When the knife struck, Severance felt a burst of pressure beneath his sternum. His world pulsed red. He gasped, adrenaline surging, and instinctively grabbed at Verdan's wrists, trying to halt the knife. But his strength was too low and the Chosen easily shoved his hands aside.
The knife plunged into him again. And again.
Severance's bar shuddered each time. It flared a deep, angry red.
This was it, then. He'd respawn back at Two Bridges, and he'd have to run back to the fight and hope the rest of his team survived until then. He gritted his teeth, frustrated. Why am I so weak?!
Air whooshed, and a sword swept over him. Severance saw the moment it struck the Chosen's neck with perfect clarity. He saw flesh part and bone separate, and right before his eyes, the head flew. Blood splattered across his face. It was wet. Hot.
His mind blanked.
And then Cindy was there, barely a sliver of health to her name, offering him a hand up.
"Sorry," she said. "I should have been keeping a better eye on you."
He reached out numbly, felt her fingers close around his. She pulled him up, and he became aware of words fading in before him.
+1 Vitality
Quest Updated: Gain Vitality 1/5
Congratulations, Severance! You have reached Level 15.
You have unassigned skills.
Warmth flooded him, rising from his toes upward in an invigorating wave. His wounds closed in an instant, his health restored.
"Here." Cindy offered him his staff.
Severance took it, suddenly very aware of just how battered she looked. She'd lost two fingers and a deep cut across her face had ruined one of her eyes. Yet she didn't seem to care. Maybe she didn't even realize she was so badly hurt.
That prompted him into action.
"Mend," he murmured, directing the skill towards her.
As he healed her, he touched his torso and found the holes in his shirt. The edges were soaked in his own blood. It was strange. Uncomfortable.
Getting killed without knowing it was one thing, but staring it right in the face was something else entirely. Thankfully, Cindy had shown up just in time.
"Thanks for the help," he murmured.
Cindy's one eye curved a little. "Sure. It'd be bad if we let our healer die."
Nearby shouting nearly drowned out the last few words. It was a pair of Chosen warriors, forcing their way through the line of Subella's warriors.
"I got this." Cindy rolled her neck and stalked off to meet them. "Bastion," she growled, and brown light spun to life around her feet.
Severance moved behind her, keeping a watchful eye out in case others tried to sneak up on them.
"Radiant Dome." He covered both himself and Cindy with the skill. She was holding steady, with Valkyrie closing in to help her fight. Good. He had a second, then.
"System, Skills."
The transparent window popped up, and with a swish of his fingers, he moved it to the side so it wouldn't block his vision. He checked out the unassigned skills, hoping to find something that would give him a boost in the current fight.
Unassigned Skills
Level 15 Skills – Choose one
Ray of Light –channel a damaging ray of light at target
Ward – single target shield. Lasts 10 seconds or until damage equaling 15% of target's hp is absorbed. Ability cooldown: 30 seconds
Severance's eyes flickered to Cindy. She was taking some damage, but nothing too crazy yet. "Mend."
His attention returned to the skills. Having skimmed through them, he tapped on Ward. It was a no brainer. He'd seen what Olen's skill was capable of. And what he needed right now was more survivability, not more damage.
You have learned the skill: Ward
Perfect. Hopefully this would be helpful. He refocused on Cindy. "Ward."
Instantly, there was a subtle pulse of light around her, and the air took on a faint shimmer.
Not even a heartbeat later, a blast of pure energy splashed across the bubble. It burst instantly, the energy dissipating harmlessly. Seeing that, Severance decided he liked this skill. It wasn't as strong as Orion's, but it was definitely handy.
"Bolt." He took aim at one of her opponents. It didn't do much damage, but Severance found that a Bolt to the face would distract anyone.
Between the two of them, the Chosen fell in short order. Cindy moved on to help another group of Subella's warriors.
Likewise, Severance jogged down the battle line, looking for any struggling allies. He handed out Mends and the occasional Bolts when he could, all the while making sure to keep a safe distance. It worked out well, until some players affiliated with the Chosen took notice.
"The healer!" A voice shouted across the battlefield. "Get the healer!"
Huh? Severance looked up and noticed two players running towards him. Both had red cloth tied around their forearms. Oh great.
"Ward!" Severance felt a subtle burst of pressure around himself. Just then, the player leading the charge blurred and vanished-
Only to reappear right in front of Severance. Sunlight glinted off a blade. Ward rippled as it absorbed the hit. It popped in the next instant, leaving Severance open to whatever attack came next.
Severance backpedaled, heart leaping up into his throat. The player grinned and lunged. The moment stretched before Severance. The point of the blade drew ever closer, its edge already bloodied. It had taken many victims in this fight, and now it would take one more.
There was nothing Severance could do.
He braced himself for the inevitable, but just before the dagger bit, Awesome Dude materialized right behind the player. He stabbed both of his own daggers into the other rogue's back. The Chosen player fell.
"Hehe." Awesome Dude grinned at Severance's shocked expression. "I got back just in time, huh?"
"Ha, yeah." Severance returned the grin. He was glad to see the rogue. "Welcome back."
"Thanks! Now that I'm here, let's finish the fight!"
And so they did. Victory didn't come easily, nor without loss, as nearly all of Severance's team experienced death on the battlefield. But with Two Bridges right behind them, they had the advantage of returning quickly to the fight. On the contrary, none of the Chosen players seemed to have that luxury.
Whether it was something Bruella did as Registrator of the city, or if the System itself prohibited it, none of the Chosen players reappeared. And so one by one, the Chosen dwindled.
With a series of chimes, the System announced the battle's completion.
Quest Completed: Lead the Outsiders against the next Chosen attack. You were successful in protecting Fort Valkyrie.
