“Again?” Joshua voiced with simmering anger. He turned to face Morgan and Micah with a startled look in his eye. “No one has ever displayed this amount of power in the three years we’ve been coming to this godforsaken place. Now everyone is taking out hordes...alone!” he boomed while viewing the frozen wasteland before him.

  “I have no idea bro, but doesn’t this work out great!” Micah said with hope in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

  His little brother couldn’t understand the ramifications of the scenes they’d just witnessed. ‘This changes everything.’ Joshua thought to himself.

  Zero had passed out, but he single-handedly just eliminated hundreds of the wretched goblins at once. The skill at the end shattered them all like a rock through a window. “Morgan.” He said while motioning for her to come closer. “Do we know where he gained that kind of power. If we can curb his attitude, he might be a useful weapon afterwards.”

  Morgan looked over to Micah with the expression of a person dodging grenades. Joshua knew the answer as he crushed a rock under his boot.

  “He has a serious aversion to authority figures. Outliers, like him, tend to be drawn to Threads form of teaching.It seems he speaks their language.” She said with a hint of admiration in her tone.

  Joshua noticed the change in tone and made a mental note to address it later. When the hour of exile arrived, he couldn’t have his allies sympathetic to the enemy. “Never mind that.” he said, noticing the sighs of relief. “Get Zero to the infirmary. Gather everyone else up and form up in our pre-established squads.”

  One of each base archetype was the most ideal for parties. Someone to tank the damage, magic user for uncommon situations, rogue class for scout, and healer for support. No matter the different classes, this basic party tactic tended to have the highest probability for survival.

  The sky cracked open again without giving anyone time to breathe. A terrifying roar filled the air. It was the sound of an old foe that took the lives of countless humans during the jungle stage of the second wave. Ruinous Apes poured forth with their muscular bodies and incredibly tough skin. Their huge appendages could pick up massive boulders and toss them, like skipping rocks on a lake.

  Behind them came a herd of Knightmares, massive black horses with blood that pumped hot magma that flowed from where their manes should be.Their speed was such that they outpaced the apes twice over. The stampede of the equines left trails of fire in their wake. The devastation as they sped to our location spurred everyone to action.

  “Enough of individual standoffs, everyone gets to work, now! Morgan and Micah with me!” Joshua shouted without turning his head.

  “Show them a back worthy to follow, Joshua. Let your power and justice be seen by the rabble, my Archon. Show me you’re worthy of my choice! Lead your people!” the Lady in White stated boldly in his mind.

  “I will eliminate every obstacle.” Joshua said aloud confidently.

  “Slaughter them all!” while pulling Aegis and Legion out. He kicked off like a thunderbolt towards the front-line of the Ruinous Apes while also activating Provoke to grab as much attention as possible.

  He hit the nearest group with his taunting skill. The other tanks following close behind, mimicking the orders he’d drilled into them through constant practice. Joshua used Force Reversal on the first ape that tried slamming its fists into Aegis. It’s attack was not effective. After absorbing the ape’s mighty blow, he began his riposte. He transferred the energy into a twirling slash, counter attacking with the Ape’s own momentum. He bisected the four closest, as well as the intended target.

  He’d noticed that instead of focusing on activating time-consuming skills, he should instead let the power flow over you like a blanket. One step moved him further than his already enhanced speed allowed.

  An ape tensed up to charge towards his body, while another came in from on high. Joshua allowed the powerful Force ability cover him like a Turtle’s shell, with its focal point being the top of his shield. His hands were extended above him, holding Aegis against the blow. He felt the force of the hit and allowed it to cascade down his body, and explode outward with devastating power.

  “Force Shell” Joshua shouted. Before allowing the force from the blow to dissipate, he called on the release of the stored energy. “Force Explosion”

  Force Shell [Active]

  Envelops user in skin-tight kinetic energy barrier with durability and flexibility properties akin to reinforced rubber. Each physical blow against the shield and bends, then rebounds it while dispersing some impact force rather. Half of the force will be transferred to Force storage.

  Force Explosion [Active]

  Instantly releases entire pent up shock absorption force collected by Force Shell as a massive outward detonation.

