Shadowbane

After my talk with the Tengu concluded I made my way back toward Godwin's family.

"Godwin, help me figure out what my enhancement cap is."

"We can't use mana, fool. Are you trying to pull the Versha over here?"

"Can't we go through that portal and test it over there? I just came through that side and I didn't see any enemies, so we should be fine."

Godwin shook his head, "We can't go back that way. All day long for well over a month now we've had people check to see if it's letting us leave, but as you can see, we're still stuck in this fucking cave. Otherwise we'd have just retreated back to the other side of the mountain and had scouts tell us when the herd moved on."

I was wondering why they remained in this cave if it was so dangerous to stay here... Well, shit. I guess I'll just have to wait.

"Dad, what's an 'enhancement cap'?" Hera asked.

"I don't know either actually." Jasper added.

Godwin sighed, "I'm not surprised that neither of you have ever heard that phrase before. After all, your pops here has only met a handful of people who have ever reached their 'peak'. That includes me by the way."

"Oh? When did you hit your peak?"

"About ten years ago. Turns out I have a much larger pool of mana than the average person. NOT THAT IT CAME AS A SURPRISE TO ME!!"

"Father, please stop bragging and explain. We asked about a cap but now you're using the word peak and talking about maximum mana instead. So now I'm curious about that as well. Can you no longer increase your maximum mana once you hit this 'peak'?" Jasper asked.

"You can increase it indefinitely, son. But once you near your peak it slows down quite a bit, and you'll know when you've hit it. You can feel it in your soul."

"Mine went in a weird direction. During my run here from Rai'ga's lair I realized that my mana regen spiked to an insane level. My maximum went up of course, but it wasn't at the usual max mana/regen rate that it always advanced after I gained strength. In fact, it was so skewed that I'd say my regen went up almost ten times more than it did in the past."

Jasper's eyes widened while Godwin quirked an eyebrow before saying, "How long does it take you to regen your mana now?"

"About a minute. In the past it took an hour, and that's when I had a much smaller pool of mana. But it made sense when I thought about it on the way over here. My stealth ability suggests that I should be built like an assassin, which means a swift end in combat, one way or the other. And then there is the skeletons. Maximum mana is always nice, but in this case it would've been nearly useless compared to regen since my Liches are the ones who can hold astronomical amounts of mana." I continued, "Basically, regen serves me far better in both aspects."

"Ooh, I just realized!" Hera chuckled, "The Versha would be perfect summons for you, wouldn't they? Even their armor is made of bone!"

Hmm, I can create a really strong set of armor at this point, and the heavy armor Petey used wasn't all that bad either. But, I am definitely interested to see if a suit of their bones would create a more powerful armor.

I looked around the cave. The Tengu and Telebron's people both looked equally exhausted and bored, but it was also obvious that they were all on edge.

It's safe to say I'm one of, if not the only one, who actually wants to battle the Versha. It'd be for the best if they left in peace, but I can't deny that I'd be disappointed if I wasn't able to get my hands on at least one of them.

"I know the Versha have a powerful innate ability to sense mana, but do you think it is enough to sense mine through my veil if I'm using a very small amount?"

Jasper sat back and crossed his arms, "Probably. We've been fine even if someone uses a little magic in here. We assume it's because the cave itself is mostly blocking our perception of the outside, so the inverse should be the same. Our Lord is just barely able to hold his connection to a probe he has outside. It's there to make sure the Versha aren't coming this way, and to keep a lookout for any sacrifices sent our way in the hopes of drawing the herd to us."

I want to create a new suit of armor, but it looks like I'll need to wait a bit before I can do that.

"Any ideas as to what is trying to pull them here?"

Jasper shook his head, "It can't be Demons or Xerath, the Eldritch on Mother destroy any outside corruption instantly. They never give it time to take root and fester. So that means it's an Eldritch that either wants them or us dead. Perhaps both?"

Hera raised her hand, "Can we get back to the 'cap' and 'peak' for a second? Why is Rei asking you for help in testing her cap? We can all tell what our internal mana is so this doesn't make any sense."

