He contemplated the impending encounter. The Corpse Amalgamation was just what it sounded like on the surface: a bunch of corpses pushed together into a huge blob. It was a deadly foe, as it had dozens of arms, each tipped with venomous claws just like the zombies in the first chamber. The weakness was hidden at the center. The fleshy orb that comprised its heart was what contained the controlling consciousness.
I need to set up my Skills properly, Eric thought. I only have two Sigils remaining, so I can only use two Skills. I’ll need a combination of damage and movement, since I doubt I can tank a hit from the thing given its size.
He took a moment to go through a few menus in the Index, keeping a hand on the wall to walk straight. Thanks to his familiarity with accessing it, he could still do simple tasks like walking, as he could see past the various screens with a bit of focus.
Right, let’s put some imaginary numbers to everything. If health and damage numbers existed, then let’s say a Blackflame Bolt did . . . ten damage. Blackflame Blaze would deal fifty percent of that, so five damage over five seconds thanks to [Dire] from that Ember Evolution.
If I did another Blackflame Bolt, that would be another ten damage, and then five in a burn damage-over-time. However, the timer on the first burn would be refreshed with the new application.
Then if I used Combustion, I would deal the ten damage of ongoing burn to the target and everything in a radius around it. Whereas if I used Inferno Trigger, I would multiply that burn by two-and-a-half, which means that ten damage would become twenty-five, all applied to the single target in a single instance of damage.
Every instance of a DOT burn is its own separate application, so if I had, say, ten Blackflame Bolts applied to a single target, I would have ten separate burns.
But that burn is based upon the initial damage. I need to increase the initial damage of my Rotes and Skills, or work myself to a huge mana capacity and focus on evasion so I can buy myself time to stack more of the DOTs, and then follow that up with a Combustion or Inferno Trigger. That Skill would then be a lot more impactful thanks to the increasing applications of the burn.
He stopped at the entrance to the next chamber. “Alright, we’re here. Everyone, take a seat and relax. It took us about ten minutes to get here, so we have to wait about another fifty before we get the prompt to swap out our Loadout.”
Everyone who had been trailing him snapped out of their trance of interaction with The Paths and acknowledged his commands. Peter and Shannon sat on the far side of the tunnel, sinking down next to each other and chatting quietly about what they had learned while browsing the Index. Naomi sat next to Eric.
“Do you have any foresight into this monster?” she whispered.
At the same volume, and while reaching into his pack to rustle and make noise while he fumbled for a water flask, Eric replied, “It’s a bunch of corpses strapped to a central core. We need to either whittle through the outer shell, or pierce into the center and kill the heart.”
Naomi raised her hands in front of her, placing them at chest height, and began making typing motions. “That Index trick is neat: I found a note-keeping tool.”
“That’s not something I have,” Eric replied, slightly taken aback at the revelation. He mentally prompted the Index to pull up something similar, but received no response. “Must be specific to your Class. Maybe specific to Artisans? Or because you’re a Tinkerer?”
Naomi shrugged. “Possibly. Keep talking.”
“The room is big.” Eric looked into it so he could begin describing it for Naomi’s notes. “Five-hundred-foot circular chamber. It’s set up like a dungeon, with chains ending in hooks suspended from the ceiling about fifteen feet above the floor, pillars spaced out every twenty feet that are big enough you could hide behind them. The floor has small grooves that you could easily turn an ankle in if you don’t step carefully.”
“Give me a few moments to run some simulations . . .”
Eric got comfortable and crossed his legs, then winced— his younger body wasn’t as flexible as his older one had been. He made a mental note to add calisthenics to his morning routine.
“Got it,” Naomi said with a grin. “I think I have a plan. We can do something called kiting. Ever heard of it?”
Eric chuckled. “I am so familiar with that term. What gamer isn’t? It’s literally what I did with the special boss I fought. How’d you not notice that?”
Naomi shrugged. “It seemed like a common-sense maneuver once you blew off its legs. Anyways, we do that but we all stick together and fire as we move. Shannon can give Peter one of her crossbows and we kite around the room, using the pillars to force the thing’s movement. Are the hooks low enough that they could catch on the monster?”
“Definitely,” Eric replied.
“Then we can try to get some of it tangled up in the corpses, ripping them off of the main mass to expose this core.”
That works. I’m able to burn off the exterior shell, and since the bodies won’t be able to reform, we can get to the core eventually. This seems like a good game plan.
Eric replied, “We’ll have to wait for the monster to appear, then inform Shannon and Peter about the plan, so we can keep the foresight secret. We need to act like we came up with it on the spot.”
