Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]

It’s thankfully not hundreds or thousands of antoids which appear from the shadows to attack both of us, but it’s dozens. Each of them is a bit weaker and a bit slower than the guardian we fought a moment ago, but numbers do add up as long as the individual members are at least marginally threatening.

Fortunately, we do know their weaknesses. Strong against physical attacks, comparably weak against magic. Chloe’s [Radiant Purge] is particularly effective against them, rather akin to throwing sticks of magical dynamite right into the heart of the nest. I am taking damage from them as well due to the tight quarters, but not too much overall. My high [Mind], further shielded by [Etheric Armor] and shrouded by [Saintess’s Cloister], ensures that Chloe’s work is falling almost entirely upon our enemies.

Meanwhile, I’m stuck using mostly physical attacks, occasionally throwing out my [Elemental Ether Strikes] when I have the spare [Ether]. I’ve found that they are nearly completely immune to [Earth] and [Ice], and [Fire] largely doesn’t affect them either. Nevertheless, I attack with these elements all the same. I don’t expect them to work, but by doing so, I begin setting up the special effect of my [Elementalist’s Bandana], the [Rainbow Chain].

As a result of this effect, each elemental attack I use gains in power and [Ether] cost. In exchange, I have to continually cycle between the elements without repeating them. This goes smoothly at first. [Darkness] doesn’t do much to these creatures, and considering their environment, I can see why. Best to get this element out of the way sooner rather than later as well.

My bandana starts to glow— the red strip of [Fire], blue of [Ice], orange of [Earth], and the indigo of [Darkness] all lit up, their power amplifying my own and bending the Etheric flow to a small extent, though in my own favor for a change.

[Wind] comes next. Unlike the previous four, it doesn’t lend itself particularly well to being infused into [Elemental Ether Strike]. The general shape characteristic of [Ether Strike] is a giant beam, good for bludgeoning, modestly effective at piercing, and absolutely horrendous at slashing, as the [Wind] element prefers. Instead I channel [Wind], [Sharpness], and a pair of glyphs that represent [Length] and [Velocity] together with my [Multidimensional Glyphcasting], finding an array formation that seems adequate and isn’t immediately breaking down upon channeling [Ether] through it.

I add a few more runes interlaid within the structure to stabilize it and clarify my intent, and then I launch the attack. A burst of sharpened air cleaves through the unrelenting swarm of ants, and unlike with the first four attacks, I’m actually making some headway. My attack is actually strong enough to cut through the ants’ hardened exoskeletons and damage the relatively softer flesh underneath. Unfortunately, my diminished [Ether] leaves me unable to turn this into a decisive blow.

Rather than push more [Ether] into the attack, I let it fizzle. Three enemies down, eighteen severely crippled, broken arms and leaking acid from fetid wounds. Twenty-four of them remain still healthy and able to continue the fight.

I take a defensive posture between Chloe and the horde, beating back attacks as quickly as they come. I wasn’t able to handle the flurry of blows below, but with the help of a little practice and these creatures being slightly weaker than the one which came before, I’m able to keep myself from suffering too much damage.

The problem is that the beasts remain unrelenting in their assault. Their glowing compound eyes show no signs of emotion, their faces remain placid, their expressions impassive, their movements regimented with the discipline of a hive mind coordinating their every movement and the cycling tactics of Roman legionnaires. If they are tired, they do not show it; if they are pained, they do not show it either. Seeing their dead and injured do not break their morale, nor do they panic or deviate. It is eerie.

Meanwhile, I know that my [Ether] is slipping. I can see from Chloe’s face and feel through our bond that she won’t last too much longer; her [Vitality] is somewhat lower than my own. We can’t take to the skies to restore our stamina; I can’t grab an [Ether Canister] from my [Inventory] to refuel. I’m stuck trying to beat back the onslaught, but even a second cast of [Saintess’s Cloister] to refresh the first is not going to stem the tide for long.

But there’s no other option, other than to use [Seraphina Overlimit]. And I refuse to do so; we need the safety net that ability will provide when we go rescue Alicia. We have to fall back and try to regroup. But we can be smart about it. The narrow passageway we used to get to this chamber will allow us to avoid the worst of it. Maybe we’ll even get our proper magic back.

No dice. We pass through the threshold, but the flow of [Ether] hasn’t changed. It must be like back in the Temple of Greed; once we enter and succumb to the dungeon’s curse, only completing the objectives will see those hexes purged.

At least it’s not the worst-case scenario— yet. The clamoring of two dozen pairs of legs continues in lockstep, and though I am holding them off with Chloe’s health, the second we’re ambushed, we’re trapped.

Assessing my knowledge of the situation, I’m able to come up with a lone strategy for how I might be able to defeat the horde, but I first need Chloe to run. I– Thinking about Alicia, about how she is suffering because of nothing but her relation to us and possibly to Mr. Jacobs… I don’t want to make others go through that. Least of all Chloe, my shining light, my erstwhile partner, now and forevermore. Using [Lightning] now, after remembering how I’d hurt her once before thanks to not understanding exactly how my wings work? I– I don’t–

I turn to Chloe for the briefest of moments and shoo her away with my hands. What are you doing? I need you to flee the blast radius! I know our bond is still closed to direct thoughts, but if I project my emotions hard enough, maybe they’ll get through to her.

