Chapter 36: A Giant Cometh

Chapter 36: A Giant Cometh

Whats going on? Luke asked, a ball of nerves forming in his gut, as the earth rumbled beneath his feet.

A giant is being born. Nel answered, rising a few feet into the air, but for the moment not leaving. A ring on her finger flashed, and a spear, ten feet long and made of some shining silver metal, appeared in the air beside her. Lukes eyes lingered on the mysterious glyphs etched along its length, glowing softly in the evening light.

What are those? He thought to himself.

I thought the Giant Tide was a few months away.

One giant isnt a tide, She answered absently, and there are always giants. She rose higher into the air, as another tremor shook the earth.

Lukeus came running back, his eyes wide in surprise, and a sword already drawn. Is that what I think it is?

She frowned, and nodded solemnly. Gather the

Lily! He screamed, and sprinted back into the town.

Luke and Nel briefly shared looks of surprise and confusion.

Idiot! Nel cursed under her breath, but let him go regardless, even looking slightly relieved as he ran past the gate and into the town proper.

Is the town in danger? Luke asked her, his mind flashing to Al and Zoe.

No. The town is shielded. The shaking is the giant trying and failing to get into the town from underneath. It should give up soon, and emerge around here somewhere.

Shielded?

Yes. Wed all be dead if monsters crawled out of the earth beneath our homes. She looked at him like he was an idiot.

Relax lady, I just got here.

Right. Luke nodded along at her explanation, turning to watch the town. More and more dust had risen into the air, but like she said, the giant was unable to emerge into the city. Why do they attack?

I dont know.

How strong are they?

Her frown deepened. It depends. Most of them are at the Mortal-tier, some at the Warrior, and if its a bad year, a handful of them spawn at the Hero-tier. That normally only happens at the peak of the tide though.

Whats this one?

I dont know.

I have a bad feeling about this.

I guess well find out. Luke said, pulling his own sword from its sheath. His eyes darted to Nels longer than average spear, and back to his own averagely sized sword. Is it too small?

No. Maybe if I didnt have the boots, Id be biting a giants ankles, but with them, I should have adequate reach. If it comes down to that. He looked at Nel appraisingly. She is a Warrior, so theres a good chance that it wont. Itll be interesting to see what someone who has transcended mortality can do.

The ground rumbled again.

Elder! A few dozen figures came running down the street. A mixture of Blue and Black Robed cultivators.

Is tha

A giant, yes. Nel looked over at them. I need all Outer Disciples to go into the town, and make sure the Mortals are okay. Help them with what you can. They should know not to come out of the town already, but there are always a few who think they know better. Keep them in.

Right! A girl nodded eagerly. Lets go! She took off, and the others followed after her.

Recalling Nels instructions, he withdrew the flare from his inventory, and ripped the perforated tab on the paper's bottom. The talisman flew free from his fingers and floated in the air for a moment, before erupting into brilliant white light, glowing brighter and brighter as it ascended into the sky. Leaving a trail leading back to Luke.

The Gegenees bent its knees, and all six of its hands sank into the earth.

What's it

Something whizzed by Lukes head, and smashed into a tree behind him. Shattering its trunk in an instant, and filling the air with leaves. The creature stood straight, and proudly displayed five hands clutching obsidian orbs, while an empty sixth waved at Luke happily.

What the fuck. Why is it waving!

Luke ripped the tab off of a protective talisman, and a large translucent wall appeared in front of him.

The giant furrowed its eyeballs in a crude facsimile of a frown, its arm blurred, and an obsidian orb shattered over the barrier. Which for the moment held firm. Its false frown deepened, two arms blurred in quick succession, and two more times the giants artillery broke over Lukes barrier.

Seemingly having absorbed enough punishment, the barrier dissolved, and as it did, Luke activated another one. Just in time to stop another barrage.

This thing is on a whole different level. Luke thought to himself on the verge of panicking. The third and last talisman in his hand, ready for the moment his current one fizzled out.

Focus. I need to focus. I dont have time to be scared. Luke thought to himself as he slipped into the First Stance of the Sword,

Time seemed to slow, as he became hyper aware of the giants movements. Lukes eyes traced over every contour of its body, and came to an obvious conclusion. He was too slow, and not anywhere near fast enough to react to its projectiles.

The monster dipped his hands into the ground again, no doubt preparing for another volley. Luke focused on his mana, as he prepared to act.

Mentally calling on his Status, he dumped all of his Stat Points into Agility. Every drop of Aetherial Mana that the Seed had stored away, entered his body at once, and under the inhumanly precise control of the Seed, spread over his entire nervous system, and into his tendons. At the same time the world itself seemed to snap into focus as colors became more vivid and every detail more crisp.

In quick succession, one obsidian orb after another crashed into the barrier, and the second it gave way, Luke ran forward, faster than he ever had before.

I cant attack it from the front, its arms give it too much reach, and not even my spear is long enough to snake past them.

The monster's arm flexed, and Luke kicked off the ground and into the air. Dodging its attack with fractions of a second to spare. Channeling mana into his boots, Luke ran across the air, the First Stance alerting him to the monster's every action, and guiding him through the barrage.

The distance between them shrank rapidly, and the monster cocked its head to the side in confusion. Seemingly stunned that its prey was running towards it, rather than away. Its eyes set into a smile.

Lifting a leg into the air, it kicked the earth. The ground twisted where its foot raked across, and a spray of obsidian balls flew into the air.

Activating his last protective talisman, Luke let it absorb the attack as he climbed higher and higher into the sky.

His mana dwindled away as the First Stance of the Sword once again whispered in the back of his mind. Directing him towards the monster's inevitable demise.

All I need to do is The draw on his mana spiked.

Abruptly the Technique stopped working, and his vision swam, and his boots failed him. He was out of mana.

Shit, shit, shi

Luke tumbled to the ground. Rolling to a stop at the monster's feet.

The monster stepped back, and bowed forward. Observing the human that had landed before it.

Lukes eyes met all six of the giants. It blinked slowly, before stretching back up. Lifting a fist into the air, it waved him goodbye with five of its hands.

A message flashed in front of his eyes.

Threat detected.

NO FUCKING SHIT.