Unbound

Chapter Thirty Six - 036

Skraaaaaaaawwwww!

Sharp gusts of wind buffeted Felix as he blinked awake. Before him, the dark armored woman was doing her best to dodge the attacks of an enraged chimera. Pit was a blur of feathers as he sped around her in circles, flapping his wings every few seconds to send a near invisible blade of wind at his enemy. The tenku screamed out again, and Felix could feel his rage.

Briefly, the woman froze, Pits Cry ability working its magic. Pit launched another Wingblade.

Pit! You beautiful idiot. Felix felt his heart lurch in his chest; whether that was elation or a side effect of the poison, he wasn't sure. He tossed an Analyze at her.

Name: ???

Type: ??

Level: ??

HP: ???/???

SP: ???/???

MP: ???/???

Lore: Humans are adaptable and prolific breeders. They can be found in many corners of the Continent.

Strength: Strength, Agility

Weakness: ???

That's...less than useful. Does she have some way to block Analyze?

"Damn chimera!" The dark woman rolled and tumbled away from a sharp blade of air, somehow pushing off of nothing to reverse her direction and dodge a second blade that sped past.

Pit's Wingblade is level 5!

Felix tensed his limbs, feeling excruciating pain as feeling returned to them. Wobbly, he pushed himself up into a crouch, then into a stuttering stance only a breeze away from falling. Pit let out a warbling cry of joy, and the deadly rogue fixed him with a frustrated exclamation.

"You've got Journeyman Tier Poison Resistance? How?" She half-stepped and dodged another wingblade. "You're like, twenty?"

Felix didn't answer, focused more on keeping his feet. He leveled his gaze on her, letting Meditate activate and begin to regenerate his wounds. "Why?"

"Why what?" She asked, bemused.

"Why try to kill me? Why--"

"Because I could, kid," she interrupted him and brandished the long daggers she held in a backward grip. Felix hadn't even noticed them being drawn. "Good job surviving this time. You won't again."

Felix saw the shadow Mana swirl around the rogue, stretching from nearby sources to pool at her feet. Quick as a blink, the power swarmed up her body, which de-materialized right before his eyes.

Oh no, not falling for that one! Felix threw his hand forward, his eyes suddenly feeling warm.

Influence of the Wisp!

Influence of the Wisp is level 22!

Blue-white fire flickered around her form, briefly banishing the gathering shadows. The woman's eyes grew wide before something around her neck flared and shattered. She stumbled backward, surprise still writ large across her features.

"Tricky bastard!" Her white eyes flared brightly behind her half-mask. The woman's body undulated, bending in ways Felix was positive humans were unable to, and abruptly half a dozen knives flashed forward.

Felix couldn't dodge; he was barely standing up. So instead he just relaxed, letting himself fall to the ground. Still, a sharp line of fire traced across his scalp, while another blade lodged into the meat of his left shoulder. "MHFF!"

The pain was manageable; he had felt worse. Felix pushed, forcing his still-numb palms down onto the shoddy roof, throwing his body up and into the air nearly fifteen feet. In a moment of inspiration he whipped out a hand, conjuring his magic.

Shadow Whip!

A tether of matte black shadow Mana coalesced, snapping out at the woman's outstretched hand.

Shadow Whip is level 13!

Gotcha!

Felix hauled on the line, which did something he should have expected: While he was strong, perhaps stronger than the rogue, he was up in the air. He had zero leverage. Instead of pulling the woman to him, Felix was yanked toward her.

"Ah!" Felix twisted his body by tugging on the line, which only accelerated him more. He crashed into the rogue with his right foot half extended, the rest of his body awkwardly splayed. His foot missed, but his jack-knifed torso bashed directly into the woman's legs, sending them both into a tumble toward the edge.

"Blighted ass!" The rogue pushed at Felix, stronger than she looked, and started grabbing for something. Before she could knife him again, Felix struck out blindly, kicking again and this time pushing her away from him. She slid only a couple feet away, but Felix clearly heard the tink of steel on stone.

