After gearing out, and a brief conversation with his allies, the group headed out to the Twilight Depths Concourse. The time that had passed between the Steward’s trial and the present had helped Eric’s image drastically, as people on the streets recognized him, thanked him for his efforts in keeping the city free of crime.
Shannon had a grin on her face. She said, “Looks like the PR campaign your wife’s family is running is doing well.”
“Agreed,” Eric said as they got into the crevasse and descended to the darkened depths of the Concourse proper.
Reaching the Twilight Depths proper, the group checked in with the front desk clerk, and went into the lounge. There were other dungeon divers, doing final gear checks and preparing themselves, and the room went silent as the Summoned made their way toward the circle leading down deeper.
“Ah, pardon,” a large woman Eric recognized said. She stood up from where she had been sitting and walked over. “I wanted to apologize.”
Eric glanced at her. “For what?”
“I gave you all a hard time a while back.”
Peter let out a chuckle and he reverted to his deep, Texan twang. “Listen miss, y’all are just fine by us. Water under the bridge.”
Eric kept walking, grabbed the chains that led into the purple abyss, and jumped as he gripped to slide.
[Entering the Twilight Depths.]
[This is not your first time entering this mega dungeon. Please select a floor from the list available.]
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.]
“Sixth floor,” Eric said as he dropped through the black void.
The blackness receded, and Eric was blasted by a wave of warm, balmy, salt-scented air. The world was bright, and as he finally landed on the ground, he could feel the moisture in the dirt. He was on a tropical island, and behind him there was a waterfall that splashed down into a serene pool. Palm trees and other foliage of the tropics surrounded him, and he could hear the crashing of waves nearby.
Shannon slid down a moment later, following swiftly by Naomi. Shannon sucked in a sharp breath. “This is what Hawaii must look like,” she breathlessly uttered.
“Most tropics look similar,” Naomi replied. “At least, from my bit of world traveling back on Earth. Eric?”
“I went to Maui once,” Eric replied. “Back when my father had his first big year from the auto shop. Just him, me, and my brother.” The memory was a fond one, as Eric had never been to a warm-water beach before, and both he and his brother tried—and failed—at surfing longboards. “Good times,” he whispered.
Peter slid down a moment later and the Texan twang faded off as he said, “Alrighty! Beach episode?”
Shannon gave him a light shove on the pauldron. “Knock it off.”
Peter sighed, grabbed his hammer, and shield. “Well, a guy can hope.” He looked up at Eric. “Which way?”
Eric looked around them, and spotted what looked like a tunnel through the canopy. “This way, I think. If not, we’ll hit some invisible barrier like the set-dressing Shannon discovered back on the third floor.” Eric activated Cinderscale Shroud and headed through the dense foliage, following a dirt path that cut a course through the undergrowth. After a solid minute of winding around, the beach opened before them.
Golden sands extended from the tree line and sloped gently down to the vast, pristine, blue ocean. The sun was high in the sky overhead, and Eric felt the heat immediately. In front of them was a beached rowboat, and off in the distance, a ship.
Peter was right behind him and said, “Holy shit! Do we get to be pirates? That would be badass.”
Eric kept walking forward, toward the rowboat. “I have no idea.” Shannon and Naomi emerged from the tree line, and Naomi sucked in a sharp breath, causing Eric to look back at her. She had a wide look on her eyes. “What is it?” Eric asked.
Naomi made eye contact with him, and she slowly shook her head. “We’re going to be stuck on a ship?”
“Probably not,” Eric replied.
Shannon put a hand on Naomi’s back, and she jumped a bit. “What’s the worry?”
“Claustrophobia,” Naomi quietly replied. “Ever since my sister . . . being under decks of a ship sounds . . . I can’t even think about it.”
“Just stay on the top deck,” Peter replied as he moved past Naomi, slung his hammer and shield, and began to move the boat into shallow water. “Let’s go! Pirate adventure awaits!”
Eric moved over and clambered into the vessel. “You’re that into pirates?”
