'My king, have you ever visited a draconian? They have fearsome claws and ridiculous toughness, to the point of our best swords being nothing but a toothpick for them,and they are able to defeat any human in a fair barehanded fight. Lastly, most, if not all of them have any of them have a stamina that far exceeds the best warriors, especially in the bed...hehe..'
- Lord Terius III, the shameless court mage's famous last words.
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Inas POV
I slowly recovered from the pain...only to see something. A fearsome window, right in front of my eyes...
The corrupted silverback wolf(lv.20) has awakened!
Eeeh?! I'm just level 5 and nearly got killed by normal wolves, let alone the boss! He'll rip me apart! But yet, even if I tried to get up, I was still quite sore from the wolves. I knew my health was steadily recovering, but yet, it would take a while for me to be back on my top shape...
Amiita POV
After a few seconds from the warning, I couldn't help but calm down. When things go south, panicking like hell like Aqua is doing, would not help..but yet, I couldn't blame her for panicking too. But yet...isn't the boss too far away? It is not like the bosses would run away from their lair very often, right?
"I wonder, though...why is it 'corrupted silverback wolf'? Wouldn't it be 'silverback wolf', instead?" I thought out loud, staring at the warning screen. Just that word, was enough to make me feel nervous. Should I stick here? Or maybe I should run? Hmm...I do-
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" I heard a shout, as the same man that fell down the tree, was running away like his life depended on it.
" That's just my luck..." I mumbled. It was obvious what he was running away from..and I swore on my draconian pride, that if I survive this, I'll make sure to have that man's head on a pike by the end of the day.
I looked back at Aqua, just for a second. The girl had 60% of her full health...but yet, even if it was 100%, what help would she be against the boss?
And so, I heard the footsteps, along with the bushes shaking slightly. I couldn't help but grimace. A part of me, truly, wanted to fight the boss...but yet another part just told me to run away, and leave the slime behind as a distraction.
I decided on the former.
"...Run away." I said, to the slime. I did not know whether or not she was a player or a NPC. But if it is the latter...I was not sure if she would revive after death.
After saying that, I looked back at the bushes, my legs shaking slightly. "Now, it is just me and you."
I mumbled, as I stared at the wolf's ferocious eyes, as he took a step out of the bushes. A massive, silver wolf, who slowly walked towards me. His eyes, though, glowed an unnatural purple...something that made me only more nervous, maybe even more than his massive size. Even at all fours, he was just as tall as myself... I took a step back, a bit nervous and redundant to fight this beast so suddenly.
Inas POV
I was shaking. I was afraid. Did I want to stick in here, and fight a creature much higher than my level?...but yet, I heard these words.
"Run away"
I couldn't help but nod...as I began to run, to the opposite direction of the heavy footsteps from the boss. but yet... it was leaving a nasty taste in my mouth, to simply run from the conflict. Reluctantly, I walked away, but yet, I couldn't help but think. What way do I have, to fight an enemy much tougher than myself? What way I could kill, what I could not engulf?
I then grinned, remembering how I once managed to fight without engulfing...and the sandwich I stole in the process.
......maybe....yes that's the method.
Amiita POV
I let out a sigh in relief, as I noticed the slime running away. Good...I won't risk losing her, not now. But yet, just blinking was enough to make me regret it, as the wolf took advantage of even that slight mistake and lunged at me.
-140 HP
I groaned in pain, with the wolf pinning me down under its weight. It was scary. Very scary to see him up close...especially after the first hit putting me in red.
But yet, I would not dare to fight him if I had no strategy."Fire breath!" I shouted, opening my mouth wide, spewing a stream of fire.
Sadly, the wolf reacted in time, and it didn't look very damaged. If anything, it was just a light searing...but yet it was enough. Enough to make him wary about me, giving me enough time to stand up...but to make me use this skill right away...with its cooldown of 5 minutes...and I saw the damage it did. It did just 1% of his max HP.
I'm so fucking dead.
