33 - Friendly Neighborhood Portal (3)

It took almost a minute of watching. Of watching light rip into the two fighters. Watching the support and Ellen hunker behind Jeff. Watching and waiting patiently for the opportunity to make a difference.

So, when it happened, it happened suddenly.

Jeff snapped his shield up, covering his face as one of the three elves he was fighting went for a killing blow to his head. His sword flicked out from behind his defense the second the elf's blade hit steel, and he buried it to the hilt in the monster's gut. Then another attack hit, and he countered just as quickly. I recognized what was happening; he'd been saving his Unique skill for the boss, but had been forced to activate it early.

At the same time, the pillbug's trundling, ambling path around the arena led it directly under me.

Stamina: 36/200, Mana: 73/250

I'd reapplied my Scripts and gripped a single lightning trap Binding in my off-hand, but I hadn't summoned my Stormsteel equipment yet. I did now. The sword appeared in my hand, then crackled to life; a moment later, the dark metal and swirling vortex of my breastplate formed, gripping tightly around my chest. The battle trance narrowed until the world was just me and the Mage-Knight Errant. I pushed Stamina into Dash, and then I was airborne, high over the boss.

It was thirty feet down. Almost nothing compared to the plunge I'd taken earlier. I was strong enough and fast enough to roll with the impact and pop right back up. But this time, I wasn't plunging into nothing, or using a half-dead elf as a cushion. This time, I fell directly toward a D-Rank boss.

The pillbug barely moved. It only took a second. Maybe two. And then I slammed into its armored back, right behind the boss. And from there, I didn't have time to second-guess or to worry. The battle trance took over, and all I could do was fight.

Dash was still running. The second I had my feet under me, I sprinted forward. The Mage-Knight Errant twisted in her saddle. Her aura flared, a massive expenditure of mana sinking into a spell.

I didn't give her the chance to finish casting.

I grabbed her by her breastplate's collar, hand pressing the lightning trap Binding into place right under her throat. My feet pounded the unyielding carapace below me. I wrenched her from the saddle, and we hit the ground together. I rolled away from the Mage-Knight as she landed in a tangle of limbs. Dash ended as I stopped moving, and I dropped into a high, two-handed stance. Time was running out already; I had to contribute now.

Stamina: 21/200

As I pressed my attack, a spear appeared in the Mage-Knight's hand. She whipped it through the air; its wake seemed almost black compared to its brighter-than-white haft. I ducked inside the tip's reach, then thrust. My blade skittered off her breastplate, and I had to throw myself to the side to avoid her backhanded spear-swing. A Lightning Charge appeared, and I used Flareflourish instantly.

She reeled back, but unlike the monsters I'd used it on, she wasn't blinded—just dazzled a little. When I thrust at the Binding stuck to her armor again, she jerked to the side, and my sword caught nothing but air.

I'd missed. And worse, something began tickling at the back of my mind. Dodge, and the law I was so close to learning about it, if I only gave in and thought on it.

I pushed the sensation of almost knowing away and focused on my real target: the piece of paper and the Binding it contained. Learning the Law would take no time at all; I'd have time to meditate not only on the skill, but on how best to keep the pressure on the boss. It'd be easy, and it'd guarantee my victory—or be a massive step in the right direction, but the battle trance called, and I wanted to fight.

Both fighters joined the battle, hammer and axe smashing into the Mage-Knight Errant's armor. It almost seemed to buckle, but rebuffed the blows. She lengthened her grip on the spear, and I took three steps backward as Lightning Reflexes flared. One of the pick-up fighters—the axe man—got clear.

The other was caught in the boss's swirling whirlwind slam. Ribs cracked loudly enough for me to hear them. He slid down the length of the spear, then flew off it; a flare of blood followed him, spraying across the battlefield. Then he rolled, limbs flailing and hammer flying off the platform.

Our support—I couldn't remember her name—broke cover, sprinting toward him. A single elf tried to disengage from fighting Jeff to follow her, but he jammed his short sword into the monster's back the moment he got an opening. The support slid to her knees next to the wounded delver. "Oh, shit!"