Peter held the boat steady as the ladies climbed in, and then he pushed them to his-hip-deep before hopping in. Eric slotted an oar while Peter slotted the other, and the two men set to rowing. “I love pirates,” Peter replied. “My middle school team had it as the mascot, and we had a ton of fun school events centered around the theme.”
Shannon giggled. “That’s goofy. But, kind of sweet.”
Naomi grabbed Eric’s shoulder and pointed. “I see a fin. Shark?”
Eric looked where she was pointing and shook his head. “I don’t know. We might have entered our first chamber, for all we know.”
Peter’s silver bubble popped into place around each of them, then sucked down to skin layer before fading. “Well, I can’t protect the boat. So, who wants to go into the water and fight sharks?” Peter’s draconic armor-covering also manifested and surged into place.
Naomi’s power-armor manifested around her, and upon seeing that, Shannon followed suit. “Not me,” Shannon said.
Naomi’s little Monster Part drone separated from the back of her outfit and flew around in front of her. She grabbed it, and shoved it into the water, then looked at her bracer. Eric saw her go pale under the visor. “That’s not sharks.”
Eric leaned over to see what she was seeing, and the camera that the drone seemed to now be equipped with showed crystal-clear waters below the surface—it seemed as if the blue pall was only along the top to prevent view down below. Easily two-hundred feet deep at this point, coral structures jutted up in elegant arches and spirals, and approaching in the distance was a big monster.
The front had the appearance of a great white shark, with glowing, green eyes. From the mid-section down, though, it had the body of an octopus. “Sharktopi?” Eric offered up.
Shannon shook her head. “Eww! I hate slimy things.”
Eric looked back at the fin, cutting through the water, and fired off a Blackflame Evocation. The black and white flames appeared above the fin, shot down, and then began to burn. Eric looked at the bracer display, and the monster sped up drastically. “Shit,” he muttered. “It’s coming in fast. Hang on!” He moved behind Peter, slipped his feet into the water, and used a Flashstep—going down from nineteen to eighteen Sigils—and their vessel surged forward through the waves. The momentum kept carrying them right to the ship, and Peter slapped an oar into the water to turn them around, and thanks to the flat back, they slowed until they were just a few feet from the vessel.
Naomi said, “It’s moving faster!”
Eric climbed onto the rowboat and helped Peter move it to the side of the ship, then boosted Shannon up to grab the netting hanging into the water. “Eww, it’s slimy!” she said as she climbed up.
“As long as you get up,” Naomi said as she put her drone back and clambered up after her.
Eric moved up, and Peter rapidly followed him. Soon enough, all four were on the main deck of an abandoned carrack-style vessel. Eric looked back and saw the fin go right up alongside the ship, and then to his surprise, the entire creature leaped out of the water like a dolphin breaching the surface. Tentacles lashed out and attempted to grab him—but thanks to his Tarrasque Nervous System, he dodged the two that sought purchase on him.
Shannon dodged the one coming after her, jumping backward toward the center of the ship deck, but Naomi and Peter weren’t as fast, and as the sharktopi continued its arc into the water, it dragged Peter and Naomi off the ship—the former letting out the curse, the latter a short scream.
Core-cracked, Eric thought.
He took a deep breath and dove in after the duo, and immediately found himself in an ink cloud. Activating Reaper’s Flamesight, he spotted the outline of his two allies who were being dragged down deeper, and the sharktopi. But, beyond them, he also saw dozens of eels hidden in the coral. Eric swam deeper, following the monster and his two allies.
Peter’s silver light flared out and Eric could see the man trying to bring his hammer to bear, but being unable to swing it, the center folded away and elongated into the sword version of the same object, and he began stabbing. Naomi’s arcing lightning seemed to fully dissipate in the water, and Eric doubted she got a breath before going under, as she stilled.
You’re not dying on me, Eric thought. Even if you run out of oxygen, I can keep healing the brain damage.
