abcnovels
Chapter 46: Ambush
Chapter 46: Ambush
Chapter 46: Ambush
You defeated a - Ghoul - level 43!
…
You defeated a - Ghoul warrior - level 54!
You defeated a - Ghoul berserker - level 65!
You defeated the - Titanic Alligator - level 87!
Extra experience is awarded for defeating enemies levels above!
Experience is reduced for fighting within a group!
You have levelled up!
…
Psychokinetic level 62 -> Psychokinetic level 63
Illusionist level 62 -> Illusionist level 63
Gained 10 stat points.
You now have 340 intelligence.
Skill level up!
Crash[ Stage 2 ] level 10 -> Crash[ Stage 2 ] level 11
Mind Barrier [ Stage 2 ] level 7 -> Mind Barrier [ Stage 2 ] level 8
Psychic’s Power [ Stage 2] level 8 -> Psychic’s Power [ Stage 2] level 9
Psych Domain [ Stage 2 ] level 8-> Psych Domain [ Stage 2 ] level 9
Illusionary Armour level 8 -> Illusionary Armour level 9
Psych Warp level 1 -> Psych Warp level 3
Levitation level 1 -> Levitation level 2
Mental Warfare level 4 -> Mental Warfare level 9
Experience gained!
Hmm, I wonder what my status page looks like now? Curious, Astrid activated her System, and another screen flashed into her vision.
Name: Astrid Sinwen
Title: Mind Scrambler
Class 1:
Medium Class: Psychokinetic level 63
Upper Class: [ Level locked: ??? ]
Active: Psychokinesis - level 10 max
Active: Crash[ Stage 2 ] - level 10
Active: Mind Barrier - level 8
Active: Levitation - level 2
Active: Psycho Warping - Level 3
Passive: Psychic’s Power [ Stage 2] - level 9
Passive: Psych Domain [ Stage 2 ] - level 9
Passive: Overpower - level 5
Passive:
Passive:
Class 2: Illusionist level 63
Upper Class: [ Level locked: ??? ]
Active: Minor illusion - level 8
Active: Illusionary armour - level 8
Active: Mind Domain - level 1
Active:
Active:
Passive: Mental Warfare - level 9
Passive: Illusion detection - level 9
Passive: Anti-Disabling Field [ Stage 2 ] - level 1
Passive:
Passive:
General Skills:
Etiquette - level 1
Clothes Making - level 3
Clothes Repair - level 2
Identify - level 3
Mana Conduit [ Stage 1 ]
Mental Resistance - level 1
Lung Capacity - level 1
Mana Veins [ Stage 2 ]
Enhanced Vision [ Stage 2 ]
Swordsmanship - level 4
Status:
Unallocated stat points: 0
Strength: 60
Dexterity: 60
Constitution: 100
Intelligence: 340
Wisdom: 154
Astrid gazed at her System in awe. She could never have imagined that she would have risen at the speed she had. Even Kaylan and the other nobles crawled at a snail's pace compared to her. Although a big reason for that was because she could take down incredibly strong opponents and reap the rewards, also luck. But she couldn’t have done it without her team.
She watched with a smile on her face as they all argued with each other. All the while stuffing their faces with tough alligator meat. The only reason they could eat it was their increased strength, helping everyone chew through the thick flesh. Astrid nudged closer as she held her hands to the fire. It felt like a fire element dog was licking at her palms as she gazed into the flickering embers.
Fighting with her life on the line every single day. Adventuring new land and uncovering the secrets behind their home world. She clenched her hand as the flickering fire reflected against her shimmering blue eyes.
They stayed around the fire for a while. Talking about lives, how they grew up in the Lower District. Astrid listened with her head cupped within her hands. Her life was nothing but smooth sailing compared to her team. Often they had to fight tooth and nail to fill their stomachs, and other times they failed and had to go hungry. She had learned that only Rachelle had her mother left, so everyone viewed her as their sole parent. Daniel would lead missions when they were younger to the Middle District to steal anything they could get their hands on to sell within the black market. To feed himself, his brothers and sisters, and his adoptive mother.
It gave her an understanding of how a lot of the Lower District Wayfarers had higher survival rates within their missions compared to the nobles–even with their stronger classes. Every day was a battle for them, from childhood, until the day they died.
Astrid peered over at Leena. It’s as if she was reminiscing about her past. An emotion glazed over her eyes, one that she couldn’t understand being from another world.
Once they had filled their stomach, and regained their warmth from the cosy fire. The Wayfarers wandered back through the forest and began walking down the road. If Astrid had to guess, it was about mid-day, but after the dungeon, all sense of time was warped and hazy.
Astrid picked out a mass of moving matter at the entrance of the green tree’s, a large vibrant red heart thrummed within its chest. Its head peered out from behind the tree, small budding bumps were raised on the dog-like head.
“It’s a Mongrel Doe.” Brett whispered.
“Dog, deer hybrid. Plant eaters.” Astrid mumbled to herself.
She slowly approached, hovering her feet off the ground so she didn’t make any noise. She placed her hands forward. The doe was cautious, hiding most of its body behind the tree. But they were smart and knew that she wasn’t a threat. Slowly, it emerged from behind the tree. Just like its name, it was a mix of dog and deer. It had long fluffy ears and a tail to match it, but the body of a doe.
