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“Behind you!” Hana shouted.
Jinyoung whirled and brought his sword up just in time to deflect a claw. The wraith was dangerously close to ripping him open. He countered with a slash but it was wide, he was too slow to react and the wraith easily moved out of the way.
The catwalks were narrow and restricted his and Hana’s movements while the wraiths could leap from catwalk to catwalk giving them the ability to engage and disengage at will. He glared as the wraith backed off and easily leapt down to the catwalk below.
Worse still, Hana and Jinyoung had to keep their distance from each other so they didn’t accidentally hit one another while facing off against their respective opponents.
“We can’t fight them here!”
It was chaos. The damned wraiths could move quickly and used the railings, walkways, even the walls to leap around the confined space. All the while, Jinyoung kept his eyes trained on his opponent, doing his best to keep his sword up and in a defensive position.
He moved sideways just in time to dodge a thrust and spun around cutting deep into the monster’s ribs before kicking it back with all the force he could muster.
To his credit, the wraith flew back into the concrete wall. But it immediately stood back upright before dashing back in.
“Where’s the old man?” he called out.
Hana pointed to the catwalk above them where Youngho was dealing with two wraiths at once. Any other fighter class would’ve been hopelessly outmatched, but monks were well suited to tight fights with small numbers, even against stronger opponents.
As he watched, both wraiths swung with their claws at Youngho, but he always seemed out of reach. Each dodge was perfectly timed and when the space was too tight to move, the old man simply deflected each attack with minimal effort.
Unlike knights, fighters or even brawlers (which were a prerequisite class to monks), Youngho’s chosen class focused on increasing the player’s own agility and dexterity by dodging or parrying attacks before counterattacking with an enhanced strike.
The longer he kept it up, the more energy he could store. Even as he watched, Jinyoung could see Youngho’s fists begin to glow. He almost missed the attack, a light jab that connected with one of the wraiths in the ribs. But it launched the monster clear across the silo and sent it crashing into the wall.
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Jinyoung turned his attention back to his own opponent and raised his sword.
“[Charge],” he whispered. He didn’t need to say the skill out loud, but it was comforting. “[Scan].”
Immediately, the wraith moved in. It swung wildly, trying to catch him off-guard. But [scan] gave him enough warning and [charge] allowed him to move faster. Instead of taking large steps or jumping from side to side, Jinyoung focused on smaller movements like he’d seen Youngho making. Only taking large steps or jumping back when necessary.
It was only a few seconds before the wraith swung wide (too wide) and Jinyoung saw his opening. He thrust his sword forward and knocked the monster back, through the catwalks railing where it fell two stories before landing on the catwalk of a lower level.
From above him, he heard a deep voice call out. “Good shot, boy!”
Quickly Jinyoung moved forward and [dashed] in to close the distance between himself and his opponent. Before the monster could recover, Jinyoung was on it hacking with his sword. He got three clean strikes in before the monster raised a clawed hand and knocked him away.
Jinyoung landed on his feet and [charged]. The monster swung its claws sideways, unable to swing vertically without catching on the ground below or the catwalk above. One swing came close leaving a cold chill on Jinyoung’s face as he was centimeters from having it torn from his skull.
But it gave him the opening he needed and he swung his sword wide connecting with the wraith’s chest.
The monster went backwards striking the railing of the catwalk so hard it tore right through it and fell into the darkness below. Jinyoung waited a second, hoping to hear the sickening thud it would make when the wraith hit the ground stories below his feet. Instead he heard nothing and backed up into a defensive position before a voice broke his concentration.
“Come on!” Youngho’s voice called out behind him.
Jinyoung turned to see Hana similarly knock her wraith off the catwalk with a [shield bash] before disappearing into a tight corridor.
***
The cramped corridor went on for miles. There were heavy duty doors which were sealed shut with no visible method of opening in from their side.
“These corridors must double as exhaust vents,” Youngho explained. “That’s why they’re designed without any branching paths.”
Jinyoung grimaced. “As much as I’d enjoy the history lesson, we need to figure out how to deal with the wraiths behind us.”
Youngho stopped so suddenly that Hana stumbled and bumped into him.
“First, we need to get away from those damned things and come up with a plan.”
“Why?” Jinyoung countered. “You seemed to be doing well enough on your own.”
Hana closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She’d forgotten what it was like being around both of them at the same time.
But Jinyoung was right. Her father had been able to hold his own against two sin wraiths alone. As a shield knight, Hana’s specialty was defending physically weaker teammates but also acting as a tank to take damage where others couldn’t. Her father on the other hand, had the skills of a monk which allowed him to avoid taking damage altogether by dodging and parrying attacks.
The only reason Hana and Jinyoung had been able to hold off against a sin wraith each was because they’d faced one before. She doubted, even with luck on their side, that they could actually defeat all four.
That’s when she heard it. It was faint but unmistakable.
…bae!
“Jinyoung,” she hissed.
Her father and brother immediately silenced. Jinyoung’s eyes went wide when he heard it, too.
“We must be far enough from the wraiths,” he mumbled.
Willow, can you hear us? Where are you?
Hana held her breath and prayed. Finally, after a long suspenseful moment passed, she got her response.
I’m with Seunghyo, sunbae. We’re in trouble.