Chapter 107

  Hollowroot Bastion, Part II

  The headless corpse is still spraying blood over the steps of the altar when the courtyard inhales. My [Perception] flares when the air literally pulls inward, a sudden vacuum tug that makes my ears pop and the hair on my arms stand up. The floating bubble over the altar shivers like a soap film struck by a drumbeat.

  The World Seed pulses. Once. Twice. Then, an energy ripples through the air, spreading out over the entirety of the courtyard. I try to spring into action, but my body refuses to move. What’s going on? I think, just before noticing movement out of the corner of my eye. The vines covering the Bastion walls snap taut. The thick, rootlike cords peel free from stone with wet, woody tears. The entire courtyard groans as if the Bastion itself is flexing. The vines coil, braid, knot, forming limbs, torsos, heads. Bark splits open to reveal thorny ribcages and tendrils lash into place like muscle fibers.

  Four monsters rise out of the walls. They’re roughly humanoid in shape, like someone took a coffee stain that resembled a crime scene outline and added the detailed features of a body. If those features weren’t in the right places.

  My HUD obligingly labels them.

  Monster Identified: Briar Blight

  Level: 40

  Classification: World Seed Defense Construct

  This monster has heightened levels of hostility.

  “Of course,” I breathe. “Plant golems.” I didn’t know what to expect when Dr. Archewald first warned us, but it definitely wasn’t this. Honestly, it seems too simple and straightforward. Maybe they’ll continue to spawn if we don’t finish things fast enough?

  Two of the Briar Blights—two massive bramble hulks with glowing eyes the color of maple leaves—drop into the open space between me and the altar like living barricades. Thorns scrape stone. Vines extend from their backs, whipping the air. One of them slams its arm down and the impact rattles the courtyard. The message is clear: You’re not touching the World Seed.

  Jelly Boy’s legs click as he shifts beside me. He looks ready to sprint-kick another head off something, but these aren’t squishy Russians in tutus. These are Level 40 walls of murder salad. My [Perception] flares and I whip my head around, to see two more of the Briar Blights peeling off the Bastion’s walls and charging towards Liv.

  “Back!” I bark, tugging at Jelly Boy. I spin on my heel and bolt towards Liv. Grabbing her elbow, I haul her with me as I retreat. Jelly Boy is right behind us, heels of his mechanical legs clicking. I scan the courtyard and my eyes lock onto a large swath of wall that is thankfully free of the vines the Seed used to make the monsters. The last thing we need is to have a surprise strike at our backs. I point to the position and we run to the spot, taking up the space with the wall at our backs.

  I take in the battlefield. Two Briar Blights remain guarding the World Seed’s altar, while the other four advance in a staggered line. Liv’s eyes are wide, still haunted by the beheading. Her hands shake as she digs into her belt and shoves a cluster of potion bottles into my chest.

  “Take these,” she says, voice tight. “Extra Stamina. Extra Health. Don’t argue.”

  Glass clinks as I dump them into my Inventory, the System accepting them with a soft ping. “You stay back,” I tell her, grabbing her shoulders. I look at Jelly Boy next. “You too. Stay with Liv. Protect her. Liv, keep J.B. topped up.”

  Liv nods, face hardening as she focuses. Jelly Boy blorps in protest, vibrating like a blue grenade with feelings.

  “Do it,” I snap.

  He hesitates, then nods, body folding in half. He charges forward, engaging with the first two of the Briar Blights running at our location. Good. I turn back toward the altar.

  The World Seed floats in its bubble, pulsing wrong. The defending Briar Blights are already repositioning, blocking off a direct line to the Seed.

  No time, I think. Gotta act fast.

  I throw my arms out, flexing my biceps and cast [Wizard’s Fist] twice. Twin clouds of silvery mist explode into existence, cold and sharp as winter breath. Lefty forms first, fingers curling into a huge spectral hand. Righty follows, knuckles cracking like thunder. They hover at my sides, eager, twitchy, ready to punch something. God, I love these guys!

  “Alright,” I mutter, heart hammering, “we’re doing this the hard way. Stick with me.”

  Two Briar Blights peel off and surge toward Liv’s position, bramble arms raised, thorns unfolding like spears. But Jelly Boy backflips from his position engaging the two other Blights and lands in front of Liv. His body swells defensively. Liv lifts her hands, magic gathering, and green-gold threads shimmering around her fingers.

  I don’t watch. I can’t.

  I rocket forward, making a bee line towards the altar.

  Lefty and Righty fly forward with me, and together we charge the dais.

  Lefty and Righty hit the Briar Blight to our right like two drunk freight trains with anger issues. They slam into its torso, pummeling the knot of vines and bark and thorn into a twisting mass of shredded plant fibers. Every punch sends splinters and dark, amber sap spraying across the stone like somebody upended a gallon of rotten ink. The Briar Blight staggers, but it doesn’t go down. These things are sturdy as hell. It just keeps reforming, re-knitting itself with obscene, patient determination.

  I circle wide, summoning my Full Metal Staff into my hands. I get close enough to get the second guardian Blight’s attention, but don’t fully close the distance. After all, I’m a god damned wizard!