I stared at the wolf, back right into its eyes, glaring at him. And so, the wolf began to circle around me...but I also began to walk in circles, keeping the same distance from him. I wonder how far away the slime is by now...
Then I saw it. The clue for the attack, the wolf stopped moving and crouched slightly. I grinned, getting in the stance again...I need to adapt to this fast. And this seemed to be the best way to dodge it. Silence hanged on the air, for a few seconds...before the wolf did another jump, towards me.
With that, I quickly ran towards the wolf, both of us started to dash at the exact same time.
Yet, we didn't do the same motions. As soon as the wolf approached me, in mid-air, I crouched, sliding under him, the wolf landing under me.
-10 HP
The damage between the two attacks was worlds apart. Just because one is strong, does not mean its weight can do as much damage as the charge... and now it was time to 'counter' the attack. Before the wolf could react, I pressed my hands against its belly, slowly standing uip.
Oh gods...the weight... this is not something of my level should deal with.
But yet, it was too late for regrets.
I was lifting him. I was lifting the darn wolf off the ground, ever so slightly.
"Gaaaaah!" I shouted, as I finally got up, and slammed the wolf onto the ground, on his back. It didn't do much damage, but since it was a full hit, it was higher than just the small dent my fire breath did on him..added with a light stun effect.
And now, I was on top of the wolf."If your back is made of wood, your belly is made out of...Tofu!" I shouted, not having energy to come up with a good comeback, as I began to slash at it.
But the wolf, not a pushover, quickly rolled, to escape from my claws, and ran a fair distance from me...
Good. That combo did a grand total of...9% of his HP.
And he nearly killed me under a second.
The odds sound fair, doesn't it?
And so, we returned to our previous positions, to prepare ourselves to dash at each other again. I smiled, as the wolf got ready for another pounce... Good, his A.I. is far from the best.
WIth that, we dashed at each other again...or so I thought, it was just a feint on his side, doing a quick hop rather than a massive lunge.
And yet, I was running towards him, at full speed, straight towards its maw.
I could see, the wolf even grinning at my face.
...but yet, death didn't come, instead, came a great surprise. A ball of slime fell on the wolf's face, blinding him for a few seconds.
I did not know what happened there, but I knew one thing for sure. Time for another attack. I ran under the wolf while he was distracted by the green goo, and lifted him off the ground...this time, slamming him head-first onto it.
And now, he was stunned again. I couldn't help but grin, as I began to slash his vulnerable underbelly nonstop...but yet, a part of me was worried. Didn't I tell Aqua to run away?! Why she was still here?
Inas POV
I could 'see' it. The first exchange of blows between them...the wolf took a bit of damage, but yet, the draconian nearly died. But even under such circunstances, I couldn't help but grin. The wolf was very easy to spot for me...and seemingly, even easier to hit.
I took my head off, by the time the second exchange happened. Now, it was the third one...and the wolf didn't move, while Amiita did. Knowing what might happen if I didn't do anything, I threw the projectile at the wolf's face.
Don't lose your head now!-10 HP
You learned a new skill!Slime throwRating: ★★★☆☆Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%Cost: Varies(HP)Cast time: 1 secondCooldown: 20 secondsType: RacialYou learnt that sometimes, solving problems with your head might involve throwing it at them! And with that, you can now throw parts of yourself at the enemy, since it'll regrow in the matter of minutes.
Chance of causing blindness, slow and trip.(higher chance of applying blindness if hitting eyes, higher chance of slow if hitting the legs.Duration scales with HP spent)
Converts HP into damage at the ratio of 1:2.
If HP sacrificed is higher than the enemy's max HP, it engulfs the enemy.
I couldn't help but grow distracted for a second...such great skill...and just what I needed too! I wonder how people will react about being killed from a giant flying head!
But yet, there was something that I needed to do, before thinking about the skill.
I laid down for a while, mainly to hide myself on the grass...mainly to not end up getting the wolf's attention more than I already did. After all, I knew there were more things I could do...more methods to damage the wolf and help Amiita, even if none are practical.
