Nightmare Realm Summoner

The Riftwarped Crawler lashed out with a thin, gangly arm. It blurred through the air for Alex with a loud whistle. Claire grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him out of the way like a ragdoll. The monster's limb slammed into the grass with a loud thump, ripping a huge clump of grass and dirt free.

Alex let out a strangled choke as his collar bit at his neck and threatened to strangle him. He stumbled back and extended his thoughts in a mental command even as Claire released him and stepped forward to put herself between him and the crab.

Loud, splintering cracks tore through the air as Glint stepped out from a fragmented portal, his massive claws dragging across the ground as he moved to stand beside Claire. The Riftwarped Crawler chittered as its hands clicked in the air around it. Its many legs beat a loud, pattering drumbeat into the ground as the monster shifted to the side, sizing them up. It was the highest level monster that Alex had seen — at least, of the monsters that had had a level that he could actually comprehend.

They couldn't afford any mistakes here.

"Stand back. You've had all the fights before. I've got this," Claire said as she raised a hand to stall Alex. She leaned forward, her foot digging into the dirt and skidding back an inch. Her lips pulled back and she launched herself forward, bursting into motion.

Two of the Riftwarped Crawler's pincers extended for Claire. She vaulted into the air, diving between them, and brought her sword down toward the lower arm's thin carapace. It struck it with a loud crack — and rebounded harmlessly.

Claire managed to twist herself just in time to plant her feet on two un-spined spots on its shell and push herself away an instant before one of its other hands carved through the air where she'd been standing.

She hit the ground with a grunt and rolled back, rising to her feet just a few feet away from Alex. Claire rubbed her shoulder, then tossed her sword to the side with a grimace.

"I take it back. I don't think either of us are winning this one alone."

Hey, I respect the attempt.

"Avoid getting hit. Find a way to kill the crab but prioritize not getting killed for as long as possible. Treat Claire and my life with more value than yours." Alex ordered. He wished there was more he could do right now, but that was half the reason he was in the Mirrorlands right now in the first place.

Glint flashed forward. The Riftwarped Crawler's crossed two of its limbs before itself and the Shardwalker's claws raked across them with a loud screech, leaving thin yellowed lines across the dull orange carapace.

The Crawler's eyes refocused to Glint and it chittered. Another one of its claws shot out for the Shardwalker and Glint was forced to jump back to avoid the blow. Even with his speed, he barely managed to get out of the way of the strike in time. Alex grimaced. As powerful as Glint's offense was, it only took a single good blow to take him down.

Claire tensed. She flexed her fingers and a ripple passed under her skin as black claws carved out from their tips. She dashed around the crab, forcing it to use one eye to track her motion.

She and Glint attacked as one — and the Riftwarped Crawler vanished in a flash of purple energy. Alex gaped as both Claire and Glint's claws carved through nothing. They both stumbled, taken off balance by the complete lack of resistance to their attacks.

Without so much as a crackle, the monster reappeared in a faint shimmer of pink energy a foot behind where it had been, its multitude of claws already flashing out in attacks directed at both Claire and Glint.

Alex threw himself forward, tackling Claire to the ground before the huge pincers could slam shut on her from behind. He rolled to the side as soon as they landed and Claire thrust herself upward, her claws raking across the bottom of the monster's carapace and leaving deep grooves through it.

"The bottom is softer than the top!" Claire yelled.

Two claws snapped out for her. She dove forward, managing to avoid the first, but the second slammed shut on her ankle with a loud crack.

"Go for its stomach!" Alex ordered Glint, his heart slamming in his chest as the Crawler swung Claire into the air like a pinata.

Glint blurred into motion, driving his claws deep into the bottom of the crab's armored stomach. They ripped through the chitin and dug into the flesh beneath before the Shardwalker ripped them free in a spray of red meat and black ichor.

A chittering screech escaped the Riftwarped Crawler's undulating mouth and it whipped its hand — the very same one still holding Claire — at Glint. Claire's string of curses sailed behind her as she whipped through the air like a makeshift blackjack.

