Alicia noticed the commotion around Jack growing larger. She couldn't spare him much attention compared to the worm in front of her, but she could tell he was at his limit through their bond. She wondered if his training was better than hers... or maybe his desperate struggle was more for Syraviel's entertainment. She brought her focus back to her own fight.
The worm before her finally had several wounds on it- small wounds considering its size of several meters- but multiple wounds nonetheless. Her hands were shaking and bloody, aching from the counterforce of the dozens of attacks she'd landed on the thing. She'd been picking her strikes more carefully in order not to damage her shoulder, but she couldn't do much about her battered hands.
Even more concerning was her soul. She'd only noticed after fighting for several minutes, but every attack she landed made her injured soul worse by triggering her Innate. Wisps of the overbearing aura of her giant sword Innate pulsed through her soul with each blow, accumulating quietly like a stubborn toxin.
She ignored her soul, raising her sword again, as the worm considered her. The worm wriggled in place for a bit before crawling away, leaving the void disk and zooming away.
Alicia gingerly stretched out her hands, wincing as she accidentally widened a few of the cuts on her palm.
“Not terrible,” Syraviel said. “But you still lack the killer instinct.”
“I just beat that fucking space slug until it crawled away.”
“Yes, you scared off one void worm,” Syraviel said. “Tell me Alicia, can you count out how many void worms Jack is facing right now?”
The girl's attention fell on their soul bond again as fear, daring and resentment pulsed through Jack's side. She looked over at the boy. Her hands clenched on her sword.
“Six void worms,” Syraviel said. “Five more than you. Here in Licirmon, facing intense, life and death pressure makes for much faster growth. He's going to leave you behind at this rate. You told me you wanted to beat him.”
“Then let me face more worms,” Alicia said.
“Facing more worms won't help you now,” Syraviel said. “That's the plan for Jack. He needs pressure and lots of it. If you want to match his growth, you need to kill a void worm before we enter the Unceasing's realm. This isn't your world anymore, Alicia. The way of the sword isn't one of peace. Jack has already realized this. You told me you didn't want him to treat you like one of his... 'shameless hussies'. If you want his respect, earn it. Show him you aren't content to be stagnant, that you aren't the same girl he was pushing around yesterday. ”
Alicia clenched her teeth.
“I just have to kill one before it runs off, right?” she asked.
The Goddess nodded.
“You'll see, Alicia,” Syraviel said. “With your determination, skill and ridiculous Innate, all you need is to be properly blooded and follow my training. I'll make you into something terrifying.”
Syraviel flashed her aura, causing the girl to flinch back for a second. The Goddess had vanished from her sight while another void worm approached Alicia.
***
Jack noticed Syraviel reappearing on top of one of the Void Worms lunging at him. Ignoring her, he slid under the worm, trying to break free to the center of the disk where he would have more room to maneuver. Two more void worms blocked off his path. Jack's shoulders sagged in frustration. Stopped briefly, the boy took a quick look at the skill messages he'd been ignoring.
Footwork Lvl 1 → Footwork Lvl 4
The Will to Resist Lvl 1 → The Will to Resist Lvl 2
He grimaced. Just being clipped a few times by the Void worms was enough to raise his Will to Resist a level. His level four Footwork, while useful, wasn't enough for six void worms. He knew it was only a matter of time before he got hit for real.
“You said you did not wish to be a back line healer, Jack,” Lisaseron said. “Here it is. These worms, with their innate void abilities suppressed by my disk, could perhaps be strong enough to be considered cannon fodder on the frontlines of one of Licirmon's many battlefields. Show me you belong here.”
Jack found his escape routes dwindling. The void worms behind him were either starting their charges towards him or rearing up to strike. The constant near misses and grazes were taking their toll on both his stamina and his increasingly bruised body.
Jack charged the two worms in front of him, hoping to find an opening to exploit. He didn't find one. Both of the worms completely sealed his path to dodge as they lunged towards him. Jack skidded to a stop and ran sideways, flaring the Will to Resist. Two fangs clipped him as he dodged, tearing two major gashes in his right arm. Jack pushed himself to go faster but another worm was already in front of him. The boy swore, trying to find another path.
He sucked in another breath, as he dived diagonally forward. Pain shot through his leg as another worm slammed into his lower left leg. His body was flung away from the worms encirclement while mid-dive like an errant hackeysack hit by a careless child.
Jack rolled all the way to the middle of the ring, just like he wanted, albeit a bit more bloodied and broken then he was hoping, He pushed himself to his feet, shuddering in pain as he maneuvered himself back up with just one leg. He took a quick look at the bloodied bone shards poking out of his contorted left leg then looked back up. He'd seen enough. He was done.
