The stench clunged to the air in the ruined castle, thick and suffocating.
Fifteen ogres, their hulking forms easily twice his height, holding crude clubs that looked capable of crushing Andrew with a single swing. Their eyes where broad and brutish, their small eyes glinting with a dull, predatory hunger.
With them where the trolls, leaner, but no less menacing. Their clawed hands gripping gnarled wooden weapons and crude stone axes. Their mossy green hide blended somewhat with the decaying stone.
"Arghhh" Andrew took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance.
Andrew gripped his dagger tighter, a strange exhilarating current surging through his body. The sheer audacity of facing such a horde alone, ignited a spark in him. He turned his gaze to the closet ogre with murderous eyes.
The ogre roared and charged at Andrew. Its club swung in a wide, clumsy arc but the sheer momentum behind it was terrifying. Andrew reacted instantly, he sidestepped the blow, the wind of the passage ruffling his hair and darted in close.
His dagger flashed aiming for the ogre's thick thigh. The hide was surprisingly tough, but the blade sliced through with a sickening tear sound. The ogre bellowed in pain as crimson bloomed from its thigh.
Before the ogre could recover, Andrew was already moving. A troll lunged at him with a swiftness that belied his size. Andrew parried its crude axe with his dagger, the impact jarring his wrist. He used the momentum to spin away, putting distance between them.
The other monsters where closing in. He knew he couldn't afford to get surrounded.
"Shit!" He scoffed, the castle now a deadly arena. He needed to use the environment to his advantage.He scanned the debris-strewn floor, the crumbling pillars, the gaping holes in the walls and the narrow passages.
"Got it" he muttered. The castle for all its stench and danger offered potential. He could use the rubble for cover and then narrow passages to create bottlenecks.
Another ogre charged, its club aimed at his head. This time Andrew didn't dodge completely. He ducked low, letting the club pass inches above him and used the opportunity of his dive to slide between the ogre's legs.
As he slid to the other side, he slashed upwards, his dagger finding purchase in the softer flesh of its groin.
The ogre roared in agony, its massive hand clutching to the wound. It stumbled backwards hindering the trolls behind it. Andrew seized the opportunity, sprinting towards a collapsed section of wall, a jagged pile of stones that offered a modicum of cover.
"Phew" He took a deep breath, relieved he had time to think straight and not just rush into direct confrontation because of a stupid thrill.
[MP: 950/1000]
"50 mana points is gone?! I haven't even had one kill!" He snorted.
The sounds of the enraged monsters echoed around him, their heavy footfalls shaking the ground. He could hear their frustrated snarls as they tried to navigate the debris to reach him.
'Fifteen of each' he thought, his mind racing.
'Direct confrontation is still suicide. I need to pick them off, using their own clumsiness against them'.
An ogre impatient and enraged tried to clamber over the pile of rubble. Andrew waited for the right moment, then lunged forward, his dagger sinking into the ogre's exposed neck. The ogre gasped, its massive body collapsing and tumbling back, crushing a hapless troll beneath.
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
"Two down" Andrew noted grimly.
He shifted his position, moving silently behind another section of fallen pile of rubble. A troll, its long, sinous limbs allowing it to move with surprising stealth, stalked around the corner. Its eyes, fixed on Andrew.
Before the troll could react, Andrew hurled a loose stone he had picked up. It struck the troll in the face. Andrew used the distraction to close the distance, his dagger finding the vulnerable gap in its mossy hide, piercing its heart. The troll let out a strangled gasp and collapsed.
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
'Three'
The fight was a brutal dance of evasion and swift, precise strikes. He learned quickly. The ogres were strong but slow and predictable. Their attacks and movements were clumsy.
The trolls were faster and more cunning, but their hides, while tough had weak points, especially in their joints and under their arms.
The air grew thick with the smell of blood and the guttural cries of the dying. Andrew's body ached, his muscles screamed in protest, but the exhilaration, the dark thrill of survival against impossible odds, kept him going.
[E2 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
He would lure an ogre into a narrow passage, then dart past it leaving it vulnerable to attack from behind.
He would use the trolls' agility against them, baiting them into leaping across gaps only to his dagger waiting for them on the other side.
One particularly large ogre, his club the size of a small tree trunk, proved a formidable opponent. Its swings were brute forcing Andrew into desperate rolls and dives.
Thinking quickly, Andrew led the ogre towards a section of the floor that looked particularly unstable. He dodged it's clumsy attacks, making the club hitting the floor. The brute's weight finally caused the weakened floor to give away. The ogre roared as it plunged into a dark chasm.
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
'Four ogres down, two trolls down' he registered, a grim satisfaction settling in his chest.
'11 ogres, 13 trolls...hmmm.. let's get it'
He was still outnumbered but the ease with which their companions have fallen seemed to have shaken the monsters' confidence.
Andrew pressed the advantage, never sparing a moment for them to regroup. He used the shadows to his advantage, his dark clothing making him a difficult target to track in the dim light.
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
A troll tried to flank him. Andrew anticipated the move, whirling around and throwing the dagger. The blade spun through the air striking the troll in the throat.
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
'Five trolls down'
The battle raged on, a ballet of death in the decaying heart of the castle. Andrew was battered and bruised, his clothes torn and stained with the blood of his opponents.
He was no longer just surviving, he was hunting. He was the predator in the gruesome arena, using his wits and agility. Each kill fueled him, sharpening his senses.
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Ogre Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E1 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
[E2 Troll Eliminated_+1 Mabeast Monarch Point]
Finally, the last ogre crashed to the ground with a resounding thud. Andrew stood panting, his chest heaving, his dagger dripping crimson. The silence that descended was heavy, broken only by his ragged breaths.
He had done it. Fifteen ogres and fifteen trolls lay dead amidst the ruins of the Castle of Doom.
[Congratulations Mission Accomplished]
[+10 Guardian Spirit Points]
[+30 Mabeasts Monarch Points]
[+4500 Coins]
[One free Spin]
[One More level to pass Qualification stage]