Seeds of Discordia

Liam stared at the bodies of the hyenas that were sprawled about the ground. Some had their legs detached from their bodies while the rest sported deep and long cuts all over their torsos and heads. He could feel the power in each monster steadily increasing with every new wave.

He wasn’t entirely sure if this was how Wave Dungeons operated. If it was then he was getting great practice in for whenever he finally took one on. He was happy with the experience he was getting from taking on each set of monsters as well as putting his practice from the Yellow Dungeon, he took on earlier, through this gauntlet.

   He decided to use his Shadow Hand fighting style since the amount of creatures coming out at a time was increasing. He was glad too since these hyenas were not only fast, but crafty as hell. Since he had leveled his Mana Control and Manipulation, being able to wield both hands intentionally and subconsciously was getting better. He could feel he still needed to work on his focus with them during fights, but for now they were acceptable.

A loud roar brought Liam out of his thoughts and tore his gaze over to a pen that was much bigger than the ones that had previously opened. Even the door was wider and taller. Liam was both concerned and wary of those details as he waited for the monsters to come out.

A small wave of seventeen goblins came out. Several of these goblins wore metal helmets and brandished short swords. The rest wore cloaks and had bows with a quiver on their back full of arrows. The last two were different. They wore dirty brown robes that covered their entire bodies. The only other notable thing about these two were the staves they gripped tightly that looked to be made from a tree.

Liam was wary of these goblins. Not only were they completely different from the Feeble Forest Goblins, but they also looked a lot stronger than the ones from his first round. After scanning his enemies, Liam was then brought to a confusing thought. The size of these creatures didn’t match the size of the door they came out of. It was much bigger than them in height and width. He then watched as they locked eyes on him and grew impatient and agitated. They each started to race towards him until another loud and commanding roar escaped from the pen. They skidded to a halt and looked back at the cage waiting for the final monster that was still within to make an appearance.

Liam watched as this next monster came out. Watching this creature gave him the answer he was pondering about with the door. It wasn’t for the goblins, but for the tall Hobgoblin wearing metal gauntlets, a pauldron over one shoulder and leather pants. In his right hand was an axe that looked small when gripped by his beefy fingers.

Liam stared into the creature’s eyes as it scanned the area around it. Liam could tell it was smart. He could see the calculative and cunning mind working as it raised its free hand and said something in its deep voice. Liam wasn’t able to understand the creature, but he knew he was giving out commands as fifteen of the goblins separated into three groups of five and fanned out.

Liam clicked his tongue. He knew this fight was going to be tough. He watched and observed the goblins as they formed teams and spread out so not to be bunched together. They way the Hobgoblin separated them was smart as well. Each group had three goblins with swords and two with bows. The robed goblins stood slightly in front of the Hobgoblin. He had to admit that this was a smart way to organize the smaller creatures.

He tried to think about how he could go about this. What abilities, combinations, and items he could use. Unfortunately for him the Hobgoblin didn’t wait long after the three groups got into position. The Hobgoblin pointed to the two outer groups and said something in their language. Shortly after that, Liam felt a pressure start to build around the two robed goblins.

Liam activated his Mana Sight and looked at the two robed goblins. To his amazement, a silvery mana color outlined their bodies as mana built up around them as they started chanting in their language. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do, but one thing he did know was he didn’t want them to succeed.

Instinctively, he threw two normal Crude Curved Bone Throwing Daggers at the mage goblins. Liam clicked his tongue as the Hobgoblin swung his axe in a smooth motion and deflected both projectiles. Soon after that the mage goblins finished chanting, the two groups of goblins glowed with the same mana color they had built up.

He wasn’t sure what kind of spell was cast. He was about to chant a spell of his own but stopped as his Danger Sense lit up around his chest, arms, and head. Liam swiftly jumped to his left, barely missing the arrows that flew towards the area he once stood at.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Liam took a step forward. He was about to sprint for the group of goblins he was closest to but was shocked as two of the three sword wielding goblins were already on the move and had closed the distance quickly.

Liam had to turn his body to dodge a thrust attack from the first goblin. As he dodged the attack and saw the goblin overextend with the attack, Liam switched his grip on his dagger in his right hand and drove it right into the back of the creature. As he pulled it out, he kicked the creature away, using the momentum to dodge an attack from the next goblin.