He used another Sigil and activated Blackflame Tether. A beam of the primal force shot out from his chest, and connected to Naomi. She wiggled around with renewed vigor against the tentacles, and Eric felt his head get lighter, as if he was starting to get high off of some drug. He fired off Blackflame Evocation on each of the eels, and they swam out and headed toward him, past the Sharktopi who vanished into a coral arch and out of sight.
The Blackflame Blazes that ignited on each of them began stacking his buff, but more importantly healed him—which caused the light feeling in his head to abate. He wasn’t sure how long his healing could stave off hypoxia, as he hadn’t tried it before, but he knew that brain death was just brain tissue dying. Theoretically, with enough healing, he could keep the process at bay until she could take oxygen again.
The eels were fast—far faster than he was in water—and they made to bite down onto him. Given the liquid he was immersed in, he could not move quickly to dodge, and would just have to take the hits. Spending another Sigil—down to sixteen—he used Bristling Bastion.
Where’s my ash cloud? Eric thought.
[It’s taking a moment.]
Eric felt what she meant a moment later, as the eels which were each the length of his arm moved off once they got within two feet. His entire ash cloud had been smushed down, and the science made sense—particles suspended in liquid would not move out and disperse as they would in the atmosphere. Once more, the environment of a dungeon floor was stymying one of his main defensive Skills.
But, the cloud kept the eels from closing to bite him, and so he swam after the chain connecting him and Naomi, following deeper. His lungs were burning with the need to breathe, but he kept pushing forward, through a coral arch, and into a domed grotto, where the coral overhead formed something of a roof, and several leathery eggs lay on the floor of the cavern.
Peter was engaged in a titanic struggle with the sharktopi, his blade stabbing into the creature’s hide as the tentacles whipped him around in the water to try and allow for the mouth to get bites in. The man was seeping a silver aura, and he had a grim look of resolve on his face.
Naomi was nowhere to be seen, but the tether went inside the sharktopi.
It ate her, but I’m not feeling any pain, he thought. Weird. Well, she’s alive. Time to get her out.
Eric swam until he was on the floor of the cavern, and unleashed a torrent of Blackflame Breath. The outflow pushed him back into the water, but the effect was immediate—all of the eggs were alight, and popped.
The sharktopi that was engaged with Peter turned to face Eric, and held the Paladin to the side.
That’s right, you big fucker. Come get me.
The monster shot forward, and Eric used another Blackflame Breath, which the creature got a full blast of. Yet it still closed the distance and bit down on him. The moment the teeth broke through the crust of his armored shell, the retaliatory explosions detonated, and sent the thing hurtling backward.
The shock of the impact caused the tentacles to still for a moment, and Peter seemed able to finish sawing through one of the two holding him, as he moved far more freely and got closer to the main body itself. He stabbed down with his sword and cut a huge gash down the side.
Eric kept up his assault with Rotes, blasting the sharktopi over and over, and the mindless monster tried to grab him with tentacles—but those had sharp suckers on them, and that caused his armor to detonate, sending more damage out and causing more knockback.
The monster was dazed enough that Peter was able to cut a huge gash, grabbed Naomi’s limp arm, and yanked her partway out of the creature. Eric could see her eyes shut—she was definitely unconscious and drowning—but he barely felt the transferred pain of a light headache thanks to all of his outgoing healing.
Suddenly, a purple shadow flickered past him—Shannon’s serpent-like dragon armor darted in, grabbed Naomi, and escaped with her—all in the span of a second. Peter seemed stunned, but he didn’t lose advantage of the opportunity, digging his left hand which was now shield-less into the hole of the sharktopi’s hide for a grappling point.
The beast writhed and tried to buck Peter off, but wasn’t able to, and the man kept stabbing down into the thing while Eric kept lighting it up with Rotes. His lungs were burning, and he needed air, so he swam to Peter. The tentacles seemed to have learned their lesson, as they didn’t hamper Eric in the slightest.
Eric grabbed Peter by the back of his gorget, hooked his scaled claw-fingers down into the back of the chestplate, and used a Flashstep to get them out of the cave and into the open water. Both men pushed for the surface. The shimmering barrier up above promised air, and Eric was relieved to see it.
