Chapter Twenty Six - 026The wurm's jaws chomped down on Felix, the four-way mandibles snapping from all directions. Teeth the size of his arm rushed toward his body, but Felix was able to catch two of the jaws with his left and right hands. The lower jaws however, piercing his thighs with impossible speed and force, exactly where the Yungling had got him before.
"GAHHHHHHH!!!" Felix screamed, veins in his neck bulging as he fought with Helga's upper jaws. His arms trembled, the power behind the giant wurm too much to withstand, the pain in his legs nearly incapacitating were it not for his resistance. Felix cracked open his eye, blurry with tears, and saw the end of the bridge approaching rapidly.
She's still--!
Felix didn't think. He didn't plan.
Felix made magic.
Stone Shaping!
The sheared end of the bridge suddenly morphed, lifting up into a precarious incline that Helga barreled toward, her momentum impossible to defy. Felix staggered as his Mana drained to half, the spell cast sloppy and wasteful, and Helga's jaws suddenly slackened as his resistance disappeared. They hit the incline.
And they were airborne.
Helga screamed, a voice like a rattling timpani roaring from her throat as she found herself momentarily midair. Felix's stomach rose into his throat and his body briefly lifted weightlessly, before the wurm and Felix inside it were sent hurtling downward.
Not a chance! Reign of Vellus!
At the apex of her climb, Felix blasted forth. He clenched his body into a ball, but still felt skin and muscle rip and tear as he exploded out of the massive maw of the wurm. Purple blood and shattered teeth spiraled out around his body, carried on the force of his Skill, and Felix was launched toward the cavern exit.
The only problem was that he was aimed a solid fifteen feet too low.
"AHHHH SHIT! STONE SHAPING! STONE SHAPING!"
Felix forced his pathways into the arcane patterns of the Skill, twisting his power until it drilled into the earthen Mana before him. His Mana guttered out, suddenly flashing red in his vision, yet the cavern wall liquefied even as Felix collided with it at forty miles an hour. A great gout of thick stone sludge jettisoned from the wall, and Felix landed shoulder-first on the small five foot by three foot indent he had created.
CRACK!
"AGHH! MMMMHHFFF!" Felix howled, clenching his teeth until his jaw ached and the veins in his neck stuck out like cables. Pain Resistance let him keep his wits about him, and he didn't move, agonizing as it was. He was pretty sure he had just dislocated his shoulder too.
Stone Shaping is level 14!
Stone Shaping is level 15!
Pain Resistance is level 25!
Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier in Pain Resistance!
You Gain The Following:
+5 VIT
+5 END
+5% END
+New Skill Learned
New Skill Learned!
Armored Skin , Level 1!
Requires Apprentice Tier in Pain Resistance, Unconquerable Title, Face the Charge Title, Blind Pugilist Title. You've taken abuse that would cripple most and you keep on fighting. Gain physical damage reduction per Skill Level, reduces Stamina penalties by small amounts per Skill Level.
THIS PLACE SUCKS SO MUCH!
His lungs struggled to fill up, and something felt like it was leaking inside of him. The heat had disappeared, and he only felt cold now. Dimly, Felix could hear the enraged roar of Helga until that disappeared too. Worried, he saw an icon of a dazed looking face in the corner of his vision.
Status Condition: Shock (Major)
Grunting with the effort, Felix squeezed his uninjured hand into his satchel, feeling around for his healing potion. It was agonizingly slow, and the dislocated shoulder didn't do much for mobility, believe it or not. With a surge of Willpower, he suppressed his pain long enough to wrench the last vial from the bag, uncapping it with his thumb and pouring its contents down his throat.
The potion started working instantly, his flesh re-knitting painfully as his Health jumped up. The flashing icon dissipated in a few seconds, and Felix's head felt suddenly clear. He tried to sit up, only to feel a jolt of pain through his shoulder and chest. He left arm was weak and nearly useless, his fingers barely responsive; the potion had not fixed everything, not by a longshot.
The sound of banging could be heard coming from the platform, followed by the minute but definite sounds of rock grinding against rock.
The Arcids. They're at the doors. He looked down at his shoulder, already feeling it swelling, and bit his lip. I really hope this works.
With a breathy grunt, Felix pushed himself up on his right arm, then slammed his left shoulder directly into the ground. An explosion of pain lit his entire body on fire. Felix's vision blacked out for a few seconds, as if his nerves couldn't handle the sheer agony.
"MOTHERFFUUUUGH! HOW THE FSGHGHHHHHH!" Felix howled. Distantly, he could hear the slamming pause before resuming at a far more frenzied pace. Oh god, TV has failed me!
Then Felix got a most welcome notification.
Helga the Pendlewurm is dead!
You have gained EXP!
You Have Gained A Level!
You are now Level 19!
+3 to WIL! +2 to INT! +4 to DEX! +1 to END! +2 to PER! +2 to VIT! +4 to AGL!
You Have 5 Unused Stat Points!
Your Companion, Pit Has Gained A Level!
+2 VIT! +2 PER! +4 AGL! +4 DEX! +3 WIL! +1 END! +2 INT!
"AHH!"
The swell of that near silent orchestra vibrated across Felix's senses, his mind only catching the bare hints of their vibrations as power flooded through his body. Thinking fast, Felix dumped all five of his points into Vitality, then as the stat-gain high reached its crest, he jammed his shoulder once more into the ground.
POP!
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUCK!" He screamed, half joy, half pain as his body was still squirming with the unspent level up energy. His body arched in agony, then dropped limply to the ground as his nerve endings seemed to stop feeling entirely.