“Agreed.”
Eric tried to get comfortable on the cool, hard stone floor. He closed his eyes and played through his memories of the last time as he waited out the hour-long timer that would allow them to switch their Loadout.
Last time, they had gone into the room, and Peter had gone toe-to-toe with the amalgamation, keeping it in one place. Eric just focused on healing his wounds when he got too injured. Naomi had been useless the last time and had just stood in the back doing nothing, while Shannon ineffectually fired from a distance, afraid of fighting the fleshy mass.
That was a far cry from where they were now. The group’s spirits were high, their confidence was brimming, and despite a few minor setbacks and Peter’s currently desired injured state, their conditions were optimal—minus their Sigil count. Overall, Eric was satisfied with how this timeline was turning out thus far.
Naomi’s plan is sound given our current setup.
“Sigil count,” Naomi said as her hands danced on phantasmal keyboards in the air.
Each of the Summoned called out. One for Shannon, two for Peter and Eric, and Naomi had one.
She kept flicking the only-visible-to-her screens, and spoke. “I have several scenarios planned, but we should choose Skills for our Loadout that will help with ranged combat or mobility, given the layout of the chamber.”
The others nodded and each contemplated their Loadout set. Eric had already figured out exactly what he would slot in.
So instead of planning, Eric set a timer using his Index, set to two minutes before their Loadout selection would activate, then chose to shut his eyes. He delved into those memories stored within The Paths, and recalled one that he knew would be important after the first floor had been cleared.
Petals danced through the soft, spring breeze as they danced down from the branches above. Eric took another sip of the delicious tea, and let out a sigh of contentment. “This was a nice trip. Thanks for inviting me, Darius.”
Darius Dromond, a good friend of his, stared forlornly at the gravestones under the apple tree. “Thanks for coming.” He wiped a little bit of mist from his eye. “You’re the only one who ever accepts the invite.”
“Well, you always offer to get me here. Getting across continents is tricky.”
Darius ruefully chuckled. “The fact that you’re actually okay with my method of travel astounds me.”
Eric joined him in his mirth. “Once you’ve gone through that place, subsequent visits aren’t that horrible.” He looked across the gorgeous, grassy plains that billowed like oceans of waving green. “You’ve done so much good for this world. You deserve so much better than this.”
Darius put a hand on the gravestone of his departed wife. “I agree. I wish I could bring them back. I’d give anything to get them back.” He sighed. “Do you ever wonder what happens after we die?”
Eric nodded. “I’ve glimpsed that void. Dipped my feet past it occasionally.”
Darius snapped his gaze onto Eric. “What? When?”
“That Self-Resurrection Trait I told you about.” Eric scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, there were the attempted and botched executions, sure, but I never actually glimpsed the black void of whatever marks that threshold. After I got the Exarch Class? Yeah, I’ve seen it several times now.”
Darius leaned over and grabbed Eric’s shoulder. “Can you cross over and come back? Tell me what lies beyond? See if they’re over there?”
Eric grimaced, and shook his head. “I don’t think I can.” He grabbed the man’s hand and held it firmly. “I care about you, Darius. I would count you among my closest friends. But I am not going to risk my life to just see if I can cross that line and glimpse the beyond for you.”
Darius nodded and pulled away, looking at the graves once more. “I understand . . . I value your friendship, Eric. Truly. You always answer when I call on you.”
Eric smiled, wrapped an arm around Darius’ shoulder, and side-hugged him. “I mean, it’s not like I was doing anything important. Just healing villages of plagues, saving whole towns from wildfires—”
Darius pushed him away with a light chuckle. “Okay, I get it, you wanna-be hero.”
Eric opened his eyes as the timer he had set snapped him out of his reverie. He spent the last bit of time observing Seraphine.
She had remained standing along with the guards, just watching and taking notes here and there. He stood up and walked over to her.
I want to build up this idea in her mind of me being some fated figure. Just in case I need to step into that prophet or messianic role to get things going the right direction at some point.
“Blackflame Mage Mercer,” she said expectantly.
He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms. He kept his voice low so his allies would not hear him but the guards behind her would. He needed them to feed information about his possible foresight to other prominent individuals in Trok. “I . . . experienced something. Maybe a vision?”
Her eyes widened, though her demeanor remained the same. “Do tell.”
Eric pointed back to the chamber. “I was interacting with The Paths and saw a monstrosity made of flesh all bound to a single form. It was . . . horrifying. But, I think The Paths also revealed a weakness in it.”
