The Path of Ascension

Team Bucket cheated. Slightly.

They left the neutral city before their healing cooldown was technically over. They just walked out the front gate and flew to where they needed to go.

It was skirting the rules, if not outright breaking them. Anyone with a healing cooldown was to remain in the neutral city for safety, but with their contribution to the city defense, they were sure that half a dozen people were ready and waiting to kill them as soon as they were fair game.

Watching Annie have a conniption as she tried to assassin-proof their suite had been amusing, until they realized the implications. Subterfuge was the better part of valor, so they slipped out of the city the night before their designated time.

After hearing Matt’s plan, The Prince and Juni were more than happy to have them out and about. So, the team donned some half-baked disguises, made their exit, and were currently flying through the night.

Matt glanced at Aster and held back a sigh. His bond had gotten a custom-ordered flying device with a few interesting features. It was a cloud that radiated cold, which would help to keep her comfortable during warm summer nights. He liked that idea. He also liked that her cloud could compress into a snowflake brooch that she could clip to her collar.

The only downside was that the flying device distinctively looked like a scoop of ice cream, and apparently faintly tasted like it. His bond spent more time trying to nibble on her cloud than fly straight. After watching her fly in a way that would make a drunk seem like a reasonable driver, he requested access to link his and Liz’s AIs to the flying dessert. It was just easier for everyone to have it fly in formation between them while the fox played around.

After an hour of circling while looking for pursuers, everyone gathered within a foot of Matt’s flying sword and under an air shield, then hooked themselves up. Once everyone was in position, Matt flew them as high into the atmosphere as he could before breathing became a problem.

The Tier 7 sword was geared for high performance over efficiency, so it was faster than the average Tier 7 flying device, even when carrying everyone in their team. Between the air repulsion shield and the decreasing air resistance as they climbed, the team quickly reached their desired altitude and moved from there. After two hours, they stopped above a barren patch of low mountains hidden in a cloudbank.

After halting, they dug through dozens of spatially expanded bags to find the right one. Within the desired pack were the parts to their cradle, which was carefully assembled midair. Once it was finished and double checked, Matt flew his sword into a specially-made harness, which held the contraption aloft, and dropped down to the platform suspended underneath the sword. It swayed uncomfortably on impact. After a few quality checks, the others quickly affixed the short walls that would provide some measure of protection for the ten by ten platform.

As everyone else hopped on, Matt swished his hands in the water vapor that made up the cloud.

“Home sweet home.”

Emily was bundled up in winter gear and glaring at him. “Put up the barrier, you dick. It's... It's freezing for everyone else here.”

Matt noted their foggy breath mingling with the cloud, and activated the air barrier embedded in the platform. It would keep the cold out, and with the heater that Liz was already setting up, it would get more comfortable shortly.

Everyone else besides himself and Aster was huddling up. He brought out one of the two reprogrammed golem harvesters , linked it to the flying sword, and set it to hover above the cloud as a lookout. They could keep hidden, and their automated sentry would warn them if their cloud cover was going to dissipate.

Since the temperature was only tolerable to Matt and Aster, he started setting up the two tents that they had. He and Conor needed to share the twin's smaller, two-man tent, much to their consternation. The tent was suitable for the two shorter women, but it was downright cramped for even one of the two men. They both had debated buying another tent, but ultimately, they couldn't risk raising any suspicions about their plan.

Instead, they agreed to try ‘hot bunking’ the tent by sleeping at different times and swapping in and out. To that effect, they volunteered to take opposite watch shifts as much as possible.

After everything was ready, Matt brought out a utility belt filled with mana stones, ensured they were all full, and hung the belt under the flying sword from one of the cables. Someone on watch would have to refill the sword with 200 mana every hour, and the repurposed harvesters every two hours. Each pouch on the belt contained enough mana stones for one refill. He started the timer and sent them to everyone else.

He felt half tempted to try making a rift on the platform, but he didn't want to give that ability away, even to his team. Plus, it would create a spotlight on their hidden base for all to sense, defeating the purpose of all their preparation.

Aster was prancing around and pouncing off the platform, only to be caught by her new cloud. She then raced around, trying to munch on the clouds surrounding them. Seeing that she was keeping herself preoccupied, Matt slid over to the others’ huddle and pulled out a camping chair.

“How’s everybody doing now?”

