Bab 55: 55 Sandracons (Part 2)
Within 10 seconds Striga filled the surrounding area of 20m full of water, the space above her was filled with a dark fog that let off an ominous aura and she disabled the last Sandracon that was feasting on the others dead body.
Her plan was to finish off the currently alive Sandracons when the others arrived, so they'd see fresh food in front of them. Their hunger wont allow them to pass up on the idea of a free meal like that. With luck, they'll fight amongst themselves for the fresh reserves and kill a few more.
Donis on the other hand chugged a [Basic Potion of Mana] and popped a corresponding pill for mana too. Their effects stacked giving him an extra 150 mana, giving him some extra breathing room. He wasn't sure if it'd make a difference in the fight, but looking at how he used just under half of his mana setting up, fighting 2 of them and setting up again, he wasn't sure if he liked his odds.
The land around them was an odd mixture of pools of water, and pools of glass. Almost impossible to tell apart when the sun was shining down on both of them, like dewy droplets on a sandy canvas.
"Here they come," bellowed Donis while jumping into the air, creating a foothold once again.
Striga held her position for a few moments longer, deftly dodging the hazardously reckless charge that the Sandracons were performing. She wanted them all out of the sand to do her next move. She leaped into the air but left her glaive stuck deeply into the ground. An arc of lightning connected her and her glaive on the ground, like a snake of light reaching further and further.
To Donis, everything felt like slow motion. Strigas movements seemed to slow down, and so did his. Even his body didn't want to react quickly while watching her, it felt like just his mind was able to comprehend right now what was going on.
As soon as Striga dove into the dark fog, it lit up. Pouring lightning down as if it were the Midsunas rains themselves. The Sandracons were popping out from the sand into their unknowing doom. Striga knew this combo wouldn't be incredibly effective versus these Earth elemental dragons, but hoped the water she drenched the area with would even the playing field a little more in their favour.
Donis breaking out of his trance focused directly on his own fight. He was getting surrounded fast. There were 10 Sandracons uninjured right now, and 8 laying and writhing in pools of molten glass, giving him a spare second or two before they get up. He was way out of his own scope, these creatures didn't mess around.
He decided that fighting them head on wouldn't do him any real good, so a hit and run tactic was employed within mere moments of the battle beginning. The numbers advantage was enough for Donis to rationalise his decision making.
There was nothing in his arsenal that could deal with such overwhelming odds, and hoped that maybe, just maybe Dragonfury would come in handy if he got a moment to breathe and let it rip. These creatures were fast, but clearly specialized in diving through the sand, allowing him to actually gain distance while running away. Even through the level difference, it appears that specializations are what truly separate the winners of battles.
He would let off a few casts of Air Pulse, giving him a slightly higher chance of hitting multiple targets, even if for less damage than Flashpoint Strike. Infusing them with Fire Charged Mana seemed to do little, so Donis cycled through all of the elements and found that none of the elemental magic did any difference in damage to these tough exteriors. It was only when he infused it with the Void Charged Mana did the damage see a significant increase, but not high enough to matter to their stacked healthpools.
Donis ran around the battlefield using footholds he creates with his Aura Rework to deftly maneuver through tight spots. A Sandracon would dive into the sand and greatly increase it's speed, closing the gap between itself and Donis. Behind Donis there were 3 Sandracons jumping in and out of the sand trying to bite off his head, or latch on somehow onto his being, but Donis just escaping by a hairs breadth.
'System, I'm GOING to survive this. We both WILL survive this,' screamed Donis in his mind.
-[The Will of Dragons Quest]: Survive the Sandracon waves with Striga.
Reward: [300SP] + [150,000 EXP] + [+1 Any Stat Point]-
'Great, it works even better during combat! Just fucking survive Donis,' he thought as he ducked once again dodging another ensemble of attacks on him.
Striga had incapacitated 11 with her combo'd attack, but killed none. 8 more Sandracons were seemingly uninjured, but definitely pissed off. She hoped for far more to be put down, but she can't hope for any miracle in a battle of life and death.
She turned from the fight to quickly finish off the previously injured Sandracon. The smell of fresh blood hit all of the Sandracons nearby, casting them into a frenzy, but unfortunately for Striga, it didn't turn them against each other, it just enraged them further against her. One of the monsters grabbed the fresh corpse and dove down under the sand, leaving Striga to only have to deal with 7 angry sand dragons. Those odds were far better than she initially expected being told there was 37 to deal with.
She had a split second to spare from the battle so she looked over to Donis who was running for his life. Satisfied that he's not trying to fight them all by himself, she focused back on her battle. Wielding her Corpse Carver in a reverse grip, she got down low to dodge the Sandracon which had dove underground launching a sneak attack from her backside.
