Ch162: Crushing Crystals

<|!_--_^V^ /\/\/\/\/\ ^V^_--_!|>

Soundless noises screech through the barbarian’s brain as sharp, sheering winds graze her meaty tail. Specks of pebbly debris pelt her skin and scales, that massive hammer of crystal and rock slamming into the spot where she stood mere moments ago.

“Hhhh...!” Hot air hisses through Krvavy’s clenched teeth as she hastily throws herself to the side and retreats even further away, putting as much space between herself and this misshapen golem as she can... without going too far that she risks losing its attention.

The crimson flames dancing along her Soulbound Weapon suddenly snuff themselves out.

While Imbued Inferno almost certainly did increase the damage Krvavy dealt to this golem... it did not do so by enough to justify keeping it active. Not when she has other more useful spells that her mana can go to instead.

Fragments of the floor fly through the air as that golem tears its overly huge hammer free from the ground, using the momentum of that jerking motion to move at even more of an unnatural speed, uneven legs stomping across slimy sludge and stone. Time seems to slow as it swings that gigantic weapon in a wide arc.

The Drakling’s heart beats to a frantic rhythm, adrenaline coursing through her veins as power seeps from her skin. The muscles in her legs go tense and taut, her inhuman feet kicking off the ground as she scrambles back, an insistent gust guiding her along and helping her to dodge that deadly strike... if just barely. And even then she isn’t given even a moments reprieve, having to backpedal away from a whirring drill and duck beneath a worryingly sharp blade.

Her thick tail thrashes side to side, moving by instinct and doing all it can to keep Krvavy from losing her balance as she steps from solid stone to sticky slime and back again. “Hahhhhh...!” A heavy breath escapes past her parted lips as she, very briefly, escapes beyond that golem’s reach.

<|!-__-V^V \/\/\/\/\/ V^V-__-!|>

The unpleasantly shrill noise whistling through the Drakling’s head suddenly inverts, pulling sound from her mind.

A frustrated scowl fills Krvavy’s face as she is driven further and further back, forced to dodge again and again and again lest she be beaten into a pulp, cut into pieces, or skewered straight through. She can’t keep this up forever. Her stamina regen is crippled by that damned Mana Saturation status effect, and she is burning through twenty points of mana per second with Windborne Haste.

But if she doesn’t dodge...

A twiggy arrow whistles through the air and strikes straight into the golem’s back... only to harmlessly snap against a jagged spine of dully glowing quartz. Splinters scatter outwards, thickening with new life as dozens of thorny vines burst from that broken arrow, tangling together as they tightly wrap around misshapen crystal limbs.

The golem isn’t even slightly hindered by those binding brambles, though it does appear to get momentarily distracted. It’s domed head begins to rapidly spin around and around for seemingly no reason.

Discomfort presses behind the Drakling’s eyes as earthen mana wells up within her core. The eager winds aiding her movement and hastening her on cease to be, taking that ache with them. Pulses of power rush through Krvavy’s channels, flowing down her strong legs and seeping into the ancient floor beneath her clawed toes and Draconic feet.

What should by all rights be solid and unyielding suddenly becomes as malleable as mud. The immense weight of that misshapen monster swiftly sees it sink into the ground, firm stone reaching higher than one uneven knee but unable to go above the other.

<|?? \/\/\//?? vv^v??? =--=---??|>

Krvavy ignores the incomprehensible noises echoing throughout her mind as best she can, swinging her Soulbound Weapon in a cautious, probing strike.

369.58 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

Her weapon’s hammerhead slams into the much larger one attached to this golem, breaking off chunks of quartz and rock with nothing but her own physical might. But those pieces, now scattered across the floor, were hardly even a fraction of that huge hammer. Their absence matters not.

Tnnk! Snnp! Chkk!

The thorny brambles prove too weak, those binding vines snapping apart as the golem’s long blade of an arm springs forwards, its many joints clicking and straightening out.

