Chapter 76 - Vunderbar

Getting to the pylon wasn't that hard. With the stat points we were working with a solid 2 hour jog was enough to get there and it didn't even wind us.

We were used to it by now and we got into it with gusto. The monsters were roaming about the pylon in different groups and started quite weak compared to what we were used to.

The waves spawned level 38 monsters for us to fight now and the ones in the outer ring were only level 30.

Austin and I both decided to ignore the math and leave the strength near the pylon a surprise. This was supposed to be a fun battle/adventure, using our heads too much was against the point.

We began fighting the small groups, trying to be as quiet as possible, but our efforts were ignored. It was like they had a sixth sense and knew we were there. We might as well have been holding up a sign saying 'Here we are!'.

Stealth wasn't my strong suit anyway so after it was broken, loud and heavy was the way to go. I got to start slinging around ice bolts and Austin got to use more flashy skills, literally.

He had consigned himself to skills without an outward effect as some form of training or keeping stealth, or a mixture of the two. I didn't care enough to ask. I had done the same to get one of my early skills upgraded once before.

You have upgraded a skill:

Throwing Weapon Proficiency(Beginner) -> Throwing Weapon Proficiency(Novice)

A while ago, I fought groups of monsters with only a conjured javelin of ice. Throwing it at any that came close. I practice both physically throwing it and launching it with [Ice Manipulation].

I still regretted the skill choice but I would make the most of it.

We both went through stints where we didn't use certain skills to train and it wasn't something that abnormal for us. I occasionally didn't use my hammer and brawled with my fists to practice if I ever got disarmed.

With [Ice Manipulation] I could form my ice gauntlets to have little spikes on the knuckles for added effect.

I wasn't worried about my hammer being removed, since I could call it back to me with [Ice Manipulation], but it breaking worried me. I needed to be ready to fight without it.

My Law made breaking it hard, but my Least Law wasn't meant to hold up against 600 stat points of strength. My full power boost from Avalanche wasn't something I had anticipated when I made the hammer.

Trying to upgrade my Law into a Lesser Law was proving difficult. I knew it wasn't something that people started worrying about until the evolution to D-rank, but I wanted it now.

I got my Least Law a rank early, I could also get my Least Law early. Something about it was different though. To get my Least Law I connected with my element and 'meditated' on making my ice stronger and colder.

Out of the many aspects that Ice was, I focused on those two. To go further down the road and increase my 'enlightenment', I needed to focus on other aspects of ice.

I wanted a wind chill type of effect that would make anything in my range have to fight off the cold, but that had aspects of Wind that I didn't have. I thought about branching out to comprehend a Wind Law, like Hal, but decided against it.

I could focus on that after the tutorial was over and I had time to settle down. I needed to stick with what I knew.

With the wind chill option out, I thought about the slow effect that ice usually had in games. Usually, ice was a debuff that slowed enemies or froze them.

It was like my aspect of 'Strength and Cold' needed something to prop it up to reach further heights. Information on it still wasn't available and it was driving me crazy. Another aspect was needed to further my Law down the road.

After we were out, I would buy every scrap of information just out of spite. Even if the 'System' wasn't sentient, I was going to spite it anyway.

[Momentum of the Avalanche] had long since activated and we were wading through the bodies thrown at us. I was in front with Austin behind, marching toward the center of the lollipop.

"You think about which bloodline you want?" Austin shouted over the sounds of battle behind me. The beasts still weren't that strong and keeping a conversation wasn't that hard. We had fought together enough to know what the other was going to do.

It was a valid question and I was still debating which I wanted. There were options that all gave different effects. Arctic Dire Wolf was an option, one of the cheapest, that was decent. It would increase my cold powers and give me a slight leadership boost.

Leadership wasn't something I cared overly much about though. Dire Polar Bear was another option. It would greatly increase my strength when called upon and give a slight boost of ice powers.

"I don't know. I'm not thrilled about the permanent option so I need to be careful which bloodline I pick. Did you buy anything to clarify what he meant?" I yelled back after slamming my hammer down onto a monster with a squelch.

"Yeah, I bought some about it. It said that one of the main things that the temporary option does is burn their bloodline for great strength. A bloodline is mainly dormant and only gives a slight boost to whatever aspect it is. So a Bear bloodline will give a little strength, bird bloodline gives better eyesight.

