Earlier That Day

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Kaine sat within the dim corridor facing Rey whom sat opposite of him, both of them laying quiet as he inspected his new skills.

{Daemon (1/10)}; All demonic magic that would increase your stats have their effects on you increased by 10% while all demonic magic that effect you negatively have their effects reduced by 10%.

{Fiend (1/10)}; Physical attacks deal 5% less damage on you while holy based magical attacks deal an increased 10% damage.

{Weapon Imbue; Hell [2/4]}; Summon up your {Demonic Patron} whose servants shall be imbued into your weapon of choice, adding their secondary element to its damage alongside a specific ability from said demon’s capabilities. Imbue limit; 2.

“So…” Rey began to say, as she awkwardly smiled back at him.

Looking away from his windows, making them fade away, Kaine met her gaze. “Why’re you following me?” He asked her sternly.

Pouting in annoyance at his question, “Cause you’re slipping and sneaking off on your own to fight and grind.” She answered with a raised brow.

Making Kaine’s shoulders slump down as he sighed, “Fine, touché.”

“What’re you even thinking roaming off on your own anyway!?” Rey then asked back, “You could’ve…well I thought at first…Gahhhh!” Ruffling her own hair in frustration, Rey then suddenly leaned forward and quickly crawled up to lay in his face. “Why were you hiding your real capabilities from us!?”

To those words, Kaine’s gaze then turned away.

Only frustrating Rey further, “Oi, don’t you look away!” she said, grabbing him by both cheeks and forcing him to look back at her with his now surprised wide eyes. “Back there! You were much faster than when we fought the monsters in the ravine! You didn’t freeze up or go crazy in the middle of it either!...W-What’s up with that?” She asked sheepishly then, releasing his cheeks.

Kaine at first did not respond, remaining quiet, he gazed off at one of his swords.

“Oi!” Rey then grumbled, “You either let the cat out of the bag or I’ma show you what annoying REALLY means!” she warned him with a wicked grin.

“I have three different conflicting personalities,” Kaine then said with a sarcastic tone, chuckling coldly as he then met her now steely gaze. Once more Kaine sighed, “Nobody was watching.” He responded in a whisper.

“Huh?” Something Rey barely heard due to his low tone.

“I wasn’t being watched, that is why none of that happened back there…” Kaine repeated.

“I don’t…understand?” Rey mused, both brows now rising in confusion.

Groaning, Kaine rolled his head to stare down the corridor, “I can’t…perform fully when others are watching me fight. It’s…kind of like stage fright? If the odds are against me, I freeze up. Otherwise if the odds are in my favour I…lose myself in the frenzy.”

“Huh, so…stage fright…huh.” Rey then mumbled out, seemingly understanding yet also still somewhat confused.

“That’s how my therapist once put it anyhow,” Kaine then mused.

“Thera…pist?” Rey repeated awkwardly.

“Yeah, I’m off my damn rocker, is that what you want to hear?” Kaine grumbled, “Not far off anyway.”

“So back with the Goldebeest…and the-” Rey began to count out each time she’d witnessed it, “What about the Worgs?”

“I left most of the fighting to you all for that same reason, I didn’t want to freeze up or lose myself and cause issues.” Kaine answered now with clear melancholy in his tone.

“And the Worgoll? You froze up there too?” Rey then asked, remembering how he had seemingly disappeared in the midst of the fight.

“Something…like that.” Kaine lied, clearly remembering that he had indeed frozen up, but much further pertained to that story than just his mental health.

“Oh, is that why you snuck off and came here alone?” Continuing her barrage of questions, Rey now at least sat back down in front of him. “So, you wouldn’t be watched?”

“To scout out the dungeon, to level a bit away from prying eyes…” Kaine answered as he glanced over at Nova, “And to get some privacy.”

“Ahh, sorry…” Rey then apologized realizing her mistake, then lightly bumping her fist into her own head and stuck out her tongue in a silly manner. “Why’d you turn back though? Dead end?”

“I cannot progress further alone, it seems like this dungeon was made with the intent of the first few rooms being only a taste of what lays beyond.” Kaine explained, “It’s also not uncommon for dungeons back in the previous game to ask solo players to be a higher level before they’re able to progress.”

“Sounds like,” then mused a familiar voice from down the corridor, “You need a party?” Jedd said with a wide grin as she was followed up by Roy, Farvo and Lara.

