Savage Awakening 444. The Second Challenge (V)

EDIT: There is no fortress on the volcano itself, the volcano is the fortress! Also, the birds can still attack while in their invulnerable. Just can't be hit.

A/N: Tomorrow's the launch of Savage 5! That also means all chapters before chapter 427 will go down on Patreon to comply with Amazon rules. But I'll pin a post with an epub of Savage 5, so y'all can still access them whenever.

//

The birds began cratering into the sands. Ectoplasm flickered all around them; they flapped desperately, trying to right themselves.

Zane didn’t give them the chance.

Two blast steps and he’d closed the distance. They were still picking themselves up when the skies went the color of the Red Giant.

His axes rained down. He finished three Gods just like that.

More tried to fly, but the heat was on them then, searing them even as their wings shook off the last of the frost.

Two managed to take flight, but Zane roared and loosed a furious effort, slashing them right out of the sky. They made spectacular explosions—giants blazing mid-air, leaving voids, holes punched in the sky…

Just one managed to get away. But Reina thrust out her staff and more ice took its damaged wing.

She brought it down just enough. It was all he needed to finish it off.

Then they looked at each other, both breathing heavily.

“Zane?” she said, bewildered. “What’s going on?”

“We’re in the second challenge.” He nodded around them. “It’s an instance portal.”

“That... makes sense.” Then she looked behind her at the vaguely Reina-shaped dent in the sands. “…Was I just lying there?”

She looked a tad embarrassed.

“Not for long,” he assured her.

With her here, he was already feeling a lot better. His bird-related headache was vanishing as they spoke. He inspected the bird-shaped craters, optimistic.

Level up!

Level up!

Essence Level 533 -> 535

Meanwhile, Reina seemed to be flicking through her notifications too, nodding as she went. “So we’ve got to clear these forts…”

She saw the smoke—“You’ve already done one?”

“That’s right.”

She looked at the volcano, lips pursed. “That last Boss feels… ancient.”

“We’ll figure it out when we get to it.” He nodded at the cliffs. “We should take down those birds first, though. They’re not just birds. They’re birds.”

She nodded. She got what he meant. “Mhm.”

He paused, brow furrowed—“How are you feeling?”

She’d only just broken through, which must’ve been quite an ordeal if it was anything like his breakthrough. Then taken her first True God attacks head-on. Now she had to face hordes of them with him.

She took a deep breath—visibly composed herself—looked up at him again.

“I’m ready.”

She was still a little shaken—but he could feel her determination in her gaze.

She’d be just fine.

He grinned. “Then let’s go.”

As they headed off—“Quick thinking with the birds back there.”

She flushed a little. “I told you I was going to fight by you, Zane Walker,” she said. She raised her chin. “I intend to keep that promise. Just you watch.”

***

On the way there, Reina did some experimenting. Making ice wasn’t all she could do. Not by far.

Her attacking spells didn’t seem great, at least when compared to True God level. That seemed to be Destruction’s specialty. But on the flipside, her Grand Circle Tier 6 Laws could hold up pretty well against some True God attacks. Creation made everything she made last longer. She could make shields, traps—all sorts.

It wouldn't be able to tank all-out attacks. That would still need a Zane. But it could make a serious difference.

The main thing was the buffs.

“There’s this new skill—… it’s Primordial grade,” she said. She blinked. “It’s pretty basic, but… the grade’s really high. Can I?”

He nodded.

She held out her hands toward him, curious—“Invigorate.”

A warmth bloomed in Zane’s chest.

His heart started beating faster.

And with each heartbeat, his blood ran hotter—it was like he’d been pumped with a sudden energy, an adrenaline. And just like that, his body could do much more. He could go stronger, faster, last longer—he didn’t need to fight to feel it.

His body was tingling with that pent-up energy.

He hadn’t even started fighting, and his Asura Body had rocketed past 100%.

He looked at his hands, saw the veins standing out against the backs, pumping with blood…

It was hard to tell just standing here. But he even got the sense his reaction speed—his senses—had sharpened too.

Reina stopped a few seconds after, gasping. “I don’t think I can hold it very long…”

“It’s strong stuff.” He looked at her. “Can you stack it on top of my Limit Breaker?”

She looked a bit uncertain, but—“It should… I’d need to test it, just to be sure.”

This could be a game changer.

Not just as a raw power boost. One of the drawbacks of his Limit Breaker was that he couldn’t hold it very long. There was always a strong risk of burnout. But if she could help fuel him…

“Can you do it again?” he said.

She did.

He paid closer attention to his essence this time and found that it was shimmering.

It was a matter of fuel. Somehow she’d supercharged it—supercharged him.

“I think it’s a lot stronger with you than it’s supposed to be,” said Reina, blinking. She wasn’t sure why—there just seemed to be some special harmony. Her powers worked especially well on his body, for some reason.

