Chapter 9

Liam had just cast a purify spell to quell the oppression that accosted the crowd. Sure, this was dangerous, a deadly game, yet even in such circumstances showmanship was important for the coffers and prestige of the guild. He was in a different position from Ian who worked in the shadows of the human world. Liam had to maintain an overwhelming presence on the battle field. He soon brushed away these thoughts. The red Ogres formed a misshapen crooked line as they drew upon them, a terrible hunger and desire in their eyes. Hunger for their meat, thirst for their blood, eager to rend their flesh. A chill ran up his spine, all ideals and peripheral motives vanished. They greatly desired Ian and Liam’s death but they did not want to die.

“Chhhh, insolence!”, Liam scoffed, “Lowly foolish foul creatures, who cannot discern who is the prey and who is the predator”.

A strong sharp light glinted in his and Ian’s eyes, it was the look and focus of an apex predator that was above all. An instinctual intent to erase the blight of the intruders from their territory.

“DO RE NA HIM”, Liam said strongly as his right hand swept before him, flames of the truest brightest blue stretching from his fingertips, like water gushing from a broken spout. The swiftest of the ogres that had closed on their defiant position were hit with flames that would never stop never die down, only extinguishing itself until 15 foul foes were turned into ash, their twisted existence denied instantly. Yet still though they had become ash the fire still lingered.

[You have defeated fifteen ogres

Blood experience acquired:

20,000]

“Small fries”, Ian spat and then launched forward while shouting, “Quick steps”.

The forward momentum of the ogres lulled, due to Liam’s attack and like a true Llweynfarnyn: an eternal brother, Ian immediately took advantage and shot through the disorganized ranks like an arrow through tofu, the rain of red rotten limbs, flesh, and black blood fell behind him as he returned his katana to its sheath.

“Amazing”, Amy thought as she viewed Liam and Ian quickly obliterating the fifty or so red ogres.

On the screen being broadcasted to her tablet, the unruly white hair and horns protruding from the forehead of the ogres stuck in Amy’s head. The face, the mouth twisted with a wicked grin full of sharp teeth ready to break bone and skin equally, lingered in her vision. The juice of some unnamed fruit that Amy set on the railing began to stir. Each ripple was accompanied with a loud rumble that shook the ground she stood on.

Having just exterminated fifty, Liam’s pupils widened for a brief moment, as a horde in the hundreds burst from the tree line.

“Fucking great, we got trolls, a lot of trolls”, Liam complained.

These beasts were usually further in, the size of a three-story house grey mangled skin, large bellies, and a hideous flat misshaped face. Goblins, ogres, and trolls. A number of goblins hard to count, and an army of ogres. It was if they were waiting under the cover of the poisoned forest.

“There’s a boss here”, Ian said.

“Indeed, otherwise they wouldn’t bide their time no matter how short the span”, Liam replied.

The two dragons who were polymorphed into human form stood their ground, surveying the forces converging on them. The sunlight glistened of their blue and beige armor formed from their own scales. Liam’s white cloak attached to the back of his full-bodied plate armor, danced in the cold icy dry wind.

“Shall we show them that it is the quality of one’s character, rather than number of followers, that gives way to victory”, Liam commented as once again he lifted off the ground floating in the air.

Up, up, up he went until he reached seventy feet, his tablet began to hum responding to Liam’s will.

“Doa Ro Mu Ha Sen”, Liam annunciated clearly.

The ground began to shake and groan, complaining like a teenager wakened in the early hours of the day. The enemy’s charge grew less fierce as they stumbled, and then within just over two football fields of being overrun, earthen slabs began to rise from the ground. Liam could feel the heat from his tablet as it buzzed away, performing the exact calculations needed to construct his signature skill ‘Earthen Maze’. The distance between them and the disorganized line had been filled with a maze of rock, mud, and stone.

