novelzi [333] 4.54 Ancient Lake III
[333] 4.54 Ancient Lake III
“Wait, Sera!” Hank says as I approach the shining chest. “That’s the most obvious trap in the history of traps!”“I don’t think so,” I say. “It’s too obvious. And I think this is exactly the sort of situation where we’d fall for some reverse psychology and ignore a bunch of loot. You know, the whole reason why we came to this dungeon in the first place? Or have we forgotten?”
“Seraphina!” Hank calls out. “I must insist that you stop this at once! These aren’t some garden-variety monsters. They are clever, capable of using tools, planning in advance, and adapting their tactics to the demonstrated abilities of their enemies.”
“I don’t think so, Hank. But I would ask that since you are so worried about this
“You’re sure about this?” Chloe asks.
“[Defiant Spirit] got a couple of new upgrades when I ascended, love. I am confident against these mooks.”
“Alright, I trust you. But the moment I sense you’re in danger, I’m getting you out of there.”
“Chloe, please, talk some sense into Seraphina before she gets us all killed!” Hank shouts.
“I don’t think it’s going to do us any good,” Chloe says, playing her part perfectly. “She’s fond of a particular saying. ‘Not taking any risks, is itself taking a risk.’ Considering that mindset, I think it would be best if we focus on keeping all of us alive rather than trying to reason Sera out of this.”
“Damnit all,” Hank mutters. “We’re going to have a long talk about listening to your father when we get done with all this.” He shakes his head. “Just… do whatever it is you’re going to do and let’s get this over with.”
Sorry, Hank. I don’t have the ability to communicate telepathically with you. But I do know that deceiving one’s allies is a necessary step to convincingly deceive one’s enemies. I hope you’ll forgive me for this. If not, well, I at least hope that you won’t get too mad at Chloe over it.
I approach the chest. Not even a basic lock on it? Poor form. Make me waste a bit of time and [Ether] if you’re going to go through all the motions of setting this up in advance.
Let’s see here… One, two… eight of them with sights on me, plus this glyph on the ground that’s probably going to trap me in here the moment I close the circuit by opening the chest. I gaze down at the matrix. Rudimentary, the sort of thing I would’ve thrown together three months ago. I can’t feel too bad for them, though. They are trying to kill us, after all.
Sure enough, the trap springs once I activate it. It would have been so easy to deactivate it first, but I can’t exactly snare myself a wannabe fisherman if I don’t first take the bait so generously offered.
Shadows snake around my limbs, climbing up my legs and attempting to grab hold of my arms. I stab at them with my swordstaff, who is currently chastising me for my hubristic arrogance just like Hank.
Sure enough, now that I appear sufficiently ensnared and definitely vulnerable to enemy attack, these damn stalkers are making their move. Thirteen of them in total, all charging at me from every direction, vaguely simian in shape and size. Chloe is charging in, and her [Mirage Swords] actually do some good damage, cutting the strands of darkness as fast as they come. Meanwhile, Hank’s tactics are practiced, clean and efficient. He makes no flashy display, no bellowing war cry. Just tiny movements of his hands and controlled movements of his body as he dodges and works to wrest control of the shadows from their caster.
The two of them do good work, and as strong as each of them is, they are able to fend the attackers off for the time being. However, the tyranny of numbers once again factors in, and with me allegedly corralled off and supposedly unable to make a move, the trap trying to stifle my [Ether] and constrict my body, they are growing bolder. Their previously defensive, watchful tactics have given themselves to unbridled frenzy as they sense blood in the water.
I grin. Big mistake.
It takes only a moment to let the power of [Defiant Spirit] burn forth. Even now, I don’t understand the exact mechanism by which such passive Skills operate, but the effect is undeniable. As I beckon my [Ether], it falls back under my control, seemingly sentient and eager to help me push free of these fragile bonds. The shadowy snakes that have wound around my legs and torso loosen, repelled by my own magic, before I cut them loose with a small blade of [Light] Ether; a subtle but potent use of [Elemental Ether Strike].
I place my hand on the outer encirclement devised as a secondary mechanism to keep me trapped, and even without even casting, I can already feel it wavering. Perhaps [Ether] really is sentient enough to feel fear, or maybe I’m just projecting my own glee onto it. A simple push is all it takes and then I’m free and ready to leap into the flight, wings spread and swordstaff in hand, an angel of death ascending upon all those who dare attack me and mine.
I propel myself forward with swordstaff outstretched, cutting these damnable wraiths with the light of the fallen angel. My [Elemental Ether Strikes] combine with Chloe’s [Radiant Purge] as together we bring the light of cleansing judgement to these lurkers of the dark.
It takes barely a minute. All of those Skills and points these Shadowstalkers have in trapmaking and stealth don’t do a damn thing when they’re caught horribly outmatched and being slaughtered like the scurrying plague rats they are. Eleven corpses dissolving into Ether, their strength fueling our advancement. I guess the other two of them got away. Maybe they’ll show some of that intelligence Hank vouched for them, and tell their comrades to leave us be.
