Jordan’s arrow flew through the air as Reggie escorted the civilians in the area away from the fighting. He knew that based on the symbol displayed on the barbarians breastplate that he was a lieutenant for this particular Nevermore gang. This meant he was at least a level 10 adventurer, and he could feel his middle aged bones ache at the thought of joining this fight. He looked on as Jordan charged forward, hoping he could stick to crowd control.
The moment Jordan’s finger released the arrow he had aimed at the bandit, he began sprinting as fast as he could. For this maneuver to work, he couldn’t give his opponent any time to think. The massive scimitar in the elf’s left hand swung powerfully at the approaching arrow. Upon making contact, it exploded in a surge of frigid magic, as the sword was now covered in a thick layer of ice.
Jordan smirked as he continued to run, the momentary confusion his opponent experienced pleasing him greatly. The elf roared as his room temperature scimitar in his right hand began crackling with den, and he charged at Jordan with fury. He recognized the barbarian skill Storm Might, as the electricity from around his sword began to envelop his entire body. This ability greatly increases the power of the user’s next attack once a day, and considering both the size and speed of his opponent, that attack would take Jordan out of the fight immediately.
As the giant elf bolted toward Jordan like a flash of lighting, he felt the den flowing through his body as his Animal Spirit Skill activated.
“Peregrine” Jordan whispered, as he dodged the bandit’s strike with far greater speed than any half elf could naturally possess. The crackling blade pierced the air next to Jordan, and he unsheathed his dagger as he attempted to leap on his opponents back.
The bandit flashed a devilish grin as Jordan leaped. “Gotcha” he said as he swung the frozen blade with unnatural speed. Despite the added weight of the ice, it appeared the barbarians striking power was unaffected. Just as Jordan was about to be hit, an explosion of light blinded the combatants. Jordan shielded his eyes, missing his target and landing hard on the floor. The distraction had caused bandit to barely miss his head, the chill of the ice breathing down his neck as it had passed. He looked over and saw Vince, holding out a hand and smiling.
“You’re welcome” he said smugly.
Bryn looked over at the two and saw Jordan staring at Vince. His expression darkened, and his normally friendly and bright eyes were filled with intense anger. Bryn had seen that look only once, and while he understood Jordan’s frustration, he still felt bad for the poor cleric.
“If you interfere in this fight again, you will not walk right for a week, no matter how many healing spells you have. Sit… Down.” Jordan said, his voice filled with a calm yet terrifying authority. Vince looked visibly shaken up and stepped back, the barbarian roaring as his vision returned.
“Is anyone going to fight or are we playing like children! Tag, hide and seek, who will be breaking out the hopscotch maneuver?” He mocked, smashing the ice covered scimitar on the ground. As the ice shattered and the sword remained intact, Jordan had to admire its craftsmanship for holding up to a level 2 additive.
He aimed his bow, his Swift Hand Skill naturally guiding his aim before he thought to do it himself. Another arrow launched toward the barbarian, the den crackling around him yet again. However, the blue color indicated what Bryn had been afraid of: the Pile On Skill, a barbarian ability that greatly reduces damage from a weaker opponent temporarily. Bryn changed the settings on his Arsenal Watch as the bandit dashed toward Jordan yet again.
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Feeling the power of the animal spirit beginning to wane, Jordan darted toward Bryn. “Help me I’m scared!” He screamed, flailing his arms wildly. Bryn cringed at the scene before him, though he had to admit it adequately confused their opponent for a moment before he resumed his attack. As the pair approached him, Bryn began to throw a punch to his right.
Since the initial test run, the Arsenal Watch had been improved to now include an attack mode. A blade coated in a potion of the users choosing shoots out at the push of a button. This allowed Bryn to take the fight to his opponents, though even with the enhanced reflex potions he took, it was still relatively easy for a seasoned adventurer to dodge his strikes.
