Once More Into the Fray

John had worried that being alone might make the crawl through the dungeons too slow, that having to personally down every foe would make the trek unbearable and inefficient. It was shocking as the boss of the first Dungeon Barrier fell before him, falling to the ground in a heap only a few minutes past their usual average time to clear. He wasn’t able to do nearly as much damage without the backing of his allies, but he also didn’t have to keep a constant eye on their safety.

Well, not as constant, anyway. His eyes still frequently flickered over to the party menu, but things were going about as he’d expected - even as the boss fell, the others were still sitting well above any level worth worrying about. Lerianna and Sophia were sitting around 85% health, taking a few blows as they – almost literally – threw themselves at their foes. Shishun was at 94%, since she usually only got hit when she was caught off-guard or by any large-area spells. Orria was still at 100%, not particularly surprising, though John wondered if she was spending time studying monsters rather than fighting them.

His answer came quickly when the Dungeon Barrier finished dissipating and he was once more standing back in his own world. Orria was already there, along with Shishun. Given the Lamia’s Lightning Jump ability she may well have warped through more of the dungeon than she slithered, though John wasn’t sure the drop in mana was worth the improved times.

“Ah, you’re back!” Orria said, clapping her hands together. “I take it all is going well, then?”

“Yeah, everyone seems to be doing well,” John said, eyes flickering to the bars. While he was in the middle of checking if there were any changes in health, Lerianna popped back into the world, still covered in just the last specks of blood along her shins before it finished dematerializing.

“Sheesh. What kinda dungeon was that? Barely even a challenge, probably because I didn’t have to drag you along behind me,” Lerianna said, adjusting her skintight outfit with idle disinterest while talking down to John.

“Glad to see you’re okay too, Lerianna,” John said dryly. “That just leaves-”

John was interrupted by the arrival of Sophia, phasing in from the completion of her own Barrier. Her wings flexed widely, so expansive that as they swung about they might have smacked the group around if Sophia didn’t have such fine control over them. John felt her wings brush against his cheek in an affectionate manner as Sophia flexed, making a point of stretching out her body as the bloodstains of her conquest faded away.

“Father, I thank you for this opportunity. Conquering these inferior breeds of my species brings me great satisfaction. May I have another?”

“Yeah, sure, seems like this might be kind of a solo day,” John responded with a shrug. He wasn’t totally opposed to the idea anyway; despite the dungeons taking a little bit longer, the experience from kills wasn’t split five ways, and only John got completion rewards regardless of how many people he brought with him. They did have to do dungeons at a slightly lower level, but aside from the money, it more or less evened out.

“How about two more, then we call it for lunch?” John asked, glancing around. Assent soon echoed around the circle, so John nodded quickly and began assigning dungeons again. The others vanished one by one, followed quickly by John himself.

This time he’d taken a bit more of a practical approach to the dungeon’s enemies. He set all of their dungeons to undead, with the exception of Sophia’s. John wasn’t sure how well some of their combat styles were suited to bony skeletal monstrosities and unfeeling masses of reanimated flesh; it was one of the enemy types they had never trained against much… for a number of reasons. That was something that needed to be corrected now more than ever.

The desolated and misty hills he found himself in inside the Dungeon Barrier were like an expansive graveyard, though with no stones or markers to be seen. The hill he was on might have provided a decent vantage point if the fog were a little less thick, but it gave him enough of a viewpoint to see the shambling figures below, surrounding him on all sides.

“Not much of a dungeon. Figured it’d be a necromancer’s lair or something,” John mused, though the setting mattered little save perhaps for whatever mini-boss awaited him at the end of the dungeon. As long as there were plenty of undead for him to battle, he wasn’t worried about the scenery.

And what a menagerie it was. There were the classics, the skeletons and zombies roaming around near the base of the hill that were eviscerated in seconds. John didn’t even deal with half of them in person – a quick Rune of Puppeteering activation and a few thoughts cleared several of them before he’d even begun his descent.

Still, it wasn’t as if he learned nothing. While John’s Rune of Puppeteering seemed to increase in power as he himself did, there were still some slight snags. Zombies fell simply enough; even the stronger ghouls were **** to quick slashes to their flesh and tendons. Whatever magic animated the skeletons in his barriers kept them going no matter how much of their bodies he destroyed though, until their HP was fully depleted. The ghouls continued coming after him as well, but more due to tenacity than function – one crawled toward him on a single arm after its other three limbs had been removed.

Once he’d cleared the immediate area, John began to dive deeper into the fog, relying mostly on the sounds of moaning and shuffling to guide him in the right direction. He tried several times using Elemental Infusion to dispel the fog with a powerful burst of wind, but even when he could see the mist in front of him swirling around from the ****, it never cleared in the slightest.