Chattering teeth were the only answer he got back, until Conor made the effort to flip him the finger with a shaky hand. Matt laughed and sat back, waiting for the little area to warm up. Finally, the platform reached a bearable temperature, and the rest of the group started to perk up.

Matt asked, “Everyone gonna be ready tomorrow? Skills absorbed and new items checked? Let's go over our build changes so we can all be prepared.”

They’d been through this already, but Matt wanted to double check that the team was on the same page. Annie answered first, “Nothing left for me to absorb. My trainer made me buy both [Lunge] and [Piercing Stab], which was absurdly expensive, even for a Tier 14 skill.”

Still rubbing his arms, Conor spoke up. “[Lunge]? Seems a bit weird.”

Annie rolled her eyes while cupping her hands over her warm breath. “That's what I said. I also ate those words. It's one of the better movement skills available for stealthier builds at our Tier. You know, before proper phasing and short-range teleports become a thing.”

Everyone nodded at that and looked past Annie, right at Emily.

“I picked up [Earth Spike] and a new staff that emptied out the rest of my points. This baby heavily reduces mana cost, the speed at which I can cast, and the strain on my spirit from casting such strong spells. All of which will let me hit harder, faster, and longer. I also got some new armor, but that was relatively cheap.”

Matt took his turn next. “I got [Flamethrower] and new under armor to fit under my Talent armor. Other than that, not much changed.”

A still shivering, Liz still glared at Matt in his [Cracked Phantom Armor] and chattered out a terse explanation. “[Crystal Armor] and [Torch Sprites]. The armor is already absorbed. And tested. It worked as I thought, and I’ve got [Blood Crystal Armor] now. It gives me some much-needed defense. [Torch Sprites] hits my inner spirit tomorrow. We’ll see how my Talent changes it then. I’m glad they don’t need to go to the core. Just inner spirit. Saved a day on each.”

Matt had been present when [Crystal Armor] had reached her inner spirit, and she stopped cycling mana into the skill, causing it to settle into its new home. Once the skill came to a rest in her spirit, Liz received an automated message from the Emperor about the skill’s effects. These messages were incredibly convenient, as they let her skip the painstaking process of carefully testing the skill and getting readouts of the new effects. Some skills could be dangerous to use after being converted with Liz’s Talent. They’d yet to stumble on any truly harmful skills, but the possibility was always out there.

Skills were easily examined as skill shards, but once they entered the cultivator's spirit, it was exponentially more difficult to analyze the skills with the testing machines. With the equipment available to them, it was nearly impossible. It meant that Liz would have needed to meticulously test the skill and have broad preparations ready to counter any potential side effects. Matt was still worried. If any new skill targeted the blood inside her, she might not live through the adverse effects.

That was why Matt begged Melinda to be on hand during Liz’s first use of [Blood Crystal Armor]. Thankfully, everything worked exactly as the message had said, and a reddish-gold armor that was half crystal and half-blood grew around her. Unlike with the original [Crystal Armor], she was even able to individually dissipate any damaged portions of the armor, and perfectly reform them with blood around her. It completely circumvented the usual drawback of needing to recast the skill from scratch when it was damaged.

No one was sure why the armor's color was tinted gold, but they speculated that it might be a reaction between the crystal and the Blood Iron she’d absorbed, possibly creating iron pyrite, better known as fools gold with the mix of natural treasure and skill. Matt endlessly teased her about the double princess having golden armor, causing Liz to flush and give him the silent treatment for a good ten minutes to Melinda’s amusement.

“My other skill will be ready by tomorrow morning.” She finished by scowling at Matt, “You’re a terrible boyfriend. I can't even steal your warmth.”

Conor forced out through gritted teeth, “[Blade Arena]. [Parry]. New shield.”

Since they had all trained with the man and his new skills, it was enough.

Seeing that Aster was still chasing the cloud cover, Matt spoke for her. “Aster got [Ice Pillars], which will give us some terrain manipulation powers.”

He refused to talk about her ice cream maker. Everyone already knew about it, as she had sat in front of it hour after hour, eating bite after bite of ice cream until she ran out of milk.

They sat around for an hour or two, and finally, it was just him and Annie left awake. They had the first watch, and it was finally warm enough for Matt to deactivate his armor.

He asked, “What was it like training with the army?”

