Hector adjusted the guige. Again.
He had a love-hate relationship with the thing. On one hand it allowed him to fight again, on the other it was so ineffective compared to using a shield with an actual hand it was a joke. It reminded him of his loss every time he put it on, and again every time he took it off. But he needed the damn contraption if he wanted to get at least a part of the old Hector back.
Hector and Diana ventured into the corridors of the city, without exchanging a word. The distant unidentifiable sounds echoed through the silence. Hector, still getting used to the loss of his hand, struggled with his guige, and kept adjusting it all the time. This was his first day outside of the hideout in who knew how long. He himself lost count, at least it was easier to tell reality from dreams now. That was a good thing, maybe, probably.
He shuddered when he remembered the nightmare he had when he fought with the giant monster. He still remembered vividly the sight of Diana lying under the wall with her spine broken. He also recalled the panic, the corridors that closed around him and the sheer fucking despair he felt when he entered the same room he tried to escape from.
That nightmare was a one time thing fortunately, it didn’t repeat itself. However he was having weirdly clear dreams that didn’t fade when he woke up. In them he was usually doing something with his friend, like cooking the monster ribs over open fire but the details were always wrong somehow. The hideout was different, or Mia had a nasty scar across her face, or Frank was sharpening a sword at the fire instead of his dagger.
Hector shook his head, no time to dwell on that now, he needed to focus. He trained for this and he was ready to face the monsters again.
He glanced to the side at Diana, confirming she was still there. She walked alongside him, calm and composed, not afraid of anything. Hector felt a pang of jealousy, he was painfully aware of the sweat on his hands and that he jumped up at anything that even resembled a sound of centipede.
They rounded a corner, and a trio of centipedes emerged, their segmented bodies hissing against the stone floor.
Hector tightened his grip on his warpick, the shaft feeling familiar. The first centipede lunged, and he used his shield to push it to the side, then he swung his weapon in a counterstrike aimed at the belly of the beast. However the shield twisted around his arm which in turn pulled on the guige and his neck. The jolt made his warpick bounce off of the monsters side armor, the angle too shallow to pierce it, instead of killing it on the spot. Hector was left out of position when the second centipede rushed him. His eyes opened wider, and he froze as he watched all those teeth coming for him. Memories of blood and broken bodies flashed through his mind.
Fortunately that was the moment Diana intervened, her magic flashed under the Abominations and within seconds she killed two of them and mutilated the third.
“Finish that one, you’re capable of that at least, right?” The cold and dismissal in her voice burned deep into Hector’s self worth.
It was still a struggle - more with himself than with the half dead monster. Hector's movements were awkward, sweat beaded on his forehead as he tried to find a safe angle to strike.
“Jesus christ, how long you’re going to keep dancing with it, kill it already” Diana’s voice was filled with contempt.
Hector’s anger flashed, and without conscious thought, he lunged forward bashing the monster's claws aside and slamming his warpick into the side of its head. He stood there breathing hard as the monster slid from the stinger at the end of his weapon.
From behind his back Diana mocked “Search him, maybe you will find the balls he took from you.”
Hector swiveled on his heel and faced Diana “What. The. Fuck. Is. Your. Problem” He managed to breathe the words, barely controlling himself.
“We're supposed to hunt to get you stronger but if you fight like a little bitch we’re getting nowhere pretty fast.” Diana said.
“I just lost a hand, from an explosion of your rune, bitch.” He took a step toward her.
Diana watched him with cold eyes. “Choo fucking Choo all about the pity train. Think those fucking nightmare monsters care about your hurt fee fees?” She took a step towards him too. “You need to get your shit together, man the fuck up. Every day we’re here we’re fighting for survival. There is no room for dead weight, you need to contribute, and soon.”
“Or fucking what? You're gonna leave me behind?”
“I won’t need to, those ugly bastards are going to take care of you just fine. I’m not just being a bitch. I’m a bitch that could save your life Hector” Hector stared her right in the eyes, he wanted nothing more to punch that fucking calm off her face. But a man didn’t hit a woman, no matter how much of an infuriating piece of shit she was.
“Save my life?” He managed to say instead.
“Do I have to spell it out for you? We are going into dangerous places Hector. Way more dangerous than this” She pointed to the carcasses around them. “You either get on top of your game, right the fuck now, or you wont have a chance.”
