Chapter 109: Concealed Clash
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Chapter 109: Concealed Clash
Erani and I stood, invisible from our rings, watching as her Firebolt impacted and destroyed the first chain launcher that we wanted to destroy. That left two more in this area.
But, of course, those next two wouldn’t be as easy as the first. Because now, everyone nearby knew we were here. The Infernals were the main ones sticking around, Humans much more keen to flee from the massive Dragon that was only barely being held in place by the chains they’d set up, so they were the ones to run at us the moment the Firebolt exploded.
They didn’t know where we were exactly because of the invisibility, but they’d be able to figure it out if they tried. Invisibility didn’t protect you from leaving footprints, giving off a scent, or making noises for the keen observer to hear. So it was my job to keep them from being able to focus on finding us.
Because of the way invisibility worked, things like Firebolts would still be able to be seen, even if the caster wasn’t. That was why everyone could tell our general location – they just had to see the direction the Firebolt came from.
However, if a Spell didn’t have a visual effect in the first place, nobody would be able to tell where it came from. And I had two Spells that fit that criterion.
You have cursed Level 24 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 280.
You have cursed Level 22 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 248.
I hit the two nearest Infernals with Crippling Chill, also ready to activate Gravity Well the moment they got within range of that Spell. They paused the moment the curse hit them, glancing around wildly for their unseen attacker. At that moment, Erani and I tore off, with me following after her footsteps so we could stick together.
With my low Mana reserves, I was tempted to ask Erani to shoot at the crowd of enemies to hold them off if things got bad. But I also knew that she must’ve had pretty low Mana reserves, too. We’d both participated in that fight with the Infernals before the army arrived, and I knew she’d spent quite a lot back there. In fact, considering my abnormally high Mana/Minute, I probably had way more to spare here than she did.
“Yep, you do,” Index said. I didn’t even get startled this time at its butting in, a testament to how used I was getting to having it be there. “You’re lucky those chain launchers are fragile enough to break in one hit. Or maybe it’s that you’re lucky your girlfriend has such high-Rank Firebolts and all those Talents to make them more powerful.”
I cursed another Infernal that seemed to notice a patch of grass that got pushed aside by one of us.
You have cursed Level 27 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 220.
We were getting close to being in range to shoot another of our targets, but there were so many enemies in our way it was difficult to navigate even short distances without alerting them.
“Anyway, you might wanna hurry up with your plan here. I know you’re aware that the launchers shoot Enchanted chains, but you don’t know what they actually do. Sure, they’re artificially strong and limit movement and all that, but they also make the monster they’re attached to more vulnerable to damage over time. So the longer they’re attached to your good ole pal Astintash, the faster they’ll be able to kill it. You’re probably on a tighter time schedule than you realize.”
Shit! I needed to let Erani know about that compilation and get her to move more quickly. But we were too close to the enemies for me to talk without alerting everyone.
They were still trying to search around the area they’d seen Erani’s Firebolt came from, which we were fleeing from, but the Infernals weren’t stupid. Well, they weren’t exactly smart, but I had no doubt they’d realize we were moving around. And the moment they found a trail of footprints leading to us, it wouldn’t take much longer for them to find us.
And speaking of footprints, I tried my best to continue keeping track of where Erani was, but it was getting harder and harder as time passed. I still needed to find some way to urge her to hurry because of what Index had told me. Part of me was irritated it hadn’t told me before we got to the point where we needed to be silent, but the other part knew it was probably under some seriously heavy limits by the System.
I’d realized at this point that the System wasn’t just choicey about what it allowed Index to tell me, but also when. It seemed to determine specific points at which the information provided was within whatever ‘allowed’ level of helpfulness it internally kept track of, and only allow me to hear that information then. It could probably tell what I’d consider “helpful” from that damned log.
But still, free information was a lot better than nothing. I reached out, trying to grasp Erani’s arm as some sort of signal that we needed to hurry more than we thought, and after a few failed tries I managed to touch her. I felt her jump under my sudden touch, but after she seemed to realize it was me, she moved closer.
