Chapter XIV: Battle

 

"Is that all you got, Mister Wriggly?" Lucas jeered at the worm. 

The past few minutes were not very different from when the battle started. It mostly consisted of Lucas narrowly dodging each and every one of the attacks the beast threw at him. 

There were instances when the worm had managed to get a few shallow cuts in, but it was no wolf. Lucas had held his breath when he first saw the wound, but let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the worm did not have the same ability the wolves earlier had. 

The worm and Lucas were currently locked in a staredown. Whenever the worm would move, Lucas would respond in kind, ducking behind the numerous furniture around the room. 

He'd throw the smaller ones at the worm's face in order to buy him some time. But this would not be able to last. Lucas began to think of a plan to take down the beast. 

The worm's head followed him around the whole area, cleanly slashing through the wooden chairs and tables Lucas threw at it. 

He then began to have second thoughts about actually provoking the worm in the first place. He figured that by doing so, he had increased its strength to twice its original level. 

And if that wasn't enough, the enclosing body of the worm threatened to crush Lucas in a prison of metal. 

There was not much time before he died, and Lucas knew it. 

Thinking back to the information Kenneth had sent him when he scanned the beast, he began devising a plan.

"Come at me, Mister Wriggly!" Once again lacing mana into his words, the spell Provoke was cast on the worm, causing its mood to lower and its anger to rise. 

Dashing out from his spot behind a table, Lucas made a run for… the worm?

Instead of heading for the stairs while he still had the chance, Lucas decided to push forward, right into the reaches of the worm!

He made its way through the obstacles blocking him, using nearby tables to agilely leap over the endless flurries of swipes the worm sent at him. 

Alas, his run was cut short as the worm threw the pincers in his direction, blocking his way. The rapidly approaching "scissors" made their way as they dragged across what was left of the floor. 

Yet Lucas did not move from his spot. He stood his ground, and prepared to take in the worm's attack.

And just as he thought, the worm led with its pincers, choosing to capture him in its sharp grasp! 

He had long thought of this, and stretched his hands out to the side, creating a T-Pose. 

The oversized gauntlets in both of his hands served as great ways to plug the pincers, stopping it from moving any closer and crushing Lucas who was inside. 

"You look surprised. How did I know you were going to lead with this attack? Well, you've been snapping those blades of yours ever since you got here, so why wouldn't you?" 

"Even if this is a virtual simulation, I can't really stand the sight of my gauntlets being scratched up like this." Lucas snorted. "So if you don't mind, I'll be ending this quickly."

Placing more force into his arms, Lucas was slowly, but surely able to push back the blades as his strength began to overpower the worm's. 

Then, once the worm's head was open enough, Lucas began to prepare for one strong attack. One that would be enough to kill the beast, or at least injure it severely. 

Directing a few more bursts of strength to his arms, Lucas was able to break off one of the pincers, as the hard metallic spike was cut off from its place on the worm's face, resembling a rhino's horn or an elephant's tusk. 

The difference being these beasts were not endangered in the very least, allowing Lucas to take pride in his trophy. Not that he'd be able to take it home, it was just a simulation. 

But there was one feature about this "worm". It was that the mouth it possessed right behind its pincers was very small. In fact, it was only around the size of a basketball. 

And where else would be a better place to stick his fist into, other than the inside of the worm's mouth?

Taking advantage of the worm who had flinched as a result of one of its pincers breaking off, Lucas shot to the front of its mouth instantly, and unleashed the strike he had been preparing. 

Boom! The sheer force from the punch pushed the worm's whole body backwards, causing shockwaves to ring around the area. 

The place where the worm was struck. Instead of hitting the mouth directly, Lucas drove his fist even deeper, and aimed his full strength into the back of the worm's throat!

 The worm slumped back in pain, and blood began spurting out from the wound inside its throat. This indicated that the inside of its mouth would soon fill up with blood, thus drowning the worm. 

"But just in case…" Lucas shot forward to the dying corpse and threw a whole barrage of punches, each hit causing the metallic skin of the worm to bruise and eventually crack. 

Once Lucas had confirmed the death of the worm, he thanked his little brother inside his head. 

"That bit of information was super helpful. Thanks, Kenneth." 

Even if Kenneth wasn't actually there, since he had long switched his main consciousness to Lena after sending Lucas the information (and also because he wanted to fight it by himself), he still thanked his little brother. 

Steel Worm

Danger Level: Mid to Mid-High

Power Potential: High

Spells: Size Enlargement

             Metallic Skin

             Sharpen Blade

Additional Information: The worm possesses a weak point in the center of its face. The mouth, while directly in plain sight, is most of the time unreachable even by archers and long ranged combatants, due to the worm's constant flailing, and the two pincer-like blades protruding in front of it.

There was the answer to Kenneth's question. Did the spell rely on distance, or was he just too weak? 

Luckily for him, the answer seemed to be the former.

<40th Floor, Kenneth POV>

 

Lena was quickly able to climb the rest of the stairs using her Blink. But by the time she had reached the 32nd floor, she was beginning to feel a slight weakness in her body. 

Her spells seemed like they were only half as effective as they used to be, while still costing the same amount of mana to cast. 

"Something is definitely wrong here." Kenneth surmised. He too, felt that his control over the Link was weakening by a little. 

"You're right. It must be some type of magical beast that can lower the effects of spells." 

"Are you tired, Lena?" 

"Huh? No, not really." 

"Mentally, I mean."

"In that case, yes." 

 

While most spells did not require physical strength to cast, they instead needed mental strength. 

So a magician who has been casting spells continuously will find that they will still be able to walk a mile, but will find it tiring to do so. 

This was also the reason why people adept in magic and physical strength were in particularly high demand in guild parties. It was like two people in one. 

