As Halius sent his aura rolling out across the field, every gnoll in sight jerked their heads toward him violently. Their eyes widened, then dilated into something feral and unhinged as the wave washed over them. One by one, then all at once, the small horde of fanged beasts turned and charged recklessly toward Halius, shrieking with wild, murderous laughter.

  Like waves breaking against a shore, the gnolls crashed against Halius and the two shield brothers beside him. The three of them held firm, driving their spears and shields down into the oncoming mass of gnoll spawn with practiced, brutal precision.

  Seeing an opening, Tabatha lifted her hand and unleashed another fiery wall of death across the horde. Flames roared out in a sweeping arc, washing over the beasts as they clustered in front of Halius. Flesh blistered and sloughed from their bodies in molten sheets, yet the creatures did not slow. They hurled themselves through the fire and crashed into our line with wild abandon, even as spear, sword, and sickle carved into them at every opening.

  “Let’s move, Tabatha. Let them handle this lot. If we don’t cut off the cave, this will drag on longer than we can manage,” Jarus called, already bringing his heavy blade around in another sweeping arc.

  With that, the two adventurers broke from our line, and dashed towards the cave, while Halius’s aura continued to pulse, pulling the majority of the gnolls focus in our direction.

  As we held our position, the pressure from the gnolls mounted with every heartbeat. The spearmen beside me were starting to buckle. Cuts lined their arms and legs, thin trails of blood slipping down their armor in dark streaks. Fatigue chewed at their strength, and turned their quick jabs into slow, shaky thrusts.

  Seeing that their bodies were about to falter, I decided to finally join in on the action.

  I stepped in behind them and pressed my hands to their backs and shoulders one after another, channeling Kinetic Boostinto their bodies. I tried to keep the flow steady, to avoid overcharging them, but the heat of the moment stripped away my control. Raw potential tore free from me like water through a cracked dam, flooding into their bodies and snapping their movements back to life with sudden strength and blistering speed.

  A hail of spear thrusts ripped into the gnolls in front of us, gouging through fur and flesh as the beasts yipped and shrieked in pain. Fueled by the sudden surge of strength, the two spearmen attacked with furious intent, their weapons blurring with renewed speed. The wave of gnolls battering our line never stood a chance. One after another they fell, piling into a growing mound of butchered bodies at our feet.

  “Salted piss, Sam, that was fucking awesome!” Paul shouted, almost giddy. “I thought you were just a healer!”

  I couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of the battle, but I’d finally found my opening and made it count. The small victory steadied something in me, bolstering my confidence as I drew my sickle through two bright stalks of potential. They parted cleanly at the touch, dissolving into light that rushed back into my reservoir and filled me with a warm surge of strength.

  As Chris and Paul both shook off the crash from Kinetic Boost, I figured it would be wise to make use of the potential that had been, quite literally, piled at my feet in the wake of the fighting. I swept my hands over the three men beside me, weaving Mend Wounds and Cleansing Touch through their bodies in quick succession, just in case some hidden affliction had slipped in with the gnolls’ claws and teeth.

  I reached out and gathered more of the scattered potential, drawing it into myself until my reservoir swelled back to a comfortable fullness. All the while, Halius held firm at the front, as he smashed the occasional gnoll that dared to test our defenses with his hammer.

  Halius commanded us forward, and we pushed across the wide field toward the cave’s mouth in the distance. Explosions flared one after another as Tabatha hurled her spells inside, each blast throwing out a wave of heat and fire that crashed across the rocks.

  For a moment I thought the plan had gone off without a hitch… that is, until a ripple of maniacal laughter rolled out from the darkness of the cave. The sound scraped across my nerves like a serrated blade, and before I could even draw a breath, a feral aura surged out from the cave and spread over our entire party.

  It washed across the field and crashed into us with the weight of a living nightmare. It was not anywhere near as strong as the Duke’s, but considering my low level and experience, it was more than enough. My body locked up instantly. My limbs refused to respond, and it was as if an invisible set of jaws had clamped around me. I felt trapped, like prey caught between a mad beast’s teeth.

  Paul and Chris dropped to their knees beside me, as their already exhausted bodies slammed into the dirt and went limp on impact. Even Halius let out a furious, guttural snarl as he fought against the crushing pressure, forcing his massive frame to inch forward with sheer will alone.

  I watched helplessly as a similar scene began to unfold in front of us. Tabatha froze in place, the spell in her hand snuffed out as if it were a candle before a storm. Jarus stood unaffected and reacted on pure instinct. He stepped in front of Tabatha, sword raised, just as a hulking figure stepped out of the den. Its matted fur still burned in several places, and glowing embers clung to it as it stalked forward with a small pack of five gnoll spawn at its heel.

  Every gnoll we had faced so far had been no bigger than a large farm hound, but the creature that emerged now was nothing like the others. It stood upright on two legs, its body as large as Halius’s, and its shoulders were broad and corded with muscle. It carried a massive rusted maul in its hand as casually as if it were a fallen branch plucked off the forest floor.