Seraphine began scribbling rapidly, and four of the ten guards exchanged glances of concern. Eric was well aware that those six, despite not taking notes and being technically unaffiliated with anyone, were in truth here on behalf of the four old-blood noble families who had deep ties to Trok. They were mentally taking notes of what he said. He also knew that they had cleared the first floor themselves, and that his description using his ‘foresight’ of what lay at the end was an exact description of what actually awaited the Summoned.
Eric continued. “It looks like the center mass is how the thing is destroyed. But, we’re running low on Sigils.”
And now, to make sure they think I’m still new to this place so it stays established that this is some foresight and not the truth of my regression.
“Is there a way to get Sigils back? Or do we have to wait out that six hours of low-impact activity?” Eric asked.
Seraphine’s face tightened into a grimace, but her wide-eyed gaze remained. Her voice was soft, almost concerned, like an older sibling talking to their younger one as she said, “No, there is no way to restore a Sigil aside from the established method. Apologies.”
“That’s okay,” Eric replied. “We’ll manage.” He turned around and walked back over to his allies.
And right on cue . . .
[One hour of light-to-no-impact activity detected.]
[Desire to change Loadout sensed.]
[Please select your Skills for your Loadout.]
[Current maximum slots: 5.]
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Index: in the future, remove the activity detection and Loadout desire parameters. Skip to Skill selection.
[Preferences confirmed.]
Let’s equip Flashstep, Combustion, Cinderburst, Blackflame Beam, and Backblast.
[Confirmed.]
[Loadout updated.]
Eric smiled and stood up. “Alright. I have my Loadout ready. How about you all?”
Naomi stood up. “Ready as I’ll ever be. I really wish I had some combat-focused Skills. Maybe for a second Class, that’s what I’ll go with.” She sighed. “Only another forty levels to get there.” She tapped her temple. “I learned a lot from talking to the Index earlier.”
Peter stood, put his helmet back on, and hefted his hammer. He was still dripping blood, and Eric had no clue how long he could remain standing while still bleeding.
I would’ve thought he would have coagulated a bit. Maybe his Rote that fuels his power increase also has some effect on preventing his body from healing naturally to ensure the power-up remains active.
Shannon stood up and re-checked her weapons and ammunition. “Eric, you need bolts?”
“Can’t hurt,” Eric replied. Shannon handed him ten quarrels, and Eric socketed them into his bolt case before shouldering it. He also set the adventuring pack and Monster Parts bags in the front entrance. “We ready for whatever is coming?”
“Oh yeah. Want me to scout?” Shannon asked.
Naomi shook her head, hefting her gun that swirled with vibrant, green-colored mana. “Stick together. I’ve got a few plans depending on what happens, and I want you close enough to hear.”
“Why can’t I just stand where I am and shoot whatever it might be?” Shannon asked.
From farther back, Seraphine replied, “You must enter the chamber to be considered engaged with the encounter. In the event it is a fight with a monster, or some other challenge that can pursue you in some way, it will follow you once you depart that chamber. You are immune to whatever it is unless you engage with it at the same time your allies do. Failure to engage with your allies, or within approximately one minute of your allies doing so, will result in you being forcefully removed from the mega dungeon.”
Eric glanced at his allies. “If this turns out to be a fight, and we run out of resources, we can try to lure the enemy all the way back to the acid pit room. Maybe the rat room will do something also, but I doubt it.”
“Good idea,” Naomi replied. “Though hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”
Hammer held in two hands, Peter walked into the room.. Eric was a step behind, with the ladies just behind them.
The scent that hit Eric’s nose was one of thick, cloying iron. It was a scent he was intimately familiar with from his time on the battlefield and amongst the medical tents. Blood. Hidden holes in the walls opened up, the stonework shifting aside as blood flowed out and poured into the channels along the floor.
The chains and their hooks began to sway back and forth with a clattering noise akin to heavy wind chimes banging against one another. The whole room was illuminated from below with that pale, red glow of the vibrant blood. Above, glowstones had been placed around the tops of the pillars, also blood red.
“This feels creepy,” Peter muttered. “Reminds me of some fucked-up butcher’s shop.”
Eric spotted the shape materialize in the corner and pointed to it. “There!” The others turned to look, though Eric had already manifested a Blackflame Bolt. The arrow-sized projectile formed above his palm and he let it fly.
