Goblin was back! And it looked incredible. It was a proper sword now. Not a long one by any means, but definitely not a knife. Mike wasn't going to be able to stuff this into his backpack.
“Here ya go Mikey,” said Jim proudly. The man was dripping with sweat but he looked proud and exhilarated, “Goblin is now a fighting sword again.”
[G: I feel a million gold. Tell old Jimmy thanks.
[M: It's so good to hear from you, Goblin, you had me worried. Thanks for saving my ass back there.
[G: What happened to the orcs?
[M: Exploded. The guardian took care of the shaman.
[G: Booyah!
“Goblin’s back and it says to say thanks.” Mike said to Jim.
Jim held the sword across two hands, hilt first, towards Mike, who took it carefully. He nearly dropped it. The sword was a lot heavier.
“Whoa there Mikey!” laughed Jim nervously, “Go easy with it, and watch the edges; it's sharp now. Oh, and that reminds me… drop this into yer inventory for later. It's a whetstone and some oil. It'll help ye keep Goblin in top state.” Jim laid a small cloth-bound package on the counter.
The remade Goblin was a straight blade that shone a cold, polished silver under the fluorescent subway lighting. It was now just over two feet long, wider at the guard than at the point. A solid metal crossguard with slightly turned up ends separated the blade from a freshly wrapped leather grip. It had a similar round pommel with the five slots that the rusty thruster used to have, however this pommel was bigger and heavier, balancing the extra length of the sword. The slots had somehow retained the wormwood sprig and the sports car tire shred, Mike noticed.
“Ya haven't held a sword before have ya.” said Jim. It was more a statement than a question.
Mike shook his head.
“Come on, I'll introduce ya to Gurbaz.” he said. He reached under his counter and pulled out a sign that read CLOSED, stood it on his countertop, and walked out onto the platform. Mike followed, after slipping the whetstone into his inventory.
INVENTORY[-]
[HEALTH PILL MINOR 3
[HEALTH PILL EPIC 1
[LETTER FROM GRANDMA 1
[OLD BEER COASTER 1
[LEATHER JERKIN
[WHETSTONE&OIL
[M: Who's Gurbaz?
[G: He's a douchebag. But don't tell him I said that. He's also an excellent trainer. You need the help.
Suddenly loud alarms sounded with rising whoop-whoops, red lights on the top of the fence surrounding the rift illuminated and spun casting a red glow around the subway platform, and a voice over a loudspeaker said,
“HIGH ALERT. UNAUTHORIZED INCOMING RIFT TRAFFIC DETECTED. LEVEL 30. HIGH ALERT. ALL DIVERS ASSEMBLE IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. HIGH ALERT.”
Jim turned to Mike immediately. He looked worried.
“Change of plans Mikey, stay there.” He ran back to his forge, reached under the counter and took out a large broadsword. It was obviously well used, but was also in excellent condition, and he held it like he knew what he was doing. The air around him shimmered and suddenly he was covered in metal plate armor, including a helmet with a visor. He looked like a medieval knight.
“Check yer inventory, son, I added some basic protection for ya. It ain't much, but it's better than nothing. Put it on now.” Jim said urgently, excitedly.
Mike looked in his inventory.
INVENTORY[-]
[HEALTH PILL MINOR 3
[HEALTH PILL EPIC 1
[LETTER FROM GRANDMA 1
[OLD BEER COASTER 1
[LEATHER JERKIN
[WHETSTONE&OIL
He focused on the leather jerkin, and suddenly he was wearing it. It had even gone on under his hoodie. It felt thick and sturdy, and it squeaked when he moved. It felt good to have at least some form of protection.
[M/NEW TITLE: LEATHER JERKIN CLAD
[M/NEW STAT: SAVE
[M/+2SAVE
“Thanks Jim, it's amazing.” he said.
“Just so ye know, a level thirty monster is a big deal. Stay back and let the powerhouses do the work. But if something happens, follow Goblin's lead.” said Jim.
[G: He is correct. Level thirty is bad news.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Jim frowned and looked at Mike with concern. “Yer holding Goblin like yer allergic to it. Look, Son, yer probably not real strong yet, so yer best bet is to use an underarm guard. Like this.”
Jim crouched slightly at the knees, and held his own sword in his right hand, pointing diagonally down towards the ground, across the front of his body and down his left side.
“Copy my stance, son, quickly.”
Mike copied him. It actually felt comfortable. Far less awkward than how he'd been holding the sword a moment ago.
“Okay, good, now try and balance yer weight between both legs so yer stable, and try and rest there. The downwards position of the sword will be kindest to yer muscles while yer getting used to the weight. If anything comes at ye, cut up like this.” He brought his sword diagonally up in front of him in a sweeping motion, “That will knock most attacks up and away from ye. Then, from that high position ye can either cut,” he swept the sword back down in a slashing movement, then raised it back up again, “or, ye can stab.” This time from the high position he pushed the tip of his sword sharply downwards.
“Got it? I'm sorry that ain't much of a lesson, but just try and stay back and let us deal with whatever comes through that rift. Now me and Ironbound here have work to do.” He tapped his wide sword to his helmet in salute, then dropped his visor over his face with a clang and ran towards the edge of the subway platform to join the others.
A crowd of armed and armored Divers had gathered around the fence, and all of them stared over the edge into the rift. The Guardian on the watchtower stood ready in a fighting stance, his hands held out in front of him with shimmering blue light pulsating and crackling around them. The alarms blared and the red lights flashed.
