Chapter Sixty One - 061Why are there so many giants here!
When Felix broke open the door, he expected Grimmar and his witches, but not an entire...platoon of warriors to flood the place. He'd reacted, bringing the fight to them before he could get swarmed. Miraculously, it was working so far.
Felix's notifications blinked rapidly at him again.
Gah! That's gonna drive me nuts! He ducked under another clumsy blow from one of the Risi Warriors. He couldn't afford to Tier up at that moment; he didn't have the time! I could have outside though, he realized as he kicked the left knee of the giant before him. Why didn't I...?
Screams arrested his attention. More warriors were swarming his position as Grimmar spat out some rage-fueled diatribe that Felix couldn't hear over the roar of combat. He could probably focus on it, but that seemed pointless. Instead he dropped a final Corrosive Strike onto the prone giant before him, before he diverted all of his attention on the four new charging warriors.
Relentless Charge!
Felix zipped forward again, his Stamina and Mana taking a hit, but he closed the distance with two of the giants in a fraction of a second. The closest barely had time to react when Felix buried a Corrosive Strike into his solar plexus, crumpling its iron armor and knocking the bastard onto his ass. Senses flaring in warning, he dropped into a crouch as a metal club swung at his head, before bouncing back up to cast Shadow Whip.
The black tendril shot outward, attaching to the giant's hand and wrist. With a mighty yank, Felix overbalanced the warrior and sent them stumbling to his left.
Stone Shaping!
The ground exploded upward, a craggy column bursting forward to bash into the giant's falling face. The Risi hit so hard the stone itself broke in two. Felix winced, involuntarily, though his sympathy for the brutes had run out long ago. Instead he only felt a sudden welling of...hunger. His appetite surged, apparently not satisfied with the dried meat he'd downed only a few hours ago.
However, Felix was starting to worry that this was something else entirely.
The last two giants screamed a challenge as they raced toward him, and Felix pushed back his hunger with an effort of will. He focused entirely on the approaching enemy, but for some reason they were moving...not slow, exactly. But predictably? Felix couldn't figure out why. He hadn't improved his Perception that much, only a hair over two points. How would that affect anything?
He thought back to his tabletop gaming days with a sudden, vivid Born Trait-induced clarity. Terms and phrases tumbled through his mind within a fraction of a heartbeat. Is that it? Opposed rolls? That particular concept sprang to the fore. My Perception is going up against their, what? Agility? Since they aren't faster than I can perceive, they appear slower than normal. Add in the fact that my Agility is nearly 90, then huh. Felix grinned.
Influence of the Wisp!
The Skill affected two Risi this time, freezing them in place for two whole seconds. More than enough time for Felix to blast them with dual casted Acid Streams. The powerful spell ate away at their exposed flesh with alacrity, turning their blue skin to green paste within seconds. They fell to the ground clutching their throats and gurgling fluid from their melted tracheae. After a moment even that went still.
For half a beat, Felix waited for the kill notification, but remembered he was suppressing them. Which meant he wasn't getting ANY experience or rank ups just yet. He groaned in annoyance, mostly at himself. Why didn't I check my notifications on the scaffolding? I could have taken whatever draught I needed! Felix looked up from the presumably dead bodies (they didn't seem to be breathing) and saw a crowd of Risi pouring steadily into the capital building. Ahead a thick knot of them were congregating around a flashing yellow dome of energy, and Felix grinned in relief.
They're still here.Gotta get to them and get outta this hellhole!
Felix started running, pushing his Agility and Dexterity to the limit, dodging around giants and ducking between legs. He didn't have any sort of advanced movement technique like Vessilia and Evie, but his Acrobatics pulled its weight; each tumble and spin, cartwheel and flip had Felix reveling in the power at his fingertips. Even here, in the midst of a battle he might not survive, he felt that same heady rush.
Something is definitely wrong with me, he thought, though his face was fixed in a wild grin.
He was close to the dome. If he could clear up a few more of them, then Magda and the prisoners could get out. They all could.
Skidding to a stop, Felix raised both of his hands as azure lightning gathered along his arms.
Reign of Vel--!
