MM - Chapter 256 - DANCE OF MILLIMETERS

Raine flew beneath the Siege Crandal’s underbelly. The ground shuddered as the colossus stomped in an attempt to end their battle before it even began. An instinctive dodge allowed him to desperately stick to the shadow of the beast. No matter what, he needed to maintain an angle severe enough that it could not unleash a point-blank Plasma Lance—a last-ditch attack he had personally seen wipe entire raids. Just because the beasts preferred to plant their tails for stability did not mean they were required to.

The raw scents of ozone and alien musk billowed from the still-dilated pores above, where the living carpet of smaller creatures had poured forth. They swarmed, some flinging viscous globs of acid while others, their bodies pulsating with volatile energy, dove.

[Crandal Flinger (Spawn): Level 75 (HP 190,250)]

[Highest Attribute: Attack Power 4,991]

[Average Attribute Score: 1,050]

[Unique Skill Type: Ocular Enhancement]

[Crandal Bomber (Spawn): Level 75 (HP 190,250)]

[Highest Attribute: Physique 1,310]

[Average Attribute Score: 1,050]

[Unique Skill Type: Explosive Enhancement]

Raine twisted and Lunged through the suicidal bombers, their detonations sending waves of heat and force across the devastated ground. He could do little about the sheer volume of acid arcing his way from the Flingers. Their projectiles lacked the raw power of their progenitor. Still, they served their purpose, chipping away at his health with relentless efficiency. [-212] [-290] [-222] More than a dozen impacts spattered against him in the first second, the air itself becoming a hail of organic projectiles.

The actual threat dominated Raine’s focus. The Crandal’s tail—a segmented spear tipped with a diamond-hard point—whipped forward like an inverted scorpion’s stinger. Its tip promised a swift death, moving so fast it denied sight. Bloodlust screamed a warning before the monster’s muscles had even begun their contraction, giving him enough time to Lunge clear.

As he kicked off one of the Crandal’s towering legs, the Soul Flame of Amanesh erupted from his skin. An eerily slow crimson wave washed outward until it completely covered the immediate area. The delectable aroma of the Crandal’s internals was replaced with cooked bug flesh and high-pitched shrieks. [-250] [-250]

The fire would kill the annoying spawn given enough time, but that was not Raine’s intent. He knew nearly a thousand more waited within the beast’s body to replace the fallen. What he needed was a distraction. The agony of their souls being seared ruined the Flingers’ aim, creating narrow corridors in their barrage. He Lunged through them, a phantom amidst the hail.

The intent to do harm activated the Cursed Ring of Nine Arms, and a new weight settled into Raine’s hand. It was a hefty wand, its head a cluster of heavy, ornate jewels. A frustrated groan pulled his lips into a tight line.

Seriously? You’re showing up already? The one time I’m not ready yet. Figures.

While a powerful weapon, Cassidy’s Comet lacked the damage to fell the Crandal in one go. More importantly, it was not yet time for the beast to die. The monster’s body was a shield, protecting him from the Plasma Lances of its neighbors. If he killed it now, without another use of Soul of Reformation available, the shrapnel waves from the next Crandal would tear him to pieces long before he reached it. He needed to stall for the ten minutes required to swap Fractions again.

Still, there was no sense in not using the tool he had been given. The wand came up in a low, underhanded arc, and its absurdly overpowered skill was shouted at the top of his lungs. “PuriPuri Rainbow Release!”

Between one blink and the next, the ground fractured. Streamers of pure white fire shot into the sky, coiling around the bodies of every single spawn. Before the force of the blast could throw them into the air, the tendrils of light sliced them into ribbons of starlight. [-1,178,569] The Siege Crandal let out a piercing screech as hundreds of the fiery streams wrapped around its colossal form, an army of infant krakens assaulting a battleship.

The Crandal was lifted from its feet, then slammed down with brutal force. The ground buckled as the remaining energy from the skill detonated beneath it. [-1,178,569] More than the boss was trapped within the range of his skill; every last spawn in its body was vanquished without remorse. Raine’s HUD flooded with over twelve hundred kill notifications that were mercifully compressed into two lines.

[Obtained 26,137,781 Raid Superiority (61-way split) (2,650% bonus for defeating multiple Elite Raid Spawns 25 levels above your raid’s highest participant)]

[Obtained 706.43% Raid Attunement (61-way split) (2,650% bonus for defeating multiple Elite Raid Spawns 25 levels above your raid’s highest participant)]

The distracting messages were dismissed, and all three charges of Spectral Slip were used to pass through the Plasma Lances that slashed through his intangible body. Raine held his position as the Siege Crandal climbed back onto its lanky legs, allowing him to once more safely tuck beneath its bulk.

As a raid elite, the beast regenerated five percent of its health every ten seconds, a tick of nearly one million. With the immediate objective of clearing its spawns completed, his focus changed to pure evasion.

