Anything ~ 37!

Luke landed heavily on the border between Zones, blood not his own running off his body so thickly that he needed to shake like a dog just to get the top layer off. He sighed as he stepped into Zone eleven. “Stupid birds.”

Since he had already defeated this Zone before, there was a good shot that he could just run across it. Yet, he was almost certain that the parasites would have taken over the guardian and would be using it as a gatekeeper. Since he had resolved to kill them all off, leaving behind one that would grow constantly in strength, size, and power seemed like a terrible idea.

“Starts as an ant.” He muttered quietly, trying to think of how he would find an ant in the huge Zone. Even without the space-warping distortions, he knew this place was massive. “I’ve been gone for just about seven weeks. That’s… seven hundred and thirty-five-ish days. How big would this thing grow in two years?”

The answer was as surprising as always. He hadn’t thought that he would find the creature on his first pass, but it turned out that not only was it drawn to him thanks to his Skill upgrading… it was on the lookout for him. The only warning he had was a pounding on the earth in a staccato beat that a drumline would be hard-pressed to match. His instincts made Luke throw himself to the side, just as a set of mandibles half the length of a merchant’s covered wagon snapped through the air where he had just been standing. It was so close to ending him that his shoulder armor shattered and the mandibles cleanly sliced off a chunk of the meat on his left shoulder.

Damage taken: 14 piercing.

“Huh.” Luke stared at the Giga Anticorn as his armor reconstituted, taking a swig of his refilled waterskin as he watched the new arrival. The creature was clearly an ant, but currently its tallest point reached just above Luke’s belly button. The creature had launched itself at him, attempting to bisect him as an opening move. If it hadn’t been in the air, it might have been able to course-correct and land the blow as intended. “All that damage from proximity. Makes me wonder what ten percent of your maximum damage with those weapons is?”

“You are not welcome here!” The brown-light-filled horn atop the ant bellowed at him in a voice deeper than any Luke had heard from a ‘Corn. “The flyers informed me of your imminent arrival! I have alerted the herds! Attempting to penetrate our defenses will end in your demise!”

“You’re a loud ant, aren’t you?” Luke tried to buy time as his shoulder slowly healed itself. “Speedy, too. Your predecessor seemed pretty slow, but maybe that was just a consequence of size?”

The ant ignored his words in favor of continuing to bellow at him. “I was integrated with the Giga the same day that you appeared in our world! The great defiler! You have one chance to leave, and never return! You may hunt in the higher Zones, but never-”

“You’re telling me what I’m allowed to do?” Luke Bum Flashed at the creature, his fist coming down on… nothing? He completely missed his target as the six legs of the ant churned. “On my world?”

“Know fear, defiler! A detailed report on your abilities was submitted through the proper channels! I have trained in this form for years to be prepared for your underhanded tactics!” The ant’s horn practically screamed at him even as the mandibles *clacked* in an attempt to tear his flesh asunder. “Every movement pattern, each arc of your weapon has been studied! You have no chance against me! Even if you did, your weakness to our magic has been noted! The lancers are standing at the ready even now! A single step into the next Zone will spell your end!”

Manic laughter followed this pronouncement, and Luke tried to use the creature's clear distraction and insanity against it. Even so, it was just. So. Fast. He could barely get out of the way of the needle-sharp legs as it ran at him, and the mandibles were so swift and deadly that he couldn’t afford to get caught out by them. He had to perfectly control every aspect of himself just to avoid being cut in half, and any retaliatory blows he sent out were as glancing as the hits that he took.

All of this combined into a single, glaring fact: Luke hadn’t had this much fun against an enemy since he had slaughtered the goats in Zone one.

He didn’t care that his fighting style had been analyzed. That didn’t matter one ant-sized little bit. Oh, no. Someone knew how he fought when he was physically forced to leave. It was going to be a completely different experience for them, and he’d personally teach them how he attacked when he was ready and excited for the fight. Tactics were a foreign concept, simply because he had either been so outmatched, or so able to overpower his opponent, that he had never needed to adapt.

