Powerful winds whipped into the battlefield, sharp debris flinging throughout enemy lines, scattering the two healers and giving hell to the steampunk Huntress.
“Magnus, Death Sword! Rose, take the sasquatch, Aya and Lady C., provide support!”
A black vine formed around Magnus’ arm and moved towards his blade. It overtook the hilt of his weapon and pulsed once it reached the blade, as if it were a leech.
The barbarian charged Magnus and the mysterious man sidestepped his first axe attack. Magnus was almost poetic in his movements, and watching him move reminded me of a person who had spent years studying dance.
His grace was at odds with the barbarian, who was brute force and sheer animosity, muscles upon sinewy muscle. The barbarian was a powerhouse, but Magnus wasn’t there to engage him head on, he was there to use his Death Sword.
The warrior came down with his axe over his head, creating a small crater in front of him and kicking up dust, but by this point Magnus was already moving in to strike.
His black vine covered blade sliced into the warrior’s exposed bicep and Magnus quickly retreated. The warrior’s veins became visible under his skin. They were purple now, as were his eyes.
The spell had worked.
The warrior lurched forward, as if to vomit. Aya stepped in with her buster sword; he just barely managed to block her swipe with the handle of his axe.
He shoved her forward, the barbarian much stronger than Aya, and the Thulean flew back and hit a ridge in the dirt.
To their right, Rose had fully engaged the sasquatch. The two rolled around on the ground, each trying to overpower the another. They were evenly matched, but the sasquatch had more upper body mobility.
“Chain Lightning!” I called to Lady C.
She stopped tracking Aya, Magnus and the barbarian. The Metican warrior sheathed her blades, and produced a swirling ball of electricity between her fingers.
The electricity surged from her fingertips and struck the barbarian, jumped to the fire hair guy, then to the two healers, the sasquatch, and finally the steampunk huntress.
“Nice!” Iris said. “Okay, um, Altsoba, Possess Ignis mythcrea!”
“I just was calling him the fire hair guy,” I said under my breath.
Golden magic rose from the ground, swirled up Altsoba’s legs, and exited through the palms of her hands. The bolt of golden energy hit the fire guy’s chest and his eyes flashed black.
“Fuck yes,” I whispered as the possessed fire wielder turned towards the two healers, who were still stabilizing after the lightning attack.
“It was a risk,” Iris said quickly, “and I didn’t know if he was around her level or not. Turns out, he was!”
But our hopes vanished when bullets rained down from the sky, cutting through Altsoba and sending her to the ground.
“Shit!” Iris said as the steampunk Huntress flew towards the Skin-Walker, unloading the magazines of her guns, shells flying in the air behind her.
Once her mags were spent, she kicked back, popped new mags in and landed next to Altsoba, who was bleeding out.
“Magnus, Party Heal!” The words left my lips a moment later than I would have liked.
The steampunk Huntress killed Altsoba, and jumped back into the air.
“Aya, Lonely Guy, Huntress!” I shouted as the possessed fire wielder immediately regained consciousness.
Aya stopped engaging the barbarian and stepped aside so Lady C. could take over. Catlike in her movements, Lady C. dodged the barbarian’s attacks with ease.
Meanwhile, Aya tracked the steampunk Huntress, her shoulders hunched, her head nodding left and right as she waited for her chance to strike.
The steampunk Huntress was just about to fire at Magnus when Aya caught her in the chest with three throwing knives.
Her rockets kicked her up in the air and puttered out, sending her straight to the ground, where she was quickly greeted by Aya.
Aya withdrew her blade and dropped next to the dead Huntress, a smirk on her face as she watched her die. Once the woman was dead, Aya took her peaked cap and placed it on her head. She turned to me, winked, and returned to the melee.
One glance over to Middle Fingers, and I caught him screaming at the battlefield. I waited for him to see that I was looking at him, and once he did, I offered him my own two finger salute.
Iris laughed. “Don’t get cocky.”
