Steamforged Sorcery - Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Angel’s eyepiece dropped down and magic trickled through it. The monster lit up with dull orange light as he scanned it.

Race: Warg

Status: Healthy

Information accuracy: 53%

Strength: 22

Intelligence: 12

Nimbleness: 19

Toughness: 37

Rating: Incredibly Dangerous

Weak point(s): Not Enough Information (0/100)

Element(s): Earth, Poison

Error: Unable to analyze further. Information incomplete

Angel’s eyepiece dropped down and magic trickled through it. The monster lit up with dull orange light as he scanned it.

It’s venomous!” Angel called out, raising his arm as gears whirred within it. “Tough too. Be careful.”

A bolt of lightning tore out of Angel’s palm and slammed into the warg’s body. It staggered back slightly and let out a chittering cry of fury. The monster’s eyes turned to stare at the Seeker and it charged towards him.

The beast moved surprisingly fast across the desert floor. Angel barely managed to throw himself out of the way as the monster’s legs slammed into the ground where he’d been standing, piercing deep into the sand.

Cowl’s wings sprang back up on his back and he shot through the sky towards the warg. It spun, rearing back on its hind legs to meet the man. Cowl jerked back at the last second and the creature’s strike passed through the air right before his nose.

He zipped forward again and drove his sword into the warg’s back. The blade bit deep and greenish brown blood started to ooze out from the wound. The warg screamed and lashed out, forcing Cowl to launch into the air to avoid getting speared.

Angel grabbed another cannister from his arm and pressed it into the slot. He slammed his hand against the desert floor. The sand beneath the warg rippled as a spike sprouted from the ground. The creature managed to jerk away, but the strike still carved a ragged line through the bottom of its abdomen.

Cowl reached into a pouch at his side and grabbed something within it. He connected it to the hilt of his sword and a dull hum filled the air. Metal seemed to balloon around the blade as it expanded outwards, growing larger and thicker. When it finished, the sword had nearly tripled in width. It shimmered with faint white light.

The warg’s back legs bunched up. It bounded into the air towards Cowl, its legs raised to spear the man before he could escape.

Cowl dropped from the sky, spinning as he fell and carving a thick line through the warg’s side. It sailed through the air above him and let out a screech of fury. It landed on the sand behind them – and only a short distance away from Vanessa.

“Shit!” Angel cursed. The gears in his arm clicked and the grappling hook shot out from his palm. It sailed through the air and slammed into warg’s side, burying a short way into the creature’s flesh.

Angel immediately tugged on it and twisted his arm as he dashed to the side. The cord retracted and he launched into the air, swinging in a wide loop. The warg tried to spin and face him, but the Seeker had too much momentum.

The cord shortened until he was only a short distance away from the warg. Angel tilted back and redirected his momentum, swinging upwards onto the creatures back and ripping his barb free.

It whistled back into his hand with a hiss and a puff of steam. He grabbed a cannister and slammed it into his arm midair. He landed on the warg’s back and thrust his palm against it. The air crackled as a wave of magic ripped out of his palm.

Tendrils of frost twirled out across it, slowly expanding across the monster’s entire body. It let out an enraged shriek, but Cowl didn’t give it a chance to retaliate. The warg, already slowed by the frost creeping across it, was unable to dodge the Hunter as he shot across the sky.

The masked man buried the massive sword deep in the warg’s head. It staggered and toppled to the ground, the life seeping out of its body and staining the sand green.

Cowl pulled his sword free and flicked the ichor off it. He twisted a small circle off the handle and the blade shrunk back to its normal size. The Hunter put the circle back into his pouch and returned the sword to his side before sliding off the bulbous monster.

Angel’s arm whirred and shifted to its blade form. He scanned the creature for a moment, then started digging into the spot a short distance behind the creature’s head. He grimaced as blood covered his arm, but his efforts were rewarded when heard something clink.

His hand shifted back and he wrapped his fingers around a small orb. He ripped it free, shaking the greyish green blood off with a disgusted grimace before hopping down from the creature.

“That’s a lot of work for a little money,” Cowl said, glancing at the blue orb in Angel’s hand.

“Cores have more uses than just money,” Angel said, tucking it into his pack. “I’ll take your disinterest as confirmation that I can have this.”

“Suit yourself,” Cowl said, shrugging. “It’s not worth the effort.”

Vanessa swallowed, watching the warg’s body warily. She edged around it, not taking her eyes off the creature.

“Are you sure it’s dead?” Vanessa asked.

“Does it look alive to you?” Cowl asked.

“It’s dead,” Angel said with a small chuckle. He wiped his arm off in the sand, scrubbing it until the green liquid was completely gone. “You okay?”

“Yeah. It didn’t get me,” Vanessa said.

“I know. But I’m taking it that this was the first time you’ve been close to a monster.”

Vanessa nodded.

“The next one will be easier. It helps to know how to fight against them, but you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Angel said. “Cowl’s whole job is hunting these creatures for money. He’s killed more monsters than you’ll ever see in your life.”

“You aren’t half bad yourself,” Cowl said with a slight nod of respect. “Most seekers just run from monsters. It’s usually safer that way.”

“All the best loot is in the catacombs where you can’t get past the monsters without a fight,” Angel said. “Necessity breeds learning like a stale pool of warm water breeds Bloodflies.”