Chapter 78 ‘Fencing’

A forty-foot long snake coalesced out of the miasma in the air, its serpentine loops pooling around him and nearly blocking Will’s sight of his opponent.

The snake’s head reared high above Will and oriented on his opponent with an unnatural intelligence.

Shove her off the platform or deal lethal damage to her. Either works for me. Will thought, pointing.

The snake nodded, it’s eyes flashing cyan to iridescent green as it began moving toward Carrie.

Carrie froze in place, her eyes locked on the oversized snake.

Will directed the Aetherhawk to attack while he switched from the Wand of Undead Retainer to the Buckler of Rebounding, the hairs on his neck standing up as the finger on the Phantom Hand popped and went black.

Buckler of Rebounding

+14 Strength

+11 Kinesthetics

43% reduction in force experienced when blocking

73% increase in the damage of attacks made within 1 second of blocking.

Will drew his new sword, purchased specifically to synergize with the buckler. It was a long rapier able to riposte quickly, which was all he really needed.

It wasn’t a fantastic Relic, it wasn’t even good. It was simply the first one he could find in one day that suited his needs.

Rapier of strength

Extra durability

+4 Strength

With those changes, Will’s Strength was now 53, and his Kinesthetics was 93. While his strength wasn’t fantastic, it was now on the low end of what a warrior could be expected to have, and his Kinesthetics fantastic. Enough to act on the things he perceived.

While blocking, 43% of the force would be negated, raising his effective Strength during a block or parry to 92.

While attacking immediately after a block, (parries counted, Will had tested it) Will’s effective Strength was 91.

 He was now a fencer Archetype.

Or the closest thing to it.

The snake lunged forward, mouth open to devour the paralyzed Carrie whole.

Summer snapped out and carved away half of the Immortal Serpent’s face while Will sprinted to the side aiming to flank Carrie, and the aetherhawk dove down.

As the Immortal serpent reeled back in pain, Will lunged forward.

As expected, Summer snapped towards him, whipping a deceptively thin tendril of black towards him with enough force to bisect him.

Here goes nothing, Will thought, gritting his teeth as he interposed the blade between himself and the strike.

CLANG!

The extra-durable rapier creaked in protest, and Will’s feet threatened to slip backwards before the arena itself rose up to cup his heels.

But he blocked it.

Summer seemed a little surprised, reeling back from the strike as Will lunged forward, propelled by the stone beneath him. He wasn’t close enough to attack Carrie directly, but he was close enough to attack Summer before it could withdraw back into her sleeve.

The sword glowed faintly with the boost from the Buckler of Rebounding as he whipped it down into Summer’s flesh.

The black goo was incredibly resilient, the attack barely penetrating the skin, but Summer’s form seemed to destabilize for an instant, shuddering and turning almost thorny before whipping back into Carrie’s voluminous sleeve.

Carrie winced, shaking off the Immortal serpent’s mental attack just in time to reach upward with one hand and smack Magnus out of the air, her off hand drawing her back-up weapon, a shortsword.

Will pursued the advantage and pressed forward another step, narrowing the distance between them…as well as the amount of time he had to react to Summer.

Will twisted wildly, his feet flickering underneath him as he diverted a strike from Summer with his blade and knocked aside Carrie’s hasty stab with his truncated wrist, the Buckler of Rebounding absorbing a huge portion of the force for him.

Carrie broke into a grin as Will scooped up the cannonball with his phantom hand and flung it at her back while going for a pommel strike to the temple.

Summer caught the iron ball while Carrie sinuously leaned out of the way.

Sensing his intent, the arena floor rose up and locked Will’s left foot in place, giving him the leverage to whip out with his right foot before either of them had recovered their stance.

Homefield Advantage

44 Charges remaining.

The ring turned into a smooth sheet of ice at the exact moment that Will’s foot impacted Carrie’s load-bearing ankle.

Rather than topple, Carrie leaned into the strike, her foot flying out from under her in a move that would certainly result in her falling head-first.

Multiple tendrils from Summer emerged from her collar, pierced deep into the ice, and turned the tumble into a cartwheel, the black tendrils supporting her through it as she delivered three upside-down kicks and a stab. Will blocked two kicks, the third glancing off his jaw and collarbone, causing him to stagger backwards.

He twisted his leg out of the way of the stab, the blade passing uncomfortably close to his inner thigh before he managed to stagger out of the way of the follow up slash that would’ve gelded him.

Ow.

Thankfully, Will’s Resistance outweighed Carrie’s Strength by a wide margin, so even a full-on kick to the face wasn’t too bad.

