Chapter 53 In the middle of the meadow

Chapter 53 In the middle of the meadow

Everyone gathered in the living room as Rylan placed the map of the forest that Matthew and Chris had drawn out on the table. “The plan is simple, beasts are drawn to Arkana, so we draw them here.” He said, his finger drawing a circle over the clearing barricaded by large trees.

“And when they are there, then what?” Dravy asked, concern drawing lines across his forehead.

Rylan looked at him and let a few seconds of silence pass before he answered. “We take them out.”

“An all out brawl is a lot more dangerous than you make it sound, it's too risky, I'm not putting their lives in danger.” Maerik objected.

“Who said anything about putting their lives in danger.” Rylan smiled. “The only life that's gonna be in danger is yours.”

Maerik raised a brow but didn't respond immediately. “Clarify.” He eventually said with a restrained voice.

“Gladly, beasts are drawn to Arkana, so we place you at the center of that clearing then you release as much of your Arkana into the atmosphere as possible, you have the highest reserve of any of us here so they won't be able to ignore it.”

“I'll be bait.”

“Yes.”

“And why would I do that exactly?”

“Because you're the one with the largest Arkana reserve here and while you're in the middle drawing their attention to yourself, the rest of us will be concealing ourselves in the trees. It won't be a brawl, it'll be an ambush.”

Maerik sighed and placed both hands on the table. “The amount of Arkana I'll need to release in order to get their attention would cripple me, I'll be helpless. I don't like being helpless.”

“If you stop when your stamina hits ten you'll still have enough energy to fight back.” Rylan countered then stepped closer and placed a hand on Maerik's shoulder. “Do you trust me?”

Maerik stared at him for a moment before answering. “I do.”

“Do you trust them?”

“I do.”

“Good, then do your part and leave the rest to us.”

Five hours later Maerik stepped into the center of the clearing, trees formed a circular barricade around the unusually luscious patch of grass. He took in deep lasting breaths to calm himself as his eyes searched through the woods for any beast that may have been lurking. None, or at least none that could be seen, his hands shook but he shoved them into the earth to subside the tremble. Regardless of him agreeing to this, sweat still beaded his forehead at the thought of the outcome. The plan hinged on the perfection of execution, if they were regular players then the plan would be nothing more than a group suicide but they weren't normal players, the people hidden in those trees were anything but ordinary, every angle, every move and every role had been planned with meticulous attention given to every single detail. If anyone could pull off something like this, it would be this lot and as their leader, he couldn't falter, he couldn't let fear dictate a decision that would affect his men, so he let out the breath he'd been holding and closed his eyes.
He wasn't ready, but that was irrelevant, He opened his eyes and with one final breath opened the floodgates of his Arkana, energy poured out of him in uncontrolled waves, disrupting the air around him and forcing cracks into the earth beneath his feet as it continued Maerik could see his stamina counting backwards by the second, he wasn't going to last a lot longer but he forced his legs to remain upright, struggling to stand with a forced grin curving his lips.

\[Stamina : 40/100\]
\[Stamina : 30/100\]
\[Stamina : 20/100\]

“Come at meeeeeeee!!” Maerik howled at the top of his lungs, then began counting his stamina points till it reached ten and he immediately shut off the flow of his Arkana and dropped to his knees.
Erratic short breaths escaped him as he listened to the silence, his eyes darting through the trees in search of beasts but the silence remained.

“Maybe it didn't—” A loud bang from the east of his position cut him off, then the sound of trees being felled followed. He placed his palm on the ground and could feel the vibrations brought about by something approaching his current location, not just one or two but a full crowd of beasts. He let out a breath and stumbled to his feet, his legs barely able to keep him up and his own weight becoming an unbearable burden. The plan had worked, but now he was at the mercy of those he trusted. His heart beat had sped up to a level that made breathing a hassle but he remained standing, stopping at 10 ensured that even if something went wrong, he'd still be able to defend himself in time for them to recalibrate and get him out of there.

The rumble kept getting louder and louder until the first of the beasts burst out through the trees, hands outstretched with long blood stained claws on display, green skin, bloodshot eyes and drool pouring out of its heart shaped mouth. Time slowed as Maerik watched as one by one beasts began to burst through the forest from every angle until he was completely surrounded, silent prayers escaped him as he watched them come closer and closer until…Light caught the sharp end of Rylan's drawn blade, blinding Maerik as Rylan leaped down from the branch of the tree closest to him, spinning his body in a way that should've been impossible to boost his own momentum as he stretched out the blade overflowing with Arkana. The blade connected and Rylan felt the resistance of the beast skin as it turned to him and swiped it's claws, but he leaned back, pressed down on the back of its neck and forced the blade through, Blue blood splattered onto Maerik's face as the beast crashed lifelessly into the ground a few inches away from his feet.

Wiping the blood stain off his blade with a smile curving his lips, Rylan breathlessly said. “I told you, just trust me.”

the other players had dropped down with Rylan as one synchronized unit, pouring the entirety of their Arkana into a single attack but just like Rylan, they were all met with similar issues, the beast were quick to retaliate, turning immediately they felt the sudden eruption of Arkana behind them, but the players were skilled enough to utilize the upper hand they had. Unable to properly protect themselves against the ambush or make the switch from attack to defense swift enough, the beasts were slain, only being able to inflict minor injuries on Matthew, Dean and Seth. Bodies dropped with loud thuds and blue blood soaked the grass, Maerik's knees gave out beneath him but still, all he could do was smile as he took in the sight before him. They'd done it.