As if in shitty humor, the heavens opened and rain gushed down on and through the canopy. Sound amplified and torrential energy boomed above. Wind picked up through the trees, almost knocking William from his feet as he was mid lunge. He managed to brace himself against a nearby tree and regained his balance. Rain blanketed everything. The sound was so loud that he would need to shout just to be heard by his friends nearby.
“[Fire-Wall] now Stacey! We can’t let them scatter!” William yelled, thankfully getting through to his girlfriend who nodded in reply and raised her hands.
They were already soaked through and damp air consumed the group’s sense of smell. William wiped water from his eyes with a sleeve but gave up when it didn’t do anything. Suddenly an orange hue shone from the clearing, followed by a wall of fire and multiple screams. The screams were brief before they fell silent and steam started to cover visibility in the clearing. Stacey was able to hold five fingers up for William, which he assumed was the number of kill prompts Stacey received. Stage one of the plan was done, but with little to no visibility, they couldn’t easily locate the remaining foes. William’s friends huddled together to be heard.
“What do we do now?” John asked, concern clear in his voice.
“We cant see fuck all so I guess see if you can get your bonds to find the enemy from above. Maybe they can spot silhouettes and let you know down the bond,” William said, not able to think of another way forward for his companions.
He wasn’t too worried for himself as Echo could find them with his sensory ability and tell William where they were. He didn’t hesitate to will his bond to do so as he saw the others send their Falcons into the sky.
“I’ll try and kill their healer and the other unknown in the tent. That [Fire-Wall] is still burning, so steam will keep visibility low. Don’t fire into the mist blindly as you might hit me or the captives. Only attack if you know you can hit your target. Once the steam clears, hopefully most of them will be dead and either you guys or me can finish the rest off,” William said, before leaping over the brush they were sheltered behind, then using [Flash Stride] to teleport near to a spot Echo had just marked.
He appeared at the entrance to the big tent and immediately used the signature Alpha Strike tearing the air itself in a horizontal slash, catching both people off guard. The healer was bisected cleanly, but the unknown glowed with a Mana shield of some kind forming between himself and the conjured slash attack. Where the man should be in two pieces, instead he was shot into the back of the tent. The blade continued on, failing to cut the tent fabric, indicating a protective magic quality at a quick guess. The force of the attack was so great however, that the tent was lifted from the pegs in the ground as tent, corpse, and survivor were sent veering through the brush on the other end of the clearing. He would only have a little bit of time before the survivor came back. Someone who could tank that blow would be tough enough not to let a bundle of tent get in their way for more than a moment. William had to reduce the enemy numbers fast in that time as having ranged support would probably be needed to combat the guy.
It didn’t take long for Echo to communicate the location of the two mages to William and after sheathing Severance, he activated the ability of Flicker to appear beside them. He used [Shield Bash] to knock one to the ground and with a pivot, used [Swift Thrust] and [Mana Investment] to punch a bloody hole through the upper torso of the second mage. A spurt of blood leaked from the man’s mouth as his lifeless gaze crumpled to the ground. William looked down at the first mage who was still dazed, but trying to get to his feet. William stomped his foot down on the man’s head, sending him face first into the ground before skewering the back of his skull with Flicker. Most of his best abilities were on cool down at that point so taking out the two scouts would be done the old fashion way; Zero magic skills and a very sharp implement.
Echo found one of the scouts creeping towards the edge of the clearing. William guessed the man was trying to flank his friends as several flickers of orange light were hitting a screaming man somewhere several feet to his left. It seemed his friends were able to locate one and were barraging the guy with [Fire-Bolt]. William started running, making the most of his Dexterity and his enchanted boots, clearing the gap between him and the remaining scout in a few brief moments and brought his blade down in a flash. To his shock, the scout rolled out of he way and countered with a slash aimed for William’s side. [Danger Sense] activated and William pivoted clean from the blow, trying a counter of his own via thrust. The Scout side stepped it and smiled.
“You also have [Danger Sense] I see,” The scout said, a cocky grin plastered on his face.
“Apparently so. Can you stand still for me please? I’ve got places to be,” William replied, an equally cocky grin on his face.
William was enjoying this fight dialogue, but assumed that the foe before him was probably buying time for the leader, which William assumed was the guy who blocked his opener, to get back and get involved. Letting that happen would jeopardize William and his party too much.
