Power leaped from Francis’ hands and hit Carhein, quickly refilling a chunk of his missing health. Naturally, this also drew the attention of one of the Alpha Landsharks. It ignored its fight with Stomper and Carhein and charged for Francis. The healer stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Atlas dashed forward and interposed himself between the charging beast and Francis. Knowing he couldn’t stand up to this monster in his normal form, he cast Dire Bear Transformation. His body morphed while green pulsing energy emanated from his skin. Hair sprouted down his arms and legs as his armor and clothes vanished from his body. Falling forward, he rested on all fours as the transformation finished.
His shapeshift finished right as the Alpha Landshark arrived and it lunged for him, jaws open and saliva dripping from its teeth. Pain blossomed in his shoulder from the pressure of the attack. Atlas growled in frustration and the creature reared back and bit into him again.
Alpha Landshark dealt 35 damage to you with Double Bite.
He took the chance to strike back and used Maul. Rising onto his hind legs, he brought his front claws down with tremendous force. The power of the attack caused his claws to slide through the sandy hide of the beast without resistance. Blood spilled from the monster and splattered on his paws and the ground.
You dealt 33 damage to Alpha Landshark with Maul. (Critical)
The lack of additions in his bear form was frustrating. It also didn’t help he had no counters either. After transforming into a bear, he only had 45 mana left so he couldn’t shift into his nightstalker form for the added speed and agility.
Limping because of the damage in its side, the landshark circled him, observing him. Instead of charging back in again, it leaped into the air and angled directly for him, claws forward and jaw open.
Frustrated at this form, he decided to at least try something instead of standing there and taking another attack. Judging the speed of the approach, Atlas twisted his body and brought his claw across in a fast backhand. The meaty paw smashed into the side of the landshark’s face and knocked it off course, causing it to face-plant into the ground near Atlas’ feet. As a follow-up, and admittedly a bit of payback, Atlas lunged forward and sunk his teeth into the front shoulder of the creature.
He’d eaten shark a few times outside of the game and had to admit this creature tasted how he imagined a raw one would at home. Even though it was above ground, it still had a fishy taste to it. The texture of the meat was also a little thicker, like a shark from the real world. Whipping his head to the side, he flung the creature away.
You dealt 15 damage to Alpha Landshark with Bitch Slap.
You learned Backhand Counter. (Bear Form)
You dealt 26 damage to Alpha Landshark with Biting Throw.
You learned Biting Throw. (Bear Form)
Man, who names these abilities? They could use some help in the creativity department.
It also thrilled him to learn two new abilities, one of which was a counter. This game system didn’t seem to work how he ever expected. He’d done a few attacks from time to time on his own and rarely ever had it given him new abilities. It would be beneficial if he could find someone who could tell him how these mechanics actually work.
Atlas braced himself for the next attack as the monster stared him down again. It never came. Instead, it let out a roar and then collapsed to the ground. A figured slid down its back with two long daggers in his hands, dripping blood. Shade had finally arrived to deal with the problem. With a sigh of relief, Atlas returned to his elf form.
“What the hell was that?” Francis yelled behind him.
Atlas spun, staff at the ready to attack only to find no one there but a bewildered looking healer. Francis’ eyes were glued on him and it appeared he hadn’t moved since Atlas jumped in front of him.
“What was what?” Atlas asked.
“He saved your worthless ass, that’s what that was,” Shade commented as he walked to the group and glared at Francis, “Looks like our assumption about you was true. You are nothing more than a paper warrior. Your application you sent in for this quest looked great, but you have next to no combat experience in this game based on your performance here today.”
“On the bright side, it sure makes our choice here easy,” Stomper said as he walked to the group.
Atlas turned to look at him and noticed the pile of carnage behind the man. Bodies of the landsharks lay scattered across the cave floor. They hacked some into pieces. Atlas was sure that was Carhein’s work. Others looked beaten and broken, with odd lumps under their skin from the trauma. Those he placed money on Stomper. The rest were bleeding from well-placed strikes in vital areas, showing just how deadly Shade was.
“We have a healer who spent their time only trying to deal damage instead of his job and another who is a coward and I doubt has fought anything larger than a fox. Our final healer not only handled most of the healing, but he also stepped in to save their asses. Twice.” Stomper summarized.
Shade and Carhein both nodded in agreement, and Carhein walked over to Atlas and threw an arm over his shoulder.
“Only the druid is worthy of his place with the mighty Carhein. We shall bathe in the blood of our foes!”
“Yep, hard pass for me, but thanks for the offer. Sounds sticky.”
The group chuckled.
“Songs will be told of our glorious victory today. All shall hear the tale of Carhein the Shark Chopper,” the man continued in
