Gate Break!
[Elijah's POV]
<<January 14, 2023>>
<<Manila, Philippines>>
The site of the Gate Break was in total pandemonium. It was completely surprising since the gate just broke not too long ago, but the surrounding areas have already been flooded by Kobolds. I don't know what caused the sudden gate flood, as what this phenomenon is popularly known, but right now we really can't worry about anything else while many citizens are still in danger.
"Tan, call out the name of your soul sword to equip it!" I instructed Jonathan with an urgent but calm voice.
Doing exactly as I said, Jonathan called out the name of his soul sword with a loud voice. "Endrance!"
Answering Jonathan's call, Endrance transformed from its accessorized form to its whip sword form. Taking the form of an exquisitely made jagged whip sword, Endrance glimmered with power. As Jonathan equipped Endrance, his armor also changed, according to his soul sword.
Now wearing an open hooded long coat, that reaches up to his knees; fingerless gloves; dark low hanging pants; belts galore; and combat boots; Jonathan looked extremely cool and edgy.
When the Kobolds noticed Jonathan's presence, they began charging at him with rabid expressions on their faces.
"Keep your cool! Always keep in mind that Endrance is an extension of your body. It will listen to your will. The stronger your will, the stronger your affinity will be with Endrance." I instructed Jonathan.
Closing his eyes, Jonathan took a long and deep breath before slowly letting it all out. The moment he opened his eyes, a deadly glint lit from them. Sensing that Jonathan must've understood everything I said, a proud smile lifted from my face.
"Master, here I go!" Jonathan informed me as the flock of Kobolds is nearing us.
"Make them suffer," I ordered with a cold voice.
"Gladly!" Jonathan said with a dangerous and deadly smirk.
And with that Jonathan swiftly charged into battle. It took Jonathan about a couple of minutes to get used to using Endrance, but when he finally got the hang of it, he became a deadly storm. Endrance extended and retracted, zipping through the air at a deadly speed, taking Kobold lives, one after the other.
The expression that Jonathan had while being in the heat of battle, says it all. It was clear that he's enjoying himself, and seeing his beaming grin, made my heart so full.
Not wanting to be left behind, I then started casting <<Duke's Authority>> and <<Duke's Benevolence>> on Jonathan. I could tell that Jonathan felt the sudden surge of power from within him just from his expression. Now empowered, Jonathan went on a rampage.
It's really amazing that level ones like myself and Jonathan can go head to head with Kobolds from Silver-Ranked gates. But with Jonathan's overwhelmingly high stats, combined with my supporting abilities, we became an unstoppable force. Of course, the moment Jonathan started killing Kobolds left and right, our levels didn't stay as level 1.
Currently, as we speak, my level had already increased to level 10 while Jonathan had already become level 20. The battle kept raging on, as Kobolds kept pouring out from the Gate Break. It felt like the Gate Flood just kept going on and on as if the Kobolds that kept exiting out the gate were endless. But what's even more strange was that, as more Kobolds kept pouring out, the stronger and smarter they become.
Everything was going well until a Kobold bigger than the rest came out of the gate. It had silver fur, completely different from the rest who had brown. It wore complete armor and it had a scar across its left eye. Its eyes held intelligence compared to the rest of the Kobolds.
The moment the particular Kobold appeared, all the other lesser Kobolds started acting strangely. At first, they went by instinct, but now they became more organized with their movements and attacks as if they were receiving orders. The change in the lesser Kobold's movements only further confirmed my suspicions. What just came out was a Kobold Commander, which should not exist in Silver-Ranked gates.
Although Jonathan became stronger, he's not indestructible. He still has limits and looked like he was already nearing them. His movements were still sharp, but he was visibly slower than before. I could see him break in sweat when the Kobolds started to overwhelm him. Getting attacked from all directions, Jonathan's HP recovery almost became non-existent, from the great amount of damage that he kept receiving.
Putting half of the stat points, I gain from leveling, to VIT, I began transferring some of the damage that Jonathan was taking, to myself.
