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  Malika

  Yroup has defeated Living Fme – Elemental – level 62.

  That was rough, she thought, staring down at the still-pulsing dark blue-bck fiery core that was all that remained of their first defeated Living Fme. And beyond the archway, dozens of these monsters still lurked. While the others were all able to use the Elixirs of Fire Resistance, Malika’s resistance was way too low for that to be effective. Her Ruby Hairpin was literally keeping her alive down here, but it was still woefully ie on its own in the face of something like these powerful elementals.

  She had beeed when she had learo dodge magid explosions, but the reality was she could dodge about a quarter of all attacks, and if she didn’t drink one of the fire absorption potiht before the Living Fme’s explosive shockwave of fire, she usually lost around three-quarters of her life from the bst and whatever additional damage it did as she was buffeted about by the fme or the rock she was smmed into. And then she would have to sprint back, burniamina to heal herself and just barely reach Mato in time to heal him.

  One of the explosions had been terrifyingly close – both she and the acolyte had been flung out e simultaneously, and Mato had bee fag the elemental’s wrath entirely alone. When she had made it back, she could tell from the surging stamina energy that he had burned his powerful defensive ability just to stay alive. When she had touched him with her Healing Mantra, it had been instantly clear that he had lost way more life thaually possessed, and he was surviviirely ohirty-sed buffer of temporary health granted by his skill.

  I’m holding the team back.

  It was not even a question; she khat she was the weakest of their group. And it had nothing to do with the fact that she had the lowest css level of the four of them. She loved her css, her bloodline abilities, her relentless aptitude, and her speed. But the harsh restri of not being able to wear armor or use a shield – the main source for defeributes and entments – was making her more and more vulnerable the deeper they delved into this dungeon. And by extension, she could feel she was holding her friends back.

  Enlightened Evasion had scaled nicely, but the ining damage profile was simply too choppy and chaotic for tanking. When she had first learned Soul Armor, it had provided a whopping twenty pert redu in physical damage. She had been filled with excitement, anticipating how her skills would grow and how she would transform herself into a robust melee fighter, capable of shrugging off motacks with the aid of powerful skills.

  But as she’d leveled up, the skill had simply not kept pace. It required more and more armor or evasion rating to match higher-and-higher level monsters, and at her level, Soul Armor had dropped to just a little more than ten pert damage redu. And, try as she might, she could find no way to fix it. Without the ability to wear armor, there was little option for improving her armor rating, other than grinding out more levels for Soul Armor. The others – Mato for instance – could simply switch the armor they were wearing to match the dungerade their defenses with an appropriate amount of gold and access to a good bcksmith. It was a versatility she was being increasingly envious of. At some point she was certain it would bee better to give up on her defensive skills and rely on gear instead – but then her skills would cease to advance, and she would have beeer off pig a warrior css instead of her monk.

  None of this ated for the fact that she still had no skill fical resistance.

  She sighed. Why does everything have to be this insane fire?

  She kicked the elemental core on the ground, and it rolled over, exposing something unusual beh it. She reached out to grab the flickering dark blue fme that seemed to have been a part of the Living Fme’s core, but to her surprise, it did not burn ive off much heat at all, instead, she felt a slow trickle of energy causiamina and mana to tick up like little pulses eion.

  Essence of Living FmeA crafting reagent that bines fire and life affinities.Mana: bine 3 Essence of Living Fme into one Greater Essence of Living FmeMana: Split Essence of Living Fme into 3 Lesser Essence of Living FmeValue: 45 gent – Mana Essence

  Wow. The value appraisal did not do justice to the feeling she got from her skill. Something told her that not only was this a valuable find, but it was useful for crafting rare and powerful items.

  I ’t just sell this; I o do some research.

  “That was a tough fight,” Ali said.

  “I don’t want to try another oill my Last Stand recharge expires,” Mato said. “ we wait here for a bit?”

  “Malika?” Ali’s voice had an unusual tone, and she looked up, irrationally expeg to be called out on her worthlesso the group, and the weakness of her css. She was certain Ali would never do anything like that, but it was hard for her to ighe unwanted fear.

