The gunsinger moved to the side and continued pelting the rest of the party with his piercing rounds. Hana and Pachi were clashing with a beast of their own, and Tejón stood beside me, standing up on his hind legs and trading blows with a trow wielding a wooden cudgel.
Two of the monsters began to rain blows on me, the first using a large pickaxe and the other throwing around a hammer that would have made Wardeen’s forge hammer look small. I used Dodge to avoid an attack, then Cleave, sinking my axe into a trow’s mouth. Its teeth were shattered, and my axe carried through and cut the top of the beast’s head off.
The other kicked me square in the chest. I flew backward and crashed into the cave wall. My vision flashed as the stone cracked against my skull. I stood and narrowly avoided the hammer strike that followed. As I scrabbled to my feet, I grabbed a handful of the rubble that lined the walls.
Screw honor. This fight was getting crazy. I threw the dirt in the trow’s eyes and sidestepped its attack easily. The blind beast flailed around a few times with his weapon, smashing one of the remaining trow behind him. I darted in and used Cleave again, burying my axe in its face.
It fell to the ground in a heap, limbs still twitching. I noticed the others had fallen as well. Alysand was reloading, Hana was panting, and Tejón and Pachi’s mouths dripped with fresh blood.
Foreman Shezkal gave an order, and his guards fanned out. “Excellent! It is a fight then. Ratkin, bring them down. Focus on the irksome fire mage. He is the most dangerous.” These were labeled as ratkin lord guards like the ones we’d fought previously, but they were elites and were all level 22. To make matters worse, they all wore plate armor like their master.
They held long spears, which would make my job a lot harder.
They formed a rank of four, two falling behind. Since their level was too high, I had no idea what abilities they might throw at us. But they were organized. My cooldowns had finished, so I rebuffed our party and cracked my neck, ready for the hell that was about to break loose.
“Bring it on, you fugly bastards!” I said, taunting them. To my dismay, they ignored the taunt and walked forward in a disciplined line.
The four frontline elites veered toward Alysand, and I saw Hana and Pachi move to stand beside him. The two remaining foes came at me, effectively splitting up our party.
Tejón stood beside me, a ball of power and fury. The two approaching enemies were intimidating in their gleaming metal armor, but they didn’t know what they were in for. Our forces clashed, and the cavern became a cacophony of ringing steel and grunts of effort and pain.
I was fighting more cautiously this time. The spear, which kept flicking at me like a snake’s tongue, was long and sharp. I winced as the blade grazed my thigh. Somehow, I would have to take that stick away.
A sharp yelp pulled my attention away. I glanced over and saw that Pachi had been stuck by a spear as well, but in a flash of yellow and orange fire, she had crossed the distance to the ratkin guard and was ripping at his throat.
Hana was holding both of her swords, the shorter one in her offhand, and was whirling around like a divine dervish. Was this the same timid girl I’d met just a week ago?
Alysand’s guns were firing away, but even with his specialized whistle, it seemed the ratkin’s armor was preventing injury. The steel looked to be high quality, but it was the thickness that counted. The breastplate looked immensely heavy. To my surprise, I saw him flip the pistols in his hand, and a deep hum resounded from his throat. Then, like a dude on the streets fighting for his lunch money, the guy started pounding away at a ratkin with the butt of his pistols.
I kept moving, trying to avoid getting any extra holes punched in me. The guards were fast, though, and even as I avoided another blow, I saw the telltale aura of an ability being used. Both of the guards facing Tejón and me screamed with rage, and their attacks sped up considerably.
I used my Dodge ability twice more but winced when I noticed my Stamina bar had already depleted to half. My axe was poorly matched against the nimble speed of the spears. Another flurry of strikes brought two more gouges searing across my ribs. I looked to Tejón; he wasn’t faring any better. The spear tip was dripping with blood despite his raging attacks.
My last card needed to be played now, or I wouldn’t have a chance. I activated Rampage.
Status Effect: Rampage
Rampage: +50% attack speed, +25% damage, HP drain at 2% every 3 seconds. Duration: until deactivated or until player expires.
The fire of power and potential lashed out through my limbs, begging to be used. A haunting growl erupted beside me, and I saw that Tejón was glowing with the same red aura as me. My skill had worked on him as well. I grinned like a lunatic and slashed out at the next spear thrust.
Suddenly, the attacks appeared slower, more manageable. I flung them aside with ease, clanging the spearpoint away with sideways strikes of my axe. Still, the distance was hard to cover. The guard kept lunging or retreating each time I tried to adjust, keeping me at bay with his longer weapon.
An idea flitted through my raging mind, and as the next attack came at me, aimed low at my thigh,