Summer is using her whole body and Carrie is upside down. this is the perfect time to sneak a shot in.

Will had loaded the majority of his Phantom Hand’s volume with his cannonball, so he didn’t have much in the way of things to fling at her, just some potions of Greater Healing and Fury, and a few more tricks that didn’t lend themselves well to being used as projectiles.

She’s vulnerable right NOW, how can i-

The Immortal Serpent answered the question for him, it’s face already healed as it lunged forward, engulfing Carrie in its mouth, tearing her off the icy surface of the arena, it’s massive fangs crunching down into her armor as it carried her high into the air.

It lifted its head high, tensing to take another victorious bite –

The snake head exploded as no less than a dozen black tendrils emerged in every direction, slicing the scaly head into bloody chunks that rapidly returned to Miasma as the snake died.

Not so immortal then, I guess, Will thought, sprinting forward to meet Carrie where she was going to land.

Carrie gave a guttural scream as she swung her blade down on Will, using the momentum of her fall to add power.

Underneath her torn robe, Will caught a brief glimpse of Summer busily filling in massive puncture wounds that the Immortal Serpent had left on Carrie with that first bite.

Summer was much bigger than Will remembered.

Will blocked with the rapier and kicked Carrie in the stomach, his foot glowing from the Buckler of Rebounding.

Pain shot through his foot as Summer must’ve formed an impenetrable plate under Carrie’s robes.

She still tumbled violently backwards, but Will might’ve gotten the worse part of that deal, wincing as he set his foot back down. It felt like he’d kicked a slab of granite without any Stats.

Carrie caught herself on the edge of the arena, her body bloodied, ostentatious clothes torn, breathing ragged.

“You could always give up?” Will said with a hopeful shrug.

She grinned a wolfish smile, her teeth stained with blood.

Ah crap. Will thought. I forgot she was into fighting.

“I live for this shit,” Carrie said, Summer emerging from her ankles and creating a gust of wind to send her flying forward, her feet not even touching the floor as she ran on bursts of solidified air.

Will caught her by the back of her robe with the Phantom Hand and tugged her backwards, aiming to disrupt her assault with the unexpected force.

It…half worked.

The other half was a disaster.

Almost as if they’d been waiting for it, black spines erupted from the back of Carrie’s neck, perforating Phantom Hand.

Will gave a choked cry as phantom pain flooded his left hand, while Carrie’s eyes widened as her own robe yanked her backwards with neck-breaking force.

The spines grew barbs, locking Will’s Phantom Hand in place as Summer began to feed, engulfing the eidolon like a relic-eating predator. Which is exactly what she was.

Damnit, This was why I didn’t touch her directly!

Will didn’t have time to cuss himself out.

He rushed forward. If he sat around and waited while Summer disarmed him, he was done.

Carrie seemed to read his desperation, turning defensive, dancing backwards and blocking every attack as he tried to stab a win out of her, all the while her Relic parasite was EATING his hand.

Will wasn’t a trained swordsman, and when he wasn’t blocking first, his attacks were…kind of garbage. Will saw the realization brighten Carrie’s eyes at the same time, a cocky grin blooming on her face.

With the last of Phantom Hand’s waning strength, Will yanked her to the side, putting her off balance and ramming directly into her torso, her blade sliding off his ribs while the shock of blade on bone transferred through his wrist as his blade speared through her body.

Carrie’s eyes widened as Will used his attachment to the ground and his rapier through her body to lever her off the edge of the arena.

If I ride her off the edge and land on her, then I win, Will thought, shoving with every fiber of his being.

Otherwise she could just use Summer to fly again.

Will called down the Aetherhawk, instructing it to make sure she hit the ground first, in case she tried to spin them in midair.

“Let’s finish this.” Will growled, Carrie’s eyes widening as she was driven off the edge.

“WILLIAM OH, STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!”

Gertrude’s voice emerged from a black mouth right next to his ear, and Will’s whole body froze reflexively.

Will glanced over and spotted Gertrude, the nun with her fists on her hips and giving him her patented scowl.

“I wasn’t doing anything,” Will said, backing away and hiding Marissa’s toys behind his back.

Gertrude took a step forward, looming over him in a way that she hadn’t done since -

The way she always had.

“You made your sister cry again, And for what? Because of a silly doll!?”

“She started it!” Will whined, his voice high and reedy.

That’s not an excuse. Some dim part of him knew what was coming.

“That’s not an excuse!” Gertrude said, her behavior mirroring his expectations exactly as she waggled a gnarled finger at him.

You should know when to share.

“You’re the older one! You should know when to share, and when fighting over a stupid piece of wood is beneath you!”