“Sorry not sorry?” I smiled at her as determination swept over me. “Let’s finish this,” I said, re-living Altsoba’s death by gunfire.
“Lady C., Bomb Cyclone, fire guy!”
Lady Cassandra flipped backwards just as Aya took her place in front of the increasingly aggressive barbarian, who had lost a fair bit of life due to Magnus’ spell. The barbarian’s eyes were red now, which I assumed meant he’d activated a rage spell.
The problem was the healers. Every hit he or fire guy took was instantly healed.
“Lady C.,” I called to her. “Focus all power on healers!”
She turned her magic towards the two mages clad in white robes.
Iris heard me and told Ophelia and Fujin to do the same.
Fujin flashed out of existence and appeared next to one of the mages. The mage, his hand still charging with white magic, tried to take a swing at the wind god. His attack was caught by an uppercut propelled by a great gust of wind.
“Hell yes!” I clapped my hands together as Lady C. cast Bomb Cyclone on the other mage, just as the mage was about to heal the barbarian.
The spinning vortex of winter caused the mage’s spell to fail; a fireball passed through the wintery tornado, killing the healer.
The other healer quickly met the same fate, this time at the hands of Fujin, who punched the mage in the throat, used his wind power to lift him into the air, and slammed him down onto the top of his head.
New skill learned!
“Throat Punch Airstrike,” I said, naming Fujin’s skill so I could investigate later.
“Let’s finish this,” Iris said, a grin spreading across her face. What I would have given in that moment to hug her, tell her this was fucking awesome, and thank her for opening up this new chapter of my life.
Instead, I focused on Aya, who still wore the steampunk Huntress’ peaked hat. “Aya, Duchig Destroyer, fire guy!”
Her buster sword in her other hand, Aya performed a one-handed cartwheel and Magnus took her place, his grace and poise on full display as he took on the barbarian.
The fire mage laid down a huge stream of flames that cut through the battlefield, separating him from the melee. As naturally as one would step over a puddle, Aya used her invisible ghost limbs to propel herself over the fire wall.
“Fujin, Death Wind, Sasquatch!”
“Rose, get out of the way,” I shouted to the bearadillo.
As you wish.
Her voice came to me, and as it did, she used her Roll Charge ability to roll away from the sasquatch, who was quickly hit by Fujin’s Death Wind spell. The sasquatch brought his furry hands to his throat as he began to suffocate.
Aya reached Fire Guy and performed her special move, slicing him from the side of his neck all the way through his body, severing internal organs and spine.
He couldn’t even cry out in pain.
His body simply shifted and he fell, a pool of blood forming around him.
The sasquatch fell to his knees and Fujin performed his Throat Punch Airstrike ability again. The sasquatch lifted into the air, shifted slightly, and came down hard on its neck and the top of its spine, killing it instantly.
One left, I thought, excitement surging through me.
Magnus flourished his blade as he delivered a strike that sliced into the barbarian’s face. As the man’s jaw separated from his skull, Magnus spun back around and cut the big man down.
~~“Match!”~~
Winner: Chase Knowles, Alpha
Prize: 5,000 Proxima Dollars. 100 US Dollars.
“Oh my god.” I took a de
ep breath, as the prize update faded away. “That was intense!”
Iris did a little dance. “We did it!” She jumped into my arms as the spoils of battle appeared. We had won five thousand Proxima Dollars, and a hundred real world dollars.
Apparently, Alpha Middle Fingers was several levels higher than us, which was why we received the bonus.
“Not bad,” I said as our avatars began to disappear. “Not bad at all.”
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
“She shot me,” Altsoba said as soon as our avatars spawned in the locker room. The Skin-Walker seemed pretty disappointed that she had let the Fighting Party down. She sulked, her hands on her hips as she stared down at the floor.
“It doesn't matter,” I told her. “What matters is we won, and you, Altsoba, are going to get your mirrors.”
My bank account faded as she stepped away.
Proxima Dollars: $7,050
Spent: $9,950
Loan: 0
“What about our cabins?” Lady C. asked.
