Dokeshi March: Chapter 39 (Patreon)

Chapter 39

Grant rushed to check on Suki, but she took the shot in stride.  The arrow had deflected off of her cheek bone, scoring a bleeding line across her nose.  From the look of sheer murder on her face, Grant almost felt sorry for whoever the archer was.  Almost.

“Bandits!”  Suki screamed in rage, then disappeared around the corner, the sounds of shouts and screams echoed down the narrow pathway.  As he finally caught up to her, Grant was shocked to see how many people made up the bandit group.  A very well prepared, and nicely geared bandit group.

<This is closer to the end of the maze.  These bandits have to be one of the strongest groups in the area in order to survive here.  And, it means they get to rob, loot, and steal from the strongest people that make it this far.>

Even though the world was still trying to spin around him, Grant shuffled into the fray.  It was quickly clear that the group wasn’t used to fighting without the turn-based system in place.  The man wielding the mace Grant was facing seemed to pause longer than necessary after making a swing at Grant’s midsection, which gave him an opening to exploit right away.  A quick upward swing removed the fingers holding the mace, even though he was aiming for the hand.

<Definitely worse than I thought.  Grant, you need to take a healing potion.>  Grant shook his head in denial, and then stumbled.  Even if he wanted to take one, there was no time.  Suki was dancing circles around four different attackers, but she wasn’t actually taking any of them out of the fight.  Another arrow flashed out of the corner of his eye, and Grant tried deflecting it out of reflex.  Instead of knocking it away, Grant just redirected it into the top of his foot.

“Ow.”  The arrow had gone all the way through, and was now holding him in place.  Two more bandits approached Grant, their obvious smiles at his predicament making Grant mad.  “Fine.  You think this is funny?”  Grant held his sword in a high guard, and activated the offensive version of his spell, Thundering Step.  “How about that?  Still funny?”

The two men had both been dual-wielding daggers, and the spell caused lightning to dance between the upheld blades.  A stray bolt of lightning shot out and struck the spearman trying to sneak up on Suki, blasting him into the thorny hedge wall.

While the spell was still functioning, Grant used his Uchigatana to remove the heads of the dagger wielders facing him.  The hidden archer must have seen it happen, because another arrow impacted against Grant’s armor.  It didn’t penetrate, but the impact sent him stumbling backward, painfully snapping the arrow off inside his impaled foot.

A second wave of bandits came out from around the corner farther down the pathway, making their situation worse.  Suki still hadn’t taken down a single opponent, and the spearman he had shocked with his spell was already getting back into the fight.

“Suki!  Watch your back!  Spear to the rear!”  She didn’t acknowledge Grant’s shout, but it was obvious she had heard him when she managed to angle the thrust from a short-sword into the path of the spear aimed at her back.  Before the second wave could reach them, Grant was surprised by the man he had cut the fingers off of.  He had picked the heavy weapon back up, squeezing it between his palms.  A crunching blow into his knee was the only warning Grant had that the man was marginally back in the fight.

<At least it’s the same leg as the arrow injury.>

“Not helping, Sarge.”  Grant shifted his weight as he turned to face the bandit, and his leg barely held up his weight.  “That’s going to be a problem.”

Grant slapped aside the mace and made a quick stab to the middle of the phalange-less man’s chest that finally put him down, but the damage was already done.  “There are six more coming, and I’m hurt!  Suki, you have to quit playing around, or we are both dead!”  An arrow piercing his left shoulder only emphasized his point.  “Hurry!”  Suki did a double-take when she took a look at Grant, shocked to see how much blood he was covered in.

“Aahh!  Why!  Why are you making me do this!”  Suki’s next punch folded the elbow of one of her attackers the wrong direction, making him shout almost as loud as the sound of snapping bone.  A follow-up punch snapped the bandit’s head back so hard that Grant could hear their neck snap.  “I don’t want to be this kind of person!”  The left hook she laid into the woman who was holding a longsword crunched ribs and caved in the entire side of her chest.  “Why are you making me kill you?!”  A third attacker was obliterated instantly when Suki jerked the spear out of the hands of the bandit standing behind her, and she shoved the blunt end all the way through their head in an explosion of gore and horror.  A quick spin put the spear point through the second to last bandit’s torso, only increasing the viscera splattered over the area.  Well, Grant wasn’t horrified, but pretty much everyone else was.

Whether it was her crazed shouts, or the brutal ending of their friends, the approaching bandits decided to slow their charge.  The final enemy still facing Suki darted forward to stab her with their short sword, just in time to get an arrow right between their shoulder blades.  They fell with a shout, and the archer finally came out of hiding, shock on her tear-stained face.  The approaching six clustered up around the archer, as if passing her down the walkway would put them within range.