  To everyone following closely behind, it looked like Joshua ran into the middle of a swarm of apes and detonated a massive explosion. Rock, horns and pieces of bone violently ripped his immediate surroundings in a cloud of flesh and gore. A sizable hole with Joshua at the center, shown as the dust cleared.

  The second of four combined waves had begun.

  Michael, who had chosen the Samurai advanced class, closed his eyes as the battle began towards the Eastern front.

  Grabbing his sheath with his left hand while gripping the hilt of his katana with the right he spoke to himself. “Time to prove my worth.” .

  Perceiving a myriad of lights constantly flying in multiple directions in his mind’s eye, he focused intently. While not entirely sure of their origins, he’d noticed that with enough concentration, he could use these lights to briefly empower his blade. If he lost his focus, for even a second, it could cause him to take significant damage to his internal organs and disrupt his flow of energy.

  The breathing techniques and years of meditation of the blade had honed his mind to a sharpened degree. He took every intention that existed in his mind and aligned his thoughts along the edge of his blade. The lights became a single bright glowing line that he traced along his sword. It felt like an extension of his body.

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  Iaijutsu Focus

  Channels physical speed into scabbard for unleashing empowered lightning quick draw style attack. Augments damage and increases the chance for a critical hit.

  His legs tensed as he prepared for the moment. The mana that infused all life sprang upwards from the ground and into his body. He added the power to his partner and watched her tighten to a razor’s edge. The energy screamed to be let loose, as if containment was against it’s nature.

  Stepping forward, he felt his veins ripping from the pressure of the energy being forced into a specific form within the scabbard. The entirety of his life and experiences had been laced along his partner’s edge. Constant understanding of the way of the blade was his primary reason for living, even in the old world. This new world just gave him more practice. He simply did what he’d practiced since being a kid with a stick. Michael pulled his blade from its sheath with precise focus.

  He had never witnessed the amount of weight it seemed to gather and compress, it seemed to constantly fold in on itself. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the empowered blade came free of its sheath. A single horizontal flash of light sliced through the sky like a shooting star in the night sky.

  “Swallow’s Call!” He said aloud

  As the creatures closed in, their life ended. Hundreds of legs, separated from their bodies, came rushing to meet the frontline low-level fighters. The signals from their brains all cut out as the Knightmares fell, mid charge. One by one Bloody halves of flaming horses started falling throughout the battlefield. An eerie silence permeated the field. The top half cried aloud for a few more moments, until they all ceased as well.

  Michael slung the blade of its gore, sheathed it, and stood still. Someone ran to check on him and screamed for a Healer. He was completely unconscious, standing; his duty complete, for now.

  Meanwhile, near the Northern area, the Knightmares charged forward with reckless abandon. Intense fire trailed behind their massive equine bodies as their mane, eyes and hooves all burned with magma. Coupled with their impressive speed, each was like a homing missile.

  All the low-level fighters that tried to stand in their way became ash, if they weren’t trampled to death first. Jason, a young fighter on the frontline who had barely passed level eight, thought that his life was over.

  “Upheaval!” came a mighty voice.

  Upheaval

  A 20 meter radius slam that alters the battlefield terrain. The ground topples & crushes enemies with cascading earth boulders.

  Slamming his weapon with full titanic might into the earth, Micah channeled mana through the hammer’s head to fracture the Earth.

  The ground exploded before Jason, leaving him in awe and the earth tore, brick by brick like Legos cascading upwards towards the Knightmares. Their legs, ankles and hooves tore as they no longer had a place to run. The terrified horses fell between the cracks in the ground. Many were crushed with nowhere to escape as the rocks slammed into their flanks and exposed flesh.

  When the young man turned around, there was only Micah at its epicenter; a massive hammer at the point of the ground break. “Run, Now!” he shouted loudly to Jason.

  The kid nodded his head and ran past Micah as fast as he could, signaling everybody else to retreat as far as possible. Micah picked up his hammer as he glanced behind him. “We’re sending these kids to their deaths.” he said under his breath.

  “Complain about it later!” Morgan said while staring at the Knightmares.

  “We’ve got work to do now.” Morgan jerked her head to the right as she felt a massive buildup of energy. A bright flash of light lit up the east. Morgan sensed the loss of life like a candle flickering out.

