Shadow of the Wyrm

"One more enemy," John promised, turning to face the angry mother swiftly approaching them. "After this, we'll call it a break for dinner."

"Yaaaay! Dragon for dinner," Maera sang happily, bouncing from foot to foot as she punched the air in front of her, small bursts of holy energy crackling off her knuckles with each pretend hit.

"We're not eating the Wyrm, but it doesn't look like it plans on returning the same courtesy," John jested. "Maera, Mithra, Lerianna, all of you work to keep it off balance when it touches down. Sophia, go for the wings, make sure that it has to touch down, and stays there once it does."

"And you, Father?" Sophia's wings flexed even as she spoke, muscles taut and tendons tight, ready for takeoff.

"This thing is at least twice the size of the others. I'm going to aim for the joints and tendons until I find a weak spot."

"At your command!"

Sophia's speed and acceleration alone would've caused quite a gust; the downward motion of the wings added on actually managed to form a swirl of air hefty enough to levitate some of the smaller rocks scattered at their feet. She stayed relatively low in the sky as the matriarch approached, and the scaly beast continued its rapid descent toward them fearlessly, a blue light sparkling in its mouth like a star, visible even against the backdrop of the sunny sky.

"Be ready to move if it tries to catch all of us in that," John warned. "Its breath might be just as swollen as its body."

"No worries, Myaster, Myaera got this one!"

"Maera, that thing is level-"

"Myaster, trust Myaera, nyaa?" Maera asked, her hands already raised toward the sky. John's words caught with his mouth half-open, glancing between the Neko and the rapidly growing blob of flesh and wrath dropping toward them. Compared to the Wyrms, Maera looked so cute and tiny that every instinct of his said to get her out of harm's way.

"Alright, fine. But remember, this is the highest-"

"Thanks, Myaster! The, um, the Lady bestews her myiracles and blessings upon us, nyaa! Be protected under her dyivine grace!"

John would've thought hearing those words spoken in such a manner would've earned them a smiting, rather than a blessing. But the light that began to glow from Maera's palms was unwavering, and so too was the bubble of divine light that formed around them. Nearly an inch thick, from what John could see at different points in the curved surface, and opaque enough to color the world outside in a golden hue. Lerianna had to scoot until she was brushing up against John's left side in order to fit in as the dome descended, but it was just comfortably large enough to protect those on the ground—and, he hoped, sturdy enough.

"Nyaa, warm and cozy. Could really go for a nap, Myaster..." Maera yawned as she spoke. John would've thought that she was joking, had the dome not started to flicker a moment later.

"K-keep it together a little longer, Maera!" John called out, trying to sound encouraging rather than worried. He probably had enough mana to handle the defense on his own, but the mini-boss was close enough now that he might not have enough time to react.

"A-ah! Sorry, nyaa," Maera mewled, her body shaking a little as she woke herself up. More mana poured from her hands, strengthening the barrier to the point that it became almost difficult to see outside, the world reduced to only the brightest lights and colors that could shine all the way through the thick golden barrier.

The Wyrm passed over them slowly, pulling the arc of its wings up at the last moment to reduce its speed and give it as much time as possible to belch a column of flame over their shield. Sophia darted out of the way at the last moment, ensuring the scaled beast couldn't simply adjust its angle to match her flight, leaving it only the choice of whether to focus on the larger group or the more imminent threat. The Wyrm matriarch seemed surprisingly unworried about the approaching harpy—it kept its full might focused on the four of them, azure flames bathing their radiant dome continuously.

The blaze drowned out what little of the outside world they could still see. Between the mana in the inferno engulfing them and the shield keeping it at bay, John could barely see the overgrown lizard with his Observe passive, much less Sophia's smaller signature. All they could do was let the moments tick by as Maera's arms started to quiver and the shield began to shimmer, her mana and body equally drained from the myriad of dungeons they'd now completed.

"I don't like just sitting in here."

