Spearbound Ch. 47

You have destroyed a Mole Titan (Arcana Level 48)!

Footwork (Level 13)—>(Level 15)

Spear Thrust (Level 12)—>(Level 13)

Level-up! (x5)

Arcana Level 38—>Arcana Level 43

Free Points: 0—>7.5

Constitution: 40—>45

Endurance: 23.5—>33.5

Strength: 41.5—>49

Wisdom: 14—>16.5

MP: 3/28—>8/33

MP Recovery: 15.2% per minute—>19.9% per minute

Kade dismissed the interface and stayed on his back. He allowed himself to rest as his injuries healed.

The interface interrupted him again.

Warning: Your [Dexterity] limits your skill ‘Footwork’ to Level 15!

He narrowed his eyes at the warning and was about to question the System when Eliza almost tackled him. An impressive accomplishment when he had already been lying flat on the ground.

“I thought that was the end!” Eliza said, relief expressed in every word. She had lost her usual aloof demeanor, though her clothes were still maddeningly flawless.

Kade grunted in agreement. He couldn’t help but think that the fight would’ve been slightly more manageable if she had done something other than shooting sand spikes at the mole titan.

Hellion squawked after he landed right beside Kade’s head. The bird felt stronger than before, and its size had also increased slightly. Hellion had gained some benefits from the death of the mole titan.

Kade patted his head before wincing from having to move his raw skin. He went back to lying on his back and doing nothing, waiting to fully heal. “I’m guessing the mole titan wasn’t a pillar.”

Eliza shook her head and pointed her thumb behind her. “It’s right there. I would destroy it, but I have nothing left for more spells. Give me a few minutes.”

Kade turned to see what she was pointing at and saw a grimy, corroded purple pillar that looked to be around twenty feet tall. He remembered the large space in the city, where the pillar had supposedly been before she destroyed it.

“… I expected it to be much taller with how you described it.”

“The previous one was, but this thing looks to be half-digested by the mole titan. Your guess is as good as mine as to how it got inside the beast.”

Kade reverted to grunting. He flinched when he felt Eliza’s hand on his stomach. It reminded him of how acidic the fluid in the brain cavity was.

He looked down and blinked. He might as well be naked.

“I definitely win our bet,” Eliza said, letting out a small laugh.

“I already conceded the wind to you before,” Kade said dryly. “I suppose losing everything except my new shorts reinforces that.”

His shirt had long since disappeared, and so had most of his pants. The acidic fluid had eaten away nearly all of it, leaving him with shorts that ended above his knees and had plenty of patches that reveal the skin underneath.

Kade looked at Eliza. “I don’t suppose you could magic me some new clothes, can you?”

Eliza hadn’t lost her amusement as she shook her head.

He sighed and muttered, “I need to find clothes that won’t disintegrate every time I fight something… or ones that are resistant to it.”

“I’m sure someone will find a solution, eventually. You can’t be the only one whose clothes disintegrate at the earliest opportunity.”

Kade wanted to dispute that, but it might very well be the case until he could speak with other [Warriors].

Hellion squawked, wanting attention, but all the bird did was remind him they were still in hostile territory. He pushed Hellion through the bond to get back in the air and act as a lookout.

“I want one of those,” Eliza said as she looked at Hellion in the sky.

Kade grunted, wordlessly agreeing with her. He had reservations about accepting Hellion as a companion, but the ember falcon had been highly useful thus far. Hellion would only continue to improve in the future as he grew alongside Kade.

Around a minute later, Kade sat up with his body fully healed. He stood, and Eliza followed.

“Do you get anything for destroying the pillar?” Kade asked.

“Not immediately, but I suspect there is some benefit when the System tallies our contributions in this Rift Zone.”

Kade hummed in acknowledgment. “How about the mole titan? Did you get anything from his death?”

Eliza’s cheeks flushed pink. “No. I wasn’t of much help, was I?”

He nodded before motioning to the pillar. “Then I’ll let you take care of it. Killing that mole titan was significant for my growth.”

Eliza smiled in thanks. “A few more minutes until I’m ready.”

“… It won’t be more sand spikes, right?” He hadn’t been trying to accuse her of being deficient in the spells useful in the terrain, but it certainly sounded like it.

Eliza didn’t take offense. “That was the quickest spell I could cast. Everything else would have taken far too long to prepare, and I didn’t think it would have been helpful for you if I had taken too much time. In hindsight, that was exactly what I should’ve done.”

Kade might not have been accusing her, but her explanation helped to erase the negative impression that he had formed by her inability to help with the mole titan.

“I need to deal with the interface for a bit,” Kade said, getting a nod in response before Eliza moved away to give him a little privacy. “System, are all my skills linked to my attributes?”

Yes. You can train your skills in combat, but your skills will have a ceiling if your attributes are not high enough.

Kade skimmed through the skill list and noticed that most of the skills were related to [Strength]. That is one attribute that he would never have an issue with being too low.

“Is there a way I can know the limit of a skill before it becomes a problem?”

No.

He rolled his eyes at the blunt answer. He really expected nothing else. Still, he could make a rough guess about the limits. The easiest decision was to keep the required attributes at a number that was within one or two points of the skill level.

[Footwork] was a skill that he greatly valued. It was the skill that gave him the ability [Ethereal Glide]. He considered that his most valuable ability, and he didn’t want any barriers that could prevent him from getting an upgrade to [Ethereal Glide] or even a better ability than that.

Free Points: 7.5—>3.5

Dexterity: 11—>15

That should be enough for now. When I have more [Free Points] to spare, I’ll get it to twenty.

Kade had received [Ethereal Glide] when [Footwork] was level ten. The next ability should be at level twenty.

He tensed when the ground rumbled beneath him and the dunes shifted. He almost expected another mole titan to make an appearance, but Hellion was far too calm for that to be the case.

Kade quickly noticed that Eliza had caused the disturbance.

Her face was tense, her body stiff as she held both palms open towards the ground. The area around the corroded pillar shifted wildly, forming several bulges as if beasts were about to be birthed from the sand.

He watched with interest as the bulges multiplied rapidly until they covered a diameter just as tall as the pillar itself. Every spot within that area was covered in bulges that threatened to break open.

Eliza suddenly clenched her fists, and the bulges exploded. Blackened spikes with shining tips grew rapidly into the pillar, piercing all the way through. Hundreds of spikes erupted from the bulges that she created, causing the pillar to release purple sludge that dripped from its ‘wounds.’

I can see why she didn’t do this with the mole titan. It looks damaging, but the mole was far too smart to just stand there and allow Eliza to complete the spell.

Kade didn’t blink when the pillar shattered in place and fell to the ground like broken glass.

Objective complete.

Destroy the Pillars of Stability (2/2)

The second objective is now active.

Survive for 7 days (0/7)

The inhabitants of the Rift Zone will try to rebuild the Pillars of Stability. Prevent that from happening for 7 days.

This could be why the karnathi army was making their way towards the destroyed city. The goal could have been to repair… or reconstruct the pillar.

“Do we have to prevent both from being rebuilt or just one?” Eliza asked a question that he should’ve thought of.

Kade saw a look of relief on her face, but still had to ask. “What did the System say?”

“It’s just one.”

He snorted. “Glad that I’m not the only one getting short answers.” He looked around. “So, should we just stay here?”

“For now. We’ll see if we need to change that later.”

Kade nodded and flexed his fingers. He felt naked without his [Soulrend], but he would need to be smart in choosing when to create it again. Preferably when there were enough monsters to give him a level-up to restore his health.