Book 4. Chapter 5: Surge

Book 4. Chapter 5: Surge

Jakes party of 10 entered the challenge, and the only thing different from the previous challenge was that there were several heavily armored undead knights at the front of the force of skeletons. These were clearly superior to the rest, and had vicious looking pole arms or two-handed swords.

Jake, Fhesiah and Ophelia cast their large lance of fiery creation at the large bone monstrosity in the rear, Jake trying to channel some rage into the attack, finding himself to be somewhat successful, the impact minimal.

Perhaps, he couldnt really force it without something to ignite his anger. After this, Ophelia went to join the beastkin in fighting off the new threats.

This fight went similarly, but Ophelia found that the larger skeletal knights were death knights. They attempted to reduce their strength with abilities similar to what Blood had access to, having an aura that weakened them and even drained life into them. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

The effect weakened everyone, but Jakes aura of heavenly flames protected against this somewhat. Ophelia was nearly completely unaffected between that and divine reinforcement, along with her purifying flames.

Bree bulldozed one of the death knights after stomping through numerous skeletal warriors, breathing flame left and right all the while.

Tanda and Rikka aided Bree against the large death knights, while Vesuvius and Jarrix took on another. Ophelia used her superior speed and skill to quickly defeat a death knight, using a powerful [Spear of Hestia] infused into her spear, followed by [Consecration] to wipe out a large amount of skeletons.

They managed to clear the challenge without any major injuries, though Vesuvius and Jarrix had taken some blows to their bodies protected by their auril, the death knights being too strong and skilled for them to come out unscathed.

Ophelia was able to keep them healed with her Hearth of Hestia, focusing on taking them out with her flanking maneuvers.

Jake, Bloodberri and Fhesiah were easily able to take down the two Necromancers, no traps waiting for them. Bloodberri made quick work of their deathly shield, and Jake and Fhesiah lit the two casters aflame with empowered flames.

They rushed near the end, as the battlegroup was under attack outside by a swarm of pterodactyls.

Jakes party arrived outside, and it was pandemonium. There were dozens of pterodactyls swarming around, swooping in with a scything green auril. The battlegroup had gathered around Darris, him creating a large barrier of water that rebuffed the creatures.

Like a snake made out of a river, it weaved and waved around knocking into the flying beasts. The beastkin sent waves of colored projectiles into them, eventually piercing through their protections or stunning them with raw impact of force.

They threw javelins, fired their bows, and speared the angry creatures, but he wasnt going to be able to defend the battlegroup for much longer. Roxo sent red blades in waves out from his two swords, cutting down many of the creatures.

Many flying dinosaurs already lay dead on the ground, and Jake thought there might have been hundreds total. As Jakes aura covered the battlegroup, the creatures started falling rapidly.

Their auril had been protecting them before, but now the explosions added to the ranged attacks helped knock them out of the sky.

Jake did his best to channel his [Wrath] at seeing some beastkin wounded outside, and was surprised to see that his anger did increase. His runes lit even more red than usual, and his spells were empowered in even more.

He actually found himself having a hard time calming down, his breaths heavy as he sent flaming spear after flaming spear after the creatures.

Ophelia and Tanda both sent calming reassurance to him, doing their best to calm him down. He eventually took a deep breath, releasing a sigh.

Thanks, girls.

Ophelia had a frown on her face. I really dont like the feel of that, it feels wrong.

Tanda nodded. Yeah, it doesnt really feel like you at all. Even your heartbeat changed, it felt like you were somebody else.

Jake looked over the battle, finding that the battle was nearly won. Berri once again felt worried when she heard Jakes thoughts; his desire to capture a template from one of these creatures.

Jake began canceling the covenant for Wrath, Ophelia casting a barrier and absorbing the next round of mortar fire, the tower continuing its assault. Tanda, Ophelia and Fhesiah took to the air and started clearing out the creatures.

Once the covenant wore off, Jake started capturing what he saw was the largest one that he saw was wounded but alive. The creature deconstructed into motes of light, as Jake earned the ability to use this creature as one of his temporary summons.

Berri, we talked about this. You know that I would rather have it but not need it, than to need it and not have it. We will still travel together and fight together, I promise.

Berri looked as conflicted as she felt over their bond, but eventually, he felt calm acceptance. I Okay, Jake. Im sorry I really love our time together, and I was scared to lose it.

