Chương 120: Arc 2 - Chapter 62

Something sped through the muddy water, a darting, glittering beast. Fritz and his team instinctively drew their weapons as the eel slipped right through the middle of their circle. He only caught sight of it for a second but what he saw chilled his blood. The monster was long, at least nine feet, and was almost as thick around as his torso. It was covered in fine lattice of blue-silver scales, the metallic sheen cut with gills of bright blue.

Fritz barely had time to dodge, his Danger Sense wracked his body in brilliant burning before he leapt out from the water and alighted on a section of pale roots. Bert, who had leapt onto the monster, wasn't so lucky. There was a flash, then a crack like a branch snapping. He spasmed, lost control of his legs, and fell, splashing into the water, while steam rose from his skin. The eel, quick as the lightning it conjured, bit into the stunned man and attempted to pull him away.

A red cloud bloomed in the murk as Bert thrashed and seized a root to stop himself from being taken by the great, glittering eel. Fritz was first to his aid, leaping from his vantage and lunging at the beast with Quicksilver. Some strange sense must have alerted it to his strike and it coiled its massive body to avoid the worst of the attack. The blade's edge cut into the eel's side, slicing into scales. Thankfully, the beast let go of Bert, instead spinning on its new assailant.

Its entire body glowed with blue-white hues as its tail swept towards Fritz. Although he was forewarned of the danger, the slippery, silty nature of his footing prevented him from evading, and the tail struck him, or would have if not for the cold embrace of Umbral Phase. The bulk of the strike slipped through, but the lighting shroud tore at Fritz's shadowy form, burning, searing across his chest. It was an awful agony, where the tail passed his very being violently vibrated.

He screamed and it came out like a whisper. His vision faded, darkened, as he drifted backward. After a heartbeat, he solidified, the water sloshed and his feet failed to catch him. As he fell he heard another loud crack and another splash. His head fell into the murk. With a force of will he took control of his limbs, not with his unresponsive muscles, but instead seizing on his Grace to guide his arms and legs.

It was an intensely odd feeling like he was a puppet dancing slowly on deliberately drawn strings, but he couldn't focus on the sensation, not when he was drowning in barely three feet of water. Eyes stinging, his hand gripped a root and dragged him upwards. He moved like syrup, Grace wasn't meant for speed, merely precision, and in this moment its weaknesses manifested. The water around him surged and his head breached the shallow tide. He coughed and spluttered, blood spraying from his mouth.

Fritz couldn't breathe, his lungs failed to fill with air. He realised he was hurt far worse than he thought, his head spun as a Grace steadied hand searched his pouch for potions. Another crack and a scream, Jane's scream. Fritz unstoppered a vial and poured its red contents down his throat. Immediately the healing set in, easing the terrible aching and countering the cramping of his chest. He staggered, slouching on an outcrop of roots and breathing in a deep, glorious breath.

The sound rattled raggedly in his ears, but life and strength flowed back into his limbs. Around him it was chaos, Toby was floating face up in the water and Jane sloshed to his side, potion in hand. Bert struggled to his feet, his eyes were bloodshot and his shoulders were twitching. The eel itself had a spear stuck through its middle, and Rosie tried to assault the beast with her pick and hatchet. The eel ignored her until the pick, wreathed in scarlet light, impacted its coiling body and pierced its scales.

The beast slithered in a circle, and she was shoved away and under the water by a powerful tail slap. Fritz had to act, and he looked for his blade. Somehow Quicksilver was still in his gloved hand, he gripped it so tightly his fingers ached. He dashed forward, wrapped his sword in Gloom Strike's shadows and lunged. This time the eel didn't dodge and the point of his black blade stabbed deep into its gills, just behind its overly fanged head. It turned a hateful eye on him, hissing a stream of blood from its maw.

Again that shroud of lightning surged over its body and Fritz was too slow, too surprised, to not let go of his sword. Danger Sense hadn't even warned him. Instead of the crack and flash he expected a sizzling and a crackling reached his ears. Quicksilver's long blade lit up with arcs of blue-white energy that swiftly dissipated or was drawn into the sword's centre.

Fritz didn't take the time to ponder what had happened, he pulled his blade free then stabbed and slashed at the reeling eel, slicing jagged furrows into its flesh. It flailed and floundered, blood pouring from its plentiful wounds. Bert looked like he wanted to charge the dying eel, but his twitching body was fighting him the entire time.

"Retreat! Let it bleed out!" Fritz commanded, backing away from the increasingly sluggish monster.

"Get on the roots if you can!" He cried, following his own order and clambering up and onto a bed of roots. Jane tugged Toby's body away, aided by Lauren, while George and Cal retreated from the spitting, sparking beast, climbing out of the water. Bert begrudgingly obeyed, walking away on stiff legs. From their root refuges they watched the monster thrash and bleed, as Jane tended to Toby, forcing a potion into his mouth.

