Breaking Step (Dungeon Runner 3)

Breaking Step, Chapter 49

Tibs's sword slid over the scaled skin without leaving a mark in spite of him adding metal to make the edge sharper this time. When he stabbed one, the sword went in fine, but they were adept at avoiding that.

"They're resistant to fire!" Mez yelled after letting loose arrows.

"Of course they are!" Don snapped. "They're based on dragons."

"I don't need a lesson, Don!" the archer replied.

"I'm not—" a creature's scream devolved into a gurgle. "I was only—" Another flew past Tibs, propelled by the corruption also eating it. "Why does it feel like the dungeon has it in for me today?"

"Oh, I don't know, Don," Ganny chuckled as Tibs stuck a creature's leg in place to keep them from reaching the sorcerer. "Why would I ever be annoyed at you after what you pulled during the game of Conquest?"

"You're not supposed to target one of them," Sto said. "That's borderline cheating."

"No, it isn't," she replied. "It's just randomness that made these Dragoling especially sensitive to Corruption."

"That sound a lot like one of my reasons, which you'd then claim they'd see through. You know, when you wouldn't let me do these kinds of things?"

Tibs slammed his shield into a Dragoling and more of the spikes shattered, but those that pierced its hide, he expanded until they exploded out of it.

"You were helping Tibs," she replied. "I'm not."

He etched another sticky water at a Dragoling's feet, only for that to turn to steam as it stepped in it.

"So, it's okay to... adjust things if it's going to kill them, but not to help?" Sto sounded too calm for how annoyed Tibs knew he had to be. He dodged under claws and jumped out of the way of a tail, trying to trip him. "Was Tibs right? Am I here to just kill them?"

"No, of course not. But like you keep telling me. Who's going to tell? Tibs?"

Tibs ground his teeth at the pain from the claws cutting through his armor into his arm. He had to focus. Surviving this fight was more important than whatever they talked about.

He blasted the Dragoling with an etching of water, spirals until the connected lines and a lot of essence pushed in. It landed on its back, far too close for how much essence Tibs put in, steam rising as it got to its feet. Tibs added making his water attacks resistant to fire to the unending list of things he needed to figure out.

He blocked claws with his shield, stepped out of the way of a kick. His sword skidded over a leg as he sliced at it. The ice continued to melt, revealing the added metal. With a snarl, Tibs stabbed it in the chest, yanking up even as the sword melted.

"Something's happing!" Mez yelled, as Tibs reformed his sword, and staggered under a punch as a gathering of fire essence behind the attack force caught his attention.

"Details!" Don yelled.

"I don't know! Just a lot of fire building and that can't be good!"

Tibs threw himself away and formed a wall of ice between him and his attackers. There were etchings within the essence. More than any of Sto's creatures had managed before. Was he making them better to force them to—it wasn't one etching.

"Whatever it is! You need to stop it!" Don yelled.

No, it was one, but it split at the source. Three of the creatures were making it.

Etching could be done in collaboration?

Ice exploded as a Dragoling slammed through. Tibs didn't have time for this.