And I love and enjoy it too, believe me when I say that. Well have so many opportunities to be together in the future, there is no way I would ever replace you in my life. We can always go for a trip as a date too, you know. Just me and you, and Blood, of course.

Berri showed a beaming smile. Oh! Id love that!

Jake reactivated his Aegis state, and they wrapped up killing the creatures. They began looting the creatures as a battlegroup, and Jake said goodbye to Bree once more.

There were many to clean up, and the beastkin were satisfied with helping the dismantling of the auril beasts. They did not want to leave the corpses to rot atop the unliving stone, wanting none of the creatures life energy to be wasted.

The party was resting after completed the cleanup of the dead beasts, when Jake got a prompt, along with Ophelia. The two had both finally reached Level 20. Jake received his specialization choice, and his feelings were mixed.

[Choose Mythic Class Specialization Choice - Option will grant skill now, to be advanced when class advances.]

[Avatar Armament - Battlemaster will create Epic to Divine-grade equipment linked and aspected to Bonded, limited to 1 at a time before Tier Up for personal or Bondeds usage. Does not consume party member slot, and equipment will be linked to Bonded. Bonded can aid Battlemaster in various ways from anywhere through Avatar Armament. Upgrade at Tier Up leads to more armaments, empowered by powerful Bonds.]

The first option sounded interesting. It appeared the girls and him could create Armaments that were linked to themselves, allowing them to aid him no matter where they were. The grade of the equipment likely had to do with the power of his Hearth Bonded, Jake guessed. The idea that his girls could produce Mythic or higher equipment for his usage sounded extremely powerful, and versatile.

[Fusion Ascension - Battlemaster and Hearth Bonded will fuse their spirits together, to create a powerful spell matching the combineds classes or aspects. Requires high level of synchronization and Bond, along with Spirit Resonance. Evolves at Tier Up towards temporary Fusion of Body and Spirit with Hearth Bonded, Ascension into a powerful being.]

Jakes eyebrows rose in surprise. The second abilitys evolution appeared to be quite powerful to Jake. It sounded like it had the most requirements, being the most challenging to use. It was also the only one specifically mentioning the Hearth Bond.

Fhesiah said, I like the first one, husband. That way, you can get more wives, being able to help your cause from anywhere in the multiverse. We cant always be with you now already, but with that, we always will, even if we are off fighting another battle.

Ophelia frowned. I like that I could be your shield permanently in yet another way, but the idea that it leads to more wives, Im not so sure is for the best. Jakes time with us is already pulled thin with us all wanting more, do you really want to compete with more girls?

Fhesiah shrugged. I think thats a shortsighted way to look at things. We will be together for hundreds, even thousands of years. What is a few nights here and there, when it means we could accomplish so much more? Besides, you just have to double-up, and youll double your time, when are you going to give it a try? Im willing to share my nights with you any time, you know.

Ophelia blushed, but she frowned. Thats neither here nor there. Still, the second option sounds like it might lead to more power overall within our party, once the skill evolves. It may not be all that powerful now, as it appears the spells might be some kind of summons since the spells are based off your class as well as ours.

Jake shook his head. You could say that about the Avatar Armament, too. I already have goddess-given equipment. Its not linked to any of you, but if we are comparing effectiveness gained, the two ideas should be close.

Tanda joined in, I do like the idea of the Armament, because then I could continue to maintain the balance here, spending more time with my brethren. Im a bit mixed, I think I will need more time to think on this.

Jake said, Youve been awfully quiet, Blood and Berri. What do you two think?

Berri frowned, her emotions turbulent. I like the idea I can stay at home with our babies and still help, but I like the idea of becoming one with Jake! I still want to go on many adventures, so Im more wanting Fusion!

Blood sighed. Im mixed on the idea as well. The armament would give me yet another means for me to interact with the world, but not a body of my own once more. But once the skill evolved at Tier 3, perhaps such a thing might be possible? That makes me desire it somewhat, but I think this selfish. I thought I was good with sharing my body forever with Berri, but you dont know how much you want something, until it is right in front of you. I also wonder about how either option would work for us, as were two beings. Do we get two armaments, two fusions?

