The force sent Julian tumbling across the ground, slamming him hard into a tree. The bark shattered on impact, the tree trunk splintering with a sharp crack.
His HP dropped sharply, the interface flashing red.
Though his spell gouged a chunk off the ape's face, creating a disgusting wound and causing 45 damage, the amount of health remaining for Julian wasn't able to take another hit either.
With 9 Health remaining, and his throat tasting sweet and like copper, he knew this was dangerous, and that the world as an Evoker was horrible.
Sena's body rushed forward, attacking Dreadpaw from behind, her blade creating a beautiful crescent arc before slicing its back with a deep gash for 5 damage.
She then swept the blade across its back with a second strike for critical damage, due to the exposed back for another 5 damage.
ROAR!
Immediately after, the ape's right arm slammed back, hitting Sena's blade as she held the back of her blade with one hand, using an irregular block for a 9 damage, making her unbalanced.
The forced caused Sena her to stagger.
"Kuh!"
The moment, Dreadpaw tried to follow up, both arms swinging with a brutal attack as it exploded with a guttural roar.
'This doesn't make sense… why can it use moves only unlocked after the game synchronised?'
Julian's unfocused eyes watched in slow motion, his Mana regenerated slightly, as the beast attacked Sena. The throbbing pain from the attack seemed to have damaged his chest, and he struggled to breathe.
"Sena…"
His trembling arm reached out, a mixture of memories and thoughts flowing through his mind before he clenched his fist.
A swarm of three hands shot upward, tearing apart the ground as the shadowy hands wrapped around the ape's shoulders. When Julian pulled down his arm, the shadow hands also yanked the ape to the ground, causing 17 damage and making it more enraged.
"Kill it…"
When his Mana reached zero, the pain in Julian's head made it difficult to think, like a sharp blade poking through his brain, creating a pain behind his eyes.
—Rally Unit
• Kang Sena's Abilities have been improved.
• Attack speed and damage increased by 20% for 10 seconds.
A shadow aura spread from Julian's palm and flowed into Sena's body.
Her eyes snapped open, becoming bloodshot, while her muscles tightened and bulged after the skill increased her abilities.
However, at the same time, the massive ape suddenly started slamming its chest while roaring and grunting. A moment later, its body shone green with some health being restored to the health bar that was almost empty.
Dreadpaw restored 100 HP
"What?" Julian gasped before coughing, the damage causing him to cough blood.
'After all, there is something wrong with the game.'
'This isn't the skills a monster should have at this point in the game.'
Sena appeared oblivious to the danger.
She transformed the moment that Julian suffered damage, even ignoring her damage.
Her eyes narrowed further as she rushed at the immobilised Dreadpaw with her blade sheathed once again.
"You hurt him." A low mutter, a dark voice filled with anger.
The lover's capsule made the experience too realistic, which might have been the cause of her becoming this serious. Maybe pushed over the edge because of his Command—Attack and Rally Unit skills.
He noticed her face twist into a strange expression the moment he flew across the air and smashed into the tree, and it became worse when he coughed up blood.
'I'm okay… Sena.'
Though he didn't fully trust his thoughts.
ROAR!
Sena's eyes narrowed, a blue aura wrapped around her left hand, thinner than before but slowly growing in density as she bit her teeth together.
Shling
With a rapid attack, she cut across the air, slicing open Dreadpaw's neck for 5 damage.
She then grunted and followed up with a second attack. Her blade stabbing into the monster's left eye for 15 critical damage.
"Die!" The rage in her voice awoke Julian from his daze.
His Mana regenerated slowly, the only limit of the game setting, as the pain in his mind faded now only like needles poking his head, creating a migraine.
'I will cast one more spell…'
"Filthy monsters like you, how dare you make him bleed."
Once again, Sena raised her blade and attacked Dreadpaw with a flurry of blows, abusing the buff from Rally Unit.
Tak!
Tak!
Swish!
Her assault causing a total of 15 damage, cutting deep into the monster's right arm, so deep it barely remained attached to the socket.
"Haa… Haa… damn it, just fall!"
Only 3 seconds remained, as the bleeding damage and her attacks chipped away at Dreadpaw's health, and each time she attacked it tried to land a counter.
GRRR!
The Ape and Sena continued their deadly dance, with the timer ticking down. She used her blade to swiftly deal strikes for 10 damage until the hands crumbled around the ape crumbled.
WHOOSH!
Before she could react, the ape's fist smashed into her abdomen, causing her body to slide back several metres, dragging her sword in the ground to stop herself from falling.
Dreadpaw's eyes shone with a deadly light, its body lowering while hammering the ground, as if readying to charge her down.
'Sena!'
"Haa… this fucking ape." Sena's foul language shocked Julian, as she flicked her sword and twirling the blade and re-sheathing it, as she lowered her hips.
The ape glowed with a red light, while a beautiful blue aura danced around Sena, after she took the stance of her highest damage attack.
Julian's blurry eyes watched the beautiful image of Sena's aura forming fluttering swallows, her hand sliding across the handle of her blade, tapping her fingertips as she adjusted her breathing and showing a wicked smirk on her lips.
'She really loves fighting, but I cannot let her face danger.'
He lifted his hand.
The staff he used broke in half, meaning it wouldn't work any longer.
Mana gathered at the tip of his finger.
A chaotic swirl of black and purple aura filled with dark element created a cold tingle, almost freezing his hand, as Julian bit his lower lip.
Memories of combat, judging when a beast would attack, move and counter flickered through his mind as he counted the tick of each second.
'It will charge after 3 seconds.'
His hand pointed to the space just ahead of Sena. If Julian missed his attack, she would be hit and die.
Such a thought faded instantly as the ape finally moved.
"Shadow Bolt!"
Dreadpaw used Deathly Charge!
Ba-Dump!
Julian's heartbeat became heavy and pounded in his chest.
He watched as the ape's gigantic body thundered towards Sena, whose eyes snapped open the moment her aura finally reached its peak.
"Kang School Style – Flowing Swallow Strike!"
A mixture of three attacks fired, with Julian's shadow bolt colliding with the ape's cheek, blowing his focus and breaking the current attack with a shockwave of 45 shadow damage.
Immediately after, Sena's black flashed.
The first slash cut across the ape's neck, cutting deep into its flesh with a beautiful arc of blue light, left to right. It was followed up with a reversed strike from right to left, cutting along its chest, the reverse of her previous swallow attacks.
The force tore through the ape, causing its body to shudder, and collapse after dealing 24 damage.
[◊ Dreadpaw has been slain ◊]
• Gained: 120 Experience Points
• Gained: Wand of Shadows (Uncommon)
• Gained: Dreadhide Jerkin (Rare)
[You have permanently gained 2 Command Points]