The Dragon's Wrath: Ashes of the Fallen

Chapter 70: Infested Zones

(Wednesday, November 1st Game Day / Monday, April 12th Real Day)

"Keep the line tight," I said sternly to the casters as I watched them from behind. They were going to engage a bear only three in-game weeks after arriving. Their development thus far, had been spectacular. Astrid and the others were already nearing level thirty as their high potential conferred a boost to experience equal to their rating.

Some were at a seventy-percent increase, others near or over ninety-percent.

It was needless to say really, but they were growing, rapidly.

"We're ready Sir Sigurd," called out Astrid as she finished checking the other nine casters on her flanks. "Shall I give the order?"

"You're in charge Astrid," I stated reassuringly.

"Commence Chanted Verses," she commanded without hesitation.

In an instant, ten pairs of hands started to glow two distinctly different colors.

Four pairs of hands had started to glow a dark purplish-black as tiny balls of flame began to take shape. Simultaneously, six pairs of hands on the other side of the color spectrum began to glow with an off-white color, electricity buzzing and cracking as little streaks of lightning started to accumulate and form into balls of their own.

Three seconds of chanting, followed by two seconds of casting.

And then a chorus of voices, all calling out.

"Lightning Bolt!"

"Shadow Flare!"

The dark magic shot forth with a strange sound, not too different from the sound of a roman candle shooting off. A pop, a whizz almost, as the small dark energy projectiles flew through the air with slight shadowy tails. The projectiles were quick, extremely quick as I struggled to track their trajectories with my eyes.

Yet despite such speed, lightning was faster.

The counterbalance to the quiet sounds of the shadow magic, the deafening crack of thunder and blinding flash of lightning filled the air. The flares struggled to keep up as sparks exploded from the impact of six lightning bolts. Electricity surged through the chest and ribcage of the poor bear while one or more spells had trigged the stun.

Paralyzed, the bear struggled in place as four shadow flares impacted soon after with an odd soundless explosion. The roar of the white bear was heard loud and clear, while completely engulfed in dark flame. It rose up on its hind legs for only a second, then fell back to the ground below.

The barrage of spells was powerful, quick, and most importantly, deadly.

"I think they might be able to split into two groups now," I said to Katherine, who was attached to my arm. "What do you think?"

"I believe they're capable," she replied. "But who would lead the second unit?"

"You," I answered with a nudge.

She looked at me with confusion clearly displayed on her troubled face. Katherine had yet to leave my side in weeks… she was beginning to lose her independence. What little of it she had, that is.

"You'll be fine, we'll stay close together," I reassured her.

She simply grabbed my arm tighter, squeezing my arm between her chest.

Ah, her flirtation wouldn't work here.

This was necessary for her.

"Alright, we're going to split into two groups, Astrid sort them out," I explained to the casters who were celebrating their new kill. "Katherine will lead your group Astrid."

Kate shot an angry look at me but I ignored it.

She could pout all she wanted.

As I walked through the forest, I was reminded that our selection of creatures had dwindled to our surprise. The rabbits, foxes, and wolves had all but disappeared due to our overhunting. At first, I was scared that we would be without beasts to kill… but my fears were soon allayed.

The game had already accounted for such scenarios, much to my delight.

Bears had flooded the forest, far more than usual.

And as we continued to hunt those bears, their population started to thin as well. Replaced in turn, with random Rattanorvs, Goblins, and Dire Wolves. The Dire Wolves frightened me… as my experience the first time had left an impression.

Out on a walk with Katherine in the middle of the night a few days back, it was a regular evening stroll. Only to be interrupted by a howl far more distinct than any I had heard before. I was curious as to the noise. We investigated, following the sounds far off in the distance until we finally came upon our quarry.

At first, I thought my eyes deceived me.

I mistook the wolf, for a bear.

And by the time I realized what I was looking at, it had already noticed us.

I thought it strange, scary even, eyes as large as my fist glowing a deep red in the moonlight. Then the head, the size of my chest, fangs as long as my hands, and the body itself, far too large, far too large to be normal.

We stood frozen in place while staring at the massive creature until it made its move. Katherine broke into action first, blinding the creature as it charged and giving me the time to hit it with a single lightning bolt. The beast crashed to the ground shoveling dirt along with it as it dragged for a second.

Shaking off the dirt and springing back up, it charged again and with its massive length, covered the distance between us almost instantaneously.

Meeting the charge, my halberd swung with full force collided with its body as I was knocked into the air and sent flying. Crashing into a tree, a few ribs broken, I coughed as I threw my hands up and channeled an arc lightning.

My weapon, still stuck in the beast's side, dangled awkwardly as the beast slowly moved forward. Arc lightning had failed to completely paralyze the beast. It continued to power through my spell, resisting my God-tier magic as if it were a small annoyance.

Katherine hit it with another spell, a holy blast that should have knocked it down.

Yet it shrugged off the damage as if it weren't a thing.