The bolt slammed into one of the wailing corpses that was stitched onto and consolidated into the shambling mass. A huge blob of bodies, all connected at the mid-torso to a central, muscular mass. It let out a strange, quaking warble that shook the air in an approximation of a roar at the same time the various bodies without air in the lungs seemed to exude an otherworldly influence on Eric’s eardrums.
“Yuck!” Shannon said as the Corpse Amalgamation began moving.
Peter took a step forward, but Naomi grabbed his shoulder. “We kite it! Stay with me.” She turned and began running. Eric was right next to her, firing off Blackflame Bolts as he tried to target the center mass hidden within the fleshy confines of the monster’s defensive barricade.
Peter joined them a second later, so Eric handed him his crossbow. “Shoot the thing as we run.” he turned back and fired off more of his Rote, the crackling pyre beginning to grow larger and larger with each new application of the Blackflame Blaze burn.
Naomi reached one of the pillars at the end of the room, and turned around to fire off some shots at the mass. The gun went off with a loud crack, and steel balls propelled by compressed manacules zipped forward, slamming into the fleshy mass but seeming to do very little harm.
Shannon somehow had run ahead of them, and she fired off her arbalest, the huge bolt punching through a corpse and into the mass at the center. “This thing is tough!”
Naomi fired off another shot, which hit one of the pasted-on zombies’ chests. Peter triggered the crossbow and hit the same body square in the forehead. It detached from the center mass and made a small opening. Seeming to notice it, Naomi shouted out, “When it gets close, we all get around the pillar and run in a big square around the room! Peter, you take up the rear to soak a hit if needed.”
“Got it!” Peter shouted back.
Eric clenched his teeth as he focused his fire on the bodies nearest to that opening, trying to make a larger hole he could send a shot into.
The mass of corpses rolled up closer, and Naomi shouted, “Now!”
Eric turned and ran along with her and Shannon, going across the expanse at full speed with Peter’s clanking, armored steps a few steps behind.
They reached the next pillar and repeated the process, turning around to fire on the horrific monstrosity.
. . . which had been chasing them, but was no longer.
That didn’t happen last time.
Eric felt a chill down his spine as he watched one of the corpses shrink down and compress into a conical pyramid shape—the flesh and bone twisted and crumpled in on itself. A crude spear-tip was formed. Then, the living missile launched forward.
It slammed into Peter’s side, ripping apart a portion of his armor and heavily bruising the flesh beneath. His already-damaged state and his Rote that increased his hardiness while injured had to have been the only thing that had kept him from being fatally injured.
“Move!” Eric shouted as he shoved Naomi behind the pillar. Another projectile flew through the air where she had just been standing—the body projectile squished against the wall before falling to the ground.
It’s burning its defenses as an offensive projectile. It definitely didn’t do that last time. Maybe because we aren’t standing and fighting it like before? Different tactics for different foes? Fuck, never fought something that changes its behaviors. Most monsters are fairly one-track.
Shannon grabbed Naomi and sprinted farther away, gaining more distance. “We have a longer range than it does! You two keep it busy while we aim for an opening!”
Peter let out a bellow and rushed forward; and Eric almost shouted for him to stop the headlong charge but knew it would be fruitless. Peter’s natural durability and damage increase from his Rotes should increase his survivability enough that even without healing he could stand for a short while.
I need to hit it with something big before Peter gets there. Eric raised both hands and fired off as many Blackflame Bolts as he could, draining his mana down to the last drop as he lit up the Corpse Amalgamation. Flames slammed into the bodies, a few hit the center mass, and as some of the corpses were burned away from his damage, Eric felt the cooling and warming sensations running up and down his body. Both Vital Heat and Sapping Heat, it seemed, were activated any time corpses comprising the main body died. They seemed to be treated as separate foes, and not part of the central creature.
In that case, Cinderburst.
The bead of black flames appeared in Eric’s left hand as a Sigil winked out of existence. The bead manifested in his palm, winked out of existence, appeared in front of the creature, hit the center mass, and exploded with a resounding kaboom followed by the fwoosh of the flames spreading Blackflame Blaze to all of the bodies.
Thankfully, Peter had been out of the blast radius. His whole body glowed with a crimson light that coalesced into his hammer, and as he reached the corpse pile, he swung, with a bloody arc following his weapon. He slammed it into one of the leading corpses, and the body was pulverized, going flying against the wall with a wet smack. The follow-up arc tracked Peter’s swing, and the mighty blow exploded another five of the corpses on the creature’s body. The whole strike actually moved the monster a few feet to the left.