"The dormant state is what bloodlines are in most of the time and gives the smallest boost. In a fight, you can call upon the bloodline to give a bigger boost for a short period of time, kind of like a boosting skill. Think about it like a borrowed power consumable and can't last forever. This is something most races can do. Even animals can do it with their own bloodline.

"This is where humanity's trait comes into play. We can go a step further and burn the bloodline we have for a greater boost. It takes what we build on it with our evolutions and makes it an order of magnitude stronger. Where another race would only get 20 strength stat points, a human would get 40."

He took a break to concentrate on one of his skills before shooting out a beam of light piercing through three beasts, leaving behind a scorching hole in all three.

"The stronger the bloodline, the greater the effect. It only works with the temporary option though. If you choose the permanent changes you can only call upon your bloodline like everyone else. It said something about only so much power can be harnessed or whatnot. I didn't read too far into that." He finished.

This decision seemed more important the more I heard about it. I wanted something strong but didn't have the points to buy one.

"What about you? Do you know which one you want?" I asked.

We had finished off the last of the monsters around us and were in a lull before more came.

"A phoenix one would be cool! I found information that said Solar Phoenixes were real. Think about having one of those!" Austin got excited as he explained.

"My light would take on a radiation effect, increased regeneration, and the possibility of flight! What more could I want!"

All the information we bought said that full transformation was possible only at the high ranks, but partial transformation wasn't out of the picture. If he could manifest only wings, then flight wasn't off the table. I didn't know what tier made that possible but I went along with his fantasy.

I had seen the Ice Phoenix bloodline along with its associated cost, we wouldn't be able to afford it. Even if we went pylon to pylon, slaughtering every monster in our way, we wouldn't be able to afford it.

Its cost was astronomical, matching the power it held. Dragons were equally out of range. Wyverns were high and drakes were the closest to our budget. Wyrms were more likely.

A Frost Wyrm could evolve into a Dragon bloodline given enough material and energy, but it was highly unlikely.

After ingesting a bloodline, we could evolve it the same ways a beast could, so devolved versions could work just as fine if given the time and energy needed to evolve it.

A Frost Wyrm didn't sound very great, but with a little care and nurturing Frost Dragon certainly did.

"We can't afford that and you know it." I popped his bubble.

There was some grumbling about it and he was a little more violent than necessary with the monster group that came at us next. We both had to give our options more thought.

Every monster was over level 30 and we were both getting over 450 per kill.

There were hundreds for us to kill.

As the distance between us and the center closed, the beasts got stronger and gave more points. It wasn't all one type which made it harder for us to get through. The non-uniform groups through us off.

Lightning Tigers paired with Blaze Lions. Acid Spiders with Stone Salamanders. It was a mixture of all of the waves and all of them had grown. They didn't stay the same level as when they spawned in and increased in level just the same as we had.

It took us almost two hours to get to the center which was perfect timing for me, not so for Austin. My boost from [Avalanche] built up to make me stronger, Austin was huffing a bit from exertion.

He wasn't out of breath entirely, but he wasn't the 100% he started at. Neither of our mana pools were full either. Mine had more than his since I could rely on my strength while he used skills.

At the center, where the strongest monster sat, was a dire wolf. The dead bodies of other waves were strewn around and I could see teeth marks on their bodies. It looked like the wolf had eaten them.

Using identity left me stunned.

[Prime Alpha Direwolf – Level 45]

It was a massive beast of over 10 feet with a mixture of white and grey fur. Its muzzle was covered in the blood of a carcass it was eating and covered in scars. Some fur was missing from previous fights but that only added to its threatening atmosphere.

The temperature was frigid around it and something about it resonated with me. It had an Ice Law. Or something close to it.

It was the highest-level monster I had seen and it was a boss. It shouldn't have been here.

"When did this pylon go dark?" I asked.

We hadn't heard from the people who claimed this pylon in quite a while. I didn't concern myself with it because it wasn't important at the time. I was focused on keeping my family alive.

"Around wave 10, when Kyle died," Austin answered. That answered why we didn't know. We shut ourselves off after that happened and didn't pay attention to what happened to the others around us.

That meant this wolf had survived for 13 waves and fed on all of the bosses that came after it.

When a pylon fell, the beasts of the wave that conquered it took over, turning it into a pseudo den or home. Consecutive waves still spawned in but instead of fighting the participants, they fought each other for dominance.

