Leveling up the World

Chapter 548: Triple Combat

COMBAT INITIATED

Both Dallion and Eury jumped back, drawing their weapons.

Gleam, Dark, well need your help on this, Dallion said.

It was tempting to think that the three of them would be enough to take the guardian down. After all, in the past Dallion, Eury, and Jiroh had managed to take down a mage, and that was when Dallion was considerably weaker than he was now.

However, despite their number advantage, and the considerably better gear, none of them could shake the faint feeling of dread that had crept in. Thanks to his music skill, Dallion could clearly see it within everyone, hiding like small grapes in a fruit salad.

The guardian had insisted that close to a fifth of his strength was dedicated to keeping the temple poison free. Even if he was to be believed, there was no way to measure exactly how much one fifth was in practical combat terms. Also, the remaining four-fifths were more than a sufficient challenge.

Dark and Dallion split into instances simultaneously. Being straightforward as he was, the dragon directly engaged with a series of line attacks. The attacks were sloppy, easily evading. However, to everyones surprise, the dryad didnt evade or even block it, doing an attack of his own instead.

ATTACK NEGATED

DARKs attack has been sliced in two by PROLET

Attack has no effect

Hes an attacker, Dallion said, gripping the hilt of his harpsisword tightly. He can negate attacks.

While that wasnt particularly good news, it told everyone that the guardian didnt have any guard skills. Just for good measure, the dragon attempted a point attack. That, too, was effortlessly negated.

Close range? Dallion asked, as he moved closer to Euryale.

Close range, she replied.

The sensation almost felt nostalgic. It had been over a century true time since the two had fought together. Their habits, however, remained.

A series of targeting markers appeared on the dryads body. At his current level of perception, Dallion wasnt able to see any information regarding the guardian, including his name. Euryale, however, was a different matter entirely. Being a gorgon with a much more developed perception, she likely could see all the information there was.

Hes got carving, she said. And scholar.

Not the best combination. It was pretty much a given that he had all common skills besides guard as well.

Shield, Harp, any help on this?

Not in this fight, the armadil shield replied. Sorry.

Dallion expected as much. The time in which his gear would step in had passed. Now it was all up to him and anything he could use to his advantage.

Go, Euryale said and dashed forward.

Splitting into five dozen instances, Dallion did the same. Every few steps, hed split again and change his approach path. It was obvious that he wouldnt be able to trick the guardian, but at least he hoped to be able to attract the dryads attention.

That was when the guardian made his move. Moving almost too fast to be perceived, he dashed straight for Dallion, halberd at the ready. There were no instances, no echoes, or other tricks, just an ordinary dash reaching Dallion before he could react.

The tip of the halberd went for his throat. Thankfully, Euryale proved to be fast enough to pull Dallion at the right time and move him to just the right angle, so the blade slid over him without doing any damage. Aware of what was going on, Dallion relaxed his torso so as, while simultaneously doing a line attack with his right arm. Euryale didnt delay either, starting a barrage of punches aimed at the guardians side. Sadly, none of them reached their target.

Twisting the halberd twice, the guardian pulled it back and slashed the air.

MINOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 5%

ATTACK NEGATED

DARKs attack has been sliced in two by PROLET

Attack has no effect

A pair of red rectangles emerged in front of Dallion, along with a nasty cut on the upper area of his chest. There was a time when Dallion would have paused, in awe of the way in which his opponent had handled the situation. Since becoming a hunter, however, he knew better, quickly continuing with his attacks. While wounds in his present state couldnt be healed, losing the initiative would be a far greater mistake.

The air blurred as Eury and the guardian exchanged blows. The lack of rectangles indicated that neither was able to hurt the other. Considering who their opponent was, that was good.

Dallion turned his harpsisword so he could play a series of chords. Although not many, there were enough emotional points he could try to latch onto. Alas, just as Prolet was able to fight Eury to a standstill, he also managed to simultaneously slice through Dallions music attacks as well, severing the connection between the harpsisword and himself. Two more strikes followed, aimed specifically at the weapon. One hit, breaking one of the harpsisword strings. A momentary scream sounded in Dallions realm.

Harp! Dallion shouted.

Precisely at that moment, the dragon also made an attempt to join in. Slower and less perceptive than everyone else, he let out a breath of cutting air, aiming for the guardians back.

From Darks perspective, his attack had occurred a split second after the dryad had attempted to pierce Dallion in the throat. For everyone else, it was with such a delay that the dragon might not even be considered to take part in the actual fight.

Simultaneously, Eury, Dallion, and the dryad leapt back, letting the cone of air hit the spot where they had been fighting up to now.

Harp, how bad is it? Dallion took advantage of the pause to ask.

Shes mostly fine, Vihrogon replied in her stead. Just avoid using music. It wont help either way.

Its his only weakness, Dallion countered, his thoughts still on the nymph guardian. Ever since he had known her, she had only been hurt a few times, and each time, it was incredibly painful. Not that it made her hesitate when attacking. That was the thing about combat gearthey were more used to inflicting pain than receiving it.