Eric felt that refreshing, warming sensation again, so he continued to fire off Blackflame Bolts. He saw out of the corner of his eye the arbalest round Shannon fired go slamming into that center mass. He heard the crack of Naomi’s rifle as another shot was fired off as well.
“Focus shots on the center!” Eric shouted.
Eric’s mana continually restored from Peter’s savage beating of the corpses hanging off of the main core. The Blackflame Mage managed to stack Blackflame Blaze so many times that he had well over fifty applications of the damage-over-time effects active. “Peter! Get away from it!”
Peter began to move back, but the Corpse Amalgamation again acted in a way Eric hadn’t seen the last time: it recalled all of the bodies it had fired off as projectiles, or had been smushed and shot to death. Only the ones who had died while affected by Eric’s damage-over-time did not return to it.
Each of those bodies flew back fast—several slammed into Peter, who buckled to a knee.
A large bone spike stabbed out from the center mass and hit Peter right in the chest, piercing through the armor, into his flesh, and running him through completely. He went flying back from the force of the blow, though Eric was able to interpose himself between the man and the wall, preventing further harm. Eric let out a grunt of pain as he was crushed between a rock and an armored figure.
Instinctively, he tried to use Healing Touch, but grimaced as his instinctual reaction did not actually do anything.
Peter coughed up blood, his breathing ragged, and a wheeze escaping his torso.
Eric quickly diagnosed Peter’s condition: ribs broken, the spike had nicked one of his lungs, and the liver was bisected. One kidney was gone. Part of the stomach was busted as well, so Eric tried to turn the man face down to allow his stomach acid to pour onto the ground and not his other organs.
He’ll live if I can patch him up. The adventuring pack I grabbed has some first aid supplies at the bottom that can at least stabilize his condition.
Eric chided himself. He wasn’t alone in the wilds, tending to a fallen adventurer or hunter. He was in a mega dungeon, with observers close.
Fortunately, we have healers on standby.
Eric gently set Peter down on his side and looked at the monstrosity, which had begun to move toward Naomi and Shannon. He ran forward and shouted, “Hey! Over here!” Mid-step, Eric fired off more Blackflame Bolts, continuing to apply the burning effect on the center mass, getting up to seventy total applications of the burn.
It turned to him and began turning the corpses into spikes, preparing to launch them once again.
Eric used his last Sigil and activated Combustion. A spike shot out and impaled him through the gut at the same time, sending him tumbling back to slide next to Peter. Eric didn’t even register the pain as his brain went into shock, shutting down his pain response.
A split-second later, a wave of heat blasted out, just as if he had opened a hot oven and put his face right into it. The Blackflame Blazes detonated, and the center mass was consumed, dealing all of the burns’ damage in a single instant and dealing the same damage to the corpses all stacked onto the body.
The entire monster was incinerated in the singular, mighty blast of flame. A cataclysmic inferno that absolutely ruined the monstrosity, boiled the blood in the grooves on the ground away, and left scorch marks of a bright white on all of the walls, marking the outline of the flames. The fire, the purest expression of destructive might, scoured and incinerated the monster, devouring it away.
Eric felt that cooling and heating feeling rush through him. He moved his hands down and yanked the spike out as his body recovered fully from Vital Heat, leaving unmarred skin and perfectly formed flesh beneath.
He quickly turned around to tend to Peter. The man was unconscious, doubtless from the shock of the injury. For a moment, Eric thought about how he would best fix the wound, to show the people observing them that their group was capable and able to manage on their own. However, the injuries were dire. Even with the first aid supplies in the kit, Eric predicted a twenty-percent survival chance.
Rote or Skill intervention was required. Eric grabbed Peter under the shoulders and dragged him toward the tunnel. “Help!” he shouted.
Naomi and Shannon rushed over and assisted in hauling Peter to the tunnel entrance. Seraphine and the guards stood there. “Help!” Shannon said, panic filling her voice. “He’s going to die!”
“Don’t worry, he’s not,” Eric replied. “I saw worse at the hospital I volunteered at. Granted, they had modern technology.” He looked up to Seraphine. “But you mentioned you have people with Warden Classes present. I bet your healing is better than what we had back on Earth.”
Naomi put a hand on Eric’s back. “We haven’t received the message about clearing the room,” she said urgently.
Eric looked around, and waited for a message from The Paths, heart racing as he felt anticipation race down his spine at the possibility of another solo encounter. When he saw the expected messages, he finally relaxed.
[Mega dungeon Floor Boss - defeated.]
[Ember Acquired.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have 2 level-ups to process.]
