Crouching off to the left of the group Helo is waiting with Lelai. The unique thing about her new circlet is that the orbs that she can create are stable even when they are filled with a massive amount of mana. Eventually they become unstable or you can make them unstable. Helo can even do it with his aura but it is dangerous.
They are standing off to the left with Kenneth, Luna and Aiko in the front. On the right Gabi and Cody are together and the back has Hinata and Alli. The plan is to distract the elemental with taunt while bombarding it with attacks. Most of the damage is going to come from Lelai and Alli.
Starting out the fight Alli sends a group of ice spears at the Blaze Elemental. They hiss as the get close, then they get lost in the blaze. Steam can be seen rising up from above the elemental. Alli continues to send spears at the creature and everyone can hear a constant sizzling. Running back Alli and Hinata keep taking distance before they get on the other side of a hill and out of sight. By the time they are out of sight the Blaze Elementals colors dimmed a little.
As soon as Alli gets out of sight Helo throws a premade mist orb at the Blaze Elemental that was following Alli. The mist orb makes contact and blows up with a massive concussive wave. A wave of flame blows out in a ring and disperses a large amount of fire from the elemental. The wet wind keeps the elemental from regenerating its flames right away.
Helo doesn’t know how but he can tell that the elementals focus shifted to face him. As Helo is watching, Lelai is creating another orb. This time Lelai uses her control over the mist to launch it at the elemental. An even larger explosion hits the elemental and takes out another chunk of its side. The blast of mist spreads out before getting evaporated by the elemental.
As the noticeably dimmer elemental starts heading toward Helo and Lelai, she starts making another orb. The elemental went from fifteen feet to around twelve. Happy to see the elemental weakening Helo picks up Lelai as she is creating the orb and brings her away.
Once she finishes the orb, she sends it forward and it doesn’t make it all the way toward the elemental, it blows up in front of it. The force of the blow sends the elemental back a few feet and it visibly wavers in the air before stabilizing and moving forward again.
Feeling surge of mana Helo looks at the elemental and watches as a portion of its fire pulls away and surges forward toward Helo. Using his ‘Double Lunge’ Helo runs away and avoids the blast of fire. Feeling a wave of heat at his back Helo keeps running and asks Lelai. “Is another wave coming?” Lelai looks at Helo then the elemental before shaking her head.
Turning back around Helo can hear sizzling again. Focusing on the hill Helo can see Alli conjuring another round of ice spears. As the spears shoot off for the Elemental it erupts in a wave a fire. The fire washes over the area and increases the heat. The elemental visibly shrinks after shooting out a ring of flames and starts to steadily increase in size again.
Rushing forward into the heat Helo and Lelai send another orb of mist at the elemental. This explosion of wet air blasts all of the extra heat away from the flame wave and stops the elemental from growing larger again. Now at ten feet tall the rest of the party rushes forward to lay into the elemental.
Kenneth draws the focus of the elemental away and toward his shield. Luna who is standing near him is in range to finally to use her ‘Softening Noise’. As the elemental starts taking increased damage Helo hears Gabi yell from the side. “We have another coming from over here!”
Turning to face Gabi, Helo can see a tall wall of rolling earth coming closer. “It’s the earth elemental!” Gabi yells again.
Hinata yells to the crew. “Alli stall it with ‘Arcane Construct’, Helo focus on the earth elemental. Cody help him with ‘Heavy Shot’ and Gabi help take it apart.
Running around the Blaze Elemental Helo runs to the left and drops of Lelai near Alli and Hinata. Running past Helo uses ‘Double Lunge’ to get next to Gabi as fast as possible. Appearing with a wave of air Helo stops by Gabi and looks at the wall of earth that is rolling toward him.
Not sure how to approach this fight Helo looks to Cody and speaks. “Hit it hard. Don’t stop hitting it.” Pushing his aura forward Helo envelops it and watches the first arrow empowered by Cody’s ‘Stationary Enhancement’ and ‘Heavy Shot’. The arrow blows off a large chunk off the elemental and slows it a little. As the elemental comes closer the arrows continue to blow off pieces of its body. Not sure about how to help in a large way Helo stands with Cody and talks while he is shooting.
“Cody scatter once it gets close. Gabi attack it from the front. I’ll jump and hit it from behind.” Helo says this while watching the elemental roll closer. The main body is a collection of stone and dirt. Each shot from Cody blows off a portion of its body. As the elemental draws closer Helo can feel a wave of heat from behind it. Looking back, he can see that the elemental broke free from ‘Arcane Construct’ from Alli. They continue to pepper it with blows but over their fight on the other side Helo can see a swirl of dust coming closer. Realizing that he is now on a timer Helo looks back at his fight and orders Cody to use his ‘Duplicate Barrage’. As the swarm of arrows arc forward Helo runs behind them and jumps as high as he can.
