Path of Dragons

The moment Elijah leaped upon the Voxxian monster’s back, he got a surprise as his claws failed to find purchase. Instead, they skated off of a shimmering purple shield, and when he snapped out a bite, his jaws were entirely rebuffed. Still, via one facet of his Quartz Mind, he noticed a series of large cracks spread across the purple surface of the shield before it faded from view.

By that point, though, the monsters knew he was there, and they wasted no time before reacting. The big one stomped on the ground, and huge spikes of jagged black rock erupted from the cave’s sandy floor. Elijah shoved himself away from the monster he’d attacked, then deftly maneuvered to avoid the explosion of spikes. A few nicked him, but those grazing attacks were incapable of doing any real damage.

The same could not be said for the third creature, who descended upon Elijah with bestial fury. A purple light bloomed across its scales, and it exploded into a series of raking attacks that Elijah had no chance of avoiding. Not all of them, at least. Still, he managed to dodge more than half.

It wasn’t enough to save his body from being ravaged.

The monster’s vicious claws raked across his comparatively soft scales, ripping ragged gashes with every attack that landed. Still, Elijah was no novice to battle, and he gave as good as he got, building instances of Contagion and even managing to empower a couple of Venom Strikes. But even so, Elijah knew he couldn’t fight the monster toe-to-toe. Not only would he end up ripped to shreds, but the creature’s allies would soon join the battle.

To punctuate that eventuality, the largest of the trio barreled into him, hitting him with a bone-shaking tackle that sent him skidding across the room and thudding into the cave’s wall. If he hadn’t cultivated a Body of Stone, Elijah felt certain that he would have broken every bone in his body. With that advanced level of cultivation, it still hurt, but it didn’t feel like anything broke.

That was a good thing, too, because two of the three monsters were already bearing down on him, which meant that he didn’t have time to deal with broken bones. So, seeing them coming for him, Elijah knew he couldn’t continue in his draconid form. It was great for one-on-one battle, and it was even better when he could get the jump on an enemy. But against multiple opponents all focused on ripping him to pieces, it was less than optimal.

So, he shifted into his human form and cast Snaring Roots. As vines erupted from the ground to snake around the monsters’ ankles, Elijah gained enough time to cast Healing Rain. With the Crook of the Serpent Healer, it was an exceedingly powerful heal over time that he hoped would keep him alive long enough to even the odds.

The smaller monster was the first to break free of the roots, and it did so before Elijah had time to shift his shape. So, he had no option but to use his cloak to briefly shield him from the creature’s flurry of claws. A second later, he shifted into his lamellar ape form, and as soon as the transformation completed, he reached out and grabbed the creature whose claws were suddenly finding no purchase.

He wrapped his claws around the monster’s waist, then he cocked his arm back and threw it with every ounce of Strength he could muster. It hit the opposite wall with the sound of cracking stone, and it crumpled to the ground.

Yet, Elijah found his worst nightmare coming true when the third monster – all but forgotten – bloomed with purple power, which it tossed at its fallen ally. That energy landed upon the other Voxxian monster, and Elijah was horrified to see its injuries immediately begin to mend.

That changed everything.

He couldn’t focus on the others. Not until the Healer was dead. So, he launched himself at the monster with all the fury and ferocity he could summon to his aid. It wasn’t enough, and the creature managed to slip to the side just in time to avoid his charge. Elijah couldn’t stop his momentum before thudding into the wall and sending a rain of pebbles onto his head.

A second later, the big monster tore free of Snaring Roots and barreled toward him. Elijah had no choice but to pick himself up and meet the charge with one of his own. The two collided with a titanic impact that shook the cave, but Elijah got the better of the clash, knocking the monster back a few feet.

Until the recovered damage dealing monster rejoined the fight and ripped into him. Elijah managed to use Iron Scales, and his Shield of Brambles did some damage to the furious barrage of blows. Yet, he knew he couldn’t keep it up. Iron Scales didn’t cost ethera, but it definitely cut into the more ephemeral and harder to define stamina. So, if he tried to chain it, he would eventually grow too fatigued to fight.

Which put him on a timer.

Elijah desperately needed to change the paradigm before he reached that point. So, he lashed out with a sudden backhand that clipped the smaller Voxx, then followed it up with a shoulder tackle that sent the larger one to the ground. He stomped down on it, then threw himself across the cave.

Not at an enemy. Instead, he needed to put some distance between him and his foes. As he flew across the room, he shifted into his human form, then used Calamity. He’d just finished his casting when he hit the wall, but because of his Body of Stone, he managed to maintain focus long enough to chain that into Swarm.

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The familiar storm of lightning, wind, and earth enveloped the entire cave, and a thousand biting locusts manifested into being before descending upon the monsters. In the confusion, Elijah shifted into his draconid form and sprinted toward the tunnel. He was moving so fast that the Voxxian monsters had no chance of catching him, and he dipped into the tunnel before racing along its length.

Hundreds of yards later, he left combat and embraced Guise of the Unseen before returning to the cave where he’d arrived.

