[Omen of the Witchblade] Chapter 94 — Mountain Ringed in Gold

Mel and Gwen pulled ahead of the group. Little wonder, since they were faster than the others. With the highest agility, Mel could physically move her body the fastest, but Gwen’s monstrous strength caused every footfall to propel her over longer distances.

In fact, the Berserker started to lose speed when she hurtled too high into the air. Initially envious, Mel realized that quick turning speed wasn’t possible for Gwen.

Her strength had nothing on Mel’s agility.

Unless you want to move in a straight line like a train, Mel thought with a smirk.

Even though agility was clearly meant for movement speed, it was clear how much an additional five grades mattered in terms of stats. Gwen outpaced Mel easily, provided she could keep from pushing herself too high into the air where wind resistance bled away her speed.

The Berserker tapped [Frostbringer] now and then, providing iced-over straights that sped up everyone else behind her. There were some spills at first. Mostly from Heath, who wasn’t even High Copper yet. Over time though, everyone adapted and had an easier time traveling at speed.

Provided it was on a straight path without any obstacles.

They talked for a while about what their strategy would be upon reaching the mountain. From discussing the known weaknesses and strengths of the other Magi teams, to guessing what the hell the top team was.

Gwen and Thomas theorized that Jacob’s team wasn’t as likely to fight other Magi in order to win, whereas Charlie’s team wouldn’t mind if it meant furthering their leader’s goals. In fact, “Miss Perfect’s” team was more likely to fight Mel’s team in particular.

Neither of them were willing to explain why.

“You guys got beef?” Mel pressed.

They exchanged looks with one another. Not that they were hiding some kind of dark secret, but that they were trying to figure out how to explain it to her.

Why would it be that complicated? Mel wondered.

“I’m not remembering something again?” Mel guessed.

“More like you two have beef,” Thomas said with a shrug.

“She’s usually fairly easy going,” Gwen admitted, frowning. “Well, used to be? Not sure anymore.”

As for the top team, Mel kept her knowledge about Shae’kathoth to herself. There was no reason to concern them. Even if it was the exact same monster, Mel only knew of him second hand. Hal and Noth had faced that eldritch horror, not her.

I was busy running from a damned shoggoth.

She still shivered at the countless bloodshot eyes and open gaping mouths lined with razor teeth. And the smell! She didn’t even want to remember it or else she’d start gagging.

A pit full of burning overstuffed diapers would have smelled like a pleasant meadow compared to the reek of an outsider like a shoggoth.

If she was there, poor Gwen probably would have blacked out.

After days and weeks of time blurring together, Mel was suddenly hyper aware of every hour that bled away as they raced across half a dozen different plateaus.

She felt the incessant tug of other plateau beasts, but they fell away as the confluence of mana around the towering mountain grew to a crescendo.

This blessing illuminated so much more of the world’s depths to Mel.

Some part of Mel wondered if it was worth avoiding the plateau beasts. They were high Battle Point yielding fights, but fighting them would be myopic to the extreme.

It would be like filling up on free breadsticks at an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner.

Another part of her knew without a doubt that what this mountain had to offer was endgame material. Slaying more plateau beasts as a group only had a chance to claim top three. While it certainly would offer fantastic loot, they needed a truly insane gambit to reach the number one spot.

Something to beat all the other Magi. In that way, the time limit was on their side. She didn’t need to hold the top three spot forever. Just long enough to secure victory when the timer ran out.

A full day of non-stop running, saw them within the same plateau as the gargantuan mountain. It was the only mountain on the entire plateau. In fact, it was the entire plateau. All that running had worn them all down. Heath, amazingly, had managed to keep up with them, but he wasn’t looking so hot.

The wary look he gave her, plus the complete and utter lack of any awkward anecdotes, told Mel he was giving everything he had just to put one foot in front of the other. And despite that, he didn’t want to hold them back.

He had been smart enough to listen to their advice and buy [Petrified Branches of Agility] to speed up his attribute growth. Without a [Cinder Ampoule], however, he couldn’t make anything more advanced, but at least he gained the [Leaden Pearl] from the last plateau beast.

He would have something to mix in when he gained the ampoule.

“It could be Mount Olympus,” Mel said in awe of the grandiose majesty.

Even from this distance, they could see switchback paths leading up and around the wide base, like the threads of a massive screw.

“We’re going to need to use aspect skills to get up there fast,” Gwen said, bending over to stretch.

Thomas glanced over, cleared his throat, and then looked away pointedly. “I imagine it’d take at least a day to navigate that. This entire damned plateau is just one mountain.”

Mel looked at Heath. The poor guy looked like a frat pledge after their first week.

Even Gwen watched him with pity. “Could he drink from our [Primeval Brew]?”

“Are you really willing to give up power growth?” Thomas asked sharply.

“No, but…he’s not High Copper yet,” she explained thoughtfully. “If he crossed that gulf of strength, that might be more than I could achieve with a single use.”

“No, I’m okay,” Heath said, holding up a hand. “I have a few potions to keep me topped off.”

Mel opened her mouth to correct him, then decided against it. “As much as I don’t like it, I think we need to take a break.”

Gwen and Thomas looked at her like she was insane. “Are you sure you haven’t lost your memories again?” Thomas asked.