“Hah…you guys too?” Kaine groaned.

“I’ll give it to you, you’re good at sneaking, my sister? Not so much so, although you aren’t sneaking up on her that’s for sure.” Roy said with a chuckle.

Kaine then glanced over at Jedd, “I know-”

“You didn’t tell us because you were afraid we’d abandon you due to your dangerous flaw.” Jedd then cut him off with a shrug, “But you failed to realise, we ain’t those kinda people.” She said with a wide smirk.

Kaine simply nodded, unsure how to reply to those words, still relief filled him.

As Jedd and the rest walked past them, Rey stood up to follow, “Well, what you waiting for? The exp awaits!” Jedd then exclaimed, raising her weapon onwards as excitement filled her expression.

“Hah, yeah.” Kaine chuckled, also rising to his feet he briefly watched them walk onwards into the room he had already cleared. “Stage fright…” He then whispered to himself, an amused smile quickly appearing on his distracted visage before just as quickly disappearing back into his usual cold and grim gaze.

Grasping the handles of his swords, Kaine took a deep breath before following after them. “Let’s see what’s behind that door then.” He mused, as once they reached the very start of the next corridor, the sound of a door creaking open echoed in.

Before them, the doors that had denied Kaine access were now turning wide open and through the unlit darkness Kaine spied several dozen eye sockets glowing with a wicked blue hue, staring right back at him.

“So, what should we look forward to facing?” Roy asked as he prepared his bow and arrow.

“Skeletons, Zombies, Shades, Wraiths and maybe Dreadknights.” Kaine responded nonchalantly.

“Can we take them?” Jedd asked, her form rising and morphing.

Kaine shrugged, “Probably.” And the rest of the party turned to look at him with surprised eyes. “Yeah…Yeah we can take them.” He then said with a chuckle.

Unsheathing both of his swords, Kaine popped his shoulders before willing mana down into his hands. Walking forth and to the forefront of the party alongside Jedd, the both of them then stepped through the doorway and into the dark hall.

“Creatures that crawl, creatures that slither. Beings that fly, beings that whisper. Imbue my weapon with your very essence, imbue my hand with your name.” Kaine then chanted, “Demonic Path; Weapon Imbue; Type Hell. I call forth your minions, demon, answer my call.” He said, and a whisper only he heard replied back.

“Your request I hear, your request I accept.” It was a certain demon’s voice, “Telaquitzl, Orotovos.”

Kaine’s blades surged alit with greenish energies, demonic winds and hellish flames in hand, he lit up the hall for several feet all around him.

“Ohoho, got some new toys there?” Jedd mused, seeing his new power.

“Alrighty then, let’s get this party started!” Rey exclaimed in excitement, both arm crossbows readied, she watched Farvo and Lara’s backs as the three of them took the very back of their formation whilst Roy alone stood in the centre, arrow nocked and ready to loose.

“We’ll fight on the move,” Jedd then said in a commanding tone, “Pick a target, slay, move on, stay with the group. Let’s not get surrounded.”

“Aye aye!”

“Sure,”

“Roger,”

“Y-Ye-Yes!”

Smiling to himself at the pre-action roll call, “Yeah,” Kaine mused, “Let’s do this.”

As they walked further into the hall, suddenly movement entered their line of sight and Kaine wasted not another moment, he rushed into action.

Slashing aside the charging zombie’s club, quickly he then stabbed his other blade through the undying creature’s head, the demonic winds about it slashing skin and flesh aside for the blade to cleanly stab through the bone that remained.

Holding the immediately defeated undead hanging by his weapons for a few moments, Kaine resisted the temptation, as combat raged all around him Kaine slowly released his blades of the now inanimate corpse.

Glancing around, he watched Jedd rush from side to side, bashing her hammer into anything that made it too close to the others, as all the while Roy, Farvo and Lara blasted anything that stepped within their sight. Rey on the other hand waited and watched, giving Jedd whatever supportive fire she required.

As arrows and bolts flew off alongside blasts of flame and fist sized cannon balls, Kaine watched Jedd dive headfirst into the enemy. As their group moved slowly through the hall, his and Lara’s flames lighting the way, Kaine couldn’t help but observe how well they all fought together.