It was just in time, because only a second later, the giant Voxxian monster charged into the passage behind him. Elijah ignored the monster and sprinted back the way he’d come. Using Guise of the Unseen, he was all but undetectable in the dark, and he reached the second chamber, where he found the other two Voxx.

The damage dealer was roaming around the room, sweeping its arms as if it was looking for Elijah’s hiding place. Meanwhile, the healer remained in the center of the room.

Elijah couldn’t afford to wait.

So, he embraced Predator Strike, then Venom Strike. And finally, used the Rage ability from his Silver Bracer of Rage. The moment it took effect, his Strength skyrocketed. He raced forward and pounced.

Not on the Healer, who’d proven it could resist his initial strike. Rather, he was banking on the damage dealer lacking the shield that protected the spellcaster. He hit the monster with ridiculous momentum, and tore into its chest with the sheer impact of his charge. The Healer tried to react, but Elijah followed it up with another snapping attack. He wrapped his jaws around one of the monster’s arms and crushed its shoulder.

Then, he bounded away, rocketing back toward the Healer.

The monster’s eyes widened the moment before Elijah hit. The same purple barrier bloomed into being, but this time, Elijah had a little extra time on his side. More, he saw that the cracks from his first attack hadn’t mended. So, he hit that spot again. And again after that. Three more times, in rapid succession, and the shield shattered. Elijah got two more attacks in before he heard a series of thudding footsteps that heralded the big Voxx’s return. Elijah darted away, shifting into his human form and casting Calamity once again. Then, he followed it up with another Swarm.

His ethera drained precipitously, but he had enough to finish the fight. So, Elijah shifted into his lamellar ape form before loping forward and leaping back into the fray. He hit the injured damage dealer a second later, and he grabbed the thing by its legs before turning to meet the charging warrior Voxx.

He swung the injured damage dealer like a club, hitting the newcomer in the face hard enough to send it staggering to the side. Elijah leaped, grabbing his living – for a little while longer, at least – weapon with both hands and bringing it down in a thunderous attack that rattled the cave.

Even as he did, another set of summoned insects and the recently cast Calamity reached a furor, adding to the damage and chaos. Elijah’s spell cut visibility down to almost nothing, but via One with Nature, he could feel everything in the cave. So, he wasted no more time bringing his massive Strength – and his now-dead weapon – to bear against the suddenly vulnerable healer.

The creature let out a screech that cut off as Elijah pummeled it into the ground. He turned, tossing the dead Voxxian damage dealer at the rising warrior, then turned his attention back to the fallen healer.

Elijah had long likened his lamellar ape form to a gorilla, and it wasn’t difficult to see why. The general proportions were the same even if most of the details differed. However, at that moment, Elijah channeled an enraged silverback as he bombarded the fallen Healer with a barrage of furious fists. Bones broke beneath each blow, and it wasn’t long before the monster’s life winked out.

That left only one.

Elijah shifted into his draconid form, then padded forward under the cover of Calamity. When he struck, he didn’t aim to kill the monster with a single blow. Instead, using Venom Strike and Contagion, he only wanted to administer as many wounds as he could possibly inflict.

Because the warrior had already proven that it was durable. Moreover, it could very nearly match Elijah’s Strength. But what it couldn’t stand up to was a cascade of afflictions. So, Elijah aimed to overwhelm its Regeneration and Constitution with as many as he could bring to bear.

It was a long, slow slog, but Elijah’s plan worked as well as could be expected. Fortunately, the monster had a similar problem to what he experienced in his lamellar ape form in that, because of its high Strength, it was capable of incredible feats of rapid movement. However, it lacked Dexterity, which meant that it couldn’t control its body well enough to harness that Strength in any meaningful way.

For his part, though, Elijah had Dexterity to spare, and he danced around the monster, avoiding its clumsy – but deadly – blows with ease. Still, it required significant concentration, and if he lost focus for even a moment, he would have been splattered against the wall.

That was where his Quartz Mind came into play. He constantly shifted those thoughts from one facet to the next. Each time one grew mentally fatigued, he would move it to the next one, and he repeated that more times than he could count, spreading the mental strain over nine facets as opposed to a single mind.

And it worked.

Eventually.

By the time the monster finally fell, nearly an hour had passed, and the creature was riddled with open wounds, each one oozing black poison.

Elijah slowed to a stop and let out a hissing sigh of relief as reality ripped apart in the center of the room, providing an exit. But he was more concerned with his reward. The first was intangible – he’d crossed the threshold, passing the threshold into level fifty-seven. It was a small step, but it still felt good.

The second reward was more solid, and it presented itself via a silver box that Elijah opened after he shifted back to his human form. That resulted in a notification:

Congratulations! By closing a Minor Dimensional Rift, you have done a great service to your world. Thus, you have earned a reward. Miracle Seed awarded.

Elijah picked up the Miracle Seed. It was about the size of a walnut, but otherwise, it looked like any other seed Elijah had ever seen. Still, if it was an item on par with the other rewards he’d gotten from minor dimensional rifts, it would be valuable. So, he slipped it into his pack and exited the rift, happy with his performance as well as the reward.

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