Battle Admin System 7

7 - Ten Day Gauntlet

Am I getting closer to you, Moonkiller? Lillea let the thought simmer in her mind. Then she let it cool and fade to the back. She was not ready to face that monster. But she would get closer to her goal if she succeeded with the demon.

Hours passed since Lillea’s announcement to absorb the Prideful Shadow. All conversation ceased. The sun shone above as beasts sounded off in the swampy forest.

The demon paced erratically in her pen. The Moon Giant sat nearby with legs crossed. She was meditating to mend her mana channels.

Mana was everywhere in the world. It existed in the elements. In the beasts. In the people. Lillea had mana inside of her just like everything else. But nobody would accomplish great feats with their personal mana alone.

Mana existed in a state to support the laws established by the ancients. To bend the laws required magic. To use magic required system skills or ancient sorcery, which were costly. This issue glorified the importance of mana channels.

These channels existed in most living creatures like invisible veins. They drew in mana like inhaling a breath. Then circulated mana around the body before exhaling out. During this process, the channeler could turn the mana into magic based on a system skill or sorcerous spell.

Runes came from this knowledge. The magic inscriptions were like mana channels given shape. Enchantments wouldn’t exist without runes. The system existed on runic principles, too, but on a vastly different and alien scale.

Nonetheless, the importance of mana channels couldn’t be overstated. Overdrawing mana without the appropriate skills, racial abilities, or enchantments damaged the channels. Ironically, Moon Giants had middling mana channel durability.

Lillea knew many Moonstriders had failed to cultivate mana channel skills. It wasn’t usually a problem for her until Lillea had completed a powerful sorcery that bound and protected her prize. A sorcery she’d never done before until recently.

So, she meditated to gently heal her channels with mana. Like filling cracks with filament to return to a healthy state. At the very least, mana control came easy for Moon Giants.

Breathe in. Her mana channels absorbed the mana in the air, in the sunlight, in the forest, and everywhere nearby. They moved gently through her body like water flowing through a river system.

Breathe out. The mana circulated in its pure form once inside her body. It touched the damages and filled in the gaps. It fixed gradually and left her tingly all over. Less mana came out than what came in. Then the cycle repeated.

This would work better under moonlight. But Lillea would rather not wait. Thankfully, all mana was usable. Lillea only had to work harder with elemental types not aligned with her preferences.

“I won’t let you,” the demon muttered. “I won’t let you take me.”

Lillea opened her eyes. Late afternoon painted the skies rusty colors. Deep shadows covered the glade. She sniffed the air and smelled predators drawing near. They were hesitant at first. They grew bolder with time.

“You hear me!” The demon knocked her fists on the barrier. Silver ripples spread out. “I’ll resist you. I’m not to be absorbed. I’m here to eat you.”

“Why?” Lillea asked with faux-confusion. “Wouldn’t you want easier prey?”

The Prideful Shadow stood straight to lord every inch of her little height. “I sensed you’re strong. If I eat you, I’ll become stronger.” She licked her lips. “I know you’re legendary. I can tell. I need your rank.”

“Oh? And what for?” Lillea tilted her head.

The demon looked shiftily. She changed tunes quickly. “Let me out. I’ll find another legendary rank. I take back everything I said, too. I can let you live peacefully since you’re worthy of my mercy.”

Lillea did a quick check with her mana channels. Not perfect, but good enough. She slowly stood to her feet.

Then she bolted to the side. She hurled herself at max speed into the hedges. Hundreds of leaves flew and twirled into the air. A beast howled in surprise. Lillea’s right hand clenched its throat shut.

The Level 215 Giant Swamp Hound swung its front paws. They struck her chest and face in vain. Lillea kept running with the hound toward a big tree trunk. She slammed the hound, shaking the tree hard.

The beast frothed at the mouth, its neck wrung. It still had life and mana, the legs twitching to strike again. Lillea released and pummeled the hound with her fist. The ribs cracked. The heart stopped.

She returned to the glade and flung the prey near the barrier. She sat cross-legged again. Her damaged arm rested in her lap. Her right hand pulled out her knife and made rough cuts into the hound.

Minutes later, she feasted on the hound’s organs. Ravenous Survival relished the meal. She would need more. Much more. But she stopped eating the heart halfway and offered it to the demon.

“Let me go,” the Prideful Shadow demanded.

Lillea held the half-eaten heart a little closer.

“No.”

The half-eaten heart slowly passed through the barrier.

“I said no!”

Lilleah gently lay the meal down and pushed it further with her fingers tips.

