“I don’t think so,” Benny said. “This will be quick.”

He didn’t know how he right he was. When Frank saw Benny’s eyes glow green, he stopped his second counter and committed both figures to memory. Benny’s Keen lasted 45 seconds and took 30 seconds to recharge. Based on how quickly Keen was activated when they first met, Benny likely wasn’t trying to be deceptive. But Frank certainly was.

Frank could invoke Insight right now so that he could properly analyze the fight, but he chose not to. It was a small gamble: choosing to delay reactivating a skill could give you the upper hand strategically by having your opponent underestimate your skill’s recharge time or it could make you miss an opportunity to capitalize on that skill so you can win a fight.

If he doesn’t start analyzing early, he’ll miss possibly critical information. That’s why he activated it the moment Benny dropped from the statue and faced him. However, he decided to delay reactivation. Frank wasn’t sure how strategic Benny was. He underestimated an opponent in the past and it burned him. So Frank would delay for another ten seconds. He just had to avoid taking critical hits.

Frank had close to 500 more health points than Benny. Once that buffer is closed, Frank would be at a disadvantage strength-wise. At that point, strategy would be the key to staying alive. Given Benny’s class and possible skill set, that may be difficult. The Fighter class had health buffs, and they tend to invest more stat points into Strength, Health, and Stamina. Stats Frank put minimal points into.

In the same second Benny had activated Keen, he sprung forward. He swung for Frank’s head. Frank ducked and dove to the right. The sword clanged against the wall. However, Benny’s follow-up attack followed soon after. He tried for a downward diagonal slash, but Frank blocked the attack with his left dagger. Frank braced himself for a close-proximity blast. When it didn’t happen, Frank dove past Benny, rolled, and then sprung to his feet before jumping back five meters.

Franked noted the absence of explosions when Benny’s sword hit the wall or ground during his last attacks. That means the explosions weren’t an inherent ability of the sword. It must be a skill that Benny was activating. He’ll have to start counting again.

Once Frank landed, he activated Insight. There was a thin, green overlay on Benny’s eyes, indicating Keen was active. Frank began to watch closely. He had one minute to analyze Benny before the skill timed out, and he wasn’t going to spend most of his stamina on Insight. It’s just supposed to support his other skills. His greater strategy.

Not wasting time, Benny comes at him again: a horizontal slash from left to right. Exactly what Frank wanted. Frank blocks it with his left dagger and swipes at Benny’s torso with his right dagger. Benny jumps back to avoid the hit, but Frank doesn’t relent. He attacks Benny with a flurry of swipes and slashes. Benny blocks or dodges all of the attacks, and Frank pushes him into the recesses of the temple as the two danced.

When Benny’s back hit a wall, a red overlay washed over his sword. It happened too quickly for Frank to react. Benny’s sword cut diagonally across Frank’s torso, dealing 450 damage. But then came the explosion. Frank was blasted into the statue. Pain shot through his back as it impacted an angle, leaving him winded and curled on the floor. He couldn’t move for a while. The world seemed to swim and sway around him. He felt like he was going to throw up. He could only gasp for air and check his status.

Health:

3220/3715

Status:

Disoriented (10 seconds)

Just like that, the health difference that gave Frank some advantage was gone. He’s a sitting duck now. Benny would use those seconds to do as much damage as he could. The only good thing was that the moment Frank’s disorientation was over, Benny’s Keen should fade. In those ten seconds, Benny rushes over and stabs Frank twice, dealing 900 damage. Frank had tried to block them, but he could barely make out Benny’s rushing form and he couldn’t keep up due to the disorientation.

Before Benny could strike him a third time, the disorientation wore off. Frank invoked Slip Stream and ended up thirty meters behind Benny, it was as far as he could go. He nearly smacked into the wall trying to get away. He didn’t plan to use that skill so early. The red overlay had already faded from the first attack, and Frank deduced that the skill was only active for one strike. Frank started a counter for himself. T-minus 20 seconds.

“Is that how you got your rank? By running away?” Benny taunted.

“If you think this is running away, it makes sense you’re only Silver 2,” Frank replies, noting Keen fade from Benny’s eyes. “After this fight, I’m sure you’re going to drop to Silver 1.”

T-minus 10 seconds.

“And I’ll hunt you down until you’re Bronze. You don’t deserve your rank.”

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Frank’s Insight faded. T-minus 5 seconds.

“Don’t talk to yourself out loud. It’ll make you sound crazy.”

“Crazy kills stupid.”

“Stupid is not knowing you’re going to lose.”

Frank’s counter hit zero. In the next second, he popped up in front of Benny. Benny made to raise his sword, but it was too late. Frank had already invoked Flurry, which would guarantee him 10 critical hits. It was the newest skill he had and least tested. He had only got it when he reached Level 40.

