A Rocky Slope II [Assassin Solo]

[Saber]

    “Jake! Look out!” The shout echoed into the empty air, but it was too late as the ground began to move. Glancing down at his feet, the young boy realized why he had been called to; mud slide. The thought of being taken away and dragged through the forest was something Jake had never actually thought of and it seemed fun at first, but it filled him with fear. He had seen what mudslides and avalanches had done and his father told him of what they could do to wildlife in the forest. Becoming a casualty wasn’t exactly on his to-do list.



    Still, as the ground began to move, Jake was forced to remain in place. In front of him, a lone wolf had appeared and spotted him. The two were locked in a staring contest as the boy’s father moved into a spot where he could kill the creature. Time was short, and now it was even more so. The ground was already moving, the wet soil drifting to the right at an ever growing pace, and the wolf had also realized what was happening. Its lips curled upwards, exposing an alarmingly sharp pair of fanged teeth, and his eyes narrowed as it focused on the human in front of it. Armed with just a knife, the boy would be an easy target; if he didn’t have any fighting experience. That wouldn’t matter much though, as the wolf charged forward anyways. It barked loudly and sprinted towards the human prey before it. Jake clutched his knife and crouched, readying for the coming attack, but he also braced into the mud. As the earth moved, he had to be ready for when the real ride started.



    “Jake!” After his father shouted once more, Jake took a hard step forward as the wolf began to leap. Then, the ground ripped away violently, taking out both the boy’s and the wolf’s feet instantly. The wolf whimpered as it was slammed onto its back and Jake released a hard grunt as he forced himself to turn and slam onto his left shoulder blade. He quickly pocketed his knife, keeping the object from being a hazard, and looked down towards where he would be going. Trees and numerous bushes were in the way, but as the mudslide picked up its pace, the bushed began to be ripped out from the moist floor, clearing a small path. The wolf barked and yelped, and Jake used the noise to keep its location in the back of his mind because when this was over; he would have to find it first.

[Saber]

    The ground dropped out, giving in to gravity as if a dam had broken. The thick slosh of earth tumbled down the edge of the mountain, sweeping out everything it touched and only increased in velocity every moment it continued to move. Jake steadied himself on his side and rode the murky sludge as best as he could, but it wasn’t deep and it wasn’t water. As he passed by a tree, his arm was smashed into by a raised root, taking out his support and caused him to fall onto his face. The boy’s eyes shot open for a moment before his body forced them to close. His face bashed into the drift, tapped the ground below it, and forced him down. The breath he had taken was light, but it would last him because a moment later, his right foot was ensnared in a bush. His body twisted as the limb began to extend outwards until he had twisted over completely. Now he was going head first like a missile. Fear filled him as he looked up and he began to flop in the flowing mud, trying to turn his body at least sideways. Though, even with all of his strength, he could barely get himself to turn at all before the tree he had been frightened of came. The speed and power of the mud slide caused Jake to slam his right arm, ribs, and hip into the tower of nature. He broke two fingers upon impact and felt as if he had cracked a few ribs. Pain filled his body and he let out a loud yelp. Yet he ignored the pain and focused his mind on holding onto the tree. His body burned and he felt weak, but with the raging torrent pulling at him, he had no choice but to bear with it.



    As he held on, Jake looked up to try and see how much longer he would be in trouble. Immediately, he wished he hadn’t. Debris had gathered near the top and was coming down fiercely with the thick water. The boy’s father was nowhere in sight, nor was the end. Jake clutched onto the tree and held onto it with both hands to keep him from falling loose. He tore his gaze from the coming assault and held on with everything he had. His body begged for relief as his injured limbs cried out for help. The boy could do nothing for either though, and that was what made his body hurt more. Well, until the bushes came. As he held on, the wave of debris flowed by. Most of it did so harmlessly, but the rest smacked against him, cut him, sliced him, rammed into him, and some latched on in attempts to drag him down more. The boy began to whimper out of fear and helplessness and squeezed his eyes shut. He clamped onto the tree tightly and dug into its bark, praying that something would save him.



    Then, he felt a large smack against the back of his head. Blackness enveloped his mind and he lost all feeling in his body…

[Saber]

    “Jake!” In the reaches of his mind, Jake could hear the distant voice, calling out to him, but he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.

    “Jake! Can you hear me, son?! Jake!” It was constant, the outcry, and every few seconds his name was repeated. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t answer. Jake just wanted to sleep. It was nice here, in the weightless darkness. Even though it looked cold, it was warm and he could fly around without having to care.

    “Jake! Wake up, buddy! Come on!” No, he didn’t want to. What didn’t you understand, stupid voice… Just go away and leave him be. That’s what Jake wanted. He always enjoyed sleep; the dreams were fun, and he didn’t have to worry about repercussions there.



