NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: Base Defense
The world seemed to tremble for a moment before a pillar of steel-colored light appeared in the distance. Specks of light flew out from the pillar. It was a handful at first but slowly grew into dozens, it wasn't until the largest group arced in the air and shot toward us that I realized it. "Birds." I rotated my spiritual energy as indigo energy crackled silently in my hand. "Flyers! Everyone with ranged attacks take aim." I felt the others move along the wall as Tyrone took a knee at my side. When I was able to make out their forms I couldn't help but chuckle. They were metallic raptors, a cross between a hawk and a falcon with talons the size of daggers. Each one looked big enough to lift a grown man.
"Fire on my Mark." Lieutenant James' voice rang out like a crack of thunder. The sound of over a dozen bows being pulled taught filled the air. I couldn't help the excitement that welled in the pit of my stomach. If I closed my eyes it was as if I was at the battle of helms deep or at the forefront of an elven army defending against a horde of orcs. For the first time, I let the fantasy wash over me. I let it banish away the fear. When I opened my eyes the birds had closed the distance. I couldn't tell if they were alive or if the System had created these just for them to fight. Nor did it matter. I felt a scream of danger as the lead bird's talon glowed with a white light. My eyes widened and before I thought about I stepped in front of Tyrone and pushed energy into Psychic Aegis. The indigo barrier sprung into view a second before the air was split apart. My spiritual energy drained rapidly as the monster unleashed a slash that carved into the wall at our feet. My shield held I stepped to the right as Tyrone released his arrow. The arrow shot from his bow like a bullet.
His arrow was lost amongst the horde of monsters. The attack and response signaled the beginning of the battle. The Lieutenant waved his hand and the small storm of arrows met the raptors in flight. They fell out of the sky like stones but it made no difference. I unleashed Psychic Blast, a beam of psychic energy blasting forward like a rail gun. The beam caught through them with an eerie silence. The attack passed through them and for a second there was nothing. I heard a snicker from one of the privates but I ignored it as a surge of energy slammed into my dantian. Three birds fell from the sky a second later. I only had a moment to relish my small victory when the raptors crashed into us and all hell broke loose. I caught the mother and son duo go flying from the top of the wall as one of the raptors dug its talons into the mother. Her son swung his sword around ready to cut it down which left him open for a second raptor. Its beak tore straight through him. Her scream was lost in the chaos of battle.
I turned as a pair of talons dug into my barrier. I wasn't sure if the bird wanted to break through or lift it and me into the sky. I refused to allow it either. Another Psychic Blast caused the bird to drop like a stone, I turned to pick out my next target. "Fuck!" The orderly lines that the Lieutenant formed were gone in their place was chaos. Our forces had split between fighting and fleeing. Tyrone had fallen back at some point and unleashed a volley of arrows at every bird he could but it wasn't going well. Blood dripped down his right hand and he had switched from physical arrows to energy-based ones. I unleashed another blast and knocked a bird that had snuck behind him out of the sky. I gave him a nod before I turned my attention to the grey pillar.
An idea rapidly formed in my mind one that I knew was stupid but another part of me. The part that imagined me as some sort of hero urged me forward. The System said that we had to defend this place for twelve hours but it didn't say we couldn't attack. It didn't say that we would face an endless amount of enemies, I stared at the steel grey pillar as I made up my mind. I searched the battlefield for the Lieutenant but couldn't find him nor could I find the privates. "Fuck me." I unleashed another blast of psychic energy and then sprinted for Tyrone. Three more raptors fell to the ground before I reached him.
"I am going to try and cut the attack off at its head. Will you come with?" I conjured my barrier just as another raptor dived for us. It slammed into the shield causing a spider web of cracks to spread through it, the bird's beak passing half through before it stopped moving. A surge of energy confirmed the kill but I was forced to dismiss the barrier to get rid of the body.
"The silver pillar then? They won't survive long if our best fighters leave. Morale is already fraying at the edges."
"None of us will survive if we have to hold the line here. There are too many birds and we have descended into chaos."
He hesitated a moment a complex storm of emotions passed across his face in an instant. I was about to ask him again when a scream of pain forced him to act. He unleashed two more arrows these aimed at the talons of a bird that had started to pull a woman off the ground. "Do you need me?"
I opened my mouth to reply but the seriousness on his face made me reconsider. I was much higher in level than him and I could tell that I would level up at least once on the way there. I wanted him to join but his power would be more useful here. "Fuck. No stay here if things continue like this you all will need to retreat. I will try and draw more of them to me as I go. Don't die."
