Nightmare Realm Summoner

Glint darted into motion. The small Shardwalker sprinted up to the Wight, which lurched out of its spot and reached out with grasping hands.

"Dodge!" Alex hissed. "Prioritize avoiding attacks over landing them!"

Glint skipped to the side, then brought a jagged claw raking down over the Wight's arm. The humanoid monster let out a hiss of pain. Its fingers extended into tendrils that reached out for Glint, attempting to wrap him up.

Alex edged around the side of the fight as Glint leapt over the tendrils and brought his claws down across the Wight's chest. The monster staggered back, then whipped its other hand into Glint's chest.

The Shardwalker flew back and slammed into a building with enough force to crack several of the spikes on his back and leave a small dent in the stone. Glint fell to the ground amidst tinkling mirror fragments.

Alex's hands tightened. Glint was still a Novice 1 monster. No matter how clever or fast he was, the Wight outclassed him. The smartest way to handle the fight would have been to work together with Claire — but smart didn't mean beneficial.

He couldn't afford to play things safe and he couldn't constantly hide behind Claire. If he did, they'd both die the moment they ran into a monster she couldn't properly handle.

I need to take all the damn challenge I can whenever we're up against a monster I have even a sliver of a chance to take out.

Glint staggered upright and the Wight reached for him again. He dodged back, then raked his mirrored claws across the extended hand. They cut deep into the monster's body, but it didn't bleed.

The Shardwalker was forced to jump back as the Wight swung at it again. Glint just barely managed to avoid the attack. The previous one had clearly shaken him pretty badly. Even if Glint didn't seem to have emotions or desires, the monster was still a living being. He couldn't just take blows and keep going.

He's going to lose if I don't back him up, and I don't fancy my chances against that thing alone.

Alex flexed his fingers. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he shifted from foot to foot. Glint jumped at the Wight again, only to find a grasping hand in his path. The Wight grabbed him out of the air and tendrils tightened around his body, starting to squeeze.

Now or never.

Throwing caution to the wind, Alex burst into motion. He threw himself forward, driving his shoulder into the Wight's back. The shadowy creature let out a pained grunt as he drove into it with all the force he could muster.

Its grip on Glint loosened for a brief instant and the Shardwalker took the opportunity to rip into the Wight's body, raking jagged claws down its face and torso. Alex shoved himself away, but he only made it a step before long fingers wrapped around his foot and yanked him off his feet.

All the air exploded from his lungs in a pained grunt as he hit the ground. The Wight grabbed Glint with its other hand, ripping him away from its face and pulling Alex closer. Its mouth opened in a hissing wail and its grip on his leg tightened until the bone groaned beneath it.

There was no way to break the monster's grip. It was too strong — and so Alex didn't try to escape. Instead, he gathered all the energy he could muster and shoved himself toward. He shoved himself off his free leg and slammed his fingers into the Wight's left eye.

Freezing cold washed over his hand as it let out a hiss of surprised pain. Alex dug around its head and found purchase on a chilly orb the size of his palm suspended in something liquid. He wrapped his fingers around the orb and braced his good leg against the monster's chest, ripping it free with a snarl.

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Blue matter splattered across the ground. The Wight released his leg with a pained cry and he staggered back. Before it could try to attack him again, Glint jumped onto the shadowy monster's neck and dug into its throat with reckless abandon.

The Wight's final wail was lost in a gargle as it crumpled to the ground. The shadows swirled away from its body and left behind a gaunt, mostly featureless form. Glint continued ripping it apart even as they hit the street, not stopping until it was nothing but a shredded pile of flesh.

A wisp of black energy rose up from the Wight's mouth and pushed through the ravaged remains of its lips to float above its head. Adrenaline thumped in Alex's body with such intensity that his feet shook beneath him with every step he took.

Energy flooded into his body and he stiffened as it ran its course through him. It was several seconds before the rush came to a stop.

That definitely confirms what Claire said. I got more energy for that fight than I did for any of the others. Challenge is the way to go.

He summoned Glint's card to his hand and scooped the black flame off the ground, pushing it into the mirror.

Spatial Mirror

Stored Energy:

Low Novice Grade (Shaded Hauntling) – 1

Low Novice Grade (Wight) - 1

Low-Mid Novice Grade (Shade) - 1

Bonded Creature: Shardwalker (Novice 1)

Alex blew out a breath, doing his best to gather himself before turning back to Claire with a grin. "See? Had it handled."

"You're definitely insane," Claire said. "Aren't you an Evoker?"

"Yeah. And?"

"I nearly bleeding choked when you threw yourself at the Wight. What's wrong with you? You realize you're not meant to get close to your enemies, right?" Claire kept her voice to a muted hiss to avoid drawing too much attention to them.

"We can't play things safe," Alex replied. He straightened his clothes and brushed himself off. "And I'm not strong enough to just let Glint do all the work for me. You can't get strong without a few risks, right?"

Claire shook her head, letting a smile play across her lips. "I guess I can't argue with you there. You weren't pulling my leg about Earth being new to the System, were you? I'm going to be pissed if you were."

"Swear on my heart," Alex said, pressing his hand to his chest. He nodded over his shoulder to the mountain. "And I'm more than happy to talk more on our way, but we should really get out of here before something finds us."

Claire paled and gave him a hurried nod, suddenly reminded that there could be more than one monster on a street. The two of them set back off toward the mountain at a brisk pace with Glint as their guide.

