Chapter 19: Glimpse of the Divine

Chapter 19: Glimpse of the Divine

Anne was standing on one of the dirt mounds. She had made sure to position herself as far away from the young man as possible. Priam. One of her Amazons was very sensitive to danger, and her senses had been screaming at her to stay away. According to her, he was at least on the level of a Baron. At least he'll take care of the dog.

Shaking her head, Anne refocused. If Priam and his rapid progress were worrisome, she had bigger fish to fry - or other dogs, in this case. Standing proudly in the direction of the Baron's cave, Anne appreciated the glint of respect that her position and her decisions brought to the eyes of the combatants.

"The Boss is coming."

Thanks to the ability of one of their own, the Amazons had a technique for communicating remotely. Certain events had brought these women, whom Anne now led, together, and their versatility was their strength. And if we lack raw power... That's why these other idiots are here.

"Ten seconds before contact."

The barking of the beast was beginning to pierce the mist and agitate some of the fighters. They must not panic now. Anne turned to one of the men she had spotted. While most fighters would only be used as cannon fodder, some were useful. Ann smiled as she strategically tucked one of her blonde curls behind her ear.

"Paolo, is it? The Boss is coming. His barking will scare our comrades. If you could make him mute..."

"Of course!" Paolo, happy to be of service despite his singular skill, concentrated and deployed his power. The barking stopped abruptly. Passing the Tutorial on normal difficulty provided a random skill. Some were more useful than others. Anne had passed the Tutorial on hard difficulty. Thus she had the right to choose her skill.

Anne turned toward the Boss. One of her Amazons was running, boosted by her skills. She was being followed by a real titan. It had been blinded by an artificial rage - a technique of one of Albin's men - and was chasing the young woman. When she reached the ditch, the young Amazon continued her run on a wire stretched across the hole. Like a tightrope walker, she risked crossing the hole very quickly. Having a giant dog that was going to tear you apart made you speed up.

The Baron jumped into the trap without seeing it. The taut wire broke under its weight when the Amazon had barely crossed. Anne sighed with relief when she saw that the woman would make it. The Boss dove for the spikes hidden by the mist. Most of them shattered under the force of the impact, but not without penetrating the dog's belly, severely injuring it.

Anne would have liked to applaud the strategy. Unfortunately, it was her plan, and she had to be modest in her triumph. Now let's attack!

"ARCHERS! FIRE AT WILL!"

Priam was the first one up. He winked encouragingly at Claire and then leaped to the top of the mound. The Boss was trapped in the hole. Titanic, it must have been four meters tall.

[Identification]

[Lunar Lord - Orthos] - Named after the mythological two-headed dog, father of the Sphinx and the Nemean lion. Orthos is a pale imitation of the legendary canine guardian. A young lunar baron, it gains strength over time. If you must defeat it, do it early. As a loyal dog, it only threatens those who wish to enter his cave.

Orthos. It's not the threat. But it is connected to it. Its cave, maybe?The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.

Orthos barked, but Priam heard nothing. Someone had activated a skill to silence the beast.

Arrows were already starting to rain down on the Boss. Priam couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly the men were acclimating. Ten days ago, it would have been amazing to see fifty archers firing in concert. Today, most of these fighters were physically shaped like Olympic athletes. Some were even war machines, capable of accurately and continuously aiming at a moving target ten centimeters in diameter at fifty meters. Their skills kept the archers at the top of their game.

Only the Boss was not a stationary shooting target. If the beast was easy to hit because of its size, its fur seemed to stop arrows easily.

As Priam waited for the archers to run out of ammunition, he noticed that of the hundreds of arrows fired, only two had hit and injured the beast. Its left eye appeared to be punctured. The stakes had certainly wounded the dog when it fell into the hole, but Priam was still worried. He was sure he could hurt the Boss, but who else could say the same?

Twenty seconds later, the rain of arrows stopped. The archers were exhausted from the few seconds of intense effort. As the last of them lowered their bows and looked at the fruits of their efforts, many began to despair.

Orthos had lost its left eye, pierced by two arrows. Its muzzle was riddled too. Finally, its mouth was filled with broken arrows and blood. Despite its severe wounds, Orthos seemed enraged. The ground near the hole shook as it tried to pull itself out of the stakes. If it were to succeed, many lives would be lost today.

"WIRE!" Anne was standing on the mound to the right of Priam. The order was carried out by a group of Amazons carrying a net between them. They ran towards the hole before throwing the net at the monster. Anne sends her own Amazons. She doesn't want to leave anything to chance. Priam had to admit that the fight was going better than expected. As another group - men this time - approached to cast a second net on the beast, the young man took a few seconds to analyze the situation. Orthos was severely wounded by the stakes in its belly and the arrows in its snout. Blind in one eye, bleeding badly, poisoned, and immobilized, it would not survive more than ten minutes.

