Seeds of Discordia

Liam stared at the fenced pens that were spread out. Each one had different species of various sizes. He also noticed that the amount of creatures in each pen varied as well. The way some of them slammed against the fences as well as the others who shot out magical spells, told Liam they were not that weak.

He tried to assess one but found that he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure how or why he wasn’t able to but thought that maybe it had to do with the fence, or some magical ability used.

He looked at Lady Arachne and asked, “So how is this going to happen? Am I going to fight them all at once? One by one? Pen by pen?”

“One of the three,” Lady Arachne stated with a smirk. “It will be pen by pen. In order from weakest to strongest.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “I am going to assume you have tried to assess their levels yes?”

Liam nodded.

The shorter woman nodded in approval. “As you can see you won’t be able to assess them. There is a spell placed in this room to prevent you from being able to. I’ll just tell you now there reason for it, it is so you just focus on the fight and those you are fighting instead of getting caught up in something trivial as numbers on a screen.”

Liam raised a brow. He was about to ask the question that was burning in his mind, but was stopped as Lady Arachne continued, “Now you might have a counter argument to that and you’re right…there is a limit to what I just said is true. However, that is only when it comes to situations where it is a low level versus an extremely high level. However, there is a factor many don’t take into consideration and after what I have seen so far with you…I believe this factor fits you perfectly.”

Still a bit confused on what she was going on about, Liam waited for her to continue.

“That factor is related to your sub-stats and how you work on them instead of just placing points you get from personal level ups,” Lady Arachne stated.

Liam understood exactly what she was talking about now. He had this talk before, back in the Tutorial Area with Nabal. It was better to level and train your sub-stats because then your body would be able to acclimate to the changes rather than just pushing points into them.

The differences between the two? Just shoving points into a sub stat won’t help you understand the changes made as you level the sub-stat, but by training your body you can understand how much stronger you become, faster you are, smarter, etcetera.

As Liam thought about this he came to a question. He looked at the woman and asked, “What does that have to do with this test and not being able to assess my opponents?”

Lady Arachne smiled as she replied, “Everything. By not being able to assess your opponents you’ll have to fight them without knowing exactly how strong they are. Instead, you will be using everything you have honed and make judgment calls as you go. We want to see how you adapt to fights you have no clue how screwed or close you are to them. Use all you are willing to show and kill as many as you can. You will get ten second rest periods in between each fight.”

Liam grimaced at that. Essentially what she was saying was he had to treat this as a Wave fight with no knowledge of the monsters. While going into fights blind was something he had been doing and was trying to stop doing, it looked like he had no choice. From scanning some of the monsters from where he stood he was able to see some that were familiar. The rest…he had no clue what to expect from them.

As he stared at each pen he felt something he didn’t think he would. Excitement. While the last two tests were hard, this one was straight forward. Kill each monster that tried to kill him. Standing there staring at them, he was thinking about how happy he was Eri had him go to that Yellow Dungeon to practice. Sure, some of his combinations wouldn’t be able to be used since they required his Lunar Magic, but he still had some tricks up his sleeve he could use. The other thing that had him excited was, he hadn’t come across a wave dungeon yet. What he was about to do right now wasn’t exactly the same, but the principle was. Fight waves of monsters.

Liam stretched his arms out and waved them a bit as he cracked his neck. He pulled out his daggers and let them rest by his side as he looked at Lady Arachne. “Anything else I need to know?”

With a bemused look on her face, the woman stated, “A little eager are we? Well, if you’re raring to go then let’s not delay this any longer. Go ahead and get ready while we get into position ourselves.”

Liam nodded as he watched the four slowly make their way off to the right as far they could while still remaining in sight. Orchid then spread her arms out, causing the ground to shake a bit. Four giant flowers suddenly bloomed underneath their feet and rose into the air with thick stems the size of tree trunks.

After the flowers stopped growing, they each got into a comfortable position and stared at Liam. Lady Arachne then announced, “Killing Test Wave Themed…” She stretched out her hand as she said these words. “Will start…Now!” She snapped her fingers sending out a ripple throughout the air.

Liam watched the ripple spread out and towards the pens. As soon as it washed over them, he heard a loud audible click. Shortly after that a pen door opened, allowing a group of seven goblin creatures to rush out with a mad look on their faces.

As Liam stared at each of them he could tell they were a lot different from the Feeble Forest Goblins he had fought back in the Green Dungeon. These ones had better weapons and wore cloth armor. While they had better weapons that just poorly sharpened clubs, their weapons were simply better crafted daggers.

