Pieces of Sonder

Clang! CLANG!

Kamdale delivered heavy blows to Red Star Lightning’s shield. The guild master stumbled back while the demoniclast advanced. The metallic clangs sounded quiet in comparison to the previous thunder of hooves. Nevertheless, it had the attention of everyone–human and demon. Freya clenched her fists in frustration. 

Around them, the demon bison snorted and tossed their heads in irritation. They had stopped their stampede out of the dungeon but were still restless. Freya scanned the prairie. A sea of bison stretched out before them. Hundreds bison dotted the landscape. Their dark brown bodies stood out even amongst the tall grass. The ones furthest away were starting to regroup into a single herd. The pungent smell of trampled grass filled the air. 

Freya quickly searched for Infamous Biscuit, Nightscythe, and Indrek. They were on the other side of the stampede dividing line but appeared fine. She counted the number of unfamiliar people from Red Star Lightning’s guild. Luckily, no one appeared flattened by the stampede. At least, this first stampede.

Already, some bison near Kamdale and Red Star Lightning were pawing the ground. If they all charged, she wasn’t sure if even Red Star Lightning’s expensive-looking armor would help him.

“What are you doing!” 

The forced whispered shout from Indrek made the bison turn their heads for a moment. But another loud clang drew their attention back to the fight.

“What the fuck?! My shield!” Red Star Lightning cursed. 

He threw his shield to the ground. It was nearly split in half. Retreating more, Red Star Lightning defended with his sword. But Freya could tell something was wrong. The guild master cringed each time their swords made contact. His movement was getting worse and worse.

Kamdale’s attacking with qi, she thought. And Red Star’s never experienced that before. 

Despite being two levels higher than Kamdale, not being able to defend against qi was a serious disadvantage. Freya herself had only recently learned to counter qi attacks. Her new Qi Armor skill was something she learned from the demoniclasts. She glanced at the bison. I have to help, but we’re all going to die if they charge…

Another fight began between Daveth and Meng with other players. The added sound attracted even more bison.

“Stream of flames!”

Whoosh

A wall of fire surged past Freya. She flinched away from the heat and flames. The river of fire cut through the bison herd, making the demons flee. Lady Merlin stood at the source of the flames. 

Not all the bison fled in the desired direction, but the fire cut off the majority of demons. Now they wouldn’t be trampled by the entire herd. Freya ran towards the fight. 

Infamous Biscuit sprouted tangling vines to keep the remaining bison from interfering. A few of the other players were cutting down the entangled demons. The heat from the flames bore down on the entire battlefield. Tiny fires were cropping up in the dry grass. 

Drawing her sword, Freya cursed everyone. Damn Lady Merlin for starting a wildfire! Damn Red Star for causing a dungeon break! Damn Kamdale for being an ass!

Kamdale saw her coming. Hardening the qi in her hands, Freya braced for his attack. As she expected, his qi coursed through her sword and tried to stun her body. His expression twisted when he realized it hadn’t worked. Freya smiled back. But she knew it was a temporary victory. 

“Come on, do we have to keep fighting? Help us take care of these demons.”

Freya said this, but she knew it was hopeless. But she needed to buy a little bit of time for someone else to help. Red Star Lightning appeared too stunned. Unfortunately, Kamdale didn’t bother to stop and respond. He moved his sword in a flash, knocking Freya out of her guard position.

Sensing danger, Freya sidestepped. Kamdale’s sword flashed past her ear.

She tried to raise her sword back to guard. Their swords met again, but this time no qi stung. Instead, Kamdale deftly slid his sword forward. 

In the split second before contact, Freya hardened all the qi in her body. 

Ack! A slicing pain burned through her shoulder. 

Gripping her sword, she clumsily swung at Kamdale. He easily blocked it and stabbed again. Freya didn’t have the swords skills to attack or defend him, but she knew when she would be cut—freezing her qi just before the hit was the only thing she could do.

Pain lanced through her right arm. 

Freya looked down at her arm, almost expecting it to be gone. However, something else clouded her vision.

[Qi Armor]

[Lvl 4 → Lvl 5]

[Qi Armor can now solidify to block physical attacks]

She touched and flexed her arm. Blood dripped down to her fingertips, but it was superficial. This level-up wasn’t like receiving real armor, but it gave her a chance.

Forget this, Freya thought, dropping her demoniclast-made sword. I was never cut out for a swordfight anyway.