”Are you quite finished eating dirt, Grim Hearts?”
I raised my head only to be met by Cerus’ disapproving gaze. In the distance, Opix was engaged in combat with the goblin girl Ysnik. She outleveled Opix, but you could hardly tell by the way the fight went. She fought with a club, and Opix seemed to dance around every swing. He hardly attacked, though when he did his attacks did next to no damage. Even still, it was clear that she was getting annoyed with the way this fight was progressing.
Grim: Should I Taunt her? She’ll lose more stamina that way.
Opix: Not yet. Matter of fact, I want you to think of this as a lesson. Cerus taught you how to use weapons so now it's my turn to be the teacher.
Opix swept aside another overhead swing of Ysnik’s club and struck her in the face with a palm strike. She reeled as Opix backpedaled away from her.
Opix: Three minutes. Whether you’re fighting a 0-Star Native or a 10-Star God, all you need are three minutes. That's how long it takes to fully analyze an opponent. What side do they prefer? What weapon do they prefer? Favorite skills? You’ll be able to figure all of that out in three minutes. Try to analyze Ysnik and figure out what her fighting style is.
Grim: We won’t always get three minutes, though.
Opix: Of course not. That’s just the ideal scenario. In reality, you’ll have to make do with the data you’re given. Just keep that rule in mind going forward.
“Angel Boy speaks truth, Grim Hearts,” Cerus agreed. “Now pay attention! I will not have a thrall that cannot fight.”
“Sir yes sir.”
I stood to my feet and wiped the dirt from my face. The more I watched, the more I started to notice minor weaknesses in Ysnik’s fighting style. Cracks in her armor, so to speak. She tended to leave her body exposed, and Opix would use those opportunities to land kicks on her sides. She’d respond by trying to trap his leg and swing the club, but Opix would catch it and blast her at point-blank range with that wind shotgun attack. It did some damage to her, but not enough for it to be threatening. It was less of a battle and more of a war of attrition. As informative as it was, though, we wouldn’t be winning by watching.
”I should cast Taunt,” I muttered to myself.
“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach, Grim Hearts. As much as it pains me to say this, Angel Boy is quite skilled. You would not win a fight against the goblin girl.” She gave me a mischievous smile and pulled me close. “That being said, you can still taunt her without using any skills. This is a battle, not a duel!”
I found myself grinning along. “What do you have in mind?”
***
Ysnik’s health sat at around 80%, with Opix’s at around the same range. Cerus had begun her part of the plan, sneaking off to reclaim the stolen items while Ysnik was distracted. According to her, some of our stuff really was gone, but the 7-Star Sword, my boxing gloves, and those skinned Spotted Deer were still out on the ground. My task was simple, capture Ysnik’s attention to distract her from noticing Cerus’ theft.
Cerus and I decided on a simple method of doing that – throwing rocks. I’d activate Essence of Aura to strengthen my throwing power like I did against the Ancient Sabertooth Spectre, and with that, Opix could land more direct hits. Once Cerus took the items back, she’d join in the fight and hit Ysnik with Pollination. While it wouldn’t beat her immediately, it’d put a more definitive timer on this fight.
I looked down at the forest floor and picked up the first palm-sized rock I could find. Opix began to direct Ysnik in such a way that’d expose her right side to me, and I knew I wouldn’t have a better opportunity to strike. I activated Essence of Aura and threw the rock as hard as I could.
It bounced off her with minimal effort. Ysnik turned to me, frowned, then turned back to Opix – only to be met by a punch to the face. She growled, the most goblin-like thing she’d done so far, and spoke under her breath.
“Cheater! Stop cheat– ow! Hey, stop! Stop!”
I threw another rock, and another, and another. Like Cerus said, this was a battle. We had Battle Points on the line. What kind of idiot would I be to leave shit like this up to chance? We needed those Battle Points. We could treat the kid to a happy meal or something when this was all over. She’d get over it.
Cerus: i have retrieved our items
Cerus: opix we should rush her i need to hit her with POLLINATION
Opix: Got it.
Cerus: grim your time is now
This was the second part of the plan. Cerus didn’t think I should do it, but the more I explained it the more I was able to convince her. It put me in danger, but we’d already done something similar against the Ancient Sabertooth. I had an idea of how Ysnik fought, so I had faith in my ability to stay alive.
“Hey, Ysnik!” I shouted, waving for her attention.
The moment we made eye contact, I cast Taunt on her. She charged me as soon as it landed. I didn’t have my boxing gloves so I needed to rely on my Sabertooth Splitblade. It made me more flexible than nimble, but pairing that with my own knowledge of Ysnik’s fighting style gave me confidence that she wouldn’t land a hit on me.
Before she could reach me, Opix blasted her into a tree with his Wind Burst skill. At the same time, Cerus landed Pollination on Ysnik, ensuring that we all healed over time while Ysnik’s gradually decreased.
Ysnik laughed as she stood from the rubble, wiping dust and debris from her clothes as she scanned the three of us. I deactivated Taunt when I realized how much MP it'd been draining, but it did nothing to stop her from laughing.
“You guys are fun to fight!” Ysnik finally said. She turned to Cerus. “I didn’t think you were gonna rob me back! That’s like, the least Cerus thing ever!”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Rob you back?!” Cerus fumed. “These are our spoils! I have committed no crime!”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Ysnik sighed. “I still need them back, though. So…”
Opix and Cerus’ bodies were suddenly highlighted in a transparent red-white light, completely frozen in place. Above the two of them was a single word: Stunlocked.
Cerus: i cannot move!
Opix: Grim, be careful!
She did focus her attention on me, but she wasn’t looking at me. I assumed she was in her System, something that was confirmed when she pulled out the same boxing gloves Cerus had just taken back from her.