The observation surprised John; he had faith in Maera, he really did. The monster's level was superior, but its attack wasn't focused. Most of its energy was wasted on the land around them, and the rest was spread out evenly over the shield. All the same, there was a chill in his body, even against the steadily rising heat in the small space. His eyes were locked on the Wyrm's signature, and his body felt as if it were beginning to lock up, his hold on the hilt turning into a white-knuckled grip.

"Feels like I'm a caged animal, just... waiting for ****."

The relief he felt when their enemy's pained roar rang out was palpable, for with that roar came the cessation of fire and fury. Maera hardly waited for the last flames to drip over the shield before she lowered it, her arms falling to her sides, then to the ground as she dropped to her elbows and knees. Sweat poured down the Neko's body, pooling at her joints and no doubt soaking through her new armor.

"Nyaa... Myaster, did Myaera do good enough for a break?" Maera mewled, looking up at him with a tentative smile and eyes that glimmered even as their lids began to droop.

"More than good enough. Lerianna, get her to the top of the valley where she'll be out of the way if things get messy. Mithra, follow me, alright?"

"Got it, Myaster," Mithra said, raising her fists up. Red claws formed up around each of her knuckles, thicker and more opaque than her larger projections, as she settled herself into a fighting stance.

The matriarch's roar had come as Sophia used her smaller size and maneuverability to her full advantage, carving long tears in the Wyrm's leathery wings with her new blade. Sophia hadn't emerged unscathed by those massive claws and snapping fangs, either, but she was in far better shape than the scaled beast. It appeared to have taken almost a half-dozen of those ragged gashes before the creature's magically enhanced lift was no longer sufficient to elevate its monstrous body.

Even now, it was only entering a semi-uncontrolled descent at best; had it any proper control over its direction, it might have tried roasting them once more, but Sophia was hacking away at its tail and forcing the beast to use what little turning it could manage to try to minimize how much flesh and blood it lost to the berserk woman. Damage notifications were popping up, the Wyrm already pushed below twelve thousand hit points, and slowly dropping further as Sophia pushed herself to her absolute limits.

"Looks like Sophia's trying to lead her somewhere the walls are a little steeper," John noted, pointing down the valley to where Sophia's efforts were corralling their final enemy.

"Should we move?"

"We should."

"Carry Mithra."

"Wh- UGH!" John groaned more out of shock than actual exertion as Mithra leapt up into his arms, curling into a ball that he instinctively supported despite the absurdity of it. "Mithra, what are you doing? We need to take this-"

"Trust me, Myaster," Mithra said, poking John on the nose. "It's important to carry Mithra like this. Okay? And go for the throat!"

"Alright, alright," John agreed. He quickly set off down the valley, trying to gauge where Sophia was kiting the Wyrm to. "What's the plan, Mithra?"

"Nope."

"...Nope?"

"Nope. You'd say no."

"...You're really not endearing me to this plan, you know."

John considered putting Mithra down to put a stop to whatever shenanigans she had planned, but it was faster for him to carry her regardless of any insane ideas. The Nekos had improved a considerable amount, but at the end of the day, Mithra was still on the weaker end of their family, and John was the fastest. Well, now that he'd gotten most of his levels back he was.

John climbed as he went, ascending the valley walls while they were relatively less steep, bringing them to a halt on the cliffside overlooking the bowl-shaped region that Sophia was steadily forcing the Wyrm to drift toward. The beast was still a few hundred feet above them, but it was cutting through the air rapidly, its wings no longer whole enough to even allow it a graceful glide down. All it could do was thrash and snarl, controlling its direction just well enough to miss nearly every attack it launched at the harpy still haranguing its plummeting form.

"Alright, Myaster, now gimme a good toss! Remember, go for the throat!"

"Are you insane?! I can't hit that thing's throat with you from here!"

"Then Mithra will land on her feet! But we gotta give it a shot. C'mon! Trust Mithra!"

"There's a difference between trust and-"

John's words died as Mithra ferociously wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a feral embrace, her fangs dancing across his lip, consuming him as much as kissing him. With the Wyrm above still swiftly tumbling toward them, John tried to pull away, but Mithra's grip was like iron. She finally relented when she was **** to gasp for breath, her face flushed, her eyes as sharp as ever, and twice as crazed.

