Harry Potter: The Mage's Path 39

Hi all,

Here’s the next chapter. I am going to go ahead and write a chapter for a refresher on my Pokemon story to gauge interest. Honestly, it’s probably going to be a new story altogether, but it may have some similarities. It will be a lot more mature as well. Got to try to stretch my writing muscles.

The Nuckelavee Knight released a stream of foul green gas from its mouth. Harry watched as it rapidly spread across the pool of water from his position atop the raft. He only had seconds to gauge its range, and whether it would reach his location.

“Get out of here!" Harry yelled to his familiars, and they obeyed his command, flying away from the approaching cloud of gas.

He warped out of the water. The problem was that there was no safe place to land, as the pool was surrounded by the Nuckelavee herd. After quickly adjusting his destination, he landed on the back of one of the monsters. He grabbed onto the torso and held on for dear life as it screamed, trying to buck him off its back. Fortunately, he had a stable grip and managed to hang on.

Harry quickly assessed the situation. Celeste and Hedwig were in the air above him, ready to help. He was surrounded by several Nuckelavee who had just noticed his presence and were ready to attack him. By the time the gas cloud reached the edge of the water, it had stopped spreading. The Nuckelavee Knight was now galloping around the pool in an attempt to reach him. There was no time to come up with a detailed strategy. Taking all of his familiars and his own abilities into consideration, he improvised and came up with a plan on the fly.

“Hedwig, use a Cyclone on the water,” Harry shouted. “Try spreading it out so the water hits as many of the herd as possible.”

Hedwig barked in response to the instructions she received. She began gathering as much wind element as she could onto her wings before launching her attack. Meanwhile, Harry warped onto another Nuckelavee's back to avoid another plague breath unleashed from a nearby herd member. It also allowed him to gain some distance from the Nuckelavee Knight that was rapidly approaching.

Suddenly, a small funnel of wind appeared in the middle of the pool and quickly grew in size. While the Cyclone spell only dealt a small amount of damage, it was definitely useful in certain situations. Due to the weight of the Nuckelavee, it would not be able to affect their movement, but stirring up a load of water would be no problem at all.

A tonne of water was sucked up into the cyclone, to the point where it looked like a water spout. After Hedwig gathered enough water for her needs, she directed the spout out of the water and onto land. In an instant, a portion of the Nuckelavee herd was drenched with water, causing them to scream as they were exposed to their weakness. Harry was inundated with several messages that showed that the affected Nuckelavee had their attributes lowered by thirty per cent. Having served its purpose, the cyclone lost its momentum and dispersed.

“Keep it up, Hedwig,” Harry shouted.

He warped again, aiming for a Nuckelavee close to the affected monsters. As soon as he was secure on its back, he freed a hand and cast his most powerful fire spell, Inferno. Although he had never used it before, he already had a good idea of what it was capable of.

A wall of flames rose up from the ground and engulfed part of the herd, and their screams increased in pitch as the flames began to consume them. Harry was so surprised by the size of the wall, which must have been at least ten feet high, that he was distracted, and didn't keep a firm grip on the Nuckelavee. He was thrown from the horse and tumbled to the ground. He landed painfully and the wind was knocked out of him.

Immediately, he was in danger. Harry warped away desperately before he was trampled under the hooves of a pissed-off Nuckelavee. However, he didn't escape unscathed. His left arm was stepped on, and the force applied was enough to snap it like a twig. If it wasn’t for his Energy protecting his body from damage, it would have been broken. Still, it didn’t save him from the pain that ensued. As soon as he emerged from his warp, on the outer edges of the herd, he released a pained shout.

240 damage dealt to the player

Energy: 440/680

Harry held his arm against his chest as if the phantom pain had convinced him that it was really broken. He took a brief respite to observe the battlefield. Celeste entered the fray and attacked by using a combination of Amplification and Scourge Whip. With the fire causing confusion, it allowed her to stay in the air with relative safety and amplify her spells with impunity. As for Hedwig, she had already summoned another cyclone, and aimed to weaken another portion of the herd.

The Nuckelavee Knight emerged from the herd, galloping towards him. Harry warped again, using his unaffected arm to grip tightly onto the Nuckelavee that he landed on. It was even more difficult to stay atop it, as every jolt caused his arm to explode in pain. The monster even leapt into the air to try and unseat him.

