EmEs_etherious
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Chapter 67- Shade
🕑 Added 2023-04-13 23:27:20 +0000 UTCSorry. The chapter should have been released half an hour ago but I ordered a cheeseburger.
Arthur hadn’t been able to get a single wink of sleep all night, his mind continuously drifting back to the offer Ayesha had given him and the answer he’d replied with. He wasn’t sure if he had made the right choice and indecision gripped him as he mentally evaluated how his decision would affect him, for perhaps the hundredth time.
He came to the conclusion, once again, that yes, he had undoubtedly made the right judgement in accepting the powerful woman's offer. At the end of the day, Arthur needed a way to heal his soul soon before it became an untreatable issue. And that dragon core man. I think my title would try to kill me if I turned it away. With an added Evolution Fruit to sweeten the transaction, it was practically a done deal and the offer to meet the mercantile organisation that was coming to Earth was just the cherry on top.
He’d had no idea who or what they were when Ayesha had first mentioned them and had said as much to the woman. When he had finally learnt what it was that the group did, he knew that he would have to meet them, if only to find more about the wider universe out there.
Despite one of his primary goals of researching resurrection magic and whether or not it was even possible, he still had no leads go on even after two and a half weeks of being in contact with Ether. The rational part of his brain told him it was impossible, that by the time he was ready to do something it would already be too late. His sister’s body would have already become the food of insects, gone forever, her soul moved on.
On the off-chance that resurrection was possible, he wasn’t stupid enough to think you could bring someone back from nothing, that would be akin to creating an entirely new individual, irrespective of how similar it would appear to an observer. Arthur shut down that part of his mind. He locked it down and shoved it into the farthest recess he could, ignoring a reality he would not believe.
A reality he COULD not believe.
He'd ignored it for nearly three weeks already. A little while longer never hurt anybody. My therapist's probably crying blood right now.
Arthur sighed wearily when he heard the chirping of a bird, his hearing so incredible now that the tiny squeak sounded like it was coming from within his own room. He had no doubt however that the seemingly innocent animal that produced the noise would easily be able to murder pre-system Arthur.
Looking at his watch, he saw that it was half-past-six, just a few hours till his big debut as a battle healer. It didn’t seem like he’d be getting any more rest and the night was already over. With his absurd stamina, he didn’t really think he even needed sleep so much anymore, it was more just a means to freshen himself up a little. Arthur got out of his bed, checking his ether reserves as he did so.
2980/3230
Well, at least they were practically all full. Thanking God for the small mercies in life, Arthur prepared himself for the day.
~Selena Williams~
It was exactly one minute past ten in the morning, twenty-nine minutes until the planned battle against Shade. At least if things went according to plan. Looking at the uncommon item in her hands, she was unsure if that would be the case.
Dark-attuned monster lure (Uncommon)- A crudely crafted item that attracts monsters of the darkness affinity. Due to its fragile creation, it may not work as the creator initially intended
Bryan hoped that as Shade's mental acuity had already degraded so much that his more bestial instincts from his gene splicing would take over his actions. If that was the case, then the monster lure in Selena’s hands would work perfectly to attract his attention if he was within the vicinity, which her extensive usage of scouting mage had told her was exactly the case.
Though the item's description didn’t really give her a vote of confidence. What the hell is the damn going to do, if not lure a darkness affinity monster. Is it gonna blow up or something, Selena worried as sweat poured down her back. She was in the tensest situation of her entire life and the fact that she was willingly acting as bait for a monster that could easily end her life in seconds did not help alleviate any of her stress.
And why the hell did I have to come here alone anyway, her less reasonable inner demons questioned her though she knew full well the answers to that particular conundrum. The other four members of her team as well as Arthur had chosen to hide in the outskirts of the massive clearing she was currently in. After all, their plan had a much greater chance of success if Shade found only a single vulnerable individual waiting for him instead of a team of powerful humans.
Such a tactic would have never worked if the shadow mage retained even a shred of his thinking capabilities and the entire operation hinged on the fact that the government's ‘experts’ were certain the former human had lost those a long time ago. That did indeed seem to be the case if the man’s recent murder spree were anything to go by.
Still, it would help her nerves a lot if she didn’t feel so isolated in the huge clearing whilst surrounded by the menacing shadow cast by large trees. After seventeen minutes of inactivity had passed and Selena started to feel both frustrated and relieved that the shadow mage hadn’t turned up, something changed in the atmosphere around her.
It was almost like someone had flicked a switch that drained all colour out of the world and left it a grim picture of black and white. Selena felt her breath catch as she felt a terrifying presence wash over her, unlike anything she had ever felt before. She imagined this was what someone felt as they gazed at the closing jaws of a monster, the sense of despair as one saw an incoming tsunami, utterly powerless to do anything but wait and watch.
It felt like death.
Just as Selena began to hyperventilate, she felt a warm, comforting feeling suffuse through her from a point of contact on her shoulder. Selena looked back to see Arthur's reassuring figure standing slightly behind her as her other team members made their way out of the trees. There were no pep talks, no words of encouragement to bolster their faltering wills. There was only grim silence of quiet determination as everyone turned to observe the beast that had made its presence known standing before them.