Landing on the other side of the much smaller elemental Helo focuses his aura as much as he can on his blades. Wrapping them in a swirl of shadow Helo dashes forward using ‘Double Lunge’, as he approaches Helo drops to the ground and slides under a thrown piece of stone. Popping up to his feet Helo slashes his blades along the body of the elemental. Using both blades Helo activates ‘Disabling Strike’ in both his hands. The blades slide through the rock far better than Helo expected.
A large chuck of rock blows of the back of the elemental from Helos blows. As the rock flies in the air Helo hears a ‘Bing’. With a small smile Helo looks into the body of the elemental and can see a piece of mana filled core. Lunging forward Helo uses ‘Penetrating Strike’ and drives his blade forward. As Helo’s arm is going forward, he can tell that the elementals regeneration is slower. His aura along with his bloodline abilities are slowing down its ability to reform.
Feeling the rock and stone starting to envelope his arm, Helo can feel as the tip of his skill penetrates into the core of the elemental. Its whole-body shudders as Helo strikes its core. The body starts to fall apart before it pulls itself together as Helo backs off. Snarling in annoyance Helo steps forward to attack again but as he does the body of the elemental blows out from the front spraying Helo with rock and stone.
Covering his head Helo looks forward and sees Cody with his bow raised. “Nice shot.” He can see Gabi standing to the side. Helo assumes that she made a gap large enough for Cody to blow a hole in it. “We have to go! On the other side the dust elemental is coming in.”
That lack of blood is tiring me out. Helo thinks to himself. They have been moving and fighting for a while the whole party is getting fatigued. The dry air and ash filled floor isn’t helping the crew either.
Stepping over the body of the fallen earth elemental Helo looks over the fight with the Blaze Elemental. They are fighting about 100 meters away and the elemental looks to be about the size of Cody now, which is still seven feet.
Running toward the fight Helo has Gabi and Cody beside him. Yelling to the rest of the party. “The dust elemental is coming! We need to end this fast.” Running closer Helo uses his ‘Double Lunge’ to dash toward the fight. Looking past it, he can see that the Dust Elemental is speeding up. “Trap it again! We can’t let them merge!” Helo yells out. Getting to Hinata and Alli, Helo looks to Alli and stops. She looks completely worn out and is covered in sweat.
Breathing heavily Alli speaks up. “Haa... I don’t have enough… Haa. mana to trap it. Haa.”, She pulls up her shaking hands and channels her skill. Blocking off one side, Alli’s barrier appears and the dust elemental slams into it. It’s sand like body is swirling like storm and hits the barrier in a massive wave. As the elementals body is about to break over the wall a tiny orb of water shoots out from beside Alli.
Looking down Helo can see Lelai laying down on the ground. She is panting and breathing heavy. Her fur is covered in ash and she looks like her furs color is dark grey. As the mist orb hits the dust elemental it explodes in a massive wet wave, wetting down the dust that makes up the elemental, its body starts to sag down due to the added weight. The blast from the orb also broke the barrier keeping the two elementals apart.
Rushing forward Helo gets within 12 meters and slams his aura on top of the dust elemental weaking its ability to recreate its body. As the wet dust starts to fall off the elemental like a lizard shedding skin. Helo gets up next to the two elementals and uses his new skill. Helo isn’t sure what the skills name is but it is the upgraded version of his ‘Disabling Strike’.
Coating both his hands in his new skill Helo uses his hands to rake away more dust. At the same time Helo uses his bracers skill for the first time. The skill materializes a representation of his hands over his own. Extending the range of his swipes. Helo uses it to clear out dust from the elemental, due to the use of his aura and skill the dust that gets struck doesn’t get drawn back in. The body of the dust elemental gets smaller as Helo attacks.
The rest of the party is rushing forward to chip away at the bodies of the elementals but as they draw near the two elementals meet. Being blasted away by an eruption of dust and heat Helo lands on his back and rolls a few feet back.
Getting back onto his feet Helo looks up and is not happy about what he is seeing.
Ash Elemental
Tier 1 Level 26 Uncommon
Elemental that came from a fire swept landscape embodies heat and dust. Elementals have an easier time growing in a location with an abundance of attuned mana and without any fauna or civilization.
Floor Quest.