He’d take it.

Then there were her healing powers. They’d gotten a pretty strong boost too. That regeneration buff, combined with his Titan’s Body at Level IX… it started to add up.

He was regenerating about 3% Health a second, he felt. He slashed himself across the chest just to test it. Seemed about right.

With the quality of his body, that was another serious boost.

They were nearing the fort now. A fort perched at the edge of a cliff, on the end of a long mountain range.

On the way, they passed beneath the shadow of that volcano. That thing struck up from the heart of the island, visible at every angle, belching pillars of smoke… a constant looming presence.

“Do you sense something?” she looked at him. He considered it.

“It’s still sleeping,” said Zane slowly. “But less deeply than when I first came… it won’t be long before it wakes.”

She bit her lip, nodded. “We’ll just have to be fast, then.”

He’d have to make some serious power gains if he wanted to match that thing when the time came.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Just go out there and do your thing, okay?”

“I will.”

And like that, they were off.

***

“And we’re back—just in time to catch Zane and Reina as they take on the second fort!” said Tyler. “Professor Brom’s had a little too much excitement for one day—he’s retired to nap and work on his draft.”

“It was a privilege to have him on,” said Becca. “He really put things into perspective for us.”

“Now it’s Zane and Reina time!” said Tyler proudly. “Two of Earth’s most renowned heroes—really, Earth’s power couple—going at it again. Just like old times.”

“It’s a throwback for sure,” said Becca, nodding. “Those two took down some of Earth’s toughest dungeons.”

“Nothing as tough as this one, granted,” said Tyler, inspecting the layer of shadow-clouds wreathing that nest. “…But I’ll bet they’ve never faced a force like Zane and Reina, either—those Monsters won’t know what hit ‘em!”

***

The fort was shaped like a giant nest. Walls spiraling outward.

Shadowy clouds swirled above, making a natural shield…

“It’s too open,” said Reina. “Too high. Even if I could hit them and get them down, it’s just too easy to run.”

She pursed her lips. “We’d have to make it so they can't get away.”

The Crows knew they were coming. But they were content to sit up there, hiding behind that shadow-cloud wall. They must’ve seen what happened to their friends.

“It makes sense, on the face of it,” she said. “They want to bunker down and make you go through their shield. Then when you’re exhausted, they’ll fight you. And with how open it is, they can always run if they have to.”

He nodded.

He was looking at that shield. It had some heft to it—at least equivalent to a horde of Tier 7 True Gods in strength. It’d take a good chunk of his firepower just to eat through that.

Then there were the horde of Tier 7 True Gods beneath to fight.

And the Boss, after that…

“It’ll take some real power to get through all that.”

“Still…” said Reina. She looked him up and down. “I think you can take it just fine.”

She looked heartened. “It’ll be a good chance to see how our powers work together, even.”

Zane agreed. “If they’re just going to let me load up…”

They shared a look.

By her grin, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.

***

“Looks like they're taking the long way around,” said Tyler. “Zane’s headed for the highest peak on that range—just looking down the slope at those crows! You can see his shadow... It’s looking mighty big from all the way up there.”

He chuckled. “If you’re a crow, you’ve got to be feeling nervous right now.”

“Longtime Zane fans will have a good idea what he’s going for,” said Becca. She was enjoying it too. “Sure enough—looks like those are axes coming out…”

“It’s definitely a battle plan we’ve seen him use before,” said Tyler. “Nothing’s stopped it yet! But then again… that’s a huge step up, even from that last fort—would you look at that! The boss just came out.”

Crow-Brute (Monster Prince)

Essence Level 648

Crow-Brute (Monster Prince)

Essence Level 648

They were giant creatures balanced on two spindly legs, like a flamingo’s. Their wings were strangely tiny too—so tiny you’d hardly believe they could fly. But their arms were incredibly muscular, thick with veins. Their beaks were one massive Corrupted bone—a bone seething with dark Creation…

Their bald heads wore broken crown-markings.

Their beady eyes were trained right on Zane.

“But just to get to them, he’ll have to go through that shadow shield and all those Crow guards first...”

"It's a hell of an ask, alright."

***

Zane felt the mass glaring up at him. Some eighteen Tier 7 True Gods, in all—two with Corrupted Bones— all behind a heavy bank of shadow-clouds. And behind them—deeper in the nest—the Brutes.

Reina let out a breath, and he felt warmth rushing through him.

And with it—his heart started pumping faster, harder.

His body burned.

He locked eyes with her one last time; she nodded.

Then he stomped, bellowed, and pulled hard into that first revolution. In a blink he was hurtling down the slope.

At the same time—

Skill evolved!

Heavenly Solar Storm [Legendary (P)] -> H. Red Giant Storm [Mythic+ (P)]

And it was on.