Marshalling his Strength and Endurance, Felix pushed up to his feet. He was recovering slower than he wanted, but he had something in the tank. He took several steps backward, bending down to retrieve his hooked sword with his right hand; when had he lost that?

"Who are you?" He panted, wiping away at the blood pouring down the side of his face from his scalp wound. "Why are you helping the giants?"

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The woman got to her feet slowly, watching him all the while. She seemed reluctant to turn her back on him, now.

Good, maybe she'll wait before she attacks agai--

She blurred forward.

GAAH!

Felix brought his sword up in a reflexive parry, catching one of her long daggers on the axe-like bow of the blade. But that left his chest wide open for the second of her daggers, which zipped toward his heart.

Parry is level 2!

"SKRAAAW!"

A blast of wind cut between them, knocking the dagger aside as Felix spun to his right. He put some more distance between them and slashed out again, this time feeling his blade scrape along her forearm armor thing.

Bracer?

"Thanks Pit!" Felix flashed a smile, feeling the general placement of his Companion. "Stay back on this one. I've got her."

"Oh you do, do you?" The rogue arced an eyebrow at him...I think. "How'd someone like you get captured by the giants? Lose your bodyguards?"

"What?" Felix was annoyed and confused at her change of tack. She thinks I was a prisoner? Why?

"Was that it? They certainly did a number on your armor. What happened? Daddy scrimp on the quality of guards? Go for the bargain bin for his least favorite?" Her voice was thick with syrupy sarcasm and Felix felt his hackles raise. A sharp, itchy heat built up along his back and neck, his skin crawling as a rage he hadn't felt before rose up.

This asshole thinks that I was captured? That's ridiculuous! It's--

Felix took a step forward, jostling the knife still stuck in his shoulder. The blaze of pain ate into his rage, and sent a chill snaking down his back as his senses tingled in warning.

Holy shit, she's using a Skill on me!

Bastion of Will is level 28!

The rogue frowned when Felix stopped moving, silently snarling when he starting backing away.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept out of my head," Felix smiled, happy to see the woman angry. He also desperately wanted to pull the dagger out of his shoulder, but couldn't afford to split his attention. This lady has a whole bag of tricks.

"Strange noble," she scoffed. "Awful polite, even if you are a cockroach."

"And you're awfully...stabby," Felix finished lamely. "Listen, putting aside the fact that you just poisoned me, then stabbed me, then attempted to stab me again, I'd really rather not fight. I'd also appreciate you not luring the giants toward my uh, associates."

"So you are a Guilder. Interesting." The lady smirked, which annoyed Felix more than he expected. "I can let you go, sure. No can do on the second part, though. Professional pride, you see."

A lightbulb went off in Felix's head, dots connecting in a way that was painfully obvious in retrospect. "You're an assassin! Of course! Dark armor, creepy mask, poison and daggers, why didn't I see it before?"

"...Creepy mask?" Felix heard her mutter.

"If you're an assassin, were you hired to kill Magda and the others? By who?"

Instead of answering him, her hands blurred as Felix barely perceived several knives zip his way. He leaped to the right again, feeling the roof below creak beneath his feet in protest. The knives flew by harmlessly, and Felix felt awful smug for about a second.

Then she reappeared directly next to him, daggers held low.

AHHHH! REIGN OF VELLUS!

A burst of blue lightning blasted forth, ripping the rogue from the roof and slamming her into the dilapidated wall. The same wall she had tricked Felix with before, he was happy to note. Without waiting for her to recover, Felix darted in, moving close with his crooked sword held to the side. He led with a slash, catching a glancing blow across her bandolier of knives, his bronze blade striking golden sparks on the steel. She recovered though and caught his second swing on her long dagger, quickly twisting and following up with a series of lightning quick thrusts.

He jumped back, feeling more agonizing lines of fire along his stomach. He daggers further shredded his once-beige tunic. Felix eyeballed his Health, noting it was barely over 25% while his Stamina was hovering just above 10%. His left arm hung limply, his shoulder spasming around the knife still lodged there.

I can't keep this up. I've got maybe two more good hits left in me.