“What is it?” She whispered as we continued to move around the alert soldiers, so quiet I could barely hear her.
“We need to hurry,” I murmured. “Complications.”
I felt her shift under my touch as though she were glancing around herself. “Can’t move much faster without drawing attention.”
The Ray left my hand, a bright light flashed, and as expected, the now-weakened and damaged Infernal fell back and away from me, leaving me safe to continue fleeing and serving as a distraction.
But the moment that happened, I saw a hint of movement from the two figures. And in that second of time, I figured out who the two of those people were. It was the Archer and the axe-wielder – Asmo and the other royal guard. They’d been standing and watching. And in the next second, I figured out what the hint of movement from Asmo had been.
You have been shot. 56 damage.
Your Health is 177.
An arrow flew true through the air and straight into me. It was only because of my heightened reflexes from Expedite and the moment’s warning I’d gotten from the long range that I was able to slightly twist my body and allow the arrow to only slice along my stomach.
But still, the arrows shot from a high-Level Archer would deal significant damage no matter where they hit you. And, no matter how much damage anything did, it was still damning to me.
Invisibility has been lifted due to taking damage. You are no longer under the effects of invisibility.
The Infernals charged at me with renewed ferocity now that I was fully visible to them and I scrambled to move around the mountain face to avoid being in direct line of sight of that Archer, Asmo. Damned woman had gotten a clear shot on me from that far away? All from a single shot of Ray of Frost?! I knew her senses would’ve been enhanced from her Stats and Talents, but that was ridiculous.
With this many enemies chasing after me, now that I’d lost my main advantage slowing their pursuit down, they quickly began gaining on me. And unlike when I just had to fight off one or two at a time that happened to get close, this time it was all several-dozen of them at once. No way a few Rays of Frost could push them off.
So I activated Expedite on myself, lowering my Mana to 71 and stacking with the first instance of the Spell to raise my Dexterity to a blistering 81. And then I cast it on myself again, further increasing my Dexterity to 112. My legs were moving faster than I thought they could, taking my body places more quickly than I could think.
I acted purely on lightning-fast reflex, instinctively climbing up a cliff face and putting a great deal of distance between me and the Infernals. With three stacks of Expedite on me, I easily outpaced their clumsy movements.
But still, it took every drop of effort and focus to avoid slipping up as I moved. I wasn’t used to this level of Dexterity, and I had to constantly readjust my movements mid-step to keep myself from tripping and falling. My entire mind was dedicated to making sure I could move forward one more pace, then to move the next, then the next, blocking out everything but that.
After a few seconds, that ended as my first stack of Expedite wore off, and my Dexterity fell to a more manageable level. But still, just those five or ten seconds put a massive amount of distance between us. I kept running, now fully out of sight of Asmo from the rock face I’d put between us, and I could relax just a bit.
And I opened my senses back up to the world just in time to hear the third and final snap.
Erani seemed to have destroyed the last chain launcher, and I looked back to see Astintash shaking that Enchanted shackle from its body. Now with much of its strength returned, it shook violently, and...
Snap, snap, snap.
The rest of the chains broke off, too. It flapped its wings dramatically, as if trying to sear its imposing figure into the eyes of everyone to see its renewed glory.
And just as I thought it’d take to the skies, ready to sweep across the battlefield and burn every last soldier around to a crisp, it did something unexpected.
It lifted up a hand, claws extended – was it about to take a swipe at something?
But no, it lowered the claw gently to the ground – toward where the Dryad was standing, and touched her lightly on the forehead. It was strikingly similar to when the Faerie Queene paid her Tribute, back when she was just a Nymph.
Wait. Really?!
The Dragon was giving the Dryad a Tribute. That was actually what they’d been bargaining for. I’d considered the concept, but didn’t think she would actually be able to convince it to do that for her. But apparently, they’d worked out a deal while I fought.
When she’d gone from a Nymph to a Dryad, I still remembered the intense increase in power she’d gone through. Now, she was getting a Tribute from a fucking Dragon.
She fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the physical changes onset by the Tribute began to take place. In just a second, she’d get to her feet, a completely different species empowered by Astintash’s Tribute.
