[THE ANSWER IS TRIVIALLY SIMPLE, PALADIN! BASEBALL IS THE GREATEST SPORT EVER CREATED! AFTER ALL, IT IS THE ONE AND ONLY NATIONAL PAST-TIME OF THE MIGHTIEST NATION TO EVER EXIST, THE GLORIOUS U.S.A.!]
- Lazlo Smith, Level 31 Patriotic Paladin, Fireside Chats with PAST
I blinked away the notifications, staring instead at the low-slung monster bursting out of the sandy ground. My gun was in my hands before I’d realized I’d summoned it.
“BEHIND YOU!” I screamed to Vale in warning, hearing the cries of the others around me.
“They’re all around us!” Raylan shouted as I fired my first shot, which flew past Vale to spark off the creature’s barrier. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a shield and scepter appear in Vale’s hands. I fired again, to no more effect.
The creature looked a lot like the scorpion I’d faced in the Tutorial, only much lighter in color and with its main body covered in small, snakeline scales instead of large plates. The one I’d shot was almost to Vale, its stinger drawing back, hissing – wait, that’s not a stinger, it’s a fucking snake head! The tail-head shot forward towards Vale’s armored back even as white light exploded from her.
The attack bounced off of the light like it had hit solid stone, and I felt the light sweep out and through me, a piece of it seeming to break off and wrap around me.
“Az, look out!” someone shouted as something crashed into me from behind and I was launched into the air.
Vale’s Shield saved me from injury, but I was still sent sprawling, barely hanging onto my gun. I landed at least twenty feet away, the glow around me nearly winking out. I groaned as I climbed back to my feet.
“COME AND GET ME!” Block roared, and I felt the mana from his Skill blast out. There were at least six or seven of the creatures attacking us, though even as I lifted my gun I could see that most of them were heading straight at Block, including the one that I thought had just hit me in the back. Block was retreating away from the group, drawing most of the monsters with him. Vale had finally turned around and was holding off the one I’d shot.
Another monster was attacking the other three recruits, who were all clustered together. I didn’t have a clear shot as Zaire was between me and the creature. I need to know what we’re dealing with! Identify.
Monster: Rattlescorp
Level: 6
Shit, I don’t think there’s much I can do with my regular ammo, I need my slugs!
I turned back to the creature attacking Vale, where I had a better shot, and unloaded my remaining four shells, hopefully at least distracting it. Leaving the Healer to defend herself, I snatched the one slug in my bandolier as I started running to get a better angle. My hand found my pouch and pulled out a handful of slugs and I started frantically slamming them into the magazine.
Raylan baited it into striking with its tail-head, then blurred as he Quick Stepped to the side, the snake-like jaws snapping on empty air. Zaire and Elin used the opening to cast, an Earth Spike ramming up into the creature’s guts as one of Elin’s shimmering Pain Bolts hit it solidly. The Level 6 monster stumbled back, ripping the top off of the Earth Spike, its tail thrashing in agony, but it didn’t go down.
Zaire’s next Earth Spike caught it right where one of the legs joined the body, stabbing straight through the weaker joint armor. Ignoring the wound, the maddened creature threw itself forward, and I watched in astonishment as the force ripped its own leg off. I slammed the final shell into the magazine and racked one into the chamber as I aimed.
I cursed, forced to wait – the creature was directly in between me and Raylan. I couldn’t risk hitting him with one of my powerful slugs if I missed. Another Spike shot out of the ground, this one right in front of the creature, which plowed through it and sent up a spray of shattered stone. It stumbled again as Raylan slashed at its legs from the side and another Pain Bolt struck it.
The tail-head was hissing with rage as the rattlescorp turned towards Raylan, sweeping one of its huge pincers at him as he dodged backwards. The pincers smashed into Vale’s Shield Spell, shattering it with a bang, but leaving Raylan unharmed. The tail reared back, preparing to strike. The monster’s back was now towards me and I could see the smaller scales on the bottom of the tail.
BOOM! click-click BOOM! click-click BOOM! click-click
I unloaded three shots as fast as I could, blood and scales flying with each hit as the tail struck towards the spot where Raylan had been. The power of the creature’s own strike tore open the wounds I’d made even wider, thin green blood spraying out onto the dirt. The tail fell limply on top of the staggering body, which suddenly shuddered and crashed to the ground.
I fumbled to load more slugs as I ran to join the others, seeing that Zaire’s last Earth Spike had struck the creature right through the bottom of the head and into the brain, finally finishing it off. Vale, having finished off her own monster, went running past us without a glance, heading straight for the wild melee surrounding Block.
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He was surrounded by four living rattlescorps, with one already dead on the ground. I watched in awe as Vale accelerated to a sprint far faster than I could ever manage, despite her short legs, and launched herself into the scorp furthest to the right. She led with her shield and the impact of her thick body and massive armor was so powerful that it lifted the creature off the ground and completely flipped it onto its back.
