Xicackna closed her eyes. Maybe it would hurt less if she didn't see the predator rushing towards her to finish her off? Of course not, but she preferred to try to convince herself of it to make her last moments a little less distressing.
An immense sadness overwhelmed her, almost surpassing the pain, as she thought back to everything she would have liked to do in her life, to the colony she would have liked to build and of which she had so often dreamed.
A voice resonated powerfully in the air, authoritative:
“STEPS BACK! YOU HIDEOUS OTHERWORDLY MONSTER!”
Filled with surprise, she opened her eyes.
Above her, hovering in place, a male waved his wings in a threatening pose, seemingly born from an intimidation skill. Impressed, the tiger backed away, but its single eye looked angrily for a cautious opportunity to counterattack.
The male took advantage of the monster's distance to land and, immediately, the beast jumped... to remain frozen in the air with a gesture of hand. Despite her blurred vision, Xicackna managed to grasp what was happening:
Skill “Time Freeze [D]” used by Kol-Gaar [E] on Superior Tiger [E]
Consumption 20 Energy / minute
Apparently, Observation also allowed her to obtain information on the skills used around her. She was convinced that she had already seen a Human Hunter use this power before, or a similar ability. However, the pain prevented her from thinking about it any longer as her life points scrolled by, slowly but surely.
Then, nothing happened. The prince, who was apparently called Kol-Gaar, continued to watch the animal immobilized in the air. Xicackna felt impatience invade her as surely as her blood left her:
“What are you waiting for to attack? You paralyzed it, finish this monster!”
The male moved so that he could observe both the creature and Xicackna, to whom he threw an annoyed look:
“Shut up, idiot! If I attack it, its immobilization will be over and it will become immune to this power for ten minutes!”
Xicackna nearly choked and spat a clot of blood mixed with acid on the ground. Idiot? No one had ever insulted her to this extent, much less a male. Who did he think he was? She clung to the anger she felt, appreciating the fact that it chased the pain from her thoughts:
“So, what’s the point of what you’re doing? You’re the one who’s an idiot! If you can only stop this enemy, you’re useless since I’ll be dead soon! You’d better leave then!”
Risking a longer glance in the princess’s direction, the prince seemed to notice her injury.
Skill "Analysis [D]" used on you [F] by Kol-Gaar [E]
You use "Falsification [D]" to hide some of your information
Falsification Failure:
All of your information is analyzable by Kol-Gaar
The male let out a small exclamation as he noticed the severity of the princess's injury.
Superior Tiger [E] uses 120 Vigor to disrupt “Time Freeze [D]”
Kol-Gaar [E] consumes 240 Energy to counter this effort.
The male clenched his mandibles in anger and concentration.
“This was not planned. He thought. This idiot will die if she is not treated soon and my soldiers are slow to come. I have no potions… Ah… How long would it take me to kill the tiger if I faced it?”
Superior Tiger [E] uses 20 Vigor to disrupt “Time Freeze [D]”
Kol-Gaar [E] consumes 40 Energy to counter this effort.
The prince's hands gripped his spear tightly and, his decision made, he rushed forward. Taking advantage of his target's paralysis, he aimed well and his first hit was a critical hit inflicting 98 damage points on the monster. The latter had narrowly avoided going blind, the disappearance of its invisible restraint having allowed it to slightly deflect its head at the last moment. Mad with rage, the tiger rushed forward and a furious hand-to-hand combat began.
The princess could see that her savior was more used to fighting than she was. Well, he also had a better weapon, which was not insignificant. The way he moved indicated better characteristics than hers, but the tiger kept pace. Its blows penetrated the prince's chitin, but unlike what had happened to Xicackna, the monster could not find a good enough hold to tear off a piece.
At the rate of her life points fleeing, the princess followed the exchange by dividing it into ten-second periods. On average, the prince inflicted ten to twenty points of damage more than his opponent, which was not glorious since it was roughly equivalent to the difference given by the reduction of his armor compared to that of his opponent. He nevertheless managed some nice actions, like nimbly dodging a violent claw blow during the third time.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
A little delirious because of her significant blood loss, she didn't miss anything of the exchange and counted seven times before the monster collapsed dead. The beast had not tried to flee, which was probably a strange attitude for an animal confronted with something stronger than itself. Unless the rage from its injuries had completely blinded it, taking away any thought of retreat?
