“Such insolence!” The Priestess of the Golden Flame exclaimed as soon as she spotted the group of horsemen charging at them. “How dare you raise a hand to us?!” Her voice, booming with power and authority, echoed across the hills.
The horsemen paused, they stopped their charge as the soldiers looked at each other, some in confusion, others with almost crazed eyes.
“We serve you no longer, turncoat!” One of them shouted with an almost mocking tone. “We have found the Chosen One. He will lead us to the glorious Flame!” Another one chimed in.
Kyle scowled. “What the hell are they talking about?” He asked, shooting the Priestess a quick glance.
“Blasphemy!” Irena retorted. “There is no Chosen One. We are all equal in the Flames!” She pointed at the group. “Now tell me – why do you attack? This man has given the Embers life and nourishment!”
The soldiers muttered amongst themselves. Kyle gulped, his heart was racing. What was all thi
The skies were washed in crimson as Irena and Kyle decided to stop for the night. The Priestess was perfectly fine with going on, but Kyle was exhausted. He had been on the move for days now, with only minimal rest. And now… after a day riddled with intermittent fights and constant walking, he was done. “Do whatever you need to make sure the campsite is safe.” He said with a tired sigh as he took his cloak off and threw it on the patch of tallgrass by a large rock. He sat on the cloak, then laid on his back. “I’m heading to sleep,” he added with a yawn, and closed his eyes. He heard the Priestess of the Golden Flame chant with a low voice, casting her protective spells as she circled their campsite. As much as he didn’t trust her much, Kyle gave in to the sweet darkness of sleep. His dreams were calm and serene. When he woke up with the first light of dawn, he felt well rested, despite having slept on a piece of cloth thrown on some grass. He wasn’t sure at w
Reading the spell’s description, Kyle’s smile widened. He picked the spell without hesitation. ‘Shoot a sharp shard made of Light Magic to the enemy. The shard bursts into pieces upon impact, each piece dealing separate instances of damage. The number of shards this spell creates increases with the spell’s level.’ Kyle’s eyes widened. Ordinary, usable spells also had levels?! Not just the passive skills had them? He put four more points into the spell without even a second of hesitation, then shook his head and chuckled at his own stupidity. He also quickly went back and levelled ‘Shield’ to Level 5, since it was the spell he used most so far. Once that was over and done with, he once again looked at his passive skills. The selection of available passives wasn’t as wide or varied as the spells at his disposal, but some were incredibly useful still. ‘Summons’ Strength’, and ‘Light Mastery
Five crystalline shards appeared at the tip of his fingers. They glimmered, shining a beautiful golden light around themselves. Then, they rushed in the air, each hitting one of the men rushing towards Kyle and Irena. For a split second, nothing happened. Then, those men’s chest burst open with explosions as shrapnel of crystalline light scattered about. In a matter of seconds, the entire attacking group had fallen, either to the initial blast, or to the scattering pieces of crystalline light. Kyle paused, then breathed a shaky sigh. “Well, that takes care of it.” He muttered quietly. This had been beyond his expectations. “Let’s keep going.” He said and walked past them as the bodies quickly disintegrated into nothingness. “Impressive,” Irena commented after a few moments of silence. “Your power has begun to grow rapidly, Summoner. It makes me happy to see such growth.” Kyle shook his head. Sure, he had grown, but ‘rapidly’ wouldn’t be a word he woul
Irena’s voice was filled with hatred. Her fists were clenched as she glared at a set of doors straight ahead. “There – I can sense its power.” She hissed, and stepped towards the doors, almost like she were in a trance. “Irena, wait.” Kyle’s sharp voice seemed to snap her out of her anger momentarily. She glanced at him over her shoulder. “What is it, Summoner?” She asked, a fire of hatred still burning in her eyes. Kyle hesitated only for a split second. “Tell me what to expect.” She tilted her head for a moment. “Powerful fire magic. And if I am right, a spear wielding battlemage.” Kyle scowled. “I see.” he pursed his lips. “Let’s go then.” In truth, he wanted to turn back and wait for the Fallen Knight Aoris. But he could see the fire in Irena’s eyes. This clearly meant a lot for her. It seemed she had an emotional attachment to this. And… no matter how he felt about her, he couldn’t take the chance to face h
‘Vector, Servant of the Ash Demon’ A second health bar appeared on top of that of the Ash Demon’s, giving Kyle quite the frighten. “Two bosses…?” He muttered as his heartbeat fastened. “Filthy mage!” Vector shouted, spitting as he spoke. His eyes glimmered with hatred. “Fight me like man! Draw your weapon!” Kyle pointed at the man again. “My weapon is my magic. Shards of Light!” Once again, five crystalline shards appeared at the tip of his fingers and rushed at the Servant of the Ash Demon without pause. The man, having learned his lesson, didn’t bother trying to block the projectiles, instead, he threw himself to the side to avoid them completely, then rushed at Kyle, his flaming weapon in hand. Kyle narrowed his eyes and pointed at the ground beneath his own feet. “Sunburst,” He whispered as Vector leapt high up into the air, and brought his flaming spear down upon Kyle, only for it to bounce off of his barrier spell. Despite
Kyle’s eyes widened. He turned to look at Irena again and saw it. The otherworldly red glow in her eyes, the same colour as her flames. Almost as if she was in a daze, she cast her spells almost randomly, not even bothering to try and aim at the Ash Demon anymore. “Yeah no,” Kyle muttered, annoyed. “This has gone on for long enough.” He turned at Vector. “Shards of Light.” He said, pointing at the man’s chest. The spear wielding warrior’s eyes widened again as he dashed away, but the crystalline shards of light followed him. Kyle heard a grunt, followed by a pained moan after the shards exploded. The second health bar at the bottom finally depleted with that final attack. “About damn time.” Kyle muttered as he stomped towards Irena, annoyed. “Oi, Irena!” He shouted again as he approached her. “Snap out of it!” The priestess didn’t seem to hear him. Her gaze was focused on the cackling demon, as she shot fireballs and the like to the air. Kyle t
Aoris arrived shortly after Kyle gathered whatever remotely valuable or useful thing he could find in the outpost. As soon as she saw him, she hopped off the horse she was riding, and apologised profusely for being late. Her reason was not one to be scoffed at though. An earthquake had happened not far from the plateau, causing a landslide on the path leading up to it, as well as some structural damage to the cathedral. Aoris had been busy trying to sort things out, as Cacophus had apparently shut himself in his newly made study. Irena asked to be excused after hearing all that and vanished through one of those flaming rifts of hers. Kyle couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to the imp. Perhaps killing it would have been a lot more… merciful. But then again, whether the imp deserved any mercy was arguable. Aoris and Kyle hurried back to the plateau. Being on horseback, the journey back was a lot faster than the first time he and Irena passed through her
Kyle held onto the magically reinforced wall as the ground shook violently. This was the third such earthquake in the last hour alone. He wasn’t sure if the cathedral could survive any more tremors like this. The tremors stopped after nearly an entire minute, and Kyle finally released the breath he had been holding. His relief was not long lasting though, as thunder echoed across the plateau. Looking out the nearby windows, he could see the pouring rain out there. The sky, covered with dark, ominous clouds, was only being lit up occasionally with lightning. Kyle let out a shaky breath. Just yesterday was peaceful and normal. He had spent time with Cacophus and relaxed in the hot springs. Today was the stark opposite of that; stormy weather, constant earthquakes, and who knows what else. He continued walking towards the Lich’s study, not straying far from the walls in case of yet another earthquake. A few dwarves ran past him, hurrying towards the grand hall o