Then the paralyzing effects of my lightning diminished to nothing and the beast lunged forth. Dodging with a roll, the wolf bit the tree nearly in half as it started to teeter. I yelled to Katherine, to dodge the tree, as the wolf continued to attack.

Another golden-white explosion hit the beast, right as it mounted on top of me. The blast did nothing, as I stared down the jaws of the wolf. It tried to bite me, to eat my face but I wrapped my arms around its neck and clung to its body.

Knives pulled out, I stuck them both into the thick muscular neck of the wolf as it tried to buck me off. Katherine switched to a holy barrage, and sent the homing balls of energy flying in my direction.

Even with the erratic movements of the wolf, the spell swerved with it and exploded right on target. The wolf finally reacted, as I pulled my one-handed axe and started to hack away. The knives, firmly planted into the nape of the wolf served only as pegs for which to hold.

Sliding and bouncing, I continued to hack away at the wolf until I was finally thrown clear off. Falling to the ground with a hard thud, the wind had been knocked out of me.

Large red prideful eyes filled with anger, glared at me in the darkness of the night.

And then I saw the soft-white hue form underneath it, and immediately ran towards the wolf to keep it in place. I grew angry too, rage filling my mind at the thought of losing to an overgrown wolf. I entered the enraged state, I went into a frenzy.

I clipped the nose of the wolf with my one-handed axe, causing it to recoil in pain as a plume of holy fire shot up underneath it, engulfing it partially in flame. It yelped once before jumping to the side and out of the fire.

It had been burned, cut, and stabbed… but it was fine.

The two of us circled each other, as Kate regained mana in the distance.

We were both angry now.

Tired of the beast's patience, I charged with blind aggression overwhelming me.

Jumping up and swinging down I cleaved into the face of the wolf as it managed to bite through my chest. Pain immediately shot through my body as blood filled my lungs. Grabbing the axe I yanked, tearing through the side of the mouth of the wolf and forcing it to let go. I fell to the floor once more, as I began to feel numb to the pain.

My state of mind beyond gone.

I ran back in, only to slide underneath the wolf and grab at the halberd that was still stuck in its side. Utilizing the momentum of my slide, I pulled on the halberd and ripped it free, taking a rib or two with it.

The wolf growled a nasty growl that should have sent a shiver down my spine.

Except, I was nearly immune to negative mental effects.

Tilting my head slightly to the side, I stared at the beast.

We locked eyes, challenging each other to see which of us was the more dominant.

I raised my weapon.

It turned and ran.

That, was the first encounter.

The first time Katherine and I had ever seen a dire wolf. To say the experience was a frightening one, didn't give the beast enough credit.

Yet the funny thing, was what came next.

I soon found a single dire wolf wasn't much to a group of casters. They weren't much to a group of warriors with a team of healers behind them either.

Still, the sudden influx of Goblins, Rattanorv, and Dire Wolves was a surprise. The game called this state of affairs, an Infested Zone. An ever-changing game state that evolved to the needs of the surrounding players. The more we hunted and the faster we hunted, the quicker the game would adjust the difficulty.

Out were the minor low-level creatures, and in were the higher level ones. Now, we had creatures in the level fifties up through seventy-five or so. My guess, was if we kept at this pace, even stronger beasts might appear.

We weren't ready for that yet... but in time.

In time, a lot of things change.

"Soren, you're the lead here," I stated as I pointed to the shortest man in the group. He wasn't a physical specimen by a long shot, a perfectly normal looking man by all accounts really. What he lacked in physical ability though, was made up with a strong personality and a good head.

He was essentially the number two behind Astrid.

"I won't disappoint Sir," he exclaimed loudly. "Gather up, there's a pack of goblins over yonder, we'll start from the center and work our way to the flanks. Get ready!"

Standing back, I watched with arms folded as the group of five casters lined up and began to cast. The group of [Wild Goblins] weren't anything to worry about, really. All I cared about was their coordination.

A few more levels and they would be split up again to begin their new training regime. Group simulation with a mixture of warriors, mages, and a priest all in one party. If they were successful, then they would be allowed to hunt on their own.

Once that stage was reached, I could return to focusing on myself.

I couldn't afford to stagnate.

The game, was always evolving.

Players, were always progressing.

I needed to stay ahead of the game no matter the cost.

Three waves of spells later and the goblins had all been killed. Their corpses looted, we continued on our way. Every day for four hours, we repeated the process.

At night, I worked by myself, with Katherine's assistance from time to time.

She taught me Holy Magic, the same as she taught every caster in our employment. Four dedicated healers along with ten dual-magic users that all knew how to cast a heal at the very minimum. If a situation called it for it, someone would be able to throw a [Holy Light] out.

If it ever came down to it again, requiring a heal only a few seconds away in order to save a life… there better be somebody nearby and ready to cast. And if I had to be that person, so be it. There was no shame in saving a part of my mana bar for an emergency heal. Whatever it took to save lives, even if they were Artificial lives.

Yeah, I had branched out once again.

I was a true hybrid at heart.

And in practice.