Quickly, the group arranged themselves in a loose horseshoe formation with Erik positioned inside and behind Oskar. Penny had a knack for showing up at the perfect moment… Oskar could sense her nearby, so he wasn’t worried. He was sure she’d listen if he gave her instructions, but it was safer to plan around the four of them and let her be a nasty surprise when she deemed it safest to appear.
Touwon now wore two of the small shields, and just like the one he’d given Erik, each featured a punching blade on the front. Next to him, Fox wielded her two daggers, planning to rely on her agility to dodge rather than block the poison darts and spears that were oft employed by the airborne Hyena-men.
Oskar swept his foot back as a thin spear thumped into the sand where it had been. Another missed completely, ignored by Erik, who stood still in the middle of the group as if bored with the thrown spear now sticking out of the dune behind him. Meanwhile, Touwon expertly intercepted and deflected the third shot.
Oskar couldn’t do much about the Hyena-men gliding above, so he grabbed the closest spear- carefully this time. The last thing he needed was to poison himself again. Even if he lived through the poison, Fox would kill him.
In a moment of inspiration, he used Sora to pull in a burst of air, and threw the spear while transferring the energy, similar to a kinetic transfer. He felt the spear leave his hand faster than he expected, and instead of hitting the second Windglider in the torso, the spear shot straight into the hip of the lead Glider in front with an audible thwomp. The damage was significant; the weaker spear had bent and curved in the air and had broken apart into splinters from the excessive amount of transferred energy. By the time it struck the Hyena, It was a mass of splintered wood going faster than seemed possible. The damage much worse than a simple through and through.
The poor thing screamed… hysterically, of course. With the impact, its lead leg was forcefully ripped free, and the Hyenaman descended into the dune in a screaming, swirling eruption of sand. Another thrown spear slammed into the ground behind Oskar, and he saw his brother stumble back against the dune.
He glanced over to make sure his brother hadn’t taken a hit, but Erik was straightening. His shield noticeably dented, though. Obviously, there’d been a skill involved. Oskar’s mood sunk when he saw his brother struggling to stand with his one arm.
Angry, Oskar pulled in Sora from every direction, pushing himself further than before, and then felt Talau stirring beneath him as well. So, he called it, too. It hovered, sand caught in the swirl of Sora surrounding him. Another group of Gliders appeared in the distance.
I am so done screwing around with these idiots.
Eventually, the two remaining Hyena-men flew overhead, far enough above it was clear they were stalling after losing one of their number, but still close enough to monitor them while they waited on reinforcements.
“Nope,” Oskar whispered to himself with a low growl and pulled hard. Oskar ripped the two remaining Hyena-men out of the sky. They were moving straight towards the group, but not fast enough for Oskar, so he pulled again, dashing them into the ground when they got close enough. At this distance, the move was less costly and easier to manipulate. They crashed with an exaggerated explosion of sand and dust.
That had taken a lot out of him, however, and he felt lightheaded. Pressure built in the back of his head for a moment before it subsided.
His normal mana usage when using Sora in small bursts was all but irrelevant, but he’d tried nothing from that distance and with that power before. He turned around to check on the rest of the team, ignoring the cloud of dust from the crashed Windgliders.
Fox caught his eye and was staring at him appreciatively, but her face showed sudden alarm as she glanced over Oskar’s shoulder. He tried to spin back around, but it was awkward. His prosthetic foot sunk deeper in the sand than his real one, and Oskar fell backwards, holding his spear between himself and the Hyena-man who’d launched himself out of the cloud of sand behind him.
How the hell are they still alive?!
He had time to deflect the thrown spear from the furthest Hyena, yet he was too far out of position to do anything about the closest Hyena, slobbering and laughing through yellowed teeth as it lunged forward. Just as the Hyenaman’s lead foot hit the ground, though, the ground moved out from under him, and he spun out. Penny was on him before Oskar could move, bashing into the side of the Hyenaman’s head, who howled in response. Fox disappeared through the cloud of sand after the second, who’d tried to flee, but it barked out a quick scream and fell silent.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Soon enough, Fox came out of the cloud with a wink and said, “They were able to transfer the kinetic energy. It was a great move, human, but perhaps not against Gliders who have several skills to survive otherwise fatal falls.”
