ABH: CH 48 - Four In One

A/n: And with this we're 18 ahead of royal road!!!!! Please enjoy, I'll be building up ABH's backlog over the next few weeks so these late chapters are less and less frequent :)

Chapter Forty-Eight

Four In One

Rise of Winter, Week 5, Day 7

“Come on, Ogon,” Freddie commanded and put the half-full vial of healing potion back on her hip, the ends of her mouth curling up into a rough imitation of a smile. “I bet you can burn hotter than this lump of glorified rock.”

As she spoke, Freddie called upon her own fire to encase her palm.

“I’ll prove it.”

Ogon flitted nervously but still hovered near to Freddie. As Freddie lowered herself to launch at the golem, the monster in question began to glow in a vibrant white light. It continued to grow in intensity, ramping up slow enough that Freddie had the wherewithal to close her eyes. 

“It’s coming for you!” Ogon screeched, and Freddie felt the warmth of the spirit in front of her face.

Freddie, for all that she wished to open her eyes, could still see the light breaking through her eyelids in shades of too-bright white. 

“I can’t see, Ogon,” she said, feigning calm even as her heart and mana went wild within her. “I need you to tell me what it’s—”

“IT’S COMING FOR YOU!” Ogon bellowed again, and suddenly everything in front of Freddie was hot-hot-hot. 

[Imbue Flame] [Imbue Flame] [Imbue Flame]

Freddie reinforced the front half of herself—focusing on her vital parts, her heart, her lungs, her eyebrows. As the heat began increasing, Freddie rolled backward. 

She wanted, desperately, to open her eyes. 

That much heat from Ogon was new, it was fresh, it was power.

“Get back, you overgrown rock!” The spirit screeched, and the heat grew further away—at the same time the light before her dimmed enough that Freddie cracked an eye open. 

Freddie couldn’t stop her other eye from popping open at the sight before her. Ogon had grown. No longer was he the size of her thumb, a bird so small she could have swallowed it, now he was ten times—no, twenty times that, larger than Freddie’s head. And he had curling feathers of flame rolling off of him as he blew fire from his mouth at the golem. 

What once had been sharp edges now seemed to have been dulled—or melted by the heat of Ogon’s flame. That boded well for Freddie, she decided.

“What a bird,” she laughed, the heat of the cavern singeing her throat as she spoke. She balled her fists, bringing them up in front of her face. Freddie took a step forward, breaking into the wall of heat that Ogon was producing every time he opened his beak. 

“Ogon,” Freddie broke in, causing the spirit to glance back at her, “what have I told you?”

The flames that made up Ogon’s beak turned up, giving him a smile. “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

“So?” Freddie prompted, launching herself into the fray and ducking down to avoid the golem’s swinging arm. 

“It took you long enough.” Ogon had sighed the words fondly, and Freddie found herself filled with a warmth that had nothing to do with the magma of her mana veins. 

“[Fist of the Flame Monk]” 

Freddie followed the guidance of the Skill, the way it wanted her elbow just slightly askew as she landed her punch, and continued her assault. When her knuckles hit the golem, the shards of crystal lodged into her skin, but still her fist sank into the monster with a satisfying crack. As she pulled her fist back, Freddie flicked her gaze up to the face of the Utopia Golem.

Unlike the Fryst Golems, it had more definition—as if its increased rarity and power had made it more humanoid than the first constructs. It had a nose, sharp and angular, and divots as if cheekbones. It had two eye sockets and—

“Oh, bless the Divine,” Freddie said, a feral grin on her face. 

In one of the eye sockets was the construct’s Mana Pearl. 

“I’m going to pluck out your eye, and then I’m going to tell Tiltham how easy it was to dominate you—and then she’s going to tell me, in all the ways she often does, that I’m insufferably her favorite Nemo.”

As Freddie spoke, she had to dodge the golem’s swinging arms, had to slide underneath a kick, and reposition herself around the side of the construct, had to take a shard of stone in the side that had dislodged itself from the main body. 

But to Freddie, talking trash was half the fun of a fight. 

“My Lady of Flames, please,” Ogon said between breaths of fire and ash, “do something. I’m making no progress.”

Tsk’ing, Freddie kept her gaze focused on the golem’s movements. “That’s so far from true. You’re literally melting its rough edges.”

Freddie took a blow direct to her shoulder that caught on her jacket and wound up dragging ehr close to the golem. So close. Close enough to—

Pulling back her palm, Freddie upped the heat on her flames and then—

Hotter, hotter, HOTTER—

“HOTTER—” Freddie commanded, as she sent her hand into the face of the golem, passing by its guard, she had to reach forward and up to get there but she did, and when she felt her fingers sink into the protective crystal, Freddie gripped the mana pearl with all her might and pulled.

Her white hot flames licked the Utopia Golem, and what once was hard stone became molten crystal. As she withdrew her hand, the glowing golem dimmed, and dropped to the ground—bringing Freddie with it in a giant lump. 

In her palm was a brilliant white Mana Pearl. Surrounding the pearl was the remnants of her palm. Skin drooped and bubbled, its usually tan hue a mixture of angry red and burned black. Bones and muscle shone through where the skin was ripped off.  

Freddie’s expression dropped and she released a guttural scream.

As every nerve on her hand exploded, Freddie had to fight through to clear her head. Had to ignore the blossoming golden messages that wanted to take her attention. 

[Regenerate] would not fix this. She knew it. It was too much damage. Instead, she used every bit of awareness she still possessed to rip what was left of her healing potion off her belt and poured. 