Then, a tentacle grabbed him from below—but the retaliatory explosion went off, sending the tentacle off and shattering that portion of the armor.
Eric sucked in a huge breath when he reached the surface and glanced around for the ship. Seeing it not too far off—maybe a thirty foot swim—he pointed. “That way.”
Peter hadn’t sucked in nearly as deep of a breath, and began moving to the ship with steady strokes.
Eric took another deep breath and plunged back down, and almost lost it in shock as the sharktopi had gone right up to him. A ring of teeth surrounded him as it chomped down onto his midsection. He had already been bitten there, and thus there was no Bristling Bastion to retaliate. It shook him back and forth like a ragdoll as he was dragged back down into the depths.
But, there were plenty of Blackflame Blaze stacks, his armor and scales kept him from suffering lacerations, and Eric was fed up with the bullshit. He used another Sigil—down to fourteen—and activated Combustion Trigger.
Boom!
The entire Sharktopi vanished into ashes, and Eric was launched skyward by the force of the explosion directly below him. He went slamming back down onto the water—which thankfully wasn’t a huge fall—and let out a groan of pain as his transferred healing was gone. His bracer vibrated, and he made for the ship.
Once he reached the side, he grabbed some of the netting and climbed up onto the deck of the ship.
Naomi, face tightened into a grimace and paired with a far-off look, was sitting upright against the center mast, shivering despite the warm water and wind. Shannon knelt next to her with a worried look on her face. Peter was standing, and looked at Eric. “Good job,” the man said.
Eric walked over to and squatted next to Naomi. “You’re alive. We have you.”
Naomi didn’t look at him, but said, “I was useless and would’ve died.” Her voice was monotone and hollow.
Shannon grabbed her shoulder and shook her a little. “Hey, don’t be like that. You were surprised. It happens. You’ve kept some of us alive—we’re a team.”
“She’s right,” Peter added. “We did alright, all things considered.”
“Just let me process,” Naomi said. She then shut her eyes and began taking shaky, deep breaths and letting them out slowly. “Swallowed whole. What creature does that?”
Eric stood up and moved away, glancing at his bracer.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have 4 level-ups to process.]
[Blackflame Evoker 191, 192, 193, 194.]
[Choose a Skill and Trait to increase. Then repeat this three times.]
Well, he thought, into Conduit’s Wrath and Blackflame Blaze.
[Confirmed.]
[Embersoul Blackflame Blaze is at Rank Sovereign 10. Maximum Rank achieved. Primordializing and resetting.]
-----
Skill:
Conduit’s Wrath 8 - The user designates a target within range, dealing massive damage to them. The user may spend mana to increase the damage dealt. [1200-foot range.]
-----
Trait:
[Dire] Embersoul Blackflame Blaze P2 - Adds a burning damage-over-time (DOT) to all of the user’s Skills and Rotes that inflict damage, dealing an additional [145%] of the total direct damage over 2.5 seconds.
If reapplied, all DOT timers refresh, and all refreshed DOTs flare up, dealing 10% of their total burn instantly.
Subsequent attacks (of any type) from the user or those they designate as allies refresh the timer, and cause existing DOTs to flare up, dealing [10% of their total burn damage instantly.]
Every time this DOT applies damage, it grants the user the following benefits, stacking up to 100 times.
Increase outgoing damage by 10%.
Increase incoming damage by 10% {5% with [Heat Sink] Cinderscale Shroud active}
Regenerate 1% of maximum mana per second.
Increase movement speed by 10%.
Improve reaction time by 10%.
Accelerate processing speed by 10%.
These bonuses last for 10 seconds after the user’s last instance of damage dealt.
The user may will the effect to fail in activation
The user may set an artificial cap to the stacks they can gain.
The user may direct these benefits to any ally within five feet of themselves or within five feet of the target suffering from the DOT at half efficacy.
Every time this DOT deals damage, the user siphons away 10% of that target’s health and mana.
