Zapdos

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

"No"

MacKensie's assessment of their situation did not leave Adam with much confidence. Ignoring his own pain, upon observation James especially was not doing so great. The Druid appreciated the Ranger asking someone to move him though. And speaking of ignoring things, while Barracker moved the Cleric, Clive seemed to leave the red-eyed man in the rain. He considered speaking up, but it would have been redundant, since Zell went ahead and picked him up. 

Upon the swordsman's evaluation of his condition, Adam had to agree. “Not the best day.” Not much inflection or emotion to it, just a tired acceptance. It was taking much of the man's energy to stay awake at all, though he did remember to thank the “party idiot” when he set him down. “And be sure to get some help yourself, please.” Even in his current state, the Druid couldn't help being who he was, eyeing his teammate's leg. All the same, having the strength to move someone else while injured was impressive. Zell seemed to interpret Adam's message to mean “go in the temple.” Or was that his plan all along? The Fighter was kind of a mystery on a good day, and the red-eyed man was far too worn out to think about it. Better to rest and-

"Adam," she said to the red-eyed man she sat beside.  "What was it like?"  She let the question hang for a moment as she stared into the distance, before finally turning her head to look upon her equally beat up friend.  "To shapeshift - to be an animal."

MacKensie Trydant

Nope, not sleeping now. Adam didn't need to be a romantic genius to know that falling asleep after your crush asked you something would be a bad look. Instead, he looked at her and responded. How to describe it? It felt elitist, but the Ranger wasn't a Druid. She wouldn't entirely understand the forces involved. This was magic, magic that was innate to his class. Even the basic spells that he learned by accident made him more useful to his party than all those other fancy high-power wizards, or so he was told. Perhaps that's why Glee knew of his potential in the first place and-oh right, the question!

“...different. The feeling of power was something incredible, but I didn't always feel like myself. The bear part of me - what you saw on the mountain - tried taking over. That should be easier to resist with time, though. And for some reason, I feel like the spell has room to grow, pun not intended.” At this, he weakly chuckled, and then thanked MacKensie for her sentiment. When she got up, the fisherman noticed a potion next to him. Perhaps a villager had left it there while he was fighting the desire to rest? This was another question he didn't have the energy to ponder. Instead he drank the thing, grateful for its existence.

As he felt it working, the team's Ranger presented a question to everyone around. Which, unfortunately for him, wasn't something Adam could ignore this time. “What Second Chance should do” ranked high on the priority list for obvious reasons. And the Druid felt pretty strongly about what seemed to be the best course of action.

“We should go to the hospital, I think. If anyone needs food we can probably get some from the villagers and eat on the road, but some of us are in pretty bad shape.” Saying this, he looked at James before concluding his statement. “I'd rather not risk anything if it can be helped.”

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

James sharing a mind with Zigmund was not one of the things I expected to happen this battle. Very good writing Teyao!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Unbelievable pain.

Mytheria had been the cause of a great deal of injury since Adam had arrived in this new world. Ogres, wolves, wraiths and more had caused him to discover new ways of getting hurt.

None of this, however, compared to the experience of getting eviscerated by the water ninja. Oh, how close Second Chance had been to victory! Literally a few footsteps away. Then as if to laugh at them, whatever gods this world had made a rainstorm, and now the Druid was experiencing a downpour of pain. This, he decided, was what dying felt like.

And then, nothing.

Just pitch black for what felt like forever. Maybe Adam really was dead and there was nothing after that. Then he woke up to a scene of devastation. His friends severely injured, himself still in quite a bit of pain. Was this Hell? Punishment for failing to execute Zigmund on time?

Then he saw it.

The water ninja's head, bloody and detached from his body.

Somehow, they had won. Second Chance lived. Adam pulled himself off the ground and sat, breathing a sigh of relief; even though it kinda hurt to breathe, it was well worth it.

"By the forked beard of Ares, what happened here!”

It was Hardul. The Druid lacked the energy to interject, and since the dwarf was talking to MacKensie it seemed unnecessary anyway.

"I will bring our best healers and medicine, don't worry!”

More relief, and gratitude. Adam would have to thank him and anyone else who heeded his call later. Now though, the fisherman only had the strength for a quick question, aimed at nobody in particular as he tried to stay conscious. 

“Is everyone okay?”

Adam was curious what had happened, but that could wait. Even in his dazed state, the red-eyed man's priorities remained the same.

