Theo’s patterned breathing became second nature to her as she moved through the air towards the vermin lord again. A trick she had learned back in track in high school that helped her keep her blood oxygenated as she pressed her physical strength to her limits.

  Her tier up had done a lot to help with how much mana she had and how [gale heart] used the energy. But she was growing tired. Her fighting at the lines of the guards had been exhausting and she was now using the relative calm above the ground to pace herself slightly and catch her breath as she tested the vermin lord.

  It wasn’t dumb. It tried to predict her movements or swat her out of the air with thrown rats. But her newest skill gave her slight warnings that tingled in the back of her mind. It was comparable to the feelings she sometimes had back on Earth when she found herself in the flow of whatever competitive game she had been playing.

  Moments of clarity that let her feel what she had to do more than she actually knew what she was doing. She couldn’t kill all the rats herself. But she could help the defenders of the city by being a pain in the ass for the monster that had attacked it and the guild that were holding back.

  She had seen how the separate lines of the Slayers and Hounds were practically forcing the guard to do all the heavy lifting she moved to alleviate some of that stress by using the rat’s ire against her. There were what she assumed were Seekers present amongst the guard’s line and were helping where they could.

  Maybe she was petty, but watching rats crash against the Slayer’s line was worth it.

  It also helped her catch her breath as she prepared to make a strike against the vermin lord. It had teleported away from her the first time, bursting into a smaller swarm of rats before rebuilding itself further away. She could feel its tier like a palpable pressure, unlike anything she had met in a fight before, Theo knew this thing was tier five. But whatever strength that had given it, it clearly wasn’t keen on entering direct confrontation with her.

  She just needed to find an opening and then really pull out the stops.

  The feather near Theo’s chest was delivering a stream of constant essence that helped alleviate her expenditure and she knew that without it she probably would have exhausted herself by now. While her sword and the skill she had received from the trials had been fantastic rewards, she had further affirmed the idea that the feather itself had been the most valuable reward from the trial and now she was leaning on the advantage it had given her as much as she could.

  Theo took a moment to loop around so the vermin lord would have to watch her or the line of defenders and she was pleased to see it focused on her. She was already feeling sick from how much death she had witnessed, and wanted to do everything she could to stop more from dying.

  The carpet of rats that had followed her began to climb on one another as she dodged a thrown rat from the vermin lord. The rat projectile was huge, but too slow and since [wind step] only worked while she was moving, it arrived too late. Passing through the air feet off its mark.

  Gripping the hilt of her sword she sent a [geist] directly at the vermin lord. The skill, as charged up as she could make it, aimed to deliver an [air strike] that would cause the skill to fully dissipate with one attack, not that she expected it to land.

  The [geist] closed in on the vermin lord who seemed to only notice it when it drew close and like before, it relocated itself instead of trying to contend with the [geist’s] attack directly.

  Like a bullet she took off, she arrived just as the vermin lord finished reforming and her sword sliced into the creature’s back. A pained squeal coming from it and Theo’s [bad feeling] flared as she rushed to move away.

  A torrent of rats exploded from the vermin lord as it whirled around to look at her with visible hatred. There were so many of the little beasts that more than a few managed to cling to her as she darted back to the guard lines trying to pull the wily creatures from her body.

  Sharp bites sunk into exposed flesh and she hissed in pain as she plucked them from her body and threw them to the ground. Someone came up and helped her, and she recognized him as the man commanding all of the guard on this assault.

  She wasn’t planning on staying here for long, but she needed a moment to shake the feeling of having rats swarm her body and the man took that time to speak.

  “Thank you for the help. Can you keep fighting?” He was large, but his voice was surprisingly gentle when he wasn’t bellowing orders or shouting out that boosting skill she had felt earlier.

  “Yeah. Just wasn’t expecting that.” Theo shuddered, glancing at the swarm that was bearing down on the guard now that she wasn’t distracting it. “I’ve got more to give, but that damn thing isn’t staying still. From what I can tell it isn’t all that strong, but still…”

  The guard commander blinked. “Can you kill it?” He asked, his voice to calm for the battle raging around them.

  “Pretty sure. If I can get a clean hit.” Theo loosened her arms, while she mainly used one hand to swing her sword, both were sore from the constant fighting and exertion she was performing.

  “Then get ready. The guard still has a few tricks to burn.” The commander turned and shouted. “Mage squads. Full barrage!”

  Theo felt the man activate a skill, but it wasn’t the same as before. But the mages who had been holding back most of their power until things got really bad pivoted as one fand lances of light, fire and lighting crashed outwards into the horde of rats.

  It made her ears ring and her mana sense burn as the battlefield shook.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Captains. Focus on the vermin lord!” Another order came out, and more magic followed.

  This wave of attacks was more diverse, the captains of the guard sent out a volley of gleaming projectiles that forced the vermin lord to relocate again and again.

  Theo didn’t need an order to know her role and she once again left the relative safety of the lines as she positioned herself to strike.

  As the vermin lord relocated once again, she was there. Lashing out with both her magic and her blade, she aimed for the kill. But the vermin lord sacrificed its arm to slow the attack long enough to draw away from her at teleport once again.