He nodded and I broke out into a run. I reached the doors in less than a minute thankfully they were unguarded since the attack came from the sky. I removed the latch and pulled one open just enough so I could slip through. Once I was out and into the forest, I looked up and picked a few targets. The amount of energy per kill was just a bit more than the price of each blast so I decided to unleash as many attacks as I could. Five birds from the sky before they realized what I had done. Several of them changed course and arced toward me. I grinned and pushed my improved body to its limits. The trees blurred as I tore through the forest. Blurs of light cut down tree after tree while Psychic Aegis guarded me against the onslaught. The situation was insane but the part of me that enjoyed the thrill howled in laughter. I ducked behind a large tree just long enough to unleash two blasts, two more birds crashed into the ground before another blast of light shot for me.
I dived behind another tree as the previous one was sliced into three pieces. "I guess I had better keep moving." I turned and pushed forward. The trees hid me from aerial pursuit as I got closer to the steely pillar. I ran for what felt like half an hour before I was forced to stop. The trees within a hundred feet of the pillar had been flattened. A ten-foot-tall metallic man sat in front of it. One hand held a sword the size of a person with a slightly blunt edge. I moved back into the forest not wanting to start a battle just yet. I had a few minutes before I could use Psychic Aegis again and there was no way I was going to fight that thing without proper defenses. The man didn't move but a slight tingle in the back of my mind told me he knew I was there. It was like a passive sense of danger, the feeling you get when you're being watched by a predator. When my spell was ready I summoned the shield and started circulating my energy. I drew my dagger and took a breath. I was pretty sure this guy was stronger than the wolf which sent a thrill of excitement along my spine.
I scanned the forest and the sky but there were no other monsters near here which made me feel better about my chances. There was no sense in putting this off anymore. I pushed energy into the sigil for Psychic Blast and waited for the soundless energy to answer my call. As soon as it was ready I unleashed the beam. The metal man opened his eyes just as the beam hit its chest. My eyes widened as it stood as if nothing happened. It lifted its massive sword and charged at me. I barely had enough time to step back into the forest before it was upon me. The metallic humanoid swung its sword with enough force to cleave three trees before it embedded itself into the fourth. I unleashed another blast and continued my retreat. The pattern repeated itself as my confidence grew. The metal man was strong and durable but very slow. Not to mention it telegraphed its attacks. Despite that, every near miss was enough to send a thrill of fear down my spine. I unleashed another psychic blast when something changed. The metal man stumbled back, his sword dropped from its hand. I darted forward dagger in hand ready to end this when a scream of danger shot through me. I planted both feet on the ground along with a surge of energy into my feet. I shot back a second later as the metal man unleashed a straight jab that caused the ground to explode.
Another scream of danger was all the warning I had as the metal man blurred and slammed his fist into my barrier. My spiritual energy drained like I had sprung a leak but the barrier held long enough to drain the momentum of the attack. When the barrier shattered I was moving through the forest. I tried to piece together what the hell was happening. "Oh come on. Is a stage boss?" Another scream of danger sent me diving behind a tree and into the dirt just in time for a metallic fist to pass through the space my head had been in a moment ago. I spun and unleashed Psychic Blast only this time the attack forced the metal man to stumble back several steps. So it was weaker now? Which meant I would lose if I kept running. I gritted my teeth and gripped my dagger. The metal man blurred and my instincts screamed at me to run but I didn't. Instead, I ducked in like a professional boxer, I felt the wind pass my forehead the metal man reappeared his fist narrowly missing me. I tried to slam the dagger into his chest right where a heart would be only for the blade to shatter. "Fuck me."
My eyes widened as the metal man's knee blurred and slammed into my ribs. My scream died in my throat as I desperately fought for breath. Another scream of danger before something slammed into my side with the force of a Mack truck. I shot through the air and slammed through two trees. "Ahhh!" Sound exploded from me as pain radiated through every part of my body. Every instinct told me to stay down, that the pain would fade if I just stopped moving. A pang of danger told me that I had to move but it was so soft. Nothing like the screams from earlier. Still, I pushed my spiritual energy into the sigil for Psychic Aegis. My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the metal man. He wasn't moving quickly anymore, he looked like a got damn terminator.