Superior Tiger Level 12 defeated:
Xicackna the Observer
Combat XP : 80
Kol-Gaar
Combat XP : 80
Finisher XP: 80
Finally, the monster was dead. With 80 XP gained, that made 40 stored and 40 actually gained, so she had 389 XP left before the next level. With such a large margin, there was no point in counting on a level up to heal. Xicackna still had 15 HP left and if the prince didn’t have the means to save her, she would die in two to three minutes…
She had caught a few glimpses of Kol-Gaar's features, but this time she focused to see more:
Status:
Name: Kol-Gaar
Race: [Zcarbb]
Class: Strategist [rank E] Level 17
Profession: Prince
Hit points (HP): 554 (+0)/555 (+34)
Energy Points (EP): 3536 (+122)/3536 (+442)
Vigor: 255 (+17)/255 (+34)
Armor: 31 (+7)/31 (+7)
Current experience: 7912
Experience needed for next level: 588
Abilities:
Strength: 33 (+3!)
Agility: 333 (+3!)
Stamina: 15 (+2!)
Intelligence: 26
Armor (natural): 3 (+7!)
Mana: 0,8 (+1!)
Luck: 3
Points available: 0
Attributes (1):
Hive Mind (Natural Power) [Ability to transmit limited information to the hive over a variable distance]
Skills (7):
Chitin Armor (D) [passive natural power, +30 Armor, +100 HP]
Acid throw (E) [Natural power]
Total immunity to acid [D] [Natural power]
Flight (wings) [D] [Natural power]
Class Skills (8):
Stratagem (D) (Supernatural Power) [The System provides you with tools to develop your plans] [Hidden Trait [Unlocked] "Hidden Hand" half of your skills are undetectable (based on detection level), 1/3 of your characteristics will appear higher and 1/3 will appear lower]
Intimidate (E) (Supernatural Power) Worries enemies [Costs 10 Vigor per use]
Provoke (E) (Supernatural Power) Irritates enemies [Costs 5 Vigor per use]
Analyze (D) (Supernatural Power) Allows you to obtain very detailed information on a nearby target. [This power allows you to understand in depth the nature of the targets analyzed; allows you to protect your information from an “Analysis” skill of equal or lower level]
ACTIVE EQUIPMENT:
Hive Defense Spear (E) [+2 Armor; +2 Stamina] [2-handed weapon]
Minor Bracers of Strength (E) [+3 Strength] [Arm Ornament, Pair]
2x Armor Necklace (E) [+1 Armor] [Neck Ornament]
Focus Headband (E) [+1 Mana] [Head Armor]
Leather Gloves (F) [+1 Agility] [Hand Armor]
Adventurer's Tunic (E) [+2 Armor, +1 Agility] [Chest Armor]
Leather Leg Guards (F) [+1 Armor] [Leg Armor]
Pedestrian Protection Bandages (F) [+1 Agility] [Foot Armor]
The princess furrowed her chitinous brows at the many inconsistencies she saw, before seeing the source: the skill "Stratagem" and its trait: "Hidden Hand". She assumed that strength and agility had overestimated values... especially agility... and it was certainly armor and mana that were underestimated. Half of the skills were hidden, but she could probably see all of his equipment. The items reinforced by the System were truly considerable assets and he was literally covered in them!
Kol-Gaar approached her and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by his own cry of pain.
Emerging from the vegetation cover, having leapt on his back, a new Superior Tiger inflicted two terrible critical hits: a brutal laceration for 54 points of damage and a deep bite for 96 points.
Rolling on the ground, the male shook off the assailant and then stood up, spear pointed forward. Unperturbed, the beast spat out a piece of shell and roared in a manner that seemed triumphant. Other roars answered it and six other predators quietly left the tall bushes that concealed them.
Skill “Time Freeze [D]” used by Kol-Gaar [E] on 7 Superior Tigers [E]
Consumption 140 Energy / minute
The prince's raised hand stopped the pack in its tracks.
7 Superior Tigers [E] each use 120 Vigor to disrupt “Time Freeze [D]”
Kol-Gaar [E] consumes 1680 Energy to counter this effort.
“Well,” thought the prince, “if I calculated correctly and their stats are similar to the first, they have used up a lot of their stamina. I could hold them off for ten minutes, but the fool will be dead in less than two… I could carry her away in the air, but that would make her bleeding worse: if it drops to B rank, she will probably die in my arms before I have time to do anything. If I try to stop the bleeding, I would give the seven attackers the opportunity to attack me by jumping and I would increase their probability of critical hits: with the 394 Hit Points I have left, I am not certain to survive.”
Xicackna grimaced. She was going to die soon: couldn’t that idiot refrain from insulting her, even in thought? He had seen her skills and most certainly knew that she could hear his superficial thoughts without any problem!
As a response to her own reasoning, Kol-Gaar’s thoughts suddenly became extremely complex. He seemed to be transmitting complex pheromonal instructions in all directions, in the vain hope that someone would hear them and follow them.
Xicackna groaned as she saw one of her last ten Hit Points fly away. A part of her wished to ask for death rather than endure this agony, but deep down she knew that she wanted to live and did not lose hope…