Vol. 2 / Chapter 12 – Clash
Cameron
[Shade Lurker - (Limited)
Available: 2 / 3
Level: 1
Cost: 60 DP
Health: 20 (50)
Stamina: 20 (50)
Mana: 160 (220)
Stats: FORT 4 (10), VIT 6 (13), STR 6 (13), END 4 (10), SOUL 16 (22), MIND 12 (18), WILL 12 (19), COM 12 (18), DEX 10 (17), AGI 12 (18)
Skills: None
Abilities: Shadow Form, Phase
Description: A shadowy apparition that lurks in the dark. It travels unseen in the shadows before striking its prey down. It is cunning and deadly.
Upgrades: Professional Amateur (+1 to every stat), A Walk in the Park (+5% to DEX and WILL), Too Close for Comfort (+1 to every stat), Deathtrap (+1% to every stat), Forceful Eviction (+1 to STR), Toxic (+1 to VIT), Kill Zone (+1 to every stat), Mass Grave (+1 to every stat), Raid (+1 to every stat), Great Raid (+1 to every stat), Generalist (+1% to every stat), Grand Raid (+1% to every stat), Limitless (+5% to every stat)]
The Shade Lurker wasn't a monster that could help on the combat side of things. At level one, it already cost a staggering sixty DP, yet its stats weren't anything special. The only things that it had going for it were its abilities, but they were good enough to make up for its shortcomings.
Shadow Form and Phase, both were incredible. It was only the fact that the monster had both of them that had kept me from turning it into an aspect already. Between the two, Phase was by far the more powerful.
[Ability: Phase
Description: You can expend mana to pass through physical objects.
Description: You can spend mana to phase through the material. At a mana cost equal to 10% of your stat total per second, you can turn your body immaterial. While immaterial, you can pass through objects, and you benefit from a complete immunity to physical damage. You are still vulnerable to magical damage and effects while in this state. If you run out of mana in this state, you will revert to normal. If you stop using this ability while inside of an object, your body will be at least partially dispersed, causing you to take a damage or even killing you depending on how the object is positioned and how much mana it contains.]
The ability to pass through walls or even attacks was a powerful tool, even with the absurd mana cost it had. Still, it wouldn't be enough for the monster to be anything other than dead weight in a fight. That was why I had it stealing my enemies' weapons instead. Subtle manipulation of the battlefield was key to controlling the flow of a fight. That was why, as soon as it had removed the sword from the fight, I had it do the same to the large beastkin's discarded spear and the other beastkin's lost dagger.
The Shade Lurker's shadowy hand once again rose from the ground. It grabbed a weapon and retreated back into the safety of stone. Down in the tunnels below, it had access to the the entire room. Once it left the cumbersome spear behind, it was free to move around in the shadows unimpeded. At a moment's notice, it could shoot upward and make an appearance wherever I needed it to before vanishing just as easily, and the best part was, even after it made its appearance, the mage was likely to be the only one any the wiser.
[Ability: Shadow Form
Description: You are an immaterial being of soul and shadow.
Effect: Your physical form is composed of magical shadows. You can sink into other shadows and move around in them. The only visual sign of your existence within them is the darkness of your own shadow. You are also extremely vulnerable to light. Daylight and other intense sources of light damage you at a rate depending on the brightness. Due to the nature of your body, you have no weak points, and all damage you receive is treated equally regardless of where it is taken.]
It was similar to Vie and Pee's Shadow Surge in some ways and Sir Archibald's Spectral Form in others, but it didn't offer any extra speed or have a mana cost to it. Instead, it was mostly just a powerful stealth ability, and with the two powers combined, the monster could safely perform simple tasks, but it wasn't going to do much for me beyond that. The rest was up to my other monsters, and with what the mage was doing, that left a lot for them to deal with.
The gnome had finally managed to regain himself after catching fire, and the first thing he did was cast a spell. Water erupted from his staff like a fountain, and moments later, the pair was extinguished. With the absence of flames, horrible burns and twisted expressions came into view. The mage wore a pained grimace, but the glare on the human woman's face was so cold it surprised me that it alone hadn't been enough to put out the fire, and with it came a cry that sounded more beast than human. As she let it out, she charged straight toward me.
I had no immediate counter to her sudden assault, but I wasn't alone. Vie and Pee Shadow Surged in front of her in a timely interception. Without missing a beat, though, the human brought her sword down at them. The only things that saved their lives were their twinned Shadow Blasts that sent her hurling backward, but even that wasn't enough to do more than make her stumble. They needed help, but I was in no position to provide it.