Staring at the impressive mountain, Mel said, “We’ve got fifty-something hours left–”

“A little more than two days,” Thomas added. “Since you can’t count time.”

Mel glared at him but continued, “–so the way I see it, once the manastorm kicks off, we aren’t going to get much rest. Might as well get in one good night of sleep before the final push. Besides, there’s a good chance if we’re fully rested that we can find a shortcut. That’s worth a few hours.”

Thomas looked around at the barren path, then back at the mountain. “I can barely feel the power you mentioned earlier. It’s all but gone away. Are you sure it’s going to show?”

Mel nodded. She could still feel it. Whether it was because of her past on Aldim, or something else, she was keenly aware of the building pressure. “The dam is about to break any hour now,” Mel said confidently. “I don’t think anybody else senses it yet, but as soon as it pops off, this is going to be a very popular place.”

“The air sure smells strange,” Gwen admitted, loping away to collect deadfall for the campsite.

Heath sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything…except me. Can we find a river or something?”

Mel lifted her arm. “By the gods, that’s ripe.” She looked up at their faces. “Oh, don’t pretend that your shit doesn’t stink either!” she accused, pointing at them in turn.

“Maybe that’s why Gwen likes the hammer more?” Thomas whispered, scratching his cheek.

“She likes the hammer more because it’s hot and strong,” Mel said. She looked at Gwen, who returned with a bundle of wood, then at Thomas. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “She can fix him.”

“Is that true?” Heath asked. “I heard women like to fix men that they find dark and brooding.”

Gwen squinted sharply at Mel, like she was the one that said everything.

Mel lifted her palms to the sky and shrugged. “Who’s to say?” She looked around. “Let’s go back to the previous plateau. I don’t like being exposed like this, and we all need to bathe because everybody reeks after all that running.”

“It’s so bad I’m being hit with debuffs,” Gwen said with an unnecessarily cheery, wolfish grin.

Heath nodded. “Just like a sim!” He waved like a maniac. “Sul sul!”

“You’re giving me a debuff,” Mel groaned. She headed back into the sheltering embrace of the thick, towering oaks that blotted out the sun.

They soon found a suitable camp away from the entry to the mountain plateau and near a river. By this point, setting up camp was a simple affair.

Each person, even Heath, had a job assigned. Mel gathered water and helped set up the campfire while Gwen and Heath foraged for more wood and food. The wood Gwen had found on the mountain plateau was thin and blackened. Hardly suitable for a proper fire. Thankfully, the forest plateau they had moved to had plenty of deadfall that didn’t look like it would vanish after 30 seconds of burning.

Thomas had the easiest job of all, but also the most integral. His ritual spells kept them safe and alerted them to any intruders. Without them, they might have been slaughtered a few nights ago by those assassins.

It seemed like simple, easy-going work until the moment they needed it, then it felt like the most important job in the entire camp.

“An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure,” Thomas often quoted when they complained about his lack of “contribution” before the raid.

It was nice being able to work as a team, rather than sleep utterly alone under the stars with no one to keep her company but her own dark thoughts.

As tired as they were, they ate in relative silence, bathed, and slept close to the campfire in bed rolls warmed by rune coins.

Mel learned the hard way that quests did appear in her dreams. It was so jarring that she bolted awake, rubbing her eyes as if that would make the Shardscript come into focus faster.

New Quest: All too Familiar

Eldritch sacrifices have destabilized the ambient mana within the Elemental Plateau’s region, thinning the veil enough to manifest the force of a manastorm of unknown severity.

Objective: Survive the manastorm (0/1).

Reward: [Managlass Alchemy Recipe]

(3) [Blue Spirit Herba]

Extra Runes of Divine, Mist, Blood, Serpent and Omen experience.

Extra Battle Points.

Mel fell back to her bedroll with a sigh. She could feel the overwhelming and oppressive power of the manastorm. Even with her eyes closed, she could have pointed to it.

Not that it would matter. Despite the afternoon light, there was a clear disturbance to the north and the Olympian-sized mountain.

Nobody else seemed bothered by the appearance of the manastorm though. Every other person in her group was sound asleep. Thankfully, Gwen wasn’t crushing Thomas to death in her arms again. Everybody needed to be fully rested.

Mel watched over them a moment longer, wondering if something else might have woken her up. Something deeper and more subtle.

Unable to quell her anxious thoughts, Mel slipped out of her bedroll and did a tight circuit around the camp, making sure none of Thomas’ ritual spells had been tripped.

She had no idea why she thought to check. It was just an odd anxious impulse. Like wondering if you turned off the stove while you were lying in bed or locked a door downstairs.

Only, this time, she found one of Thomas’ ritual spells was subtly broken. The reason it didn’t trip drew Mel’s attention. Silver wire was stabbed into the ground where two frames of Thomas’ ritual spell met, shorting the magic out without tripping it.

The wire itself was beginning to glow it was so hot. It wouldn’t last for long, but if these were professionals, they wouldn’t need long.

[Gaze of the Serpent] told her that nobody was nearby, but a track of rapidly cooling footprints led straight back to the campfire near the river.

Using [Blood Magic] and [Windstorm], Mel raced back to the camp as fast as she could. They must have snuck in while she was making a circuit on the opposite side. She had given them the perfect opening.