He studied their movements as they rushed towards him. The door to their pen wasn’t large enough for all of them to run at once. Instead, they ran out one by one lining themselves up in a crooked line as they sprinted towards him.

Liam thought about the most optimal way to take care of them without wasting a lot of stamina. That was going to be his down fall. If he ran in blindly then he could tire out quicker. No. He had to do this smarter and a lot more cautiously. He judged the distanced from where he stood and how far the lead goblin was.

He sheathed his daggers and pulled out one of his Lightning Enchanted Runic Curved Throwing Bone Daggers and one of his Gravity Enchanted Runic Curved Throwing Curved Bone Daggers. He readied himself as he aimed for the creatures legs. Without any hesitation, He threw both daggers. His aim was slightly off as they flew through the air, but to his relief they had struck the outside of both thighs.

Not wanting to waste time, he pulled out the second of both types of daggers and threw again. This time they struck the middle of the thighs and sunk in. Liam pulled the two that were on the ground behind the goblins that had passed them while running back to him with Mana Manipulation. As these two raced back to his hands they sliced a couple more of the goblins. As soon as they reached his hands, Liam threw them once more at the lead goblin. Once again they struck the outside of the monster’s thighs a bit higher and lower than the last strike. Liam pulled back the two that were stuck in the creature’s thighs before the monster could pull them out.

Liam noticed the monster’s speed start to slow a bit as the leg that was struck with the Lightning enchant spasmed a bit. A smile grew on his face as he threw the daggers at his next target that passed the now slowing goblin. He continued this tactic until each goblin had slowed to a crawl. A couple had dropped their weapons thanks to the Lightning Enchanted daggers striking their weapon holding arms causing the Static Pulse to course through their limbs.

After they reached a speed he was happy with, Liam pulled out his Shadow and Lunar blades and raced towards the monsters. Thanks to the Static Pulse and the Weight Increase Effects they were plagued with, Liam was able to kill them in a short amount of time without any resistance.

After the last goblin fell to the ground, he quickly pulled his daggers back to him and sheathed them. He then stared at the pens, wondering what was going to come out next. After ten seconds had passed, he heard a click that echoed. Following that noise came five howls.

Liam watched as five silver haired wolves burst through the pen door and raced towards Liam. Their speed was much faster than the goblins he had just faced, and they were gaining ground towards him fast. To Liam, this meant the tactic he used earlier wasn’t the best choice.

No, the tactic was a good choice, just the application wasn’t. He wouldn’t be able to hit these creature with throwing daggers due to their speed. They were much faster than the goblins and they were smarter as well. They would dodge in time before he was able to sink a throwing dagger into. If that was the case then he just needed to use a spell. He had just enough time to get the chant out before they reached him.

Liam pointed his dagger in his right hand out and chanted, “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Condense into a single spot. Pull to you and Keep any and everything that tries to escape. Gravity Well!”

The wolves were extremely close as soon as he finished his chant and created the orb that would turn into the Gravity Well. However, due to how close they were, if he didn’t drop it and run now they would be able to attack him. Not only that, but he would be caught in the spell as well.

With a quick glance at each of the beast’s location, Liam smiled and dropped the orb right at his feet. As he dropped the orb, the two fastest wolves jumped into the air and aimed for his neck and side. As soon as they got within inches of his skin, he puffed into black smoke and reappeared behind the wolf that was in the back of the pack and sprinted. The wolves were confused as their target had suddenly disappeared. However, before they could react and try to find him again, the orb that had dropped to the ground quickly rose up and sucked them all closer to it. They tried to fight the pull but failed as they collided into one another.

Not wasting any time, Liam chanted, “Shadows coalescing, head my call and come forth. Manifest mediums that will serve to unleash your wave of power. Swarm together and into your target. Go forth and unleash your power. Shadow Swarm!”

As soon as the spell started sending out the wisps of shadow into the wolves he chanted his next spell, “Gather forth, Oh, vast Arcana. When single is ineffective, dive in with numbers! Release the pent-up anger of the mass. Arcane Swarm!”

Liam released a barrage of Arcane magic as soon as he finished chanting the spell. As he let both swarms flood into the creatures he pulled out his non-enchanted and runic throwing daggers and threw them into the wolves. After a few rounds and once all three spells stopped, Liam watched each wolf fall to the ground dead.