Ashes to Ashes
The grassland burned to the ground leaving only ash. In its wake Elementals awoke and are preventing life from returning. Kill the Elementals.
The Fire, Wind and Dust Elementals merged to form an Ash Elemental
Earth Elemental (1/1)
Ash Elemental (0/1)
“This isn’t good!” Hinata yells from her position around the elemental. “This entire place is filled with ash. This elemental is going to gain a major power boost!” She yells to the group.
“It is now uncommon!” Helo yells as well letting the group know that the Ash Elemental that is in an ash filled landscape now exceeds the power of its tier. Reforming his aura around himself Helo pushes it onto the elemental as hard as he can. The elemental was growing incredibly fast and with Helo’s aura surrounding it, its growth has slowed but not stopped.
The elemental is now a swirling cloud of black ash that has a core of burning embers. This is going to suck. Helo thinks to himself.
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Taking a look over the party things are not looking good. Both Alli and Lelai are low on mana. The rest of the party is tired from the constant fighting and they don’t have any attacks that are all that affective against the enemies.
“Kenneth! Get Alli and Lelai out of here.” Helo yells to the constantly angry man. Getting ready for what is going to be a slog Helo steps forward and starts fighting. Constantly fueling his aura and bracers with mental energy Helo is able to do decent damage and mitigate the elementals regeneration.
But with the fiery core at the center of the elemental, Helo is going to have issues regenerating from damage due to lack of blood. As Kenneth, Aiko and Luna help Alli and Lelai get away, Helo is attacking the elemental. Gabi, Cody and Hinata can only attack physically at it does very little damage to the ash that makes up the creature’s body. Cody is standing back and attacking the locations where the elemental hardens ash to attack or defend. But it is Helo that is doing any real damage, even if it is minimal.
Helo starts leading the elemental around. He is keeping it’s focus on him and constantly suppressing it with his aura. At the rate they are going it looks like it will be hours before they win and Helo is tiring fast.
Dodging backward into a roll Helo avoids a lance of burning ash that was sent to him by the elemental. It is far more capable at using the surroundings to fuel its attacks. Helo thinks that this has to be the difference between common and uncommon grade. Its ability to draw in and use surrounding resources. Thankful Helo’s aura is capable of mitigating that ability but if Helo didn’t have his aura ability they would be forced to flee.
Getting to his feet Helo has to roll left to dodge another attack. Staggering up Helo is panting and sweating from his excursions and the heat.
Off on the other side of the hill the rest of the party is having an argument. “We should leave him. He can escape on his own and right now we have the perfect opportunity to rum.” Kenneth argues with the party.
“NO! Kenneth is leaving Helo is your only opinion then don’t speak.” Alli yells at him. Kenneth after getting yelled at just turns away and hides his frustration.
“Honestly… Lelai is the best bet.” Hinata says while reaching into her bag. Pulling out a vial or glowing blue liquid she holds it out for Lelai.
“Is that what I think it is!” Luna says. “My father used to tell me about how rare those are. Mana potions require specific and rare resources.”
“Yes.” Is what Hinata says. “They are rare dungeon drops or they are made from only the most skilled alchemist with the rarest of resources.”
“You can’t be seriously be considering wasting such a precious treasure on him!” Kenneth yells from where he walked off. He is getting angry now and is upset that a treasure that should be his, is being wasted on some orphaned kid.
“I’m not considering it. I already decided.” She opens the vial and pours some of the potion into Lelai’s mouth. As Lelai drinks the potion her eyes glow blue and then all the drowsiness and fatigue that plagued her from mana use is gone. Jumping to her feet Lelai yips happily and licks Hinata’s cheek.
Bounding around the group she starts creating a mist orb before taking off toward Helo.
Helo who is barely able to stand is riddled with burns and cuts. The lances are made from condensed ash. That is already tricky to fight but they are also filled with a searing heat. Barely avoiding another blow Helo is staring up at the 10-foot-tall ash elemental and knows that it is time to flee.
Just before he turns to run a ball of mist launches over his head and slams into the center of the elementals body. With a ‘Whooom-BOOOM’ the orb explodes. Blowing off the top half of the elemental the surroundings are filled with a sizzling noise as the water cools the ash and turns to steam.
Turning to look back Helo sees a happy Lelai running closer. “How are you up girl?” Helo says while running to her. As Helo gets closer to Lelai she starts creating another orb. Launching the new one she hits the elemental again and this time the bottom half is blown away.
“Dang girl. Your mist is amazing at harming it.” Helo says. Lelai creates a third orb but Helo can tell that this is going to be her last one. She is shivering and is actually creating the orb while laying on the ground. Knowing that this is his last chance Helo starts running forward with the last of his energy.
