Wild Era, Ch 40: Sharp Message

When Kelin appeared on the other side of the dungeon portal, it was late in the night. 

Although the sun was down, the western plains were still alive with heat. The tips of the golden-red grass looked like candles in the darkness, giving everything a faint glow that made it seem like twilight instead of true night.

The sound of fire crickets and whispering winds flowed through the grasses, accompanied by the sharp cry of a nighthawk, which sounded startled.

That cry was what made him leap to the side, even as a dark blade stabbed through his mana shield.

It came from his left side, just under his arm, as it headed for his lungs and heart.

His mana shield tore open under the force and the layer of talisman shields around him exploded into a storm of broken runes.

The force of the attack was well into the First Evolution, and its speed was so fast that he only had time to move an inch out of the way as the blade stabbed into him.

The cracking sound of his old Necklace of Warding echoed in the air as its charges failed one after another, and then the entire necklace shattered to dust. It wasn’t designed to take First Evolution hits, but it had done what it could.

Instead of stabbing into his heart, the blade tore through his lung and it converted some of the strike into a blunt impact across his entire body, which hurled him away from the dungeon portal and the blade.

A trail of blood filled the air, but it flickered with flames as it twisted into golden sigils. Three Soulfire Bolts appeared as they exploded in the direction of the attack.

They shattered on a defensive shield around the figure, but the explosion outlined the assassin’s body. He was a short man dressed all in black, including a plain mask across his face that completely hid his appearance. 

He raised an arm to block the Soulfire Bolts, but it was due more to their brightness than to any damage.

Kelin’s thoughts raced as Blaze flooded his meridians with denser mana. He didn’t have time to Analyze the figure as he flew through the air, but he knew everything he needed to. 

He suppressed the injury as he focused on his mana shield, instantly elevating its strength to the First Evolution.

He didn’t have any other defenses at that level.

If the attacker was early in the First Evolution, the shield might hold. If he was higher, it would tear like wet paper.

It only took the assassin an instant to shake away the blindness from the Soulfire Bolts, and three more attacks slammed into Kelin’s mana shield while he was still in the air. 

Each of them was a throwing knife, but they hit Kelin’s shield like ballista bolts, ten times stronger than anything the Coralfire Royal Guards had been able to do.

The only reason they didn’t tear through his mana shield and then him was Blaze. Each of them resulted in a golden flash of soulfire, and his mana dropped like a rock.

But it was enough to hold.

As he was falling toward the ground, Kelin reached out and a wave of Soul Paralysis thundered through the area around him.

He felt the shock as the assassin’s soul seized up for a moment, and he hit the ground at the same time. 

His body seized up as a wave of pain seared through his chest and lungs, making his muscles shudder as he coughed out a lungful of blood.

Even with his enhanced physique, that blade had stabbed through a lung and narrowly missed his heart, and the traces of mana on it were still wrecking his insides.

Only a second had passed, and Gaius had been resting in his soul chamber, but as soon as he noticed that Kelin was injured, he exploded into a rage.

An avalanche of stone raged upward from the earth, rising like a reverse tide fifty feet wide and thirty feet high. It swallowed the assassin in a mountain of fury and buried him beneath tens of thousands of pounds of falling stones.

At the same time, another wall of stone exploded up between Kelin and the attacker. It was five feet thick and swiftly rose twenty feet into the air. Then golden runes glowed on Kelin’s skin as Gaius activated Stoneskin on his own, which swiftly turned his body denser and larger.

By the time the stones settled above the assassin, Kelin looked like a ten-foot-tall stone golem that had fallen onto the earth.

He sent a wave of intensified healing mana flooding through his chest, accelerating its progress with the density from Blaze, and he forced his muscles back under control as he rolled across the ground.

He didn’t bother standing up.

Instead, he intensified both of the soul arrows on his staff and hurled them at the assassin, whose soul he could still sense through the wall of stone and the hill covering the man.

They were only regular soul arrows, since he’d made them before he ignited Blaze, but they were still three times more powerful than usual. He felt when they hit, each of them landing like a bright candle in the man’s soul.

He didn’t stop there.

He shaped an enhanced soul arrow with the support of Blaze and hurled it next. Compared to the earlier ones, this one was blindingly bright.

When the arrow struck the assassin’s soul, it exploded like a star going nova, unleashing a wave of rainbow flames in every direction.

