Sticking to the left side of the camp, he hurried along, using the mud houses as cover as he tailed his prey. The Imps had a couple fewer imps than the other two groups. In his head, that made it his safest bet.
The Imps seemed to be carefully canvassing the left side of the camp, even entering the mud houses to check if he was in there. At the rate they were going, it'd take a while before they'd get to the spot he'd chosen for their battle: the left wall.
Nathan made sure to keep at least two mud houses between him and the hunting parties, as he was well aware of their ability to sniff him out. If the other imps could do it, the master imp probably could as well, and most likely to a better degree, hence the two mud houses.
Leaving the party behind, he made his way to the extreme wall. No surprise that there were fewer houses the closer he'd gotten to the wall. After all, work was still ongoing in that part of the town.
It took Nathan about two minutes to get to the left wall. From what he'd seen the imps doing, he probably had between five to seven minutes before the imps would get to his location.
Status
Name: Nathan Orion
Moniker: N/A
Level: 6
Archetype: Blood Berserker
Class: Blood Pawn
Imprints: Balls of Steel, Skullcrusher
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 9
Constitution: 8
Perception: 7
Dao: N/A
Ra'hal coins: 1300
Free points: 1
Huh, where are my skills?
At the thought of skills, the text started to rearrange itself.
Skills
Blood Rebellion (I): Get a 10% boost on all stats when health drops to 25%. This is a passive skill.
Life Steal (I): This ability activates randomly within strikes that draw blood. Gain the chance to steal the life of your foes. 10% chance to steal 5% health on a successful strike. This is a passive skill.
Time to find out which one of you guys will become the star of the show.
Quests
Active Quests:
1. Slay 35 imps (16/35)
2. Slay 5 Master Imps (0/5)
3. Conquer a dungeon (0/1)
4. Eradicate the Mayhem of Imps (0/1)
Special Quests: N/A
Locked till level 50.
Nathan let the screen wink out with a thought; his prey was about to get within range. They had another thing coming if they thought they were the ones doing the hunting tonight.
Nathan didn't even bother with a stance—this wasn't a movie, this was real life. Nathan stared straight ahead, leaning on the quarter-finished wall. It was almost as though he was sitting if he was honest. His expression was the most noticeable thing: he had the typical 'come get me' look on his face.
Looks could be deceiving though. Nathan's heart started to beat furiously as the imps finally made their way to the left wall. Immediately upon spotting him, the Mayhem started to screech out loud while advancing towards him.
Oh boy!
Nathan stopped leaning, standing straight as he prepared for the bloodbath. A blue interface popped up in his vision. The imps were all between levels three to six—all except one, the master imp.
Master Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 8
Nathan gulped audibly. Him alone against about fourteen imps including the master imp; their claws were so sharp he could understand why they wouldn't need weapons. It was certain that blood would be shed today, a lot of it. Nathan found it a little bit inconvenient as he'd have to wash at the sea when he was done here.
Ughh.
A loud but short screech silenced the Mayhem. The master imp's eyes met with Nathan's—demon's to human's, pure red to Nathan's blue eyes. For a moment, Nathan feared Big Ugly was going to charge at him.
Instead, the Master Imp pointed a clawed finger at Nathan and let out a short screech. Four imps detached from the Mayhem, baring their fangs as they advanced on Nathan, the master imp content to watch. No doubt not considering him a threat. Nathan focused on the four.
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 4
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 3
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 5
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 3
All four were below him in level. One-on-one he'd dominate them; heck, two-on-one would still be reasonable, but four-on-one might just be a tad too many imp lives for the master imp to throw away carelessly.
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With a demonic grin to match the confidence, Nathan charged. The Berserker Archetype showing itself in this moment.
Two launched themselves at him. Nathan ducked, rolling under as he went for the other two. Caught off guard by the weird response from Nathan to their kin's attack, they could hardly do anything before Nathan touched them one at a time.
He bisected the first imp at the torso, his blade going from side to side. He could see the horror in the second imp's eyes as Nathan's sword tore out the other side of the first imp.
Without stopping, Nathan's arc continued with momentum as he went for its legs. The blade slashed through both legs, completing the downward arc. The imp let out a blood-curdling screech at the loss of its legs. Fortunately for it, Nathan ended its pain by decapitating the imp.
A clawed hand raked across his back for his troubles; it was like trails of fire were being left as the claw tore through his back like a knife through butter. Nathan gritted his teeth as he used his free hand to pull the imp off his back.
New rule: Never turn your back on an enemy.
Nathan stepped backward, giving himself more space and also allowing him the ability to keep both remaining imps in his field of vision. The throw hadn't broken anything in the imp as he'd hoped, maybe given it a few bruises but nothing substantial as it was already back on its feet and staring at Nathan with venom in its eyes.
As though sharing the same mind, the pair lunged at him. Nathan responded in kind, cleaving one of the imps before it even understood what was happening while sidestepping the attack of the other.
The single imp seemed to look at him in fear before turning to look at the Master Imp nervously, who stared back at it impassively. It tried to turn back to look at Nathan but found out it couldn't, and everything went black.