A wave of unformed, malicious ice Mana sheared across the chamber, forming a wall of jagged, razor sharp ice inches before him. It was thick and over ten feet tall, cutting Felix off from the others. The wall was bone-chillingly cold and felt like it was sucking the warmth out of him. Felix stepped back, turning toward the source.
"Grimmar," Felix swallowed, fear flashing down his spine. The giant stood twenty feet away, only a couple strides for the huge Risi.
The giant chieftain looked at the shard floating above Felix's shoulder and snarled his displeasure. "Of course. Your stolen shard. No wonder you barely took damage." He thrust his meaty hand forward. "I'll have that back now, vermin!"
"Sorry pal," Felix said, facing the giant fully and raising his fists. "Won this fair and square."
Grimmar snarled toward someone Felix Analyzed as another Risi Commander. "Kill the others. This one is MINE." The Commander nodded and saluted before rushing toward the yellow bubble.
Felix gulped, the fear tingling across his body like sour lightning. Grimmar is level 50 at least. How the hell am I gonna live through this? Felix cast his eyes around the room, hoping for an answer, for someone to jump forward and offer to fight the massive chieftain in his place. No such luck.
Clenching his jaw and quelling his thunderous heartbeat, Felix took a slow, calming breath; he let Meditation wash over him, hoping that, if nothing else it'd help with healing up. The briefest of moments passed as he did so, but in that time the Risi chieftain surged forward and struck down with his insanely huge greatsword.
SMASH!
Felix threw himself out of the way, his Strength shattering the ice below him milliseconds before the sword did a far better job of it. One hit from that and I'm dead. Armored Skin or not. He slid to a stop, one hand on the ground to balance on increasingly slick ice. Step one: don't get hit.
Relentless Charge!
Being so big, Felix got inside Grimmar's guard instantly, a thin spray of melt water behind him the only evidence of his passage. Grimmar pulled back, startled for an instant.
Step two: hit him back.
Influence of the Wisp!
Both Felix and Grimmar lit up with blue-white fire and the Nym immediately channeled acid into his clenched fists.
Corrosive Strike!
Corrosive Strike!
Corrosive Strike!
Corrosive Strike!
Four hits were all he could manage before the giant backhanded Felix across the right shoulder. He was sent skidding across the ice at speed until he fetched painfully against the jagged ice wall Grimmar had conjured.
"AHH!" The cold was beyond freezing and it burned his neck and arm where it touched him. With another scream of pain, Felix tore himself from conjured wall, leaving red, fleshy patches on its surface.
"Mmm, the blood of cattle about to be culled," Grimmar practically purred, his nostrils wide. "It is a strange vintage. Different than other Humans. Why is that?" Grimmar was already stomping toward him, wide predatory grin plastered on his face.
"It is red, just as any other prey," Grimmar kicked out with a massive boot, crushing a section of the ice wall when he missed Felix. For his part, the boy scrambled forward on all fours, just barely avoiding the concussive force of the giant's stomps as they followed him. "Who trained you? Who taught you to fight back against your betters?"
Felix used Relentless Charge to hurl himself forward, only going half the usual distance but getting well and truly clear of Grimmar's boot. He stood, back of his arm and neck bleeding, though his Health didn't take a noticeable dive. "No one trained me, idiot. All natural talent," he smiled aiming for annoying.
The shot landed; Grimmar roared again, clearly unwilling to manage his temper. "TELL ME! You dared to walk the void, Human! That is not something that is just DONE! Who taught you this?!" The giant leaped toward him, sword leading the way.
"I'm more of a hands-on learner," Felix managed, ducking beneath the giant's massive blade. It sped by him like a semi-truck, buffeting him with the wind of its passage. "Same as you, probably!"
"NOT the same, I assure you!" The chieftain's eyes were manic, not that Felix could spare much attention. All of his considerable Agility and Dexterity was poured into not getting skewered. "I was Chosen! I have been blessed by the Mother's eternal voice! You are a weak, disgusting Human!"
"The Mother again? That wouldn't--" He threw a stream of acid at the giant, making Grimmar tilt his blade to deflect it. "--wouldn't be the same as the Grand Harmony, would it?"
Grimmar snarled. "You dare dishonor Her! That is a lie, pushed by the weak! The Mother is not Harmony. She is Dominance!"