Jake sighed. Its hard to know, I think the latter would be just speculation on how it could work. Both say Bonded, and so my money would be on it being just one for the both of you, as I only have one Bond with the two of you. It seems we will need to spend some time discussing this as a family as this choice has potential repercussions, so we will have to wait on mine. I doubt either option would really pull out the win for the upcoming fight if things were close, as each are kind of marginal in their impact until class evolution, it looks like?

Jake received agreement from all his girls, including Tanda.

Ophelia laughed. At least, I think mine is a bit easier.

[Choose Specialization for Epic Class Alignment]

[Flames of Hestia, Runic Empowerment, Chosen Technique]

Looking over the choices, each would grant her a spell or ability now. The flames of Hestia would push her more towards being like a mage or healer valkyrie, as her [Hearth of Hestia] would be empowered, able to accomplish more things.

Jake guessed they were naga, and they appeared to be quite angry as they held tridents made out of some kind of blueish stone. There was a massive one in front that had six powerful arms, each grasping the single massive battleaxe, that competed in size with Bloodberris maul.

The creature was much bulkier than her, and despite having a much shorter tail than her, was larger.

The river continued flowing down the hill behind them, and before Jake could think on it further, they began to rush at Jakes party.

Several of them leaped at the hound, the creature dodging and countering with vines covered in ice, powered by her auril. The creature fought defensively, keeping the opponents busy for Jake.

Their battlegroup continued to work towards the building with the challenge, and Jake sent Ophelia to guard them and against the tower. She sped off in a blaze of light with her enhanced technique. She couldnt use barriers, but she should be able to counter the mortar shots with her Hearth and shield.

Jake, Bloodberri, Tanda, Darris, and Fhesiah attacked the Naga with his summoned creatures.

Jake was surprised at the Nagas strength when viewing them with his [Arcane Eye], guessing them to be well above level twenty based on what he could tell.

While Fhesiah swept flames at them, water from the river surrounded them in a bubble, protecting them. Jake was still in his Wrath state, so he began casting a large cone of lightning as Bloodberri started bobbing and weaving around the approaching naga, which were filled with an angry blackish-purple auril.

She rebuffed several with her tail, but the largest naga managed to land a biting slash against her tail, releasing a shower of blood.

This cut went right through Jakes divine reinforcement, her [Armor of Faith], as well as her powerful armor, and she hissed in pain in response. Blood then landed [Absorb Strength] on the creatures, increasing Bloodberris own power and reducing theirs. She began casting [Weakness], as Jakes anger surged with his runes and released his powerful cone of lightning.

With a loud clap of thunder, Jakes lightning blazed through the dozen creatures. Many of them convulsed inside their watery defenses, while a handful of others lost focus on their protection, causing the orbs of water to fall uselessly to the ground.

Darris kept several of them busy with his axe and shield, more than a match for one on his own, two being enough where he could not land a significant blow as he defended himself.

The hound had taken out one naga with lances of ice into its vitals while her vines kept them busy, but the acolyte got taken out in motes of light. Its shield was simply not good enough against the powerful creatures with weapons.

This showed Jake that their tridents were quite powerful, as the creature had no problems holding off various dinosaurs for much longer.

Fhesiah fanned a powerful wave of flames from her torch, her attack echoing the truths of her path; the flames of a dragon. She continued to fan the flames as they were engulfed in them, their damp bodies drying and quickly igniting.

They wailed in agony, and even those that still had protections had difficulty as their watery protections started to boil.

Tanda fired arrows with seeds empowered with her rampant growth ability, and icy vines grew out of the target she struck with her bow. She fired several of these, and even when the enemy blocked with their shield, the vines spread their frost, growing rapidly and piercing into them.

Jake watched as she fired an empowered arrow with her deathly auril, the arrow piercing the enemys throat and taking a huge chunk out of their neck despite their auril protections.

The powerful six-armed naga had only barely slowed down from Jakes thunder, and Bloodberri charged her [Maul of Hestia-Echidna].

Holy light and dark flared, her body filled with runes. The large naga swung to meet her maul, and light and dark converged and exploded, completely demolishing the nagas axe. The axehead separated from the pole, and Blood released weakness against all the remaining naga, reducing their strength further.

Bloodberri pushed her advantage, and Jake sent another lightning spell through his staff at the larger naga. It shocked him, the creatures movement stuttering as it moved to block.