"Good question, my frivolous daughter. To start, let me be more specific. Your mana has a 'peak', while your enhancement has a 'cap'. The maximum mana peak was explained earlier, so I'll dive into the enhancement cap now."

Godwin continued, "I say that, but it's actually really simple so there isn't all that much to explain. It's basically how much mana you can use to enhance yourself. The test she wants to run has no purpose for defense, as you will always block any amount of damage so long as you still have mana in your reserves, no matter how hard you were hit. However, the cap does play a role in how much damage you can do. So our white haired friend here wants my help to see what her maximum damage is without using conduits like artifact weapons. Either that or she's using it as an excuse to punch your Father."

"Both are correct assumptions."

Jasper chuckled, "Well, I can't say I blame her. But uh, Rei? Where is the artifact armor at? The one you still haven't paid me for."

"Somewhere in Viktor's lands. He killed me and then gave it to someone else or sold it. Either way, I don't have it anymore."

"We heard about him killing you again... Our Lord told us many years ago." Hera said.

"Yep, and that makes it three times now. Xelba, Viseux, and then Xethra. That last one is another city of his. I know it's hard to tell with how unique his city names are."

Jasper winced, "Sorry, Rei... That was a dumb question. I knew you had died again at some point, so it should've been obvious that you no longer had the artifact. I guess I was happy that you had something from our time together all those years ago."

"Thanks Jasper, but don't worry, I'll get it back at some point after I crush the skulls of Viktor and his two guards. I'd bet anything that one of them has it. That fucking werewolf is still carrying around Ishar's spear and it pisses me off more and more every time I think about it." I continued, "But honestly, it's a miracle I even had the artifact as long as I did. I should've lost it in Viseux. I can't believe it was still in the spot I died during the invasion."

Termia was the perfect opportunity to upgrade the damned thing too. It would've been a nice lifeline to have...

A gong rang out. I looked to my right and Varuna was standing there with a small gong hanging down in his left hand, and a tiny mallet in his right hand. He lowered them both when he had everyone's attention.

"Don't worry folks, the problem has been taken care of. We killed the Humans running this way and the Versha returned to their camps." He said, which made most of the people in the cavern smile in relief.

"That's it, they just turned around and went home after the Humans died? Seems... Odd."

Godwin laughed, "Of course not, idiot. They devoured their corpses and then went home. But why the hell would he tell everyone that? Most of these people are already scared out of their mind as it is. They all just want to reach Gaia and settle down, but instead they're trapped in this damned cave with a horde of massive monsters out there that could overrun us at any minute now. All it will take is one fuck up, and so even my nerves are beginning to give out after being stuck in this high-stress situation for over a month. I just want to leave god damnit..."

... That's a good point. Sometimes I really forget what it is like for the average person in this fucked up world of ours. While I'm over here thinking about how great it would be to test myself against the Versha; all of the people in this room are only thinking about how badly they want things to return to how they were before. Back when they had homes and lived in relative safety.

"Rei." A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw Xi standing there with a light but sad smile on her face. "Thanks for saving me back there. They were going to eat me, literally. But Belfos attacked as they were preparing for dinner and then all of you wiped them out. So again, thank you..."

They were going to eat her?! They couldn't have been hurting for food that bad, so it was probably an order from Rai'ga. I can see him doing that just so he could tell us about it after we had arrived, but Belfos arrived much sooner than we did, thank god.

I reached out and patted her hair, causing her to look down in embarrassment. "I-I'm an adult, you know? Can't you just hug me instead?"

"I like doing this. It's become a habit of mine after meeting Aresa. But back then she was really happy when I did it. I'm still not used to the teenage version of her..."

"HA! So she's a moody brat now eh? I'm looking forward to seeing that!" Godwin said.

"One more reason to hurry to Gaia, right Father?" Hera said.

"... Yeah. Now that the little princess is near me again, I'm not going to let anything happen to her."

