Spearbound Ch. 51

The area effect removal left Kade tense for several hours. It was impossible not to be since there was nothing to do other than stay alert for any ambushes.

He would have preferred to be in an actual battle than wait around for the unknown.

“Maybe the second day is a rest day?” Eliza commented. They had been discussing what they would have to deal with, and she had finally said what was on both their minds.

“That should make no sense, but it leans to that at the moment,” Kade replied, still uneasy. “How’s Hellion?”

“He hasn’t moved an inch.”

He could tell there was no change in the bond with the bird, but he also didn’t know the intimate details of the bond.

Area Effect: +1000% Strength | +1000% Endurance

Kade exchanged glances with Eliza and knew she saw the same alert. He pulled up the affected attributes.

Endurance: 390.5 (+1000%)

Strength: 555.5 + (5) (+1000%)

Even without checking them, he could feel the incredible power his body now possessed. It felt like he could crush the world if he wanted. While he was sure that was a gross exaggeration brought on by the extreme increase in strength, it brought him a dangerous confidence, even though his mind was horrified.

Unlike the previous area effect that increased his [MP], this time, it increased the greatest advantage of the karnathis.

Kade wouldn’t be able to mow down another army like he did yesterday by spamming spells. While he was still stronger than the average karnathi, it would only take ten of them to overwhelm him. If it was those two karnathis that he saw in the ruined city, it was likely just one would be enough to take care of him.

“What’s wrong?” Eliza asked.

Kade shot her an incredulous look, but immediately saw that she knew exactly what was wrong. She must have hoped for good news from him, but he would disappoint her.

“We have to be ready to run. There’s no point in defending this spot if we end up dead.”

Eliza grimaced, expressing more negative emotion than Kade had seen before. Again, understandable, considering what might lie ahead for them. “In that case, you should pick up Hellion.”

Kade did so, not wanting to waste time retrieving the bird if they had to flee. He thought that he had been tense in the hours before, but it didn’t come close to matching his heightened awareness now.

“Why do you think these area effects boost our attributes so much? Don’t would think it’s strange that a supposedly unstable world is strengthening everything in its last moments?” Eliza asked.

Kade readily admitted he had never considered the reason behind this. Even though he had learned the rift zones were previously normal words, he still treated them as a manufactured challenge for his own sanity.

It was better to fool himself into thinking the System placed everything instead of accepting the reality that the karnathis were natives of a corrupted world. Humans would be like them if Earth fell.

However, because this world wasn’t manufactured, the System lacked control over these area effects. Someone, or something, in this world was purposely making these choices.

Kade stared at the ruins of the pillar. He remembered what he had seen before he rushed back to help Eliza. “The pillars. There were two karnathis that approached the destroyed pillar in the city. What if the area effects are meant to help them rebuild it?”

Eliza’s grimace became more severe. “In that case, we can’t escape. This will be where we make our stand.”

“It’s my assumption, not a fact. If Hellion was awake, he could have scouted for us and confirmed if I was right.”

Eliza took a deep breath. “If this is day two, I’m not looking forward to while else is in store for us. We should have brought more people with us.”

“It’s too late for regrets,” Kade said.

A silence fell as they busied themselves. Eliza prepared traps buried within the sand, with the help of her duplication magic speeding things along, and Kade tried to wake Hellion.

He did the most obvious at the start, trying to rouse the bird by ineffectively given him soft pokes, but that only lasted for a few seconds when he got no results. He did the next logical thing and used the bond.

Kade still wasn’t sure how it worked exactly, but he prodded the ethereal connection, almost squirming at the complete blankness he received. He had become accustomed to feeling Hellion’s emotions, muted as they were, and the nothingness he felt was highly disconcerting.

He took a break and stared at Eliza taking a rest after exhausting her [MP]. She might have near unlimited [Stamina], but that wouldn’t do anything to increase her [MP]. He made a mental note to keep clear of the spots she was hiding her traps.