Instead, she just gets closer, firing her [Mirage Swords] over my shoulder and striking the ant in front of me. Her attacks buy me another half-second to catch my breath, but this is pointless. I’m sorry, Chloe, but I need to unleash this spell, and I don’t want you to accidentally get caught in the blast radius! I don’t want to hurt you!

Instead, you stand here just beside, backing me up all the same. Even if I could tell you my plans, even if I informed you ahead of time that I planned to do so, you’d stay with me, wouldn’t you? I can’t help but chuckle at my thick head even as the antoid horde bears down upon me and the weight of their successive blows forces me back. I was thinking so highly of your strength just a bit ago, strength that you demonstrated to me in the most direct way possible, and now, here in a dungeon, I’m trying to keep you off the front line and away from the fight.

You deserve to slap me for that one, Chloe. Alright, if this is what you want, my love, then I will unleash everything I have to finish this fight.

First an inconsequentially weak [Light]-aligned [Elemental Ether Strike] that fails even to dazzle the monster before us. Another thing I’ve intuited through my analysis of the [Rainbow Chain] effect— it doesn’t matter the strength of the spell of Skill I employ, nor its [Ether] cost. Using regular weapon attacks that happen to have an elemental alignment doesn’t count either for or against, but other than that, everything is fair game.

Eleven hundred points of [Ether] left. I channel a thousand and fifty of them into my spell. [Lightning], in contrast to [Wind], is best used as a piercing element. I give it an [Impulse] glyph to hopefully keep it moving in the correct direction, then follow it up with a pair of [Intensity] glyphs and one [Puncturing] glyph. Thanks to [Reconfiguration], it only takes about six seconds to string all the glyphs together and lock them into the correct form.

Though, as I’m learning, now that I’ve crossed the second ascension, six seconds might as well be a lifetime. Dozens of strikes land on my armor each second, and though they are individually nothing debilitating, the concussive force they collectively inflict still manages to lower my [Health] by a considerable amount. [Saintess’s Cloister] has been fully purged, leaving my battered body to absorb the attacks directly.

Chloe’s just about completely tapped out as well; her [Health] remains relatively undamaged, but her [Scouring Lights] have stopped altogether and she’s just using her weaker [Curing Light] instead of the more invigorating [Potent Cure]. Something which is unable to outheal the barrage of damage I’m taking by the still-hearty antoids.

Note to self: I really need to be building these spell arrays well in advance of battles, rather than on the fly. Something to focus on during my downtime, whenever the hell that’ll end up being.

Blood oozes down my side; my arms and legs are starting to go numb, and it’s a challenge to keep going through the pain. My head is growing light, my body cold even as I continue to sweat and . My [Health] is at just over 2,000, and it’s still falling fast. The only saving grace is that, since I am technically defending Chloe right now, and Chloe is at a lower level than I am, [Valkyrion’s Defense] has kicked in and is giving me a modest boost to my stats. It doesn’t do much defensively, but it does give me that little push to finalize the glyph matrix and ready myself for one final burst with all my remaining [Ether].

Chloe senses it, finally falling back, but not before channeling her magic into one last [Curing Light].

An electrical current builds in the palm of my hand, crackling with raw power. Much as I wish I could control it fully, [Lightning] carries with it an inherent spark of unpredictability. And thanks to my cybernetic body, there is a risk that some of this discharge might feed back into my own circuitry. I accept this outcome, and, with everything I am and a silent scream to accompany it, I let loose my [Thunder Arrow] and let it carve a path of devastation.

The ants screech and hiss as electricity ravages their insides; their bodies spasm and contort in impossible angles as their muscles tear themselves apart from the contradictory electrical signals being funneled their way. One by one, the lightning continues onward, eating its way through the insectile aberrations, chewing them up, spitting them back out, and leaving them crumpled and lifeless on the stone floor below.

My own arm doesn’t escape the carnage unscathed; black smoke billows from it and I can feel the infernal pain of my own nerves fraying. Chloe, though, remains gracefully unharmed at my back, thank the goddess; I’d take the feedback damage a hundred times over if it meant sparing her from the consequences of my antics.

One final roar of thunder signals the explosive end to the fight, and hopefully the last of the hostilities we’ll be facing down here. Because I really, really don’t want to deal with more of this shit right now.

[You have slain 41 Worker Antoids (Levels 61 to 63). You have gained a boosted 499,500 Experience]

[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 71. [Strength] +1, [Vitality] +1. Please assign free stat points (Remaining: 11).]

[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x 2 + Current Level + Rand[1,3] = 403]

[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0,2] = 272]

[Level: 71; Experience: 7,619,544; To Next: 92,476]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 405 / 14,252; [Ether]: 639 / 10,669]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 302 (Base: 129); [Speed]: 295 (Base: 126); [Vitality]: 386 (Base: 165); [Mind]: 470 (Base: 201)]

[Your [Elemental Ether Strike (Rank VIII)] has upgraded to [Elemental Ether Strike (Rank IX)].]

[Your [Etheric Armor (Rank VII)] has upgraded to [Etheric Armor (Rank VIII)].]

[Your [Valkyrion’s Defense (Rank V)] has upgraded to [Valkyrion’s Defense (Rank VI)].]

[Your [Reconfiguration (Rank VIII)] has upgraded to [Reconfiguration (Rank IX)].]