Prominence of the Fool made surviving the next several minutes a torturous exercise. Sure, the skill boosted his damage by fifty percent, but forced him to swap weapons every few seconds lest he succumb to its stacking damage and slow. He refused to let the timer tick past ten seconds before each weapon swap. By that point, he had already taken a cumulative 6,793 damage and suffered a 15.5% reduction to his Attack and Movement Speeds. Each swap further siphoned 4,821 health. In that same ten-second window, however, Raine practiced Life Drain in a setting where failure meant death. [+4,238]

[Life Drain: (Completion - 29% Beginner) Lay arms or hands upon a target to absorb health equal to 500% > 145% Celestial Power (Cost: 15 > 26 Celestial Power) (Cooldown: 5 > 8.55 seconds)]

The skill was too weak to punch through the Crandal’s immense Resistance. Thankfully, due to the unique nature of Celestial Power, the healing component activated regardless of damage dealt. Otherwise, he would be forced to convert Discipline into health with Flawed Conversion, rapidly draining the horn’s reserves.

Further, Celestial skills were based upon faith—upon begging a higher power for aid. Raine hated the very concept of begging. His half-hearted attempts to plead with a nonexistent entity failed to convince even himself, let alone imbue the skill with the necessary intent, resulting in an abysmal 29% completion rate.

Over the next ten minutes, using the Crandal’s body to block its allies while dodging its tail, he found an alternative. If prayers to a god were meant to come from within, then why could he not find the needed intent there? Raine dug deep, searching not for external aid but for the unshakable faith he had in himself to overcome any challenge. His completion rates soared. [+6,430]

[Life Drain: (Completion - 44% Adept) Lay arms or hands upon a target to absorb health equal to 500% > 220% Celestial Power (Cost: 15 > 23 Celestial Power) (Cooldown: 5 > 7.8 seconds)]

He was almost breaking even, not that he needed to with Greater Werewolf’s Regeneration picking up the slack. [+4,382] By the time the Heart of Plutus was ready, Raine could evade the Crandal’s stomps and tail strikes without conscious thought. He redirected his focus inward, then drove Bloodlust straight up the monster’s ass.

[Negative affliction applied (Enfeared): Enemy attributes reduced by 20% (Duration 4.59 seconds)]

As expected of a raid elite, the Crandal shrugged off the paralyzing fear. Its maximum health, however, still dropped by nearly five million. More importantly, its base Defense fell from 4,419 to 3,314. That number was deceptive. With a thirty-four-level difference between them, the law of five compounded five times, multiplying that value by a staggering 15,625%. To Raine, its Defense was not 3,314; it was 521,127.

Any normal damage he dealt would be reduced by over half a million.

To bridge this impassable gap, he opened with Rupture and Debilitating Crush. The first debuff cut its total Defense by 51%, the second by another 46%. His completion rates held him back from even greater reductions, and neither skill dealt enough raw damage to break through the remaining 122,788 Defense.

[Rupture: (Completion - 68% Expert)]

[Debilitating Crush: (Completion - 59% Expert)]

Great Divide had the raw power to overcome what was left, but using it repeatedly would shatter several weapons before he killed a single Crandal, let alone the dozens he planned to farm. He needed the right tool, and when the Cursed Ring obliged, he did not hesitate.

Last Chance’s Gambit felt perfect, its curve and weight an extension of his hand. Uncanny Acceleration was triggered without hesitation. The blade flared with an orange glow, leaving an incandescent trail as it sped toward the joint connecting the Crandal’s thorax to its middle leg. At the precise moment of impact, Guardian’s Bane activated, adding its 56% physical defense reduction to the attack.

[Uncanny Acceleration: (Completion - 62% Expert)]

[Guardians Bane: (Completion - 59% Expert)]

Against a Defense of only 78,761, and for the low cost of 49 Discipline, Raine finally drew blood. [-23,339]

An intricate juggle began. Connection thickened the air, allowing him to Lunge left and right, evading the tail while keeping two of the Crandal’s legs between him and its kin. He metered the flow of Discipline into his brain to sharpen his reaction time. He comboed complex skills, managed multiple cooldowns, and used Flawed Conversion to refresh his timers with Fluency of the Soul.

His attention was split in a dozen directions at once. But like any raid-lifer, this was exactly the level of pressure and focus that made Raine feel alive on every level that mattered.

Taking advantage of Gambit’s Attack Speed bonus, he stabbed as fast as physically possible, jamming the dagger back into the monster’s joint, whether he managed to load it with both skills or not. On the third successful combination strike, a flash of crimson light pulsed through the Crandal’s entire body. It roared as if its organs had been set ablaze, which was precisely what had happened. [Critical hit! -51,345]

[Innate Passive - Explosive Ambuscade: Critical hits ignite the target’s Elemental Power, triggering a violent, internal chain reaction. Deals 216 non-resistible internal damage per Elemental Power ignited]

The chain reaction of raw power sought an escape, finding it in every crack and seam of the beast’s plated armor. Jets of magmafied gore erupted outward. The creature seemed to shrink as a significant portion of its mass was violently ejected. It staggered, tilting dangerously, so stunned by the catastrophic damage that it stood frozen for several long seconds, unable to so much as twitch. [-4,086,049]

As the stabs relentlessly continued, Raine felt a flicker of disappointment. The Elemental Power the beast had already expended on his approach saved it from taking nearly two million damage. Still, it was now a shadow of its former self: slowed, limping, and even trembling with the realization that death was inevitable. It was only a matter of time.