Liam tried to strike at this goblin but had to abort the counter and push backwards to dodge another group of arrows that sailed right for him. He felt one of the arrows graze his right arm and scowled. He needed to take care of those damn archers.

He created a Shadow Double where he stood and used Shadow step to appear right behind the goblin archer that was on the outside closest to him. As soon as he appeared behind the archer, he slide one of his daggers across the neck of the creature.

Blood gushed out as soon as his dagger finished running along the neck. One of his Shadow Hands drove a dagger into the other goblin archer. He was about to stab his other dagger into the monster’s side but stopped and used Shadow step to appear behind one of the sword goblins fighting his Shadow Double. As soon as he appeared he looked at the spot he was recently at and watched as a bolt of Arcane magic collided into the goblin archer.

The goblin archer that was struck with the bolt and had blood oozing out from the wound on its neck fell down. From the way its body laid lifelessly, Liam knew it was dead. He was happy one was down, but at the same time he was shocked to see the mage goblin had used its magical spell without caring if it hit its comrade. He also noticed the shocked expression on the other goblin archer’s face before it turned to look at the goblin mage would attacked and yelled angerly at it.

Before Liam could think about capitalizing on that behavior, the goblin he had appeared behind swiftly spun around and tried to strike at his chest. Liam bent his knees and ducked low enough for the sword to swing over his head, took a big step outside of the creature while bringing both daggers to his left as far as he could then slammed both daggers right into the monster’s rib cage. After sinking both daggers through the monster’s flesh, Liam pushed them towards the monster’s back and jerked them out as hard and fast as he could.

After freeing his weapons from the monster’s body, Liam felt his Danger Sense light up again and used Shadow Step to appear behind the other sword wielding goblin that was distracted by his Shadow Double. As soon as he disappeared, arrows and two more bolts of Arcane magic slammed into the goblin Liam had just attacked.

Liam took the opportunity his Shadow Double created, switched his grip on both daggers and slammed them down into the monster’s back where the spine started. Both of his Shadow Hands drove their curved daggers right into the monster’s side at the same time while his Shadow Double thrust his weapon into the chest of the goblin as well.

Liam felt the weight of the creature start to fall as he pulled his weapons out from it. He sent his Shadow Double after the lone archer on the left side and was about to head towards the middle group. However, as soon as his Danger Sense flared up all over his front side of his body, Liam pushed off the front of his feet to dodge the incoming attack while looking to see what it was.

The attack coming right for him was the Hobgoblin’s axe. It was spinning fast as it sailed right for him in a vertical angle. He believed he was safe to dodge it until the spinning blade started to tilt into a diagonal angle. Due to how hard the Hobgoblin threw his weapon and how fast it was spinning, the angle grew unstable. Inches away from him, the axe had fully shifted into a horizontal angle.

Liam’s eyes widened as he watched this happen. Feeling panic start to fill him, he stumbled trying to dodge it and fell completely to his back. As he hit the ground he watched the wicked looking axe tilt back into a diagonal angle and buzzsaw into the ground. The force used to throw the weapon was enough to create a crack into the ground splitting the earth it dug into.

Liam gulped as he stared at the deep gash the axe created. His worries didn’t end there as the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood up. The axe vibrated violently, trying to free itself from where it was lodged.

No. Liam thought as he realized what was going on. He scrambled to get up and move from where he was. As soon as he moved away from the spot he fell, arrows and bolts of arcane slammed down. He didn’t care about those attacked though. Instead, his focus was on the axe that had dislodged itself from the ground it was once stuck. It flew from where it was and made its way right back into the hand of the Hobgoblin.

Liam saw the wicked smirk on the monster’s face as it stared at Liam. Liam shuddered as he stared back at the creature. He wasn’t staring at the monster’s smirk though. No, what he was staring at was the deep red mana that outlined a lot thicker than the mages that stood next to it.

 That fucking thing has magic too! Liam internally yelled. God fucking damn it!

Liam moved again as another group of arrows and bolts of arcane whizzed in his direction. The priority list had changed. He needed to disrupt any mana those three were building up. He thought about what he could use to do that. He couldn’t chant any spells since the archers would stop him with their arrows, so that was out.

