How many chasing me, Archive?


    [Your perceptivity level is not high enough for me to see behind you, but I estimate at least twenty Blackclaw Marauders; one of them has especially heavy footsteps,] [Do not engage all of them at once. Pick them off one by one with your superior speed.]


    was


    Tch.


    I can’t just keep running forever.


    crack


    … My knee barely even hurts.


    [Well, you have put quite a fair number of points into raising your toughness the past few days,] [You have the strength equivalent of four men, the speed equivalent of six men, and the toughness equivalent of three men. At the speed you can run into people, the total magnitude of any impacting force is far more than what your strength level suggests.]


    I… I ain’t never actually seriously hit anyone before–


    [Please duck.]


    so


    Whoa.


    I… gimme a moment… to–


    [Stimulating release of perception-enhancing compounds.]


    faster


    Hey! You ain’t ever told me you could do that! Wouldn’t that have come in handy–


    [It is but a temporary boost. Your senses are running three times as fast as normal; overuse of this functionality of mine will eventually damage your brain and turn you paraplegic. I will only use this once.]


    How long will this boost last, then?


    [Five minutes.]


    [Defeat all of them before then.]


    … Got it!


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Do not engage in melee with them. Poke and prod, in and out–]


    I know!


    If they’re standing in a tight formation like that, how can I pick them off one by one?


    They’ll shoot me all at once if I show up in front of them, so the moment I’m in their line of sight…


    …


    ‘Blind them in the sand’,‘A blind audience cannot see the faults in your dance.’


    clang


    … What?


    glowered


    crack


    He’s strong and tough in one package!


    [Then do not fight him here where there are no trees around. Find a way to get past him. The cliffside is dangerous–]


    Shit!


    Deposit all my points into strength!


    <div>


    [Strength: 4 → 5]


    <hr>


    <div>


    She kicked her glaives at his chest as her hands grasped at his pincer, trying to pry his claws off her throat, but nothing about him would give. Five levels in strength wasn’t enough. He strode forward calmly and held her over the edge of the cliff—he had no intention of dropping her, it seemed, but he did


    [–Dhina Tongue detected. Translating–]


    –them


    [Lie. Tell him there are three more Hasharana sailing the nearby straits, and that if you die, they will immediately know where you are–]