“Why can’t we take our time with the training?” Hector countered.
Diana let out a bitter laugh “Have you looked in the mirror recently? The fucking diet of monster meat is not all that beneficial to us” She showed him the discoloration on her hands and pointed to the same on his arms. “We’re on a time limit here, you had your time to recover, when Mia was healing her legs.”
Hector felt his shoulders sag. He wanted to scream at Diana that she was wrong. That she couldn't speak to him like that. That he wasn’t a useless coward. One thing stopped him, she was right, in everything. They were on a time limit, he had had time to recover and he used it get the the fucking Aspect of a Coward. He needed to get his shit together, fast.
“Fine.” He said, his jaw still clenched. “Just to be clear, you're still a … Nevermind. Just use that slowing rune next time we fight”
Diana nodded, seemingly content with the result of the conversation. The little smirk that Hector saw of her face as she turned made him ball up his fists again. He forced the anger down, but could feel the pent up aggression deep within his bones. He needed to smash something.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Fortunately another group of centipedes came along shortly. This time Hector didn't hesitate. As the four centipedes skittered for him he opened with an overhead swing that was supposed to smash the first monster's head. However Diana’s slowing rune messed up his timing and the blow hit the monster in the neck instead. With a wet crunch the monster died instantly, its body collapsing onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
With a roar Hector pulled the war pick out the monster and struck the next one with the hammer side of his weapon. The bug was momentarily stunned but the third monster rushed Hector. Hector usd his guige to hold his shield in place and responded with a rush of his own. He blocked the claws on his shield, the belt tensing against his neck. Hector pushed the monster out of the way using his Shield Bash but stumbled, leaving himself open to the final monster.
He opened his eyes wide as the Abomination struck for him with its claws, then a big block of ice grew out of the ground and blocked the monster's attack. Hector used the opportunity to use his Swipe skill since he was surrounded with bugs. Following the skills direction Hector swung his weapon in a wide arc, he almost lost his grip as the stinger connected with the head of the stunned centipede. The war pick went straight through pulling a piece of its skull with it. Then it struck the monster that Hector pushed off out the way before breaking its front legs.
The monster stood up on its hind legs, but lost its balance due to the uneven number of legs it had. Hector jumped at the opportunity and quickly attacked its exposed underbelly, trusting the ice Diana summoned to protect his back. Striking with the hammer this time he targeted the monster's jaw. With the corner of his eye he noticed the purple sheen of DIana’s slowing rune, which gave him just enough time to activate Power strike, the Abominations head snapped backward as Hector’s hit landed, its spine clearly broken.
Hector turned around knowing there was still one more opponent to deal with. The ice wall bought him a couple of seconds to get those two skills in, but he left the last bug unattended for too long. In the last moment he activated Brace and he blocked the monster's claw with his shield. While still pushing on his shield arm the monster struck with its other claw, Hector barely managed to deflect it with his war pick with an awkward swing. The monster snapped its teeth at the warrior, the sharp ends just inches from Hector's face.
Diana could finish the monster anytime she wanted but left the fight to Hector, which for some reason made him angry again. The bug used that to chomp down on his shield. Hector could hear the chitin crack as the monster tried to bite right through his defense straight into the soft flesh of his forearm. Hector felt a rush of panic, and his vision blurred. Instinctually he used Shield Bash while the monster still had its mouth on his shield. The skill actually pushed the monster back, rearing its teeth out. The Abomination trashed in pain, giving Hector enough time to swing his weapon for the last time. He again used Power Strike and squashed the bugs head against the floor. His fingers felt numb from hitting the floor with such force.
To his surprise he couldn't pick his weapon up right away it was stuck in the floor. He managed to pull it out after bracing his legs, his chest was heaving and he was covered in sweat. He looked at the carnage around him, the crushed bodies of the bugs and the dents on his shield.
All that training paid off, he used it in this fight and it didn't fail him. He felt a dangerous grin spread across his face. He wiped the sweat and blood from his forehead with his right forearm. One thing that felt weird to him was that the Sweep skill felt oddly familiar, he was sure that he used it for the first time, but still couldn't shake a strong feeling of Deja-vu.
He heard a slow clap behind him “Good job” Diana said.
