The streets went silent as the last of the panicked passersby finished evacuating, leaving both groups alone, sizing each other up. The air between them seemed to crackle with tension, and the wind howling between the buildings did nothing but add to the ominous atmosphere.
While Ascalon observed his opponents, he wondered about the immediate surroundings. He found it strange that after such a commotion—and relatively close to headquarters—no guards or anything of the sort had arrived to see what was going on. The weight of the box in his grasp prompted him to guess that this sudden event likely had something to do with the mission.
Perhaps they had to protect the box from the unknown assailants? Ascalon pondered, as his friends fidgeted in place, probably feeling under pressure. It was then that Lilithra decided to speak up.
“Why are they just standing there… menacingly?!” She complained in a nervous tone, causing Ascalon to chuckle involuntarily. They did seem kind of strange, with oddly similar presences. Meanwhile, Selorien whispered to Lilithra.
“This is probably part of the test…” The elf said in a low voice, eyeing the banner on her hands. Lilithra realized then what he was implying. They both shared the same unspoken thought as Ascalon about this being, perhaps, part of the test, and silently agreed to not use lethal force against their opponents—just in case!
Without letting them voice their thoughts, the multiple figures suddenly moved, scattering in all directions at an incredible speed.
Both Lilithra and Selorien sprang into action, prepared for the incoming assault. Lilithra raised her banner high to cast her usual skill. “Be Brave!” She chanted, while Selorien vanished into the shadows.
It was the classic opener for the duo, and one that perhaps was becoming a tad bit predictable, in Ascalon’s opinion. Still, against unknown enemies, it would probably suffice! Not wanting to be left behind, he extended his aura, providing the [Under his Watchful Gaze] buff to his friends. In the next moment, a javelin cut through the air once more, this time approaching rapidly from behind.
With minimal movement, Ascalon shifted his weight onto his left foot, spinning on his heel toward the direction of the attack. As he repositioned, he extended his left arm and bashed his shield against the incoming projectile, deflecting it toward the direction it came from. Unfortunately, the thrower had already moved, and was now perched on a street pole, preparing to launch another attack.
At the same time, one of the strangers approached Lilithra with a curved blade in hand. He ran leaning forward, making his body as small as possible in order to be a harder target, his silver weapon tracing the air with a downward sweep directed at Lilithra’s torso.
Motivated by Ascalon’s passive skill and her own desire to complete the quest, she frowned in readiness as she activated the ability she had only used once before: [Battlefield Cadence], the Gift that had allowed her to overcome Rosco! Feeling her stats increase considerably, she spun the weapon in her hands to put the blade away, positioning the blunt end of the banner forward. Then, with a burst of speed, she launched herself ahead, charging at the incoming enemy with such swiftness that he was caught off guard.
The rear end of her banner struck the enemy cleanly on the chin before he could even finish his swing, causing him to recoil backward from the impact. The man groaned as he stomped on the ground with his right foot, using the momentum from Lilithra’s hit to initiate a backward somersault—though she was too fast and focused to let him escape!
With another burst of speed from her short legs, she propelled herself toward him, carefully timing her next thrust to strike at his back mid-spin. The hit connected cleanly, and painfully, launching the man through the air as he wailed in agony. Then, in a shocking turn of events, his body exploded in a cloud of white smoke the moment he hit the ground.
“Wha—?!” Lilithra exclaimed in surprise, while Ascalon avoided yet another javelin, his eye focused on the spot where the man’s presence had suddenly vanished.
“What happened?” The knight asked in confusion, watching the smoke slowly dissipate. Lilithra raised her shoulders in a shrug as she prepared to answer, just as another enemy quickly rushed in from her flank—this time, catching her off-guard! His own curved sword gleamed dangerously as it split the air in a precise thrust, aimed at her stomach.
Fortunately, Selorien emerged from the shadows just at the right moment, delivering a clean hit to the attacker’s nape with the blunt edge of his daggers. The man fell face-first into the ground, a small grunt escaping his lips before his body, too, exploded into smoke.
“Okay so it’s definitely not because of Lil’s dark magic!” Selorien joked, though his tone couldn’t fully hide his surprise. Lilithra puffed her cheeks in irritation as she huddled together with him, inspecting her surroundings with a sharp stare.