No, the armadil shield said. Its yours. When you switch, it gives him a chance to attack.

That made things considerably more difficult. As much as he didnt want to admit it, Dallions music skills were a considerable part of his combat repertoire. Lately, he was starting to rely more on line attacks and familiars, but those didnt seem overly efficient either. It seemed that the guardian had an answer for everything.

Hold firm! Euryale shoutedthe signal for Dallion to close his eyes.

Dark, get out of here, fast! Dallion ordered as he closed his eyes. Judging by the flapping sound, the dragon had done so, and even avoided getting petrified. However, based on the other noises, it seemed that the guardian wasnt affected either.

Standard! the gorgon shouted that he could look again.

Mentally, Dallion went through his skills, trying to think of a useful combination. Forging was out of the question. Arts could be useful, though not at the level he needed. Scholar skills were a definite option as well ascome to think of itmusic, only not the type the armadil shield was thinking of. There was no need for Dallion to use the harp to sing.

Music, attack, and scholar, he thought, then started singing.

The first target of Dallions singing was himself and Eury. If they were to stand a chance against the guardian, they had to approach his speed, if not match it. Prolet must have guessed his intention, for he charged forward right at Dallion. Once again, Eury intervened.

Guard, Dallion kept on singing.

Green markers appeared, moving about with such speed that they appeared to be flickering. The guardian had no intention of making this easy.

Gleam, I need a distraction, Dallion thought. Make something appear as a book. An invisible one, if you can.

Seriously? The shardfly didnt sound overjoyed. Youre fighting a noble level guardian and I get to do parlor tricks?

Do you think you can face him?

Not at my current level. The familiar slid in her usual verbal jab, then fluttered to fulfill Dallions request.

The halberd kept ribbing the air, leaving afterimages as it did.

MINOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 5%

Several more red rectangles stacked up. Despite his best attempts, Dallion was unable to avoid all attacks, let alone compete in a full guard sequence. Eury fared almost as poorly, receiving a few wounds herself.

We havent even hit him once, Dallion thought.

Keep calm, dear boy. Its not like youre that far behind. Id say youre more or less on an equal footing. If not, the fight would have been all over by now.

That was little consolation, especially with the guardian shifting from piercing attacks to wide slashes. If this were a trial, Dallion would be focusing on finding a pattern that would lead to the question of the trial. Against living people, or guardians in this case, actions were more spontaneous, even if they followed certain tactics. The dryads style of fighting was so old that there were no lasting records from it. Therefore, Dallion could only rely on out of the box thinking.

Youre missing the obvious, the voice said in Dallions head. Theres always a question to be answered. You just have to find it. Or better yet, ask your own.

Anything more to add, voice? Dallion asked. It had been a while before.

Unfortunately, there was no answer. Usually, the voice was a lot more direct with suggestions, but now even it was using vague descriptors. Having no other choice, Dallion decided to look at the suggestion literally. Truth be told, there were a few things in the guardians behavior that didnt make sense. For one, Prolet consistently refused to combat split. Dallion kept on doing it non-stop, not that it was of great help; Dark did as well, and even Eury would do a partial split as she attacked. The guardian, though

Your books ready, Gleam said, carrying a minuscule tome as she fluttered towards Dallion.

Immediately, Dallion concentrated. Quills of ink and paper emerged from the illusion, darting wards around the dryad. Looking from the side, they seemed like a torrent of water.

The moment they got within a foot of the guardian; hed slash them in two without a moments thought. Looking closely, Dallion could sweat that the dryad had created an echo of himself to protect his back. The only issue was that it wasnt an echo, rather his bod and reaction speed were so great that he appeared to be in two places simultaneously.

Whats the reason you dont combat split? Dallion wondered. Could it be because of Eury? Petrification did make things a bit riskier, but not that much. It made even less sense why he wouldnt create an army of echoes as well.

Possibly, the guardian didnt want to dilute his power. It was an unlikely explanation, though not out of the question. It was even likely that he, in fact, had created echoes, but kept them in the temple, keeping an eye on the other dryads. The guardians main goal was to protect them, after all.

Protect them Dallion thought. Could it be that simple?

Dark, get back here and attack the temple, he ordered. Dont risk destroying it, just chip off part of the roof.

You sure? The dragon sounded confused. Alright, I guess.

With a single action, Dark flipped around, then flapped his wings. The thin thread of destruction emerged, flying straight at the temple.

ATTACK NEGATED

DARKs attack has been sliced in two by PROLET

Attack has no effect

A red rectangle emerged as the guardian slashed the dragons attack. In doing so, he missed a quill that hit him on the shoulder blade.

MINOR HIT

Dealt Damage is increased by 10%

Got you! Dallion smiled.

That was the weakness, the same that the mage had taken advantage of: the guardian wasnt only protecting himself, he was protecting the inhabitants of the realm as well, and that was going to be Dallions path to victory.

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