With the barrel of my dueling pistol pressed against the underside of the Naga’s mouth, the explosion of the weapon discharging was somewhat muted. Frozen as the creature was under the effects of the health siphon, the Naga’s head didn’t so much as budge as the enchanted bulleted tore upward through snake scales and soft tissue before piercing into the mob’s skull. The awareness I had struck a critical blow flooded my consciousness via my interface, though I hardly suspected otherwise. Any gun fired at point-blank range was undoubtedly going to do a tremendous amount of damage. I could imagine the bullet ricocheting through the vile thing’s gray matter. A part of me was surprised the piercing effect hadn’t caused the bullet to breach the top of its broad head.
The Naga’s health bar, which had been slowing its upward assent as the siphoning effect neared its completion, dropped considerably when my gun fired. Its health reached zero once more, yet the green glow of the ribbon feeding it more health remained connected. I was unsure if the Naga was aware of its surroundings while the healing bond was happening. If it was, it must be in excruciating agony, considering the several thousand health points destroyed with a single shot. The once shrinking ribbon of curative energy was fully re-engaged, once more as thick as my forearm, as it struggled to undo the destruction my Matrix-inspired attack caused.
Before my shot, the Naga’s health had been closing in on being half-full. Now, courtesy of my critical strike, it slowed as it approached twenty-five percent. This was good news for our side, I knew. The first time the healing bond formed, the ratio of transferred health was close to three to one. Before firing my shot, the siphon’s effectiveness dropped nearer to a two-to-one ratio. Now, with my latest devastating critical, we were approaching a straight one-to-one transfer of health. Smiling to myself, it appeared being forced to levy all of our damage against a single opponent was not as weak of a position as I had initially feared.
Wishing my pistol stored two shots, the gun vanished from my hand as I recalled it to my inventory. With its automatic thirty-second reload property, the powerful weapon would likely provide no more benefit with this battle with how things were going. I intended this fight to be ended long before it would become available once more. Not pausing while these thoughts played out in my head, I completed my latest spell, Stinging Swarm. Appearing out of nowhere, a mass of roiling tiny winged insects manifested across the entire length of the Naga’s extensive body. As thousands of stingers began piercing the weak joints between snake scales and into pale human flesh, I twisted my fingers into the formation of yet another one of my spells.
My Quintessence Empowerment had long since run its course and my combined spells were inflicting an ungodly amount of damage every six seconds. Yet, while the ability was on its long cool down, it was essential for me to to hold recasting any of the DoTs I previously cast to this point. Doing otherwise would effectively reset the spell to its lower damage potential and wipe out the additional critical strike chance. Even after ending, the quintessence ability allowed any spell cast while it was in effect to retain those bonuses until the spell’s duration ran its course. I needed to focus on direct damage spells or any DoT not yet used. Realizing I had forgotten one of my favorites while in the throng of battle, I combined dual cast and quick cast to throw Blood Boil upon my foe.
The Naga needed to die as soon as possible. While I could recall Frostrend back into my hand, my previous tango with the giant snake showed me how far less effective my weapon was in dealing damage compared to my many spells. Intentionally keeping my masterwork weapon stowed away, I backed toward the edge of my blizzard’s freezing winds while uttering the final syllables of my specialized spell. I was only a paltry fifteen feet away from the giant Naga but it should buy me the time to end the fight without having to weather another blow. Considering the weakening effect of their health siphon, if the pair of Naga’s wanted to continue to share their dwindling health pool, then it was fine by me.
A sizzling wave of heat flew from my hands as the Naga regained complete control of its body. Even though it must have certainly felt its blood instantly boil, it ignored the pain and charged toward me with the fury of an avalanche. Its curved sword was held high over its head as the snake''s body rapidly undulated beneath it, drawing it ever closer. I wasn’t about to let it get near me, however. It was already dead. It just didn’t realize it. Though, perhaps it did and this was one last hopeful gambit to take me along with it into the depths of death.
Switching from my DoT repertoire to a direct damage spell, I strafed to the side in an attempt to keep the enraged Naga well within a slowing blizzard. It was only because of the twenty-three percent movement penalty the spell afforded which me enough separation for my spell casting to go unhindered. Another bolt of energy flared to life, lighting the countryside for one brilliant moment. This time around, I ensured the Lightning Bolt terminated immediately after reaching my intended target. I wasn’t about to risk hitting another of my friends with a carelessly thrown spell. The dazzling bolt of electricity crashed into the Naga’s chest as it slithered a half dozen feet away from me. It staggered momentarily from the brutal discharge of energy but was not as stunned as I had hoped.