Adding to its suffering was the passive from his new gloves. Each cut, scrape, and jab left behind a spreading, icy corruption that, after enough stacks, actually managed to tick away at its health.

[Siege Crandal (Raid Elite): (Enfeared) (HP 10,060,017 / 14,268,750) (70.5%)]

Raine’s strikes barely outpaced its reduced regeneration of 713,437. He had to perfectly combo three times per second just to keep up. Even managing to refresh his cooldowns in that span was more instinct than rational thought, let alone perfectly combining multiple elements of Discipline flow, intent, and movement.

Regardless of how hard it was, the pressure and desire to win fueled his every movement. Soon, his completion rates began to climb, and he finally made real headway.

[Rupture: (Completion - 70% Expert)]

[Debilitating Crush: (Completion - 66% Expert)]

[Uncanny Acceleration: (Completion - 64% Expert)]

[Guardians Bane: (Completion - 63% Expert)]

Those few percentage points made an exponential difference, increasing every aspect of his skills—from damage, to debuff potency, and even cost. By the time the beast neared fifty percent health, Raine had found his rhythm, his focus absolute.

That was when a fresh sun bloomed overhead, casting stark, bloody light into every crevice beneath his prey. It was the same light from his last time in The Divide, the same light that had heralded the arrival of the Rabinoid Queen when she decided that Alaric of the Earth Realm was the most delectable morsel on Vaateaire.

She was coming for him again, and at the worst possible time.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

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[Last Chance’s Gambit: (Marvelous Gold - LVL 36) (SP 0/135M) (AP +324) (EP +324) (AS +2.0) (FNS +108) (CNC +108) (Durability 200/200)]

[Innate Skill - Final Gambit: Convert 25% maximum Elemental Power into a single target non-elemental attack. 216 damage per EP converted. No cooldown)]

[Innate Passive - Explosive Ambuscade: Critical hits ignite the target’s Elemental Power, triggering a violent, internal chain reaction. Deals 216 non-resistible internal damage per Elemental Power ignited]

[Cassidy’s Comet: (Marvelous Gold - LVL 36) (Superiority 0/135M) (Attack Power +290) (Potency +109) (Physique +109) (Durability 240/240)]

[Innate Skill 1 - PuriPuri Comet Burst: Single target physical attack dealing 3900% physical damage and force. Ignores all defense. (Skill name must be shouted to activate) (Cost: 20 Discipline) (Cooldown: 3 minutes)]

[Innate Skill 2 - PuriPuri Rainbow Release: 13.7-meter circular ground-based AOE dealing 1950% damage with 3900% bonus force and lift. Ignores all defense. (Skill name must be shouted to activate) (Cost: 25 of highest resource) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Talons of the Glacial Tyrant (Innate Passive - Subzero Culmination: Your strikes with short weapons deal stacking frost damage equivalent to 15% Attack Power. Each stack lasts 5 seconds and refreshes existing stacks)]

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[Fluency of the Soul: (Unique - Passive) Each skill use has a 25% chance to reset the cooldown of an Armsman skill]

[Flawed Conversion: (Completion - 41% Adept) Burn 3 > 4.7 of any resource, converting them into 1 of any other resource (No cooldown)]

[Prominence of the Fool: (Passive) Wielder gains a bonus 50% to all damage types. Wielder's equipped weapons grow colder with each second. Take .25% maximum Health damage, and lose .25% maximum Movement Speed and Attack Speed per second. Damage and slow received doubles every two seconds]

[Uncanny Acceleration: (Completion - 64% Expert) With any melee weapon, ignore momentum and force while accelerating attack speed by 900% > 576% for one attack. Additionally deals 600% > 384% physical damage (Cost: 20 > 27 Discipline) (Cooldown: 15 > 20 seconds)]

[Debilitating Crush: (Completion - 66% Expert) With any melee blunt weapon, create a powerful blinding light. The next hit lowers target Defense by 70% > 46.2% for 20 > 13.2 seconds and deals 900% > 594% physical damage (Cost: 15 > 20 Discipline) (Cooldown: 15 > 20 seconds)]

[Guardians Bane: (Completion - 63% Expert) Stab with any melee piercing weapon to ignore 95% > 61% armor and physical resistances. Additionally deals 700% > 448% physical damage (Cost: 15 > 20 Discipline) (Cooldown: 15 > 20 seconds)]

[Rupture: (Completion - 70% Expert) Strike the air to reduce enemy defense by 75% > 52.5% for 15 > 10.5 seconds. Additionally releases a shock wave dealing 1000% > 700% damage in a 15 > 10.5-meter expanding cone (Cost: 25 > 32.5 Discipline) (Cooldown: 15 > 19.5 seconds)]