Redemption Arc

Saltbelly was a foe that was beyond any of them individually. That was especially true of the hardcore difficulty. It could easily one-shot Lucian. Even Rowan, glorious stat-fat bastard that he was, would get swallowed up whole in that gaping jaw. Neither their swords nor their spells would be able to do significant damage. That said, the game wouldn’t be so cruel as to put the player in an unwinnable battle.

The arena itself was their advantage.

Despite monsters of all variety roaming around this place for who knows how long, it wasn’t especially damaged. The same protections that applied to the exterior also apply to the interior. Not many things in this place were destructible. That meant that the considerable bulk of Saltbelly was also a hindrance to it. And this Scriptorium itself had some quirks.

“Are you sure you’re fine with doing this?” Helen asked Olivia.

“It makes sense,” Olivia said. “I’m the fleetest of foot among us.”

“Excepting me,” Miriam joked.

“I’m the fastest here, and besides…” She hefted her rapier. “I do enjoy the thrill, I’ll admit. That battle against the brigands was fun in hindsight, don’t you think?”

Everyone looked at her like she was a bit crazy. Only Lucian didn’t—he knew her well enough.

“Well, unless anyone else needs some clarification…” Rowan said, looking between everyone. When everyone confirmed they were fine, he said decisively, “Let’s go!”

Olivia immediately took off down the central pathway, heading right for the statue of the goddess. The rest of them, meanwhile, hugged the outer wall and eventually started to make their way into the bookshelves where Saltbelly’s children were least numerous.

Lucian heard the high-pitched scream of one of the drakelings, and he turned his head upward. Saltbelly blinked its eyes open, and looked down toward the ground where the scream came from. As far as parents went, Saltbelly wasn’t the best. After all, it had only woken up after one of its children had died. But seeing that there were invaders in the heart of its lair, the gargantuan creature acted decisively.

After roaring, Saltbelly jumped. The creature was just a bit larger than an elephant by Lucian’s estimation, but it jumped totally without fear. Lucian saw it only briefly before it collided with the ground with enough force that he felt it shake the ground. If that thing landed on any of them, they’d die instantly. Lucian poked his head out to make sure that hadn’t happened. Olivia was fine—she ran as fast as she could, rapier closely at hand.

Saltbelly started to follow her, its jaw wide open and ready to swallow her whole the moment the opportunity presented itself. She was just a bit faster than it. Saltbelly also reaffirmed the point that it wasn’t the best parent, slamming aside countless of its presumed offspring in its mad charge.

Olivia’s role was simple. She was meant to keep Saltbelly away from them, so they could thin the numbers of the drakelings. Now that the cat was away, it was time for the mice to come out to play.

The sound of Miriam’s thunderous spell was Lucian’s signal to move. He ran out of the bookshelves, imbuing his spetum with Heavenly Blade. The drakelings were densely clustered in the center of the room, and scattered elsewhere intermittently.

Lucian and Rowan appeared together in the same pathway, rushing forward on either side. Miriam’s spells lashed out from a long distance away—she was best suited as a sniper. Helen stayed near them, but farther behind. This was the formation that Rowan had chosen, in order to ensure that there wouldn’t be any issues with friendly fire. Miriam and Helen were to strike at the center, while Lucian and Rowan were to hold the side.

Lucian confronted the first drakeling he found. Unlike their parent, they looked like lithe sea-blue gators. He stabbed out at it, intending to start off the fight by getting some overheal. It effortlessly weaved around his blade and snapped out at his arm. It was a very solid blow, and Lucian barely managed to pull free his bloody arm.

While Lucian gritted his teeth in pain, he suddenly felt a light hit him in the back. Magic surged through him, and the wound healed. He knew the source at once—Helen had healed him.

Got too focused on using my build, Lucian reflected. I shouldn’t forget proper battle strategy.

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Lucian approached once more, but when he saw the drakeling brace its leg to lunge, he immediately held his hand out and said, “Æshra.”

Solar Butterfly filled the space. The drakeling charged with jaws ajar, but as the butterflies tore into its skin it slowed and faltered. Lucian used the opportunity to perform a retreating thrust. His spetum seized it right in the nose, and Heavenly Blade stabbed outward and pierced right between the eyes. Even still, it didn’t fall. These creatures were on another level compared to what came before.

“Girthquake coming!” Rowan shouted, and Lucian glanced up to see Saltbelly charging back down toward them.

