Spearbound: Interlude II

David wasn’t sure what he felt as he stepped onto the official battlegrounds. The leaders had called it the line of control, and it was a fitting name.

A monster breaching the line meant the city’s territory would contract.

He wasn’t among the council deciding for the city, but it was public knowledge the line of control hadn’t moved farther because of the fear of overextension.

The terrifying monster wave Chicago currently faced proved the decision was a good one.

“David?”

He flinched at the gruesome visage of the man that called him. The blood, sliced flesh, and exhaustion did nothing to hide the bloodlust in the man’s eyes.

“Y—Yes!” David straightened his posture, reminding himself that he had experienced a rift zone. This should be nothing.

“I’m Baker, your superior for the during of your stay. You’re a Scholar, correct?”

David nodded, expecting the usual scorn that followed.

“Good! I’ve seen your listed abilities. Do you think you can pinpoint the weaknesses here?”

He blinked, realizing why he had been called here even though he was a Scholar. He certainly was no Anita Shah to play the puppet master, but he could scrape by and survive a rift zone by exposing the weaknesses of monsters with a unique rune.

“I’m not sure. I never faced so many monsters at once… I’ll do my best,” David said.

Baker narrowed his eyes. “I sense there’s a but.”

“I need to be closer.”

Baker nodded.

“And nothing can interrupt me.”

Baker scoffed and said, “Follow me.”

David tailed him closely, the sounds of slaughter getting louder with every step. A few blocks were cleared of non-combatants when the monster wave hit the line of control.

He liked it better when he had been one of those non-combatants, tasked with researching way to use mana other than killing monsters.

They left the last building in the safe zone behind. All that was ahead were the [Warriors] throwing themselves at the monster wave at the line of control, the [Mages] supporting them from behind, and the ones taking a breather a short distance away while getting healed just so they could rejoin the fray.

“Switch!” The roar came from the line of control.

The hundreds getting healed immediately jumped into the line of control without hesitation, pushing the monster wave back for a moment. They were able to hold when the exhausted group pulled away to get their own breather.

“Can you stay focused with this around you?” Baker asked.

David wanted to say ‘no’ instinctively, but he couldn’t leave without giving it his best shot. Not when he might save so many lives with his support ability.

But he underestimated the line of control.

“Can you get more Scholars? They don’t need to have any specific ability. Any Scholar will do.”

Baker looked pleasantly surprised. “Finn guards you people like gold, but I’m sure I can convince him.”

***

David ignored the death glares shot his way and pretended that he was too busy designing the rune they had to place.

He could understand why his fellows [Scholars] were furious. He would feel the same if someone had yanked him from a safe research building and dropped him into the middle of a battlefield.

The slaughter of the monsters, with their guttural roars, high-pitched screeches, and echoing clicks, didn’t help their mood. Neither did the sight of the rare casualties on the defenders’ side.

The latter was what David hoped to change, and their help was mandatory. He simply didn’t have enough mana to place all the runes by himself.

“All of you absorb the rune,” David ordered, stepping back from the rune he created on the ground.

The [Scholars] didn’t move, and one woman went further and complained.

“You have got to be joking! Does Finn know about this?”

David didn’t have to play enforcer.

“You will do as you’re told!” Baker yelled. “Anyone that refuses to follow instructions will be thanked for volunteering to join the defense force.”

The [Scholars] glanced at each other before reluctantly placing their hands on the rune one-by-one.

David hoped he hadn’t ruined his work atmosphere by pissing off his peers. [Scholars] were rare enough, and highly skilled ones all knew each other.

There was a reason his peers were reluctant to absorb his rune. It would render their own research useless for weeks, since David’s runes were unique to him, and it would contaminate their mana.

“Ah!”

“Fuck!”

“Damn it, David!”

Five [Scholars] dropped to their knees as their veins turned red and bloody tears streams down their faces.

David winced in pity. That was another reason the [Scholars] refused to absorb incompatible runes. It could react terribly. 

“Healers!” Baker summoned the [Healers] on standby, who rushed forward to stabilize the bleeding [Scholars].

David drew the rune again and addressed the [Scholars] that were unaffected. “Again.”

***

An hour later, David watched with Baker as the [Scholars] tried to apply the runes into the fight.

“Switch!”

The healed [Warriors] jumped at the line of control, with the [Scholars] that could absorb the rune safely following right behind.

“Shouldn’t I go with them?” David muttered.

“You’re the only one that can create that rune. I can’t have you catch a stray claw and die,” Baker said bluntly.

David hummed as he gazed at the line of control. The [Scholars] had done their job by placing the rune and scrambled back to safety. A few seconds later, faint white lights appeared on the monsters’ bodies.

“HA!” the familiar, commanding voice at the line of control roared, “Target those lights! They’re the critical hit areas of the monsters! Send these ugly shits back to hell they came from!”

The answering roar from the [Warriors] and [Mages] shook the ground, and their attacks pushed the monster wave back slowly as the monsters died faster than they could be replaced.

Baker grabbed David’s shoulders with a gleam in his eyes. “How long will this last?”

“Um, a few minutes?” David said. When Baker deflated, he quickly added, “I can make more, but the Scholars will have trouble placing more than five before the strain is too much.”

Baker let go of David and sent a message. “Finn, I need mana potions from the shop. As much as you can buy.”

That was that. David found himself a temporary job as the lead designer in a rune assembly line.