As I was slowly making my way forward, I took the ti to apply my recently-purchased ‘anti-burn cream’ (it was more of a thick, sticky, honey-like substance) to the acid burns on my face.
‘Didn’t expect it to co in a clutch like this.’
The cool sensation, true to its na, rapidly extinguished the itching irritation.
The voices ahead, becoming more and more distinct, could be made out as casual chatter. However, the few words I overheard were mostly complaints about this shitty place, so casual banter, and discussion of a casino trip, and so late-night exploits of one of the n among them, which sounded suspiciously overexaggerated.
Nothing indicated their identity.
As for , making my way through the dark tunnel was almost a breeze. Sure, Arcane Sense wasn't as good as actual sight when it ca to making out the details of regular surfaces, but their outline was more than enough for .
The only thing that happened, early on, was stepping on a dry, crunchy crust, most likely old feces of so rats, bats, or other such creatures.
From that point on, I slowed my pace, and paid extre attention to the tiniest ‘bumps’ in the surface's outline, successfully avoiding a few similar ‘traps’. Beyond being positively disgusting, if I wasn't careful, those obstacles could also alert the unknown n ahead.
Slowly, I approached the place where the chatter was coming from – a 3 ter wide arc, with soft lantern light spilling outside.
“Ha ha ha! A dwarf and an elf, in the sa night? Ya’ be yappin’ out ya’ arse, mate!”
“No, I’m telling you, th-”
CLANG!
As I stepped from around its corner, I slamd the broad side of my sword against the arc’s edge, cutting the conversation short.
In the two seconds of silence, which was the ti it took the last of the criminals to stand up and raise their weapon, I quickly scanned the room.
It was a relatively large room, around 8 by 12 ters, with an opening in the back, which looked like a breach in the walls, leading to a stony tunnel.
There are 11 n there, all of them the rough-looking type.
‘Two halberds, five sword-and-board, one dual-wielder, two crossbows, one greatsword. The greatsword guy, with the chainmail, must be the leader. He also feels sowhat dangerous. So does the dual-wielding guy.’
“Who the fuck are you?”
That very dual-wielding guy, a slim, sleazy-looking type with a short sword in his right hand and a dagger in his left, wearing a standard leather set, was the one to speak, his displeasure evident.
“I’ll be honest with you guys. I’ve been tasked to negotiate our passage, but we also don’t have much ti to waste. So, let be brief.”
Throwing one last glance at the small crowd, asserting that their combined threat was below Bern’s suggested threshold, my last word was pronounced in a much darker tone.
“Move.”
A few more seconds of near-silence followed, as the man with the greatsword ca forward, scanning head-to-toe with his eyes.
“For a snot-nosed brat, you sure have a massive set of balls.”
A few sounds of nasty laughter followed from the presud gangsters, as I narrowed my eyes.
“Is sitting in front of that dirty hole really sothing worth giving up your lives for?”
So of the n narrowed their eyes in turn, but their leader just scoffed.
“And who’s gonna move us? You? Or so rag-tag group of Pathless rats you probably got hiding in that passage?”
“Haa…”
I knew it wasn’t gonna go smoothly. Still, despite my sigh of disappointnt, I still had one more duty to fulfil.
“Just to be clear – do you belong to any group worth ntioning?”
The dual-wielding man sneered, his gaze becoming more confident after their leader ‘called my bluff’.
“And what’s it to you?”
“There are so people I owe favors to. Wouldn’t want to cut down their grunts in a misunderstanding.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
The vice-leader’s contagious laughter quickly spread to the n, and even the leader smirked.
“Fine, boy. Since you’re oh-so-gracious in showing us ‘rcy’, I’ll tell you.”
The greatsword-wielding Path-bearer’s face instantly turned solemn, a shift that rapidly spread to his n.
“We are the Gray Syndicate. Ring any bells, boy?”
Inwardly, I noted the information, putting the n into the ‘not Angels’ category.
Outwardly, I let out a short, shaky exhale, before lowering my sword, putting my left hand on my waist.
“Stand down!”
Even though I didn’t truly have the authority to make this call, the n in front of didn’t know it. And, by my estimation, this was the most efficient path forward.
I felt a bit bad about disregarding Bern’s ‘advice’ so soon, yet, at least I could use the fact that I told them about my devices and contraptions as consolation, since what would co next wouldn’t co as too big of a surprise.
“Heh. Do you think you just get to-”
The leader’s words were cut short by the wave of darkness, rapidly expanding throughout the room.
By now, I’ve kept my Darkness Sphere at my waist, but not inside a case – rather, it had so cloth covering it, but the activation ‘needle button’ was exposed, always within reach.
The first one to react, even before the darkness hit him, was the dual-wielder, reaching for his own belt, into a case that likely contained potions – and, even more likely, a Superior Darkvision one.
The one to react almost as fast was the leader, who took a step back, readying his sword to strike.
That was the best call he could make, as, inside the darkness, I was already charging in his direction.
However, there was one flaw with his decision making process – he was simply too weak.
[Arc.. Slash] !!!
CLANG!
