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Chapter 78 - Spirit Anchor
🕑 Added 2024-07-13 19:56:49 +0000 UTCJonathan
The explosion rocked him back and some of his stone armor fell off from the force. Standing right next to the source of the blast wasn't the best position to be in.
Jonathan was doing his best to not let any of the monsters through and he hadn't expected them to blow up in his face.
Some of the other warriors were injured and bleeding which left him down some men. Thomas, Abigail's Dad, was on the ground bleeding from somewhere along with Vincent next to him.
Vincent spent most of his time in the forge but that didn't mean he didn't know how to fight. Everyone in camp knew how to fight out of necessity. Vincent spent the waves manning a catapult now, but he was still a warrior through his class and utilized his blacksmith's hammer well.
Scott and Brayden also took up arms and were fighting down here with him. With Austin and Chris gone, and Mitchell still recovering, that left 18 people to defend.
With the two strongest gone, it fell on Jonathan's shoulders to lead. This was a position that he hadn't wanted to find himself in. If it happened, that meant their two strongest were gone.
Rachel was strong and so was Hal, but they weren't the ones spearheading the defense. He was the one down here making sure to hold the line. Both of them got to stay up on the wall behind protection.
"People Incoming!"
Was all the warning Jonathan got before spells started to land around him. Enemy mages were shooting at him and arrows planked off his armor and shield.
Magic shields went up from the wall that stopped most of the projectiles but it wasn't big enough to reach Jonathan down below in the gate.
He had to raise a [Stone Aegis] to help keep the attacks at bay.
He was in charge of the defense here and he couldn't let the attacks land freely. People were still getting back on their feet from the explosion and Ashley and Sam were still running around healing people.
While people were recovering, he weaved [Earth Manipulation] to build up a wall of rock to use for cover against the attacks.
He heard the catapults launch and their subsequent explosions. It was the first time they had fired and it meant they were in trouble. As a rule, they tried to keep the catapult's use to a minimum.
They were expensive to fire and were most effective against tightly clumped enemies. If they were being used now, it meant there were a lot more enemies coming.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled more earth upward to aid in his defense. If they could explode the gate, they would be able to get through his powers but it would slow them down.
[Stone Wall]s went up as fast as he could make them to help defend for as long as possible.
He may not be Chris with his ungodly stamina and mana pool, but he had a decent-sized one. His profession as a Merchant didn't give the best stats but it was high level.
Merchant stats could be customized to whatever Jonathan wanted, within reason. There was enough leeway with the profession that he could lean one way or the other with the stat points it gave. Merchant was a broad category and it helped him make up for weaknesses.
His class Stone Bulwark was made for this type of fighting. He was a defense specialist and his class was heavily tilted toward it with stat distribution. 4 Fortitude, 4 Endurance, 3 Vitality, 2 Strength, 1 Agility, 1 Perception, and 5 Free Points per level didn't leave much room for magical prowess.
Tilting his profession toward the magical side gave him enough mana to use his skills more freely. He still couldn't spam them like Chris seemed to do, but he could do enough.
His job during the waves was mostly to hem them in. Concentrate the bodies in one area for Carrie to take out with a rain of arrows or Rachel to obliterate with a fireball.
Focusing on defense, he didn't have a ton of offensive skills to use. He had [Earth Spike] mostly because Chris wouldn't shut up about it.
His main skill for offensive purposes was the first one he got, [Power Strike]. He had since upgraded it into [Sturdy Blow] and it was the man thing he used to kill monsters.
His body was hard enough, and his skill with the sword pitiful enough, that he focused entirely on the shield. He had Vincent make two shields to use on both arms.
They were designed in such a way that their leading edge could be used as a weapon and Jonathan used them to devastating effect.
His [Shield Mastery] skill had reached apprentice rank long ago proving his affinity with the weapon. Protecting people was something he was good at and rising through the mastery ranks for the shield proved that.
The spell fire calmed slightly which notified him that the frontal assault would soon begin. It wasn't a moment later that he felt the melee attacks start to build on his makeshift wall.
By now, Ashely and Sam had either healed or removed anyone that was down and the melee brawl would soon begin. Jonathan wasn't a big talker but he felt like he needed to say something to the 5 or so people behind him.
He was left with Abigail's Dad(Thomas), Vincent, Allison, Brayden, and Scott to help him. The rest were up above slinging magic or arrows. Connor was technically a warrior but he focused mostly on Alchemy now but Ashley had to take him away to get healed.
Jonathan didn't see the wound, but it shouldn't have been too bad if Ashley elected to move him and he hadn't felt any of her more powerful healing skills go off.
Being married to a Healer left him privy to what their skills felt like and which ones were used in dire straights.
Allison wasn't a warrior but she was close enough. She knew how to use a short sword and that was good enough.
"Get ready! They're almost through!" He yelled for everyone's benefit.