It happened so fast. A dark green tentacle with a clublike end shot out of the rift, straight towards the Guardian. He instantaneously let loose a pulse of blue power towards the tentacle as it approached him, but whatever creature it was must have had some sort of magic resistance, because the powerful pulse ricocheted off the creature, bouncing up to the ceiling where it exploded in a shower of concrete and dust.
The tentacle smashed firmly onto the Guardian’s torso and yanked him off the watchtower. Blood spurted out from the man's chest, and it looked as though some sort of claws in the tentacle had ripped the front of the man to sheds. He fell forwards down into the rift, screaming until he disappeared into it. The whole thing couldn't have taken more than a second.
But there was no time for reflection, as eight gargantuan sucker arms had also exploded out of the rift. Instead of grasping for prey however, these distributed themselves evenly around the rift's perimeter, and pushed down for leverage. A new shape started to emerge. It was a large bulbous head. Like the head of some kind of giant squid monster.
[CAVE KRAKEN | LEVEL 30 | (2)HOOKED TENTACLES 30 | (8)SUCKER ARMS 30 | ACIDIC MUCUS 15 | BEAK 28 | CONCEALING INK 15 | MAGIC RESISTANCE 28
The shocked shouts and screams of the Divers echoed around the subway over the blaring alarms as they tried to recover and organize a suitable defense. They were scrambling out of the tavern and the market stalls. There was also a low gurgling rumble beneath all the other noise that Mike assumed was coming from the Kraken.
He got the impression the subway rift didn't see creatures like this come through very often. They didn't seem prepared. And the Guardian was gone. Mike was scared. He held Goblin in the underarm guard.
[G: Mike, you are gripping too hard. Relax your grip, otherwise you will use more energy and lose dexterity.
Mike tried to relax. But he was terrified. Was he about to die, shredded to a pulp by a Kraken in an abandoned subway? That hadn't been on his bucket list.
The Divers had organized themselves into groups now. Each group seemed to have a caster or a ranged attack class, all of whom were pouring arrows and magical bursts at the creature. The mêlée fighters were focused on the creature's suckered arms.
Mike saw Jim chop powerfully down on one, severing it near it's tip. There was a loud gurgling bellow from the beast and the severed arm suddenly launched towards Jim like a punch, knocking him back, crashing into the abandoned market stalls.
Another armored Diver, the guy with the briefcase who had gone to the men's room earlier Mike realized, smashed down on one of the suckered arms with a giant warhammer. There was a crack and a squelch, and another gurgling bellow. That arm also shot forward, but the hammer wielder was ready, and he smashed the arm away as it came at him.
Mike didn't see what happened after that, because a giant hooked tentacle flung itself towards him with incredible speed.
The two tentacles that the Kraken had were different to the eight suckered arms that it was using to pull itself out of the rift. The tentacle, Mike now saw was thinner, and on the surface of it's clublike head, the suckers had small razor sharp hooks that seemed to rotate independently, like hundreds of tiny shredders.
Mike realized what had happened to the Guardian’s chest…
[G: MIKE, YOU'RE DOING THAT THING AGAIN. WHERE YOU INTERNALIZE WHEN YOU SHOULD BE DEFENDING AGAINST DEATH.
Goblin was still pointing downwards in the underarm guard. As the hooked tentacle shot towards him, Mike cut diagonally upwards; lower left to upper right with all his strength and speed.
[M/+1READ
[M/+1SPEED
[M/ENERGY 9:30
His timing was perfect, though panic had probably done most of the thinking for him. A thin line of blood appeared on the tentacle that quickly developed into a gush. He had made a surgically neat slash across the thing with Goblin's newly sharpened edge. The tentacle retracted in shock. Over at the rift, a rumbling gurgle was heard, louder and more angry than before.
[G: CUT DOWN AGAIN... NOW!
Mike's arm still held Goblin high. Mike stepped towards the receding tentacle, and he cut diagonally down again, upper right to lower left, this time with a yell of effort. Another slash, more blood. More rumbling gurgle.
[M/+1FIGHT
[M/+1POWER
[M/ENERGY 8:30
This time the bloodied tentacle jerked forwards towards him. As Mike had returned Goblin to the guard position, he now instinctively swept diagonally up again, successfully slashing a third cut across the tentacle. The third gash sprayed hot blood and sticky kraken goo all over him.
[M/+1READ
[M/+1FIGHT
[M/+1POWER
[M/+1SPEED
[M/ENERGY 7:30
[G/+1FORCE
Mike couldn't help but feel like getting covered in blood twice in as many days was a bit much, but suddenly he felt an intense stinging sensation. He cried out in pain, nearly dropping Goblin.
[M/AFFECTED BY ACIDIC MUCUS
[M/HEALTH 22:150
[G: Kraken mucus. It's acidic. The men's room is behind you. Run and find water to wash off.
Mike glanced behind him. He could see the men's room door where that briefcase guy with the warhammer had gone earlier to change out of his business suit. With one last glimpse at the tentacle, which was writhing wildly around trying to find him, he ran for the door.
The wet squelches behind him told him the thing was following. The acid burned.
[M/HEALTH 18:150
He barged through the door and headed straight for a sink. He turned the tap on as hard as he could and threw handfuls of water all over himself where the stinging sensation persisted.
[M/ACIDIC MUCUS NULLIFIED BY WATER
[M/HEALTH 14:150
There was a wet slapping sound. The tentacle had followed him into the bathroom, somehow pushing through the door. It was a small space, the tentacle was oozing blood and mucus all over the floor, but its razor hooks were still twisting and writhing blindly all around it.
The club-like end of the tentacle was through the door now, it took up most of the floor space in the bathroom.
It lunged, straight at Mike.