“Ugh. It was awful. The instructor they had was everything I could have asked for and more, but he was incredibly demanding.” She smiled into the cloud cover. “I already booked more training with him in another two weeks. I can't pass this chance up. He refused to tell me his Tier or really anything about himself. Even his name. He just told me to figure it out myself. But I bet he's Tier 30 at least. He's a ghost. The scariest thing is, he doesn't even have a Talent for stealth. He did show me that much. His Talent is just that armor protects him more completely.”

Matt raised his eyebrows and said, “Seems like a weird Talent to go stealthy with.”

“That's what I said. He proved his point, though. He's making me run the assassination and stealth operations without my Talent. It's hard, and I thought it was impossible until he limited himself to half my cultivation and ran all of them perfectly.” Annie laughed. “I said he was cheating, so he had me devise a custom scenario for him to run. He’s good. Really good. But he's also the biggest hardass I’ve ever come across. The man’s standards aren't just high, they’re damn near impossible. Still, he's a good teacher, and he actually explains what I'm doing wrong.”

Matt thought about who he could get training with while he had the army personnel around. Even with his management team coming, he doubted it would come with free training from experts. The cost was sure to be heavy, either in Empire Contribution Points or raw currency. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to get some instruction earlier with the relatively easy to earn war points.

They continued chatting as their shift passed without incident.

The next morning, they put their belongings away and headed towards their first target. As they hovered at the edge of the anti-flying formation two miles up, everyone looked to Matt.

This would be suicidally reckless for anyone but him. His AI had run the simulations half a dozen times, but he still felt anxious to jump without his flying sword to catch him. Even having successfully executed the same stunt at Tier 5, his hesitation wasn’t lessened.

After his team landed and crept into position at the edge of the formation, Matt checked his AI and rolled off his sword, hurtling to the ground.

***

Eric walked his post with the usual boredom that came with long periods of repetition. His squad was deep in Queendom territory and guarding a Tier 6 gold mine. It was a functional mine and the metal was actually there. With the Kingdom having taken over a lot of forts that their side was trying to reclaim, he was left standing guard as a Tier 6.

It wasn't beneath him; it was actually a good example to set for the soldiers under him. But it was dull.

As he was turning to inspect the outer perimeter, he prepared to ask Janet if she had seen anything out of the ordinary. But suddenly, a loud boom accompanied by a wave of dust rushed out and covered him.

When the air finally cleared enough for him to see, there was a recognizable glowing figure before him that he had only heard rumors about. He never dreamed he’d ever cross paths with the real thing. The armored monster rose from the cracked paving stones and sprinted towards the gate.

Realizing what he was going to do Eric screamed, “Stop him!”

He put actions to words and charged. He didn’t expect to survive, but the punishment for not trying would be far worse than a traumatic trip to the hospital.

An arrow bounced off the man as he brought a glowing sword down on the crossbar barring the door shut. The strike exploded outward in a flash of blue light.

Shrapnel peppered his face as the man parried his sword. Eric sidestepped and used the momentum to sweep low at the man's forward leg.

His Tier 7 blade just scraped along the armor, but that didn’t stop him from ducking a return strike and backstepping.

Eric was about to re-engage when his world became awash with flame. He screamed from the pain, sucking fire into his lungs. Soon everything was black.

***

Matt kicked at the crossbar still holding the door shut while he bathed the area in front of him in an inferno.

[Flamethrower] was traditionally a spell that cost a minimum of 1 MPS, but he had modified the skill when it entered his spirit. He tweaked it to accept more mana throughput, rather than lowering the initial cost like most people did. He was currently pushing 15 MPS in the skill, which was the maximum it could handle before destabilizing.

That was more than enough.

The skill started as a cone of fire thick as his fist, and expanded to a circle seven feet in diameter at the maximum effective range of thirty feet. He would need to narrow the aperture of the initial flame to increase the range further, but that wasn't what he needed right now. The door just needed to be opened long enough for his team to join him.

Soon, a message came in stating that they were at the door, so he cut the mana flow to the skill and let the flames dissipate. The stones around him glowed red hot. Matt cast a quick [Hail] to lower the temperature of the gateway. Due to the rapid cooling, the ice popped and bounced, but Matt raced out of the interior front gate to rush the exterior door. The stonework could be heard cracking under the thermal shock, but it didn't sound dangerously bad, so he ignored it.