Again, Gertrude’s voice echoed his expectations precisely.

Something is off, Will thought to himself as he looked up at the giant nun towering over him, but his childish mind was too inexperienced to-

Will shook his head and drove that thought away. He’d never…EVER thought of himself as childish. Even when – ESPECIALLY – when he WAS being childish.

Gertrude is…making me think wrong?

“Give me that!” Gertrude said, reaching for the toy in his hand.

Will’s hackles rose and he held the toy protectively behind him, but Gertrude’s grip was like steel, yanking on the toy, yanking it up and over his head until he was practically dangling from it.

Will tried to get a good grip, but his left hand kept slipping off, seemingly unable to find any kind of purchase on the handle of his Toy.

In an instant his Toy was yanked out of his hands, and Will plopped to the ground, tears threatening to come bursting out as the feeling of betrayal nearly overwhelmed him.

“I hate you!” Will shouted, pouting. “Granesh hates you!”

“Not as much as he hates disobedient little brats who take his name in vain.” Gertrude said with a withering stare. “Now, go to your time-out corner and really think about what you’ve done.

Oddly enough, the time-out corner was on the other end of the -Room-, down a set of stairs onto a dirt patch that seemed to surround them in every direction.

Odd. Why are we on a platform?

The spector of death seemed to haunt that ground, causing Will’s childish fears to bloom.

“But if I go there, I’ll die.” Will said, turning back to Gertrude.

“You impossible child, nothing is going to happen to you in the time-out corner. Do I have to put you there myself!?”

Gertrude is lying.

Gertrude is trying to kill me.

Gertrude shook a finger under his nose as she assaulted him with her familiar haranguing.

Will bit the finger.

 Gertrude let out an inhuman shriek, her body dissolving like a wavering mirage, revealing a black tendril in his mouth, and beyond that, Carrie, still holding her hand over the rapier buried in her stomach, with three black tendrils emerging from her robe’s collar.

Each of them was shaped like a mouth, singing a haunting melody.

The black tendril yanked itself out from between his teeth and rejoined the group of false mouths, adding another voice to the chorus.

Each of the mouths had veins of pale blue running down from them towards the amulet hidden under her shirt.

Ah. She has a psychic attack. Damn.

Will’s Focus was neither good nor bad, but aside from his Strength, it was his weakest Attribute.

A moment later, Will’s thoughts were blasted away as the chorus of Summers assaulted him with four ideas simultaneously.

Hideous wounds all over my body.

A swarm of insects digging under my skin.

No one will ever love me.

My body is crumbling with age.

The four thoughts wove together seamlessly, not giving his mind a moment to rest as they battered at his Focus. Each time he felt as though he could get a grasp on the foreign thought and banish it, another one took its place, keeping his mind forever off balance.

Will gasped with pain as he felt his vitality fleeing his body under the non-stop assault.

So tired.

It’s not worth it.

Someone else needs to save me.

My existence is meaningless.

Will collapsed to his knees, the arena turning from ice to stone as he was battered down by an incessant torrent of thoughts and feeling designed to render him to nothing.

I can’t do this.

I’m too weak.

Too sick and feeble

Too young and inexperienced.

Will gasped, eyes wide and staring at the floor inches away from his nose as a last-ditch bolt of inspiration shot through him.

The physic assault was right! He was too young and inexperienced. Focus was a multiplier. What did Jean do when she realized she was too mentally weak to withstand the memories of what had happened in the Wyrd Stronghold?

She pretended to be someone stronger. She pretended SO HARD that she became that person.

Seemingly from nowhere, a name surfaced above the constant thoughts being forced into his mind.

Ezykial the serpent was a great warrior. He would be able to withstand a weak psychic attack like this, and handle Carrie like an unruly child. Will wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was that familiar tomahawk in the painting’s hand, but it felt as though a puzzle piece had clicked into place for him.

Will’s eyes fluttered closed as he reached deep inside for strength, imagining himself as the ancient warrior of myth and legend. So vividly he could feel it.

When they opened again, it was Ezykial the Serpent viewing the world.

Everything comes to ruin in the end. – Don’t care.

My family at the orphanage will suffer. – what orphanage?

My teeth are falling out. – It’s about time.

Parasites are eating their way out of me. – I’ve had worse.

Ezykial the Serpent levered himself to his feet, brushing off the annoying thoughts and raising his hand to summon his trusty axe.

It…didn’t come. What came instead was a semi-invisible hand missing a finger and a bit of the palm.

Huh.

Ezykial tried summoning a giant snake.