"You're looking haggard, roach. You need a nap?" The assassin taunted him, smirking despite her obvious fatigue. If Felix was exhausted, she wasn't too far behind. He supposed her Endurance wasn't too high...she seemed to be focused heavily on Strength and Agility. "Here. Let me help!" She rushed forward.

Felix stepped forward to meet her, knowing he couldn't outrun her in his state. He did the only thing he could.

The unexpected.

PITT!

He slashed low to high, trying to simultaneously shove her daggers aside and drive her back. The assassin was ready, angling her weapons and flowing around his strike like a wraith. And then, she tripped.

Which, of course she tripped. That's what happens when a terrier-sized tenku runs headlong into your legs.

"AHK!" She cried out, Felix's sword somehow catching her across her face as she stumbled. It was only a second, but it was enough. He dropped his blade once it had connected, rearing back with his right arm and put everything he had left into a single uppercut.

Corrosive Strike!

The rogue took the blow straight to the gut, and Felix thought he felt something crack, before her entire body suddenly rocketed backwards. The force of the strike propelled her up into the air, literally launching her off the roof. For a moment, Felix only stared at the space where the assassin once was, dumbfounded. Then he rushed to the edge.

She was gone.

Pit cautiously walked up to him, peering out into the darkened alley below.

"You think she's gone?" Felix asked. His Perception and Manasight was picking up nothing. Either she had exploded into a thousand pieces, or she had used some sort of escape Skill. He was hoping for the exploded option.

"Ugh," Felix huffed. "Assassins, now?"

Pit's only reply was to chirrup twice and nuzzle his beak against Felix's leg. Felix smiled, reaching down with a groan to scratch the tenku's neck. "Thanks, Pit. You're a lifesaver."

Pit chirped brightly and walked back onto the roof as Felix followed, still keeping a watchful eye out for the assassin's reemergence. She'd caught him off guard too many times, at this point.

In a flash, it came to him.

"Vambrace! That's it!"

That would have bugged him for the whole day.

Looking down, he regarded the flat steel knife that was lodged in his deltoid. Pulling it out wouldn't be pretty, but it had to be done. Felix had been able to put the pain out of his mind during the fight, but it had severely hampered his movements. He vaguely remembered something about leaving a weapon in a wound to prevent blood loss, but that was before he could heal himself by sitting for a long time.

He grunted as he pulled it out. The blade was small, only five inches long, but it was wide. It had a weird etching on the flat of the blade, like a nautilus or curled horn or something.

Name: Steel Throwing Knife

Type: Piercing

Lore: Unknown

He pocketed the knife for later and applied pressure to the wound to prevent the Bleed status, focusing on Meditation for a few minutes. When the worst seemed past, it was time to move on.

As Felix scooped up his hooked sword, he pondered at his increasingly frequent encounters with near death. The shock value of it had decreased a lot since he started, but he still wasn't comfortable being brought low by every enemy he encountered.

Granted they're all higher level than me, but still. I need to figure out how to do this all better.

Ultimately, he wasn't dead, so Felix counted it as a win.

Felix hefted his curved sword, looking at it's bronze length. Despite heavy use, the thing was still in pristine condition, the edge unmarred by burrs or nicks.

What did the Archon call it? A Crescian blade? He held it up, examining it in the midday light. Aside from the enchantment to bypass the Temple wards, it seems normal enough. Oh, what's this?

The blade had a thick rivulet of blood streaked across it, bright and red. The assassin's blood. Felix bit his lip in consideration, then reached into his satchel and pulled out an empty vial from his potion case. Carefully, he scooped a dollop of blood into the vial and corked it.

Later. It should be worth it. He couldn't afford to go into a Memory trance out here, not when that woman might come back.

Again, Felix considered whether leaving the Guilders to their own devices would be the smarter play. He'd survived so far on his own, and this situation was getting complicated fast. Yet, Felix couldn't quite convince himself to leave. He had no clue how to get out of the Foglands, and his only guides were being hunted by giants and an assassin. It didn't leave him much choice.

"C'mon Pit. We have to catch up. The others need to know about this."

As the boy and his monster sped off, Ilia watched. She had been tempted to attack him again, but he'd thrown surprise after surprise at her and honestly, she was worried.