With an impressive demonstration of core strength, she pulled herself up and grabbed onto the thin, jointed arm of the monster. Her hand tightened around it and she bared her teeth in a snarl. Her claws grew larger and black veins pulsed beneath her skin.

A loud crack rang out like a gunshot. The Riftwarped Crawler screamed again as its arm suddenly slumped, ripped clean off. Claire hit the ground, the crab's claw still locked shut around her ankle. As she reached down to try and pry herself free, the massive crab lurched forward to finish the job on her.

"Glint! Attack it in the same spot!" Alex yelled as he grabbed Claire's sword off the ground and lunged forward. His summoned companion wasn't strong enough to stop a blow from the monster directly — but his own body had just gotten reinforced from leveling up.

Alex brought the blade up, bracing his palm against the flat of the sword and put himself between the plummeting limb and Claire. A wave of sheer force slammed into his body, sending a tremor all the way down through his legs. His right arm crumpled and crunched. His knees buckled. Pain screamed through his mind as the world flashed black around him. If it hadn't been for the ridiculous amount of adrenaline racing through his veins, he would have passed out on the spot.

Claire finally freed herself from the fallen pincer with a pained snarl. She hobbled to her feet and raised a hand, driving her open palm into another pincer as it swung at them. Black veins bulged in her arm an instant before her strike connected with that of the crab.

The force of the collision stopped the Riftwarped Crawler's strike from hitting Alex, but it sent Claire staggering backward. Her weight fell on her injured ankle and she stumbled, falling back to the ground.

In the brief seconds that Claire had bought, Glint dove below the crab and ripped into the bottom of the Crawler's armor like a rabid child set free in a candy shop. His huge claws carved the monster apart from the inside, spilling black fluid and ichor that turned the dirt beneath to mud.

The crab let out a screech — and drove itself straight down. There was no time for Glint to dodge out of the way. Instead of even trying to dodge, the Shardwalker rolled over so his back faced the enormous plummeting monster. Alex's eyes widened in shock an instant before a loud crunch split the air. The crab rose once with a series of wet squelches as it pulled itself free from the jutting blades on Glint's back.

Energy flooded into Alex and filled him with Glint's powers. His companion had died, but not for naught. Huge, weeping wounds covered the bottom of the crab. The same black liquid dribbled from its mouth.

"Can you stop another attack?" Alex asked, blocking out the agony from his limp arm.

"Maybe," Claire rasped. Her voice was parched and ragged. "I just used up almost every drop of blood I drank from you for those two attacks. The next thing I do will be the last unless I get some more blood to work with."

Alex gritted his teeth, but the tension and adrenaline wracking his body couldn't keep the flicker of a grin from his face. He had wanted a challenge, after all.

"Distract this thing. I'll finish it."

Claire didn't have time to suggest an alternative course of action. The crab vanished in a flicker of pink energy. Claire darted forward to catch the monster's attention and flung herself to the side to avoid two swings of the Riftwarped Crawler's claws.

The Dhampir glanced back at Alex as he sprinted toward her and the huge monster, then turned her attention back to the huge crab. It whipped its third gangly arm down at her. Claire's right hand lifted, black veins pulsing against her pale skin once more, and she braced right arm with her left.

The claw slammed into Claire's palm. She snarled in defiance, just barely managing to avoid crumpling beneath the monster's immense strength. Her right hand shifted back to its normal form and her arm dropped as she collapsed to her knees.

Both of the monster's stalklike eyes locked onto Claire and it reached for her throat with its claws — but in the time it had wasted fighting her, Alex had already closed the distance between them. The screaming pain in his bones was nothing in comparison to the furious adrenaline pounding in his head like a second heart.

Noticing him at the last second, the crab swept one of its arms at his head. Alex dropped to his knees, skidding across the slick grass. He leapt back to his feet just as he arrived before the crab and drove the sword into its mouth with all the force he could muster.

Then he drew on every single scrap of magical energy that he possessed and released it all at once. Jagged mirror growths ripped out from the hilt of the sword and erupted within the crab, blending it from within.

Alex released the hilt of the sword and took a step back. The monster's mandibles worked as they tried to close down on the growing glass, but that only hastened its demise. It let out one final chittering hiss. Its legs bowed. It collapsed to the ground, limbs falling limp all around it with a series of thuds as the life fled the monster's body.