  I strike my pose and cast [Force Blast], three times, in quick succession. The bolts of force energy surge through the air. The Briar Blight dodges all three beams, twisting out of the way of one, leaping over the second, and rearranging its vine-wrought body for the third and final blast to pass straight through it without harm. It pivots, bark flexing, vines snapping tightly back into their original composition, and I feel my blood pressure spike.

  “Oh, that’s cute,” I hiss.

  I spare half a second to glance back over my shoulder, because I have to know if Liv and Jelly Boy are still alive. They are. And Jelly Boy is… kicking ass. Of course he is!

  He’s moving like I’m watching a high-heeled blender. He’s darting between four Briar Blights at once, heel-kicking into thorny limbs, pivoting, spinning, using momentum like he’s been doing this his whole life. And he’s flinging a slime-based spell I don’t recognize—something that looks like a ribbon of blue gel turned into a spinning sawblade, carving through vines and leaving sizzling grooves in the bark.

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  Liv stands just behind him, hands out, eyes bright. Green-gold threads of magic stream toward Jelly Boy. Her spell could be healing, could be a buff, or could be both. It’s hard to tell, but she’s clearly layering magic like an absolute psychopath. And Jelly Boy is thriving, the mad lad!

  I turn my attention back to my opponent only to see a spear-tip like branch surging towards my face. I barely duck in time.

  Okay. Focus, Joe, I tell myself.

  I need to end this fight fast. I run through options in my head, scrolling through a mental spell list.

  [Raining Knuckles]? Too risky. The courtyard’s too tight. That spell will hit everything. It would smash Liv, smash Jelly Boy, and the World Seed is already a volatile ticking bomb in a bubble. If it’s pummeled by hundreds of raining fists, who knows? Maybe it detonates and I get turned into cosmic confetti.

  My Summoning Spell? I picture Dave’s cheerful face as I put him up against the Briar Blight. No. Absolutely not. But what if I upcast it? Would it summon a stronger ally? Or would Dave just get summoned, but he’ll have been promoted to Save-Some-Bucks corporate? I kick myself for not testing this Spell more in a non-active-combat setting.

  I just need one clean opening. And it looks like I’ll need to make the path myself.

  I plant my feet and set my jaw.

  Mentally triggering my [Shaper] Skill, just as the spear-like arm of the Briar Blight is retracting. It charges me, raising its other arm, readying to attempt to spear me again. I activate [No Pain, No Gain]. The Skill bites into me immediately—Health and Stamina siphoned away like someone opened a valve in my veins. Worth it.

  Then, I cast [Force Blast].

  This one comes out different. The beam is bigger, denser. A dark blue blast of intense energy. The force roars from my hand like a cannon shot, and it changes shape mid-flight—the end of the blast condensing until it forms into a massive fist. The fist unfurls, opening into a palm the size of a car door.

  It slams into the Blight. The plant monster skids, bark cracking, thorns snapping, its whole body shoved sideways with an angry, grinding screech of roots tearing against stone.

  “Out of my way!” I snarl. I mentally push my [Force Blast] to the side, and the open palm at the end of the beam pushed the Briar Blight in turn. The vine-built monstrosity trips, topping to its side.

  There’s my opening.

  I activate [Range of Motion].

  The world fractures into ghost-frames again—blue versions of me sprinting forward in a trail of movement connected by silver mist, all leading toward the altar, toward that hovering bubble and the volatile star-heart inside.

  I pick the last one. The one closest to the World Seed. Time snaps and reality stutters as I blink and am teleported directly to the steps of the altar. Only to have the Briar Blight Lefty and Righty to get pushed back from a double-rocket-fist to its gut.

  It happens so fast, I’m unable to brace myself for the fall. The Briar Blight slams into me like a collapsing tree and I go down hard, breath exploding out of me. My staff flies from my grip. The stone of the altar steps bites my shoulder, and my skull rings as the side of my head is slammed onto the ground.

  The Blight is on top of me, pinning me to the altar stairs. All thorns and bark and tangled vines, pressing down with extreme weight and a grinding, patient fury.

  I mentally command Lefty and Righty to get the thing off me. Or keep the other Blight away and occupied. Or… I don’t know! Fuck, this thing is heavy. The thorns lining its body dig into me, and my Health bar blinks into existence in the bottom corner of my HUD, slowly ticking lower as the Blight grinds its body against mine.

  And the World Seed is right there! So close I can feel it pulsing wrong in my bones. Just And just out of reach.

  “Of course,” I wheeze, trying to shove thorns away from my throat. “Of course.” The Briar Blight is heavy. I’m strong enough to move it, if my body wasn’t so awkwardly positioned beneath it. My newly buffed Strength helps, but it’s like bench pressing a tree that’s actively trying to strangle you, all while my arms are pinned to my body.

  “Get—off—” I wheeze, and a thorn bites my lip.

  Fuck it, I think. I’m done playing nice with shrubbery. I slam my palm into its underside. I’m not able to position my body into the proper pose, which I know will drastically impact the efficacy of my spell. Instead, I make up for it with raw energy. I pump as much [No Pain, No Gain] as I’m willing to spare. I pour vitality into it until my teeth vibrate and my ears ring.