“What dark magic, you dummy?!” She complained as two other men darted in their direction—contrary to the rest, they were bare-handed. Lilithra prepared to meet their attack head on, but something gnawed at her. Guided by instinct, she raised the banner in front of her body, just as one of the attackers blinked across the distance and delivered a powerful flying kick to her chest.
The banner blocked the brunt of the attack, but her body was sent backward, her boots sliding across the uneven ground until she finally stumbled a few steps. Regaining her balance, she looked up in surprise, her arms feeling slightly numb as she met the enemy’s impressed stare head-on.
Selorien, on the other hand, focused on the remaining enemy. As the assailant approached, the elf vanished into the shadows and crouched before launching himself to the side, repositioning while out of view. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he recomposed his balance and jumped right back, his arm extending forward into an awkward, straight punch.
But before it could connect, the man rapidly ducked and avoided the hit, twisting his body to counterattack with a fierce uppercut. Selorien barely stopped himself from being hit by arching his neck back, the enemy’s fist missing him by a hair’s breadth. Moving decisively, the masked stranger pursued Selorien, unleashing a fierce variety of punches one after another. The elf did his best to duck and weave as he retreated, his steps exuding finesse and agitation at the same time, somehow.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
As the hits grazed his body and face, Selorien jumped back with all his might, finally gaining some distance from his attacker as he sighed in frustration, clearly bothered by the constant action. Just then, around four more opponents joined the fray, split between him and Lilithra, causing him to grimace.
All the while, Ascalon kept blocking and deflecting a seemingly endless barrage of javelins, sensing the thrower’s frustration growing steadily by the second. Still, Ascalon had to commend the masked man for launching these projectiles and relocating so swiftly—a tactic that would confuse and frustrate most opponents!
While Ascalon contemplated this, three opponents engaged in combat with Lilithra, launching an oppressive offensive against her. The first one swept the air with a horizontal kick aimed at her neck, which she quickly blocked with the top end of her spear, leaning slightly into it to anchor herself to the ground.
The next attack came in the form of two consecutive jabs, a left and a right hook. She avoided the first by ducking and stepping back at the same time, while positioning her banner in the way of the second punch to block it. The third and final strike came from the one who had sent her flying, who jumped into the air and pounced at her with a guillotine kick.
She defended by, once again, blocking with her banner’s length, but the force of the descending attack was too great and made her knees buckle, with one being forced to the ground. Still, she was riding on a wave of confidence, originating from her [Battlefield Cadence], and quickly used the situation to her advantage.
She quickly extended her bent leg and sprang up like a released spring, thrusting with the blunt edge of her banner in an upward stab and striking one of the enemies cleanly on the chest. Seizing the chance, she drew back her arms, took a deep breath, and unleashed a variety of forward, consecutive thrusts, battering the enemy until he dissipated in a cloud of smoke, just like the rest. In the aftermath, she stood breathing heavily, leaning onto her banner and clearly tired from her onslaught.
Ascalon was taken aback and smiled proudly at Lilithra’s masterful display of skill. Not only had she taken on three enemies and defended nearly perfectly by herself, but she had also defeated one more, too! Still, while something was slightly strange, the looming threat of the remaining opponents surrounding both Lilithra and Selorien grew as the masked men prepared to attack once more.
Seeing the situation turn more dire for his friends, and fueled by Lilithra’s actions, the knight decided to be a bit more proactive. Taking a deep breath, he shouted. “Come at me!” His voice echoed through the street as he activated [Heroic Challenge], taunting some of the surrounding enemies and allowing his friends a bit more breathing room—though the javelin thrower was unsurprisingly unaffected.
The ones facing Lilithra turned around, urged by the knight’s skill, and she didn’t let the chance slip away. Without hesitation, she charged against the enemies, striking them from the back with powerful, precise thrusts. Their bodies transformed into smoke once more, and their numbers finally began to dwindle.
As Selorien was about to get hit by his own enemies, a mischievous idea flashed on his mind, and he wasted no time springing into action. His body turned momentarily shadowy, his form warping until it took the appearance of the javelin thrower, who looked around in astonishment. Having switched places with [Shadow Swap], the elf emerged at the man’s previous location while the rest of the enemies pummeled him with various, merciless attacks.