“You can’t hide anything from me, you guys. I can see into your inventories. I can take stuff out of them. It’s like, my whole thing! I learned it in Unity.”
Cerus: i can still use my skills but only the non physical ones
Opix: Same. I can hit her with Wind Burst, but she needs to be close to me for it to do any sort of damage.
Cerus: this affliction will go away in less than one minute so try not to die
Grim: Alright. I’ll see what I can do.
Like it’s that easy…
I fell back on what I knew: diplomacy. She was a healthy distance away from me, but she needed to be closer to Opix and Cerus for this plan to work at all. Cerus’ Pollination attack was still active on her, though, so even if I couldn’t bring her close I knew I could at least waste time enough to force her to retreat.
“Ysnik, I need to know. What do you hope to get out of taking our things? Why can’t you earn them yourself? There’s a Battle Shop, right? They have Quests that give you BP.” I had to be careful with how much I said. The last thing I needed to do was convince her to take more from us on top of what she already did. “I’m sure there are other things you could be doing than robbing people.”
To my surprise, her face fell. Ysnik looked at the frozen forms of Cerus and Opix before fixing her gaze on me. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Reincarnator. I don’t wake up looking forward to robbing people and knocking out strangers, but I don’t have much of a choice.” She looked away again. “If I have Battle Points and gold, I can use them to keep my friends strong so we can fight against the Silent Hand. They’re all over Grimhaven. They’re the bad guys, not me. I’m really sorry for doing this to you guys, but I… I really need to.”
Grim: Does any of that mean anything to you guys?
Opix: The Silent Hand is an offshoot of the Felzian Queen’s Rangers. They’re far more insidious in some ways.
Cerus: i am unfamiliar with the silent hand, though if they are allied to the felzian queen they will perish.
Cerus: also my timer is almost up
“Ysnik,” I began. “There’s no reason all of us can’t–”
You have been Stunned for twenty seconds!
You have been Stunned for twenty seconds!
You have been Stunned for twenty seconds!
You have been Stunlocked! You will be unfrozen in one minute.
“Thanks for hearing me out, Reincarnator,” Ysnik said to me. “But you reminded me that I can’t keep playing around. I need to get back to the fight. Thanks for the distraction, you guys.”
My inventory involuntarily opened and I was helpless to stop Ysnik from taking everything inside of it. I cursed my lack of Skills to hit her with, but before I could attempt to cast Taunt on her she struck me with the hilt of her club. Just like that, in a single, effortless strike, my health was in the red.
“See, I told you I wouldn’t kill you. I’m not that bad.”
Just as she said that Opix and Cerus were unstunned. They immediately rushed her, but Ysnik moved with a mobility she hadn’t before. Neither Opix nor Cerus were holding back, blasting Ysnik with every Skill in their arsenal. Even still, she was a 3-Star going on 4-Star, and her health was only halfway gone.
Alright, Grim. What can you do here? How can you be useful?
I had nothing on me save for the armor on my body, the empty pack on my back, and the uncharged Blood Amulet around my neck. The only Skills I had were Essence of Aura and Taunt. My System was still bare save for the… After-Action Report! I decided to look at my Level Up screen instead of my new Achievement. In the event I earned a weapon, the last thing I needed was Ysnik stealing it. If I hit Level 20, that meant I had a new Skill, something that couldn’t be stolen. My System seemed to suggest I had a new Skill anyway, right? I opened the menu and hoped for the best.
LEVEL UP!
You are now Level 21.
Here are your current Stats:
Health: 8
Strength: 12
Stamina: 35
Intelligence: 18
Mana: 33
Dexterity: 20
You have unlocked a new Skill: Hidden Fist!
Perfect!
I mentally clicked on the new Skill.
Hidden Fist
A weak magical punch to the opponent’s blind spot. Low MP cost.
I immediately began formulating a strategy in my head. Right now, Ysnik’s health was at around 45%, due in large part to Cerus’ Pollination Skill. There was no way for me to tell how much MP they had left, but considering how many attacks they were using it surely wasn’t high. My Stunlock timer had 30 seconds left, which meant our window of opportunity was small. If this plan was going to work, we all needed to do it now before she Stunlocked Opix and Cerus again.
Grim: I’m going to Taunt her. You guys hit her with everything you have once she’s distracted.
Opix: Got it!
Cerus: ok
I cast Essence of Aura on myself and immediately followed it with Hidden Fist. The Skill looked like a spectral arm made of greenish-white light. It hooked her in the kidney and disappeared before she knew what hit her. She winced, and I cast Taunt on her at the same time Opix blasted her with a point-blank Wind Burst.
Ysnik charged at me, but she was much slower than she had been at the start of the battle. I pelted her with more Hidden Fists, and while they didn’t take her health away they did slow her down further. She stood still, searching for the invisible fighter landing those attacks, but was never fast enough to stop any of them from connecting. Opix closed the distance, shoving a palm in her face and blasting her once again with a Wind Burst. As she flew into the distance, Cerus shot a Big Ice Attack at her. The icy bomb exploded on impact, once again destroying the recently repaired forest.
My Stunlock timer finally ended, and Opix ran to my side with a healing potion – something we were both surprised he still had considering how much she’d taken from us. Ysnik was there when the dust cleared, panting with her hands on her knees. Her health was in the red at about 15%. She looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. She frowned, dropped a few items at her feet, and ran off into the forest. She didn’t return to the fight.
Battle Complete!
The GALEROSE ALLIANCE has defeated the GRIMHAVEN PROTECTION FORCE by way of forfeit! The GALEROSE ALLIANCE is immune to all attacks from the GRIMHAVEN PROTECTION FORCE for the next two hours!
Your alliance now has 280 Battle Points! Welcome to the Battle Board!