He needed to create an opportunity for him to stop both the magic users and the archers. An idea came to mind as he thought about what he could do. He didn’t know if he needed to use this at all, but the battlefield seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. If he could pull it off then he would be able to find a way to get the others distracted enough for him to cast what he needed to.

Nodding once, Liam sprinted as fast as he could towards the other side of the field. He pushed himself as hard as he could to dodge the arrows and spells that were thrown his way. He was lucky enough to be just fast enough to not get hit by them.

As soon as he got within the distance he felt was right, Liam used Shadow Step. His body dispersed into a cloud of black smoke as arrows and bolts of arcane magic pierced through it. He reappeared behind the archer that was right in front of the two mages and Hobgoblin.

Almost like it was anticipating it, the hobgoblin lifted his right hand up with his axe. It took a step forward and swung down as Liam appeared. However, as it swung, Liam gently tossed a flask in the path of the monster’s attack right before tossing another one up in the air right above the group of goblins that was behind him before Shadow Stepping away into the middle of the group that was to the right.

Liam created three more Shadow Doubles and sent them loose to fight this group of monsters. He then used Shadow Step to appear behind the sword wielding goblin that was furthest outside and ran away from the groups. As soon as he was far enough, he turned to watch his creations in action.

 

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The hobgoblin swung his axe down hard on top of the slippery creature that liked to appear and disappear when he liked. He was getting annoyed at the man for his antics and for destroying a small section of his minions. Those were his minions, and no one messed with his minions except for him.

He had watched the man earlier and tried to predict where he would end up every time he turned into that weak smoke. There was a pattern to his attacks that reminded him of those damn weak shadow rogues. He knew if he studied the pattern he would understand where the pesky thing would end up.

After some time, he began to understand the creature’s fighting patterns. It was quite easy to know where he would appear after he figured it out. If someone were a big enough threat he would appear behind him and attack. Since he was easy to read he would be easy to trap.

He looked down at his Goblin Mages and instructed them to bombard the man with Arcane Bolt. After the mages acquest to his orders, he waited for his opportunity. As soon as it came he chanted his Body Rage spell that gave him a boost to his power. As soon as he finished chanting he threw his axe and watched to see if the man would get hit. To his surprise the man dodged it.

He then watched as the man looked at him. He grew a smile as he realized the pest could see his mana. That was good. It further proved that he was the biggest threat to him. He would try something soon.

And soon he did.

The hobgoblin felt the area behind the archer close to him in the front shift. It was weird. The feeling that came with his sudden arrival. It was cold, empty, and frighting. He didn’t like it. He took a step forward and got ready to strike the moment he appeared. As soon as he did, he swung down.

As he swung with all the power he had he noticed the creature do something before he felt that strange power waft out. A scowl appear on the hobgoblin’s face as he realized the weakling ran. He wanted to scream but didn’t have time as he felt his axe hit something and heard the sound of glass shattering. He grew confused at this but didn’t have time to react as a powerful blast of air expanded from where his axe had shattered the glass object. The air pushed out in a ten foot radius and started to circle around them.

The Hobgoblin yelled at the Goblin Mages to figure out what was going on. He was about to yell again since they were taking too long, however the moment he opened his mouth he felt dust enter and tickle his throat. He also felt some dust hit his eyes and enter his nose while more covered his body as the area around them began to become super windy.

An itchy and painful feeling licked his skin as his eyes, nose, and throat began to feel tingly. That tingly feeling quickly turned into a painful burning sensation. He closed his eyes as the pain was too much to handle. His insides clenched as the burning sensation swam through his body. He could feel his health start to drop as the pain coursed.

He then felt something pulling him forward. He couldn’t tell what it was that was pulling him forward since he had his eyes closed. Whatever it was, it was something he couldn’t fight against.

He was about to yell at his mages to clean or cleanse whatever was going on, but as he tried to open his mouth to yell and his eyes to look at the buffoons, he noticed an orb right in front of his face. A pulse shot out from the orb and clashed with the swirling air all around him. Before he could close both his eyes and mouths he felt his body freeze.

He couldn’t move, he couldn’t yell, he couldn’t breathe. The burning sensation that was coursing through his eyes, nose, and his insides intensified as his lungs started burning as well from not being able to breathe. Panic rose within him as he fought desperately to release himself from whatever was holding him. He could feel liquid start to run down his nose as he tried to will himself free.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the area where his five minions that were in front of him was filled with a thick black fog that had flashes of red lights flickering vigorously every second. He could hear the screams his minions released within that fog.

