Path of Dragons-Chapter 65Book 8: : Root and Vine

Only a moment later, he threw the massive rock at the many-legged monster. The former Vey’thaalian attempted to skitter away, but it was far from nimble. What’s more, Elijah had aimed for its lower half, which made for a much larger target than if he’d targeted the top. The rock hit with inevitable force, and Elijah was rewarded by the sound of crunching bone.

But he was dissuaded only a second later when life and ethera roared through the tentacles and mended the monster’s wounds. Meanwhile, the creature continued to scream, though Elijah mostly ignored it.

For a moment, he was at a loss for how to overcome it. The first option was to shift into Shape of the Master, build a bunch of charges of his Heart of Fire, then depend on Ignite to burn it to ash.

And while that could possibly work – it was, after all, his most potent attack – Elijah’s intuition told him that it would not be so simple. The thing was on the edge of demigod status, which meant that it was incredibly durable even without the influx of ethera and vitality that came from its tentacles. More likely, it would be gravely wounded, but still capable of recovering.

So, he chose the second option, which began with a transformation into the Shape of Venom. He crouched low, trying to avoid sight, thinking that if he could dip into Guise of the Unseen, his job would be much easier. However, that wasn’t in the cards, and the ability refused to activate.

That was within expectations, though. Elijah used Lurking Swarm, then bit the first tendril that came near him. As his fangs sank into the monster, Envenom and Insidious Plague infected the creature. Elijah felt the afflictions race down the fleshy tendril, riding alongside the vitality to slam into the monster.

It didn’t even notice.

Which would have elicited a smile from Elijah if his blight dragon face could have moved like that. As it was, he simply leaped from his perch high above the basin and hit the ground at a run. He immediately flattened himself against the ground in an effort to avoid another woven band of tentacles, then threw himself atop another mass of squirming flesh vines. He bit it, spreading his afflictions.

At the same time, his conjured phase spiders attacked, adding their venom to the mix. They were shattered soon after, but a few managed to get multiple bites in. That’s when the monster finally saw what was happening – and it was not happy.

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The remaining vines went crazy, moving faster and with more force than ever before. Without his recent advancements, Elijah never could have avoided the whirlwind of attacks. However, he’d gained nearly twenty levels since entering the Primal Realm, which amounted to quite a lot of attributes.

He used those to his advantage, leaping over and dodging tentacles while he used every opportunity to bite others. The monster wasn’t idle, though. Not only did it chase after him and try to spear his low-slung form with its legs, but it also managed to detach many of the diseased limbs before they could deliver their entire payload of venom.

Elijah kept it going for almost an hour before the constant use of Envenom wore him down. Each instance required an investment of stamina, and most of the time, it wasn’t even noticeable. However, because of the sheer volume of attacks he’d leveled at the monster and its many tentacles, the effort had exhausted him.

And eventually, that caught up to him.

One of the tentacles smashed into him, spearing through his back leg only a second before he managed to pull it free. Elijah gritted his teeth against the pain, reacting instantly by transforming into his human shape and swinging his scythe in that direction. The blade bit deep, slicing through the tentacle with barely a whisper of difficulty, and Elijah fell free.

He rolled away, narrowly avoiding another attack even as he cast Blessing of the Grove, topping it off with Wild Resurgence. His ethera had recovered a little since the last time he’d cast a spell, so he used that opportunity to once again cast Eternal Plague. With one facet focused on keeping it going, he continued to dodge, swinging the Verdant Fang like he was reaping wheat.

It was effective, and he managed to keep that going until the ethereal cost of Eternal Plague outweighed the expected result. By that point, many of the tentacles had turned entirely black from rot, and the monster wasn’t much better off. However, with the pulsing ethera, it was never far from complete recovery.

Elijah knew what he had to do.

In fact, he’d planned it from the very beginning. Everything else had simply been an effort to set the stage for the next – and hopefully final – step of his plan. He shifted into the Shape of the Master.

The difference in shape made him stumble, which in turn got him hit with another tentacle. However, he turned that attack into momentum for a roll that allowed him to dodge another blow. Then, he was on his feet and ready for whatever the monster could throw in his direction.

And it clearly wanted to end the fight, as evidenced by the sheer volume of attacks it sent his way. They came, faster and more furious than they had before. Elijah knew the creature couldn’t keep it up. Even it had to have limits. But at the moment, it was very nearly enough to ruin his fight.

