NOVEL NEXT 2.5: Nooblets
"Before we head into combat, for those of us relatively new to stuff like this... How do skills work exactly?"
I turned to Tifa and raised my eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I told Malevolence what kind of character I wanted to play, a bunch of skills that had stuff that I could choose for my Shapeshifter class appeared... but those skills obviously didn't appear for you guys, right?"
The others and I shook our heads and we all turned to Judas as he explained.
"Holy Damnation uses a skill generation system that pulls from a list of skills created by the designers, a collection of aggregated data of skills that other players have created, and finally an in-game system capable of producing near-infinite variations of things that are possible in the world. It scales the effect based on the character's level and other skills obtained. So when you told the AI responsible for character creation that you wanted to play a Shapeshifter, it compiled a selection of skills that would be appropriate for that class chosen from the aforementioned lists."
"Holy- Wow. That's... A lot. I have played only a couple RPG's... but never one with that level of customization. So... does leveling up and picking new skills work the same way?"
"Indeed. It uses what your skills you already have as a reference point and then refers back to those lists I previously mentioned."
Even I was impressed with the sheer amount of freedom that the game designers gave the players. I had absolutely no idea what it would take to design something that intensive... but I understood a bit better why Emily was so eager to become a video game designer. I turned to Judas and nodded in thanks, and he smiled warmly at me and nodded back.
"Alright... now that I've officially had my mind blown... does anyone else have any questions?"
They all shook their heads and we set out. I took turns with each of them to see their classes in action and let them get used to how everything worked. Tifa, the very petite soft-spoken Asian girl, impressed me the most. It was astounding to watch this 4'10 Demonspawn shift into a large red and black demon hound. Blaine, or Ikelos as his character was named, had chosen the path of Command; and his mastery of summoning skills put mine to shame. His summoned demon hounds running in a pack with Tifa at the head was a force to be reckoned with, and I longed to see how they’d handle a real fight.
At first I thought Areandra didn’t really understand the game, but after watching her focus on an opponent in the distance for a moment, I opted to remain silent to see what she was going to do. She drew her bow wordlessly and cast an enchantment spell with her free hand, before reaching back and grabbing an arrow from the quiver on her back. She remained motionless with the arrow in her hand and then suddenly nocked it, aimed upwards, and released the bowstring. The arrow soared upwards and then burst into flames in midair. I watched in amazement as the flaming arrow struck an enemy Hellcat in the middle of its forehead. The blue and white beast staggered a few steps and collapsed in a heap.
“That was fucking awesome!”
She smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up. Her olive complexion took on a slightly rosy hue and she turned away.
“Do you mind if I have you try something?”
“Not at all. What’s up?”
I scanned the area for a group of enemies and pointed in their direction.
“I want to see how quickly you can take out all of those. Think you’re up for it?”
She nodded and moved back into her firing stance. She used the same swift, fluid motions as before and fired one arrow after another until six flaming projectiles hurtled towards their target. All but one struck the enemy in the middle of their forehead, but one of the arrows had only glanced off the last one’s helmet. She narrowed her eyes and sighed softly as she cast another spell. After releasing the arrow, instead of bursting into flames, electricity sparked around it, and it struck the last enemy in the throat. It was my turn to smile at her and give her a thumbs up. She laughed softly and we moved to join the rest of the group.
I had summoned one of my priestesses to help Trevor get a better handle on his healing skills. He chatted with her excitedly about skill combinations, and I could tell my priestess was equally delighted to be of assistance. Once I was satisfied the group understood the basics and could handle combat, we returned to town for them to save their progress and choose their new skills.
“OK, now that we’re almost to the dungeon… are you going to show us your character finally?”
“There are two bosses in this dungeon, so I’ll make you a deal. If you guys can beat the first one with minimal combat assistance from me or Judas, we’ll not only show you our characters… we’ll clear the rest of the dungeon for you guys and you can have all the loot.”
They looked at each other and nodded. Blaine offered his hand to me to seal the deal, and I nodded as I shook his hand.
“Alright guys… we have a bounty for two minor demon lords, Tesrif and Denoches, level 13 and 15 respectively. They are the commanders of a legion of heavily armored demon warriors, but there is also a chance they have mages in their ranks as well. Unless the situation gets out of hand, I am just going to issue simple commands for you guys. This will be a true test to see how well you work together, so let’s go kick some ass.”
We walked slowly into the crudely constructed entry way and looked around. Crumbled buildings and ruins littered the area around us, and small structures built out of scrap had been constructed around them. I motioned for everyone to hold and I nodded at Areandra. I pointed out two sentries armed with crossbows, but held up my hand to wait. I spoke in a whisper, and layed out a basic plan.
“After the sentries are taken out, the next target is that thing that looks like a barracks building. Tifa, lead Ikelos’s demon hounds straight at them and take out anything that moves. Areandra, your job from that point will be to make sure that no one escapes from that building to warn the others; I recommend finding a vantage point to fire from. Once Tifa makes contact with the enemy, Ikelos and Ghost will move forward and back her up. Ghost, use your MP sparingly, as this is only the first fight of many. Once the building is cleared, we’ll devise a strategy from there… any questions?”
