Animal Kingdom- Riot

by Aaron Oster

  Class: Noble

  AOE Attacks: Noble Slash, Ground Wrecker, Barreling Charge

  Arthur quickly relayed the information on the Baron as the dust cleared. He couldn’t be sure what the AOE attacks would do, but from the names, he could make an educated guess. His HP was as massive as one would expect from a Boss, especially one of his level, though his Class was a bit of a surprise, as well as his Race.

  He’d never seen the Lesser name applied to anyone yet – another difference from the old AKO, not that he thought of the Animal Kingdom as the game he’d enjoyed for so many hours with his younger brother.

  “Plan?” Talia asked as Clive began his monologue.

  “Same as before. We can adapt as he moves. Hopps, you tie him down. I’ll distract and Talia, you attack. You’re our biggest damage dealer. A few solid hits from you should finish him, but judging by what I’m seeing, he’s pretty nimble, so he’ll need to be immobilized first.”

  Clive finished his monologue after only a few seconds, then extended his sword, the gleaming blade shining with a rainbow-colored light.

  “Hopps!” Arthur yelled as he charged into the room.

  “On it, mate!”

  Arthur felt Hopps attack before it streaked over his shoulder, slamming into the Baron and expanding to hold him down. Talia was right behind him, but he needed to keep Clive off balance so he wouldn’t have time to break free of the green slime sticking him to the floor.

  He drew his dagger, using Spring to cover the distance, and slammed into the Feline, slashing his dagger at the man’s throat.

  Clive growled, his body glowing yellow as he tore one of his arms free and got a gantlet in the way of the dagger. There was a screech of metal on metal as the dagger was deflected, but Arthur was agile enough to turn and attack again, using Tae-Frog-Do and slamming a series of kicks into Clive’s side.

  -22 Damage, blunt

  -74 Damage (Tae-Frog-Do)

  Arthur managed to use the last of his momentum to land a Poison Touch before Clive’s fist caught him in the side. He’d felt it coming but couldn’t do anything to dodge. He grunted as the gauntleted fist slammed into his side and sending him to the ground.

  -42 HP, blunt

  Despite the pain, Arthur had accomplished what he’d set out to do. Clive ripped his sword arm free, his hatred-filled golden eyes locked on him, but Arthur just grinned, then pointed up. The Baron looked confused for a moment. Then his eyes widened in realization. He’d been focused completely on him, seeming to forget that there were two others here with him.

  He began to raise his sword in an attempt to block the incoming attack, but he was too late. Talia’s hammer slammed into his side with a ringing clang, and Arthur saw the Baron’s HP dip by a massive 20%. The attack crumpled his armor on one side and sent him flying across the room to slam into the far wall.

  “Nice shot,” Arthur said as Talia reached down to pull him to his feet.

  “I’m glad it landed. I won’t be able to pull off an attack like that for another five minutes, but I should still be able to do some damage.”

  Arthur felt Hopps attack from behind him and saw a ball of water streak past, slamming into the wall where the Baron had impacted, and the water exploding. His Perception field was large enough that it stretched across the entire room from where he was standing, so he didn’t need to worry that Clive would be sneaking up on them.

  “Well, let’s get back to it,” he said, turning to sprint toward the still recovering Feline.

  He leaped forward, running to the side in order to flank him, while Talia charged straight in.

  Clive roared, shaking himself, and tore his body from the wall. His eyes blazed with anger, and a trickle of red flowed from the corner of his mouth down to his chin. The gleaming armor was caved in where Talia had struck and was clearly causing him pain, but he didn’t remove it.

  “You’ll pay for that!” he yelled, bringing his massive sword up, the oversized blade blazing with yellow light.

  Arthur cursed, recognizing the AOE attack and used Spring, flying at the Baron just as he began to swing the weapon down towards Talia. He slammed into the Feline, catching him in the side of the head, disrupting his attack.

  Clive roared as he staggered back, the attack dying down. But when Arthur tried closing with him again, he spun, stepping forward and thrusting with the sword.

