Taboo Online

Reinforce helped, but not enough.

The golem raised its foot for the final step toward the Root Gate, forcing Luke to charge before he had found a workable plan.

"I’m not letting this end here!"

The first strike burst the knot inside one leg. Luke spun and destroyed the second, but the first limb had already begun reforming.

He pushed his body harder despite the pain in his muscles. The nearest arm came next, followed by a desperate rush toward the torso, yet the first leg recovered before his spear reached the final knot.

The golem continued its step.

Luke tried again, but the first knot regenerated before he reached the fourth.

His arms burned, and the monster kept moving.

Arcane Thrust could at least make one attack faster, so Luke gathered the skill and drove the spear into the first leg.

[Mana: 16/50]

The knot burst instantly, and the force of the attack carried his weapon toward the second target. Even then, regeneration began before Luke reached the nearest arm.

He still needed more speed.

"Goddammit!"

The creature towered above him while the Root Gate remained sealed behind it.

Lauren was still in there, and they had only just returned to Powerforge. They still had abilities to master, levels to gain, equipment to find, and an entire path ahead of them.

Luke refused to let everything end because his spear could not move fast enough.

He tightened his grip and forced Arcane energy into the weapon again. He did not have enough mana for another full Arcane Thrust, but perhaps he did not need one.

Rather than pouring all the power into a single attack, Luke tried to hold part of it back and release only enough for the first strike.

The spear struck the nearest knot while he fought to keep the remaining energy inside the shaft.

Arcane Thrust broke apart.

Part of the power detonated too early, while the rest scattered uselessly along the weapon.

Luke staggered as the golem lifted its arm. His mana dropped again, but a faint current still moved through the spear.

He tried to gather that current and separate the power into smaller portions, one for the first thrust and another for the second.

The energy resisted him. Arcane Thrust wanted to gather everything into one decisive attack, but Luke forced the power apart.

His spear struck the first knot, and a smaller burst of Arcane energy passed through it.

A faint current remained inside the weapon.

The golem’s hand descended.

Luke turned toward the second target and thrust again.

The world slowed as blue light spread across his vision.

[A new combat pattern has been recognized.]

[Arcane energy has been successfully divided across consecutive weapon attacks.]

[New Skill created: Rapid Magic Flurry.]

Knowledge settled into Luke’s body before he finished reading the message.

He activated the new skill and forced Reinforce through his exhausted body one final time.

The remaining mana vanished.

His perception changed as five paths appeared across the golem’s body, each one connecting his spear to a mana knot he had already discovered. The skill revealed nothing new. It simply organized the targets Luke had spent the entire battle finding.

The sequence began with one leg, moved to the other, continued through both arms, and ended at the knot inside the torso.

His body suddenly felt almost weightless.

Luke stepped into the first path and thrust.

Arcane energy burst through the mana knot. Before the explosion finished, his spear was already moving toward the second target.

The remaining power divided between the attacks, allowing one thrust to flow into the next.

Luke stopped thinking about each movement and allowed his body to follow the paths spread across his vision.

From his perspective, the Mire Golem barely moved. Outside that altered state, less than a second passed.

His spear struck the first leg and then the second. The blade flashed upward through one arm, crossed toward the other, and finally plunged into the center of the torso.

Five smaller bursts of Arcane energy detonated almost at once.

The Mire Golem stopped.

Cracks spread across the bark covering its body, and black water poured from the holes left by Luke’s spear.

The creature remained upright for a single heartbeat before all five mana knots shattered.

Its legs dissolved first, followed by the arms and torso. Mud, bark, roots, and black water crashed around Luke without leaving any trace of the monster’s shape.

Silence returned to the shelter.

Luke stood in front of the Root Gate with his spear extended. Faint traces of the five attack paths lingered across his vision while his arms trembled and weak currents of Arcane energy flickered along the blade.

He slowly lowered the weapon.

[You have defeated all three waves.]

[You have protected the Root Gate.]

Luke stared at the messages.

He had done it alone.

A laugh rose in his chest. He bit his lower lip and tried to hold it back, but excitement still rushed through him hard enough to make his whole body feel lighter.

He had created a skill.

The system had not simply handed Rapid Magic Flurry to him as a reward. Luke had needed something faster and forced Arcane Thrust to change until it became exactly that.

The new skill had allowed him to destroy five known mana knots in less than a second.

Luke wanted to shout. More than anything, he wanted to see Lauren’s reaction when he told her what he had done.

That thought pulled his attention back to the Root Gate, where the roots remained closed.

Luke stepped closer and placed his palm against them. His part of the quest was over, which meant Lauren still had to finish hers.

He leaned toward the sealed gate.

"I protected it," he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. "Nothing got through."

No answer came.

His fingers tightened against the roots. Luke trusted her, and right now, he had no other choice.

"Come back, Lauren," Luke whispered.