“We will figure out what to do with the money once we actually have it,” I said.
“Do you like my new hat?” Aya asked. She approached me like a model on a runway: sexy and light, yet poised to strike. She spun once, and used her ghost limb to lift the hat off her head and place it on Iris’ head.
The hat was too big for Iris, and it slipped down her skull to a point just above her eyebrows, forcing her golden curls to press down onto her neck.
“It looks better on you, Aya,” Iris said.
“I suppose you're right.” The hat lifted into the air for a second time, and Aya placed it on her head, making sure to tuck her orange hair behind her ears so it could sit better.
Possibly sensing some tension between the two, Lady C. stepped forward and told everyone to take a drink from the pool of water in the center of the room.
Altsoba was the first to approach. She bent forward, scooped some of the water into her mouth.
“Ah, so this is what you meant when you told me that they could heal up after each battle,” I said to Iris.
“You catch on quick, Chase,” she said with an ironic grin.
“I think I've done pretty well getting into Monster Hunt in just a few days. I know there are some gamers out there who would hand me my ass in the same amount of time, but for a guy who usually skips the video games for band practice, I give myself an A plus.”
“Would you?” Iris asked as the others gathered around the pool of healing water.
“B minus,” Aya called over her shoulder.
“I’d give you two As,” said Lady Cassandra as she carried a wooden bowl of healing water over to Rose.
Rose lapped at the water, and when she finished, she shared the rest with her cub, Gobi.
~~“Your next match will begin shortly.”~~
“Okay everyone, let's see what we can do this time around. I want to go with the same strategy as before: Ophelia, cast Sigil Curse as soon as the battle starts, and Fujin, cast Toxic Tornado. Let's also try something a little different this time. Lady C., I want you to guess which enemy is the strongest and cast Bomb Cyclone on them. In the future we will have someone in our party who can reveal stats for us, or we will have something that I can use ...” I looked to Iris for confirmation and she nodded. “For now, we're just going to have to play things by ear, which for those of you who don’t know me, is something I like to do.”
Magnus bowed his head at me. “I look forward to crushing our enemies.”
“Um, yeah, exactly. What Magnus just said is how we need to go into this next battle. We need to crush them, and we need to do so before they can get a feel for our fighting style, or get a sense of where we are at level-wise. One more thing, Aya, after Lady C. has cast Bomb Cyclone, I want you to perform your Pounce Attack on that very same opponent. I'm talking immediately after, let's go for a shock and awe type of campaign here. Hit them with everything we got, and Rose?”
I looked to the bearadillo in the corner of the room. She glanced up at me and nodded.
Yes?
“I know I told you to play defense and/or go for the strongest opponent, but this time, I want you to do a variation of the same thing: I want you to use one of your specialties, possibly Beary Bite, on the weakest opponent nearest to you if you are given an opening.”
I look forward to it.
I clapped my hands together. “I don't want to say something like 'Let's do this for the money,' but really, our Dojo needs some work and I want to reward all of you for your effort, for your teamwork, and ...” I glanced at Iris, seeing if there was anything she wanted to add.
“Your passionate fighting,” Iris said.
Fujin nodded, a grin spreading across his bluish demon face. Magnus, Ophelia, and Lady C. also nodded, and next to them, Altsoba began morphing into a twin replica of Iris. Aya drew her sword and held it at the ready just as our forms began to pixelate.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
~~“Fighting Parties get into place!”~~
Iris and I now stood on the sidelines of the first arena, no modifications to the battle grounds this time around. The crowd roared as my Fighting Party took shape, the cries the loudest I’d heard them yet.
Damn, I thought as I looked around at the crowd, it would be awesome to play a concert in front of this many people.
Like the duo Iris and I had formed, there were two Alphas on the sideline across from us. From what I could guess, and this was based solely on a feeling I had in my gut, the two Alphas were brothers.
One Alpha was a bit larger, his hair brown, his eyes dark, and a thick mustache covering his upper lips. He wore armor, even though we weren't technically allowed to fight, and a pair of combat boots.
