Parallel Vol. 1

The air in the throne room was rife with tension, sweat pouring down the necks of the elves as they stared down the giant spriggan in front of them. The electricity in his hands crackled and pulsed with energy as the beast’s eyes narrowed in on its prey.

“... be very careful.” Kashi warned, as he nocked an arrow onto his bow. He sidestepped slowly, keeping his eyes trained on the beast for any slight movements. Once he had formed a straight line between the Lord Spriggan, him and Leila, he let loose.

The whistling of the arrow broke the deadlock as Lord Spri dodged the arrow with frightening agility and lunged at him. It brought down its flaming sword to cut the daeben. Kashi quickly dove out of the way, watching in shock and awe as the sword melted the gold it hit.

I’m done for if I land a direct hit from that thing!

Leila’s arrows stabbed into the beast’s back, but the Lord was unfazed as he whirled around and launched a ball of electricity at her. She barely managed to dodge and loosed off another hail of arrows.

Lord Spri ignored the onslaught, returning his attention to the daeben and brought down his sword to cut the elf in two. Kashi side-stepped the blow, then jumped onto the spriggan’s arm.

With a defiant roar, the Lord tossed him up and Kashi twisted mid-air, launching <<Straight Shot>> right into the beasts head.

CRITICAL HIT!

Lord Spri jumped to finish off the annoying daeben who was still frozen from his attack. As it raised his sword hand, Kira kicked off the wall and bit down on its arm, delaying his attack.

Those seconds proved precious as Kashi regained control of his body He spun around and kicked the beast in its face. It crashed down in a pile of dust and Kashi landed softly, with Kira beside him.

“Thanks for the help.” He patted Kira, who still had her sights trained on the dusty smoke. Kashi considered his options. If both he and Leila kept using long-range fighting, then eventually Spri’s lightning bolts would get one of them, and most likely one-shot-kill them.

They needed someone to fight Lord Spri at close range to prevent him from using ranged attacks. Here I go again.

“I’m going to need your help,” he whispered to Kira as he unequipped his bow and put on a pair of gauntlets. He left his quiver and pulled out two arrows which he held like daggers.

Leila saw his weird stance and understood his plan immediately. “There really are crazy people all around the world.”

A gust of wind blew away the dust as Lord Spri emerged angry and vindictive, his flaming eyes burning fiercely. With a loud roar, it fired off several electric attacks at the trio, but they all had high agility and were able to dodge in time.

Kashi bid his time as Leila teased the monster with arrows till he found an opening, then dashed forward at full speed. Ducking under flashes of electricity, he finally came within inches of Lord Spri. It noticed his charge and swung its sword to cleave him in half, but the daeben had anticipated that move.

He slid on his knees and bent backwards, wincing as the heat from the sword singed his hair, and drained his health points. As he passed under the beast’s legs, he stabbed his arrows through its calves pushing them all the way through. While it roared in pain, Leila used that opportunity to lauch several arrows at it, drawing its wrath.

When he successfully slid under the beast’s legs, Kashi grabbed the gouging arrows and used them as a lever to propel him upwards. Upside down in the air, he pulled two more arrows from his quiver and stabbed the beast in its back.

Roaring, it spun around to hit him with its electric hand, but Kira nipped at its legs, causing it to miss its timing. Kashi pushed against the arrows on its back, increasing his elevation above the blow as it spun around to face him.

Now face to face with the ugly beast, he smirked proudly as he stabbed two more arrows into its flaming eye sockets, then swung down and kicked the beast with his two legs right in the abdomen.

This launched Lord Spri clean off the floor and he crashed into his throne.

Kashi landed on the floor, then kicked off again, determined not to give the beast a chance to rest as it might prove fatal. Just as he reached the beast, years of fighting experience gave him pause as the beast let out a bloodcurdling roar and was suddenly engulfed in flames and electricity.

The arrows Kashi had pinned in it instantly grew hot and melted, dripping to the floor in a molten mess.

From its spot, it dashed to Kashi at blinding speed, and though the daeben could see the attack coming, his body which had just stopped, could not react quick enough to get out of the way. ’Shit! Is this the end?!”

Though certain death approached him in the form of a flaming sword, he chose not to look away and placed his gauntlets in front of him to parry the strike. Just before the sword hit him, petals of light formed in front of him. They softened the blow as the sword smashed it to bits, then broke his gauntlets, launching with the force of a mad rhino into the wall.