The pain brought some clarity, however, and he could see a way to finish the fight. He needed to get rid of the herd before taking on the Nuckelavee Knight, as it would be able to cannibalise the other monsters otherwise. He had a finite amount of MP, and he had already spent a decent amount warping around the place. He would use Inferno a few more times, and create a fire trap for the herd. Then all he needed to do was avoid the Nuckelavee Knight until they were dead.

For the next few minutes, Harry unleashed Infernos at key locations, to ensure the rapid spread of the fire around the pool of water. As he spread more flames, the herd became increasingly disoriented. Some escaped, and fled down the fairway, abandoning their herd. Celeste and Hedwig continued to unleash their own spells, although they were conservative with their MP. They wanted to save some MP for the Nuckelavee Knight.

One beneficial effect of damaging the monsters with fire was that he received a lot of Energy back from his Devouring Flames perk. It wasn’t long before he was back to full health.

As the last of the normal Nuckelavee fell, the ground surrounding the pool of water was engulfed with flames. Harry wasn’t sure if the fire would continue to spread uncontrollably, but if it did, he would only have a certain amount of time to complete the dungeon before it was consumed. He wasn’t worried about the damage being permanent because he knew the dungeon would reset as soon as he left.

The Nuckelavee Knight had escaped the inferno and was waiting for Harry a few hundred metres away. The reason it had not escaped completely was because it looked enraged, and was waiting to take its revenge. Harry rushed towards it, feeling the heat of the flames at his back. He was acting on pure adrenaline now, which insulated him from some of the pain. However, he knew it wouldn’t last, so he needed to finish the fight quickly before it affected him too much.

His familiars followed him in the air. By now he was down to a third of his MP, so he needed to be careful and spend it wisely. Thankfully, Celeste and Hedwig still had around half of their MP left. As long as they worked together, they should be able to work together.

“Celeste, I need you to cast Enfeeblement on it,” Harry called. “Its defence is no joke, so we need to try and lower its parameters. When it runs out, keep reapplying it.”

“Got it,” Celeste shouted.

The Nuckelavee Knight didn’t wait for them to reach it. The monster leapt high into the air and fell towards them like a meteor. Harry recognised that it was Tremor, one of its skills.

“Look out!” Harry shouted. He judged the timing and warped away at the last moment. The ground shook as the monster landed. When Harry reappeared a dozen metres away, he was immediately knocked off his feet by the tremors. He fell onto his broken arm, and the pain that ensued caused him to see black spots. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to faint, and got to his feet.

Harry's eyes widened when he saw the Knight galloping towards him. He warped away again. As soon as he reappeared, he summoned Titan. The golem would buy them some time, although he didn't know how effective it would be against such a strong opponent.

Titan met the Knights' next charge head-on and stopped it in its tracks. Although Titan was immune to knockback effects, it still lost a chunk of HP due to the collision.

The Nucklavee Knight has been affected by Enfeeblement.

Its parameters are lowered by 12% for 36 seconds.

Celeste managed to brand the Knight with her Enfeeblement spell while it grappled with Titan. It ignored her completely and continued to engage the golem. Their strength appeared to be equal, so they were unable to gain any ascendancy.

While it was engaged, Hedwig and Harry unleashed some spells on it. It only removed 28 HP combined, which was disheartening, considering it had over 1600 HP. Once again, he was using the Fire Spears spell to try and activate the bleeding effect. It was the most effective way of dealing with a monster with loads of HP.

They continued to work in tandem to slowly whittle the Knight’s HP down. However, even with the help of some bleeding effects, it soon became apparent that they would run out of MP long before it was dead.

The only silver lining was that the longer the battle went on, and the more they avoided its attacks, the more enraged it became. It began attacking more violently and with less precision. It gave Harry an idea, which he immediately shared with Celeste and Hedwig.

“Celeste, Hedwig. We can’t continue like this. I will lead it back towards the flames and into the pool of water. Be ready to unleash every last bit of MP you have left once it's trapped."

He had to be careful. Because the fire had spread further, he would be lucky if he could warp through it in one go and avoid being burnt..