“Fuck you” he responded calmly, keeping his anger for his actual enemies. “Let's go find some more”
He hefted the war pick onto his shoulder and adjusted the guige. Again.
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The hunt continued, each encounter left Hector feeling a bit more like his old self. At first they mostly targeted the smaller groups, or if they couldn’t avoid a larger one then Diana would cull it to a size manageable for Hector. Over time he needed less and less help from the Enchantress.
When he reached level four he gained the Taunt skill that made the monsters focus on him more and ignore Diana even when she clearly presented an easier target. Hector forced down the part of himself that wasn’t a huge fan of the skill, and tried to use it as often as possible.
He and Diana never ventured outside of the buildings as they had no tools to deal with the Duskshriekers which was just fine for Hector. The flying monsters packed enough of a punch with their tail to pierce his shield which he started to depend on again. It provided enough of a defense against the centipede's claws and teeth and that was enough for Hector. Mia had to replace his shield after the first day, its surface cracked and easy to break.
Hector didn’t dwell on what would have happened if the shield hadn’t held. He left if onlys in his past.
By Level five he could easily dispose of about ten bugs, the STR and DEX were really starting to stack. He had enough power that even glancing blows tore pieces of armor from the bugs and the whole thing turned into an extermination. He thought that having both his defense in form of HP and offense scaling off of STR was a bit overpowered but he wouldn’t complain. He still had to put some points into DEX for the additional speed. He also gained an Wound ability that caused bleed but it was useless against the bugs, as the fights were too short and too brutal for that status effect to matter.
At that point he slaughtered any amount of Abominations, as long as they were in a corridor where he couldn’t get surrounded. They just walked into the meat grinder that he has become. Diana practiced her Ice and slow spells mostly out of boredom, sometimes she just stayed behind to practice at the hideout. Hector didn’t mind at all.
HECTOR MATTHEWS
CLASS: WARRIOR
LVL: 5
STR:26
DEX:13
INT:6
WIL:6
HP:210/260 ( MISSING HAND:50 RESERVED)
MP:60/60
SKILLS:
- POWER STRIKE LVL. 8: UNLEASH A POWERFUL MELEE ATTACK.
- BATTLE CRY LVL. 7: BOOST ALLIES' MORALE AND COMBAT PROWESS BY 10% BOOST YOUR OWN BY 15%
- SHIELD BASH LVL. 6: ATTACK AN ENEMY WITH YOUR SHIELD, POSSIBLY STUNNING HIM AND PUSHING HIM AWAY. REQUIRES SHIELD.
- BRACE LVL. 5: POSITION A SHIELD OR WEAPON TO ABSORB OR DEFLECT INCOMING STRIKES, REDUCING THE DAMAGE TAKEN FROM FRONTAL ASSAULTS AND MAINTAINING A STEADFAST STANCE.
- SWIPE LVL. 5: - PERFORM A POWERFUL HORIZONTAL OR DIAGONAL SWING OF THE WEAPON, AIMED AT MULTIPLE FOES WITHIN REACH.
- TAUNT LVL. 4: - AURA, YOU MAKE YOUR ENEMIES ANGRIER AND MORE FOCUSED ON ATTACKING YOU
- WOUND LVL. 2: - PERFORM ATTACK THAT LEAVES A BLEEDING WOUND ON YOUR ENEMIES CAUSING THEM TO LOOSE HP OVER TIME.
PASSIVES:
- COMBAT PROWESS LVL. 9: PROVIDES A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR CLOSE COMBAT, OFFERING A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF MULTIPLE WEAPONS LIKE SPEARS, MACES, SWORDS AND SHIELDS.
- ARMOR MASTERY LVL. 7: CHARACTER'S PROFICIENCY IN WEARING AND UTILIZING ARMOR. MAKES MOVING IN ARMOR EASIER, NEGATING SOME DISADVANTAGES OF WEARING HEAVIER ARMOR.
- HARD TRAINING LVL. 6: THIS SKILL REFLECTS THE CHARACTER'S COMMITMENT TO RIGOROUS PHYSICAL CONDITIONING RESULTING IN IMPROVED ENDURANCE, STRENGTH, AND MENTAL FORTITUDE.
- BUTCHERY LVL.3: THE ABILITY TO CUT ANIMAL CARCASSES INTO MORE EDIBLE PARTS.