She swung downwards as the naga slowly moved to block, thanks to Jakes shock, with what remained of his polearm and his auril.

But it was a feint, and she pulled back, causing the Naga to swing at the air ineffectually. She blurred forward with a swing to the side, slamming the spiked end of her maul into the creatures skull. The creature fell to the ground, dead.

Between the [Maul of Hestia-Echidna] and her [Dark Siphon], her wound on her tail was now healed, and Blood had a vicious smile on her face.

She surged towards the remaining naga, only a few not completely roasted by Fhesiah, pierced by Tandas arrows, or the guardian hounds icy vines. Jake opted for her to keep one alive, wrapped in her tail, to capture their template.

Jake had wanted to capture the larger naga, but Blood clearly wanted revenge on that creature for harming her tail. He had witnessed hundreds of fights with Bloodberri, and this one was one of the first to actually pierce her armor and wound her somewhat significantly, even if just on her armored tail.

Many other large creatures attacked her with a large amount of force to cause fractured bones and ribs and the like, but piercing her protections was just not something that happened often.

He wasnt sure if he could have been successful in capturing the larger naga, the creature beyond his own strength in several ways. He even felt that auril had provided some level of defense over Jakes presence being able to overwhelm them, so he thought it entirely likely he wouldnt have been able to.

Jake felt he was only barely able to capture one of the remaining males, now being able to summon the creature. It was considered a humanoid, so he had some expectations for their effectiveness with his specialization.

He now had a viable replacement for the sharkgoblin, this creature superior in every way that he could identify, thanks to its auril. They quickly looted the remaining creatures, and moved to catch up with the battlegroup, that was nearing the next objective.

The water that had been streaming through the city like a river reduced to a small stream, whatever caused the eruption having subsided. If he hadnt managed to get the people away from the attack, he could see how much of his battlegroup would have gotten mostly wiped out.

Many would have gotten carried away by the current, taking them out of the city entirely if not crushed into the buildings.

The naga in their natural environment of fighting underwater would have dominated many of the beastkin with ease, only Bloodberri really being able to stand up to them.

Of course, Jakes party and the avian beastkin could have just flew above, but if he had been stuck with a battlegroup full of humans that couldnt ascend onto the buildings, this would have looked very different.

Jake switched over to Aegis, and took over for Ophelia, shielding the battlegroup. They both had to spend some time recovering, with Jake even consuming a mana potion, and Fhesiah started absorbing some heavenly energy crystals as they neared the last building objective.

Jake had made the battlegroup go back down to the ground when they were sure the water was no longer coming, and summoned the acolyte once again.

Tanda said, Those Naga were tainted, like the tamed raptors and others we saw up North by Harmony Peaks. This isnt good.

Youd never seen them having this taint?

She shook her head and said, Their minds are much more simple, even more like beasts than us. A normal beast doesnt have something like greed, or hatred. They had been largely unaffected by the curse, until now.

Blood added, I could feel it. Something was forcing them to do this attack, controlling them.

Jake responded, I mean, that sounds like Tartarus and how it controls beasts when it owns the area, you hadnt felt anything like that up to now?

Blood shook her head, No, I think it is different. I could feel it in their essence.

Fhesiah said, They certainly did seem different under my divine sense compared to the auril beasts. A clouding of their hearts, their spirit. Still, is there anything we can do about it for now?

Jake nodded, they were about to capture this Alliance HQ. The Naga did seem powerful on average, and he wondered if there were many more creatures much like the massive one they faced.

They had lucked out that the creature only had a crude weapon, shattering under the might of the blow created by the two goddesses. Also, that Bloodberri had superior skill with her weapon thanks to having technique.

Jake asked Tanda, Is there some known locations where naga gather or roam? We may be able to check them out, especially if a rift has spawned near. We would want to take it out anyway.

Ill mark a few locations where we know them to have been spotted, and add them to my list of areas to have my flock scout them.

Thanks, Tanda.

They reached the final challenge, and Jake was surprised by the prompt, glyphs outside the building matching.

[Boss Challenge Balanced on party of 5. While party engages challenge, battlegroup must engage tower. Both groups must be successful to achieve victory.]

They would have to split their party, to ensure they had no weaknesses to exploit.

[Boss Challenge - Ophelia, Fhesiah, Vesuvius, Rookard, Darris]