Pain lanced through Draga's head- the constant ringing only emphasizing his inability to hear his own scream of agony. His hands were on his ears, though he couldn't remember placing them there. When had that happened?
Draga's head shook, light around him blurring into a confusing mess as he collapsed. Xander did the same, which he only knew because the man fell on top of him and the metal cracked against his legs.
Whatever the creature was, its screech came to an end after only a second. The damage it caused, though, would last a lot longer than that.
He... He couldn't hear. Even the impact with the ground was felt, the relatively minor pain the only sign that got through, while only the ringing graced his ears.
Bells. Rather than the ringing many heard after explosions, it sounded like an army of bells all chiming out of synch.
And then... And then it stopped, suddenly. There was no recovery process or gradual shift; one moment, it was there, and it was simply gone the next.
None of the effects lingered. The balance problems, the pain, or even the deafness- he knew, since he could hear the ongoing grunts from Xander as he rolled around on the ground, still clutching at his ears.
That has to be Gamer's Body... Does that mean it works differently for other people?
The ringing wasn't just gone, though, but replaced by actual music, apparently. It sounded like a battle theme: the mounting pressure of drums and... were those marakas? He couldn't tell, and it wasn't worth worrying about right now.
A quick check to his map, and Draga stared at where the opponent definitely was.
And wasn't, apparently.
Dammit. The map didn't account for height, so it would be underground or in the trees, but it could just as easily be invisible too. How am I supposed to...
Draga blinked. He could... He could feel it. It was as vague as everything, but there was something standing between two of the trees and producing a miniscule amount of electricity. His senses weren't fine enough to track its exact location, but it was clearly big- larget than him- so he didn't need to be accurate.
His sword came up, and Draga took one slow step forward. Right at that moment, the song picked up, with an orchestral choir and bass guitar starting up.
The bird didn't react to his approach, but Caelem did. He growled something under in breath, in some incomprehensible language, and blasted the area Draga was watching with a torrent of green fire.
Whatever it was, it moved fast, and evaded the attack entirely. However, it ran along the ground, making both sound and creating a few prints in the ground.
It didn't stop moving, so it wasn't stupid, but it had to go considerably slower. With Caelem aware of the problem, and hanging back for the moment as he did something with a green orb he hadn't had a few seconds ago, that left Draga time to engage himself.
Sliding a step closer, the creature stilled. Apparently recognizing him as not-Caelem, it thought it better to hide instead.
Unfortunate for it, as it let him move a few steps closer. Twelve feet felt so far when you were moving towards an invisible threat. At least he could glean a little more about it along the way.
There was no sound, so either it wasn't breathing or could mask it. It appeared to be some giant bird of sorts, based on the prints it left behind. Lastly, it was afraid, since it didn't just lunge the distance and tear his head off. Good news, mostly.
His shamshir came up behind him, ready for a wide slash. The weapon was literally designed for cutting up unarmored opponents, and it seemed unlikely a bird would find and wear invisible armor.
An inhale, another step.
An exhale, another step, this one slightly off to the side, as though to walk past the creature.
While he still couldn't hear any breathing, a bit of warmth washed over him. Even if he couldn't sense the thing directly, he would have known he was close.
One more calming breath.
The five seconds- which felt like so much more- came to a swift and brutal end as Draga spun around, extending his blade as far as it could go to clip the creatures wings.
It cried out again, though thankfully towards the cavern ceiling, and kicked on its legs out. That hit alone was enough to throw Draga backwards and slightly through a tree.
A rush of footsteps carried the bird as far away as it could go, but it had a more permanent trail now- the blood leaking form one side. It was slow, but the red stood out amidst the grays and browns of the cave floor.
Caelem took it from there, flying after the creature and unleashing attacks he couldn't see upon the obnoxious creature. It was dealt with rather quickly- something he was only really aware of because of a set of popups that appeared before him.
Your level has increased by one!
Your level has increased by one!
Your level has increased by one!
Your level has increased by one!
That was... A lot. Then again, he was only level one, and he had no way to judge the level of the bird- it didn't have a nameplate for him to see, on account of being invisible. At least, that was probably the reason; he needed to see more enemies to be sure of that.
