Following the echoes of battle and pleas for help, not to mention the familiar calls for the ancestors, our party found a group of Mardukryons in distress—four village guards, their levels in the forties, trapped by the Blighted monsters at the dead end of a fairly roomy tunnel. The guards were probably mopping up some mess or investigating things when Blighted Armored Maggroths burst out of the earth behind them.
The Maggroths blocked the way with their fat bodies protected by overlapping spiked plates. Out of the holes they had dug emerged more Blighted monsters—Saurians, Glacial Haunts, and a few new faces. We could barely see the NPCs through the mass of the Blighted between our groups.
An ambush. Our party arrived just in time to save the day.
The guards held their ground against the overwhelming number of similarly leveled monsters. However, that was because only a few of the Blighted attacked them. The rest hang around, waiting for us to act, like an evil mastermind sitting on a swivel chair until the hero showed up so he could dramatically turn around.
Part of me wanted to suggest staying back and waiting for the Blighted to die from their sickness. But the village guards might be in danger if we did that.
“Armored Maggroth? Haven’t seen that kind before,” Kezo excitedly said. “And I’ve seen plenty of worms roaming the deeper tunnels.”
“I fought them in a previous quest,” I said. “I was right that I’ve already encountered new monsters but was unaware.”
“Look at that Crowbellion.” Kezo pointed at a decaying Crowbel thrice the size of the adorable normal ones. The Crowbellion crawled on all fours, its hulking back and shoulder muscles forcing it to hunch over. A wild mane wrapped around its head and neck. “An NPC is looking—”
“Enough talk!” Megan snapped, shocking us. “Let’s save the guards.” She stepped before our party and planted a [Spell Bonded Totem]. The moment the ethereal statue of a squat creature with a wide-open mouth rose from the ground, the attention of the Blighted turned to her. The Armored Maggroths snapped their steel beaks and surged forward to attack.
I galloped past Megan and placed my Totems in front of hers to catch the incoming tide of slime and hardened shells. My Totems cast [Enraging Call] taunted the Armored Maggroths, forcing them to stop and change targets. The giant worms kicked up rocks and dirt as they braked hard. Then they raised their barrel bodies, preparing to slam my Totems. With the seconds I bought, Megan cast her spells, copied half a second later by her Totem, and doused the worms with flames.
The Blighted Armored Maggroths were far from dead, living up to their name and design. Kezo blocked their way to Megan. Nitana sent different kinds of fairies and fireballs at the Blighted monsters coming up behind the Armored Maggroths. Not wanting to be the odd one out, I also attacked, using [Poison Bottle Cast] and [Gnawing Rot] to pollute the battlefield.
And the battle was joined.
The battle was joined? Sounded very medieval and knightly. I had read that expression somewhere, and it felt right to use it in this situation. “For the ancestors!” I switched to my spear and struck a pose. “Charge!” And I cast [Horde Stampede].
My call to charge fell flat again.
“No way I’m diving into those disgusting worms!” Nitana protested.
Megan raised her wand. “I agree!”
“That’s a good point,” I said. More importantly, our party composition sucked in melee combat—other than Kezo, the rest of us were squishy as a rubber ducky and had to stay out of harm’s way. We couldn’t recreate the glorious charge of the Hunter-Warriors.
“Defend for now,” Kezo said. “We don’t want to get surrounded in this small space.”
He directed us to rearrange our formation into a triangle, with him in front and Megan and Nitana behind him as the two other points. I was in the middle, supporting Kezo with [Healing Touch] and using taunting Totems to funnel the enemies to him. I also screened any monster that got past, drawing them with my own [Enraging Call] to Kezo.
“Another Crowbellion,” Kezo said, killing the beefy ape that punched him. “I was saying earlier that an NPC wants a coat made of Crowbellion fur in return for a piece of the Tattered Map. I don’t know anyone who has completed his request.”
“Sounds like an important quest,” I said. “If only we could force Bawu to spill her secrets.”
“Here’s hoping,” he replied. “Luds got an Ocadule from Bawu, didn’t he? Why hasn’t he met these creatures yet?”
