The Gursers: Flame bearers, unfortunately, didn't flee with the fall of the axe-wielding Gurser. Hilde snapped both pairs of tbe chakram back into one whilst evading hits continuously.
This battle was easy, too easy.
'Could be easier'. She frowned.
It was almost like she had grown stronger or these things were not worth her at all. Hilde punched a burning skull out of her way before kicking another Gurser into the first rotted wood door.
Like she thought the door barely resisted. Shattering into heaps of wood on the floor as the Gurser went through.
Blue eyes watched while a wall of the earth was erected around her to hold off the crowd of burning bones as nothing remarkable stepped out of the room. Since the Gursers had come from within this room she had expected there to be something inside. Maybe another higher-grade Gurser or something.
When nothing happened the Gursers outside were beginning to crack the wall keeping them away from her. She simply hastened into the room.
She took in the empty single room that should have been a guestroom for dignitaries or probably a queen's room. Yet now it was vacant. Her attention landed on the only resident who hadn't joined the party outside.
In the center of a large yet empty room sat a huge Gurser on a wooden chair. Its body bent forward, its hollowed sockets empty and devoid of fire stared into the pit of red flame flickering in some makeshift fire pit.
The flames were an entrancing blaze of golden and blue flickering like a maiden dancing to the tunes of the village bard.
Crash!!.
The wall holding out the Gursers gave. Hilde turned her head from the Gurser seated for a minute to stare at the unmoving horde of bones. They all stood, the wall now broken at their feet while they all just stood there staring at her eerily.
It felt familiar. Too familiar.
Scowling her head turned back slowly to the seated Gurser unsurprised to find herself looking into the dark gaze of the Gurser. It stared back even as its head tilted in curiosity like she was a puzzle piece that didn't fit.
The sound of its teeth clacking got her interested as she waited, watching. The seated Gurser rose even as its teeth kept clattering together. It was like it kept attempting speech yet remained unable to say words due to its nonexistent vocal cords.
The Gurser itself seemingly realizing its attempts were useless made a shrug that had her brow raised.
'A mob that can think.' Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed. The void daggers got clenched firmly in her hands. 'Where have I seen this before?'.
Golden tongues of red fire appeared within the Gurser's hollowed gaze after that.
Hilde noted the chainmail that covered its withering bones as it walked to the other side of the room in a confident stride that rang warning bells in Hilde's head.
At its destination stood a table she hadn't noticed. On it lay a black sword, from its pommel to the very blade tip. Like the worst of fires had charred it without being hot enough to melt its metal.
A helmet that covered the entire head with only two holes for the eyes was grasped off the table and slowly, disturbingly to her, set over its head.
'There goes my critical hits'. She clicked her tongue.
Its hand grabbed the handle of the black bastard sword right before its head turned to gaze at her. Its look was now eery and frightening. He gave off Black Knight vibes.
Walking ever so slowly, so leisurely back to its former position it halted facing her. Like a ritual, it raised the sword, tip pointed to the ceiling, and handle held by both hands. Slowly it tapped the flat of the black sword onto the forehead of its helmet.
Hilde tensed as the pressure in the air rose.
Then the Gurser tapped its foot. Once. She looked down at the foot then up to it.
The foot tapped once more. She frowned.
A third tap came. This time it burst forward with a speed that she didn't expect from bones. A burst of fire shot out of its feet leaving scorch marks on the floor. The black steel it wielded was already raised and like death's agent, it descended on her.
She barely got away. Just fast enough to save herself from getting split in two. Her eyes enlarged as she noted the thin line that had been forged between her breasts and down to her abdomen.
Her eyes moved to the blade in its hand one that unlike the others had no heat. Yet a few lines of blue ran up and down it like a spark.
'Can I use a mob weapon? Cause I want that sword'. Divine purity was already healing the thin injury behind her armor.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Both accessed the other one last time before they clashed once more. Hilde discovered in just two strikes that she was way out of her league.
She was fast, very. A blur in the room as she struck like the wrath of the heavens. Yet each time she found herself scurrying away. Again and again, she leaped into close-quarters combat only to flee at the last minute. She was the stronger one. The faster one. The mighty one.
Yet, the Gurser while slow and weak had something Hilde remarkably lacked. Skill.
The swordsmanship it showed was impeccable. Precise and agile. The sharp blade always stopped her daggers at the last minute before they could reach any points on the armor it wore or its eyes. Twisting and deflecting her powerful strikes with such precision that all her strength was useless.
It was astonishing but frustrating. Even worse was the swift counter it posed with each return of his blade. Strong and swift.
Hilde grimaced with this realization. Lips set in a straight line she dashed forward once again. She bashed, she swung with quick precision seeking to shatter the Gurser's defense with her speed. Her eyes flew everywhere searching for anything to use any space in its stance at all.
None came up.
Her hands glowed after each retreat gifting it with rocky presents. Presents which it sliced apart with deadly precision and quick swings of its blade.
Nothing she did stumped it. She moved the earth sending them at him with a flick of her hands as she jumped around and it evaded or cut them apart. She cast little blades of nothingness at it which were calmly sidestepped.