A river of energy flooded into Alex. Even though he'd worked together with Claire to kill the monster, it bore even more power than he'd gotten when he'd defeated the Floraking on his own. The difference between Novice and Initiate monsters was ridiculous.

He drew in a stiff breath, then let out a shaky breath as he staggered back over to where Claire had dropped to her knees. His arm hung limp at his side, pulsing with so much pain that he could barely even tell how much it hurt anymore.

"See?" Alex managed, the corner of his mouth twitching in something between a grimace and a grin. "Wasn't that fun?"

To his surprise, Claire let out a ragged laugh between her gasping breaths. "Bleeding hell. I see how you can get addicted to this. That felt incredible. I've never felt a rush like that before."

Alex flopped back onto the grass, gritting his teeth as the adrenaline started to leave his system. His sweat-soaked shirt was cold against his back and grass prickled along into his spine. He could feel small pops and shifts from within his arm as his body worked to fix itself, but that did little to make anything hurt less.

"The energy from killing it?" Alex asked.

"That too." Claire rasped, then took a second to catch her breath before speaking again. "But I meant the thrill of winning. I've never fought something that strong in my life. Beating it… bleed me. I feel so powerful."

"I think I might have corrupted you," Alex said with a pained chuckle. The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly. Some of the damage to his arm had already fixed itself, but it would be a bit before he could get full control of his arm again.

"I don't think I'm quite that bad yet. I'll give it a week." Claire slumped down beside him and let out a groan. Then she cleared her throat. "So… your blood. You usin' it?"

Alex turned to look at her. "Didn't that thing have blood? I mean, it was black, but it was still blood. Couldn't you have drained it?"

"Nothing in the Mirrorlands has blood," Claire said with a shake of her head. "It looks like blood, but that isn't blood. Their energy is all twisted up. Warped. Drinking from that would be like sticking my head in a sewer line."

"So you need mine again? Didn't I just give you some?"

"Look, I just used everything I drank earlier to block three attacks. Got to test my new skill out and transform one bit of myself instantly instead of wasting all the time changing my entire form. Turns out, it uses almost as much blood to shift one arm as it does to shift my whole body. Probably due to how fast the change happens. Either way, my tanks are empty. I'm about to start frothing at the mouth."

Alex pushed himself upright with a grimace. His right arm still felt like a tractor had run over it, then backed up to make sure the deed was done. The last thing he needed was Claire losing her mind on him.

"Here," he said, sticking his left arm out to her. "And to answer your question — yes. I'm using my blood, so make sure to leave me some of it."

Claire bit into his wrist without another word, drinking greedily. Alex blew out a sigh and looked out at the corpse of the crab before him. A fist-sized orange flame crackled above its body, the largest flame he'd seen yet. Tinges of purple twisted through the fire, crackling like lightning within it.

Low Grade Initiate (Riftwarped Crawler)

An Initiate level soul flame. It was the largest he'd seen so far. It was also the strongest, but there was something strange about the flame. A dull, throbbing energy rolled off it and pushed against Alex's hand as he reached for it.

The force was nowhere near enough to stop him from picking the flame up. A prickle bit at the back of his neck like a chilly breath and a shiver ran down Alex's body. For a brief moment, something brushed across his mind. A freezing cold tendril curled through his thoughts and froze the breath in his chest.

Then it was gone, the connection severed like a blade had carved it apart. The flame was completely blocked off to him. Alex studied it for a few moments, trying to see if the sensation would return, but it never did.

That connection hasn't happened before. Was it because I can summon a new monster? Or did it have something to do with the Riftwarped part? Guess it could have been the high rank as well. I'll find out soon enough.

He raised his gaze to the crooked city silhouetted against the perpetually purple-pink sunset horizon of the Mirrorlands. A grin pulled at the corners of Alex's lips. The Crawler was just the first of many. He wouldn't have taken a random monster for his next companion anyway. Not until he got a better idea of his options. There was no rush.

Alex was more than willing to experiment. The Mirrorlands was full of things that wanted to kill him, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

That was what kept things fun.