Placing a foot in the stirrup, Vel swung herself back up onto Chestnut. She heard the slightest whistle before she felt the pain sting at her shoulder, a bolt thudding into a tree just past her.
[Tough Hide level 39]
With a hiss, Vel spurred Chestnut forward, kicking hard. The horse jolted. Without her. Yelping, Vel rolled right off the back of the animal, the air knocked from her as she landed face down in the dirt. Pushing herself up with a grimace, she looked towards the quickly approaching soldiers, her eyes locking onto the one with a crossbow trained on her from behind three knights.
[Keen Eyes level 3]
Heart thumping right from her chest, Vel leapt up to her feet. She heard the click from the crossbow, her toe already on the ground. In a sickening fall through the ground, she popped back up on the other side of the glass, holding her stomach as she waited out the dizziness.
“Where’d she go!” one of the knights shouted, his words muffled through the glass. He stopped, ahead of the group, his sword in hand.
Vel pulled a hand up to tighten her hold on her shawl, fingers grasping at air. Somewhere, she’d dropped it, not that it was useful to her now anyways.
The dark haired knight at the front of the group sheathed his sword, and even if he couldn’t see or hear Vel, she still held her breath. When he bent towards her, she gasped, scrambling away from his spot on the glass. Instead, he plucked a shadowy blob up from the ground━her shawl.
Watching him move from this angle was starting to make Vel’s head spin, and more so when one of his comrades moved closer. He held a lamp, and where the light touched, the glass seemingly fell away, letting the light through like a pillar in the dark realm. Rather than finding out what would happen if the light touched her, Vel stood, and took a few steps back.
[Shadow Sneak level 3]
Huh, good to know that she didn’t have to leave this realm in order to gain a level. Maybe it’s based on steps, she thought, growing wary at that idea. If that was the case, then each step would have a cost, wouldn’t it? The longer she was here, the more disorienting it felt, and likewise, the more steps she took, she found, the dizzier she became.
But what other choice do I have? Vel thought, eyes scanning the glass. It was hard to see the glass through the fragments of light that beamed through the glass from the lamps of the knights, but beyond them were more beams of light speckling the surface. That was enough to keep her sense of direction. More light meant town, and darkness meant forest. She could leave, venture into the forest and hide, or . . .
“Yes sir.”
Vel paused, listening to the soldiers again.
“We’ll sweep the whole area. She couldn’t have gone far,” he said.
“Good. No one rests until the [sacrifice] is dead,” their dark haired leader said, and turned around.
That ruined Vel’s plans to wait here until Sigurd returned. She also no longer had a horse, which she imagined might be a problem for their travel plans. So, she looked towards the beams of light breaking the glass. They were expecting to find her in the forest, not the town, right?
This is either bold or dumb, Vel thought, and began walking towards the lights.
[Shadow Sneak level 4]
[Shadow Sneak level 5]
[Shadow Sneak level 6]
[Shadow Sneak level 7]
By the time she reached the first of the beams, Vel had to kneel down, holding her head as it spun. This, she decided, had to be coming from acuity. Looking at its abysmal stat score of two, she frowned. Staying in this world wasn’t going to be an option for long.
Instead, she examined the town beyond the glass as best as she could. The lit areas were completely invisible to her, pillars that she didn’t dare touch, but where there was light, there was also plenty of shadow. The biggest was cast by the wall itself, showing a narrow walkway between it and buildings. There were a few alleys she traced with her eyes, but anything that opened into what Vel assumed to be a wide street was invisible, blocked by strange, voidless light━a light, she noticed, that did nothing to actually improve the darkness of this realm, almost like it was contained in its own glass.
Standing back up, Vel seamlessly crossed the wall.
[Shadow Sneak level 8]
It was strange to her that obstacles in the real world weren’t existent in this upside down one. Had she the mental capacity for it, she imagined she could travel great distances with this skill in the night, unimpeded by trees, rivers, and such.
