Age of the Deluge

Liam triggered his Insight Rune. A translucent display of data flashed in his mind.

[Name: Arrow Serpent]

[Level: 3]

[Type: Common Class Ether Beast]

[Description: A non-venomous constrictor. Evolves into the Elite Class King Arrow Serpent.]

Level 3 Common Class? Perfect.

Liam felt a rush of excitement. Since his team was already Level 4, these snakes were weak enough to be low-risk, but high enough level to be worth the effort. They were the perfect farming targets for gathering Ether. The only downside was the low spawn count. But, Liam reasoned, the other rooms were probably crawling with them.

He signaled the team and drifted down to the twenty-eighth floor.

Gwen was already there waiting for him. She pointed into the gloom, asking for orders.

Liam peered through a balcony door. This was the jackpot. The room was teeming with Arrow Serpents—at least twenty or thirty in a single cluster. If the rest of the floor was like this, the numbers would be insane.

Beautiful. That's enough XP to boost all of us to Level Five.

Liam suppressed a grin and did a quick recon of the floors below. The twenty-seventh floor held more snakes, but the twenty-sixth was different. He spotted creatures that looked like monkeys with green fur and webbed feet.

His Insight Rune tagged them: [Aqua Simian. Level 4. Common Class.]

Liam decided not to push his luck any deeper. There were probably stronger monsters further down, but the Arrow Serpents were the safest bet for now. Stirring up the snakes might attract the attention of the deeper nasties, but that was a risk they'd have to take.

Liam knew how this worked. Usually, you only pulled aggro from the nearby floors. The deep-water monsters wouldn't bother coming up unless something major happened.

He gave Gwen and Harris a thumbs-up gesture, signaling to surface.

They ascended silently, careful not to wake the sleeping beasts, and broke the surface without incident. Liam gasped, filling his lungs with air.

"How's it look?" Drake asked from the corridor.

"Solid," Liam said, wiping water from his face. "The next few floors are packed with Level 3 Arrow Serpents. Perfect for grinding. Gwen, Harris, get out of the water. I'll pull them up to us."

Harris nodded and hauled himself through the window. For once, Gwen didn't argue. She knew Liam was the strongest fighter; it made sense for him to be the bait.

Once Gwen was safe in the corridor, Liam took a fresh breath and dove back down.

Luring these things wasn't exactly rocket science. Liam propelled himself toward the twenty-ninth-floor balcony, his machete raised. He zeroed in on the closest sleeping snake and swung.

The Arrow Serpent woke up an instant too late. Its triangular head reared back, but before it could even process the threat, Liam's blade severed its neck.

Blood clouded the water. The other serpents on the balcony snapped awake instantly.

A wisp of white energy—Ether—drifted from the sever body and absorbed into Liam's forehead. Game on.

[Level 4 Spirit Wielder: Ether 19/50]

Liam didn't stick around to admire his kill. He spun in the murky depths and kicked hard for the surface.

Behind him, the water churned. Seven—no, eight—Arrow Serpents materialized from the gloom.

As the creatures uncoiled, Liam realized just how deceptive they were. Tucked away, they looked manageable, but fully extended, even the runts were over thirteen feet long. They looked less like snakes and more like living, heat-seeking missiles. Streamlined and terrifyingly fast, they stiffened their bodies into rigid lines, shooting through the water with unnatural speed.

Now Liam knew why they were called Arrow Serpents. Subtlety wasn't really their thing.

He breached the surface, gasping for air, but two of the serpents were already on him. Their strategy was simple: catch the prey, wrap around it, and squeeze until something popped. They looked wiry, but Liam knew that once they coiled, they hit with enough torque to twist a steel pipe like a pretzel.

A split second later, Liam felt a wet, scaly vice clamp around his right leg.

Fortunately, his reflexes were borderline inhuman. He snapped his left hand down, and the Fang of Gluttony—a spectral, four-inch claw—manifested instantly. He slashed downward.

The serpent barely had time to tighten its grip before the Fang sheared right through it.

[Level 4 Spirit Wielder: Ether 20/50]

Dead snake drifting away, Liam planted his feet against the wall underwater and launched himself upward. His right hand, gripping his machete, hooked onto the windowsill of the corridor above. With a grunt of effort, he hauled himself out of the water, executing a mid-air backflip to land on the concrete.

Beneath him, another Arrow Serpent broke the surface, launching itself into the air like a harpoon aimed straight at his chest.

Gwen and Drake were ready. Drake stepped in, swinging a heavy steel pipe with brutal efficiency, while Gwen threw out her left hand. Vines sprouted from her palm—her Verdant Bind ability.

The magical vines were faster than Drake's swing. They lashed out, snatching the airborne serpent by its head. Gwen yanked her arm back, ripping the thirteen-foot monster out of its trajectory and slamming it toward the corridor floor.

Before it could recover, she drove the combat spike in her right hand downward. The Verdant Bind held it specifically for the kill. Blood sprayed across the concrete as the serpent was cleaved in half. Its carcass tumbled back out the window and splashed into the water, releasing a mote of light—Ether—that drifted straight into Gwen's forehead.

Liam landed smoothly next to them. Behind him, the water erupted. A chaotic chorus of splashes signaled the arrival of the rest of the pack. One by one, the serpents launched themselves at the balcony.

They were torpedos underwater, but in the air, gravity was a harsh mistress. They were slower, easier targets.

The corridor was a narrow choke point. The five companions stood shoulder-to-shoulder, watching the serpents arc through the window.

"They're non-toxic," Liam called out, his voice calm. "Tier 3 Ether Beasts. Nothing to be scared of."

He emphasized his point by casually swatting a serpent out of the air with his machete. Another orb of Ether absorbed into him. The severed snake fell back into the water, leaking blood that began to spread like a dark cloud, signaling dinner time to everything lurking below.

The group made short work of the first wave. Everyone but Sheila had racked up a kill. The water below was turning a grim shade of crimson, and shadows were rising from the deep. The surviving serpents weren't retreating; they were cannibalizing the dead, thrashing in a feeding frenzy that churned the dark tide.

Then came the second wave. More than thirty serpents launched from the bloody water, a hail of scales and teeth raining down on the five defenders.