Astrid gently placed her hand forward. The doe recoiled back a step, then sniffed using its dog-like nose. It crept forward and its wet nose brushed up against the back of her fingers. Astrid broke out into a smile as she felt the moist, tickling sensation. Then, a twig snapped, and the doe flinched and bolted into the forest. Astrid immediately used Psych Domain as she watched out for any movement, but there was none.
Anti-matter, or camouflage skill? Astrid dashed back to her team.
“Sense anything?” Daniel asked Lisa. She shook her head. “Let’s keep going.”
It was another twenty minutes of walking when Astrid could see the enormous bubble above them encroach on their position. It connected itself to another bubble, and another town quickly emerged into view.
Thankfully, the town wasn’t submerged in water. Instead, a beautiful floral plain bloomed in the distance. A vast array of colours tickled Astrid’s eyes as flowers sprawled all around the town. Thick moss had reclaimed the building's roofs, and tall, billowing, verdant grass blades overran the gardens at the back and front. There weren't any high-rise buildings like back on the ship, or even from her first mission. Most of them were two-story houses.
They headed into the town. The doors to the buildings were either opened, or someone had broken them into pieces as the wood lay scattered on the floor.
“Do you think people were here before us?” Leena asked.
“It looks like it.” Lisa placed her hand against the wall. Something sharp had sliced into the brick. Along with a small trail of blood.
They followed it into the building as a putrid stench of copper wafted throughout the building. A loud mass of buzzing flies accompanied it. Daniel was the first one to head on through. Astrid looked through the wall as the matter entered her vision. Something had dumped a pile of bodies in a room, although she couldn’t tell if they were human or something else.
“Seafarers, dead.” Daniel continued. “Someone has plundered their equipment."
Losef frowned as he moved his head to the nearest buildings. Astrid immediately expanded her Psych Domain to the maximum as her mind strained. Despite the evidence of the kill, she couldn't see anything in the vicinity. And she doubted they could all have camouflage skills to negate something like her matter sense.
“I’m not picking anything up.” Astrid said, and Lisa agreed.
“They must have moved on, further down.” Daniel motioned towards the road as it continued far into the distance.
“So, what do we do?” Leena held her umbrella lance at the ready.
”We’ll head back." Daniel shook his head. ”The risk isn’t worth the reward. There’s always another town to explore and level.”
Astrid nodded, although it was a shame to leave early when she could level. She prioritised her life. She had almost lost it more times than she could count already, and she didn’t want to add to it so shortly after the last. To kill an entire Seafaring Town expedition squad was no easy feat, even if they were out levelled. And the people who did it were confident in their skills, or knew all the Seafarers' information and waited in ambush.
Daniel brought them back into the forest as they headed for the nearest bubble. It loomed above the tall trees like an endless, curved wall. Astrid deeply inhaled as the aroma of tree leaves, sap, and dirt cleansed her senses from the blood. Every time she walked near a tree, she would brush her slender fingers against the coarse bark. With her increased strength, she could peel off a layer and crumble it within her hands. The sticky sap attached to her fingers like an adhesive.
They were about to exit the forest and approach the bubble when a streak of matter pierced straight for her. Astrid immediately formed her barrier in a split second, a heavy weight bore down on her mind as she defended against it. Cracks marred her Mind Barrier as she quickly brought forth more psychic mana to repair it.
“Charge forward, get out of the forest!” Daniel ordered.
They dashed out of the tree line. An intense energy cracked straight for them. Rob slammed his foot to the floor as ice spilled out and crawled across the ground toward the enemies. Lisa fired her bow to the side, the air spiralled out of control at the twang of her bow. The arrow bore through the tree to the side of them like a needle through paper. Astrid heard a sharp groan, then a thud.
Rachelle spouted out a torrent of fire from her palm as it raged forward. The surrounding air turned dry. Astrid could feel the intense heat scrape her skin before she shot the fireball forward. The enemy's tanks quickly took to the vanguard as they defended against the intense heat. With the ice melted, chains took its place as Rob activated the level 150 Epic item set. The chains coiled around their legs and arms as Daniel and Brett took advantage of their immobility.
Light flashed from Daniel’s eye as he focused on a shield user to the left. His feet danced, and his wrist trembled, as if trying to find an opening. Then he moved forward like a blur as his curved blade sunk into the dense metal shield. The blade continued forward unimpeded, as if it was a highly sharpened can opener. With a howling scream, the woman’s arm was severed in two. It didn’t stop. It continued until the blade was visible on the other side. The woman’s entire body fell to the ground in halves. Blood spurted, but Daniel moved onto the next target.
Brett vanished within a cloud of darkened smoke. His twin daggers left behind a trail of shadows in their wake as they ravaged into the back-line. Blood erupting and blended in with his shadow. It was as if some had awakened a bloodthirsty demon.
Losef was quick to join in. With a leap, his spear shone like a sun and, with heightened acceleration, he shot to the ground in an explosion. With the shield wall blown to pieces, the trio began their slaughter.
Astrid watched as body parts flew, and blood was splattered. The once verdant grass had turned into a field of scarlet red. With a thud, a head rolled in front of Astrid’s feet. Blood spurted from the neck. The warrior’s dead eyes gazed up at her in horror.