The insect soldier brought the injured spearman to a cave. There the four elemental sprites aided the boy while he rested. The two flame sprites acted like a campfire next to their sleeping master while the earth sprites used all of their mana to give him a comfortable patch of land to lay down on.
The insect soldier stood guard, any random animal that came by would subsequently be killed the moment they even reached his sight. Their master slept for a long time, recovering what little energy he could.
Hektor woke up to the sound of rain. There was a storm outside, his mind felt a bit emptier. "Ah… right I'm manaless until tomorrow…"
He hasn't felt this vulnerable in a while. "Without the birds and mana, It is almost like I'm back to that time."
The young man reminisced about the start of his journey. The time when he was first forced to run, he was in the same situation again. Unlike the retreat with the other disciples just a while ago this time Hektor no longer had the voice of another human to listen to.
Hektor envied his past self, despite the summons that currently stayed with him and despite the strength that he gained at the end of the day he was still alone. "The walls of Teblez have fallen…"
"Paul is the only one among us that's away from it all." Hektor took out his waterskin, drinking the last of his supply.
"Garnesh and Tarik should have been in the city… they're either dead or they escaped to the capital." Hektor the proceeded to whistle, hoping for any of the birds he summoned to still be alive.
But to no avail, not a single one answered his call. "Only the ones I gifted to other people are alive huh?"
The sprites sat on his shoulders in the form of birds. "To the two of you, scout the area for me. Come back if there are any signs of life."
"Status"
Name: Hektor
Title(s): Caller of Crows
Mana: 0/1,500
Aura: 3,914/7,300
Personal Skill: [Manifest Minion]
Skill(s): Markluzian Spear Art, Fists of the Tiger, Blue Sky Spear Art, Mana Barrier, Mana Bolt
Souls: 83
"At this point I'm not above summoning more middle-class minions, it's about time I added some options for it too."
Hektor was back to thinking about his survival. The rain made him reminisce only for a few minutes, it was time to plan once more.
"I can get two new presets and still have a bit leftover for some new summons."
While the options for middle-class were diverse, he knew that he needed something new.
"The imps will not be enough, will they?" He asked to no one in particular.
[Low-Class Minion - Cost: 500 – 1,000 Mana, 5 Souls]
[Mid-Class Minion - Cost: 2,000 – 5,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
[High-Class Minion - Cost: 15,000 Mana, 500 Souls]
He clicked the button and hoped for the best.
[A random Mid-Class Minion preset has been unlocked.]
"If it's not what I need then I'll have to focus on summoning Imps." Hektor no longer had a need to hide his abilities. Getting his own troops and having a small army of minions was always something that he thought about.
[Medeis Baphomeri – Cost: 5,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
The cost was at the maximum of what a Middle-class minion would cost. "Whatever it is, it's likely more powerful than even the Insect Soldier."
The gamble worked, he wanted a better soldier and based on the fact that it costs more, he quickly deduced that it would be something that is a bit more powerful. "I've always wondered what a High-class preset would present me."
"25 souls for a glimpse at one, I might as well do it now." A mix of things led Hektor to this decision. The loss of his master just a few weeks ago, the loss of most of his allies at the dojo as well as the constant battles that he has been forced to participate in. A simple question loomed in his head. 'What if I die before I even catch a glimpse of this ability's potential?'
[Scion of Cassius - Cost: 15,000 Mana, 500 Souls]
[Caution: Attempts at summoning this preset is locked until the user reaches the minimum mana threshold.]
"So there's no defective version huh?" He asked out loud. The earth sprites returned with nothing to report to him.
Souls: 83 -> 33
With no food or water left, Hektor deliberated on whether he wanted the Monster to hunt for him or not. "If I had mana then summoning a swordfish would be enough to sustain us for about a few days."
"Keep scouting the area." He ordered the sprites before pointing at the insect. "You should hunt for some food. I'll be fine, I recovered enough aura to defend myself."
Hektor needed a lot of things for survival among them were food and water. For water he simply needed to boil the rain water that he collected, but food on the other hand was something that he lacked at the moment. He didn't expect the sudden fall of those in the frontlines, all he had on him were supplies that were enough for a day. He was lucky that the satchel he brought with him always had a pot and some utensils.
"Eliza's chance finally arrived." Hektor muttered. "I hope that she takes advantage of it."
---
A group of injured soldiers moved towards a barren clearing. Leading their escape is a young swordsman with a glowing red aura. "Captain, they found us again." A soldier reported.
"Then we have no choice left but to fight." The captain responded, Tarik brandished his sword and yelled out. "COME! Show me what you're made of!"
Initially Tarik's group was meant to be a distraction, one of the human shields used by the nobles. They were meant to die as bait, but Tarik's tenacity and ingenuity aided in the survival of a handful of soldiers. He fought tooth and nail to rally whatever's left of the soldiers, leading the survivors to where they are now.
Only seven people stood behind him now. With most of them having run out of aura, everyone is running on fumes.
Tarik sliced through another orc's torso as he darted around the battlefield. The screams of pain and the sound of a skull cracking informed him of the deaths of the people behind him. But with whatever aura he had left, Tarik kept on going.
Crack. The pain in his left arm shot up, like nails biting through his skin getting all the way up to the bone. A blow from the demons finally caught him, he heard his left arm break.
[1,012/5,500]
His all-in approach on attacking finally caught up to him. Leaving him with a little over a thousand aura remaining.
Tarik, much like Hektor was a child that was raised for battle. He knew when to run and when to fight, that was how he survived for so long. He could sense that this was the end.
'Surrounded, with no allies left alive.' Tarik thought to himself as the group of earth demons and their lesser counterparts circled around him.
Like an animal surrounded by predators, Tarik was a dying lion surrounded by hyenas. In such a desperate situation most would assume a frustrated look, but for Tarik his smile could not grow any larger. The same shit eating grin he showed whenever he sparred with someone stronger appeared once more.
Tarik gathered aura to his legs once more and to the demons all they saw was a blur. The head of another earth demon fell to the ground, he disappeared again.
Slash. Plop.
It was another head, the demons found it hard to keep up. The red hue of his natural aura was nowhere to be found, leaving only traces of blue cloud-like aura whenever he reappeared to cut down another demon.
For a whole minute, any demon that set foot in the clearing either got cut in half, beheaded or had their torsos slashed open.
With a heavy breath Tarik stood in the middle of the clearing, the clearing which was now littered in the dead bodies of his foes. With no aura left in the tank he stood with pride while holding his sword with his only functioning hand. "Didn't I tell you to show me what you've got?"
The swordsman taunted the demons, all of which decided to charge at him.
[Your potential is on fire.]
"HAHAHAHAH" The young man laughed as he slashed through the goblins and imps. He killed off all ten of the earth demons during his rampage, but with no aura left and his current state he was likely to be overwhelmed.
[Your personal skill has been unlocked.]
"Great work!" was what Tarik heard from a feminine figure that jumped to his aid.
With long blonde hair, glowing green eyes and the floating swords around her this was someone that Tarik is familiar with. The dojo's visitor from the night before, the fourth prince's flower.