Dullahans and Tablets

by Daniel Kolade

  I will become strong! He swung his sword at the foe to his right just before it had swung its own dagger. Then at the next one, lunging at him, he struck it’s stomach with a hilt Bash, helping it unload its saliva and the remaining breath in its lungs. For the third coming dead centre, he performed the heavy hitting Skill, Rend. His overhead strike came down like one of the meteors Nitro summoned. Fortunately for it, its short sword was there to absorb the impact, preventing major injury, however the crushing force still followed through. Under the short recovery time of Hyde’s wide strike, two goblins jumped in, maybe a little too eager. In response, he pivoted his feet and Parried the pair of them. When the sixth sprung into action, during the chaos of it all, he abandoned his stance and quickly dodged out of the way.

  Although surrounded, he was the one having the victory smirk this time. He successfully managed to strike one, stun another, graze a third, Parry a pair and dodge the last. No matter who saw the ordeal, this was without a doubt an amazing exchange on his part.

  The goblins backed away, distancing themselves from the Dragoon that didn’t seem so helpless anymore. However, the fight wasn’t over, neither foe would back down and retreat. This was survival. Death wasn’t an option but rather the failure of avoiding it.

  The volume of the currently playing song, Tension Rising, increased along with Hyde’s steady heartbeat. The skirmish continued and another engagement was exchanged. This time Hyde was the one to attack, he abandoned all defenses, leaving himself open while he threw his arm round with his sword in hand. Fortunately, the attack managed to hit three. However, punishment for his reckless maneuver was coming. An overhead strike came and just before he could put up a proper block, the dagger came down, smashing into his armor, forcing his arm down while the second was on the way. This one, however, was properly parried, but unluckily for him, the goblin he’d struck had come back with a vengeance in the shape of the dagger that stabbed into his side once more.

  For a moment, the agony was enough to make anyone faint, but the adrenaline prevented it. The sharp metal was pulled out and the goblins backed away, walking around him waiting for another opportunity to strike.

  He held his side with one hand and his sword with the other. When he glanced down all he could see was the colour of his blood. Although it hurt like crazy, the thumps in his chest from his Healing Seal eased his painful burden. He looked up at his life bar and saw that it was just under half, but with each second he was gaining a little bit. It was less than usual, but he quickly noticed the culprit. Bleeding. The Condition was right under his nearly full stamina bar.

  I’ve got to end this. He let go of his side, ignoring the pain, and held his sword with both hands. C’mon! He thought, provoking them. Without a second to waste they Rushed at him, hungry for his blood.

  One of the goblins leapt, making an amazing horizontal jump, even Hyde had enough time to appreciate it before he cut the poor goblin down. Following closely behind was a dagger swing that he easily blocked and punished the wielder with a sword stroke of his own. The next two goblins came at him from separate angles. The assault was well executed, however, Hyde’s response was even more so. He Shoulder Bashed the first on his left, hitting it to the ground, and in a single breath he turned and delivered a fatal blow to the goblin that missed. The one on the floor was also put out of commission, as Hyde returned to finish the job with Rend.

  Now there was only himself and the goblin ahead. One vs one. Dragoon vs Goblin.

  He held his sword, steady, pointing at the beast that was presumably the leader of the pack, as its equipment seemed significantly better. They eyed one another with glares of vengeance and dreams of strength behind their swords.

  They walked in a circle without taking their eyes off of each other for a second, until… the goblin threw its dagger at him and from seemingly nowhere, it drew a second one as it lunged.

  In the split second before the first dagger hit, he saw the second attack coming. It was either block the first and hopefully block the second. Or—he swung his sword, cutting the goblin flying his way in half, quickly rendering it into crystal dust just like its subordinates.

  I did it! Hyde thought, lowering his sword and sighing, just before he pulled the dagger stuck in his shoulder out. It made a subtle thumping sound as it hit the soil. Before him was a little bit of loot from each of the goblins as well as their dull weapons lying where they had fallen.