  Arthur dodged to one side, avoiding the blade with ease. A sharp pain bloomed in his side as he was cut open, losing a whopping 50 HP! He hissed in pain, not sure what had just happened. His Perception should have caught any attack, but he’d somehow missed it.

  Then he felt it. There was an aura that coated the Legendary blade, extending a full eight inches out from the weapon. His Perception hadn’t warned him, because he’d been too sure nothing was there. He would need to be more careful in the future. The skill had limits, and he was sure this fight was going to show him just what they were.

  Regardless of the damage he’d just taken, he still managed to close with Clive and finally land a hit. Using his Frog Slicer, he slashed out in a flurry of blows against the weakened portion of the Baron’s armor.

  The damage inflicted wasn’t much, but it tied the Baron up for a few seconds, allowing Talia to close the distance once again and swing at him using her hammer. Immediately as she began her attack, Clive’s attention shifted, and he threw his sword up, bracing it with his other hand and catching the attack on the flat of the blade.

  Had this not been a Legendary weapon, Arthur was sure it would have shattered under the massive force produced by the attack. As it was, Clive staggered back, right into a mud pit that Hopps had just placed there.

  His back leg sank six inches into the ground, throwing off his balance, and both Arthur and Talia used the distraction to their advantage. He slashed out with his dagger once more, aiming for chinks in his armor, while Talia’s glowing hammer slammed into the Baron’s chest.

  She swung for his head as well, but he managed to block. Hopps’s attack came in next, followed by a buff which restored 40 HP for Arthur and gave him a boost. He sighed in relief as the bleeding in his side stopped and some of the pain faded. It seemed that his buff had been upgraded when he’d gotten his Class.

  By now, Clive’s HP was down to 60%, and with him still trapped and off-balance, they both continued attacking. Clive was clearly growing frustrated. When he turned his attention to Talia, Arthur was left free to attack and thus, his damage increased. When he focused on Arthur, Talia would bring her hammer to bear.

  Finally, he seemed to make a decision. Ignoring defense, the Baron roared, his body glowing orange as he lifted his blade high overhead. Arthur could feel the AOE attack building and could see that their attacks wouldn’t disrupt him this time.

  “Run!” he yelled, disengaging from the Baron and dashing for the far side of the room.

  He had no clue how long it would take to charge, but he knew they had seconds, at best. He used Spring, throwing himself forward just as the Baron slammed his glowing sword into the ground. Arthur felt his heart in his mouth as he realized that Talia hadn’t budged the entire time, continuing to attack despite the danger.

  He watched in horror as Clive’s glowing sword slammed into the ground, and an explosion of orange light expanded out in a twenty-foot dome around him. It completely missed both him and Hopps, seeing as they’d made it far enough to avoid the attack, but Talia took the AOE head-on.

  Talia’s body was hurled back, her grip on her hammer slipping, and the heavy weapon slamming into the ground just a foot from the Baron. He watched her HP drop all the way into the red before she slammed into the wall near Hopps, her body torn and bleeding.

  “Hopps!” he yelled, feeling his fear spike as Talia’s HP began slowly ticking down to zero.

  “On it! Keep the bloody wanker busy for me!”

  Arthur could sense Talia’s life bleeding away through his Perception, but he forced his attention back on the Baron. He could see
that Talia had managed to get the tyrant down to less than half of his HP while he’d been charging the attack.

  He could feel the anger threatening to well up and overwhelm him again. He could feel the need to charge in recklessly and tear Clive’s throat out with his bare hands. But he needed to remain as calm and levelheaded as possible. The Baron was a full 4 levels above him, and Talia had been their best hope of winning. But now, he would have to take him on alone, at least until Hopps got Talia back on her feet.

  His fingers tightened on the handle of his Poniard, then he charged. The Baron was tugging his blade free of the ground, looking quite pleased with himself, when Arthur’s dagger sank into a joint in his armor, piercing one of his kidneys.

  -122 Damage, Critical

  The Baron hissed as Arthur twisted the dagger and wrenched it free, slapping him with a Poison Touch, as the frog humanoid used Spring to launch himself up, avoiding the wide slash of the Greatsword. He could feel the aura on the blade fluctuating and noted that Clive’s MP had taken a massive dip after that AOE attack.

