Magical Engineering

Something I hadn’t considered would further slow us down on the return was me. I had felt so good on the walk here that I’d almost managed to forget just how bad my joints really were, but after the wyrm, there was no way for me to ignore it now. I was slowing the brothers down, and badly.

“Hey guys, we aren’t going to make it before the sun sets the rest of the way. What exactly is so dangerous about the night here?” I asked.

“Shadow vultures, they’re all over this desert. It’s the big reason so much of it is unexplored. And yes, you’re right, there's basically no way we’ll get back in time,” Elicec answered. I had no idea how afraid I should be of shadow vultures, but considering we weren’t risking any sort of rest breaks, it had to be something bad.

“The first time we came out here, Mel told us we'd be done for if we got stuck out here with a pack of them. I think we might get lucky, though. We aren’t that far from the outpost, and it takes time for a pack to come together. We might be able to handle a single one. Dave, take this,” Cecile produced another tree branch from his System storage.

“Thanks, but I don’t know how much more fighting I’ll be able to do,” I said. I was having trouble standing at this point. Each new step felt like my knee would pop, but if I had to fight, I would try. I had no intention of dying without at least trying to hit something.

“Yeah, I don’t have much left in me to imbue my hoe again either, but better armed than nothing,” Cecile said. Somewhere in the darkened distance behind us, screeches erupted in the night. The birds were awake and hunting. In front of us, I could now make out the outpost as well. We still had a chance.

“Guys, if you have the energy to run ahead of me, you really should. There’s no reason for all of us to die,” I said. I didn’t want to potentially die alone, but I was sure they could make the outpost. I wasn’t so sure I could.

“Not going to happen. You have no chance against one of those things alone. We have a real shot at taking one down together. We did kill a wyrm today, so don’t go doubting yourself already,” Elicec said, trying to encourage me. I appreciated the effort, but I hoped my failing body wasn’t the thing that got them killed.

The screeching behind us grew louder with every step we took toward the outpost, but still, nothing had come close enough for us to spot yet. I was starting to think we were going to make it when a giant shadow came fully into my view. Now I understood why Mel had given the warning he had. These shadow vultures looked far more like crocodiles with wings. Its colors seemed to shift as it moved across the sky. It let out another loud screech as its head turned towards us. We had been spotted.

“Dave, I know you’ve got nothing left, but run, man, run!” Cecile yelled at me. With just how close we were to survival, I listened. I wasn’t sure I’d ever walk again after this, but I managed it. I ran behind the brothers for the last minute or so until we were all banging on the door of the largest building together. The pain had turned to numbness after I felt something pop. I had no idea how long it would take to heal whatever damage I had just done or if it was even possible.

The door flung open, and several Cactomen were standing in front of it, ushering us inside. “Thank the rains, I was so worried about you boys. Once we heard the birds, I thought there was no chance,” one of them said as the others slammed the door behind us.

“Neither did we,” Cecile agreed with them. I, for my part, collapsed forward. There was something wrong with my right knee. It was no longer able to hold my weight.

“Any chance someone could help me get somewhere to lay down? I’m not sure I can do much walking for a while,” I said, grunting through pain as I spoke. Had I really just formed a core only to be taken down by my own joints?

“I got you, Dave,” Cecile said, helping me off the ground to a nearby piece of furniture that mostly resembled a couch. “How bad is it?” he asked after setting me down. It was the perfect time to really test what Inner Vitality told me, I guess, so I pulled up the skill readout and was greeted by the very useful description of “Knee Dysfunctional.” I almost screamed at the uselessness of it.

“Not great. I don’t know how long it’ll take me to heal from this if I ever really can,” I said, trying my best to keep the quickly spreading depression from my voice.

“You’ll be fine, the worst thing that happens is we go into debt with Mel for some high-quality healing. Are you able to access some kind of regeneration in your Life orb yet? That would make this all a lot easier if you can,” Elicec suggested. Oh, why hadn’t I thought of that? What was the next set of mana skills?

“I’m going to need some food if I want to invest any core energy right now. Any chance you guys could find me something while I explore my System interface?” I asked, hoping it wouldn’t cost a fortune out here.

“On it!” Cecile responded, turning around and talking to the Cactomen immediately about where he could find dinner.

I pulled up my System interface and went straight to the Life orb skill tree. The five little pathways I had initially seen were now lit up, and I was able to see the details of the dark bubble each of them led to.