    “Bark!” Suddenly, the familiar noise of something else echoed out. Jake paused in his defiant flight and glanced to his right.

    “Bark! Bark!” Wait, that sound… What was that? A barking noise, it had to be a dog right? Or was it that wolf?



    “Saber! Stay back boy! No! The ground is light! You damned dog!” The barking only grew louder as the first voice shouted orders out against it coming closer. Then, all Jake could hear was whimpering. He felt his face began to be nudged and a wet feeling started to cover him. He winced at the feeling and groaned against it. His body began to feel heavy as he was pelted by the strange sensation and pain began to return to him. Slowly, Jake found himself losing himself for a moment.

[Saber]

    “Jake!” After another moment, the boy’s eyes flashed open, but he wasn’t in the forest. He lay flat on a grassy floor, surrounding by broken rocks and dirt. Moonlight bathed his body in a milky glow and the night air sent chills down his spine. Pain filled his body and he felt paralyzed from it, but he could still move his head a little. He elected not to do so and clenched his teeth as a shock of hurt pulsed from his back. The boy kept his head still but looked away from where he was and saw a bow laying there, cracked and on the verge of being broken. It still held together though, but how long would that last? From the looks of its condition, not long.



    “Right… I remember now…” A grunt escaped the man’s lips as he began to force himself to move. His body resisted and pled to the defiant man to remain laying on the ground, but the rising figure ignored it. He planted his fists into the dirt and pushed up. His bones cracked and whined with distortion as he lifted himself into a kneeling position. The man looked to his right and found himself staring at a small impact crater in the stones of a castle wall. He grimaced at the sight and then looked down at himself. He remembered now… He was in a game…



    “Damn it…” Saber clenched his fists and shut his eyes for a moment. He breathed deeply and released a slow but painful groan as he pushed himself up onto his feet. The player immediately lost balance and stumbled over, falling into the arms of the castle wall which had just dealt him a nearly killing blow. He heaved air and moaned from the tired feeling, but his focus was remaining awake and mobile. As he looked at his health, there was barely any to speak of so he was obviously not in good shape. What made things worse was that he wasn’t exactly safe to recover on his own. For as he stood there getting his bearings, he heard a large stomp to his left which quickly got his attention.



    Even with the pain in his neck trying to keep him looking straight, Saber turned his head as much as he could. He didn’t twist it too far, electing to turn his entire body instead to face the two towering Soil Golems which were both looking at him. Their eyes were red, and their hands were fists. The player felt like a fool now and regretted his decision to take on one of the creatures with such petty equipment. Yet, it wasn’t entirely his fault. There was nowhere to get anything better that would suit his level, so using the starting equipment was his only choice. It seemed like a stupid choice now, and Saber could already feel the consequences digging into his body. He hurt. He hurt all over. He hurt to the point where he wanted to die, where he wanted to just give up, just like he had given up when he almost died because of a mudslide. Nature had bested him and he had nothing to deny that. As the two Golems stood before him, Saber accepted his loss. He squeezed the stone behind him and stared up towards the two Grim Reapers before him.

[Saber]

    “Remember son, the hunt isn’t over until it’s over.” Saber felt a hand come down on his head, just like it had done when he was seven. His father smiled down at him, even after they had lost the animal they had been tracking. That moment, Saber had felt the same will to give up, to quit and go home, but his father saw it as an opportunity. He saw it as a chance to learn and grow; he hadn’t given up.



    “I won’t either.” The stone behind Saber began to resist the tight grip the player had on it and Saber felt as if it would puncture his flesh because of how hard he squeezed. His jaw became locked tight and his eyes filled with anger as he stared up towards the two Golem. He wasn’t dead yet. That bar on his display still had red in it; meaning he could still move. Even if it was a game, even if he could spawn and come back to life, he still could fight. There was a chance of winning, even if it was small.



    “Move!” The order was like a trigger, igniting the fuel which had heated inside of Saber’s veins. He hurt, and his body resisted, the movement was sluggish, but Saber was able to move his body enough to dive to his right. Two heavy fists collapsed on the wall, smashing the crater further and caused stone to rain down over the floor. The player lay on his stomach a few feet away and moaned loudly from the pain. He couldn’t stop, he knew he couldn’t stop. Before he could get comfortable, Saber gripped the grass and forced himself to moved forward. That’s all he needed to do, he had to keep moving forward. One inch at a time, one step, one breath. Move!