Fritz finally let himself go limp as eventually the eel died, hissing out a final, high whine, then going sill and floating belly up. Toby gasped, groaned and grimaced as a healing potion took effect.

"Jane, can you see to Bert," Fritz groaned.

"It's not that bad," Bert croaked, trying to grin, then coughing terribly.

"Nevermind. Can I get some healing?" Once Jane saw Toby was better and he nudged her with his elbow, she complied, sloshing over and stitching Bert's bite wound.

"Can't do much for the lightning wound, it's more a burn than a cut," she stated hesitantly.

"I can help with that," Lauren said swiftly. Joining Jane and applying her Soothe Burn Ability to Bert's chest.

"Ahhh, that's good," Bert moaned.

"You're a goddess."

"Oh? Which one of us?" Jane asked playfully.

"Both," he replied, eliciting two sets of rolled eyes. Once Bert's recovery had been seen to, the healers turned their attention to Fritz. He still ached so he let them see to him. He had to remove his leather armour vest and his shirt, so they could assess the damage. He was surprised to see a whole section of his chest was discoloured, and bruised a brown-red, almost like rust.

"Ouch," he muttered to himself. His skin wasn't painful, but it was raw and the flesh beneath ached like he'd been beaten with a hammer.

"Just when did you get muscles?" Jane asked incredulously, poking him just below his stomach.

"Why do you look like a prizefighter?"

"What?" Fritz asked.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm still lean."

"You're lean, compared to someone like Bert or George, but this," she said prodding him again, "is dense muscle."

"Do you have the Dense Muscle Trait too?" Cal asked.

"What? No, this is simply the result of monster meat and hard work," Fritz professed.

"Hard work?" Bert scoffed.

"And some points to Strength I'd wager," Toby said.

"Perhaps," Fritz allowed.

"This bruise doesn't look like something my sew wound is good for," Jane stated.

"Lauren, you should see to him while I re-check Toby."

"Very well," Lauren agreed taking a step towards Fritz, "No moaning like Bert, if you would." Fritz agreed and let the woman apply her Soothe Burns to his chest. Immediately he could feel the effects, his skin stopped prickling and breathing hurt far less. He sighed softly and thanked her, she waved him off and went to tend to Toby who was similarly burnt by the lightning, even if the damage seemed to be more on the outside than inside as Fritz's had been.

While the team recovered, Fritz recalled the fight and considered the small mysteries and how they should change their tactics to deal with this foe. The most obvious peril came from that lightning Ability, it had scorched and stunned both Bert and Toby while being able to injure, maybe kill, Fritz even through his phase. The arcing shroud was both an offence and a defence, you couldn't touch the creature without risking harm so they would need some way to dispel or discharge it.

As without that power, the beast was just an eel. A quick, large and deadly eel, but an eel nonetheless. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Fritz looked down to where he still held Quicksilver. He remembered the sizzling and the bright arcs dancing up his blade, he wondered if it could be the same as when his sword had eaten the eldritch flame. The faint crack down the length of the blade glowed softly, blue-white tinged with that same blue-green hue of before.

He brought the sword to his ear and heard a humming. He tapped the flat with a finger. The sword stung him with a tiny bolt, and he quickly pulled his hand away. Fritz frowned, touching the hilt with his free hand and was shocked again. He pulled his stinging fingers into his mouth reflexively and looked at the hand still gripping the sword's hilt. He wondered why the lightning wasn't biting him there. The question only lasted for a moment, because the reason for that hand's inurement was plain to see.

The soft black glove, though it still steamed slightly, was completely unharmed. He could still feel the energy through the thin material, but it didn't spark at or try to strike him.

"How are you holding up, Fritz?" Bert asked. The still-shaky man had wandered up to him while he was distracted.

"Fine as can be. That lightning shroud felt like it tore me apart."

"Even through that ghost Ability?" Bert asked surprised.

"Even through my Umbral Phase," Fritz affirmed.

"That's no good. You'll have to be more careful," Bert grinned.

"We don't all have the toughness to survive those shocks." Normally Fritz would have waved his brother off with some affected assurance, but instead, he just agreed with him.

"You're right. I'm not sure on my Ability's limits, but on this Floor, it seems I've met one of its weaknesses," Fritz stated. Bert's grin dropped and he spoke soberly, "I'm starting to think the same of my own powers here. That bolt stopped me from moving, even if I wasn't as badly hurt by it as you were."

"Yes, we might be in some trouble," George observed, joining the conversation. Fritz was about to berate the man for sneaking up on them but he hadn't. George had just been sitting there, thoughtfully, the whole time.

"I held back after seeing the lightning," he admitted morosely.

"Covered in metal as I am I thought I'd do more harm than good if I struck. I feel a coward."

