World of Fantasy

Boss Fight

JANE

The steam cleared. The orc general stood nearly unscathed with a tusky grin of anticipation, axes already in motion to block the array of attacks coming his way.

The red samurai woman and Hale were in front of Quill and Jane. A rogue in brown and an alchemical fighter with a flaming hammer were on either side of them.

"[Flash draw]!" The samurai's blade, faster than sight, slashed upwards across the orc's body in the same brief instant the orc parried both Hale and someone spearing the orc in the back.

The general flinched, more in surprise than pain. When he looked down at the black-haired woman, it was the first time his eyes showed even a hint of respect.

Hale cut twice, thanks to his extra attack, lacing the orc's right leg with frost. The fighter with the hammer followed, and another burst of steam and damage occurred.

But the muscular orc general didn't even seem to feel it. He was a flurry of sweeping movements, and despite his size, he was fast enough to block and parry and turn away nearly every jab, thrust, and cut — but not all of them. And that's what mattered.

A tiny gap appeared in his health bar.

Like an electric current, Jane's pulse raced through her veins. She and Quill were too far away to do anything themselves. That was both a blessing and a curse. She edged closer, wanting just enough space to lance out with her staff or distract the orc, or maybe...something — anything.

Quill shifted on his feet beside her, also looking for an opening but seemingly unwilling to get in the way of the red samurai, who was definitely one of the orc's biggest threats. Even as he turned this way and that, slapping aside weapons and dodging others, he always seemed to have an eye on her.

Hale shouted, "Melee backstep!"

Jane hesitated before the order registered, then hastily backpeddled to get out of the way of those in front of her doing the same. She was scared she'd trip and fall and do the same to the better warriors in front and cause a disaster. Imagine if her falling down like a clumsy idiot ruined the whole fight for everyone!

One of the ranged leaders heard the order and shouted, "Ranged fire!"

Luckily, Jane backed up without incident. She found herself lightly winded just from being so tense and ready and darting forward and back like this. It had only been seconds, but it had been intense.

Mages and rangers lit the orc general up with ice, water, and fire magic. Three rock walls even appeared around his legs, though it was doubtful the thin constructs would do much. It seemed like nobody here had chosen one of the other magic types.

Quill's excited voice urged her, "Look! We hurt him."

Jane looked up at the orc's health bar just before he raised his axes to defend against the onslaught of magic and arrows. The tiny gap had widened just a little more. "We did!" She looked at her partner. "We can beat him." She was actually having fun!

"Maybe you'll hit level ten from this."

She raised a brow, "Maybe you will, too."

He grinned from ear to ear. "Maybe." You could see how much the idea charged him up inside.

Jane could see the hunger and desperation on his face. In this moment, he'd lost some of the strain that had been there earlier. It was great to see him smile so naturally.

He spoke while keeping his eyes on the orc. "Hey. I'll say it better later, but right now, I'm sorry for being down so much lately. I'll do better."

"It's ok—"