Seeds of Discordia

Artem, Blair, and Roman looked around the room to see if there was anything they had missed. As they looked around a notification screen suddenly appeared in front of them without warning. Blair flinched as Artem swung his mace at it and Roman punched the screen without thinking.

The two men felt a bit embarrassed as they realized what they had just done. They coughed once into their hand as Blair shook her head at them. After that they each turned to see what the notification was about. It was the Level Two Gifts of Chaos distribution. Each of them received one thing.

As the three stared at the Gifts given to them by their Matron Deity, they looked confused. They weren’t sure why they had received what they did during their first round of ‘Gifts’. It looked like this round wasn’t different either.

That was the other thing they were confused about. The notification stated Gifts, yet they only received one thing each time so far. They didn’t know if the word was meant in the fact everyone who had the deity received a gift or they were supposed to get more than one. This was something they wanted to ask Liam or even better Eri. However, they knew now wasn’t the right time to ask.

“What did you guys receive this time?” Roman asked.

“I got something called Field of the Discordant Apostle,” Artem replied.

“So did I,” Blair stated.

“Same here,” Roman informed.

“So I guess the gift this time has to do with the title we received from Eris,” Artem muttered.

A new notification appeared shortly after. This one asked if they wanted to allow the Field of the Discordant Apostle to root. They felt no reason to refuse and waited for the next step. The Focus Points of this new Field.

When the next notification appeared, the three of them grew even more confused. What they read wasn’t something they had ever seen before when receiving a new Field of Magic.

[Congratulations on rooting the Field of the Discordant Apostle. Focus Points are tailor made for the person receiving this Field. Please note you will only have one Focus Point at this time. To receive a 2nd Focus Point you must get the 1st to level 10. To unlock the 3rd Focus Point you must have both the 1st and 2nd at level 10.]

  “What the…,” Roman started to say as his face scrunched up, but stopped as his Focus Point appeared with a new spell.

[Congratulations you have rooted the Focus Point Discordant Manifestation. You have received the ability – Zodiac Elemental Reaction.]

[Zodiac Elemental Reaction. Description – When activating your Zodiac ability, Earthen Bovine Rush, if there are any other elements present then you can change the Earthen portion to a different element. Cost – N/A. Type of spell – Instant. Cooldown – 5 hours.]

Artem stared at his notification with disbelief as well.

[Congratulations you have rooted the Focus Point Discordant Spellworking. You have received the ability – Spell Type Reversal.]

[Spell Type Reversal. Description – User can reverse the type of spell being cast. If a spell has multiple reversal types then it will default to the type that has the strongest opposition to it. Can only be used on one type at a time. If used on opponents magic then that magic will not hurt the caster of this spell or the party members. Cost if spell is used on caster’s magic – Cost of the spell being used. Cost if used on opponent’s spell – N/A. Type of spell – Instant. Cooldown –  30 minutes.]

Blair looked over her notification and tried to understand it.

[Congratulations you have rooted the Focus Point Discordant Aura Combat. You have received the ability –Ataxia Aura Combat.]

[Ataxia Combat Aura. Description – An Aura pulses out from the user in a 5 foot radius. Any targets within the Aura receives an Ataxia Debuff. Target has lack of muscle coordination causing them to have loss of balance and dizziness. Debuff will continue to stay infinitely while within the Aura. If a target escapes the aura the Debuff will last for 10 seconds. Additionally, user will receive a 5% boost in all Dexterity Sub-stats per opponent inflicted with Ataxia Debuff. Does not affect Party members. After Caster releases the spell, the caster will suffer Disorient Debuff for 5 minutes. Cost – 5 Stamina per second while boost is active. Type of spell – Instant. Cooldown – 5 hours.]  

Before any of them could say anything about what they had received, a loud painful scream suddenly filled the air around them. The walls and the ground shook as the scream vibrated all around them. As soon as the scream faded and the shaking stopped, Artem, Blair, and Roman quickly looked at each other. A small bit of panic formed at the bottom of their spine as they thought about what they could have come from.

