Monsters and Legends, page 17
part #1 of Infinite Realm Series
Ryun raised his sword and blocked, the power of the strike sending a force through Ryun and into the ground, cracking it and pushing him deeper into the rock. But his Untethered body did not bend, and his sword did not move. Fier’s eyes widened as he saw an attack with his full strength being stopped. He pushed harder, putting more power into it, but the only thing that happened was that the ground beneath Ryun’s body cracked louder.
Then Ryun moved his sword, pushing the man back as he took a step. Fier tried to fight it, but quickly adapted once he realized that he couldn’t stop Ryun. The Lord jumped back, getting some distance and readying himself to attack again, but Ryun pushed off the ground in a leap, the earth behind him cracking as he surged forward through the air.
Fier was startled, but he managed to put his blade in front of his body and block Ryun’s sideways slash. What Fier did not anticipate, however, was the height of Ryun’s stats. Ryun saw his mouth open as his block was pushed back, as his elbows bent by themselves and his blade was pushed from its place. Ryun’s attack didn’t slow—instead, it carried Fier’s block until he was struck in the chest with his own arm and sword, Ryun’s blade making a shallow cut on his shoulder as he was picked up off the ground and sent flying.
Fier flew as if he was an arrow shot out of a bow, flying through the air with a confused look on his face. He twisted in the air, his tails stabbing into the ground and halting his flight. Even still, he fell to the ground and rolled over three times before he came to his knees.
The Lord looked at Ryun with a strange look on his face, but now Ryun saw his arrogance gone. For himself, Ryun was disappointed—he had hoped for a challenge. The Lord was strong, stronger than Zacharia and the others had been when they had confronted him at the end, but not by much. Although he was nowhere near as good as they had been, the others had far greater mastery of their power. They hadn’t been great Cultivators, but they had been higher levels in their Classes than Fier.
“You are not a Cultivator. You are not using any skills or abilities,” Fier said, his expression filled with disbelief as he stood up. “Those are your stats. You are fighting a Lord Realm and evolved Classer with only stats!”
Ryun didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he just tilted his head and kept his eyes on the man.
Fier’s expression darkened, and Ryun saw a faint glint of green seep around his blade, wisps of it trailing off, telling him that he had just started using his Qi and had activated a technique. Then Fier used his movement ability to close the gap again, his blade slashing at him. Ryun blocked, then attacked. Fier wasn’t as fast as Ryun, but he was well trained, or he had good skills—either way, he kept up. He avoided getting into strength contests with Ryun. Instead, Fier tried to just dance around his opponent, slashing and trying to keep on the offensive.
Ryun kept blocking and keeping his ground. He wanted to see just how strong a Lord in this world was, wanted to gauge the level of power that this world’s warriors could provide. He might as well—he had already decided that the man was not a threat to him.
Then, during one of Fier’s flurry of attacks, his green Qi surged and thickened around his blade. A moment later, a whip of Qi with a needle-sharp point lashed out of it, going around Ryun’s blade and stabbing right through Ryun’s shoulder. Fier’s face split into a victorious grin, but Ryun didn’t even bother to pull the whip out. He just used |Cut| and split the Qi in half with a swing of his sword.
Fier jumped back, the grin still on his face. Ryun looked at his shoulder. The green Qi had already dissipated, leaving him with a small puncture wound. Ryun watched as it slowly closed back up. It hadn’t been that deep, and with his Regenerator perk it might as well not have even happened. It would take much more than that to truly injure him. Ryun glanced back at Fier, seeing a confused look on his face.
“Taking a break?” Ryun asked.
Fier opened his mouth to say something, but then Ryun jumped forward. He had grown tired of the fight, and knew it was time to finish it. He landed near Fier with no sound, and attacked. The Lord barely managed to get his sword in the way and block, but his block was pushed back and Ryun’s blade cut into the Lord’s leg. He yelled out and jumped back, three Qi whips lashing out of his sword, stabbing at Ryun. |Cut| dealt with two of them, and one stabbed Ryun in the thigh, but he didn’t pay it attention. He advanced, and the Lord used his abilities to get more distance between them. A |Spatial Cut| nearly took Fier’s head off, but he ducked and rolled beneath it. Then he swung his sword and a wave of green Qi darts flew out of it, heading toward Ryun, whose sword moved in a flurry, deflecting and cutting the darts as he walked toward Fier.