Empowered Bones Lvl 1 → Empowered Bones Lvl 2
The Will to Resist Lvl 2 → The Will to Resist Lvl 3
“With slightly better pathing a few minutes ago, you could've avoided this,” Lisaseron said.
“I didn't think I was going to be against six of them.” Jack said.
“Healers are always heavily targeted,” Lisaseron said. “Always. Your resiliency, battle sense and positioning must be impeccable if you wish to survive as even a backline healer. Moreso, the so called 'battle healer' archetype probably has one of the highest mortality rates amongst the Legion. I promise you, that path will not get easier.”
Syraviel appeared from the shadows next to Jack, pushing healing magic into his leg.
“I can't believe I need to heal both of you,”Syraviel said. “Damn, your leg is a mess. How much mana do you think I have? I'm Level one! Do I look like a caster? Do you think I fully regenerate my mana everytime I blink just because I've lived a few millennia more than you. You can't compare my mana recovery to that oversized, rune addicted, magic fanatic!”
Syraviel grew visibly more tired as she healed the boy's legs. The void worms drew closer to them. Syraviel twisted her lips, covering the boy's leg in a circlet of runes made from her dark mana.
“Here's your first lesson in combat healing,” Syraviel said. “First, I set your bones with healing magic before applying the runepatch to keep it from breaking again while it heals fully. You'll be able to run with it on and your bones will be good in about half an hour. Hurts a little bit more but it's some of the best constructed healing magic for combat. Go ahead, stand on both feet.”
Jack gingerly set down his other foot. The pain in his shattered leg bones skyrocketed. The boy nearly doubled over before Syraviel propped him up again.
Pain Resistance Lvl 2 → Pain Resistance Lvl 3
“Easy,” she said. “You're fine. You can put weight on it now. I know it hurts but your foot works.”
“Excellent, thank you Syraviel,” Lisaseron said. “Now keep in mind what I said earlier about using better pathing when you face the void worms this time. Also, focus on the recovery aspects of your Innate. Dig deep. You're very close to a turning point now, no time to rest.”
“Wait,” he said. “Can I just get a small break-”
“Focus Jack,” Lisaseron said. “They're already here.”
The void worms drew near enough to strike the boy, fanning out in front of him. They hissed and gurgled at the dumbfounded Jack.
“Are you alright?” Alicia thought at him.
The boy shook his head.
“Whatever you do, don't break a bone,” he thought. “If you do break a bone, don't let Syraviel put a runepatch on you.”
Jack breathed heavily, forcefully holding his head high as the first void worm attacked him. He took a step to dodge, his leg screaming out in pain. Jack forced himself out of the worm's path with a hasty, skipping half limp. Jack focused on the enhanced recovery of his Innate, urging it to work harder to fix him. His thoughts drifted to the supposed recovery properties of the Meditation skill and he started focusing on drawing power from his surroundings. He'd do anything to fix his bones and make the pain stop quicker.
Pain Resistance Lvl 3 → Pain Resistance Lvl 4
The worms took their positions around him but he was more mindful of his positioning and the way they could move now. He used their size against them, using their bodies as barriers constantly circling around them to make sure the worms couldn't properly surround him now that he was in the center of the disk. While circling around them, he also ensured less worms were facing him with their mouths. They did try to hit him with by flailing their back halves, some of them even aiming quite accurately towards him. Still, their rear attacks were much slower than those from the front. He built up a rhythm, reading the worms as well he could and despite the horrible pain in his leg, matching decently against them.
Syraviel noticed his improvement, her eyes gleaming. She looked to Lisaseron for approval and the taller Goddess nodded her head.
Jack felt the pain in his leg lessen slightly, although it still felt terrible. He wasn't sure whether he was just getting used to it, or if he was actually healing. Perhaps it was his Pain Resistance levels finally kicking in. Jack continued focusing on everything that could improve his recovery speed while he circled around to a worm's rear. His face soured when he realized the Goddesses had given him two extra worms to wrangle with, bringing the total to eight.
“How many more worms am I getting?” Jack asked. “This shit is nuts!”
“You will face as many void worms necessary to give you sufficient pressure,” Lisaseron said. “Whether that number is eight or eighteen does not matter. On another note, your positioning is much better now. Keep it up. Only a few more hours left to go.”
Jack winced, his leg pain now in full force that he was running and dodging with everything he had.
“A couple hours of this?” he asked.
“The longest I've ever been in continuous combat was three weeks straight.” Lisaseron said. “Shadow, how about you?”
“Month and a half,” she said. “Although specializing in stealth is pretty nice for those sort of things. Allows me a minute or two every now and then to recover a bit.”