Just what was going on? Where did these powerful spells come from? Did they come from that weakling? But he didn’t chant any spells. He made sure to have his archers and mages pester him so he couldn’t. But he was the only one here. So, if they came from him then how did he do it?

Something caught his eye in front of him. The fog that engulfed his small group of minions was slowly leaking into their area. He didn’t know how or why it was, but he could feel a power wave of terror slowly approaching him and the two mages. In a slow pace, which was probably caused by whatever was going on with them, the thick black fog slowly engulf the two mages in front of him. Red flickering flickered all over their bodies after the fog swallowed them whole.

He tried to move. Tried to free himself from the hold this empty zone had on him. However, no matter how hard he struggled it was pointless. In just a couple of seconds the black fog reached him. After it swallowed him whole, he realized exactly why his minions where screaming.

 

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Lady Arachne watched as Liam threw both flasks. She was curious and excited to see what else her new favorite toy was going to show them. And exciting it was. She watched as the area around the Hobgoblin and the goblin mages was surrounded with a powerful swirl of air.

That swirl that expanded into a ten foot radius created a wall that barred any creature from escaping. She then noticed dust swirling around the wall of air before it was pushed inward and covered the three creatures.

Hm…Air plus bone dust? Just what did he make that would require… Lady Arachne started to think until she saw the three monsters start to act weird. They looked like they were in pain. Then all of a sudden a Gravity orb appear right in front of the Hobgoblin. It sucked him and the goblin mages closer together.

“Is that…,” Silent Saboteur started to say as he watched the scene happen before them.

Lady Arachne turned to look at him and asked, “Is it what?”

Silent Saboteur looked back at her and said, “I’m curious to know if it’s a certain Chemicalized Creation but I wont know until…Ah there it is.”

Lady Arachne turned to look back and saw that the three monsters stood still. It was almost like something held them in place. She could see the painful expressions on their faces they all had their mouths opened and eyes wide. Blood was running down the two goblin mages as blood ran down the Hobgoblin’s nose.

“What’s going on?” Lady Arachne asked, still confused as to what was happening.

“I’ll explain what is going on later,” Silent Saboteur stated. “Just know that, that Alchemical item he made was with Liquified Air and Gravity Mana Extracts and a powdered poison.”

Noxi nodded, agreeing with the list of materials Silent Saboteur provided.

Before anyone else could say anything, Orchid asked, “Okay, but what about that?”

They looked at what she was pointing at and watched as a black fog exploded outwards from where the flask crashed down at near the back of the group of five goblins in front of the Hob and mages. Red flickering lights flashed every second while it swallowed the creatures within the area.

Lady Arachne was about to ask what it was when she noticed the black fog start to leak into the area that held the Hobgoblin and the two mages. Confused she asked, “How is that happening? I thought there was a strict radius of effect each item had?”

Silent Saboteur let out a deep laugh. “That is something you don’t see often.”

Orchid and Lady Arachne stared at the portly man. They tried to wait for him to give a response, but after it looked like he wasn’t going to give one they turned to Noxi.

With a sigh, Noxi explained, “It doesn’t happen often, but you know how there are certain distances a Chemicalized Creation has right?”

The two women nodded.

“Well, that area can expand when certain criteria is met,” Noxi continued. “If two Chemicalized Creations are compatible and their radius of effects overlap together when used around the same time, then one can bleed into the other. This creates an effect where both Chemicalized Creations’ effects combine. While this does not create a new Chemicalized Creation, it still creates a nasty combination. Especially with these two.”

“That is interesting,” Lady Arachne stated. “Do you think he knew about this?”

Noxi and Silent Saboteur shook their heads.

“No, if he did then he probably would have done this sooner,” Noxi replied. “This was a happy little accident that he’ll probably exploit later.”

Lady Arachne gave a slight chuckle before shaking her head. Creating opportunities and learning new things in battle. That is really amazing. She turned her focus on the Hobgoblin who was completely covered in the black fog. She could feel his bloodlust and anger growing more and more. While this will probably wipe out the small fry, that Hobgoblin wont give up. Little kitten, I hope you are prepared for what comes next.