"You're not, George," Fritz said and Bert agreed with a nod adding, "It was the right call, it would have cooked you in your half-plate." George nodded, then sighed heavily.

"Another Floor where I have to take off this armour of mine," he complained halfheartedly.

"A shame," Bert said.

"Better than the alternative," Fritz said as George began to pull off the pieces of his armour, save his Treasure bracer which would likely hold up to the lighning.

"True as the rain," he agreed.

"What's going on with your sword?"

"Hmm?" Fritz hummed, holding his blade up for all to see.

"It seems my blade has eaten some lightning."

"It can do that?" Cal asked, having wandered over to them.

"It can," George said.

"My father mentioned it had something to do with the natural matrices and metals within the sword."

"What?" Cal asked, his face blank.

"Sometimes monster parts have wild glyphs within, they're like enchantments or runes that grow with the beasts, granting them their Abilities and other potential powers. It's called a natural matrix and it can be a boon or a bane when it comes to enchanting, as it might strengthen or interfere with the property you're trying to inscribe into the item."

"I see," Fritz said, though he was still sorting out the information and its implications.

"That sword, for instance, has a strange combination of matrix and material that allows it to store and channel certain energies, or so it seems," George said. For a man of few words, once he got talking about swords or their making he would chatter their ear off.

"Why didn't your father tell me this?" Fritz asked a little annoyed at the withheld information.

"He didn't know for sure what it did, he's not a runesmith proper," George said.

"He said it was just a hunch and he couldn't go telling you something that might have gotten you killed if he was wrong. Say if you tried to stab a lightning eel and were struck and shocked instead of it being safely stored."

"I see," Fritz said.

"Though it would have been easy enough to mention." George shrugged and espoused, "If you're not sure: don't speak." Fritz considered the saying and discarded it. If he followed that ethos he'd never be able to say another word.

"Well, that's good to know, but why is it... leaking?" Fritz asked as he tapped the blade and was shocked again.

"Those wild runes must not be fully compatible with lightning," Lauren provided. George nodded at that and added, "You should sheath it right away, maybe that will stop the rest from escaping." Fritz did so, sliding the blade into the sheath with the pleasing ring of metal on metal. He could still feel the hum of the power trapped within, but would have to check later to see if the lighting remained as potent.

"What will be our strategy going forward?" Lauren asked.

"We'll have to avoid the eels, and if we must fight we will do so from range," Fritz said.

"Stay on top of the roots if we can."

"What about the aberrant? Are we going to fight it?" Bert asked.

"If we come across it we'll decide then, but I'd rather we survive this floor rather than risk everything to fight such a beast. If the base lightning eel is this deadly I can only think that the aberrant will be far worse. A massacre in the making."

"Its seed would be worth a fortune," Lauren said absently, almost dreamily.

"Oh?" Bert inquired.

"Oh, yes. Lightning aligned seeds are rare, not to mention it's from an aquatic beast making it more compatible with Merfolk."

"More compatible?" Cal asked as he pulled his spear free from the floating eel carcass.

"The Ability offered could fill a Strain channel rather than the far more versatile Passive, Active and Trait channels," she explained.

"What do you mean?" Bert asked.

"Like Paths, Strains follow a set, or rather theme, of power selections," Lauren said.

"You're far more likely to gain Abilities that conform to their natures. Water powers and passives are common for Merfolk. As are Primal Abilities of the sea beast variety. Body powers are also very common with all Strains. Which goes without saying as a Strain changes your physiology."

"Huh," Bert said.

"Sounds powerful."

"They are. Though their Abilities still require Climbing, as everything does. You're not born a Merfolk after all, even if some may have been granted the latent trait from their noble parents."

"Fritz, you're a noble, right? Were your parents Merfolk?" Cal asked, quite rudely.

"No, they were both human," Fritz said.

"As I said, we were a small, out of favour, house. And having no Merfolk in our line for a few generations likely led to our decline."

"Huh, why is that?" Cal asked.

"There are many reasons, which I won't go into as I barely grasp them myself. But suffice it to say, there were noble politics at play," Fritz said.

"As there always are," he added, sighing.

"I don't care about that stuff," Bert said.

"It's boring and stupid."

"And completely irrelevant to our predicament," Fritz said.

"Back to tactics. Any novel ideas?"

"Do you think this thing's scales will protect against the lightning?" Cal asked, kicking the eel.

"We could use it as armour."

"How nostalgic," Fritz said.

"It's barely been two weeks," Toby groused.

"How can that be nostalgic?"

"Feels like an age ago," Fritz opined.

"It does, a little bit," Jane agreed, placing a hand on her stomach.

"A lot has happened this past span of days."

"Yes, yes. We've been very busy," Bert said.

"Let's get these scales off."

"Any magical materials on the eel?" Fritz asked, turning to Lauren. She looked the creature over with her lens.

