Callum dodged out of the line of attack, but the hobgoblin seemed to be ready for that. It pivoted and swung forcing Callum back. He tried to dance backward to give himself space, but the hobgoblin was unrelenting.
Callum was continually dodging and parrying but there were no openings he could find. Each swing was slowly forcing him back to the wall. As he was forced backward, he studied the pattern of the hobgoblin's swings.
Overhead, backhand, uppercut, step. There was a pattern. The speed made it hard to discern, but it was there. Uppercut, step, dodge.
Callum stepped to the side and performed his own series of attacks. The battle axe was a bad matchup for his rapier, but he had the advantage in speed, barely. He managed three well-aimed thrusts before being forced to retreat.
The first two exhausted the health pool, but the third struck true. His final strike hit the bicep of the hobgoblin, shredding the muscle. The axe came flying for his face again, but it was noticeably slower.
He settled into the rhythm of the fight, dodging, parry, riposte. Each blow was slowly sapping the strength of the hobgoblin, but he was feeling it too. The fight had gone on longer than any other he’d been in.
He backed away and the hobgoblin stood there, dripping blood from several wounds. Callum was preparing for a final strike to end it when a green light suffused the hobgoblin. He watched as its wounds began to close.
The shaman had stood from the chair, its hand pointed towards the hobgoblin. Callum nearly forgot about it in the frantic melee.
Callum sprinted for the shaman. It threw a fireball at him, and Callum threw up his buckler in response. The fireball collided and there was a moment of contention. Fired licked at Callum around the shield's edge, singeing his arms and legs.
It dissipated after a moment, but Callum felt as if he had the wind knocked out of him. He stumbled mid-charge. He opened his status page for a heartbeat and saw his mana pool was gone.
He closed the panel and saw another fireball rushing at him again, forcing him to duck and roll. He came up a pace away from the shaman and lunged.
His blade found its mark in the heart of the shaman. It dropped to the ground, but it finished its task. The hobgoblin was completely healed.
Callum was forced on the back foot again as the reinvigorated hobgoblin came at him. Each strike taxed his already low stamina even further. Making things worse, the hobgoblin was varying its attacks, not leaving open the same vulnerability he had exploited before.
Not wanting to get into a contest of endurance, he pushed himself further, forcing openings where he could. Each parry he got in a quick Riposte, finding he had to work his way back through the hobgoblin’s health.
Whatever the shaman had done to the hobgoblin was fading fast, allowing Callum to press the advantage further. After a hard-fought series of clashes, the two separated, Callum breathing heavily, forcing himself to stay standing.
He watched as the hobgoblin staggered backward, then collapsed, succumbing to blood loss. Callum had stabbed it so many times that he wasn’t sure which one was the killing blow, but he was glad for it to be over.
[One-Handed Weapons: Novice 8 → Novice 9]
[One-Handed Weapons: Novice 9 → Novice 10]
[One-Handed Weapons: Novice 10 → Apprentice 1]
[Skill Specialization Available]
[Duellist Level 3 → Level 4]
[Duellist Level 4 → Level 5]
[Skill Selection Available]
Callum breathed deeply as the strength from the level-up rushed in. He gained two levels this time, and he felt weightless as the stat gains poured in. Every movement was faster, and he was more in control of his body than ever before.
His eyes refocused on the notifications and processed what he was seeing. His weapons skill had moved from novice to apprentice, which was certainly interesting, but it had unlocked a skill specialization. He opened the menu, curious what it meant.
[Skill Specialization: One-Handed Weapons → Rapier] By choosing to specialize in a single weapon, and becoming proficient in that skill, you have unlocked a specialization of the broader skill. Your ability with your chosen weapon will go down a rank, but the baseline due to specialization will be higher. All skills related to your weapon will benefit from this specialization.
Callum was interested in this possibility of specializing, but he held back from picking it. He liked the rapier, but he wasn’t sold on using the weapon forever. He hesitantly dismissed the notification and breathed a sigh of relief as he found he could bring it back.
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He settled for trying to wait and see if he could put the decision off but was worried that it could prevent him from gaining levels in it. He would have to find a chance to do some practice with his sword to see if it was prevented. Moving on, he opened his skill selection.
[Feint] By employing deceptive maneuvers, one can distract to create openings or cause confusion, disrupting attacks. You gain the innate knowledge of how to distract opponents to create openings for attacks. Scales with Wits and relevant weapon skill.
[Vital Sense] No armor is without its weak points, and no living being is without vital areas. You gain an innate sense of where to strike to cause maximum damage. Scales with Wits and relevant weapon skill.
[Blade Dance] Mixing offense and defense, the duellist engages multiple opponents, dancing through the chaos of melee combat, dodging blows, and striking with precision. Scales with Dexterity and relevant weapon skill. Uses stamina while active.
