65. Thunderdome (I)

Eggs were most of it. Giant eggs speckled with black dots, glowing with a creamy inner light. He inspected them.

𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℝ𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝔼𝕘𝕘𝕤 (ℂ)

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕖𝕘𝕘𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℝ𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟, 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕖-𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕤. 𝔼𝕩𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕙. 𝕀𝕗 𝕝𝕖𝕗𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕘𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕡𝕒𝕨𝕟 𝕒 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝔹𝕠𝕤𝕤.

That was one of the least pleasant Boss fights Zane could remember having. He was definitely leaving these touched.

He'd been hurt far worse in past fights. That wasn't how he judged pleasantness, though. Those had been fights. This had been… he wasn't even sure. It was more running than fighting. It got him all eager, ready to give it his all, then let him give almost none of it.

He was still hot, simmering with pent-up battle rage. Splitting that Raven had been nowhere near satisfying enough. It was almost accidental.

He sighed.

He put a hand to an egg and felt the essence simmering within. Nothing held it. Nothing lived in the egg yet. It was easy to draw out into himself, up his arm, dispersing through his body in tendrils of cozy heat. It felt like downing a high-ranked essence elixir.

A few minutes later, the glow went out of the egg. He moved on to the next one. In the next. And the next still. There were seven in total, and on the fifth—

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕌𝕡!

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟠𝟙 -> 𝟠𝟚

He took some petty satisfaction in draining the last of them. Speed-type Monsters. He wrinkled his nose.

He scoured the nest and found a crystal big as his palm. A ball of sizzling light was trapped in the middle of it.

𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝 (ℂ)

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤. 𝕀𝕥 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪.

Pretty neat. Kind of like that Volcanic Heart treasure he picked up back in Mount Saint Helens.

He also found a juicy-looking white fruit with an electric-blue stem.

𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝔽𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕥 (ℂ)

𝕄𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖'𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝔼𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝. 

He was hoping for something he could use in his upcoming Law binge. He'd get in a Major Law of Fire and probably one of Steel. But it wasn't like he had any skills to do with Electricity…

Maybe he could start learning. Maybe Electricity Laws might add to his Rising Sun Slash? He wasn't sure how fire and lightning played off each other. Maybe he'd find out.

***

He made for the other Boss.

On the way, he found a Treasure Area—a little cavern built into the wall, sizzling with electricity. He felt it tingling his skin as he walked in. Its walls were pale stone webbed with electric-blue cracks.

𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 (ℂ)

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕡 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕥𝕤.

Zane grunted. For a second, his whole body locked up. A shock cracked through him, then another; he took another step. The shocks got more intense as he drew closer.

It seemed to be a similar class of treasure to the Lava Falls in Saint Helens. Kind of a painful essence geyser. Useful to boost up Luminous Faction warriors, maybe—those who could take it, anyway. He tried walking around a bit, but it was soon clear at his Level, the thing was too slow. He was better off killing things.

He'd let Reina know, though.

He approached the lair of the next Boss cautiously. It was called the Thunderous Beast, which could be anything. This one should have Lightning Spirit minions. Zane just hoped it wasn't another speed type, or he could be in for a very annoying time.

He went in with the same setup as before. Inferno Cyclone to start with. He stoked it to a raging flame. Then he waded down the Gorge, straight into the Beast's lair.

The plan worked. His Cyclone raged into the chamber, swept up all the red dots, and snuffed them out in seconds. The Spirits hardly managed to singe him; he saw them shrieking at him, saw their mouths open in shock as they burned. It kind of amused him. Lighting Spirits in shock.

Then it was just Zane and the Boss, and he let the Skill drop.

He stood in the cavern, the walls of white stone crackling blue light like they were charged up with electricity. And at its center—

𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟟𝟞

𝕃𝕒𝕨: 𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖

𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤

ℍ𝕠𝕣𝕟 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖]

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪, 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕟 𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕪. 𝕀𝕥 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕥, 𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪.

𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖]

𝔼𝕟𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕤𝕨𝕚𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕩 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕤, 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖.

Zane was relieved to find it was not a bird. It didn't look very fast at all—it looked chunky and bulky, with a horn shooting out of its blocky face. Like some kind of rhino. The bulk of it was tempest-gray, but its horn was white, the color of a lightning strike.

It did look pretty angry, though. Its massive feet were dug deep into the ground—probably to resist his Cyclone winds. Now they started glowing—was that the Law of Discharge? Zane watched, fascinated.

Then it bellowed and rushed him, horn blaring crackling white light.

Zane—as had been quite painfully established—was slow.

But it took longer for a several-ton giant Monster to charge the length of a football field toward him than it took for Zane to draw a line with his arm.

… Though it was a little depressing how close it was. The Beast got within ten feet of Zane before his Rising Sun Slash carved it up the face. Zane's flaming Axe struck the sizzling horn. An explosion rocked the air; howling, the Beast was thrown off-course. It nearly fell over. It had to stumble to avoid ramming into the wall.

Growling, shaking its head as though to clear it, it looped for another go. Zane had messed up its face worse than he thought. Everything under the horn was split pretty clean down the middle, halfway to its neck. Slabs of skin hung loose. Strings of black blood poured out.

