Unbound

Chapter Twenty Two - 022

While the wurms seemed taken aback for a moment, Felix checked his Health. He had lost nearly 10% from his landing and his left ankle twinged painfully, even through his resistance. Still, he smirked at the wurms as if he was fine and raised his fists up in what TV told him was a boxing stance.

New Skill Learned!

Acting (Common), Level 1!

You stand upon the stage, now make it yours. Convey emotions and intent with greater fidelity per Skill Level.

Then as if a switch flipped, all of them surged forward, their mouths open and glowing with an orange flare of light.

He went to work.

Fighting the Wurmlings was routine at this point, and maybe it was the higher levels in Unarmed Mastery and Dodge, but their attacks were predictable. Felix ducked serpentine strikes and wove between their armored bodies even as he laid about him with heavy slams and punches. In moments the skin on his knuckles burst open again, each stroke hitting heavy rock-like plating, but he didn't stop. He crushed the Wurmlings one after the other, even as his Stamina depleted faster and faster.

Heat Resistance is level 3!

Physical Conditioning is level 14!

The heat was excruciating down here. Those movies where the heroes fought above a pit of lava had it all wrong; they should have been cooked alive. The dry air pulled moisture from his body like a sponge, his sweat evaporating as fast as he produced it and his skin cracking as it dried, creating fissures up his fists that expanded slightly with every swing. More agony that he firmly pushed to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to be weak. These monsters wanted to fight?

Felix would show them his claws.

Six Wurmlings fell to his strikes, crumpled beneath his superior Strength, but then one of their older brothers joined the fight. A Yungling Wurm surfaced from beneath Felix, taking him by surprise and tossing him into the air. He landed nearly thirty feet away, only a stones throw from the open channel of lava at the end of the room. Felix stood quickly, unsure where the wurm was going to emerge. He could see the large group of them still milling over toward Pit's cage, but the Yungling that hit him was nowhere to be seen. Then he felt it. Rumbling beneath his feet.

Flexing his Manasight, he could see a torch-sized flare of orange Mana zip upwards through the dark earth. Felix rolled out of the way just as the Yungling Wurm breached the surface, it's large three foot diameter body crashing onto the ground like a hydraulic press. It left behind shattered stones wherever it traversed.

This is taking too long, Felix thought. He glanced back toward Pit, who was watching him with fierce eyes. I've gotta end this now.

As the Yungling barreled toward him along the surface, Felix summoned an Acid Stream, hoping to pour it down the wurm's throat. But a sudden burst of speed put the wurm too close too soon, and Felix had to abort the casting. But that didn't mean it wouldn't get hit. Grimacing against the pain, Felix gripped the half finished orb, splashing green acid all over his palm and fingers, and delivered a sharp right cross.

The wurm's skin crumpled like paper, it's head ricocheting off the ground like a ball.

New Skill Learned!

Corrosive Strike (Rare), Level 1!

Imbue your strikes with the power of acid, destroying their defenses even as you pummel them into submission.

Felix stared wide eyed at the notification.

You can do that?

Ideas began to flood his head and his fingers itched to find his journal so he could write them down.

The Yungling Wurm rolled woozily to it's belly, beginning to slither toward Felix. He dismissed the Skill notification and regarded the wurm. With an effort of Willpower, Felix released a concentrated blast of Tides of Vellus, knocking the ten foot long wurm to the side again. The monster was hurt, but it wasn't down for the count, not by a long shot. He quickly Analyzed it, checking it's Health.

Health: 344/899

Felix frowned. Then he did the only thing he could think of: he cast everything he had. Influence of the Wisp paused the wurm for a few seconds, giving him a chance to tie it up with Shadow Whip. A single thick tendril of darkness shot forth, wrapping itself tightly around the wurm. Holding it in place, Felix cast Tides of Vellus as fast as he could. Shock after shock after shock, the Yungling Wurm was rocked back by the kinetic force of the spell, and each time its movement was arrested by the Shadow Whip. Felix strained, his Mana draining rapidly even as his muscles screamed in protest. His strength was high, but this was dancing at the limit of his ability. After the tenth time casting Tides, he saw a kill notification come across his vision.

Shadow Whip is level 2!

...

Shadow Whip is level 6!

It was dead. Finally. But he had no time. In his struggle he hadn't realized that the other Wurmlings had surrounded him.

Pausing for a few breaths, Felix checked his peripherals, his enhanced Perception giving him a clearer view than if he had eyes in the back of his head. There were at least two dozen Wurmlings still left, and three more Yungling Wurms. And they were all surging toward him.

Shit.