The injured drakeling Lucian had been fighting kept up the assault more cautiously. Lucian continued to try and stab it, but the thing was deceptively agile. Saltbelly’s earth-shaking footsteps came closer and closer, and before long Lucian could see into the thing’s throat in the distance. When the drakeling looked behind to see what was coming, Lucian seized upon the opportunity and dashed forth, stabbing it. It turned to ash just moments before Lucian dove between a set of bookshelves. He heard the fierce crack of teeth meeting, and when he looked Saltbelly was rearing on its hind legs, its powerful jaw slammed shut. There was no doubt in his mind—it’d been aiming for him.

To prove that point, Saltbelly turned around toward Lucian. It tried to jam its fat snout in the area between the bookshelves, but all it succeeded in doing was shaking them hard enough to cast books to the ground. One book hit Lucian’s head, but that was the extent of its damage. Lucian scrambled to his feet and backed away as Saltbelly climbed on top of the bookshelves, trying to reach its feebly short arms down far enough to claw Lucian.

And that was their aim.

Lucian lathered his spear with the weakness potion and imbued it with Heavenly Blade before thrusting upward as hard as he could. It hit the soft white underbelly, which was considerably less rugged than it appeared. Saltbelly roared in pain, then thrashed hard enough it yanked the spetum from Lucian’s hand. It clattered against the bookshelf, fortunately, and fell back down where he caught it.

Lucian aimed to stab again, but Saltbelly wasn’t stupid. It didn’t linger on the top of the bookshelf. It immediately jumped back down to the ground where it could better protect its stomach. It looked at him hatefully with its blue eyes before it ran off, heading back toward where Olivia was.

Lucian nodded in satisfaction. Attacking Saltbelly from below guaranteed a critical hit. That was the key to this fight. There were various ways to force that situation scattered throughout the Scriptorium. The others weren’t so simple as this one, but it provided confirmation Lucian’s knowledge held true.

As Lucian stood around, drakelings started to come at him. There were four, two on each end. Fighting two of them at once would ordinarily be too much, but he’d prepared some items to get himself out of jams. He reached into his satchel, fishing around. He found what he needed. It was an expensive potion, worth as much as the crown he’d pilfered from that brigand camp… but there was no point dying with a satchel full of potions.

Lucian drank the potion, then tossed it aside. A few moments later, it felt like his legs were on fire. He braced his spear. This time, he wouldn’t use a spell. This time, he’d use a skill he’d learned in the polearm class—Charge.

That potion—a simple Elixir of Haste—increased movement speed for one turn. His skill, Charge, consumed all movement speed to empower an attack. That was how it had been in the game. This simple combination was incredibly effective in War of Four. Lucian set into motion, spear held firmly in his grip.

He sprinted toward the drakeling on the right, conscious of its every move. He remembered his training, almost like he was replaying it in reality. The one on the left jumped out to bite him, but he didn’t even flinch. He was faster, and so it missed. The one on the right retreated, then tried to swerve left. Lucian didn’t let it. He impaled it, carrying it on and on as the blade sunk deeper. Then, he slammed it against the wall and stabbed it all the way through. It turned to ashes right then and there, and Lucian smiled, emboldened.

He looked rightward. Olivia had succeeded in attracting the attention of Saltbelly once again. He was certain that the one hit he’d succeeded in getting had done catastrophic damage. A few more of those, and they could bring it home. Lucian was hoping he’d be the one to get the kill, but so long as it was dead he was happy.

Then, Lucian heard a strange but familiar noise. He turned his head to see what it was. It sounded like it was coming from the entrance to the Scriptorium. When he saw it, his brain froze. It was a reptilian creature with a decidedly different body shape than Saltbelly. It was more gecko than alligator, but it still had the blue hide with the white underbelly.

That’s Saltbelly’s mate, Lucian thought with dread. The hell is it doing here?

Ordinarily, that thing did nothing but remain in another section of the cathedral—specifically, the crypt. Compared to Saltbelly, it was much easier pickings, but it could easily throw off the balance of the fight. Even alone, it required some consideration to take down. Lucian watched it cautiously, adjusting all of his plans. What would it do?

Saltbelly’s mate briefly looked around the Scriptorium before settling on Olivia, who was running from Saltbelly. Lucian tensed when its head settled upon them… and when it began to bound across the Scriptorium in their direction, Lucian started to move as well. The likelihood Olivia could grapple with both Saltbelly and its mate… almost zero.

Lucian had been convinced this was hardcore difficulty. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was something worse.