The other was shorter, thinner, and he had blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a striped shirt and a pair of blue jeans, his hands in his pockets as he took us in.
The other Fighting Party appeared on the battleground and the crowd roared in response.
The front line consisted of two zombie-like women, their bodies raging with flames. Behind them was a feathered serpent easily three feet thick and twenty feet long.
A nude female, her body partially concealed by a light fabric, floated in the right-hand quadrant of their lineup. She had a ghastly face, no eyes, and as she opened her mouth, her jaw began to unhinge from her skull.
A man with a devil’s tail and red skin pointed a trident at Rose, his bushy eyes forming an angry V as they met in the middle.
“Is the devil one of their Hunters?” Iris asked.
“Yep…”
Next to him stood the other Hunter, a warlock in a hooded cape and armor crafted from yellow bone. Green eyes flashed under his hood; as he looked us over, his hands began to charge, and a snarl formed on the parts of his face that I could see.
At the back of the Fighting Party was one of the most grotesque women I'd ever seen. She was definitely a witch, her hair stringy, her face jowly and covered in warts, her posture terrible as if she were the cousin of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, her legs bony and bow-legged.
There was a mortar and pestle in her clawed, wrinkled and withered hands, and as she ground something in the mortar, it grew in size until she could no longer hold it.
She let it drop onto the ground, the mortar doubling in size again, and once it was big enough for her to climb into, she got into the mortar and it lifted into the air, spinning like a flying saucer.
“What do you think, Iris?”
“I think that this is going to be a pretty tough fight,” she whispered to me.
“Yeah? Shit, I got that same vibe too.” I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out to my fighters, “Focus all attacks on the devil and the warlock!”
“Should I still take the spellcasters?” Iris ask as the timer counted down.
“Definitely, and go ahead and command Magnus as you see fit. You may see an opportunity for healing while I'm focused on something else.”
“Good call.”<
br />
I had the sense that we were in over our heads in this match, but I knew that there was nothing we could do now, and I believed in my Fighting Party.
“Let’s just hope luck is on our side,” I said under my breath.
~~“Begin Fight!”~~
Ophelia's Sigil Curse spell fizzled and failed.
Fujin’s Toxic Tornado hit, but it hardly did any damage to the opposing team. By this point, the devil had engaged Rose, driving his trident through an opening in her scaly armor.
“Rose!”
The bearadillo cried in agony and Aya responded, her ghost limbs propelling her over to the devil.
Meanwhile, the fire zombies had descended upon Lady Cassandra, who, by the look on her face, was just about as terrified as she could possibly be and still hold two swords.
What’s going on with her? I thought as she turned and began to run.
“Ice Explosion!” I called to her.
Lady C. looked at me with pleading eyes, doubled back around, sheathed one of her blades, and used her other hand to cast an ice spell on the other blade.
She swung her sword at the first fire zombie and an explosion of ice sent it flying. Gaining confidence, she swung at the other one to similar effect.
Altsoba tried to take her stoneman form, only to be lifted into the air by the feathered serpent’s tail and slammed hard against the ground.
My eyes jumped from the Skin-Walker to the ghastly woman floating nude above the battle, her hair whipping in the wind. The woman’s mouth unhinged from her jaw and a great force of energy surrounded by a cyclone of static and accompanied by an ear-piercing scream slammed into Altsoba and Ophelia, killing the Lich instantly.
“Ophelia!” Iris shouted.
Altsoba, who was pretty bad off by this point, tried to crawl away and get back on her feet, only now, the opposing team’s warlock had focused on Ophelia’s dead body, and as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, Ophelia stood, her head bowed and her shoulders hunched forward.
“He’s a necromancer,” Iris gasped.
I glanced to the front line to see Magnus engaging the devil man.
I knew Magnus would flip if he turned and saw Ophelia. Luckily, Aya had hung back a little, and as I looked at Magnus, she glanced over to me and made eye contact.
Monster Hunt NYC: A Fantasy Harem Adventure Page 12