"The scales are magic and there's a larger, more potent, mass of mana within, near the middle," Lauren stated.

"Even more reason to get these scales off," Bert said.

"Toby, get to cutting!" Toby approached the eel tentatively as if he were afraid it would light with white-blue arcs and scorch him again. When his fears went unrealised, he, Jane and Cal got to work processing the carcass while the others collected more red fruits or kept on the lookout for more eels. Surprisingly, no beasts came in search of them. The muddy waters flowed slowly, yellow leaves floated on the surface and nothing monstrous stirred. It put Fritz on edge and he waited for the other shoe to drop.

Again, it never came, and he nearly jumped when his name was called.

"Fritz, hurry up and test the lighting on the eel's scales," Bert said, holding up a tall length of the blue-sliver skin by its scaleless edges.

"Very well," Fritz said.

"Move aside vagrants and vagabonds, lest you also taste the lightning." Fritz drew Quicksilver and placed its still-humming point on the patch of scales. It sparked, and a tendril of white-blue bounded into the silver-blue, causing the scales to glow subtly. He pulled his sword away before it could be completely drained. Bert seemed fine, and he peered at the eel skin.

"Ooo," he said, then he touched the scales and cried, "Ouch!" as he was shocked.

"Seems the scales store the lighting as my sword does. While the skin itself protects from the lightning," Fritz theorised.

"So don't touch the scales?" Cal asked.

"Yes. Though we could also separate the two. Keep the scales in the bags and use the skin for some vests of lighting protection. That would reduce their effectiveness against bites and blades, but would stop us from accidentally shocking ourselves with a careless touch," Fritz said.

"Would that work George?"

"Yes, a full suit of the scales would need to be perfect to make sure you never hurt yourself with it. Preferably with multiple layers of skin interposed with leather just in case the armour is ever damaged," he said, talking himself through the process.

"We'll go with just the skin," Fritz decided.

"Can't make it perfect in a mangrove, and we can't risk hurting ourselves, even if we have two wonderful Healers."

"I'm not really a Healer," Lauren protested halfheartedly.

"Though you are wonderful," Fritz said, smiling. She returned the smile tiredly. And with that, the team got to work. Soon they had enough coverings for two people and gloves for George and Bert. Rosie and Lauren were chosen to be the lucky two who were to have the fishy-smelling, soggy skins draped over them. Lauren because her healing was more useful for this Floor, and Rosie because she was to intercept any eel that got past the front line.

The last use for the skin they found was to handle the odd organ, or rather, stone, they had discovered within the eel's body. It almost looked like a Seed, as it was vaguely spherical, black as coal and run through with twisted lines of copper. It hummed with power and it tried to shock any who touched it, so potent was the lighting mana stored within.

"These will fetch a pretty price," Lauren said happily.

"Wonderful news," Toby groused, flexing his recently healed hand.

"It is," Lauren agreed.

"This climb will be more than merely profitable, all that we've found so far will make us well off indeed. Though that's mostly because of the sirensilk."

"Lucky us," Fritz said, meaning it.

"Though let's not dally, we have to survive to enjoy this well-earned wealth." They packed away the lighting stone, the gathered fruits and the glittering scales and readied themselves for the trek ahead.

"Will this be another long walk?" Bert asked absently.

"No, it shouldn't be more than a couple of hours before we find the Door," Fritz supplied, more hopeful than sure.

"As long as we don't have to detour or we don't walk into anything too dangerous." He pulled out his trusty pole and transferred it to his gloved hand, then when he was satisfied that they were ready to go he set off in the direction of the Stairway. Hopping from root bank to root bank, they traversed the mangroves, only daring to brave the water when there was no other choice. As they progressed, Fritz spied an eel lurking in its lair.

He guided his team around its territory, deciding that caution was the watchword for this Floor. He soon spotted another eel, not six minutes away from the last, hiding in its cave of roots as the other had. It seemed the beasts had a preference for their lairs and they stuck to it. Again, Fritz led them around their foes without alerting them. It was lucky that these beasts had such poor senses, they likely relied on ambushing their prey as they moved past.

Idly, he wondered what the eels ate, if they ate anything, but he soon spied what must have been their favoured food. There out in the distance he spotted big, leech-like creatures, and there were three of them. Rubbery and black, the things slowly crept up the fruiting mangrove trees and ate their fill of the red limes. They had an almost amorphous quality to them, being both eyeless and boneless. Sticky tendrils leapt from their bulging, sack-like bodies, catching, then yanking the fruit into their fangless maws.

"They're stealing our fruit!" Bert cried.

"We must stop them!" Fritz turned to see his team postured in full agreement with the call to action, they almost looked annoyed at the dumb beasts, gulping down the flavoursome fruit so mindlessly. Though he found that he misliked them too.

"Fine, let us fight these foul fruit thieves."