Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO STUBBING AUGUST 15)

Miguel leaped backward, using Protection of the Forest. A giant hand of twisted roots and mud erupted from the ground, wrapping its six-fingered grip around the troll. It squeezed – not nearly hard enough to kill the durable creature, but with enough pressure to keep it in place. Aiding in that endeavor was the viscous mud itself, which clung to the creature’s fur and bound its struggling limbs in place.

Trusting the spell, he whipped around, activating Bite of the Cobra. The Blade of the Green Warden glistened with noxious green ethera, and as it sliced into the next troll, the thing staggered backward with a howl of agony. From experience, Miguel knew that Bite of the Cobra was incredibly painful, but that had nothing to do with why he used it. Instead, he did so because it nullified a good portion of the trolls’ monumental regeneration.

Behind him, a ball of rippling soulfire slammed into his mud hand, incinerating the spell and the prisoner it held. Isaak had proven himself a valuable asset against the trolls, largely because their inherent weakness against fire seemed even more of an issue against the much more powerful soulfire. The only limitation was that Isaak could use it only sparingly. He was working on his control, but he’d yet to master how much of his soul he pushed into each spell.

It only took a wisp, but he had difficulty holding back.

Not that Miguel had an opportunity to appreciate his friends’ efforts. Instead, he immediately recast Protection of the Forest, using another conjured mud hand to confine the largest troll he could find. Even as ethera flooded out of him to power that spell, he threw himself at the wounded troll. It came in with a high swipe, but Miguel ducked under it. His Bite of the Cobra-laced blade sang as it arced out, slicing through the shaggy-furred creature’s thigh.

Miguel threw himself into a roll, barely avoiding the responding stomp. It brought its own blade – ragged and coated in blood – to bear only a moment later, but Miguel was already gone. He sprinted toward another troll, already casting Quiescence to help him recover spent stamina.

He hit another troll with a shoulder tackle that harnessed every single point of strength he could muster. In addition, he’d activated Charge at the last second, giving him a little more force. He slammed into the creature, sending it sprawling to the ground. Behind him, his illythiri allies fell upon the wounded troll he’d left behind while Isaak tossed another spark of soulfire at the other entrapped creature.

Miguel kept going, using all of his abilities. Recover and Quiescence were nearly constant, while he employed skills like Impale and Champion’s Shout where appropriate. Mostly, he relied on his swordsmanship and the lessons he’d learned over the course of months of battle.

There were two reasons for that. The first was that he didn’t want to lean too heavily on his abilities because if he did, he’d run dry of ethera and stamina very quickly. He was no caster after all, and though his abilities were incredibly potent, they were meant to be used situationally.

The second reason was that at any given time, he had a half dozen passive buffs going. None were more important than Knight’s Devotion, though.