[Status Window
Name: Elijah Reyes
Level: 10
Class: Duke <<Mythic>>
Title: The Duke who cares for his people
HP: 475/375 (+100)
Mana: 250/150 (+100)
Stats:
STR: 5 | AGI: 5 | INT: 10+5 | VIT: 10(5)+10 | DEX: 5 | LUCK: 10
Stat Points: 5]
And let me tell you, the pain that washed over my body was not at all pleasant. My physical body is not really taking any damage, but the pain that was transferred to me was so painful, that it felt like I was the one getting stabbed and slashed instead of Jonathan.
"Tan! We have to retreat and regroup. This Gate Break is completely different, and not at all what it seems!" I said with a loud voice, so Jonathan could hear me from all the loud commotion.
Hearing my instruction, Jonathan immediately complied and retreated to where I am. Seeing Jonathan covered in wounds all over, I immediately passed a high-grade grade potion to him, while I also began drinking one. Jonathan took the potion with a grateful smile before chugging it down.
After Jonathan retreated, the Kobolds suddenly stopped attacking the surrounding areas and began forming a defensive line. I was dumbfounded when I saw how organized the Kobolds were. Their formation is so precise that you would mistake them for an actually trained army going to war. Which is really not far off. The lesser Kobolds were extremely disciplined under the Kobold Commander's leadership.
The Kobold warriors formed a vanguard, while the Kobold riders acted as the main infantry. Behind the infantry are the Kobold archers. And just as things couldn't get any worse, several catapults and ballista came out of the gate. Several Kobolds scouts also were expertly hiding within the Kobold Army. And standing proud at the rear end of the Kobold Army is the Kobold Commander.
"This the first time I've seen monsters be so organized," Jonathan said as a hint of nervousness laced his voice.
I mean, from what I've seen, I'm already having a panic attack. It's just that I have to pull myself together, since I don't want Jonathan to see me break down, for both of our sakes. As a trainer, I've dedicated myself to learning and absorbing every information available about gates. It's my responsibility to teach and inform my trainees what they need to learn in order for them to have a higher chance of survivability inside gates. But although I have more knowledge about Gates than some, I still haven't experienced those scenarios. And I have to say, it's more nerve wracking to actually be experiencing those scenarios first hand, than just reading about them. What's more, the first-ever field experience I was thrown into is a freaking Gate Break, and an abnormal one at that.
Going inside gates with my trainees are completely different, as we would always be accompanied by a high-level hunter from the association, to step in, in case things went south. But now anything can happen.
Strengthening my resolve, I lifted up my association badge for everyone to see and with a loud voice, I attempted to rally all the volunteer hunters present to work together.
"I'm from the association! I ask for your kind cooperation and to follow my lead for the time being. As you might've already guessed, this Gate Break is one of those rumored "abnormal breaks". As the situation got more dire, it is imperative that we all work together and hold the line, until the Hunters from the association arrives!"
It was a lot to ask from volunteer hunters to risk their lives, but I had no other choice. If we don't hold the line here, more innocent lives would be lost and more properties would be destroyed. Thankfully a handful of hunters cooperated, while most of the other hunters chose to save their lives first or were just plain cowards. My blood started to boil when I realized that these hunters that won't cooperate were the infamous leechers. These hunters would pretend to volunteer, but only do the bare minimum, in order for them to receive rewards that the Hunter's Association would always provide the hunters who volunteered.
I mean, these pests could just stay at home, if they're so scared and want to preserve their lives, right? Just the sight of them makes me wanna explode. Figuring those Hunters' motives, I just gave them a death glare and returned to the ongoing battle we are currently facing. I really don't have any time to deal with despicable people, when I have bigger things to worry about. I'll just have to memorize each and every one of their faces, for later.
