“I’ll warn the students, you run ahead and start on the Gorgon to the left,” Liliana instructed Polaris, falling back slightly as her bond pulled ahead with a yipping bark.

“Don’t die,” Liliana whispered across the bond, an aggrieved huffing noise sent back her way.

Polaris was insulted at the insinuation that something as weak as a Gorgon could end him. Liliana watched him speed off above the canyons for a moment before she shook her head and dived towards the students rushing towards what had once been a trap.

“The way ahead is clear now,” Liliana shouted out, dodging an ice spear sent her way by a trigger-happy, panicked boy.

“Save some of that Mana for monsters, not the person saving your lives.” Liliana huffed as she circled lower, hissing as her wings scraped across the jagged stone walls of the canyon.

This place was awful for flight. Her wings vanished and she dropped, landing before the students, all of them panting and haggard.

“Who are you?” a boy stepped forward, seventeen maybe eighteen. No one Liliana recognized.

“Come on, you’re telling me you don’t have an [Identify] skill?” Liliana asked with a raised brow.

The boy flushed, ducking his head to hide behind golden hair that was far too long to be practical in a fight, especially when it wasn’t tied back. So far, her first impression of these younger years wasn’t favorable. Except the one who sent an ice spear at her. She liked that one.

“That’s Liliana Rosengarde, Tom, don’t insult her, she could kill us all!” a girl hissed behind the boy, Tom, allegedly, tugging on his shirt to pull him back.

“Murder isn’t on the itinerary for today, actually.” Liliana corrected with a grin, snickering slightly when several of the students took a noticeable step back.

“Is it sometimes on the itinerary?” a horrified voice whispered and Liliana closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to resist the urge to burst into full laughter. Oh, she forgot how much fun it was to mess with younger students.

“I don’t have a lot of time, but just keep running. I already took care of the Gorgon who was waiting for you, and I’ll take out the ones coming after you. Just get out of here, go back to the Academy and report this. If I need any more information from you all, I’ll find you later.” Liliana pointed behind her to the safe path. She crouched, preparing to jump into the sky, when she paused.

“And if you see a giant shimmering tiger, don’t attack him. He’s mine. He’s just a bit slow.” Liliana added on before jumping into the air, her wings emerging in a burst of light as questions and shouts followed her. She could feel their confusion, so thick in the air their thoughts were rising to the top. Liliana pushed them away with practised ease, focusing on rising above them.

Adrenaline still pumped through her, but in the back of her mind she cataloged the damage she’d already suffered. Her shoulder was slow to heal, the cut on her face was closed, even if the blood remained hot and sticky against her skin. Her ankle still smarted, but the bone was healed, if weaker than she’d prefer. Bleeding debuffs kept her natural regeneration slow, but the various cuts and bruises across her body were healing with every wing beat.

She’d be healed by the time she got to the next Gorgon. She’d be fine to take her on. She had to be.

“Polaris?” Liliana called out as she streaked across the sky, a blur of light.

“On the Gorgon. Not done yet.” Polaris sent back and Liliana sighed.

It would be harder to take on Gorgons on their own. They’d been able to take down Donelle so efficiently thanks to having two of them fighting her. Being able to surprise her and take out her eyes early on had done much to speed up killing her.

I’ll have a half second to grab an [Identify] on this one and to judge where she is. The close quarter nature of this fight will mean she can’t get a lot of distance from me easily. But I’ll be surrounded by stone and earth, which will be to her advantage. It’s unlikely I’ll get out of this without taking damage. I’ll need to focus on her face. If I have all my swords on her, I can overcharge [Radiant Edge] to make it blinding. It’ll take a lot of Mana, but if I have eight swords flashing blinding light in her eyes, it’ll make her easier to fight. If she’s blind, I can use [Side Step] and get behind her, since I need line of sight for that skill.

Liliana took a deep breath in as she approached the Gorgon to the right of the students, circling high above the Gorgon’s ability to perceive her. She’d have a half second when she was in range to use [Identify] before the Gorgon looked up. That was all she’d have, or she’d be dead, with no backup close enough to save her.

Liliana was alone, and she’d have to make it work.

Her wings tucked close to her back as Liliana dived, eyes open as the air screamed around her. As if it was warning her of the foolishness of this choice. Too late to change her mind or devise another plan, Liliana let herself plummet, swords arrayed around her like another set of wings. [Identify] activated and Liliana slammed her eyes closed as she heard the hissing scream of the Gorgon finally spotting her.