As the arrows hit, he also got the chance to analyze his attacker and see what he was dealing with. There was a shroud of resistance around the man, but a blade of soul energy tore it apart.

Peres Nethrun. Level 112. Shadow Blade-Hand of Decay.

At Level 112, the man’s soul resistance was stronger than the Coralfire queen’s, even with her resistances, but it was the difference between kindling and a solid chunk of dry oak.

The enhanced soul arrow stabbed deep into the center and the flames took root, spreading in every direction.

On the outside, Gaius wasn’t finished.

The elemental rose out of the earth like a stone titan, standing twelve feet high with shoulders that were just as broad, but he had only formed from the waist up. The rest of his body was part of the earth below.

His face looked very similar to Kelin’s, if it had been a dozen times as large, as his eyes glowed with a burning yellow light like shining topazes.

Gaius raised his arms and the mountain of stones on top of the assassin trembled. The pressure throughout the hill multiplied as it compacted in on itself.  

Then the earth trembled as Gaius moved forward, leaving a raised hill of stone behind him. He stopped at the edge of the mountain and brought his arms down like massive double hammers.

The impact split the air as stone shattered and gigantic crevices shattered the stone, tearing the mountain in half.

Gaius’s hand disappeared into the earth as he ripped the assassin’s body out of the pile. He raised him into the air and brought him down again, smashing him into the earth.

Then he did it again.

And again.

By that point, the flames had spread through the assassin’s soul and rainbow smoke was pouring off of his body. He had no ability to defend himself as the elemental continued to smash him into the earth.

Within moments, his body wasn’t even recognizable as human.

It was just a bloody smear on the stones.

The main difference between the Basic Evolution and the First was that mana infused your body and rebuilt it, increasing your resistances and holistically improving your attack and defense.

But with the assassin’s soul burning to nothing, the man had no control over his body to continue cycling his mana, and the sheer weight of the stone and impact force that Gaius summoned didn’t care about a little more mana density.

The assassin died twice over, once from Kelin’s soul arrows, and once from Gaius smashing him to pieces.

When Kelin saw that, he scanned the area and coughed out another mouthful of blood. He couldn’t sense any more assassins, but that didn’t mean the area was safe.

His hand went to his chest, pouring a stream of healing energy directly into the wound, even as his meridians channeled an ocean of soulfire there at the same time.

Gaius finished his work and tossed the remains of the assassin to the ground. He sank back into the earth and flowed toward Kelin. 

The stone wall expanded into a dome that covered him, and then the entire structure sank into the earth. 

Within moments, Gaius created an underground cavern with Kelin at the center, but he was still angry. His presence flowed around the cavern, cycling through the walls around Kelin, and a deep rumbling sound echoed everywhere, like stones shifting in their beds.

Kelin spared a moment to thank him, and then he focused on healing himself.

The blade had narrowly missed his heart, but the mana from it was a sharp web and kept going after the attack, slicing through everything around it. 

The assassin’s classes were focused on Shadow and Decay, and his attack was infused with both elements, which were still trying to spread like poison. 

The only reason they hadn’t completely torn apart Kelin’s chest and turned him into a rotting corpse was his physique and the soulfire flowing through it, as well as his old Poison Resistance at Elite, which was helping him to resist the decay.

But the wound was still incredibly dangerous.

Half of his lung had turned black and started to fall apart, while the web of energy was trying to tear into his heart.

He had about half of his mana left and he poured the denser form of it into Touch of Soulfire, intensifying the healing as much as he could.

He grabbed one of the intermediate healing potions out of his belt and drank it, while holding another in his hand.

A minute later, he drank that one as well.

Slowly, his innate resistances and soulfire burned away the elements in the attack, and he got to work on repairing himself.

He ended up drinking two more of the intermediate potions, combined with his own healing, but once the assassin’s mana was gone, the process was relatively straightforward.

Half an hour later, he was sitting at the center of the area, controlling his breathing as he meditated and worked on repairing the last of the injury.

When he was finished, his eyes snapped open.

The bright glow of soulfire flared through the cavern.

Gaius had calmed down as he sensed the healing, but there was still a rumble of dissatisfaction at the back of Kelin’s mind.

Kelin looked down at his side just below his left arm, where the blade had stabbed through. His tunic there was pierced by a three-inch hole, and the edges of it were blackened and brittle.

“That was more dangerous than expected,” he said as he looked at it. “And that means it wasn’t the Wind Hunters, at least not alone.”

