Zolyra was losing. She knew it. Zozar knew it. Perhaps only a few below weren't fooled, but anyone with real experience would figure it out too.

All the enhancements she'd used were only enough to keep the fight stable, and Freescribe had under half of its charge remaining. Once that was gone Spelleater would allow her to survive for a few more minutes, but effortless dual casting was the only thing keeping her in this fight. There was one iridium scroll left, though it had been used to create an emergency scroll she feared she'd need too soon.

For now, she launched spell after spell at the cloud titan while doing her best to survive the natural cataclysms Zozar threw her way. High pressure water attacks, miniature hurricanes, enormous bolts of lightning, as well as debilitating disease and rot that would have swept the city below clean if carelessly released.

On her part, there was only one move she could make to even wound Zozar. It wasn't based on her scrolls, as while those did disperse sizable chunks of the titan whenever one was slammed into its being, they were still absorbing the vertical waterfall to produce an extremely potent healing effect. No, her only way out of this was that neither of the first two plans worked was the key reason she'd chosen the become a dragon when activating True Polymorph: Spellbreath.

It was a known phenomenon that the breath attack of draconoids could be affected by their class. Not always, but Ashier had brought along a blue draconoid whose Alchemist class produced a somewhat unsettling example of this. Hers was cleaner and far more powerful, adding tremendously to the range and area of effects she triggered. This did come with a higher mana cost, but it didn't increase proportionally with her body.

Zolyra loaded a Frozen Nova into her maw while one hand triggered Teleportation scrolls, committing an excessive amount of wealth into her first major gambit. The pressure around her noticeably changed as air was sucked in to mix with magic and fuel the attack, something that was impossible for Zozar to miss.

The titan bellowed, adding another mana ripple to the cascade above Aurus that grew with every power above level 3 used. That in itself could turn disastrous if allowed to grow, but the fight would be over one way or another before something on the level of the night sun manifested. Regardless, the wave of sound that followed struck many below with fear, friend and foe, while those closest to the mountaintop that Zozar didn't specifically protect were struck with terror instead. With their level, it doubtlessly killed anyone without a class caught in the closer threshold from cardiac dysfunction alone.

Breath continuing to build in her, Zolyra was forced to select a dispelling scroll while still close to the titan's upper torso. The hand not reaching for the sky came down, battering her for a moment before her first scroll went off and she could teleport away. Despite escaping death she still felt at least one of the long bones in her wings had broken. It was a worthy trade, as after two more jumps she was in position.

A stream of pure cold rushed from within her, bursting with magic whenever it struck anything physical. There was so much elemental energy released that it began to affect the ambient temperature, rippling out to change the weather for weeks or months. The effect was far more pronounced at the point of impact as ice raced up the waterfall, freezing it solid, while the clouds of Zozar thickened and slowed.

Aurus shook as what chunks of ice Zozar couldn't catch impacted at the top most point. The cloud shield still encapsulated the courts, but the Commander wouldn't kid herself that the maneuver had been bloodless. In some cases, you could only choose the way that would kill the least.

She capitalized on the opening she'd caused. It'd been sooner than she'd hoped, they didn't have nearly enough of the city's defenses taken over, but she'd needed to do something other than slowly bleed out magic. The dragon flew across the body of Zozar, slightly slower than normal from her injury, every claw pulling and activating scrolls in sequence.

Zozar howled in pain as their body shimmered, diminishing even as it tried to expel the cold infused into it. The beat down gave her a moment of hope, though only that. Zolyra blinked away before too long, aware Zozar still posed a lethal threat if she let them catch her off guard.

Indeed, even as she began healing her wing, the titan's body swelled out as hidden reserves were brought forth. The waterfall would take some time to recycle, but at the very least that resource had been significantly diminished.

Zolyra was prepared to re-engage when both she and Zozar paused. The earth around the cloud shield was beginning to crack. Alarmed, Zolyra briefly wondered if the ice had damaged the mountain city to the point that it would begin to break apart, it was hollow, but this was something else. A hope and fear so distant she hadn't dared account for them.