Gorgon

Age: 99

Level: 238

The younger sister to Donelle, The Lady Of Stone And Serpents, this Gorgon does not have a name. Her poison is no less lethal for her lack of a name, and a single glare will send any in her way to their knees. The bite of the serpents she carries on her head like a venomous crown is enough to kill foes even stronger than she. Unfailingly loyal to her sisters, as any Gorgon is, she is far more deadly when facing one who has raised a hand or blade against her sisters.

Rank: 4

Health: 2,000

Mana: 32,260

Stamina: 3,340

[Bestial Instincts] and [Perception] flowed around her with her [Aura Of The Predator], giving Liliana some idea of what was around her. Her wings snapped out as she twisted in the air, her constructed wings taking the brunt of the attack of sharp stones sent her way by an enraged Gorgon.

Liliana’s swords pursued the Gorgon, [Radiant Edge] activating as Liliana pumped Mana into the spell, the light so bright it pierced her eyes even through her lids. A pained screech let her know the Gorgon’s eyes had not appreciated the assault to her retinas.

“Polaris, will you need help?” Liliana asked as she shot over the head of the Gorgon.

“Have faith, kit. I need no aid.” Polaris returned and Liliana nodded to herself.

Then it was time to end this before her bad luck could turn it around on her.

Not willing to take chances alone as she was, she activated [Aspect Of The Beast], Liliana felt Mana and Stamina drain from her at an alarming rate even as she selected the bond to share with. Speed would do her little good here, she needed Health.

Connecting with Lelantos, Liliana felt her gums ache as her teeth, her fangs, enlarge, and sharpen. She could feel her nail beds sting as her nails turned into claws. Stripes burned across her skin.

The physical effects of [Aspect Of The Beast] had only gotten more noticeable as the skill leveled. Her hearing was sharper, as was her sense of smell. Even without her eyesight now, she felt like she could see the battlefield with a perfect clarity.

For a moment, it was overwhelming, the influx of sudden stimuli coupled with the staggering power coursing through her. Lelantos was by and far the strongest, physically, of all her bonds. Her skin throbbed when her muscles bulged, her body as it was not able to account for the new physical strength and forcing an accelerated growth that would leave her sore later when it was over.

She was lucky her armor and clothes had give, to account for this, a lesson learned from previous times when she’d ripped through less accommodating clothing.

She could hear every breath the Gorgon took in, the hissing quality to it ringing in her ears. Could smell her stone skin, and the anger flaring off of her so thickly it coated Liliana’s throat. Liliana activated [Evanesce], Lelantos’ skill. It didn’t make her entirely invisible, but it was close enough, distorting her form until she was nothing more than a heat mirage moving around, a flicker of sparkling light too fast to follow.

“Don’t suppose I could talk you into walking away?” Liliana called out as she flitted around the fight, her swords kept bright as they forced the Gorgon to devote her attention to blocking, protecting her eyes.

“Ssssisssster killer. I sssshall end you to avenge my sssissster,” the Gorgon hissed at her, words wet as if she was spitting venom with each syllable.

“I’ll give you the same offer I gave your sister, Gorgon. Walk away and keep your head.” Liliana barked out as she flipped, wings wrapping around her body to block the stone pillar sent to impale her.

Feathers broke off and fell as Liliana landed, feet digging into the hard stone. The light around her swords exploded, sending the Gorgon reeling as she screeched, temporarily but not permanently, blinded. [Radiant Edge] reactivated, quickly growing once more to levels none could easily look upon, keeping the Gorgon disorientated, and more importantly, keeping her eyes closed.

“Die,” was the only response she got, and Liliana sighed.

A Gorgon tame would’ve been amazing, a shame they were always so recalcitrant to the possibility. Feathers exploded out of Liliana as she activated [Shatter Wing]. The hissing whines of pain from the Gorgon let her know more than a few had landed.

“Then let’s dance,” Liliana muttered as she activated [Radiant Armor], [Bulwark] and [Radiant Aegis]. Light armor coated her, thick and cumbersome but more than enough to deflect the attacks sent her way, preserving her increased Health.

