it because it had minuscule buffs compared to monstrous high-level bosses.
A thirty percent reduction of Attack Power might not matter much to a boss with a three hundred percent Attack Power boost—MCO sets off the same modifiers first before applying them—and other buffs to boot, but it was a big deal to weaker monsters. Moa Manot undoubtedly had increased modifiers as a boss, but [Withering Brand] would chunk off a large part of it.
My [Ancestral Constitution] was at full stacks, and I strove to Head-On Block incoming attacks to lessen the damage I suffered. Additionally, Head-On Blocks using my [Reinforced Pavise] improved my physical damage reduction.
Reinforced Pavise {3} | Item Level: 12
Rare | Shield | Off-hand
127 Armor
21% Chance to Block 130 Damage
Head-On Block 225 Damage
10% Physical Damage Reduction for 3 seconds when you execute a Head-On Block
Requires: 25 Might, 45 Vigor
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+20 Blocked Damage
+250 Health
+15 Vigor
With all of these defenses, my shell lasted several seconds before exploding. Comfortably long enough for the skill to cooldown. My shell constantly exploding was the main component of my meager DPS. The downside was that my AS was getting depleted at a fast rate.
To remedy this, I cast [Healing Touch] even if I didn’t need to heal. Although this skill costs AS, it also generated [Rejuvenation Charge].
Rejuvenation Charge (Base duration 10 seconds):
Each Charge will add (Max counter [4]):
+3% Healing Increase
+3% Healing Received
+5 Ancestral Shroud per Second
I cast [Penitent Fortune Healing], the skill granted by the third Rank of my Aritu Form Ocadule, to help keep the Charges consistently up. Golden chains coiled around me.
Lvl. 1 Penitent Fortune Healing: Concentrating on a penitent prayer to the ancestors slows your movement (-15% Movement Speed) and reaction speed (-30 Evasion Rating). But in return, good fortune showered upon you by the ancestors allows you to perform healing feats beyond your skills. When using [Healing Touch], there is a 20% chance to cast it twice on the same target. (Heal over Time buff does not stack for a target.) If it does, generate +1 additional Rejuvenation Charge.
Requires: Healing Touch Lvl. 3
Duration: 6 Seconds
Cooldown: 12 Seconds
[ Status | Penitence Misfortune: Reduce Movement Speed by 15%, Reduce Evasions Rating by 30 points for 6 seconds ]
I was going to facetank Moa Manot, so I had no issues with the penalties of [Penitence Misfortune]. Someday, when my build with [Cloak of the Plaguespreader] was completed, I’d spread that penalty to others so we could all suffer at the same time.
This fight would be way easier with suitable tanking gear. I could probably stand and survive this boss without using my shields if I possessed better equipment.
Don’t be tempted, I rebuked myself. Wait for level twenty. Numbers increasing was a lovely sight, but I should put on blinders to focus on bigger numbers up ahead. Delayed gratification, delayed gratification.
“Left!” I slapped away a touchy-feely tentacle.
A small burst of light indicated that the bonus of my [Reinforced Pavise] was activated.
“Now, right!”
As long as Pavise’s buff was up, I preferred using my [Thorny Worn Targe] to block despite its lower Head-On Block value. I was tanky enough to sacrifice blocking some damage for more retribution.
From another perspective, offense—killing the boss faster—was also defense. I stomped on the Monkey Idol every chance, squeezing every bit of damage I could deal. Green smog bubbled beneath Moa Manot. [Gnawing Rot], also linked to [Enfeebling Burden], was hard at work shredding its defenses.
Lvl. 7 Gnawing Rot: Spread a festering miasma over a small area (maximum of four), causing any enemies entering it to lose 97 Armor and Magic Resilience (maximum 545), 2% Armor and Magic Resilience (maximum 10%) each second. The effect of the decay persists for 13 seconds after leaving the area.
Cost: 85 Energy
Duration: 45 Seconds
Cooldown: 5 Seconds
“Woohoo! Look at me, Mum,” I said, chuckling. “I’m boss hunting solo! Herald Stone, Big Boy Boss Hunter.” BBB? That wasn’t a fitting title for me. Herald Stone should always be AAA! Now, that sounded like a credit rating agency reviewed me.
