…
Two Kalrachs… no, abominations—lumbered from the shadows like something torn from a nightmare. Massive and grotesquely malformed, their bodies were twisted amalgamations of smaller Kalrachs fused together. Limbs knotted in unnatural angles. Jaws protruded where shoulders should’ve been. Dozens of bulbous, bloodshot eyes blinked out of sync across their hides, clustered like tumors. Ugly would be a compliment to how bad and grotesque those fuckers were.
Quietly Cassian channeled essence into his shield.
? You have fed 7 Essence points to your mana shield spell, Current saturation: LVL 10 Shield 100/100 DMG absorption ?
The numbers steadied him.
Okay, the shield is maxed, and the essence situation is also looking good, time for the final push into the sinkhole.
He opened comms. “Dorian, I’ll be heading straight into the sinkhole now anything I should know?”
The line buzzed before Dorian’s voice cut through, laced with tension. “Saw a weird Kalrach, Cassian. Tall. Gaunt. I only caught it for a second before it turned toward the camera. Then it was gone.”
Cassian let out a slow shaky breath as goosebumps prickled along his arms and the back of his neck. “That’d be the one I met when I first got here,” he muttered. “Fuck my luck.”
“Be careful, Cassy. We’re moving now,” Dorian’s voice cracked slightly through the static.
“You too, Dorian. Watch over the kids—and good luck to Dr. Elira.”
The line then went silent.
Cassian exhaled, steadying his pulse. The abominations were close now, their many limbs scraping against the concrete, leaving drag marks. As they closed in, lesser drones darted between them.
Oh c’mon, just how many are there…
Sidestepping an attack from a kalrach drone Cassian pivoted low, driving his foot into the Kalrach’s gut. The impact sent the creature sailing into a column, bones snapping like twigs on impact.
Too many… way too many.
He darted forward, weaving through the chaos. His dagger
Stop being greedy sindi and just hit the next level of boost already.
He was slaughtering his way when he felt a cold whisper across his spine.
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
Another wave slammed into his consciousness.
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff, it counters the mental attack?
Cassian smirked. Eat shit, fuckers… man the mental defense is so good all I feel is just faint prickling of my senses.
The mental types were close, constantly probing his mind with waves of dominance, trying to slow him, confuse him, and freeze him mid-step. But their whispers shattered like glass against the ironclad wall of his will.
“Let’s do some crazy shit”
Cassian exhaled and dug into the essence burning in his reservoir, the energy surging as two cards flared to life in his mind.
“[Gravity Well],” he commanded.
Reality twisted as the gravity in a fifteen-meter radius collapsed inward. Kalrach drones screamed as their limbs snapped under the sudden pressure. Their bodies were crushed and dragged down as if the floor had become a black hole. Even the fused abominations stumbled, their bloated masses groaning in protest as bones cracked and shattered.
“[Firewave]”
...
A ring of fire detonated from beneath his feet, expanding outward in a searing inferno. The closest Kalrachs were instantly incinerated—screeching as their exoskeletons ignited and their flesh turned to ash. Those further out recoiled, wounded, their limbs ablaze.
Using the concussive force of the fire wave and his stat-boosted strength, Cassian crouched low, coiled his body like a spring, and then launched himself up.
The air rippled as he soared upward, firelight flickering across his back.
Whoa!
High above the chaos, Cassian’s body stilled midair as time slowed. His senses expanded, stretching across the entire battlefield like a net cast wide. He could see the abominations struggling against the collapsed gravity. He could feel the twin pulses of pressure—mental types, just beyond the outer edge of the chaos.
“[Heart Swords],” he whispered.
Cassian felt the pull as the card drew from his essence. Five swords shimmered into existence, floating in a circle around him. They pulsed like living extensions of his will, their surfaces fractured like cracked glass reflecting the splintered space.
One more crazy move
Now at the peak of his jump, Cassian looked directly up and used another card.
“[Blink]”
The world around him muted as space folded in. The air around him dimmed, sound dropped out, and Cassian vanished from midair reappearing instantly ten meters higher in the air with a view that took in nearly the entire hellscape below.
The sinkhole gaped like the mouth of some ancient, waiting god. The battlefield was a churning mess of smoke, flame, and blood-soaked concrete. Kalrachs poured in from all directions.
Focus first, those mental fuckers. I better get them before they group up.
His heart hammered as he locked onto the elite kalrachs figures cloaked in flickering psychic pressure.