The mist orb flies over his shoulder and blows a hole in the center of the elemental. Using ‘Double Lunge’ Helo sends himself through the concussive blast and into the burning center of the elemental.
When his body enters the elemental Helo screams in pain as he is surrounded by burning ash. The inside is a mixture of black ash and red glowing embers. Finding the mana filled core Helo channels his new skill with everything he has and punches the core.
Fighting through the intense agony Helo wraps his hand around the core as the body of the elemental is starting to deteriorate. Pushing himself free with the last remains of his consciousness Helo sends the core into his necklace and falls to the ground. Laying on the ground in agony Helo stares up at the ceiling of the 20th floor and checks over his body. He is filled with burns and cuts.
As Helo is laying on the ground Lelai comes up and whimpers beside him. She starts to lick his hand and creates a small layer of mist to soothe his body. As Lelai is helping Hinata runs to them and checks Helo. Looking around her she can see that they are surrounded by small hills of ash and nobody can see them.
With tears in her eyes, she kneels next to Helo. “It will be okay. I promise. Ill make it better.” Grabbing her knife Hinata cuts her hand and squeezes her fist. Dripping her blood in Helo’s mouth Hinata is too frantic and worried to notice Alli start walking up.
As the revitalizing liquid touches Helos lips his eyes flash golden and he tastes the most amazing thing he has every experienced. Hinata’s blood is like a golden nectar. Her dryad race and kitsune bloodline combine to make blood that is full of vitality and magic.
Both Alli and Hinata watch as Helo’s burned and cut body visibly heals. His eyes flash golden and teeth elongate. They are relieved when they hear Helo take in a breath of relief then he passes out.
“So, he is definitely a vampire.” Hinata says quietly to Alli.
“So, what. Not like it matters what race he is.” Alli shoots back with annoyance.
“I wasn’t saying it’s a bad think Alli-Chan. We just never had much confirmation.” Hinata says back trying to soothe her friend. They both are on edge and start wiping their eyes.
“Hmpf. Why was it you that got to feed him. I should have been me.” Alli says back with a pout.
“Ahhhhh. The real reason you’re acting out. Well, we all know that he mostly looks at me when he is hungry. So, it makes sense that I did it.” Hinata says back with a smug look on her face. The two girls bicker as the wait around for Helo to wake up.
Lelai, Alli and Hinata sit around and wait for Helo to wake up. Thirty minutes later Helo wakes up and sees silver. “Wahh, wh… ere am I.” Helo croaks out.
Moving her hair out Helo’s face Alli looks down at him. “Your still in the same place silly. You just fell asleep.” Looking around Helo can see that he is actually position with his head on Alli’s lap. She is sitting on the ash filled ground with Hinata next to her. Feeling a weight on his chest Helo looks down to see a mostly dark gray fox on his chest.
With a sigh of relief Helo closes his eyes and gets comfortable. Alli who is look down on him blushes at Helo’s actions and starts stuttering. “W.. W.. w.. what are you doing!” Pushing him off her thighs Helo’s head hits the ground and he groans.
“Owe. Why did you do that.” He says while holding his head. Not noticing any pain as he moved Helo looks down at his body. He is only wearing his gear. His clothes were destroyed in the fight. Seeing his perfectly healthy skin Helo touches himself in surprise. Thinking back all Helo can remember through the pain is tasting something unbelievably amazing and feeling like his entire body was being hugged by mother nature. Then he passed out.
“What happened? Helo asks while looks at the girls.
“Well… ah… we have had guesses about your race.” Hinata says while not looking at Helo. She is stuttering and trying to find out what to say.
“Hinata fed you some of her blood.” Alli says with a pout.
Surprised Helo looks at Hinata and sees her blushing. “So that is the taste I remember.” Helo mumbles to himself while nodding like it all made sense.
“Hupf.” Alli pouts. “You obviously liked it.” She turns away from him.
Helo stops and looks at Alli. Confused by how she is acting Helo is going to ask if she is okay but he hears something coming from behind him. Turning to look Helo can see the rest of the party stepping onto the small hills of ash that are surrounding them.
“He is finally up. We can get going.” Kenneth says showing little concern for Helo.
Everyone else starts asking him if he is okay. Taking one last look at the blushing Hinata and pouting Alli Helo answers the group and gets up. Pulling out clothing from his necklace Helo gets dressed and ready to head out. Feeling good after his nap and some blood he shakes off his body and heads out of the circle of ash.