-4.79 Health

Even with a brief burst of Windborne Haste, accompanied by a dull throb in her head, Krvavy is unable to completely dodge that unnaturally fast attack. The tip of that razor-sharp crystal digs into her lower leg, tearing through her scales and leaving a long but shallow cut in its wake.

You have been inflicted with a Minor Wound: Light Bleeding. You will lose 0.25 Health per minute as long as the bleeding continues.

These ancient ruins shake slightly as the golem’s uneven body suddenly comes crashing down, sinking into what should be solid stone.

Casting Grasping Ground was definitely the right decision...

That thought hardly flits through Krvavy’s head before a violent tremor nearly trips her up, shrapnel and debris exploding outwards as the golem slams that massive boulder of a hammer down beside its immobile body, partially embedding that ‘weapon’ into the floor. Stone cracks and shatters as that crystalline figure begins to rise back onto its feet. But in doing so... it leaves itself open to attack.

Swiftly and with all the strength she can muster, Krvavy swings her own hammer towards that of this golem, aiming straight at the spot where that thing’s clunky crystal arm first connected to that giant quartz cluster. She strikes true, unleashing a violent shockwave of seismic force.

1,243.71 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

Faintly sparkling shards erupt from the golem’s thick limb as fissures spread up to its bulky shoulder and over more than half of that oversized hammer. In less than a fraction of a second, those cavernous rifts shatter the crystals they’ve spread through, utterly destroying the golem’s right arm and its most imposing weapon.

But it still has other means of attack. It still has two other arms, both of which are free to descend down towards the Drakling in their own retaliatory strikes.

The long and jagged blade crashes into Krvavy’s Soulbound Weapon, getting caught between its axe and spearhead. The immense force behind that attack is almost more than the Drakling can handle, her legs buckling a bit as her sore arms are strained even further. She grits her teeth and pushes back against that cruel crystal claw, keeping it from sinking deep into the spot between her shoulder and throat.

-123.92 Health

The drill-tipped arm thrusts forwards at a speed that Krvavy can’t hope to dodge, dipping beneath her raised guard and plunging into her outer thigh.

-17.60 Health-20.81 Health

You have been inflicted with a Moderate Wound: Bleeding. You will lose 0.75 Health per minute as long as the bleeding continues.

The whirring drill digs through her scales into the tough muscled flesh beneath, spinning wildly as her blood sprays into the stagnant air.

<|!!! ^^$@!! ^&#*!!! ^^/\^^!!!|>

This was supposed to be a nice day out with Beryl. It was supposed to be a date of sorts, where they would adventure together and explore this ancient ruin. It was supposed to be fun.

Krvavy’s pained expression shifts into a snarl as a growing rage begins to burn within her very being, the flames of her fury fed by how disappointing this day has been and by the aching agony coursing through her body. A dull throb echoes through her right arm, the meat within numb and heavy. A sharp, stinging tingle spreads out from her fresh wounds, boiling blood oozing from those gouged gashes.

“Ghhn!” With a grunt, she twists her trusty axe around, bonking its haft against the golem’s drill arm with enough force to dislodge it from her thigh. She has no choice but to swallow the pain that brings.

-9.59 Health

Hastened on by an eager wind, one accompanied by an increasingly painful headache, Krvavy hurls herself backwards and out of the golem’s immediate reach.

+2.23 Health

+73.45 Health

That throbbing ache grows in intensity even as the helpful gusts die down and fade away. Krvavy grits her teeth as the meat that makes up her body begins crawling back together, sinewy flesh stretching across the divide as veins reconnect and rebuilt nerves so generously share each slight sensation they experience. It only takes a second or two for Knit Flesh to mend that crater of a fresh wound, and the little cut lower down on that same leg, but those are seconds that Krvavy cannot afford to spare.

Luckily for her, she isn’t in this alone.

<|!?? &@$#!! v^*#++!?? \@$?!|>

A pair of twiggy arrows crash into the golem, both bursting into a mass of tangling brambles. The blade and drill arms are briefly bound together, though the thorny vines wrapped around them snap within seconds. Still, that is enough to prevent its followup attack and give an opening for Krvavy to strike. An opening that she does not waste.