If the siphoned health would put the user above maximum health, they may redirect that healing at 100% efficacy to any target they can see within 1000 feet.
When a target dies within 1 minute of being harmed by the user, the user restores 20% of their health and mana. Allies who are within five feet of the target restore 5% of their health and mana.
Any time a target dies while under the effect of this DOT, the single most powerful application leaps to a target within 50 feet designated as hostile by the user. If no valid targets are within range, then the user may choose one of the following:
Expire and vanish as per the baseline Trait.
Cause that DOT to erupt, dealing the remaining damage to all in a 10 foot radius which does not trigger further Blackflame Blazes.
Allow the Blackflame Blaze to float in place for up to 10 seconds, and then leap to a valid target that enters range within that time.
When the DOT spreads to a new target, the user may have the DOT lay dormant for up to 10 hours before igniting and dealing its damage, with the time and/or trigger condition modified at-will.
When the user kills a creature, if it contains Monster Parts, they will produce 20% more, rounded down. This stacks with Gathering-type Class effects.
-----
Nine Ranks away from finishing out Blackflame Blaze, Eric thought as he lowered his bracer. And one away from merging Conduit’s Wrath and Blackflame Beam.
[I cannot wait to see what the final form of this overstacked Trait looks like.]
Eric looked to his left as Peter walked over to him. The man lowered his own bracer and sighed. Then, he glanced at Naomi, before looking at Eric. “She’s coping, I think. We all had some time to meet with a Therapist Misty recommended while you were off doing army stuff.”
“Good,” Eric replied.
Shannon came over a second later. “So . . . weird dungeon floor.”
Eric nodded. “Let’s search the ship.” He headed up to the helm, ascending the small flight of steep, wooden stairs that were almost like a ladder. There, he saw the wheel, glowing a faint blue. “Ah, nevermind, I think I found it,” Eric said.
Shannon climbed up behind him as Eric walked over to the wheel proper. “Neat,” Shannon said. “So we drive this to the next chamber?”
“I bet we grab it,” Peter said as he got up to the helm level as well. “Then, we do something like a fight with another ship.”
“That would be kind of cool,” Shannon said.
“You’ve got me here for that,” Eric said with a smirk. “Ships on Elyndor tend to have fire-retardant pitch for sealing the timbers together, and the outside is coated in paint with the same chemical compound. Too bad for them, whether in here or in the real world, Blackflame doesn’t care about either.”
Naomi’s still-helmeted head popped up at the edge of the deck level they were on as she climbed up. “I’m good,” she softly said.
Eric walked over to her. “You sure?” he asked as he held a hand out to help her up the last bit.
She grabbed it and he pulled her up. “It was just a shock. I think I’m okay.” The drone on the back of her armor flew off, dove into the water, and she glanced sideways after it. “Ah, Ashes nearby. Good job.”
“All in a day’s work,” Peter replied. “That monster wasn’t even that painful to fight. Those suckers tore up my skin a bit, but otherwise, it was all good.” He then frowned. “Oh, huh, that’s how it works.”
“That’s how what works?” Shannon asked.
Peter said, “I had asked Indedroma something and she got back to me with an answer.”
Indedroma spoke in all of their heads.
[His barriers that redirect harm cannot redirect suffocation, since that is an internal damage source, and the barriers take exterior damage sources. Eric’s Skill was able to share health, hence why it was able to work. He was effectively suffering brain damage but healing it faster than it could stack up—and Naomi was tethered to split that healing.]
“Makes sense,” Eric replied. “Internal barriers aren’t a good idea—trust me on that. I tried the concept, once, and exploded my ribcage from too much pressure.” He shuddered at the vivid memory. “That was a bad experience.”
Naomi walked over to the wheel of the vessel. “So, what are we thinking? Steer this to the next chamber?”
“I think it’s a ship fight,” Peter said.
“Only one way to find out,” Naomi said as she gripped the wheel.
Eric braced himself as the ship vibrated beneath his feet. Ropes slapped around, the sails whipped to life, and wood that was not tied down clattered ever-so-slightly. Then, the vessel began to move forward. “Are you steering?” he asked.