The demon screeched in rage. She attacked the offering with shadow whips. It fell in minced pieces. Then she started shoving the pieces into her mouth while glaring at the Moon Giant.

Lillea kept her expression neutral and ate her own meal. By the time Lillea finished the good parts not covered in fur, she ate the rib bones before tossing the remains far away from the glade.

Her hunger persisted. But at least she’d put a dent in it. She returned to sitting across from the demon.

They watched each other. Lillea’s gaze remained calm. The demon’s irritation settled down.

“You can kill me. Send me back to the netherrealm. How’s that?” the demon asked bitterly.

“What do you want to achieve with my power?” Lillea pressed.

Demonic white eyes searched for a way out. There was none. “Free me. Then I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me. Then I’ll consider it.”

The Prideful Shadow muttered and debated with herself. Night fell and shrouded them in cool darkness. The moonlight returned. Lillea meditated and mended her mana channels faster.

The demon spoke up.

“A strange place. Only legends can enter through the door. I’ve heard of it from another demon I bested in the netherrealm. It’s here in the forest. Not far. I’ve seen it, too. But again, only legends can enter it. A place with great power.”

“You thought by eating me you’ll become legendary. Then you can enter this place of power?”

“Great power,” the demon corrected. “And, yes, I thought I can best you. You’re strong.” She looked down at the glowing runes keeping her bound. “And tricky. So, let me go, okay? I’ll go my own way. The great power is my offering for freedom.”

I believe her. Lillea knew demons could lie. But prideful demons tended to be truthful. They also tended to be powerful. Their greatest weakness was not having enough humility to use trickery. They tended to overwhelm most problems with brute force.

For a prideful demon to speak of greater power than themselves gave Lillea chills. I want this great power. I want it badly.

For Lillea, there could never be enough power. And it amazed her that secret places existed in her homeland, and she hadn’t discovered them yet. I want this demon with me when I take the great power.

Now it was time for Lillea to lay out her cards. A human expression she’d learned at Gimmer’s Throne. It was a good phrase.

She shifted to her knees and sat on her ankles. Both her mangled left hand and fleshy right hand rested on her thighs. Back straight, she cultivated a sense of order, pride, and honor from this position.

This was a gesture Moonstriders generations ago learned from foreigners across the ocean. If a Moonstrider was to copy another’s cultural practices, it was worth knowing and passing down the generations.

Immediately, the demon straightened and took on a more serious attitude. She looked distrustful, still. But she was ready to listen.

“I know what you’re thinking. Your current body is simply a vessel. What you truly are is ghostly at best. But those with knowledge can force you out of your vessel. They can capture you. They can torture you until they send you back to the nether. You must’ve suffered this once or twice.”

“Once or twice,” the demon muttered. “But I always repay the humans! That’s why I need to be a legend. I need that great power! Vengeance!”

Lillea waited for the Prideful Shadow to calm down. Then she continued.

“I cannot promise you vengeance. I can promise you to be a strong mistress. I am a Moonstrider. My kin passed down generational knowledge to each descendant worthy of the name. My ancestors have worked well with demons. The practice died out because of conflicts with humans many centuries ago. But I don’t care about human laws. I care about power.”

Lillea extended her right hand. “I will absorb you gently. I will help you become comfortable with my body. We will coexist for a mutual reason. To grow stronger. To defeat enemies. To exist as an unrivaled power with riches, glories, and servants under our name.”

“And crush weaklings?” the Prideful Shadow asked with interest.

“If they are deserving. I want power to crush strong enemies. Protect what’s ours. And slay monsters for the fun of it.” And to fulfill my duty as a chosen Moon Giant. A defender against the behemoths, the nether gods, and the would-be enders of our world. While hunting the Moonstrider killer.

The demon didn’t need to know all of that. Everything Lillea said aloud was true, anyway. Fulfilling her duty was important. But she was just as selfish as anyone else. Demons respected selfishness and vices.

The demon hissed in agreement. She struggled to hide her sharp-toothed smile. She soon recomposed herself and shot distrustful looks at the Moon Giant.

“I am a prideful demon. To serve you will make me unhappy. I want to be the one glorified as a mistress.”

“Let me impress you. Let me show you why you’ll want to serve me. Then you’ll take pride in me being your mistress.”

The Prideful Shadow thought it over. She tapped a claw to her lip. She surveyed the surrounding forest. Night creatures were moving about. She was bound, but she could still sense. A wicked smile crossed her face.

