Ema was the next closest to Arthur at the time of the bull-man’s invasion. Dennis was right beside her, but there was a vital difference between the two. While he wasn’t exactly smart, the bull-man knew the look of a support-type when he saw it. For those who were experienced in war, they exuded something like an aura of comfort, and this was assuming they didn’t just have an aura-type skill in general. Knowing that support-type’s often had poor defenses, he didn’t even use a skill when he swung for her next.
Sasaki Ema’s dexterity was extremely high. While she was in a party with Arthur, that stat went from extremely high to stellar. The shock over what had just happened had affected her, but comparatively, her speed overshadowed the bull-man’s by a wide margin. Even so, the shock of the moment was a factor, nonetheless. Even jumping back as she was, she would have at least been grazed, and even a graze from someone with such an enormous strength stat could spell death. Dennis was right next to her. He had skills that granted him high perception, and he could see the situation for what it was. Ema would get hit, and she would likely die.
When the party had brought Arthur and a large chest of some kind back to the group, they’d told him and Sherman what he’d done. Sherman was upset, but not surprised, yet Dennis was flabbergasted. This man hardly knew any of them. He’d appeared out of nowhere and essentially sacrificed his life so they could have a chance to escape. A chance to live. While he hadn’t consciously admitted it to himself, it enamored him with Arthur. He was quite literally a knight in shining armor, and he’d subconsciously been trying to get closer to him during their chat earlier. He didn’t realize it, but he wanted to be his friend.
What he also didn’t realize was that Arthur’s actions had infected him. He didn’t have time to think, so he didn’t. As soon as Arthur’s flight began, he saw the bull-man’s intentions before anyone else. He rushed in front of Ema and activated all of his shielding skills at once, including his most powerful one that could only be used once per week. Instead of grazing Ema as it was supposed to, it slammed into Dennis full force. The bull-man’s fiery fist tore through the shields one by one, finally reaching Dennis himself. He and Ema were blasted through a wall much like Arthur, but in the opposite direction, leading further into the building instead of outside of it. They crashed into a wall together.
Ema felt dizzy, nauseous and battered all at once. She groaned, her head lolling groggily… until she tasted the copper on her lips. She forced her eyes open, the light of the sun peeking through the destroyed roof hurting her eyes. She looked down… and saw Dennis. The entire top half of his head was missing, leaving only his bottom jaw hanging limply. Both of his arms were gone, as he used them in his attempt to block the attack. They were burned to a near crisp, yet they still joined his missing head in pouring blood onto her by the liter. The acrid smell was suddenly very present as she screamed, both the blood and the after-death body fluids soaking through her clothes to paint and stick to her bare skin.
Gideon was already moving by the time the bull-man struck Dennis and Ema. He saw it break through Dennis’ shields like there was nothing there, and unlike Ema, saw the result in real time. In that moment, regardless of its origin, it became a monster to him.
After seeing what happened with Dennis, Gideon didn’t even try to engage in his North mode. North mode was for tanking attacks with shields and healing, while his South Polarity was for dodging and weaving attacks to strike back. He hoped it would be enough, as he swung his dagger at the monster.
Having no time to check on Ema, Aurora leaped back from the invading monster. She hoped that she and Dennis were okay, as she began charging a Lightning Weave. She knew she didn’t need to worry about Arthur.
The room they were in was, thankfully, large. Likely some kind of lobby before the conquer, it was spacious enough for even the bull-man to move around relatively freely. It demonstrated this freedom of movement despite the tight space by swinging repeatedly at Gideon, missing each time by matters of inches. He ducked and weaved wildly, knowing even a single landed attack would mean certain death. He sliced with Stellar Collision and Comet Swing repeatedly, not having enough time or freedom of thought to consider activating Force Pull or Orbital Belt. For now, his only objective was to stall the monster until his friends organized for the threat.
The bull-man had a class built around the concept of a berserker. He had skills that revolved around taking damage and growing stronger from it.
[Ceaseless Wrath] - Passive: Grants a [Wrath] meter. Enhances all physical stats as [Wrath] builds. Enhances certain skills as [Wrath] builds. Generates [Wrath] gradually as battles continue. Generates [Wrath] when taking damage.
[Boiling Fury] - Passive: Grants the user enhanced pain tolerance. Grants the user enhanced force application based on missing HP and current [Wrath].
Wrath was a resource unique to his class, the Bull Rager. As a battle continued, he would naturally grow stronger in all the stats that mattered to him.
During the current battle, Gideon’s dexterity stat was extremely important. Therefore, he used the skill that enhanced his dexterity the most when attacking.
[Stellar Collision]: Gain moderate healing commensurate to damage dealt.
- [North]: Gain a moderate barrier commensurate to damage dealt.
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- [South]: Gain a moderate boost to DEX commensurate to damage dealt. Has a maximum capacity.
Even before his level ups after slaying the Marauding Cyclopes, Gideon’s dexterity was higher than the bull-man’s. He used this to his advantage, outmaneuvering the beast even if just barely. It was clear the monster had far more battle experience than him, coming closer and closer to catching him each time. Its blazing fist would sail above him or to his side, flames licking the sweat on his face as he barely dodged. Somehow, the monster wa getting stronger and faster, and he’d need to disengage and hopefully goad it into chasing him.
He made a leap for the hole Arthur had been blasted through. Using his Massivity skill, he made himself lighter, so that he could gain as much ground as possible with his dexterity enhanced leap. Flying through the air over the bull-man, he didn’t realize the mistake he’d made.