Harry recalled Titan, and the Knight immediately focused on him. He turned around and began sprinting towards the wall of flames. He heard galloping behind him, and when he judged it too close for comfort, he warped ahead. The Knight released a scream of rage and continued to pursue him. Harry warped twice more until he was close enough to feel the heat of the flames in front of him. He made sure to have enough space between him and the Knight when he reached the edge of the flames. He was glad he did because he hesitated for a moment. Warping forward into an inferno, and not knowing if he had sufficient distance to reach the water was not for the fainthearted.

Taking a breath, he warped ahead. As soon as he arrived, he felt half of his body engulfed in flames. Harry screamed and lurched forward, jumping into the pool of water. He arrived right on the border of the flame wall. He would have avoided it if his warp skill had been one level higher. Thankfully, he didn’t take too much damage. He only spent a moment in the flames, and he had high fire resistance thanks to the Fire Mage class. Still, the pain was almost unbearable, and the water did nothing to soothe it.

The Knight emerged from the wall of flames, half alight, and screaming as it fell into the pool of water. Now that its parameters were thirty per cent lower, it meant that he had a better chance of finishing it off.

Harry summoned his wand and levitated the raft over to him, and climbed aboard. The Knight was persistent and swam frantically towards him but it was slow. Celeste and Hedwig arrived just as he began spamming Firespears at the Knight. When it got too close, Hedwig used wind magic to push the raft further away from it.

Finally, after one last bleeding effect ran its course, the Nuckelavee Knight succumbed. Harry collapsed onto the raft, hardly believing it was finally over.

The Nuckelavee Knight has died.

=====

Battle Report

17 Nuckelavees and 1 Nuckelavee Knight were killed.

Nuckelavee Knight data has been added to the Bestiary. (100%)

An Elite monster has been killed.

The Elite Hunter perk has risen to 6%.

Harry Potter: 45% (4446 exp)

Inferno Level 1 ➝ 3

Warp Level 17  ➝ 18

Fire Spear Level 9 ➝ 10

Celeste: 25% (2470 exp)

Enfeeblement Level 12 ➝ 13

Hedwig: 25% (2470 exp)

Cyclone Level 7 ➝ 8

Titan: 5% (494 exp)

Taunt Level 1 ➝ 2

=====

It was a nice amount of experience. One thing he noted was that the elite variant had its own data entry separate from the ordinary Nuckelavee.

Celeste and Hedwig landed on his raft and looked down on him with concern

‘Are you okay, hatchling?’

“I’m fine,” Harry said. "I may be protected from damage as long as I have Energy, but I still suffer all the pain that comes with it. Why do I have to suffer? Could Gaia be a masochist? ”

'Pain is also a teacher. If you suffer long enough, maybe it will cure you of your recklessness.' Hedwig lectured.

"Yes, mother," Harry sighed.

“Since you're okay, can you loot the corpse before it sinks to the bottom?” Celeste asked.

‘Too late.’ Hedwig pointed a wing at the corpse, which had already sunk below the water. With that amount of weight, it was not surprising at all.

“Do you think you can hit me with the healing spell that is attached to your Light-Spelled Foci Ring? I am still suffering from crippling pain.” Harry said with a deadpan expression. “Because I don’t feel like moving a muscle.”

“I can manage a few heals,” Celeste said, placing a hand on his body. She cast the first healing spell, and Harry groaned in relief as a wave of energy ran through his body. Immediately, he felt the phantom pain from the burns, and his arm slowly disappear. It took four casts before the pain was completely gone, and his Energy was restored to full as well. He sat up and stretched his body, before crawling to the edge of the raft.   

Harry dived into the water and swam down to the bottom. There were a few plants on the bottom, but otherwise, the water was clear. He looted the corpse as soon as he reached it. A few items replaced it after it disappeared. Grabbing them quickly, he placed them in his inventory. He would wait until he was out of the water before he took a closer look at what he received.

A silver glint caught his eye as he was about to return to the surface. There was an object buried in the soil. Realising he was running out of breath, he quickly swam over and looked at it. With its exposed section, it was immediately apparent that it was a silver treasure chest. Harry was surprised that it hadn't appeared on the map. He may have had to be on the same plane as him, or not underwater. Touching it, he attempted to store it in his inventory. He was pleasantly surprised when it worked.

He swam back up to the surface and climbed back onto the raft.