Ryun attacked, his swings getting faster and faster. |Greater Cut| extended his sword and Ryun drew blood from the Lord’s ribs. Fier jumped back as Ryun’s attack nearly took his head off again. Then the Lord activated his movement ability and flashed across the plateau, landing in the midst of his warriors. He glared at Ryun, and then yelled out:
“Everyone, attack!”
Ryun sighed, and readied himself for another bloody fight.
CHAPTER 23 – PRESENT – Ryun
Monster
Fier’s warriors hesitated for only a moment, but when their Lord charged at Ryun again, they followed. Ryun almost respected them for that, but he knew that they were heading into their deaths. He was a master at fighting against many.
The first to reach Ryun was Fier, lashing out with his whips from mid-range. Ryun |Cut| through the Qi, then sidestepped to avoid an arrow tipped with the same kind of green Qi. Seeing the field of green Qi, Ryun realized that all of them followed the same path. He didn’t know what their Qi technique did, but it appeared to be something like his {Empower}: a way to strengthen their weapons, create whips, perhaps. It wasn’t really important to Ryun. He stepped to the side and let a spear flash through the air where his head used to be.
Fier sent more darts at him, half of which Ryun blocked, and the other he ignored as they stabbed into his arm while he blocked an attack from a sword that was about to take his head. All around Ryun, warriors moved in a flurry, attacking with finesse and ferocity. They were all well trained, their moves smooth and precise. Compared to them, Ryun was just standing in place and swinging his sword from one attack to the other. But that didn’t matter; they didn’t understand. Feeling his blood flowing down his chest from various shallow wounds, Ryun decided that it was time for an education. He moved faster than their eyes could follow, leaving only an afterimage, until he appeared above a crustacean with two swords and swung from above.
The warrior raised his blades to block. His weapons were well made, of a quality that few on Earth could have afforded, but that did not matter. Ryun |Cut| through his blades as if they were made out of paper, Shadow Princess cleaving him from shoulder to hip. Immediately, his perks activated. Feast sent a surge of healing energy through his body, healing the few injuries he had. Vampire sent a different kind of energy through him—as the dead warrior’s body parted and fell to the ground, a portion of his primary stat was added to Ryun, temporarily making him just a bit stronger.
In quick succession, Ryun attacked the warriors around him, cutting them down quickly. With each felled opponent he healed even as more shallow wounds appeared on his body. His high vitality was already healing him faster than normal, and with a kill it surged for a few moments, closing some wounds nearly instantaneously. Vampire kept adding more power to his stats, a few points here, a few there, and Ryun started feeling stronger. He moved, walking through the enemies, attacking and killing. There were many of them, attacking from every possible angle, and eventually he stopped defending, instead he focused only on attacking. Swords slashed him, spears stabbed him, and arrows pierced him. But all were shallow wounds—Ryun’s stats were too high, and his body too hard for them to seriously injure him. The only one who could was Fier, and he alone was just not enough. Ryun moved, an unstoppable force of death. Fier’s eyes had gone wide and filled with fear. His attacks cutting into Ryun, but with little effect.
Ryun’s sword was growing dimmer. With each attack he made, Shadow Princess woke up just a tiny bit more, its form turning more and more into that of a shadow. Its substance didn’t change, but it made his sword just a bit harder to see—a shadow that cut.
He could feel the warriors around him trying to use abilities. Chains formed around him, but he flexed his muscles and broke them; flashes of light blinded him, but he used his |Enhanced Vibration Sense| to counterattack; balls of fire landed on him and burned his skin, but he regenerated; mental attacks came and slid off, his Indomitable perk made him immune to mental attacks from those weaker than himself. His body was covered in shallow wounds, but the more he cut, the faster he healed.