The five summoned swords shimmered faintly in the air, each one small—no longer blades, but something closer to kunai. With only two points of essence fed into them, their size was limited, yet Cassian could feel them tethered to his mind, they moved with his thoughts and their strength came from his heart and resolve. They thrummed with his intent, hovering close, ready to strike.
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Fuuu~
Cassian exhaled sharply, eyes narrowing as he whipped his right arm outward in a clean motion. The nearest sword launched forward like a bullet, slicing through the air with a piercing swish.
He blinked and by the time his eyes opened again, the mental-type Kalrach on the left had crumpled to the ground—its brain reduced to splattered pulp and the system notification confirming his kill.
Still mid-fall, Cassian twisted his body, muscles straining as he rotated in free-fall. His eyes locked onto the second mental type on his right. With a sharp mental command, he flung two more of the heart swords.
The swords pierced the creature’s chest and throat in rapid succession.
Cassian was plummeting fast now, the darkened floor rushing toward him and enhanced stats or not the fall damage would be significant. He reached instinctively for the [Blink] card that would teleport him out of danger but stopped short as a wild idea seized him.
What if… I used one of the heart swords as a platform mid-air?
No time to dwell. The moment was razor-thin. Gritting his teeth, Cassian commanded, forcing his mind to overcome the passive resistance of the cards to act on his orders. His heart thundered as he felt the link deepen.
The swords responded.
The two remaining swords moved, but there was one problem: Cassian was falling upside down.
He groaned, twisting hard mid-descent to flip his body. One sword slid beneath his boots which he used as a platform to reorient his position. The second heart sword hovered and used that one to propel himself forward.
It actually worked!
Laughing maniacally as his wild maneuver worked, he was directly on top of the two elites. Those two dumb fucks were clueless as to what happened and were looking left and right trying to find him when an even crazier idea stuck him.
Another idea hit him. A crazier one.
What if I do this?… I’ll be fast then… let’s fucking do it.
Drawing deeply from his essence, Cassian reached for two cards simultaneously, back-to-back. Pain flared through his mind but he pushed through it, clenching his jaw.
“[Gravity Well],” he hissed.
The world compressed and a dense pulse of gravity burst from him, expanding in a dome. Within seconds, a ten-meter radius buckled under the pressure. Kalrachs crushed like paper. Their shrieks turned to gurgling screams as their limbs crumpled, pinned by the crushing force.
Even the two elites staggered, legs trembling, their body groaning under the weight as gravity pulled them to their knees.
"OH You will love this, you ugly bastards," he muttered, reaching for another card.
“Come forth [Behemoth]”
?Your Summon behemoth is a rare tier summon and an elite variant, Counters → 500 HP and 50 Base DMG?
The air rippled violently and then the very space was torn open.
From the tear, something massive pushed through. A thunderous roar erupted as it emerged—an unnatural monster of pure wrath and muscle, standing more than ten feet tall.
A stitched horror of flesh and metal, bulging with corded muscle and layered chitin plating. Its one baleful red eye burned like a furnace beneath a plated skull. A massive, clawed arm twitched, followed by the hiss of steam expelling from its exposed spine.
The floor quaked as the summoned giant dropped like a meteor, slamming down. The force of its impact crushed one of the kneeling elite Kalrachs into nothing but blood mist and shattered bone.
Cassian landed hard, and rolled, only just catching himself with a grunt.
“Damn it, that hurts” he muttered, coughing as he pushed himself up. “Should’ve blinked first…”
? You have taken 80 points of fall damage, your natural resistances and stats absorbed the majority of the damage | HP → 839/919 | ?White rose? artifact effects activated, it will recover [10]% of Current Max HP in [100] seconds ?
Ahh fuck! phew~
He barely had time to rise when the Behemoth roared again and charged. The second elite Kalrach, only just beginning to rise under the waning gravity well, stood no chance. The summons's massive clawed hand slammed down with the force of an avalanche, pancaking the creature into a puddle of ruined flesh and twitching limbs.
Blood sprayed across the floor like crimson rainfall.
Cassian hadn’t given it any direct commands… and yet, it moved and dealt with threats. Good. It had a mind of its own. That would make things easier.
Cassian was just about to break into a sprint toward the sinkhole which was now less than fifty meters away. When a surge of mental pressure slammed into his mind like a tidal wave of needles.
His knees buckled.