They didn’t have the ability or the funds to hire an assassin like that. 

That left the backer behind them.

It was possible that Sarathia was involved, if they wanted revenge for how he had interrupted their dungeon plans, but it was unlikely. 

It would be strange if they’d identified him so precisely, and if it were them, the assassin would probably have been more similar to the first one he’d seen.

His analysis had placed the assassin as a Celadon native, but he hadn’t been able to pinpoint a town. He could have been a private assassin or one hired through the black market.

It was hard to ask him questions now, but even if there had been the opportunity, it was too dangerous to leave a First Evolution enemy like that alive. 

Kelin could only handle a couple of attacks at that level.

He pulled off the fragmented remains of the Necklace of Warding and held them in his hand. 

For all of his plans and growing strength, it was the necklace and his physique that had ended up saving his life. Poison Resistance had helped too.

Fast enemies were still his greatest weakness. He’d nearly died before he could react.

He set the fragments down on the ground.

When his mana was full again and he’d restored his reactive sigils and the spells on his staff, he dusted himself off and stood up.

A blazing anger was trying to flow through his veins and only his calm breathing was keeping it suppressed.

He had someone to thank for that attack. 

The backer behind the Wind Hunters was the most likely, but he couldn’t rule out a new enemy appearing. Whoever it was, they’d targeted him directly and not the kids, and the level of the attack was much higher than anything related to Yaris. 

That meant something had changed.

It was time to find out what. 

When he did, souls were going to burn.

He liked to imagine his temper was good, but the truth was that he only had the calmness of an ancient mage. He could wait a thousand years until the moment was right, but he would never forget.

He was even less likely to forgive.

He needed to head back to town and check in with the guild. They should have some idea of who could send an assassin like that, and perhaps a record of the man’s name. 

At least he’d been able to see it.

There had been no experience for killing the man, which was a sign that he wasn't a known bandit. If he'd been registered as one by the Path, there would have been.

It meant he was probably a private guard and someone who rarely took on this type of assignment, or at least someone who had never been caught before.

The attack was a reminder that he needed to get stronger, but he was pushing his leveling as fast as he could. If he went any faster, his abilities wouldn’t be ready to evolve and he would risk destabilizing his goals. 

For now, he would have to rely on layered protections and caution, with each step carefully planned.

He had Gaius bring what was left of the assassin’s body down into the cavern, but besides a few plain weapons and a small storage ring, the man had nothing else.

Spatial rings were a bit more expensive than spatial bags or a belt, since they were smaller and that left less room for the enchantment to interact with dimensional space, but they were valuable since they made it easy to summon an item directly into your hand.

This one had a space three feet across in every direction inside, which was decent for holding small items.

Kelin wiped away the remains of the previous owner and placed it on his left index finger. He transferred most of his potions and talismans into it. That way, it would be slightly faster to call upon any of them at need.

As he finished sorting everything and was about to head out of the cavern, he was interrupted by a tug on his awareness.

A moment later, a rainbow-hued rune appeared in the air.

He recognized it immediately, and his eyebrows rose as he reached out to touch it.

It was a message rune he’d left with Maro, Galin, and Serai before they left, to make it easier to find him when they wanted to join up again. Unlike most message runes, he’d given them one made with soul energy, since it could cross long distances better.

It seemed they had finally used it.

The timing didn’t feel like a coincidence.

As the message echoed in his mind, he became sure of it. It was in Serai’s voice.

“Kelin, I don’t know if you’re able to receive this message, but if you do, we could use your help. We were searching for more of the altered dungeons, since the guild’s quest for them was worthwhile, and we think we found one. 

“It’s not a registered dungeon, but a new one that seems like it just appeared. Despite that, it’s close to breaking. The mana level is even higher than the Shieldrun dungeon and it’s ready to overflow any day now. It’s Level 80, so we were about to head back to the guild and report it when a group of people attacked us. 

“They looked different from the Sarathian assassin, but we couldn’t tell who they were with. They were dressed in black and close to the First Evolution. They never spoke a word, they just attacked. All we could do was run inside the dungeon to get away. 

“They didn’t follow us, but somehow the dungeon entrance was sealed after we came in. I’m not sure if they did it, or if it’s something strange with the dungeon.

