Delve

Chapter 162: Extermination

chapter 162: extermination

irony felt taut with expectation as ameliah nocked an arrow, the bow seeming to mirror her emotions as she stood at the lip of a tunnel overlooking the hive.

the arrow wasn’t of a traditional design, closer to an oversized porcupine quill in appearance. there was no arrowhead, the shaft merely tapering to a wicked needle-like point. likewise, it had no fletching. none was needed, not with seeker shot to provide guidance. fins would only add drag. the arrow’s core was heat copper, bearing the same fire damage enchantment as its predecessors. that wasn’t all, however. there were also durability and hardness runes on the layer of force steel inside the outer adamant jacket. equipment mastery saw to the strain from her skills, but there were still the mundane forces of impact to deal with.

these ‘needle arrows,’ as rain had dubbed them, were her new standard. they were slightly more expensive to duplicate and required periodic recharging, but it was worth it.

ameliah didn’t chant as she sent her magic out to surround the shaft. she couldn’t, not only because it was impossible to speak in this place, but also because she no longer had chanting. she’d dropped it, along with healing word and energy well, if only temporarily. she’d needed those slots for other things.

in response to her focus, the needle arrow was swiftly enshrouded by dark, oily smoke, roiling like a thundercloud. deep within the obscuring darkness, embers could occasionally be seen, burning so deep a red that they could have been mistaken for blood.

this was prismatic arrow, stygian fire.

ameliah looked over her shoulder. rain and tallheart were waiting at the bend, perhaps thirty meters behind her. they bore no lights, but with the three perception accolades she was using, the flickering lightning from the hive was enough for her to make out their outlines. unlike the original tunnel they’d followed, this one had some nice, long passages between its twists and turns.

ameliah closed her eyes, breathing deeply. winter’s chill was sharp in her mind, assuring her that rain would gain contribution for what she was about to do. tallheart would get a share as well, of course. it was only thanks to him that any of this was possible. not that the credit mattered in his case. a blue strong enough to raise his cap wasn’t likely to be found here, if there was a blue to be found at all.

there is. i can feel it.

ameliah looked forward again, then down at the hive below her. she began to draw, keeping her force strong and steady. one second. two. three. second by second, she drew the arrow back, feeling the growing power trembling in her fingers as the skill charged. under the influence of sniper shot, she could draw no faster.

this would be a full combo, hitting the damage limit before even factoring in the bleed or the possibility of a chaining pierce. sniper shot, drilling shot, multishot, and prismatic arrow supplied the base damage. and the arrow, of course. seeker shot would keep the arrows on track. piercing shot would halve her target’s defenses, and bleeder shot would add a lingering echo of the damage. she left off splinter shot. it would have its turn.

at ten seconds, ameliah reached full draw. the power in the bow’s limbs was screaming at her to be released. she could feel it vibrating through every fiber of her being as she held it there. waiting.

her gaze hunted through the darkness, shying away from the crackling light of the hunters, looking for larger prey.

there.

feeling seeker shot accept the target, she smiled. it was out of range of the guiding effect to last the distance, but it would be enough to correct her aim. once the arrow was on the proper trajectory, momentum would do the rest. it was a big target, after all.

she released.

there was no crack of sound as the bow bucked in her hand. the arrow vanished with a whisper, stygian arrow at work. the impact was likewise understated, merely a tiny flash in the distance, then a chime from the system and the knowledge that her party had defeated a sparkscale hive guardian, level twenty-seven.

damn. not a blue.

before ameliah even finished the thought, another sound reached her. it, too, was muffled, no louder than the clang of a dropped pot, but that was impressive enough. stygian arrow had no hope of suppressing a full combo, but in combination with the heavy air, the distance, and the wax she’d jammed into her ears, it said something that it had been as loud as it had.

below her, the hive exploded into chaos, lightning flickering as the hunters sped into motion, searching for the one that had dared to assault their home. she stayed calm, duplicating herself a fresh needle arrow, then raising the bow once more.

one. two. three...

at six, she saw her next mark, and at ten, she released. a second guardian died—also not a blue.

shit.

they’d only seen two of the enormous sparkscales over the past few days, but it was possible that there were more. they’d yet to see the queen, for that matter.

come on, come on. i know you’re out there.

the hive was in a true frenzy now, shadowy forms surging about, passing between her and the glowing lair like flakes of black snow. shifting her aim, ameliah targeted a hunter that was heading vaguely in her direction. there were dozens of scavengers trailing after it, visible by the lightning crackling from its whiskers.

i’m not ready to be found quite yet. sorry.

she didn’t use sniper shot this time, and her draw felt effortless by comparison. instead, she added splinter shot to the mix. with her perception boosted, she could just make out the shadowed arrows splitting before impact, twenty projectiles becoming many, many more. at most, there’d be four hundred of them, with each dealing approximately 5,000 damage. by the nature of the combination, however, each nearby monster would likely be struck by more than one projectile. further, if there weren’t enough valid targets in range, the arrows wouldn’t split as many times, leaving each one to do more damage.

the shot wasn’t enough to kill the hunter outright, but the scavengers weren’t so lucky. ameliah had to dampen her awareness of the kill notifications as they crashed over her. undeterred by the hunter’s failure to die, she simply loosed again and then again, keeping up the barrage until it did.

kill notifications continued to trickle in as she hunted for another target, the bleed claiming more scavengers over time. still not seeing any more guardians in the darkness, she frowned, then selected the next-closest hunter.