"In that case, just run the whole way. We're bound to meet Tyrone soon. Don't worry about beasts, just ignore them." 

"Alright then. Can you feel your body anywhere?"

"Yeah. If I'm not wrong, it's a few floors up from where we are right now." 

"Great, let's go then." 

 

From there, Lena swiftly moved through the last few flights of stairs, and was soon stopped by Kenneth, who sensed his body in the vicinity. 

"Yeah, it's definitely on this floor. Let's search it quickly, before this whole building crumbles." 

It was as if there was an earthquake. The intense vibrations could be felt everywhere, along with the chairs and tables that would slide out of place. 

"Grr…" 

"I heard Tyrone's growl. Did you hear it too?" 

"I did. Let's hurry, before whatever he's fighting hurts him." 

 

<Open Pool, 47th Floor, Kenneth POV>

There was one unique feature of the building the siblings were in, and it was that on the 47th floor, a special platform was built that stuck out. 

On this floor was a pool. Nothing particularly different about it, other than the fact that it was a pool. 

"I didn't even notice it, but it's raining."  It was only a small pour, but it was still raining nonetheless.

Once the two had reached the open platform, Kenneth saw his body sprawled over at the edge of the pool, where Tyrone was. 

Tyrone was standing face-to-face with a grotesque looking beast. The pool, which was actually deeper than it looked, housed a fish bigger than they expected. 

"Is that a light? It feels a bit like mine." Lena pointed to the blinking light that was underneath the water's surface. 

Due to the sky turning dark, they were unable to see the fish's body clearly. Instead, they could only focus on the constantly blinking light. 

"I got it, Lena. That light is the source of our spells weakening." 

"You mean… that fish is the cause of our troubles?"

Not wasting time, Kenneth immediately activated his Analysis. The information sent to him was as follows:

 

Angler Mangler

Danger Level: Mid-High

Power Potential: High

Spells: Radiation

             Light Manipulation

Additional Information: The Angler possesses a "lamp" on the top of its head that constantly radiates mana designed to weaken spells. It can also be used as a way to attack foes.

 

Once Kenneth sent the information to Lena, the two began to theorize about some of the Angler's features.

"Light Manipulation? What's that supposed to mean?" Kenneth questioned. 

"Do you think it allows it to cast any Light spells, like me?" 

"Hmm… I'm not sure. For now, let's assist Tyrone in trying to defeat it."

Without another word said, Lena Blinked to the edge of the pool, and prepared a Light Beam in her hand. 

The Angler was calmly swimming about in the water, going about its own business. It wasn't attacking Tyrone, but the sheer presence it emitted sent shivers down Kenneth's spine. 

Tyrone, whose body was slightly battered up, bit down on Kenneth's clothes and pulled him across the edge, making sure to not startle the fish. 

Once Kenneth was in a safer position, he canceled the Link. Soon he felt his consciousness leaving Lena and was being returned back to his original body.

The body of the small toddler slowly began to rise up. Due to being slightly tired mentally and his conceived illness, he had to use the dog's body beside him to push himself up. 

"How the hell did this get here?" Kenneth was puzzled at the fact that his walking stick, which he didn't remember asking Tyrone to bring, was right beside his body. 

"Did you do this?" Kenneth questioned the dog. 

As if understanding him, Tyrone shook his head. Looks like he didn't know as well. 

"Well, I'm not complaining. Let's go support Lena." 

"Woof!" 

 

Upon approaching his sister, Kenneth nodded to her, as a signal that she should start her attacks quickly. 

And while the toddler and the dog were conversing, Lena had more than enough time to charge up a significantly stronger version of her Light Beam. 

From her open palm a brilliant light was shot out, the beam piercing the murky water's surface. 

*shaaa!* 

 

The Angler shot back in a cry of pain, as green blood began pouring out from the gaping wound now evident in the area directly up from its tail. 

Now its attention was focused on them. And it wouldn't let its attacker flee as long as it could still move. 

Kenneth felt the mana directly above the pool fluctuate. With Tyrone's help, they were able to create a wall of rock that blocked the fish as it attempted to pick off Lena. 

"The wound above its tail seems to be slowing down its movement. Load up more Light Beams for me, Lena." 

"No problem. If you would, Tyrone." 

"Woof!" 

Lena did not want to use the normal version of Light Beam that she'd always use, and thus wanted Tyrone to impede the Angler's movement in order to charge up a more lethal attack. 

Massive stakes formed from the ground below them as they drove deep into various parts of the Angler, further weakening it. The stakes, which were made from rock, had the same flexibility Tyrone had shown back when they were training. 

This allowed for the stakes to adjust themselves when the fish made any attempt at moving.

The whole pool seemed like it was splashed on them, as water shot out from where the struggling fish was, drenching the siblings. 

But it was all futile. Seeing that it could not break the stakes with its strength, the lamp directly above the Angler's head began shining brightly. 

"That same weakening effect! So that was the cause of the anomaly!" Kenneth scowled at the Angler. 

"We have to destroy it. Leave it to me!" Lena, whose spell seemed like it was now ready, yelled at Kenneth and Tyrone to get back. 

The light converging in her hands looked twice as bright and brilliant than the one from earlier. Kenneth could feel the large amount of mana being compressed into the small light that fit in Lena's palm. 

Showing her open palm to the Angler, a thick beam of luminescence shot out. The moment it left Lena's grasp, it rapidly expanded until the beam was large enough to completely envelop the Angler. 

*SHAAA!* 

From the inside of the light the siblings could hear the cry of pain from the Angler as it took in the entirety of the attack. 

And it was only a minute later that the light began to dissipate, revealing a bony skeleton in what was left of the pool.