Chapter 176: Generous

Chapter 176: Generous

Arwin’s arrow streaked through the sky, cloaked in a twisting shroud of verdant energy. The Crag Lizard ripped itself free of Lillia’s bindings just as another wave of blue energy drove into it, locking the monster in place for a split second.

When an arrow was hurtling straight for it at terrifying speeds, a split second was quite some time. The Crag Lizard finally regained control of itself and attempted to twist out of the way.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

It was surprisingly fast, and the movement should have taken it out of the path of the deadly strike. Instead, the arrow changed its course as [Wyrm’s Flight] activated and caused it to seek out an optimal location to strike. The adjustment was small — but it didn’t have to be more.

Instead of just scraping past the Crag Lizard, it slammed straight into the side of the monster’s neck. Scale shattered and black fragments snapped up all around the arrow as it drove deep into the creature’s flesh and wedged itself in place all the way up until just a foot or two of its length emerged.

Several loud cracks rang out an instant later as crystals sprouted from the wound, pressing against the scales around it as they tried to find purchase. The Crag Lizard roared in pain, stumbling and bracing itself against the ground with its tail as blood poured down from the wound.

The crystals were clearly digging deeper into it, but Arwin doubted they’d be enough to finish the huge beast off on their own. The Prism’s power wasn’t what it once had been, and for good reason.

Sure enough, its progress quickly slowed. The crystals jutted out around the sides of the arrow in a ring, having formed into a large growth on the monster’s neck. A shimmer in the crystals told Arwin that they were still trying to drain power from the monster, but they’d probably filled with all the power that they were currently capable of holding.

Rodrick took the monster’s momentary distraction to stagger back over to Arwin and the rest of the backline. He looked exhausted but otherwise unharmed.

There was no time to talk. That would have wasted the precious seconds they’d just bought. Arwin dismissed Prism’s Reach and broke into a sprint toward the Crag Lizard. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another form doing the same.

He ignored the distraction. Arwin drew up to the towering monster just as it directed its baleful gaze down at him — badly injured and furious. It let out a roar and its tail whipped out, aiming to crush Arwin in one blow.

He drew on [Scourge] and leapt. He cleared the tail and slammed into the lizard’s side, clutching onto the rough scales and launching himself up its side like a spider. The Crag Lizard spun in an attempt to fling him off, but his [Scourge] empowered grip wasn’t about to give in easily.

“Too bad you don’t have arms long enough to throw me off with, eh?” Arwin asked as he drew up to his arrow and summoned Verdant Blaze in one hand. He reared back and drove it into the back of the arrow, using it like a chisel.

A resounding clang rang out and the point of the weapon drove deeper into the Crag Lizard. It screamed and thrashed. Twisting shadow leapt from the ground and wrapped around its tail, obstructing its movement.

Another wave of blue energy drove into the lizard. Arwin reared back and struck his arrow again. It reverberated and drove even deeper into the monster, pushing the mass of crystal around it in as well.

Blood sloughed from the huge wound freely, slicking Arwin’s hands and making it harder to keep his grip as the Crag Lizard thrashed furiously beneath him. He slammed his hammer into the arrow one last time.

This time, it sank into the monster’s flesh completely up to its fletching. Arwin’s ears popped as an enraged roar split the air and he was finally thrown from his spot. The lizard’s tail whipped down for him as he fell.

Arwin’s eyes widened and he crossed his arms before his face an instant before it connected. Fortunately, the massive, spiked orb missed him. Less fortunately, the rest of the tail did not.

The Crag Lizard’s mouth opened and flame started to gather in its throat. Then it sputtered. The great monster took a staggering step, then pitched forward, the light in its one remaining eye snuffing out.

Reya’s arms pinwheeled as reality suddenly slammed back into its proper position around her. She leapt off the plummeting lizard’s head, but there were still dozens of feet between her and the ground.

Arwin burst into motion, dismissing Verdant Blaze, and jumped with a burst of power from [Scourge]. He caught Reya and crashed down a second later, a tremor racing up through his legs.

“Thanks,” Reya said, the tremor of adrenaline making her voice shake.

“Holy shit,” Rodrick called as Arwin set Reya down on her own feet, keeping a hand around her back to steady her.

Anna hurried over to them, magical energy flowing from her hands and over Reya’s body. She turned her attention to Arwin before he could say anything, sending a wave of light over him as well.

Micro-fractures in his legs that he hadn’t even fully noticed knitted themselves shut and he gave her an appreciative nod. She returned it, then finished checking up on Reya. As she worked, the Mesh’s familiar colors flashed before Arwin’s eyes.

Achievement: [Overly Generous] has been earned.

[Overly Generous] – Awarded for stepping back and letting an ally take the challenge of killing an Overloaded Monster out of desire to see their growth. Power is often found whilst guiding others to it. Effects: A single delivery. This achievement will be consumed upon your mental request.

Arwin blinked the words away, and he found that the words weren’t the only thing that vanished. The body of the Crag Lizard was gone. There was still blood covering the grass around where it had been, but there was no trace left of the huge monster’s corpse — and Arwin had a feeling he knew what the delivery would be.

The Mesh is helping me get the materials out of the dungeon because there’s no way we’d be able to spend the time and effort stripping this thing down. That’s... surprisingly thoughtful of it. I really hope it’s just the scales, though.

Judging by the look on most of his team’s faces, they hadn’t even noticed that the monster had gone missing yet. They were all staring at their own messages from the Mesh. The only ones that noticed the missing lizard were Olive — who likely hadn’t gotten much from the fight — and the two adventurers that stood slack-jawed at the edge of the clearing.

“Gods above and below,” the blonde woman said, finally finding her words and swallowing heavily before she spoke again. “That was incredible. We owe you our lives. Are you a rescue team?”

“Just some passersby,” Arwin said with a shake of his head.

“Then even thousand thanks are not sufficient,” the warrior beside her said, inclining his head deeply. “This dungeon is far more dangerous than we were led to believe. I’m just sorry we don’t have anything worth all the effort you just spent saving us. It’s a common and meaningless offer, but if there’s anything we can do to be of service of you, please let us know. I doubt there’s much that we can offer, but what we have is yours.”

Despite the pressing nature of their situation, a smile slipped across Arwin’s face. “Don’t sweat about it. As a matter of fact, there is one thing you might be able to help us with.”