Didn’t work. What happened instead is a bunch of stuff fell out of the hand and clattered onto the ground, including what looked like several healing potions, and the floor underneath him seemed to wobble, bouncing him up and down ever-so slightly.

Weird.

Standing in front of him was a heavily wounded sorceress girl with an odd wiggly leech-looking thing emerging from her clothes.

She was obviously the one responsible for his current predicament.

Some kind of mind-wipe? Ability randomizer? Not sure how I got here.

Ezykial glanced around, noting the arena and the screaming audience.

Ah, so it’s an arena fight. I guess that means I should take it easy on her.

Ezykial took a deep stance and began to slide across the arena, his footwork even crisper and more sinuous than it usually was due to the arena bobbing underneath him.

The wounded child’s eyes widened as he approached with deceptive speed.

“How did you-“

The black tendrils stopped singing and instead moved to pierce him, but they hit nothing but air, unable to trace his erratic pattern across the arena floor.

Ezykial shoulder-checked the child sorceress, causing her to cry out in pain as the weapon in her stomach was jostled.

He normally wore heavy armor to allow his snake rushes to do more damage, but the little girl was already in a lot of trouble with the sword in her guts, so it was probably for the best.

He wound around her body, his ankle protesting as he used her as a shield against her own tendrils, never staying in one place for any length of time. The tendrils seemed to use her as a point of reference.

He could take advantage of that.

Ezykial caught her clumsy attack, losing an eye as he realized a bit too late his left hand was nowhere to be seen, allowing the strike to glance off his right hand and gouge through his face.

I’m missing a hand? I also seem to be incredibly weak. Odd. Was I summoned into someone else’s body with an Ability? Did we retake the Second floor? Or…did I die?

Ezykial’s memories were hazy and fragmented.

Oh well, I can figure it out later. There were more immediate concerns. Like the person trying to harm him.

Ezykial ignored the wounded eye and tapped the ground with his foot, experimenting with these new Abilities…feeling it wobble beneath him.

If the stone under my feet can deform, then why not use it offensively?

Ezykial entered her space and slammed his foot down beside the child’s and he felt his Ability reverberate through the stone before a ripple of stone jutted up around his feet and shoved her foot upwards, causing her to stagger backwards, off balance.

Ezykial dodged the lightning-fast tendrils by jumping up above the attack and curling into a ball before opening up like a spring, landing a heavy strike with both feet in the center of her chest.

She tumbled out of the arena with wide eyes, her odd parasitic companion emerging from her ankles and arresting her fall with gusts of air, beginning the process of bringing her back up.

This might be difficult, Ezykial thought, eyes narrowing.

Then a slightly transparent hawk swooped down, hitting the child’s upper body with bone-crushing force, knocking her upper body down an extra two feet, forcing her shoulder blades to touch the ground.

…Was that mine?

“And there you have it! after an intense battle, William Oh has won the match through ring-out, defeating Carrie Envar to secure the title of ‘champion’!

Gods, I thought we were going to get another boring match, but far from it! I haven’t seen a performance like that in a long time!”

William Oh? That character from children’s tales? Did I enter the tournament under a pseudonym? Wait…no…that’s…me.

Will shuddered as ‘Ezykial’ faded away, dissolving into nothing in Will’s mind like a half-remembered dream.

Did I manipulate the ground with my feet? And that footwork…I don’t know how to do that.

His hand went up to his gored left eye, flinching as it flared with pain.

“GODSDAMNIT!”

It would heal…Will had made sure of that. But still. Fully a third of his vision was just missing. It was worth cussing about.

“And now, would all the semifinalists and finalists assemble in the arena for their prizes?”

Will spotted Carrie approaching with a smile, her robe hanging open around her waist, where a hasty healer had left a thin white scar upon pulling out Will’s blade.

“That was a good fight! How did you do that!? All of a sudden it was like you knew what you were doing!”

Will shrugged.

“I’unno.”

“Your foot’s broken,” The priestess of Holdna said, bathing it in cool healing light before addressing his eye.

“I can stop the bleeding and stitch it together, but you’ll have to get something more comprehensive than I can provide if you want to use this eye again,” She said with a guilty look.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Will said.

What concerned him more was Phantom Hand, which was radiating constant pain. It was missing the Buckler of Rebounding finger, which had seemingly been gnawed away to a stub of bone. It was only the Hydra upgrade that gave him confidence it might grow back.

Will could tell the effect was gone, though, even if he got the finger back he’d have to fill it with something else.

Ah well, I wasn’t that attached to ‘fencing’ anyway.

He sent Carrie one of Gertrude’s patented ‘looks’ before he spoke: “My Ability is damaged. Know anything about that?”

She at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “I wanted to win.”