See Overseer Orion or Overseer Subella for your reward.
Quest Completed: You have aided Overseer Orion.
The whole thing felt surreal to Severance.
The battlefield had gone quiet and still. Violet stars lifted up into the sky, the last remnants of those who had fought and died.
Was it worth it? To fight and die for the sake of taking a Fort? He could understand the Valkyrie's valiant defense, but the Chosen's motivations were unfathomable. Were they truly fighting just for greed? How many of their people had to die before they gave up?
"Thank you," someone said.
Severance lowered his gaze. Subella's warriors had gathered nearby. There was only a handful left, far less than he'd expected. The one who had spoken was a Valkyrie. He recognized her from the first battle.
Her gratitude struck his heart like an anvil. He briefly closed his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't save more."
He didn't deserve her thanks. Not when so many had fallen. He'd been so busy trying not to die that he wasn't able to do much healing. He felt ashamed. What kind of healer was he if he couldn't even keep a small group of warriors alive?
"You can't save everyone," the Valkyrie said quietly, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Her eyes were dark and sorrowful above her veil.
"I wish I could." He shook his head, regretting his own weakness. If he were a better healer, a stronger healer, maybe so many wouldn't have to die.
The Valkyrie dipped her head. After a brief period of silence, she said, "I hope to fight with you again."
Having said that, she returned to the trenches. Severance watched her go, taking note of her name. Liara. He found himself hoping he didn't meet her on the battlefield again. He didn't want to watch her die.
"Sev!" An arm flung around his neck and tugged. Severance found himself hunching over to meet Awesome Dude's height. He hurriedly flung the arm off, and frowned at his friend.
"That was a fun fight, huh?" The rogue looked positively radiant, like he'd just gone on the best rollercoaster of his life. "I reached level nineteen, too! Did you level up, Sev?"
"Yeah. I'm fifteen now."
"Only fifteen? You got a ways to go, Dude. Did you know you get to advance your class at twenty? You gotta catch up!"
Catch up? Forget that, Severance wanted to know how Awesome Dude managed to get to such a high level! "What do you mean by advancing your class?"
"It's like a really cool upgrade. They were talking about it in the chat earlier. Apparently the first guy to advance became something called a Knightglaive. It sounds super awesome!"
"That does sound cool," Severance agreed even though he had no idea what a Knightglaive was. "Do clerics get an upgrade too?"
"Yeah," Sylvestar said. "Every class does. I'm going for a Knightglaive myself. People are saying they've got the highest damage out of all the classes."
"They're saying that because the first player to advance was a knightglaive," Miss Cindy returned. "Come on, let's go hand in the quest."
The four of them slipped through the trenches single file, and somehow, Severance found himself in the lead. He retraced his steps back to Orion's tent, because he didn't know where else to go. To his surprise, he found Subella sitting outside on the ground. The tent had been closed off.
She looked up as they approached, and her lips curved. "I already heard. Good job, Outsiders."
"Hehe." Awesome Dude scratched the back of his head.
Severance's attention was on the closed-up tent. "Is Orion inside?"
"Yes," Subella said. "He's resting, so you can talk to me instead."
Resting? Severance eyed the woman dubiously. She hadn't murdered him and stashed his body inside, had she?
She caught his look and a full on smirk blossomed on her face. "Don't worry. I just put him to bed. Now, then. Take these for your efforts."
Subella reached into a satchel beside her and pulled out some items. She tossed one to each of them.
You have gained the Valkyrie's acknowledgement. They will remember you.
Severance turned over the thing he got. It was a simple bracelet made of knotted cord.
Awesome Dude promptly stuck it on his wrist. "What's it do?"
"There's no stat increase," Miss Cindy said. She had popped it into her Inventory to check, then pulled it out again. With a faint shrug, slipped it over her hand.
"Didn't you read the notification?" Sylvestar asked Awesome Dude. "It increases your favor with the Valkyrie. Right?" He directed this last question to Subella.
"Sure," she said. "Something like that."
Severance wasn't listening. There was another notification appearing before him.
Thanks to your leadership, the Fort has been defended. You have gained:
+1 Vitality
+1 Fortitude
+1 Wisdom
A startled sound escaped Severance. He'd never imagined he'd get such a huge reward. Three stat increases in one shot? That made the entire affair worth it. He didn't think he'd done any actual leading, but if the System didn't care, then he wouldn't either.
Quest Updated: Gain Vitality 2/5
Congratulations, Severance! You have reached Level 16.
The wave of warmth running through him made him smile. He felt energized and maybe just a little bit stronger.
"Now," Subella smiled, "would you mind helping out for a while longer? My dear Orion could use the rest. I'll make it worth your while."
Miss Cindy shrugged. "Sure. I've already got a quest to help out here, so might as well."
"Sorry," Sylvestor said. "I have to head out. So see ya. Boss." The last word he threw at Severance, and with a little smirk, he left.
Severance made a face. Boss. What a laugh.
Awesome Dude crouched in front of Subella, eagerly leaning in. "Do we gotta fight the Chosen again? Cos that was fun!"
Subella reached out and patted Awesome Dude's messy brown hair. "So cute. Yes, Outsider. The Chosen will be coming back soon enough. You can go out and fight them as much as you like."
"Yes!" Awesome Dude threw a fist into the air. He jumped up and gave Severance a soft punch in the ribs. "Dude! This is awesome! You can level up to twenty in no time."
Quest Received: Continue defending the Valkyrie Fort
Well, that was better than having to personally lead the troops. The only downside was that there was no countdown. Severance didn't know how long they had to wait before the next attack came. It didn't matter, he supposed. He smiled faintly as Awesome Dude started asking Subella if she knew why Chosen liked red ribbons.
There were worse ways to spend time than hanging out in the trenches with his friend.