He crashed into the wall, his health points dropping to three. He would have died instantly if it was not for Kira who dove between him and the wall, risking her life to save his.

Weakened beyond measure, the two collapsed, unable to move, Kashi fighting to maintain his consciousness. As he drifted in and out, green petals enveloped both he and Kira, restoring their health points.

He peered with the question at Leila who had baited Lord Spri into attacking her, drawing attention away from him. A hunter should not be able to heal other users, and they definitely should not have been able to erect a magic wall to protect him.

Her subsequent attacks also failed to make sense to him.

Like any true archer, she darted around the room, keeping a distance from Lord Spri while turning him into a pin cushion with her arrows. However, they did not do much damage, and when he burst forward in speeds higher than she could dodge, she erected several petal shields in front of her, breaking the momentum of his attack, before jumping back and continuing her onslaught.

What was shocking though, was her speed. A light swirled around her as she managed to keep even with the monster’s attacks, dodging them before they could hit her. As someone who had fallen to the beast’s attacks, he knew there was no way she should be able to dodge his attacks so flawlessly.

This was all under the assumption she also prioritized agility like he had. If she had put more into Dexterity or strength, then her speed made even less sense.

‘Come on. Heal!’ His health points increased at a snail’s pace, and he worried for the archer who was sure to run out of mana very soon.

Once his health points passed ten, he was able to move his hands. He then opened his inventory and took out two potions. He downed the first one, watching with relief as his health points rose sharply and helped Kira drink the second. The wolf stumbled as it stood up, eyes burning with rage.

“You and me both.” He whispered through bated breath as he drank several more potions to return to full health and gave the same to Kira. He removed a couple of blue potions from his inventory and placed them in a pouch which he gave to Kira with a set of instructions.

Finally, he re-equipped his bow and replaced the damaged gauntlets with a spare one he had crafted. Notching an arrow into his bow, he used /Keen Sense/ to focus in on Lord Spri. His arrow glowed black as he released it, and it pierced right through the monster’s head.

CRITICAL HIT!

Enraged, it turned its attention from Leila who had run out of mana and focused in on the daeben.

Kashi glared it down as he took a step forward, then another, breaking into a light jog, then a full sprint, screaming at the top of his lungs. Lord Spri mimicked his movements and they met in the middle of the room, as it swung its sword down.

I’ve already seen that once. Kashi knew he did not possess the speed required to dodge the attack, so he parried the strike with his bow, forming a slope that guided the sword right into the ground. Before Lord Spri could raise it, he stomped down on the sword with all of his might, digging it even deeper.

As the Spriggan lord futilely tried to raise his weapon, Kashi nocked several arrows onto his bow and fired them into its arm at point-blank range. There was no need for the multi-shot skill, since his target was only inches away, which allowed him to string another attack as the monster let go of its weapon in pain.

He launched an arrow into its chin, and as it whirled back in pain, he loosed another three into its stomach, then retreated as it roared and released a dome of fire from its body that spread across the room.

Just before the flames hit him, a wall of light petals shielded him from the fire and he

turned to Leila who had regained her mana by drinking the mana potions he had given to Kira.

The wolf trotted over to his side, eager to fight as Lord Spri picked up its sword. Both the sword and its master had lost its fire cloak, having used all its mana in the final attack.

It let out a large cry, and secret walls around the dungeon opened. From beyond these doors stepped out several spriggans of different sizes. The largest was as tall as an average human while others were quite tiny. They all wore dirty iron armor and carried enchanted swords with different elements on them.

“Typical. Calling for help when you are about to fall.” Kashi’s eyes burned with anger as he readied his bow. “Kira, Leila! Keep the small fry busy. I’ll finish this coward soon enough.”

“Why is someone who was about to die acting like a big-shot?” Leila sighed, shaking her head.

The daeben somehow managed to turn red with embarrassment. “Oh, come on! I was

having a moment here.”

“Yes, yes. I just need to keep them off of you right?” She nocked her bow and launched an arrow right through the closest one. It crumpled to the floor in an instant kill. “Lend me a hand Kira.”

Kira was disappointed she did not get to fight the Spriggan Lord so she directed her frustration at the Spriggans instead. With a loud growl, she dove at the closest spriggan, who sidestepped her and tried to stab her with its sword. Her instincts and agility were much higher than before, so she easily switched directions and lunged at the spriggan teeth bared. She ripped its throat off and fed off of it, drinking in its life energy. With bloodied teeth, she turned to the other spriggans, her fighting spirit causing them to waver.