Fox put Penny’s Hyenaman out of his misery, yet Penny was still kwinning angrily at the man for his attack on Oskar. It was Cute, but Oskar’s eyes were on the horizon. Two more trios of Hyenamen, and something larger, were far in the distance and heading their way.
“Obviously, we need a plan. We can’t just stand here in a circle and hope no one gets poisoned. Where can we go to get away from these things? Is there any shelter on this planet not full of people trying to kill us?” Oskar asked desperately.
“We are in the wilds. There are shelters. Nearby, though? News of the Great Bird’s slaying has likely not reached them yet. There is shelter there inside its lair, and they are likely to fear entering the area. There is likely another way out, but it is not guaranteed. And I do not know how deep the lair is," she considered. "But you are right... we cannot stay out in the open. It may give us the time we need to regroup. I had hoped we would have time to hunt down Benedikuto, a Kobold who may be able to help us, for assistance." She sighed, "But alas, time is short, and the enemy is upon us.”
Benedikuto? What a mouthful.
Something else had caught his attention, though. “Did you just say ‘alas’?”
Fox glared at him, but Erik snorted, and she shifted her glare to him. His one eye was suddenly looking pointedly in the other direction, so the glare was less effective. She was smirking, anyway.
// She did say ‘alas,’ I recorded it. Would you like me to play it back for her? //
That is a terrible idea.
// Terrible as in bad, or terrible as in hilarious? //
That one works both ways.
// Noted. //
“Uh, alas is a good word.” Oskar tried, offering Fox his winningest smile, but it was a fourth-place smile at best.
“Hmph,” Fox replied and pointed where Oskar assumed the Lair of the Gryphus Vulture they’d fought- what felt like forever ago- was. How she had any sense of direction in all this sand was beyond Oskar, but his PUB agreed and he trusted her judgment. He glanced over to check on Erik, but Erik was already turning in the direction Fox had indicated, walking.
They wouldn’t be able to make much progress before the second group caught up with them unless they moved now and increased their pace. However, the first trio’s attempt to keep the other group in sight indicated that they either had to rely on a caster to find the group- likely Valla, or their finding method or communication wasn’t updated in real time.
They wasted little time themselves and were soon on the move again. Aware of the need for speed, Erik had somehow found the energy to noticeably speed up, helping them maintain a better pace. Meanwhile, the suns continued to rise higher in the sky, and the heat was quickly approaching dangerous levels.
A chilly 127. This place freaking sucks.
If it wasn’t for the Wayspring water doing its job, this environment would be uninhabitable for humans, long term. He made a note to remind himself to ask the Kobolds about seasons; maybe he had a nice 65 degree Autumn to look forward to.
// You definitely don't. //
Look, I know that, but you could have let me sit in the hope for a moment.
Even the Kobolds eventually conceded the heat was worse than normal, so walking in this all day might be more dangerous than trying to isolate one of the Gliding teams in the distance that were now circling in growing patrols looking for them. The group’s abrupt change in direction had given them some time to work with, but the heat was making it hard to use.
Oskar hoped the heat was also affecting patrols the same way it was affecting the native Kobolds. Soon enough, the group was on their final full water-skins, yet they could likely locate water much easier than the Gliders. The Gliders called themselves Dragoons, Fox had previously mentioned, but Oskar’s Final Fantasy background would not allow him to give them that much credit, so he’d taken to calling them Windgliders, or just Gliders in his head. Oskar knew he shouldn’t underestimate them, though. Those things had shown themselves to be deadly opponents, even without poison. And one of those groups looked to have something larger, probably one of the bigger tank Hyenas they’d previously fought.
They might not have the raw power Oskar had at his disposal, however, they had experience in the air. Being an unfamiliar enemy was the primary reason Oskar had held his own until now. He was vulnerable, and he knew it. There would come a time when he would face an opponent who knew exactly what he was capable of. That was why it was crucial for him to challenge himself and continue to grow.
To protect these knuckleheads. I was insane to get involved with all this, but here we are.
Just as the heat was becoming truly unbearable, Erik pointed back at the circling patrols. Five distant silhouettes grer fainter as they gave up the chase and made their way back toward the Great Collective. Oskar doubted the Great Collective would survive long without the Wayspring, even his Valla's iron claw holding things together.
With a sigh of relief, Oskar wiped the sweat off the back of his neck and started hunting for a Wayspring.