“Damn it,” I said under my breath in frustration. Instead of having ample time to cast another spell from the expected stun, the Naga covered enough ground to reach me even as I continued backpedaling. Frostrend materialized in my hands a moment before I brought it to bear to parry a vicious crosscut. With how low my mana pool was, and therefore my Aegis, I was forced to dedicate far more effort than our earlier engagement to protect myself while weathering a barrage of cuts and thrusts.
The Naga never relented, its height giving it a distinct advantage. “Lowk...!” I began to shout, hoping to draw the panther to my aid, but was forced to retreat a step instead as a downward cut nearly cleaved me in half.
A roar from across the field signaled my panther friend was too far away, undoubtedly helping Ripley with the other Naga on the field. I was on my own. Either my DoTs took the monster down, or it would be my blood soaking the hungry, tilled earth beneath my retreating feet. Another cut came in this time from the side. Unfortunately, my skill was not up to the task, and I mistimed the parry. The Naga’s heavy sword slashed into my forearm, flinging it forcefully back into my chest. My mana was incredibly low, but so too was the Naga’s health. I needed to repeal its attacks for only a few seconds, then another health siphon would triggered.
I needed to be ready… Now!
The last of the Naga’s health ticked away, causing it to waver in its assault. A knowing green light rushed towards my opponent from behind, lancing directly into its back. Not bothering to take the split second to recall Frostrend into my inventory, I simply let go of the valuable mana-steel axe, and it slammed into the flattened dirt with an audible thud. With its soul bound property, I had no fear of losing the magnificent weapon. Not hesitating in the slightest, both of my hands reached upwards towards the Naga’s chest even as I took several steps back. What came next would hurt, both the Naga and me. I was out of options.
If I had time to consider my actions, I perhaps would have chosen a different spell but it was the first one that came to mind. This latest siphon would only last a second, possibly two at the very most. Mystical words from a long-dead language surged from my lips as my fingers danced in unison. What little amount of paralyzation this round inflicted on the Naga, which would likely be the last transfer seen in this fight, would buy me enough time. Pushing outwards with my palms, an incendiary orb of seething flame streaked away. With how close I still was to my target, the sheer force that blasted me away from the giant snake when the fireball detonated seemed as if I had been standing right on top of it.
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I was thrown violently, small rocks digging into my body as I cartwheeled across the ruined plains. Unlike earlier, where it felt like I had been wrapped in a plush blanket, this time around, every jutting rock shot pain through my body as my health dropped a hundred points. My Aegis was down! My exploding fireball defeated what remained of my meager mana pool. I was defenseless and splayed ungainly across the ground. If my opponent wasn’t dead, I was about to be in serious trouble. My only hope would be the nearly four thousand health points remaining to keep me alive.
Twisting my body, I strained to see my opponent. My spell had done enough damage! As I had hoped, a new healing beam affixed the Naga in place. This time around, the serpent was nearly entirely prone with only his cobra head held off the ground. Briefly inspecting its health, it had no more than a few hundred health points, which also meant the other Naga had to be in a similar state. In one fluid motion, I reached my knees and threw my right hand over my back shoulder as I recalled Frostrend to my grasp. Nothing happened for a long moment.
I was about to open my inventory window to figure out what the hell was happening when I realized the issue. I dropped the weapon seconds earlier and it lay several feet away! Ignoring the desire to curse at my ineptitude, I triggered my ring of recall. The moment Frostrend’s comforting weight appeared in my grasp, I let loose with as much force as I could put into the throw.
As stationary as the Naga was, I couldn’t have asked for an easier target. At the exact moment, the health transfer was completed, the green glow surrounding the Naga’s body fading, my axe slammed into the middle of the monstrous face. Flesh and bone parted, wiping away what little health had been restored. With a sickening crunch, the Naga’s head lilted to the side and remained motionless. A final exhale of breath escaped its slitted mouth and reached across the distance to register against my keen half-elven hearing.
It was over. We had won.
Stella and a System notification confirmed my thought a second later. “They’re… both dead,” her sweet voice called out beside me in between heavy gulps of breath.
I landed heavily on the cindered grass at my side. “Is there any other threat nearby?” I asked, worried once more about my perilously low mana reserves.
“Nothing that I can see,” Stella instantly responded before turning her gaze away from me to where the other battle had been raging. “Ripley, Lowki, can you please cover for us? Xaz needs to rest.”
My mana slowly trickled upwards as my regeneration restored a little more than a thousand points per minute. It would take over twenty minutes for it to restore itself to full, so I pulled a glass beverage from my inventory and downed it in one go. A water skin would double my mana regeneration for a short time, and what I had just drunk would increase it even further. My blue bar trickled upward at an increased rate. As long as we didn’t fight anything for at least a few minutes, we’d be alright.
