by Tao Wong
None of these guys are low enough Level that my Skills stop them. It doesn’t even make them hesitate. The wind-elemental starts casting. Knuckle’s gets a haste buff and I can tell that the buff spells aren’t ending. As for Robes, he hasn’t done anything yet, which is a bit worrying. I’m tempted to pull out a few more nasty Skills, but I decide against showing off for now.
As the guns fire and Alita vanishes, I make my move. I trigger the QSM first, sliding into another dimension. I duck right through Knuckle—not a moment too soon, as a Skill kicks in and rips me back into “normal” space. But by that point, I’m heading for Robes, leaving behind a pair of tangler grenades as a present for the others. Meanwhile, my nerves are on fire from being yanked back into this dimension. That, however, is a pain I’m used to—and like a chronic pain sufferer, it just makes me mad.
You are Dimension Locked
You have been shifted back to your normal dimensional coordinates.
The explosion behind me and the subsequent coating of sticky, fast-hardening chemicals slows Knuckle and Alita. Their tactics are so damn predictable; tank attacks me from the front, damage dealer comes in from the back and does the shish-kebab thing. Predictable but effective. Even as I’m moving forward, I’m forced to dodge and weave as the Naga fills the air with hot lead. Bullets that I expect to dodge curve in the air to hit my fast-depleting Soul Shield. Each bullet has a different effect, some throwing up bright lights to blind me, others adding to my Mana drain. Still, nothing he does is enough to stop me from reaching the Mage.
I’m a step away from being in melee range when a blue beam fills the air, locking me in a column of light. I ram into the wall of light and bounce off before I cut away at the spongy material. Robes has her hands held up in front of her, channeling Mana into the column. Stuck I might be, but Naga and the Wind-Elemental Mage are filling the enclosed space with spells. Winds turned into razors cut at my body. Bullets blip through my shield. I layer on another Soul Shield as I cut against the trap, watching Robes flinch as the Mana drain increases with each attack.
Crowd—okay, me—control and coordination. Already Knuckle is moving to position himself in front of the fast-retreating Mage while Alita hangs out in my blind spot, waiting. Or at least I guess because, you know, blind spot. Just like their Statuses, their presence on my minimap is hidden too. I’m almost tempted to take out Alita first. Being the “rogue” in the group probably means the blocking is coming from her. Or the Mage. Either-or.
181 Damage done to Soul Shield
The damage notification flashes as a living cloud of acid slams into my shield, swirling around my torso as it attempts to work its way in. I hop backward and bump up against the edges of the containment spell. Snarling, I can only spin about, cutting at the shield and layering my usual complement of combat spells—Greater Regeneration, Mana Drip, Freezing Blade, and Haste. Each attack makes Robes twitch, her Mana falling like a rock. The Penetration Skill is nearly doubling the damage of each attack on the spell, making this a losing game for them.
“Not so high and mighty anymore, are you?” Knuckle taunts, misreading the situation entirely. He stalks over, one hand glowing red as he burns off the remainder of the tangler grenade.
As the Soul Shield breaks and the attacks impact my armor like a hail of stones, I eyeball Robes again. A thought brings up my armor’s Shield, buying me more time. Time to take the fight to the next level.
An exertion of will, and swords appear, replicas of mine. Thousand Blades create multiple copies of my sword, each of which follow the movement of my cut. By the time the third sword cuts through the column, Robes’s Mana pool bottoms out. The column disappears and I throw myself forward, snatching the fourth floating sword that blocks my way. I throw myself straight at Knuckle. This time, I focus on my feet, ignoring the damage I do to the metallic flooring, and shift the way my Strength attribute interacts with the world. That means the steel flooring buckles and tears, ripped apart by the sudden change in forces and lack of reinforcement.
Knuckle shrinks down and takes the hit, but he’s not trained. His raw Strength stat might be higher than mine, but he doesn’t know how to influence its usage. When we crash together, it’s with the force of a pair of eighteen-wheelers going at two hundred kilometers an hour. He might be able to withstand it, but the floor can’t. He doesn’t reinforce it, not with his attributes, and so we tumble backward as I keep pushing.
