The seven soldiers, led by Lina, attacked with extreme prejudice, and for a brief moment Vanessa harbored the faint hope that the battle might end right then and there. Unfortunately, just because Vanessa did not like him did not mean that he was incompetent or weak. His Kolari training, accompanied by an innate ability which warned him whenever there was danger, meant that Dave was, if nothing else, exceptionally skilled at avoiding harm.
A spear whistled past his ear, almost touching it. But it didn't. Dave had complete control over his body, and knew exactly how they'd attack, allowing him to carry out such close dodges.
He dropped low, knees slamming into the dirt as the second spear came screaming over his head. He rolled, instinct driving him more than thought, and came up just as a third soldier lunged from the left, his thrust aimed for Dave's ribs.
The world slowed. He needed time to activate You shall not pass. Even though the card stated it could resume his breakthrough instantaneously, during the actual breakthrough, Dave wouldn't be able to move much. He needed to buy time, and for that he had already used another card to set up the situation. Now he just needed to survive long enough for its effects to show themselves.
He no longer cared about the mission. Killing Vanessa was a decent alternative, anyway.
A tingling flash burned at the base of his spine - danger - and Dave twisted, catching the tip of the blade out of the corner of his eye. He snapped his body sideways, the spear barely grazing the cloth at his side, then drove his elbow into the soldier's mask, hoping for a satisfying crunch. He didn't get it. The soldier had some kind of defensive card in use. Or maybe it was his ability.
How was he supposed to keep track of so many enemies' abilities and cards? It was impossible. There was no time to think. No time to breathe. He just needed to survive. He just needed a little more time.
Vanessa saw how, even overwhelmed and outnumbered, Dave managed to hold on. Of course he did. No one targeting her would use a weak soldier.
She didn't have time to think about that. The moment it became clear that Dave wouldn't succumb to the seven soldiers - at least, he wouldn't succumb any time soon - she struggled to pull out her card case and dropped the cards on the floor.
There was no time for card-handling etiquette. She searched through the cards, not even trying to read the names - she was much too dizzy for that. Instead, she relied on looking at the images. She'd always thought having pictures on Eldrim cards was kind of pointless. Today, she realised just how wrong she was when a single glance was all it took to find the card she was looking for.
Name: Dirty Detox
Image: A man, hunched over on the ground, hurling
Type: Healing/Purification
Star rank: 0
Ability: [Forcefully detox the target's body of most poisons through artificially induced emesis]
Flavour text: "It wasn't fun going in, but it'll be even worse coming out," - ???
Despite its promised unpleasantness, Vanessa used it on herself the very moment she was able to muster up even the slightest control of her aether. Only in the very last moment did she remember to completely remove her mask - and just in time.
The card promptly induced emesis, or in common terminology, it made her vomit. Yellow and green fluids were ejected from her body, leaving a burning, stinging feeling in her throat and nose.
Vanessa's body trembled as her energy faded. The poison itself had weakened her immensely, and the abrupt and forceful nature of the detox drained her further.
But she was already beginning to feel the improvement. Her dizziness was fading, and she was recovering rapidly.
She opened her eyes to observe the situation, and horror filled her.
"Protect Noman, Bael and me!" she exclaimed in a hoarse voice, urgency filling her very being.
The seven soldiers retreated without hesitation, regardless of the fact that their pressure was finally starting to affect Dave. It was fortunate, too, for they made it just in time to block a wild hog from slamming into Vanessa.
A number of other beasts had run over as well, as if attracted by the noise of the fight, and attacked with wild abandon. Even Dave wasn't spared, though he managed to pull away.
After all, the beasts had come as a result of the Bait card he used, attracting all nearby wild animals and driving them into a frenzy. Since he knew about the card, and its effects, he'd already prepared a way to escape its effects.
But he did not believe, even for a second, that this would be enough to kill them. It could occupy them, sure, but unfortunately those seven retards had proven themselves irritatingly effective at following orders. They might even be able to protect Vanessa and the others until that freak returned.
No, Dave would take no chances. Now that he had revealed his intentions, he couldn't take any chances. After all, Dave was very attached to his life, and he didn't want to lose it anytime soon.
Dave retreated until he was outside the line of sight, giving the impression that he was retreating from the fight, taking in a final glance at the situation. There were four beasts attacking them, but they'd managed to avoid any casualties. Bael and Noman had been pulled to Vanessa, who was attempting to detox them as well.
Dave gave himself ten minutes. No matter what, he couldn't take longer than ten minutes, or they might recover enough to go get Nero. Even if Dave escaped and managed to avoid being hunted down by them, the chances of them exiting Perilith would increase drastically at that point.
He clenched his jaw and escaped. Guided by his innate ability, Dave found a small cave that was only a few meters deep. It was the only place he could find in a rush where the level of danger was relatively low. The danger had not elapsed but… even he could take necessary risks when the situation called for it.
He used a few cards to hide his trace and camouflage himself before seating himself in the far corner of the cave, and deactivating You shall not pass. His absorption of his innate card instantly went from 39% to 40%, triggering a change.
The surrounding aether stirred, as if a small current of aether had formed, being pulled into Dave's body. His innate card, which detailed how his passive innate ability worked, started to absorb the aether entering his body, and began to undergo an evolution.
While the card underwent an evolution, it also caused his body to begin changing. All of Dave's mind was focused solely on himself, so he did not sense what was happening around him, but all of Perilith was reacting to his breakthrough.
It began as a hush without silence - a stillness that pressed close, like breath held by the dimension itself.
No trumpet called it. No wind heralded it. Yet something vast and veiled had shifted. Perilith, once suppressed beneath the weight of some unseen law, had begun to awaken.
And the first sign… was the shimmer. The tingling sensation on the skin of all things.
Aether, once coiled and shackled like a sleeping serpent, stirred. Not with fury. With intent. It laced the air in threads, as if testing to see how its restraints had loosened.
There was an unseen chain that shackled Perilith to the Neophyte realm, and silently it began to crack.
Dave's innate card, within his body, began to shine as its evolution began. Synchronously, a tremor passed through Perilith.
Stone groaned. Roots trembled. The rivers paused mid-rush, and the clouds above pulsed like lungs catching breath after drowning.
Then came the pulse - not heard, but felt. A thud in the aether. A beat of something primal.
And the aether… danced.
It curled in spirals above sacred pools. It seeped from crevices like ghostlight. Colors unseen in the world of men bled into the sky - streaks of violet and gold threading through grey, as if some ancient painter had remembered his brush.
The colours of the world seemed brighter. The air smelled fresher. A certain life gushed into Perilith and all that it contained within.
In distant woods, creatures lifted their heads. Not in fear. In knowing. The Primal Exarch, slumbering within its own territory, opened one eye and exhaled steam.
Deep underground, forgotten ruins trembled, as if they were not supposed to be mere ruins, but had been restricted to such limitations by the world.
Perilith was undergoing a change. It started out gradually, but with each passing second, it picked up great momentum, as if impatient to return to its truth.
The law had not yet broken, but it had loosened, and as Dave progressed further into the Initiate level, the looser the restraints on it became.
Vanessa, who had just used a card to temporarily pump herself with energy, trembled as she felt the change. Then she shivered when she felt the beasts attacking them beginning to give off the aura of Initiate level beasts.