I didn't have time to figure out what she was swearing about.

The battle trance narrowed as the boss's eyes locked on my sword, and I locked my vision on her spear and free hand. She raised it, and light poured from it in a ray that scorched the platform's blue wood. I Dashed to the side, burning Stamina for a second. Then I cut toward the boss, launching a lunge toward her chest—and the Binding.

The massive pillbug trundled across the battlefield. One massive leg bumped into me, and I missed.

I did leave a thin cut under the Mage-Knight Errant's open-jawed helmet, though. It wasn't much, but it was first blood. She spun the spear, then snapped it into place between her arm and side. I knew what was coming—and I wasn't disappointed. An explosive, spear-tipped lunge rocketed toward me. The light blade missed everything important as I shoved it to the side. But it did gouge into my calf muscle, then out the other side.

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I screamed as skin and muscle exploded; I lacked the Stamina to do more than dull the pain a little. Then I gasped again as the blade of white-hot light cut more flesh on the way out.

My calf collapsed, but I blocked her next attack—and her next one. She scowled, spun her spear in a wide circle to ward off the axe-fighter, and started casting again. This time, I couldn't interfere with her. She'd finish the cast, and I didn't have any good options.

White magic glowed. It filled the air around her as her flickering aura flared one more time. Then something started tearing into the magic, devouring it greedily in square-shaped patterns.

Ellen had rejoined the fight.

The boss screamed in rage and frustration. I couldn't understand her words, but the sound was universal. And, in that moment, I reached out with the tip of my rapier and caught the Mage-Knight Errant in the chest, right at the center of the lightning trap Binding.

Finally.

Lightning arced from my blade to her armor, then from her armor to my blade. It ran across the mirror-sheened, battle-scarred plate, leaving spiderwebs of blackened and charred steel behind. And the Mage-Knight Errant slowed.

She didn't stop.

I didn't expect her to. But she did slow. Her movements turned jerky and uncoordinated as she fought the electricity surging through her. Her spear whipped through the air, but it was a beat or two slow.

And with Jeff and Ellen free and in the fight, that was all we needed.

Faced with four enemies, and with shadow magic ripping chunks out of her armor and flesh, and unable to move as gracefully as before, the Mage-Knight Errant was finally a hittable target. Jeff slammed into her and used his taunt skill, and the fighter and I slipped into a triangle around her. My sword felt heavy in my hands—I was below ten Stamina—but I could still contribute a little. The rapier sliced into the boss's armpit. It came out hissing and steaming.

So did a lot of blood.

It looked like a waterfall and dyed the wood red below her. I'd expected a cauterized wound, or for her Health to kick in. Was she already tapped out? Or had I caught something truly vital?

I never got the chance to find out. The spear disappeared, and she said something in their language. Then she started casting.

A split-second later, she was gone. My sword sliced across the place her side had been, and the hammer cracked boards instead of her helmet and skull.

"Did we win?" Jeff asked.

I nodded, exhausted. "I think so, Jeff."

A second later, the timer for the portal collapse appeared, and I scooped up the D-Rank boss core that the Mage-Knight Errant had left behind.

The battle trance had long since left, and I was sitting on the wooden platform staring at my status, when Ellen arrived.

User: Kade Noelstra E-Rank Stamina: 09/200, Mana: 42/250

Skills: 1. Stormsteel Core (D-01 to D-02, Unique, Merged) 2. Thunderbolt Forms (E-03 to E-05, Altered, Merged) 3. Dodge (E-10) 4. Recovery (E-05 to E-07) 5. Lightning Reflexes (E-04 to E-07) 6. Light Armor Mastery (E-03 to E-06) 7. Dash (E-02 to E-06, Active)

Path: Stormsteel Path Laws: First Law of Stormsteel

"Kade Allen Noelstra," Ellen said, "what are you doing?"

