09 – A taste of fight

“Ow,” Justin groaned.

He collapsed to the ground in a sprawl of limbs and massaged his lower back.

“Why did you ask me to hit you?” Cal asked.

“I didn’t do it right, again!”

Cal scratched his head, but readied his staff again. Julian rolled forward on the ground, and he swung. A deaf thud rung out as the staff hit the concrete floor.

“Wh—”

“Ha! It works!” Julian yelled.

“My staff went through you? What has happened?”

Julian pumped a fist in the air. “Magic, bitch!”

They sat down again, and Julian explained the concept of dodge rolling to Cal’Eer. This prompted a long discussion about skills and their quirks and mechanics. Cal swore he had never heard of most of the skills Julian kept bringing up, beyond a couple of common ones, but Julian dismissed the fact, explaining that since his skills were randomized from a huge pool, it was normal for most of them to be obscure and unknown.

Cal didn’t seem sold about it, but said nothing. The conversation was cut short when Julian heard a noise and decided to investigate. He was also feeling like they were wasting time here, and he wanted to get a move on quickly.

“We can talk while we move,” he said, even though he then concentrated on exploring every single room he came across without doing any conversation.

Cal was tense too. His usual carefree attitude was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a focused gaze. He always walked two of his long paces behind Julian, letting the man in the armor scout ahead.

“I hear something,” Julian said.

The two stopped. From an unknown distance, mixing with the buzzing sound of blinking neon bulbs, came the sound of something moving. It was growing louder, soon drowning the buzz of the corridor with the dissonant drum of stomping feet, accompanied by a rasping breath.

A low growl shook the tunnel. A set of two deep red eyes appeared in the darkness, unblinking. It was when it reached the first flickering lights that they saw it: a huge mass of limbs and matted fur as large as the tunnel itself. Its mouth was a snapping mosaic of pincers and mismatched teeth, ending in a dark gullet that sucked the very air in.

“How the hell does it even fit in here?” Julian said, and gripped his sword.

Behind him Cal also readied himself to fight, the tall blue alien preparing to use his staff with a somber expression on his face. He wiped a strand of white hair from his forehead, and waited.

Julian jumped forward, lunging at the incoming monster before it could have the time to take initiative. One of its many legs snapped forward to meet him, the sharp end of the spider-like appendage glinting in the flickering light like hard metal, aimed for his face. He raised his shield, eyes fixated on the incoming limb.

Then he made a swiping motion, feeling the skill Parry activate. He planted his feet on the ground, and braced for impact. The shield and the talon met in a shower of sparks, but the shield completed its motion unimpeded and the monster recoiled backwards. Julian didn’t have time to celebrate as he saw three more disjointed limbs coming towards him.

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Behind him Cal was casting his magic. Two air blades shot out from him and towards one of the incoming legs, wounding it first and then severing it completely. Focusing on the other two incoming threats Julian angled himself so that they would hit the shield. One did, but the hit was stronger than he expected, and he saw sent backwards while gasping for air. His feet slid on the smooth concrete until he managed to come to a stop.

The light flickered on and off incessantly. Julian struggled to regain his footing, but as he saw the incoming sharp tip of the monster’s leg he knew he would never manage to stabilize himself in time. His body tensed, awaiting the incoming hit. He would have to tank it.

Suddenly the air in front of his became translucent. A shield of compressed air absorbed the hit like a temporary wall, just as the crystal on Cal’s staff glowed with intense azure light.

Julian didn’t let the opening go to waste. He nodded without turning. Thanks Cal. Then he gripped the sword sideways and jumped forward, right into the monster’s exposed mouth.

The beast reared in pain, screaming and screeching as the blade plunged into its soft flesh. It thrashed and moved about, but it was too big to fit in the tunnel and couldn’t turn to shake the blade away. It tried to skewer the offending man with its remaining legs, but it wasn’t agile enough to reach him this close to its mouth. Eventually it tried to snap its mouth close, using its sharp mismatched teeth like a guillotine.

Julian expected this. He let go of the sword still embedded in the inside of the creature’s mouth just before its many circles of teeth could snap his arm off. He jumped backwards and rolled on the ground twice, and just as many times the concrete rang and shattered under the immense force of the monster’s clawed legs, but he came out unscathed.

Two more Air Blades flew above Julian’s head, hitting the monster. It didn’t even flinch.

“It’s no use. The armor is too thick.” Cal said.

Julian wiped the sweat from his face as he got up, and checked his Stamina bad. “Don’t worry, cover me.” He said.

His teeth gleamed under the aseptic white light, facial muscles escaping his control and contorting in a mad grin as he once again jumped at the creature. He was ready when it inevitably attacked, and dodged one leg while waiting for the other. He had figured it out. Readying his shield, he reached for the Parry skill once again.

Julian’s eyes widened. He felt that something was off before even seeing, and a shadow moved at incredible speed behind him. The monster had pulled off a move he didn’t predict, coming at him from above with extreme agility. It was different than the pattern of attack Julian expected. He knew he didn’t have time to dodge or shield himself from this hit. The best he could do was hope this wasn’t enough to kill him.

Three rapid fire Air Blades shot out from behind. Slumping against his staff, Cal groaned and grit his teeth before casting one final spell. The blades flew through the air like waves of visible pressure, and two hit the leg in the same point but one was too far off to the side and bounced harmlessly on the creature’s hard carapace. It wasn’t enough. The clawed leg was damaged, barely attached to the rest of the body, but it was still descending on Julian’s head like an executioner’s sword.

Then the last spell took effect. An Air Shield appeared, and took the hit. The claw pierced it but the shield held, a spiderweb of cracks extending across its surface. Julian didn’t bother to look at the sharp metal-like claw poking through the shield above him. Swinging his shield, he Parried the incoming attack, sending the monster backwards in recoil. This time it slumped on the ground, stunned.

He took the chance to jump, consuming the last of his SP to close the gap and pry the sword from the slightly open mouth. He tried to attack, but his arms were too heavy. He gasped for breath. The SP bar was empty.

“Attack it!” came the labored voice of Cal from behind, “What are you waiting for?”

A small amount of green reappeared in the SP bar. The monster was beginning to move. Julian put all the strength he had behind one final attack. The sword ripped through the deformed thing’s flesh and armor with uncanny ease. A shower of goop hit the immobilized Julian, but he was too spent to care.

+822 runes.

Both him and Cal got the same message. The monster was dead.

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