Klint fought against the many who tried to stand up to him. At first there were just a brave few who managed to put up a half decent fight, but he quickly needed to act carefully as the number increased further. He dodged side to side, using his high agility stat to its fullest. He dodged arrows made of blue light shot by an archer woman. He had needed to cut through several magical attacks sent out by a mage. Out of all the defenders, one in particular proved to be more of a nuisance than expected. A rogue donning armor blacker than night took small stabs at him with knives that practically screamed danger at him.
Klint had thrown a good amount of his free points he’d earned into agility, and it had become his highest stat. Although his class didn't focus on speed, he always felt superior in a fight when he could outpace his opponents. This made it all the more frustrating when the rogue matched his speed, then began to outpace him. He took dozens of small cuts, wounds opening all across his body as the knives plunged into him.
On top of this, all the other denizens of the camps were throwing various attacks at him from afar. Klint quickly determined that his odds would improve significantly if he could just slay the pesky rogue. He activated one of his skills, his mana beginning to deplete as his stats soared. It was one of his trump cards, and one he hadn't wanted to use so early.
The skill in question was named One against Many, and increased his stats the more opponents he faced. It had diminishing returns, and reached a soft cap at about 50% added to each of his stats. His speed increased significantly as he slashed at the rogue, cutting a deep gouge through his torso, then kicking him with all his strength. The man was sent hurtling through the wall of a nearby home, and Klint moved to follow.
His charge was quickly interrupted as a speeding ball of fur and fluff slammed into him at great speed. Once more, he felt the complete frustration at being outmatched in speed, and stood, getting a good look at his newest attacker. Instead of the large powerful warrior Klint had expected to see, he instead saw a massive, hulking rabbit the size of a smart car. He identified it, meeting the charge of the rapid rabbit.
Battle Bunny (level 32)
It was a strong foe, and was every bit as difficult to deal with as the rogue had been. What was worse was that it was fast. With the massive weight the rabbit had to be carrying around, each movement carried power that could seriously hurt Klint. He was being pushed back, and he truly hadn't expected so many to be able to prove themselves a nuisance. He backed up step by step, slashing and hacking at the rabbit as it leapt over and over, trying to headbutt Klint with all its strength. He was forced to use yet another one of his skills as he diverted his path, quickly decapitating a bystander with one quick swing of his sword.
His skill, Life through Death, activated as his mana, health, and stamina were all replenished by a small amount. This continued as he slaughtered half a dozen defenders, all of his resources being brought back to full once more. Fully revitalized, he attacked the bunny with a new vigor, cutting its front two legs off with two swift swipes of his weapon.
With one enemy neutralized, at least for the moment, he scanned his surroundings for anything that may be as big a threat as the previous two enemies. Through the battle haze, he spotted Jonas, the man who had greeted him into the settlement. He ran at him, ignoring the many attacks battering his body as he charged with single minded focus.
When he was just 3 feet from the man, Jonas used some skill to create a barrier between the two of them. It slowed Klint, but not enough. His sword passed through the head of the man, killing him instantly.
*You have slain the leader of this settlement. Would you like to conquer this settlement? [Y/N] After conquering you must maintain control over the settlement for 24 hours to solidify your control.*
With all the other outposts and encampments the man had defeated, he had never seen any point in conquering them. Not much benefit if he would be leaving shortly after. But here, he could clearly see that they had a good thing going, and he wanted to control it. He selected yes, but frowned as he received another notification.
*The primary defender of this settlement has been notified of your attempts to conquer. If you slay the primary defender, the 24 hour wait period will be skipped.*
“Primary defender?” He questioned. If none of who he had faced had been the strongest of them, he may be in for a bit of trouble. After seeing their leader killed, many who had been attacking stopped, fear filling their very souls as his gaze swept over the crowd, halting the rest of the attacks.
“If you do not fight me, I will let you live. If you wish to continue to resist, you will be killed.” Klint announced. He didn't want to kill people unnecessarily, as they may be useful in making armor and weapons to make him stronger. If he needed to he would kill anyone who got in the way of his growth. He looked over the crowd once more as many averted their gazes. Only one truly met his eyes, and challenged him.
It was the damn rogue from before. Beside him stood a wall of a man who held a staff that was channeling mana into the rogue. The rogue was fully recovered from their previous exchange, and looked at him defiantly. The man stared for several seconds before uttering just two words.
“Fuck. You.”
He was glowing from the light being channeled into him, and he appeared to be empowered by the spell. With even greater speed than before, he blasted forward. Klint no longer was receiving the bonuses of fighting a small army, as it was now a one on one fight, and he couldn't match the speed of the rogue. Despite the disparity in speed, Klint still had 7 levels on the man, and his sum of stats was just higher.
The rogue fought desperately, recklessly even, creating cuts all over Klints body. The cuts themselves were weak and superficial, but the small amount of poison injected into his body with each wound was anything but. He felt his constitution fight against the poison, trying everything it could to keep him alive. Klint was not the only one struggling to continue, as the reckless attacks of the rogue were not left unpunished.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
His blade bit deep into flesh, the armor the man wore preventing him from being bisected entirely. His wounds closed at a visible rate thanks to the mana being channeled into him, but the damage was piling up faster than it was being healed.
Klint decided it was time to use his third and final trump card. It was one he had yet to use, and for good reason. It was a skill granted by his trait, and came with the cost of being significantly weakened after. Looking around at the settlement, he decided that the rogue was the only problem he would have if he was weakened. A problem that he intended to deal with before it ever happened. He activated his skill, reading the description as his body overflowed with power, far beyond what had been granted by One against Many.
