Chapter 23: Run it Back

Chapter 23: Run it Back

I activated Time Loop, and appeared in the in-between place. I was initially surprised at the five different options shown to me – I was used to only having four – but then I remembered that I’d finally Leveled up earlier, so Time Loop had increased in Rank as well. Despite not currently having a body, I mentally took a breath. I’d need that fight to go much better than it had before if I wanted to not only save Erani, but hopefully get out without being stabbed.

Sensing my consciousness starting to fade, I hurriedly selected the furthest option back – 5 minutes.

And then I was back, sitting on a felled log with a half-eaten sandwich in my hand.

“–and so the next time I saw him, his entire face was blue!” Erani was saying. I remembered the conversation; she was telling me the story of how she had tricked a friend into thinking a bottle of blue dye was an Enchanted sunburn protector. “Uh, you good? You look like–”

“Erani, you need to listen to me, but look as though you’re having normal conversation and I’m just telling you a story of my own, okay? Don’t let what I say affect your body language or tone of voice.”

She blinked, obviously confused. But after a moment she smiled as though all was normal. “Okay!” she said cheerfully.

I was relieved at how natural she was at this. After taking a breath, I tried to talk as though I were just speaking about the weather. “I just used Time Loop, so I’m from five minutes in the future. We’re currently being watched by two Anacaps – Levels 12 and 14.”

“Where are they?” she asked conversationally, chewing a bite of sandwich.

“Not sure, but when they attacked – it was about four minutes from now – they were from, uh,” I pretended to yawn, stretching one arm out in the direction that the Anacaps came from, “that way.”

She laughed. I wasn’t sure if she was just pretending to find something I said funny, or if she genuinely thought the way I chose to point out the Anacaps’ hiding spot to be humorous. “So, I guess the fight didn’t go well if you’re back here to do it again?”

“Yeah, uh...” I reminded myself to take another bite. Erani had died at the end of the last fight, and, well, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell her that. She died to save my life, and now she didn’t even know she had done it. It almost felt like an invasion of privacy, like I knew something about her that I shouldn’t have – it was like reading someone’s diary. In any case, if I told her that she died now, it would probably only frazzle her and mess her head up right before a fight where we both needed to be operating at peak capacity. “It didn’t go well,” I settled for just saying that. “We killed both of the Anacaps, but we weren’t looking so good, ourselves.”

“Hm, alright. So what’s the plan, then?”

“We got surprised by them last time, but we also got overwhelmed by their raw power. They’re fast and tough, and we got separated and couldn’t help each other. So, I came up with a plan that'll hopefully work. Listen carefully, and it should all go smoothly.”

After a few minutes, we were ready. I unfortunately couldn’t assign my Stat Points for my Level up – it took closer to ten minutes to do that – but the base Stats I got would still help. The Conjuration would help me cast faster and more easily – plus, in the time we waited, the extra maximum Mana had filled up a bit – and the Endurance would help me with my pain tolerance. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough time that the extra maximum Health had been filled at all, though.

I looked over behind Erani, and saw the familiar hint of movement; the Anacaps were about to attack.

“Now!” I shouted.

We both dropped to the ground just as two balls of web shot out over our heads. We turned and looked at the two charging monsters, but didn’t fire off any Spells yet. Instead, I stood my ground and readied Crippling Chill, preparing to cast it at any moment. Erani did the same with her Explosive Firebolt. I waited until the Anacaps were almost upon us, when they tensed up to leap at us. Just as their long legs began to extend...

You have cursed Level 12 Anacap with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 5.51 Health and 4.41 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 11.

47.3 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 185.

You have cursed Level 14 Anacap with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, it loses 5.51 Health and 4.41 Stamina each second, and its Dexterity score is lowered by 11.

47.3 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 138.

Surprised by the sudden loss of Dexterity, the two monsters stumbled through their leaps, crashing to the ground in front of us. I charged forward at mine, while Erani took care of hers, launching a Firebolt at the stunned beast’s body and blasting it into a rock.

I lunged onto the downed Anacap, wrestling its limbs to the ground while I activated Noxious Grasp and began draining its power. The surprised monster obviously hadn’t been expecting such a coordinated counterattack, as it took quite a while for it to start trying to fight back.

In the meantime, Erani absolutely dominated the fight with her Anacap. She would stand there looking at it, wait for the beast to start trying to get to its feet, and the second it got its bearings she would blast it with another high-powered explosion, launching it away once again. She slowly walked toward the prone monster, hand out and eyes burning as she waited for it to try and get up again so she could repeat the process.

It seemed like she performed much better when she wasn’t caught off-guard. Plus, she hadn’t been forced to blow herself up this time, which probably helped quite a bit.

Back on my end, the Anacap was getting hard to contain, its surprise wearing off and its six arms too difficult for me to fight off all at once. It grasped my torso and threw me off of it, and I tumbled across the dirt before quickly bringing myself to my feet.

Unfortunately, I was pretty much completely out of Mana after those two casts, so I’d have to rely on more old-fashioned methods of damage to kill my foe. I wasn’t too worried, though. I’d been keeping track of the damage I’d dealt to the Anacap and comparing those numbers to how much damage it took to kill it in the previous timeline, and I was pretty sure I was close to getting there, especially after factoring in the damage it would take from Crippling Chill.

I stepped up and kicked the still-recovering monster in its hard abdomen, knocking it stumbling backwards.

You have struck Level 12 Anacap for 11 damage using Boot.

Then I slammed my closed fist downward on its doubled-over body, hitting it to the ground.

You have struck Level 12 Anacap for 10 damage using your Fist.

Before it could get up, I straddled its body like I had done before when I wanted to drain it with Noxious Grasp. Only, this time, I didn’t have the Mana to activate the Spell. So instead, I just wailed on its face, repeatedly striking its chitinous head with my fists.

A few more notifications flew past my mind before I got the one that mattered.

You have slain Level 12 Anacap.

You have earned 131 XP. Your XP is 230.

I sat back on the corpse’s unmoving exoskeleton, panting from exertion as the pain grew stronger in my stomach. I looked over at Erani, who seemed to be finishing up her own battle.

BOOM, Crack!

Shockwaves rang out and the dirt around us shook as explosion after explosion blasted the burned and battered Anacap across the forest, slamming its body into tree trunks and hard rocks that cropped up around the area and fracturing its chitin against them in a sickening crunch.

I almost felt bad for the poor thing. It was being thrown around like the toy of a child who had too much energy. Then again, it did try to kill us. So comeuppance was deserved, I decided.

Erani calmly and methodically carried out the process of dispatching the beast. In fact, she almost looked bored at this point, absentmindedly glancing around at the falling leaves while she waited for the Anacap to try and rise once again.

After a couple more casts, it stopped even trying. And three more after that, I got a notification.

You have offered minor contribution toward the slaying of Level 14 Anacap.

You have earned 41 XP. Your XP is 271.

Actually, I got more than just one notification, I realized after a moment.

Threshold reached. 250 XP.

Your Level has increased to 5.

Due to achieving Level 5 in the Minute Mage Class, you have been granted the following benefits:

-You have gained 1 Endurance.

-You have gained 2 Conjuration.

-You have gained 1 Intelligence.

-You have gained 3 Stat Points.

-Time Loop Talent Rank has increased to 5.

-You may choose a Talent to obtain.