“As you can see, extended engagements are quite common, Jack,” Lisaseron said. “Now is a good time to get used to them. Do not make such a sad face, dear. If it hurts so much, do not allow yourself to get hit.”
Jack's heart sank.
Footwork Lvl 4→ Footwork Lvl 6
The pain in Jack's leg mostly wore off. However, instead of his movements being sharper without the pain, they were halting, and nearly uncoordinated at times. He'd actually been getting better at dodging, but it didn't matter. Syraviel's healing may have helped his wounds but it did nothing to make him less tired. His lungs burned. The constant evasion ate through his stamina like sprinting up a mountain.
Jack had already told Lisaseron multiple times he was out of gas and needed a break to recover. Her reply was 'You may rest as much as you wish between avoiding the attacks of the void worms'. He kept focusing on his Innate and the Meditation technique, hoping to recover stamina even a lick faster. His margin of dodging grew smaller and smaller. He listened to his soul bond, curious about Alicia, trying to distract himself from the growing gloom in his heart. He felt desperation coming from her, not that of a timid rabbit but of a starving predator. There was a type of ferocity to her, a barely restrained rage and thirst for glory that caught him off guard. He grimaced. If they fought again, she'd be much more difficult to beat.
***
Alicia could barely move without painful protests from her arms. She felt less like a daring swordswoman and more like someone who'd used a jackhammer for a day straight. The worm wasn't much better, she'd seen less gnarly monsters in horror movies than the torn up creeper before her. She grinned at her crippled foe, easily sidestepping its weakened attempts to defend itself. It was just a moving punching bag for her now.
While the worm didn't have any particular weak spots, she'd noticed the muscles necessary for its movement contract as it charged past her. She'd severed every one of the muscles she could find, slowly and painfully, for both her and the worm. She struck the same places as much as she could, utilizing not just her stacking defense reduction but also her increased damage and status effects dealt with critical strikes by targeting the weak points she created. The worm finally wisened up, crawling away, ignoring the girl's goading and provocative strikes. Alicia swore, she jabbed her sword into the biggest wound the worm had, twisting and wrenching it around as much as she could.
Inflicted Bleeding (Moderate) onto Void Worm
Inflicted Bleeding (Moderate) onto Void Worm
Inflicted Systemic Shock(Minor) onto Void Worm
She dug her heels into the disk trying to slow down the hulking creepy crawly while dealing as much damage as she could. She released the aura of her Innate, screaming as she felt the cracks in her soul widening. For all her pain, her scream was a joyous cry as the status affliction messages appeared faster and her sword sliced through flesh a bit easier than before.
Her joy was short-lived. A warning call from Syraviel made her realize she was nearly off the void disk. Alicia swore, excavating herself from the massive hole of a wound she'd made. She clambered on top of the worm, nearly falling off due to her exhaustion and having to hold her sword in one hand. She stumbled over the worm's hide until she reached its rear most section and stabbed down into the worm again and again, trying to make another weak point. She could feel its body tilting down as its head left the disk. Her frustration mounted, she increased her pace, disregarding the shooting pains in her arms and her soul but the worm was nearly off the disk. Alicia reluctantly slid off, banging her fist against the Void Disk in frustration as she watched the worm gently drift off into the void. A blue screen appeared in front of her ten seconds later.
Defeated Level 49 Void Worm. Distributing Essence. Level Capped! Alternative Essence Distribution options available!
Blade Mastery Lvl 6 → Blade Mastery Lvl 9
Soul Cohesion Lvl 3 → Soul Cohesion Lvl 7
Unyielding Soul Lvl 1 → Unyielding Soul Lvl 4
She let out a sigh of relief, collapsing in place. She started laughing, then coughing as her dry throat and lack of breath caught up with her. As she lay there, drunk on her victory, she felt a a wave of pain through their soul bond and heard a sharp crunch. She looked up and Jack was skidding across the disk towards her. The boy rolled to a stop next to her, his right shoulder and chest shattered, huffing and panting as he lay, wincing with each labored breath.
For a brief second, she thought about doing what he'd done to her- taking advantage of his weakness and distraction and making him pay. Her grip tightened on her sword as she got to her feet again. She heard his breath hitch for a second, not out of pain but of realization of what she wanted to do to him. Jack looked up, exhausted, and found a blood-soaked Alicia staring daggers at him.
Jack looked at her, then at the bone white fingers clenching her sword.
“Well well well.... how the turn tables,” he said, between gasps of air. “You want... revenge? Go ahead. Take... your best shot.”
He looked her in her eyes, ready. Alicia's aura flared, tightening her grip on her blade. As she looked down on Jack, her momentum faded.
