SOM - Chapter 42 - Gathering Storm

While Nate’s spell-casting got underway, Luke walked a fine line to keep the crab’s attention on him, without engaging it directly. He occasionally darted in and out, always staying just out of reach of the snapping claws and the fat lobster tail. 

Every now and again he would let a hurled rock hit, partially to keep its attention, and partially to keep up his supply of stored momentum. Mostly though, Luke kept his distance.  

Not engaging properly made him antsy, and Fenn practically growled at his side with pent up aggression. 

After a little while, the storm around Luke churned as he felt Nate infusing it with his aura. It was a slow process, made easier by Nate’s new [Tempest Fan] doing the heavy lifting. The bladed fan wasn’t a unique item like Fenn, or Luke’s armour, being only a replica of the original masterwork created by the dungeon, but it was still a rare treasure. 

Luke had gotten so used to comparing himself to the other [Apex] candidates, he didn’t really appreciate that any single item from Rurik’s shrine was a significant boon. The fan would be the envy of anyone cultivating the [Storm].

That it was a powerful weapon hadn’t stopped Luke from laughing at his brother when he flapped the bladed fan around like a lanky geisha. With his toga, green felt hat, and the recent addition of his bladed fan, Nate would have looked less ridiculous if he had gone into battle naked. 

A flash of white zapped through the air near Luke as the storm drew close and he remembered, belatedly, that he was wearing metal armour. 

[Lundheim’s Legacy] flickered to life as it detected the ongoing threat, runes glowing brightly, despite the rain. Instead of forming as a dome, like it had previously, the energy shield formed like a second skin of orange and red aether.

It was as if it was trying to conserve energy. Luke’s whiskey had done a good job at topping it off, but Luke could feel that it was nowhere near full capacity. 

Exactly what the armour was capable of was a mystery, and Luke had no chance at understanding even the more basic runic patterns, let alone the hidden runes that had appeared in Rurik’s last moments.

Though Luke floated in the storm's eye, his energy shield proved unnecessary as Nate directed the storm towards a more suitable target.

A jagged lightning bolt split the sky and struck the [Rock Crab] shell like the crack of a whip. It left scorch marks but wasn’t the best type of attack against the earthen monster. As Nate’s spell-casting finally took effect, Surya joined the fight with ranged attacks channelled through her new [Obsidian Spear].

The erupting earth spikes delivered enough force to crack the carapace, but the weapon wasn’t as effective in her hands as it had been in the viran warlord’s. Each attack was delivered with less force, and her aether ran dry quickly, despite the ample supply of [Miner’s Mead] Luke left her with. 

Neither Nate nor Surya dared come close to the crab, instead, they hid in the shadow of the [Storm Crystal] cave and attacked from afar while Luke kept its attention. It was slow going, but despite the crab’s size, it was an unintelligent foe. Like the cliff against the tide, the storm eroded its defences. 

Once the storm got going, it was a force to be reckoned with. Even within the eye of the storm, Luke could feel the gale winds battering the cliff face. It took all of his focus to stay in the centre. From there he had a front-row view of the show. 

Line after line of lightning cracked against the cliff. Only a few of them hit the crab, but those that did left their marks. In addition, barely perceptible blades of wind chipped away at the rocky shell, and the occasional earthen spike kept the crab on its toes. The aetherling had to hunker down just to avoid being thrown into the sea below.

Delegated to the part of glorified bait while the storm raged around him, Luke had plenty of time to focus on developing a finer control over his [Gravity] domain. Altering his mass kept him from blowing away, and careful applications of momentum steadied him in the air. 

Just as the crab was on its last legs he got something to show for it.

[Concept ranked up: Gravity - Silver Affinity gained for repeated usage. +3 Empathy. You have enough affinity with this concept to create an Ability. What goes up must go down.]

Luke was pleased, and he had a few ideas about some abilities he could work towards manifesting. He planned to use his unused [Fire] ability slot to get a more reliable ranged attack and use this new [Gravity] ability for something more utility-based.

Having seen the versatility and potential of Nate’s -caster ability, getting a similar ability for gravity was tempting, but he was more interested in something he could work into his current repertoire. 

It was clear that free-form manifestations and manipulating the aether took more time, focus, and planning to set up than running into the fight with his hammer. That was the difference between spell-casting and reflexive abilities like [Brace].

Such a ferocious storm would be much more difficult to pull off outside of a rift, or even inside a differently aspected one. Nate hadn’t created the storm, only harnessed it.

The crab finally died when Surya cracked open its shell, and Nate used wind blades to turn its tender insides into sashimi. Fenn seemed to enjoy the spectacle but was sad when someone else delivered the final blow. 

 Because of the experience sharing Luke felt a trickle of aether suffuse his soul, despite him sitting back for the second half of the fight. The large aetherling hadn’t given off a large death echo, but it was a nice boost. 

At least there was generated loot in the form of a [Mud Bath], an amusing cultivation resource for recovery and earth cultivation.

From the feel of Surya and Nate’s auras, they had both gained a level, putting them both at level eight. 

Luke was tempted to suggest power levelling the pair to level ten, but such an endeavour could wait; he had an army of ratlings to rendezvous with. 