The Drakling’s lungs burn as she lunges forward, imbuing her Soulbound weapon with seismic might while it sweeps through the stagnant air, her murderous strike roughly parallel to the ground and perfectly aimed to utterly shatter the strong core of this misshapen thing.

But her hammer doesn’t hit its target. Her attack completely misses – even the tip of her weapon’s spearhead failing to clip a crystal – as the golem swiftly staggers backwards. She pushes further, sending the metal cap at the other end of her axe’s haft flying forwards in a violent punching jab. But that too is dodged. As is the raging swing that comes next.

A flash of clarity graces Krvavy’s mind... only to be replaced by a panic that pierces through her fury.

The golem isn’t purposefully avoiding her attacks. She isn’t driving it back and away. It was just turning around. It simply changed targets. It has turned its focus towards Beryl.

Both of the quartz crystals dangling off of the barbarian’s belt suddenly shatter as she sucks out all of the mana stored within them, directing that power into her core and into the ground.

-111 Health

Krvavy pushes through the agonizingly sharp pain stabbing into her mind, desperately focusing her will. The tips of her fingers and clawed toes go numb, as does a fair bit of her tail. The mossy earmuffs helping to silence the droning din digging deep into her brain suddenly grow heavier and much more effective, those clumps of green saturated and soaked with a dark red.

The stone beneath that misshapen and damaged golem roils like a stormy sea, clinging to its uneven legs with a dozen crude claws reaching up from the rippling rock.

In that same moment, an intense chill fills the Drakling’s entire being. Her veins grow cold, the liquid life flowing within thickening like slush, as her throat glows a harsh and unforgiving white. Her jaw snaps open, carnivorous teeth like jagged icicles as a cruel winter storm erupts past her pale and almost purple lips.

10.81 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]17.93 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

The trickle of blood flowing from Krvavy’s nose freezes before it can reach her open mouth. The crimson tears flowing from the corners of her eyes are similarly stopped in their tracks before they can make it even halfway down her frigid cheeks.

14.55 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]21.04 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]11.72 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

Large ice crystals cover the quartz golem as snowflakes swirl through the stagnant air around it. That frozen coating cracks as the crystalline thing moves, only to reform stronger and thicker than before, that layer of frozen frost spreading beneath the onslaught of this harsh blizzard.

19.41 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]13.37 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

The misshapen figure is slowed down to a near-complete halt, claws of stone anchoring its uneven legs in place as ice locks its joints and melds it to the ground.

Krvavy’s jaw snaps shut, teeth clacking together, as she cuts off the violent winter storm that had surged out from the depths of her soul. Her lungs struggle to expand and contract. Her vision wobbles and blurs. She can hardly feel her arms and her legs and her trembling tail. But the burning flames of her rage sear away that discomfort and those distractions as she throws herself forwards, hammer raised high.

2,491.88 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

Her Soulbound Weapon strikes the disfigured golem’s jagged spine with the force of an earthquake.

-416.71 Health

A wave of luminous heat bursts out from the golem, escaping through the deep fissures rapidly spreading across its misshapen form, blasting the barbarian backwards.

Krvavy tumbles through the air, bounces off of the hard ground, and crashes into a quartz cluster.

-47.13 Health

You have been inflicted with a Major Wound: Severe Bleeding. You will lose 2.25 Health per minute as long as the bleeding continues.

Something sharp pokes into her lower back, just to the left of her spine. It feels rather warm. Unpleasantly so...

A gaudy array of pastel lights shine out from all across the golem’s uneven body, melting away the ice and burning through even the stone clinging to its stubby legs. A faint bit of smoke joins the steam as the few vines still twisted around its body are incinerated in an instant.

The bright beams pierce through the hazy fog hanging above, projected from the golem’s still-spinning head like frantic spotlights dancing through a dark sky.

-1.75 Health

Krvavy winces as she forces herself back onto her feet, feeling something stiff scrape against the top of her hipbone. The faint mirage of Oakflesh hovering over her skin flickers and disappears.