The bull-man’s dexterity stat was low at the beginning of any fight. He’d been through enough battles to understand that he needed to be patient and bide his time, while at the same time actively stoking the flames of his fury. It was an awkward balance at first, but his many fights further refined his technique to understand that it was a matter of knowing when to unleash his fury at the right moments. Biding his time to strike was especially effective against jumpy opponents who thought to dazzle him with their speed. They always failed, and he was ready for the human to make his play.
The bull-man’s huge arm shot up with speed far outstripping his previous displays. His meaty hand gripped the human’s ankle with strength that immediately shattered his bones. Swing him down toward the ground, the human showed an interesting retention of thought through the pain he must be in, as he activated skills that converted his dexterity bonuses to shields and vitality.
[Polarity]: Passive - Allows the user to switch between [North] and [South] modes.
[North]: Enhanced STR and VIT. Some skills can only be activated in [North] mode, while some can be activated either way as chosen with the {Interchangeable} tag.
[Stellar Collision] [North]: Gain a moderate barrier commensurate to damage dealt.
Too bad it wouldn’t matter much. He had the speedy little fly now, and he wouldn’t be running anymore with his newly destroyed ankle. He slammed the human down, making a crater in the tiled flooring of the lobby. His reduced weight helped with the impact, but the strength of which he was swung down was simply too great. The human was already covered in blood as the bull-man lifted his hoof above his chest. Just then, several buffs landed on the human, along with the same amount of debuffs landing on the bull, reducing his strength. Multiple shields snapped into place around the human, attempting to halt his attack. No doubt the healers doing.
Stupid girl. Didn’t she learn from what happened to the other human? These shields may be stronger, but that didn’t matter. He was fury’s darling, and such pathetic means would not stop him. He stomped his hoof down with all his strength, crashing through barrier after barrier until, once again, he met flesh.
A gout of blood erupted, and he slowly lifted his hoof that dripped with it like rain off of an umbrella.
Suddenly, the entire room shined with a green sheen. Out of nowhere, a verdant meteor crashed into the bull-man, shield first. It was like being hit with a speeding truck, as both the bull-man and the armored human crashed out of the other end of the entire building, tumbling over each other in the dust and debris of the wall’s destruction until they both gained their bearings. Surrounding them on all sides, the other survivors outside fought and ran for their lives from monsters thought to have been rendered inert. The bull-man watched the armored human closely.
Instinctively, he knew. This was the human he’d slammed earlier. It shouldn’t have been possible for him to survive, or so he thought, until he looked at the screen showing his opponent’s information.
[Viridian]
[Audacity Knight]
Level: 34
He was an Audacity class. Out of everyone he could’ve possibly encountered, he’d gotten the section with an Audacity class user. Of course he did.
No matter. He was also much higher leveled than he should be, but that alone shouldn’t have been enough for him to be able to push the bull-man like that, even as an Audacity class. There had to be something else. What was that green glow? Was it how he was able to push him? Some kind of… stat equalizing skill?
The bull-man suddenly realized that he didn’t care. He was a human; that was all he needed to know. He would die here, just like the others.
Arthur’s viridian eyes were wide as dinner plates as he looked at the huge bull.
[Tuskborne Bull]
[Bull Rager]
Level: 70
[Raid Captain]
This… wasn’t a monster. It was a fully sentient citizen of the System. This was his first time encountering an actual Raider. More than that… he was a Raid Captain, the middle class of Raid leaders. All the damage that he did, yet he was only of mid-class? Arthur didn’t dare consider what the ramifications of that were.
His level was high. Higher than anyone he’d ever seen yet, and his name was confusing. What was a “Tuskborne”? Such things didn’t matter, however, as Ema came out of the destroyed part of the building… with an unconscious Gideon’s arm slung over her shoulder.
Ema was an extremely quick thinker, even before the System. After she gained her sky-high dexterity stat, she only became more proficient. Using her speed of thought, she had kept her healing skill queued for use at the exact right time.
[Greater Salve]: Heal an ally for up to 60% of their total health pool. The more HP restored, the greater the mana cost. Low cooldown.
Contrary to what the Tuskborne thought, she was not stupid. She knew that all the defenses she put up wouldn’t be enough to stop him. She had done it to bolster Gideon’s defenses as much as possible, in preparation for what would come next. Her plan wouldn’t work if he became mush from the attack.
The moment the Tuskborne’s hoof connected with Gideon’s chest, she had, figuratively speaking, slammed her hand down on the big red button. She blasted him with a full power version of her healing skill, along with a new healing skill she’d just obtained after their victory at the Obelisk.
[Greater Refresh]: Grant yourself or an ally healing over time, lasting for 20 seconds.
She’d activated both skills in a matter of milliseconds, and in the same moment Gideon was struck, saving his life. He was breathing… if only just.
Arthur could tell he was still alive through their party screen. Aurora soon joined Ema and helped her carry Gideon’s weight as they both turned to look at Arthur and the Tuskborne bull.
“Go help the others!” Arthur yelled, not taking his eyes off of the Raid Captain. Just then, the other party members realized that they were in a war zone, skills and screams filling the air as much as the cool evening air.
“What about you?!” Ema said, trying hard to ignore Dennis’ blood that currently clung to her skin like a bodysuit. “You want us to leave you to fight that thing ALONE?!”
“If you two get involved, I can’t guarantee your safety! Heal up Gideon and help the people!!” Arthur yelled, more forcefully than ever. The Tuskborne bull roared a challenge, banging his fist on the ground and sending rocks and dirt flinging about.
“GO! NOW!!”
The command was like a starter’s gun, as the human and the backyard shed sized Tuskborne charged each other for close combat.