"Myaster. Mithra can do this. Let Mithra prove it! That's what today is about, nyaa?"

John frowned, a slight glare piercing the Neko. He didn't like having his own words used as an excuse for insanity, and he wouldn't have let that sway him, if something about the manic energy in Mithra's eyes hadn't convinced him that she really thought she could handle it.

"If you even think things are going sideways, you better get out of there, immediately," John warned.

"Nyaa, of course they're gonna go sideways! And upside down, and spun around, if you toss me right!"

"I'm just going to do this before you talk me out of it."

John couldn't help a weary groan as he shifted Mithra around in his arms, planting a flat palm against her lower abdomen, right above her pelvis. He adjusted for a moment until he'd found roughly the center of her mass, while Mithra loosely clung to his forearm, keeping herself from slipping off while he was moving her around and drawing back his arm.

"I haven't really practiced anything like this, so you better be ready to land if I fling you way off the mark."

"Myaster, quit bein' such a wimpy kitty and thro-wwwww meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…"

John hesitated to put his full strength behind the toss, a fact he was grateful for when even a mid-strength toss was enough to send the lithe Neko rocketing away at high speeds. Tossing a humanoid creature was an entirely different matter to flicking his sword around by hand before retrieving it with the Rune of Puppeteering, but it had at least improved his aim, or so it seemed.

Despite the chaos of trying to predict where a flailing beast might pass by in a few moments, or even the arc of his own throw, Mithra didn't land too far from the neck. She impacted the Wyrm's right shoulder, just above its wing, and her natural claws and manifested ones alike pierced into its scales with the **** of the throw. The creature wailed and thrashed about even harder, but Mithra had enough anchoring her to its back to keep her position, even as the creature finally crash-landed into the center of the valley's cavernous depths just below John.

398 DMG!
377 DMG!
115 DMG!
128 DMG!

The notifications kept coming, even after the impact. Mithra was still giving the creature hell, and Sophia was diving into the canyon to rejoin the fray now too. John didn't waste a moment in chasing after them, leaning forward over the cliffside and going down nearly alongside the creature. His natural instincts screamed at him for a moment, but he pushed those fears away. The fall wasn't even as far as the one he'd taken outside of Paix at a moment's whim, and he had no intention of hitting the ground in the same manner regardless.

Nearly halfway down the valley's steep wall, his feet carrying him along as much as gravity once the sheer edge began to turn into a steep descent, John's lower half coiled, then released in a mighty burst, sending his heavier form slicing through the air nearly as rapidly as had Mithra's moments earlier. Wind that would have torn a normal human's skin asunder brushed over him like a casual breeze, and his fingers clenched tighter around his blade as the distance separating him from the impact point shriveled away.

The Wyrm's landing had kicked up a tremendous cloud of dust and debris, but John ignored the low visibility and the small rocks pelting his armor and hands. He was moving at such velocity that the smaller rocks shattered on contact, yet no pain reached him, no marks were made on his relatively fair skin. A visor of still wind, as solid as rock, covered his eyes, ensuring that no instinctive flinches or recoils from the wind and stone would err him from his target.

Blade clutched in hand, John waited until the glistening blue mana of the Wyrm was nearly all he could see in front of him before he made his move. He made sure he could clearly see Sophia joining them from above and Mithra's acrobatic form dancing along the Wyrm's neck, picking a point on the slowly rising creature's body he could strike without fear.

Then a gust of wind erupted at his back, stronger than any natural wind, propelling him even faster. The retort of a rifle echoed through the valley as John's acceleration closed the remaining distance in what felt like just a handful of adrenaline-fueled moments, even to his stepped-up senses.

The Gamer's eyes flickered for a moment when he realized he'd misjudged his own power, accelerating far beyond what he'd anticipated. He'd intended to activate the Shard of Bishamonten; instead, he barely managed to move his arms, nearly missing his moment to strike as the Wyrm's body was suddenly just a few feet away. Desperation fueled a muscle-memory strike at the last second, missing the apex of its arc, but finding home all the same in the massive creature's lower torso.