Whoever won, stayed. Some of the losing wave left and went into the wilderness but most stayed and became part of the inhabitants. That was why we saw the various beasts from all of the waves.

It was also why there were so many. Some died in the fight for dominance and some died fighting each other afterward, they were beasts after all, but there was a lot compared to a normal wave.

This Direwolf Alpha had beaten every boss that came after it and had the experience and levels that came with it. I looked at Austin and he had a blazing smile on his face.

"This is gonna be fun." He said.

I had to admit, a part of me was going rearing to go, but I didn't think this was the best decision. We had a wave tomorrow and this was a fight we didn't need.

Before I could convey that, Austin shot out a beam of light at the wolf, getting its attention.

I was so taken aback, that I just sputtered not knowing which to say first. 'What the fuck are you doing?' or 'Are you insane?' Austin knew what I was trying to say and responded.

"Oh, come on. Live a little. This'll be fun!" He said while dancing around the wolf's retaliatory strike.

"We're speaking when this is over!" I yelled at him as he got further away.

"Don't be a killjoy and have some fun. You're always so worried all the time." He quipped back.

Being forced into a battle I didn't want was annoying but I couldn't do anything about it now.

At first, the wolf only sent some wind blades at Austin in response. They had strength and would kill any of the monsters outside, but Austin just danced around them.

While we were talking, the boss got up from its interrupted meal and got ready. With a howl, monsters poured into the area from the side we didn't come from.

"You get the cannon fodder, I'll play with the puppy!" Austin shouted.

"Mememe(mocking sounds), fight all the monsters Christopher, I'll do nothing while dancing around," I said under my breath in a mocking tone.

Decision made for me, I got to work.

My hammer was still dripping blood from the previous fights and more got caked on.

I carried the ice I had been using with me and started slinging it around. Slicing off limbs, stabbing in eyes, crushing skulls.

My skill with [Ice Manipulation] was downright scary. My range had increased to over 30 feet and my control was great.

Using [Ice Arrow] I could curve it to hit multiple monsters after it went through the first. It had enough power to skewer 3 or 4 beasts if I controlled it right. It was tricky to get the hang of since it went so fast, but practice was abundant with the waves.

It lost power with every monster it went through and got stuck in the third victim, a lightning tiger. A [Shatter] on the arrow was enough to kill it. After lightly penetrating the monster, what would usually be a superficial wound, [Shatter] blasted ice chunks into the beast and killed it.

If I was close enough, I could direct [Shatter] to only explode in one direction. It worked great with [Ice Wall]s exploding out away from me or directing the ice to deal more damage to monsters.

Being as far away as I was, I couldn't direct the ice shards but it was still enough.

Claws and teeth tried to slow me down but it all scattered off my ice armor. Any that got through were denied drawing blood from my high fortitude.

I used the time getting here to have a relaxing fight where I didn't need to worry which resulted in gains I didn't expect. Gains that made this fight easier.

You have upgraded a skill:

Heavy Weapon Proficiency(Novice) -> Heavy Weapon Proficiency(Apprentice)

It seemed letting go and not worrying about what was behind me pushed the skill over the edge. I was fighting how I wanted to, without regard for anything around me.

Austin could hold his own and I could do whatever I wanted.

My armor skill was once again behind, but that was fine. It would go up in time.

With the upgrade, my hammer was more fluid and it bashed in heads at an increased pace. It was wonderful.

I felt like shouting, "Vunderbar!"

Even though I didn't want this fight, I was smiling behind the blood. I didn't cover my face with ice to be able to breathe which usually resulted in my face getting covered in blood.

It was nice to be able to let loose like this. Fight without the constant worry, just my hammer and brawn against the world.

~~AN~~

Comment below your bloodline ideas. Singular bloodlines or bloodline trees, all are welcome.

Mentioned in the chapter are:

(Ice)

Arctic Direwolf -> ??

Dire Polar Bear -> ??

Frost Wyrm -> Frost Drake -> Frost Wyvern -> Frost Dragon -> ??

Ice Phoenix -> ??

(Solar)

Solar Phoenix -> ??

Golden Crow

Some more ideas I had:

Flame Hawk -> ?? -> Phoenix

Radiant Sun Eagle -> ?? -> Solar Phoenix

Golden Lion

Earth Bear

Blaze Lion

5 Venom Serpent

Titan Rhino

Behemoth Elephant

Shadow Panther

Lightning Tiger

Lighting Crow