Chapter 51: Relic Theft

William Oh’s face is so hard that the craftsmen of Benguli used it to stamp marble blanks, which they meticulously scaled down for their currency.

• Kevin Hammond, level 15 scout

…Why am I standing on a hydra? Will thought as the ground rose up beneath him in the middle of his power-pose, six massive necks rearing up around him, revealing half-rotten frilled draconic heads that emerged from the swamp, dripping with muck.

Then things got rough, fast.

Mark Wyrd launched himself up at Will, shooting through the air by virtue of overwhelming Strength.

Wonder if he’s got similar stat growth? Will thought, triggering Gravity Charge and targeting his Phantom Hand, causing himself to slide backwards out of the way of a feral punch.

If there was one thing Will could be confident of, it was that so much of Mark Wyrd’s build was dedicated to optimizing Thorns that it was unlikely he had any spare Abilities dedicated to movement or attack.

So, despite being twice the level…he wasn’t as fast as Will.

On the other hand, I can’t actually hit him, Will thought, weaving around the six fungus-dotted necks the size of massive tree-trucks while an irrationally angry young man chased Will around them for no reason.

Maybe I can..

It took an agonizing fifteen seconds of playing keepaway around the massive necks while all hell broke loose outside their little dance, until Will spotted an opportunity.

Will dodged out of the way just as one of the hut-sized maws came down at him, leading Mark Wyrd directly into the path of the creature’s attack.

Either this will work or I’ll get bisected, Will thought, crossing his fingers.

The entire Hydra jerked as its head slammed down into its back, snatching up Mark Wyrd like a bird with a fish. The lordling was clamped between the hydra’s razor-sharp teeth bigger than Will’s palm.

With an odd tearing sound, The hydra’s stomach burst open as tooth-marks savaged it’s side, caused by Mark Wyrd’s damage reflection.

At least it’s not me.

POOF!

Will watched in horror as the massive cut along the hydra’s side released an explosion of spores, catching the enemy Nuker in the face.

The Nuker went stiff and toppled over backwards, his eyes beginning to fill with Mycelium.

Oh, shit, Will thought, glancing back up at Mark Wyrd, clutched between two rows of teeth.

“Hey, maybe we should find a better-“

Mark Wyrd gave a vicious elbow strike to the hydra’s jaw, shattering the teeth and bone keeping him in place and dropping back down to the hydra’s back, where he rose to his feet, not looking away from Will.

Well, that’s terrifying.

Will was so distracted by the feat that he didn’t react in time as the lordling charged him, landing a good haymaker in Will’s liver.

Will folded around the strike and slammed into one of the many necks creating the bounds of their arena.

Ow, my hand! Son of a-

Will had just enough presence of mind to angle Gravity Charge to slip out of the way of the follow up punch aimed at his face.

“You can fly?” Mark Wyrd demanded, the tiny cuts on his sides closing rapidly.

I’m starting to get his build. Will thought, shaking the pain out of his hand, where it felt like he’d punched his own liver over and over again until it was bloody.

If Will was correct, his dance partner had a Thorns Primary Ability, and a Lifesteal Primary Ability, both of which were incredibly rare, but together? Insane…ly cool.

Mark Wyrd took the actual damage, reflected it, then healed based on the amount of damage he reflected, keeping him in fighting shape while the other guy withered away.

Unlike a traditional Tank, he didn’t have any Taunt or teammate protection abilities, which meant he actually didn’t fill the Tank role, despite having a stat block nearly identical to one.

Even the punch he landed on me triggered the Thorns, damaging my hand while also bruising my liver, Will thought, shaking the pain out of his bleeding hand.

His Relics must synergize to drastically boost his Abilities.

There was no way a class would ever give someone anywhere near 100% Thorns and 100% Lifesteal, not without a full suite of Relics dedicated to boosting them.

If Will could steal some of them…

Easiest ones?

Will scanned his opponent’s body until he landed on the circlet around the lordling’s brow with what looked like a drop of blood in the center. The lordling’s rings had spikey motifs, making Will wonder if they faced inward too.

And of course the amulet was rather hefty, with some kind of skull and bones cast in silver.

Will didn’t have much more time to think about it as the lordling pursued the advantage, rushing in to close the distance.

Will flew backwards, keeping pace with the slowpoke.

“Is this your father’s build?” Will asked, running his mouth while he did some thinking. “Because you’re kinda slow, makes me wonder how he’s a Lord.”

“GAH!”

Mark Wyrd pulled a small sphere out of his pocket and threw it at Will.

Will desperately flew sideways, allowing the object to rip through the air past him.

BOOM!

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

The sphere exploded against the Hydra’s neck behind Will, causing shrapnel laden with deadly mycelium spores to pepper the side of Will’s body.

Oh, that’s so much worse.

Will’s skin went cold as he felt an itching begin to spread outward from a handful of points of pain on his body, but there was no time for horror, as the Lordling was already in range with another punch.

Damnit. Will turtled up, putting his bad arm in the way as the Phantom Hand swooped in. Will was going to have to take the hit to even the playing field.

This is gonna hurt.

Dimensional Storage

29->26 of 34 Charges remaining.

The Phantom Hand swooped past, landing on Mark Wyrd’s fists and finding themselves unable to pass through. This was something Will already knew through testing. Whatever Tower-magic created a Climber’s Class also warded off intrusion from the Phantom Hand.

But he wasn’t trying to store a chunk of his opponent’s heart or unleash acid in their brain, he was trying to snatch two rings and an Amulet, worn externally.

There was a strange…cobwebby feeling as the Relics were plucked off and stored into his Phantom Hand, if he was stretching some ephemeral bonds between the lordling and his relics before they finally snapped.

Crunch!

The punch got through his guard and caught him in the ribs again, causing Will to tumble to the side and slam up against a hydra neck, barely avoiding getting snatched up by one of the angry-looking zombified heads.

Will felt a pain in his right hand, as the damage feedback from Mark punching him was fed back into his own hand, but it was significantly less than before.

About thirty percent? Before it was somewhere close to 85-100%. Much better.

Mark seemed to not have noticed that he was a few ounces lighter as he pursued the advantage, charging straight toward Will.

Will switched the orientation of Gravity Charge, boosting his jump with gravity, flying straight towards his opponent.

Mark’s eyes widened minutely, but he didn’t bother to block, instead going for a vicious right hook, expecting his Build to do the heavy lifting for his defense.