That’s the thing about our stats. Strength gives us physical power, but it’s at such a level that there’s no way normal—or hell, System-reinforced—metal could withstand our movements. So a portion of our “Strength” is devoted to “holding” the world together, reinforcing the bonds of things around us so that we don’t inadvertently destroy our surroundings—or ourselves. The System takes a portion of our Strength to do that, but with a little practice, you can adjust those ratios.
I’ll admit, part of the reason I’m as good as I am at shifting the bonds between molecules is also entirely due to my Elemental Affinity—Electromagnetic Force. In fact, I have a feeling part of the reason so many bruisers don’t learn to do this is because the initial sensing part is nearly impossible for those without the affinity. Or magic.
Be that as it may, I’ve got more momentum than Knuckle, and even braced as he is, he can’t stop the floor from tearing up behind him—not without devoting more Strength to it and letting me harm him. Which he instinctively won’t. That means I smash him into the Mage, push both of them through the Wind-Elemental, and take all three of us toward Robes.
“The Wind-Elemental didn’t just disperse!”
“Of course not, boy-o. They’re made of structured air. If they could come apart without consequence, they’d just be air. That’s why it has no health. It’s basically Mana given life.”
Even as we speak, the Wind-Elemental does disperse, the congealed air form breaking apart and swirling away. In the smoke from the beams and the slight opaqueness of the dense air, I spot the portion that it is keeping intact. The creature’s core. On the other hand, the Elemental’s Mana levels drop the longer it stays dispersed.
Knuckle finally gets his feet under him, the floor firming up just before we crash into Robes. As we do, my Shield gives way as Naga’s bullets tear through it, fire erupting across my back and my health taking a plunge. I see Knuckle readying himself as my momentum comes to a rest. Rather than stay in one place, I spin and conjure my sword, sliding the weapon across his torso. Flesh tears, blood spills, and the rest of my floating swords dig into Knuckle in turn.
We’re nearly up against the walls of the station, curious passersby watching the entire fight. I don’t get to revel in my first substantial attack because Alita’s sword-arms are in my face. She nearly cuts me in half with her first attack. Only a quickly reconjured sword helps me block her strike. There’s enough momentum in her attack that she pushes the false edge of my blade into my armor. After that, we spin and cut, blocking and thrusting as I bring my extra swords to block her lines of attack. In seconds, I get the upper hand in our duel and I’m making the cyborg bleed black-and-blue blood.
You are Taunted by Re Dma Kaw!
Taunt Resisted!
I turn away for a second, acting as if I’m forced to focus on Knuckle. The hesitation is enough for the Naga’s bullets to chip away at my armor and health, but in the corner of my eyes, I see Alita commit to her attack. There’s a gap in the floating swords, a space that she throws herself through with sword-arms extended. I drop beneath her arms, ice-encrusted sword extending in a cut that strikes her stomach. A twist of my hips as I guide her body into another blade and blood gushes, her body coming apart under my attacks.
A beam attack throws me backward, catching me high on the shoulder and burning away armor. I land in someone’s shop, metal and blood pooling around me. A larger bullet slams into a gap in my armor and explodes, flames licking and catching on fallen goods. As I roll aside and glance at my health, I layer a Soul Shield and hide
behind the wall, out of sight.
John Lee (Erethran Paladin Level 28)
HP: 2431/4860
MP: 2265/4010
My health is dropping like a rock. Even with the Resistances to damage I’ve got, I’m getting hammered on four sides. I could reduce the damage, but again, I’d like to keep a few things under the hood. Each time I get my hands on one of the damn pirates, they pull me away and let the Healer fix them. I can’t get to the Healer to take him down which is, like, the first rule of System-combat. Blink Stepping is out, since they’ve locked down the Dimensions. I might be able to punch through it but trying and failing could make me extremely vulnerable.
I feel seriously cornered here. Without pulling out some of my more powerful Skills, I’m in a bind. And tearing a giant hole in the station won’t do my reputation any good.
“Damn, boy-o. I was hoping you’d offer a better show for the public. You want some help?”