Even with the [Unwavering Mind] buff holding firm, the sheer volume of mental attacks overwhelmed him. Cassian gritted his teeth and forced himself upright, blinking through the cascade of system notifications.
Goddamn it!
Cassian snarled as he staggered forward, every nerve in his skull vibrating with phantom pressure. His vision blurred for a second—just enough for a Kalrach to lunge.
But before the claws could connect, a massive fist slammed into the monster, crushing it into the floor.
The Behemoth stepped in front of Cassian with a guttural roar, absorbing the aggro of nearby Kalrachs. Its massive frame shielded Cassian from every angle, buying him the desperately needed time.
Thanks, bro.
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. Counter failed!! The mental attack successfully ?
? Debuff [Mental dominance] placed… [Unwavering mind] is reacting to the debuff. Success debuff dispelled ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. Counter failed!! The mental attack successfully ?
? Debuff [Mental dominance] placed… [Unwavering mind] is reacting to the debuff. Success debuff dispelled ?
Mf… some attacks bypassed the defense, Although the pain is bearable, what is annoying is how it disrupts my focus. I need to find this bastard fast.
He needed to find the one attack. Fast.]
Drawing a sharp breath, Cassian locked onto the warmth of his temporary essence reservoirs throbbing inside him like second hearts. Reaching inward, he channeled his will and called upon his cards.
“[Holy Blessing],” he whispered, voice hoarse but unwavering.
? You have used [Holy Blessing] incantation, gained [Faithful Strength (strength ? +20)], [Unwavering Mind (mental focus? +20, Resistance to mental attacks increased)], [Strengthened Vigor(HP? +100)] buffs for 300 seconds to you and your summon ?
A radiant burst of light spread from his core, seeping through his limbs in a wave of gold. His Chaotic mind quieted into calm. The tremors in his hands faded.
The pain ebbed into silence and the chaos melted into focus.
Not wasting the opportunity he tapped into another card.
“[Heart Swords],” he whispered, tapping into the card.
Four heart swords or rather heart kunais shimmered into existence. Cassian tethered them to his mind, firmly letting them hover near him, ready to shoot at any moment. The behemoth was directly in front of him, single-handedly holding back the hordes of kalrachs and now empowered by the buffs, it moved with terrifying speed and force, swatting aside elite Kalrachs like flies. Another wave attacked in his mind.
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. The mental attack successfully countered ?
? You have [Unwavering mind] buff. Counter failed!! The mental attack successfully ?
? Debuff [Mental dominance] placed… [Unwavering mind] is reacting to the debuff. Success debuff dispelled ?
The messages kept flashing, and with them came a gnawing sense of dread. Something was wrong.
There you are!
Just as his senses caught the sight of the mental variant a blade pierced straight from his shadows.
CRACK!
It slammed into his Mana Shield. The barrier shattered instantly under the force, but it bought him the crucial split-second he needed. With the reflexes guided by [A knight’s squire], he backstepped and launched his heart swords whistling through the air burying into the monster’s abdomen and shoulder.
The creature hissed in fury, staggered—but not dead.
It tried to retreat, melting back into the shadows—but it wasn’t fast enough.
A colossal hand swung in from the side. The Behemoth grabbed the elite by the skull and, without pause, crushed it.
? Mana Shield saturation is critical ?
? Mana Shield broken ?
Yeah, no shit.
Cassian exhaled sharply, steam curling from his lips in the frigid underground air. His pulse thudded in his ears, sharp and controlled now. The pain had dulled into clarity.
He straightened slowly, dragging his bloodstained sleeve across his mouth.
“All right…” he muttered, voice low and dangerous, “...you sons of bitches had your turn.”
His eyes locked onto the final mental-type Kalrach slithering through the edge of the darkness, partially phased into the wall like it was made of smoke. Its malformed head twisted toward him, twitching unnaturally, limbs jerking with spasms that looked more like seizures than movement. Its eyes glowed faint red, flickering erratically.
{Zzzz... You havezzz angered Mother...}
A wet, guttural rasp slithered through the air. Not from the creature’s mouth, but from everywhere at once. The walls. The shadows. Inside his own skull.
{ZZzzzz… You will pay the pricezzz for that, inscetzzzz...}
Cassian’s lips curled into a vicious grin, his fingers twitching toward the hilt of ?Sindivinity? The dagger pulsed with a hungry rhythm, almost purring at the threat.
“Yeah?” Cassian growled, shifting his weight forward. “Tell Mommy dearest I’m on my way after fucking you up”
...
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