Skyborne Raider

A shield taller than myself forms in front of me. It has the texture of a dirt road—hard and dry, full of sharp gravel, hardened yellow soil, and dust. My already bruised fist lands on the surface as I try to punch The Exiled One.

“Aaargh, fuck!”

The pain is far worse than I expected, even with my rage fueling me. The spot where my fist hit pushes in slightly, but then it snaps back to its original shape as I pull my hand away. The massive, flexible shield absorbs all the force, its coarse surface scraping my skin. I feel every bone in my hand, a blunt, pulsating pain radiating through it.

“Please don’t be broken,” I mutter.

Michael, caught in his own uncontrollable rage, punches the enemy in the back. It's a pitiful strike. His punch is so weak that the black robe absorbs almost everything. I can tell by the hopeless expression on Mike's face.

Astrid is sitting, trying to discreetly pull out her bow, but The Exiled One is fully aware of his surroundings. The shield disintegrates instantly, and Astrid is yanked down again, now with even more force. I watch her lips tremble, sweat and tears flying off her face as her head hits the ground hard, the impact so powerful my eyes widen in shock. The Exiled One reaches into his robe, searching for something.

I don’t know where to look first. I take a few steps back, all I can manage now, of course without my hammer.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

He swiftly pulls out another length of the same heavy rope.

*Slash, whip, and slash.*

The rope cracks through the air with lightning speed.

Astrid’s screams and tears fill the air as Mike endures the relentless flogging on his bare back. He manages to dodge some of the strikes, but the rest come so fast that all he can do is raise his arm to protect his face.Bruises and dark welts form, covering his arm and forearm.

“Jesus! After all these strength levels! Why am I so helpless? Think, focus!”

My mind is in chaos. I stumble over to my half-buried hammer, and in my stress, I check my stats again to make sure I wasn’t just seeing things. Fifty-seven. So why am I still so weak?!

Mike somehow manages to roll out of the way and backs off, as far from Astrid as possible. He’s protecting her, making sure The Exiled One doesn’t switch targets. And yet I stand there, helpless, staring at the bronze plate in front of me.

I hover my hand over the stats, and as my finger passes over Strength, a dropdown menu appears.

“What!?” I stop in shock.

How could I forget about that beautiful drumroll from before? “Gosh!”

The menu looks the same, no hints. Zero skills.

“Your UX sucks!” I yell, looking up at the sky.

Available Skills

Boost [Strength boost 10% for a limited time]

Boiling Blood [The more enemies you face at once, the stronger your attacks become]

INSERT_NAME [Secret bonus: A gift from the maker for the most patient individuals. Create your own skill within the system's parameters. Approval by the system is required.]

What, what, what? Furious at myself, in pain and fearing for my companions, yet excited as I quickly read through this. The first two options are normal, but the last one is highlighted in green.

Percentage boosts are always good. But this one seems special.

Definitely the third one. But now? How am I supposed to create a skill on the fly?

Should I just run away and save myself, leaving them to die?

They’ll respawn anyway. A voice in my head tells me.

“Shut up, brain! How dare you!” I snap at myself.

He’d burn them alive or whip them until they lose all the flesh and skin!

I exhale. We can still win this.

My eyes dart back and forth as I think of possibilities and calculations in a split second.

The blood and muscle tissue that surged through me before... If I could focus it manually, direct it, I could be stronger. If I focus it on one part of my body, it might be more than just a 10% boost. Maybe it could even be kept there at will.

“I need to imagine something better, more efficient, or even a bit broken compared to those first two skills. Yes, that could do it!”

*A satisfying drumroll plays.*

“Hey, hey, hey!”

“What is this?”

Is it reading my mind?

“Ah, fuck!”

Now the INSERT_NAME field flashes.

“Ugh. It seems that it’s too late to change my mind.”

The name doesn’t matter to me. Let’s call it “Focus.” I say it out loud.

The field fills in with letters. The Focus skill is now engraved next to the Strength stat, with a pleasant green color.

I take a deep breath, while comprehending all this.

Good. I hope I won’t regret this later. But how do I activate it? With my mind? I wonder.

*Focus* I think of the word.

"All my strength. Focus it on my right hand."

A second later, a burst of energy surges from my core. My heart races as I imagine my blood and muscle tissue shifting to my right hand.

It’s not easy. My body twitches all over. Every body part I think of gets a surge of energy. It’s chaotic.

Must be my chaotic brain, all the impulses right now.

*Deep breath of hot, smoky air.*

My right palm. I look at it and picture it in my mind, doing both simultaneously. Such concentration is nearly impossible under these circumstances.

"There is nothing else! Only my right hand."

I focus on it, staring intensely, my teeth clenched. Hot sweat drips from my forehead.

“Just flow already!”

The energy suddenly stops its chaotic behavior, pulsing to the tips of my fingers.

Damn, this itches under the skin.

“More!” I stare at it, unblinking.

My palm turns crimson. The small cuts on my fingers and the heavy bruises on my knuckles swell with blood. Blood flow increases, so much that my arm sweats blood.

My body is adapting to the energy. Blood and muscle tissue automatically redistribute from the focal point and I feel movement under my skin, and I’m getting hotter.

The heat and pulse spread from my arm to my legs and back. I can only focus for a few seconds; otherwise, the power jumps randomly to other parts of my body.

I don’t have much time to figure this out. Time to test it with the hammer.

Nothing has changed with Astrid. She’s still pinned down, crying for Mike. He’s badly beaten. If he survives, these bruises will take forever to heal.

I approach my hammer. My pulsating hand grabs the handle and lifts it effortlessly.

“Holy smokes!”

Kids' toys are heavier than this. Is the burden spell not working?

“Hey, sucker! Over here!” I shout, knowing I have nothing to lose. The Exiled One ignores me, whipping the ground in front of Mike and stomping on his chest.

Is he going to tie him up like he did to me? He seems unwilling to kill us directly. With his size, he could snap our necks like twigs. Why is he doing this?

I stop focusing on my power and let it flow back to my core. The hammer tilts and falls to the ground.

“So it does work. My ten percent.”

I sprint toward the enemy, focusing on his silhouette. Halfway there, a thought flickers. I’m a reasonable person; I plan things.

But just that thought is enough to disrupt the skill. I stop abruptly, drop into a crouch, preparing to jump.

The hammer gets heavier. I grab it with both hands, lifting it over my head. Heat and pulse fill my thighs and hamstrings. My muscles swell. The leap is pure energy and adrenaline.

*Fwoosh*

I launch myself into the air. I’m flying, really flying! So high I can jump over a big van!

The enemy and Mike look like they are in the palm of my hand. At the peak of my jump, I feel I’ve calculated perfectly.

“Focus!”

“My arms! Both of them! Full power!”

Blood droplets form on my arms, running down my skin. The hammer feels weightless.

Lifting it over my head, I aim at the hooded giant. His shield starts to form, dust and particles swirling around him.

Right before impact, he braces against the shield with both hands, screaming in a deep, old man’s voice.

*Bang*