Still, four levels for one fight? Definitely worth it, especially when the aching in his chest faded away entirely.
Xander had gotten up by that time, which was a relief. He still seemed a little out of it, but was able to stand and walk over without tripping, which was far more than he'd have normally managed in that time.
"You alright?" Xander asked, placing one hand on the tree for support.
Me? "Totally fine." He was probably missing some HP, but that presumably healed up over time. Most RPGs had out of combat regen, or some other way to recover, which Xander and he could talk about later. "You sure you are, though? You're staggering."
"Suit was meant to let me hear things," he said in explanation, and it honestly was. That thing was loud, and the high pitch really didn't help. If he was supposed to hear, the suit wouldn't be able to protect him from that.
On the note of hearing- pun not intended- the music had come to a stop a few seconds earlier. The song hadn't ended, so much as faded out in the middle.
Draga did a quick check around him for any other notifications, and actually found what he was looking for.
Background Music enabled: The Battle Is To The Strong - Yuki Kajiura
Cool. Is that gonna be the song everytime?
Probably not. Even in crappy games, there was a little variety, but the song was pretty good. If he got the chance, he wouldn't complain about hearing the whole thing.
"So..." Draga trailed off, lacking much of anything to say. Fortunately, his brain came up with something before the silence became awkward. "Is that all the floor is supposed to have?"
It was definitely tempting fate, but more of those things was gonna mean more experience. If they wanted to show up, more power to them.
"Typically there is only one challenge," Xander replied, turning his head to watch as Caelem continued to bucher the already dead animal. "We should have a break, for the moment, which will actually give us a chance to help you."
Draga raised a single eyebrow in question.
"No, you probably don't want Caelem's help."
That seemed about right. Lacking much else to look at, Draga's eyes trailed back over to Caelem. He was too far away to hear the sounds of 'battle', but he could absolutely hear the howls of anger as he rended flesh with his bare hands.
There was also something in his shouts about puny mortals actually hurting him, which was vaguely amusing until his eyes reminded him of just what he was doing.
He looked away.
"You mentioned help?" Draga said, more to fill the gap in conversation than anything else.
Xander nodded. "You're new, so I figure I could help you out a bit. I'm not giving you any of this," he said, gesturing to his suit and hammer, "but I have a bit more on offer."
Lacking any reason to argue, Draga nodded. He rose to his feet, prepared for anything. Or, rather, not at all prepared for virtually anything, but willing to wing it regardless.
A sword was the first thing to appear- a more normal looking one, when compared to the shamshir. It was straight, making it almost infinitely better for thrusting, and still double edged.
He couldn't identify it well himself, but the game helpfully chimed it itself.
Steel Jian
A double-edged straight sword While fairly mundane, the handle and pommel have both been reinforced and it is in good condition.
Taking a guess, that was Observe putting in work. If the skill could level, perhaps he'd get more information from Observing things later?
Not that he really needed it on the sword, but for getting background details on people? That could very well save his life in the long run- especially if it could judge their emotional state or alignment. Enemies often hid in plain sight, but The Game would presumably know.
This power is pretty bullshit.
As was the weight of the stone tablet Xander dropped into his arms while he was distracted.
You have acquired the skillbook [Pale Lightning]!
Would you like to use it?
Y/N
Draga didn't click 'yes' right away, on account of his fingers being crushed into the ground, but did the moment he could.
And didn't instantly regret agreeing to something, for once in his life.
The stone tablet- which he'd left onto the floor moments earlier- began to break apart into fragments of light which beamed up and into his head before he could react.
Then again, with the reward that came from it, it didn't seem wise to dodge.
Pale Lightning (Active) LVL1 EXP: 0.00% MP:100
Energy is simply the abberation of a quantum field- some imbalance which the universe itself will attempt to correct, in time. Magic is no different, except that those who wield it are giving entropy a little push.
Creatures a number of lightning bolts from the hand. Current: 1.
Damage scales with Int and skill level.
Damage ignores mundane elemental resistance.