[Evasive Footwork] Win by being where their weapon is not. Swiftly evade strikes and reposition quickly while in combat. Scales with Dexterity. Uses stamina while active.
[Swift Strike] Unleash a single swift and devastating attack, crossing short distances at blinding speeds. Scales with Dexterity and relevant weapon skill. Consumes a large amount of stamina on use.
Callum was a little overwhelmed with the amount of options since it had gone from three to five. However, he was pleased to see that the options he had passed on earlier were there. As he weighed the options, Blade Dance and Swift Strike stuck out to him.
He felt most comfortable in a one versus one scenario and having something that helped shore up his weakness in taking on groups was tempting. On the other hand, Swift Strike just seemed like fun. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the others, but he only had one selection and had to make it count.
Ultimately, Blade Dance seemed too useful. The only big groups he had faced so far was goblins, but if they were made of more competent fighters then things could go disastrously. His decision was made, he selected Blade Dance, and opened his status page.
[Status: Callum Green]
Duellist Level 5
HP: 20/70 MP: 20/70 SP: 30/105
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 17
Endurance: 2
Intelligence: 7
Wits: 12
Resolve: 2
Skills:
One-Handed Weapons:
Rank: Apprentice 1 [!]
Proficiency: 15%
Riposte
Blade Dance
Identify:
Level: 1
Proficiency 50%
His dexterity continued to climb higher and higher. He could feel the effects, his movements were smoother, and when he wanted to, he could move incredibly fast. He was also glad that his stamina was improving faster than his health or mana as it seemed like he used it the most, especially with his new skill.
He noticed that his One-Handed Weapons had continued to gain proficiency after reaching apprentice. This was good news as it meant that he could put off specializing the skill.
It seemed like he was making great strides in improving himself, but he was realizing it was coming at a cost. That fight could have easily been the end of him. In hindsight, blindly pushing into a room without knowing anything about what might be inside seemed like a dumb idea.
He also realized that by putting himself through such a challenge seemed to be increasing his gains. Was he willing to risk his life, just for these chances at personal growth?
This question weighed on him as he moved through the chamber, picking over the corpses of the dead goblins and hobgoblins. Unfortunately, all he found were stone weapons and rusted swords. There were the battle axes of the hobgoblins that seemed to be of better make, but he had no good way of carrying them. He settled for setting them by the large doors and trying to come back here with someone who could help carry them.
As he wrapped up looting the bodies, he came to an answer to the question. In a way he was willing to risk his life, as at this point, he had nothing really to lose. He wouldn’t consider himself suicidal, but it seemed like the collapse of civilization was imminent and strength would be the rule of law.
His whole life he had felt like a cog in the machine and this apocalypse had brought the whole machine crumbling down. He was sure some would become strong, likely risking their lives just as he was, and he had no desire to be under someone’s thumb.
While all of this was true, he did recognize that there was a lot to learn and the imposing doors had clearly been a warning.
He moved on from the chamber and retraced his steps back to where the path had split. He moved a little faster now, a little more confident in his abilities, but he still wasn’t at the point where he was ready to go sprinting through the tunnels.
In no time, he was back at the split and took the right-hand path this time. The path had the same sparsely placed torches that provided just enough light for him to navigate by.
After only a few minutes of creeping through the tunnel, he came to another place where the torches were placed closer and closer together. As he rounded a bend, he found himself coming up on another goblin camp.
This time, there were only six goblins, much like the first camp he had encountered. The difference now was him. He was fast, had multiple skills, and gained vital combat experience.
He debated how best to attack when he realized that it was a good opportunity to try his new Blade Dance skill. These goblins would provide a good testing ground without risking too much.
He casually strolled towards the camp until they noticed him. With yips and chitters the goblins gathered their weapons and charged. He simply waited. They closed the distance in a few seconds and just before they reached him, he activated Blade Dance.
He waited for something to happen as the first strike closed in on him. He stayed still long enough to realize the skill would not do the work for him, but as he watched the spear aimed for his hip, it was like it was in slow motion.
He tilted to the side and let it slide harmlessly past. His attack against that goblin seemed so painfully obvious, he had no clue how it didn’t dodge, but he met no resistance as he thrust through its heart.
As the second spear-goblin fell, he realized he was not panicking as he had in every other fight. Each action just flowed seamlessly into the next. Step here, twist, stab, duck, thrust.
He looked back at the pile of goblin corpses and realized the fight had been so incredibly one-sided. No attack had even come close to hitting him.
Then zen feeling faded and he wheezed. He had kept the skill active for too long and had exhausted his stamina, but the results spoke for themselves.
[The Goblin’s Sewer: Cleared]