"Hey! Long time no see! What brings you here?" I rushed back to where Gothra was, and that was the first thing she said to me.
"Hey! I was fighting a large mob of my own, but all of them is too much! Let's team up!"
"Oh, good idea!" Gothra smiled. A smile I do not like... "Then carry Bereo away from the ghosts while letting him keep the other monsters in check with his gun."
"Eh?"
"You're faster than Bereo, and you got the strength to carry him! Go! Less talking more working!"
I thought about it for a second.
Gothra might have another thing in mind, but it's honestly a very good idea for this situation. What Bereo needs is time. Time to heal. So touching, I want to cry!
I just need to keep him safe til then.
"Alright! I like that plan!"
I put away my mace as I princess carried Bereo, leaving his arms free to aim.
Trtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrt!
The enemy's HP starts going down as Bereo waves his arms around, widening the spray. The ghosts were still following us, but as Gothra said, I can do this! I may not be as speedy as her... Who the fuck makes a mace speedster!? But even so, My own speed is a marked improvement!
In the meantime, Gothra immediately rushed back into the fray, taking out 2 skeletons and a goblin. Then she kept attacking their corpse!
"Oi! That's already dead! Don't waste-"
And then all the other monsters stepped back!
"Look in awe at my prowess! Attacking corpses gives me a fear effect!"
Oh. Oh damn. Okay...
One of the ghosts chasing me actually paused for a second as well. Its range even reaches here.
This could work! This could really work!
I keep on running away with Bereo in my arms, as Gothra kept up the loop going. Taking out one or two monsters, fear, attack again, rinse and repeat! And as the gunfire trickles away at their health, alongside her previous raids, she became able to take out more and more with each rotation.
"ORRRAAAHHHH!!"
A zombie's head flew away like a football!
"Eat your heart out!"
A ghoul's chest got busted right open!
Gothra swings and swings her club around with utter glee. What an enjoyable game this must be!
Meanwhile, I'm just running away...
Sigh, I hate to admit it, but goddamn Gothra!! What was that about me carrying you?
However, the balance, like all things, eventually came to a collapse. More and more enemies rushed in as the wave I was up against earlier drove us further into a corner.
Gothra then suddenly turned to run away at full speed!
"H-hey! What about the horde you left behind!?"
"Don't worry! Put Bereo down and run for it! Hold back your wave!"
"Eh? But what about-" There so many things, her own wave, the ghosts, Bereo's HP at around... 60%!? I'm also almost back to full health were it not for those skeleton archers.
"Take out your ranged units first! Leave my wave to me!"
"Easy for you to say! The ranged units are at the back!"
"And the front units are going to be attracted by the gunfire! Circle around! GO!"
"Oh... alright!"
Gothra ran a good distance away, before having Bereo teleport right next to her! The battlefield has shifted, giving all of us some needed breathing room!
Still, our enemies kept on coming, and they were not going down as easily as before! They got shuffled around, and the damaged ones were no longer easily in front!
Of course, none of this deterred Gothra as she bravely jumped on a goblin, smashing it, kicking, punching, screaming, and then bashing its head in again! She was almost entirely covered in blood by now, like a completely red demon from hell. I'm sure that's just how she likes it, and no companion could ever be more trustworthy!
Following the plan, I quickly rushed off towards my own duties. Gothra had by now positioned herself closer to the center of the 2 waves.
The ghosts from her wave and mine both combined to attack Bereo, but she's just betting on Bereo's durability to see it through!
I take out my mace once more, going towards my own prey. Along the way, I tripped up some zombies and ghouls, slowing them if only by a little.
Running at full speed, it didn't take long to reach the archers. Their bones clanked, not even looking at me but continuing to attack Bereo!
"Your opponent is me!" I shouted, smashing the archer's head.
CRASH!
The walking skeleton exploded into an actual pile of bones, dying with a single swing of my hammer!
Alright! Next one!
I ran across the forest, reaching my next target, smashing it again in one shot!
Smash!
Again!
Clash!
And again!
Bash!
Brittle fragile skeletons! You're not worth the trouble you've given!
Scatter!
In no time at all, I managed to destroy all the ranged units!
I checked back on Gothra's fight, and found that she's still going, keeping up the loop of kill and fear, kill and fear. But she's surrounded with only half her HP left!
Bereo too is at 30%, we need to finish this before he runs out!
Without any further deliberation, I attacked the enemies in front of me. The monsters at the back of the wave were still going strong!
I smashed my hammer into a zombie, knocking it onto the ground alongside another one.
"Graaagghh!!??"