"Alright, everyone! Our goal is to be on the defensive and hold this line until the Hunters from the association arrives! So hunters who are proficient in tanking, take front and center. The rest of the melee classes, go behind the tanks. Long ranged classes, stay in the rear. Supports, your job is to keep our tanks alive. Rouges, deal as much damage as you can by flanking. As long as you keep your position, we'll accomplish our goal!"
The moment I gave out the orders, the hunters immediately went into formation. Since I gained influence over this rashly made army, I could spread out my buff to every single one of them, giving all of them a slight boost.
As the Kobold Army started moving, deadly projectiles rained from above while their front lines and cavalry charged forward.
"Here they come! Brace for impact!" I instructed with a loud voice for everyone to hear. And with that, every volunteer hunter took a defensive stance.
One hunter in vanguard raised his shield and let out a battle cry.
"Royal Decree!"
The hunter's body began emitting a strong aura that started to connect to every hunter in the army. The Royal Guard skill, Royal Decree. A skill that protects everyone within the skill's AOE, by taking the full damage that they are receiving.
Hearing the hunter, I began shouting out commands to my troops.
"Supports and healers, make sure that all of you focus all your buffs and heals on that hunter! Don't let that hunter die!"
I mean, you need to have balls of steel and an extremely good heart to be able to use that skill to protect the people that you barely know. So I really applaud that hunter's selflessness.
Hearing my command, the hunters did just as they were told. As the projectiles started raining down, everyone in the Royal Decree's range was left unscathed. As the Royal Guard started absorbing everyone's damage, the healers and supports immediately did their job. They rained the Royal Guard with an array of healing skills and protection buffs.
Successfully fending off the projectiles, now comes the threat of the incoming Kobold warriors and riders.
"Tan, take lead! Take out as much you can! Every melee classed hunter, follow his lead!" I then gave out the next command. With Jonathan in the lead, I have confidence that they could hold off the incoming infantry charge.
Immediately complying with my command, Jonathan charged forward with about ten melee classed hunters, hot on his trails. Still under Duke's Authority and continuously using Vendetta upon cooldown, Jonathan mowed down a lot of the Kobolds charging at him, which effectively boosted a lot of the hunters' morale.
When the Kobold Commander noticed that his troops began depleting at an extremely fast pace, it let out a really loud howl. Empowering his troops, the Kobold warriors and riders' eyes turned blood red. In an instant, Jonathan and the melee class hunters were overwhelmed.
Sensing danger, I immediately ordered everyone to retreat. As Jonathan and my troops started retreating, without my knowledge, the leechers began attacking the Kobold warriors and riders with long ranged attacks, which only caused the Kobolds to go berserk.
Turning my head to the leechers, fuming in rage. I yelled at them at the top of my lungs.
"What the hell are you all doing! You people are only making everything worse! If all of you are going to be dead weight, then don't even try helping. You, useless people, aren't doing anything useful anyways!"
I don't care what people thought of me at that moment, but at the moment I'm responsible for the lives of many hunters. I had to do anything and everything in my power to make sure that all of them come out of this whole ordeal, safe. They placed their trust in me, and I'll be damned if those trusts are ruined by some useless pests!
Them attacking the Kobolds while under the Kobold Commander's skill, Feral Instincts, will cause the Kobolds to enter the berserk state. Greatly increasing their overall power for a set time, with the price of their lives. Once the Kobolds who are under the berserk state, are on the brink of death, the Kobolds will then self-destruct, causing a powerful magical explosion.
Now that multiple Kobolds are about to explode because of the damned leechers. I had to quickly think of a way in preventing a lot of unnecessary deaths. But as I was about to lose my mind from coming with multiple blanks, something fell from the sky at an incredible speed, decimating a lot of Kobolds upon landing, causing a huge explosion.
As the dust quickly settled, it wasn't long before it was revealed that it was the Hunter's Association's 1st legion commander, William Dela Cruz. The association president's younger brother, and is one of the few <<unique>> classed hunters that the Philippines has, with him being a Warlord. Not only is he a unique classed hunter, but also one of the only 5 Warlords that exist in the entire world.