William stopped the banter and lunged. The Scout spun away, but dropped into a roll backwards from William as he realized that William had used a feint. The true slash from left to right was avoided as such, allowing the Scout to crouch forward and dart forward. William managed to block a slash from one side with his shield, and thanks to [Danger Sense], managed to narrowly avoid a slash aimed at the forearm above the hand holding Flicker.
William and the Scout separated once more, both trying to come up with a way to win. William would need to force [Danger Sense] to activate and execute a second, crippling attack at minimum before it triggered again. An idea formed and with it, William shifted his shield arm closer to his body, tilting flicker in his sword hand to be level with the Scout’s chest. The Scout didn’t wait for William to make a move, which in a lot of Fantasy RPGs was the correct thing to do for scout or rogue type classes. In this circumstance however, William was more than happy to let his foe come to him. As the scout thrust both daggers forward, William thrust forward in reply, his weapon having longer reach, forcing the Scout to dodge and for what William assumed was the Scout’s [Danger Sense] to trigger. As the man dodged to the left again, William used [Dagger Toss] and [Mana Investment] to launch one of his Mythril daggers into the Scout’s foot with his free hand. The man screamed and stumbled, forward, allowing William to [Shield Bash] again as it was off of cool down again. The Scout tried to dodge again, but was too slow to avoid the shield completely as William willed it to increase in size during the attack, catching the man on the side of his head and sending the Scout to the ground hard. The impact made the leaves and twigs crinkle and snap beneath William’s foe. William pinned the man with his foot between the fallen enemy’s shoulder blades, bringing Flicker down into the back of the Scout’s neck, before twisting the blade and tearing it free. The man twitched, gurgled, and spluttered for several brief moments before falling still. William scanned his surroundings, noting that the steam obscuring the clearing was starting to thin, the [Fire-Wall] finally dying out. William started to see the charred remains of what he assumed was the other scout and the silhouettes of his allies in the treeline where he had left them.
William was about to free the captives, but stopped as his [Danger Sense] flared up and he blocked in the direction of the threat with his shield. The attack punched through cleanly, only veering off target upon penetration, tearing a chunk out of William’s shoulder. The force didn’t just tear flesh, but launched William off his feet and hit the ground with a solid thud, pounding the air from his lungs. Rain pelted his face as he let out a groan and tried to get to his feet.
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Laughter sounded form the clearing as the man that appeared had shredded black robes dangling over gleaming metal armor and a yellow shoulder cloak flapping in the wind.
“I assume you are the one responsible for so many of my soldiers out here dying violently. I’m glad our trap worked, even if ten of my finest are now dead. Ending you will seal the fate of this region,” The big man said, throwing the tattered robe off onto a nearby bush, giving William a predatory grin.
William saw the man clearly as the last of the steam faded away. He had short, military cut hair, that was a deep brown, matching the man’s one remaining eye. A sharp scar was present, starting from the forehead and moving down over the dead eye and down to the man’s cheek bone, curving sharply outward. The man had a chiseled jawline and clean shaven face, clearly adhering to a military doctrine. He was built like a strong man, his armor formed to his body, and William assumed was not cheap to have made. The armor around the sides had embossed Laurels layered like scales, disappearing beneath two sleek, but solid shoulder pauldrons that had gilded filigree lining them. The rest of the armor was more of the same styling. In the man’s left hand was a conjured blade made from Mana and in his other hand was a floating shard of frost, shaped like an icicle.
“Since when did mages have heavy armor?” William wondered briefly, before shaking the thought away. Now wasn’t the time. The cold feeling on his shoulder clued William in that the icicle was probably what had injured him. The Mana blade was shaped like a shortsword, and William had a feeling that this man probably knew how to sword fight, even if he was a Mage. His secondary class could very well be Fighter though, so that was an important consideration.
William made eye contact with the man who seemed to be waiting for William to get to his feet. William was somewhat annoyed about that as it showed the man wasn’t taking him seriously.
William took a deep breath and managed to stand, taking a fighting stance.
“Do I at least get to know the name of my foe?” William said, fighting the searing yet chilling pain in his shoulder.
“You have the privilege of dying to Commander Warlock Shard, leader of the forces based at Fort Boulder. What is your name? It will help in my post combat report.”
William grit his teeth, a mixture from pain and from annoyance, but he replied, “William ‘Bloodbane’ Brooks. Remember it as it’s the last name you’ll learn.”