I growl, anger flaring within me, threatening to take over. Rage floods my body and I stop thinking about the consequences of going too hard, too fast. Fine. They want to see what an Erethran Paladin can do? I’ll show them.
I spin out of the corner at full speed, Haste pushing me faster than ever. Thousand Steps and Vanguard of the Apocalypse kick in too, giving me that brief burst of movement they’re not expecting. That’s enough for the spells and shots to miss. In the meantime, I conjure Steel Walls, a modification of my old Mud Wall spells.
I block off the Healer, Mage, and Naga, controlling the fighting area first. I doubt it’ll last long. I’m sure they’ll figure a way around the newly formed steel walls, but I don’t need a lot of time. Next comes Knuckle, who I use Blade Strikes on. He’s still slowed from the earlier cuts, the Freezing Blade attacks lowering his speed well below mine. I’m surprised they didn’t dispel it, but that’s not my problem.
The Blade Strikes tear into Knuckle, who does his best to dodge and block. I’m too busy to read the exact damage being done on his Status, but I can see the wounds that appear on his body, the way his flesh is flayed from his body, bones showing and blood flowing. A blow from behind catches my attention, my Soul Shield flickering as it nearly breaks under the single sneak attack. Too much…
But I’m pissed and injured and done with playing their game. I ignore the attack, throwing up a Soul Shield to replace the damaged one. I’m focused on Knuckle, Blade Strikes filling the air as I burn Mana like it’s paper funeral money. Crossing the dozens of feet between us is easy. As the designated tank, Knuckle is geared to make people come to him, not keep them away.
I throw an overhand cut, intending to bisect him from right shoulder to left hip, and Knuckle activates another Skill. This time, my attack smashes into an unyielding Shield that cocoons the alien entirely. Intuition tells me it’s a penultimate life-saving Skill, similar to my Sanctum. So I turn, leaving the remainder of my blades to impact against the defense while I face Alita.
Alita throws another stab, one that cuts through my Soul Shield only to be blocked by my sword. I catch her blade high, letting it slide down my guard and then, licked together, I shove. My higher Strength overpowers the cyborg, throwing her away from me. In the corner of my eyes, I see Robes skirt around the steel wall. Surprisingly, I see nothing of the Wind-Elemental or Naga.
But Knuckle is stuck in his Skill and Alita is annoying the heck out of me. As a damage dealer, her Health pool is probably on the lower end. Rather than let her recover, I snatch a second sword from the air and swing. Each clash of our blades leaves chips, deep cuts in her own blade-hands. Her health drops with each attack, and it’s only Robes who keeps her alive. He’s limited though, his Mana pool barely recovered even after downing who knows how many potions.
A blade cuts across my face and I lean back, narrowly dodging the attack before a floating, trailing blade stops her follow-up. With a moment’s respite, I raise my hand and conjure Ice Blast, sending a cone of cold toward Robes. His floating shields block the cone of ice, but it piles up, restricting his vision as a mini-glacier forms in front of him.
Knuckle snarls, slamming his fist into his own protective shield Skill, but I ignore him, turning to finish off Alita. Invulnerability Skills are powerful, but they often come with the side effect of putting you out of play.
Returning to my fight with Alita, I press my advantage. Freezing Blade slows her down, each block reducing her speed advantage. In the corner of my eye, I ignore the occasional notice of a Poison Resisted as her attempts at debuffing me fail. Once the downhill slide begins, it’s only a matter of seconds before I pile on the damage, Cleave off her arms, and behead her.
Even a belated healing spell does nothing to fix the issue as I drop a thermal grenade on the remains. The scream of despair from Knuckle follows me as I sprint for Robes. Moments before I reach him, Knuckle is there, blinking into existence right before me. We smash together, my sword plunging into his body and tearing him up, but Knuckle envelops me in a hug. The next few seconds are a study in grappling as he throws me about, locking my limbs and tossing me around like a ragdoll. I’ve done a lot of fighting, but grappling is something I haven’t ever really studied.
Unfortunately for Knuckle, one thing he isn’t ready for is grappling with a bunch of floating blades. While I get cut too, I can dismiss the blades the moment one digs into me. Knuckle, on the other hand, can’t, and I keep summoning them back into being, leaving our fight a pointy obstacle course. By the time he’s got me facedown on the steel, a couple of blades are lodged deep in his body.