Nathan stared at the severed head of the imp. That was a terrible thing to do, turning your back against an enemy that could kill you within seconds. A euphoric feeling went through him, his back healing, but Nathan tuned out the sensation as he faced the master imp squarely. Maybe it was the glow of the purple sky on the imp's face or his adrenaline-pumping body, but he could see the beginning of a grin starting to form on big ugly's face.
It let out a short screech and the rest of the imp squad went for him—nine in total—the Master Imp content to watch. Nathan focused on them as they advanced quickly, closing the distance.
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 5
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 5
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 4
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 3
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 6
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 4
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 5
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 6
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 4
Nathan winced at their levels. It definitely wasn't going to be a walk in the park; he'd need his A-game. He tried to think strategy, but his blood was way too hot for him to think straight. Maybe he could stop being conservative and just go at it like an actual berserker—take the cuts and deliver his swift retribution.
Go time.
Nathan knew he couldn't afford to let them drum up a strategy, and if they already had one, then he couldn't let them get into positions to start executing it. His best bet was to disrupt their game plan.
He rushed at them, hoping his suicidal run would catch them by surprise—it did. Nathan managed to kill two imps and badly maim one before the rest attacked, toppling him as they clawed him.
Warning: 75% health remaining
Nathan had never felt so much pain. He'd hoped to pass out from the pain so they could kill him, but he hadn't, and so Nathan had to fight his way out.
Take the cuts and deliver your retribution.
Nathan pushed them off him as he allowed his Berserker Archetype to claim him. For every slash he delivered with his sword, he got a couple of claw marks on his body.
Blood dripped on his face as a couple of imps had managed to claw him there. Somehow they'd missed his eyes, and Nathan was grateful for that.
He lashed out with his sword in wild arcs, dismembering and outright killing imps here and there.
Warning: 50% health remaining
Shit! Just a couple more.
Nathan knew he was almost at the cusp of another level. Jumping back, he put distance between himself and the remaining imps. There were just three of them left.
The site of their battle was covered in blood—both Nathan's and the imps'. It reeked, and it reeked badly. If he wasn't fighting for his life and if he actually had any food in him, Nathan would've puked.
As it was, he was struggling to stay upright. He could feel his health ticking down even without new wounds. The wounds he'd gotten had him bleeding out. He badly needed the healing that would come with the next level.
Nathan focused on the imps that had survived.
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 6
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 3
Imp (Lesser Demon)
Level 6
"Oh come on!"
What were the odds of the only two-level sixes in the Mayhem surviving his rampage? Just his luck. He wondered why they hadn't attacked him yet until he realized: the clock was ticking for him. They'd be just fine, and he'd get weak and die from blood loss if he didn't do something.
Smart!
He had to give it to the ugly buggers—they were smart. No need to risk their lives when Nathan could stupidly stand there and do all the work for them. Solid thinking if you asked him. Unfortunately for them, they hadn't understood one thing: the human in front of them was a madman, and the only thing scarier than a madman was a madman with a plan. Right now, they were the last thing stopping him from fulfilling his plan.
Nathan charged at the imps; they scattered. No doubt they'd already come to the same conclusion as him. Unfortunately for them, Nathan was faster, taller, and had more reach than them. He slashed horizontally, his sword bisecting the level three imp.
The remaining two seemed content to keep their distance from him, always fleeing anytime he got close enough. Normally he should've been able to catch them easily and put them to the sword, but he'd been feeling himself slow down and become sluggish the longer the fight wore on, while they still seemed to be at full strength.
Nathan feared that if he couldn't come up with a way to fight them, he'd die soon. He was very sure his health was fast approaching twenty-five percent; the only reason he didn't think it had gone lower than that was because he hadn't seen any notification informing him about Blood Rebellion activating—the skill that would give him a ten percent boost on all his stats.
Wait a minute, my stats!
Status
Name: Nathan Orion
Moniker: N/A
Level: 7
Archetype: Blood Berserker
Class: Blood Pawn
Imprints: Balls of Steel, Skullcrusher
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 9
Constitution: 8
Perception: 7
Dao: N/A
Ra'hal coins: 5050
Free points: 3
Two points to vitality
Vitality: 11
##
Free points: 1
Nathan closed the stat screen. A wave of new energy flooded his body as he increased his vitality, which in turn increased his health pool. It wasn't going to last though, as he was still bleeding out—it was like putting more water in a bucket leaking from the bottom. Until he healed, he'd keep losing health. He faced the imps; they hadn't bothered him as they'd stuck to their plan of waiting for him to die of blood loss. The Master Imp watched the scene impassively, the grin that had been forming on his face gone.
Nathan charged at the imps. Even he himself hadn't expected it, and neither had the imps. They'd tried to dodge as that had worked so well before for them, but it was different this time. Nathan thrust his sword through the neck of one of the imps, running it through before pulling back the sword.
Almost there, I can feel it.
The last one let out a fearful screech just as Nathan's sword cleaved through it. The imp died mid-screech. Nathan turned to face the master imp, who was still about twenty steps from where he was. He tried to move towards him but fell to his knees as the familiar feeling of euphoria passed through him. He reveled in the feeling this time, allowing it to wash away his fatigue as it healed him completely.
Level 8, sucker.