The man’s sword ca down as well, with a Skill of his own, as the two clashed mid-swing. However, his skill was slightly weaker than the ‘strong’ version of [Arc Slash], and his massive sword was thrown out of his hands, albeit still in one piece.
As for , the impact did shake my arms, but, it would seem my bones were fully healed, as it barely caused montary numbness.
Half a second later, the man began leaping back..
[Arc-Slash] ~
The fast version of the skill, combined with the length of the blade, was enough to make the tip of my new sword open his throat, nearly reaching the bone.
I didn’t have ti to get complacent, twisting my body to try and avoid an attack from the right, the opposite direction of my 2nd swing.
Unfortunately, the dual-wielder was at least as fast as – his shortsword, thrust towards my shoulder, managed to hit slightly below it, penetrating the leather and the tal chain. However, the combined durability of my armor prevented it from reaching the bone.
The dagger followed shortly after, yet, by that ti, I had already bugan turning around, while leaping back.
Cling!
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Withdrawing his sword, the sleazy man used both weapons to deflect my swing. However, that forced him back, with out of his imdiate reach.
whoom
A crossbow bolt pierced the air near my head. I didn’t need to move my body, as my Arcane Sense already picked up its trajectory – close, but not quite. In fact, in the darkness, their sharpshooters were all but useless.
“Close ranks! Protect the tunnel!”
Despite the leader’s death, the vice-leader did not fall into panic, and his n, while so were clearly still shocked, tightened their ranks, with the three shield-bearers at the front, the two halberd-wielders behind them, and the crossbown even farther back.
I focused my senses back on the man, expecting him to continue his assault, however…
“One running your way!”
It would seem the sleazy looks matched his character. Perhaps, upon realizing he was outmatched, he decided to gamble on the fact that my initial (implied) claims were indeed a bluff, and I simply went forward as the group’s leader, with so weak underlings hiding behind .
‘I’ll let them handle it.’
Rather than wasting my advantage, I decided to focus on the henchn in front of .
whoom
Monts after my shout, another bolt was launched, this ti more accurate. However, a small movent of my head was enough to avoid it.
Since the distance between and their left flank was less than 3 ters, I didn’t really have the space to use my skill. However, simply leaping forward was enough.
The man in front of , still blinded by the sphere’s magical mist, still raised his shield, relying on his hearing. The halberd-wielding man behind him thrust his weapon forward over the first man’s shoulder.
[Arc… Slash] !!
Crash!
None of that was enough – the sword tore through the shield, tearing through the man’s forearm, reaching and crushing the bone. The long-shafted weapon’s tip harmlessly passed by my right shoulder, as I twisted my body and bent my knees mid-swing.
“AAAAGH!”
The scream of pain tore through the enclosed room, as the first man dropped his sword, fruitlessly trying to use his other arm to sohow cover the bleeding wound, his blood rapidly draining, spilling onto the cold stone floor.
In the anti, my right hand let go of the sword’s hilt, grabbing the halberd’s tal shaft, instead.
The man tried to pull it back, yet, the strength of his two hands only barely matched my right one, and tugging it back resulted in a stalemate.
Clang!
I raised the tal shaft forward and upwards, using it to block the swing of the shortsword from the man near , before thrusting the greatsword, using one hand, towards his throat.
The strength was far from optimal, and the movent was a bit awkward, but between my overall strength and reflexes, I had no trouble finding my target, especially against a blinded opponent.
A mont later, I used the shaft to pull myself forward, and swung the sword above the head of the first man, who was now bleeding out on his knees. Once more, the relatively weak swing was enough to cut the enemy’s throat.
“S-surround him! He’s on the right!”
Ah, yes, it was their right. I also noticed the nearest crossbowman had already retreated, taking a position near his peer. By the sound of it, both of them had already finished reloading, as well.
Clang!
In the distance, I heard the dual-wielder’s weapons collide with sothing, possibly Bern’s sword.
“He’s running towards the wall!”
Their hearing, as well as their orientation, was pretty sharp too. They must have trained for sothing like this. Not surprising, given how common Darkness Spheres were in their.. sphere. Well, not that common, but common enough to devote so ti to the type of niche training that could one day save their lives.
Unfortunately, without proper vision, that training wasn’t enough.
Tssd
One bolt hit the wall nearby, bouncing off the stone. A mont later, my legs were already touching the sa stony surface, as well.
[Charge] !
Ever since I got the handle of ‘angled-charging’, I knew it could sohow be applied to my ‘charging wall leaps’. This was exactly what I trained in the Guild yesterday, while my arms were still healing.
The result of this training was launching myself into the air, in the opposite angle of my initial [Charge]. This ti, I was flying over the heads of the 6 remaining gang mbers, whose heads were still turned towards the last source of sound.
“Agh!”
The remaining halberd-wielder scread as my sword slashed his face from above, crashing his skull. The loss of montum translated into a shift in my center of gravity, but I still managed to land on my feet.
Before the n turned around, I swung my sword again, beheading the nearby crossbowman.
Ting!
Another iron bolt was deflected by the broad side of my sword.