Just what would those changes be?
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Chapter 109: Concealed Clash
Erani and I stood, invisible from our rings, watching as her Firebolt impacted and destroyed the first chain launcher that we wanted to destroy. That left two more in this area.
But, of course, those next two wouldn’t be as easy as the first. Because now, everyone nearby knew we were here. The Infernals were the main ones sticking around, Humans much more keen to flee from the massive Dragon that was only barely being held in place by the chains they’d set up, so they were the ones to run at us the moment the Firebolt exploded.
They didn’t know where we were exactly because of the invisibility, but they’d be able to figure it out if they tried. Invisibility didn’t protect you from leaving footprints, giving off a scent, or making noises for the keen observer to hear. So it was my job to keep them from being able to focus on finding us.
Because of the way invisibility worked, things like Firebolts would still be able to be seen, even if the caster wasn’t. That was why everyone could tell our general location – they just had to see the direction the Firebolt came from.
However, if a Spell didn’t have a visual effect in the first place, nobody would be able to tell where it came from. And I had two Spells that fit that criterion.
You have cursed Level 24 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 280.
You have cursed Level 22 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 248.
I hit the two nearest Infernals with Crippling Chill, also ready to activate Gravity Well the moment they got within range of that Spell. They paused the moment the curse hit them, glancing around wildly for their unseen attacker. At that moment, Erani and I tore off, with me following after her footsteps so we could stick together.
With my low Mana reserves, I was tempted to ask Erani to shoot at the crowd of enemies to hold them off if things got bad. But I also knew that she must’ve had pretty low Mana reserves, too. We’d both participated in that fight with the Infernals before the army arrived, and I knew she’d spent quite a lot back there. In fact, considering my abnormally high Mana/Minute, I probably had way more to spare here than she did.
“Yep, you do,” Index said. I didn’t even get startled this time at its butting in, a testament to how used I was getting to having it be there. “You’re lucky those chain launchers are fragile enough to break in one hit. Or maybe it’s that you’re lucky your girlfriend has such high-Rank Firebolts and all those Talents to make them more powerful.”
I cursed another Infernal that seemed to notice a patch of grass that got pushed aside by one of us.
You have cursed Level 27 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.
31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 220.
We were getting close to being in range to shoot another of our targets, but there were so many enemies in our way it was difficult to navigate even short distances without alerting them.
“Anyway, you might wanna hurry up with your plan here. I know you’re aware that the launchers shoot Enchanted chains, but you don’t know what they actually do. Sure, they’re artificially strong and limit movement and all that, but they also make the monster they’re attached to more vulnerable to damage over time. So the longer they’re attached to your good ole pal Astintash, the faster they’ll be able to kill it. You’re probably on a tighter time schedule than you realize.”
Shit! I needed to let Erani know about that compilation and get her to move more quickly. But we were too close to the enemies for me to talk without alerting everyone.
They were still trying to search around the area they’d seen Erani’s Firebolt came from, which we were fleeing from, but the Infernals weren’t stupid. Well, they weren’t exactly smart, but I had no doubt they’d realize we were moving around. And the moment they found a trail of footprints leading to us, it wouldn’t take much longer for them to find us.
And speaking of footprints, I tried my best to continue keeping track of where Erani was, but it was getting harder and harder as time passed. I still needed to find some way to urge her to hurry because of what Index had told me. Part of me was irritated it hadn’t told me before we got to the point where we needed to be silent, but the other part knew it was probably under some seriously heavy limits by the System.
I’d realized at this point that the System wasn’t just choicey about what it allowed Index to tell me, but also when. It seemed to determine specific points at which the information provided was within whatever ‘allowed’ level of helpfulness it internally kept track of, and only allow me to hear that information then. It could probably tell what I’d consider “helpful” from that damned log.
But still, free information was a lot better than nothing. I reached out, trying to grasp Erani’s arm as some sort of signal that we needed to hurry more than we thought, and after a few failed tries I managed to touch her. I felt her jump under my sudden touch, but after she seemed to realize it was me, she moved closer.
