Hm...are the rest of them not here? It's been over twenty minutes since I ambushed and killed the second guy, but there's been no sign of anyone else showing up.
But I'm not complaining, since I've recovered a good chunk of MP thanks to the delay, not to mention my Skill cooldowns. There should be three more of them left, the ideal situation would be for them to keep showing up one by one.
That's unlikely to be the case though, unless they're really stupid. Since the last guy hasn't returned, they'll likely come to the conclusion that they're under attack.
In which case, their best move would be to come down here as a group...I'll have my work cut out for me if that happens.
The only reason it went so easily for me with the first two is because I caught them by surprise...if the remaining three show up together, it'll be pretty tough to deal with.
I should be able to take one, maybe two, of them by surprise, but it'll be next to impossible to pull that off with all three-...hm?
Alright, looks like they're coming down, this is it...I definitely hear multiple sets of footsteps making their way down the stairs. My best option is to probably use Lethargy to weaken them and then strike with Devour.
"Hm? Hey, I smell blood," Frowned one of them, as the trio got to the bottom of the stairs and stepped off, looking around warily.
"Yeah, me too. Wait, look over there! That puddle...is that blood? It definitely wasn't here before," Responded one of the others, a cautious look in his eyes as his gaze darted about.
"Were we attacked? Hold on, over there, there's another puddle, I think that's blood too. Does this mean both Norce and Dray were killed?"
"No way..."
"Why's there only blood left? Were they eaten or something?"
"No way. If that was the case, at least some of their bones would be left, not to mention clothes. But besides the blood, there's no other signs of them...seriously, what the hell were they attacked by?!"
Alright, they're within range now...
"
"Sh-Shit...!" One of them yelled in alarm, right as I tore his head clean off his shoulders with Devour.
His arms slumped to his sides as his body collapsed onto its knees and fell over, hitting the dusty floor with a thud as blood sprayed out of the stump left around his neck.
"You bastard...! Take this, [Fireball]!" Yelled one of the remaining two, starting to charge up a fireball.
"
At the last second, he broke free of the effect and tilted his head across right as he fired the Spell, hissing in pain as his flames roared past the left side of his head, burning his cheek and ear, before he gasped sharply as I zipped forward and plunged my blade into the spot between his eyes, piercing his brain and killing him.
I turned my attention to the last remaining one as I pulled my blade back out, a thud echoing out as the guy I just killed collapsed onto the floor, puffs of dust rising up around him.
"Fuck, what kind of Magic is that? Who...who the hell are you?" He inquired with a grimace, drawing out a spear strapped to his back as he eyed me warily.
"I see no reason for introductions, seeing as how you're about to die," I shrugged, pointing my blade at him as I quietly chanted, "
He's strong, his stats are even higher than that Brawler's was. A Lancer with the Lightning Attribute, I can't afford to take a hit from him.
"You definitely used some kind of debuff to begin with, then those shadowy jaws, and finally, you made Klow shoot his own Spell at himself. It doesn't make sense...that debuff initially made me think we were being attacked by an Enchanter, but those other two abilities, I've never seen or heard of anything like them. Not to mention, based on the way you move, you seem to possess the Assassin Class...what the fuck are you?"
I don't see any openings, his defense is airtight, even with the fatigue I inflicted with Lethargy. And I've used up nearly all my MP, I can cast Devour or Drain for a couple of seconds, but nothing beyond that.
He's waiting for me to make the first move, he's clearly wary after the abilities I displayed...it's likely he's realized that I've got more tricks up my sleeve, so he's being careful not to rush in recklessly.
Alright, then...I'll oblige and make the first move myself!
I swiftly shot forward, my opponent assuming a defensive stance as I closed in on him and unfurled a rapid slash of my blade towards his stomach.
A sharp clang rang out as he blocked my slash with the handle of his spear, before I leapt back as he swung his foot out towards me, narrowly evading his kick.
"Huh, based on your speed, you must be a J-Rank. And you look quite young, which means you're either a student or a newbie Hunter. Alright, then, looks like I was worried over nothing...now that you've lost the element of surprise, you're no threat to me! [Lightning Strike]!" He exclaimed, as he raced towards me and unleashed a fierce thrust of his spear towards the middle of my torso.
I quickly spun across to my left, the blade whizzing past the front of my body, missing by millimeters, before I tensed as he suddenly let go of his spear, its momentum driving it forward, before he took hold of the very end of the handle, tightening his grip before chanting...
"[Lightning Slash]!"
I raised my short-sword up defensively as fast as I could, a deafening clang ringing out as his spear slammed against my blade and sent me hurtling back through the air.
My feet skidded back across the floor as I landed, grimacing as his strike had jarred my right arm upon impact, a smirk spreading out across his lips as I met his gaze...