[Shadow Sneak level 9]
[Shadow Sneak level 10]
A headache seeped into Vel’s mind, pounding at the front of it with a ferocity that had her collapsing to her knees in an alley between two wood buildings. As it persisted, she pressed her hand against the glass. Before, she stood and tiptoed to travel between realms, but when she rolled her palm across the glass, she flipped back through to the real world.
Her head felt like it hit stone when she came back to the other side, yet she remained in place on her hands and knees. Closing her eyes, she waited. Fortunately, the pain ceased, but when she opened her eyes, she still felt a level of disorientation. It was like taking in the very real buildings around her was such an oddity when they hadn’t existed in the previous world.
Taking a deep breath and slowly shaking her head, she pushed herself back to sit on her heels. She turned her head, looking in the direction she came from. All she saw was an alley that led straight towards the wall. What she heard, however, was more alarming━armored feet.
Turning forward, Vel staggered to her feet, and placed a hand on the wall to her left as she stumbled. The dizziness hadn’t let go of her yet! Come on! Move! she thought, lifting her skirt with her right hand and allowing her unwieldy feet to propel her to the other end of the alley. As she reached the end, a light shined across her eyes, peeking in from the big street down the narrow walkway to the left. Two knights ran by, oblivious to her.
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Still, that was enough for Vel to turn the opposite direction, the alley to her right also leading to a wide street. She paused, unsure if she should risk being out on the street.
No, wait until all the knights are in the woods, she thought. Turning away, she looked straight forward. Her breath caught. A man in a breastplate stared directly at her, the church’s blue insignia decorating it. As he marched towards her, Vel stumbled back, hand on the wall to keep her steady. However, nothing could steady her racing heart as the man drew a sword.
“Lieutenant!” he barked over his shoulder.
Reinforcements. Of course he’d call for reinforcements!
I’d like spiders now, Vel thought, somehow finding a cavern sized crimson creature easier to face than a man twice her size. In armor. In a narrow alleyway. Narrow. Alley. Oh, for avenging’s sake! She was not some useless little girl anymore!
She grabbed for a dagger she no longer had, then huffed and held her hand up. As the soldier advanced, a second one came in behind him, also drawing a sword. He turned and made a few signals to someone outside the alley. Shifting her target, Vel let a fireball loose.
[Fireball level 43]
The fire flew past the first knight’s head, who smirked. Oh, he thought she missed. Cute. Instead, her fire crashed into the lifted and motioning hand of the second knight, who gasped and recoiled. The first soldier frowned, and glanced over his shoulder.
Vel smirked.
“Fine,” he said, turning back to her. “You want to play games, little girl, we’ll play games.”
He charged.
Vel jumped, yelping and skittering back as the knight quickly closed the distance between them. He raised his sword, and her heel dragged. She tripped over it, the tip of the sword narrowly swiping past Vel’s nose.
[Rapid Dodge level 2]
[Skill gained: Sword Slash]
[0.5 Strength added]
Come on, think! Vel scolded herself, the notifications reminding her that she had some two dozen skills she could use here. He stabbed at her, and with a push against the ground to her left with [rock throw], Vel rolled up to her feet.
[Rapid Dodge level 3]
[Rock Throw level 40]
[Skill gained: Sword Stab]
[0.5 Strength added]
Jumping back as he stepped forward to slash at her, Vel flicked her hand. She let five threads shoot from her fingers. The sticky thread flew just past her target━the man’s sword hand━and thudded against a wall.
[Create Silk level 62]
[Create Silk level 63]
[Sticky Thread level 43]
[Sticky Thread level 44]
[Sticky Thread level 45]
[Webshot level 44]
[Webshot level 45]
“No!” Vel hissed, and moved to the side as he stabbed towards her again. Right right side hit the wall, and she felt pain sting at her left shoulder.
[Rapid Dodge level 4]
The knight stepped in quickly now that he was within range again, twisting his sword towards her neck. Vel dropped to the ground in one last hopeful attempt. She needed to end this, and end it now. If she didn’t . . .