  “I was w…” Ali spoke, looking at the corpse. “Right before each explosion, there is a surge of mana that… well, it’s humongous.”

  Malika’s mind flipped gears instantly. She could see stamina usage, but Ali could see mana. If the creature’s mana was surging for the ability, that meant…

  “You think the explosion is expensive?”

  “Yup, almost certain.”

  “I try on the one.” Malika didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her. Perhaps it was the melee style of bat the Living Fme employed. But, if the explosions really did e enormous amounts of mana as Ali suggested, she could attack that directly with her Soul Strike.

  It’s a solid idea.

  “I think the tornado thingy only regees its health as a side effect of it being fire magic,” Ali tinued. “It looks a lot like my Inspiration skill. I think its purpose is tee mana.”

  “Oh,” said, realization dawning in his expression.

  There were always four explosions before the tornadeion. That meant the explosion likely cost a quarter of the creature’s entire mana pool, give or take a bit, depending on how much its attacks cost. If she attacked its mana, there was an excellent ce they could reduce it to three, or perhaps even two explosioornado.

  “Hopefully it doesn’t just regee faster,” Malika said thoughtfully. “But if that ability is on a recharge, then we may be able to kill it much faster. All that time spent running back between explosions would be spent shooting it instead.”

  “I’ll be ready to try it again in seven minutes,” Mato announced.

  She looked over at him, a little surprised, but she had noticed several times that, although he seldom participated in their strategic discussions, Mato alaid attention, and clearly demonstrated that he uood everyone’s role. She found herself a fire near him and sat down to meditate until he was ready.

  As soon as he was ready, vanished into the shadows and Malika sprang to her feet, curious to see how their new pn would go. With a fsh and a hissing sizzle of fire, reemerged from the Landing with a single huge elemental chasing him.

  The intense heat of the elemental’s aura of fme washed over her as she stood back, waiting for Mato to secure it. She studied it curiously, notig the intense white swirls and flows of its stamina c within its ambiguously shaped fming form, most of it trated within the dense blue fme of the core. She was getting used to fighting with Soul Sight now, but after their strategy discussion, she wondered how this monster appeared to Ali’s mana-sight – she had mostly taken Ali’s ability franted, but it must reveal a world she simply couldn’t perceive.

  Time to make myself useful. Her skin began to crisp, and her hair singed as the Living Fme rushed into the miunnel. Mato swiped at it, drawing it quickly to the tanking spot fag the rock wall, and she stepped in to begin her assault. As she had discovered against Alexander Gray, speed was vastly more effective at draining mana than power, so she focused mainly on her punches. All she had to do was release Soul Strike as rapidly as possible, which meant she punches delivered as fast as possible while managiamina. She felt rather strangely blind, attag its mana. It was an unseen, invisible energy – what might it be like to see it the same way every detail of its stamina flow was revealed to her via her Soul Sight?

  She used Healing Mantra tinuously, keeping her mana pool below full so that the stant stream of the Living Fme’s mana that she stole with every punch was not wasted. But keeping her owh topped up was not suffit, and she began to divert the excess mana, verting it into stamina and addira heals for all Ali’s melee minions standing nearby, helping to lighten the burden on the dedicated acolyte healers.

  “Explosion!” Ali yelled.

  Malika downed a fire absorption potion immediately, but she successfully dodged the explosion this time and tinued her assault. First one down. If was right, they teo e every thirty seds, so she had a little time to wreck its mana pool – and having successfully dodged the bst meant she could be that much more effit. She fueled her Diviep, accelerating her body till her punches began making a whistling noise as they flew through the scorg air.

  Thirty seds ter, as exactly as she could determine, Ali called the explosion. This time, the magic smashed into her body with the force of a giant hammer tossing her across the hallway like a leaf in a hurrie, ripping through the ey of the buffer her potion granted her in an instant. Her body smacked into the roof, and she trolled her momentum abs much of the force using Diviep. Her Healing Mantra surged as she repaired the flesh that had been burnt to the bone aored the cracked ribs from the impact of the shockwave.