That first barrage resulted in fifteen charges before he couldn’t avoid an attack, which reset him back to zero. The next was only five. And then he only got two. The previous couple of weeks had worn him down, and he was running on empty. He had some ethera left, but his stamina was almost entirely depleted.

He was incredibly durable – especially when he had Wild Resurgence pulsing through him – with a level of superhuman endurance few others in the world could boast. Yet, just like the monster he was currently fighting, he had limits too. Still, he pushed as hard as he could, though gaining any more charges was an exercise in frustration.

He managed to get his Heart of Fire to twenty charges, then let loose with Incinerate. He widened the flame as much as possible, but even as he did, he knew it wouldn’t be enough. The monster’s tentacles swarmed, slamming into him and wrapping his legs before he even finished his attack.

When the smoke cleared, a quarter of the basin was a charred ruin, but he’d paid for it by getting caught. The tentacles yanked him toward the enraged monster. Before he went three feet, the Verdant Fang swept down, severing those tentacles. He fell to the ground, then barrel rolled away as the monster’s leg came down. It hit with enough force to shatter the rocky ground.

Elijah knew then that he couldn’t afford to fight defensively anymore.

The Verdant Fang, for all its traits and attribute bonuses, was not a weapon meant for defense. He’d not even considered it while crafting the thing, but it necessitated an entirely different fighting style. With his extremely high Dexterity, he’d managed not to screw it up too badly, but he’d yet to consciously adjust.

Now, it was time to put every facet of his mind to the task.

He leaped to his feet and, rather than try to dodge, he attacked. The weapon swept out, scything through the oncoming tentacles. When the blade passed through them, they spewed blood and other disgustingly unidentifiable liquids. But Elijah paid it no mind. Instead, he raced forward, aiming the next attack at a much more vital limb.

The leg was thick – maybe two-feet in diameter – and shaped like a clawed finger. But when the blade of the Verdant Fang hit it, the thing offered little resistance – at least until it met bone. Only after it sliced a few inches into that bone did it come to a halt.

Elijah yanked it free, then threw himself into a somersault in order to avoid another attack. The monster’s other finger-leg hit a second later, but by that point Elijah was gone and carving a path through the thick tangle of flesh vines. He didn’t stop dodging, but it had ceased to be his main focus.

And as it turned out, that flip in his mindset – and the tactics that flowed from it – made all the difference in the world. Suddenly, he felt untouchable. The tendrils, as numerous and as quick as they were, couldn’t hope to catch him. Slowly, charges of Heart of Fire built.

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Ten.

Twenty.

Thirty.

On and on it went, and even after his brief burst of energy, Elijah felt the surge of adrenaline fade, and fatigue once again set in . He pushed on, reaching fifty charges. Then seventy. With so much of his focus on attack, dodges were rare, but still, they built steadily. Hours passed, and he sank into a deep, almost trancelike state where there was only him and the enemy. It reminded him of when he’d fought the old master in the Man Mo Temple. Not in scope, but rather, in the feel of it all.

Then, he finally reached the hundredth charge.

Turning, he activated Dragon’s Echo, then let loose with his most powerful Incinerate yet.

Fire, dense and blisteringly hot, roared across the basin, and the tendrils immediately turned to ash. Thousands of them, and all at once. The monster itself didn’t fare much better, and even if Elijah couldn’t see past the flames, he could feel the creature’s skin blistering with every passing moment.

Then, just as the flames ceased and the last of the fire dissipated, a green version of the same flames bloomed in their place. Elijah could tell they weren’t quite as hot, but at the moment, that didn’t matter.

Even at seventy percent effectiveness, they still represented an incredibly destructive force. And with the monster having been weakened by the first instance, it was uniquely vulnerable.

A scream of agony rose above the sound of the flames, heralding the end. Then, Elijah felt a burst of experience – more than he’d ever received at any one time – flow through him, but as welcome as it was, he couldn’t stop himself from collapsing. He’d pushed himself too far and for too long, and now that he knew the monster was dead, he couldn’t keep himself upright.

He fell flat on his face and the Verdant Fang tumbled from his salamander fingers. A second later, he was out like a light. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw a blurry figure approaching. He tried to fight against the blackness before it overwhelmed his senses, but even as he attempted to move, something hit him in the back of the head, hastening his descent into unconsciousness.