“I will,” she said. “But not today. I'll do it fair and square. I'll make you regret being such a rotten bastard.”
She sheathed her sword and sat down next to him, putting her hand on his good shoulder.
“Heal my soul like earlier,” she said. "I'm so over this broken soul garbage."
He obliged and she let out a groan of relief. As she soaked in the soothing bliss, she couldn't enjoy it fully as she watched the worms draw closer to them with wary eyes.
“You should be done now, right?” she asked. “Aren't you beat up enough already? Why haven't they killed them off yet?"
Jack shrugged his one working shoulder. He looked to the Goddesses for a second and stood up again, taking care to maintain contact with Alicia and continue supporting her soul. Syraviel appeared in front of both of them.
“Nicely done Alicia,” Syraviel said. “Technically you did let it get off the disk, but a kill is a kill. Jack, you're getting a little sloppy.”
“Obviously,” he said. “I'm out of gas.”
Syraviel covered everyone in her shadows, obscuring them from the worms while she healed him again. First, she repaired and reinflated his partially collapsed right lung, then she set his broken bones and applied a few runepatches that looked more convoluted than the first one. Syraviel took a deep breath and looked the boy over once more.
“You do seem a little worn out,” Syraviel said. “Might make things more difficult. Good luck then.”
She lifted the shadows, revealing Jack to the worms, while she grabbed Alicia by her collar and stepped inside a shadow. Alicia felt darkness envelop her for a second; when she could see again, she was well away from the worms. She watched the boy try to hold his own. He was clearly on his last legs. Syraviel vanished again, reappearing to kill a few void worms near the edges, leaving the ones attacking Jack alone. Barely a minute in, he'd already been grazed pretty bad. She could tell from her bond it hadn't broken anything but even from far away she could see a chunk of his arm sheared off, blood dripping down his wrists. She clenched her fists.
“Let me have another one too,” she said.
Her blood boiled hot. Despite the pain in her soul, she released the aura of her Innate, lifting her sword back up.
“Let me have another one!” Alicia yelled. “Please!”
Syraviel appeared next to her.
“I would if I could,” Syraviel said. “With every second, Jack walks the line between life and death. Don't be fooled by my actions, I'm watching him like a hawk. If he's in mortal danger, he still might take a massive blow, but I can still mitigate enough of the blow and stabilize him enough so he won't die. I can't do that for two people, especially when you're both in terrible condition.”
“Heal me then,” Alicia said. “Let me fight.”
“Feeling restless, are we?” Syraviel asked. “Alright. I've got an idea.”
The Goddess healed Alicia. As Alicia settled into her renewed body, a blade pressed against her neck. The girl's mouth opened, her eyes wide with shock as she looked at the Goddess. Syraviel cocked her head sideways, raising an eyebrow at the girl.
“Mmm...” Syraviel said. “Clearly, you're not on guard at all. Didn't you say you wanted to fight? Was that just lipservice?”
Alicia hopped back, raising her own sword. Syraviel held out her blade toward the girl. The girl shivered as she felt herself Syraviel's aura dragging her back into a hellscape of darkness and blood.
“Come Alicia,” the Goddess whispered. “Show me the secrets your blade has divined from the sundered flesh of your foes. Show me what power you've found tasting the heat of your dying enemy's lifeblood.”
***
Lisaseron smiled, watching the girl face Syraviel. Obviously, she couldn't even touch the Goddess but for a single day's worth of sparring and fighting, she'd grown remarkably, particularly in withstanding Syraviel's aura. Of course, Syraviel's aura still completely suppressed Alicia's but it was now like a young cockroach being crushed under a boot instead of an ant.
Diana was also performing remarkably under the circumstances, after the initial few hiccups she been harmonically channeling with great success. The girl was near exhaustion now but still in good spirits, Lisaseron could tell she'd made quite a few gains this trip.
Finally, Lisaseron turned her attention to Jack, as he lay twitching in pain on the ground once more. This was the fifth time he'd been sent flying by a void worm. Worry flashed over her face, while Syraviel stopped her sparring to heal him again. Even though this was her training plan for Jack, she was still nervous. Too many runepatches applied within a short time would cause mana poisoning and nervous system overload. Jack was already in pain and exhausted. If they pushed him too hard, Jack's spirit could be broken. He was almost at his limits, she could feel the desperation and anger within the boy from the faith he gave her. But she couldn't relent. It was here, pushed nearly to the breaking point, that she could see him growing by the second. He was so close. So unbelievably close.
“Well well well.... how the turn tables,”
This was actually intentional. It's a minor meme.
perfect, a battle training should be this "there is no better teacher than broken bones"