Naomi leaned to her left and let out a, “hnng,” of effort as she tried to move it, but then shook her head. “It won’t budge.” She pulled her hands away, and the vessel stopped. “Oh, we need to keep holding it.” She put her hands back, and they moved once more.
Shannon went over to the rail and leaned on it with her forearms. “Ever seen a dungeon like this?” she asked.
“Nope,” Eric replied, joining her at the edge. “I only did the Twilight Depths first floor, a wild dungeon, and then the White Keep.”
“What’s special about that one?” Peter asked, still standing near Naomi.
“Roaming dungeon,” Eric replied. “They appear in the wilderness, have instanced party groups, scale with level and group size. They have . . . sub-dungeons. If you can clear every sub-dungeon, and get the key from each, then you can challenge the equivalent of a raid boss. Normally, you divide and conquer—diving groups split into different sub-dungeon clear groups, get the keys, then meet up to tackle the final boss together.”
“That sounds fucking cool,” Peter said. “Did you ever fight a raid boss?”
“No,” Eric replied as he turned around and leaned against the railing, facing Peter and Naomi. “I cleared two sub-dungeons. Four diving groups failed. My Vanguard died, so we were sidelined. Eventually, we just ran out of people, no one wanted to risk anything else, and we just gave up.” He shook his head. “I came out of it with the Exarch Class, so it was worthwhile for me, personally.”
Shannon clicked her tongue. “Shame. Well, maybe we’ll get to tackle one.”
[There are several. The White Keep, Obsidian Spire, and Azure Depths. The first appears in the arctic region to the north, the second within the volcanic region of the island chain to the south, and the third in the archipelago to the west.]
Eric mentally recalled the map of the locations. North of Trok and Bhlast, along the ice capped ocean and glacier, was a vast expanse that he had been to to tackle the White Keep. South wasn’t too far off, since the volcanic island chain stretched between Flescion’s western-most point and the Empire of Pwish’s eastern-most point. The archipelago was between Bhlast, the Petty Kingdoms, and the Empire.
“When do they appear?” Peter asked.
[At set times. Always the twenty-fifth of Summer, and they remain for twenty days before phasing out of reality once more. The Obsidian Spire in the year 1265, then the White Keep in 1270, and finally the Azure Depths in 1275.]
“How do people even figure this stuff out?” Naomi asked.
[I put signs into motion. They are noticeable.]
Shannon said, “Hey guys? I see shapes on the horizon.”
Eric turned around and followed her finger. He could see the two blobs, and they were definitely ship-shaped. He delved into his Paths Within and determined, based on the draft and length, their classification. “Those are warships.”
Peter’s barriers popped back into place around the group as he grabbed his mace-turned-sword again. “Lost my shield in the depths. That was expensive.”
“I’ll make you a better one,” Naomi replied.
Eric pointed to the top-most mast and the crow’s nest. “Shannon, up there. Best vantage point. I’ll be on the spans below you.” He moved, and Shannon was a step behind, as they jumped to rigging and climbed up. For Eric, the movement was second-nature, and thanks to Shannon’s gymnastics background, she was able to keep up. Eric stopped on the cross-bar holding the lowest center-sail up, while Shannon kept going past him.
He extended his foot-claws and used those to get a solid grip, then grabbed his grimoire and turned to face the encroaching ships. The skies shifted hues, darkening, and the crackling of lightning and roar of thunder broke out over the vast expanse of open water. Rain began to pour down from above, and it was chilly.
The ships were made of some type of dark wood with growths that clung to the sides: shells of some sort, with barnacles speckled throughout. The masts were the same, and the sails looked to be made of some type of silky webbing. Eric could see eight-legged, spider-centaur humanoids crawling over the decks, wearing leather armor with a few metal pieces. “We’re fighting spider-people,” he said. “Not sure what the name is.”
“Driders?” Naomi called up. “I mean, if they’re like the ones from Dungeons and Dragons.”