Jedd attracting most of the monsters her way, she acted as the party’s tank and warrior all at once. Using her size and speed to train the undead after her, her strength was more than enough to kill each within one or two blows.

Rey then watched her back with her quickfiring hand-crossbows, accurate and quick to reload, she was the party’s true ranger. Nothing got past her sight either, even as she covered Jedd’s back Rey would occasionally turn about to assault enemies getting past Jedd and too close to the others.

Unlike her brother Roy, who was more of the party’s rogue, roaming off from the main dps Roy walked in Jedd’s shadow. Arrow after arrow soaring off his bow, Roy cleaned up after Jedd’s rampage, Farvo’s barrage and Lara’s blaze, killing what survived and slowing down what he could as they came into his sight.

Then there was Farvo with his dwarven construct, highly effective at one-hitting but not so much with accuracy and ammo consumption, forcing the dwarf to only take sure-shots to conserve ammo. Having the highest hitting weapon though, Farvo ignored the small-fry and targeted the tougher monsters, allowing the others to take care of the base skeletons, zombies and shades that came their way. He instead looked for armour, he searched for the bulky monsters and sent a searing hot sphere of highly accelerating metal their way.

Finally, Lara was not only the main dps of the party but also the healer and CC support all at once. Sending forth a volley of blazing spheres into the undead monsters, her flames albeit not effecting the skeletons very much still decimated both zombie and shade alike. Cleaning those two up from her sights, she’d use her vines to root down any survivors, allowing Rey and Roy to take those down while also focusing her vines upon any large and armoured monster she’d see. Making it an easier shot for Farvo.

All the while, Lara healed Jedd as she absorbed all the damage, sustaining the party.

Seeing all this, Kaine was overcome with nostalgia.

Gripping his weapons tightly, “Nova, go.” He told his familiar.

“Yes master.” The demonic serpent replied, soaring off his shoulders and into the darkness above, briefly she disappeared from sight.

As Kaine then turned to an approaching monster, twice the height of a zombie but rotting much further, almost halfway to skeletal. The large creature was also armoured from head to toe in pitch black plate.

{Minion} {Revenants of Darkness} Lesser Dreadknight [Level 14]

Wielding a massive serrated blade with both hands, the Dreadknight dragged the slab of metal behind itself, stopping several feet away from Kaine before sluggishly heaving it up.

“Watch out!” Lara shouted, seeing as the Dreadknight albeit its slow movements suddenly slammed down the weapon onto where he stood. Sending the ground quaking around it with the impact and raising a cloud of dust, it groaned and moaned incomprehensibly as its empty gaze then moved on to Jedd.

“Oi, worms for brains, I’m still here.” Kaine said as the cloud of dust cleared, revealing him standing mere centimetres from where the blade landed.

Immediately the Dreadknight’s head returned to him, filling his ears with the sound of shifting bone and giving him an annoyed gruesome grimace full of blood and rot.

Kaine simply grinned back, stepping away from the blade as the monster raised it out of the ground, rising to loom over him before suddenly bellowing out in horrid rage. Its lower jaw dethatching from the upper one as it did, expanding its jaws much wider than should have been possible.

“Hah, that’s a feisty one!” Farvo exclaimed as he decimated one armoured skeleton off to the side.

“Give it your all Jor! Show us what you really got!” Rey then shouted, jumping out of her skin as Jedd bashed a zombie into paste merely three feet away.

I really shouldn’t…

“Yeah, we’ve got your back, I won’t lie I’ve been wanting to see you go all out too!” Jedd mused with a wide grin.

No but if I do…

Kaine thought, as suddenly an arrow flew past his left ear, embedding itself into a skeletal knight that was approaching him from behind.

“Hah, now I’m curious.” Roy mused, nocking another arrow onto his bowstring, “What do you got?” He asked in amusement.

What I got?

Kaine glanced up at the goliath that stood before him, raising his massive sword up to swing it back down once more.

I'll show you-

Clenching the grips of his swords, Kaine suddenly rushed under the creature’s swing, evading the attack and appearing to stand by its right leg. “I see what does not, in turn, see me.” He chanted, and as he did the flame on his right sword snuffed out, leaving only Lara’s flames to give them light.

The Dreadknight being still barely visible to the rest of the party, Kaine though had disappeared from sight. And as the Dreadknight itself swung about, ferociously yet seemingly in confusion, not even it knew where Kaine had disappeared to.