  Theo hissed in frustration, already the attacks forcing it to move were slowing and the swarm had built up again to put pressure on the men and women unable to flee to the air like she could.

  She focused on her skills as she readied herself again. She was going to end this with the next attack. Come hell or high water.

  Wind flowed around her as she used her new knowledge of magic and skills learned from her Rikard, Bretta and her time in the library.

  Skills were recognized by the system once a certain level of instinct and ability had been reached. While [air strike] had been the finisher she had used until now. She wanted more, needed more.

  Essence dragged from the feather by the fistfuls pumped into her as she focused on [air strike] using her sword as an anchor to bolster it as more and more magic flowed into her and then into the skill.

  She felt a presence around her, not the system. But something from the feather.

  “Greedy aren’t you?” A low chuckle echoed from the storm of wind around her before deflecting off the mana and distorting into a low roar. She didn’t have time to question it as a wave of power coursed through her connection with the feather and she felt a shift in her status sheet.

  [Skill evolved: Air Strike -> Cloud Strike]

  The presence faded and Theo ignored her thoughts for the moment as the vermin lord appeared close enough for her to act.

  Wind roared in her ears as she blasted through the air. The vermin lord had seemingly learned from her previous attacks and already had a tower of rats building in front of it to intercept her, but a blast of focused magic from the mages tore the rat tower down and cleared a path for her.

  Using all of her skills in tandem, [geist] and [gale heart] boosting her speed and strength, [wind mantle] and [wind step] to add more speed, and finally [aim] and [bad feeling] working together to tell her where to strike while avoiding the vermin lord’s desperate attack at her. Theo swung. The vermin lord’s eyes full of rage and now fear raised its staff to block her strike and send her to the ground.

  Her sword bit deeply into the wood, unable to break completely through the clearly magical item but where her blade stopped. Her magic did not.

  [Wind talon] carried her newly formed skill past the vermin lords block. A crescent of cloud and wind passed cleanly through the monstrous rat, bisecting it two from head to groin. An explosion of air pushed the body halves apart as [cloud strike] detonated with a blast of air and wisps of cloud, sending the two pieces tumbling into the swarm below.

  Almost as one, the rats went into a panicked frenzy, but even as tired as she felt. It was simple enough for Theo to kick off the head of one of the larger rats and step back into the air.

  Her body felt like a wet noodle and her connection to the feather felt equally strained, but it didn’t take much to retreat to the lines as she read the system message as the rats around the guard scattered. Whatever blood lust the vermin lord had instilled into them fading with its death.

  [Rift Devouring Vermin Lord Defeated]

  [System Reward Tabulating…]

  The essence from the creature was still flowing into her, and it acted as a balm to her drained soul. There was a lot of it too, but she was too tired to feel out how far along it had pushed her.

  She sat down heavily, as the guards around her relaxed. The sudden lack of real threats brought a timid lull to the sounds around her. It was shortly followed by a raucous cheer and then she was surrounded by people clapping her on her shoulders or trying to get a word of praise in.

  Theo found herself extremely uncomfortable, but plastered a fake smile on her face not wanting to bring down anyone's mood. All she really wanted now was a bed and a shower, but first she wanted to secure the core the vermin lord surely had. It was definitely going to be worth something.

  Extracting herself from the excitement, she quickly jogged to the split corpse of the monster. She was lucky and found it quickly, her attack having left the core exposed and she quickly grabbed it.

  Turning around she found the glaring face from someone she really didn’t want to see right now.

  Jarrot, the noble she had met back at the slayers guild, and several other slayers backing him.

  “I demand that core as is my right by contract with the guard.” He practically gleamed with smugness, presumably remembering their encounter at the guild as well.

  “You can rightfully eat a handful of rocks.” Theo responded with a look of disgust on her face. “I earned this, unlike you and yours sitting back and taking it easy.”

  “Be quiet and hand over what is mine. A mere guard has no right to speak to me in such a way, and as I stated. By contract that is mine. I’ll make sure the city council hears of your disrespect.” His voice was grating on Theo, but his words gave her a shit-eating grin as she stared him down.

  “Good thing I’m not part of the guard then asshole.” She rebutted.

  “So you’re a liar too.” He gestured at her “You’re in uniform, you imbecile.”

  Theo just laughed, but before she could respond someone else butted into the attempted shakedown.

  “I can confirm she is not part of the guard. I believe she is working under contract with one of the other guilds. But even if that were the case, it is hers by right.” The commander spoke softly, his voice carrying a dangerous edge to it that caused the nobleman to actively take a step away from the commander.

  He seemed lost for words but eventually found his voice.

  “The council will hear about this.” But the threat felt empty to Theo and without another word the man marched away with his entourage in tow.

  Theo let out a snort, mirrored by the commander.

  “What a dick.” Was all she commented on before she turned to the commander. “Thank you, that was a big help. Theo.” She extended her hand for a handshake that the man returned.

  “Commander Sartha Certif. And thank you. Your help here saved a lot of lives. The guard won’t forget that, especially now that others in the city will be working against you. Jarrot has too much power for how petty he can be.”

  “I figured that would be the case.” Theo sighed. That noble was going to be a headache, she just knew it.