“We got to go,” Blair stated with urgency in her voice.

Artem and Roman nodded in agreement. They headed straight for the opening that led them to this room. However, before they could leave, Roman stopped dead in his tracks and shouted, “Wait!”

Artem and Blair stopped moving and whirled to look at him. They were about to ask why he had stopped them but froze as they noticed his wide eyed and slack jawed expression. He then placed both hands on the ground and focused as hard as he could. Five seconds later he started letting out a long list of curse words.

“What’s wrong?” Artem asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear.

“That scream just now,” Roman started. “It stirred up a shit ton of creatures.”

“Okay and? We knew there was a chance there were monsters somewhere in these tunnels,” Blair questioned.

“Yeah I know but…,” Roman said, trying to figure out exactly how to say it without making a certain someone panic. He quickly glanced at Artem before saying, “Fuck it. All those creatures are heading this way. And when I say all of them are coming, I mean every opening here in this room is about to be filled to the brim full of fucking spider monsters.”

Artem instantly paled at hearing this while Blair’s eyes widened. She quickly turned to look at the tunnel they had come through to get here.

“You mean…,” Blair started.

“Yes, that room has them to…,” Roman started to say until screeches echoed down the hall Blair was staring at.

The three of them back up towards the middle of the room close to the portal. More screeches, hissing, and chittering echoed from all around them as the sound of thousands of pointy feet danced in the air all around them. They looked at all the openings as the noises started to grow louder and louder.

“What do we do?” Roman asked.

“I don’t know,” Blair replied as she frantically tried to think.

Artem, who’s brain had went blank at the thought of seeing thousands upon thousands of spider slowly looked at the exit portal. As Roman and Blair looked around their gazes fell upon Artem and saw what he was staring at.

Blair shoved a palm against his shoulder. The sudden jostle snapped Artem out of his terror right as Blair growled, “We are not leaving Liam behind.”

“I know,” Artem snarled back, feeling mad at himself for even thinking about leaving. “But what do we do?”

Use your new abilities. Eri suddenly stated.

“What?” Artem asked, confused, and trying to fight back the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him.

Use the new abilities you received from the Field of Discordant Apostle. They should help you out in this situation. Eri explained.

The first group of spiders made themselves known as the tunnel they used to get into this room was suddenly covered in spiders the size of small dogs. Artem’s blood ran cold as he witnessed the grey and brown colors of dirt and stone disappear and get dyed the dark greenish black color of the Toxo Spiders.

Without thinking, Blair started chanting, “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Condense into a single spot. Pull to you and Keep any and everything that tries to escape. Gravity Well!”

As soon as she finished chanting the spell and the familiar orb formed, she threw the orb right in the middle of the entrance of that tunnel. The spider creatures lost their grip on the walls, ceiling, and floor of that tunnel and were sucked towards the orb one by one as they got closer. As Blair watched this she realized that the entire area her spell was place was starting to overflow. A bad thought came to mind as she watched it. What would happen if the ones in the back pushed the ones in the front? Would they be able to push the ones trapped out of the range of the spell?

She didn’t have more time to think about it as she saw more horrifying spider creatures emerge from the corners of the tunnels on her left and right. She heard Roman curse and announce more appearing from behind. Artem began to mutter words she couldn’t catch under his breath as his panic grew even more.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, they each felt something land on either their shoulder or back. Pain suddenly filled them as whatever landed on them bit them. Something flashed before their eyes, but during their panicked actions they minimized it and reached for whatever had caused the pain and threw them down on the ground.

It was a Toxo spider monster the size of a water bottle. They smashed their feet down and instantly killed them. They each looked up and noticed more of the creatures running down the walls of the openings that hung above their heads.