His team followed him up noisily enough for him to tell they were there. Judging by the loud cracks followed by screams, he assumed Annie was using her crossbow to good effect.. Conor quickly came up alongside him, and together they battered down the door. The six of them rushed the fort, ignoring the defenders in front of them. Instead they rushed to the stairs leading down to the mine. Half the team secured the stairs while the other half went below.

In all of thirty seconds, they found the storage bag for the Tier 6 gold that was mined here.

After checking the room-sized bag and seeing that it was more than three-quarters full, Matt shouted, “Got it! Move!”

With that, they charged back out of the fort, only returning fire enough to avoid being pinned down. When they reached the edge of the anti-flying formation, everyone mounted their flying devices and rocketed high into the sky, away from the now bustling fort.

Matt laughed over their channel as they celebrated their successful raid. This deep in enemy territory, they were basically attacking unprepared defenders. It was only meant to be a smash and grab, but they had made out like bandits.

We sort of are bandits, now that I think about it.

The thought amused Matt enough. When they stopped to rest high amid clouds, he was still chuckling.

“Let's get our bearings and hit our second location.” Annie sounded as excited as he was, and bobbed in the air.

Clustering around Matt, they used his faster sword and kept warm in the air bubble as they rose to three miles above the ground. The lower air pressure and resistance only allowed them to soar even faster. The next target, a Tier 6 iron mine, was a hundred miles away. They would be in place to raid it in about an hour.

This mine wasn't directly connected to the main fort, which was good news. The fort was large, but the mine was a quarter of a mile away, on the side of a nearby gully.

They repeated their smash and grab tactic, which was made easier by the fort’s more remote location. Team Bucket was in and out in under two minutes, hauling an incredibly heavy bag of iron slung over Conor’s back.

Their third target that day was a Tier 6 titanium mine. The mine wasn’t actually real, as the element could rarely be found in a pure state in nature. Instead, the army planted a machine in the location that provided titanium chunks every hour to those holding the ‘mine’ long enough.

Of the three locations they’d chosen, this was the most challenging to assault. This raid required more than a simple smash and grab. But the prize would be worth it, if they could hold the point long enough to qualify as holding it.

Watching from the air, they scouted the fake mine and the stone wall around it, as well as the fifteen guards overseeing it.

It sat well inside the anti-flying formation, and they didn't have a well-hidden path to take advantage of like last time. The lookouts would spot them from nearly half a mile away, and Matt suspected the large fort would be much quicker to respond than the others.

Emily asked, “Should we maybe wait for night? We could probably get a lot closer to the walls that way.”

Annie answered before anyone else could. “If it's anything like the last place we hit, that won't be possible. They’ll have light runes to set up. This area will probably look like it did at midday, all night long.”

Liz pointed to a section of the wall, which their AIs highlighted in their vision. “I can probably vault over the wall in my full golem form, but that means I'll be alone with Aster on the inside.”

Matt asked, “Think you could carry us up with your blood?”

Liz hesitantly nodded. “If I have a few seconds to concentrate, yes. But I don't think I’ll get it.”

Annie offered, “I think I can get over the wall unseen. It's only ten feet up, but I don't know if being on my own will be enough to count as a steal.”

Emily shrugged. “If you can get in, you could open the door for us if nothing else. That would make it a lot easier for us if we need to rush in hard.”

Matt worried she might not be able to slip in with patrols walking the wall, but he had to trust his teammate to do her job. So, after getting a few reassurances, he nodded his approval to her.

They quietly landed, and Annie started slinking to the larger simulated mine. The five of them readied themselves to rush out to her defense. But after two nerve-wracking hours, Annie popped out of invisibility on the other side of a slight rise.

In her hand was a glass-like slate a little larger than her palm, and waved it at them.

“The Army watcher slipped it into my hand after I sat next to the miner simulator for half an hour. Some kind of stealth penalty, I think.” She shook her hand in anger, “Which is a crock of bullshit, but I worked it out. Nine days worth of the mine's output, right here.” She wiggled the slate with a cocky grin.

Matt had to give it to her, she had earned the right to brag.

Aster hopped into her arms and received a kiss, but the fox was more interested in the clear material than receiving adoration. Annie deflated a bit at that, but they quickly snuck away and took to the sky, with no one the wiser for their theft.

None of them wanted to stick around, so they flew to the nearest Kingdom city to exchange their loot for half of its value. They earned a little more than fourteen thousand points apiece.

With jubilation, they moved back into a cloud for the evening and glided back over to the Queendom territory. They planned to repeatedly raid overly full mines and strategic resource locations.

