Chương 12: 11-Between a Rock and a Bad Place

Bob looked with horror at the grisly scene in front of him. Jenna lay wounded and on the verge of death as her attacker retrieved the dagger he had used from her back. He glanced at Bob for a second. He was next. The Mystic Poisoner can empower his weapons with magical poisons that are hard to resist or heal from. One out of two combat patterns was detected. A second was all Bob needed. He used Instant Warrior to shift into his War Form while conjuring a specific Palooga ball from his mind.

Olana's Devotion (Palooga 4): Throw the ball marked with Olana's name. Get a hefty bonus to Body if it is thrown at someone who has hurt someone you love. The bonus scales with the amount of harm and decreases with time. His love for Jenna, the severity of the wound inflicted on her, and the immediacy of the attack combined to grant a very powerful effect; Bob felt as if he had thrown a cannonball into his enemy's face. The counterattack was so powerful and vicious that there was no way Orun could survive it.

And yet he did. He managed to perceive it, partially dodge it, and withstand it. The ball scored a glancing blow on his left side—it carried such power that even that partial success was enough to propel Orun twenty feet away. He stood up, swaying, his left arm bent at an unnatural angle. Bob groaned. The attack should have turned anyone into paste. Just how high were Orun's Dexterity and Might? What was his level? Then Orun vanished.

The Mystic Poisoner can empower his weapons with magical poisons that are hard to resist or heal from. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Relentless Skirmisher drops out of combat to heal and empower himself before returning to the fight. One out of two combat patterns was detected. What the hell? thought Bob. The perk has never done this before. That was when he knew they were in trouble. Billy's massive form raised his 15-foot-long machete, trying to keep Akiros at bay.

The name of the gestalt was Wrath of the Forest, and it had been designed to counter Akiros. It was partially vegetable, and the sap it had instead of blood possessed magical properties that would negate Akiros' Blood Buff and would enhance all healing he received from Bob. Akiros howled, a terrifying symphony of winter that permeated Billy's very bones, slowing and weakening him. He knew the Tribulation could cast this magic every ten seconds. It would eventually become so powerful that it would incapacitate him.

The centauroid's massive shape glowed briefly as he dispelled the buff. Blessing of Spring: Use your Spirit to dispel any magical debuff cast on you. Ten-second cooldown. Billy felt the warmth of the sun entering him, taking Akiros' cold away. He roared a war cry and charged the monstrous wolf, aiming for its head with his machete. Akiros dodged the blow at the last moment, positioning himself so that he could deliver a nasty bite to Billy's front left leg. Pain lanced up Billy's body as he started to limp.

Everything was okay. They had counted on this. His centaur form was stronger than Akiros's and would eventually outlast him. They knew that he would use his precognitive dodge to get hits now and then, but Bob's healing power, combined with his magical sap, would take care of it. As long as he kept getting healed, Akiros would lose. But he was not getting healed, he realized, as his now-slower form tried uselessly to score a hit on his lithe opponent.

"Bob?" he asked tentatively in the Blood Link.

"Billy, Jenna is hurt. It is bad. I had to teleport us both into the cave system we were going to use as a retreat zone," his thoughts came back in a rush, tinged with fear.

"It was Orun; he is hunting us, and he has powers I do not understand. I managed to hurt him, and he has retreated to heal, but he will come back soon." Billy felt a moment of panic as he heard Bob's voice inside his mind, but he steeled himself. He could not lose control. Not with Jenna in danger. Time to change the plan. He dropped his machete as his opponent lunged for him. Seeing he was defenseless, Akiros went straight for his throat. Billy did not even defend himself.

As he fell under the weight of Akiros, he flailed wildly with his arms, uselessly trying to fend him off. The wolf took him down to the ground and prepared to rip his throat off. Billy placed both his palms on the wolf's eyes and exploded. Akiros howled in fury, still very much alive and twice as angry, but now completely blind. Out with a Bang! had limited usefulness against such a powerful opponent, but Billy had still managed to surprise him.

Billy found himself floating in the Blue Room, while the majestic figure of Akiros yelped like a chastised puppy, trying to stamp out with his paws the fire still burning the fur on his face. Billy used Expand the Room to float towards Bob's last known location.

"I am coming, Bob, try to hold on!" he shouted through the mind-link. The Wrath of the Forest had fallen in combat, and that allowed Billy to reclaim half the achievement points he had spent on the form, thanks to his Silver Linings passive. He would have to make good use of them if he wanted his friends to survive. Bob had tried every Restoration perk he had on Jenna, but the wound on her side refused to close. A small puddle of blood was seeping through the improvised bandages Bob had used to stem the bleeding.

She was still unconscious, and her breathing was very shallow. She looked pale and frail, and for the first time, Bob admitted to himself that they may lose her. The poison is resisting my magic, Bob thought. It was clearly an aftereffect of that weird class Orun had used when he attacked the Primordial. He did not have a perk specialized in neutralizing poison, but he still had the Pipe of Hamelin. He started to play it and felt a perk appear in his mind.

