Prepping for a Boss Fight

Cyrus told Urik that they would need everyone on deck for this. He commanded his wolves to guard the base while he was gone. They returned to the base and began patrolling the area. It only toon them 10 minutes to gather everyone and get everyone geared for combat. They didn't have Cyrus' instant equip so it took a bit to get ready. Hilda had returned with a set of ice wands and a book at her side with an empty pouch that would have contained her journal.

Urik had already been equipped for combat as he thought he would have had to fight the Renegade. While the others were geared in different gear as they all seemed well equipped for the encounter. If Cyrus knew they were this equipped then they would have likely stood a chance or at the very least improved their chances of survival.

Cyrus turned to the group and addressed them all, "Soldiers of the Radiant Dawn," his voice boomed across the field. "You will be fighting a creature bigger than what I believe you faced." He summoned Visne who towered over the group in front of her. "My summon will demonstrate the height of this creature."

Visne leapt into the air and flew up about 35 meters. Hovering in place she roared, giving the sense of the threat.

"What did it look like?" A man called out.

"As if you were looking at a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a long necked dinosaur that had better arms and a neck that could stretch out and bite your head off from far away. Running will not save you." He didn't want to hide the fact that death was highly possible. "This creature is unlike anything we have seen before. So trust what I have to say and follow my orders to the letter or you will end up a meal for this creature."

Cyrus described the plan of how to take out the Mutilamposaurus. It consisted of diversions, traps, and wearing the creature down rather than take it head on. For if they did, it would be a bloodbath. He assigned teams to set up deep pits to trap its feet while giving the people a place to stand and lure the beast over. Describing the hide of the creature made it seem like conventional traps wouldn't work, but making ones to slow it down, trap it, and cause it to become distressed was the only thing that could be done.

Cyrus showed tripwires made from the woven vines that covered some of the trees in the swamp. Flash grenades and even some nuts that emitted high sounds and even ones that produced a flash. These were just some of the tools they would use to take down this behemoth. Cyrus went over with the casters that their job was to provide difficult terrain for the beast. Hilda being the main force in that.

Others that cast holy magic would be forming up to heal and provide buffs for the individuals that needed them for plan to succeed. The couple archers in their group were told how to use Blast Nuts, an explosive seed that creates a great force of damage, to mix with their arrows. Doing so in testing showed them that they were more potent than normal explosive arrowheads. Urik was seeing how tactical the Renegade was being with this. Using everyone's strengths to their fullest just by giving them their simple instructions.

Urik told Cyrus that he was their tank and he would be the lure, but Cyrus shook his head. "I have a different job for you," he stood up and led Urik to the fort's fortifications. "Your job is to stay hidden."

Urik scowled, "How come I am supposed to stay out of the fight?" But Cyrus didn't turn to face him just stared off into the forest.

"I didn't say out of the fight, I said out of sight." Cyrus then looked at Urik, "I can wager you are much stronger than I am and have the power of your ability to back it up ten fold." Urik was confused as he didn't know how the Renegade knew of his ability. He was curious as to know who this man was.

"Then tell me what I will be doing." He demanded, standing tall and intimidating. Although it didn't seem to faze Cyrus.

"You will be out last line, if all else fails, or we manage to weaken it to the point the blow could kill it. You will drop your hammer right on top of its skull." Urik looked at him puzzled. From where would he be stationed and how he would deal such an attack. That's when Cyrus pointed up, "You will drop down from above. Where it's blind spot is," he then pointed at Urik, "You are our payload, you must be kept safe."

Cyrus realized over the month, even if he managed to get another shackle, he wasn't strong enough to take on that creature. He needed more prep, a team, even his summons wouldn't be enough. So this was his only option and he knew Urik was the only thing he knew that could kill the Mutilamposaurus. This made Urik widen his eyes and then realize how Cyrus was thinking. He needed him, Cyrus needed Urik to deal the final blow while he would use himself as the decoy.

It was a dangerous plan and both knew it. Even if it was, it was the best plan of action Cyrus had come up with. His speed stat values were much better than a tank's. But he couldn't take many hits, so his best option was to utilize traps and bring the beast into a kill zone for Urik to deal the attack needed for killing the boss.

Urik nodded and then started drawing up a set of traps and weakened points for the power of the impact to knock the boss down. Cyrus agreed with the location and the two started to issued command. The members of the Fort all scrambled and started grabbing everything they needed. While Cyrus stood at the top of the rampart and looked to the North.

