Chapter 478

A Tower scholar might be listening carefully to what bomoh Umi was saying, maybe pay particular attention to the way she was saying it. Keep track of the various incantations she was drawing upon, as that cane of hers glowed with power and she struck the ground, marring the ritual markings and the circle below. Various sacrifices exploded in gouts of meat and blood, showering those nearby in their internals as she took action. 

Arthur was paying attention to what was happening, but mostly to gauge how far before the equivalent of a Tower cut-scene would end. There were ways to get involved, some had no discernible effects on the outcome, others made things worse. Since things were so variable, the general advice was just to do their job – keep the bomoh alive – and deal with the ‘script’ as it was written, rather than try to be smart and end up causing trouble for yourself.

Of course, there were people who always tried to find the ‘secret’ to such stories, and sometimes, that even worked out. Clad in the iron-bound knowledge that they were the heroes of the stories, the chosen ones, they pushed boundaries, expecting things to work out.

Almost all of them failed, of course, but it didn’t stop them from trying. Or, in many cases, dying.

Arthur, on the other hand, was no prodigy or over-reaching egotist. He knew his place and what he intended to do.

Arthur, on the other hand, was no prodigy or over-reaching egotist. He knew his place and what he intended to do. Pass the Tower, consolidate his power and then emerge, stronger and hopefully; not into a mess. Being cut-off from the real world was a major pain in the ass, and one of the reasons why even mundanes still had such a large part to play even in Clans and Guilds in the real world.

Light flickered, rainbow colours breaking out in front of Arthur as the glowing ritual lines began to break up. The portal summoning, the consolidating energies began to run riot within the central circle, energy pulsing and twisting as the competing bomohs took action. 

Movement from the side brought his attention to his own part, and he swept his spear in a casual block at the thrown knife. It struck the weapon away, leaving it to bounce again as it spun into the ritual edges and was forcibly ejected. It deflected at a faster angle, cutting deep into the side of one of the ritual participants and causing them to stumble backwards, their side of the ritual fading.

"Careful!" Jan called out.

Arthur wasn't certain if she was warning him about the attack he had badly deflected and his own interference in the ritual or the incoming attackers, nor did he have time to comment.

Another spear, thrown sideways was easier to block but harder to shift. He grunted, watching as the spear narrowly missed bomoh Umi, and decided it was time to put a stop to the ranged attackers. He began to weave a Refined Exploding Energy Dart on his third eye, his favorite spot; but released the one that he had stored in his Pocket Simpanan through the tip of his pointed spear.

It struck the attacker in the middle of the group, a hastily thrown up arm saving his life but costing the man his limb. The exploded bone and skin pelted his friends, along with the expanding ball of energy; such that the trio of ranged attackers were thrown backwards.

As though realising that Arthur had a better ranged attack than them, the remaining unwounded pair chose to charge him, drawing kris from their belts and switching the grip of their throwing weapons. One held a hatchet, the other a knife that they held before them in their off-hands now as they rushed Arthur.

He snorted, did a stop thrust and slowed it down just before it reached the first of the pair. His sudden decrease in speed meant that the instinctive block by his opponent passed before the spear, just enough that he sliced through the back of the man’s arm as his own spear – still moving forwards, just slower – continued its trajectory.

Without anything to stop its way, it punched through the upper portion of his opponent’s neck, and a twist of his hips sent the spear tip tearing outwards in a spray of blood. It also, coincidentally, brought the weapon in line with the second fighter who ducked low, avoiding the tip and closing the distance.

He saw the moment of triumph in his opponent’s eyes, as though Arthur only had the tip of the weapon to utilize. There were so many options here, from sweeping the shaft of the weapon downwards as he withdrew, to shifting his grip and utilizing the butt of the weapon; but Arthur chose to utilize none of them. Instead, he dropped low too, turning with the motion as he did so to bring his leg in a backwards hook-kick, utilizing the momentum of his turning spear to catch his opponent on the opposite side of the head.

The crack of his landing foot, booted heel crushing eyeball and throwing his opponent to the ground resounded through the room, his opponent managing to catch themselves on the ground with their hands and stop themselves from falling entirely.

However, it left them in perfect distance for a front kick to the face, snapping the already reeling and concussed opponent’s head backwards. The attack was empowered with enough energy that it caused his opponent to fall backwards, flopping to the ground with a heavily whiplashed, concussed and potentially broken neck.

A quick scan of the area indicated that there were no other attackers were coming. There sometimes was a second wave once they began the attack, so Arthur stayed alert, but this time around; there were none. It was possibly because his own interaction with the ritual had set it even more adverse, such that the lights and twisting of the ritual circle had become more pronounced.

“I can’t stop it!” Bomoh Umi said, panting. “My idiot apprentice is fighting me too much. Something else is coming through though, not the old rajah. You’ll have to kill.”

“Okay.” Arthur could feel his heartbeat speeding up a touch, fear and apprehension rising as he stood there, waiting for the monster to emergy. He wondered which variation would come out, another ghost like the one had had fought in the previous level; or something worse?

When the light crescendoed and expanded, flashing so bright that he had to shut his eyes against the glare, and even then when he opened his eyes he saw spots, he cursed. What emerged was no human ghost, but a hulkin twelve foot tall, glowing version of the orang utan humanoids, a mixed human and ape creature that wore light, leather armour and wielded two large, curved weapons more akin to scythes than the ubiquitious parangs.

Its fur was golden-orange, bright and lustrous and its mouth opened in a crying hoot-hoot that was picked up and echoed from creatures outside of the room. Arthur shuddered, realizing that as per his luck, they had managed to pull one of the worse variations of this scenario.

Not just a boss monster, but a boss monster with adds.

“I told you lah, your luck is terrible!” Jan complained, moments before her fire aura flared to life, causing bomoh Umi to stagger away. The attack on the monster caused it to focus upon her, as it tore through the faded binding circle to launch itself in a massive leap towards the Climber long claws extended, intent on ending her life.

Arthur could not help but agree as he shoved Bomoh Umi out of the way and leapt himself, spear leading the way.