Path of the Pioneers

Its voice was regal and dignified, a far cry from the scratchiness of its previous mutterings. Adeline’s hands seemed to be shaking from how hard she was gripping onto her swords. I leaned towards her, whispering quietly, “Dungeon monsters don’t typically speak, do they?”

She took a moment to register that I had said anything to her, before responding in a worried tone, “Most don’t. But the strong ones can.” She fiddled with the hilts of her swords for a few moments, “The last time I came here? No speaking, no.”

She laughed under her breath, “Not to mention.. This one looks exactly the same as the old boss.”

The imps’ ruler stared at Adeline for a moment, eyebrow raised, and then back to me. “Murmuring about something between one another? No matter...” It sighed, its gaze moving along its subjects. The imps seemed to shrink back as they were looked upon, fear oozing out of them. It uttered a simple command, "Kill them, you damned fools.” With that, it closed its eyes again, resting its head in its hand as the imps around us began to shift their attention.

The imps retained that expression of fear on their faces, as if they were scared to fail their leader. Scared of what would happen to them if they failed. Almost immediately, two dozen of them began to run us down in order to follow their grisly orders. They moved as one, almost like a wave of imps.

Adeline stepped in front of me, swords at the ready, “Pick up any stragglers, Sybil.”

She dove headfirst into the swarm, flames erupting from her twin blades as she began swinging gracefully around herself in wide, sweeping circles.. With one slash, two or three imps would be dismantled, cleaved in two with a horrifying ease before turning to smoke. She danced around the group as if the area were an open field, clearing the space up bit by it. I had little time to focus on her efforts, though, as some imps began to shift their focus to me instead.

[Aesthesia] went back up, and I was once again thrust into the heat of combat. For the time being, eight of the imps were focused on me.

I was less than confident- no, I was terrified. Eight of them at once? My hand-to-hand skills would matter little in a fight of this scale, especially at my level. I needed to take direct action, even if my mana reserves were already low. "Adeline!" I yelled out, "Please move out of the way!" It was only a moment more before I saw her leap out of the group, over the heads of the imps. I would've gawked at the sight if I had the time, but there were now a dozen and a half imps waiting to gut me, staring me down with eyes full of fear and hate.

Mana gathered into my left hand as I stuck it out, aimed towards the mass of imps. I took in a shaky breath, and then resolved myself. The mana flowed out in a stream from my hand, moving like a hazy cloud towards the imps. All at once, it was ignited as I cast [Flame Generation]. A crackling, sparking wave of fire emanated out from my hand, engulfing the swarm. Stars danced on the edge of my vision as the mana drained from me far, far too rapidly. 

My hearing was muffled, to the point where I almost didn't hear their shrieks and screams underneath the roaring flames. It felt an eternity, holding the spell in place. The fire blinded my blurry eyes, and I almost lost myself in it until the sound of fingers snapping rang out through the room. It sounded clear even to me.

The flames coming from my hands stopped, as if stamped out suddenly. Only three imps remained, ones that were standing on the edges of the group. The rest were gone, already turned to smoke.

[Skill "Flame Generation" has been forcefully disrupted through usage of "Authority of the Dark"]

I looked towards the throne, where the imp's ruler now stood, rolling its shoulders and glancing down at what remained of its forces. "Worthless runts... Not even good for a few minutes." It glanced towards Adeline, "You move well, girl. You likely could have taken on every last one of those whelps without breaking a sweat." Then towards me, "As for you..." Its hand cradled its chin as it looked around, "Your spell-work is half-decent. Acceptable, I suppose. But..." It stepped off of the throne, an unmistakable pressure filling the air as hostility flooded in around me. It threatened to crush me, to make me flee away as fast as my legs would allow me.

The three imps were laying face-first on the ground, bowing deeply in reverence.

[WARNING: You have encountered a dangerous monster! It is not recommended to fight it at your current level.]

[Title "Dauntless" has been activated! Stats increased by 10%]

My head cleared as [Dauntless] activated. This had been exactly what it was talking about when it mentioned 'fear effects.'

"You look tired now. Did that little spark take everything you have?" With each step, there was a crackle of malice sent through the air. "Tell me, did those miserable little rats put you up to this?" My eyes widened a bit, and I stepped back, "They did, didn't they?" Its lips parted into a mad grin, long, sharp teeth clear to see in its mouth. "They sent two to kill me?" It began to cackle loudly, as if it had genuinely heard something funny. Despite still recovering from its laughing fit, it continued, "By the sun and stars, I've not heard such a good joke in quite time some. I'll end you two quickly as a gift."

Adeline looked at me, and then towards my dagger. With a nod towards it, she looked back to the imps' ruler. "What makes you think you'll be able to end us, anyways?" She smiled, "I'm not exactly impressed by snuffing out fires, a boot could do that."

It sighed, "Your kind are always so foolhardy." Stepping towards her, it stuck out its arm to the side. With a snap of its fingers, fragments of darkness clawed their way up its arm, and to its hand. They began to slowly extend out, until the fragments built upon one another, eventually forming a sword with a curved blade. It solidified, until it looked indistinguishable from a completely real one. "Fine, I'll cut you down first."

 It swung down at Adeline with maddening speed and force, but her blades flew up to intercept it. It pushed her back a meter or so, but she didn't lose her footing in the struggle. It simply continued to walk towards her.

My focus shifted away from their fight as I began to formulate a plan. Adeline had wanted me to use Tanascáil, but she almost certainly didn't just mean in its capacity as a dagger. It was the skills it gave that she was hinting at, [Stealth] and [Cloak of Shadows]. Although [Cloak of Shadows] seemed to be my best bet, since it would make me "disappear completely" instead of "difficult to detect."

On a whim, I activated [Cloak of Shadows]. The shadow amethyst socketed into the guard glowed for a moment, and then an odd feeling came over me. I could still see myself, but I assumed that the skill worked without any hitches. I began to approach the boss, staying at the side of their clash so that I didn't get caught up in it. It still seemed to be gauging her strength, throwing blow after blow her way, which Adeline managed to block every time.

I approached closer and closer, steadily working my way towards the two until I was only a couple of meters away from its legs. Suddenly, faster than I could process, it whipped around. That massive scimitar flew over my head, slashing the area behind it. If I had been there, I would've been cleaved in half. Dead without a chance to stop it. "Trying to stab me in the back, pitiful mage?" But I hadn't died -- in fact, it gave me the chance that I needed to continue surviving.

Mana welled up in my hand once more, and I cast [Forcethorn Burst]. The feeling of being invisible washed away as a thick spear of mana flew out from my hand. Its gaze turned towards me, but its body wasn't fast enough to react in time to the spell striking it. With unnerving ease it drilled through both of the boss's legs, right at the knees, sending sizzling green blood onto the dirt below. The spear then began shifting, sending out massive spikes of energy through its flesh and bones. A deep, rumbling groan escaped its lips, and it began to topple backwards. Just like with the minotaur, the energy was shattered from the movement, but the damage had already been done. Somehow, I had done it.

The blue of my status window appeared in my vision, but it was all blurry for some reason. Then, I felt a hard pain flash across my head. My knees felt weak, and my legs were shaking. I couldn't help but fall backwards, hitting hard against the ground. For some reason, it felt soft. I had spent all of my mana on my little trick, there was nothing left I could do other than leave it to Adeline.

"G-gods.. That hurts.." I muttered out before my eyes fell shut, and unconsciousness whisked me away.