He felt like the eyes of a hunter were on him. Staring at him with the desire to kill and eat, which sent shivers down his spine. 'As long as the Shadows aren't involved, we should be able to defeat it.' He looked up at the tree tops and noticed something large sitting on a branch. From the distance the fort was to the edge of the plateau was about 50 meters. But looking at this shadowy thing it had bright green eyes, glowing and looking right at him.

It turned its head as he squinted to see it looked like a very large raven sitting on the branch. Fenrir started to growl inside Cyrus' mind, the burning desire to destroy radiated from the wolf god.

"He is watching..." that is all Fenrir said before disappearing from his mind. Cyrus wanted to ask who but no response. Which made him turn to Fafnir who also declined to say who.

"Lad, if HE is watching, it's best not to invoke his name. Just know you are being watched by a powerful entity." Cyrus didn't like that thought or the fact he was being watched. But whatever or who it was, he would make sure to leave a lasting impression to leave him alone. Or else he would have no choice but to devour their power too.

The sun was going down as he watched the large raven vanish in puff of green smoke. But he could tell that it never left or at least the feeling of him being watched didn't. Cyrus returned to the fort's floor and went over the plan with Urik again as they prepped the battlefield over the week. Hilda even asked to show Cyrus some ways to use Ice magic.

When she did, Cyrus couldn't preform any of the magical forms.

His system kept denying the use of "Advanced Ice Magic" until he had gained her as a follower. It seemed by completing this quest was the only way to unlock special skills. However he did manage to learn the fundamentals of ice magic. Hilda was well versed in its practice and showed him how it actually worked.

"Ice Magic," Hilda began, "It isn't just pulling from the force of Chaos. It's also by pulling in the very water in the air, from plants, from any source of water that could be accessible." She then pointed at her arm, "However, we don't have access to control water inside living beings. Yes people and animals are made up of water, however it's outside of the limit of the power. You can only draw this water to chill it from outside sources."

Cyrus commented about how plants could be considered living beings, which she nodded. "Yes that is correct, however plants for an Ice Mage seem to work, however the water turned into ice isn't much. You either need to draw from Chaos, or from a rainstorm. Being in water or near a lake is the most effective Ice and Water Magic are at their peak power." She continued on explaining that without water sources or Chaos Energy, one could not draw upon the ice. Hot environments and fire magic were powerful counters to Ice mages.

She brought him to the training range as torches were lit with others training even at the dead of night with Moon high in the sky.

"Show me what you can do and we will work from there." Cyrus nodded and from one cast of of his Ice Shard spell, he conjured 14 shards of ice that circled his chained wrist. Hilda smiled, "It's good to see you have enough power to conjure so many. Why do they circle your arm like that?"

Cyrus looked at his wrist, "Think of it like a gun, it could be a shotgun or fired rapidly one at a time." Cyrus quickly let loose a few of them at the target by pointing his two fingers out like a gun. They impaled the target with the shards of ice. Then opened his hand spreading his fingers which launched the rest all at once. This amazed her but then saw that he had already summoned more. This time above his head, which all pointed towards the targets in the area.

These were larger than the small ones around his wrist which completely pierced the targets nearby. "These are more for short ranged targeting, they lock-on to my closest targets and are launched at them." Hilda nodded, she asked what else they could do and he told her about Grimm's ability to have them rain down like icy Spears. But he couldn't do what Grimm could do as his power was weaker than Grimm's control.

It was a good limiter to his powers as he knew growing too strong too fast could garnish unwanted attention. 'I need to grow quickly in strength, but the rate I was going before was a bit obscene. Now I have someone or something watching me. Plus this whole thing with me being called the "Renegade" makes attention on me even more insane.' He sighed which Hilda heard.

"Hey you listening to me mister?" She looked down at Cyrus, "I asked if you could have your summon cast the spell." Cyrus summoned Grimm and allowed him to cast Ice Shard. Grimm doubled the amount of Ice Spears Cyrus could cast as well as made them into smaller circles around him. Groups of 7 shards circling Grimm as he blinked the ice shards all shot out at the individual targets.

"Told you, he has better control over all the spells I can cast. He is my Caster, I am able to utilize my summon's power for myself." Which was a lie, but it was not entirely false either. Just not accurate as to how his power worked. Even if he had no summons out he was able to do everything could normally. Hilda smiled and then held out her hand towards Cyrus.

"I am happy to have learned a little bit about you Renegade, I hope to see who you really are some day." Cyrus took her hand and shook it. As he did so, an alarm bell went out across the fort. Hilda turned quickly towards the northern gate as Cyrus saw a notification appear in front of him.

[Boss has sent out its minions to attack the settlement!]

[Quest: Fend off the attackers!]

[Reward upon successful defense: Title ???]