Positioned directly above them, I jumped and crashed down on top of the shoulders of a man. The two of us hitting the ground with a hard thud. I hacked into the back of his exposed neck with my one-handed axe and immediately turned around and disappeared with a flash step into the distance.
A quick turn behind a tree and I counted the seconds.
Then, a lightning bolt exploded behind me, having impacted the tree I was using for cover. One of them was a caster, disguised as a rogue.
A hybrid, like me.
They shouted again, short one voice.
Two, if you counted the man who was never able to shout.
My mana was getting low and a thought occurred to me.
Turning back out from the tree, I took position in the open space between two trees. Red eyes aglow, giving away my presence, I waited for the spell to come.
Lightning began to accumulate in the man's hands as he uttered his chanted verse. Miniature bolts of lightning entwining and rapidly circulating between his palms. Five seconds, and he released the four miniature lightning bolts as it impacted directly in the center of my chest. Near instantaneous travel, followed by an explosion and four bolts of lightning arcing and bouncing into the ground.
They cheered, thinking I was wounded, stunned even, from the chain lightning. Two began to charge, believing they had the advantage. The third, began to cast a lightning bolt. It impacted two seconds later, exploding with a shower of sparks as electricity coursed through my body.
Laughs escaped their mouths, as taunts soon overtook the silence. Another lightning bolt smashed into me, but I still had yet to move. The mage, began to laugh nervously as he questioned his spells' effectiveness.
The other two, recklessly charged in.
As their swords were raised and about to strike me down, I flash stepped through them and appeared directly in front of the mage. Grabbing his throat, I threw him to the ground as I stood above him.
Placing my hand on his chest, I shot out my own lightning bolt before he could recover from the shock of the impact. Lightning pierced through his body and dissipated out the other end and into the ground as he convulsed in place.
Paralyzed he tried in vain to struggle as I stared him in the eyes.
Waiting for the last possible moment, for the paralysis to wear off.
As soon as his hands shot up to defend himself, I hacked him into pieces.
My mana partially restored thanks to my Legendary Artifact giving me immunity to Lightning Magic amongst other things. I was now replenished for the fight ahead. Turning back into the two men, they stopped mid-sprint as they witnessed the death of their friend. Coming to a complete stop, they were wary of pushing forward.
It didn't matter.
I had all the time in the world.
Pacing around the trees, breaking eye contact only to reappear as two glowing red eyes, hovering in the darkness of the night, I continued to taunt and tease them silently. A minute or two had passed as the two decided to retreat, taking off with a sprint in the opposite direction of where I stood.
As if, they could out run me.
In my own forest.
The chase began as I flash stepped to catch up. Running besides them I turned my head slightly as they realized I was only ten feet to their left. One flinched and lost sight of where he was going. Tripping over a root, he went flying face down into the dirt.
I left him, for questioning.
Catching up to the other man, I charged at him and swung my axe with reckless abandon. In an instant he threw his sword up and parried my blow while rolling to the side. He called out to his friend, as I turned my head and saw that the other man had already caught back up to us.
My mistake, for thinking him down.
They circled me, as if I were the deer and they were the wolves.
Grins on their faces now that they had me in their sights.
A thought occurred to me, but you know, I'm the dire wolf, right?
In a flash one of the rogues dashed forward and attempted a backstab as I quickly turned and swung in the nick of time. Deflecting his blade with a shower of sparks, the other rogue, sensing the opportunity rolled to the ground and sliced at my leg. As his sword cut through my hamstring, my leg nearly gave way as I tried to step back.
My movements partially disabled, they had the upper hand.
What they didn't know, was my [Enraged State] reduced crowd control factors… I, was partially numb to the pain. Exaggerating my limp, I dragged my left leg across the ground as if I had been seriously wounded.
I dropped my shoulders with each step, as if it pained me considerably.
Laboring, only to move.
They started to laugh and to taunt.
I swung with desperation at the air as they neared me.
It was only a ploy, but they bought into it.
They began jabbing and feinting while I deflected their thrusts and pretended to struggle. Arrogance and cockiness clearly displayed as they started to goof around. I let them land superficial cuts to my arms, legs, and torso as they started to relax.
A few steps closer, was all I wanted.
"Hey, why don't we see who can land a Lethal Strike first?" asked one of the rogues.
"I already landed Slice - Hamstring, so I'm already winning," replied the other.
"First to LS him wins, you go ahead then," said the first one.
The rogue stopped in his tracks and stood still, wanting to watch the fight unfold. His friend started to circle me with a grin on his face, well-illuminated by the light stone around his neck.
Then, he dashed forward.
A nimble move, the man was quick on his feet as he switched directions and jumped from left to right. Closing the distance he steadied his sword as he began to thrust, intending to pierce through the crack of my leather and executing me via [Lethal Strike].
As the blow came, I sidestepped with ease and landed the counter blow to his neck as his head went on a journey without his body. He didn't even have the time to register what had happened, as the body collapsed to the floor and his friend stood with eyes wide open.
Rushing towards his friend I took a side-swing as I clipped his torso, largely missing. The contact was enough to shake the man though as he jumped back and wildly slashed the air. Regaining his composure he leaped to the side and then attempted a flurry, swinging both of his weapons rapidly with the aid of the system.
Unable to deflect them all, I let the dagger cut into me as I parried the sword. The small cuts along my wrist and forearms started to sting and burn as I tried to match his pace. He pushed on with his attacks, not relenting or giving me a moment to recover.
The slippery grass and abundance of tree roots nearly tripped me up as I tried to defend myself. Then in a quick move, he jumped to my left and attempted a [Sidestab] that cut along my stomach. The shallow open wound six inches across my abdomen burned with an intensity I was all too familiar with as I ended up tackling the man down into the grass.
Wrestling against the myriad of tree roots that obstructed the ground, I managed to get a hand on his face as I shoved his head into the ground. Pulling my dagger as he repeatedly stabbed me in the side, I put it into the center of his chest with all of my weight.
The cold metal piercing through his leather armor and into his heart, the man immediately relaxed as his arm fell to the wayside. A look at my health and I was only at 12%. I was nearly gone… another stab or two, and I would have died.
Sitting back, I began to cast a spell that glowed with a soft golden-white.
Not bothering to count the time, eventually a golden beam of light shined down on me and engulfed me in its warmth. My health partially restored and my minor wounds rapidly regenerating, I was safe.
Standing up, I looked at the scene laid before me.
Two bodies here, and three somewhere out in the dark.