“Maybe he’s keeping it a secret?” Megan said.
“Luds?” I said. “He’s going to brag to everyone if he found a new area.” Speaking of Luds, I was reminded of SpartanDonky and my deal with him. Why haven’t I thought of this earlier?
Battle logs of the Zoar Elab—that was what SpartanDonkey wanted. What would he say to evidence of never-before-seen monsters? This could be the most important find for Mardukryons thus far. The system automatically recorded boss battles. These were mere mobs. I rummaged around the settings and turned on the recording option.
Herald Stone the Great Explorer—gathering evidence of a new species and bringing it back to civilization!
Our group mowed down the Blighted, endlessly throwing themselves at us. Sickly reinforcements streamed in from Maggroths’ tunnels.
“It’s raining Essence and Gli!” Nitana celebrated. “Can we just drag this out?”
Megan asked, “Are the zombie thingies going to attack non-stop like the monkeys?”
“They’ll eventually run out,” I said. “That was what happened the last time I fought Armored Maggroths. But we can’t wait for that.” Some of the newly emerged Blighted went to attack the guards instead of us. Megan and Nitana didn’t notice because of their positions, and Kezo was occupied, bearing the brunt of the enemy waves. “We have to move now. The guards are in trouble!”
“Oh no!” Megan exclaimed. “Kezo, we can’t let them—”
“Got it!” Kezo turned himself into a mini-sun of swirling black flames. “Herald, do your thing,” he said before hurtling at the enemy frontlines, exploding as he slammed into the Armored Maggroths. Two tanky giant worms died, along with a bunch of weaker Blighted, opening space for us to advance.
My most awaited time! “Charge!” I roared. [Horde Stampede] filled the tunnel with dust and galloping sound effects. The three of us galloped to Kezo, pushing away the monsters threatening to encircle him.
We reformed our triangle setup and wiped the enemies on our left and right, drawing a new defense line. Then we waited for Kezo’s skill to refresh. Another meteor strike, another push, and we were on top of the Maggroth’s burrows. Enemies emerged inside our formation. Megan, Nitana, and I were getting hit, and the Blighted hit fucking hard!
“I’m dying!” Megan cried out. “I’m—thanks, Nitana!” An orange barrier enveloped Megan just as a [Lvl 52 Blighted Glacial Haunt]—this time, the ghost of a Nixigaunt—swung its mace at her. The barrier shattered. I distracted the Glacial Haunt with a Totem, allowing Megan to finish it. “Thanks, Herald!”
“Don’t mention—Woah!” The arrow of a Saurian Archer came out of nowhere and hit me. My shell exploded, and my already low health plummeted further, close to the number of failures in my life—not zero, but a tiny number. I should take care when to cast Totems. “Archer on me!” I called out.
Quickly weighing my options, I used [Enraging Calll] and retreated to Kezo’s spot. I couldn’t kill the Saurian Archer targeting me—I didn’t even know where it was—so I had to move because the next shot would kill me no matter what skill I used. But I didn’t just abandon my spot. I also dragged along several monsters to lessen those attacking my party mates. Then I zigzagged between Megan and Nitana, using them as human shields—or Mardukryon shields—while trying to avoid the arrows.
Megan got hit. I healed her. It also gave away the position of the Saurian Archer. Nitana was quick on the uptake, bombing the Archer before it could fire another volley. Kezo saw me coming to him. He blasted the trail of Blighted I brought with me.
Just as I thought we would stabilize, another group of Blighted came out of the holes.
“We have to get to the guards,” I said.
“Yeah, so we can save them,” said Megan.
“And also to save ourselves,” I added. “It’s better to have the wall behind us so enemies would come from only one side.”
“My skill is up!” Kezo alerted us. “Prepare for another push!”
BOOM!
Black flames consumed the Blighted in our way. Through the curtain of blue and violet lights, a narrow path presented itself. We three rushed past Kezo, who became our rear guard. I plopped two Totems, not only to delay our enemies but also to block projectiles. Megan and Nitana helped the village guards kill off the remaining Blighted behind Kezo.