They shook their heads and I nodded. The quiet spell archer took aim with her bow and rapidly fired two arrows. Both sentries went down within seconds of each other, and Tifa was already shifting to her demon hound form before the bodies could hit the ground. Ikelos summoned eight demon hounds and Tifa growled eagerly as she ran ahead with the smaller demon hounds in tow. Ghost quickly cast an enchantment on the shapeshifter before she was out of range, and we watched and waited. As soon as we heard the sounds of fighting the others rushed forward, and I followed behind at a slow, deliberate pace. Areandra had climbed up into the guard tower and was scanning the area with bow and arrow at the ready, and I nodded to her silently as I scanned the rest of the area. So far none of the other demons had noticed our presence, but if one managed to alert the rest of them, it would be like kicking a hornet’s nest.
I stepped into one of the scrap structures and watched the action taking place. Tifa and ‘her pack’ had viciously torn through a dozen armored demons, and were currently fighting a small group that had huddled together. Judas was a few steps behind me and I watched as he drew a dagger from beneath his cloak. I looked where he was looking, and saw a demon crouched in the shadow sneaking towards Ghost. Before he had a chance to throw the lethal projectile, an arrow whistled through a small opening and struck the demon in the base of his skull. The body slumped forward and I shook my head in amazement at Areandra’s pinpoint accuracy.
As one of the demons swung his sword at Tifa, she jumped and I watched her shift in midair into a large hulking demon with thick plates all over its body. If the Hulk and an armadillo made out of steel got together and had a child, this would be what their offspring looked like. The sword clanged off of her impenetrable hide, she swung one of her massive arms slowly, and crushed her attacker with a fierce blow. While the demon hound was lightning quick and could deliver a flurry of strong attacks in the span of a few seconds, the slow-moving Armor Demon was meant to be a walking tank who could punch holes through solid steel.
“If you thought you could slaughter my men without me noticing, you have another thing coming, Demonspawn filth.”
A deep voice boomed and echoed off the ruined buildings around us, and I looked around the area for the source. Tifa stomped the remaining demon with a huge plated foot and shifted back to normal. I moved to the building exit and glanced up towards our lookout. She caught my eye and pointed to a nearby half-crumbled building that looked like the remains of a church. I kept my voice low and calm as I turned to my teammates.
“Tifa, shift to your bat form and scout the nearby church. Ikelos, use your bat summons to support her and cover her if necessary. Ghost, take cover near that building with the awning. I will have Areandra join you and we’ll make our next move once we know more. Once you have a better idea of enemy numbers and the layout of the church, meet up with everyone else.”
They each nodded and moved quickly towards their assigned destination. I motioned to Areandra to join me and waited til she had made her way over to me before filling her in with the plan. She and Judas ran forward to meet up with Ghost and I closed my eyes to formulate the next part of my strategy.
Right now the enemy thinks Judas and I are just low leveled Demonspawn. As much as I want the newbies to do this without me, being unprepared for one of the boss’s arrival changes things a bit. Should I wait til Tifa gets back to do something or just move ahead alone and let Judas take charge? I think providing a distraction like I did in the spider caves while the others flank the enemy would offer the best opportunity for them to do more of the fighting and stay as safe as possible. I’m also a much, much higher level than these enemies… so I’m not worried about them harming me.
I sprinted ahead and moved quietly next to Judas. I whispered my plan to him and walked calmly towards the church. With my disguise, unless the enemy had incredibly powerful magic detection, I would appear as a level 15 lightly armored Demonspawn warrior. As long as I kept my wings folded, the enemies would be none the wiser about my true identity. I kept my pace calm and deliberate as I walked into full view of the half-crumbled building. Arrows whistled at me and I made no attempts to dodge or block them. Each attack bounced harmlessly off of my armor without even dropping my HP a single point. When one arrow flew at my face, I reached up and snatched it out of the air.
“Is that the best you can do? I thought you were demons! I’ve fought Angelspawn more powerful than this!”
Shouts of anger filled the air as my insult struck a nerve. From every nook and cranny heavily armored demons emerged to fight the idiot Demonspawn who dared to insult them. As the first one swung his heavy axe at me, I again made no attempt at dodging.
“Die Demonspawn scum. We’ll show you the power of true demonkin!”
The axe smashed as it impacted against my armor, and the broken pieces clattered to the ground below. Instead of attacking the now weaponless enemy, I pushed with a decent amount of force against his chest plate and shoved him back against the other demons. As he collided with his allies and collapsed to the ground, I noticed that even with holding back my strength, I had crushed his armor and caved in his chest. It seemed like it was going to be more difficult to not kill them if I retaliated against them in any way.
The other demons stopped their advance on me after my display of excessive force and eyed me with suspicion. A massive figure armored in an impressive suit of platemail stomped to the front, shoving the other demons out of the way as he did. He studied the demon corpse at his feet and turned back towards me.
“What are you?”
The question was spat as if he had tasted something terrible, but he remained motionless otherwise. His hand hovered over the sword strapped to his back, ready to respond to anything. My demonic bloodlust was screaming for release, and I opted to have a little fun. I waved my hand in front of me with a dramatic flourish and removed my disguise. I stretched out my wings as I raised both hands and cast my [Demonfire] spell in each palm.
“I am no mere Demonspawn...I am the slayer of the demon lords Scalander, Mallica, and Mellic... I am the embodiment of death and corruption... I am the Demon Lord Allexus!”