OutRanked (The Weight Of It All): A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure Page 8

  “Asshole,” Britta said as she let go of Cassie and stepped onto the platform after grabbing a sword and shield.

  “We told you she wasn’t a fighter. You could’ve come up with a better test for her,” Britta said as she stood across from Gerard.

  “I’m not going through this again. If you aren’t happy with it, stay at G-Rank. Just remember non-Affinity humans can kill G-Rank monsters. And sure, they don’t have all the weaknesses of real monsters, but they also have their own set of disadvantages. Nevertheless, I think your friend did very well, and I look forward to seeing how she does in the next round when she regains some energy.

  “Now, do you want to continue, or should I get back to doing something more enjoyable with my day?” Gerard stated, leaving no more room for discussion.

  “Fine, let’s go. You’re still an asshole,” Britta said, earning a laugh from Cassie and Jen standing beside me. Even some of the audience seemed to like it, as a couple of the men appeared to agree. Gerard seemed to take it well as he smiled back at Britta.

  Two Serwolves appeared again in front of her. They were coloured slightly different from the ones Cassie had fought, with wounds on other parts of their bodies.

  Both monsters attacked, but this fight went very differently as Britta met them in the middle of the platform.

  Using her shield as a weapon, she slammed it down onto the first wolf, launching it to her left. After that, she swung the sword in her right hand towards the second wolf, taking off its leg. Then, with momentum on her side, she turned her body as she plunged the blade down into the red glow of the second wolf's body.

  Finishing the first wolf quickly, the second spared no resistance as she used her shield to block the charge of the wolf. Instead of launching it away, she took the brunt of the hit as she watched what the wolf would do next. As it stepped back to lunch again, Britta brought her shield down onto the head of the monster, pinning it to the ground. Then, the fight was over as she used the sword to plunge into the red mass within its body.

  Wordlessly, Britta disappeared and returned to where we were standing.

  No one clapped for her display. A one-sided fight was expected against a G-Rank opponent to the people down here.

  And so, the next couple of fights went similarly as Jen went up next, then Zane.

  Jen showcased her swords, which seemed to impress a few people. She defeated the monsters even faster than Britta as she cleaved her way through both, seemingly at once. One with the left sword and the other with her right.

  She’d missed the red spot on the second wolf, which seemed to annoy her some as she needed to finish off the kill, but otherwise, it had been a perfect display.

  Zane took longer than Britta since he wasn’t building himself like a head-to-head fighter, but his years of training continued to help as he killed both monsters without getting hurt. I’d worried since he couldn’t sneak up behind them, but he still was the best with the dagger between the lot of us.

  “You seem to have a bunch of bodies to go through,” I said, taking my spot across from Gerard on the platform.

  “Yeah, G-Rank are easy to come by. I have a standing set of bounties on bodies, and Serwolves are common around the continent. I don’t pay much for G-Rank, but it helps keep people incentivized. If you come across anything unique, I pay better than most for those. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory, and I don’t have the time to grab them myself. Ready?” Gerard grinned, causing two dead Serwolves to appear in front of him.

  Thinking of the Monkin King in our satchel, I realized we might have something worth selling him after everything was finished. Still, I decided against saying anything as I focused on the fight.

  Watching him animate both bodies was like nothing I’d ever seen as I got a front-row seat. In front of my eyes, a red glow seemed to appear within their core. Their bodies seemed to inflate as energy seemed to take the place of blood, causing them to puff up as though they were alive. Within a second, they were up again and staring their dead eyes at me.

  Increase weight.

  I started using my Skill a little bit but kept most of my energy in reserve for the next fight.

  “Using energy already, I wonder what your Affinity is,” Gerard said.

  “Ready,” I said, choosing not to give anything away.

  Both wolves charged at the same time towards me. I didn’t have Jen’s finesse, but my goal was to match her speed, at least.

  As the monsters rushed towards me, I enhanced my eyesight, causing the movements of the two G-Rank monsters to slow in my mind’s eye. Again, I marvelled at Gerard’s Skill as I watched the two corpses rush my way. Then, not allowing myself to get distracted, I used ‘Shift Weight’ to move all the gathered weight in my body towards my right arm.

  Stepping forward slowly, I waited for the first wolf slightly ahead of the second. Then, feeling light in my hands, my axe met the wolf's charge head-on, cutting the bones in its head cleanly through the middle.