Who is this kid? Wish this damn fog didn't interfere with Analyze. She considered him as he started to fade into the fog. He's gotta be a plant. Doesn't make sense, otherwise. He couldn't have seen me luring the giants, not in this murk. No, someone told him.

Ilia fingered the cut along her cheek, feeling the wound slowly stop bleeding. He had cut her...somehow, he either had incredible Strength, or his sword was heavily enchanted. Either way, something didn't smell right. Ilia climbed out from her perch, keeping Stealth at full burn as she started to follow. She wasn't going to make the same mistake this time.

Ten more minutes and Felix was nearing their basement camp. While before they had searched in an ever-widening spiral pattern, the way back was a straight path, one that Felix recalled perfectly well.

Perfect recall never gets old.

This meant that, despite his detour, he wasn't long behind the others. However, as he got closer, he heard the definite sound of combat. Felix rushed down the street, still on the roof level wherever he could manage it. Hopping from the third floor roof of a half-collapsed building (a bank, maybe?) through a gaping hole in the side of a five story residential complex, he crossed the building to peer down below.

Three stories below him, the others were fighting against a pair of Risi Warriors and a lone Hoarhound the size of horse. Magda was tanking their attacks while Harn brought the heat. Felix spotted Evie engaging the Hoarhound, keeping it busy and away from their back-line fighters, Vessilia and Atar. Felix hadn't really seen Vessilia in action before, but she move fluidly and decisively, wielding her eight foot long spear with precision, supplementing Evie's attacks with her own while Atar flung orbs of fire at the beast. The mage was actually doing some significant damage too; the Hoarhound was covered in scorch marks and looked to be on the ropes.

Wow. They're...good. Really good.

Seeing it from up here shed new light on this team's fighting ability. So far he'd been very impressed (and a little terrified) of Magda and Harn's prowess, but the other three seemed lackluster by comparison. I mean, I guess they're apprentices or trainees or whatever, so I can't expect them to be expert anything right? But still. They know their shit more than I do. Heck, I don't even know if I should go help or not. They got this in the bag.

Movement out of the corner of his eye drew Felix's attention south, back the way he had come, down an angled alley behind the fight. Focusing, Felix saw blue-white fur moving toward his allies, directly toward Atar and Vessilia.

Shit. Me and my big mouth.

Felix ran across the room, hopping back onto the three story bank's roof with as much grace and stealth as he could manage. He made it to the ledge and peered over. A blue-white furred Hoarhound stalked the alley below, it's draft-horse sized body slung low as it padded nearly silently toward Atar's back, only a couple dozen feet away. Three stories up, Felix tossed an Analyze at it.

Name: Hoarhound

Type: Elemental

Level: 27

HP: ???

SP: ???

MP: ???

Lore: Formed from the Hoarfrost itself, Hoarhounds are the wrath of nature given breath. Strong and hardy, they are deadly foes on the frozen tundra.

Strength: Strength, Endurance

Weakness: Willpower

Analyze is level 21!

Hmm. Willpower, huh?

"Pit," Felix whispered, turning toward the tenku. Then he imagined himself jumping down and attacking the Hoarhound from the front, while Pit flew in from behind. He pushed that thought toward his friend. Pit jerked his head, eyes wide in surprise, but Felix felt agreement echo back through their bond.

Companion Pact is level 13!

Companion Pact is level 14!

It worked! Felix grinned. He looked down below, where the elemental beast still stalked forward and then across the street, where several pillars held up the tottering remains of the city. An exciting idea occurred to him, something he absolutely had to attempt.

Time to check off the bucket list.

Shadow Whip!

A matte black tendril shot out of his left hand, wrapping around a crumbling pillar across the alley. Felix tugged on it, took four quick breaths and did a running leap off the bank roof, slightly ahead of the Hoarhound. The wind rushed through his ears as he dropped, then as the Shadow Whip pulled taut, he swung at speed in an arc directly toward the beast. The Hoarhound's head snapped up as Felix came into view, and it's tire sized maw opened up into a gleeful snarl.

Influence of the Wisp!