The difference between crazed attacking and skilled fighting. Hildelith realized she had all these abilities yet she really couldn't remember much of what each did.
The fight wasn't going well for her. Once it even Spartan kicked a huge stone into smithereens showing its great strength stat.
Not stronger than her but still enough to deal with the rocks.
'What to do, what to do?' her mind cursed at it as she continually attacked. There was no hope of tiring it out since it was bones. No hope of shocking it since it seemed firm in its stance. Everything she threw at it was deflected. Even the chakram split apart got a try and the Gurser just sidestepped one and jumped out of the path of the other. Smart.
The bows came up next. And Hilde discovered with both astonishment and annoyance that she could barely land a hit and harbinger was ineffective.
'It has no soul. Yet it reasons'. Hilde frowned harshly before the void daggers returned and continued her attacks. 'I guess those elementals reason too. Never checked '. She thought of Tora's creation.
Both danced in a macabre twirl of life and death. Pull and push. One representing all that gave life and birth the other a telltale symbol for the destructive tendencies of the flame.
Then Hilde paused and stepped back.
'I see it'.
Hidden within its remarkable skill, precise defense, and counters was a flaw.
'No. It's too huge of one to be a flaw. More like a trap' she reasoned. It was too large, too good an opening in such skilled a swordsman to not be suspicious. Infact thinking about it clearly she should not have been able to see such a flaw considering she was not good enough with the sword.
'A bait to cinch victory' she mused. This bait though was only valid for one good reason. Each of their attacks had gone in such a way that she knew the Gurser had studied her as much as she studied it.
'I think it's time to bring out the guns. Akasha'.
'I'm here'.
'I didn't think you'd be able to hear me'.
'You generate me and I'm connected to you. While this place has none your very being emits me into it'.
Hildelith nodded. 'You already know what I'm thinking. Any ideas?'.
'The increase and large number of skills and abilities in your status make it hard to know which and what is good for an attack'.
'If I even remember what is and what isn't '. She kept moving, her eyes never leaving the swordsman.
'True. I think it best I always share which ability is best for each moment'.
'Like having an A.I combat aid'.
'I'm not an A.I'. a disgruntled squeak sounded in her head.
'You know what I mean. Sorry'.
'I guess. And yes. We'd create combos for certain skills, use abilities, even your aether which you always, never use'.
'It's aether. It feels like grand magic'. Both girls had a brain-freeze moment.
'Then we make it grand magic'.
'Then we make it grand magic'.
Unfortunately for Hildelith she couldn't squeal out in joy at the idea she just randomly generated thanks to her foe.
'Alright. Let's do this'.
'This would have been a good time to learn swordsmanship'.
Hilde shrugged. 'Seems it wasn't made to be. If I just had enough MVC I could get that new sword and armor I saw in the system shop'. She readied herself..
'Or you could simply make one of your own'. She tilted her head from the reply.
'With what, and how? I doubt it's that easy to make weapons. Plus I could just buy an already made weapon and spare myself the amounts of items needed'.
'Or, you could just use the ones found in your universe '. Hildelith straightened up instantly.
'They're ready?'.
'Yes. They are'. A grin split her face. This was something she'd had Akasha work on since her dad and Dester gave her the idea. Resources.
'Make a list and send it to my mind later. Theñ see if you can do the same thing for Vaustaris'.
'Okay. Get ready it's coming. Here are the skills and abilities '. A series of skill abilities and some combos formed in her head.
'There is no moment in this time or the future I will regret making you Akasha. I'd love to say I thought of some of these but, that's just a lie. You are god sent'.
'Heheheh'. The little thing giggled in her mind. 'Of course I am. You sent me'.
Hildelith smiled then focused on what was to come next. With Akasha having full control of the skill pumped into her mind she was able to focus on the fight and only use the abilities that appeared in her minf.
'Oh and Akasha, let's stick to weaker ones. We don't want to one shot it'. Her shoulders relaxed her hands tightened on the handles of the wolf fangs and with a burst of speed, she dashed into its space.
The Gurser locked eyes with her just as she appeared aiming for its eye once more with her right dagger. Its head pulled back instantly it's blade flashing up to knock her dagger to the left.
Hilde let the momentum of the strike spin her, her left hand came for the Gurser's other side. In a display of sharp reflex and speed, its other hand knocked the dagger back.
The black sword already raised from knocking away the first attempt descended, slanted it aimed to cleave her head off her body. Hilde ducked low and then kicked forward totally entering its space. The Gurser's eyes shifted down to look at her.
Hilde swore she saw mockery in them. But no matter she continued her dagger already an inch from a space where two joints of armor met at its hip.
The Gurser moved away instantly by simply springing off its right leg creating a bit of space between bot fighters. Enough space between them for it to spring an assault on its well-placed prey. In a powerful thrust that appeared from it's left side the formidable walking bones sent the black steel of it's sword tearing through the Vulkan's Prize, digging into her abdomen and jutting out her back in a shower of gold blood.
> [Critical Damage Taken]
> [- 500 Health]