”Guess this entire Barrier must be like this. I’ll just have to deal with it,” John mused while he stilled the air so that he could hear more clearly again. His gusts had concealed the approach of several enemies, including a sewn-together corpse that stood taller than Sophia, as well as what appeared to be a humanoid amalgamation of different insect species somehow gathered into a hive mind.

John carved the first apart and burnt it in the same fire that he used to torch the cluster of insects that was close behind it, ensuring that whatever measures had secured the various body parts together, magical or otherwise, could not restore it. More followed after those – revenants, wights, even a lich that John almost mistook for the mini-boss of the dungeon until a cloth-wrapped mummy nearly sank its teeth into him well after the lich had fallen into a cluster of bone shards.

Though John was somewhat surprised by the variety of enemies, he certainly wasn’t disappointed. Whether due to the sheer number of enemies or their relatively low stats, he had found a veritable smorgasbord of different undead here. John wasn’t certain whether the strengths and weaknesses of each undead monster he fought within his Barriers would translate accordingly to some creation of the Northern Ashes, but if nothing else, it at least improved his tactical abilities.

Despite his RPG instincts, damage reduction was not as important as he suspected. Skeletons only resisted the cull of his sword as well as the bones of the living did, which left many fallen piles of calcium in the wake of his cleaves. John’s strength and the sharpness of his blade meant mundane bone barely resisted his strikes more than flesh, and the amount of magic enchanted into their bodies was far more important than whether or not there was a particularly fleshy bit surrounding it. Similarly, striking things with his fists or the blunt pommel of his sword did little to enhance the raw damage he dealt.

What did seem to matter, pretty significantly, was the size and intelligence of the undead in question. Skeletons and zombies were nothing to deal with – ghouls and wights were a bit more predatory, and at least smart enough to try dodging. Meanwhile bone constructs made up of several skeletons awkwardly animated together tended to have significantly more durable bodies, probably due to requiring more mana to create and sustain, and liches had mana of their own, it seemed, along with a seriously advanced intellect compared to their shambling brethren.

”It’s almost like fighting a war all on its own. You have to be just as prepared to adapt as fighting against any living ****. And the real Northern Ashes will have resurrected mages fighting along with whatever else they’ve reanimated...”

After cresting two hills past the one he’d started on and culling the surrounding undead at each, a silence finally fell over the area without the sound of shuffling feet and inhuman groans in the background. A silence that was broken by something John hadn’t expected – a whinny, though a strange one, followed by the sound of hooves beating against the grass.

A shadowed figure leapt from the mist directly over John, tossing several long, pointed weapons as it passed. The weapons were made from pale bone in various sizes and shapes, mimicking spears as they pierced the dirt where John had been before he stepped aside. The figure landed almost thirty yards away from John, partially shrouded by mist as it turned to approach at a rapid pace. The figure was a skeletal rider mounted atop an equally undead horse, though both were clad in so much armor and equipment that only the occasional patch of bones were visible.

Tyral Fardrung
Level 51 **** Knight
HP: 1,980 / 1,980
Relationship: -100
Alignment: -20
Status Effects: N/A

“Pretty tough. Wonder how long it’s taking the others to work their way through this many enemies?”

John glanced over at the party menu and noticed that the others were faring about as well as he was, with one notable exception – Sophia was sitting under 75% health, and slowly falling.

”...But I let her keep fighting the harpies? Something’s strange here. Is she being reckless?”

John resolved to keep one eye on the display to ensure nothing had gone wrong while he clashed again with the undead rider. The **** knight was clad in solid black armor that, unlike most of the other armaments these reanimated corpses were using, didn’t crumble or dent at the first serious blow. John’s first blow that managed to slip past the **** knight’s defenses slid off its chestplate with nothing more than a thin, short gash in the metal. By the time John had gotten himself ready for another strike, he had to retreat as the **** knight’s bone blade was already swinging for his head.

The **** knight’s empty eye sockets kept focused on John as he danced around, and even the mini-boss’ steed was quite impressive in how it leaped and danced, always keeping John to its rider’s right, leaving him in range of stabbing and slashing motions from the lengthy sword. They were skilled at dueling, far more than their minions – far more than John, truthfully, especially given that it had been over a year since he’d had any formal sword training.

But John didn’t just rely on his swordplay, and certainly not on fighting fairly.

Using Elemental Infusion John started to manipulate the earth. He didn’t need mana, as he wasn’t using it to attack – instead he simply shifted the ground under the feet of the undead horse, creating unstable and uneven footing that shook and shivered violently, only steadying the ground directly under his own steps. Doing so took quite a bit of John’s concentration off the battle at hand, but it affected the **** knight far more – his blows were erratic and his bony hands clutched at the ancient leather of the reins even more tightly, his horse nearly toppling over more than once. John amplified the power of the quakes but could only make them so strong without affecting his own footing while he danced around the distressed skeletal horse and cut at its flanks, sword sinking into the tough, enchanted bone over and over.