The mountaintop collapsed as a third titanic figure rose to join the battle for Aurus. Not a single being, no, but an entire collective of earth gestalt bound together and working in harmony. The brief concern that they intended to protect Soraso was extinguished when Zolyra's eyes caught a lone human Ranger exit the collective, jump off the mountain, and hijack one of the nimbler air platforms circling the upper altitudes. William.

Zozar's huge face opened into surprise, but not shock. It shifted left to right, generating air currents in the process, before a much stronger one issued forth from their mouth in a sigh. "Resignation," the booming voice called down to their earth cousins, though Zolyra knew they were neither giving nor asking for surrender.

While the battlefield reshaped in the chaos of the earth gestalt's appearance, a Tyrant finally saw the opportunity they had been waiting for.

…

The first shield flickered, and then died as the fourth warden fell. He was already ready with a follow-up shot on a warden behind the second shield, but something new happened during his attack. The shield wall flickered, mixing black with purple. When his phasing round reached it it bounced off, not even penetrating that layer. "Oh crap, that's new!"

"Sucks, but it looks like they can't shoot through it either now." Shuni pointed to a spear that had been thrown high while the second shield wall changed which was now scattering backward toward the center of the room. "Don't want to try teleporting through that either."

Evalyn brought everyone to a halt, no longer needing to move around the room to get an angle on a warden with everything inside the shields blocked off. She paused her song and took a shot at one of the three towering bastions now exposed on the outer part of the room. "Focus the ones we can it, then. Gods, but there have to be fifty of them. You're sure you only saw a hundred Shuni?"

"Never said it was just a hundred, there could be twice that many further in!"

"Then we take twice as long killing them." Hunter took several deep breaths, looking at a feline arcadian stalker that was weaving its way through the cages towards them. He jerked his head back just before a javelin struck it. "Evalyn?"

"Go. Daniel, Khiat, take care of the bastions first. I don't want that area attack getting us. Shuni, crawlers. I'll take the drones and have them burn anything that gets close. Go, go!"

Daniel spared a single thought for the Rogue as she disappeared to reveal any nearby crawlers, then concentrated on the three bastions he'd tagged. They extended over the cage city like kaiju, giving him clear sight of all those outside the active shields. He had to take a mana potion in the process, but still managed to cast Mark Weakness on all of them to reveal the hidden weak point inside the chests. The bastions themselves weren't deadly, but they sent out an unavoidable burst of corruption in wide areas at certain kill thresholds.

With Khiat tasked on them and Sigron using Area Denial to give her time to aim, Daniel rotated into cutting down the enemy's numbers as he swapped to explosive ammunition. He, Tak, and Hunter would need to handle the bulk of that for now, the latter two already seeking out targets of opportunity. And in one particular case, an unbelievably strong power was being used.

Hunter started to shift while moving out, returning to his natural form with one major difference. Hunter was twice as big as before. If that were all then Daniel would say it was impressive, but the mechanics of the magic made the difference. Hunter hadn't enlarged himself, he'd become an alpha ringcat.

As in, the standard level 2 variant of his species that he had traded for leveling under the mortal system. Which the Octyrrum had just given him right back. In fairness there were two major problems posed by this power, Hunter's armor didn't shift with him and there was no way his old stuff would work, and the form wasn't a fully physical effect that could be shared through Blood Union. That it overrided Beast Mode was a third, mixed blessing as it didn't force Daniel to accept the hybrid form back before Hunter could activate his broken power.

Now, Daniel would admit it would only be pretty great if that was all, but as the description showed there was far more to it than that.

Lineage of the Hunter: Activate this Function of your Focus to undergo a whole body Transmutation into a known Variant of your Race of up to your Level. After the transmutation is complete, you gain any Inherent Powers possessed by the variant, and lose those from your prior form. Your Attributes are not adjusted to the target's Standard Array through this process. You may expand the list of known variants by consuming Essence from the bodies of applicable Monsters.