Liam felt his stamina had drained a bit while throwing each dagger. These ones were crude and not the average quality like his enchanted and runic daggers which meant the damage they could do was less. He pulled out a Weak Orange Stamina Potion and drank it. He didn’t know how low his Stamina Pool had dropped after that exchange, but he didn’t want to take a chance on it dropping too low in the next fight.

As the next pen opened he heard a familiar chittering sound and watched as four mantises walked out of their prison and looked around. Three of them were similar in color and looks while the last one was slightly taller and had a white hue with some yellow mixed around the head. Its legs and abdomen had a darkish pink color to it with thin petals that hugged against the thorax.

He recognized these creatures and inwardly cursed, Fucking Static Clawed Mantises and Electro Orchid Mantis.

Without wasting the calm moment these creatures gave him with their curious nature of examining the area, Liam aimed for the Electro Orchid Mantis and chanted, “Hidden within the dark, I call upon you to bind my target. Grasp them with the tendrils you possess. Remind them why they should fear their own Shadow. Grasp of the Shadows!”

The shadows beneath the creature shivered before shadowy tendrils shot up and wrapped around the creature’s scythe-like arms, head, legs, and around the petals that covered the thorax.

The Static Clawed Mantises noticed Liam after he chanted that spell, let out a shrilled war cry-like shriek and sprinted towards him. Liam didn’t stop his chanting as he went right into his next spell. “Hidden beneath and lying in wait, the unseen’s poison is never delivered late. Bellow out in a puff of smoke and slip into the stream. Corrupt the body, Corrupt the mind. Deliver the fear you wish to create. Shade’s Corruption.”

As soon as the plume of black smoke exploded from underneath the trapped Mantis, Liam used Shadow step to appear behind the Static Clawed Mantis in the back. This creature turned around to try and attack him, but as soon as it lifted its claw and turned, Liam sliced through the joint connecting the arm and the body.

He then disappeared and appeared behind a different Static Clawed Mantis and separated a leg. He continued this strategy, cleaving through the joints of each creature. He had to admit that each time he tried to use Cleave through the joints he felt a lot of resistance proving these creatures were much tougher than the ones he fought in the Yellow Dungeon. He had to adjust his strength with each blow to make sure he sliced through, but to his luck the adjustments weren’t that bad.

He had to dodge a few attacks here and there so a claw wouldn’t strike him, or an electric attack didn’t land. He almost didn’t make it out of range in time several times. These mistakes told him he was rushing, and he needed to slow down. He was able to make adjustments to other flaws he noticed throughout this fight and was finally able to kill the last of the Static Clawed Mantises not too long after that.

After the last of the male mantises dropped, he focused his attention on the Electro Orchid who was struggling to free herself from her bindings. Puffs of black smoke escaped from her mandible mouth telling him the creature was still taking damage. He didn’t waste any time as he dismantled her arms, legs and eventually her head.

He was panting a bit after racing through that and drank another Weak Orange Stamina Potion and a Weak Blueberry Mana Potion, readying himself for the next wave. He could feel his heartbeat race as he stared at the pens. He took in a few breaths and slowly released them while chanting in his mind Calm the Storm. He felt his body relax as the next pen opened. With a calm mind and body, he took on the next group.

 

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Lady Arachne, Noxi, Silent Saboteur, and Orchid watched as Liam fought through each wave of monsters. They were impressed with how he handled the first few waves. It was obvious that he should have been able to handle them since they were on the weaker end of the power spectrum amongst these monsters. While his techniques were still at a beginner’s level and they could see his flaws and areas he needed to improve on, they were still impressed with his tactics.

“His idea to use the throwing daggers with the special effects was smart,” Silent Saboteur commented. “Although I’d like to know where he got those Enchanted and Runic weapons. He is still far too inexperienced to have made them and no one on the island would have them in stock.”

“Probably something he obtained in the Tutorial Area,” Noxi stated as he sat down and watched intently at the slaughter going on before them. “I personally like how he handled the wolves. Trapping them with a Gravity Well and dropping it where he stood was a great way to create a sense of false confidence. Then using that shadow spell to appear behind the last wolf and got out in time before it activated…that was great.”

“Don’t forget him using two different swarm spells to created multiple damage and then adding more damage with his throwing daggers,” Silent Saboteur added. “He took them out with no issue.”

“As much as I hate to see the little cuties get hack away like meat for someone’s supper,” Orchid started with some irritation. “I must admit it was a smart strategy. Also trapping the Electro Orchid Mantis right at the beginning and placing an affliction spell on her as he took care of the smaller ones…it was a good move. If she were able to get a flash in at any point in the fight he could have been in trouble.”