  The large gnoll and Jarus moved in an instant, clashing with one another with more force than I had witnessed so far. They traded blows as the swordsman spun with the weight of his weapon, doing his best to not only focus on the large gnoll, but also tried his best to cut off the smaller gnolls as the moved to flank at Tabatha’s sides.

  My body refused to move no matter how hard I fought against the pressure crushing down on my being. I reached for the potential in my reservoir and called upon Amplify Aura, forcing my own presence outward to push back against the jaws holding me in place. I let the potential flow freely, and the strength of my aura slowly pried apart the fangs of the violent intent that had been directed toward me.

  Then, as sudden as a band snapping under strain, the oppressive aura broke, and my body was free to move once again.

  I moved to Halius, who was steadily cursing under his breath as tears of frustration rolled down his cheeks. I laid my hand on his shoulder and called on Amplify Aura once again, letting the potential pour into him. The moment my aura touched his, the gnoll’s oppressive presence shattered almost instantly, as the balance of the struggle shifting sharply in Halius’s favor.

  “Sam, boost me, now!” Halius roared as he braced himself.

  I poured the remainder of my potential into him and channeled it all into Power Boost. The effect was immediate. Halius shot forward like a loosed arrow, shield raised high as he surged ahead to support Jarus and…

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Where was Tabatha?

  As I watched Jarus trade blows with the towering gnoll, Halius crashed into the small pack that had pulled itself away from the duel between the higher level fighters. Gnolls were sent flying as he plowed through them, and his hammer rose and fell with steady, brutal rhythm. One after another, the beasts fell as they were either crushed or thrown aside.

  In the chaos, a single gnoll spawn broke away and sprinted toward the open field. At first I assumed it was simply fleeing, but something glinted in its jaws as it ran. A faint shimmer of flowing gold caught the light, swaying with every loping stride.

  It took me a moment to understand what I was seeing.

  The gnoll was carrying Tabatha’s head, torn clean from her once very capable body.

  Ice cold fear ran through my veins at the sight, but I forced myself to steady my breathing and focus on the battle still raging in front of us. As Halius chased down and smashed the remaining gnoll spawn, I set my sickle to work, cutting through stalks of potential with quick, practiced motions as I ran. Light flared with each swipe, and my reservoir filled steadily until it reached its limit once again.

  Halius turned to move toward Jarus, but the lingering effects of Kinetic Boost finally caught up to him. His legs weakened beneath him, and he dropped to one knee, panting hard. He had been fighting nonstop all this time, and his stamina had finally been pushed to its limit. A cold realization washed over me, I knew that if Jarus fell here, the rest of us would very likely share the same fate that Tabatha had just suffered.

  “Halius, can you stand?” I called out as I ran to his side. “I can’t boost you again. I don’t think your body can handle it.”

  He tried to protest, but the words broke apart between sharp, gasping breaths. His chest heaved, and every attempt he made to rise only sent another tremor through his exhausted legs.

  Small gusts of wind brushed across my skin every time Jarus swung his sword, each strike cutting the air in wide, powerful arcs. Sparks flew where steel met iron, the ringing clash echoing across the field. The gnoll lacked Jarus’s skill, that much was obvious, but it moved with a brutal, animal strength. Fresh and unwearied, it hurled its maul in furious, bone crushing sweeps that forced Jarus to shift and weave to avoid being smashed underneath its assualt.

  I found myself once again in a position where I didn’t know what to do. If I tried to step between the two, I would only get in the way, or worse, get myself killed.

  What do I do? What am I supposed to do? Damnit… Think Sam, THINK!

  The potential inside my reservoir stirred in response to my desperation. It rushed through me and wrapped around my thoughts, sharpening them until everything around me began to snap into focus. Details I had overlooked resurfaced, and ideas formed in my mind in rapid succession

  Skill Unlocked: Empowered Mind (Rank 1 : Level 1)- Amplifies the Intelligence attribute of a target as long as the skill is in effect, sharpening clarity, reasoning, and overall cognitive function. This skill scales with the target’s Intelligence attribute.

  As Halius continued to catch his breath beside me, the world seemed to slow around us while my thoughts gathered speed. Every detail sharpened at once.

  I noticed that Jarus still firmly held his ground, though his movements were beginning to strain. Faint, guttural laughter rumbled from the cave nearby, and scattered across the dirt where I stood were the torn remnants of Tabatha’s arms… along with her gloves that had cores embedded within the leather.

  The cores.

  My gaze locked onto them, and a dozen half formed ideas flickered through my mind.

  What could I do with them? I couldn’t cast spells, no… I don’t have the ability to do that. But, the cores themselves, if I could charge them…

  Oh.

  That might work.

  A plan began to take shape, sharp and sudden, unfolding in my mind with absolute clarity as the path forward revealed itself piece by piece.

  As Halius forced himself to his feet, I sprinted past him and scooped up Tabatha’s mangled arms. My mind, sharpened and analytical, pushed aside the callous brutality of what I was doing. I tore the gloves from her hands with quick, precise motions, focused entirely on the cores embedded within them.

  “Sam, what in the salted hells are you doing?” Halius shouted angrily as he steadied himself on his feet.

  “Don’t worry about me,” I called back, already turning toward my task. “Just help Jarus if you can. Give him an opening to finish that fight and leave the rest to me… throw your damned hammer, that should work.”