She needed the Gorgon to get stupid, to use [Enrage], a skill all beasts had, which decreased their Intelligence but boosted their other stats. If the Gorgon went rage dumb, it would be far easier to land a hit across her eyes. Liliana let off a [Bestial Roar], feeling the reverberations through her chest as the roar thundered out of her. It echoed across the walls of the canyon, rocks shaken loose and falling down on them.

“Your sister died on her knees, pinned down by my swords,” Liliana taunted. and was rewarded with a scream of pure rage and grief as the Gorgon lunged.

“Too slow, just like she was,” Liliana moved between furious swipes of poisoned claws, feeling snakes striking at her body, only for their stone fangs to slide off her defenses even as her naginata bit and tore.

The Gorgon’s movements were sloppy, over extending and exerting too much power in each swipe and magical strike. Uncaring for conserving Stamina or Mana any longer, as rage took over and robbed her of critical thinking. The Gorgon was powerful in her anger, but far too open. Liliana could feel the strength in each hit as she ducked under them, heard the way the wind screamed as claws rent the air with too much power, leaving the Gorgon off balance.

She could feel the overpowered magic in each stone and rock sent into her, the ones she couldn’t avoid shattering on her defences, chipping away at them even as Liliana pressed herself to move faster.

Her swords joined in the fight, swirling around the pair and striking at every blind spot as Liliana danced between physical and magical attacks, [Blade Song] activating and sending all her bladed weapons to humming, biting deeper with each pass. Liliana ducked and twirled beneath strikes, feeling the pressure of the air changing, the hissing of stone and claw in the air.

Even blind she was able to move with the grace her class demanded, her Speed unmatched in the Gorgon. Donelle had been able to keep up with her, until her eyes were lost, but her sister was a poor shadow of her prowess. Lower leveled. Weaker.

For every attack Liliana failed to dodge, her defenses borrowed from Lelantos were more than enough to handle it. As light armor cracked and fell, her skin repelled the attacks, her Health barely dented by anything that got through, her regeneration making up the difference.

Liliana kicked off the ground, body flipping as she struck out a hand to grab onto the Gorgon’s face, clawed hands bit deep into delicate eyes as Liliana finished her arc, pulling the Gorgon back and down with her enhanced Strength. Snakes struck again and again, breaking the armor and finding flesh where their venom could infect. Liliana paid no heed to the pain, nor the poison getting cleansed from her system.

Liliana opened her eyes as she landed, pulling her bloody hand back. Some hers, some the Gorgon’s from the removal of her greatest weapon. The Gorgon’s hands were at her face as she screamed, a piercing shriek that filled the canyon.

Liliana gave her no time to recover, swords striking and biting deep, pinning her to the ground as she writhed. She was half dead already, her low health drained by the fight. Whatever skills or spells she’d used to reinforce her body were not enough to save her now as Liliana stood tall, looking down at the Gorgon before she drove her shining naginata down into her throat.

The Gorgon’s screams ended with a gurgle as Liliana ripped her blade through her neck, her skill enhanced Strength making it a simple task to cut through stone flesh.

“Polaris?” Liliana called out mentally as she summoned her blades back to her to float around her, gleaming in the light but coated in dark red.

“The other Gorgon is dead,” Polaris responded, a touch of pain in his communication, but nothing concerning. Liliana sighed in relief as she leaned back against a pock marked wall of the canyon.

“Then it’s done. Collect the body and take it back to where Donelle’s body is. We’ll deal with them there while we wait for Corbin to catch up.” Liliana directed.

She grabbed the dead Gorgon by a leg, keeping the still dangerous even in death snakes from her body as her wings reappeared and she took to the sky. She took longer this time, not pushing her body to the limit.

She arrived back to the spot Donelle had been defeated at the same time as Polaris did. He seemed to have the same idea as her, carrying the dead Gorgon by an ankle and depositing her as soon as he could.

“You lot should be gone by now,” Liliana called out to the students lurking in the shadows.

“We thought we might be able to help,” a feminine voice called out as a girl dressed in robes walked up, clutching a staff for dear life.

A healer, if Liliana had to guess. She hadn’t cared enough before to [Identify] them and she didn’t now. They were younger than her, weaker. That was all she knew, and all she needed to know. Their names, their classes, their ages, were all inconsequential. Useless information she’d forget as soon as she saw it.

“The only thing you can help me with,” Liliana grunted as she pulled out a shard of stone from her thigh. When had that gotten there? “Is by telling me why you lot thought walking into Gorgon territory was a smart decision?” Liliana finished as she tossed the bloody stone away.