  She was off like a fsh, running back to the battle, stepping off the air directly, rather than waiting for her body to reach the ground first. She pulsed some healing into Mato, but the acolyte was doing a good job of keeping him healthy, so she resumed her flurry of punches, flickering with stamina in her Soul Sight while the Soul Strike energy fshed off the Living Fme. Each time her punded; she felt more stolen mana flowing into her.

  Should be about now. She kept up her assault, and for a while, she thought she had simply misjudged the time, but as the seds drew out, she realized the explosion wasn’t ing. Suddenly a Soul Strike returned signifitly less mana, and then the ourned nothing.

  “It’s dry,” Malika called out. Immediately she switched to attag health with most of her strikes, throwing in a single mana attaow and then just to colley mana that may have regeed. The explosion time came a without effect.

  Suddenly the shield appeared along with the tornado of fme. This time burned his Righteous Fury on the shield, and it went down in record time.

  “It’s only at fifteen pert,” Ali started, and then yelled, “Explosion!”

  She must be right, it’s feing mana, she thought as the shockwave shattered her ribs again, flinging her dowunnel and searing through her skin and flesh. She tucked in the air and speamina on Diviep, hardening the air under her feet with her magid springing forward. Immediately, she healed herself and charged back to the fight, switg fully to stealing mana again. There was explosion, the Living Fme just imploded, colpsing to the ground soon after the anticipated thirty-seark had passed.

  Yroup has defeated Living Fme – Elemental – level 63.

  As she picked up the Essence of Living Fme that it dropped, st it in her ring with the first one, she reflected for a moment that she no longer felt useless – and all it had taken was one simple realization about how to use her skills more effectively.

  Sabri

  Sabri sat on the couch looking at the enthusiastic faces of her team.

  “We should do it!” Brena said, excitement a-up energy spilling out from the Gnome.

  “I’m game for some smashing,” Theon said, the big padiing the enormous two-handed hammer that probably weighed more than she did. It was bad enough that he insisted on naming it.

  Sabri g the other two, sitting across from her. odded silently, the monk not much for speaking, and Malise purred her assent, the catkin rogue always seeming a little too eager for stabbing.

  “What about you, Sabri?” Brena asked, makiart in surprise. It always surprised her when Brena made a point of explicitly seeking her opinion – especially given how obvious the Gnome’s preferences were. “We ’t let the roup get ahead of us.”

  That was really what all the excitement was about; the Guildmaster had warhem that Aliandra had made two new sewer bosses. The other novice group had already found and killed the first one – a Toxic Slime, guarding a cache of ons in the ter of the sewer. They had e back filled with excitement, sp a feeapons and css levels, and her eeam was now talking about how they should be the first oo find the other boss a it.

  “I’ll e,” Sabri answered. She wasn’t particurly excited about being the first, but seeing how quickly the roup was leveling up had certainly caught her attention. If she could get stronger, she could take on more jobs and earn some moo pay back her armor, shield, and ring. She was i already, and she had to earn it back before Rezan would let her send any money home to her mother.

  “Yay!” Brena said, hopping to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  As they stepped outside, Sabri’s nose caught the aroma meat and anuely familiar smell she could not quite pce. Gng around, her eyes caught sight of a small, wooden food cart with an old, wrinkled woman busy w her cooking skills and filling the street with smells that made her stomach grumble.

  She was about to turn around when Brena said, “Hey, do you want to try it?”

  “Oh, ok,” she said, quickly running a mental tally of the few s she had as everyone crowded the cart.

  Tabitha’s Tasty Bites.

  There were only two items on the menu – a skewer of Bristletusk Boar meat for twenty-five copper, and something called ‘chef’s choice’ for just a single copper.

  “Why is there such a big price differeheon asked.

  But Sabri didn’t have to sider it for long, “ I try the Chef’s Choice?” she asked, holding out the hard-earned copper . The old dy took it with a toothy grin, dled out a bowl of what seemed to be a stew, and slid it across the tertop in exge. Sabri accepted the bowl with a polite smile; twenty-five copper pieces for a snack was aravagance she couldn’t afford.

