Soul of the Warrior

Reivyn stood upon the ramparts and stared off into the distance. The last group of villagers, the first ones Reivyn and his Party had encountered, were finally making their way into the city below. The atmosphere was charged. Almost literally. Reivyn could feel the increased mana density as it spread all the way to Magron.

The other aspect was the palpable anxiety he could feel from the other people lining the ramparts, waiting. The Lord's Retinue, the City Guard, the Count's personal Mage Corps, and volunteer Adventurers all waited for the impending crisis. The local church branch was manned by mundane believers, though, so they didn't have any Casters available to assist in warding off the undead.

The Scouts reported that many of the goblins had simply bolted in all directions, but the orcs had corralled several thousand of them to act as shields in human-wave tactics as they scoured the countryside for places to pillage. Nobody is really too concerned with that, though, Reivyn ruminated. The real concern is that the Scouts were unable to make their way past the horde, so we have no idea as to the numbers or activities of the undead forces that are sure to follow.

Reivyn glanced towards the location of the barracks. He couldn't actually see it through the rampart or the people milling about, but he recalled the scene of several villager children reuniting with their parents.

Luckily they all made it ahead of the monsters; however, we have yet to make it through the ordeal. Reivyn's face was grim despite the temporarily happy incident.

Reivyn and his Party had relaxed within the Count's Manor, all of their needs seen to by the maids and butlers, as they waited for the time they would be needed to fight. It wasn't hard to gauge the timing, either. The steady climb of the mana had been an obvious sign.

The three girls also managed to convince the maids to use their connections to keep them abreast of the goings-on of the children we escorted, Reivyn chuckled to himself. I didn't realize they had grown so attached so quickly. The news also contained information about what was happening in the barracks. Put that together with the mana increasing, and it gave a clear sign of when we would be needed.

They had encountered a messenger departing to the lord's manor to fetch them as they arrived at the barracks. Reivyn had assumed his position as a de facto Aide. More in the line of being able to utilize my Party's experience and abilities more than any actual responsibilities, he thought.

The Knight-Captain and Knight-Lieutenant weren't playing any games. Anything that wasn't necessarily super important, they would allow Reivyn to assist them, like giving and receiving messages to the administrative soldiers, but they kept a tight reign on everything involving the deployment of the combat troops.

He stood a little ways off from the Knight-Lieutenant. They hadn't had anything to do for quite a while now, other than wait like everyone else, but he had found something he could trust Teilon and Kimberly with. When he had been running messages back and forth, Teilon had said that his new Tier 2 Class was perfectly suited for such a thing during the upcoming conflict, so they would be acting as runners.

Reivyn surveyed the troops arranged upon the battlements. The Lord's Retinue was first in line, and the more experienced City Guardsmen were behind them. The less experienced guards were still keeping order within the city. The city gates in the other three directions other than the one leading toward the Dungeon were still open, and they would be until the enemies were spotted. The Count had ordered that anyone leaving was responsible for themselves, but he wouldn't keep anyone here against their wills, other than his military personnel, of course.

There had been a mass exodus upon news of the potential Dungeon Break, and it had increased further upon confirmation from the Scouts. It had slowed to a trickle, since, though, and only those going it alone could be seen still occasionally leaving. Anyone with family wasn't willing to brave the dangers of being outside the walls this late anymore.

Behind the experienced City Guardsman, dispersed evenly across the wall, were the members of the Mage Corps. They consisted of fifty low Tier 3 and high Tier 2 Mages, several having graduated from the Magic Academy not too long ago. Adventurers stood interspersed between the units, located wherever their specialty was focused. There aren't that many additional Casters from the Adventurers, Reivyn thought with a frown. Maybe just over a hundred or so. There are several hundred archers and melee combatants, each, in contrast to that. I guess it makes sense; the number is a little over 10%.

From the reports of the thousands upon thousands of goblins, I can assume there's probably around a thousand or so Orcs, and depending on how many undead are on the third floor, or even lower, there will probably be several thousand Revenants, at least. The goblins won't be a problem, especially with these reinforced walls, but I sure hope this is enough to fend off the undead.

Things weren't looking optimistic. One of the first things Reivyn had done after getting settled in the lord's manor was to send a letter to his parents in the Capital. Thankfully they left ages ago with my sisters. That was one thing Reivyn was happy about. The other members of his Party had done the same for their families, even Erik.