Neutralize Poison (Harmony 3) As long as you play, any poison affecting a listener will become inert, and it will be cleared from the victim's system at ten times the normal rate. Requires a Restoration 3 perk. He lost himself in the music and felt the familiar forces of life magic and harmony converge, creating a song that would filter impurities from any metabolic system. But something was wrong. The poison was alive, like a feral beast that refused to lie down and die.

The Pipe of Hamelin started to shake in Bob's hand. He focused on completing the song. For a second, it seemed he had managed to take control of the situation. Then the pipe burst into flames, scorching Bob's hands and ending the magic. Bob swore, something he rarely did. Billy materialized at his side in a flash of blue light. He immediately knelt to check on Jenna.

"How is she doing?" he asked, his face filled with anguish.

"I have tried to purge the poison…" Bob started, but then something red flashed in his mental vision. His Truth Reveals Itself perk had activated Gaze of the Eternal Warrior. The Mystic Poisoner can empower his weapons with magical poisons that are hard to resist or heal from. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Relentless Skirmisher drops out of combat to heal and empower himself before returning to the fight. One out of two combat patterns was detected.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The Unfailing Bowman gets bonuses to his powers when he makes lethal attacks from range. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The opponent can reduce his level to 10 and raise it again to 100, following a totally different path each time. Two out of two combat patterns were detected. Weakness Detected: Your enemy stays at level 10 for a very brief period of time before reaching level 100 again.

"Look out!" Bob screamed as he grabbed both Billy and the prone form of Jenna, activating Shadow Gate and pushing them all into the nearest shade. They teleported thirty feet into another cave to their left. Bob saw a storm of arrows tear into the cave they had just left behind. The barrage would have torn them apart. Orun was at the entry of the cave, armed with a beautiful bow and a quiver on his hip. Their eyes met. Orun nocked another arrow and shot it at them.

Bob ducked back into the cave, but the arrow swerved like a boomerang and entered their hiding place, grazing Billy's cheek. They had to take him out. If Orun kept attacking them at range, he would get a lucky hit sooner or later. They had to pull him into close combat. Akiros was still howling, sniffing at the air, and trying to get Billy's scent. That gave Bob an idea. He touched Billy and improvised a rank 2 perk. Fighting a Tribulation eased the process, and the perk was ready in seconds.

Control Scent (Tastecraft 2): Direct with your mind the scent emitted by a source you can touch. Bob focused on making Billy's scent reach Akiros. Orun chose that moment to talk.

"Call Dawn, or I will kill you all here and now!" he coldly said. That was interesting. They were not their primary target. Balance was using them as bait to draw Dawn to a trap. Bob guessed Orun had just gotten a call from Balance, reining him in; that last attack could have easily slain the three of them, leaving Balance without bait for his trap. That confirmed Jenna's suspicion: Dawn was interested in them. They were somehow part of a test.

"Last warning," Orun shouted, nocking another arrow. Then Billy's scent finally reached Akiros's nose. With a howl, the Tribulation tried to tear into the cave system. His head got stuck at the entrance with such force that he created a minor tremor. Orun swore as he dived into the cave. The jaws of Akiros were snapping the air, only a few feet apart from him. This time, Bob saw him change before his eyes. The Mystic Poisoner can empower his weapons with magical poisons that are hard to resist or heal from.

One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Relentless Skirmisher drops out of combat to heal and empower himself before returning to the fight. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Unfailing Bowman gets bonuses to his powers when he makes lethal attacks from range. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Kaleidoscopic Swordsman can make endless clones of himself. One out of two combat patterns was detected.

The opponent can reduce his level to 10 and raise it again to 100, following a totally different path each time. Two out of two combat patterns were detected. Weakness Detected: Your enemy stays at level 10 for a very brief period of time before reaching level 100 again. Armed with an exquisite curved sword and yelling a war cry, Orun charged at them. He left behind afterimages of himself that solidified in an instant and joined the charge. Soon, they were surrounded by a swarm of swordsmen inside the cave complex.

Billy saw the horde of swordsmen converging on the Losers. His brain panicked, trying to decide on the best way to fight them. A female voice, elegant and poised, sounded inside his head. It was a voice he had come to know and respect.

"Friend Billy, do not use a gestalt for this fight. Choose me, such as I am. You and I, together, can take this foe. Together, we can do anything," it said. Billy did not doubt her for a moment. The decision was taken. He disappeared in a flash of blue light, and when he came back, he was Billy no more. Belegrin, the First Spear of the Elves, charged at their foes. Bob saw the two opponents clash, like the tide crashing against a cliff. Billy had become an elven demigod, armed with a spear.

Bob had seen him fight before in that form and knew what he was capable of. It could take down entire armies by itself. But Orun was not an army; he was an Omega. More than an Omega, as his weird powers showed. Belegrin could be attacked by thousands of warriors at the same time—they were as one to her. But that one was the Kaleidoscopic Swordsman. Billy's spear mowed the swordsmen like wheat, but each of them left a gift before dying.