  “Seems like Michael’s just finished the entire Eastern area... alone.” she said trademark grin.

  Her competitive nature showing, Morgan’s eyes flashed an eerie black as she rose into the sky. “I’ll show you real power!” she cackled as pressure started to build around her.

  “Obsidian Swarm!” she spoke menacingly with her hands outstretched to the heavens.

  Obsidian Swarm

  The user summons a swarm of ethereal black butterflies infused with the scorching flames of the underworld.

  Sustained cost at extreme mana usage. Skill effect has no deference between friend and foe.

  Warning: Severe loss of Mental Instability due to Black Magic is detected.

  Thousands of black butterflies appeared in the sky. They plunged the area into darkness as the butterflies continued to multiply with her outpouring of mana. Each one was a tiny black flame that radiated no heat. What you could hear amongst the swarm was only one word; FEED!

  “Don’t let them touch you!” yelled Micah at the top of his lungs while scrambling to get away. “This is why everyone hates fighting with you! You lose control too damn easily!” he said while running for cover.

  As the host of butterflies descended upon the Knightmares, their screams filled the air. Each location they landed on evaporated on the spot. It was like watching a shotgun fire at a piece of paper. The Knightmares stood no chance and were being systematically eliminated as Morgan laughed maniacally.

  “Burn, you assholes!” she shouted with a sinister grin on her face.

  As the carnage continued, one of the remaining Apes threw a large boulder and clipped Morgan in the shoulder, bringing her down. She plummeted like a rock, quickly approaching the ground before Micah jumped and caught her. He noticed that her shoulder looked dislocated, and was bleeding profusely. He yelled for a Healer, while grabbing his large hammer. She had accomplished her goal and wiped out the bulk of the enemy force. Joshua and he would handle the rest.

  The remaining monsters stared at the unflinching large man and shot towards him. He adopted a runner’s pose with his large hammer in hand and exploded forth to meet the creatures. He shifted, mid run, into a full batter’s swing meeting the first ape square in the jaw with his mighty hammer. Its massive head burst in a spray of blood and bone on impact. He then reversed his stance and used the pommel to crush another skull, as it attempted to dive on top of him. The next motion turned into a vertical swing upwards from the pommel strike knocking an unsuspecting Knightmare into the air.

  “Brother!” he yelled while kneeling. Micah bent his powerful legs, energy flooding through his veins and jumped. He soared past the fiery equine and as he reached the zenith of his flight, he activated his skill.

  “Titanic Smash!” screamed Micah while slamming his hammer down on the Knightmare, sending it flying at Sonic speed towards the ground.

  There Joshua stood in all white armor caked with gore and sinew, ready to receive the impact. He activated his skill and absorbed the entire impact. It was as if the force of the blow was absorbed into his body. He turned and looked at the leftover monsters and smiled.

  Joshua’s eyes filled to the brim with energy and a bomb went off.

  Catastrophe is the only description Micah could muster. The collective energy expelled from his brother within that split second, made his ears pop and the ground crack. Joshua stood at the epicenter of ground zero, shoulders heaving in exhaustion and exhilaration. His brother’s control over the Force ability had grown incredibly. He’d become accustomed to the fluctuations of energy, and Micah didn’t know if any human could harm him anymore.

  Micah put his hammer on his back and eyed the devastation around them. They had lost a lot of warriors in that charge. The apes’ unpredictable attacks and the speed of the Knightmares had taken a toll on the front line. Nearly a third of their fighters were unable to hold against the horde.

  Bodies of fallen friends and loved ones littered the battlefield, yet no one had time to mourn. He had a bad feeling as he glanced over at the area Joshua had come from. His stomach lurched immediately as he witnessed the carnage left in his brother’s wake. He then immediately looked back at the impromptu barricades the Earth mages built and breathed a sigh of relief.

  No one could see the brutal smile that his brother wore as he stood there, heaving with blood staining his armor. “We might have a problem.” said Micah under my breath as he rushed to make sure Morgan got aid. He glanced back at his big brother briefly and immediately sped up.

  He really didn’t like this feeling. Something had changed.