  But, being a Boss, his MP and Stamina would restore itself during a battle, another advantage he had over a regular mob. That was fine, though, because his HP wouldn’t restore itself, meaning that every attack would bring the Baron closer to death.

  Clive’s eyes flicked up as Arthur somersaulted over his head and tried to bring his sword to bear. But since he was using Acrobatics, his already high Agility got a further 20% boost. With its help, he reached out in a maneuver that even he hadn’t thought possible. His hand slapped the flat of the blade, throwing it off course and missing him by a hair.

  The Legendary weapon carved a line into the solid stone, and Arthur landed on the Baron’s shoulder, plunging his dagger for the Feline’s eye. He could feel victory as the dagger neared, already seeing the knife sinking into the bastard’s eye.

  “No!” Clive roared. “This won’t end here!”

  Arthur’s dagger slammed into the Baron’s palm, piercing right through the appendage and sinking partway into his eye. Clive screamed in pain, but his quick actions had undoubtedly saved his life.

  -197 Damage, Critical

  Arthur cursed and attempted to rip the blade free to attack again, but Clive’s hand closed around the handle of the dagger stuck through his palm, preventing Arthur from freeing the weapon.

  Cursing again, Arthur was forced to give up his weapon, dropping to the ground and lashing out in a kick at the Baron’s knee.

  Clive roared again as the joint buckled with a loud snap, and he dropped to the ground, his HP now at just over 400 out of the original 1,600. Arthur tried to attack again, but Clive somehow got his sword in the way, and he was forced to back up. Just then, Hopps’s Water Bomb slammed into him, sending an explosion of water and shaving off another 50 HP from the wounded Feline.

  Arthur capitalized on the opportunity, dashing around behind the Baron, who was down on one knee and using his sword to prop himself up. He then triggered his Tae-Frog-Do, aiming for another weak spot, the back of his opponent’s head. He wished he could have used Frog-Sassinate, but without a dagger, it wouldn’t work.

  He managed to shave off another 154 HP with the Critical Strike skill aiding his attack, bringing the Baron down to under 200.

  Just a couple more attacks, and he would…

  The Baron spun as Arthur moved in for another attack and, distracted as he was, didn’t feel the dagger until it was too late.

  -102 Damage, Piercing

  Arthur had thrown himself to the side, and the dagger had sunk into his shoulder instead of his heart, where it had been aimed for. If he’d been a split second slower, he’d undoubtedly have died. As it was, his HP dropped down into the red. As he fell to the ground, his body screaming in pain. Clive seemed to tower over him, even on his knees, his golden eyes glowing with untamed hatred.

  “You’ve caused me trouble to no end, you pathetic worm! It’s befitting that you should die here, on your back, like the lowly piece of trash you are!”

  Arthur tried to rise, but Clive shuffled forward, slamming his one good leg into the center of his chest and pinning him to the ground. A malicious grin spread across the Feline’s face as he raised the dagger.

  He didn’t have the chance to bring it down on Arthur, as he was sent flying. Hopps crashed into him from the side, his massive bulk easily dislodging the Baron. Arthur felt his buff land on him then, restoring some of his health, but Hopps wasn’t done with the Baron just yet.

  Even as the Feline tried to get to his feet, despite his broken leg, another Water Bomb exploded in his face, followed a moment later by Hopps’s newest attack. The lance of glowing green slime struck the Baron in the chest, pinning him to the far wall.

  Arthur staggered to his feet, wincing at the pain that still radiated from his shoulder. Clive’s HP was in the red now, sitting at just over 8% as Hopps kicked him repeatedly with his powerful hind legs.

  Talia was still on the floor, though her HP was now sitting near half, and she had stopped bleeding. Arthur could see that, despite his best efforts, Hopps’s attacks weren’t doing much damage. He didn’t have a very high Strength or Agility, his Class being a Frage. He depended on his magic to do damage and the Baron was slowly freeing himself from the wall.