A fairy with white hair done-up in a ponytail landed on my shoulder. "You're slow, Rei! Why are you still over here? I wanted to brag about keeping you alive during the Rai'ga fight!"

"When the Mantis head tried to fill me with holes using those bone spears, right? Thanks for the barrier at that time, Luna. And good to see you again as well." I smiled and pushed my nose into the side of her face, causing her to tip over."

"N-No! When you were chopping his head off with your pet Crotia. See, after that spear attack I felt like it'd be best if I channeled my mana into a barrier that I'd use during a pivotal moment, ya know? It wasn't easy just sitting there channeling onto a barrier and not using it with all those attacks coming at you, but ooh I was so glad I did in the end! You would've been melted just like your pet was if I hadn't protected your back."

So that's why Petey had died and I was still alive... I equally shared my mana with him so it was a little surprising that Rai'ga had focused him instead of me, or at least that's what I thought had happened. Turns out he was blasting us both equally, but I was able to survive thanks to Luna.

"Thanks, little one. Alicia and Benny might have been able to finish him off, but even if they could have, I still would have been dead for god knows how many years. So I'm only here right now thanks to you."

"O-Ooh..."

I said it with too much sincerity apparently. She's suddenly all embarrassed and unable to look at me.

From there I walked over to Telebron's group and listened to Kai explain how the battle went as they fled toward Mother's portal. Once we were done talking everyone turned in for the night as the light shining in through the cave entrance began to dim.

Three weeks went by as everyone just sat around talking while waiting for the horde to move on. But despite the Tengu Lord's claims that they'd be 'leaving any day now', even he was beginning to wonder if that was true or not.

The Tengu Lord looked down and scratched his head, "I don't understand... Nor does my Father. He said it usually only takes them a month to drain even the biggest of crystals, and the ones they're camped next to range from small to medium sized. Also, we don't even know how long they were here before we arrived. I've been working under the assumption they made camp around the same time we walked through the portal, but now I'm not so sure..."

I, the Tengu, Varuna, Lunaria, and one of the Merfolk's representatives was sitting on his large bedroll. The Tengu had called us here to try and figure out a plan of action going forward. Just sitting in this cave wasn't an option anymore because the Merfolk told us that a very old Eldritch was migrating with his people to the north and he was clearly aiming for the portal we all came through. They were going to arrive in two weeks according to them, and if we were to believe the Merfolk, that meant we had to make a decision, and soon.

Lunaria raised her hand, "And we're certain that it's going to attack us?"

"According to our friend here, yes." Varuna motioned toward the Merfolk. It was a strange looking fish creature when I had first arrived here, but over time it slowly morphed into a more Human-like form(including its voice). It had reached a point that it was mostly Human now, and the only thing odd about it was its webbed toes and weird fins sticking out of its head(but even those had been receding). Apparently they are able to alter their forms to match the races around them. And as a result, they have many allies from all different corners of Mother's surface. This also means that they know which Eldritch and monsters you want to avoid.

The male Merfolk known as 'Tam' nodded, "Sadly, it is true. The Eldritch is named 'Ultros', and he's not one to be trifled with. He migrates to different parts of Mother every twenty years and quickly adapts to whatever environment he decides is his new home." He continued, "He is not peaceful, not even a little. While the Versha are more than satisfied to drain Mother's lifeblood and nothing else; Ultros absorbs everything. He migrates with his spawn and Lords after reducing their previous home to a desolate environment that is devoid of all life."

The Tengu shook his head, "Well it's not hard to figure out what such an Eldritch would do if we were to wait here for it. So that leaves us with a rather simple but horrific set of options. We either wait and attack this 'Ultros' and his creations as they come through the portal, which will probably alert the Versha to our location regardless of how much the cavern is blocking our auras. And the other option is..."

Drawing the Versha to us and making a stand. But even if we do win, one other problem remains.

"Tam, how fast does Ultros and his people move? I know they're 'two weeks away', but let's assume we are able to crush the Versha and leave immediately. If Ultros' migration moves at twice the speed we do, it'll all be for nothing."