    Forcing his right knee up, the injured player shoved his body forward and began to stumble up, slapping and stomping on the ground as he scrambled. A heavy foot slammed down behind him, throwing him off balance slightly but he was able to recover. Saber grunted and twirled around, raising his fists in front of him. His bow was on the other side of the two Golems, so all he had now was his own body. It was shattered, broken, and weak, but it was all he had. It was all he could rely on now. The player narrowed his eyes and barred his teeth like the wolf he had stared down. His was outnumbered and his opponents were much stronger, so he would have to play smart and play fast. One more hit and he knew that his avatar would shatter apart. Speed was his only ally now.

[Saber]

    Squeezing his fists, Saber began to focus his mind on the closest Golem. Its health was down to half because of the barrage of arrows he had sent at it, easing some of the player’s worry. At least he wasn’t starting from scratch. As he focused, he cleared his mind and eyed a crack in the Golem’s upper right torso. Two broken halves of arrows dug into the crack, splitting the stone open and causing it to remain so. Breathing in deep, Saber relaxed himself and let the pain he felt vanish. He focused only on that spot and waited. He waited for the Golem to move… It didn’t take a few seconds before the beast stomped forward, and after; it didn’t take long for Saber to close to gap.



    Pounding his feet into the dirt, Saber sprinted forward and darted across the open space. One of the skills on the right side of his display flashed and turned red, a cool down locking in as the player jumped up. His right arm cocked back, then launched forward like a rocket, smashing into the stone with a brutal impact. The broken stone shattered and the crack split further, extending over the Golem’s shoulder and off to the right of its torso. As Saber held his fist in place, continuing to push forward with all of his might, he watched as stone turned to dust and pieces sprayed into the air. When he lost all momentum, Saber planted his feet and kicked backwards, separating himself from the creature as the arm split. A loud rumble echoed out from the unseen Soil Golem’s throat and the animated stone object watched its right arm and shoulder slide off its body. The health bar dropped into the red and the beast was unable to stop the crumbling feeling.



    A grin crossed the player’s face as he slammed down onto his heels. He hopped backwards and dropped to a knee, sucking in air as he tried to keep his own body from falling apart. The crippling blow had weakened the Golem dramatically, but it wasn’t over. The now armless Golem’s partner was on the move and it planned to seek vengeance. Getting his breath would have to wait as the angered enemy was coming in its own form of a sprint. Saber sucked his teeth and pushed himself up to a standing position. He squeezed his fists and brought them up into the front of his face as he took a boxer’s stance. The skill, Fatal Ambush, would be key to Saber’s victory tonight so he would have to use it sparingly. Without any actual weapons, only one other skill would work in his favor and he would have to use it to make time. Sixty seconds was what he needed, and that was what he would give his skill.



    When the Golem was close enough to throw a punch, Saber watched it arm pull back. His eyes narrowed and he surged forward, slipping between the Golem’s legs as the heavy arm collapsed on the ground. He grunted from the pain in his legs and almost collapsed from the sudden movement, but Saber gripped onto the Golem’s own leg to keep himself upright. Looking up, the player found himself nearly right in front of the creature. The beast snarled and retracted its arm, exchanging the wasted punch for a knee thrust. Saber dropped to his own knees and rolled forward, moving beneath the large beast. Quickly, the player recovered and sprinted forward. He left the enraged Golem for the one which had just recovered from losing its arm. It was weakened heavily and stepped forward in an unbalanced manner, opening up plenty of room for Saber to strike. Before the Golem could attack, Saber jumped up onto its chest and gripped onto some loose rocks and sediment. With a pull, the Assassin lifted himself into the creature’s face. There, he stabilized his footing and slammed a fist right into the stone structure. His hand stung from the impact and the Golem only looked at him, but he wasn’t done. Another swing came right after, then another, and another, and another, another, again, again! Again! Saber focused on the Golem’s skull and pounded on it like a bag, slamming his fists violently into the stone structure. His own hands split and his hit points fell slightly, but the player continued to swing.

---

AP Break

---

[Saber]

    A second skill shattered into a cooldown as the world around the man slowed. His arms churned like pistons, shooting off punch after punch. Impact points began to form on the Golem’s face as the intense and relentless strikes tore away at the hard armor, causing much of it to crumble away. Saber’s vision blurred and he felt his arms burn hotter than his forge, but he kept swinging. He swung even as the Golem stepped backwards, even as it tried to grab him, and even as it began to fall. His hands felt as if they were going to break by the time he forced himself to stop. With one hard stomp into the middle of the stone face, the player ended the life of the falling Golem and used the tumbling body as a spring board. The assault of the physical attacks had caused the Golem to stumbled backwards and it ended up falling because of its lack of balance. Noticing this, Saber finished his attack with a stomp and dove forward towards the approaching ground. As the Golem crashed and began to break apart, Saber landed on his chest and slid across the ground a few feet. He grunted at the feeling and didn’t waste anytime getting back to his feet. The player sprinted across the ground, never looking back even as kill screen appeared in front of him. His eyes were fixed on his bow and Saber never stopped moving until he reached it. The wooden weapon was like a gift from the heavens and it felt lovely between his pained fingers. Though, how much he could use it, Saber didn’t know and he didn’t care. The player dispatched the victory screen and drew an arrow from his quiver. Many of his projectiles had scattered themselves on the floor, but three had remained in place. It would be enough, as the Golem in front of him was in the red as well.