  He looked around at the items and took a moment to enjoy his triumph. It was so quiet. The special kind of silence that soothed babies, eased crowds and put entire cities to sleep. It was the sound of peace.

  But for some reason, Hyde hadn’t calmed. His muscles were still stiff, ready for another fight and his nerves were still sharp with adrenaline. He looked around, but there was nothing. It’s just my imagination. He thought, exhaling the lingering tension.

  It was something, however. Miles away the ground was painted with an invisible brush, the colour of pale water. It covered every inch of the earth and moved at the speed of light, like how the sun’s glare would when it rose from its horizon greeting the world on a new day.

  Soon everything was under the thin cover of water. He looked down at his feet at his own reflection. It was so quiet, but now, this silence didn’t ease him. What is this? He looked up at the world that now seemed so beautiful. The horizon, the skyline, the mountain tops, the trees, bushes and leaves, everything was duplicated against the mirror, covering the ground.

  Wow, he thought, soaking it all in.

  Little did he know, that something so high in the sky was coming down. It moved so quickly and covered so much ground within seconds, but it still wasn’t visible to his naked eyes. After crashing through the clouds, forcing them to part, a tiny pebble-sized droplet fell through. It gleamed with the golden sky during the magic hour.

  When he finally saw it, he followed the glimmering drop on its path down. When it finally struck the watery surface, the silence remained for a moment until it was broken by the vibrations that followed the ripples across the ground.

  Wow. Amazed by it all, he failed to notice that the goblins he’d slain were coming back to life. All his hard work was reversed. It was almost like time had turned back.

  He followed the ripples with his eyes and noticed the pair of feet standing atop the watery surface casting a new reflection. He glanced up at the creature, his eyes widening at the resurrected goblin leader.

  How? His gaze settled, but only for a moment, until he sensed, in his peripheral vision, more figures. Soon he noticed that every single one of the goblins had returned from their crystaldust state. “What’s going on?” He stopped in front of the leader once more. His skin tickled and fear raced down his spine like cold sweat.

  Soon the watery surface was erased as fast as it had come. Tension Rising resumed and it was like he’d started over. The loot of the dead remained, but the resurrected goblins picked up their fallen weapons.

  He didn’t know it then, but what he’d just experienced… was what some called ‘The Drop’. The single most mysterious phenomenon in all of Eden. The one thing that made Adventures lives everywhere difficult. The Drop. This world’s respawn mechanic.

  “I don’t know what the hell just happened… But let’s try this again!” he screamed, holding his hand out and crushing the Healing Seal, giving himself a burst of health and the nerve glow of Fortitude. “C’mon!”

  The fight was as hard as the first, maybe even harder. The goblins were given a second chance to best the Dragoon, and he, another to show them who was to be revered.

  Steel against steel. Force against force, will against will. Hyde clashed with them, but didn’t let up until they’d fallen before his silver once more.

  He was left in a torrent of black dust, with a sliver of health remaining in his HP bar.

  “You like that—” he whispered, trying to steady himself with his sword. “The taste of steel!”

  His knees gave out and the cro
wd of grass caught his limp body. I did it! He smiled. Even against a rematch, where he wasn’t in top form, he was able to ground every last foe that came knocking.

  “I’ll become strong!” He screamed, reaching to the sky.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Huh?” he turned and sure enough, Mari was sitting comfortably next to him. “How’d you—”

  “Intervention.” She smiled lightly.

  “What?”

  “I used the Skill Intervention.”

  “Isn’t that the same Skill Abe used to teleport?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “How come yours didn’t set me on fire?”

  “When used to Blink to a foe, it burns. When used to Blink to an ally, it heals.”

  “Heals?” he whispered, looking up at his life bar that had now been significantly replenished. “Hey, how did you know I was here?”

  “Because I came looking for you,” she said.

  “Oh… I thought you all teleported to the guildhall.”