It made sense. He had six Levels on this thing, a handful of Laws, and some Epic Skills. He felt kind of bad for it. This wasn't really fair, was it? Like a gentleman, it was actually making an effort to fight him. Unlike that bird.

He was still pissed at the bird.

So he stowed his axe and swapped over to his Chains. He'd pay this Beast back—he'd give it a good fight.

Bellowing, it charged him.

And bellowing back, Zane charged it too.

That horn dipped down, angling to gore him through the chest. If it connected it'd mess him up pretty bad.

So he didn't let it. He chucked out a Chain, catching it. The power crashed through the steel, rippled down the length of it, and gave Zane a nasty jolt. He felt muscles seizing up all over his arms and chest. But he'd blunted the bulk of it.

Then Zane and the Beast collided like two fighting bulls.

Zane felt like he'd been hit by a semi-truck. The jolt was so vicious it made him see double for a second.

He saw the heaving masses of muscle rippling under the Beast's thick skin. He felt it snorting, roaring, saw its muscles bunching, straining harder. That massive body, every fiber of it, labored to crush Zane into the ground.

But Zane's body did the very same.

Every single muscle in his body sang with the glorious strain of it, from his thighs to his chest to his back; he burned. He felt the fight in his flesh, in his soul, and grinned viciously.

They were two great machines of flesh then, interlocked, straining mightily, neither giving an inch.

Then Zane planted a foot forward and shoved…

And the Beast fell back. One step. Then another, its massive feet digging furrows into the ground.

The Beast tried desperately. It couldn't hold ground. Each step rattled the earth. The Beast stared at him. Zane met its beady little eyes and saw its pupils shrink with shock.

Zane roared; his grin widened. Veins bulged on his neck.

This. This was a fight!

Step by step, trembling with the effort, Zane beat it back. He felt it as he looked in that Monster's eyes and saw the shock. As a human a quarter its size forced it slowly but surely to its knees. As this mere human took the fight to where it was strongest—and dominated it.

As Zane wrestled the Beast to the ground, he looped a Chain around its throat. And he tightened it.

It shot reams of lightning through the chains; lightning wreaked havoc on Zane's body. He didn't care. He kept pushing, he kept tightening. His Chains were a pure, beautiful expression of his power, and all the Beast could do now was flail, and gasp, and shudder.

ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘!

ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟟𝟝%

As far as Zane was concerned, this was the right way to fight. Looking your enemy dead in the eye as you threw out your very best effort. Setting your spirit against theirs, and striving and winning. None of this nonsense, running around and pot-shotting.

The Thunderous Beast slumped.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕟!

ℂ𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕓𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝟚/𝟚

Zane let out a long, slow sigh. After that, he felt cleansed. He felt good again.

… Now that the battle fervor was slowly trickling out of him, he felt like he was waking from a great dream. He felt proud, and hugely joyful, but also a smidge embarrassed. He'd just gone and wrestled a rhino for no reason other than he wanted to, really.

…He was very glad Avery was not here.

The Thunderous Beast's lair had a fat chest near the back, and Zane looted it before he moved on. Most of the offerings were essence stones. He found another Lightning Law Fruit—lots of Lightning-themed stuff here.

Then there were a set of two scrolls engraved silver at the ends, electric blue in the middle. He inspected them.

The first—

𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕨 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕦𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕥 (ℂ)

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕊𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 'ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕨,' 𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕨 𝕋𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖. ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝔼𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕐𝕦 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕠𝕝𝕥 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 ℙ𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕟.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕖: 𝟙 𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪

Neat, but he didn't use claws. Maybe he could give it to Reina. Have her pawn it off at the Beacon shop.

𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕦𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕥 (ℂ)

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕊𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝' 𝕍𝕠𝕝𝕥 𝔹𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕫,' 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖. ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝔼𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕐𝕦 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕠𝕝𝕥 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖-𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕥 ℤ𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕒.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕖: 𝟚 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕪

Now this… this was interesting.

And he had just been miffed by how slow he was, too. This could certainly help. The only problem was he had no Electricity Laws… but with this environment and those Law Fruits, that was a pretty easy fix.

He scratched his chin.

He figured there was a pretty good chance the second floor would have some sort of Electric Law comprehension place. Either that or Wind Law, judging by what he'd seen of these dungeons. Maybe it'd be worth stacking a Lightning Law Fruit or two and sitting down for a few hours before he went to the next Boss?

A rugged stone staircase opened up around the middle of the Gorge, sank deep into the wall. Torches lit the way. He started down into the depths.

***

After a while—lots of spiraling in the dark—the stone staircase opened up into another Gorge. Just underground this time.

The second floor was one straight Gorge. It ran from the edge of the staircase straight down into a chamber. Where the Boss, the Thunder Roc, had to be.

Thunder Roc….

Weren't Rocs… birds?

Zane had a sinking feeling.

The walls were a jagged stone blacker than coal, webbed with electric-yellow lines that pulsed faintly. Zane saw clusters of red dotting the length of it on his mini-map. He looked up.

Perched on the high cliffs, peering down at him, were creatures with spiky yellow plumages crackling with electricity. Their beaks were thin and long, like lances.

𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟞𝟛

He watched one flicker down the length of the Gorge in two flaps, like a flash of lightning.

…God damnit.