Kade froze, an idea appearing in his mind. Hellion might use [MP] for everything, so it wasn’t a stretch that the bird had fallen unconscious from mana overuse. If that was correct, time could be the only sure thing that could wake Hellion.

However, he still wanted to wanted to try another way.

Kade could receive Hellion’s emotions through their bond, so it wasn’t a great leap to test whether something could be sent through the other way.

He manipulated his mana and tried to connect it to the bond, failing multiple times with zero progress. It didn’t dissuade him from trying again and again.

Kade wasn’t a glutton for failure, but watching Eliza work tirelessly for their chance to fight back if attacked, he couldn’t bring himself to give up so quickly.

That was easier to think than to put into action. Kade ended up moving the mana inside his body in figurative circles as he tried to connect to the ethereal bond. He knew it existed, but he didn’t know where it was.

His only option was to target every part of his body in hopes that it would work. It might not be the smartest idea, but it was the only thing he could think of. Nobody ever said that he was a deep thinker.

[MP] Transfer attempt detected through the bond with Hellion.

Current efficiency at 50%.

Would you like to proceed?

“What happened?” Eliza asked from afar.

A wide smile had taken over Kade’s face. “I might have found a way to wake Hellion up.”

“Oh,” Eliza clearly doubted him, but he didn’t mind. He still wasn’t a hundred percent sure, either.

The interface disappeared when he replied affirmatively. He could feel his mana tickle out of his body. However, it felt like it was going into a void.

Whenever Kade directed it toward the bond, the mana seemed to evaporate. He didn’t give up. Since his assumption had been that Hellion was experiencing mana depletion, it could be possible that he would need to send an excessive amount of his [MP] to be successful.

Kade could only hope that there would be no ambushes while low on [MP]. It wouldn’t be the end, but it would put him at a severe disadvantage.

Several minutes later, the bond had already devoured all of his [MP], with no change to Hellion’s state. Kade frowned in disappointment before he observed Eliza double checking her work.

He would try again after his [MP] recovered in five minutes.

Kade passed the time over the next hour repeating the same action. He waited for his [MP] to recover before dumping it into the bond.

He had long realized that Hellion’s [MP] capacity far exceeded his own—something that was obvious—so it was of no surprise that it took him an hour of emptying his [MP] to finally get results.

Kade perked up when he felt a pang of confusion through the bond. “Eliza! He’s waking up!”

She was taking a pause to recover before continuing her relentless trap-laying, but she immediately jumped from her sitting position and took an odd path back to him. She looked at Hellion with kind eyes and smiled. “I was worried the little thing sacrificed himself for me. I’m happy that isn’t the case.”

Kade nodded in agreement, transferring more [MP] when it became available. Hellion’s state visibly improved, confirming that his actions were the cause.

“By the way, don’t approach the broken pillar. You might mess up the traps I set,” Eliza said without looking away from Hellion.

The odd path she took now made sense. He simply nodded as they watched Hellion quickly pull himself out of his confused state.

With a small squawk, the baby bird struggled out of Kade’s palm to climb his arm and perch on his shoulder. Hellion looked around eagerly, pushing excitement through the bond.

Kade chuckled. “Hellion wants to get back into a fight—” the bird chirped to confirm his statement, “—but I won’t send him to scout until I know he’s mostly recovered.”

Eliza cooed and rubbed a finger under Hellion’s beak. “I would fight you if you did anything else. My savior can’t be thrown into danger unprepared.”

Kade watched Hellion preen under Eliza’s attention before smiling. It looked like the life and death battle they experienced together drew them closer than he expected.

However, Eliza wasn’t irresponsible to waste too much time. She only pampered Hellion until she had recovered her [MP] before she returned to making her traps.

With Hellion no longer occupying his arm, and a battle probable in the near future, Kade summoned his [Soulrend] and acted as sentry. There wasn’t much else for him to do.

He kept a close watch on the bond to keep track of Hellion’s recovery and estimated that it would take an hour at most. They would have a scout soon enough, and they could make a more informed plan.