  “We did.”

  “And you came all the way back?”

  “I didn’t want you to die.”

  Her words were somehow, special and uplifting. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it was nice having someone want to keep him alive. He looked up at her, this sweet, blue-haired girl who was so thoughtful and kind. She was there whenever he got injured, whenever he died. Her friendly face was always there to greet him.

  Thank you—he thought.

  “If you did, I’d lose the bet,” she added.

  “You’d what!” he jerked up. “Are you kidding me! I’m sitting here thinking about what a wonderful person you are and you are worried about a damn bet!”

  “I’m kidding,” she avoided his eyes, leaning away from him, only slightly though.

  “Oh.”

  “It’s nice for you to say I’m a wonderful person, thank you,” she smiled.

  “Oh. uh. Yeah. No problem,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Mari?”

  “Yes?”

  “Will you help me become strong?”

  “I will.”

  CHAPTER 12

  “We’ve come quite far today,” Mari said as they walked across the fields, far from Genesis.

  “Yeah, I think I can finally carry the class Dragoon proudly,” Hyde smiled.

  “I think so too,” she nodded.

  “Hey, there was this weird thing that happened earlier,” he began. “It was like—”

  “The Drop,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “It’s called The Drop.”

  “Um… what is it exactly I mean—”

  “It’s this world’s respawn mechanic.”

  “Respawn mechanic? Oh so things we kill come back to life.”

  She nodded.

  “Is there anyway to know when it’s going to happen next?”

  “It’s random.”

  “That’s convenient. But wait, does that mean that we can—”

  She shook her head.

  “Oh. Okay. When we die, we’re dead…” he fronted a smile.

  “Want to continue?”

  “Sure. One last kill.”

  And so he spoke the exact same words he had, just before Levi died.

  The two cell party waited for nothing, before rushing out into the fray. Hyde, as the vanguard, and Mari as his support.

  Her presence was enough to make him feel ten feet taller, and the support she provided gave him enough juice to take on an army. That was what he inevitably did, after venturing far enough with Mari into a stronghold of goblins.

  The fortress was big, but primitive. Its structures were sound.

  Within it they were met by an overwhelming number of goblins in all sizes. Each with a fitting weapon. Huge clubs were wielded by the ogre-like ones, swords and daggers by the infantry, bows and crossbows, by the backliners. It was a good set up with a few dozens of them in total.

  Hyde stood before the army of goblins, with only his blade in hand and Mari at his rear. “C’mon!” he screamed and charged at them. His body seemed so weightless as he ran. His arms swung with a force greater than they were capable off.

  Augmented by the effects of Weightless and Valor, he pushed into combat, meeting one of the larger goblins halfway.

  He ducked under the huge club-swing, and skid across the grass until he was behind the giant creature. With a single strike of Rend, it was cut in two, vanishing with the breeze as a sprinkle of black dust. Without a moment to waste, he turned to the next and before he knew it another club was swung his way. Luckily, his sword was there to absorb some of the impact, but even so, the pain was incredible. Blood dripped from his lips when he finally recovered.

  However, with the very next sway of the grass, his injuries were healed and the blood disappeared. With a smile on his face, he pushed forward into the fray once more. His sword tasted the blood of many as he went on a rampage cutting down the big and the small alike. From Doublets to Rends to Bashes and throws, he controlled the battlefield, cleanly taking down a good chunk of the enemy force until the healing stopped and the song, Engaged, as well.

  The silence was strange. It was worrying and uneasy. For some reason, he had the urge to look over his shoulder, maybe it was to see if anyone was behind or maybe he was just confirming Mari’s existence.

  When he did, his eyes widened and the same aching, he once had after seeing Levi get stabbed by a huge lance, arose in his chest. This time though, Mari’s hand was shot by an arrow, drawing thin red streams of blood.

  Oh no. He turned around, reached out to her with one hand. Not again. He stepped closer, but was forced to stop in his tracks as one of the smaller infantry goblins came sliding across the grass carving a huge gaping smile in his side.