Last Stand (Heroic) (Trait)
When all is lost, and defeat seems inevitable, you stand tall. No defeat is certain until death comes to claim you. This skill increases all stats proportional to the power of all hostiles nearby. After the skill is deactivated, or resources are depleted, a period of weakness takes over the user and gets exponentially longer the longer this skill is used.
It was his most powerful skill by a mile. It wasn't even close. It was similar to his One against Many skill in a few ways, and crucially different in others. Firstly, he gained strength from hostiles nearby, and not just those he was engaged in combat with. While foes had only encompassed those who fought, hostiles included just about everyone in the settlement. He hadn't exactly made many friends here after all. Secondly, there was no limit on how long he could keep the skill up, just a warning that depleting his resources would deactivate the skill. This meant that as long as he could replenish himself, he could fight, and he would win.
The rogue was quickly sent on the back foot as attacks came at him with power and speed unlike anything he had seen yet. Their weapons locked together as he blocked an attack. Klint held back his strength for a moment to talk to the man.
“Why, in the face of hopelessness, do you fight.” He asked, trying to get a reaction out of the man.
“Because I don’t see myself as fighting in the face of hopelessness.” The rogue said, a grin slowly spreading across his mouth. This made Klint frown, as the fight so far truly seemed all but won.
“And what makes you say that?” He said, looking away as loud booms echoed from the nearby forest, getting louder and louder with each successive noise.
“Because I was not fighting to win, I was fighting to ensure you would lose.” Klint looked at the man, worry setting in as he heard the booms reach ever louder volumes. He kicked the rogue, blasting him away and caving in his chest. Blood flew through the air as the man was launched back, flying directly towards the gates on the outer wall. One final boom echoed across the entire settlement, a noise so loud that everyone present could feel it in their bones. Standing there, in the middle of the gate, was a man clad in ornate armor, reminiscent of a spider's exoskeleton. In one arm was the beaten and broken body of the rogue, and in the other was a large metal hammer.
_________
Mike looked at Lucas, whose body was so damaged that Mike was shocked he was still alive. Blood poured from every gap in the man's armor, and several bones stuck out from under his skin. He had known things had gone to shit when he had received a notification of Jonas’ death, but things were looking so much worse than he had expected. The bodies of several people lay on the floor, each missing their heads. Kenny was missing his two front legs, and was being comforted by Martin and a healer, who worked to fix the injury. Blood soaked the grass nearby from the battle that had taken place.
Mike had already been notified of his leader's death, but it had not truly sunk in until he saw the body laying on the ground. His head had been spilt open down the middle, and pieces of his brain were visible. It was a horribly gruesome sight, but Mike couldn't look away. He looked, the memories of Jonas flashing through his mind as he stared. Time seemed to lose all meaning, as nothing seemed to be moving in that moment.
Death was something that Mike had become accustomed to in the many weeks since the system had come around. Many would say he was far too comfortable with the concept. Mike would likely agree with them, but he realized he hadn't been as casual about it as he had first thought. He had killed many creatures, and seen the bodies of those who died in the raids on the settlement. None of them had affected him to the degree that seeing Jonas’ body on the ground had.
Jonas was a man that Mike had come to respect. He was a symbol of hope for many people, and sacrificed his comfort and every second of his time to ensure the safety of the people under his leadership. Mike had gotten close to the man, and even considered him a friend.
Now, the sword wielding monster before him had taken away that friend, and this was not something that Mike would take as lightly. In that sliver of frozen time, he saw many crying faces, and looks of pure and utter despair. He saw looks of horror and looks of resignation. He saw none of the hope and happiness that had been present thanks to the efforts of Jonas. The man wielding the sword had taken it all from them. Mike saw Aaron running to him, ready to heal the broken man in his arms. He set the man down on the ground as gently as he could, making sure to not worsen his injuries as Aaron reached them. The healer began working, slowly mending Lucas’ wounds.
With the survival of the rogue ensured, Mike once more turned his full attention to the man, no, the monster that stood in the field. The overcast clouds of the sky wept, mirroring the faces of the many who felt they had lost everything. Rain gently poured down over the grass, doing little to clean the blood caking the field.
“What is your name?” The man asked. Mike didn't respond, only giving a glare that held all the hate he felt. “Allow me to ask again, what is your name?”
“Mike.” He said, walking towards the man.
“A bit basic if you ask me. My name is Klint.” He said, offering a hand to Mike. Mike looked at the offered hand, feeling mixed emotions as he learned the name of his friend's killer. He looked the man in the eyes, seeing the pure lack of empathy staring back at him. He balled up a fist, and in the most anger filled action Mike had ever taken, punched the man square in the face.
Klint stumbled back as Mike hit him, clearly not expecting the force behind the attack. He smirked as the attack had barely injured him, sending just a few hairline fractures across his cheek bone. Mike attacked, again and again, not with any skills involved, but just with the pure anguish and frustration he felt. He landed punch after punch on the man, doing little more than bruising him as his fists connected over and over. The series of attacks was brought to an end as Klint punched Mike, sending him stumbling several steps back.
Mike had always felt excitement at the prospect of a challenge, at the thrill of a good fight. But in that moment, all he felt was the desire to kill the man in front of him. He would give anything to make sure the man in front of him did not live to see another day. He equipped his hammer, holding it steady with both hands. Simultaneously, Klint gripped his sword, shifting into a battle ready stance. Klint looked ready to make another remark, fishing for a reaction. Mike didn't give him the chance, as he charged, swinging his hammer and aiming it directly for the mans skull.