“Everything’s clear here,” I said to Megan and Nitana. “Help Kezo hold off the Blighted. I’ll check the village guards.”
The four NPCs had diminished health; one was very close to death. They must’ve run out of potions. I hadn’t seen an NPC die yet. Would they become Essence and Gli too?
“We require healing, especially brother Agung,” said the NPC cradling another. The Mardukryon on his lap had only five percent health left and could barely move. Thankfully, health didn’t work the same way with players.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I can help.” I cast [Penitent Fortune Healing] and spammed [Healing Touch] on the ailing guard. Then I moved on to the others, refilling each health bar. However, Agung still struggled to get up. “What’s wrong with him?” I healed him again for good measure, but it didn’t help.
“Our deepest gratitude, youngling.” The guard beside Agung bowed—a fitting gesture to Herald Stone’s benevolence. “You have saved us. But Agung’s situation is critical. A Healer must tend him. And soon.”
As if to confirm what he said, Agung groaned in pain. Quest details popped up for Aiding the Ailing—a simple task of escorting the NPCs ‘to safety.’ I hoped ‘safety’ didn’t mean all the way back to the village. We’d have to abandon the guards if it came to that. Would Megan kick up a fuss?
“Too bad I’m not a Healer,” I said. If a negative status had inflicted Agung, I wasn’t equipped to deal with that. It could be the Blight because his health was trickling down—this was an added challenge to the quest. “We will get Agung to a Healer… right after we clear these Blighted monsters.”
“We must make haste, youngling!”
“Yes, we will make haste,” I said. “Later…” There was [Toxic Goop] to farm.
Temple Imagine an ambulance arrives, and Herald comes out. But he won't take you to the hospital just yet, because there's farming to be done. Also great to see how far their party has gone from a bambling mess when they started, to an organized fighting force. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Fifteen advanced chapters on Patreon. Thanks to all patrons, especially Cidule tier Teeneet (aka Whale)
Read my other story: REND - a psychological novel with an atypical protagonist
Join our Discord
Following the echoes of battle and pleas for help, not to mention the familiar calls for the ancestors, our party found a group of Mardukryons in distress—four village guards, their levels in the forties, trapped by the Blighted monsters at the dead end of a fairly roomy tunnel. The guards were probably mopping up some mess or investigating things when Blighted Armored Maggroths burst out of the earth behind them.
The Maggroths blocked the way with their fat bodies protected by overlapping spiked plates. Out of the holes they had dug emerged more Blighted monsters—Saurians, Glacial Haunts, and a few new faces. We could barely see the NPCs through the mass of the Blighted between our groups.
An ambush. Our party arrived just in time to save the day.
The guards held their ground against the overwhelming number of similarly leveled monsters. However, that was because only a few of the Blighted attacked them. The rest hang around, waiting for us to act, like an evil mastermind sitting on a swivel chair until the hero showed up so he could dramatically turn around.
Part of me wanted to suggest staying back and waiting for the Blighted to die from their sickness. But the village guards might be in danger if we did that.
“Armored Maggroth? Haven’t seen that kind before,” Kezo excitedly said. “And I’ve seen plenty of worms roaming the deeper tunnels.”
“I fought them in a previous quest,” I said. “I was right that I’ve already encountered new monsters but was unaware.”
“Look at that Crowbellion.” Kezo pointed at a decaying Crowbel thrice the size of the adorable normal ones. The Crowbellion crawled on all fours, its hulking back and shoulder muscles forcing it to hunch over. A wild mane wrapped around its head and neck. “An NPC is looking—”
“Enough talk!” Megan snapped, shocking us. “Let’s save the guards.” She stepped before our party and planted a [Spell Bonded Totem]. The moment the ethereal statue of a squat creature with a wide-open mouth rose from the ground, the attention of the Blighted turned to her. The Armored Maggroths snapped their steel beaks and surged forward to attack.