They had a job to do.
~Arthur Ward~
Arthur gulped dryly when he saw the sickening creature before him. He would never be able to tell that it was once a man if he hadn’t been told prior to seeing it. In fact, he almost doubted if the government had told him the truth. The man, if that was truly what he was seemed to be made more out of flickering shadows than actual flesh and the few parts of his body where that was not the case had taken on a grey, unhealthy hue that made it look like it had started rotting.
The monster’s hands ended in sharp claws that were carved out of the darkest night sky and trailed along the ground like they were too unwieldy for him to lift properly. Its back was hunched, revealing a spinal cord that had broken skin in places, causing scabbing blisters to form that oozed a gooey-looking fluid that sizzled like acid when it fell onto the ground. Arthur identified the former shadow mage and felt his heart drop.
[Starved] Shadow ghoul ??? (Evolved Rank E) level 162-
Ghouls are monsters generally found in locations of concentrated death Ether. Usually formed when steps are taken using illegal magic to pervert nature, they are incredibly dangerous and toxic to the general populous. As an evolved variant of the shadow kind, it is advised that a team of specialists are brought in to handle the threat.
[Starved]- Ghoul is in a state of starvation due to a lack of Death affinity ether in the area. This results in a far more aggressive opponent that lacks self-preservation instincts
It was by far the most powerful creature he had ever seen if its aura was to be believed, dwarfing the Draconic Liverthion by a large margin in terms of destructive capabilities despite its lower levels. After all, the former human had not achieved its strength by drinking and abusing some potions like a drug addict. No, what he had done was far worse and the abomination before them was the result of his twisted experiments.
His max-level identify was showing its worth here and it provided him far more details than he'd expected. None of the extra information was useful here, unfortunately, and they had no life mages on hand to oppose the death-attuned monster.
The air around Shade was shimmering almost as if reality itself was trying to reject the monster’s presence. Arthur could feel goosebumps rise over his skin and he shivered involuntarily in fear. Looking at what the former human had become, Arthur questioned why the man had even gone through such a crazy experiment in the first place.
He must have known that the results were not the promised path to power but rather the descent into madness that lay before them. After all, Shade wasn’t the first such individual who had walked down such a dangerous and foolish path, only the latest and most powerful person who had accepted Thorn's booby-trapped gift of power.
Arthur couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to become a monster even if it significantly increased their strength. Especially when they had a bright future ahead of them as Shade once had. Still, such questions were not for Arthur to answer and despite his curiosity, he wouldn’t be asking anything.
Arthur knew what Pandora’s box looked like when he saw it, and he would not get dragged any further into this crazy battle against the Silver Rose just because he couldn’t keep his gob shut. Well, maybe if they made it worth my time, his greed whispered in his ear before he quickly stamped it out. This was not the time to be getting distracted. He was out of his depth travelling into deep waters, and a lapse in concentration could cost him his life and result in the failure of this entire mission.
Arthur took a deep breath and prepared himself for the upcoming battle.
~~~~~~
Why the fuck did I even come here? Bryan wondered as he stared at the monster before him. It had only taken him a single moment under the pressure of Shade's aura to know that he and his team were not going to come out of this fight in one piece. I swear, they told us he would only be at level 140 at the most, Bryan inwardly cursed, promising himself he’d have the so-called ‘experts’ head if he ever managed to make it back home. Shade was over 20 levels higher than they had initially expected and his team was nowhere ready to fight him. But as Bryan looked back at Arthur, the enigmatic healer the Murkers had managed to persuade to come with them, he felt a brief flicker of hope light up in his chest.
Yes, with his initial team this battle would be tantamount to suicide, but if they had someone like Arthur backing them with constant healing skills, they’d actually have a chance to bring the crazed Ghoul down.
They’d have to.
Otherwise, the monster would rapidly outgrow any means they had to take it down save perhaps just bombing the bastard out of existence. They had however been extensively warned against taking such measures during the tutorial. Something about radiation allowing monsters to evolve in extremely dangerous unusual ways, and America was not ready to face the threat of hundreds of mutated monsters.
Bryan gulped as he felt the pressure of responsibility set itself on his shoulders. He pulled out the item he had been given and hoped that it would be enough to close the gap between themselves and the shadow mage.
Light orb (Uncommon) - A naturally formed item from a high concentration of ambient Ether of the light affinity, this orb will release a large amount of light affinity Ether when used. Extremely useful against lower levelled monsters that favour darkness and shadows.
Usages remaining: 2
From prior testing, Bryan knew that the orb would easily illuminate the 750m circumference of the clearing they had chosen for the site of the battle, thereby eliminating a vast source of Shade's primary source of magic, shadows. Whether that would be enough to stop the beast, would still be left to fate and at level 162, the crazed abomination could probably circumvent such a crude and simple tactic.
It was the best chance they’d have though, thirty-two minutes of illuminated time to bring down the shadow mage. Bryan prayed that it would be enough, or that they’d survive long enough to reuse the orb after the half-hour had passed. It had only been a few seconds since the monster had made its presence known, yet it felt so much longer to Bryan. The beast growled and took a step forward.
Bryan closed his eyes and the world exploded into light.