Reivyn turned back to watching the countryside. Everything seemed peaceful on the surface. Reivyn watched as the wind blew the crops. There were multiple, visible lines that could be seen to show just where it was. The sky was blue and dotted with pleasant-looking clouds. A flock of birds took off from their position foraging for bugs and other things to eat among the tall plants.

"Standby!" Knight-Lieutenant Brand suddenly called. Reivyn was pulled out of his contemplation. Of course. Those birds didn't decide to all fly away for no reason. Something spooked them.

Everyone got quiet on the wall as it became obvious that something was moving beneath, through the fields as the crops no longer shifted according to just the wind.

"Conserve your Mana! Only Cast as many spells as you can quickly recover from. We don't know how much time we'll have after the goblins and orcs make their assault," Brand continued his instruction to the Casters. Everyone knew what they were about to face, but the Adjutant didn't want someone to get caught up in the moment and burn through their Mana Pool before the real threat even arrived.

Hmm... I actually have a lot of Mana, now. I wonder... Reivyn reached down and picked up the bow he had acquired. He nocked an arrow, and then he activated his Mana Sight and concentrated on it. Is there a way to optimize this?

Reivyn used his Mana Manipulation to quickly cover the arrow. Next, he pulled it away from the arrow, but he maintained the shape and form. He added the necessary braids to the structure to give it some actual power. Ok, that did actually cost a lot less mana, and it was quicker than trying to build one of my own from scratch. Now, what do I do...?

Reivyn concentrated on the entire structure of the mana arrow he had created, and he pushed more mana into it. Once it had reached a certain threshold, he once again split it, and one mana arrow suddenly became two. Ok, about the same mana expenditure total, let's try one more thing. He concentrated as he pumped several times more mana into the first mana arrow, and he split them into a veritable bundle of mana arrows.

That's way too much mana. Do I need the whole structure? Reivyn gathered up the mana consisting of all the arrows he had made, and he converted them all into the arrow heads with just a bit of the shaft remaining. That's more like it. Lot's more impact from this setup. The mana arrows still catch some of the drag from the wind, though, so can I overlap these while keeping them separate?

He put thought to action and pulled them all together, once more, but he kept them completely distinct from one another. Hmmm, it doesn't exactly work. They still want to combine into one, dense arrowhead. Maybe I'm overthinking things again, let's try one more thing.

Reivyn placed his dense mana arrowhead overlapping with the real arrow, and he placed some anchors within it. He placed as many anchors as he wanted arrowheads, and he designed them to deteriorate with a small pop after only a few seconds.

While he had been experimenting with his Mana Manipulation, the goblins had finally come into view, and as soon as they spotted the wall unimpeded, their loud screeching could be heard as they broke into a frenzied run.

The other archers had already begun releasing their arrows into the coming horde, and the city defenses had some scorpions scattered atop the wall that launched huge javelin projectiles into the horde, skewering many goblins all at once as well as causing mayhem from the force of the impact. The Casters occasionally lobbed spells that exploded to cause area-wide damage, but it was few and far between as they conserved their mana.

Melissa and Larissa were nearby, and they also launched an occasional attack at the horde of goblins below. Melissa would create a sphere of ice, Larissa would fill it with her Inferno Blast Spell, and then Melissa would launch the combination spell to devastating effect. They had gotten a lot more adept at combining their spells after the experience they had gained from the Dungeon delves.

Erik simply stood to the side, silently watching everything around. He never dropped his guard, not even against the other defenders. Teilon and Kimberly accompanied him in their silent watch. They didn't have much to do yet, as they had never worked on their ranged Skills. That's an oversight that needs to be addressed, Reivyn thought.

Reivyn lifted his bow and loosed his experimental arrow without even taking proper aim. There were so many goblins, it wasn't really necessary. He watched with bated breath as the arrow sailed through the air. Once it was close to the target he had randomly fired at, he watched with Mana Sight as his mana arrow exploded and showered mana shrapnel in all directions. Including up and away from the goblins below.

Ok, while it kind of worked, as many of the pieces of mana still struck and killed a lot of goblins, that was basically a failure. I should just make a ball of mana with a directional blast to focus it downward.

Reivyn once more summoned his mana, but this time he made a ball with the braids necessary to give it power accompanied by one anchor that would pop in the direction the arrow was facing located at the back of the mana ball. He loosed the arrow and watched once more. This time it was much more successful, and it cost considerably less mana.

Yeah, I was definitely overthinking things. I'm sure there is a Class Skill out there that has a similar effect with actual arrows and such, but I would need to see it and study it to make it right. As it is, against these weaker enemies, a few more of these attacks should be fine. I don't want to burn through my mana too fast, either.