A spattering of blue blood filled the air, followed by a disruptive screeching sound. The blade made a deep cut, and a lengthy one at that, but it grew shallower the longer the blade dragged on, until it failed to pierce a row of scales entirely and jolted free to harmlessly skitter along the Wyrm's outer hide.

826 DMG!
826 Bonus DMG!
Status Inflicted: Slow Bleed

Though his blade had become unembedded, it wasn't for a lack of momentum that it failed to continue; rather, the resistance of the scales was such that carving a path through the Wyrm's body had twisted his body. Without a proper point to stabilize himself, John was sent spinning as the resilience of the scales dragged his left side enough to rotate him. He collided with the slope of the valley opposite where he'd begun, his armor shielding him somewhat, though it still made his vision spin a little. He had hit hard enough to crack stone, and even got a slight damage readout—along with another pop-up.

-413 HP!

Skill Improvisation! New Skill Learned at Level 0!
Wind Shear Level 0 - A burst of wind rapidly accelerates the user beyond normal limitations, doubling the damage of any melee attacks or thrown attacks made during the accelerated movement, if the attacks are made in the direction of the movement.
Mana Cost: 100 + 25% of Maximum Possible Bonus Damage
Level 0 Penalty #1: The user will receive 50% of Bonus Damage as recoil damage if any impact is made on any object other than the target that significantly hinders the user's momentum, if that impact is within 20 perceived seconds of using this technique.
Level 0 Penalty #2: If activated while the user is traveling at below 80% of their maximum unboosted running speed, the user will receive 200% of bonus damage as recoil damage due to acceleration.

"Wasn't really intending that, but whatever," John grumbled as he pushed out of the slight indentation he'd made in the rocks. The Wyrm hadn't reacted to him while he was in flight, but it hadn't failed to notice the massive gash that ripped open across its back and side. Cerulean blood flicked across the landscape as the Wyrm turned, mouth opening in a roar that echoed through the valley, loud enough to deafen a mundane. The beast's neck coiled back, maw dripping with lethal intent, only brought to a halt when a purple-and-white blur zipped into the side of its neck.

592 DMG!

A crackling sound like a hundred individual vertebrae being rattled around in a drawer boomed across the valley, the sickening crunch amplified by the echo that returned to them. The Wyrm made a gargled sound that was probably supposed to be an indignant roar, but any intimidation was ruined by the way its body warbled and staggered, trying to keep its balance and trying to use the limited muscles in its long neck to counter the **** of a rabbit girl traveling at Mach 2.

"Just lay down and die already!" Lerianna roared. Her landing was far more graceful; her legs absorbed almost the entire impact, to the point that she was able to let herself gently fall onto the creature's shoulder and begin attacking it while it was still staggering from the original blow. "I'm tired, hungry, and I really need a good fucking... shower!"

216 DMG!
194 DMG!
497 DMG!

Two punches shattered scales, Lerianna's gloved hands glistening with golden mana, and a third kick to the area that she had just partially stripped of protection actually drove the beast's own fractured armor into its skin, as well as carrying enough **** to send the Wyrm toppling entirely. Lerianna leaped out of range as the Barrier monster went sideways, its legs clawing uselessly at the air and its sundered wings flailing impotently as it landed on its left side. Sophia used her aerial mobility to follow the creature, her blade stinging and biting along the Wyrm's hide, sometimes passing within inches of a flailing claw or thrashing tail.

"Hit her hard, Myaster!"

John hadn't realized that Mithra was still attached to the fallen Wyrm, but sure enough, her slender form was still holding onto the creature, grappling its colossal body in a display of stamina and persistence that would've put even Wander to shame. Her health had taken a beating from getting tossed around during the Wyrm's thrashing, but she was still hanging on, even after Lerianna's impressive salvo.

She'd actually crawled up further on its neck prior to Lerianna's strike; at this point, she was just a foot or two below the Wyrm's skull. She gave a furious hiss and drew both arms back, the enlarged crimson echoes of her hands mimicking the gesture, and then drove all four limbs down. Each embedded itself just below the scaled beast's skull, driving as deeply as they could.