Ryun avoided another attack to his head. Taking injuries didn’t bother him much, other than it ruining his clothes, but he did not want to risk an attacker getting lucky with a brain shot. He did not know if he could recover from that—he hadn’t tested it. The more he fought, the more dead and injured he left behind him. Some were lucky, his attacks only grazing when he focused on someone close to them.
Then Fier unleashed an enormous amount of Qi, and Ryun knew that he had prepared his fruit technique.
He walked toward the Lord as warriors tried to stop him, or at least slow him down. Fier’s form shimmered with green Qi, now wildly lashing out of him. As Ryun got near, the ground around him cracked and green vipers made out of Qi exploded out of it, each attacking Ryun. A few bit down on his legs, others on his arms, and others still twined around his body, trying to keep him contained, but it was of little use. Ryun took a step, obstructed by the Qi, but still accomplished one step, then another, and another. The Qi holding the snakes together pulled apart as Ryun walked, cutting around him with his sword. Sect warriors were growing desperate, their attacks wild as they realized that they couldn’t stop him.
Fier roared and attacked, his sword so fast it left afterimages. Ryun blocked, then retaliated, sending the Lord stumbling back. It was time to end this.
Ryun advanced, the change in his manner apparent. Sect warriors tried to stand in his way, but he |Cut| them down. Fier lashed out, darts flying toward Ryun, but he just let them hit. With one last step, he reached his opponent. Ryun swung his sword, and Fier blocked, stumbling away. Ryun followed, going for the head. Fier ducked, but not quickly enough, and Ryun |Cut| through one of his horns. He stabbed forward then and Fier blocked, pushing Ryun’s attack away.
Frowning, Ryun attacked again, and Fier blocked again. He saw the Lord’s demeanor change as he started blocking faster, better. Ryun attacked and Fier parried, then retaliated, scoring a cut on Ryun’s upper arm. The sect warriors attacked, emboldened by their leaders faster and faster attacks. Ryun took a step back, and then his eyes darkened. He hadn’t taken a step back in combat in more than five years. With that same dark expression on his face, Ryun spun his sword that was now just a shadow in the air, cleaving off the head of an orc-human warrior, and nearly cutting through the neck of a crustacean. Fier stabbed him in the ribs, and Ryun grunted before he backhanded the Lord with his left hand, sending him flying into a group of his warriors.
Ryun followed, taking a step in their direction, but then he stumbled. He frowned, shook his head, and took another step, only to stumble again. His sword felt heavier in his hand than it ever had, dragging him. He took one more step, and his leg gave out. He fell to his knee, looking around at the bloody and scared warriors standing at a distance and watching him. Fier was standing a bit away, his form covered in blood, and staring at him.
Ryun felt a burning sensation all over his body, and he looked down. There were no wounds on his body, all had healed, but there, through the rips in his clothes, he saw dark green lines beneath his skin. The lines were spreading, each one from a location of where he had been wounded.
“Poison?” Ryun whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
“You truly had no idea who you were fighting against? The Black Viper Sect specializes in poison Qi.”
Ryun frowned in confusion. He had never heard about poison Qi. Qi was Qi—there was only one type. His head was growing heavy, and he looked at the spreading lines of green beneath his skin. What was happening was impossible. Poisons didn’t work on him, as his high vitality purged them in seconds. He should know—he had been poisoned before. The pain was growing as well, to levels that he hadn’t felt in a long time. His endurance made it nearly impossible for him to get tired and feel the impact of pain, and yet he felt weak.
“You are strong. I can tell that you won’t die from this—and I can’t wait to get a chance to ask you questions. Learning the secret to your power might get me back to the main branch. Thank you for the opportunity,” Fier said, grinning down at him.
Ryun blinked as he saw the world tilting, and then he hit the ground, his eyes closing and darkness taking him.
CHAPTER 24 – PAST – Zach
Boar Hunt
Zach crouched behind a rock, watching the massive monster drink from the pond. Next to him, Linda fidgeted with her knives.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered.