“What is it?” She whispered as we continued to move around the alert soldiers, so quiet I could barely hear her.
“We need to hurry,” I murmured. “Complications.”
I felt her shift under my touch as though she were glancing around herself. “Can’t move much faster without drawing attention.”
The Ray left my hand, a bright light flashed, and as expected, the now-weakened and damaged Infernal fell back and away from me, leaving me safe to continue fleeing and serving as a distraction.
But the moment that happened, I saw a hint of movement from the two figures. And in that second of time, I figured out who the two of those people were. It was the Archer and the axe-wielder – Asmo and the other royal guard. They’d been standing and watching. And in the next second, I figured out what the hint of movement from Asmo had been.
You have been shot. 56 damage.
Your Health is 177.
An arrow flew true through the air and straight into me. It was only because of my heightened reflexes from Expedite and the moment’s warning I’d gotten from the long range that I was able to slightly twist my body and allow the arrow to only slice along my stomach.
But still, the arrows shot from a high-Level Archer would deal significant damage no matter where they hit you. And, no matter how much damage anything did, it was still damning to me.
Invisibility has been lifted due to taking damage. You are no longer under the effects of invisibility.
The Infernals charged at me with renewed ferocity now that I was fully visible to them and I scrambled to move around the mountain face to avoid being in direct line of sight of that Archer, Asmo. Damned woman had gotten a clear shot on me from that far away? All from a single shot of Ray of Frost?! I knew her senses would’ve been enhanced from her Stats and Talents, but that was ridiculous.
With this many enemies chasing after me, now that I’d lost my main advantage slowing their pursuit down, they quickly began gaining on me. And unlike when I just had to fight off one or two at a time that happened to get close, this time it was all several-dozen of them at once. No way a few Rays of Frost could push them off.
So I activated Expedite on myself, lowering my Mana to 71 and stacking with the first instance of the Spell to raise my Dexterity to a blistering 81. And then I cast it on myself again, further increasing my Dexterity to 112. My legs were moving faster than I thought they could, taking my body places more quickly than I could think.
I acted purely on lightning-fast reflex, instinctively climbing up a cliff face and putting a great deal of distance between me and the Infernals. With three stacks of Expedite on me, I easily outpaced their clumsy movements.
But still, it took every drop of effort and focus to avoid slipping up as I moved. I wasn’t used to this level of Dexterity, and I had to constantly readjust my movements mid-step to keep myself from tripping and falling. My entire mind was dedicated to making sure I could move forward one more pace, then to move the next, then the next, blocking out everything but that.
After a few seconds, that ended as my first stack of Expedite wore off, and my Dexterity fell to a more manageable level. But still, just those five or ten seconds put a massive amount of distance between us. I kept running, now fully out of sight of Asmo from the rock face I’d put between us, and I could relax just a bit.
And I opened my senses back up to the world just in time to hear the third and final snap.
Erani seemed to have destroyed the last chain launcher, and I looked back to see Astintash shaking that Enchanted shackle from its body. Now with much of its strength returned, it shook violently, and...
Snap, snap, snap.
The rest of the chains broke off, too. It flapped its wings dramatically, as if trying to sear its imposing figure into the eyes of everyone to see its renewed glory.
And just as I thought it’d take to the skies, ready to sweep across the battlefield and burn every last soldier around to a crisp, it did something unexpected.
It lifted up a hand, claws extended – was it about to take a swipe at something?
But no, it lowered the claw gently to the ground – toward where the Dryad was standing, and touched her lightly on the forehead. It was strikingly similar to when the Faerie Queene paid her Tribute, back when she was just a Nymph.
Wait. Really?!
The Dragon was giving the Dryad a Tribute. That was actually what they’d been bargaining for. I’d considered the concept, but didn’t think she would actually be able to convince it to do that for her. But apparently, they’d worked out a deal while I fought.
When she’d gone from a Nymph to a Dryad, I still remembered the intense increase in power she’d gone through. Now, she was getting a Tribute from a fucking Dragon.
She fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the physical changes onset by the Tribute began to take place. In just a second, she’d get to her feet, a completely different species empowered by Astintash’s Tribute.
Just what would those changes be?
Chapter 109: Concealed ClashErani and I stood, invisible from our rings, watching as her Firebolt impacted and destroyed the first chain launcher that we wanted to destroy. That left two more in this area.But, of course, those next two wouldn't be as easy as the first. Because now, everyone nearby knew we were here. The Infernals were the main ones sticking around, Humans much more keen to flee from the massive Dragon that was only barely being held in place by the chains they'd set up, so they were the ones to run at us the moment the Firebolt exploded.They didn't know where we were exactly because of the invisibility, but they'd be able to figure it out if they tried. Invisibility didn't protect you from leaving footprints, giving off a scent, or making noises for the keen observer to hear. So it was my job to keep them from being able to focus on finding us.Because of the way invisibility worked, things like Firebolts would still be able to be seen, even if the caster wasn't. That was why everyone could tell our general location they just had to see the direction the Firebolt came from.However, if a Spell didn't have a visual effect in the first place, nobody would be able to tell where it came from. And I had two Spells that fit that criterion.You have cursed Level 24 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 280.You have cursed Level 22 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 248.I hit the two nearest Infernals with Crippling Chill, also ready to activate Gravity Well the moment they got within range of that Spell. They paused the moment the curse hit them, glancing around wildly for their unseen attacker. At that moment, Erani and I tore off, with me following after her footsteps so we could stick together. With my low Mana reserves, I was tempted to ask Erani to shoot at the crowd of enemies to hold them off if things got bad. But I also knew that she must've had pretty low Mana reserves, too. We'd both participated in that fight with the Infernals before the army arrived, and I knew she'd spent quite a lot back there. In fact, considering my abnormally high Mana/Minute, I probably had way more to spare here than she did.Yep, you do, Index said. I didn't even get startled this time at its butting in, a testament to how used I was getting to having it be there. You're lucky those chain launchers are fragile enough to break in one hit. Or maybe it's that you're lucky your girlfriend has such high-Rank Firebolts and all those Talents to make them more powerful.I cursed another Infernal that seemed to notice a patch of grass that got pushed aside by one of us.You have cursed Level 27 Infernal with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 7.76 Health and 6.21 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 15.5.31.8 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 220.We were getting close to being in range to shoot another of our targets, but there were so many enemies in our way it was difficult to navigate even short distances without alerting them.Anyway, you might wanna hurry up with your plan here. I know you're aware that the launchers shoot Enchanted chains, but you don't know what they actually do. Sure, they're artificially strong and limit movement and all that, but they also make the monster they're attached to more vulnerable to damage over time. So the longer they're attached to your good ole pal Astintash, the faster they'll be able to kill it. You're probably on a tighter time schedule than you realize.Shit! I needed to let Erani know about that compilation and get her to move more quickly. But we were too close to the enemies for me to talk without alerting everyone. They were still trying to search around the area they'd seen Erani's Firebolt came from, which we were fleeing from, but the Infernals weren't stupid. Well, they weren't exactly smart, but I had no doubt they'd realize we were moving around. And the moment they found a trail of footprints leading to us, it wouldn't take much longer for them to find us.And speaking of footprints, I tried my best to continue keeping track of where Erani was, but it was getting harder and harder as time passed. I still needed to find some way to urge her to hurry because of what Index had told me. Part of me was irritated it hadn't told me before we got to the point where we needed to be silent, but the other part knew it was probably under some seriously heavy limits by the System.I'd realized at this point that the System wasn't just choicey about what it allowed Index to tell me, but also when. It seemed to determine specific points at which the information provided was within whatever allowed' level of helpfulness it internally kept track of, and only allow me to hear that information then. It could probably tell what I'd consider helpful from that damned log.But still, free information was a lot better than nothing. I reached out, trying to grasp Erani's arm as some sort