  Everyone, save for Theon and her, opted for the skewers. Sabri spooned a rge helping of her stew into her mouth. The fvor that blew up her tastebuds could only be described as revolting. Week-old rancid rat had tasted better, and this was over-spiced with some intense peppers that made her break out in a sweat instantly. Chewy, too. She swallowed and took another bite, the inside of her mouth ahroat on fire. At least it’s food. She quickly shoveled the rest into her mouth, w to minimize the damage with speed.

  You have bee Well-fed.+5 to Vitality.Duration: 6 hours.

  Oh, that’s nice, she thought, studying the surprising buff while she polished off her stew in short order. “Thanks,” she said, returning the empty bowl, surprised to find the old dy giving her a befuddled stare.

  “How was it?” Theon asked.

  “Hearty,” she said, struggling to find something o say about what she had just eaten. “The buff is really good.”

  “Oh? A buff?” he said, and immediately stuck his spoon in his mouth. His face turned a bright shade of red and he spat it out instantly, alternatig noises, profanity, and trying to scrape it off his tongue.

  Behind the food cart, the old dy doubled over in a fit of cag ughter as she spped her knee, pointing at Theon as she wheezed helplessly.

  “What’s wrong?” Brena asked, her skewer half eaten already. “This is delicious! And I got four vitality!”

  Sabri gnced bad forth between the old dy, still ughing at Theon, and the happy Brena and she got it. “The chef’s choice is cheap because it’s a prank?” she asked.

  “You’re a smart one, young dy,” Tabitha gasped at st. “How e you could eat it? Do you not have tastebuds?”

  “I’ve had worse,” Sabri answered. Not much worse, for sure, but there had been a few times etched into her memory.

  “Ooh, a challenge! You’re a good sport, here, take one of these, you’ll like it better,” Tabitha said, one of the skewers. “On the house.”

  “Thank you,” Sabri said, and tried the skewer, finding it to be quite delicious as Brena had said.

  ***

  “You really o get a two-hand on like my Seraphina, here,” Theon said, caressing his hammer while he strode along beside Sabri. “You will never be able to do enough damage carrying that dinky little shield.”

  Sabri tuned him out, studying the sewer walls and the roof as they passed. Theon loved expining to her why she was ie, unlike himself. She had tried to be polite and point out the advantages of her shield and sword, but it was like talking to a wall for all the good it did.

  The most frustrating part was that he had a good point. She didn’t do much damage with her sword and shield pared to the others, and she was stantly remihat she wasn’t pulling her weight ieam. Of all of them, she was dead st in how much damage she could do – Brena and Malise could beat her with their eyes closed. Her only small sotion had e when she had realized that even Cai’s fire-ented kicks and quarterstaff did more damage than Theon and his stupid hammer. When she had poihat out to him in frustration, he had gotten angry and hadn’t talked to her for the rest of the day. Probably worth it.

  Sabri recalled the encing words the Beastkin, Mato, had offered when she had been struggling to choose her css, using them as a talisman to ward off her insecurity about her role.

  Sabri followed along behind Theon as they delved deeper into the sewer tunnels. The normal ambiance of damp moss and mushrooms slowly gave way to something decidedly darker. Instead of the crumbling brickwork illuminated by the ever-present soft golden glow, she found the roof draped with thick curtains of spiderweb that seemed to gleam and absorb the st lighting. The effect was eerie and beginning to creep her out.

  “Spiders,” Malise purred, her cat-like pupils diting to enormous size in the darkness. “And something… something is watg.” She hissed softly and cws extended from her fiips. Malise was almost creepier than the dark passage, but Sabri had e to trust her phenomenal senses.

  “Sabri in front, Theon pull back to sed,” Brena said, reiterating the marg order.

  “Why ’t I go in front?” the big padin pined. “I have pte armor too.”

  “You’re our only healer and Sabri’s the tank. You know this already,” Brena said, her voice clearly carrying an edge of annoya the repeated expnation.