A Hoarhound is Enthralled for 1 second!

Blue fire covered both Felix and the hound, locking it in place as the Nymean crashed his booted feet directly into it's snout. The huge dog's jaw snapped shut with a crash as its head whipped backwards; its body followed suit, lifting up in the shockwave of the attack. Several Windblades sliced into the Hoarhound from above, even as Felix dropped to the street before the elemental and grabbed the only foreleg that remained on the ground. With a strained groan, Felix lifted and twisted his body, dropping the Hoarhound to its side with a muffled boom.

"YIIIPE!"

Without letting it up, Felix started pummeling the elemental about the neck and face, dropping blow after blow of Corrosive Strike. Launching himself from another building, Pit swooped in again on his wide black and red wings, flapping them every few seconds to send out a shearing Wingblade of compressed air.

It was over in less than thirty seconds.

Felix stumbled back once he saw the kill notification, gulping air and putting some distance between him and the monster corpse. Exertion over, Felix started to sweat profusely, his body overheating as his work caught up to him. Pit landed gracelessly next to him, thumping to the ground like the weird dog-bird he was. "Didn't stand a chance once we got it on the ground, huh?"

From behind him, he could hear the muffled sounds of continued battle. Felix looked over his shoulder and saw that the others had pushed their Hoarhound further down the road, toward the giants. He was alone.

Good. Don't really want others to see me do this. Felix fetched another empty vial from his potion case and dipped it into an open wound of the Hoarhound. Dark, purple-blue blood oozed out, entirely too viscous and smelling like the inside of a freezer. The blood easily filled the vial, which started to frost over the moment he corked it.

I have to get stronger. Anyway I can.

He tucked the vial away and turned toward his new allies. The sound of their fighting was getting louder, gaining a frenzied note. "C'mon Pit."

Pit trilled three times, a high flute-like sound that made Felix feel like he was being poked repeatedly in the chest. He turned back to his Companion in exasperation. "Okay, what?"

In response, Pit pointed his beak toward the Hoarhound corpse, which even now had started to dissolve into greasy smoke. Felix's eyes traced the path of Pit's beak and saw a faint glimmer of purple-white light in the monster's chest. Realization dawned.

Right! It's an elemental!

Felix rushed forward and, using his enchanted hook blade, fished the gory morsel out of the beast's innards. In seconds, a luminescent purple-white stone plopped onto the cobbles. It glimmered with radiance, muted only by the thick syrup of Hoarhound blood.

Name: Hoarhound Core

Type: Elemental Core

Lore: An elemental core is the central node of any elemental. While not always solid, it provides the majority of their power as they live and evolve. Can be used for many purposes, from smithing to enchanting.

Rarity: Uncommon

"That's, wow," Felix was impressed. "That's much prettier than the Rockstrike cores." He reached out a hand to touch it...but Pit pounced on it before he could. The greedy little bird snapped it up, tipped his head back and swallowed it in a single gulp. Felix pulled his hand back and flexed his fingers, happy he hadn't been holding the elemental core. He worried Pit might take a chunk with him next time.

Elated, Pit spread his wings and trumpeted out a strident cry, far louder than usual. The tenku, usually the size of a big terrier, suddenly expanded and grew to Collie-size. The feathers along his crown and nape filled in even further, and his legs grew gangly while his wings became slightly darker and pilot feathers just a bit longer. Beak open wide and eyes glittering, Pit chirruped brightly.

"Holy shit," Felix managed. "What was in that?"

Then Pit growled, and his eyes flashed with purple light, before he let out a deep unmistakable bark...and an ice spear launched from his maw. It traveled only a short distance before smashing against a wall, but it still gouged out a divot.

Congratulations!

Your Title Gourmand Has Garnered Your Companion Insight!

They Have Fully Digested Their Opponent's Mana!

Your Companion, Pit Has Learned A Skill From A Hoarhound!

Frost Spear (Common), Level 1!

Utilizing the stolen Mana of a Hoarhound, Pit can form and fire spears of refined ice! Increases range and accuracy moderately with Skill Level, damage increases with Skill Level.

"Wait, what?"