“Where’s the loot?” Celeste asked.

‘Don’t you think we should find a way out of here first?’

“Hedwig has a point,” Harry said. “The fire will continue to spread, so we have no time to waste."

“The spell is more trouble than it’s worth,” Celeste complained.

“Probably,” Harry conceded. "I am not sure about you, but I'm running low on MP. How are we supposed to get out of here?”

“You still have some of those potions, don’t you? You can just take a few of those.”

Harry retrieved a few MP Potions from his inventory and gulped them down. Some of his MP was restored, which gave him some options.

‘You should continue crafting potions. Being able to restore Energy and MP instantly is too good to ignore.’

“You’re right,” Harry agreed. “Something to look at when we leave here. Another issue is that we shouldn't have taken on so many monsters at once."

Harry thought about how he would escape. He didn’t want to have a repeat of the sensation of being burned alive. “Hedwig, can you fly up and see if the fire is uniform on all sides? Find the shortest route out of here.

Hedwig flew up into the sky. A minute later, she descended back down and reported that the north-eastern direction was the shortest route. She showed him the direction on the map to make sure he got it right.

Harry warped to the edge of the pool, before warping again, outside the wall of flames. He almost expected to land right in the middle of the flames again, but breathed a sigh of relief when he emerged on the other side without harm.

"Let's get some distance before checking out the loot,” Harry said.

After moving a few hundred metres away, the heavens opened up and heavy rain began to fall.

“I didn’t know it could rain here," Harry exclaimed, finding shelter under a nearby tree.

“Maybe it is a specific feature of the dungeon to protect it from destruction," Celeste said.

‘It should be able to extinguish the fire in a short amount of time.’

“Wait, will this rain weaken the boss?” Celeste asked excitedly.

“Maybe. But it’s a moot point. We need to replenish our MP first,” Harry reminded her.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

They found refuge under some trees with a dense canopy of branches, where most of the rain didn't reach them. Sitting down, they meditated to replenish their MP.

Harry finished restoring his MP first, so he waited patiently until Celeste and Hedwig were done. Unfortunately, the rain stopped during that time, but at least it put out the fire.

“Let’s check out the loot since we are no longer in a rush,” Celeste said impatiently.

Harry rolled his eyes but complied with her command. He took out all the loot he received from the Nuckelavee Knight, as well as the silver treasure chest.

He received 500 pounds, a Nuckelavee Tongue, a Nuckelavee Hoof, a Sea Essence, and a Silver Chest Key from the Knight.

He used the silver key to unlock the chest and opened it.

"Woah!" Celeste exclaimed.

Sitting inside was a single item. It was a pair of dark grey boots that was made out of supple leather and which had some symbols of planets and stars etched into them. He immediately examined them to see their parameters.

=====

Astrologer’s Boots | Equipment | Rare | Grade: -- |

Description: A pair of boots ideal for aspiring Mages. It is part of a set of seven, which gives some significant benefits if they are all equipped together. It has good elemental damage defence, although its base defence is not the greatest. The key aspect of the Astrologer's boot is that it increases the player's MP by a small margin.

• Defence: 5

• Magical Defence: 5

• Elemental Defence + 5%

• MP + 50

Set bonuses.

• [2/7] ????

• [4/7] ????

• [7/7] ????

=====

“Awesome,” Harry exclaimed.

He immediately equipped the boots to see how they felt. After a few steps, he could feel how comfortable they were. Although the MP boost was extremely helpful, the boots were not that great. He couldn’t wear any equipment besides accessories when the Fire Cloak skill was active. Still, it is possible he will obtain the full armour set if he finds more silver chests.

“No equipment for me?” Celeste scowled.

“Maybe there will be something for you in the other chests we find," Harry said. “Let’s get moving. I want to explore as much of the dungeon before confronting the boss."

‘There is a nearby silver chest that you found last time.’ Hedwig reminded him.

“I know,” Harry replied.

They headed out. Now that most of the Nuckelavee had been eliminated, they had more freedom to move around. Keeping an eye on his map, he moved quickly towards the silver chest he discovered the last time he was here.

Harry climbed the tree where the chest was located and opened it with the key. He received another piece of equipment. This time, it was a pair of gloves in the same colouring as the boots. He decided to wait until he found all the chests before taking a closer look at them. It looked like he may be able to get the full set of Astrologer’s gear all at once. This meant at least five more silver chests were still waiting to be found.