With that thought, I began to climb the closest tree, planning for another attack. This was actually pretty exciting!
Amiita POV
And now, the wolf was back on his foot, glaring at me. I couldn't help but stare back. I already took 25% of his total life. There was a chance, I could see it...even if my HP was in red, I just needed to avoid all his attacks and fight back, right?
Yet, such thoughts and hopes are easy come easy go. He was getting smarter...more careful. For the third time in this battle, we stopped circling each other, and took off. But hoping for a fair, face-to-face confrontation from either side was anything but stupid.
He lunged, not towards me, but to jump above my body to catch me from behind. "Like I'd let you!" I shouted, grabbing his front leg... but yet, I forgot that I wasn't invincible, and was dragged along the ground, hard.
-20 HP
I groaned. 2 more blows like this one, and I'll die...but yet, I was calm. If I lost my cool now, I'll die. Now I was under the wolf again, and all I needed to do, was to slam him back down. It is impressive, isn't it? How such powerful boss could be beaten with such simple tactic.
But yet...he recovered. right after the slam, instead of being vulnerable to 5 slashes, I could only hit him twice before he ran away. I knew why, though...I removed 30% of his HP. It was time for the next part of the 'script', isn't it? I couldn't help but grimace. He climbed the closest tree, up to the top of it, and howled. Howled loudly, enough for me to receive a light stun effect...yet that wasn't the part that worried me the most.
As soon as the howl ended, I saw what happened... he called reinforcements! A dozen wolves came out of the bushes nearby, growling. At normal circumstances, I knew it wouldn't be troublesome...but yet this wasn't normal circumstances at all: My HP was barely 30% full...
But this wasn't the time to worry about such things! "Bring it on!" I shouted, taunting the wolves. I regretted angering the pack like this, but this was not the time for regrets, it was time for fighting!
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With a war shout, I ran into the pack of wolves, recklessly. I punched one of the wolves in the head right away, knocking him out cold. My only blessing, was that this pack was seemingly weaker than usual, for me to be able to kill one in a single hit...
But yet this was going to be annoying.
Inas POV
So... the wolf boss called for reinforcements. But at least, the battle slowed, even for a few seconds. I needed to watch the battle carefully...even though I was on a branch, I could still feel the vibrations. Was it intuition? Or something else?...no, they weren't that far away.
But above all, I could feel something that could only make me shiver in fear and excitment. The wolf boss was on the top of the tree I was on, watching the battle. Luckily for me, I wasn't noticed... probably because my body had the same color as the leaves around me.
I did not know what happened, but I could hear him growling...and I grimaced. I knew what it meant, that he was going to attack me, wasn't it? But I was much weaker....
Well, this just means I need to use that attack defensively!
I waited for a second. Still growling. two seconds. Still growling...and on the third he stopped growling.
That was my cue. And that was the time for me to attack. Now...if just throwing my head is effective...how effective would it be, for me to throw my whole body instead?
And so, I jumped off the branch, shapeshifting into a ball, in mid-air. That was the main drawback...I needed to make sure I could stay in the air for four seconds.
And then I landed on the ground. For my surprise, I took 0 damage...yet I felt something inside of me. Did...I crush one of the reinforcements? Ooops~! But that wasn't time for me to worry about such thing, as I bounced away from the arena. But a good consolation, was that I heard a loud crashing noise. The wolf jumped on the branch I was on, only to have it break! Teehe~!
You learned a new skill!Bounce!Rating: ★★★☆☆Level 1, beginnerXP: 10.00%Cost: NoneCast time: 4 secondCooldown: 0 secondsType: RacialYour suicidal mentality caused you to develop a new technique! You can now jump without badly maiming yourself!
Converts jump height(in ft) into damage, at 1:5 ratio!