  Arthur could see the dagger clutched in his hand, glowing yellow as he slowly worked it free. Hopps was too angry to see it, but the Baron would be free to attack in the next few seconds.

  Not this time, Arthur thought as anger blazed in his chest. He wouldn’t let this bastard take another one of his friends!

  With a scream of rage, Arthur launched forward using his Spring. His right arm was still mostly useless from the dagger strike, but he didn’t care. Hopps, looking surprised, jumped out of the way as Arthur rocketed forward.

  Clive had almost worked his hand free when Arthur slammed into him, knocking the wind out of the Feline and forcing him to drop his weapon. The rage that boiled inside him wasn’t sated, though. He needed to send a message, to teach this Feline that he wasn’t at the top of the food chain.

  He needed to…

  Before Arthur even had time to think, he darted in, sinking his teeth into the Baron’s neck. Clive screamed in horror as coppery blood filled Arthur’s mouth. Then, with a savage twist, Arthur tore the Feline’s throat out.

  41

  The rage subsided just as quickly as it had come, and Arthur, realizing what he just did, spat the piece of flesh out in disgust. He couldn’t help but swallow some of the blood in his mouth, which in turn, made the disgust ratchet up a few more notches.

  To distract himself from what he’d just done, he turned his attention back to the Baron, whose life was bleeding away from the massive tear in his throat. He stood there, Hopps’s ability sticking him to the wall, staring at his foes in horror. Gurgling sounds came from his neck and open mouth as blood poured down his front.

  “Holy shit! What did you do to him?” Hopps asked, staring between him and Clive, a mix of disgust and fascination written on his face.

  “I don’t…know,” Arthur said, reaching up to wipe the blood from his face.

  Clive gurgled a few more times as the last of his health bled away. But before he perished, he managed to get a single sentence out. His voice rasped, and the gurgling sounds grew louder, but Arthur was able to make out what he said.

  “It doesn’t matter what you do here. The Empire is vast. Enjoy your victory today. It will not last.”

  And with that said, his HP bottomed out, and Baron Clive Von Felidae died. His death was, of course, followed by a slew of new notifications.

  Boss Defeated!

  +7,550 XP!

  Quest Completed: Fury and Oppression - I

  Rewards: 25,000 XP, 50 Gold, Sword of Oppression (Legendary Item)

  Level Up!

  Congratulations, you have reached level 19. You now have 5 new Attribute Points to allocate.

  New Racial Bonus Acquired!

  Predato
r

  Tier: 1

  Cost: 150 STA

  Duration: Varied

  Cooldown: N/A

  Effect: Increases all attributes by 15% at the cost of the ‘Rage’ debuff

  Tier 1 Effect: Consuming an opponent’s blood will give a 1% chance of learning a skill

  Requirements to next Tier: Kill 100 enemies using Predator - 0/100

  Quest Available: Fury and Oppression - II

  You have successfully defeated Baron Clive Von Felidae, the one responsible for killing Hopps’s father. In the process, you have freed the city from Feline rule. However, you now face a dilemma. The city is leaderless and in a state of chaos, not to mention, that before he died, the Baron promised retribution.

  Will you step up as the city’s leader and defend it against the coming incursion by the other Felines, or will you leave the city to burn? It is your choice, after all.

  Objectives: Establish yourself or appoint someone else as the new ruler of Raya. Fend off the coming invasion

  Failure: Fail to appoint a leader, allow the city to fall into Feline hands

  Difficulty: A

  Rewards: 45,000 XP, 500 Gold, Variable

  Will you accept?

  Yes/No

  Despite himself, Arthur was a bit wary of accepting the quest. He had no wish to rule a city, as he still had much to do, and staying here wouldn’t be productive. He still had to find his brother, not to mention Hopps’s mother.

  Ultimately, he figured that even if he couldn’t stay himself, he could find someone suitable to lead. At least, he hoped so. He wasn’t about to allow the city to fall back into Feline hands. Sighing, he accepted the quest. He was intrigued and more than a little disturbed by the Predator bonus he’d gained, but at least it explained why he’d had those rage-induced episodes.