Chapter Forty-Six

A deep rumbling resonated from the figure for several seconds before it spoke in a surprisingly clear but deep voice, “Hello, little one. That rascal yours?”

Elysia stared up at the nearly three-meter-tall armored person unable to find words.

Another rumbling sounded now clearly a laugh. “Don’t worry, I mean no harm. I would never hurt a young elemental only one step on the path.”

She readied a lightning bolt as she asked, “What are you?”

Completely at ease in front of Elysia, the being commented, “You haven’t met one of us yet?”

Elysia shook her head with her hands near her crab daggers.

No longer afraid, Ione dashed between Elysia’s legs for another go.

Before Ione could jump, the figure reached down and plucked Ione by the scruff of her neck. Her body went limp instantly.

Lightning crackled between her fingers as Elysia glared up at the massive being. “Let her go!”

After giving Ione a head scratch, he complied, gently setting her on the ground. “Quite an energetic kitten. She must be well taken care of.”

Once Ione returned to hiding behind Elysia, the being continued, “As for your question, my name is Thrazk of the Crimson Tribe.”

Elysia stood to her full height, trying to look tough as she asked, “What do you want with us?”

“Nothing. You may leave after the clear.”

In disbelief, Elysia stared at the figure on guard, ready to fight or make a run for it. “Really?”

“Yes,” replied Thrazk as if it was obvious.

At a loss for what to do, Elysia scooped up Ione and stroked her head but kept a lightning bolt at the ready.

Done with the conversion, Thrazk turned away to continue his march of destruction.

Elysia glanced back at the warehouse, tempted to clear the dungeon and make a run for it, but she shook her head to banish those thoughts in fear of angering the obviously powerful being. She watched Thrazk destroy buildings standing in the middle of the road for another minute before following.

After crushing his fifth building in two minutes, Thrazk turned back to Elysia. “Would you like to give it a try? That lightning packed quite a punch. Maybe it could down one of these spiders.”

Elysia checked her charge, finding it to be at 300. Afraid to show weakness in front of the massive being, Elysia said, “I’m fine watching. I came here for a quick clear on my way through, but I found you here.”

Thrazk chuckled. “Quick clear? Arrogant, are we?

Before her anger could take root, she smothered it instead, commenting, “What’s so hard about this dungeon? Burn down the warehouse with the queen and it’s done.”

At Elysia’s reaction, Thrazk guessed, “Do you happen to be Elysia Arashi?”

With a frown, Elysia replied, “Yes, how did you know?”

Thrazk perked up. “Marvelous! To think I would run into the first clearer. Maybe this little dungeon will grant a boon.”

He turned toward the warehouse, forgetting about the remaining buildings. “Come, let us take down the queen.”

Confused, Elysia questioned, “If you knew where the boss was, why did you destroy everything?”

The massive being paused. “You don’t know? Are you perhaps from the nearby human territory?”

“No, and I would rather keep it that way,” denied Elysia with a hint of venom in her tone.

With a sympathetic nod of his head, Thrazk asked, “They try to capture you?”

Elysia tensed at the question, prompting Thrazk to continue. “Our scouts told us about their habit of forcing the elementally gifted into service. I suppose a magically primitive race such as them would have no other option.”

While scowling, Elysia fumed, “Yeah, they have been after me for a while now. Just because I can use lightning, they think it’s my duty to protect everyone.”

With disgust in his tone, Thrazk added, “Sounds about right. They tried to force our delegates to help them when we made contact. We have no desire to carry a race to magical enlightenment. I hope one day they will reach the level of our human kingdoms but without our help.”

At the mention of human kingdoms, Elysia’s head jerked up. “Your humans? Am I right in assuming you are from the turtle city?”

The giant armored being chuckled. “Urus would throw a fit if someone called her a simple turtle.” Thrazk’s tone suddenly turned serious. “As a word of advice, I would avoid annoying the Colossus Urus if you are in her city.”

“If being polite to her will let me pass, I’ll happily comply,” said Elysia with a hint of hope.

“Maybe. Urus can be unpredictable,” commented Thrazk.

Elysia bit her lip in worry before taking a chance. “Could you help me get past her? I need to gain some distance from the humans living nearby.”

Helpless, Thrazk repeated, “Like I said, it’s up to Urus.”

Unwilling to accept the answer, Elysia pressed, “What would the chances be? It’s either dodge humans until I get captured or escape past Urus.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” replied Thrazk in a sympathetic tone before pausing and adding, “One thing I can say is Urus has a distaste for humans after the way they tried to force her delegates to clear dungeons for them. I can’t say if that will work for or against you as you look quite human.”

This guy wasn’t human then. The first giveaway was his height. He could be three meters tall. What was he then? Some giant race?

“I guess I’ll just have to take my chances.”

Elysia glanced at the warehouse visible a hundred meters down the street before asking, “So you said you want to kill the queen? How do you want to do this? I don’t want to steal your clear, so I can stand back and wait.”

Anticipation practically vibrated off the being. “We will fight it together with you landing the killing blow.”

Any thoughts of looting another skill crystal long gone, Elysia tilted her head in both curiosity and confusion. “Why? I’m sure you could beat the queen without trouble. While I would love the free experience, I don’t need charity.”

A deep rumble Elysia now knew as a laugh sounded. “This isn’t charity. Think of it as a fair trade. I help you kill a boss far above your level, and I get to benefit from the first clearer loot bonus. Maybe we will even get a few skill crystals.”

“First clearer loot bonus? I thought the only bonus was a damage buff and an annoying name announcement.”

Amused, Thrazk asked, “Let me guess. You thought getting skill crystals from a clear is normal? And yes, I know you cleared Neah Bay too. I hit that dungeon yesterday. Marvelous feast that dungeon was.”