Number of bounces scale with CON and skill level(current: 3 bounces)
Amiita POV
I was slaughtering wolves, left and right. 9, 10, 11...but then, I realized something. The last one was missing. I turned back, to see the last one, ready to pounce me.... and I saw something, that could only make me blink in surprise.
The wolf...was crushed by a giant green ball.
" What the hell is that girl doing..." Yet, my thoughts were answered as I heard a loud crashing sound. Turning to it, I saw the wolf boss, on the ground, stunned. Whatever happened, made him lose 12% of his maximun HP and land on the ground face-first, and right after that, he rolled to fall on his back, stunned. Did... did she knock him off the tree?
Well, no matter! I quickly rushed towards him, to give the usual flurry of slashes.By the time he recovered enough to get back on his feet, he lost 50% of his max HP. Yet, something told me, that it is only going to get worse from now on.
And my guess , was sadly right, as he didn't attack me straight away, and instead looked high up to the skies, where the sun still shone brightly...and let out a loud howl. As he did that, a black smoke came out of his mouth...
"Fuck if I'm letting you do that!" I shouted, not even interested in his special attack, as I ran towards him, and took advantage of his current position. I ram at his chest, with all my weight and strenght, in an attempt to interrupt him. It worked well enough. Enough to make him stop howling, and lift his front legs slightly.
Deciding such soft stun wasn't good enough, I began to shower him with punches. With each punch, he was lifted up higher and higher...and by the time my own combo was finished, he was standing on top of his two back legs, ready to slam towards me.
Yet, that attack was interrupted. Interrupted, by a ball of slime, that hit him square on the chest, finishing the job and making him fall down on his back again.
I knew where it came from. Grinning slightly, I began to slash his belly again, making the wolf have only 30% of his HP remaining as he recovered enough to dash away. And only now, I saw why it was a 'corrupted silverback wolf', rather than a 'silverback wolf'. Because of that skill he used, everything was dark...while his own body was purple. A really dark purple, nearly indisguinshable from the night itself.
And now, he was growling like mad. I had 50% of my max HP... while the wolf had only 20% left. It was all or nothing, for both of us now. I felt like we were finally fighting on fair grounds.
Inas POV
Uuugh...I'm never, ever doing this 'bounce' skill again...I feel bounce-sick...
But that wasn't time to complain. As soon as I got out of the bounce form, I heard a howling sound. One that was so loud, that could not be anything except the wolf boss. I grimaced, knowing it was something bad...yet it did nothing. Not for me, at least.
"Fuck if I'm letting you do that!"
I heard my friend shouting such words, and I grinned. Just from her shouts, along with the sounds of slashes, I knew she was on an onslaught. Yet...I knew that the wolf wasn't fully vulnerable.
Because of that, I ripped my head off again, getting ready to throw at him...and soon there was a moment of silence. One where Amiita wasn't attacking anymore, and the wolf wasn't moving. Yet...I knew, it was the wolf who managed to recover from the onslaught of slashes.
Before he could counter it, though, I threw my head at him, in an attempt of inflicting the status effects. Specifically, the 'trip' effect.
-20 HP
And then, I heard a loud vibration. The sign that, whatever I did, knocked the wolf on his back. Good, but such thing would never be enough to kill him. Not yet at least.
There was still work to be done...
Amiita POV
One hit I'm dead. Two combos he is dead. Such fact only made us more careful of each other, taking much longer than the other attacks. We both were exhausted...yet we both did not feel the need to run away. I couldn't help but grin.
The fight was drawing to its end. We were both staring at each others' eyes, intently. Only one of us will be leaving alive, even if the two of us are close to dying in the first mistake we make.
One minute has passed, ever since the last exchange.
The wolf stopped growling...but didn't attack me. He instead, jumped high into the trees, on the branches, where I could barely see his body."This is bad..." I mumbled to myself, trying to follow the wolf as he ran across the branches.
It was a clever tactic, to use stealth to make me lose track of him. Yet...it was an attack I couldn't find a way to counter. Not yet at least...I couldn't let my guard down, not at the final stretch.