Known Variants:

Young Rincat

(Level 0)

Ringcat

(Level 1)

Alpha Ringcat

(Level 2)

Hunter's most recent transformation actually cost him a power as alpha ringcats didn't have Keen Sense, but it more than made up for it in the body given. For all the function said it didn't improve attributes Hunter was faster and stronger, making Daniel wonder if something was going on with attribute efficiency instead. One had to remember that Hunter's natural attacks were also magical now, which made the massive claws he currently possessed rip through the first mace-wielding mauler he encountered without finding any resistance. But the true value would be found in the future. With enough time, and enough bodies, Hunter could gain dozens if not hundreds of variants to change into. Any attacks or spells gained from them could also be fed into Might and Magic. All of this without mana cost or cooldown, and all from a part of his Focus Enhancement power.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Watch yourself, Daniel thought to Hunter as he absentmindedly blew the head off of a distant arcadian caster that had almost caught Hunter with a corruption bolt from its staff. You're fatter than you normally are, even with Evasiveness you need to be careful.

I know. Bleh. Hunter gagged a bit as he disgorged half of an impaler he'd bitten. Bad. Wait, what did you-

I just said to be careful because you're bigger than you think. The floor shook slightly as, in the distance, Khiat managed to hit the strange worm-like thing hiding in one of the Bastions. It collapsed even as her massive bow swung to aim at another hundreds of meters away.

That is definitely what he said, Tak confirmed, though with enough mischievousness to keep Hunter guessing. Anyway, these things are strange. They died too easily.

This is just the first wave Tak, they'll get way stronger. Still, the Totem Warrior's words gave him pause. Half a minute had gone by and they'd killed at least fifteen so far, not counting the wardens. If the math worked how it did the last time they'd need to kill one sixth of the total astral projections to trigger a threshold that would bring both a burst mana regeneration, and a reinforcement wave. They'd get a good idea of the total enemy force once the first hit so long as he kept an accurate kill count, but as time passed that kept climbing while his mana dwindled further and further.

By kill twenty five he'd shifted to charging Power Shots to take down the crawlers Shuni was decloaking, only for another problem to rear its head. "Corrupted avianoid coming around the side with the rest!" The Rogue called out. "I'm only seeing one outside the shields but it's quick as fuck!"

Daniel identified it and saw to some relief that they were only level 3. So long as higher attributes were all they were working with it was manageable. Another Bekali showing up would not be. Daniel released his Power Shot, not managing to kill the crawler but creating a weak point he called out for Khiat to finish while he handled the new arrival.

Instead of pulling the bolt back to load his next round, Daniel did something different. "Flash Craft." A compatible stunning round appeared in his receiver, taking the space of the spineshard ammunition that'd just been there. It'd been an unintentional benefit of developing the ability to enchant without direct visual contact, allowing him to use the expensive instant-enchanting spell directly inside his weapon. His mana further dropped to the point where he was considering another potion, though Daniel was unsure if there was time now that they were properly engaging.

He leaned around the side of the cage he was covering behind and swore under his breath as he tried to get a line on the sprinting avianoid. "It's weaving through the buildings, I'll have to get closer!"

A Songbolt flew across the cavernous room as Evalyn briefly stopped what she was playing. "Switching to Sharpshooter, just be careful and don't overextend. Even if it means killing them."

"Yeah." Daniel looked away from the metallic catwalks above, discarding the idea of taking a position up there. It'd be a great vantage point, but there was also no cover up there. The projections were likely avoiding that area for similar reasons.

He ran up to about where the first shield wall had been, suffering far less from retaliatory fire now that they were cutting into the enemy's numbers. So far everyone had managed to avoid corruption thanks to the cages, and he continued to use those while tracking the corrupted avianoid's aura. It was sprinting to where Tak was engaging projections in groups of twos and threes, talons extended in preparation to strike.

Power Shot was charging fine on the way, but improving his aim with Quick Mind was a fantasy considering how fast both he and his target were moving. Tak, going to have to mix it up with you for a change. Incoming on your right.