Felix let out a pulse of Tides of Vellus, using the original pattern to launch a pulse in 360 degrees. It was enough to push back the smallest of the Wurmlings, and Felix rushed to his right, using Corrosive Strike to make a hole. His strike devastated two Wurmlings, his acid enhanced fists tearing through them like tissue paper. Felix stumbled forward, not expecting the lack of resistance, turned it into a forward roll and came up just in time to get his core tackled by one of the Yunglings.

"Ooof!" Breath wooshed out of him as he was lifted up into the air. The snout of the Yungling tipped, flicking Felix behind it, before it dove into the stone floor. The bigger wurms were much more graceful at tunneling, and the ground barely moved as it swam through it like water. Felix had landed hard on his back and saw his Health dip 40 points; he was pretty sure he was bleeding somewhere, too. Regardless, he forced himself to his feet even as he scanned the area around and below him with Manasight. As he guessed, the Yungling was come up from beneath again.

"One trick pony, huh?" Felix gasped, still holding his sore gut. He straightened and gathered earthen Mana to his hands, reaching and grasping the ground beneath him. "Check this out, then!"

Stone Shaping!

Felix wrenched his arms apart, the stone beneath him parting and revealing the ugly mug of a surprised Yungling. Swinging his left hand down awkwardly, Felix bashed a Corrosive Strike directly into the wurm's face. Between the strike and the wurm's own momentum, it's skull shattered into shards of carapace and gallons of purple goo. The ichor fountained up all around Felix, drenching him and everything around him for feet. Coughing, he stumbled back from the hole and now completely dead wurm.

Corrosive Strike is level 2!

...

Corrosive Strike is level 8!

Whoa. That had been much more effective than he had thought. How fast was that thing going?

Felix glanced at his Health and Mana; he was at a little under 50% of both, but they were regenerating steadily. He looked up at the rest of the wurms, which were converging on him again.

It would be enough.

He charged out toward the oncoming horde, releasing pulse after unfocused pulse of Tides of Vellus to move and disorient his foes. Then, utilizing his Acrobatics and Dodge Skills, bobbed and weaved between their horrifying maws and craggy carapaces as he moved toward Pit's cage. The dog-sized tenku was whining in pain, his cage still swinging from a previous wurm strike. He was only a few yards away, but the third Yungling Wurm crossed his path. The wurm split the four sides of its mouth open, revealing a tunnel of razor sharp teeth soaked in bright orange illumination. Moments later, a torrent of fire streamed forth, dousing everything for forty feet.

Felix threw up his arms and rolled away, but not fast enough. He felt the fire engulf his right arm, shoulder, and back; it ate into him like a living thing, the flames hotter than anything he'd ever felt before. Felix screamed in pain, but his resistances let him keep his head. He immediately rolled himself on the ground, over and over until he felt the fire go out.

Pain Resistance is level 24!

Fire Resistance is level 12!

Fire Resistance is level 13!

Heat Resistance is level 4!

...

Heat Resistance is level 7!

Before he could stand, a burst of fiery Mana surged beneath the earth, directly below him. Felix pushed off the ground, attempting to dodge the incoming wurm, but he misjudged his own strength; Felix launched himself up and to the side, his body spinning rapidly in the air until he smashed painfully against one of the rocky walls. A resounding crack echoed through the chamber, even as Felix stood up and inspected himself. Not only was he burnt and sore all along his right side, and his clothes would have to be replaced (again, god damn it) but his Health was also down another 20%.

Another couple hits likethat....

Felix let the thought go. He was doing this too inefficiently and his Stamina was taking a serious hit from all this heat. It had to be depleting at twice the normal rate. If this went on, it wouldn't matter how much Mana and Health he had left, he'd pass out and these wurms would eat him. They'd eat Pit, too.

No, not gonna happen. Felix mentally shook himself, reorienting. He was facing...fourteen Wurmlings and two Yungling Wurms, each with basically full Health and Stamina. The Wurmlings had that heated bite attack, but he could work around that easily by this point. The real problem was the last two Yunglings, which in addition to their greater speed, strength, and size also had fucking fire breath. One of them was uncoiling from the tunnel it had just made, and the other was swiftly advancing on Felix from his left. He had to kill them before anything else.

Only one Skill would give him the chance he needed.

Felix stood tall and held his hands out, palms outward.

Influence of the Wisp.

Felix's entire body blazed with a blue-white fire, his illumination casting the magma orange air into stark contrast. He tried to duplicate a feat he'd once done with Acid Stream, increasing the amount of Mana into the spell to sort of supercharge it. He felt a tugging in his mind, but it was like a hand getting caught in a spiderweb, he pushed through it and Mana thundered out of his channels and into the spell. He blazed brighter than ever before, and then so did everyone else within fifty feet. Blue-white fire limned them all, and variations on the same message popping up in Felix's vision ten times.

