“Y-you’re really just coming to l-ugh when… if… I fail?” I manage after a minute of awkward silence.
“That, and it's the duty of us support css Rankers to look after people like you who just run head-first into danger.”
Again. Kataclysm being the voice of reason.
“R-right.” Annnnnnnd now I'm out of talking points. How do people manage to maintain conversations? “N-nice weather, huh?”
She bursts out with ughter, a deep and husky sound with her accent. “Vill, we're in an indoor dungeon with no windows.”
“R-right…”
Kill me.
“Y’know, now that I’ve said it, what do I call you?” she continues. “Most people just call me Kat or Carty, since it’s short for both my real name and my Ranker name.”
“Carty?” What a weird nickname. “Like a shopping trolley?”
Even without looking at her, I can sense her eyes rolling, and not in the good way across the floor either. “K-A-T-I. Kati.”
“Ohh… W-well V-Vill’s fine, I guess?”
“Okay Vivill.” She pokes her tongue out at me.
Kill me, please.
Before death can find me, however, we arrive at the door from about 20 minutes earlier. Not wanting to endure further embarrassment, I immediately activate [Berserk] and kick the door off its hinges as hard as possible, before dashing into the room.
[MP: 4/5]
Who needs super speed when you have super strength? They basically have the same end result anyway, except the tter means you can do other cool stuff like punching people or opening the tight jar of cookies in the pantry.
The ground ruptures under me with each step, my feet digging into the stone floor to propel me forward at sickening velocities. My vision is a blur of green, injected with a red mist from where the door collides with someone and gives them their worst ever concussion. My great hammer swings out and decapitates an orc as I pass him.
[Gained 75XP]
Only 75? I spin around like a princess of murder and wallop a 2nd orc in the thigh, dismembering the leg. These must be a weaker variation of orc. The orc man screams and falls, clutching his pelvic stump, blood squirting out of his femoral artery.
Just shut up will you? And I swing the great hammer of putting-out-of-misery again.
[Gained 75XP]
[MP: 3/5]
By now the rest of the orcs have realised what is going on, and have their weapons drawn, grouping into combat formation as they turn to face me. Excellent! A trained fighting force is a predictable one.
[Gained 25XP]
The orc concussed earlier by the door colpses in the back line, his skull partially melted through. The acid eating through his brain leaves through the eye sockets too, dissolving these into more goop.
Behind the new corpse, Kati withdraws a second vial of purple-ish liquid from the crate at her side, and throws it at the upper body of another orc. Her left boob melts as the acid works its way through the chest to the heart.
[Gained 25XP]
[MP: 2/5]
The second message knocks me out of my shock. Acid is scary stuff!
I run at the groups of orcs, also distracted by the Alchemist, and sm my great hammer into the face of one of them, continuing the swing down into the floor.
[(Active) Pound the Great Hammer into the ground to create earth spikes in a 3m radius around you, dealing STR (38) damage. Cooldown: 60s]
[Gained 75XP]
[MP: 1/5]
The first guy dies almost instantly, what with the 114 damage to the head followed by his face being the origin point of the spikes.
Sadly, with no bonuses from [Blood Frenzy] due to being on full HP and the amulet still being linked to Humans, the skill doesn’t do as much damage as I would have liked. At most, 76 damage to those impaled by two of the spikes.
One of the orcs grabs me by the front of my hoodie and hurls me across the room. My back nds rather painfully on the corner of a table, and I spent the next few seconds on the floor, squirming my legs in pain. Ow, ow, holy fuck OW.
[HP: 17/20]
[Chosen Creature Type: Orc]
[MP: 0/5]
[
By the time I collect myself and get up on both legs, Kati has already dealt with the remaining 5 orcs.
[Gained 25XP]
[Gained 25XP]
[Gained 25XP]
[Gained 25XP]
[Gained 25XP]