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Chapter 164: Slashing Through
Chapter 164: Slashing Through
Slashing his way to the guardian chamber turned out to be much easier than Dallion expected. The first wave had tried to rush him, charging as a group. Dallion had dispatched them using Janna and Kallans method. As it turned out, one didnt have to know athletics or acrobatics to perform something, just a lot of practice.
Seeing the failure of their fellow Amphibions, the rest of the waves had merged into single giant entities, trying to overpower him using force. The attempt failed even more spectacularly. In those instances Dallion had combined the standard arc slash with his music skills, causing the giant enemies to freeze for a second at a time, while he reduced it in size, then killed it off altogether. The first were so one-sided that Dallion genuinely felt sorry for the creatures to the point he had offered them to surrender yet again. To everyones disappointment, none of them did.
After the last wave was done, two of the harpsiswords strings vibrated.
I know, not much of a challenge. Dallion tapped the blade of the weapon with his left hand. Were still getting started, though.
As the guardian chamber loomed before him, Dallion stopped. The thunder leopard was visible before him, still snoozing on the far side, as if nothing had happened. This was extremely suspicious, though. There was no way anything could be still sleeping after the ruckus Dallion had caused before.
I know youre awake, he said loudly.
The guardian didnt react. Looking at him with his music skills, Dallion could see a blob of pure calm pulsing in the creatures head.
Im fine if you just let me pass. Maybe youll settle for a draw? Dallion offered, while also attempting to make the leopard susceptible to the idea. Like you, I prefer to save my strength for later.
No reaction. Sadly, by all accounts, it seemed like a fight was inevitable.
The moment Dallion set foot in the actual chamber, the guardians ears perked up.
COMBAT INITIATED
In the blink of the eye, the creature went from snoozing to attacking state, leaping at Dallion, fangs bared. The sensation of calm had disappeared, replaced by a deep desire to battle. It was as if a switch had been flipped.
Back when Dallion was level six, such an attack would have caught him completely by surprise. Now, though, the blink of an eye was enough time for him to see where the creature was going, target its weak spot, then step to the side while simultaneously performing a counterattack; and all that before a single marker had the time to appear.
FATAL STRIKE
Dealt Damage is increased by 500%
With one swing, a third of the Thunder Leopards health was gone. The creature recoiled with a roar, retreating back to the opposite side of the chamber.
Dallion felt his pulse rush. It wasnt out of fear, rather it was the excitement of the encounter. Nil would be disappointed by this. The echo had stressed as often as possible that retaining ones composure in combat was the one sure path to victory. In his view, losing to emotions was the same as creating opportunities for the enemy. In all likelihood he was right, yet an urge stronger than logic had gripped Dallion right nowthe sensation of his own power.
Lets go, he whispered, and dashed forward. This time, he was the attacker.
The harpsisword slashed the air, as Dallion performed a double slash aimed at the guardians head. In his mind Dallion could already see the victory.
CRITICAL STRIKE
Dealt Damage is increased by 200%
Standing at the tunnel opening of the second level, Dallion took a deep breath, then shouted as loud as his lungs would allow. The noise quickly caught the attention of the nearest creatures and went on to disturb those further in.
At this point, there was no need to wait. Dallion gripped his harpsisword and started playing. Chords of weight filled the air. At present they were ineffective, but as creatures started to appear, Dallion readjusted his timing so as to match the vibration in the approaching insects. The process that had been next to impossible weeks ago now seemed childishly easy. It was only designed to work on small creatures, of course. All attempts to use it on guardians had proved to be ineffective. In this case, though, as the waves of shardflies made their approach, their wings got heavy, causing them to drop out of the air and onto the tunnel walls.
The toothroaches fared no differently. Initially, they too rushed forward with the goal of landing as many bites as they could. Yet the closer they got to the source of the sound, the slower they became untilten feet awaythey stopped moving altogether, instead piling up as new waves pushed them forward.
I feel as if Im fighting with bug spray, Dallion thought. It was by no means a glamorous victory, but one nonetheless.
Once new creatures stopped arriving, Dallion then dashed forward and cleared the piles by slashing through them repetitively with his sword.
There was something very satisfying in the process, almost as if Dallion was sweeping away his enemies out of existence. If only cleaning had been this much fun back on Earth, he would have done it several times per day.
A few minutes later, the cave floor was clean again.
Anyone else? Dallion asked, ready to play the harpsisword again if needed. Nothing reacted, but that didnt make him lower his guard. He had suffered the consequences of overconfidence too many times in the past to take this for granted.
Interestingly enough, in this instance Dallion turned out to be correct. There were no more creature attacks until Dallion reached the second guardian chamber. This time the Scylla wasnt on the chamber ceiling, nor was it sleeping. Standing patiently in the middle of the hall, in its nymph form, the guardian waited.
I thought it might be you, the guardian said upon seeing Dallion. Youve changed a lot since last time.
Well, I do my best to surprise, Dallion said cautiously. Youve changed as well. You look less tarry.
The tar that last time had formed octopus tentacles now had transformed into a set of clothes covering the scylla. Looking at him, Dallion could not help but notice the similarities between this guardian and that of his sword. Many of their features were similar: height, body frame, facial features, even the sapphire eyes.
Im not talking to you, the scylla replied. Im talking to her. The guardian pointed at the harpsisword.
What? Dallion blinked. Talk about an unexpected turn of events. He had often asked himself whether guardians knew one another. Apparently now he had an answer. However, if that was true, it meant that the harpsisword had also been a sphere item at some point. Or was there something else he was missing?
You two know each other? Dallion asked, channeling his voice so as to make the other predisposed to sharing information.
Knew, the scylla corrected. Back at the time, she never would have linked to the realm of a simple human, and yet here we are. How things change.
Simple? Im not
A series of chords coming from the harpsisword interrupted him. Apparently, the two guardians did know each other and had things to discuss. Dallion tried to follow the music sounds, but this time they werent something he could interpret. Whatever was going on, Harp didnt want him to be involved.
Oh, dont get me wrong. You could have done much worse. The Scylla seemed amused. There may be promise for this one yet. In the end, we all carry our burden. And who knows, maybe this time itll finally be over.
Over? In what way?
Over in the way that youll finally clear this prison and set us free.