Struck by his own companions, the man fell to the ground, groaning. However, instead of vanishing into a cloud of smoke, all of the other attackers did instead! Ascalon watched in awe as the presences faded away, likely fabricated by a skill of some sort—it was quite interesting and impressive, he thought.
“Damn it!” The masked man spoke for the first time in the entire bout, producing a small ball from thin air and promptly putting it in his mouth. Everyone watched him warily as he munched on the strange item, and in the next moment, the stranger disappeared.
Though more precisely, he had blinked through the air with some kind of relocation skill, followed by Ascalon’s eye alone. As the man’s presence retreated into the distance, the knight inspected the box and sighed in relief—it seemed completely undamaged!
“He ran?!” Selorien suddenly questioned as he squatted, catching his breath. Lilithra approached them tiredly, wiping off some sweat from her forehead as she replied.
“Are you guys okay?” Lilithra asked with concern as she leaned forward and placed both hands on her knees, her banner now returned to her inventory. Ascalon smiled at her words and nodded, while Selorien simply raised his hand and waved.
“Are you okay?” The elf repeated as he narrowed his left eye. “You dealt with a lot of them!” He added, his voice ringing with both pride and surprise. Lilithra grinned shyly, her cheeks flushing a bit, while Ascalon chimed in.
“You did great, Lilithra. It was truly impressive!” The knight declared, causing her blush to further deepen.
“You guys…” She muttered as she shook her head. “If it wasn’t for your help they would’ve kicked my butt!” Lilithra sighed, though her smile was still present. Then, she glanced over at the box, and jolted in realization. “Oh! I completely forgot about the box!” She admitted with a regretful voice, standing up and walking toward Ascalon.
“Looks like it’s fine, though.” Selorien said, getting up to join them as well, and both of them looked up at Ascalon. “As expected of Ascalon!” The elf added with a mischievous smile, while Ascalon chuckled.
“It was actually quite troublesome.” Ascalon began, raising the box for them to see. “It is hard to control my speed with the box in mind! I kept wondering if I would move too fast and break it.” He laughed heartily, and his friends giggled at his side.
“Ah, on that note, we should move!” Lilithra suddenly blurted out. “Tell us if you want us to carry it for a while, okay?” She asked the knight, grinning sheepishly. Ascalon nodded in acknowledgment, while Selorien looked away as he groaned.
“I don’t wanna~ I’m sure we’ll be attacked again!” The elf complained, skipping ahead. Ascalon and Lilithra glanced at each other before exhaling deeply, their friend’s attitude expected but still kind of unbelievable!
With those thoughts in mind, the group resumed their advance through the streets, slowly reaching intersections that were populated by people as per usual. At this point they had no more doubts about why their earlier fight had been so isolated—most likely, headquarters had made sure that passersby wouldn’t interrupt them.
The rest of the day proved to be more relaxed and peaceful as they took short breaks to get some refreshments and rest their feet. Still, Ascalon kept a wary hold on their surroundings. His experience led him to believe that they were allowed some reprieve only to lower their guard—attacking while the enemy was eating and resting was a highly successful strategy, after all.
At least, he could now recognize the presence of the masked man. With that reassuring fact in mind, he enjoyed a well-earned cup of coffee, savoring the delightful aroma and rich, bitter taste.
“How does he do it…?” Ascalon wondered to himself, thinking about Raphael’s masterful brewing skills. There simply was no worthy rival for that man when it came to cooking and making beverages!
Both Lilithra and Selorien giggled as they understood his words, and the cheerful atmosphere carried on until they set out again. Now more energized and in the lookout for sudden ambushes, they continued their long journey to the Southern district.
On the way, Ascalon peeked around curiously. Aside from the mission, It was also a nice opportunity for him to get more accustomed to New Lumingard. He observed the various, different shops and establishments as they passed them, asking some questions about mundane things, and even wondering about how some of his old acquaintances would react to this mysterious yet marvelous world.
Little by little, the sun set beyond the horizon, and the shadows cast by the now lit street poles created an eerie atmosphere. Adding to that, the thought that they could be attacked at any given moment lingered in their minds.
And they were correct.