Dropping down to the cave in question Luke found his teammates exhausted from the fight. Aether drain didn’t just leave an individual physically fatigued and mentally drained; it left their aura less vibrant, weak and susceptible to foreign influences. 

This was clear when the pair dropped to their knees as soon as they entered the radius of Luke’s [Singularity]. He tried to limit the flow of aether to the ability, but couldn’t do so. The part of his soul that powered the technique was a messy knot of condensed [Gravity] threads formed of several overlapping spiral patterns. By design, it didn’t come with an off switch.

It was an ability derived from the so-called prisoner Thirteen, and neither the [Singularity] or [Null] abilities from the monolith cared much about collateral damage. He couldn’t infer too much from the designs in his soul, but he got the impression that Thirteen had been a bit of a lone wolf.

To give Nate and Surya some breathing room, Luke took a few steps back into the rain, letting them reacclimatise to his domain before coming back inside.

“Got what you needed?” Luke asked, his eyes idly scanning over the cavern for any leftover loot, but there was none.

Visibly straining, but keeping to his feet, Nate nodded. “My [Storm] affinity ranked up, it’s platinum now, so is fully integrated into my soul ahead of class selection,” he said. 

“My [Earth] is still only at gold, but it’s only a few percent from platinum as well. This spear is a big upgrade, thank you for lending it to me,” Surya said, as she made to give the weapon back to Luke.

“Don’t be silly, keep it. Consider it a belated engagement present,” Luke said. 

“Thank you, brother,” Surya said with a smirk. “Sharing one’s bounty is the mark of a kind man,” she added in a more serious tone. 

“You should try sharing an Easter egg with him, see how much he likes to share his bounties then,” Nate said. He made no move to give back the rare [Tempest Fan], and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as he stowed the weapon in his soul storage. Growing up, people sometimes remarked the brothers had the same icy blue eyes, but Luke’s rarely twinkled 

Luke rolled his eyes. The Easter in question had been two decades ago, and Nate never let him forget about it. For his part, Luke blamed his mum for the incident; he knew money had been tight, but asking a nine-year-old to share his Easter egg was a little much. 

There was always enough money for cigarettes, Luke thought, and immediately felt guilty for doing so.

His earlier breakdown had been cathartic, but he still hadn’t properly processed his feelings. Determined not to ruin the mood, he shoved them down and looked away from Nate, facing into the storm. Luke hadn’t told Nate yet and wasn’t sure when was the best time to do so. 

Nate would be devastated; their mother had always doted on him. 

Though Luke didn’t want to keep it secret, he was reluctant to reveal the information until the right time. As if merely thinking it brought it to bear, Nate chose that moment to broach the topic. 

“When you go fetch your friends, are you going to swing by Mum’s place? I was going to wait until we all had our classes before venturing out, but if the second wave is imminent, we need to gather now, whether we set up our base here or wherever,” Nate said.

There wasn’t a gentle way to break the news, so Luke just came out with it. “She… Mum’s dead,” he said in a quiet voice and turned to look Nate in the eyes. Though Luke took more after their father, and Nate more closely resembled their mother, both had the same icy blue eyes. 

Nate took a moment to register the words. He took a sharp intake of breath, and Surya came in close to hold his hand. 

“How?” Nate asked simply, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. 

“I don’t know, Gaia mentioned it when she offered me the [Apex].”

“So you don’t know? She could be alive!” 

“I don’t think Gaia would lie, mum-”

“You didn’t think to check? She only cares about humanity as a whole surviving, why wouldn’t she lie? AI programs lie all the fucking time,”

“I came straight here after the dungeon!”

“When were you going to check on her? After meeting up with your minions? Before the second wave? At all?”

“Nate, she couldn’t go more than ten paces without her mobility scooter. You think she would survive all the crazy shit going on? Alien armies are duking it out in the middle of Hyde park.”

“Exactly, we need to check on her before something happens,” Nate said with desperation evident in his tone. 

Luke had expected a negative reaction but was still taken aback. It hadn’t really occurred to him that Gaia might lie, even though he had been acutely aware that she had manipulated him. He didn’t hold out hope, but it wasn’t too much of a detour to their old family home. 

“Ok, fine. I’ll go there now, but Nate… even if Gaia was lying…” Luke said.

“I know, but I have to know,” Nate said, his shoulders sagging a little. 

After taking a minute more to regain their energy, the trio started making their way back to the rift entrance. It was good timing, as the sea inside the rift was approaching high tide, meaning that the water on the other side would be nearing low. 

As they approached the rock pool, Luke saw a group of armed men walking around the stony beach ahead.

They don’t look like a rescue party.

____

Author Note

I apologise for the delayed releases. Royal Road releases are going to M-W-F, though with a chapter today to push me over the finish line for the writeathon. I'm hoping to build the patreon backlog back up to 20 chapters ahead over the next couple of weeks. I really wish I had started posting with a larger personal backlog as a buffer :(. Thanks for reading anyways, this story hasn't been the smash hit I dreamed it would be, but I'm still pleased with its level of success, and that owes in part to you guys!