"But the quest has a Silver difficulty. It seems a lot for a big dog. I must be missing some information..." Priam muttered.

As a third net fell on the Boss, Anne put the next phase of the plan into action.

"BOMBS!" This woman has powerful lungs. Priam had heard that pepper bombs would affect the Boss' sense of smell and enrage it all the more.

Five men stepped forward, and in a sublime spinning motion, each threw some sort of bolas at Orthos' head. The throws, worthy of an Olympic gold medal, hit their target, and a cloud of pepper drowned the Boss.

Just as the fight seemed to be won, Priam's instincts screamed. He threw himself behind the mound and rolled into a ball.

A thunderous bark rose, and the rest of the world fell silent. The sky broke in two, and for a brief moment, a fraction of the power of the eponymous beast manifested itself. Orthos, the legendary dog, expressed its wrath. The mist froze, and the men too.

A second later, the mist began to swirl again. But most of the warriors were never to move again. The sound wave had stopped the hearts of many of the fighters.

Priam sat up painfully. He quickly realized that he was deaf. He had a terrible headache and precarious balance, but he was alive. My inner ear has been hit...

Around him, about fifty men and women were on the ground. Some were still alive and shaking. Before helping them, we have to finish the Boss first. No one is in any condition to defend themselves...

Priam walked to the top of the hill. His gait grew more confident with each step as his Vitality helped him recover from the shock.

You have gained a new skill [Balance].

[Balance] - Some tightrope walkers walk on a rope 500 m high. Others never find the courage to leave the earth and dust. Born dust, you will return to dust. So until then, walk with confidence.

AGI +1

DEXT +2

The Baron had not moved. The cry seemed to have weakened it, and it was trembling - certainly the work of pepper.

As the only man standing, Priam took off. Its time to earn participation points. The monster was about fifty meters away. After his first two steps, the young man crashed miserably. Fortunately, the impact was minimal because he had thought to absorb the kinetic energy of his fall. Priam had lost his balance, and his spear slipped a few feet. He staggered to his feet.

Lvl Up : [Balance] lvl 2

AGI +1

Calculation of your participation...

Important participation: Skill gained!

[Moon Mist]

Bonus: Your group is the first to kill a Baron.

Potential +20. [Moon Mist] lvl up!

Congratulations!

Priam smiled. Everything had turned out all right after all. His instincts had been wrong. The System didn't stop there.

New Quest: Predator - Baron II

The barons prowl around the domes, and the more noble lords stand aside.

You have defeated a baron.

Can you defeat a second one?

Reward (per Baron): Potential +20. Bonus depending on your participation.

Difficulty: Silver

Main Quest: Reunited Soon?

Update...

The guardian of the dome has fallen. The 'threat' can use the passage at the bottom of his den to reach the dome and its inhabitants.

Investigate the threat. Protect the inhabitants of the dome.

Reward: Permission to enter the domes. Potential +10. Bonus according to your participation.

Difficulty: Variable

What?! A second boss? Was Orthos guarding the dome? But then...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Priam turned around. Shouts were coming up from the mound to his left. He had not paid attention to his surroundings during the fight he had just fought. Now that the fight was over, he noticed a problem. Men and women were fleeing in all directions. Many others were still lying on the ground, stunned or dead. A thought made its way into his brain despite the moment's horror. I can see through the mist?

The next moment his new vision allowed him to witness a horrible scene. As a teenage girl sprinted down the hillside towards him, running as fast as her legs would carry her, a white shadow followed her. The shadow dissipated to reveal a tiger walking lazily.

The frightened girl looked behind her to see if she was being chased. Her movement prevented her from putting her foot correctly on the ground. Her shoe hit a large rock, and she toppled forward. The new Baron stopped her fall with a swipe of his paw. Priam only had time to open his mouth as the stranger's body split in two. Priam saw the teenager's eyes widen. The tiger made sure its prey was dead by crushing her head. The unnamed girl would never be afraid again. The snow-white coat of the feline turned scarlet again.

In his rage, Priam instinctively used [Kinetic Control]. The moon's mist began to swirl around him.

Status (before [Moon Mist]) : (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:

Strength 64

Constitution 78

Agility 96

Vitality 113

Perception 68

MENTAL:

Vivacity 88

Dexterity 71

Memory 30

Willpower 48

Charisma 40

META:

Meta-affinity 28

Meta-focus 40

Potential: 78

Tier 0