They never held a location for more than necessary, but the increased defense that they encountered each time was a good sign that they were forcing the Queendom to stay on the defensive. To protect their mines, they had no choice but to redirect troops recapturing the many forts they had recently lost.

After four days, incredible resistance awaited them at every outpost. For the entire fourth day, they had to contend with ambushes set up inside of mining locations that had been cleared out to use as traps. After being baited a few times in succession without finding any loot, Team Bucket decided to call it quits. The goods were either well hidden or already moved to the nearest Queendom city.

That was when phase two of the operation started, and they started to hit the caravans of materials being shipped overland to the ruined city for the rebuilding process.

The Kingdom’s spies had learned about the shipments and briefed the leadership about it. The materials needed for the rebuild were so substantial that teleporting them wasn't remotely cost-efficient. The Queendom was forced to haul them overland to keep costs tolerable.

Matt and his team burned two caravans to the ground, with the materials going up in flames.

They avoided engaging the defenders, focusing on doing maximum damage and creating chaos. Matt’s [Flamethrower] earned its keep a thousand times over during the two weeks they spent sowing mayhem behind enemy lines.

Their nights spent in the clouds gave them the cover needed to remain undetected and rest without worry. They even watched as search parties combed the surrounding areas below them where they thought Team Bucket was holed up.

When they’d seemingly run out of targets, they found rift clusters and started ambushing the Tier 6 teams exiting the rifts, forcing the Queendom to start stationing guards around the rifts.

The raids were nerve-wracking work that eventually stopped turning such amazing profits. But the disruption and resource losses they were causing the Queendom was worth it, since the Kingdom was giving them extra point remunerations for their efforts.

No single mission was continued for longer than they were able to handle the Queendom forces. They always moved to an alternative soft spot before the opposing forces became too much of a problem.

Ambushes happened, but they were able to either spot them beforehand or fight their way out. They were careful to never overcommit, and became proficient at using their new items and skills to maximum effect. Two and a half weeks into their guerilla warfare tour, they were preparing to finally pull out when they received an unexpected emergency call from headquarters. A Kingdom team was trying to retreat from a large fort and needed immediate reinforcements.

The request, in and of itself, wasn't unusual. Kingdom teams had repeatedly been retreating from untenable positions for the last few weeks as the Queendom retook forts. Some people were eliminated. Which was unfortunate since they usually earned quite a few points for holding a fort deep in hostile lands. This time was different. The defenders had apparently been delving the cluster of rifts in the area around the fort, and had acquired an item that couldn't be lost.

Matt asked what the item was, so that it could be secured and wouldn't be teleported out with someone’s personal belongings, but he never received an answer. That made the team all the more curious.

So, they detoured to the last reported location, only to find a massacre in progress.

The Kingdom fighters should have numbered around five hundred with the normal garrison for a large fort, but they were being besieged on all sides by Queendom Pathers and regulars.

Many of them tried escaping into the air, but that didn't seem to do them any good. They were stalled, unable to move as a group, but smart enough to know that breaking ranks would only spell their demise further. One by one, they would be picked off. Matt and Conor took the lead, and smashed into the outside edge of the flying mass of Queendom forces.

Matt cut down some people from behind, even as the formation shifted to respond to their flank. Their enemy’s slow reaction mattered little. Even while flying, he and Conor were much deadlier than the standard Tier 6s they contended with.

The resistance picked up as Matt engaged a Tier 7 scythe wielder. She must have had a Talent for it; she moved like a dancer with the unwieldy weapon. It didn't help that the scythe was Tier 8, and masterfully crafted. The edge screamed danger to his spiritual sense in a way he very rarely encountered.

She didn't fight like he expected such a strong melee fighter to fight. Instead of using smooth movements to guide the fight into positions where she could use her scythe to best effect, she seemed to be letting her weapon dictate her actions instead. It worked well enough; she was able to slip the curved blade around his longsword and cut a line into his under armor. The weapon left a noticeable gash along his shoulders as it sliced through [Cracked Phantom Armor] with only moderate trouble.

From that moment, he knew quickly dispatching her was beyond his abilities. He quickly disengaged and requested that one of the mages remove her while he turtled up.