I galloped past Megan and placed my Totems in front of hers to catch the incoming tide of slime and hardened shells. My Totems cast [Enraging Call] taunted the Armored Maggroths, forcing them to stop and change targets. The giant worms kicked up rocks and dirt as they braked hard. Then they raised their barrel bodies, preparing to slam my Totems. With the seconds I bought, Megan cast her spells, copied half a second later by her Totem, and doused the worms with flames.
The Blighted Armored Maggroths were far from dead, living up to their name and design. Kezo blocked their way to Megan. Nitana sent different kinds of fairies and fireballs at the Blighted monsters coming up behind the Armored Maggroths. Not wanting to be the odd one out, I also attacked, using [Poison Bottle Cast] and [Gnawing Rot] to pollute the battlefield.
And the battle was joined.
The battle was joined? Sounded very medieval and knightly. I had read that expression somewhere, and it felt right to use it in this situation. “For the ancestors!” I switched to my spear and struck a pose. “Charge!” And I cast [Horde Stampede].
My call to charge fell flat again.
“No way I’m diving into those disgusting worms!” Nitana protested.
Megan raised her wand. “I agree!”
“That’s a good point,” I said. More importantly, our party composition sucked in melee combat—other than Kezo, the rest of us were squishy as a rubber ducky and had to stay out of harm’s way. We couldn’t recreate the glorious charge of the Hunter-Warriors.
“Defend for now,” Kezo said. “We don’t want to get surrounded in this small space.”
He directed us to rearrange our formation into a triangle, with him in front and Megan and Nitana behind him as the two other points. I was in the middle, supporting Kezo with [Healing Touch] and using taunting Totems to funnel the enemies to him. I also screened any monster that got past, drawing them with my own [Enraging Call] to Kezo.
“Another Crowbellion,” Kezo said, killing the beefy ape that punched him. “I was saying earlier that an NPC wants a coat made of Crowbellion fur in return for a piece of the Tattered Map. I don’t know anyone who has completed his request.”
“Sounds like an important quest,” I said. “If only we could force Bawu to spill her secrets.”
“Here’s hoping,” he replied. “Luds got an Ocadule from Bawu, didn’t he? Why hasn’t he met these creatures yet?”
“Maybe he’s keeping it a secret?” Megan said.
“Luds?” I said. “He’s going to brag to everyone if he found a new area.” Speaking of Luds, I was reminded of SpartanDonky and my deal with him. Why haven’t I thought of this earlier?
Battle logs of the Zoar Elab—that was what SpartanDonkey wanted. What would he say to evidence of never-before-seen monsters? This could be the most important find for Mardukryons thus far. The system automatically recorded boss battles. These were mere mobs. I rummaged around the settings and turned on the recording option.
Herald Stone the Great Explorer—gathering evidence of a new species and bringing it back to civilization!
Our group mowed down the Blighted, endlessly throwing themselves at us. Sickly reinforcements streamed in from Maggroths’ tunnels.
“It’s raining Essence and Gli!” Nitana celebrated. “Can we just drag this out?”
Megan asked, “Are the zombie thingies going to attack non-stop like the monkeys?”
“They’ll eventually run out,” I said. “That was what happened the last time I fought Armored Maggroths. But we can’t wait for that.” Some of the newly emerged Blighted went to attack the guards instead of us. Megan and Nitana didn’t notice because of their positions, and Kezo was occupied, bearing the brunt of the enemy waves. “We have to move now. The guards are in trouble!”
“Oh no!” Megan exclaimed. “Kezo, we can’t let them—”
“Got it!” Kezo turned himself into a mini-sun of swirling black flames. “Herald, do your thing,” he said before hurtling at the enemy frontlines, exploding as he slammed into the Armored Maggroths. Two tanky giant worms died, along with a bunch of weaker Blighted, opening space for us to advance.
My most awaited time! “Charge!” I roared. [Horde Stampede] filled the tunnel with dust and galloping sound effects. The three of us galloped to Kezo, pushing away the monsters threatening to encircle him.
We reformed our triangle setup and wiped the enemies on our left and right, drawing a new defense line. Then we waited for Kezo’s skill to refresh. Another meteor strike, another push, and we were on top of the Maggroth’s burrows. Enemies emerged inside our formation. Megan, Nitana, and I were getting hit, and the Blighted hit fucking hard!