Minutes stretched on. Alex lost track of time, though he was pretty sure it hadn't been more than an hour. Several times they slowed and ducked to the shadows to avoid a monster as it flew overhead.

The skies weren't the only thing they had to be wary of. Alex and Claire both froze in place as they turned a corner to find a massive, shambling mound of limbs and mouths covering the street before them.

??? (???)

Mutely, Alex beckoned Glint back and they crept over to the next street over. It quickly became apparent that there were a whole lot more threats than just the ones in the sky, and the vast majority of them were just masses of question marks in the eyes of the System.

Their only saving grace was that the enormous ??? monsters didn't appear to have any real interest in them. They didn't get close enough to one to test his theory out, nor did he have any plans to.

He and Claire managed to make their way through the town streets without getting into another fight over the course of another hour or two. They both slowed as they drew up to the end of the buildings.

A large, gaping canyon had split the ground at the edge of the town. Thick bridges of curling roots connected the two halves of the ground. Beyond the canyon, leading all the way up to the base of the mountain was a forest of sparse, towering trees.

They were the same ones that had ripped apart Alex's old apartment. Huge trunks of black wood laden with screaming visages that definitely hadn't been put there by any natural means. The trees were taller than some of the buildings behind them and some were easily as wide.

"That gives me the creeps," Claire muttered, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword. "Whoever made those things has to be messed in the head."

Alex nodded in mute agreement. He glanced up at the sky. They'd be fully exposed while they were running across the roots and into the trees. There weren't as many centipedes in this area as there had been near the center of town, but it only took one.

I still don't know if they'd even bother trying to kill us, but I really don't want to try and take the risk.

The idea of having to run made his body groan in displeasure. Weariness had already started to wrap itself around him like a cloak. It had been a long day, and adrenaline could only keep him going for so long.

"I think our best shot here is speed," Alex said, shaking his head to clear it. "We'll have to run across the roots and get to the trees for cover as fast as possible. How are you doing on energy?"

"Not the best," Claire said, giving him a small smile that quickly faltered. "I'm eating fumes here. I haven't eaten or drank anything in a long time, and I've been up for longer than I care to remember."

"It might be best to try and take cover for the night, or at least for a few hours," Alex said. "We could try to search a house for food."

"I tried doing that before we ran into each other. There isn't a single edible thing in this town, but I wouldn't oppose to sitting down for a bit," Claire said.

They peered into the window of the nearest house. Its door had been somehow plastered into the wall, leaving behind an open walkway into a tiny room of what had probably once been a dingy bar.

It was dark, but it looked empty. Alex sent Glint in just in case. The Shardwalker walked a circuit around the room before returning to him.

"I think it's relatively safe," Alex said. He and Claire slipped inside and headed over to the far corner, putting as much distance between themselves and the entrance as possible. They did a quick check through the room, but Claire had been right — there wasn't anything edible.

"You really need to refine all the energy you've gathered," Claire whispered. "Just sit down and meditate over here. I'll keep watch."

"Don't you need to rest too?"

"I need a lot of things," Claire said with a weak grin. "I don't think I can get any of them here. Getting you a bit stronger is the best thing we can do."

Alex sat down against the wall, then looked back up at her as a thought struck him. "Wait. What kind of thing can you draw energy out of? You're a vampire, aren't you?"

"Dhampir," Claire corrected automatically. "And yes, but my class made it so I can only drink from monsters a lower level than me."

"Oh, that's it? I fought something called a Shaded Hauntling that was Novice 2. You—"

"The problem is, they still need blood," Claire finished with a sigh. She rubbed her forehead with the back of a hand and slumped down beside him. Her eyes looked distant and glassy. "I can't drink normal blood unless it's got energy in it, but nothing in this bleeding place actually has blood."

Alex glanced over to Glint. She was right. Even the Shardwalker was bloodless. "What about me?"

Claire swallowed. "It probably wouldn't work. The System imposed limits on what I can consume and I'm currently limited to monsters due to how low of a level I am."

"Well, how much longer can you go without food?"

"Not much," Claire admitted. "You'd let me try to drink from you?"

"Depends on if that means you're going to literally drain my life."

"Nothing like that," she said hurriedly. "It would definitely make you tired, though."

She looks an inch from passing out. I'd rather be tired than lose an ally.

"Then go ahead. Just… don't take too much."

Claire swallowed again. Hunger swirled in her eyes and she moved toward him, then caught herself and clenched her jaw. "Not yet. You should meditate first. If you don't refine your energy, I'll end up taking a lot of it from you. I draw out unrefined energy, but I can't remove the stuff that's permanently part of your soul."

"Wouldn't that leave you with nothing to eat?"

"There's never going to be perfect conversion. There should be at least a little bit left over, and that'll be enough," Claire said. She ran her tongue over her lips, then realized what she was doing and turned away, her gray skin reddening. "Sorry. That was rude. I can wait. Just meditate already."

"Watch over us," Alex told Glint. He was starting to trust Claire, but he wasn't about to leave himself defenseless. Besides, having backup with her if something went wrong couldn't hurt.

He then put his hands on his lap and let out a slow breath. The System definitely wasn't giving him any guidance as to how he was meant to meditate, but he knew the gist of things from a class he'd attended in college for a kinesiology credit.

Alex closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, trying to focus on every breath and sink into himself. The world stilled around him and he dove into his mind, searching for the power that would let him advance to Novice 2 and hopefully give him a better way to survive the Mirrorlands.

And, deep within the reaches of his own mind, he found it.