Armored footfalls signaled Ripley’s approach from the north, soon followed by the soft pads of Lowki’s trot. Both were thankfully still alive, though my skeletal companion was in a far worse condition than the mighty displacer beast. A pair of experienced notifications attempted to pull my attention away, but I oriented on my minion and cast another lesser regen. I’d need to cast it again once the spell ran its course by the look of it. Tallos arrived next, and after I waved away his offered hand to help me stand up, he sat down heavily beside me.
Ripley was missing her sword arm entirely. By the look of it, it had been violently torn off and hinted at the intense struggle between her and her frighteningly strong Naga. Lowki trotted up and spat out something at Ripley’s feet. It was her arm. If the fight hadn’t been so perilous, I might have found it comical. Unbothered by the pain any living being would be experiencing in her predicament, Ripley reached down before placing the two broken stumps together. Dark bands of energy coalesced and reattached the limb in a matter of a few seconds.
“Are you alright, Xaz?” Tallos asked as he looked me up and down.
A quick glance at my party interface showed no one had any significant debuffs next to their names, a fact I was entirely grateful for. “Other than being out of mana, I’ll be fine,” I replied before an urgent thought sliced through my mind. “Shit! Where are Dutch and Jax?”
“They ran off as soon as the snakes let go of them,” Stella replied for the elf, her tone mellow against my exasperated question. “We’ll need to find them, but I doubt they are that far off.”
“Yup,” she continued. “They’re just over there… and… there. Tallos, do you need a moment or can you get our friends?”
“Just a few scrapes and bruises from when the thing first had me coiled up. Nothing worth worrying about thanks to everyone’s quick actions,” the lean elf indicated as he regained his feet. At his words, a wash of regenerative mana lanced into him as I cast another regen, eliciting an appreciative nod in my direction as he glanced across the chaotic battlefield.
As he moved to the east, I asked Ripley to join him just in case something was lurking unseen nearby. Lowki moved to my side where Tallos had previously been resting. His soft, ebony fur felt comforting against my skin.
“We got lucky,” I finally said, my words forming small clouds in the crisp night air. My heavy breathing at long last slowed as first Jax and then Dutch were led back over to where we relaxed. “I’m surprised we didn’t lose anyone. Those things were damn strong. If any of us were bitten, I’m not sure I would have been able to focus any amount of time on casting a cure poison spell.”
“Ripley’s Naga got her once but is thankfully immune to poison,” Stella said as she floated over to Jax to help ease the lingering tension he showed in his stiff posture. He was trembling slightly, but her soothing words helped him relax. Before long he leaned down to chomp on what little grass remained around us. Tallos did the same with Dutch before offering him an apple to crunch into.
“It was a good thing the healing effect froze them both up,” I said as I worked a knot from my neck. “Shit, I’d love to have something like that for me and Ripley, but going completely defenseless while the magic did its work likely tipped the scales enough in our favor to win that fight.”
Standing up, I pointed a dozen yards away from the battle. “Let’s set up camp over there. It’s far enough away so if anything shows up for their stinking bodies, we should get plenty of warning.”
Before leaving, I scooped up the nearest Naga’s dropped sword before walking over to obtain the two from the other slain mob. A brief inspection showed all three held minor enchantments and would hopefully net us a few gold coins when we could next find a merchant. None were better than what we had. Unfortunately, the swords appeared to be the only loot to be had. Their bodies were too big to do much of anything with and I had little desire of cooking up some Naga steaks.
“Do you think we can harvest some of their venom?” I pondered Tallos as he moved next to me. Dutch followed tiredly behind. His head bent low to nibble on the broken grass as he walked. Grabbing hold of my horse’s halter, I waited as my friend contemplated my words.
“Maybe?” he replied unconvincingly. “I don’t have much skill in that, unfortunately, and may end up spending an hour or more with nothing to show for it.” He turned to Stella who floated over to perch on Dutch’s saddle. “Do you think it’s worth it, Stella? You’re much for of an expert than I am with something like this.”
“Hmm,” she said as she considered his question before pulling up one of her invisible Accelerator windows. “Their poison glands won’t begin losing their potency for at least half a day, so unless you accidentally pierce the glands while trying to retrieve them, we should be able to. I’d vote for us to camp for the rest of the evening and worry about gathering what venom remains sometime tomorrow morning.”
Nodding my head in agreement, our party trudged away. We agreed not to light a fire as we pulled our tents and bedrolls from inventory. With the flatland around us, we didn’t want to risk giving our position away any more than our tumultuous battle already had. Lowki and Ripley agreed to watch over us as I closed my eyes.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be a less eventful day. Sleep fell upon me in seconds.