"I did it," I answered, too exhausted to look up. My hand was wrapped around the verdigris orb; I squeezed it tightly, feeling its warmth. The stink of death was everywhere, but I couldn't force myself to stand up. "I'm ready for my next merge."

It was true. Everything was leveled, and since I'd barely dodged an attack, that skill hadn't ranked up. All I needed to do was make sure I had the Stamina and Mana for whatever Stormsteel Core altered Flowing Stream Stance into, and I could finally start work on learning real magic.

"No, I don't mean that. Good job, though. I mean, why do you have my core?" She looked furious, and she glared at the D-Ranked boss core in my hand.

"Oh. Right." I lifted an arm that felt like lead and dropped the core into her waiting hand. I already had what I needed.

She relaxed the moment she had it, but she didn't stop glaring. Instead, she tucked it into her hip pouch; it was probably covered in sticky notes within seconds. Then she sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder. "Thanks. I needed this. Bad." She shivered.

And that's when I caught the blood-soaked bandage across her chest. Whatever they'd fought, it had hit her just off-center—probably missed her heart by centimeters. I pulled an arm around her shoulder, too, and pulled her in close. She smelled like blood, sweat, and charred wood, her robes were ruined, and one of the battle pigtails she wore was loose, the hair singed.

She stiffened, and I let up the pressure. "Sorry," I said.

For a second, she stayed. Then she pulled the rest of the way away, stood up, and held out a hand. "Can you check out Martin? He took a bad hit, and Yasmin's working on him. I'm going to go look for the boss's treasure."

"Sure," I said. Then I let Ellen pull me to my feet and joined Yasmin, the support, next to the still body of our second fighter.

When I looked back, Ellen had already left.

In the end, Ellen got her core, Jeff got a spear that could produce a light echo of itself with a copious expenditure of Mana, and the guild ended up with a thin helmet made of white metal. I'd elected to take last pick, because none of the items were useful for my specific build plans. I'd sell the Lady's Favor, a glove that seemed purpose-built for armored delvers, but also gave rogues enhanced melee accuracy with daggers. Someone would want it—or if not, it'd get picked up as a material piece for a delver with crafting skills.

And all six of us lived, though Martin was going to need an extended stay at the hospital; a lot of his wounds had set by the time the portal timer ran out and shunted us onto the Phoenix streets. We checked out with the waiting GC rep— it was technically our portal by right of first occupation, but the reps still showed up if they got there in time, and a D-Rank was usually enough to attract one even if it was already being cleared.

Then the pick-up delvers headed for home. Jeff waited until they were gone, then said, "I got contact information for all three of them, but I think we should pick up Yasmin if we can. She was good with her Scripts. Way better than you, Kade."

"Agreed" Ellen said. Then she hesitated.

"What?" Jeff asked.

"Just…it'd be good to have another woman on the team. It's getting pretty bro-ish, and I'd rather have Yasmin than Kade's power-of-friendship support."

Jeff snorted.

"That's only because you haven't met Zeke," I said, but I actually agreed. Zeke had been hiding something from me, and while I didn't think it'd be anything as bad as whatever Ms. Callahan of the Roadrunner guild was up to, it wasn't good. After a few seconds, I nodded. "Go ahead and see if she's got a team."

"Will do." Jeff glanced at Ellen, then nodded almost imperceptibly. I caught it—but it was close. "I'm going to head back home and work on my gear. It took a beating. I'll talk to the two of you sometime."

I nodded. "See you, Jeff."

And then it was just Ellen, me, and her car.

"So, is Jessie home?" Ellen asked.

"No," I said. "Why?"

"I was just thinking…I want this merge done as quickly as I can, and I've got a forty-five-minute drive even with Deimos at the wheel. Let's go to your place instead."

"Is your Mana and Stamina that full already?" I asked.

She smiled shyly. "No, but we can wait at your place. I'm not ready to go home. Bob's going to be there, and I'm not ready to deal with him right now."

"Okay." I hopped in the passenger's seat. "We'll do the skill merges at my apartment."

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