The group starts heading toward the exit after checking Alli’s compass. As they are moving Helo checks his notifications to check his new skill.
Your skill ‘Disabling Strike’ as upgraded to ‘Crippling Blow’.
Crippling Blow (Uncommon): This skill can be used in both hand and targets the nervous system injecting it with a combative will (Mental Energy). Majorly slowing and weakening where stuck. Can be used once every 30 seconds and deals massively increased damage if struck at a weak point. Last for about 1 minute depending on enemy’s resistance.
Looking at his new skill Helo is happy about what he sees. From what he remembers the skill uses a much higher amount of energy but it also is extremely powerful. Striking the head or core seemed to disable the entire body for a time. 30 seconds is a long time in a fight but having it on both hands makes up for it in the end.
Happy with his new skill Helo looks at his partial status.
Due to your effort in fighting the elementals you have gained +1 to int, end, and strength.
Name: Helo
Tier 1
Class: Shaded Predator (Pseudo Tier 3)
Level 11 (274,968/1,025,000) (1000 + 1,024,000)
Stats: 168
- Str: 11 (+5%)
- Agl: 24 (+15%)
- Dex:18 (+15%)
- Per: 29 (+30%)
- Vit: 31 (+40%)
- End: 13 (+15%)
- Int: 11 (+5%)
- Will: 31 (+40%)
Title: Nature’s Alpha (Epic)- This title augments your aura to be more connected to nature around you. Increases the efficiency of Vitality, Will, and Perception by 25%. Gain x4 to experience when killing an alpha and its pack in a nature themed type dungeon.
Gear: Alpha Wolf Hide (Epic), Boxers of Infinite Regeneration (Epic), A mother’s first gift, a father’s first lesson. (Mythic/Hidden) (Rare)
Happy that his lowest attributes grew stronger. Helo and the party find their way to the exit. As they exit there are two chests sitting off to the side. One is a black and red chest the other is brown and grey.
“It looks like we gained a chest for each elemental we killed.” Luna says.
Floor Quest.
Ashes to Ashes
The grassland burned to the ground leaving only ash. In its wake Elementals awoke and are preventing life from returning. Kill the Elementals.
The Fire, Wind and Dust Elementals merged to form an Ash Elemental
Earth Elemental (1/1)
Ash Elemental (1/1)
“That makes sense.” Aiko says while they watch Alli jump toward the chest. She starts plating her games about opening the chest but as soon as Hinata is about to speak up she opens the earth chest.
Alli pulls out a staff that looks like it is made from weathered grey stone. Sitting at its top in four prongs is a polished piece of the same stone.
Staff of Earthen Sweep (Uncommon)
Formed from the stone of an earth elemental.
- Increase power of earth magic.
- Holds a single charge to create a wall of earth that can be sent forward.
“This is a pretty good staff.” Hinata says. “Unfortunately, it might be something we sell. We can use its wall charge but nobody here has an earth affinity.” Grabbing the staff Hinata hands it off to Luna. Luna takes out her papers and starts adding the staff into their logs. Putting the staff away they all turn to the next box.
Alli opens the Ash Elemental box and pulls out a black cloak. This cloak has a hood and has a constant ripple over red that spreads over it looking like burning ash.
Cloak of Ashen Revival (Rare)
Formed from the Ash of an uncommon elemental.
- Increase regeneration when near fire and ash.
- Empower blows ash mana
- +10 to str and int
- Self-mend and cleaning.
Everyone is arguing over who should get the cloak but in the end with the help of Helo the cloak went to Hinata. The cloak would have gone well with Gabi or Kenneth. But Gabi already got the spider wrap and Kenneth isn’t trustworthy yet. So, with a lot of grumbling from Kenneth, Hinata puts the cloak on her body.
The cloak fits her body nicely. It isn’t to tight but still shows of the curves of hear figure. With her dark hair the cloak looks like it was made for her and the fire that dances along the cloak gives her a mysterious and alluring air.
Helo is hoping that with Hinata wearing a cloak that strengthens regeneration she might get something from her nature affinity or even her kitsunes fox fire. From what Helo has read items can help shape who a person becomes. They can help someone gain or shift an affinity or even have skills cater to them.
This is something Helo has learned firsthand. His items helped show Helo how to access his mental and physical energy. So, Helo is hoping that a cloak based of ash mana will Helo Hinata access her dryad or kitsune abilities. Right now, Hinata’s strongest affinity is illusions. She has a long way to go to master them but starting to learn about her bloodline’s other affinities isn’t a bad thing.