He nodded to Ian as he shot to the left, it seemed as if he was running on top of the grass at a speed that Liam could barely follow. Liam perched upon an earthen slab, packed dirt and dust, bound together by the cement of mana. The wicked creatures were confused and soon the trolls started swinging their clubs, trying to muscle through the densely packed ogres and goblins. Bang, Bang, Bang, the clubs went from side to side of the walls as they spread ogres and goblins on the wall, like jelly over toast. These creatures had no sense of comradery, they wanted to feast, and others were in their way. They attacked each other screaming and growling, shrill shrieks of pain pierced the din made by the crude weapons they clutched. Liam watched Ian cleaving through the stragglers that weren’t trapped in the maze. Drifting through the battlefield like a sharp wisp of wind.

“Let’s finish this”, Liam hands rose up as he chanted, “Do re cha lan”. The monsters below him didn’t speak, didn’t scream, nothing escaped from their lips as they were instantly turned to ash by the flame that now filled the maze.

“Amazing performance by Liam the dungeon master”, the dragon’s excited voice on top of the stadium echoed throughout the stone structure. Amy was silent, neither was she aware of her open mouth. The cheer of the onlookers erupted like a volcano causing the earth to tremble. Minerva was standing on her toes trying to get a better view pumping her fist in the air her dwarven blood boiling. Then it happened, a screeching sound, a flash of red light struck the stadium in the same section as Amy. It felt like gigantic hands had slapped the stands. She instinctively raised her hands in front of her face, and closed her eyes from the flash of light. She heard Minerva yelp and felt a hand grasping for a hold, and latched on, only to find herself looking up at the sky and stadium as she fell. She saw Glyn above her then a burst of pain, and Amy could see nothing but anonymous shapes and blurry ambiguous details.

She groaned as she stood up staggering. She could feel pain and a warm liquid running down her knee. She gasped as her vision came into focus and Minerva was beneath her trying to lift herself up, while Glyn had broken their fall, and lay unmoving. Her fashionable clothing torn, her pale smooth skin blemished, cut, and bruised.

“OWWWWWW!!!!!!”, Glyn moaned shortness in her breath as she struggled to breathe then she stirred, “ughh, I can’t move my arm, I think I pinched a nerve”.

Amy felt relieved that Glyn spoke, she looked up at the horrified faces of her fellow initiates. The crowd gasped. She squinted her eyes from the headache that occupied her brain, banging away like some legendary blacksmith in a smithy. Minerva squealed in pain as she tried to stand on her leg broken. Regaining her senses Amy swayed like a candle in the wind. The crowd fell silent, and several had begun to point and shout. Amy turned around to see a swarm lifting off the trees.

“Vampire!”, she heard people shouting as clouds filled the sky ignoring the spell Liam had cast before.

The shadows beneath Amy’s feet grew stronger, grew darker. She swallowed her saliva as the dots became larger, then turned into human sized bats. Then a huge host appeared from the timberline. Amy’s face paled, her knees started to shake. She was so discombobulated she could not realize that even now, with death looking from across the field, she was no less safe here than in the stadium. Behind her Osgur, Lorenn, and Sean were about to leap out when the dragon perched on top of the stands flapped his wings, scattering and displacing the loose dirt and withered vegetation quelling the people’s movement. Amy regained her balance as she braced herself against the wind. Liam and Ian who were a couple hundred yards charged towards the trees towards the enemy. The sky shrieked again and this time Amy could see what had exploded in front of her and caused her fall. A red beam smashed up against a shield Liam had conjured exploding as a liquid like red substance splashing around the shield scorching the ground.

‘Glyn’, Amy thought to herself as she watched the spectacle unfolding before her, the groans of Minerva barely registering in her mental word. Her new dragon friends Ian and Liam were going on a rampage loud sounds echoed, reverberated, each explosion of force sent bodies into the air. Some of the stray bats had caught the smell of Amy, Glyn, and Minerva’s blood and dived towards the helpless trio.