Lady Arachne nodded at their comments. They were right about the fact that he was using smart moves and strategies against these creatures. Combining Grasp of the Shadows with Shade’s Corruption was an excellent decision. Trapping the stronger of the monsters and making sure they still take some form of damage while handling the minions was a good way to show a person can handle themselves with a group of monsters.

However, she could see the mistakes he was making here and there. While not glaring and obvious at first, if he went up against a monster that could see it then it could be a big problem. Luckily for him, she was able to see the adjustments and corrections he was making while in the middle of the fighting. It made her smile to see he was learning. Still though, she still felt like he was going too fast. He needed to slow down before he made a mistake that would get him into a lot of trouble.

That being said…she was not only impressed with his tactics, but also surprised that not only did he have a good amount of spells, but that he had the fields at a decent level. Shade’s Corruption needed a person to get not only the field to a certain, but also the Affliction Focus Point as well. That means he must have leveled his Blanket of Darkness quite a bit.

Her eyes narrowed at that thought. How long did he have the Field for? It took time and a lot of monsters to use it on to get it to a certain level. If he didn’t get the field here on the island then that meant he had gotten it before officially arriving on the planet. That meant he got it in the Tutorial Area. If she remembered correctly the monsters inside the tutorial dungeons shouldn’t have enough monsters to give that much experience needed.

Did he spend a lot of time practicing in the Mage Tower while he was there? If so then did he also spend his time working on his Gravity Magic too? To be able to have Gravity Force Push before leaving the Tutorial Area was another feat not many would be able to reach.

She was brought out of her thoughts as she noticed his body relax. This made her happy to see. Him rushing would lead to not just mistakes, but injuries as well. The fact he was able to make this call told her he could effectively use his head in fights. As she watched him relax and calm himself, she noticed his lips moving. It looked like they were repeating the same phrase over and over.

Calm…the…Storm… Lady Arachne smiled. She felt it was good he took the time to find that Knowledge Theory. If he hadn’t, she was going to suggest it. For those who fought a lot whether it be against people or creatures, they could easily lose themselves in a fight and over pace their rhythm. This Knowledge Theory was perfect to help calm their minds, body, and spirit. Not only that, but it also helped them get into a Battle Zen that could easily help their battle prowess even more.

Her thoughts suddenly stopped as she felt something else coming from him. He was channeling mana. Her brows scrunched as she felt a familiar mana type exude from him. It was Shadow Mana.

“Is he…,” Lady Arachne softly muttered to herself subconsciously. Her eyes then widened as two Shadow Hands suddenly appeared around him. This caught her off guard. Not only did he just show he had Mana Control and Mana Manipulation at a level higher than they had figured, but he had just created two Shadow Hands that were meant to help with crafting endeavors and…

“Is he giving those hands daggers?” Noxi asked the question they were all thinking about.

“Is he going to use them to fight?” Orchid asked as she turned to look at them. “Is that possible? I thought they were useless for battle. Has anyone heard about this before?”

“No. I haven’t heard of anyone using this spell like this before,” Silent Saboteur replied.

“I mean it looks impressive, but…,” Noxi started to say as the next pen opened up.

Several Hyena type monsters laughed and yipped as they sprinted out of their caged area and right for Liam.

Before anyone could add to Noxi’s sentence they stood and watched with confused, surprised, and impressed expressions as Liam tore through each creature using not only his own daggers, but also the Shadow Hands in an effective way that none of them had ever considered at all.

They all stood in silence as they watched this fight. Thoughts of how they could use their own Hand spells filling their minds. They wanted to test and try out what they were now theorizing. They didn’t realize how inspiring this small thing was nor would they really admit it to anyone because they believed that a person who was new to the world needed to be the one inspired and shown the wonders of what they could do, not the other way around.

You are just full of surprises today Little Kitten. Lady Arachne thought as she stared at Liam with a predatory smile. Is this why he took him on as an apprentice?

A loud roar echoed off to the side as the next pen opened up. Lady Arachne shifted her gaze over to the creature that let out the war cry. Several hitch pitched screams followed close behind after that.

An excited mischievous grin slowly grew as she saw his next targets. She then thought to herself as excitement and anticipation started to fill her. Things are about to start getting harder from here on out. Show me. Show me what he sees in you. Show me what else you can do. Show me what else you have in that invisible bag of tricks of yours. Please…show me your potential my little insidious kitten.