“I’m dying!” Megan cried out. “I’m—thanks, Nitana!” An orange barrier enveloped Megan just as a [Lvl 52 Blighted Glacial Haunt]—this time, the ghost of a Nixigaunt—swung its mace at her. The barrier shattered. I distracted the Glacial Haunt with a Totem, allowing Megan to finish it. “Thanks, Herald!”
“Don’t mention—Woah!” The arrow of a Saurian Archer came out of nowhere and hit me. My shell exploded, and my already low health plummeted further, close to the number of failures in my life—not zero, but a tiny number. I should take care when to cast Totems. “Archer on me!” I called out.
Quickly weighing my options, I used [Enraging Calll] and retreated to Kezo’s spot. I couldn’t kill the Saurian Archer targeting me—I didn’t even know where it was—so I had to move because the next shot would kill me no matter what skill I used. But I didn’t just abandon my spot. I also dragged along several monsters to lessen those attacking my party mates. Then I zigzagged between Megan and Nitana, using them as human shields—or Mardukryon shields—while trying to avoid the arrows.
Megan got hit. I healed her. It also gave away the position of the Saurian Archer. Nitana was quick on the uptake, bombing the Archer before it could fire another volley. Kezo saw me coming to him. He blasted the trail of Blighted I brought with me.
Just as I thought we would stabilize, another group of Blighted came out of the holes.
“We have to get to the guards,” I said.
“Yeah, so we can save them,” said Megan.
“And also to save ourselves,” I added. “It’s better to have the wall behind us so enemies would come from only one side.”
“My skill is up!” Kezo alerted us. “Prepare for another push!”
BOOM!
Black flames consumed the Blighted in our way. Through the curtain of blue and violet lights, a narrow path presented itself. We three rushed past Kezo, who became our rear guard. I plopped two Totems, not only to delay our enemies but also to block projectiles. Megan and Nitana helped the village guards kill off the remaining Blighted behind Kezo.
“Everything’s clear here,” I said to Megan and Nitana. “Help Kezo hold off the Blighted. I’ll check the village guards.”
The four NPCs had diminished health; one was very close to death. They must’ve run out of potions. I hadn’t seen an NPC die yet. Would they become Essence and Gli too?
“We require healing, especially brother Agung,” said the NPC cradling another. The Mardukryon on his lap had only five percent health left and could barely move. Thankfully, health didn’t work the same way with players.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I can help.” I cast [Penitent Fortune Healing] and spammed [Healing Touch] on the ailing guard. Then I moved on to the others, refilling each health bar. However, Agung still struggled to get up. “What’s wrong with him?” I healed him again for good measure, but it didn’t help.
“Our deepest gratitude, youngling.” The guard beside Agung bowed—a fitting gesture to Herald Stone’s benevolence. “You have saved us. But Agung’s situation is critical. A Healer must tend him. And soon.”
As if to confirm what he said, Agung groaned in pain. Quest details popped up for Aiding the Ailing—a simple task of escorting the NPCs ‘to safety.’ I hoped ‘safety’ didn’t mean all the way back to the village. We’d have to abandon the guards if it came to that. Would Megan kick up a fuss?
“Too bad I’m not a Healer,” I said. If a negative status had inflicted Agung, I wasn’t equipped to deal with that. It could be the Blight because his health was trickling down—this was an added challenge to the quest. “We will get Agung to a Healer… right after we clear these Blighted monsters.”
“We must make haste, youngling!”
“Yes, we will make haste,” I said. “Later…” There was [Toxic Goop] to farm.
Temple Imagine an ambulance arrives, and Herald comes out. But he won't take you to the hospital just yet, because there's farming to be done. Also great to see how far their party has gone from a bambling mess when they started, to an organized fighting force. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Fifteen advanced chapters on Patreon. Thanks to all patrons, especially Cidule tier Teeneet (aka Whale)
Read my other story: REND - a psychological novel with an atypical protagonist
Join our Discord