[Blackflame Mage 11, 12.]
[Choose a Skill and Trait to increase. Then repeat this once.]
I want to increase Combustion and Inferno Trigger. For Traits, let’s put both Ranks into Blackflame Blaze.
[Confirmed.]
-----
Skills:
Combustion 3 - The area of effect increases in size. 15-foot radius centered on target.
Inferno Trigger 3 - The amplification of (Blackflame Blaze) is increased. Increase to x3.
-----
[Blackflame Blaze is at Rank 10. Maximum Rank achieved. Enhancing and resetting.]
-----
Traits:
[Dire] Blackflame Blaze E2 - Adds a burning damage-over-time effect to all of the user's Skills and Rotes that inflict damage, dealing an additional 55% of the total direct damage over [5] seconds. If reapplied, all burn timers refresh. {E2} Subsequent attacks from the user or those they designate as allies refresh the timer.
-----
Name: Eric Mercer
Classes: Blackflame Mage 12
Maximum Sigils: 5
Rotes: [Scorching] Blackflame Bolt, Ash Shroud
Equipped Skills: Flashstep 2, Combustion 3, Cinderburst 3, Blackflame Beam 3, Backblast 2
Traits: [Dire] Blackflame Blaze E2, Vital Heat 1, Sapping Heat 1
Body Enhancements:
-----
Loadout Slots: 6
Gear:
Parts & Components: 30x Duskbound Zombie Material, 10x Duskbound Zombie Ash, 1x Graveborn Corpsestrider Ash, 12x Graveborn Strider Material, 3x Graveborn Strider Ash
Embers: 1
-----
And now I’ve got another Loadout Slot. Nice.
The entire process, for him, took under five seconds. Eric looked down at Peter, who was still breathing raggedly. The guards had not reacted, and he knew they wouldn’t until instructed by the Overseer. “Seraphine?” he asked, looking up at her. “Do something.”
“Gerald, if you would, please,” Seraphine said as she finished taking a note.
One of the guards walked forward. He knelt, and Eric saw the bright yellow, starburst Sigil on the back of his hand indicative of a basic Warden Class many guards or soldiers took as their second one—Battlefield Medic. He placed his hand on Peter, and the internal injuries began to seal over as flesh re-grew and knit under the golden glow.
Ah. He’s starting with Rotes for the internal damage, and then if he’s smart—
The guard used a Sigil, and one of the starbursts winked out of existence as Peter’s torso sealed over. The Reaver’s eyes snapped open. He sucked in a deep breath, and glanced around in a momentary panic.
“We survived,” Eric said as he knelt down and gripped Peter’s hand reassuringly. “You did good.” Peter’s eyes glazed over, and Eric knew he was receiving all of the information from The Paths Eric had.
Eric stood up and bowed to the guard. As soon as Eric’s gaze met the floor . . . from him doing a proper Elyndian bow, with his right arm all the way across his abdomen, palm upright and jutting out to his left side, and left arm swept back along his flattened spine . . . he realized his mistake.
Fuck! Core-cracked, slot-locked, depths damned, why did I do that?!
He had just bowed in a fashion that he had not been taught yet in this timeline up to that point. There was no reason for him to have done it that way.
The man grunted in response and returned to his fellows.
Seraphine raised her eyebrow, but did not comment on Eric’s movement as he rapidly straightened. “All that is left is to go to the last part across the room,” she said.
Shannon shook her head as she came out of her interface with The Paths. “Oh my God! Peter!” She ran over and knelt next to him. “Why isn’t he doing anything?!”
Eric turned to his allies, feeling some relief that Seraphine chose not to bring up his Elyndian bow with the other guards. He was sure that she made a mental note of it, but the fact that she didn’t put it to paper was encouraging.
However, he knew that the ten guards who had witnessed his action would report back the strange occurrence as well.
I may have just made a major mistake, he thought, feeling anger at himself. I need to make sure going forward I act like a complete novice. No more mistakes or slip-ups. Then, another thought flicked across his mind. I could use this as a chosen one moment. Play up that I saw it in a vision. Okay. I can play off that idea if they ask.
Eric put a reassuring hand on Shannon’s shoulder. “He’s good. He’s just doing the whole Paths thing.”
Naomi came out of her trance and joined them. “Well . . . that was something. Good thing we all survived.”
Peter’s eyes refocused and he pushed up to his feet. Shannon gave him a helping hand, and Eric grabbed under his shoulder to haul him up. “Where’s my hammer?” he asked.