Chapter 20 - Events of Today

The deep purple lightly textured figure landed heavily on the road, right in front of Elena. Its form resembled that of a male human, but it lacked discernible features—no eyes in its sockets, no nasal passages, no ears and no mouth. Devoid of clothing, hair or weaponry, it stood before them, an enigmatic presence. Trev, who had no use for his energy bar otherwise, had taken to scanning everything.

"This is a rare event, and that's the event boss, the 'Dark Figure.' It is level five, so be careful!" Trev informed them.

Elena couldn't help but notice that all things to do with this game had rarity, and events were included. Her goblin chieftain skull was rare, but her blade was uncommon, this made no sense to Elena. She was able to kill a lot more with the blade than a silly skull, but obviously rarity wasn't solely based on killing power. She had invested two item points into her blade now, transforming it into a [tempered mantis blade], enhancing its ability to slash down enemies.

Elena stood still, waiting for the enemy to make the first move. Strangely, the Dark Figure seemed to be doing the same. Elena Raised her blade above her head, poised for an attack, but hesitated due to the uncertainty surrounding the creature's capabilities—after all, it was not human.

"Are we certain it's hostile?" Inquired Emilee.

"Not yet, but considering it's an event, I would assume so," replied Trev.

Emilee, positioned at the rear, took a cautious step forward to assess the creature's intentions. Sensing her movement, the Dark Figure lunged at her. Reacting swiftly, Elena stepped in to intercept the attack, swinging her blade down upon the Dark Figure's left side. The figure swiftly parried the blow with a blade seemingly conjured out of thin air. Interestingly, Elena noticed it appeared to have sacrificed its right arm to fashion the improvised weapon. Emilee leapt backward, and Trev readied himself as the figure retreated, dematerializing its blade and reconstituting its arm. It was as if the creature was a collective consciousness of individual entities, merged together to form a single formidable body. Elena pondered how they could effectively combat such a unique being. Although her strike had been blocked, it had inflicted some damage, visibly reducing the creature's health. Could she wear it down with a war of attrition? Perhaps, but there was no guarantee it would continue to take strikes without going on the counterattack. The creature once again adopted a wait-and-see approach, standing still, awaiting their movements.

"Emilee, can you hit it with an ice ball?" Elena suggested.

"Not without drawing its attention, it seems to react to movement. I might hit you instead," Emilee responded.

"Move slowly, and I'll intercept if it charges," Elena instructed.

Emilee slowly sidestepped, seeking a clear line of sight on the Dark Figure. Although the creature flinched at her steps, it refrained from attacking. After what felt like an eternity, Emilee finally had the Dark Figure in her sights. She unleashed an ice ball, only to be astonished as the figure absorbed the impact, sustaining only minor damage. The figure instantly lunged at Emilee once more, and Elena, once again, intercepted the attack, slashing downward. The creature materialised another blade and blocked the strike. Elena swung again from a different angle, but the Dark Figure again successfully blocked her attack. Elena continued to attack with relentless strikes, but the figure kept blocking, only slightly dropping its health each time. However, her efforts left her fatigued, and the creature seized the opportunity. Blocking Elena's next strike, it promptly reconstituted its missing arm and swiftly lunged forward, landing a blow to Elena's abdomen. The pain coursed through her abdomen as the strike landed unimpeded. Elena, who had curled slightly over from the pain, gave the Dark Figure another opening, and allowed it to take a swing at her head with its opposite hand. However, Elena's adeptness allowed her to swiftly dodge out of the way. She then managed to leap out of the creature's striking range, giving her a moment to catch her breath.

Despite the relentless onslaught, the Dark Figure was only down a quarter of its health. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the encounter thus far, Trev and Emilee had been unable to participate much. While Elena engaged the entity, Trev had tried to flank it, but his position was not yet optimal for an attack on its vulnerable rear. Elena was sore and tired now, so another direct attack would likely result in her being vulnerable to counterattacks again. She needed to change tactics.

"It seems unresponsive to speech. So, here's the plan: Trev, distract it while I manoeuvre into position. I'll stand just in front of Emilee, blade at the ready. Once you disengage, Emilee will attack and draw its attention, and hopefully I'll skewer the bastard," devised Elena

"Yep, worth a try," Trev responded optimistically.

"Alright, let's hope it works, or else we'll be in trouble," Emilee chimed in.

"Yeah it'll be fine… When you're ready, Trev," instructed Elena.

Trev skillfully whirled his chain, creating wide, sweeping movements. The Dark Figure took the bait and charged at Trev. He swung the chain at the Dark Figure, but it swiftly blocked the attack with its arm, which had transformed into a substantial object, providing ample surface for the chain to entangle. Before the chain could come to a halt, the figure pounced on Trev, and they engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat exchange. Meanwhile, Elena repositioned herself directly in front of Emilee, their bodies pressed closely together, her arm extended outward, blade in hand. After a few more exchanges, Trev attempted to disengage but was unsuccessful, as the figure relentlessly rushed toward him.

"Fire Emilee, Draw it's attention," yelled Elena.

Emilee felt an unexpected warmth emanating from Elena as their bodies pressed together. So when Elena shouted fire, Emilee was caught off guard. In a panic, she fired her iceball at the Dark Figure, but missed horribly. Trev, losing steam, resorted to blocking and was taking hits directly on his gloves. If the figure didn't break away soon, it could prove disastrous. Emilee made another attempt, but her second shot also missed—an anomaly since she was usually a flawless marksman.

"Emilee, what are you doing? Hit it! Trev is hurting! FIRE!" Urged Elena.

Emilee inhaled deeply, seeking composure, and fired once more, trying to dismiss the distracting touch of Elena. This time, her iceball struck the back of the Dark Figure's head. The Dark Figure instantly changed its target and charged for Emilee. Overwhelmed by fear, Emilee closed her eyes and screamed as the figure closed in on her. Suddenly, a metallic clang echoed, followed by the sound of falling pebbles. Emilee cautiously opened her eyes, witnessing the final moments of the Dark Figure as it impaled itself upon Elena's blade, its face pierced through. It had not seen the blade coming, as Elena didn't move to impale it. Overwhelmed, Emilee collapsed to her knees as the ashen remains of the Dark Figure settled before her. Bewildered by her inexplicable failures, she couldn't fathom why she had been missing her shots or succumbing to distraction.