    Nocking an arrow, Saber reverted to instinct and muscle memory to fight. His mind was blank from the sheer adrenaline rush of the combat and pain filled his body. Still the man forced his arms to draw on the string until the line was taut. He focused his shot, sharpened his mind, and inhaled. Purple covered the arrow head and another skill was flipped from a light icon to one which was greyed out with a number over it. The bow leveled, stopped shaking, and then the two fingers holding the arrow moved away. The shot fired forward and ripped through the air, stopping only when the arrowhead pierced into the center of the Golem’s chest. Immediately, spectral chains shot out from the ground below and wrapped themselves around the beast. The Golem released a loud roar from the sudden appearance and stomped forward, fighting against the slow-effect which Atrophy Break instilled. However, Saber didn’t give the Golem time to move very far.



    After firing the first of three, a second arrow was swiftly nocked and the Assassin readied his shot. He whispered a skill name and clenched the back of the arrow’s shaft as the head sparked. He raised the tip of his projectile and aimed it at the top of the Golem’s head. When the Golem took another step forward, further attempting to resist the chains binding it, Saber inhaled and quickly exhaled. The arrow he shot arced through the air as gravity gripped onto the moving body. Within a few seconds, the speeding object tilted down and dug into the Golem’s throat. Electricity poured out from the arrowhead and shocked the creature all over its body. The earth-creature ignored much of the electric blow, but Saber only intended to increase the attack damage, which he succeeded in doing.



    “Sixty…” The number flashed through the man’s mind and his first skill illuminated again. Saber stood up and drew the last arrow in his quiver, purposely moving slowly as he stared down the Golem in front of him. The shadow chains which held the beast back began to crack, one shattering completely as the Golem put more and more effort into moving forward. Saber narrowed his eyes and nocked his arrow. As a second chain shattered, the player pulled the string taut. He waited, focused, and eyed the Golem as the slowing effect wore off. The beast began to run at him with all of its might, stomping and shaking the floor as it roared out. Saber stood still, the world around him and the Golem vanishing from view. He inhaled deep, his ribs cracking as his lungs grew to their largest size possible. Then, he released.

[Saber]

    As the Golem stomped forward, the arrow shot out in a straight line. It crossed the space in a flash and the Golem was moving too fast to move out of its way. In an instant, the arrow pierced the Golem’s skull and a critical sign appeared on Saber’s display. The health bar of the creature vanished and its valiant sprint slowed to a jog, then it declined further and further. The sheer momentum of its motion kept the dead golem moving for another ten feet before it began to topple. Saber narrowed his eyes for a moment, then closed them. The Golem died standing and with one last step, it fell forward. The body broken into dust and small pieces as it moved towards the ground. Saber didn’t move, and simply locked his eyes shut and hid the lower part of his face beneath his scarf as the storm of once living piece of earth fell around him. A thin layer of dirt covered his face and he was cut by a few pieces of falling stone, causing him to lose a few more hit points. The storm lasted only for a few seconds, but it was one Saber would never forget. The player wiped his face off and shook some of the rocks and twigs from his hair. He frowned and looked down around him.



    Unlike Saber who had accepted defeat initially, the Golem, which now lay as only dust and piles of rocks, had never quit. Up until the last moment of its life, the creature demanded respect and attention as it threatened the player’s life. It charged with every bit of strength it had. All of its anger, all of its hate, all of its pain was fuel for its last strike. And as Saber took away that fuel, even in death it continued forward, attacking Saber one last time with everything it had. The player, who barely had any health bar to speak of because of the fight, had no choice but to accept defeat. He had lost this fight, as much as it looked like he won. The player had come here seeking strength and experience. Instead, he found a pair of soldiers who only were doing their duties towards the Castle and each other. Sure, Saber had ended them, but they had nearly ended him. They got the last laugh as they drifted apart and were taken into the air, and Saber was left with nothing but a coating of dirt and even more heavily damaged equipment.



    “May the Angels bring you home safely.” Saber bowed his head and strapped his bow across his chest. He left the items in the field, allowing them to disperse on their own when the timeframe finished. His arrows were scattered with the rocks and dust, but he had no use for them. Not anymore. The fight was finished and Saber had no right to touch anything in front of him. Without a word, the player turned away and returned to the forest. His hunt was over and he would return to London empty handed.