Maybe they’ll prove as unwise as their hunting party was and bring back more little bags of Experience. After everything with Renault and still feeling that lingering dread and anger at Mom’s kidnapping? I could use the thrill of battle to soften my nerves. Either way, I would win.
As soon as the battle is over, Chloe heals our wounds and then proceeds to enter a trance to rejuvenate her [Ether]. Hank’s livid expression explains why she's taking the time for a brief trance; I suppose every bird must eventually come home to roost.
“Seraphina Mortensen,” he says in that livid parental way. “What the fuck were you thinking, not listening to me? I’ll tell you what, nothing! That’s what!”
I sigh. He might as well be about ready to pull a scroll out of his [Inventory] with the words ‘Riot Act’ emblazoned upon the sides. Sorry, Hank, but just because you were responsible for cloning me doesn’t mean that you get to just automatically call yourself my father, and just because you’re older doesn’t mean you get to talk down to me like I’m a child.
“I have some Skills that passively negate [Power-Suppression] and [Mind-Alteration] effects, as well as anything that restricts my freedom of movement. I have plenty of practice with the [Unlock] glyph; hell, it was the first one I ever learned and used. This confrontation was going to come sooner or later, Hank, and I wanted to make damn sure that it happened when we wanted it to, not when they decided to spring it on us.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us this, why? Since when did you declare yourself the leader here?”
“I told Chloe telepathically, so it wasn’t ‘us’, just ‘you’. Another Skill. No, I won’t go into more detail. As for the why, think about it. We get a hologram from another plane of reality, and they just so happen to speak perfect, modern English? I call bullshit. There’s clearly some translation glyph at play, and if they knew it in the other reality, what makes you think these Shadowstalkers don’t and can’t? That demon Fornieth sure as hell did, and I doubt it was native to this world.
“At the very least, you insinuated that they are clever enough to recognize human activity. In short, it was a trap, just like I said it was, and you played your part perfectly.”
“So, just because it all ended well, I’m just going to–”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Hank.” I glare back at him. “I am grateful to you for saving us back there with Daryl. I appreciate all the advice and information you’ve shared with us. But we are allies. I am not your subordinate, and I do not follow your orders.”
“How dare you talk back to–”
I reach out to block the incoming slap, but to both our surprise, it’s Chloe that catches the backhand before it would have harmlessly grazed my face. Her eyes still look distant, having just been in an entranced state, but her hand on the sword at her hip screams ‘don’t try anything’.
“Dad. Stop it.” Her words carry only the tone of finality.
“Chloe, let my hand go.”
“Father.” Chloe’s eyes narrow slightly. “Is this not exactly what we were just talking about with Mom? Not acting on your own and assuming you know better?”
“I agree, Chloe. It was irresponsible for Sera to act on her own initiative. Hence why I need to–”
“And what else, Dad?” From the tone of the admonishment and the way Hank shrinks at Chloe’s words, I think a bystander could’ve easily gotten the impression that she was the parent and Hank was the child, rather than the other way around.
“And… I need to do better about respecting my kids’ autonomy and trust them now that they’re adults.” Hank shakes his head. “I’m sorry for my outburst.”
Pushing the issue further would only stoke further animosity, and it’s not like I actively want the father of my girlfriend to hate me. So I relent.
“I apologize as well. Had there been an opportunity to tell you about my plan without risking the cover I was trying to present shattering into so many pieces.”
“Apology accepted,” Hank says. “At least we shouldn’t have to worry about any more of them showing up for the time being; they are cowards at heart.”
“Let me guess; you have Skills that allow you to counter their detection abilities and move through this floor unbothered?”
“No,” Hank says. “I’m actually able to mimic my presence to fool them into thinking I’m one of them. They don’t rely on sight or sound to perceive the outside world, but instead their connection to the shadows all around us. I’ve figured out that if I do the same, those creatures don’t bother me.”
“Convenient.”
“Less convenient is the fact that we probably won’t find much in the way of treasure after that little ruckus. I can’t imagine, after so convincingly defeating such a mass of enemies, that anything else is going to willingly hand its life to us on a silver platter.”
“Alas. Though I expect the best stuff to be on the final level of the dungeon. How much further until we arrive? And should we expect anything else to block our path?”
“Not much. And I doubt it. I’ve never encountered anything of particular note, other than the boss. I would offer you girls a hint, but, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Getting you both stronger is the other reason we’re here, is it not?”
I nod in affirmation. Even from here, a couple miles away, I can already sense the surging Ether from the next boss. This enemy feels like a huge challenge, even better than the last one, and yet, Hank apparently managed to defeat it as well. I do hope to see the depths of his own capabilities one day, to give me that much more inspiration to surpass him.
For now, though, I flicker through the notifications from the previous fights and dismiss them, if only to get that nagging pinging out of the back of my mind before we begin.
[You have slain 12 Shadowstalkers (Levels ranging from 62 to 65). You have gained a boosted 185,000 Experience.]
[Level: 73; Experience: 8,414,544; To Next: 18,056]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 11,494 / 15,067; [Ether]: 6,891 / 11,245]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 322 (Base: 134); [Speed]: 312 (Base: 130); [Vitality]: 401 (Base: 167); [Mind]: 518 (Base: 216)]