Chapter 9

  As soon as Ben accepted the party request, a thin, ethereal white light shot from the stranger’s back and connected to his chest before disappearing. Ben was even more confused.

  He didn’t have time to read the notification about the ability that had just been used because the bear was right in front of them.

  The bear crashed into the person and sent them flying. That gave Ben the chance to chug a health potion, which healed his leg and allowed him to rise to his feet. Another person drawing aggro, even for a moment, gave him the time he needed.

  Despite rising, Ben didn’t get far. The bear slowed just enough to swipe at him. Chugging a potion and getting to his feet took precious seconds. He was too slow to dodge properly.

  Time seemed to move in slow motion as the claw collided with his chest and sent him tumbling backward. He gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain. Somehow, he managed to keep his eyes open. Pain he could deal with. As he hit the ground, a realization struck him.

  “That was a direct hit. How am I not dead?” Ben thought.

  Another curious thing happened. All four of his summons erupted in white light. He was alive, but his summons were gone. He had no idea what was happening.

  He didn’t have time to figure it out. The bear was already turning toward him. Ben decided to think about it later. For now, he had enough mana to re-summon his cherubs. His hands were empty since he had dropped all his weapons, so he raised both hands.

  To summon a cherub, he needed to channel a spell in one hand. But he intended to summon all four at once, which required casting two separate spells. He could see there wouldn’t be time to cast them one at a time before the bear reached him.

  He focused and channeled spells in both hands, a feat nearly impossible for most players. But Ben wasn’t most players—he had years of experience surviving in the apocalypse of Eternity.

  When he released the spells, all four summons appeared. The Cherub warriors spawned directly in front of the bear’s face and slashed. The Cherub archers sent a hail of arrows toward the bear’s face, trying to hit the remaining undamaged eye.

  The bear was still in a blood rage, moving too much to land another critical strike. They would have to settle for killing it with a thousand cuts.

  Ben wasn’t sure he’d have time for that. The bear barreled straight toward him. He got a spear and prepared to dodge. As he did, a ball of holy fire sailed toward the bear and struck its side.

  He looked over to the mysterious figure, who was chugging a mana potion. They had used a basic, inefficient Holy Fire spell. Ben had it too, but it was too mana-intensive for his style. He preferred summoning cherubs over wasting potions. Clearly, the stranger had mana to spare.

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  The fire struck the bear’s face, enough to distract it. Ben aimed his spear and jumped aside. He still took a grazing blow, but it hurt much less than before.

  He noticed something else: the health of all his summons dropped by the same amount at the same time.

  “They’re absorbing damage for me!”

  A clattering noise drew his attention. A mana potion slid toward him. The stranger’s hand shone white, then touched their own chest. Ben felt a warm sensation coursing through his body. He recognized it for what it was: a healing spell.

  But this wasn’t a normal healing spell. Novice healing spells were single-target, touch spells—inefficient, and normally unable to heal others at a distance. Mass healing spells existed but were advanced, high-mana, and visually distinct.

  The stranger had turned a novice, inefficient, single-target healing touch into a group heal. They healed themselves, Ben, and his cherubs.

  Ben quickly realized how powerful the stranger’s ability was. He wasn’t sure if it was class-specific or a hidden talent, but it would be a game changer.

  He grabbed the mana potion that slid to him and chugged it while the bear charged. It was noticeably slower—maybe the wound on its back leg had an effect, or maybe it was finally cautious about running into spears.

  Ben manifested another spear and pointed it toward the bear. Surprisingly, the bear hesitated. Its bloodrage seemed to have worn off.

  The stranger wasn’t idle. Another ball of white fire struck the bear in the face as the stranger drank another potion.

  Ben noticed a mask under the stranger’s hood. Their features were indistinct, especially in the middle of combat. He didn’t have time to dwell—the bear finally turned away from him and charged the stranger.

  Ben sprinted after it.

  The stranger stood up, shield in hand, and tried to dodge like Ben had. But they weren’t coordinated or fast enough. Ben had years of combat experience, honed reflexes, athletics, and strategy. As a summoner, he had learned to dodge and block effectively—protecting himself while letting his cherubs fight.

  The stranger clearly lacked that experience. Their clumsy dodge made them a perfect target for the bear’s claws. The bear raised its paws and brought them down with force.

  A shriek came from the stranger.

  “A woman?” He thought.

  The bear pinned her and clawed at her body. Her shield was useless. She tried to cast a healing spell but couldn’t concentrate or drink a potion. She scrambled, but the bear dragged her back. By all logic, she should have been dead.

  Yet she wasn’t. Her health didn’t drop as it should have. Ben noticed his health dropping at the same rate. His summons too.

  “I see.”

  While closing the gap, he grabbed a health potion and drank it. It healed him, the woman, and his summons. Her ability combined their health into a single, massive pool, multiplying all healing effects. A potion that healed 100 health suddenly healed 600. It was extraordinary.

  “O.P!” Ben thought.

  The extra healing gave Ben enough time to arrive and deliver a decisive strike with his spear. The speartip lodged into its ear.

  Critical hit!

  The bear reeled, freeing the woman. She scrambled back and began to heal herself.

  Ben didn’t stop. He pushed the spear deeper. The bear clawed wildly at it in an attempt to dislodge it. Ben took advantage of the distraction and manifested a short sword. He jumped on top of the bear’s back and drove his blade into its other ear until he felt something soft.

  Finally, the bear collapsed. Ben remained on top, knuckles white from gripping its fur. He panted heavily.

  Maybe he did need a stamina potion after all.

  A notification rang out:

  [Congratulations. You have leveled up. You are now level 5.]

  [Congratulations…]

  [Congratulations…]

  Ben’s eyes widened. His level had jumped by three. He went from level 4 to level 7 in a single battle!