  As I ran toward the cave, the potential in my reservoir burned away steadily, as my mind working furiously to keep up with the pace of the moment. The plan was already set, clear and sharp, but I didn’t dare cut off the flow of potential. If I did, the sudden crash in my thoughts might hit me before I could act, leaving me useless at the worst possible time.

  I managed to pry the cores out of Tabatha’s gloves as I moved forward, and soon held the warm spheres in my hand as I made my approach. My thoughts flashed back to the core room hidden beneath my home, to the moment I had nearly detonated a core by pushing it to critical levels with one of my skills. That same dangerous reaction was exactly what I intended to create now.

  Is it even possible to throw these in time before blowing myself up?

  This plan would come down to a unkown variable, would the core detonate immediately, or would I have time to throw them?

  Well, shit, just to safe, I’m going to need to step a little ways into the cave.

  This was a terrible idea. My skill had convinced me, for a brief moment, that I was clever, but amplifying an Intelligence score of seven could only do so much. There was no universe where that number suddenly made me a genius.

  My feet carried me into the mouth of the cave, where I was met with the stench of rotting flesh and a scattered collection of bones that had been gnawed on and stripped of their marrow. A narrow passage descended into the depths of the mountain, and in the darkness below, a faint pink glow illuminated the shapes of gnoll spawn as they climbed steadily upward.

  There was no more time to overthink anything. I had to act now or accept being torn apart by these gnolls the same way Williams and Tabatha had been. With my resolve set, I channeled potential into the cores in my hand and activated my skill, Amplify Core.

  The cores responded immediately as they greedily drank the potential I poured into them. Heat spilled across my skin, burning hotter with each heartbeat as the fiery affinity inside roared to life like the heart of a forge. Thin cracks of light spidered across their surfaces while they swelled with unstable power, and the color within shifted from a dim glow to a brilliant, blinding radiance, as if I were holding the sun itself in my hands.

  The gnoll spawn within the tunnel noticed the growing light and let out a chorus of maniacal laughter as they broke into a frantic climb, scrambling over one another in a frenzy to reach me.

  The cores vibrated violently in my hands. They were seconds from critical.

  “Just a little more,” I muttered through clenched teeth, forcing more potential into the trembling spheres. The cracks widened with each pulse, and the heat became unbearable to hold.

  Now.

  With everything I had, I hurled the unstable cores down the narrow passage. They tumbled end over end, trailing streaks of shimmering light as they disappeared into the swarm below.

  A single heartbeat of silence followed…

  Then the world erupted.

  A blinding eruption tore through the tunnel, as a shockwave slammed into me, and lifted my feet off the ground. The entire cave shook as tons of rock began to collapse, sealing the passage in a thunderous cascade of dust and shattered debris.

  The blast hit me with enough force to throw my body back outside of the cave, causing me to roll and tumble across the ground dramatically. As my head spun and my ears rang from the explosion, I knew that the gnolls below would not be a threat to us anymore. My vision began to blur as I turned my focus back onto the battlefield.

  Through the haze, I caught sight of Halius’s hammer arcing through the air as it smashed into the large gnoll’s side. Jarus seized the opening and drove forward, his blade swept through the creature’s neck in one clean strike.

  Its head fell.

  The world tilted.

  And then everything went dark.

  Notice: Skill: Cleansing Touch: is now Rank 1: level 2.

  Notice: Skill: Amplify Aura: is now Rank 1: level 2.

  Notice: Skill: Power Boost: is now Rank 1: level 3.

  Notice: Skill: Amplify Core: is now Rank 1: level 2.

  Notice: Skill: Spirit Harvest: is now Rank 1: level 3

  Path Ability: [Sow] (Divine) (Legendary)

  Mend Wounds: (Rank 1: level 3)- Amplify the vital potential within a target in order to rapidly heal physical injuries. This skill scales with the Spirit attribute.

  Cleansing Touch: (Rank 1: level 2)- Amplify the vital potential within a target in order to purge toxins, poisons, diseases, and other corrupting effects of a physical nature. This skill scales with Spirit attribute

  Power Boost: (Rank 1: level 2)- Amplifies the muscular output of a target, increasing the force and effectiveness of their physical movements. Their actions become stronger and more forceful, allowing them to strike harder, lift more, and perform physical labor with greater intensity for a short duration. When the effect ends, accumulated strain may leave the target fatigued. This skill scales with the target’s Strengthattribute..

  Spirit Harvest: (Rank 1: level 2)- Harvest spiritual potential from an available source. Potential harvested in this way will automatically be placed in the users internal reservoir. Excess potential will

  be lost.

  Amplify Aura: (Rank 1 : Level 2)- Amplifies the Spirit attribute of a target, temporarily increasing the potency of their aura. The strength of target’s aura scales with target’s level and Spirit attribute.

  Amplify Core (Rank 1 : Level 2)- Amplifies the existing potential inside of a core, increasing its affinity based output. The effect is temporary and ceases when amplification ends. Excessive

  amplification may destabilize core. Efficiency improves with Spirit attribute and skill mastery.