98 DMG!
132 DMG!
184 DMG!

“Not fast enough. This thing has almost as much health as him,” John grumbled, somewhat disappointed that the creature had its own health bar at all. His annoyance was made more severe by the fact that Sophia’s health was still dropping faster than he’d ever seen it do so. Even solo, John couldn’t understand why she was taking so much more damage than in the previous dungeon. She was already below half health, and still falling.

”Come on, pull it together. You can’t be getting so-”

-129 HP!

John grit his teeth as the bony sword found its mark – the undead horse seemed to be adjusting to his tactics of shaking and surging the earth under its feet, planting its hooves harder and digging them into the dirt to minimize the impact of each motion. The **** knight had steadied itself as well, holding tighter to its steed and beginning to lash out at John again with just as much accuracy and ferocity as before.

”Fuck this.”

Shard of Bishamonten Activated: 100%!

The burning in John’s chest was matched by the ignited Rune of Resonance on his sword as he willed the Shard to action. The sword flew from his hand as the Rune of Puppeteering activated next, followed by the Rune of Disruption. Together the three runes enhanced the blade, carried it around to the other side of the undead steed, and sent it hurtling point-first at the horse’s side. John saw the **** knight’s head turn to protect his steed, but John was faster by quite a bit despite the skeleton’s skill – and he had abandoned any thoughts of a duel. John reached out and gripped the **** knight’s shield with one hand, pulling himself upward and reaching for the skeleton’s other wrist. He missed as the skeleton twisted, and his hand caught the blade of the sword – and held it there.

-87 HP!

-812 Mana!

The second pop-up came as his sword cut through the undead horse’s armor and several of its ribs, digging so deeply into its body that it nearly came out the other side. John’s rune dispelled the magic re-animating the steed and sent it immediately to the ground, collapsing in a heap of bones. John kept himself on his feet by releasing the **** knight’s weaponry and using a burst of Elemental Infusion to hover to the ground more than fall, simultaneously calling his weapon back to his hand.

The **** knight was not so fortunate, falling to the ground in a clatter of armor and bones. John was atop the skeleton before it had righted itself, bringing his blade down in a frenzy of slashes and stabs, holding the blade with both hands and reinforcing his strikes with the Rune of Puppeteering just to make sure that he drove them with enough **** to pierce the skeleton’s black armor.

-122 HP!
298 DMG!
-139 HP!
214 DMG!

Notifications were traded back and forth, with the **** knight landing an occasional blow due to the fact that John was hardly defending himself at that point – not that he properly needed to. Though beefy, the **** knight’s health was decreasing far faster than John’s and he was much more worried about speed than efficiency at this point. Seeming to realize the same thing, the **** knight managed one last **** play by grabbing John’s sword between its shield and one bony arm, pinning his blade if only for the sake of prolonging its own life.

“Just die already and get out of my way!”

John’s hand crackled with lightning as he struck a blow to the skeleton’s shield that exploded in a series of arcs from his entire arm, hitting the **** knight on, behind, and around his shield simultaneously. The channeled Thunder Punch drained what little of John’s remaining mana was left, but it did more than enough damage to finish the fight.

398 DMG!

A skill has Leveled Up!
Thunder Punch - Level 1: Damage is now 50-60 base. Level 0 Penalties removed.

Mini-Boss defeated, Dungeon complete [Level 35]!
+4375 EXP [+50 EXP from Perks]
+$17,500 ($8,750 + 100% from Perks)
+19 Distilled Undeath
+22 Superior Endurance Poison

John has Leveled Up!
John has reached level 39!
+8 all stats

“Fucking finally,” John said, both about the Dungeon Barrier and finally getting that pain in the ass skill past level 0. His celebration ended as soon as it started, face returning to a serious expression as the Barrier faded. Sophia’s health was nearly at a quarter, and still dropping

“Where was her barrier? Pretty sure I was facing-” John’s voice fell silent as he stared over at the spot he thought he’d made Sophia’s barrier. Though the Harpy’s health was still falling slightly, it seemed she had already finished her Barrier.

Sophia stood with a look of slight shame, a particularly disturbing emotion to see on her face, but it was mixed with determination. Across her side was a large gash, clearly one inflicted by the sharp claws of a harpy. Sophia had two fingers pressed to the wound, but not to staunch the bleeding – in fact, she seemed to be actively keeping the wound going, which explained her fallen health.

“Sophia, what the hell are you doing? You had me worried sick!” John said, though he couldn’t keep the relief out of his voice despite his chastising words.

