Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

I_K 1.7 NPCs

Chapter 7

My Soul Power gauge was suddenly displayed in front of me for reasons I couldn't explain. The blue bar ticked up while I stood thinking about how to best take care of the next two enemies. SP regen? Really? Did all the classes have this? Interesting, but I'd have to think about that later. Right now, I had a date with that archer on the incline above the sword wielder. The trees hid me from the Warrior as I crept around her and up the side of the incline. My leg got caught in something, a rope, I saw as I glanced down. My stomach tensed as a pair of chimes rattled overhead. I immediately looked to the Ranger who was looking my direction now with its bow already in front of it with an arrow drawn.

I jumped behind a tree and heard the arrow smack into its trunk. Below me, the Warrior was ascending the incline, coming straight towards me now with more urgency in her step. I slid down to the tree below me and took shelter behind it. The Warrior caught me off guard, with a swift approach and a barrage of sword slashes. I had to repeatedly backstep to get away from her blows as I had no shield whatsoever to defend with. I put my alchemy book away so that I had an open hand. With my knife, I deflected a few of the Warrior's blows away from me, but I was still being pushed back out of what I considered to be a safe zone. She heaved back for a big blow and unleashed a diagonal slash. I deflected the slash and the Warrior thrust the tip of its blade at me. I sidestepped it and with my free hand, I grabbed the Warrior's wrist and pulled it forward, off balance then took a big step towards her chest. My dagger was aimed right at her defenseless heart when I was shot down.

The arrow pierced my side, and the force of it sent me flying. I slid then tumbled a short ways down the incline. With that shot taking a fourth of my HP, I was reminded that I had very little HP overall and very little in the way of defenses, so I couldn't afford to get hit. As I scrambled to my feet, the Warrior reminded me again with a slash to my back. It was only a glancing blow, but it was enough to leave me with only sliver of HP.

I retreated again, behind another tree and popped the top of my silver flask, before guzzling down the azure contents within it. Two drinks got me to full HP. I peeked around the tree and saw the Ranger repositioning himself while the Warrior was approaching from the side. My instinct was to chase down the archer, but even if I manage to get past her, the Warrior was too tenacious to ignore. I had to take her out now. I pushed her back with my dagger, but her shield was too sturdy and her sword's reach too long. I was marginally faster, because of my lack of armor, but it wasn't enough to blitz the Warrior. She kept me at bay with seemingly nonstop slashes and as soon as I figured out her tempo and closed in on her, the Ranger put an end to my advance with an arrow. It whistled right in front of me.

"You two aren't as mindless as you look," I said, my blood boiling, "but I'm not here to play with you all night."

As I was being pushed up the incline by the Warrior, an arrow hit me in the back of my shoulder.

"Damn you!" I yelled as the Warrior winded back for a thrust. I sidestepped, knocked her off balance, and stabbed her right in the side of her neck. She collapsed to the ground, but still had over half her total HP. Thankfully, she was also poisoned. I spun and started up the incline, looking for the Ranger but couldn't spot him anywhere. "Where the hell are you hiding?"

I heard the Warrior rising back up to her feet behind me as I frantically looked for signs of the Ranger. I turned back to the Warrior to defend myself when I heard the Ranger pull the string of its bow somewhere behind me. I briefly waited then moved out the way as the arrow struck the Warrior in the abdomen. She grunted but continued towards me. I pulled my alchemy book and dashed behind another tree. I touched the ground and sent my soul power into it hoping to knock the bow out of the Ranger's hand with Living Vine, but the spell didn't react to my commands, perhaps because I wasn't properly visualizing the Ranger's position or maybe because he was out of my line of sight.