That’s when I pull out my other spell—Enhanced Lightning Strike. Of course, using electricity in a place filled with steel is normally a bad idea. But I tap into my Elemental Affinity, adjusting the resistance levels of the swords embedded in his body and my own hands before letting loose. The lightning arcs, some of it still ending up in the floor and other parts in my body, but mostly it flows into the swords embedded in Knuckle’s body. After that, it’s only a matter of gritting my teeth as I become part of the circulation channel. Once again, my cheaty resistances mean that I take only a small portion of the damage that Knuckle does—especially since my Penetration Skill cuts down his own powerful resistances. Lights flicker, some going out, others managing to handle the surges with aplomb. The smell of roast pig fills my nose. Whether the sweet stench is coming from me or him, I’m unsure. When I feel Knuckle’s grip relax, I toss aside his corpse and move to finish off Robes.
“Halt!”
I ignore the order, cutting at Robes’s floating shield. There’s no movement from Robes, the Healer looking perfectly calm even as I destroy one of his floating shield blocks. As I ready another attack, golden cords grab me and pull us apart. I tear and cut mine apart, but the voice comes again.
“Stop, Paladin. Or we’ll join the fight.”
I stop, staring at the golden cords that float all around me. Following them back to their point of origin, I see that Oi was speaking. The steel walls I conjured are melting back into the station while Oi walks forward, flanked by his people. Behind the shrinking walls, I spot Mikito with her blade stuck in the still-alive Naga, his body bisected by her weapon. Ali’s hovering next to the Wind-Elemental, his hands cupped as he contains the creature in a globe of force and wind. The Spirit is glowing with power, and even from here, I feel my Elemental Affinity responding.
“About damn time.” I dismiss Haste and my swords, dropping all but my regeneration buffs. I do replace my Soul Shield, just in case, but it looks as though our fight is over. For now.
“I asked you not to cause trouble, Paladin,” Oi says, looking around the area. His face twitches as he takes in the torn and scorched metal of the concourse, the destroyed shop, and the numerous cut and bullet holes. All of those are slowly being fixed, the metal flowing together as the System enacts its usual cleaning routine. But as a former settlement owner, I know that costs Mana. And sometimes Credits. “Keeping this station functioning is hard enough without you destroying it.”
“They started it.”
“Only after your Spirit went around letting everyone know a Paladin was here.”
Ali looks guilty for a second before he smooths out his face.
“Don’t think I don’t know you were goading them on,” Oi says. “What was the point of this?”
“Yes. What was the point?” I say.
“We got bored,” Ali says, smiling guilelessly. He flexes his hands, and the Wind-Elemental lets out a little shriek as it gets compressed further. I’m surprised that that hurts it, but what the hell do I know? Maybe Elementals have cores that don’t like being compressed?
“Bored.” Oi’s voice is flat as his gaze travels to Knuckle’s and Alita’s corpses. He turns to I Shao, muttering softly to her before he flinches at her words. After a moment, he nods reluctantly and faces us all. “Come with us.”
Mikito raises an eyebrow at me. I nod, so she pulls her weapon out of the Naga, being mostly gentle about it too. The poor guy lets out a little shriek, but already I see the wounds around his body have stopped bleeding and his skin is covering over the missing portions. The advantages of System-aided healing. Ali flicks his hand and the Wind-Elemental flies out, spinning around in a mini tornado that the Spirit ignores as he floats over to me.
“Seriously. What the hell?” I ask.
“Let’s just say that Oi has a problem. He needs someone like you. He just didn’t know it. So I had to make sure he realized it. Thus, this little demonstration.”
“Damn it, Ali,” I say out loud.
The Spirit chuckles as he floats back to me, taking station over my shoulder. All we had to do was lay low, get our ship fixed, and find something useful to do with our time. But while the companion link is mostly secure, it’s not a hundred percent. Ever since we left Earth, we’ve had to be more careful. So I shelve the questions and wait to see what happens next.
