The queen’s roar intensified. Lucian guessed what was coming, and dumped his 3 free points into Willpower, bringing it to 33. A wave of heat haze like distortion erupted from the queen’s mandibles as the sound escalated to a piercing ringing that echoed inside the chamber. 33 willpower wasn’t enough. Lucian froze, muscles locking up under the effects of the skill empowered sound.

  He did manage to force [Manifest Weapon] to remain active, though the blade flickered and a trickle of blood ran down his lip from his nose.

  Annabelle actually invested into Willpower and wasn’t affected, she hit him with a [Minor Cure] but it wasn’t sufficient to break Lucian free of the paralysis. She ran to the side, creating distance between them in case the queen unleashed an area attack. As she moved, wisps of pale green energy began to manifest around her.

  She hadn’t told Lucian what she got as her 9th skill, only that she wanted to surprise him with it. As she readied her skill, the paralysis ended. Lucian immediately [Quickstep]ped forward, striking the queen’s head with a blow from his sword. He didn’t cut through its armor, but he did jerk its head to the side - in time to prevent a series of iron spikes that it spit from its mouth from hitting Annabelle - instead lodging themselves into the walls with loud cracks.

  Annabelle skidded to a stop and raised her hand to the side. The wisps followed it, and coalesced into a roiling sphere which shone with malevolent green light.

  Annabelle grinned, though her eyes displayed a deep focus. The sphere compressed and the glow intensified, “[Viper’s Lance]!” She aimed her hand at the queen and the sphere erupted into a thin line of green light. It struck the queen’s abdomen and it roared in agony.

  Lucian grabbed one of its antennae and swung up onto the top of its head, “Woah!” He laughed, “Hey that was pretty fucking cool!” He scanned the plating armoring its head, then then neck, angling his sword down and letting go of the antenna he had gripped. Lucian slid down its back and thrust his blade down, activating [Penetrating Strike] to ensure it worked as he struck at a slight seam in the plating of its armor. The blade met resistance then broke through, plunging halfway in.

  The queen roared, activating her skill again, and Lucian leapt back before freezing up, falling to the ground instead of landing properly - but at least he was out of immediate danger as the queen thrashed around.

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  On the other side of the queen, Annabelle was already charging up a second [Viper’s Lance]. The damage from the first impact was not insignificant, the armor plating had been punched through and was corroding rapidly outwards from the initial point of impact.

  She didn’t charge the second spell as long as the first, unleashing it about a second before Lucian felt the paralyzing effect wear off. The beam struck the same spot, and the queen shrieked loudly.

  “God damn I need more Willpower.” Lucian backed away, circling around to where Annabelle was. From that angle, he could see the damage her skills had done. He whistled, “Nice…”

  “Right? It’s super expensive though.” She laughed. The queen shuddered and two of its legs, near the point of impact, gave out. “Alright go finish it off.” Annabelle said, patting Lucian’s back, “It’s probably going to die eventually if you don’t, but you should put it out of its misery.”

  Lucian nodded, “Alright then.” He pulled his sword up. With a hum, the blade flashed and swelled in size as he activated [Heightened Manifestation]. He shot forward, letting his blade drag behind him as he moved. As he approved the queen he angled the blade and swung it, transferring the momentum of his movement into the weapon - and adding [Penetrating Strike] on top of it. He tacked [Slash] on at the last second as well, just for good measure.

  His blade cut through the air with a whistle. It met resistance, but nonetheless cut through the monster’s reinforced exterior, separating its head from its body. The swing and impact canceled most of Lucian’s forward momentum, and he landed and skidded to a stop not far from the queen as its body fell to the side.

  He immediately put the points into Willpower, then looked over at Annabelle. She grinned, “Level 36.”

  Lucian nodded, “We’re the same then. Looks like a nest of giant bugs was all you needed to catch up.” He smiled at her and dismissed his weapon, “3 levels in total is nothing to scoff at.”

  “Oh for sure. Definitely worth the time it took. Shall we head back now?” She stretched her arms up over her head briefly, “I need a nap.”

  “Fine by me.” Lucian agreed, and the pair made their way out of the nest.