Chapter 38 : Come


    “Leave him to me,” Thornshard, the war-hardened Bloodrager, warmed up his shoulders. His greatsword gleamed menacingly as he adjusted his stance. Across from him stood Wilhelm, the aka Wise Sage, with his robes fluttering slightly from the residual energy of his last spell.


    The followers of Thornshard understood their leader’s intention quickly. He wanted to make this mage occupied and then left the halberd guy for them to take care of. With such arrangements, they would naturally obey his orders and gave space for their leader to make room for himself.


    “Come!”


    Dasshhh


    With a powerful stomp, he propelled himself forward, closing the gap between them in an instant. His greatsword carved through the air in a brutal downward arc, as if aiming to cleave Wilhelm in two. The sheer force of the attack split the ground beneath them, sending dirt and leaves flying.


    Kssshhhh


    But Wilhelm was already moving.


    With a flick of his hand, a translucent barrier shimmered into existence just as Thornshard’s blade made contact. The impact sent a ripple through the protective spell, the air vibrating from the force of the clash. Despite blocking the attack, the raw power behind it was undeniable as it seemed that the barrier would not be able to hold on for long from how the outsiders perceive it.


    "Not bad," Wilhelm muttered as his fingers formed sigils in the air.


    Hhhrrrrtttt


    A pulse of magical energy erupted from Wilhelm’s outstretched hands. The force sent Thornshard skidding backward, his boots carving trenches into the earth. But the warrior recovered almost instantly, his blood-red aura intensifying as he activated a buffing skill.


    “Berserker’s Endurance….” His wounds closed slightly, and his muscles bulged with enhanced strength.


    "You''re not the only one with tricks," Thornshard growled.


    With a burst of speed, he feinted left, then spun into a horizontal slash, forcing Wilhelm to react quickly. The mage sidestepped, his robe billowing, but Thornshard anticipated this. Twisting his grip on the greatsword, he brought it back around in a reverse sweep, an attack too fast for a mage to dodge.


    Wilhelm smirked.


    In the blink of an eye, he vanished, his form dissipating into shimmering light just as the blade passed through where he had been. A fraction of a second later, he reappeared behind Thornshard, a spell already crackling at his fingertips.


    “Light Lance!”


    A concentrated bolt of light energy surged forward, slamming into Thornshard’s back. The force sent the warrior hurtling forward, crashing through the underbrush. Smoke sizzled from his armor where the magic had struck, but he barely faltered, rolling back onto his feet with a growl. His health bar had taken a noticeable hit, but the fire in his eyes burned hotter than ever.


    "Annoying," Thornshard spat, gripping his greatsword tighter.


    Wilhelm chuckled. "I get that a lot."


    With his right hand glowed in dark color, he proceeded to grasp his hand into a fist and an explosion resounded in a corner of their eyes.


    …


    Being surrounded, Noah’s sharp eyes scanned the battlefield. Around him, the armored members of Iron Might, each at least ten levels higher than him, fanned out, weapons gleaming under the filtered sunlight. Their grins carried the arrogance of experienced players facing an opponent they considered beneath them.


    "Level 30?" one of them scoffed, a swordsman gripping his longsword. "You should’ve run while you had the chance."


    Noah twirled his halberd, the weight of the weapon familiar in his grasp. His stance was low yet seems to be steady like a mountain.


    "Don’t cry if you lose out then," Noah spoke with a smile.


    “Cut the crap, let’s go!!”


    A rogue dashed in first, dual daggers flashing as he lunged for Noah’s blind spot. Fast, but Noah was able to see it. With a sharp pivot, he sidestepped just as the daggers struck air, his halberd whipping around in a brutal counterstrike.


    Claankkk


    The rogue barely managed to block with crossed daggers, but the attack sent him staggering backward.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    “Steel Thrust!”


    The second attacker came immediately, a spear user thrusting forward with a skill. Noah reacted instinctively. Instead of dodging, he parried as the halberd’s shaft knocked the spear off course.


    “Counterstance…” Noah muttered in a low voice.


    …


    Skill : CounterStance


    Assumes a defensive stance with the halberd, increasing the Halberdier''s resistance to incoming attacks and reflecting a portion of the damage back to attackers.