She sat down as she started looking over her body, tugging out smaller, rocky shrapnel from the fight. Her body could push it out on its own, but it was faster to remove it by hand. Even if she had to dig pebbles out of her flesh.

“I can heal you?” the girl offered tentatively, and Liliana snorted.

“I don’t need it. Check my Health, I’m nowhere close to dying.” Liliana shot her down as she removed a finger long, needle thin, sliver of stone from her forearm.

She’d taken more hits than she thought in that second fight. Or perhaps it was left over from the first, she couldn’t be sure. Whatever the case, it was annoying to find all the spots she’d been turned into a rock pin cushion. [Pain Resistance] worked against her at times like this. Most of the stones and injuries were too small to even ache, leaving her to find them by sight and feel.

“Gorgons. You lot. Why is this an equation I had to solve?” Liliana looked up, past the healer to the boy who had confronted her before. The leader.

Her arm twisted awkwardly as she felt along her back, finding the slick warmth of blood and digging into a thumb sized hole just below her shoulder blade to remove a jagged stone.

“We were told there was a coven of Lamias here, not Gorgons. The villagers told us it had been some time since they sent the request to the Adventurer’s Guild in the area, but the attacks were still in line with Lamias. Gorgons and Lamias will both use poison, snake bites, to kill prey. Thats what we found from investigating the killed livestock,” the leader, Tim? Todd? Something with a T, Liliana was sure, spoke up. He sounded as disgruntled and shaken as every other student she’d talked to after saving them from an assignment gone wrong.

Their pride was hurt, and their confidence was badly damaged. They were alive, though, and that was all Liliana cared about. Pride and confidence could heal, death couldn’t be fixed. She knew that better than most.

“The petrified or paralyzed monsters littered around the territory didn’t give you a hint?” Liliana asked disbelievingly. She started using her clawed fingers like tweezers to remove broken stone fangs from her wrist, flicking them towards Tobias.

Gorgons and Lamias did share a hunting style, preferring poison. Lamias bit to inject their poison, and Gorgons used the snakes on their head, or sometimes their own bite, to do it. But Lamias left rotting corpses around their territory as markers.

Gorgons left stone creatures, or humans, to warn other beasts and humans to beware. Much as a Basilisk would leave paralyzed bodies, funny Basilisks and Gorgons hated each other when they shared so much in common. Different evolutionary lines, though.

“We thought it was only one Gorgon, a newly evolved one, maybe Rank 4. We thought we could handle a coven of Lamias lead by a Gorgon,” Tristan said, defensively.

“Then you’re stupid, reckless, and not worth being a leader. Gorgons, even one of them, is out of what you lot could handle on your own,” Liliana dismissed with a sneer as she finished fishing out stone from her body. Her clothes were sticky and wet with blood where it had yet to dry into an itchy mess. A thoughtless [Cleanse] removed most of the blood and grime, and Liliana relaxed marginally.

“We cou-“ Tyler started, and Liliana raised a hand to cut him off.

“No. You couldn’t. You lot are what, second year? Lamias are the upper end of what you could handle alone. Even then, you must be some of the stronger students in your class to be allowed after them. Anything higher on the evolutionary chain is too much. Accept that, so the next time you come against something too strong to fight, you don’t learn the lesson via death.” Liliana mercilessly dressed Taylor down, watching with satisfaction when his shoulders slumped.

Another important lesson learned in assignments that most, especially the nobles, needed was understanding there would always be things out there stronger than they were and they needed to know when to back off. Apparently, that was the moral of the story today for Teddy. Otherwise, Liliana wouldn’t have been here right now, removing stone fragments from her body and three Gorgons would’ve still been alive.

There had been unnecessary death today, and Liliana rarely relished being a reaper for creatures with sapience. Left alone, the Gorgons wouldn’t have done much more than kill livestock and any who walked into their territory. They were intelligent, they could have been reasoned with by someone with knowledge of their habits.

When they weren’t in the middle of a hunt, anyway. Few beasts could be talked out of a hunt once they had prey in sight.

Had Liliana been here, before these students trespassed, she might have been able to convince the Gorgons to leave the villagers alone. Or worked out an agreement where the villagers gave a tithe of livestock for protection. Now the ecosystem was off balance, and eventually a stronger beast would take over to fill the power vacuum and it might not be half as logical as a Gorgon was. These students had no idea what they’d done by being overconfident and stupid.