<Grant, you need to stop the bleeding from your foot and shoulder.  Your health is dropping fast.>  He checked, seeing that he was at one hundred and thirteen.  As he watched, it ticked down to one hundred and twelve.  Grant tried to take a step to the side, but his injured leg gave out on him.  He dropped to his injured knee with a grunt of pain.  Suki glanced over at him, and her eyes seemed unfocused, like she wasn’t even seeing him.  A screen popped up in Grant’s vision, making his vision swim.

Debuff: Bleeding from multiple wounds.  Loss of one HP every three minutes.

“Suki, I have…” Grant paused to do some mental math.  It took him longer than normal, considering his condition.  “I have about thirty-seven minutes until I bleed out.”  Her eyes seemed to come back into focus, and she winced when she looked around at what she had done.  Her face seemed to flatten when she looked back at Grant, as if all the emotion was drained out of her.

“It’s okay.”  She took a step toward the cluster of bandits, who had been emboldened by Grant taking a knee.  “It will all be okay, Grant.  I’ll take care of things.”

As she squared up in a horse stance a little in front of him, the bandits decided to charge.  Grant quickly activated his spell again, catching all but two of the charging people in the radius of lightning.  They locked up, their momentum bringing them closer even as they fell.  Even on one knee, Grant was able to kill the three that landed within range.  Suki quickly finished off the two that were close to her by crushing their throats with deliberate hammerfists.  The entire time her face didn’t even flicker with emotion, which greatly worried Grant.

The last two bandits were the archer that had started the whole thing, and a large man wearing black leathers and a gray cloak.  They began backing up, before Suki squared her shoulders and sprinted at them.  It was obvious they wouldn’t be fast enough to get away, so the man crouched low, ready to take her charge.  It also allowed for the archer to shoot over the bandit’s head.  The emotionless Suki didn’t seem to care, charging straight at the arrow pointed at her head.  Grant didn’t have the mana to toss out another spell, so he did the only thing he could think of.  He threw his sword.

The Uchigatana tumbled through the air before bouncing off the ground hilt-first.  It clattered to the ground three feet away from the two bandits, doing absolutely no damage to anyone.  Somehow, that was enough.

Distracted by the flashing sword thrown at them, the enemy fighters took their eyes off of Suki just long enough for her to get in close.  She used the shoulder of the crouched man to vault over him, executing a chopping axe kick into the top of the archer’s head.  Even though her feet didn’t have the offensive bonus provided by the gauntlets her fists had, Suki was powerful enough to snap the neck of the archer like a dry twig.

“Nooooo!”  The cloaked man shouted out, his exclamation expressing his emotions better than any discourse could.  A swinging backfist caved his face in before he could bring his weapons to bear, killing him just as quickly as the archer.

Seeing that all the enemies were gone, Grant immediately dropped into meditation.  It was impossible to sit in the lotus position with his knee, so he just laid down on the bloodsoaked ground.

The fight replayed in his mind, showing him how to improve.  There was a harsh lesson about finishing off enemies when he had a chance, especially if the enemy carried a weapon that didn’t require a full set of fingers to use.  It was also obvious that Grant should have listened to Sarge and tried to heal as much as possible before charging into battle.

As Grant opened his eyes, he finally took the chance to pull up his stats.

Name: Grant Monday

Rank: Lord of The Month (January, February)

Class: Foundation Cultivator

Cultivation Achievement Level: 20

Cultivation Stage: Late Summer

Inherent Abilities: Swirling Seasons Cultivation

Health: 272/449 (Persistent Head Injury, current maximum health capped at 300.)

Mana: 16/23

Physical: 266

Mental: 92

Armor Proficiency: 141

Weapon Proficiency: 174

Late Spring Medium Ornate Banded Mail armor. Full set: Head, Torso, Legs.

Total Physical Damage Decrease per set item (Includes Cultivation bonus): 61

Total Magical Damage Decrease per set item (Includes Cultivation bonus): 61

February Twenty Nine (Considered as a Late Spring Medium weapon due to Weapon/Armor synergy)

Total Damage increase: 73. (Base weapon increase: 14. Weapon Cultivation increase: 59.)

Critical hit maximum damage: 110

Weapon Inherent abilities:

1) Weapon Absorption: This sword has the ability to absorb another Wielded Weapon’s power, taking its ability into itself. Restriction: Only one weapon per Monthly series.

2) Weapon/Armor Synergy: When the Wielder is equipped with armor, this sword increases in potency and gains power. Increase is capped at the Welder's cultivation stage, or average armor stage, whichever is lower. February 29 is currently considered a Mid Spring Light’ sword. Current maximum damage is: 73 (59 from weapon cultivation, 14 from base weapon weapon stage damage, rounded up.) Damage type is ‘piercing’, ‘slashing’, or ‘blunt’ depending on how February 29 is used.

3) Time is Space: you now have access to any of the powers of February Twenty Nine, no matter where the Weapon is. You may also call your Weapon to you so long as you touch upon a place in the world where it once was while bound to you. Cost: 25% of mana pool.