A sudden bolt of lightning fried her and bounced to Matt, causing him to be jolted when the damage broke through his already stressed armor. His new layer of under armor blocked most of the lightning damage, but his hair was standing on its ends. He reminded himself to not ask Emily for help if his armor was stressed, the woman just hit too hard now.

Taking only a moment to reset his armor's skill structure in his spirit, he started to cast and cut his way through the leading edge, trying to free the encircled Kingdom fighters. When they finally broke through and made contact, a woman with bloodied armor nodded at them in thanks while directing her fighters to help widen the gap, before joining the fray as well.

Matt turned away from her as he saw Conor take the opposite side and simultaneously activate [Demon Zone] and [Blade Arena]. Matt unleashed his Concept to keep the drain on his teammate from being too prohibitive. Together, they wedged a path through the Queendom troops.

[Blade Arena] was a Tier 14 skill that created a field of phantom blades. When crossed, the blades dealt physical damage to that person. Conor was safe in the maelstrom's eye, and the ghostly blades resulted in several triggers from [Demon Zone] every second as people tried to pass through. Matt ignored the sharp, but relatively weak impacts. He could manage, as long as he wasn't forced to deal with a ranged attacker. But he was the only one who fared well against Conor’s new combination.

Anyone else who crossed the threshold was continuously cut with the static blades. As they tried to move in or out, they would only take more cuts from reflected attacks.

All was going well, until a man with darker hair started shooting [Mana Bolt]s at them while keeping at the edge of their range. Matt did his best to block the shots, but saying on the defensive would only tie them down. Eventually he took an opening and flew out of Conor’s zones to rush the Pather mage.

His charge was met by a revolving ring of shields that blocked his first [Mana Charge]. A tiny mallet in the man’s hand expanded to ridiculous size as it was brought down in a now deadly arc.

Matt threw his weight to the right, and using the greater speed of his flying sword, evaded the mallet, which quickly shrunk back down to pendant size. After re-engaging, Matt concluded he would be unable to break the man's defenses with melee attacks before that expanding mallet would be swung around again.

Giving up, Matt refilled his pool with a mana stone and cast [Flamethrower], directed the full brunt of the attack at the man. The floating shields were overwhelmed and broke, one by one, in a series of popping sounds. To Matt's surprise, the Pather actually slipped away, albeit charred and with their clothes smoking at the edges.

Matt turned his cone of flame on the surrounding Queendom forces and watched as the unprepared attackers were set alight and teleported out in quick succession. Matt scorches a hole in their lines.

That was, until a swordsman in distinct armor hurtled towards him. As the warrior closed in, Matt recognized his newest opponent, Talous.

He blasted his stream of fire at the man, already knowing that it wouldn't have any effect, and raised his sword with his right hand. After hearing Liz’s complaints about the man, Matt did some homework on him.

Talous was a melee sword fighter. By all reports, he either had a Talent for piercing armor, or a powerful enchanted sword that could. Combined with a suspected growth item that blocked ranged attacks, both the magical and mundane variety, the man was a lethal opponent for both melee and ranged combatants.

Based on his research, Matt suspected that the man had a Talent set similar to Tara’s, but more limited. Matt believed he was benefiting from increased blocking power and armor penetration when he was specifically wielding a shortsword and shield combination. The hunch came to Matt after discovering the man had only been publicly defeated in a single duel once, when his shield was broken and he seemingly faltered. It was pure speculation, but his guess paired well with the threat assessment reports put together on the man.

His whole team was deadly with their various builds, but Talous was the major standout. He had yet to die in the war, and had taken at least two forts with his team in just the first week. A gust of wind signaled that his second teammate, Ariana, was nearby. The other two fighters from his team were less flashy, so Matt wasn't able to spot them. The fifth and final member never actually fought on the front lines. The reports speculated that he was a Seeker or a crafter, but little was known of them other than the fact that they were Talous’ younger brother and viciously guarded by the team.

Matt deflected the first blow, but nearly took a mana infused shield bash in return. He flew higher away from the general melee and used his longer weapon to keep the other swordsman from striking at his feet.

Once high enough above the large engagement, Matt stopped rising, and using the flat of his longsword, blocked another flurry of attacks as Talous rose to equal footing.

For all of Talous’ conduct as a pushy asshole, he clearly knew how to fight. Matt was kept on the defensive, even as he retaliated with any openings he was able to make or find. It was frustrating for Matt, even though he was only bottom Tier 6, he was still stronger than the peak Tier 6 opposite him. His full physical allocation of essence and [Mage’s Retreat] gave him the edge in brute force.