Her eyes dart down towards the cluster she slammed against, where she sees a single blood-covered shard poking out from that mass. Her left hand quickly presses against the hole in her lower back, fingers glancing across the scraped cut at the base of her tail. She grits her teeth and casts Knit Flesh.

+33.6 Health

Like a mass of worms writhing beneath her palm... the hole closes and the bleeding stops. Though the pain remains.

Krvavy’s Soulbound Weapon flies through the air and clumsily slams into her hand, slightly numb fingers quickly wrapping around its wooden shaft. Rage burns through her mind as she hatefully turns her wobbling vision towards the misshapen figure. It seems to be in a similarly disorientated state.

The crystalline golem stumbles to the side as large parts of its torso crumble away. Its drill arm fractures and falls to the ground. Beams of dully coloured light continue to pierce out from its center, refracting wildly around it.

A fresh wave of magic rolls over the barbarian, caressing her skin like cool breeze on a warm and sunny day. Her mounting exhaustion and growing pain doesn’t get washed away, but Beryl’s magic still brings her comfort and strengthens her resolve.

Krvavy raises her Soulbound Weapon up above her head, holding it there for just a moment before lunging forwards and letting go, putting her whole body into that throw.

The golem raises up the remnants of its chunky right arm and reaches out to the nearest quartz cluster. That growth glows brighter before abruptly bursting in a hail of crystalline shards. A ray of pastel light launches out from that explosion, racing towards the golem.

288.74 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

That misshapen thing hardly reacts as the Drakling’s weapon crashes into its back, simply swaying a bit as that weapon bounces aside.

<|?███.████.██.█████?|>

The whirring that hasn’t filled Krvavy’s mind in a while suddenly returns, sounding almost remorseful with its hollow ticking clicks.

The beams of pale light converge on its shattered right arm, consolidating together into a solid glowing mass. A projection of an almost skeletal limb stretches into the air, jagged fingers clenching and unclenching in increasingly smooth motions.

Krvavy’s Soulbound Weapon jumps up from the ground and hurtles towards her open hand as she hastily rushes forwards.

An arrows flies towards the golem, bursting into a writhing mass of vines just before collision.

<|?██████.████.██.██.████?|>

Thorny brambles spread across the golem’s glowing body, twisting around the jagged and crumbling crystals that cover its misshapen form. The razor-sharp crystal blade swings around wildly, effortlessly cutting through vine after vine, though more still continue to grow. The spectral arm ignores those grasping brambles completely, as mere contact with its glowing projection causes those plants to wither and burn.

<|!█████!████!████!███!|>

The hollow sounds echoing through Krvavy’s mind grow in intensity, the buzzing and whirring eating into her aching brain.

-145.59 Health

You have been inflicted with a Major Wound: Severe Bleeding. You will lose 2.25 Health per minute as long as the bleeding continues.

The golem’s bladed arm moves faster than Krvavy can react. One second it is cutting away the clingy vines, and the next it is embedded in her abs. Not too deep... but it still reaches the organs within.

861.24 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

Krvavy’s violent strike, which should have crushed the golem’s stupidly spinning head, slams down onto what might be considered the bicep of that multi-jointed arm. But before it shatters completely, the golem is able to wrench that jagged blade through her midsection.

-170.55 Health

You have been inflicted with a Major Wound: Severe Bleeding. You will lose 2.25 Health per minute as long as the bleeding continues.

The glowing projection of an arm grabs onto the Drakling’s weapon, its unnaturally long fingers wrapping around the axehead, and effortlessly pulls it from her grasp.

Krvavy’s presses her lips together in fury as the golem throws her weapon towards Beryl. Her head aches as she exerts her will upon that piece of her soul, slowing its flight enough for the large axe to clatter harmlessly to the ground in front of the Elf.

-37.64 Health

The spectral arm flickers and is suddenly in an entirely different position, with its elongated hand wrapped around Krvavy’s torso. The glowing light singes her skin and scales, but that burning pain pales in comparison to how much it hurts when the golem starts to squeeze.

