He Who Fights with Monsters, #1
He Who Fights with Monsters
by Shirtaloon
Contents
27. Water, Fall
Overview
Jason and Hiram confront the shab in the dry waterfall tunnel. Jason tests his new iron-rank abilities, stacking afflictions to rot the creature from within and then restoring himself with Blood Harvest. As they consider next steps, the aperture surges blue and unleashes a catastrophic torrent, sweeping them out into open air.
Summary
Jason and Hiram face the slow-advancing shab in the drained waterfall tunnel. Hiram, empowered by a might essence, restrains the pincers so Jason can reach a weak point. Jason slips, is stabbed, then carves a joint and triggers Leech Bite, inflicting bleeding and his dagger’s umbral venom.
Forced beneath the creature, Jason rakes its unarmored underbelly with Punish, applying necrotic damage and Sin. He then casts Inexorable Doom to keep stacking the poison and curse. Following the plan discussed on the desert journey, Jason orders Hiram to disengage and let the afflictions escalate.
The shab’s limbs necrose and it collapses, completing Jason’s quest and granting quintessence gems and coins. Jason admits concern about relying on his dagger for necrotic damage. He uses Blood Harvest to heal his wounds and desiccate the corpse to a husk.
Upon looting, the body dissolves into rainbow smoke that also vaporizes the fluids on Jason, making him vomit. Griff arrives at the fence; Hiram suggests involving Jason’s adventurer companions to address the shuttered waterfall.
Noticing the aperture’s blue glow intensifying, they prepare to withdraw, but a wall of water erupts through the tunnel. The surge smashes them together and hurls them out of the mountain, hundreds of meters into open air.
Who Appears
- Jason AsanoFights the shab; applies bleeding, Sin, and Inexorable Doom; heals with Blood Harvest; worries about reliance on necrotic dagger; swept out by flood.
- HiramUses might essence to hold the shab’s pincers, is wounded, supports Jason’s plan, suggests calling adventurers, then is blasted out by the flood.
- ShabCrab-like monster in the waterfall tunnel; wounded underneath and killed by stacking curses, poison, and necrosis.
- GriffReturns when the waterfall stops; checks on Hiram and Jason after the fight and hears their plan to call adventurers.