But you are behind, oh, I see. Tak finished tearing the conical head off an impaler to get kill #38 and nodded to him as Daniel rounded a corner. The Totem Warrior accepted a hit from a stalker as it bit into his arm, slamming it into a wall to shatter its back in turn. Hunter, you want in?

Too far. More things to kill over here. Hunter sounded distinctly happy as in another part of the cage city, he earned kill #40 by bearing down on a crawler's limb, biting in, and then twisting with his larger body until it came off to spill purple energy back to the rift in the ceiling. Don't die or something.

Thanks! Tak smiled, then the corrupted avianoid blurred around the corner and shoulder charged him. Most of the crystalline overgrowth was concentrated in their chest, leaving the blank but intelligent gaze in their eyes unaltered as they tried to propel Tak into one of the cages.

Daniel raised his blast bow, but the avianoid adjusted even as they struggled suggesting they could dodge him easily. That being said, they were having difficulty pushing Tak once he regained composure. The earth Totem Warrior's powers were enough to contest higher attributes, if briefly. Still, Tak thought to him with some tension. Hurry, please.

Seeing nothing for it, Daniel advanced to within a few meters of the two and aimed for center mass. He hadn't charged this attack with any spell given his and Tak's proximity, but it didn't matter. The Power Shot burst apart as soon as it struck his target on the side, causing a wave of concussive force that briefly made it hard to breathe. Catching some of the splashback, Daniel was reminded of the enfeebling energy that the night sun had imparted into him, though to a far lesser extent. Everyone was knocked down, making it fortunate that the corrupted avianoid had run out ahead of the projections following them.

Tak recovered quickly thanks to Regeneration, but he still had to wrestle with the corrupted avianoid as the single shot hadn't been enough to fully down them. Daniel considered trying another stunning shot, but they were too close to make landing a headshot likely. Instead, he dropped his blast bow into his bag of holding.

Oh, thank you! Tak thought as Daniel latched onto the enemy with claws. He couldn't grab Hunter's variants, but he could ask for the hybrid body back at any point. Still too strong, and getting stronger. Evalyn said to kill if we had to…

No. Daniel hadn't missed the significance of what the corrupted avianoid had tried to do first, and gestured with his head to the side. Tak understood immediately, and before they could fully recover from the nonlethal attack, the corrupted avianoid was heaved off their feet and into one of the cages. It took a quick swap back and a Moment of Clarity to figure out how the door locked, but with that done they'd managed to seal them in with no apparent way to get out. The door shook as the corrupted avianoid attempted to batter it down, but the construction was too strong to be broken or dislodged.

"Heads up," Daniel said into the team's sending stone. "They just tried to push Tak into a cage. My bet is they can corrupt us that way, but we can also seal them in there."

"Got it. Everyone's still doing well. What's the kill count?" Evalyn asked back.

"Uh." Daniel quickly looked around as Tak moved to engage stragglers, subtracting how many auras there were now from how many there'd been when he'd last checked. "48, give or take. If it doesn't happen soon, then this rift might be diff-"

At that moment, what was actually kill #50 was made. In the rift above power gathered and then burst out, restoring half of Daniel's mana pool and cracking the black sheen of the second shield wall. Attacks resumed from inside the barriers, made more complicated as the spears of the impalers glowed with corruption.

"Round two! Shuni's not going to be able to see the crawlers. We'll have to take the first hit and reveal them after. Watch for the spears, and for area attacks coming from the ground. It's a slow build up but the casters will try to coordinate," Daniel warned. He was about to mention the reinforcements, but it appeared he didn't have to. Some of the cables attached to the rift glowed, a pulse of energy traveling through them and into cages around the chamber in what appeared to be a random distribution. He saw one land nearby, a blocky stalker padding out soon after.

"They're spawning around us," Evalyn said before he could. "That's a problem, but we need to cut off the ones further inside. Daniel, Shuni, take out the wardens you can reach."