Over the next four hours, they explored the map, searching for the remaining chests. They encountered some stray Nuckelavee, but they were easily dispatched. He got lucky and obtained the Sea Vessel, an extremely rare loot drop. He stored it in his inventory to be examined later. The chests were quite well hidden, not appearing on the map, making finding them difficult. However, with their combined efforts, they found four more chests by the time they had explored the majority of the map.

"We still need one piece of equipment for a full set,” Harry said. "Do you think the last chest is where the boss is located?”

“Most likely,” Celeste replied. “We have been thorough in our search.”

'Let's find a place to rest and look at our gains before confronting the boss.’ Hedwig said.

=====

They found a grove of trees towards the centre of the dungeon, between two fairways. The boss was about fifteen hundred metres north of their current location. Harry sat down and eagerly retrieved the items he had gained over the last few hours. Seeing everything laid out in front of him was hard not to be impressed. Of the five pieces of equipment he had, he examined four of them and left the last one for later.

=====

Astrologer’s Gloves | Equipment | Rare | Grade: -- |

Description: A pair of long gloves that reach the player’s elbows. The properties of this glove allow the player to use wandless magic without damaging them. It is part of a set of seven, which gives some significant benefits if they are all equipped together. It has good elemental damage defence, although its base defence is not the greatest. Gives a small boost to the player’s MP.

• Defence + 5

• Magical Defence + 5

• Elemental Defence + 5%

• MP + 25

• Wandless Adept: + 10% speed when casting wandless magic.

Set bonuses.

• [2/7] ????

• [4/7] ????

• [7/7] ????

=====

Astrologer’s Pants | Equipment | Rare | Grade: -- |

Description: The Astrologers pants are both lightweight and comfortable. Although they don't provide much defence, they are easy to move around in. It is part of a set of seven, which gives some significant benefits if they are all equipped together. Gives a moderate boost to the player’s MP.

• Defence: 5

• Magical Defence: 5

• Elemental Defence + 5%

• MP + 100

Set bonuses.

• [2/7] ????

• [4/7] ????

• [7/7] ????

=====

Astrologer’s Shirt | Equipment | Rare | Grade: -- |

Description: The Astrologer's shirt has the chance to nullify a lethal attack on the player. Its defence is subpar, but it may save the player's life in a critical moment. It is part of a set of seven, which gives some significant benefits if they are all equipped together. Gives a moderate boost to the player’s MP.

• Defence: 5

• Magical Defence: 5

• Elemental Defence + 5%

• MP + 100

• Desperate Defence: Gives a small chance to nullify a lethal attack.

Set bonuses.

• [2/7] ????

• [4/7] ????

• [7/7] ????

=====

Astrologer’s Cloak | Equipment | Rare | Grade: -- |

Description: This Astrologer's Cloak is both warm and durable, making it suitable for many harsh conditions. It is part of a set of seven, which gives some significant benefits if they are all equipped together. Gives a moderate boost to the player’s defence and MP.

• Defence: 10

• Magical Defence: 10

• Elemental Defence + 5%

• MP + 100

Set bonuses.

• [2/7] ????

• [4/7] ????

• [7/7] ????

=====

“Looking good,” Celeste cheered.

Harry looked down at himself and had to agree. Even though the Astrologer set was a little bizarre in terms of aesthetics, it still looked awesome in his opinion. The cloak, pants, boots, and gloves were all dark grey with faint symbols of planets and stars imprinted on them. The shirt was a dark purple colour, which contrasted well with the rest of the set. As he drew the hood over his head and concealed his face, it added a layer of mystery to his overall vibe. At least that's what Hedwig told him.

Finally, he equipped the Astrologer’s Ring and examined it. This allowed him to get information on two of the set bonuses available to him.

=====

Astrologer’s Ring | Equipment | Rare | Grade: -- |

Description: The Astrologer's Ring is a simple silver band inlaid with a small ruby. While it doesn’t have any defence, it boosts the player's MP and gives access to a unique ability. It is part of a set of seven, which gives some significant benefits if they are all equipped together.

• MP + 100

• Dual Caster’s Might: +20% damage increase when dual casting a spell.