A Wurmling Has Been Enthralled for 2 Seconds.

A Yungling Wurm Has Been Enthralled for 1 Second.

Influence of the Wisp is level 19!

Influence of the Wisp is level 20!

Most of the wurms stopped dead, and the few outside his range collided violently with their brethren, knocking both to the ground. But Felix was already running toward the nearest Yungling, pushing himself as fast as he could go. Just as the Wisplight began to fade from the first Yungling, Felix swung down with a Corrosive Strike, putting his entire body behind the blow.

The ground beneath them caved in, cracks racing outward and splitting the uneven stone. Unwilling to rely on chance, Felix swung three more blows, each as powerful as the last, until he noticed his hands were simply splashing in a gelatinous puddle of purple muck. Disgusted, he leaped from the depression he had made and turned to the rest of the wurms. He was covered in gore and bubbling green acid dripped from his fists.

Corrosive Strike is level 9!

"C'mon!" he roared, all of his anger and frustration and fear pouring out of his lungs. "We're not done yet!"

New Skill Learned!

Intimidation (Common), level 1!

They say honey catches more flies than vinegar, but you've found blood works just as well.

Felix blasted out Tides of Vellus, throwing the smaller Wurmlings back and killing a few of the nearer ones. He rushed forward, stomping on any wurms that got too close, and striking out at the rest. Corrosive Strike tore through their bodies like tissue paper, and even Acid Stream simply dissolved jagged holes into their carapaces. The last Yungling Wurm had retreated to the row of hanging cages, obviously smarter than the rest of its kin. As Felix dispatched the last Wurmling, he saw that the Yungling held up its whip like tail covered in bony protrusions and rock hard armor and poised it over the cages. Its meaning was immediately clear.

"Fuck you," Felix spat, holding up his left hand as shadows gathered in his palm. "I've got a whip too."

Felix snapped out his Shadow Whip just as the Yungling hissed and swung at the cages. Thankfully, his high Dexterity and Perception made the shot easier, and the Shadow Whip latched onto the wurm's tail. Felix pulled, his strength just enough to redirect the force of the swing, causing it to slam powerfully in the stone just ahead of the cages. Quickly re-gripping the strange shadow substance, Felix pulled hard and jumped forward at the same time.

Shadow Whip is level 7!

Rock dust billowed, driven on by the hot volcanic winds, but Felix didn't need eyes to see his enemy. Manasight made the wurm's position clear, and as he rocketed through the dust cloud, he already had a fist prepped for the opening maw of the beast. He swung, and the blow knocked the Yungling Wurm back a step, its serpentine body thrashing to keep upright even as Felix was knocked backward by the force of the collision.

He landed gracelessly on the rocky ground, tumbling a few times before he could get his feet under him. When he did, he looked up to see the Yungling Wurm only feet away from him, four-part maw opened and poised to swallow him whole. Felix threw up his arms, catching the top two jaw segments even as the bottom two sunk deep into his thigh and calf. Screaming in pain and terror, Felix pushed with every ounce of Strength he possessed, even as his blood poured down his legs and his head grew light. An orange light bloomed deep in the nightmare creature's tooth lined throat, flickering with a growing strength and heat.

"Not," he grunted, still pushing against the wurm's massive jaws. "Today," he shifted his legs, bracing himself against the ground below. "You...piece...of..shit!"

Tides of Vellus.

Tides of Vellus.

Tides of Vellus.

Felix spammed the spell three times, sending waves of concussive blasts directly down the wurm's throat. Teeth snapped and membranes ruptured, flooding the creature with putrescent purple blood. His Mana plummeted, the shaped and boosted spell costing far more than the vanilla version, and Felix's already light head began swimming. Despite that, he held his trembling arms up and pushed his feet down into the shattered stone beneath him, and he whispered.

"T-tides of Vellus..!"

The interior of the wurm swelled for a brief instant before it exploded in all directions, its insides becoming very purple, very messy outsides.

Blue lightning crackled around the impact site, the rest all darkened stone and sundered meat. Felix stood up on shaking legs, throwing a fist into the air even as purple offal and pulped flesh sloughed off his shoulders and chest. He oriented on the last remaining Yungling, positioned farther down the chamber, and pointed a suddenly steady finger at it.

"You're next."

The wurm went extremely still, then turned and dove into the stone wall.

It ran.

Intimidation is level 2!

Felix watched with his Manasight until it fled out of range, and only then did he collapse bonelessly onto the ground.

"This world sucks."