They could see the earthen wall crumbling but he added it for himself mostly. The earth blocked his vision and he didn't know how many they were going to face when the earth finally crumbled.
When it did, he saw a mass of people rushing toward him. There were at least 30 of them in the leading charge and that was after the ranged attackers had a go at them.
Instantly, he noticed something off. Jonathan had been feeling off since the start of this 'wave' but now he really felt off. At first, he thought it was a surprise wave, like the others.
But there was no countdown for this wave. No timer either.
That was his first clue.
Then the variety of the monsters was weird along with how weak they were.
That was his second clue.
The corpses exploded was the third and final clue, they were being attacked by people.
The raiders charged soon after and that was when he threw up the wall, cutting off his vision of what happened further. Now that he could see again, and asses the threat coming at him, his feeling of unease came back.
The people looked insane. Their armor was in tatters and their weapons were in disrepair. They charged mindlessly into the attacks coming at them and Allison's throwing knives reaped lives without issue.
They neither dodged nor used skills to defend. It seemed like the only thing they were programmed to do was attack. It almost seemed like they were walking into the knives flying their way.
Jonathan knew that they had some kind of [Identify Blocker] as Hal had said as much, but he tried anyway.
[??? - Level ?]
Without much time to think, he got into fighting form. He bashed both shields together and used [Taunting Roar]. Initially, the skill required an actual roar. Something that Jonathan had vehemently tried to find a way around.
He still remembered the mocking that Chris and Austin gave him when he accidentally shouted the name of his skill one time. He was fighting a giant stone lizard for crying out loud, but they were merciless.
Getting the skill to use the sound of his shields clanging was a challenge, but he did it. To both the two idiots' disappointment. They liked to make fun of and rate his 'roars' and were sad about the change.
There was one wave where he was placed with Austin at the same gate where after using the skill, Austin sang a Katy Perry song for the whole wave. The entire wave.
A feat that Jonathan would have said was insane before he witnessed it.
His taunt worked and all of the rushing raiders focused on him. Seeing its effectiveness, his taunt worked a little too well. Usually, a few monsters ignored it and went for something else but that didn't happen here.
Every raider was caught up in it.
He didn't even get time to say Hi, Boo, or Shit before he started getting pummeled. Both his shields worked to defend but there were too many attacks.
His armor cracked and fell away under the onslaught and he was given little time to retaliate.
The other warriors had free reign to attack and used that time to great effect. The raiders were cut down with ruthless efficiency, but more were taking their place.
Arrows and magic from his own side landed near him to give Jonathan some breathing room.
Bodies built up and it made him slightly sick. He was used to the monsters and seeing human corpses build up at his feet was sickening. He had to push down the nausea that was building.
As the fight continued, injuries started to appear. Allison ran out of knives and joined in the melee receiving a few cuts. Scott got a stray blow to the leg that started to bleed profusely. He dropped to a knee momentarily and swung his sword wildly to fend off attacks.
Vincent lost his shield at some point and only had his blacksmithing hammer to defend himself.
They were losing.
Even with the strength advantage, the numbers were too much. For every raider they cut down, two more took their place. It made him wonder where all these people came from.
There had to be over a hundred of them attacking. It wasn't only humans either, beasts and monsters were intermixed in their ranks adding to the chaos.
Fighting against humans was a new experience for most of them and that inexperience was costing them. Monsters didn't have skills they had to worry about. At most, monsters had an elemental attack that they used, not the skills that they flying at them now.
Arrows from opposing rangers pinged off armor and Allison went down with an arrow to the leg and abdomen, her short sword forgotten.
Vincent worked a fighting retreat carrying her behind the wall. His blacksmith's hammer danced between foes until he was safely behind the wall with the wounded girl.
Jonathan held the gate to the best of his ability. It was 6 feet of ground that he refused to give up. [Shield Bash] worked on repeat to fend off all he could. He didn't have the skill, nor ability, to use [Earth Manipulation] like Chris used [Ice Manipulation].
Chris wasn't far away and Jonathan only had to hold out until he came back. As much as the man liked to downplay his strength, Chris could handle this singlehandedly.
As much as it pained him to admit, Jonathan couldn't do that.
Sure, Jonathan tried, but he wasn't the same warrior that Chris was. He tried to be, for his kid's sake, but he couldn't.
He wasn't the force of nature that Chris was. Jonathan was a defender, a protector. He wasn't made for slaughtering armies.
As more of his side got injured and were taken away, the pressure mounted. He slammed his shields into the enemy with abandon but it wasn't enough.
Scott went down next but had enough left in him to retreat under his own power. Brayden joined him soon after.
The number of blades pointed against them made some find their mark eventually. Gaps in armor were found and blades caught weak points. Vincent was a damn good smith, but armor wasn't infallible.
Joints needed to be able to move, and the body needed to bend.
Magic rained down from the wall but it did little to deter the raiders. It was like they didn't care about the losses they were taking. The demoralizing effect wasn't there or didn't register.