Right now, against a creature that he was a near physical match for? He was being forced to get good. The fact that something needed to be a few tons of armor and weapons in order to be a physical match for him didn’t bother him at all. Yet, not being able to land a hit on something that large was somewhat upsetting. “Hold still so I can kill you!”

“You first!” The ant retorted with an air-shaking scream. “Does anyone listen when you tell them something so unnatural, foolish human?”

“Can’t know unless I try.” Luke grumbled at the beast. He was starting to get a good feel for how the ant moved. Even though it seemed wild and erratic, there were subtle patterns. There had to be: controlling six legs in perfect synchronization meant that there had to be a plan in place for movement. Luke silently increased the size of his Chain-blade Rope, compensating for the loss of power by turning off sections of his armor and devoting it to the weapon.

He charged at the ant, and the ‘Corn scoffed at him once before zipping to his left. Instead of changing directions, the Murderhobo let his arm swing out. The Rope, now the length of half a caravan, whirled through the air and met the side of the beast just as his return pull broke the very air it traveled through with a thunderous *crack*. The hit was so hard that it generated light and heat, directly tearing off the creature’s mid-leg and sending the hook at the end of the weapon deep into the creature’s flesh.

Damage dealt: 846 piercing. (Mixed non-weapon damage not accounted for).

There was only an instant between the weapon landing, and Luke shrinking the weapon. It reeled him in so fast that he may as well have been flying; but even so, the creature turned and *clacked* down on his path - shearing his Chain-blade Rope and dissipating the mana from which it was formed. Luke was still flying at the creature, and Flashed above it just as the beast moved out of the way. His left fist closed around its horn, and his right hand punched it at the base.

The horn shattered under the concussive force, and the Giga-Anticorn stopped moving, sliding to a full stop after a long moment.

Etheric Xenograft Potentia gained: 638.

Calculating… anomaly concern number 2 in the area spreading. Anomaly information has been passed to _Error_. Assessment of threat level to Luke Von Murderhobo: Certain death. Authorization granted. Generating special award ‘offer’.

Message generated.

Luke Von Murderhobo, you are at the edge of an invasive species nest. The world’s rules allow very little in the way of assistance to lower cultivators. Only special circumstances can generate physical rewards or custom Skill Pearls. In order to gain a boon without completing a trial, you must give something up in advance. Are you willing to give up power temporarily in order to gain a boon that will assist against the invasive nest? Yes / No.

“It’ll help me kill those nasty snails? I’ll do anything I gotta do.” Luke wondered what the world would require of him, but he was certain that it would be annoying if it was giving him a heads up.

In the box is a set of armor specifically designed to provide extra protection against attacks of a magical nature. Against attacks of a physical nature, the armor is worse than not wearing any armor at all. As payment for the armor, all Potentia gained for killing the next 5,000 ‘Snail-icorn’ type creatures will be absorbed by the world. Taking the armor shows your agreement.

“That’s a lot of Potentia for a little bit of armor.” Luke opened the box and looked at the fabric robes inside. “Especially such… are those lace frills? Is it actually gonna be worth taking this junk?”

As per usual, the world around him didn’t answer. He grumbled as he pulled out a robe and looked at the garment. They were purest white, with just a hint of blue to them. As he shook them open, a pair of moccasins and a large… pirate hat were revealed. Luke pulled the strange assortment out of the box with a sigh as his Source-cerer’s Armory worked to see how they interacted with his Skills and mana.

Mage Hunter’s Armament (Set Items). A set of three items that were designed by the most bloodthirsty Annihilator Ascenders known to the great multiverse. This style was unable to help them achieve their goals of being impervious to the more mana-attuned worlds they visited, but their attempts at defeating mana itself showed some merit.

Set benefits:

1 item) Mage Hunter: 50% reduced magic damage taken. Inward-facing armor: Damage that would be blocked by armor rating is instead dealt as bonus damage.