"Ha, ha" I groaned as I got to my feet. At least two of my ribs were broken and I was pretty sure I had some internal bleeding but I didn't care. There was no way in hell I was going to let some damn machine kill me in the got damn tutorial. I pushed energy into Psychic Blast. My Dantian was running on E but I had enough for this and if I didn't I doubted I would live long enough to complain. The machine must have felt something change because it blurred and slammed its fist into the barrier. Psychic Aegis held just long enough to bleed most of the strike's momentum. Just enough of the force that I felt I would survive the hit. The fist slammed into my chest and it took every last ounce of willpower to keep control of my spiritual energy. Thankfully the tree behind me held. I reached forward with the last of my strength and placed my hand on the machine's face. I then unleashed the last of my spiritual energy into the great Psychic Blast I could muster. I felt a familiar pop in my mind and then the attack changed. Instead of a single blast, it transformed into a continuous attack.
Indigo energy exploded out as if we had turned into a sun. I held on for as long as I could, as soon as my dantian was empty the flow stopped and I crumbled. My hands raised in a feeble attempt to continue the battle. It felt like the world froze in anticipation of what would happen next as if the whole world was holding its breath. Finally, the metal man fell, and a deluge of spiritual energy slammed into my dantian. The sudden influx of spiritual energy was like giving a man dying of thirst an entire ocean to drink. My channels flooded with energy as I rolled over onto my back. The steel-colored pillar winked out a second later and I let out a pained cough. I wasn't sure what came over me in the second as I let out a scream. A release of all the emotions that had gone into that fight, the near-death experience, the thrill of victory, the pain of my injuries, all of it came together. I wasn't sure how long it took me to get control over my emotions before the pain was all that remained. It took me several more minutes to get back to my feet and I was just about to leave when I caught sight of a box where the pillar had been earlier.
I raised an eyebrow before making my way over to it. When I opened it I found a full set of robes and shoes. I groaned when I checked the current state of my gear. I was naked at this point and the few pieces of fabric that remained were bloody and disgusting. The robes were in a mix of indigo and white I slowly pulled it out and realized that there were two different parts to the outfit. An inner part that was a long sleeve shirt and pants set only the shirt didn't have buttons. I figured I was supposed to wrap them up to hold the whole thing together. Either way, it was a welcome change. The second part of the outfit was the outer robe. It was thicker and was mostly indigo in color. Unlike the inner part, the outer robe had a fabric tie to keep it together. The final things inside the box were a pair of shoes and an information stone. They were pure white which almost made me not want to wear them.
A second look at what remained of my shoes told me I didn't have that luxury. I carefully placed the box back on the ground and then stripped out of the tattered remains. Every move sent a wave of pain through me which forced me to move slower. When I finally got the whole thing on I let out a low whistle. The outfit fit perfectly as if it had been tailored specifically for me. I knelt and removed a small information crystal from the box, I sent a small bit of the energy I had recovered into it and winced as information filled my mind. This was a set of 2nd realm robes and had a few passive abilities. Mainly the robes would auto-clean, mend, size themselves, and generate a passive bit of protection. It wasn't to the same extent as my aegis but it would help in two ways mainly, first, it would disperse the impact through my entire body instead of the point where I was hit. Second, it had a sigil that when activated formed a bubble barrier. Between it and my Aegis, I felt pretty confident in my defenses. I decided to just leave the remains of my old clothes behind. There weren't any trash cans out here and I didn't think the System was worried about litter. I had just started walking back when the voice of the System filled my mind.
Quest 2 Complete. Calculating Personal Contribution. Contribution 99%. Time Taken: Three Hours. Quest Grade: A+. Reward Distribution has begun. Tutorial Title has been improved.
Tutorial-Quest 2: Complete the Second Assignment of the Tutorial. Reward: +5 to Wisdom, +5 to Agility, +5 Intelligence
Another box appeared on the ground in front of me as soon as I finished reading the prompts. I let out a low groan as I knelt to pick it up. When I saw what was inside the pain was the last thing on my mind. There were two items inside, one was a small pill bottle and the other was an odd fruit. The fruit looked a bit like an apple only much smaller, bright yellow, and covered in black and green swirls. I was pretty sure it was the attribute fruit so I bit into it. The fruit was so sweet that it made my jaw hurt and lock up slightly. I let out a groan as I let the taste wash over me. When I got control over myself again I finished the fruit and was about to turn my attention to the pill bottle when the System's voice returned.
Commencing teleportation now.