However, Bryn knows exactly how Jordan fights. Over their time adventuring and strategizing together, Jordan’s fighting style and preferences were ingrained into Bryn’s mind as much as if they were his own. So when Jordan began his flailing, Bryn knew what to expect: fake left, before a hard commit right, and use the remaining animal spirit to disengage. When those exact motions happened before Bryn’s eyes, he stood still, his arm out as Jordan passed by. The moment he passed, Bryn pressed that button, extending the blade and scraping against the barbarians exposed side as he chased after Jordan.
The moment the blade touched his skin, the elf stopped moving, his momentum causing him to crash several feet in front of him into a pile on the ground. Jordan had leaped onto a lamppost, perching on the top as if he was actually the bird he had borrowed power from. He leaped down and landed on the barbarians back, a pained wheeze leaving his mouth.
“You’re a feisty guy, but you should stop terrorizing the villagers. It’s not as good of a way to make friends as you might think” Jordan said, crossing his arms and nodding his head as if he was being philosophical.
Bryn looked at his friend with a blank stare, before raising his eyebrows after a few moments of silent head nodding. “This potion only lasts for 23 seconds” he said in monotone.
“Oh god!” Jordan shouted as the elf’s hand began to move, immediately firing several arrows into his chest.
As the barbarian lay dead before the two, they looked around it appeared the mayor had successfully evacuated everyone. “Another job well done, you want to go to the tavern down the road? I bet if we take some of the Toad Trip Juice we can ask them to put it in our drinks and have just a weird night.” Jordan said as he pulled his arrows from the dead bandit.
“No we still have to check the perimeter of the town.” Bryn said, but was bumped in the shoulder before he could continue. Vince had pushed his way between the two of them, and proceeded to get up in Jordan’s face.
“I saved you and you scold me?! If I was involved in that fight it would have gone way smoother, what are we even paying you for” he said, sticking his finger directly in Jordan’s face.
“Hey man you should-“ Bryn began to say before Jordan cut him off.
“No Bryn it’s fine. Look Vince I’m a pretty chill guy, I’m pretty laid back. But you really hit a sore spot for me. Just because you have an adventurer’s boon doesn’t mean you know what to do with it. You threw a blinding spell into the middle of a combat situation with 2 people on your side that you didn’t communicate with.” Jordan said as if lecturing a child.
Vince’s face twisted in anger. “If I didn’t cast that spell, you would have been obliterated! He was swinging that scimitar fast enough to take your head off!” Vince yelled, jamming his finger even closer to Jordan’s nose.
Bryn stood awkwardly, looking over at Jordan as he awaited his response. He looked down, and sighed deeply before pushing away Vince’s hand.
“Remember when I got really fast all of a sudden? That was a skill called Animal Spirit, which lets me channel the abilities of certain animals. The one you saw me use was for Peregrine, which allows me to increase my speed. Pretty nifty right? What’s unfortunate is you didn’t get to see the coolest part. I can switch between animals as long as I have den, and one of those animals is a slime. Slime’s can’t be hurt or do damage, so when the sword would have made contact, I was going to switch so I wouldn’t be hurt.” Jordan said, as Vince began to look slightly flustered.
“Ok so you might have been fine, but it’s not like switching to a blob midair would help kill him any faster” Vince said angrily.
Bryn cleared his throat, causing Vince to look over. “Yeah I figured you weren’t watching the whole battlefield, you were only watching the fight in front of you. If you had been paying attention, you would have seen me rushing in. The moment that barbarian would have landed that strike on Jordan, I would have been in position to inject him with the paralysis draught way earlier.” Bryn said, holding up his Arsenal Watch. Vince looked at both of them, stuttering and unable to think of what to say next.
Jordan scowled at Vince, holding up his hand to indicate he should stop attempting to speak. As Vince fell silent, Jordan spoke calmly yet seriously.
“If you want to be useful in a fight, you need to be either the most powerful or the smartest. You chose a support class, so hit the books.” Jordan said, brushing past Vince as he looked down in shame.