Chapter 67: Dancing Blades (Patreon)

The grey, featureless statue twirled its Bo staff in a high-speed, rhythmic pattern as it approached Hemi. It appeared to be in no particular rush. After all, where else could Hemi go? He was trapped just like the rest of us, only his cage was a little bigger.

Well it turns out that in his panicked state, Hemi moved closer to the rest of us. I don’t know if it was a subconscious desire or not. We were still unable to leave our markers and would be of little help to him. Hemi didn’t see it that way though. If there were barriers around us, then he believed that those same barriers would get in the statue’s way.

The statue swung the long end of its staff at Hemi, who dodged backwards, but the staff swing kept going, passing through the marker barriers towards us. Elise and I ducked.

“Hey! Keep it away from us!” yelled Elise.

“Sorry,” Hemi mumbled.

He broke into a slow jog around us and drew the statue away.

It seems that the marker barriers only applied to us. So not only we were trapped, but we were also defenseless if the statue decided to come our way again. That being said, the attack did provide some useful information and tell us a little more about what we’re dealing with by giving us the System identification message.

*Enemy Identified* [Weapon Art Mannequin (uncommon)] Level 16 – These constructs were developed by the Zenyx on their planet Adomitus to serve as training aids for their warriors and security guards for the wealthy. Of course, this particular statue has been programmed to kill whoever was standing on the white marker. It does not bleed or feel pain. In its state, it is a merciless killing machine.

The statue caught up with Hemi and swung its Bo staff down towards his head. Hemi blocked it with a small barrier shield covering his arm. It pulled the staff back and then went into a series of fast-paced strikes using each end. Hemi put a shield barrier on his other arm and blocked them as best as he could, but it was a war of attrition that he was losing fast. Killing the weak snakes had been one thing, but this might be beyond him. Though I found it strange because it looked like he wasn’t even trying to fight back. Perhaps the statue was too overwhelming for him?

“We have to find a way to help him,” I said.

“How?” asked Elise.

“Maybe there’s something in his book that could help,” suggested Hugo.

Hemi was rapidly blocking strikes too quickly to read his book. He needed to gain some more distance first. I shouted that exact advice to him, but I couldn’t tell if he’d heard me or not. Slowly, Hemi backed away towards another frozen statue on a pedestal. This time, caught between Hemi and the frozen statue, it didn’t attack and instead opted to go around it. It wasn’t much, but it gave him a little time as he hustled between three remaining frozen statues for cover and summoned his book. Flipping through the pages, his eyes lit up when he found something.

“Elise, magic can penetrate the marker barriers,” Hemi said to us.

“What? How can you know that?” Elise asked.

“The book said so. It knows everything about shields.”

Elise tried to point the end of her staff in order to assist him, but the circular markers we stood on were small. She could only angle it at a diagonal angle above her, which basically meant that the statue had to be right on top of her for the spell to hit it. The other problem is that she needed to conserve her power for her own upcoming fight. So it was unclear as to how much help she could give.

Still, Hemi was having a tough time, and the book wasn’t giving him any more useful answers. Hemi led the fighting statue back towards Elise until it was in the firing line. As it swung the staff towards Hemi, Elise shot a fire blast out of her staff. It was meant to take its head, but the construct pulled back at the last second, leaving only light damage to its arms. The center of the Bo staff caught most of the attack, leading it to fracture into two pieces. The statue adjusted instantly to using the broken Bo staff like fighting sticks. Apparently, these things were programmed with multiple fighting styles. Destroying or altering their weapons wouldn’t be enough to stop them.

Hemi put his book away and was back to blocking.

Hugo turned to me. “Eventually, he’s got to fight back, right?”

“I hope so,” I said. “I just don’t know if shouting that at him will help. He must know it himself.”

The sticks hammered away at his shields and cracks in them were beginning to show. Hemi still didn’t fight back. A shield broke completely and before he reformed it, a stick got through and came crashing down onto his shoulder. Hemi winced and didn’t block when the statue launched a front kick that knocked him over.

Lying on his back, he reformed his other shield and put up the best defense he could, but the statue continued to rain down blows, and it wouldn’t be long before both shields failed for good.

Damn it.

“You have to fight back!” I shouted. “You can’t just stand in the back and support others anymore. This part of the floor is literally designed for people to fight on their own. No higher power will think less of you if you defend yourself, least of all, against a lifeless machine.”

Elise and Hugo joined in with their own words of encouragement.