They tripped over each other like idiots, forgetting that there was another enemy than the loud one with the gun! Or the loud one cursing and laughing the whole way...
SMASH!
I smashed the zombie right on its chest as it tried to get back up, sending it sliding back on the dirty soil where it belongs!
"B...Brains...!"
Splat!
I stomped on her head, and that finally killed her for good.
I looked at the next zombie, prime and ready for me to devour. Its HP had already lost a good chunk as it felt my strikes even underneath its little friend.
< Proficiency Acquired! >
< The [Mob Destroyer] Skill has been acquired! >
< The [Hammer: Secondary Shockwave] Skill has been acquired! >
Oh I got new skills! Ciraphim, quickly tell me what they are!
< The [Mob Destroyer] Skill enhances the secondary damage dealt against opponents. >
< The [Hammer: Secondary Shockwave] Skill sends a slight shockwave going in all directions when enough power is put into a strike. Gives a slight knockback effect. Can be used as an active skill for increased damage and effects. >
Smash! Smash! SMASH!
I smashed to death the remaining zombie, as I listed to Ciraphim's soothing voice! Gahahaha!
Ah! By 'smashed to death' I mean literally. Not... not that.
I am not Gothra!
Now, I turn towards the main enemy group once more. There are about 30 left, surrounding Gothra and Bereo on all sides, without counting the ghosts.
I ready my big hammer, holding it with both my hands.
They're so close together it's nice. How heartwarming.
Now die.
...
Or actually, would you mind giving me a second dears?
I'll take your unintelligible roars as a yes!
I opened my status and saw that I've leveled up to 10 during this fight. I've been neglecting my mana so far because I didn't have a single spell it could be used for. But now, [Hammer: Secondary Shockwave] would come in real handy, and I'm sure I'll get more in the future. So, of my 60 new stat points, I spent half on mana, and the rest on strength.
"[Hammer: Secondary Shockwave!]"
I charged into the horde of monsters, ramming them down like a raging bull! They fell over like bowling pins, struggling to get up, entangled together like old vines!
Some of the monsters turned their attention on me, but not all of them as Bearo's aggro is too good!
Monsters were coming for me on both sides, I smashed one group with my hammer before the fallen ones could rise once more!
Then once the fallen group got up, I smashed them again!
Always with the active effect of [Hammer: Secondary Schockwave]!
You see... I am betting it all on this battle. My future, my past, my present, everything! Each and every strike is swung with the maximum amount of momentum for the strongest effect possible, and the monsters' HP quickly began to be depleted. They fell over each other, over and over and over, like a bunch of newborns who don't even know how to fucking walk!
"G...Groooaggghh!!"
Smash! Clash! Bash! Nut Crack! Clit Dig! Watermelon! Explode!
With enough repetition, more and more of them fell asleep forever, never to get back up again!
Chaos, dissonance, disarray!
The man in a fur suit and goth dress, the laughing maniac with a mace, or me, a totally normal dragonoid. Who should they go for? Who should they fight? They shake their heads around in confusion, like a bunch of dumb pigeons.
But, even with that, a lot of them still managed to eventually come to the decision of focusing on me. Can't say I'm flatered, look somewhere else!
I didn't have the time to dodge every single one of their attacks while dishing out my own, nor could I do so regardless with their sheer numbers. My HP bar went down and down, reaching all the way to only 30%... but I'm not done yet! I've come this far, I wanna at least clean out all the non-ghost ones!
With every hit I received, I returned it back, unwavering, and with extra fury! The monsters were sent flying further and further but were then pushed away by Bereo's assault. He's actually just spinning around now, in order to keep away the large crowd from boxing them in...
< Proficiency Acquired! >
< The [Last Stand] Skill has been acquired! >
Oh hey, new skill. Ciraphim, Passive or active?
"It is passive, Fira."
I see, I'll check it later then.
I continued my reckless charge, thinning out their numbers, and leaving piles upon piles of corpses in my wake.
Well, some of them were already corpses to begin with... Argh! Forget it!
Smash!
Swoooosh!
Crash!
A goblin I hit straight in the stomach with my hammer flew particularly far away, landing near the feet of a girl wearing a black robe and holding a bloody death mace. Her enticing smile was illuminated by the moonlight as blood covered her face, making it seem as if she's crying and vomiting red.
She looked at me and the carnage I've wrought, her remaining 30% HP hovering above her head.
"Tonight is a Red Christmas!"
Ah, she's completely lost it...
"There's no snow--"
"But there is rain! A rain of blood, the smell of iron. It will harden into something much harder, more concrete... Yet, you! Look at you!!"
"Huh? What? What's wrong with me?"