“It’s just you and me now.” Kashi looked at the beast, who was less than pleased with the quick demise of its underlings. “Let’s end this.”

The duo clashed, sword against blow as they parried each other attacks with sharp reflexes already used to each other’s fighting style. There were no slidings or fire buffs, just the sparks as the two weapons collided in an unconventional battle.

Kashi used his bow as both a shield and a weapon, parrying Lord Spri’s attacks then launching an arrow which it blocked with its sword, then attacked. Every now and then, he would be unable to fully block an attack and it would shave off a chunk of his health, but the same went for the spriggan though the health it lost was much lower compared to Kashi’s, and they were soon locked in a battle in which the winner seemed clear.

Determined to break free of the losing battle, Kashi took a huge gamble. He faked an attack with his bow, and in that split second when Lord Spri stopped his attack to block, he charged forward, slinging his bow over his shoulder, and raised his hand for a direct punch to its stomach.

Stunned by the sudden attack, it kept its sword in place to block the attack, but that was also a double feint by Kashi, who jumped and spun around in the air, then delivered a punishing kick to its undefended chin, lifting it off the ground.

The unexpected blow caused it to raise its guard and Kashi did not miss that opportunity. Once he righted himself, he punched the spriggan in the belly, smiling as he felt ribs crack under his fists. He continued punching, without pause, not allowing the Spriggan anytime to regain its senses, then delivered a roundhouse kick to its belly, launching it clean off the floor and into the wall above its throne.

It fell forward, but Kashi was not done with it yet. He ran to its throne and launched himself off of it, poised in the air with two arrows nocked into his bow. It saw him coming and raised its hand to block his next attack, but Kashi kicked its arms apart, then loosed 《Straight Shot》 into both of its arms.

He used the skill despite being so close because of the extra force gained. The arrows dragged the beast down and pinned it to its throne. It struggled to free itself, but Kashi loosed 《Multi-Shot》next, nailing its feet to the ground and reinforcing the arrows already piercing its hand to its throne.

Roaring in pain and anger, it spat out small fireballs from its mouth at Kashi who could not shield himself due to the cooldown. The first one hit the daeben but arrows pierced through the second and third, dispersing them.

Kashi landed on the Spriggans body and kicked its jaws shut as it tried to spit out another fireball. He held it in place as he nocked an arrow into his bow and trained it at his forehead. From point-blank range, he repeatedly launched several arrows into its skull, grinning at the critical hit messages. Once it became too weak to continue resisting, he relaxed his bowstring and jumped off the throne.

“Kira!” He called to the wolf who was ripping the Spriggans to shreds. “He’s all yours.”

Kira turned, a nasty look in her eyes as she ran past him. She jumped onto the weakened Spriggan Lord, and gazed into its empty eye sockets. The flaming embers were no more, the fires of its life ruthlessy squashed in the battle. ‘Become my strength’.

Lord Spri let out one last helpless cry of pain, rage, and anguish, that was cut off when Kira tore out his throat, shutting him up for eternity.

You Have Leveled Up!

You Have Leveled Up!

You Have Leveled Up!

You Have Leveled Up!

You Have Leveled Up!

You Have Leveled Up!

You Have Leveled Up!

Kashi grinned at the prompts. Seven levels gained for beating one monster was definitely a win. He turned to Kira and paused, mouth agape. The wolf had doubled in size, almost as tall as he was. She was very close to the size of her mother when he fought her.

She seemed to notice his gaze and returned it with a glare of her own, matching thoughts running through their minds.

Can I take him?

Can I still beat her?

The gold that had surrounded the room turned to smoke and dissipated, having been an illusion created by the Spriggan to lure in prey, leaving only three chests in front of the throne. Seeing their lord dead, the remaining spriggans ran back through the secret doors to hide.

Leila and Kashi split the loot obtained from the remaining chests. She specifically wanted the spell tomes, so he handed them to her, and took a book on weapon enchantments for himself. The rest was generic loot, composed of coins, armour and weapons - most of which he could not use.

They exited the cave via a secret door at the entrance Leila showed him. Once they were outside, the sound of clapping hands caught their attention.

“Nice one.” Blade, the warrior who had confronted Kashi in Cat’s Glass Tower stood with several of his teammates. “Now, drop everything you have...” His eyes narrowed as he brandished his weapon. “...Or die.”