Artem screamed as more dropped and landed on them. Five more creatures landed on their upper bodies and quickly bit them where there was no protection. Artem shook his body violently, letting out shouts of pain as each creature bit him. Roman and Blair let out grunts as they tore the creatures off of them as well. As each creature fell down, Roman and Blair attacked them.

In Artem’s panicked stated he started chanting, “Aura strong and solid, I beseech you for protection. Cover, block, and protect all incoming attacks. Stand strong like the shield you are. Protect those I choose with your power. Protective Aura!”

A sudden pulse of energy washed out from Artem covering him, Blair, and Roman. A translucent shield suddenly appeared over them right as more Toxo Spiders started to rain down on them. More Toxo spiders of different kinds swiftly exploded from the other openings. The waves of deadly and horrific creatures crashed against their shields causing them to flicker a bit.

Protective Aura was a spell he had received back in the Tutorial Area. He hadn’t used it at all back then and after he had gotten out and had some time to think about his abilities he realized how stupid he was for not using it at all. He spent enough time to get it past level ten which allowed him to increase the amount of damage it could take and be able to use it on more than one person.

The brief moment of reprieve from being attacked allowed Roman to channel Fire Mana before he started chanting, “Oh Fire, powerful and beautiful. Spark and ignite the devastating power you hold within. Course and engulf all that dare to stand in your way. Wave of Ignition!”

A cone of fire washed out from Roman’s outstretched hands as soon as he finished the chant. The flame covered all the Toxo creatures that had rushed him. He slowly separated his hands, allowing two cones of fire to wash over more of the spiders, killing them as they continued to bum rush them.

“These shields won’t last forever!” Artem called out. “We need to do something now!

I swear, you guys can be as dense as Liam sometimes. Eri chided. Artem, use your new ability with your Refreshing Aura ability.

“What?” Artem questioned as he tried to process what she was saying.

Use. Your. Spell. Type. Reversal. On. Your. Refreshing. Aura. Ability! Eri shouted, each word clipped as if she was talking to a child.

“But what can that…,” Artem started to say until he thought about it. He thought about the description of his new Spell Type Reversal. It had said it could reverse the type of spell being cast. If he used in his Refreshing Aura ability, a healing spell, then it would reverse the type the spell was into…

Don’t overthink it and do it now! Your shield is about to disappear! Eri shouted.

Artem gulped. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but if Eris was saying it would help them who was he to second guess it. He channeled as much Healing Mana as he could before chanting, “O’ Heart beating inside me, I beseech you to pulse. Release the healing sensation and wash over those I wish to protect and refresh their spirits again. Refreshing Aura!”

A light green wave of power suddenly pushed out from his body as he reached his hands out. As this aura washed over them he saw something move at the corner of his sight. It was his health. Every few points it rose a few points dropped. He then noticed a strange looking icon next to his name and parameters. He was about to check it out but stopped himself as he focused on what he needed to do instead.

He focused on his new spell. He gulped once more before muttering the words, “Spell Type Reversal.”

A notification suddenly appeared.

[Spell Type Reversal. Available spells to reverse: Wave of Ignition to Wave of Jetstream or Refreshing Aura to Aura of Execution.]

Artem was surprised at this notification. However, instead of wasting time being amazed by it, he mentally chose Refreshing Aura to Aura of Execution.

He felt the change to the spell happen instantly. The light green wave of power that was replenishing their health changed into a pitch black color. The calming sensation that had helped take away the panic state they were slowly falling into had transformed into a powerful feeling of dread.

As the change happened, all three translucent shields shattered. However, before any of the Toxo spider could land any more attacks, they instantly fell over. Blair and Roman sucked in a breath before they gasped at the sudden change. The Aura that now exuded from Artem washed out into a seven foot radius, instantly killing any and all enemy creatures that entered the radius of the spell.

“Holy shit man!” Roman shouted as he took a few steps towards the edge of the aura’s radius. He still had Waves of Ignition going so he wanted to get more of the flames out of the aura’s field.