Reivyn loosed several arrows without any mana as he was thinking, and once he had come to a decision, he occasionally took the time to form a mana attack to accompany his arrows.

The goblins were stupid and didn't have any sort of plan to try and breach the walls, so they simply smashed against the obstruction and tried to climb it with their claws. They didn't have much luck. They began to trample the front rows beneath them, though, and a ramp made of dead goblins began to form.

Several spots along the walls had soldiers step forward with large cauldrons filled with tar. They tipped the cauldrons down on the goblins below before moving the empty cauldrons back to get refilled for use again later. Another soldier came up once the tar was safely taken away and tossed a torch down below.

Reivyn could feel the heat as the copious amounts of tar caught fire, and the frenzied shrieking for blood quickly became wails of agony as huge swathes of the goblins caught fire. The ramp of dead goblins also made sure that the fire didn't diminish, and the rest of the goblins were momentarily prevented from approaching the walls.

The goblins are dumb, but they're not dumb enough to run into the fire. They're just standing around, now, passively accepting the rain of arrows killing them. I bet that once the fires go away, they try the exact same thing and get torched all over again, Reivyn shook his head.

The goblins didn't have any way to breach the walls, and the portcullis was manned by some of the City Guard with long spears, so it was also a death trap for any goblins dumb enough to run up to the gates. The arrows and occasional spell still continued, they still had to kill the pests, but it had lessened as many others came to the same conclusion as Reivyn.

He looked off into the distance once again, and he finally spotted the mass of orcs.

These guys are much smarter and more capable than the goblins. They actually took the time to make crude ladders and battering rams. They even brought the ogres from the first floor boss room with them.

The orcs came marching forward in a much more organized manner. There were about a hundred or so of the ogres, and they were much more mobile now that they weren't confined to such a low ceiling. They stopped and watched the goblins expend the resources of the defenders for a while before they began moving forward once more.

"Focus on the ogres with ranged attacks and spells first!" Knight-Lieutenant Brand's voice carried to all of the troops. "Burn some of the ladders with the tar once they've climbed high enough, but let a couple of the ladders stand. We want to preserve as much of the tar as we can, so we'll have to engage some of them in melee. I'll direct the positions to do so in an orderly manner."

Reivyn once more lifted his bow and started firing at the ogres with the others. There were several hundred ranged combatants atop the ramparts, and only a hundred of the ogres, so they were quickly peppered with arrows and looked like porcupines. They weren't able to last very long under the barrage, and the ogres were quickly taken out of the equation.

The orcs pushed the goblins aside as they charged the walls, and the ladders came up. The defenders waited until a line of orcs made their way three-quarters of the way up the wall before they doused most of the ladders with tar. The orcs covered in the thick substance screamed in defiance as torches sailed down and put an end to their attempts at breaching the walls.

The battering ram rang loud and clear over the screams, snarls, and other sounds of combat, but it, too, was quickly set aflame. The orcs that had attempted to knock the gates down quickly fled the raging inferno. They joined their compatriots at the ladders that hadn't been destroyed. Many of the goblins saw a way to get at the humans on top of the wall, so they tried to get on the ladders, as well, but the orcs simply batted them aside as they entered a state of blood lust.

The soldiers let the orcs get on top of the wall under the careful planning of the Adjutant, and they were able to corral the orcs into another killing field. They were slain almost as quickly as they attained the top of the wall, and it was only a matter of time before the blood lust wore off and the remainder chose to flee. The cavalry was standing by to chase them down and finish them off.

Reivyn replenished his arrows as he waited for the inevitable end of the first round of combat, and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The orcs continued to climb to their deaths before the last vestiges came out of their frenzy and tried to run, but the cavalry took care of the remnants.

Once the orcs stopped attempting to climb the ladders, the goblins took their turn, and Knight-Lieutenant Brand ordered the ladders to finally be torched. The goblins continued to try and scrabble up the walls to only be burned alive over and over again until they were completely killed off.

"Kind of anti-climactic, actually," Teilon said from beside Reivyn.

"Well, we knew this was only a small taste from the very beginning," Reivyn replied.

"Yeah, I know, but still," Teilon shrugged.

The troops quickly set about making sure the ammunition and tar were all restocked, and the mages entered Meditation to use Mana Absorption to speed up their recovery. Reivyn took a cue from them and also sat down to get his mana back. Not only was his capacity increased with his rise in Stats, but the level of recovery had seen a sharp rise, as well.

Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, it's time to wait for the real show.

Reivyn came out of his Meditation as he felt a nudge from Teilon. He looked up at his friend with a questioning gaze.

"Something is happening," Teilon said, almost in a whisper. Reivyn could see the nervousness in his friends as Kimberly was also fidgeting an unusual amount.

Reivyn stood up and looked to the distance once more. The sky overhead was still blue with clouds moving about, but the entire scenery seemed to have a subtle shift. He watched as a visible shadow, coming from no known obstruction from the sun, began to creep towards the city. It was like a wall of darkness.

Movement caught Reivyn's eye, and he turned his focus towards it. After several breaths of waiting, he finally made out what had caught his attention.

A group of people came stumbling into view, obviously perking up at the sight of the walls and gaining a second wind as they rushed toward safety. Reivyn saw that many of them were kitted out in gear, but many of them were just in normal clothes.

"Looks like the Dungeon Town wasn't a total loss. Those people are obviously Adventurers and the locals from the town," Reivyn said to Teilon.

"Oh yeah? I couldn't quite make them out, yet," Teilon responded.

"Scouts!" Knight-Lieutenant Brand's shout reached the cavalry below. "Sally forth and pick those people up. There appears to be several hundred of them, so be quick!"

The light cavalry soon stormed out of the gates and made their way to people obviously fleeing for their lives. Reivyn watched as many were picked up and rushed back to the city. They were dropped off inside the safety of the walls, and he noticed that almost every single one of them simply collapsed where they had been deposited, most of them immediately falling asleep right then and there.

They've probably been running the entire time without much rest. Their Stats should have aided them, but they were trapped between getting too far ahead and coming under the notice of the orcs and goblins, or lagging too far behind and getting caught by what's coming.

More and more people arrived, and it soon became clear that a large majority of the Dungeon Town had actually been able to escape the calamity. The reason for their survival soon became apparent as the darkness continued to grow.

A line of soldiers came running into view several minutes after the last of the stragglers. They were attired in the armor and tabards of the Church of Light, but their gear was bloody and torn. Several of the stronger Adventurers, Martial and Casters alike, ran with them. They suddenly stopped and formed a line, and another group of soldiers, about the same number and makeup, came running after them.

Seconds later the cause for everyone's concern came into view. A large line of Revenants came marching hot on the heels of the fleeing church members.

Reivyn's stomach dropped as he witnessed the scene. Not only do they appear to be moving unimpeded by the mana density, but there also appears to be someone commanding them. No way they would march in an orderly fashion without someone, or something, interfering. Reivyn gulped as he shared a glance with Teilon and Kimberly.

"We'll be fine," Reivyn said to try and reassure his friends.

"Yeah," Teilon nodded. He didn't look like he was convinced. "It's just a bunch of Revenants. No problem."

Reivyn turned back to witness the church soldiers. The ones closest to the Revenant line ran past the first group which intercepted the advancing undead. Their gear cut through the protections inherent to the Revenants, and the Casters fired quick bolts to cause as much damage in as short amount of time possible. They exclusively used their most basic spells in order to conserve their mana properly.

The second line of church soldiers and Adventurers came to a stop about fifty yards back and turned to face the incoming enemies as the others broke off their engagement with a push from their Skills and turned to leap-frog their retreat. Reivyn watched as several of the members were hit with attacks despite their best efforts. Two of them went down and were quickly subsumed by the marching line of undead, but the last one managed to hold on and continue to flee.

"Dammit, they're too close to the Revenants," Knight-Lieutenant Brand's voice entered Reivyn's ears and he turned to face the man as he muttered to himself. "I can't get the Scouts close enough to pick them up without abandoning half of them."

"Sir," Reivyn called out to get his attention. "Give me and my Caster companions some horses," someone clearing their throat interrupted Reivyn, "and their bodyguard. We can ride out, hit the line hard with some magic, and the Scouts can follow behind us to pick them up."

"Make it happen," Knight-Lieutenant Brand didn't hesitate to agree.

Reivyn turned and jerked his head towards the bottom of the wall at Melissa and her two companions. "We'll be right back," Reivyn said to Teilon as they hurried down.

They ran to where the cavalry was on standby, and after a quick explanation, Reivyn and the other three galloped out of the city towards the retreating defenders and line of Revenants. The air turned cold as soon as they entered the encroaching shadows, and Reivyn felt an involuntary shiver.

"Melissa, take the left. Larissa, take the right," Reivyn shouted at his companions over the whistling wind. "I'll go around to the center. Hit them hard and fast!"