“He’s behind you!”
The panic in the crossbowman’s voice was evident. It would seem the four remaining n, who must have heard their last remaining halberd-wielder cry out and fall to the ground, my own landing, and the beheading of the second marksman, were in no better state.
anwhile, the sounds of my temporary party mber’s footsteps ca from the direction of the entrance.
“Damn it, run!”
If they actually tried to escape into the tunnel, or even hold it from the start, the fight might not have been this easy. Unfortunately for them, I was now right behind their left flank, closer to the tunnel than anyone but the last sharpshooter.
[Charge] ~
Managing to perform my most casual charge up to date, I closed the remaining 3 ters between and the tunnel, weakly bumping into the stone. As I suspected, the ability to control the ‘output’ of the skill seed to be the last hurdle, one which I was ever-so-close to overcoming.
“Aaaa!”
One of the gangsters completely lost it, rushing towards while swinging his sword wildly. A single swing was enough to end his life.
“Together! Shield charge!”
The last three enemies, in a desperate attempt to break through, prepared their shields. Judging by the slight fluctuation in the Arcane Tides, it would seem this was actually a Skill, not just the na of the maneuver. They probably lacked the space to use it earlier.
[Arc… Slash] !!!
Stepping slightly to the side, I unleashed my strongest swing, just as the n reached my range.
The first shield exploded into splinters, with the hand of its wielder getting sliced alongside it.
“Aaaaargh!”
The second shield absorbed the blow, but its owner was stopped in his tracks.
The third man shot past , into the tunnel. However, the lack of resistance made him fall and slide forward, much like my early [Charge] attempts.
Leaping back, while pulling my sword from the remains of the 2nd shield, I raised it upwards.
I realized the last man was already out of the sphere’s initial range, as his sword swung towards my leg. However, I simply let my leather pad absorb most of the blow, trading a minor cut for the man’s life, as my sword descended towards his chest, piercing his heart.
A splash of warm blood covered my boots, as well as the two leather pads. Actually, by now, I must’ve been covered in blood, regardless.
“W-we surrender! Please!..”
The sound of the marksman’s voice was followed by that of his last remaining companion dropping his sword.
“Only those two left. Do you need them?”
At Bern’s approach, they turned around. A mont later, the sound of iron piercing flash served as my answer, with the crossbowman’s head leaving his shoulders. Quite a precise strike for sobody who couldn’t rely on sight.
“P-please-”
A second strike ended the last man’s life.
‘This was.. easier than last ti.’
I didn’t just an the difficulty of the fight, which, when I only just arrived at the city, would be tantamount to suicide.
Part of still felt a tiny sting when the two surrendering n fell to the ground.
‘Those who pick up the sword must be prepared to lay their lives before the sword.’
Right.. I knew it wasn’t my own thought, yet I couldn’t really argue with the logic. Didn’t make it feel any better though.
Regardless, I decided to spend so of the ti I’ve saved with the fight’s swift conclusion on sothing useful.
“Give a mont.”
As the trio made their way out of the darkness, careful not to slip on the blood or stumble on the bodies, I quickly finished off the remaining criminal before - the one with the deep gash in his shield arm, who tried to play dead - and crouched near the dead leader.
While I did not have ti to properly search him, not to ntion the rest of the bodies, I did have ti to use the dagger, which was now strapped to my right thigh, to cut his belt, and take all of the strapped cases with .
I also grabbed his sword, which, as evident by surviving the clash, was made of so good material. This ti, tempered by hard-earned experience, I did not forget to grab the sheath strapped to his back, although I had a feeling strapping it on mine, in addition to the two greatsword sheathes already there, would hinder my mobility to so extent.
The whole ordeal took barely 10 seconds. Another 4 to jog out of the darkness, finally opening my eyes as I switched off my Arcane Sense, arriving before my temporary companions.
“Here. It’s as durable as my sword, I think. Also, less recognizable than yours.”
Before any of them could say a word, I extended the sheathed sword towards the party leader.
His eyes, which held a certain asure of disapproval, closed for a mont, likely running so calculations, after which he reached out to accept the substitute weapon.
“That was reckless.”
The one who spoke was Hilda. Although her voice held more worry than admonishnt, her eyes did share so of Bern’s displeasure.
“I told you – I’m confident in the dark. Any other call would give up the elent of surprise. This was the fastest way through.”
I quickly scanned the eyes of the trio.
Bern’s expression was hard to discern with such a fast glance. Hilda’s face showed a hint of hesitation, while Ornor, after a mont of contemplation, replied with a nod.
“Aye. I won’t bla you for it – not now, when every second counts. Now, let’s move!”
Turning around, he swiftly marched off into the darkness. Hilda did the sa, after donning her light orb, after offering one to Bern.
The party leader threw one final glance, before a short sigh escaped his lips.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
It was evident he wasn’t pleased with my actions, yet, given the fact that everything turned out fine, he decided to let it go. Maybe the spare weapon helped, too.
Regardless, now was not the ti to get hung up on that.
What awaited ahead, or rather, below, would likely be far more dangerous than those thugs.
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