4.29 – Prismatic Stalker II

4.29 – Prismatic Stalker II

One thing saved Liz from a serious maiming that even health potions would have struggled to heal. [Joined]. One of the two abilities tied to Liz’s wand, that she and Natalie had activated the night prior and which had remained active through the day. An effect that linked their health and mana pools, so that they could each draw on them as necessary.Alll latest novels on novelbin/(.)com

A giant crystal jaw clamped down around Liz, shook viciously, then tossed the girl aside—and Natalie dropped to her knees, crumpling in agony. Her hammer clattered from her, and she gasped as she barely managed to stay on her knees and hands. Liz’s body went flying, but—in a shocking display—she scrambled to her feet, not looking worse for wear.

She and Liz hadn’t had the opportunity to test [Joined], and it seemed Liz had instinctively diverted all the damage done to her to Natalie—or at least the huge majority. Natalie’s vision swam as she desperately fought away unconsciousness. She wasn’t the most durable of tanks, with no skills that boosted tenacity, only gear and whatever natural fortitude came with her class. So a direct blow from a boss was something even she struggled with. Maybe even the damage was amplified since it was applied to Liz, then transferred to her—so what defenses Natalie did have might not even have applied.

Energy suffused her, and Natalie gasped as Liz’s first healing spell coursed through her. It staved off the immediate threat of passing out, but far from cured her.

The team, at least, acted as professionals ought to; they knew of [Joined] and [Link], and so despite being surprised at seeing their healer effortlessly shake off a direct boss attack, immediately returned to the fight. Sofia acted as the intermediary tank as Natalie dragged herself to her feet—nearly falling over again—and scooped up her hammer.

The party of four tackled the wolf themselves, and as Liz’s healing spell settled—and a regeneration effect joined it—Natalie slowly worked her way into fighting order. She would be feeling that phantom bite for a while. Heals could only do so much; she would be waking up bruised tomorrow. Or, at least, should be. She didn’t know how attacks given through [Joined] worked. Did they leave physical marks?

Finally back in fighting order, Natalie re-entered the frenzy. The brawl continued. Her blows weren’t quite as powerful, flagging from the damage she had taken, but still plenty enough to draw the wolf’s attention. The beast was quickly weakening. The wolf itself wasn’t all that strong; its difficulty came from the mirrors. Against most teams, the ambush attack would have crippled their healer or mage. [Joined] had saved them, making the fight much easier than it would have been for most teams.

“You can say that again,” Jordan said. “I thought that fight was about to go a lot worse than it did.”

“Yeah. It's a useful weapon,” Liz joked, waving her wand around—though still sending concerned glances toward Natalie. Natalie really was mostly fine, though again, a hit of that magnitude would be leaving bruises in the morning. But it was a boss. That was about all that could be expected. Even with their huge upgrades, they couldn't effortlessly handle such an encounter. For that matter, having come out with only Natalie aching, they had handled it nearly trivially.

“So,” Natalie said. “Boss loot. Any guesses where it is?” She looked around. The room was empty besides the large arena and the mirrors the wolf had been jumping through.

“Maybe it’s hidden somewhere," Sofia said. "Under a panel or tile, or some such.” She looked at Natalie. “You’re sure you're fine?”

"Yeah."

Sofia nodded, willing to take Natalie at her word. She set off to start looking for the boss chest. The rest of the party did the same, though Ana stopped by the boss’s corpse to pluck up the monster core.

Rubbing her aching ribs, Natalie joined them in the search.