Now’s not the time to be impressed. Eri stated. He can’t keep it up for long. Blair use your new ability now and try to kill as many as you can.

Not wanting to argue with Eris, Blair thought about her new ability. After remembering the name of the spell she gripped her weapon and muttered, “Ataxia Combat Aura.”

She felt something push out from her body and watched as the spidery creatures close by her that were climbing over the dead bodies of their fallen brethren stumble and fall over. Some fell into the Aura of Execution and died the moment they entered the field. The others fell backwards and landed on the other spiders still trying to overwhelm the food that was before them.

She felt her body suddenly grow lighter by the second as more and more Toxo spiders entered her Ataxia Aura field. She spun her heavy Battle Axe around with ease and in a way she couldn’t begin to understand. A wide grin formed on her face before she spread her wings out and pushed out towards the swarm of creatures.

Roman felt a gust of air suddenly blow over him. He turned his head to see Blair flying low and swinger her axe around as if it was the size and weight of a dagger. He was rather impressed. He then noticed the creatures that were close to her move around in a drunken way. They fell over, stumbled around, or even fail to jump. He didn’t know how she was doing it, but he guessed it had to do with her new spell.

He thought about Artem as well. His Refreshing Aura had changed into one that caused death instead of healed life. He wasn’t sure what that was about either, but now he was feeling left out. He thought about his new ability. It was one tied to his Zodiac ability. It could change the element from Earth to whatever element that was present. He stared at the flames coming out from his hands.

An idea formed in his head. A terrifying one. He wasn’t sure if he would get hurt by doing it, but since everyone else was using abilities that could get them hurt he figured he needed to step up and take the same chances they did as well.

He deactivated his Waves of Ignition, pulled out a Minor Mana and Stamina Potion, grimaced and then drank them quickly. After he finished drinking them he looked at the area where his flames rolled over. The fire had burned the ones that were within the flames cones while catching the ones close to edge on fire. Those flames were slowly dying out. he wasn’t sure if there were enough, but he knew he needed to act fast or he would waste this chance.

He took in a deep breath before looking forward. After he pushed the air out he muttered, “Taurus Zodiac Ability. Earthen Bovine Rush.” Before he took his first step he added, “Zodiac Elemental Reaction!”

To his surprise a notification popped up in front of him.

[Elemental Reactions found! Elemental change from Earth to Fire. Yes No? Time to accept: 10 seconds.]

Roman grinned as he mentally chose Earth to Fire. The moment he did he felt his body start to sizzle. Invisible fumes started to rise off of his body as his temperature started to rise. He braced himself for the worse right as fire suddenly lit up over his hands.

He stared at the fire that had formed over his hands. A grin grew as he realized there was no pain. He then looked out at the spider creatures. All the ones that had rushed straight for him suddenly stopped. He could tell they were afraid. He liked that.

“Time to burn some spiders,” Roman stated as he started moving.

Each step he took reminded him of how his Zodiac ability worked with the Earthen form. More flames started to cover his body. Horns made of flames sprouted from his head as his body started to grow. It was slower than the earthen form, but it was still as deadly. Each spider he ran by or over exploded into flames. Hisses and screams filled the air as Roman built up momentum.

As he ran around the room an idea formed in his mind. Without second guessing, he shouted out, “Artem, Blair!”

The other two looked for him and were shocked at what they had saw. They were so focused they didn’t even noticed a flaming minotaur had started running around. It took them a moment to remember that Roman had an ability that turned him into a Minotaur like form, but to their recollections it wasn’t a fire form but an earthen form.

Roman quickly understood what they were thinking as he shouted, “New ability! Don’t focus on that right now. Once I run over as many as I can I am going to plow through a tunnel. It should be enough to clear a path. Follow me as fast as you can when I do!”

Artem and Blair didn’t think twice as they shouted their affirmation. Roman grinned. He was happy with his idea. Because if this worked then they would be able to get out of this room alive and get back to Liam. Now he just needed to remember which tunnel it was they came in from.