Spearbound Ch. 44

You have destroyed a Karnathi Mage (Arcana Level 40)!

You have destroyed a Karnathi Mage (Arcana Level 38)!

You have destroyed 2 Karnathi Mages (Arcana Level 36)!

Spear Thrust (Level 11)—>(Level 12)

Spear Throw (Level 4)—>(Level 5)

Level-up! (x3)

Arcana Level 35—>Arcana Level 38

Free Points: 1—>5.5

Constitution: 37—>40

Endurance: 19.5—>23.5

Strength: 37—>41.5

Wisdom: 12.5—>14

MP: 20/25—>23/28

MP Recovery: 12.7% per minute—>15.2% per minute

Kade had forgotten the boost that [Arcane Lancer] provided him. He had plenty of [Free Points] available that he should apply to [Dexterity] to elevate his weakest attribute. However, Kade realized a problem that could be deadly if he didn’t address it right away.

He wasn’t fast enough. Not even close.

His [Speed] was adequate for eliminating the mages, but it wasn’t at a comfortable margin as before. If it hadn’t been for the lightning’s distraction, he would have struggled to finish off the mages in one thrust of his [Soulrend].

Kade knew he was being overly dramatic, but he didn’t want to end up standing there clueless as his enemies ran circles around him. He could make up for a lack of [Dexterity] with abilities and power, but there was no substitute for [Speed].

He put all of his [Free Points] into it.

Free Points: 5.5—>0

Speed: 19.5—>25

Kade glanced over his status before he dismissed the interface.

I need to find an item that will boost [Dexterity]. The boarhide belt did it for [Strength], so it must be possible for other attributes.

He had to slow down to maintain speed with Eliza—who looked busy with her interface. He looked back to check on the karnathi army and saw that they still hadn’t reached the area where the mages had died. It didn’t feel smart to leave their decision up to chance.

“Hellion, grab their attention and make it seem like you’re heading towards the settlement,” Kade ordered. He sent his intentions through bond at the same time to make it clearer to the bird.

Hellion flapped his wings and flew high without a sound. He immediately returned to where the battle took place to do his job.

“Good idea,” Eliza said. She had finished with her interface. “It might give us more time. And I think we somehow found the correct path to take. Whatever Hellion saw probably wasn’t where we had to go.”

Kade shot her a questioning look.

“Remember what I said about the paths when we arrived here?” She continued after Kade nodded. “Look down.”

He did and saw nothing out of place. All he saw was grass. It could be because they were fleeing at a speed that made him miss something obvious, but it was hard to believe. “What am I looking for?”

“Faint pings that are nearly invisible. It’s clearly magic of some sort, and I saw the same before. It led me to the pillar.”

Kade narrowed his eyes and tried to make out what Eliza was describing, but he still saw nothing. Hellion’s screech distracted him for a moment, and he turned to see how the army reacted.

The karnathis looked infuriated even at this distance, and they fell for the distraction and readily followed Hellion.

He returned to his attempt to find the ‘pings’ Eliza had mentioned, but in a much better mood. “Maybe the wisdom we have matters. How high is yours?” He took the initiative when she hesitated to answer and offered his first. “Mine is at fourteen.”

Hellion screeched again, making both of them check on him. The distraction was still working as intended.

“The magic you can do with that much is impressive. Mine is that fifty,” Eliza said.

That felt right to Kade. It explained how she could use her spells fluidly without carefully rationing her [MP]. “There you go. My guess is correct if I see these ‘pings’ when you get stronger. Until then, you’ll have to take the lead.”

Eliza accepted her new role with a smile. She glanced at his clothes and said, “This counts as my win, right?”

It took Kade a second to realize she was talking about their bet. He glanced at his clothes and didn’t think they were too damaged, at least compared to what he had on previously. However, with Eliza’s picture-perfect sundress still without a spot of dirt, he might as well have rolled in a pigsty.

I didn’t want to win, anyway.

Kade gave her a theatrical sigh. “Yes, this is your win.”

***

Hellion shifted in excitement on his shoulder as the land became drier. They were approaching a desert. Kade had encountered this before.

The bird had returned over an hour after succeeding in his task. The karnathi army was nowhere to be seen and would likely stay that way since their tracks were hard to follow.

