S oaring Feather could be used by the sorcerer to stop their fall, or to suspend their opponent in the air. This ability was hated by all close-combat classes who were immobilized most often. In the sorcerers’ main development tree, Soaring Feather preceded the skill craved by many: Levitation.
Ori-Tori looked like an introvert forced out of their cozy bedroom. Slim and pale with slumped shoulders and big bags under her eyes, she didn’t look happy to be here.
“Hey!” Her soft mumbling was interrupted by the rogue’s Air Knife barely missing her head. She deftly tilted her head to the side, dodging the blade, and shot him a glare. “Rude!”
However much Raven was surprised by meeting her, he couldn’t allow her to attack again. Her magic affecting him was already bad enough.
Because of her perfect timing — casting the spell right after Leap — his head was already aimed at by archers and wizards waiting for a chance to vent their anger and frustration on him.
“Oh, sorry.”
Suspended in the air, he was a sitting duck, unable to leap or roll away. But he just smirked and activated the second form of Wings, escaping a torrent of attacks.
“Get him!” a disappointed voice shouted just before it was drowned out by Metal Rain. A volley of crossbow bolts fell on the speaker but was suddenly halted in the air, losing all momentum, and then clanked to the ground.
“You’d b-better n-not ig-gnore me,” Ori-Tori’s stammered, offended. Seeing the rogue fly away from her, she halted Metal Rain.
Having won himself some time, Raven looked around the battlefield. Facing a player who had started on a higher Floor just like himself, he wasn’t going to let her take him by surprise again. High-level sorcerers, particularly those that had the powers of space and gravity, were formidable enemies.
Kharses was attacked by a crowd, but not even that could stop it and it would soon come out of the fight victorious. Terror’s situation was rather difficult, but he had the support of his pet that had survived the past ambush: a black, spiky tortoise almost as tall as himself, spitting jets of water.
Raven scanned the battlefield, taking in all the necessary information and processing it.
Some demonologist used his familiar’s power to transform into a six-armed monster that looked like a black Naga. His skill range expanded drastically, his attacks becoming unpredictable and much more dangerous.
A ghost screamed eerily, casting a chaining debuff on its opponent. As a level one hundred and forty-five Marquis, Kharses didn’t seem to notice it at all. The enemy pets swarming around its gigantic body were struggling to survive its powerful attacks, perishing one after another.
Fallen lizards, elementals, Blaugrs, and other races played by the Lions’ Den were coming at Raven, Terror, and their pets. Most of the attacks targeted the rogue and Kharses but, since Ori-Tori had joined in, the other players became her support.
“Resonant Waltz!” she cried without stammering, waving her hand at Raven.
Three loud pops that sounded around the hovering rogue affected him with a spell very similar to Insanity’s Madman’s Dance. His right arm became incredibly heavy, his left — weightless, while the opposite happened to his legs.
Raven had no idea that this skill even existed. However, instead of panicking, he smiled beneath his mask. For a long while, he had been eager to find out how far he had come on the way of self-improvement. A Columbus Club member would be the perfect test subject.
It was debatable if starting on a higher Floor would make a player much stronger, but at least she was level one hundred and thirty-five. Since the Columbus Club had first stepped into the limelight, Raven had kept an eye on their progress through the rankings.
He probably looked like an inflatable doll with two bags of sand for limbs. At least, that was what he felt like. His grinning opponents mercilessly attacked with spells, missiles, magic arrows, and crossbow bolts, blinding him with their light.
They had probably forgotten one skill he had already used in the tournament: Not Me.
He couldn’t have used it before as no one had been standing close enough, but when Ori-Tori approached him to cast Resonant Waltz, he seized the opportunity.
The next was one of his most efficient skills: Lightning Copy.
Unfortunately for him, Ori-Tori had a good idea of his arsenal as he had already used many of his skills in public. Once she realized that she had been affected by Not Me, she used her strongest defensive skill.
Zero Field.
As the two skills activated simultaneously, Raven’s daggers hit the invisible barrier that consumed all damage. It was similar to what she had used against Metal Rain, but with a different spin on it.
Is she that good or am I that predictable?
This was a rather unpleasant surprise, but it’d take more than that to shake him off. Luckily, Ori-Tori’s annoying barrier disappeared very soon; otherwise, he would’ve had to use a skill that cost Influence Points. And that was the last thing he wanted right now.
Clutching his dagger and short sword, he flapped his Wings and disappeared into Stealth: a rather common and easily disrupted skill yet a perfect beginning for his combo.
Leap. Shock. Double Attack.
As he activated his attack skills, his blurred figure appeared in the air. He reached his goal in a split second.
Falling, Ori-Tori jerked her head to the side, escaping Shock, but Raven’s short sword reached her, doing multiplied damage. That was the best thing about fighting with both hands: the synchronization between skills and weapons.
Ori-Tori screamed but then clenched her teeth, activating Levitation, her weary face showing anger. The other players came to her aid, buffing her, using defensive scrolls, or attacking the rogue.
The flashes of spells from the surviving healers showed Raven how wrong he had been to let them live. Focusing, he marked their location, wishing he had an agile pet that could reach and kill them.
“Th-that was c-close,” Ori-Tori said to herself, then turned her empty stare to the rogue and, canceling Levitation, plummeted to the ground.
Her flight speed wasn’t as high as Raven’s, so she’d rather not fight him in the air. As she fell, she drank a Mana Potion and took out a scroll the moment her feet touched the ground.
GRAVITATIONAL FISTS OF RAGE
Type: Scroll
Rank: Gold
Description: An AoE spell that summons energy fists from the sky. As they fall, they crush the poor souls in their way and grind the ground and their bones to dust.
Characteristics: 1,800-2,100 crushing damage
Effects:
Activation: Rip the scroll.
Activation time: 3 seconds
Range: 63 feet
Affected Area: 12 feet
Duration: 3 seconds
Cost: 900 mana
Raven canceled Wings and summoned a Clone, extremely efficient in a situation when no one could properly identify anyone.
Ori-Tori ripped the scroll apart. She now had three seconds to make an important choice, or she risked wasting the expensive spell.
Her eyes darted from side to side, but Clone lived up to its name. Gritting her teeth, she made her choice by random and unleashed the skill at... Raven.
His luck failed him this time, forcing him to use Twilight Walker earlier than planned. His figure began to transform into a shadow as he ran, but... he was a moment too late.
“ARGH!”
A crushing blow hit his left shoulder. For a moment, he felt like a stone pillar collapsed on him.
About two dozen fists, each half his height, pounded the ground, leaving behind huge craters. But Raven was already safe in the shadows.