Warlock laughed, his voice malevolent and cruel. William suddenly felt his [Danger Sense] trigger and with his enchanted boots, he leaped to the left as the icicle that had been in Warlock’s hand bore through a tree at another edge of the clearing. William used [Flash Stride] appearing behind the man and slashing at the gap beneath the shoulder pauldron of the arm that had shot the icicle attack. His attack connected, cutting some flesh, however, the man’s reflexes were great and with a spin, William’s attack continued through air. As Warlock came out from the spin, he swung the Mana blade horizontally, intending to decapitate William. In response, William shifted his arm and shield to a diagonal angle, making the blade glide along the curvature and cut through air above William’s head. William used [Vortex Slash] and [Mana Investment] to launch a cut for Warlock’s chest. The attack could’ve been significant if the man hadn’t tilted his body to make the attack a glancing blow. The force was enough to gouge a chunk of flesh from his chest and tear a gash in the gilded filigree of the plate cuirass.
William suddenly felt the man’s icicle wielding hand, grab him by the collar, not triggering [Danger Sense] at all. William panicked for a brief moment before Warlock launched him through the air. He had to be six or seven feet in the air, spinning until the force of impact rocked William’s body. His vision flashed white, then red, and then it swam. His world spun, the air once more forced from his body. He sharply inhaled and scrambled to his feet as [Danger Sense] flared, warning of his lower leg being in danger. He had no time to dodge though and so closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, anticipating pain. The attack connected and pain encompassed his leg. The same searing pain followed by a chill attacked his sense of touch in the limb, making it feel numb and dead. Two flashes of orange lit up form the clearing to the right and hurtled towards Warlock.
William smiled maliciously. His friends were gonna be a big help here. His face, however, turned to a grimace as Warlock chuckled cruelly and raised his arm in a gesture, making a shimmering blue wall of translucent Mana raise up between himself and William’s party, blocking the ranged attacks. It cut the clearing in two, separating William from any back up. The spell was twice the height and length of the [Fire-Wall] John and Stacey could conjure. It appeared that Warlock wanted to play with his quarry, an attitude that pissed William off. He wasn’t some fucking Game that could be hunted for sport. Just how powerful was the guy? William was running quite low on MP and used some of what was left to [Identify] his foe:
{Ascension_Protocol}
Warlock Shard – Human Level 30 – Mage Level 25
Titles:
Leader of the Charge
Battle Brute
{End}
“Well, fuck me.” William cursed mentally, anticipating a painful battle. He mused that the EXP even if halved would still be significant, helping his mind steady and focus on the fight once again.
William used Flicker’s second charge to appear in front of Warlock, hoping that the man would turn anticipating another attack from behind. As William appeared, he used [Vortex Thrust], draining his MP down to mere dregs. To his surprise, another barrier formed between William and Warlock, the same one he realized as from inside the tent at the start of the battle.
“Ah shi-” William started to curse, but was cut off as the flat of Warlock’s boot slammed into William’s chest, winding him and knocking William several feet through the air. He couldn’t move in the air unfortunately and even as [Danger Sense] triggered, he couldn’t do anything to stop it, feeling another lancing pain of the icicle attack punch through his gut. The wound was small however, seeming less powerful than previous ones. As he fell, William wondered if it was the man running out of MP and thus having the spell be weaker. The thought was a nice distraction from the chill numbing multiple parts of his body, until he hit the ground again, his world blurring, flashing, and spinning.
William stopped rolling a moment later, lying on his back and once again being pelted in the face by rain. The rain fortunately kept William somewhat more refreshed than if it had been sunny and dry, the cool barrage of rain drops keeping his mind active. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out like that however. He glanced to where his friends were and couldn’t see them. He assumed that they were working their way around the Mana wall or whatever it was. A glance at Warlock showed the man popping a blue potion and downing the content. William cursed at his bad luck. He hadn’t anticipated the man having an MP potion. William took the opportunity to pull the Blue Essence Core out and use [Mana Conversion] to drain the Mana, gaining precious MP of his own. He dropped the crystal then, also dismissing Flicker and Summoning Absolution. He would need to bypass the armor to do some real damage. If he could do that, then maybe he could snowball into a dominating position in the fight.
William got to his feet, wincing form the chilling pain attacking his senses, letting the rain soak him and keep his mind active. With gritted teeth and determination, he willed Echo into a plan he had conjured quickly. With his plan in mind, William and Warlock charged at each other, Warlock’s Mana blade glowing bright around the edge. He didn’t like the idea of letting Warlock connect with that blade.
The gap was closing as both men let out fierce roars, each trying to dominate the other’s battle cry.