And so it happened. The last exchange of blows, the wolf jumped down, from the branches and towards me in the hopes of catching me by surprise."You fell into my trap." I said, staring at the wolf's eyes as his massive body was falling onto my direction.
I took a step back, and prepared to jump out of the way. Yet, I received a pleasant surprise, as the wolf's side was hit by a huge ball of slime, knocking him sideways, and making him roll onto his back.
This was the second-to-last combo. One that I couldn't help but master as the fight had gone onwards, and one that I couldn't help but love doing. 5 quick slashes on the belly, before he recovered and ran away...with only 8% of his max HP.
Inas POV
I was nervous, and I swear I would sweat if I was human. I was out of ideas on how to hit such fast beast, which moved unpredicably and quickly...I needed a time.One single second, where it moved predicably...
I felt every single vibration on the trees, every footstep the wolf took. I couldn't lie, I was worried, mostly because the 20 seconds cooldown of the 'slime throw'.
But yet, it was far too late for regrets. I saw the opportunity, the opportunity of a single, clean strike that might be the difference between life or death. He jumped off the branch, and I didn't hear his footstep again...but I heard a single step from the draconian. That much was enough, for me to have a clear picture of the wolf's path, and because of that, I threw the biggest ball of slime I could produce....
-50 HP
Ah, I guess I'll just wait and 'see' how it goes now. It would be a shame to lose, after coming this far, wouldn't it?
Amiita POV
I grimaced, as the wolf climbed the treetops again, repeating the same strategy. I knew what he planned to do. And now, my focus was greater than ever...especially since I had a little 'surprise' prepared for him.
Seconds after he started jumping around, he tried to lunge at me from that height. Originally, I'd be worried. I'd know that I would die from this. I know how hard it would be, to dodge such lunge and not get caught in the follow-up.
And so, I will not dodge. I closed my eyes, and opened my mouth wide. "FIREBREATH!" I shouted, mostly inside of my life, as I let the strongest firebreath I could manage, straight into the wolf's face.
Strange, how things go. To think that in such realistic game, the last attack was the strongest one...both of us, no, the three of us just used our strongest movements in quick sucession of one and another.
The fire breath, though...it was stronger than I expected. It caused the trees behind the wolf to catch on fire, and soon, it began to spread...both dispelling the darkness, and making a new danger arise, the flames.
By the end of my fire breath, the wolf back down on the ground, having lost his momentum. He only had 1% of his HP left. Any hit could end him...yet the surroundings looked so dangerous, that I doubted either of us would escape alive either way.
I stared at the wolf's eyes, giving him a quick nod. A nod, to show respect. One to show how glad I was for such battle...before we both began to charge at each other. No tricks, no lies this time.
This is it. The final phase of the battle.
PKer POV
"Well... that battle was interesting. But it is time to jump in." I mumbled, having a bad habit of talking to myself in such scenes. I couldn't help but laugh inside of my mind. A quick hit on the draconian, and then she'd be stunned, and fall down as the boss' prey.
And afterwards, I just needed to finish the last 1% of the boss' HP without dying. Isn't that too good to be true?....Yes, it is too good to be true. There was the slime, who almost acted as the draconian's guardian angel, protecting her from any sort of danger.
I need to deal with her, before the two powerhouses kill each other.
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Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to my fellow readers, and as a proof that I was not spending a day(two days actually) resting! Also, next chapter will have Amiita's and Inas' stat tables. I would put them here...but they are about to get 2 level ups, so it would be a waste, wouldn't it? XD
Either way, this chapter was a bit fun to write. I hope the rule of awesome overrides any inconsistency.
Also, decided to not put too many window snarky comments, mainly due to how unfitting it is to the situation.XD
And lastly....... I put this at wordcounter. I saw that this chapter had 4.1k words or so. This must be the biggest chapter of the story, by far(the second-biggest, for scale, was 2k.)
Also, yes. I put a cliffhanger right there. Problem? =P