The information about the Rattlers flow through Avatar #11’s mind as he walks towards the deserted settlement. Not a single human being can be seen walking the roads, the buildings too lay there, old and broken.

  Rattlers can induce insanity in their target’s mind, and use that instant to jump on them and devour them whole. They are known to have strong jumping force, jaws which can bite through steel itself, and lastly they always move as a pair.

  #11 has to fair through the constant irritation and frustration he has been feeling with every step he takes. The sand inside his boots, the heat, the extra light, even the clothes–which are technically a part of him–feel annoying.

  A deep urge to dig into his skin and take it all away gnaws at his mind, but he has been keeping himself afloat while trying to focus. It works but for some reason he has been losing it more often than he used to earlier.

  Somewhere in one of the buildings the main body must be hiding with the others, the other avatars are already secretly infiltrating the city for any sign of the creature, but why does he have to go like this in the open?

  Of course he knows the reason, but he doesn’t have to like it!

  He has just reached the pond when the compulsion seems to become almost like a command. Avatar #11 stands by the pond, clutching his head, his fingers digging into his own head as he tries to stop the madness flowing within him. To stop the madness. Stop the madness. Madness…

  And when only the compulsion to dig his skin remains, and no thoughts can be formed, that’s when a figure lunges at him from the pond. The water in the pond doesn’t even splash, only a ring of waves traveling away from where the snake came at him.

  It opens its mouth wide, biting its prey in the middle to incapacitate him before pushing it all down-

  The prey disappears at that instant. Alarms ring in her head, and she’s just about to dive back in the pond when she realises with a start that most of the pond has suddenly disappeared, leaving her in the open.

  Then more and more of the same humans she has just consumed begins to fall from the buildings around her. She swishes her tail around in defense, and watches as the various figures start digging into their own flesh, but there is no blood.

  The confused Rattler tries to move away, but many hands seem to hold her in place. Hands she can’t see. She thrashes and slithers, trying to get away from the hands, and the hands seem unable to catch her, and she is about to break free, when those same humans suddenly pile on top of her, forcing her on the same spot.

  Her tail swishes even harder, a stronger wave of her magic moving towards the humans who fall down like dominos around her, and she has been feeling victorious when suddenly alarms ring in her head again.

  And then an explosion engulfs her.

  #

  Things seem to be going well. Adrian thinks while bleeding from his mouth. He has been gritting his teeth too hard to keep himself in check, focusing hard as he prevents himself from being manipulated. Even then his fingers dig into his hands in search of some relief from the annoyance at her last attack.

  John has fortunately chosen the right instance to fire a Conflagration on the Rattler, stopping the wave of insanity from flowing anymore.

  A wave of relief flows through him and he looks at the other two beside him. Ji-a is doing better, but even she seems to be having a hard time placing her hands anywhere, while John is crouching from the effort.

  Things seem to be going we-

  The wall on their right suddenly breaks, and he comes across a wave of insanity greater than he has ever felt. His focus teeters on the edge of coming undone, as he stares in the eyes of the snake coming towards them.

  Another explosion breaks the wall on the left, and a pair of hands pick them up and throw them through the hole, all in the instant before the snake can close its jaw.

  Adrian rolls on the desert, sand getting in his mouth, but he doesn’t care.

  Beside him Ji-a and John stand up, blood flowing from both of them. Adrian realising that they don’t seem to have the same kind of active protection like him focuses more. He goes deeper and deeper in this world until even the world becomes black and white, losing all of its colour, within it only the snake in the distance, and the one still burning a little away from them remains coloured.

  “Sa-same strategy,”Ji-a fumbles, “We’ll hold it still, for a few moments.”

  John doesn’t say anything, blood dripping from his mouth, as he nods.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Then Adrian feels the surge of air around him and for the first time in a long while, truly feels annoyed at air.

  “I’ll block him, you support my barriers, and John will kill it.” Adrian says quickly, and neither doubts his words, nor his claim for having barriers. Of course Adrian doesn’t mean proper barriers, but right now he’s truly pissed at the air, and this is the perfect time for him to imprison it.

  As the Rattler moves closer and closer to him, the insanity within him increases quickly, threatening to break the world of white and black. The world almost seems to warp around his eyes with the slithering figure of the snake.

  When it is almost within range for its lunge at them, Adrian snaps his finger, and with the yellow spark, a huge lantern snaps into reality in front of the lunging snake, supported by many hidden hands, completely killing its momentum.

  It tries to run away, but with a series of snaps, Adrian completely encloses it in a wall of lanterns. The Rattler writhes and shrieks, swishing its tail with more and more force. Adrian worriedly looks at John, who seems to be having a hard time standing still.