One exploded into splinters that shredded Billy's face, another erupted into a cloud of flame that singed his skin before drifting apart, and a third one exploded as acidic slime, which the Loser avoided only by inches. The Elven warrior became tougher the more he fought, but so did Orun. Not only did he keep splitting into more copies, but the new ones he created seemed more adapted to fight Belegrin's powers—they became more unpredictable, better suited to face a master of the spear.

Billy could not do this alone. He needed help, and Bob was going to give it to him, using the greatest weapon he had—his mind. He went back to that weekend in which he had tested his powers for the first time, discovering dozens of low-rank perks. There was one that had sat unused in a corner of his mind for the better part of one year. One that seemed too unwieldy to deserve being leveled up. He now understood it was the key to winning this fight.

"Billy, I can take him, but only if you manage to make him change his class. He is adapting to your fighting style. You must goad him into using a totally different strategy. Do this, and I will take him down," he sent into his mind. Orun was mainly ignoring him. To him, he was only a broken man holding the dying body of a girl. Good. He summoned Bariella's Palooga ball. It had a perk that doubled his Body when he acted with a cool head and a well-designed plan.

Bariella had always been a cautious tactician, no matter how rugged she looked. Then he activated the perk that had been lying unused for so long in his mind. He felt it come to life and begin to gather power. Waiting. Waiting for the perfect moment.

"Have faith, Billy," Belegrin said to Billy, speaking directly into his mind.

"Faith wins battles, not silly powers." And he listened to her. Two seconds ago, he was an elven demigod who had bit off more than he could chew. With those simple words, Belegrin turned him into an instrument of destiny. And then Bob's voice sounded in his mind, asking him to make Orun change the way he fought. How do you make someone switch his style when he is already winning? You make the fight even easier for him. Billy's spear took another clone in mid-air just as he was jumping on him.

This one exploded into tiny icicles. One of them struck the unconscious form of Jenna, drawing a line of blood on her cheek. Billy felt wrath consume him. Belegrin came to the rescue again.

"No, Billy. No anger. Your enemy has given you a weapon. Use it," she said.

"Enough!" he shouted at Orun.

"I know you want to catch at least some of us alive to use us as bait. You are on the way to kill all three of us."

"Let's finish this another way. I can sanctify oaths. If you swear not to use your weapon, I will swear not to use mine. Let's finish this fight in a way that does not endanger my girlfriend," he said. Orun doubted for a moment, clearly suspecting some type of ruse. His gaze lingered briefly over Jenna's failing body, her breath turning fast and shallow—she was not long for this world. Then he looked at Billy's eyes and saw the kind of anguish that can't be faked. Lovebirds.

Silly lovebirds playing games in the middle of a war. They deserved their fate.

"I accept your terms," he said, smiling coldly. Billy dropped his spear on the ground. Orun dropped his sword. All his clones disappeared. He looked at Billy, sizing him up. He had him. Bob prepared himself. Coming any moment, now. Eyes of Opportunity (Truthfinding 1): The user can refrain from taking a specific action he could perform at any time, using his perception to find the best moment to act.

For each second he refrains from acting, the user gets a non-cumulative 1% chance of a perfect opportunity, which must be seized as soon as it appears. If he uses the opportunity, he may substitute the stat that governs that action with his mind stat. The effect can't last more than a second. Orun's powers flickered for a moment. Now! Bob's Palooga ball struck him in the middle of the forehead at the very same instant his level dropped to ten.

The Mystic Poisoner can empower his weapons with magical poisons that are hard to resist or heal from. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Relentless Skirmisher drops out of combat to heal and empower himself before returning to the fight. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Unfailing Bowman gets bonuses to his powers when he makes lethal attacks from range. One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Kaleidoscopic Swordsman can make endless clones of himself.

One out of two combat patterns was detected. The Monk of One Thousand Blows can use unarmed attacks to… ERROR, ERROR, ERR.. Orun's body somersaulted and fell on the ground, never to rise again. Akiros smelled new blood and went absolutely crazy. He attacked the entrance with renewed force. He would widen it enough to attack them in a couple of minutes. Billy/Belegrin looked at the monster with distaste.

"I will be back, Bob," he said as he used his chant powers to summon Aramel's moon stag into the room. Then he charged into Akiros's open mouth at the speed of a freight train. A muffled explosion could be heard as Billy exploded inside Akiros's throat, and the wolf's severed head rolled clumsily into the room, like debris from an action-movie explosion. The fight was over. They had won. Bob could hear Charlie Vaungh's voice at the edge of his mind, urging him to drop a one-liner. Do it now, man, do it.

If you do not do a proper one-liner after a fight like this, you never will, Charlie whispered. Bob held Jenna's motionless body and dropped his one-liner.

"Please, don't die."