“It was merely a dungeon. Did you not think that I could handle it?”

“I… of course I did, that’s why I was so shocked,” John said quietly. On the long list of strange things Sophia had been doing lately, this was easily at the top. “You barely took a hit in the first dungeon.”

“And yet you worried that I was dying to the same enemies I had already crushed. You let your worry overcome the logic that you knew I could handle myself.”

“Well, yeah. You’re really hurt, Sophia, I’m always going to worry about that.”

“While that is an admirable trait, Father… if we are going to go to war, you must promise me you will stop,” Sophia said, eyes focused and determined as she strode toward John.

“Stop worrying about you? What, in a war? Of course I’m going to be worried about you, and-”

“Your body heals, but you are nearly as injured as I, Father,” Sophia said. She glanced to the side, and although John couldn’t see her interface, he could tell that she was looking wherever their party health bars were displayed to her.

“...You were watching my health too.”

“I was. And I saw how the moment my own started to drop, so too did yours. Father, if I were to die on the battlefield, I would be honored to do so for you… but not knowing that you might well throw your own life away as a result,” Sophia half-whispered. “Since the day I hatched, you have been a noble and caring person, Father. At times too much, but never too little. I have not always been so understanding, and I have tried to reconcile these instincts of mine as best I can with your views on the world, but… on this, I am quite sure – if we are going into a war, a true and proper war, you cannot spend so much time worrying about others. And you cannot throw yourself recklessly into battle every time you fear you might lose one of us.”

“So I’ve heard,” John replied. Sophia’s words rang out as Adantia’s had, about taking the easy way out by placing his own life on the line instead of others’. “But it’s… it’s not easy. Especially now.”

“I know, Father. But you are our leader, you are the one we look up to. More than that, you are the rightful ruler and the access key to this very world. If any one of us were to die in this war, it would be a great loss for our flock. But if you were to die, we would lose our Father, our leader, our greatest warrior… and our home. Or what is left of it, without you to make it one.”

“Why not just tell me all this? Why make such a display, why get us both hurt?” John growled, eyes still locked on the gash at Sophia’s side. Even now she was poking and prodding at it, as if to agitate him further.

“The last time I had to get a point through to you, I had to destroy a table. I fear I no longer know whether I lack this subtlety of yours, or whether you do not understand it yourself,” Sophia said with a wry smirk. “Forgive me if I have upset you too deeply, Father, but… I hope that if I have, this might finally have made it sink in. Your anger and determination have grown strong in the last few months, but your fears and worries have grown for over a year now.

“We may fight by your side directly in this war, but there may also be times when you must trust us to leave and do other things, or to risk our lives to save you. If you allow worries and fears to cloud your judgment in situations as simple as training in these ‘Dungeon Barriers’ of yours… they will only be stronger and more convincing in the middle of a war. I felt the strength of that woman when we met her in Springfield, Father. If you become reckless or lose focus in a battle against a woman like that, you will die. As much as you may worry about us, we worry about you just the same.”

“...What do you want me to say?” John asked, not sure how else to respond. This wasn’t the first time he’d been told that he was reckless, or too quick to throw himself on a sword for someone’s sake, but it wasn’t something he could easily turn off, or maybe at all. “I can’t just stop trying to save people if I think they’re in trouble, and I can’t turn off all my fears and worries.”

“No, but you can keep them from ruling over you. I was afraid every day that you were traveling across your old world to visit Himiko, afraid she might kill you, or capture you and lock you away from us forever. But I trusted you. Because you promised to come back.”

“How can a promise bring you home to me? What good is a promise against necromancers? Against darkness and fire and bone and steel?!” John spat, temper getting the best of him.

“It is no good against any of those things. But… against fear, against worry, against doubt… it holds quite some power,” Sophia said quietly, her steady gaze meeting John’s. “In the dark corners of one’s mind, a promise is a powerful shield against those things.”

John blinked a few times, caught off guard by the sudden openness. Sophia’s even exterior breaking open, even for a moment, had once again left him speechless.

“Father, allow me,” Sophia began, taking his hand in both of her own. “I promise you, at the end of this war… we will all come home to you. If you do not trust us each to do that on our own, then trust in my promise to you. Let my promise stand as a shield against worry, as surely as I will stand as one against your foes on the battlefield.”

“I will… I will try,” John swore as best as he could, throat strangely dry.

“That is all I ask.”

“Now let me heal those wounds… seriously, you didn’t have to take things this far,” John mumbled. He tried to use leaning down and looking at Sophia’s wound as an excuse to hide the tears welling in his eyes as he Healed her, but he couldn’t quite keep his voice level. Perhaps that was why before he had even finished healing the deep gashes in her side, John felt Sophia’s arms and wings wrap gently around his quivering shoulders.