"Not a single drop of blood on you! You've wrought such impressive bloodshed yet you take no proof nor trophies!"
Of all the bullshit...
"I like it this way! Blood is icky, so I just automatically get it off!"
"Tch! What a boring scaley you are." She said as she rushed back into battle.
Scaley...
"S-Scaley!?" I chased after her, smashing skulls and bones along the way.
"I'll have you know...!" I continued, "I only look like this because I think it's cool! I am not a scaley!"
She was talking about my draconic features...
"Scaley." She said flatly, as if it was an irrefutable fact.
I was going to protest, but three ghouls jumped me at once.
[System Overdive]
In my slowed perception of time, I rammed into one of them, carrying it away with my charge, and dodging the other two. They followed after, but I grabbed the one I knocked over and threw it at them.
Crash! Fall!
The [System Overdrive] finishes. I chase after them before they could regain their balance, sending a follow-up smash that knocked them all to the ground! An attack charged with the active secondary shockwave, of course.
With them taking some time to get back up, I immediately laid on more smashes on top, breaking their posture every time, and not even letting them regain their footing as their HP bars quietly went back to zero.
< Proficiency Acquired! >
< The [Unchivalrous Battle] Skill has been acquired! >
< The [Balance Breaker] Skill has been acquired! >
Whew...
Then just at that moment...
"GRRRRAAAAAHHH!!"
Something jumped on my back and bit me hard on my shoulder!
I can't smash it with my hammer from here, so I grabbed the creature and threw it over my back like in martial arts flicks.
BAM!
It crashed to the ground, revealing... another ghoul!!
Man, these guys are kinda coordinated. The ghoul crawled along the ground and pounced at me, but I kicked it right in the face and immediately followed up with another smash! Stuck to the ground, I stomped and smashed the ghoul til it died.
"SCCRRRRAAAHHH!!"
And then I noticed that the ghosts were coming back for us!
It was also... eerily quiet. Like a constant drumming noise had suddenly disappeared...
NO! BEREO! NOT AGAIN! HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM!? HOW CRUEL!!!
Alongside the fifteen ghosts, there are about 5 more enemies left. Gothra did her best to manage the damage she takes, but even then she's left at a mere 15% health. And I'm at 10%!
"Gothra!" I cried out.
"I know! I'll tank! Kill them!"
"Eh!? But you're almost dead too!"
"Just do it!"
Upon saying that, she didn't wait for my reply and just rushed in.
Argh, fine! One last desperate struggle it is!
Gothra got close to the enemies. There were 3 zombies upfront and 2 goblins hiding around at the back. She got right next to them and then smashed a corpse just lying around! There were plenty because of this intense battle!
"NOW!"
We didn't really plan any of this beforehand, but I somehow understood! I caught up just at this moment and swung real wide from the side, activating the skills that could enhance my knockback and damage, sending the zombies away!
The fear has already worn off, but the goblins were left defenseless. Gothra immediately ran for the sturdier zombies, leaving me to take care of the frailer goblins. All while the ghosts were catching up behind us!
I made quick work of the goblins, turning them into bloody pulps!
I swiftly turn away, and headed for my next and last targets, the three zombies Gothra was holding back. She actually managed to take out one of them, though it was the one my own attack left greatly crippled, but now her own HP was hanging by a thin thread!
"Gothra!" I called out, running towards her!
She immediately understood and gave me a nod, running away from the scene at full speed, but making sure to damage a corpse on her way out!
The fear activated and I reached the zombies, aligning them just perfectly so I can smash one, yet trip up both, making them get in each other's way.
"Brraaaaiiinnsss!!!" They cried, getting back up, but I gave them more smashes and even kicks. They managed to get a few scratches in, bringing me down to below 5% HP.
Splatter.
Whew.
And then they died. The end.
But not the ghosts who were after me. They did not die. Well, not a second time.
It was a fun first day. A very fun time playing with Gothra.
But this is where it ends.
All that awaits past this point... is death.
But then, Gothra grabbed my hand and pulled me away running!
"Huh? We can't win against the ghosts..."
"But we can keep on running! Don't worry, our HP will regenerate like this and Bereo will be back eventually!" His hologram was right beside her.
"Well, okay... but..."
"It'd be a return mission! Come, it'd be fun!"
"Sigh... Well, I guess. Just logging out would also give the penalty for dying... Alright, I'm in! Sounds fun anyway, a big chase. But don't have Bereo shoot out his stuff anymore! It attracts attention!"
"It definitely attracts mine!
"Hahahaha!"
(For those who are far gone, but not too far gone, Scaley is the reptile version of furry. Maybe amphibian too? Not sure.)