Soon, it was only Jonathan and Abigail's father, Thomas, left.
Thomas was on the stronger side but wasn't strong enough for the numbers they faced. Jonathan knew Chris was trying to prop his father up into a decent warrior, but Thomas wasn't there yet.
He fought valiantly but he was slowing down. They had been under attack for over 30 minutes and Thomas was dragging.
His axe swings were slower and the skills he used came sporadically.
"Retreat Thomas!" Jonathan shouted.
He usually didn't refer to his father-in-law by his first name but calling him Mr. Zalenski was unnecessary.
"No! I can take it!" Was his response. A blow to the leg staggered him during his response.
A retaliatory axe strike took the offender's head but the damage was done. Blood seeped down his leg and died his armor red.
"It's fine. I've got this!" Jonathan shouted back. His tone made him sound more confident than he was.
Something was rising in him. It reminded him of the time he tanked the boss of the 15th wave while Chris couldn't.
The stone lizard boss had launched him repeatedly but something was different at the time he was needed. Chris had been scrambling around with a broken arm and no weapon, his axe being lost at some point in the fight.
Something deep inside of him awoke at the thought they were going to lose. Chris was barely standing at the time and Austin couldn't damage it. His kids were here and he couldn't do anything to protect them.
The thought rankled him. He was a father, it was his job to protect his kids.
Being unable to lit a fire in him like nothing had before.
Something must have been noticeable on his face because when he went to aggro the boss, Chris let him.
The same feeling as then was coming back now. He was failing as a father if he let the raiders through and that was something he couldn't abide by.
His baby girl was behind him and he could not falter. His son was probably babbling on about dinosaurs in the bunker and Jonathan was his bulwark against the world.
Something inside of him resonated through his body, growing from deep within him. It wanted to know who he was.
He was a bulwark. The shield protecting his kids- his family.
The question of who he was wasn't enough. It was a part of the answer but the growing power in him wanted something else. It wanted something to latch onto. The growing power was a representation of who he was, it needed something else.
Something to anchor it.
He explored all he could about the feeling but it gave no hint. Jonathan was left clueless, it could be anything.
He dove deep, trying to find out what was required of him. He already expressed who he was. What else did it need?
Thomas finally heeded his command and Jonathan was left alone to hold the gate. He was the only thing standing in the way of people who would bring his family harm.
His shields started to shine with an unnatural glow. It wasn't mana coursing through them, but something else.
While defending against a sword attack aimed at his hip, it finally clicked.
The power needed an anchor and he found one that worked. It could have been anything. An object, an idea, a place, anything.
What Jonathan chose was a phrase. Something that connected to him so deeply that it was the anchor of who he was.
After realizing it, and bringing it to bear, his power exploded. He wielded his shields with a grace and ability he never had before. The defender in him resonated with the weapons and boosted his ability with them.
His spirit poured into the two shields on his arm and they became more. They weren't just metal and wood any longer, they were a piece of his spirit that would sooner see his spirit destroyed than the shields break.
The phrase he picked rang out in his head and he took on a second wind. Chris had to be close and Jonathan only needed to hold out a little longer.
His anchor was a part of who he was and it would not fail him.
For his enemies had to do something before they made it inside.
You have to go through me first.
~~
See the comments for an author's note.
Comments
Alexander C Hyde
Blood seeped down his leg and (dyed)died his armor red.
Alexander C Hyde
At most, monsters had an elemental attack that they used, not the skills that (were)they flying at them now.
Alexander C Hyde
Now that he could see again, and (assess)asses the threat coming at him, his feeling of unease came back.
Alexander C Hyde
The corpses (exploding)exploded was the third and final clue, they were being attacked by people.
Alexander C Hyde
By now, (Ashley)Ashely and Sam had either healed or removed anyone that was down and the melee brawl would soon begin.
Alexander C Hyde
He had since upgraded it into [Sturdy Blow] and it was the (main)man thing he used to kill monsters.
HADES
Can he use a hammer with an axe head on the other side please?
James Faulkner
This is so cool, I can’t wait for the others to form their anchors!!
PenguinKills
--AN-- We finally see the first step along the path of the spirit. A spirit anchor is similar to the concepts of Path of Ascension and you will find out more soon, but think of it as a power representing who you are. For Jonathan, he was a protector, so any power associated with that gets a boost. It works kind of like a Law in that it isn't infinite. His spirit is only so strong and it can be worn down. Hopefully, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Jonathan was first. It was mentioned a few times that he was close to forming one. The feeling I referenced from the 15th wave is quoted below if you don't feel like going back to find it. From Chris's POV "Jonathan made it back at some point and attempted to take its attention from me. I still had enough in me to keep going and was about to brush him off. The thing that changed my mind was the look in his eye. Jonathan looked resolute and like a man ready to fight to the death. Something in me resonated with it and I knew he would be able to do it. I let him take the boss from me and searched for my axe." - Chapter 47 Explosive.