The group's leader was far too fast for my sluggish Bloodthorn Vines to land any solid blows against. Even without his main weapon, he was no pushover with his knives. He didn't make for quite as impressive of a sight as the other rogue I had seen so much of with her ability to wield four blades at once, but with him coming after me, I found that I greatly preferred the bubbly insectinoid that had yet to come after me with the intent to kill.
The large beastkin was also free to run amok. He, at least, didn't have another weapon, but he also didn't seem to need one. I had no good way of dealing with him, so I dedicated one of the Bloodthorn Vines that remained to keeping him distracted without risking getting too close. I had no delusions that it would work for long, but I would take the precious few moments it would buy me.
With two more vines crashing into the ground in large theatrical attacks, I also kept their leader distracted. That allowed me to give the orc the majority of my attention. The man was already immobilized as he grappled with a vine. I decided he was my ticket to victory, so I sent the last two vines his way.
His strength was roughly on par with the vines; maybe he was a little stronger or weaker, but it was close enough that there was little he could do when two more giant tendrils snaked their way around him. Sadly, his armor got in the way. That limited amount of thorns that could pierce him, but with each one that did, my monster began to grow that much stronger.
That was where most of my attention was. That meant the mage was not being impeded by Vie, Pee, or myself. That man was also potentially the most dangerous threat to my monsters. He needed to be dealt with, but the only one who was able to move to stand against him was Sir Archibald II. The Trenti was not a match for such a powerful magic user.
With a snarl, the gnome cast a spell at him. He was quicker to the punch than Archie was, and his spell was devastating. A small, fiery ball shot forth from his staff and blew straight through my Trenti's head. The gnome's face twisted into a grin of satisfaction. It only lasted a moment before a wave of spores consumed him.
[Ability: Abstract Intelligence
Description: Your intelligence is separate from your physical form.
Effect: Your ability to think and your MIND are not dependent on anything biological.]
The mage's attack had done an immense amount of damage, even going so far as to destroy my alchemist's brain. Fortunately, he didn't strictly need it. In one fell sweep, he had lost most of his health and over one third of his mind stat, but the most debilitating loss he suffered was his sight. That was remedied by me sending him images of what his sight would have shown him if he still had it. The downside to that was thaty my mental resources were beginning to stretch too thin.
My waning attention was made apparent as a vine I commanded to attack the group's leader missed its mark by a large margin. The error resulted in him being given the room he needed to activate an ability, springboard off of one of the attacking appendages, and land both of his blades with immense force into one of the vines suspending his friend in the air. His eyes went wide, and I could tell he was shocked that his blades were unable to cleanly sever it.
The monster's Blood Drinker ability was up to a thirty-four percent bonus across the board. That wasn't enough for it to withstand the attack on its vine, but it was enough for a thread of it to remain in tact, and that prevented the blades from pulling free. The tip of the plant's limb went limp, and the rest of it came crashing to the ground, enemy in tow. Two more vines followed suit, but they weren't the ones keeping my hostage bound.
The pair that had been keeping the man busy cut off his escape. He was unable to dodge thanks to the precious second his weapons being caught bought me. Down on his leg, a massive stone colored tendril impacted. It pinned him, and the other came down on his head. It rose and fell again as I ordered it to bludgeon the rogue to death.
One hit. Two hits. Then, just as the man looked to be on his last leg, the vine stopped in its tracks. The other beastkin had made his way to the scene and caught it. A moment later, in an ability-enhanced swing an axe severed the other vine. The orc was no longer bound and being drained. With alarm, I realized my mistake. In a moment of panic, I had allowed all of my attention to fall upon a single part of the fight.
I quickly surveyed the battlefield. It was a mess. The vine that had been keeping the beastkin away was shredded. One of the two that had held the orc was a no longer anything other than burning mass. The mage had incinerated it. Archie, who had been fighting the mage was dead. From the looks of the new burns, he had managed to reignite the gnome with a vial of his Flame Solvent before he went down. The man looked like death, but he was still standing.
Then, there were Vie and Pee. I turned to see them, only to watch as they Shadow Surged their way onto the back of the woman they were fighting. Their teeth found their way around her neck to her charred face. Their fangs ripped through flesh as they did a number on the already disfigured woman. Shortly after, her hands reach up and grabbed a head each. Seconds later, they pulled apart, tearing my precious snakes in two with ease.
A single hit had done them in. My complete neglect of their defenses had finally caught up with me, and now, I was outnumbered. Despite my enemies being beaten and mangled, they were all still drawing breath and ready to continue the fight. I, on the other hand, only had a severely injured plant, a level one monster without any worthwhile stats, and Adraugon left to protect me, them and a single Plated Gator that had finally made it to the entrance of my core room from the bog where I had called the sole remaining monster from. Things were not looking good.