“Don’t step into the desert. There’s some type of magic there that makes you unconscious. It was where I got kidnapped,” Kade commented as he approached.

“The path leads directly into it. I don’t think we have a choice.”

He didn’t respond as they stopped several feet from the sudden landscape change. Like before, the sparse, dried grassland turned into a sandy desert.

“Hellion, walk into the desert,” Kade ordered. The bird would be the guinea pig.

Hellion gave him a look and clearly wanted to screech and protest at having to walk, but he had been quiet ever since he got the order to distract the karnathi army. He knew that the loud noises were not ideal at the moment.

Kade motioned his head toward the desert before Hellion finally obeyed. The bird hopped down from his shoulder and waddled into the desert.

Hellion turned and gave him a look that said, ‘Are you happy?’

Kade still looked at the border suspiciously. After a few seconds, he said, “Test if your spells work on the sand.” Eliza did, and the sand rose under her command like regular ground. It seemed she wasn’t affected. “Well, I guess it’s my turn.”

He stepped over the border and tensed, prepared to make it quicker trade if he felt anything off. He had been too relaxed the last time, so [Indomitable Will] had no chance to help.

Kade looked around suspiciously before meeting Eliza’s amused eyes. “Looks like everything’s fine.” 

“It’s unlike you to be so cautious. What happened after you got kidnapped?”

He had no desire to let her know he woke to find himself above a fire, ready to be cooked and eaten. “Nothing much. I just found it annoying to be put to sleep.” He still watched closely as Eliza crossed the border. “Well, I still can’t see these ‘pings.’ Let’s get to this pillar as quickly as possible. I want to start the timer.”

“It shouldn’t be far now. But we need to watch for any ambushes. There were far too many things between me and the first pillar to call that journey smooth.”

Kade perked up. As long as it wasn’t as large as the army, look forward to any ambush.

Unfortunately, he would have to be disappointed since over the next hour when nothing of note happened. He seemed truly cursed to have a safer journey through the Rift Zone. While Eliza had apparently gone through hordes of monsters, he had a relatively orderly path.

Kade continued to complain in his mind when he saw a soft, pulsating glow barely visible on the sand. It wasn’t hard to figure out what this was.

“Eliza, I see—“ He cut himself off as he stumbled before regaining his balance. The surrounding dunes shifted as the desert rumbled below them.

They had both come to a stop, with Hellion smart enough to know his job. The baby ember falcon immediately took off to better understand what was happening.

Eliza shot him a frightened look.

Kade knew she had spells that worked on the sand. Whatever she sensed, it was dangerous enough to refuse to move a finger. He followed.

The rumble slowly came to a halt, but Eliza still refused to move. He followed her line of sight to a spot several hundred feet away. The desert was eerily quiet, but not for long. The rumbling restarted, but it seemed more intense this time.

The grains of sand began to dance and shift, forming small avalanches on all the nearby dunes. A fissure cracked open, sand rushing in to unsuccessfully fill the new gap, exactly where Eliza stared intently.

Massive claws the size of an adult human burst forth, glinting in the bright sunlight.

From the Sandy depths emerged a colossal head of a massive more, its whiskers twitching to rid itself of the sand covering it and eyes glowing with an amber hue. An armored hide covered its entire body, layered with compacted rock and interlaced silvery metal.

Kade looked on greedily as he expected more of these moles to emerge from the fissure. He could sense its strength and knew it would be his toughest fight yet. However, with Eliza and Hellion to help, he preferred at least two to truly push him to the edge.

“Stop. Thinking. That,” Eliza said through gritted teeth.

He glanced at her before returning to hoping for more of these moles. The fissure closed after the single mole fully emerged, crushing his hopes.

This isn’t bad. Surely, something nearly a hundred feet tall is enough of a challenge for all three of us combined.

Kade could feel Hellion’s excitement layering his own. It seemed only Eliza was a downer here. “You can sit out this one… if you want.”

Any reply Eliza could reply, a titanic roar that stripped the dunes of several feet of sand.

Kade assumed Eliza intended to take part when she launched a massive sand spike at the mole. He separated himself from Eliza to avoid giving it all a two-in-one target.

He ran up a dune before accelerating towards the mole.