she lost herself in the rhythm of it, focusing on one group at a time, culling the swarm mercilessly. gradually, however, the hive seemed to narrow in on her position. more and more of the hunters were beginning to glide toward her, moving with purpose.

it would do.

the queen’s eyes brightened further, and ameliah released.

she didn’t use multishot. unlike endless quiver, that wouldn’t have caused an instant explosion, but it was still dangerous. and pointless. the damage limit here was only 999,999. in combination with her skills, the breaker would be enough to hit that mark with damage to spare. boosting the shot would have done more damage overall, true, but not to a single target. it wasn’t worth the risk of bringing the tunnel down on their heads.

just before impact, inky darkness washed over ameliah, plunging the tunnel into absolute night. rain’s doing. even blinded by the dark-aspect magic, ameliah could still see the white-hot bolt released by the breaker as it unleashed its fury. the enchantment was simply too powerful to be suppressed, even with stygian arrow and shroud working together. likewise, the cataclysmic clap of thunder was deafening, rattling her bones and pressing her back against the tunnel wall. despite the shock of the impact, ameliah was smiling as her teeth rattled in her skull.

that was strong! tallheart, you magnificent lunatic!

light returned as rain switched from shroud to radiance, revealing the devastation. it didn’t surprise ameliah to see that the sparkscale was still alive. given its level and the durability it had shown so far, that was basically a given. it was hardly unscathed, however. its magical shield was gone, along with a good two-thirds of its health bar, and it had been slammed into the far end of the tunnel so hard that it had become lodged in the shattered deepstone.

ameliah raised her bow, but before she could get off another shot, the worker queen pried itself free and zipped off around the corner.

shit. it ran away.

her ears ringing, ameliah glanced at rain, who was cowering behind tallheart on the other side of the doorway. he knocked on the side of his helmet, then gave her a thumbs up before continuing in hand code. “wax helped. the queen’s visible to detection at high power, so it can’t hide. take your time. i don’t want you to get hurt again.”

ameliah nodded, touched by his concern, and still annoyed with herself for getting zapped in the first place. she looked back down the tunnel, then began advancing, leaving the unneeded door behind.

the sparkscales kept coming, apparently not having gotten the message after the sharp rebuke she’d delivered to their ruler, though their numbers were far from what they’d been. keeping an eye out for the queen, ameliah walked carefully, picking them off in ones and twos as they swam around the corner. rain used purify again, clearing the way for her, but she switched to airwalk anyway as the scales piled on the floor grew deeper. her footing steady, she walked above the metallic mess, rain and tallheart clattering their way after her with significantly more difficulty.

reaching the bend, ameliah peeked around the corner, then pulled her head back quickly.

oh. hello, hive guardian. almost forgot about you. payback time.

ameliah looked back at tallheart, then gestured in hand code. “another.”

nodding, tallheart opened one of the remaining cases, removing a second breaker. he let the case fall to the ground, landing atop the scales with a clatter, then held out the arrow.

ameliah took it, again with great care. the moment she had it nocked and jacketed in darkness, she stepped fully around the corner, found her target, then loosed. rain used shroud again, so she had to picture the crackling projectile winding its way past the hunter that had entered the tunnel, seeking its true target out in the cavern.

light and sound exploded once more. the guardian died instantly, and ameliah nodded, satisfied.

they’re big, but compared to the queen, they’re a whole lot of nothing.

rain’s darkness retreated, and ameliah picked off the hunter like it was an afterthought before motioning to tallheart for the third and final breaker. while she waited for him to extract it, she picked off a scavenger or two that swam into the tunnel, all the while keeping watch for the queen, though rain would have warned her if it was coming.

once tallheart passed her the arrow, she motioned to them to wait there, then set it to her bow. she started walking, drawing slowly, the string once more fighting her. with the open cavern ahead, she didn’t need to worry about collateral damage.

one... two...

a few more scavengers entered the tunnel as she neared the exit, but she ignored them, letting them try to bite her as they may. their electric shocks were of no consequence. she began to run.

three... four...

a hunter appeared next, which was more of an issue, but she likewise ignored it. in response to her disregard, it blasted her with its lightning, but she merely turned, taking the hit on her back to shield the volatile breaker from the discharge. a shock from a scavenger was one thing, but a hunter’s bolt was asking too much. the direct hit spiked her saturation, but it was nothing compared to the bolt from the guardian, and a good bit of that energy had already drained away. with her boosted arcane resistance, the weaker strike hadn’t even tingled.

five... six...

facing forward again, ameliah increased her speed, the hunter swimming sideways to make way. its mouth wasn’t made for biting, so it wouldn’t try to confront her physically unless forced. she wasn’t worried that it would try to go after tallheart and rain. even if by some miracle it decided that they posed a greater threat, the two of them would be more than able to hold it off long enough for her to finish this.

seven... eight...

reaching the edge, she slowed, then turned her bow horizontally as she crouched, leery of a sneak attack from the queen. scooting forward with cautious steps, she peeked over the edge. there were still a few remaining hunters around, and by their combined light, she could make out the veritable sea of worker drones that had gathered near the corpse of the most-recently fallen hive guardian. they’d retrieved rocks from somewhere—boulders, really—and looked prepared to hurl them in her direction.

nine...

seeing a flash of gold at the center of the cloud, ameliah stood, smiling as she felt seeker shot accept the target.

ten.