“Come on, Lili, don’t be so cruel to the kids,” Corbin’s melodic voice reached her and Liliana tilted her head back to see Corbin and Lysander circling low before landing.

“You’re late.” Liliana informed him as Corbin took in the sight of Liliana sitting beside three Gorgon corpses, several wounds still bleeding sluggishly even as they healed.

“You’re too fast,” Corbin retorted, and Liliana rolled her eyes.

“You’re just lazy,” Liliana countered and Corbin gasped, falling back against his bond. His free hand, the one not still holding Serenity like a precious, delicate jewel, grasped at his chest. Liliana watched with ill-hidden amusement at his theatrics. He loved an audience.

“Gorgons this time?” Corbin asked when he’d recovered from his ‘fatal wounding’, earning some shy snickers from the younger students.

“One was named.” Liliana jerked her chin in the direction of Donelle as Corbin approached, poking the head with a foot and jumping back when one of the snakes on her head snapped at him.

“You sure they’re dead?” Corbin asked, scampering behind Liliana for safety.

“They’re dead, but a snake can still bite even when dead.” Liliana shrugged, reaching out to take Serenity from Corbin’s hands and cradling the Pseudo Dragon to her chest.

“You got hurt again,” Serenity grumbled sleepily at Liliana.

“I had to fight,” Liliana responded affectionately, rubbing a gentle finger down Serenity’s head. A pulse of warmth filled her and any wounds still left were healed in a flash.

“You do need me. Separated for no longer than a half hour and already you have become so injured. How did you survive before?” Serenity asked, opening one eye to give Liliana a glare before she curled tighter in Liliana’s hands, seemingly falling back asleep.

“Named?” Tucker asked, sounding horrified, and Liliana snorted.

“A Rank 3, too. Newly Rank 3 but a Rank 3 all the same. You would’ve all died in seconds had you faced her.” Liliana’s eyes snapped up to meet the boy’s, and he blanched, stumbling back.

“Now you’re getting it. Go back to the Academy, tell your professor about this. Get some rest, and next time pay more attention. You won’t always have someone there to save you.” Liliana ordered, and Theodore nodded, dazed, as some of his team came to him, huddling close as they turned to leave.

“A Rank 3 on a second year assignment? Lili, that’s not just a mistake,” Corbin whispered as he sat next to her.

When the younger students were out of sight, Liliana released her active skills and spells, feeling the energy drain from her and sending her swaying. That part never got easier, the sudden feeling of weakness.

“I know, but what can we do about it? The Academy won’t stop setting assignments,” Liliana sighed, leaning over to rest her head on Corbin’s shoulder.

“Do you think it has anything to do with that warning you got?” Corbin asked, voice a hushed whisper barely louder than a breath.

“I hope not, Corbin. I really hope not.”

Lelantos' Tables:

Status Sheet

Name:

Lelantos

Age:

8

Level:

247

Species:

Ephemeral Tiger

Genus:

Cheshire

Rank:

4

Health:

34,420

H-Regen:

+344.2/1.1sec

Energy:

32,540

E-Regen:

+332.8/1.1sec

Energy Power:

33,564

Energy Control:

35,287

Experience: 3,435,887/6,150,400

Vitality:

3,442

Endurance:

2,971

Strength:

2,081

Dexterity:

215

Wisdom:

283

Intelligence:

357

Speed:

215

Charisma:

65

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Affinity

Light

89%

Illusion

72%

Earth

28%

Crystal

15%

Quintessential Skills

[Fortress] Lvl 199

[Guardian Aura] Lvl 67

Skills

[Identify] Lvl 261

[Tracking] Lvl 235

[Guardian] Lvl 231

[Stealth] Lvl 233

[Predator] Lvl 227

[Consume] lvl 220

[Augmentation] Lvl 213

[Bestial Roar] lvl 212

[Enrage] Lvl 209

[Dodge] Lvl 201

Abilities

[Juggernaut] Lvl 259

[Evanesce] Lvl 256

[Reinforcement] Lvl 255

[Radiant Armor] Lvl 243

[Radiant Aegis] Lvl 240

[Bulwark] Lvl 237

[Reinforced Claws] lvl 222

[Disruption] Lvl 211

[Morningstar] Lvl 204

[Crystallization] Lvl 145