422 DMG!
391 DMG!
137 DMG!
159 DMG!

Then Mithra began to twist.

It was almost unnoticeable at first, with her efforts not having much of an effect in comparison to the Wyrm's angry, pained thrashing. But then Sophia ceased her efforts in bloodying the matriarch's hide and flew up to join Mithra. She planted her feet at the base of the Wyrm's skull, turned her blade downward, and drove it in as deeply as she could.

851 DMG!

The Wyrm screamed to the heavens, blue flames pouring desperately out of its maw as it tried to do anything it could to reach the tiny figures embedded on its body. Flames pumped out onto the valley floor and flowed like a river in all directions, washing over John and searing him for a moment before he righted himself and took to the sky, but it could no longer aim its torrent properly. Sophia's strength combined with Mithra's, and the two of them were able to drive the creature to rear back, tilting its head further down the long valley and forcing it to expose the underside of its neck fully.

"Hurry up! This thing's mostly dead and it's barely slowing down," Lerianna shouted, hopping over the Wyrm's back to aid the others, wrapping herself around Mithra's slender form and helping the Neko to give an almighty heave against the monster's **** thrashing.

"Right!"

John took only a moment to gather himself, making sure he didn't activate that rather dangerous new technique as he started to soar forward, winds at his back and blade in hand. The Shard pulsed in his chest as he began his swing, a slower, more deliberate one this time.

Shard of Bishamonten Activated [100% Integration]!
Rune of Resonance Activated!

The Wyrm's scales were thick, and tougher than steel, but with the aid of the Shard's buffs, and with John not repeating his earlier mistake, there was no chance for it to withstand his ****. The Fang of the New World snicker-snacked its way through scale, through flesh, and cleanly through the bone within. John's face gleamed with rage that wasn't his own, and a smile that most certainly was.

Critical Hit! 2,733 DMG!
1,366 DMG!

The Wyrm's dwindling health was depleted in a single strike, the combination of buffs and the critical giving John more than enough of an edge to finish the mighty creature. Had his blade been little more than a foot longer, it would have cleaved its neck entirely; as it was, only a ragged scrap remained, dangling just long enough to be somewhat gruesome in the few moments before the Dungeon Barrier started to fade and the completion message popped up in front of John.

Mini-Boss defeated, Dungeon complete [Level 84]!
Dungeon Bonuses reduced due to recent completions [1x]. Completion Bonuses: 50%
+10,500 EXP [+50 EXP from Perks]
+$42,500 ($21,500 + 100% from Perks)
+129 Azure Wyrm Scales
+9 Passable Flasks of Major Dragonsbreath

John has Leveled Up!
John has reached Level 79!
+16 to all stats

Sophia has Leveled Up!
Sophia has reached Level 64!
+13 to all stats
+13 Growth Points

Maera has Leveled Up!
Maera has reached Level 47!
+10 to all stats
+10 Growth Points

"Nice way to end it," John sighed with no attempt to hide his relief. "Not very often three of us level up in a dungeon anymore."

"End it? I could keep going for a few more hours, Master," Vallya pouted, giving an exaggerated 'hmph' for effect as she pointedly looked away from John. "A Star Guardian doesn't get tired as easily as a couple of kittens, you know. My whole job is protecting you. It would've made much more sense to take me on another run, no matter how adorable they are."

"Be that as it may, we're calling it a stop anyway," John said, rolling his eyes a bit at the melodramatic Kitsune. "Everyone is tired, and it's time to eat anyway. They are pretty adorable, though, aren't they?"

"Nyaaaaaaahhh…"

John closed out the pop-up menus so that he could fully appreciate the sight before him. Maera and Mithra were already out, curled up together on the grass, spooning and making adorable little noises with every exhale. Maera might well have fallen asleep while she was still inside the dungeon, which worried him a little, but it didn't make the scene any less adorable. He stared at it until a familiar set of fingers touched the nape of his neck, accompanied by a motherly voice scolding him from behind.