With the two Tier 2 Delvers working in tandem they easily finished off the remaining attackers as we formed into a tight group and tried to look in every direction at once.
Where the fuck is Mas- oh, there he is. I spotted Mason casually walking towards us and a moment later I noticed movement behind him – Hassan in his camouflage armor. The Essence hit a moment later, and it was strong – but I didn’t get any notifications.
“PAST, am I getting close to Level 4 yet?”
[I am unable to answer that question, Citizen!]
I heard a cheer from behind me and turned around to see Elin grinning. Guess she got a Level, I realized with a twinge of jealousy.
Squad Update: Stolen from RoyalRoad. Support AzureInk by reading the original.
Mason and Hassan have joined the Squad. Vale has transferred Squad leadership to Mason.
“You two knew those monsters were waiting for us, didn’t you?!” I accused Mason as he stopped in front of us.
“Of course,” he replied without an ounce of shame. “Hassan spotted them earlier. The best kind of ambush training is a real ambush!”
I didn’t really know how to respond to that. Elin was still grinning like a fool, and Zaire and Raylan seemed more resigned than anything. I squinted at them.
“He’s done this to you before, hasn’t he?”
“Last time it was trapdoor spiders,” Raylan said with a shudder. “At least that fight got me to Level 2. Now you know what it means when he suddenly drops out of the Squad.”
“Why’d you do that, exactly?” I asked, still confused.
“If I stayed in the Squad, even if I just watched the fight, I’d end up with some of the Essence. If I was far enough away to not get Essence, I wouldn’t be close enough to intervene if something went wrong. The best way to handle it is to drop out of the Squad and stay close by.”
“Then why didn’t you drop out when we fought the spiderwolves?” I asked curiously.
“That would mostly be my fault,” Block chimed in, strolling casually up to us. He should have been covered in blood and monster guts, but he looked pristine. I assumed he’d already used mana to clean his armor. He continued, “my Taunt Skill is unfortunately indiscriminate. If we’re not in the same Squad, especially at your Level, you’d be affected too.”
“That, and I didn’t want to give away this little trick until we had a better opportunity,” Mason added with a grin. “It gives you a little warning once you know about it, so I ordered Raylan and Zaire not to tell you in advance. Just as you won’t tell any future recruits we might pick up, understood?”
I wanted to argue with him, but I was still feeling the adrenaline rush from the fight, so I just nodded and went looking for my shells. Fortunately I managed to locate all three of the slugs I’d fired. I checked my resources this time and saw that it took a crazy eight mana each to recharge the two slugs I’d fired for the first time. Plus another four mana for the one that I’d first fired in the morning.
After I’d slotted the last of the slugs into my bandolier, I felt a sudden lightheadedness, like I’d stood up too fast after sitting for a long time. I blinked, my mind not working quite right for a moment, but after a few seconds the effect slowly went away.
What in the Wastes was that? I still have plenty of mana left even though I just blew through twenty points and… oh, that’s right. I only have 22 Focus, so I must have gone down to just two points there for a moment. I should be careful, that could be really bad in the middle of a fight!
“Did you guys get anything?” I asked Zaire and Raylan. It turned out they’d both gotten enough Essence for an item, though no Levels. Zaire got a nice leather helm, and Raylan got an armor mod. He happily reported that it slightly increased the distance traveled and reduced the cooldown of his Quick Step Skill, then he looked over my shoulder and stood up slightly straighter. Mason had finished his discussion with the others and was now walking towards us.
“You all performed adequately,” he informed us. “Raylan, you did well, drawing attention away from your teammates without over-committing yourself. Good use of Quick Step and good timing with your attacks.” Raylan grinned at the praise, but Mason kept going.
“Elin, you didn’t make any major mistakes, which is good for your first real ambush. Your Bolts helped keep it distracted, and with your Stats going up you’ll be more effective next time.
“Zaire, the placement of your Earth Spikes was effective though it looked like you came close to bottoming out your focus a couple of times. That will improve with some free points at your next Level up.”
Mason paused before looking at me.
“Az, you had both the best and worst moments of the fight. You did well to coordinate with Raylan and make sure he cleared your field of fire before engaging, and you landed good hits in a vulnerable area. On the other hand, you fixated on the first enemy you saw and never looked around, which let one of them land what could have been a crippling strike from behind.”
He surveyed the whole group before making his final point. “When you’re ambushed, it’s easy to lock in on the first thing you see. Remember that the best, most dangerous ambushes come from multiple directions at the same time. Unless you’re literally about to get hit, you need to take just a moment to look around. Most monsters aren’t smart enough to create a distraction before attacking – but some are. And people definitely might. Got it?”
We all nodded seriously. Whatever I thought about Mason’s teaching skills, his method had a certain brutal effectiveness to it. I had no doubt that I’d remember his point much more vividly after being flung through the air by a rattlescorp than I would have if he’d tried to make it in a safe classroom.