They split up, the Scouts following shortly behind them, and they moved to engage the undead. Reivyn followed Larissa, and they quickly passed the line of defenders ready to intercept for their allies. Larissa launched several Inferno Blasts at the line, and Reivyn quickly maneuvered his horse around the line of retreating people in the wake of the explosion.

He saw, and sensed, Melissa also pelting the line of Revenants as he turned to gallop across the line. He pumped mana into his Flame Blade Skill and launched massive attacks at the line as he galloped past, creating an opportunity for the Scouts to sweep in and pick up those retreating. Reivyn heaved a sigh of relief as the plan went off without a hitch.

Suddenly, a stray Revenant came leaping out of the line, and Reivyn's Danger Sense warned him in time to ward off the attack with a parry. The force of the blow almost unseated him, but he managed to hang on with a combination of his Ride and Balance Skills. Reivyn urged his horse to continue galloping, and he broke away from the Revenant that had tried to keep him from getting away.

He glanced back as he galloped away, and he frowned at what he saw. The Revenant that had attacked him was attired in the same uniform as the church soldiers, but its gear had lost its divine empowerment. Its clothes were covered in blood, and gaping wounds. Oozing black blood littered its body all over. The creature still had most of its skin and hair, and Reivyn recognized it.

That's the Sword-Bishop! Reivyn realized as he turned back to putting all of his efforts into escaping back to the city. That can't be good.

The cavalry, along with Reivyn and his Party members, made it back to the city quickly, and the survivors joined the others in collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. There were no robe-wearing priests among them, but Reivyn did spot many of the acquaintances he had made in his time in the Dungeon Town.

He saw Lorin among the Adventurers that had been assisting in holding the Revenants back for the others to flee. He saw the sword-priest that had given them the explanation on the Experience Crystals, and he even saw Cal had collapsed next to his friends in the group that had passed out.

There were many other familiar faces, but Reivyn didn't have time to examine them. He dismounted and walked over to Josn, who had assumed command of the sword-priests after the Sword-Bishop had obviously fallen.

He was standing over the man Reivyn had seen take an attack to the back earlier, and the man was clutching at Josn and pleading for something. Even from this distance, Reivyn could see the man's body twitch uncontrollably, and black veins were spreading across his body from the wound on his back.

Josn lowered his head momentarily, and Reivyn's eyes widened in horror as he watched Josn look back up and then run the man through with his sword, ending his life. A smile was the last expression on the man's face.

"What the hell?!" Reivyn yelled as he ran up to Josn. Josn looked up with expressionless eyes.

"He was beyond saving," Josn said. "You don't know what happens to them. You haven't seen it." His voice was devoid of any emotion.

"But we're in the city now! We might have been able to find help. You just killed him without even trying!"

"Don't be so quick to judge!" Josn yelled back. "That wasn't his first wound, and we lost all of our Priests early on! Do you think I wanted to kill him?! He asked me to! And it was my responsibility! He was about to turn. What more would you have had me do?" Josn sounded defeated.

Reivyn paused for a moment as he considered the words. What else could he have done? The local church doesn't have Caster Priests, they're mundane believers. Reivyn shook his head.

"I don't know, Josn. I don't know," he said. Reivyn clapped his hand on the man's shoulder in silent comfort.

"Report!" Knight-Lieutenant Brand came marching up to the group, quickly recognizing the man in charge of the retreat. Josn noticed the man's air of authority and stood straighter.

"Yes, sir" he began. "There was a group of black-robed men who suddenly appeared, and before anyone noticed what they were up to or could react, they initiated the Dungeon Break. We managed to fight off the first horde of goblins and orcs that appeared through several rips in reality, and they quickly ran off to hunt for easier prey.

"Due to Reivyn's timely information about the Hard Mode of the second floor boss," Josn gestured toward Reivyn, "we knew to quickly destroy any of the Spectres and Dullahans that suddenly showed up. Most of our Priests sacrificed themselves to ensure almost all of them were taken out before they could empower the Dullahans.

"A few slipped through, but those are the least of our worries." Josn's energy quickly depleted as he came to this point, and Knight-Lieutenant Brand was about to urge him on further, but the people noticed the ground begin to tremor. "That's what we need to worry about." Josn continued. "The demons."

"Back to the ramparts!" Brand yelled out. He turned to Josn one last time. "You and yours get some rest. Not only do you need it, you deserve it. If you feel you can fight, you'll get your chance after you take a break. We'll handle it from here."