  [Force Blast]!

  The blast detonates point-blank. It’s less a spell and more a localized explosion of invisible violence. The Briar Blight ruptures in a sound like a wet book being torn in half. Bark shatters and vines snap, and dark sap gushes over my chest.

  The monster’s bark-like skin bursts into a dusty cloud that coats my face, my hair, my jorts. Everything. It’s like I just took a shotgun blast of powdered cinnamon. I roll onto my side, coughing, blinking grit out of my eyes.

  Ping!

  A System message flashes into my vision, even as I’m still rubbing the Blight dust out of them.

  WARNING: Briar Blight Pollen Infection Detected

  You are current under the [Seeding] Status Effect.

  Status Seeding: Enthrallment.

  Progress: 12%… 18%… 24%…

  My limbs twitch, spasming. Like an electric current is being ran through my arms and legs.

  Does that say ‘enthrallment’?

  “Oh—oh hell no,” I gasp, panic seeping into me. I’m now all too aware of what’s happening in my body. The pollen isn’t just irritating. It’s alive. It’s crawling into my pores, into my lungs, into my bloodstream, whispering little plant-language commands that my body is horrifyingly willing to obey.

  My knee jerks. My arm lifts half an inch on its own.

  I fumble for the only tool I’ve got for this situation.

  [Clean].

  But I need the industrial-strength, power-wash-your-soul version.

  I once again trigger [No Pain, No Gain], pouring whatever is left of my Stamina and a good chunk of Health into the spell. I scrunch my face tight, and focus the spell onto myself.

  “Clean!” I exclaim.

  I let the spell rip. The dust blasts off me in a ring, scattering across the courtyard. My skin tingles, and my lungs instantly clear. The invisible creeping urge inside my nerves snaps like a broken leash.

  Ping!

  You have removed the [Seeding] Status Effect.

  Enthrallment Attempt: Failed.

  I exhale so hard my whole ribcage shakes. I withdraw a Stamina Potion and a Healing Potion from my Inventory. The two vials are approximately the size of my thumb. I bite off the little stoppers and down the two shots, instantly feeling better as my Stamina rockets back to full and my regeneration is kicked into overdrive.

  Then, I look up. Lefty and Righty finish the other Blight with a final savage combo—BAM BAM—and it collapses into its own drifting cloud of pollen. I frantically roll over, sliding down a step as I twist myself around to see Liv and Jelly Boy.

  The two stand where their Blights fell. The four corpses are crumpled in piles of wood-bone and dust, dark sap staining the ground around them. My stomach sinks, as I realize I’m too late to warn them, or potentially stop the [Seeding] Status from doing its work.

  How’d it happen so fast? I think.

  Their bodies are wrapped in vines. The vines crawl over their arms and torsos, threading into their skin and ooze, respectively. Liv’s eyes are unfocused, though both glowing that maple-leaf shade of orange-red. Her mouth slightly open like she’s mid-breath but no words escape her lips. Jelly Boy—my beautiful blue slime friend—jitters oddly. His slime has turned a color similar to Liv’s eyes.

  Identified: Enthralled Interventionist

  Identified: Enthralled Arcane Juggler

  “No!” The word tears itself from my throat, but it’s futile.

  The vines pulse and both of them turn toward me in the same slow, unnatural motion.

  Ping!

  A quest window slams into my vision, but I can barely read the words through the tears swelling in my eyes.

  NEW QUEST!

  New Quest: Cut the Thorns

  Description: The others within the Hollowroot Bastion have been enthralled by the World Seed.

  OBJECTIVE: Fend off the Briar Thralls and Claim the World Seed.

  Reward: Upon Claiming the World Seed, all enthralled persons still alive will be immediately cured of their enthralled condition.

  BONUS OBJECTIVE: Eliminate all Briar Thralls.

  Reward: Experience gained for the defeated Briar Thralls will receive a x4 bonus.

  I close the window, doing my best to pretend like I didn’t even read the fucked up bonus objective.

  “Simple enough,” I mutter, sniffling. I run my forearm across my eyes, and push myself up to my feet. I’m only a few steps away from the World Seed.

  But, of course, it won’t be that easy. Because someone is standing between me and the World Seed.

  The masked Russian. Or what’s left of him.

  Headless torso in tutu and fishnets, red rain boots planted on the stone. His body is upright now, held up by thick vines that run into his ribs like puppet strings. His neck stump is a wet mess—until the vines extending from where his spinal cord should be move, retracting back into his neck. The end of the vines drag across the ground, carrying something.

  His head, I realize. The ski mask is still on. Vines are wrapped around it like fingers. They pull it to the stump, and with a sickening wet click, they reattach it. The corpse straightens, and the lifeless eyes behind the ski mask begin to glow red-orange. The moving corpse moves its head to each shoulder, the neck cracks loudly. Then, it takes a fighting stance.

  Identified: Enthralled Rift Ravager.

  I bare my teeth in a snarl.

  “You were looking for me, huh? Well, here I am!”