"A great point, Miss Reimia. While also being a worrying one... Tam?" Varuna said, looking at Tam.

"Fear not, his migration is slow. See, they stop quite often to 'feed' off of the environment. While they're two weeks away at the speed they move, it'd only take you lot a couple of days to reach them."

Holy shit, they're really close then.

"And you only just now spotted him?" Lunaria continued, "Not judging you Tam, as I appreciate the warning. It's just that we're kind of screwed here if Ultros decides to speed up the migration now that they're so close to this cave."

"It may seem late, but do you remember seeing any rivers on your way here? While we can adapt to any environment, we are most comfortable in the water, so that's where most of us remain. The only reason we even knew Ultros was migrating here is because one of our allies had warned us a few hours ago. We haven't actually seen him ourselves, but we trust the source of the warning." Tam said.

"Tam, do you offer more than food for jewels?"

Lunaria quirked an eyebrow but the Tengu and Varuna immediately realized what I was hinting at.

"We do, but it won't be cheap."

"Explain what you can offer, and for what price." The Tengu said.

Tam nodded and pointed at the lake, "We can alter the land around the lake in a way that it'll inject toxins into anything that enters the area. We already know this works against the Versha. It'll reduce their speed and eventually paralyze them. Also, we can provide ranged support from the lake."

The Tengu and Tam went back and forth for a while working out what he was going to buy and what he had to pay. I didn't know much about jewels, but it was clear from the Tengu's attitude that they wanted a lot for their services. Still though, the Tengu had no choice but to buy them, as every little bit of help was going to be necessary for the battle to come.

"Rei, what are you going to do with the greatsword and scythe?" Lunaria asked me while the others were listening to Tam explain what their 'ranged support' was.

"The artifacts? You can have the scythe so long as you give it someone who isn't going to steal it. I need it to bring back a friend of mine and Aresa's. And I'm giving the greatsword to someone who's a perfect match for it."

I remember him using a greatsword during the battle with the Moon Eldritch, so I assume that's his preferred weapon.

"... By the way, I see you're getting along well with the Tengu."

"Meaning?" Lunaria narrowed her eyes at me.

"Meaning I'd like to know why the hell you blocked my connection to the Tengu God. If you don't like him that's fine, pretty much nobody does, but that wasn't your fucking decision to make."

"What...?" She immediately went from wary and annoyed to confused. But she quickly swapped back to being annoyed, "Rei, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Back in your cave before I traveled to Telebron I was talking to the Tengu next to you as we sat in one of your ponds. But I was suddenly cut off and I could tell it was your aura that sealed off his connection."

Lunaria just stared at me, lost in thought. It took her nearly ten seconds to finally respond to me, "You were in my pools, which cleanses everything that the person's soul sees as a threat. But it needs to understand it's a threat, and that's why you had to personally break off Rai'ga's connection to you. As for why the Tengu's would suddenly break... I'm not sure. The only thing I can think of is that you recognized his connection as a threat which made my water attack it, or the pure disgust I was feeling in that moment as I thought about how you were actually conversing with that creature had been a catalyst that made my water see it as a threat. I've never had that happen before, but that was my first time resting in my pools with someone else."

... Both sound like plausible explanations, but it's impossible for me to fully believe either of them. This Eldritch masquerading as a woman is vain enough to cut the connection just because she felt like it.

Lunaria sighed, "And I even showed up nude for you! Not many people have seen these without clothes on, you know?" She lifted her breasts up and pretended to pout. Like I said, vain. Although I won't deny that they are really nice to look at.

Tam stood up and began to walk toward the lake.

I looked at the Tengu, "All done?"

"He's going to relay to his kin what we need, and they should be back here within six hours with the goods. According to him, it'll take about a day to fully grow everything that he's sending us, and that's only if we continuously pour mana into them. Which obviously runs the risk of the Versha finding us, but that's not something we need to worry about anymore since we're going to be pulling them back here regardless."

So this is really happening... Looks like I'm going to get the opportunity to test my new strength much sooner than I had expected.