  Theon grumbled, but fell back to his assigned spot, giving Sabri a few blissful moments of peace during which she did not have to see his gres that no doubt drilled into her back.

  Up ahead, a dark shape shifted deep within the webbing, l, many legs unfurling. Several eyes glinted in the dim light.

  Tunnel Weaver – Spider – level 5.

  Alright, she told herself, mustering her ce and stepping forward, determio do the job the Guildmaster had selected for her in this group. “Ining.” She readied her sword and shield and as the monstrous spider desded, and, as soon as it came inte, she smacked it with her shield, imbuing it with a little of her magic to do some extra damage.

  The dull thud of her shield was answered with a loud hiss. Then the full bulk of the monster emerged, dropping to the ground. With a scramble of limbs, it raised itself up to a height that was almost level with Sabri’s chest, and she immediately took an involuntary step backward as it luoward her. She raised her shield to intercept the rapid flurry of strikes from its razor-sharp legs and snapping mandibles, grudgingly giving ground uhe weight of the impacts that left sptters of glistening green fluid.

  “Die, vermin!” Theon roared, barreling into the spider with a huge overhead strike of his massive hammer. The heavy impact drove the spider to the ground with a ch, and it hissed and turned, shing out at him with its legs, leaving a line of blood dripping from his arm.

  “Argh! I’m poisoank this damn thing, what’s the matter with you?” he yelled.

  Sabri frowned. If you had just waited a moment… but she kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she used Soul Shout. Her voice rang loudly iunnel, shimmering and vibrating in the air as her soul magic imbued her shout with potency. The spider flinched, instantly turning back toward her, and shed out twice. She blocked the first gleaming bck sshing leg, but the sed slipped under her guard.

  You have been afflicted with Poison.+0.3 Poison damage per sed.Poison – Duration: 10 minutes. t: 1

  Sabri ighe poison aaliated with her sword, a pact thrusting strike that bit shallowly into the chitinous thorax armor without promising her guard further, and then the rest of the team engaged. Cai’s feet and quarterstaff blurred, leaving trails of fire lingering in the air as he struck. Malise appeared out of the shadows with a wicked dagger strike that ched through the abdomen, spraying ichor across the webbing and the walls. Sabri blinked as the eunnel lit with the searing white fsh of Brena’s arc lightning tearing into the monster.

  Theon glowed with a fsh of yellow-white and the wound on his arm closed rapidly before he hefted his hammer and unleashed a great whirling strike.

  Sabri frowned. Now you heal in bat? The big Padin had insisted that he couldn’t heal while he was wielding his hammer, but now, when it was himself that was injured, his spells suddenly seemed to work. Health potions were expensive, and she had mostly been forced to rely on them during battles. Why couldn’t we get the priest? she wondered, not for the first time. The other team loved their priest, but it was not her pce to question the Guildmaster, or eveeammates who were already far more experiehan her.

  She grew more and more defensive, blog and defleg as many strikes as possible while her health slowly trickled away. All she needed was to nd enough damage to keep the spider focused on her – and if she failed, she would just shout to taunt it again. But the mouck to her like glue until the others mao whittle it down.

  Yroup has defeated Tunnel Weaver – Spider – level 5.

  “Good job, everyone,” Brena said.

  While the others began to chat about the fight, Sabri sat, her mind filled with calcutions as she studied the several poison debuffs she had earned. She was down about a third of her life and the poison had a while to go still. There was no way around it – she used her ring’s ste entment arieved a precious health potion.

  But before she could open it, Brena said, “Theon, heal Sabri, she’s poisoned.”

  “Ok,” he said, and she felt the wele pulse of his holy spell and suddenly she was full.

  “Thank you,” she offered. Not having to burn one of her potions was a relief.

  “But I got poisooo,” Theon decred. “You o learn to hold aggro better. If you had a better on, you wouldn’t have lost the spider, and I wouldn’t have o hold back.”

  Sabri sighed and stashed her potion. She would just o listen to his rant while she waited for the poison to wear off – likely she would need another heal in a couple of minutes and it would be better if she wasn’t arguing with him when that happened.

  ----------

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