Set bonuses.

• [2/7] Energy + 200

• [4/7] Defence; Magic Defence; +20

• [7/7] ????

=====

It was a shame that he hadn’t found the last set piece yet. He had high expectations that it would grant him a powerful ability. Considering that it was named the Astrologer’s set, he expected it to be somehow related to the planets and stars.

However, he couldn’t complain about the results, even without the last piece of equipment. Overall, he had gained a lot from the Astrology set.

======

Defence + 50; Magical Defence + 50;Elemental Defence +25%; MP + 375; Energy + 200.

=====

It gave him a huge increase in his parameters, and that was not even mentioning the other bonus abilities that came with it. Normal monsters would be a lot easier to fight, but he still would have to be careful with Elite monsters and Bosses. The boost to his MP was welcome, as it meant he could for longer without having to stop to replenish it.

The last bit of loot he was interested in seeing was the Sea Vessel, so Harry retrieved it from his inventory. The Sea Vessel was a vase. It was similar in appearance to a wave vase, with an exaggerated ‘S’ shape, and coloured in several different shades of blue. Harry examined it and certainly did not expect the information that was revealed.

=====

Sea Vessel | Equipment | Heroic | Grade: 5 |

Description: The Sea Vessel is a rare item that comes from the depths of the sea. It gives the player the ability to learn the Hydro Mage class, as long as its requirements are fulfilled. The vessel requires a specific number of Sea Essence to be contributed for it to activate and impart its gift.

Sea Essence contributed: 0/100

=====

“That’s a nice surprise,” Celeste said.

“No kidding,” Harry grinned. “Although I already have enough classes to deal with, I am not going to complain about receiving more.”

He opened his inventory and checked how many Sea Essences he currently had. There were twenty-six, which seemed to be a tad on the low side, considering how many Nuckelavee he had killed. But they only had a sixty per cent chance of dropping, and his luck hadn’t been the greatest.

‘You can loot the corpses of all the Nuckelavee you killed with the fire.’

“Hedwig is right,” Celeste exclaimed, looking like she was going to fly off right then and there. “I can’t believe we forget about them. We can’t leave loot behind.”

“Let's rest up and recover our mana first,” Harry said. “Just in case we encounter some more monsters.”

After they meditated, they retraced their steps to the area where they faced the Nuckelavee Knight and its herd. The grass around the water was scorched black, and a number of bodies could be seen. Harry walked around the area and looted the corpses. This time his luck was good, and he got twelve Sea Essence from the seventeen corpses. His total was not at thirty-eight. He would have to return at some point and grind the rest.

He recalled hearing the inhuman screams of the boss as it clashed with the Thunderbird, although he had not actually seen it. So, its appearance was a complete mystery. He didn’t know the size of the herd surrounding it either, but he expected it to be at least the same number as the Nuckelavee Knight. It could be that he was stepping into a fight he could not win.

After they had meditated, they made their way to the boss's location. Harry equipped his Invisibility Cloak and Celeste activated her Shadow Cloak skill, so they could sneak up on the boss and observe the situation. Hedwig hung back a bit, staying out of sight. Harry didn’t know how effective the cloak would be, but even if he was spotted, his new armour could be equipped almost instantly.

Harry spotted the Nuckelavee Stallion almost immediately after climbing a small rise. The monster was easy to distinguish from the others, as it looked a lot different. The most obvious being, that it was twice the size of a normal Nuckelavee, and stood about thirteen to fourteen feet tall. A true behemoth. Its most bizarre feature, however, was that both ends of the monster had a head, which meant it could see in two directions simultaneously.

Surrounding the boss was a herd of about thirty Nuckelavees. Harry felt his skin crawl at the sheer number of monsters below him. How were they supposed to tackle this challenge? He could feel himself beginning to panic, and so he employed his Occlumency to keep himself calm.

“So, which end is the horse’s ass?” Celeste asked. “Do you think they argue about it during their downtime?”

Harry was speechless. Trust Celeste to instantly defuse the creeping sense of dread that he had been feeling. Now, he could focus on devising a plan to tackle the monsters in front of him.

So, what do you think? I know that I said that this chapter will be the end of the dungeon, but it expanded way beyond my expectations. The next chapter will finish the dungeon, I promise!