MAFIA: Madame Broussard's Witchy Wares

Honestly I got super distracted with real life and I don't think I have the focus for this right now, so I'll have to drop my interest. Thank you for asking though and good luck!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Lots of callbacks this round, any more and Second Chance might need to get a phone :P

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

xenon asked me to have Adam kill Zigmund, so I wrote a little post to do that.

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

After returning to his human form, Adam was relieved to see four other members of his team pick up where he had left off. It was impressive seeing their combined assault on Zigmund, even if the Druid was concerned about the injuries they received. Nothing fatal though; nobody was dying this time around, and the fatalities were technically in the negative with Clive back on the team. And speaking of death, James healing Barracker was another thing Adam was happy about. Everyone had stepped up for this fight, that much was certain. 

And now it was almost over. The once-ferocious water ninja seemed to be at death's door, and Adam felt most of the team was too injured to strike a finishing blow without worrying about any last-ditch tricks their adversary had up his metaphorical sleeve. So the fisherman walked up to Zigmund, close enough to attack but not so close he'd be in stabbing range. First he created a ring of the water absorbent roots around Zigmund to prevent an escape or to block any counter attacks. Then, aiming straight at their enemy, the Druid fired a natural energy beam at him. 

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

@Zool if MacKensie jumps over Adam instead, it could be a leapbear :P

@Ariana Grey I'd imagine xenon will PM you like Zool said, but I would encourage you to read at least a little bit of the posts before making a CS, if you haven't already done so. I'm not discounting xenon's worldbuilding skills, I'm just saying that the characters are a big part of what makes this story as good as it is. That might be relevant to your question, or might not be, I'm not sure. In either case, your interest in the story is appreciated!

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Today, Second Chance learned why they shouldn't annoy their Druid too much :P

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Adam felt cautiously optimistic, seeing the overall results of the attack on the water ninja by himself, Fenna and Barracker. The latter being severely injured wasn't a contribution to this emotion of course; the Druid was obviously concerned for his friend, but deep down he knew the Paladin would be okay. No, it was the results of their combined assault, and more importantly nobody dying that made the red-eyed man feel that everything would be okay. He wouldn't let down his guard, but the sheer terror of the last fight wasn't there right now.

What should I do now? Zigmund is still very-wait, what is that? It sounded like a horse, but nobody in Second Chance had one. A villager, perhaps? Adam would have to-

Suddenly, he heard a whinny and did a double-take at what he just saw - a certain Texan that he thought was dead. 

“Clive!?”

The incredulous fisherman wondered if this was some kind of dark magic Zigmund used until the horseman proceeded to punch their common enemy. Okay, not an enemy. We can address everything else later, Adam thought, wiping a single tear from his eye. And James and MacKensie had kept their focus on the villain, successfully assaulting him with their own abilities and weapons. Yes, this will hopefully end soon.

“MacKensie!”

When the ninja struck the Ranger, the Druid struck a defensive pose, ready to cast. Growing some roots like last time would probably be sufficient. But as Zigmund advanced towards him, Adam realized that a very different sort of magic would be required now. It wasn't ideal timing, though what in battle was ever ideal?

Preparing himself mentally in the seconds that he had to spare, the shrill voice of Gilligan rang out in his head. “The shapeshifting transformation won't be easy the first few times. You'll struggle to think rationally and logically, and be yourself mentally.” Yes, Adam knew that he would have to fight in more ways than one right now. He sighed, then cast the spell. A green aura enveloped the Druid as he changed form, taking the shape of a black bear. Zigmund attempted to harm the newly transformed man with a boosted, gauntlet-powered fist, but it would do no good; the latter shifted his body, easily blocking the punch with his left foreleg before slamming his opponent down to the ground with his right paw.

After this, the ninja tried attacking once again, attempting to kick his adversary into submission. It would not connect though; instead, the bear forcefully bit Zigmund's helmet, denting it and lifting the elemental into the air. Unable to maneuver, the evil one was completely unprepared as the shapeshifter let go of his head, only to expose him to a barrage of bear claw slashes. Even with the endurance boost, these attacks would damage and chip his armor significantly, including adding a new five-line scar to his helmet. Adam followed up on this with a terrifying roar, feeling more like a beast than a human at that point. Focus, Adam. This isn't you. He then knocked his opponent a considerable distance away with a final strike of his paw before ending his transformation early, returning to his original form.