"Everyone is so bruised up, John. I told you that you should take one of us with you," Orria chided. Her green eyes shone with equal frustration and concern, while her fingers danced lightly over his body. Soft emerald light shone everywhere she touched, glistening underneath her skin as much as on top of it. He had no wounds to show, but she seemed insistent on checking every part of him as she healed his missing health, all the same.

"I figured we could handle it. And we did! Just took a bit of teamwork, that's all." John shrugged, trying to play it off. "Come on, everyone. It's dinner time, let's head back."

His nonchalance didn't go over all that well despite his level attitude; Orria might not have been able to see health bars, since she was out of the group, but she could see the burns and bloodied injuries on the others... and she always seemed to know just how healthy all of them really were, regardless. Orria frowned at John's carefree response, her eyebrows turning down in a way that made it clear just what she thought of being left out of their highest level dungeon run yet, but she didn't comment further.

Truthfully, John had picked the group very intentionally this time. He had been telling everyone they were going to be breaking for dinner, but he had no intentions of doing another dungeon run today afterward either. Everyone had more than earned the rest, very much including Vallya and Orria; for all her talk of going for hours, the Kitsune was still sweating, even after sitting out the entire last dungeon, and her tails were drooping low. Shishun was silent and stoic as ever, but John was learning to notice the subtle signs of her fatigue—the softening of her sharp gaze, the way she raised a little bit less of her long body off the ground than usual as she stood guard.

"Plus, I wanted to see what the main group could do on their own. I still don't know exactly who will be tagging along when we go..." John thought, eyeing the gathered fighters slowly. Orria was going to be staying behind to protect his new world... and he still wasn't sure if he wanted Vallya along for the war or not. She'd handled herself well today, with no signs of losing herself again, but it was still a risk in a place that he needed to minimize those. That left him with five to choose from, of which he'd need four... if he cared about staying within the system's limitations for a normal group size, which he wasn't sure about either.

He'd probably leave at least one of the Nekos behind at all times to watch over the kittens, of course, with Shishun swapped in for one of them. But as much as he wanted the kittens to have one of the older Nekos around, the twins could really work well together when they took things seriously and didn't wander off to different sides of a battlefield. They had all learned a lot about watching each other's backs in high-intensity fights, but the teamwork and chemistry those two had still surprised him more often than it probably should have.

"Hey, uh, earth to dumbass. You still in there?"

John blinked, jumping a little bit when he came to and noticed the face pressed so closely to his own. Lerianna, ears and brows twitching almost in unison, was glaring at him... though not quite her usual glare.

"Uh, k-kinda. Sorry, got a little lost in thought there."

"You've been doing that a lot more than usual, lately," Lerianna noted.

"Is everything alright, Father?" Sophia asked, leaning in from his left.

"Probably just daydreaming again. Hard not to when he's surrounded by women like us," Vallya teased from his right, leaning in close enough for her chest to press against his elbow. "It's okay, Master. You go ahead and tune right back out, if you like. We'll wait."

"No, really, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to, just, you know, war stuff. Kind of always on my mind," John admitted, grimacing slightly. "Sorry, again. Hey, uh... why are you all...?"

"Why are we what, Master?" Vallya lilted, her lips practically brushing against his ear.

"You're all so close. And where did everyone-"

"The cats ran off as soon as you mentioned dinner," Lerianna said, flicking his forehead lightly. "You should know they're not gonna wait around when food's on the line."

"And Shishun left when we found something for us to eat."

John had hardly realized he was being pushed until his back was pressed against the trunk of a tree. Three very different expressions surrounded his remaining sides—one loving, one eager, one rueful but undeniably interested.

All suddenly predatory.

"Sooo, gonna go out on a limb here and guess you three are-"

"We're fucking horny," Lerinna growled, poking a finger into his chestplate. "You've had us running dungeons all day. I turned my inhibitor almost all the way down to deal with that overgrown lizard, and I can still feel it even with this thing cranked back up."

"You got your rewards from the dungeons." Vallya's words purred, her hands moving like silk across his hands and every bit of exposed flesh she could find around his armor. "Now it's time for ours."

"Off with the armor, Father," Sophia said, hesitating only a little to give the order.