  Please. He held his new wound and somehow ignored the pain, paying little attention to the goblin standing between him and Mari. Instead, what claimed his attention was the loaded arrow just about to be set flying.

  I won’t let you die! He leapt into action. His jump was far stronger than before, it was almost like the effect of Weightless pushed him past his limit, tenfold over.

  Mari looked up at the arrow, raising her hand almost as to say “please don’t…”

  However, before it struck, a stroke of silver was drawn, cutting it out of the air.

  Hyde? She thought, seeing the armored boy stand before her.

  “C’mon!” he screamed, looking up at the archers ready to unload their bullets. He stood before Mari, paying little attention to anything else but the catapulted arrows.

  One by one they came like the Storm of Swords, Abe had sicced on him. But this time it wasn’t the glare of fear that was on Hyde’s face. Nor the expression of worry. It was a grin. His teeth were showing as he tightened his grip around his longsword and his eyes were glowing with the impressive power of Insight as he stood his ground before the barrage of arrows.

  He allowed the first missile to come, only inches from him before he cut it down with his blade. Without any pause, fuelled by his momentum, he used the Skill,Whirl. His feet shuffled across the soil, Parrying every arrow coming his way with the sharp edge of his sword as he swung it relentlessly.

  Wow. Mari stood watching him intercept and destroy every projectile coming their way, all so that he could protect her.

  His swings were so clean and effortless as he drew strokes of silver all around them, almost as if he was wielding a pair of swords, rather than a single blade. The stream of fire came to an end as archers began to reload. Now with the opportunity Hyde was presented, he leapt back into the fray using Rush. His opening strike against the army of goblins disarmed the first who met his wrath or more accurately, cut the hand cleanly from the arm. Without a moment to waste, he grabbed the airborne dagger with one hand and flung it at one of the archers on the fortress wall.

  The thrown knife, flew in a perfect line at the goblin, and without much effort dug into its flesh hitting something vital jus
t before the creature dropped.

  Under the heat of combat, he dodged the flurry of attacks, quickly repeating his dagger throwing feat by cutting the smaller goblins down and simply avoiding the larger ones. One by one, the archers were taken out in their own nest.

  Hyde, you’re amazing. Mari thought, watching the furious Dragoon fend off the horde of goblins all by himself. With a silver sword in hand, every creature before him was at his mercy.

  You’ve grown so much. The colour of iron whipped across the battlefield as he, with all his might, cut down foe after foe, leaving nothing but dust behind. His injuries were slowly healing as he pushed forth, but it was obvious that he had no intention of slowing down.

  I will become strong! Surrounded by the horde, he remained vigilant. First, with a reactive Shoulder Bash after ducking under a swung club, then a quick Doublet was unleashed against the off balanced foe. Quickly, after that, he parried a number of hits without fail and performed a reckless swing, grazing all those before him.

  However, through all his efforts, one peeled off from the group and went for the only other intruder there. Mari. She was far too taken away by the skill Hyde was showing off to notice the prowling goblin, until just before it swung its sword.

  The sun gleamed against the raised blade, before it came down, but it didn’t strike. She looked up and noticed that the arm, holding that sharp piece of steel, had been cleanly cut from the shoulder it was attached to.

  How’d he... With the glow of Insight in his eyes and the power Valor in his arms, Hyde put the foe out of its misery by making a quick swing at its neck. The sword slashed in but not through. That’s when he pivoted his feet and made a swift turn around the goblin with his sword moving accordingly, resulting in a fine decapitation.

  As the headless body fell, the Dragoon stood tall before his Sentinel. Without saying a word, she knew he wouldn’t let a single blade touch her. And even after he faced the rest of the goblins, he stayed true to that gesture till the very end, besting all who stood before him.

  The loot they left behind, including the chests and treasure in the fortress, was enormous. They found some nice things that would fetch a good price.