Invoking Flurry would almost half his remaining stamina and he would have less room to use all his skills. He would be able to use both Flurry and Slip Stream only once more after this. That would be his backup combo, and with that, this fight would finally be over.

Without Keen to aid him, Benny couldn’t keep up with the flood of swipes and slashes. Each swipe dealt 150 damage and left a tear in Benny’s armor and flesh that caught fire. The fire dealt 25 damage per strike over 5 seconds each. By the time Flurry was done, Benny’s player card looked like this:

BennyAfterRemmy

Level: 37

Rank: Silver II (1/5)

Class: Fighter (Knight)

Health: 327/3227

Three slashes from either dagger would wipe Benny out. Frank managed to land the first, but Benny caught up in time to block the second. Frank was going to strike again when he heard light, fast-approaching footsteps coming from the main hallway and approaching the chamber. Frank looked up instinctively, thinking it could be Benny’s duet partner, Remmy.

It turned out to be someone else. The moment she entered the battle area, a notification popped up.

Combat Notification

Saucy Syrian has joined the conflict.

Level: 12

Rank: Bronze I (3/5)

Class: Rogue (Bandit)

Health: 350

What is she doing here? She couldn’t be with this guy because her level and rank were too low.

“Don’t attack me, I’m on your side,” she says. “Riverrun sent me.”

Riverrun? Frank had to rock his brain a bit. Daniel? Why would he send her? Frank didn’t have the chance to ponder it further or even ask because he felt a searing pain in his torso. Then his body flew back from Benny. As Frank crashed to the floor, he knew what Benny would do next. He was going to give himself enough space to heal as he ran for the side hallway.

Immediately Syrian disappears. Frank knew she was using Slip Stream, but he wished she hadn’t. Benny had activated Keen the moment he turned and ran, and now he sensed her coming. Frank contemplated doing nothing. He didn’t know the girl. He didn’t ask her to come. She screwed up his plans. Yet, he streamed anyway. Knowing full well he won’t have the stamina to use that ability again.

It all appeared to happen in slow motion. Benny was twisting around, swinging his sword. Syrian had her dagger drawn and aiming for his neck. Frank popped between them, lunging at and grabbing Syrian as he tried to get her away from Benny. They both crashed into the ground. Frank let go of her and quickly got to his feet, only sparing himself a second to check Syrian’s status.

Saucy Syrian

Level: 12

Rank: Bronze I (3/5)

Class: Rogue (Bandit)

Health: 135/350

When he looked back at her, she had a light slice on her thigh. From then on, he kept his eyes on Benny. Benny’s Keen was still active, and he didn’t attack. Instead, he slowly backed away. Frank started calculating in his head. Attacking Benny while Keen was active was pretty pointless. He would be hard to damage, but it would at least stop him from drinking a potion. Apparently, Syrian was thinking the same thing as she attacked.

While Syrian kept Benny occupied, Frank started calculating the best way to take down Benny. Sure they had him on the ropes now, but the moment he got a chance to breathe, he would heal himself, and Frank didn’t have a lot of options. He ran in to flank Benny, but Benny saw it coming. Benny dove to the right to dodge Frank’s slash. Syrian now stood in Benny’s space and Frank had to pull back his hand to avoid striking her. Frank glances at Benny and sees a red overlay on Benny’s sword.

“Move!” he shouted.

Benny launches a downward slash that Syrian jumps back from, but not far enough. A hole opens up in the floor, and she falls through. Just before she disappears to the room below, she manages to grab onto the edge of the hole. Benny attempts to strike again, but Frank jumps forward and kicks him away. He then kneels over the hole to pull Syrian up.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Frank said as he hoisted her onto the floor.

“They thought you might be in danger.”

“Now you’re in danger. That guy can take you out with one hit. Look what he did with just a graze.”

Frank refocuses on Benny, and exactly what he feared was happening. Benny had put more distance between them and had just downed a health potion. His health was now 827. Benny summoned another potion.

“Get me over there,” Frank said.

Syrian began to protest. “I can’t carry—”

“You can. Just do it.”

Syrian grabbed onto him and invoked Slip Stream. It felt weird being in someone else’s stream. Frank had never done it before. Instead of controlling and directing the flow, he was carried and ushered, unaware of how far and where he was going to go. He hated it but tolerated it because he needed to. There was a slight delay as he processed his new surroundings, but once he got accustomed to it he invoked Flurry.

Benny was completely off guard. No Keen. No chance to use another potion. Frank knew Flurry would end him immediately. But right as his first blow landed, he heard heavy footsteps coming from the side hallway. A notification popped up but he didn’t need to look at it because he recognized the voice that spoke the moment the person entered the battle area.

“Wait! Don’t kill him!”

The second blow had already been inflicted, and the third was underway.

Frank canceled the skill and looked at Cole. “You guys have the worst timing.”