And it grows more ridiculous by the minute.
There was no misconception that Pale Lightning was some utterly broken ability which would carry him to the end of The Game, but it was undeniably strong. Even ordinary lightning was enough to knock most things out in a single hit. It wasn't necessarily lethal, which was a shame, but that just meant he needed to hit things more than once.
Nerves fried, muscles contracted, and more than likely unable to fight back. That alone made it more than worth the chunk of mana it would drain.
Xander wasn't quite done yet, which was surprising in its own right. He leaned forward, placing one hand between his shoulder and neck, and began to speak.
"For it is in the minds of others that we achieve immortality." As he spoke, a translucent blue aura came to life across his body. It reminded him of the effect of his MP coming up, but was clearly different, as orange and yellow hues were interpersed throughout it. "Through this, we become a glorious god to rival heaven."
The glow moved across the point of contact, spreading across Draga's shoulder. It was cold- freezing, even- and he reflexively tried to take a step back. It didn't work, with Xander's grip holding him in place.
"Infinite in power and unbound from reality, I release your soul, and by my aura, unleash you."
Whatever anxiety he had about Xander was fully realized as the effects sunk in. It was like frostbite, except worse- so much worse- because it was instant. There was no build up or numbing effect, but rather a feeling that his entire body had gone still.
The blue light spread all across his form and began to sink in, while Draga tried uselessly to cradle and rub in whatever heat he could. Xander himself went ignored as the sensation flooded his mind.
And then, as quickly as it came, it faded. The cold was gone, as was the blue glow, replaced instead by a single notification.
Awakened (Passive and Active) LVL1 EXP: 0.00% MP:100, 100 per minute
The soul, a power of will innate to all life, is more than just a vessel to the afterlife. It's an actual construct, given to one when they first take of the breath of life, and can access The Light above creation. It needs only be awakened by another to grow.
Passively increases Str by 30%.
Passively increases Dex by 30%.
Passively increases Vit by 30%.
Passively increases Int by 30%.
Passively increases Wis by 30%.
Additional 30% increase to Str while activated.
Additional 30% increase to Dex while activated.
Additional 30% increase to Vit while activated.
Increases HP regen speed by 100% while activated.
Draga didn't get anywhere near reading the whole thing, quite yet, because a new glow shone from his chest- over his heart. It was white, bizarrely so with how mixed Xander's had been. It spread across his form entirely on its own, even lighting up his clothing.
Unlike the other, this one was warm and comfortable- like Hell, and man was that a strange sentence to most people. It was true, though, as it felt almost like he was basking in the glow of a fire.
It too faded, suffusing with his flesh, but leaving the tiniest of reflective sheens overlaying his skin.
Wow, he thought. I am never going through that again.
The reward, on the other hand, was more than worth it. Even without reading the text, he could feel the sudden influx in strength and the sudden sharpness in his movement. The mental effects were harder to identify, but he still unconciously knew they were there.
He still punched Xander in the sternum- doing more damage to his own hand in the process- when he got up.
Xander took it with grace, though it was impossible to tell if he had a smug smile on his lips- the bastard.
"Done freaking out?" said bastard sniped.
"Yeah, yeah," Draga returned good naturedly. "Laugh it up while you can." It was strange how quickly his panic had turned to bemusement. Xander was a bastard, but a well intentioned bastard.
Draga turned to Caelem, about to make a similar judgement of the archangel, but such thoughts died a gruesome and tragic death.
The ground hadn't so much as shook to announce its presence, yet in Caelem's place was forty feet of colossal worm reaching up towards the artificial sky. It had already reached the apex of its arc and was starting to come back down.
Amidst the stunned confusion that followed, Draga's eyes traced over the creatures nameplate.
[LVL?]
Alagut Furo, The Earthly Drill
The Game chimed in helpfully with it's own opinion.
Background Music enabled: Monody [Instrumental] - TheFatRat
To most, that wouldn't mean a whole lot, but he actually knew what Monody meant- after all, he'd written one. They were poems or songs written to lament someones death.
Thanks for the support, Game.