Headed by a Snake

A single tear fell down the Lone Shadowdark's cheek.

He was glad that the white cloud of dust grew thick enough to hide it.

It was a hard-fought battle and he earned a hole in his stomach for his efforts... But he finished the fight... and without any help, even from Tycon's support Skills.

Blood and sweat matted his dark hair to his forehead.

Lone moved to wipe his face.

Eh?

His wolf-hammer dropped to the floor.

Seven hells.

Was he losing consciousness?

He dropped his weapon. It was the worst thing that could happen. Every time he or Pale dropped their weapons during training, Boss Tycon would scream and beat them.

Boss Tycon haaaaaaated it when he dropped his weapon.

Every time he would almost drop it, he'd grip his weapon tighter. He was trained that even when he would lose consciousness he wouldn't let go... so why?

His entire body felt stiff... numb. But he was still aware of what was going on. He couldn't even feel the wound in his stomach anymore.

What was going--

...

Wolfrider held his halberd at the ready, "What's with that cloud? Is it another enemy?"

Tycondrius grimaced as he observed the white mana-fog. Judging by the number of stone statues, he had an inkling of the cloud's effects.

« System, analysis: The magical cloud enveloping Lone. »

[Petrifying Cloud. Third-Circle Transmutation. The target and all its carried gear is transmuted into an inert statue.]

Tycon took in a deep breath and sighed. Importing so much marble-stone and crafting so many statues was an expensive ordeal. He had feared that the Wizard, instead, had access to a Flesh to Stone Spell. It was reasonable that from there, the Wizard had cast a different spell to animate the statues, keeping them as loyal, mindless slaves.

The statue's destruction activated a defensive measure-- an intelligent Wizard design. A weakened combatant was more susceptible to being affected by a sudden spell attack. And even if the combatant wasn't injured, repeated petrifying clouds would give adventurers of any Rank pause.

The cloud dissipated, revealing a majestic marble-statue of the injured Lone.

"By the gods!" Wolfrider yelped, "This guy was sooooo stupid! That's what he gets for trusting that pink-haired girl!"

Tycon raised an eyebrow... Lone's condition had nothing to do with trusting the maidservant. It seemed Wolfrider had a penchant for placing the blame on circumstances he didn't like, regardless of the logic.

"...Right. I'll restore his condition, then," Tycon sighed again, relaxing his shoulders, as he walked toward Lone.

Being turned to stone was a death sentence for an adventurer. It was practically impossible to cure the condition anywhere outside the Free Nation, where a male medusa could be sought out. Female medusa had a petrifying gaze, while the rare males had a de-petrification breath. Tycon imagined that several thousand years ago, females were responsible for hunting creatures, where the males would take care of the clutch and de-petrify stored food.

He much preferred the existence of... keeping livestock and... restaurants in urban areas. The creation of ice and boxes enchanted with cold magic were also a modern amenity that kept food far more fresh than stone and not-stone.

Tycon observed Lone's damages: swollen left wrist, limply hanging left arm, a hole in his stomach and ruined armor.

At the very least, the young man reached his small breakthrough. That was worth the trouble... though Tycon would have preferred it if Lone had taken less damage. Lone's combat power would be lower for the remainder of the tower-- and for a few suns or weeks depending on how long his arm took to heal with magical assistance.

Tycon focused his mana, concentrating on the natural feeling of energy pooling in his core. The mana expenditure of his Flesh to Stone ability was less than that of his Iron Dragon Rend Skill. The ambient mana in the Wizard Tower further alleviated the cost-- but it was still uncomfortable to utilize so much at once.

He placed a hand on the kneeling Lone's shoulder and gently breathed upon his white-marble skin. Lone's flesh began to regain its color, slowly spreading from his cheek, down his neck, and to the rest of his body.

Not enough. Tycon groaned inwardly. He took another deep breath and blew...

Once his body and clothing had regained their color, Lone shuddered. Flecks of white dust fell from his clothes, dissipating into mana and reabsorbed and recirculated by the Tower.

Barza Keith, the Lone Shadowdark, blinked and rubbed his eyes. Both of his hands immediately gripped onto his again-bleeding stomach injury as he winced in pain.

"Ugh... Ow... Why-- why are you blowing into my ear?"

Lone looked to his left, where Levi Wolfrider was blowing.

Tycon furrowed his brows. He did not know why Wolfrider was blowing into Lone's ear.

...Did Wolfrider also have a Stone to Flesh ability?

And Lone was already cured of his petrification status. Why was the weretouched boy still blowing?

After noticing everyone's stares, Wolfrider crossed his arms and turned away in a huff, "Sh-shut up, we saved you."

Tycon's mouth twitched, "Right... it was a joint effort, I suppose."

...

Tycondrius cast Inspirational Surge on the Lone Shadowdark, closing his stomach wound. Sasha asked for the blessings of the snake god in order to further heal Lone-- notably his broken arm.

Divine Healing magic was far more effective for treating injuries than Tycondrius' accelerated healing Skill. However, being a low-level caster and still wholly unused to controlling her mana, Sasha grew sleepy. It was a sign of mana exhaustion-- a light level of it that wasn't greatly debilitating. If it wasn't for the Magic Tower's ambient mana, she would have likely laid down to take a nap.

Unlike when Dragan broke his arm in Merylsward, Lone could operate his recently fractured arm without pain or worry... Still, Tycon advised him against using his left for strenuous operations for the next several suns.

Wolfbanger tried to wrap an impromptu sling around Lone.

The white-furred weretouched boy's bandage-wrapping skills were horrendous.

Tycon ordered Lone to go without the sling.

"Come now, Invictus." Tycon gathered Sasha, Lone, and Wolfrider, "Let us search the rooms for 'clues' and ascend to the next floor. We should be able to at least meet with Lulu soon."

Lone sighed, "I hope we don't find any more mimics."