“The dungeon is too high of a level for us, but we’re going to try to run it, or at least to get some levels from the monsters closer to the entrance. We don’t have a healer, but we stocked up on potions back in Cerith, so maybe we’ll manage something. We’re trapped in here otherwise. 

“We tried to send a message to the guild, but we can’t tell if anything is getting out, and I’m not sure if this message will either. 

“I won’t ask you to come and save us, but please let the guild know. At the very least, we won’t die in vain.”

The message ended with a location for the dungeon they’d found, which was on the other side of Celadon, about a hundred miles east of Highmist and 50 miles north of Cerith.

Kelin frowned as he memorized it.

Normally, he wouldn’t have thought the events were connected, but the group that attacked them sounded too much like the assassin he’d just dealt with.

His mind raced as he pulled together all the facts he had.

The Wind Hunters and their backer shouldn’t be interested in Serai’s group at all, but he wasn’t sure if it was just a coincidence.

If it wasn’t, then the only common thread was the dungeons. 

They had dealt with the Shieldrun Forest dungeon together and reported it to the guild, and Serai’s group had been looking for another one. 

He had also been searching for altered dungeons, although not too intensively, since he wanted ones that suited him personally. 

He glanced at the remains of the assassin off to the side of the cavern. 

The differences between him and the Sarathian assassin were sharp, but perhaps Sarathia had hired some local forces to help.

Either that, or they weren’t the only ones interested in the altered dungeons. 

There might be a local party who was getting involved, and whose intentions were opposite the guild’s. That could explain why they had attacked him and the other team. 

When he remembered what happened at the mine, there was a possible connection. 

The Wind Hunters had been trying to create a dungeon there, and he still didn’t know why. That was why they’d set off that artifact and increased the mana density.

He had a feeling it was all linked together.

Somehow.

But he was missing a piece of the puzzle.

He would look into it, but right now he had to decide how to help Maro, Galin, and Serai. If he left them in that dungeon alone, they were probably going to die. 

The three of them had been between Levels 55 and 59 when they parted ways. It hadn’t been that long, so they probably weren’t much higher now.

That dungeon was 20 or more levels above them, which even for him would have been dangerous, especially if it had rare monsters inside that they weren’t prepared for.

He would alert the guild, but he also wanted to go and see this other group that had forced them in there, if they were still around. 

Then he could find out if they were related to the one who had just attacked him.

The question was how to get there, since the dungeon was about two hundred miles away, but he had a solution for that.

It was still night, and he’d never used the Shadow Speed ability that came with his Cloak of the Mage Knight. He glanced at the description of that ability again.

The Mage Knights made an oath to always try to return home to their families at night, and so their equipment was enchanted to aid them in this endeavor.

Activated Effect: Shadow Speed.

Once per night, this cloak can be used to turn into a shadow and speed across the land. The effect will endure for up to 12 hours, but only while the light of the sun doesn’t touch it.

The night was mostly past now, so he would have to hurry, but he was pretty sure he could make it.

Golden runes glowed on his skin as he rose up through the earth.

Above, the moon was three-quarters of the way through the sky, which meant he had two hours at most until dawn.

He held his guild badge in his hand as he shaped a message rune and sent it to Highmist, passing on what Serai had told him.

The guild had message beacons set up all across Celadon to gather emergency communications, and he knew how to access them.

The message would be bounced between them until it arrived at the guild. It shouldn’t take too long, perhaps half an hour. Then Jesra or another clerk would intercept it and send it to the right people.

But just in case something interfered with that, he shaped a second message rune, this one out of soul energy, and impressed it with his memory of Captain Sandren’s soul. He released it in a streak of rainbow light. 

It should find her at about the same time as the other message arrived.

With that taken care of, he was free to go and see about the team and the group that had chased them into the dungeon.

With a flicker of will, his cloak turned into a pool of inky shadows and swept over him. Where it passed, his form turned ethereal and faint, blending into the darkness all around.

His vision shifted, with everything turning to shades of purple and blue, but he could still see clearly. When he looked down at himself, there was only a faint outline of a shadow on the ground, one that barely looked like him.

Where he’d been standing, there was nothing except a faint impression of darkness that was different from the night around it.

He stepped forward experimentally and the land blurred around him. When he stopped again, he was a mile away.

Only a second had passed.

A faint smile made his mouth curl up, but there was no one to see it.

It was grim anyway.

He turned into a blur as he began to run.

At this rate of speed, he’d be there in under four minutes.