“Maybe,” Eric said. “Shannon? Range on scope?”
“Fifteen-hundred feet out,” Shannon called out from above. “I can start firing.”
“Do it,” Eric replied. “I’ve only got a thirteen-hundred foot range on my Blackflame Meteor.”
He heard the twang of her crossbow firing, and watched as a single bolt shot forward over the water. One bolt duplicated into dozens, and the moment they impacted the enemy vessel, they vanished.
Boom!
The drill-tipped bolts had bored deep into the decks and exploded, and chunks of the ship were blown off. From the center of each vessel, an aura of purple, glowing flames flickered from her AOE Skill.
The vessels dipped below the waves and vanished.
“That’s not good,” Peter said.
Eric heard the woosh of water behind him, and looking back, saw that the ships had rose up on the other side, were at boarding distance, and watched with fascination as the shells on the sides of the vessel opened and shot out a sticky webbing which acted like a boarding ramp. He saw the spider-centaur-people begin to move, and immediately let loose with a Cinderstorm—putting him down to thirteen Sigils—right between the two ships, in mid-air.
The black-and-white bead shot down and detonated, igniting all of the sails and burning them to a crisp. The webbing was burned away, sending the spider-creatures down into the water, where Eric’s Blackflame Blaze continued to eat away at them as Shannon’s DOT made their infinite-feedback loop come online.
Still, the spider-centaurs swam to their ship, out of Eric’s line of sight, and he made sure to will his flames to not spread to their vessel. Peter moved down from where Naomi was and took up a position on the main deck, and an aura of silver-red sparks surged out from him, filling a thirty-foot-diameter sphere centered on him. The moment a spider-centaur rose over the edge of the ship, alight with Blackflame, dripping viscous Netherdark ichor, and soaking wet from the plunge into the sea, their human-like eyes flared that same crimson, and they moved to Peter.
“I’ve got my aggro aura up!” Peter shouted as he brought his hammer swinging into the torso of the first one to reach him. With a crunch, the body was flung to Peter’s left and coiled in on itself as it screamed in pain. The scream was unnervingly human.
Eric had already applied his DOT to all of the creatures, and as they rose up and closed in on Peter, he used Fiery Chains. All of the ablaze, ignited monsters were connected to one another, and as they surged into fight Peter, they kept overlapping, igniting one another.
Eric’s nervous system picked up on a threat before he could detect it, and he tried to dodge, but the effect that struck him seemed to manifest next to him—just like how his Blackflame Evocation would instantly travel—and a sphere of purple webbing slammed into him. It sent him falling off of the mast and onto the deck below. The initial impact with the wood hurt, but was instantly healed thanks to the health transfer. He burned through the webs and stood up.
Or, rather, tried to. He felt empty and hollow, and realized immediately what had happened—his mana was drained, and someone was still draining it. As fast as it regenerated, he was being drained.
You want my mana? I hope you’re ready for more than you can handle.
Eric activated Mana Channel and began sucking up and converting ambient mana to his personal reservoir, which was siphoned away somewhere. After five seconds, he felt the mana filling him once more, and at the same time heard a loud pop. Whatever had been draining him had been overfilled with more mana than they could handle, and had succumbed to mana toxicity. But, because of the rate at which Eric was renegerating the empowering substance, it caused an explosion.
He moved over to Peter and poured out a Blackflame Breath from his grimoire, excluding Peter and their ship. The spider-centaurs were incinerated and fully consumed by the burst, and Peter was left standing, armor dented and scratched, but fully healed thanks to the enemies perishing nearby.
“Good job,” Naomi shouted from the helm. “Just clear off those ships and I think we win.”
Eric walked over to the edge of the vessel and did as she said, firing off more of his Rote and willing the blaze to spread. The two ships were consumed with Blackflame and burned down to the waterline within thirty seconds, leaving behind nothing but charred-out husks that barely bobbed on the surface.
His bracer vibrated, and Eric let out a sigh of relief. “Done. Chamber cleared.”