4) Locked

Weapon Absorbed abilities:

1) Sword Grandmastery: Imbue your weapon with a Sword Spirit that creates a model that allows for enhanced physical, mental, and weapon cultivation. Restriction: the training plan must be followed, else the ability locks for 24 hours. There is only one warning given per day.

2) Live by the Sword: Pause and meditate on the failures of your combat ability, healing up to 40% of all damage taken within the last 10 minutes, over one full minute. This ability will increase with physical cultivation.

3) Double Tap: After four consecutive hits on the same target, the fifth attack will be perfectly duplicated by an intangible copy of the Wielded Weapon.  Damage is unblockable by all forms and types of armor, and is randomized between slashing, piercing, and blunt types.  Certain spell effects can potentially mitigate damage.

Skills:

Plant Insight(1/5) Skill tier 1: It is 10% easier to spot plants with medicinal effects within a ten-yard radius.

Kenjutsu (2/10) Skill tier 1: All damage dealt when wielding a sword is increased by 10%.

Skill tier 2: your sword will never betray you. When a sword is wielded by you, the blade will always land exactly where you intend.

Iaijutsu (2/5) Skill tier 1: When prepared to attack, sword instantly leaves a sheath and slashes or penetrates target, increasing on-hit damage by 10%.

Skill tier 2: Perfect Aim. If you can use any sense to see something coming for you, your sword will be there.

Reflective Skin (1/10) Knowing your enemy is half the battle, and you’ve found a way to make it harder for other people to understand you! As this skill is self-created, it will increase significantly faster than other skills.

Lightning attunement (1/10) Skill tier 1: Increases damage of all lightning-attuned spells by 10%.

Bodily awareness (1/3) Your mind has learned what is real, and what is not. Now you will always know for sure. Skill tier 1: the pain of all real damage taken is increased by 10%.

Spells:

Elemental Spell: Thundering Step

Prerequisites: 65 Mind. Two feet. Metal weapon.

Active Mode: Create a static field in a five foot radius around you that damages others when they move through the area. Does not move from the point it was set. Lasts five seconds.

Mana cost: 10 per use.

Damage(Self): 0% Mental cultivation.

Damage(Other): 100% Mental cultivation per second.

Training Mode: Increase movement speed by 50% while out of combat. Combat is defined as not dealing or taking damage from an opponent for five seconds.

Mana cost: 10% per second. Mana regen halted while active.

Spell Slot 2: Open

The changes were slight, besides the addition of an open spell slot.  Grant was more concerned about the notice that he had a persistent injury than anything else.  It meant a healing potion wouldn’t be enough to fix it.  They would have to find a professional healer to fix him.

He sat up to inspect his knee, seeing that it had mostly healed.  It was still tender, but he was sure it could handle his weight.  The bleeding wounds he had suffered were also healed, which thankfully ended his countdown to death.  They were also tender, and he would have to be careful not to reopen them.  As he stood up, the world went spinning again.  Definitely needed to get his head injury taken care of.

“Suki, I think I need a professional healer.”  The pink-haired Wielder had picked up the bow that the archer had dropped, and she was staring at it with watery eyes.  “Suki?  What’s wrong?”

“I… I can’t keep doing this.”  She waved her hands at all the dead bodies, their blood still soaking into the ground.  “This is just too much.  I can’t keep watching the light go out of their eyes, their life leaving their bodies.”  She motioned to the bow in her hands.  “Maybe I can kill from a distance.  Taking up the bow would mean I don’t have to be right there to watch them die.”  A single tear rolled down her cheek and got caught on the bloody furrow left on her face by the arrow.  “I can give my gauntlets to a person more worthy of wielding them.”

“No.”  Grant’s voice was quiet, but firm.  “That’s not fair to you, or your people.”  Suki looked up at him, the question clear on her features.  “Would it be better for them to have a leader that enjoyed killing?  To have a Wielder that was excited by the idea of watching as a person’s eyes faded into darkness?”  He paused to let what he said to sink in.  “You only killed them when you had no choice.  There is a good chance that you could have gotten away, but I would have died after my knee was crushed.”  Grant put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  “You saved my life.  And, while I might not be the smartest Wielder in the District, even I know enough to say that a leader who only kills as a last resort is a good person to have in charge.”

“Are you sure?”  Suki sniffed, trying to hold back her tears.  “I still feel like I’m no better than the monsters we killed.”

“These bandits were no different than those monsters.  They just looked like humans.”  Grant took the bow from her trembling hands.  “You are not an arrow to strike from afar.  Lady February is a gauntlet-covered fist that strikes down evil, wherever it might dwell.  Be that Lady.”

She nodded silently, and they started walking for the exit.  They left the bow in the dirt, and neither bothered looking back.