Amy had completely forgotten about everything behind her and was looking forward. Glyn had miraculously stood up, though still hunched over holding a limp right arm, her face a stone hard grimace. The smell of dust and blood, of smoke and ash filled her nostrils. She was afraid, her mind had stopped working. Amy heard Minerva shriek, she felt a stir in her subconscious, a stir in her heart. Despite the gruesome fangs and claws swooping down upon her she stepped forward.

Her hands tightened around her wand, ‘huh since when was I holding it?’, her thoughts returned; shy, untalented, weak, she didn’t linger over who she thought she was. She thought she was going crazy, her body screamed at her to stop, but she stood in front of her new friends holding her wand up. She had no idea what she held in her hands, or what may come from it in the future. She was not foolish enough to overlook and question that she had a special tool clutched her hand, she might die but at least she would try.

She held the wand up, and a white light began shining from the tip of the wand reflecting in her dark brown eyes. The first bat swooped to taste its delicious prey. The floodgates of adrenaline had opened and time seemed to stretch, the moments lingered. She waved her wand without any form in front of her and a white energy shot out. It was a surreal experience for her, she could feel her magic like it was part of her skin. She could feel her magic sizzling, burning away at the flesh of this grotesque demon like red bat. Her magic caused the bat to lose control and it hit the ground with a thud and an eerie loud crunching sound. It didn’t stir nor move as its twisted life was spent; its ruin engraved on the ground it fell on. Another bold bat attacked, diving for the kill. Feeling a bit more confident, Amy rotated her wand and white energy burst from the tip, this time sharper with more purpose. Looking down her slender arms, her eyes clear, despite the darkness the light brightened her face as the magic force disturbed the air around, toying with the bangs of her parted black hair, light reflecting in her pupils. The magic collided with the body of the next predator-turned-victim. Amy rotated her wrist clock wise and swung her wand in a downward motion. The energy like a rope that had ensnared a bull, stuck to the creature and brought it to the ground with such force that its torso became goo, its head wings and legs flew taking their own separate ways to the ground several feet away. The impact was so close that black blood had splashed on Amy’s thighs and calves. Soon more of the winged beasts had closed on Amy and hurtled down. She felt a bubble in her core, and subconscious, at the same time raised her right hand in the air, and released the sensation as claws were stretching for the crown of her head. She could see, hear, and feel the wave of her magic as it exploded in a sphere kicking up dust, forming a crater as Amy watched it grow then dissipate. Putrid black rain fell down, rolling down her shapely somewhat puffy checks as the score of bats had instantly combusted from the pressure. Amy fell on her butt, her legs collapsed, she felt like she had just used two days-worth of life in one moment.

A notification displayed in her vision as text floating in the air:

[ 20 Vampire familiars defeated

Blood Experience:

Calculating due to level difference…

50,000 total ]

[ Level has risen ]

[ Skill: Magic Flow (level: C) has been learned

Skill was evolved to Magic Will (level: B)

Skill was further evolved to Magic Made Manifest (level: S)

]

“Whaa”, Amy said to herself out loud.

The crowd roared and all were standing and clapping. The gate opened, and William was the first to bolt forward concern plastered on his face.

“Well done little one”, The large dragon’s voice filled the field below as he looked down at Amy with intense curiosity burning in his eyes.

“Oh my God!! I thought we were gonna die”, Glyn exclaimed lying down on the withered grass, as a medical team came to assess and tend to their injuries.

William knelt down and put his hand on Amy’s shoulder, “You okay lass?”, William asked.

“Umm, I think Minerva has a broken leg “, she nodded and pointed to Minerva.

They loaded the sobbing Minerva onto a stretcher.

Glyn was still motionless as she whined, “Where is Liam I want him to hold me in his strong embrace and carry me to safety”.

William helped Amy up on her feet, while both Sean and his brother looked at Glyn making a commotion, clicked their tongues and said in unison, “You can leave that one as bait”.