of signal that we needed to hurry more than we thought, and after a few failed tries I managed to touch her. I felt her jump under my sudden touch, but after she seemed to realize it was me, she moved closer.What is it? She whispered as we continued to move around the alert soldiers, so quiet I could barely hear her. We need to hurry, I murmured. Complications.I felt her shift under my touch as though she were glancing around herself. Can't move much faster without drawing attention.The Ray left my hand, a bright light flashed, and as expected, the now-weakened and damaged Infernal fell back and away from me, leaving me safe to continue fleeing and serving as a distraction. But the moment that happened, I saw a hint of movement from the two figures. And in that second of time, I figured out who the two of those people were. It was the Archer and the axe-wielder Asmo and the other royal guard. They'd been standing and watching. And in the next second, I figured out what the hint of movement from Asmo had been.You have been shot. 56 damage.Your Health is 177.An arrow flew true through the air and straight into me. It was only because of my heightened reflexes from Expedite and the moment's warning I'd gotten from the long range that I was able to slightly twist my body and allow the arrow to only slice along my stomach.But still, the arrows shot from a high-Level Archer would deal significant damage no matter where they hit you. And, no matter how much damage anything did, it was still damning to me.Invisibility has been lifted due to taking damage. You are no longer under the effects of invisibility.The Infernals charged at me with renewed ferocity now that I was fully visible to them and I scrambled to move around the mountain face to avoid being in direct line of sight of that Archer, Asmo. Damned woman had gotten a clear shot on me from that far away? All from a single shot of Ray of Frost?! I knew her senses would've been enhanced from her Stats and Talents, but that was ridiculous.With this many enemies chasing after me, now that I'd lost my main advantage slowing their pursuit down, they quickly began gaining on me. And unlike when I just had to fight off one or two at a time that happened to get close, this time it was all several-dozen of them at once. No way a few Rays of Frost could push them off.So I activated Expedite on myself, lowering my Mana to 71 and stacking with the first instance of the Spell to raise my Dexterity to a blistering 81. And then I cast it on myself again, further increasing my Dexterity to 112. My legs were moving faster than I thought they could, taking my body places more quickly than I could think. I acted purely on lightning-fast reflex, instinctively climbing up a cliff face and putting a great deal of distance between me and the Infernals. With three stacks of Expedite on me, I easily outpaced their clumsy movements. But still, it took every drop of effort and focus to avoid slipping up as I moved. I wasn't used to this level of Dexterity, and I had to constantly readjust my movements mid-step to keep myself from tripping and falling. My entire mind was dedicated to making sure I could move forward one more pace, then to move the next, then the next, blocking out everything but that.After a few seconds, that ended as my first stack of Expedite wore off, and my Dexterity fell to a more manageable level. But still, just those five or ten seconds put a massive amount of distance between us. I kept running, now fully out of sight of Asmo from the rock face I'd put between us, and I could relax just a bit.And I opened my senses back up to the world just in time to hear the third and final snap.Erani seemed to have destroyed the last chain launcher, and I looked back to see Astintash shaking that Enchanted shackle from its body. Now with much of its strength returned, it shook violently, and...Snap, snap, snap.The rest of the chains broke off, too. It flapped its wings dramatically, as if trying to sear its imposing figure into the eyes of everyone to see its renewed glory.And just as I thought it'd take to the skies, ready to sweep across the battlefield and burn every last soldier around to a crisp, it did something unexpected.It lifted up a hand, claws extended was it about to take a swipe at something?But no, it lowered the claw gently to the ground toward where the Dryad was standing, and touched her lightly on the forehead. It was strikingly similar to when the Faerie Queene paid her Tribute, back when she was just a Nymph.Wait. Really?!The Dragon was giving the Dryad a Tribute. That was actually what they'd been bargaining for. I'd considered the concept, but didn't think she would actually be able to convince it to do that for her. But apparently, they'd worked out a deal while I fought.When she'd gone from a Nymph to a Dryad, I still remembered the intense increase in power she'd gone through. Now, she was getting a Tribute from a fucking Dragon.She fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the physical changes onset by the Tribute began to take place. In just a second, she'd get to her feet, a completely different species empowered by Astintash's Tribute.Just what would those changes be?