    Mana Cost: 25


    Cooldown: 20 seconds


    Duration: 10 seconds


    …


    Using the opening, Noah kicked forward, his boot slamming into the spearman’s chest. The player grunted as he stumbled back, balance momentarily lost.


    But Noah didn’t stop.


    He twisted his grip and swung his halberd in a wide arc. The blade went out fastly like an eagle’s claw. The rogue, still recovering from the earlier counter, was too slow to dodge.


    Krrrsshhh


    The halberd connected, carving through armor and flesh and made the victim fell down.


    "Don''t falter!" A shield-user, barked out. "Now we overwhelm him!"


    Three of them rushed Noah at once as swords and axes gleaming.


    “Come!” Noah grinned.


    “Piercing Dash…!”


    …


    Skill : Piercing Dash


    Charges forward with great speed, impaling the first enemy in the path and knocking them back. A chance for them to be vulnerable to physical attacks relative to stats.


    Mana Cost: 15


    Cooldown: 10 seconds


    Duration: Instant


    …


    With lightning reflexes, he blurred out of their direct line of attack. The swordsman’s blade sliced through empty space, and before he could correct his stance, Noah was already behind him.


    Slaammm


    Using the blunt end of his halberd, Noah struck the back of the swordsman’s knee. The player buckled with a curse, just in time for Noah to flip his weapon around and drive the blade down.


    Krasssshh


    Another enemy down from the attack of Noah.


    The shield-user raised his shield, intending to force Noah into a defensive stance while the berserker charged, his massive axe coming down with enough force to break through defenses.


    “Hmmm?”


    Noah didn’t deflect or block.


    Instead, he did something they didn’t expect.


    He stepped forward.


    Right into the berserker’s attack range.


    The moment the axe began to fall, Noah dodged inward, sliding past the blade at the last possible second. The berserker’s eyes widened in shock.


    With no space left to defend himself, the berserker was completely vulnerable.


    Thursss


    His halberd’s tip pierced straight into the berserker’s chest, leaving the latter to fall down like a dead log.


    The shield user gritted his teeth, raising his shield intending to smash the halberd user, but Noah was already closing the distance first.


    Kraaaangg


    A powerful swing of Noah’s halberd smashed against the shield, sending the player stumbling. He tried to retaliate, but Noah weaved to the side, exploiting the opening.


    A swift upward slash.


    Srrriissss…


    “Ahhh,,,”


    “****, what are you guys doing? Just get him and be done with it for **** sake…!” A shout came from the players of Iron Might. And with that, more people started to group up on Noah.


    Noah spun his halberd, his sharp eyes scanning his surroundings. Left, right, front, and back there was no escape. The Iron Might members encircled him like hungry wolves, their weapons gleaming in the dim forest light.


    A rogue lunged from the left, his daggers flashing toward Noah’s ribs. At the same time, the spearman stabbed forward from the right, aiming for Noah’s side. In front, the knight charged, his heavy sword coming down in a brutal overhead slash. And from behind Noah could hear the whistle of an incoming arrow, shot like a passing wind.


    Noah smirked.


    At the seemingly very last second, he moved.


    “Guardian’s Shield…”


    …


    Skill : Guardian''s Shield


    Raises the halberd in front to form a temporary energy shield, reducing incoming damage and granting brief invulnerability to status effects.


    Mana Cost: 30


    Cooldown: 30 seconds


    Duration: 15 seconds


    …


    Noah lowered his stance and twisted his body just enough to slip through the gaps in their formation. The rogue’s daggers sliced through empty air, the spear barely grazed Noah’s shoulder, and the knight’s heavy blade came down just a fraction too late, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact.


    Before they could make another move, Noah struck.


    Srrraasshhhh…


    His halberd swung out in a wide controlled arc, the impact blasting back the rogue and spearman as their bodies slamming into nearby trees.


    The knight charged again, his sword wreathed in resplendent glow, but Noah seemed to already read his movements.


    With perfect timing, Noah shifted his grip and thrust his halberd forward. Not at the knight himself, but at his sword.


    Kraanngg


    The impact sent a jarring shockwave up the knight’s arms, his weapon ripped from his grasp and sent spinning into the air. Before he could react, Noah was already upon him.


    A swift sweep of the legs.


    Srrrsshh


    A brutal strike to the chest.


    Krsssstt


    Graakkk…


    And that was enough for him to fall down, his health points dropping low from the fatal attacks.