“Ten days. Survive without leaving this glade. On the night of the tenth, I will take pride in letting you be my mistress.” The demon grinned wider. “But I won’t let it happen easily.”

“I agree.” Lillea nodded.

The demon extended her hands and emitted smoke-like shadows. To Lillea’s expert perception, mana hissed out with the smoky expulsion. Loud and clear. Lillea knew what the demon was doing. She was acting as a beacon of mana.

Animals became monsters because of strange mana fluctuations. They had an inherent skill or power that allowed them to absorb from fluctuation locations called loci. These occurred naturally in the wilds or abandoned places. They took on different forms. Beasts hungered for them.

Demons have durable mana channels. She could go at this for a while with only a few breaks in between.

Lillea rolled her neck.

I can sit in the boundary with her, but the scripts weren’t written for two. And I need to protect the scripts from damage. Also, she might shred me to pieces if given the opportunity.

Lillea stood and stretched further.

This is going to be a long ten days.

And she was back to using only one arm.

***

Ten days of blood and mayhem.

Ten days of pain and ecstasy.

Ten days of unabashed and ruthless combat.

It was not an endless marathon. Each day granted Lillea an hour or two of sleep. The rest of the hours required a sorcery trick to keep her focused. She inscribed glowing runes near her head to apply a mind enhancer. Not a major one. But it was simple enough to keep her awake during the grind.

The monsters that rushed into the glade ranged from Level 100 critters to Level 350 goliaths. Burrowing Snap-Jaw Turtles lunged out from under the mud. Cloud Hawks dove down and covered the area with a white screen. Black Drake Crocodiles slithered out of the marshes with embers hissing between their jaws. Creeping Swamp Ents slinked into the perimeter before breaking into a frenzied dash with splintered jaws stretched wide. And Log Pickers swept in like a tide and fought with any creature in their way.

Sometimes, Lillea let them fight while standing to the side. Most of the time, Lillea dashed around to beat back anything threatening the boundary.

Rune scripts were durable. It took strong magic or hard hits to break them. But enough chewing and clawing and wild monster magic could wear them down. Every monster that crashed into the Prideful Shadow’s barrier did so in vain. But their constant scrabbling threatened the scripts.

Lillea couldn’t step within the boundary for a break, either. It would tamper with the scripts and give the demon a shot at striking her.

So, Lillea held nothing back. She fought all out with her skills. Force Manipulation struck like thunder at the end of her punches and kicks.

Force Manipulation III (Level 232): Maybe you can hit like a hammer. But what if you can hit like a hammer plus more? *Perk 1: Increase or decrease the force you apply with parts of your body. This manipulation extends slightly from the chosen parts. *Perk 2: Apply this manipulation to physical or magical items within your grasp.

Burrowing Snap-Jaw Turtles flipped into the air after Lillea gave them a forceful kick. Cloud Hawks slammed into the ground when she hammerfisted their backs with extra force. She broke the snouts of Black Drake Crocodiles with forced punches.

Out of all of her skills, Forceful Manipulation was so brutally efficient and flexible it might as well be a Moonstrider power. Humans considered it a lowly warrior power for some reason. Most warriors replaced it with fancier skills. Whirling Tundra was a fancy skill Lillea found useful on some occasions.

Whirling Tundra (Level 189): Bring the arctic weather wherever you go. Then everyone will know your personality is as austere as a tundra. Conjure whirling arctic winds around you that slow, freeze, and blind.

Creeping Swamp Ents and Log Pickers dashed fully into the frigid whirlwind and circling snow. They struck nothing but more beasts lost in the localized blizzard. Glimpses of Lillea’s outline appeared throughout. But she would strike too fast for the monsters to readjust and respond.

The skill worked out well for outflanking scenarios. Using short bursts of Whirling Tundra and Rock Spire confused and tripped monsters. They gave Lillea time to withdraw from the middle of the melee and catch her breath.

In the end, Moonstrider Learning, Moonstrider Athleticism, Expert Hunter’s Perception, Force Manipulation, and Ravenous Survival saw her through the worst of it. Her left arm remained useless because of the prior damage from the demon capture. Normally, that would’ve bothered Lillea.

But she was in her element. She endured bites, claw strikes, log hits, and the occasional fireball from a draconic crocodile. She overcame challenges regardless of the weariness. Regardless of the pain. She fought and killed monsters. And feasted like a beast.

By the time the tenth day came and went, the demon emitted less and less mana. Then she stopped altogether and stared with wide eyes at the giant.

Lillea stood on a hill of corpses. She roared into the night like a savage queen of gore, carnage, and levels.