His gut twisted at the thought of Shuni blinking into hostile territory with no way of getting back out if the worst happened, but he shook off the anxiety. "I can take a hit if I need to. Shuni, I'm going to fly to the other side, grab the ones on this one." There wasn't a response, and he couldn't see her aura, which probably meant everything was fine.

Beyond a spear that grazed him, Daniel avoided major injury and kept Regeneration on Hunter. He tagged everything he could in the process, seeing two more corrupted avianoids that would become immediate problems once the second shield wall dropped. One level 2 and another 3, neither appearing to be especially threatening. There was still too much distortion to see in the very center of the room, but for a brief moment he swore he saw something large moving in the very center.

We haven't seen any new types of projections, he considered as Quick Mind and Power Shot worked in parallel. Are they deeper in?

Daniel pulled off the same Telekinetic Reach trick to kill two wardens, activating Alex's Glimpse of Dawn when he nearly zeroed out on the second one. "Mine are down, waiting on Shuni. Everyone doing ok?"

"…I caught some corruption," Evalyn hesitantly admitted. "Caster from behind. It's small, we can keep going, but the spawns will be a problem if we push in."

Damn it. Damn it! Rather than immediately fly back to the side his team was on, Daniel continued firing phasing rounds into the shielded section in an attempt to whittle down the projections. We can recover, even if someone is fully corrupted, but what if that breaks their class like Bekali? Or their mind? It was a time pressure that would only grow worse as more enemies gained corruption attacks. "Ok. Let me know if you need me, otherwise I'm going to take down the bastions on my side after marking Khiat's. They get an area attack next wave that'll hit the whole team."

Keeping to the sky to continue drawing the attention of as many as he could, Daniel spent another ludicrous amount of mana revealing the weak point of three more bastions. Two were within Khiat's firing arc, but a third would be blocked by the shield walls so long as he was over here. Knowing full well this kind of shot would've been impossible for him before, he sighted the glowing orange point rapidly moving across the six meter high chest. Hunter, Tak, using Moment.

Time slowed, allowing Daniel to hone his attack. Quick Mind wouldn't normally work against the bastion as the speed of its weak point would spoil his shot, which was what this power was for. He just had to hope that his base damage along with the phasing ammunition still loaded into his blast bow would be enough as he did not have the mana to continue chaining this. The team would have the opposite problem if they got to the later waves, but the sheer body count they had to get through was countering the initial 'fire everything' strategy. Without Alex's boon allowing an instant mana refresh, several close calls across the team might have turned into hits.

Anyone heard from Alex? Daniel asked as the cone of probabilities representing his next shot tightened. We could use refreshes on Glimpse if she can manage it. It's probably better for us in the long run to have her use mana potions on her side and keep it up.

Don't know, Hunter said, a bit of edge to the forced patience in his voice. No one has said anything, bad or good. She's probably still watching.

Think she'll ever want to fight? Tak asked. Alex is strong, in her own way. Decent class, not the best, but good.

Guessing you think the best class is Totem Warrior?

Or anything like it, Tak confirmed. Actually, Hunter's class is probably the best.

I mean, yeah, Daniel laughed internally. He took what the monster gods were doing and flipped it on its head. Wonder if Spinner will get something like that eventually. Quick Mind pinged but he kept the spell going for another few seconds. Things will get tough next wave. Remember, the melee's will be dealing corruption with every hit. You can't just tank attacks Tak, you'll have to dodge.

Ok, but what about Hunter?

What about Hunter? Daniel smiled as he resumed time and let the shot go. He has the best class.

…

Wingcraft continued to battle the astral projections as the second shield wall dropped. The initial momentum they'd carried began to reverse as first Sigron, then Khiat also took a small amount of corruption when casters focused their area. They began playing safer, still aware that time was not on their side. Yet, there was one more obstacle they would have to face. It was not the unknown projection type waiting in the center of the main power core, it was not even in the room. But it was nearby. Waiting for its moment to strike.

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