“It’ll be fine, we have a good plan,” Zach said, even though he wasn’t sure himself. He glanced at the text above it and shivered.
Great Boar (U) (LVL 22)
The monster was terrifying. It was a massive beast with a tough-looking hide, and was the size of two horses standing side by side. But they had decided to fight it, and it was too late to change their minds.
They had spent the last two weeks hunting monsters and earning Essence. Zach had raised his level to eighteen, while the girls had both reached fifteen and had gotten their perks. They were still on lower levels than the monster, but they had learned that fighting monsters that were higher level gave more Essence, and so Ryun had convinced them to try. Zach was somewhat confident in their plan—it was a good one—yet he still felt anxious. Their hunting had taken them around the area surrounding their cabin, and they had encountered four more “boss monsters,” as Ryun called them, the ones whose text was green. The boar was the lowest level boss monster they’d found.
The truth was that they needed to test themselves against this kind of monster if they were to make the trip to the valley, which was why they had taken an extra week to train and hunt. They had also all gotten some new gear, some from looting, some from the shop. They each had helmets now, and braces and greaves, which helped when fighting monsters that could bite them. Melody had traded in her staff for a spear, and Linda had been training in using her daggers with Zach. With her now being level fifteen, she also had a perk and a movement ability. Her movement ability allowed her to turn to fire and teleport a short distance, a great ability for a ranged fighter, as it allowed her to run from danger. Her perk allowed her movement ability to activate automatically once she was damaged for the first time once per combat, and that had already saved her life a few times. Her support ability was a wall of fire, which she could summon anywhere in a twenty-pace radius around herself.
Melody had gotten the [Dash] movement ability; it had a short range, but it allowed her to move incredibly quickly for a short duration. For her support ability, she had picked [Stomp], which allowed her to slam her foot against the ground and stagger opponents around her. For her perk, she had actually taken one that Zach had as an option: Quick Steps, a flat bonus to speed. It wasn’t easily noticeable, but Zach could admit that she was quick in combat.
Ryun was the only one of their group who hadn’t yet grown. His Cultivation needed far more Essence for advancement, and he had been using his cycling to create crystals instead of trying to gather as much as he could so that he could advance. Instead, he said that he would advance only once he gathered enough Essence from monsters, and would continue to cycle to, as he said, “strengthen” himself. Zach didn’t know if that was wise, and had tried to advise him to focus on advancing, but Ryun had refused. Although his {Empower} technique was strong, he didn’t have the same stats as the rest of them. When he used his technique he could get close enough, however, if only for short periods of time.
But he had been giving all the Essence Crystals he created to the rest of them, pushing them to advance faster, which was helpful.
Then, seeing that the boar was truly engrossed in sating its thirst, Zach motioned to Linda that it was time.
She took a deep breath and pointed her hand at the monster, a moment later her hand caught on fire and a ball the size of a baseball flew out toward the monster. The boar didn’t see the attack and it hit its side, eliciting a roar of surprise and pain. Zach stood and charged even as Linda fired more fire flares. From the other side of the pond, Melody and Ryun left their cover and charged as well. Zach pointed his hand at the boar and activated [Chains]. Black chains left his palm and shot around the boar’s legs, tying them together. The boar stomped and twisted, the chains breaking, but then Melody dashed forward and stabbed her spear into the boar’s rear.
It didn’t penetrate nearly deep enough, and the boar turned around far faster than Zach thought possible and attacked. Melody managed to get out of the way just in time. Zach used [Leap] and closed the distance, he pushed his sword into the monster’s stomach. Not even with his high strength could he get that deep through the thick hide, however, and Zach jumped back when the boar turned around and tried to skewer him with its tusks.
Then Ryun, his hand glowing with his {Empower} technique, tried to cut at the monster’s legs. A flare struck the boar in the head as it raised its back legs and struck out. Ryun managed to evade most of the attack, but a leg grazed him and sent him flying to the ground. Zach yelled, trying to get the monster’s attention as he cut at its face. The monster blocked with its tusks and then charged, hitting Zach and sending him flying into the pond.