2 items) Spell Hatred: Each spell that deals damage to you increases your movement speed by 10% for five seconds. Stacks up to three times.

3 items) Perpetual motion: Duration of all movement-impairing spells reduced by 60%.

“Set items? That’s a new thing.” Luke looked at the next messages with great interest. He was simultaneously excited and disgusted by the equipment.

Mage Hunter’s Greatrobe) A beautifully ironic robe made from the best parts of the twelve most pure-hearted unicorns ever born, twelve beasts that sacrificed themselves to protect their people against utter destruction. They failed. Must be equipped first. Durability reduces by 1 for every ten points of damage taken. Durability: 12/12. (Source-cerer’s Armory bonus: if absorbed, will take the slot for chest, shoulder, hand, and leg armor. Removes durability. Minimum mana allocation required for activation: 40%.)

Mage Hunter’s Tricorn) A hat made from a unicorn desperate that was desperate to live. After its parents were turned into a robe, it devoted its life to being able to escape unicorn hunters. Every time it got hurt, it redoubled its effort to never get hurt again! It got caught. Now you have a new hat! Must be equipped second. (Source-cerer’s Armory bonus: if absorbed, will take the slot for headgear. Minimum mana allocation required for activation: 10%.)

Mage Hunter’s Moccasins) A pair of shoes made from the pelt of an orphaned unicorn that was bullied by all the other unicorns in the herd that grudgingly took it in. It was constantly hit by spells to slow it down when racing against its peers. All it ever wanted was to win a race, to the point that it even developed resistances to slowing effects. On the day of the great race, hunters waited near the finish line to catch the fastest unicorn in the herd. The last thing that went through the mind of a beautiful unicorn that would have won and fulfilled a life-long dream… was a spear! (Source-cerer’s Armory bonus: if absorbed, will take the slot for foot armor. Minimum mana allocation required for activation: 10%.)

“Got it. This stuff only reduces magic damage.” Luke stared at all the gear as his Skill worked to eat away at it. “Makes me more able to kill spellslingers of all sorts, not just snails, but I gotta really believe in my physical superiority. Heh. Got that goin’ for me.”

He thought about how the horses had attacked him. The only natural weapons they had were what horses normally had, plus a sharp horn. Luke waited in the empty Zone for a few hours, until all the gear had been absorbed and equipped. When it was all finally ready, he looked at the updated information… he released a smile that showed every single tooth.

Mage Hunter’s Greatrobe)

• Mage Hunter: 50% reduced magic damage taken.
• Inward-facing armor: Damage that would be blocked by armor rating is instead dealt as bonus damage.
• Must be the first-equipped set item.
• Takes the slot for chest, shoulder, hand, and leg armor.
• Minimum mana allocation required for activation: 40%.

Mage Hunter’s Tricorn)

• Spell Hatred: Each spell that deals damage to you increases your movement speed by 10% for five seconds. Stacks up to three times.
• Takes the slot for headgear.
• Must be the second-equipped set item.
• Minimum mana allocation required for activation: 10%.

Mage Hunter’s Moccasins)

• Perpetual motion: Duration of all movement-impairing spells reduced by 60%.
• Take the slot for foot armor.
• Minimum mana allocation required for activation: 10%.

Complete set equipped! Note: devoting additional mana to this gear does not increase any bonuses.

“After all that, I still have my gauntlet slotted, so I need to deactivate that.” Luke intentionally did so, then devoted a total of sixty percent of his mana to the new set. The hat, robe, and shoes all appeared on him, looking as real as any other clothing. He wasn’t sure if it was a benefit of being much more powerful gear, or the gear being a set, but he liked that it was fully opaque; unlike his standard armor. “Excellent. Now I can run around totally naked, and no one will be able to tell.”

He turned his eyes to the horizon, and began stomping his way toward the unicorns. The Murderhobo shook his head and amended that thought.

“Toward Cookie.”