Letting that thought drive her, Vel, used [webshot] from both hands this time, aiming for the soldier’s feet. They were much easier targets, and when the majority of her threads landed, she gripped them, and yanked. Hard. With all her body mass and an extra push of [rock throw], the armored knight’s feet swung out from under him. He yelped, the sound colored by the clanks of his armor as he landed on the ground with a satisfying thud.
[Create Silk level 64]
[Create Silk level 65]
[Create Silk level 66]
[Sticky Thread level 46]
[Sticky Thread level 47]
[Sticky Thread level 48]
[Sticky Thread level 49]
[Webshot level 46]
[Webshot level 47]
[Webshot level 48]
[Webshot level 49]
Vel immediately moved to disarm him, but froze. Her muscles were stiff, and there was the second knight now charging over the first to reach her. Had she a few moments, the stiffness would fade, but at this rate, she’d be driven through with a sword!
Doing the only thing she could think of, Vel sacrificed her body heat, shooting one, two, and three fireballs. Two of them bounced off the man’s breast plate, and the third nailed him in the face, making Vel gasp. She hadn’t meant to kill the man!
[Fireball level 44]
Pulling both hands to cover her mouth, Vel watched as the soldier staggered back, howling as he clawed at his face. While the fire had little effect than a mild burn there, his luscious blond locks went up in flames! He patted at them quickly, his sword already teetering on the dirt.
A new fear struck Vel. She could kill a man. No, she thought, stumbling back and straight out of the alley. Her hands shook as she looked for a new place to grab to settle the newfound nerves. Instead, a gauntleted hand grabbed her. She whipped her head to the new knight, and yanked her arm, but his grip tightened.
“Let me go!” she yelled, far louder than she intended. Yet, the panic was setting in, her breathing quickening. She placed a hand on the relatively young knight’s chest, and shoved him away. The heat in her body was already moving to form another [fireball], but Vel froze. He couldn’t be any older than Edard. He . . . he could be someone else’s Edard.
There was hesitation in his gray eyes, and he drew a dagger from his waist. Vel shook her head. This isn’t Edard. He’ll kill you! she internally screamed at herself.
“Please, no,” she said.
“Kill her!” Vel looked at the second knight in the alley, the first one now getting up behind him. “Kill her!” he repeated.
“I-I’m sorry,” the soldier holding Vel said.
Get. Away! Run! Vel screamed, her voice lending her the strength she needed as she twisted her hand from his grip then slugged him across the jaw with her other fist.
[Unarmed Punch level 3]
[Tough Hide level 40]
While she felt like she did more damage to her knuckles than his face, he was at least surprised enough that Vel slipped away. She dashed down the street, a fourth knight rounding the corner, but Vel didn’t stop running━she couldn’t.
Instead, she allowed her own fear and determination to consume her. Every ounce of her was considering her next move, which included running through the skills she had. Claws, they were a weapon, rock throw, maybe? Could she throw herself over him? No, she’d only ever managed to use it as an extra push, but not for a full lengthed bound.
Just get past his sword, she thought, the fear trickling away as anger replaced it. Anger at herself. She got herself into this mess by choosing to come here, and now she needed to get herself out of it. Making her plan, she let the heat seep away from her form and to her left hand while her right was prepared with a set of [metal claws].
As she neared the knight, she threw the fireball at him. As she expected, he threw his sword up, having no time to dodge. The flames dispersed uselessly over the blade, and the knight didn’t flinch. No, she needed him to flinch, or be caught off guard! Instead, he slashed at her. While Vel jumped backwards, the movement was awkward, she felt the tip of his blade narrowly scrape over her collarbone, then felt something blunt hit her in the center of her back.
[Rapid Dodge level 5]
[Skill gained: Counterstrike]
[0.5 Strength added]
[Skill gained: Kick]
[0.5 Strength added]
Vel coughed, staggering towards the knight in front of her, his sword poised to run her through.
No!