Talous was just a better melee fighter, able to counter Matt with his shorter ranged combo. Matt considered himself one of the better melee fighters in the Empire at his Tier. He had fought enough people, and rarely found an opponent at his skill level, but Talous was a step above. He read and reacted to every move Matt made, even with his own AI using 5 MPS to predict the man's moves.

In terms of raw ability, Talous was a better mundane fighter.

Simple as that.

The man slightly edged out Matt’s strength and the reach advantage from his longsword with pure skill. It was the first fight Matt had fought where he felt so disadvantaged in years.

If he didn't want to break every bone in the man’s body, he might have actually enjoyed the fight.

As they exchanged blow after blow, Talous kept his shield up and at the ready. He used it as a wall, redirecting Matt’s mana-infused attacks with ease. The dust from falling mana stones explained why he was unable to bash through the Tier 6 shield with [Mana Charge]s from his Tier 7 growth item. The attacks should have bypassed the effects of the man’s growth item. His greater strength meant little when Talous never took a hit full on. The opposing Pather let attacks slide off his angled shield or the flat of his blade, while using the flying sword under him to cushion the blows’ force.

Matt took more and more slight grazing blows, while unable to maneuver the man into a position where he could fully take advantage of his superior strength. He kept the injuries to a minimum, but they slowly added up as the fight dragged on. Talous’ talent rendered him essentially defenseless. If not for his proficiency at parrying with his longsword, the Queendom Pather would have carved him to pieces long ago.

They didn't say anything to each other during the entire fight, but from the glint of Talous’ eyes through the gap in his armor, Matt saw pleasure— even glee at his state. Matt sensed the man's thoughts. Judging by what he read from the reports, along with what Liz had told him, Talous believed that combat prowess was the only way to measure a person’s worth. He presumed to be better than Matt because he was keeping the armored Kingdom Pather on the defensive.

Matt decided to break him of that notion.

With a surge of speed, he sidestepped a shield bash and struck out with a heavy blow of his own, forcing Talous back on the defensive. He made sure to keep his attacks at the man's center of gravity, so he would have to absorb each blow with his own strength, instead of letting the force slide off. The shift in momentum allowed Matt to start battering the man around. With his reach advantage, he was able to drive Talous to turtle up behind his shield. He also noted that the spent mana stone dust increased as the man directly blocked consecutive heavy blows from [Mana Charge]. If he had to spend mana stones to fuel his defense, Matt was sure that he could outlast him, if he could keep the man on the defensive

Matt took a slashing strike along his flank, which sliced straight through both [Cracked Phantom Armor] and his physical under armor, as if they weren't even there.

Matt ignored the searing pain and cut down on Talous’ extended arm. When you were fighting an opponent with effectively no armor, you had to accept wounds to give them. That, or remain purely on the defensive. But that wasn't how Matt fought.

He could take a few wounds. It was just pain. Matt was old friends with pain. He would outlast this arrogant prick, and show him that he was endless.

The move seemed to surprise Talous, as he was barely able to retract his arm in time to avoid getting it cut off. Still, a furrow was scored in the metal armor where Matt's Tier 7 longsword met the Tier 6 metal.

Talous roared at the hit and lashed out. The duo exchanged a flurry of blows that drew blood on both sides, but with functional armor, Talous had better protection. Matt would have been leaking enough for Liz to kill everyone present, if it wasn't for [Cracked Phantom Armor] staunching his wounds.

Intent on staying on the attack, Matt rushed forward and then backwards, battling to maintain his reach advantage over his opponent. He was trying to use his longsword's advantages to their best effect, and was battering the Queendom Pather from the edge of his range. But the man was slippery, and was always able to slip in close, forcing Matt to be constantly retreating.

In the next exchange, they were again both able to draw blood from each other. Talous snuck his shortsword under Matt's defensive stance, and cut a deep trench into his hip. They both felt metal scrape bone. In return, Matt broke something in the man's shoulder when blocking an attack. He could tell he had injured Talous from the way the man was unable to raise his shield arm. That opening allowed him to land two hits onto the man's left leg, where he tore through armor without resistance. The wounds left blood running down the man's leg, despite the potion he had poured on it during a retreat.

They were both panting heavily when Talous went in for a heavily telegraphed strike. Seeing what was coming, Matt was grateful for the armor covering his face.