As the cool liquid ran across Freddie’s open flesh, the sensation of her skin knitting together made her flinch—but it was not nearly as painful as the act of Freddie destroying herself at every opportunity, so she was relieved that the pain was actually abating and not getting worse. 

Watching the injury heal was like watching time more forward at three times speed. Muscle covered bone, sinew tied it all together, and flesh wrapped it all up like a bow. 

Once again, she was paler on her hands. 

“Gods that hurt,” Freddie gasped and looked aroung, her gaze settling on Ogon. 

Ogon whose ashen eyes looked horrified. 

“The fire hurt you.” His voice shook, and he ruffled his wings in a clear show of uncertainty. 

Freddie blinked. “Yeah. It took some getting used to but I’ve been using [Imbue Flame] religiously. It just wasn’t strong enough for some reason.”

The fire spirit’s eyes were wide and his beak open. “Fire can hurt you? And you knew?!”

“Yeah?” Freddie’s brow furrowed. 

“And you didn’t tell me?!” Ogon screeched, backing away from Freddie and flying high up to the far edge of the cavern. 

“Calm down, it’s not like you hurt me!” Freddie yelled up at the spirit. 

“But I could have! You let me rest in your hair!”

“I have a Skill—”

“That was overpowered by your own flame!”

Flinching, Freddie looked downward, “I know, okay. I know. Just come down and I’ll re-up [Imbue Flame] and it’ll be fine.”

Ogon’s fire turned a deep crimson. “No. I will not. Not unless—” The spirit broke his own words off with a choked sound and Freddie knew Ogon was too angry for words. 

She knew the spirit wouldn’t want anything to do with her now. Now that she was weak. But Freddie wasn’t weak. She never had been and never will be. Her will was all that mattered—and she had that in spades. 

Freddie was about to say as much when Ogon finally found his words. 

“Not unless you make a Contract with me!”

Snapping her head up, Freddie frowned. “What?”

“I know my flame was too weak for these monsters, and that I’m hardly a help to you. But! Still! With a Contract, my flame would never hurt you! You wouldn’t have to waste your power protecting yourself from me.”

As Ogon continued babbling on about the thousand reasons a contract would help Freddie, Freddie found herself getting teary. For every reason Ogon listed, more tears began to fall, until finally the fire spirit paused. 

“Ogon,” Freddie whispered, bringing her hands up and covering her face. “It was never about me. A Contract binds you. It limits what you can do. You should be free.”

The spirit cautiously approached Freddie, getting within a few feet of her but no closer for fear of burning her. 

“If I am free, then I am free to choose you,” Ogon said simply. 

Freddie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Ogon seriously, her lip quivering even as she tried to school her expression. “But—”

“I was given my name and my life by you, my Lady. It has only been a short time, but I have learned much about you,”  Ogon interrupted. “I am Ogon, Spirit of Fire, and I desire Fredericka Nemo, her Lady of Flames, to be my Contractor. Do you accept?”

“I—” Freddie swallowed thickly. “I do.”

And before her eyes, a golden notice bloomed. Not unlike the messages from the dungeon. 

[Congratulations! You have contracted with an elemental of Fire!]

Then Ogon was rushing her, his heat no longer drying out her skin, no longer burning her flesh, no longer causing her pain, and he was resting on Freddie’s shoulder—his body shrinking down to no larger than her palm. His head nuzzled the wetness on her cheeks and caused it to evaporate. 

Freddie hiccuped a laugh. “Okay. This just means it’s you and me—always. When we leave this Gods-forsaken dungeon, I’ll introduce you to my grandfather. You’ll like him. And my brothers. And my parents. They’ll be your family too. And it’ll be up to us to protect them when the time comes.”

“Deal,” Ogon cooed, closing his eyes.

Freddie finally allowed the other notices in—and it was more than just a combat report.

[Combat Report]

[Combat Report]

[Skills Used in Combat:

Inspect Lv. 7

Imbue Flame Lv. 10

Fire Manipulation Lv. 8

Fire Conjuration Lv. 8

Fist of the Flame Monk Lv. 2

Regeneration Lv. 9

Running Lv. 7

Quick Fight Lv. 6]

[Hostiles Defeated:

3 Level 11 Fryst Golems - Killed

1 Level 12 Utopia Golem - Killed]

[Contribution: 100%]

[Level Discrepancy: Various]

[Overall Experience Modifier Adjusted for:

100% Contribution against Hostile

User Level Above Hostiles]

[Post-Combat Results:

Skill Experience Applied to: Inspect, Imbue Flame, Fire Manipulation, Fire Conjuration, Fist of the Flame Monk, Regeneration, Running,and Quick Fight.

Skill Level Up! Fist of the Flame Monk is now Level 3.

Divine Experience logged due to: Regenerate

Divine Experience Evaluation: Rejected.

Divinity Not Awarded.

Class Experience Applied.]

Freddie honestly wasn’t surprised by the lackluster rewards. The fight itself was lackluster—other than the debacle of her fist. What was interesting was the golden notice that followed. 

[Congratulations! You have defeated The Welcoming Committee! Enjoy a token of celebration!]

As Freddie read the notice, it burst into a thousand motes of light before they recollected themselves into a bracelet lined with four stones—three of the clear Fryst stones that lined the walls and one of the clouded Utopia stones that hid behind the Fryst stones and under the floor. 

The metal was a tarnished silver color, but the stones shone with a slight light. 

[Inspect]

[A Celebration of Light, Tier 1, Uncommon]

[A bracelet made up of the remains of the golems tasked with mining the Second Floor of Dungeon M283. Allows the user to release three uses of ‘Fryst Shard - Conjuration+Manipulation’ and one use of ‘Light Bomb.’]