When suddenly a bright bout of hellish flames burst out of the Dreadknight’s left leg, lighting up the area around it, Kaine stood behind it and stabbing his hell imbued sword through the monster’s armour and deep inside its foot.

The Dreadknight bellowed with fury and swung its blade towards Kaine as he drove his weapon deeper into the monster's bone.

Stay...calm...

Kaine told himself.

{ [Life]: 24/30 }

As the monster's weapon collided with him and sent Kaine soaring back into the darkness far beyond Lara’s light.

Yet as the rest of the party could tell, the Dreadknight could still see him, turning to stare into the darkness. Its eyes flared up a dark blue before it suddenly stomped forwards, step after step, faltering every other step, the Dreadknight approached Kaine’s location.

As he pulled himself up from the ground, groaning from the blow, he pulled himself together and faced the approaching goliath.

“Orotovos!” Kaine called out, and his right sword lit up aflame once more, lighting up the area around him and revealing a few zombies and skeletons slowly making their way to surround him.

Yet Kaine’s gaze was not upon them, as he stared straight at the Dreadknight, Kaine grinned widely.

Taking a long stride forwards, Kaine quickly came to a running stop and sent his ablaze sword flying forth. The weapon soared, trailing flames behind itself as it flew true towards the Dreadknight.

The goliath raised its great weapon to block the attack, deflecting the weapon itself and sending it spiralling off into the shadows yet flames themselves had burst forward on contact. Engulfing the Dreadknight in flames and briefly blinding it.

“Nova!” Kaine then exclaimed, and out of the darkness above descended a light.

Shining brighter and brighter as it fell, the serpent opened up its wings and lit afire, a clear hiss leaving its maw as it came down towards the distracted monster.

“Finally master calls!” The serpent exclaimed in excitement, and a notification came into Kaine’s view then.

All requirements have been met.

Familiar [Nova] answers your call to action.

Magic, surges through them, coursing forth into a brand-new skill.

Nova’s flames then suddenly dimmed out, basking the Dreadknight in darkness, only briefly so.

As then a bright flash of light blinded the entire hall, bursts of wind rushed past them as if a great explosion had taken part ahead.

Dimming back down to reveal a charred Dreadknight engulfed in dozens of burns and small flames.

Your [Nova] has learned {Lesser Hellnova}!

Nova herself lay coiled up over the Dreadknight’s helm, as beneath her the creature crumbled.

Your [Nova] has over-cooked { Lesser Dreadknight [Level 14]}

Arcane experience gained 345/300

Level up!

Arcane level 4 reached!

+1 to all Arcane stats.

3 Neutral Arcane Points available for distribution!

Falling into a pile of armour and dust beneath her then, Nova rose to hover above it, pleased with herself as she looked on at Kaine seemingly…in expectation.

As he stared back in surprise, surprise the rest of his part shared.

“How did I do master?~” The serpent asked in anticipation.

“Good…you did…really good?” Kaine responded, surprised he might have been, but it was a pleasant one nonetheless.

Hah…saved by the demon.

He thought in relief.

Flying over to coil around his neck and rest onto his shoulder, “Nova is here to serve, master.” The familiar added, snuggling into his chin. Her wings, flashing bright and giving him light all around him. “And it seems, that master might need the help.” She mused as her light now revealed more than just skeletons and zombies approaching their position.

Glancing around himself, Kaine counted them.

Or…not.

{Minion} {Revenants of Darkness} Lesser Dreadknight [Level 14]

{Minion} {Revenants of Darkness} Lesser Dreadknight [Level 14]

{Minion} {Revenants of Darkness} Lesser Dreadknight [Level 14]

{Minion} {Revenants of Darkness} Lesser Dreadknight [Level 14]

{Elite} {Revenants of Darkness} Dreadknight [Level 18]

Five in total, they slowly took a unified step towards him, as one stood an entire foot taller than the rest.

“Hah…Yeah, it sure looks like it.” Kaine mused, gripping his sole remaining sword with both hands, “Telaquitzl!” he spoke out in chant and a demonic green wind surged alive about its blade.

“Let’s light them up, master!” Nova exclaimed, rising to span both sets of wings wide open and ablaze, she hissed in anticipation.

Aha…This is gonna hurt.