He had been waiting for the man to grow wounded enough to get desperate and charge. He readied his blade as if he was going to ignore the attack, and try to take Talous down with him.

As they both charged, Matt met the man's eyes behind his armor. He was sure that the glint in the peak Tier 6’s eyes was reflected in his own.

When Talous was committed and only inches away, Matt used his bonded growth ring to teleport six inches forward, with his blade already aimed for Talous' face. The other Pather's suddenly working shield would have blocked it, but Matt was behind the barrier and blade before he could react.

With a crunch of teeth and metal, Matt nearly cut the man's head off at the mouth. He might have managed to kill him with the [Mana Charge] he was unleashing, but the other fighter was already gone before the mana had a chance to fully release.

Matt stood straighter and stopped pretending to be as badly wounded as he let on. Sure, he was hurt. But with [Cracked Phantom Armor] useless, he had reduced its mana drain to 1 MPS. He put the other 44 MPS usually reserved for his armor into [Endurance]. With the skill running at such high throughput, his wounds were already scabbing over. The only reason he kept his armor active was so Talous couldn't see his wounds heal faster than they should have.

He had prepared for this fight, and knew the only way to win was with trickery. Anyone with a Talent as good as his could fall into arrogance. He had seen it with Tara, though she had her friends to keep her level headed, and Melinda to outshine them all. He only hoped that the asshole would learn to keep his mouth shut after Matt’s unsubtle finishing blow. But he doubted it. If Matt knew the type of man Talous was as well as he thought he did, Talous would take the loss personally, and come for revenge.

Matt would be ready if he did.

With a painful yell, Matt rushed into the melee and started to attack anyone strong on the Queendom side.

He continued to do so, until a hand-sized sparrow made of blood that flickered like flames flew up to a wounded man, and started draining the blood from the wound on his shoulder. The man swatted at it, but the sparrow had already split into two. The duo started to feed off the man’s wound even faster. Killing one wasn't enough; he needed to kill all of the sparrows on him. But every time he managed to dispose of one, a second had already formed. Soon, he was encased in an entire flock of pecking [Blood Sprites]. As their sources of food were teleported out, the flock of sprites flew off towards the nearest opponents and repeated their harvest.

Matt had to admit. It was a scary spell to watch work. The battle was quickly over, as the blood sparrows grew in number and overwhelmed the opponents.

Once half the Queendom’s numbers were gone, the rest called a general retreat, leaving the Kingdom fighters free to enjoy their victory. There was a moment of tension as the blood sparrows had nothing else to feed on, and turned to start flitting around the Kingdom soldiers. But Liz squinted at them and clapped her hands, causing the sparrows to disintegrate into a mist of blood.

Matt flew over and laughed in relief. “Seems like the skill worked.”

He didn't know that she had no idea how the skill would actually function before she used it. Apparently, the Emperor didn't think they would try this particular skill, so Liz had gone in blind. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have any negative side effects, though Matt wished she hadn't risked it. But with the spell being external, he knew there was little risk.

“It worked well enough, though the form is annoying.” The bitterness in her voice caught Matt off guard, until he pieced it together.

“They look like your mom did, don't they? Like flame sparrows?”

Liz's face twisted in response to Matt’s question which caused him to start laughing so hard he tore open a few of his cuts.

“It's not funny! She's going to give me endless shit about this. Matt! Don't laugh!”

He continued to tease her about the birds as she swore she would never use the skill again, until she could change the shape. They both knew she was lying about that one, but he didn't call her out on it. The skill was too useful and powerful to waste.

The rest of the flight back was uneventful, with no one willing to challenge them for the last few dozen miles back to Kingdom controlled territory.

As soon as he was safe to do so, Matt quickly checked the points they had earned in the last two and a half weeks of looting and pillaging, with the army rewards and Kingdom rewards totaled up.

New Gains: 110,671 points. See point breakdown?

Matt smiled as they flew in formation, That was nearly half the amount of points for the unsuccessful defense of the city. With the increased resistance, they earned less per subsequent day, but they were double dipping with the stolen goods and army points. Matt still didn't know which one was more dangerous; banditry had its own worries and risks that a defensive battle lacked.

Ignoring his points, he focused on [Endurance] and healing his wounds. The burn was still lingering, and he was sure he'd need a true healer for the hip wound.

Overall he was happy with how the outing turned out.