  With a show of strong willpower though, the boy manages to look up at the enclosed snake. Then a small fire blooms on his open palm. It is flickering, so small that it feels like it is almost about to go out. But then it doesn’t.

  Instead John clenches his hand, and then an explosion occurs. The snake hisses in indignation, but all of it is engulfed behind the series of explosions that take place within the enclosure, blowing away the ‘walls’.

  Adrian dismisses them, and finally sits down in relief. The focus breaks and the colours return. John, on his part, puts the previous snake through a few more explosions just to be safe too, and then he too collapses as the kill messages come through.

  You have killed a Rattler (lvl 37)

  You have killed a Rattler (lvl 36)

  You have levelled up! Manifold Warden lvl 31

  You have levelled up! Manifold Warden lvl 32

  You have five Upgrades pending!

  Hole shit that was a fight.

  Adrian slumps on the sand beside John, not before ordering the remaining avatars to quickly come here and stay on lookout for any other dangers.

  After the fight with the Fire Bovine, there has rarely been many fights which truly made Adrian feel like his life has been dangerous, and today, despite being stronger, and with two strong people, he has come so close to it.

  His talent which protects him from mind magicks isn’t the most effective against emotional manipulation he learned through this fight. It makes sense in a way, he supposes. The talent has bloomed in response to fighting off the Tower’s magic, but isn’t completely useful against things which aren’t directly changing his mind.

  At least it does something. I don’t wanna think what it's like within it. Maybe looking more into what it can do will help me fight it off even better.

  But that’s smart thoughts, rational ones, and he truly has no energy for more rational thoughts right now. Most of him just wishes to have a cold lemonade right now, while the rest of him is looking at the damage he has done to himself in his madness.

  The memories of the avatars make it harder. Everything seems to hurt, and even places where he isn’t hurt hurts. His body feels like it's on fire, but he knows that it’s just phantom pain from being burned by John’s conflagration.

  After a long while, he sees Jarad’s face forming a shadow above him. “That was a good fight!” The archivist says, giving him a hand.

  Adrian grumbles to himself, and takes the hand before hoisting himself up. “That was hell. I’m not fighting them ever again,” Adrian says.

  “That will be a good decision. Rattlers are rare enemies of climbers on this floor, but they are one of the most deadly. If not for the Silent Scavengers, they would perhaps have gained the title of floor boss,” The bronze coloured man says.

  “How is it that your robe is always so clean?” Adrian asks.

  “An artifact of course,”

  “You are so rich…”

  “You have artifacts too, you know.”

  “Do I?” Adrian asks stupidly, as he looks at himself and the blade on his hand, “Huh, I guess I’m a bit rich too. Man I feel so lightheaded, I don’t wanna think at all. Oyy, what are you doing, get up! We have a place to go,” Adrian says, moving towards Ji-a who’s grumbling about getting off the ground. He takes one hand, while Matt takes the other, and they both pull her up with a bit too much force as she goes flying in the distance, before rolling away again.

  She stands up instantly this time, and starts chasing him, as he hides behind a stupid looking John with his face full of sand.

  “Can we please go home?” He looks at the last two rational people in the group pleadingly.

  Eventually, too tired to even talk shit, Adrian and Ji-a get in line and begin their march towards the settlement, after getting the cores they wanted of course. Along the way, he often notes how Jarad looks at Mark expectantly, perhaps looking for any reaction from them, but nothing happens.

  Fortunately, they do not get chopped by any other creature, and are able to reach their inn safely. Adrian dismisses his avatars, and this time moves into a room which truly belongs to him.

  Before falling asleep though, he finds the Water core and offers them to the Tower.

  Ability Upgrade available for Prison:

  Suspend insanity inducement into your Prison, dealing a continuous psychic damage to your prisoners. The strength of the psychic damage is proportional to the difference between you and your prisoner’s Mind stat.

  Ritual:

  Be under a strong psychic wave for at least 5 minutes.

  Ritual completed! Sacrifice the cores to begin the Upgrade of Avatar.

  Oh my god thank you it’s considered complete. I’d have cried if I had to go through that shit again.

  Adrian quickly sacrifices the cores.

  Prison Upgraded!

  Prison

  5 mana charge

  Psychic damage: 10 mana charge

  Create a prison to capture those you deem to be your prisoner, whoever they may be. The prison can be reduced and taken with you wherever you go. For the Prison spell to take effect on a living person, your Mind stat should be higher than theirs. The shrinking ratio scales with Mystic.

  Now induce an insanity type psychic damage to your prisoners. The potency of the psychic damage depends on the difference between you and your opponent’s Mind stat.

  Oh finally one more done… Adrian falls asleep before he can complete that thought. The challenge has been hard, but the reward isn’t bad either.

  #