In one fluid movement, she flicked her wrist and grabbed the longer end of the handle to turn the glaive into the exposed stomach of the Sandracon, slicing it down the middle for its entire flight. Innards had spilled just in front of Striga but she gave it no heed, unlike the Sandracons. Their hunger reaching a peak even they can't suppress. The allure of fresh food whetted their appetites once again, re-igniting that burning fervour they came in with.
She dashed forward, casting a support spell on herself, [Haste], speeding herself up. She cast a series of spells using her dangerous body movements in between dodging and slashing at the Sandracons which defied her on their home ground. While she was impeded by the slowing sand, they were only empowered.
The spells Striga cast concurrently on herself had given her a nickname in the Grimbay area. The local mercs, and even some of the villagers had seen her in this state a couple of times, gaining respect and fear for their [Monster Specialist] captain. They called it the 'Witching Hour' for Striga would become a nightmare for the entire hour in this state.
She cast [Unholy Strength], [Ghost Step], [Great Arc Control], [Arc Reactor], [Levitate].
A series of flashes and sparks set themselves ablaze around her. [Arc Reactor] generating a field of static and flashes of lightning around her, raising her hair from her shoulders into a headpiece that resembled a witches hat.
She lifted off of the floor, hovering a few centimeters above ground. She landed back down and bounced a few times from foot to foot, testing her new balance and stance. She flashed forward, a streak of lighting following her unnatural speed. [Ghost Step] enabling her to accelerate herself to an insane speed immediately, disappearing like a ghost.
She quickly circumvented a few Sandracons that were preparing to delve back down into the sand, and used [Great Arc Control] to seize the lightning field surrounding her, and bend it towards her targets with just the extension of her arm. The lighting rode her arm as if bending her to will, completely not damaging her body in the process.
The lightning flashed and exploded hitting one of the Sandracons square in its gaping maw, blowing out it's skull with the single blast. The nearby Sandracon couldn't keep it in and dove straight to the new corpse which had tastily just appeared beside it.
She continued casting the lightning bolts at the Sandracons which had yet to fully realise she was behind them, killing 3 more in the space of a few blinks of an eyes.
Knowing something was wrong, even with their maddening hunger, they dove back down underground. Even if Striga was in her heightened Witching Hour, she couldn't follow them under the sand. The Sandracons used an odd magic that didn't move the sand itself, but made it viscous like water to only their touch, allowing them to dive and hunt unhindered.
She turned her attention to Donis, who had just dodged once again, clearly sweating and running for his dear life. She almost screamed when she saw another Sandracon quickly emerge from the sand, underneath where the previous one was just diving into.
It made a clean hit into Donis, tearing into his arm, ripping it messily off. Infuriated, Striga flashed once again, using the full extend and power of [Ghost Step]. She ran straight to Donis, making it to him before he even had time to hit the floor.
She looked at him, and he looked back, uncertain as to why she had such a panic stricken face. She continued running not allowing Donis to come down from his adrenaline rush. If he realised his arm was missing, he might go into shock and put them both into danger.
She couldn't allow them to fail, nor could she allow herself to let another student die under her. She knew they'd stop chasing her within seconds, as they realise they can't catch up to her, and the smell of their fallen brothers awakens their hunger once again.
Once they covered about 100m, the Sandracons stopped chasing and turned tail to feast on their brothers and sisters. Striga still fuming beyond belief, put Donis back down and cast one of her only Debuff-only skills, [Sleep]. He couldn't help her anymore, and to be honest, he did more than she expected. Surviving this long against enemies that far outscale him was already a miracle.
She ripped his shirt and wrapped it tightly around his shoulder stump, creating a really quick tourniquet. She pulled out a [Greater Healing Potion], splashed some on the stump, and the rest into his mouth. It cost her a great deal of Erzi to acquire such a powerful healing potion, but she didn't care if it meant saving this boys life.
Putting him down Striga stood up and flashed once again. She didn't stop running until the Sandracons were within meters of her. Her glaive, Corpse Carver, screamed in delight as it slashed across the pitiful distance between them. Void Lightning infused the weapon, giving it a domineering glow that seemed to almost smile as the lightning coursed through it.
5 Sandracons had just been split in half, the lightning scorching the meat and searing the skin. They had no idea what just hit them, but they knew when an apex predator was staring them down and right now, they knew of fear that dominated their hunger.
The Witch only laughed.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Nospacess
Nospacess My laptop crashed so many times that I nearly gave up. Ended up reinstalling windows and fixing whatever the hell was wrong with my laptop. I guess I shouldn't expect much from a 200 euro laptop. I'm beyond sorry for the delays, I hope this is the last one.
Sorry for worrying you all. I was at my wits end just as much as you guys are.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone