“For the love of God woman, I’m not here to peek at you naked, I’m here to rescue you. Get on!”
She scrambled to do as he said and wrapped her legs around his neck and over his shoulders. Atlas’ mind immediately flashed back to some epic chicken fights in the pool before his attention snapped back to the present.
With a heave, he rose to his back legs and braced himself against the wall with his front paws. He leaned forward and rested his nose on the stone.
“Now hurry and stand on my shoulders and get over the wall. I’ll cover you.”
Atlas lifted one of his paws to shield Penny’s back as she fought to stand and get on and over the wall. Gunfire continued to snarl through the clearing and three more bullets tore into his flesh, one of which struck the paw covering Penny’s escape.
Tower Marksman dealt 15 damage to you with Crack Shot. (x3)
Penny finally crested the wall and looked back, “Are you coming over?”
“Hurry and go. Hop down and get to the city. I’ll keep them distracted long enough for you to get away.”
Her eyes hardened as she looked at him, “I guess you weren’t the worst option for a rescuer after all.”
Without another word, she hopped over the wall and he listened to the rustle of the tall grass as she sprinted away. Another bullet tore into his side and he roared in anger.
Tower Marksman dealt 15 damage to you with Crack Shot.
Now that Penny was safe, and he was tired of running, Atlas turned to face the four marksmen. With another roar, he charged the four in a frenzy. The sight of the large animal running toward them and no longer away spooked the dwarves, and they scattered to put distance between themselves. Atlas veered toward the one farthest to the right and triggered his Charge ability.
The distance melted, and he plowed into the stunned dwarf at full speed. The compact figure fell to the ground and Atlas immediately activated Maul. Both claws came down with crushing force and tore into the flesh of the marksman.
You dealt 13 damage to Tower Marksman with Charge.
You dealt 33 damage to Tower Marksman with Maul. (Critical) (Crushing)
The dwarf remained on the ground clutching a deep gash in his side, so Atlas turned and activated Charge for the next opponent. Two more gunshots rang and smacked into his side, but he remained on course and slammed into the dwarf. This one remained standing when Atlas crashed into him. Activating Maul, the claws came down with incredible force and the dwarf tried to lift his musket to block it. His enormous paw met the firearm and broke it clean in half. The claw continued down and slashed ugly furrows down the dwarf’s face.
Tower Marksman dealt 15 damage to you with Crack Shot. (x2)
You dealt 13 damage to Tower Marksman with Charge.
You dealt 25 damage to Tower Marksman with Maul. (Critical)
Damn, only 105 health left. I can’t possibly beat these guys. Worse yet, if I die inside these walls, it’s going to be a pain in the ass to come get my stuff back. Penny should be far enough away that I can safely flee.
Running out of options, Atlas decided he’d have to change to cat form and leap back over the wall. If he could escape into the forest, they might leave him alone. The bad part was it would cut his health in half when he transformed.
Two more shots tore into his side, forcing him to decide.
Tower Marksman dealt 15 damage to you with Crack Shot. (x2)
Using the last of the mana he had left, he activated his Night Stalker Transformation spell. He’d never transformed straight from one animal form to another, but the process was easy. His body just shrunk and changed appearance. Since the bear and cat had similar forms, other than size, the transformation barely interrupted his stride.
He turned and raced for the wall at full speed.
“He’s trying tae escape. Load up th’ special shot.” Atlas heard one dwarf call out. He looked over his shoulder and saw the remaining three dwarves packing jagged pieces of metal in the barrel and tried to move faster.
Leaping high, his feet touched the wall right when the sounds of gunfire blasted out again. He tried to leap to the other side, but multiple pieces of metal hit him in the back and sent him flying over the wall. Landing on the hard ground in the most uncat-like way possible, he fought to get back to his feet and ran for the city.
Tower Marksman dealt 8 damage to you with Shrapnel Shot. (x3)
Shrapnel shot has inflicted Bleed. You will lose 3 health every 10 seconds until healed.
Damn. I have less than a minute until I die. My 14 remaining health won’t last long and I have no mana to heal myself. Resigned to his death, he got as far as possible before it happened so he’d have less of a trek back to pick up his stuff. The health ticked away as he ran and dread settled into his stomach.
When his health dropped to 2, he found a secluded spot near the base of a tree to obscure him from easy view. He didn’t want someone to stumble upon his stuff and take it before he respawned. Laying down, he closed his eyes and waited for his fate. The last of the damage ticked away, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest before blackness gripped him.
You have died.
Chapter 21
Specialized Weaponry
You will respawn at your designated bind spot.
He sighed and replayed the fight as he sat in the comfy recliner. I’ve got to figure out more combat skills with my animal forms. They have such incredible potential and are next to useless half the time.
This time around, he fired up one of his favorite games to pass time. Arguably, the JRPG sucked a lot of time with its