It was hard to tell, but I think our words were sinking in. His golden shields suddenly turned red as he slammed the edge of one down on the statue's foot, slicing it in half. The construct was momentarily stunned. Hemi moved away and got to his feet. The statue tried to advance, but with half of its foot gone, it stumbled and fell to one knee. Hemi approached with red shields that appeared to be buzzing with energy. The statue raised its sticks and Hemi attacked. His red shield cut through the sticks and kept going across the statue’s neck, decapitating it. Without a head, the construct fell lifelessly to the ground.

I checked in the party menu and saw that Hemi had gained three levels for defeating it, which brought him up to a respectable level 16. Finally, my party members were starting to catch up with me.

The marker that Hemi had stood on went from a white glow back to a red. It seemed he would have to return there and be trapped so that one of us could fight another statue.

“It’s not that I don’t know how to hit back,” explained Hemi as he approached the marker. “It’s that there were certain doors and paths that are now closed to me because I used the magic of the universe to do violence. I was already pushing it with the snakes, but now it's confirmed.” He seemed somewhat dejected at first, but then he smiled. “Oh well. I realized that I’d rather be alive here with you all instead of trying to martyr myself for the perfect path.”

“You did well,” I said. “Whoever’s next, just know that you’ve got our support, too.”

As Hemi stepped onto the marker, his went to green while mine changed to white. I guess I’m going next. Not that I was worried. A level 16 statue sounded like a piece of cake to me at this point. I looked at the three frozen statues, wondering which one I would fight, when suddenly the statue with twin short swords came to life.

Okay, sword fight it is.

Instead of approaching slowly like the other construct, this one launched itself at me from across the room before I’d even stepped off the marker. It moved with incredible speed, but I got my sword up in time. I blocked an attack so strong it jolted through my body. This doesn’t feel like a level 16.

*Enemy Identified* [Weapon Art Mannequin (uncommon)] Level 23 – These constructs were developed by the Zenyx on their planet Adomitus to serve as training aids for their warriors and security guards for the wealthy. Of course, this particular statue has been programmed to kill whoever was standing on the white marker. It does not bleed or feel pain. In this state, it is a merciless killing machine.

Of course. The levels aren’t random. These are training constructs, so they scale up to be three levels higher than whatever the person they’re fighting currently is. That makes sense.

The statue’s swords became a blur. Out of habit, I almost reached for my Viper Fang to duel wield, but instinct told me that my sword would be enough. I stood my ground and settled into a stance.

As I relaxed my breathing and focused, the statue’s whirling blades were no longer indecipherable. A pattern emerged. I could see where they were heading and what its next move would be. It fought in a certain style that became incredibly predictable. As it struck, I would simply dodge one swinging blade and deflect the other with my katana. We went back and forth like this until something even deeper clicked within my mind and my focus increased. I stopped dodging entirely, and my sword sped up to meet each blade. I was perfectly deflecting every attack. It felt amazing. I was so calm, so centered, and yet every block of mine was perfect.

So this was the power of my Apprentice Swordmaster skill. It granted me the knowledge and instincts that made this duel child’s play. The statue was utterly inferior, and once I was done reveling in my new ability, I took its head in one clean swing.

*DING!* You have slain [Weapon Art Mannequin (uncommon)] Level 23 – Experience Points and Currency Acquired

*DING!* Class: [Blood Reaver] has reached level 21 – Experience Acquired.

I put the points I’d gained into dexterity and returned to take my place on the marker. The others looked stunned.

“Were you always that good with a sword?” Hemi asked.

I shrugged. “It’s one of my new skills,” I said, trying to sound modest.

My marker light turned green while Elise’s became white. Now it was her turn to face an enemy. I wonder what kind of magical fight we can expect. The statue with the knife and chains came to life and moved off of its pedestal. It was an interesting weapon, and I was curious to see how Elise would stack up against it using her magic staff.

The statue started swinging the knife on the end of its chain in circles. It was so fast that you could barely see the chain. I’m guessing it was some kind of rope dart like weapon which means its effective range was going to be deceptive. She would have to be careful about how she tackled this one.

Elise took a deep breath and then pulled out a gun and shot the statue in the head. It instantly died, and we were stunned as she casually returned to her marker spot. The System told me that she’d gained two levels from killing it and was now at level 19.

“What?” Elise asked when she saw our looks. “I don’t have a skill that lets me replenish its bullets the way that Earnest could. Plus, seeing how weak it was against the rams outside made me realize that the usefulness of these guns has a shelf life to them. I might as well use it now while they still worked.”

None of us could argue with that and so we turned to watch the final fight. The one that worried me the most. Hugo versus the archer mannequin.