Combat Trial Part 2
Deciding to head north into the mountains, Sera climbed down the tree and set off. The flames and smoke seemed to be getting closer; she didn't want to chance burning or choking to death.
Her recent increase in power had translated into much more nimble and smooth movements, the tree roots and uneven ground doing little to slow her down. She sped up, legs pumping as she dodged and leapt over obstacles. Crossing over a small stream, she halted. Something felt off.
Drawing Bloodless, she transformed it into its polearm mode as she readied herself. She turned slightly when she heard the bush to her left rustle, before she caught the sound of footfalls to her right. Lurching to the right, she swung her halberd and bisected a small green humanoid that had leapt down from the trees, its dark blood splattering all over her.
Lunging forward, Sera thrust her halberd into a nearby bush, impaling another of the green humanoids. Twisting her weapon free, she jumped backwards as a pair of arrows impacted where she had been standing. More and more of the monsters attacked her, most wielding crude spears and long knives. Some leapt down at her from the trees above while others charged out from behind trees and bushes. Once or twice they even managed to leap out of the ground, how they did that she had no idea.
She was loathe to settle in for a battle of attrition, but there were too many of them blocking her path. They seemed to be capable ambushers too, so she didn't want to risk setting off traps as she ran. Instead she she sunk into a defensive stance and settled in for a long fight.
They massed before charging out recklessly, expecting to overwhelm her with the sheer weight of their numbers. They came from the tree tops, from the ground, and from every bush. It devolved into a slaughter fest within moments.
She moved quickly and attacked ferociously, every swing of her halberd claiming blood if not lives. Sera sundered armored, fractured skulls, cleaved limbs and otherwise annihilated her opposition. Part of it was the disparity in equipment. Bloodless was without equal and even lacking the skill to utilize its functions to the utmost, it was more than a match. Her ironwood armor was as sturdy as steel as well. Placed against crude spears and rusty knives, it only suffered a few scratches.
The corpses of her enemies, on the other hand, piled up and blood ran like rivers. The smell was nauseatingly rancid, the monsters shed black blood that had an aura of death and decay. She tuned it out as best as she was able but like many chefs her sense of smell was very acute. Deciding to push forward, Sera initiated her whirlwind technique, spinning her halberd and body in rapid succession. A dervish of metal, she cut through a score of enemies before sprinting away at top speed. She hoped she'd be able to dive into a river along the way. The monsters pursued, some lobbing rocks and arrows at her fleeing back but they were deflected off her armor.
She ran for as long and hard as she was able, not quite at top speed as she would have exhausted herself within minutes but close enough. Sera was surprised to find she had the strength, she certainly went far faster for much longer than she ever had in her past life.
Taking a break in a small clearing, she once again wished Yofune had come with her. What she wouldn't do for a source of clean water…
Deciding to at least clean her face is she could see and breath more easily, she washed off the dirt, blood and other grime with some of her rapidly dwindling water supply. Drinking a few mouthfuls, Sera put the bottle away before rising and climbing up a nearby tree. Once again locating the mountain, she oriented herself and marched forward.
Plodding along at a brisk pace, Sera managed to avoid any additional encounters and even found a small stream to clean off most of the blood. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain however, she realized she may have made the wrong choice. In front of her was a… colossus. She had no other words to describe it. Towering nearly thirty meters in the air and made from stone, it was shaped like a humanoid bearing a long cleaver. Symbols were carved all over its body, likely performing a variety of functions from strengthening to reinforcement to drawing mana in. Frankly it was a being far beyond her skill, certainly she could not contend with it directly.
Sera did not believe she was meant to run though. It was a combat trial after all. It wouldn't be much of one if she didn't fight and all she had encountered so far were small fry.
What does she decide to do?
Tactics Checks: Trickery = 55 Skill Check: 100 Failure No Additional Options Available
[ ] The colossus must have a weakness somewhere. Climb its back and try and find it.
[ ] Attack and lead it into the forest before circling back to circumvent it and take the path.
[ ] Power goes to those who are bold. Feed consumer of all mana crystals to try and supercharge a single attack. High risk option with a roll of chance.
[ ] Flee from here there's always other routes.
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Sorry guys been really busy, haven't even been able to login till today. Been sneaking in what time I can to get some writing done. Between this and the next post for the trial I may do short interludes about our new recipes. It might also get just bundled into the updates after it. Not sure yet.