Elysia tilted her head. “They aren’t?”

“Oh no, they are quite rare after the first few clears of a dungeon. The only way we know of increasing the chances is to kill every monster in a dungeon before killing the boss for a full clear. I was hoping to snag a few crystals while my allies were busy preparing for the opening of Mezo, but then I found you already cleared several.”

Elysia tensed. She better not tell him about her stash then. He seemed nice, but who knew what he would do when if he found out she had four skill crystals.

Sensing the girl’s thoughts, Thrazk assured, “Don’t worry, your loot is safe. We would never steal others’ hard-earned loot.”

Unwilling to trust him with her loot, Elysia walked toward the warehouse, only for Thrazk’s much longer legs to overtake her. She jogged to keep pace.

They reached the warehouse thirty seconds later.

Thrazk raised his massive war hammer. It burst into flames as he brought it down on the front of the building, pulverizing the front reception area. He walked forward through the gaping hole, war hammer still glowing red.

Before following, Elysia set Ione down. “Please stay here. It’s too dangerous for you.”

Ione let out an annoyed meow and turned her amethyst gaze toward the hole, only for her tail to puff. She backed away from the warehouse, finding a patch of grass to lie in.

Satisfied, Elysia strode forward into the warehouse, only to find the inside already on fire. Flashing back to her previous clear, she backed away before a spider web could trap her, only to notice the smoke didn’t bother her.

After a moment of hesitation, she ventured farther, scanning the thick smoke for Thrazk. Movement above her caused her eyes to shoot to the ceiling. She jumped back just as a charred spider dropped to the floor. Even with the limited visibility, she noticed the spider wasn’t the queen.

Elysia retreated several steps as she threw a crab dagger. The dagger bounced off the charred exoskeleton of the spider as the spider moved its abdomen to shoot webs, only for none to come as the fire dried them. Taking advantage of the exposed abdomen, Elysia threw another dagger. This time, the dagger sunk deep into the soft bulb. Before the spider could retaliate, she unleashed a lightning bolt aimed at the dagger.

-100 Charge.

A bolt of violet lightning streaked through the smoke-filled air. It struck the dagger, causing the spider’s legs to give out as it convulsed.

Elysia scanned for other threats, expecting a kill notification any second. Unable to see more than a few meters in front of her, nothing presented itself. A frown formed as the expected notification never came, prompting her to ready another lightning bolt despite her limited reserves.

The spider remained collapsed, but its charred legs stopped twitching. Its legs began to move, prompting Elysia to release another lightning bolt on the spider. Like the last bolt, it struck the dagger, sending potent electricity coursing through the spider.

-100 Charge.

The spider spasmed for a moment before stilling, followed by a ding and a notification.

Assisted Kill! Adolescent Giant Spider Level 135.

Level up! Path of Lightning reached Level 2.

Level up! Path of Lightning reached Level 3.

Level up! Path of Lightning reached Level 4.

Level up! Path of Lightning reached Level 5.

Achievement! Lucky Kill

“When will you learn? It isn’t healthy to fight something over 60 levels above you.”

Reward: I feel like I shouldn’t reward such behavior, but here, have 5 attribute points.

Elysia’s eyes widened in shock as she took an involuntary step back. “Level 135!” They were in the 20s last time. If it wasn’t already half-dead, it would have killed her. “Sorry, Thrazk, but there’s no way I could help. For once, I agree with the system. This is beyond me.”

Before another spider could jump out at her, she sprinted out of the warehouse. The ground shook as she reached the road. Ione sprang to her feet, dashing after Elysia, equally panicked.

After putting over a hundred meters between her and the warehouse, she turned back to find the warehouse was no longer there. In its place was a pile of smoldering, twisted metal. The smoke cleared a few seconds later to reveal Thrazk standing before the queen, who sported several gashes leaking blue blood. Unlike the spider, the massive armored being appeared uninjured.

As if sensing her staring, he turned his head in her direction before booming, “Elysia, come! Let us taste glorious victory!”

Elysia shook her head, taking a step back only for Thrazk to dash toward her with the spider limping after him.

“Crap!”

She backpedaled, but the dungeon barrier blocked her retreat. Her eyes scanned the rubble-filled dungeon for an escape, but she found herself between two rather large collapsed buildings. Still, she moved to climb the left building.

To her terror, before she could climb the crumbled brick wall, Thrazk arrived, an injured spider queen in tow.

Thrazk stopped a dozen meters away from her, then turned to the spider. He raised his glowing war hammer as the spider arrived.

The spider’s four remaining rage-filled eyes zeroed in on Thrazk. Its cracked mandibles opened to spit a whitish liquid.

Unbothered by the attack, Thrazk stood still as the liquid hit his armored chest. It sizzled but otherwise did no damage as Thrazk made his move. With a wide swing, Thrazk aimed for the three remaining left legs.

The spider attempted to dodge, but its weakened body was too slow to avoid the war hammer. All three legs bent at an odd angle, sending the spider queen crashing to the ground.

Before the spider could recover, Thrazk charged forward. With a mighty roar, he smashed his war hammer down on the spider queen’s abdomen. “Now! Give it all you can on my hammer!”

Elysia’s eyes drilled into the hammer as she called forth smite. She attempted to feed more lightning into the attack, but each grasp felt like trying to grab water. Though like water, each attempt splashed more lightning into the attack.

The thickest thread she ever used worked its way through her body and out of her raised hand. Like a sun was born, the world turned blinding bright as the smite shot into the air.

With a deafening crack, the lightning strike descended on the hammer just as Thrazk jumped away.