-85.1 Health

The golem lifts Krvavy up off of the ground. Her fingers burn as they uselessly claw at the solidified magic squeezing down around her.

-150.4 Health

<|!██████!█████!███!|>

Beams of pastel light continue to shine from the golem entire body, leaking from the many cracks covering its form. The misshapen thing’s spinning head slows to a stop as it holds the Drakling in front of where a face should be.

-182.39 Health

Krvavy grits her teeth as she feels her ribs creak beneath that unrelenting pressure. Blood wells up in her eyes and drips down her chin. Warmth is forced out from the gash in her stomach. And still the pressure grows, leaving her feeling as if she is about to pop. She pulls her head back and closes her eyes. Reliable earthen magic wells up within her.

1,835.47 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

-3.2 Health

The Drakling’s upper horns slam into the golem’s crystal head, along with her lower horns... and her face.

Crystalline shards fly through the air, dislodged by the sheer force imparted by Seismic Stomp.

1,698.21 Damage dealt to [Crystalline Golem]

-3.84 Health

Her head crashes into the golem’s shoulder, sending another violent tremor through its incredibly misshapen and damaged body. The projected arm crushing Krvavy’s torso flickers once and then twice, before completely disappearing as the crystals connecting it to the golem shatter into thousands of slivers and shards.

Increasingly bright beams – of gentle greens, pale pinks, mellow yellows, placid purples, and benign blues – shine from between each and every crack covering what remains of this crystal construct.

Krvavy collapses to the rumbling ground, clenching her hands into shaking fists as she prepares to punch the golem with all her might, both physical and magical. She just wants it to die already...!

Glowing crystals clatter down from above, weakly pelting the Drakling and causing her head to spin even more than it already is. Bolts of bright and empty light arc through the air, dancing across the many quartz clusters growing from the ground as they converge on the shattered golem that she is about to strike.

But Krvavy’s fists never hit the damn thing, as softened vines suddenly wrap around her. Sharp pain stabs through the barbarian’s battered body as she is roughly jerked to the side and dragged off across the stone floor. She furiously kicks her leg out in one last attempt at an attack... only to miss once more.

<|!? █▓!! ▐█▓▓█▌▓█!! █▄!!|>

The crystalline golem’s cracked body remains standing where it is, completely unmoving as its wordless cries echo through Krvavy’s unsympathetic mind.

<|!!! ███▓ ▓▓!!! ▓█▓▓▄▒!!!|>

More vines join the ones dragging the slightly struggling Drakling across the floor, hastening her non-consensual retreat.

<|??! ▓▓▒!??! ▒▓▓▒░░!! ▒░!|>

The few quartz growths that Krvavy passes on by are glowing almost blindingly bright. And it looks like that is true for most of the clusters down here, including the ones reaching out from the cells along the walls.

<|!?! ▓! ▒▓!? ▒░?! ▒▓█▄! ░▒!|>

A couple vines thump Krvavy’s Soulbound Weapon against her body, pushing it into her arms.

Wisps of pastel smoke begin to fill the air, leaking out from the many cracks covering the misshapen golem’s fragmented form.

The droning din grows louder once more, audible even through the wood and moss earmuffs clinging to the sides of Krvavy’s head. The ringing in her ears competes with that cacophony, creating a chaotic chorus.

<|!!! ▓▒! ░▒! ░░! ▒░! ░▒! ░░!|>

A wall of brambles bursts up from the ground in front of Krvavy, cutting off her sight of the golem’s shaking remains. Hands covered in wood and bark grab at her body as more and more vines surround her, forming a dense and mossy cocoon.

Spears of soft pink, purple, and blue pierce through the few gaps in the bramble wall, shining brightly into the growing darkness.

The ground violently shakes.

[Crystalline Golem] has been slain!+8,228.75 Experience

Level Up! You have reached Level 24. As a Drakling blessed by a divine power, you have 5 attribute points to allocate and have gained +2 to Might & Toughness. If not allocated by the time you fall asleep, it will be done automatically.

+1 Divine Favour, for growing in strength.

A few more tremors follow that first one, each weaker than the last.