  I didn’t reach as far as Jen, meaning I would have needed to add more weight to achieve the same effect, but it didn’t matter as the first wolf crumpled to the ground. The second was close behind, and my axe was only at the end of its swing, so I let it drop beside me as I brought my hand up quickly to meet the brunt of the wolf's charge.

  View Weight.

  25 pounds!...

  Lighter than I’d expected, but I guess the wolf was just skin and bones. Some magical weirdness must have been at play to make them so durable and tough, but I didn’t think much of it as I grabbed the scruff of its neck and slammed it down to the ground with the force of my arm. Unfortunately, I couldn’t enhance my arm with energy, but the added weight was a perfect substitute.

  Both monsters struggled to get up as I grabbed my axe and plunged it into their red marks, causing each to lie still on the ground.

  “Connie found some interesting Dungeoneers indeed,” Gerard laughed as I disappeared from the stage.

  Current Progress.

  Affinity: Weight

  Dungeoneer (G)

  Rank 1 – View Weight – 100%

  Rank 2 – Increase Weight – 61%

  Rank 2 – Shift Weight

  Energy: 125/153

  The fight had been quick, but I had still used a good bit of energy to finish the two wolves. It couldn’t be helped, since I wanted to match Jen’s speed.

  I could only hope our quick wins wouldn’t get him to make our real test any harder.

  As I watched Gerard practically skip from one corpse to the next, I couldn’t be so sure we’d made the right decision.

  Chapter 9 – A Troll and a Bhino walk into an axe

  Cassie motioned to go first but was stopped by Jen, who walked to the projection plate first. Cassie had recovered mostly, but our quick wins likely meant she still wasn’t at full energy.

  Jen got ready as she materialized her two swords, preparing for whatever Gerard had pulled out.

  A corpse was placed onto the ground within moments, rising from the ground. The humanoid figure continued to grow until it was a head taller than Sadon. It only wore a loincloth with larger muscles than I’d ever seen on any other living creature. Puncture wounds littered its body, and I was in awe at the size and strength that it could likely showcase –dead or alive.

  Its skin was a light grey, and we watched again as the red glow from Gerard's Skill appeared on its chest. If not for the tusks protruding from its mouth, inhuman size, and snout-like nose, I would have even thought the being was human at one time or another. However, its clawed hands and feet were yet another indication that it wasn’t human. Instead, I knew and recognized the monster as some type of troll. I didn’t know what kind exactly, despite all I’d learned in Monster Behaviour, but the fact I knew it was a troll helped me come up with my plan of attack.

  Trolls were strong but dumb and quickly regenerated their wounds if given enough time. Of course, it was already dead, so I didn’t know if those two things would hold
true. Who knew what Gerard had up his sleeve? They also usually held weapons, but thankfully it looked like this one fought without.

  “Okay, you only have ten minutes. Since you were all so impressive in the first round, I’ve made the monster harder than I thought I would have to. This guy here is still F-Rank, but you’ll find he’s tougher than some of the other F-Rank monsters you’ll have to face alone. If you can stay alive by the end without just running the entire time, I’ll consider it a pass. Any questions?” Gerard said, taking his seat.

  “Nope, and you can keep your handicap,” Jen smirked. I saw the bloodlust appear in her eyes as her competitive nature took hold. Zane and I laughed, wondering how we’d gotten so lucky with these girls.

  “Woo, Jen, beat its ass!” Britta and Cassie loved it, though, both cheering from the sidelines.

  “Go,” Gerard said, which caused the troll to lumber towards Jen.

  Its slowness was the next thing I noticed, as it looked like it might take the whole ten minutes just to reach Jen. Then, running to meet the troll, she quickly ducked the swinging arm of the Troll and slashed at its rightmost thigh.

  To my surprise, the attack caused a faint line to appear, but nothing more as her swords of light didn’t cut deeply into the Troll’s flesh. Jen didn’t look dismayed, though, as she used her superior speed to encircle the monster, slashing at its back.

  Still, everything she did seemed to do very little as minor wounds appeared across its body. Plus, and I wasn’t sure if she’d even noticed, the cut on its thigh was healing.

  The lack of blood in the troll’s body was weird to see as the healing caused some sort of magical smoke to rise. I’d never fought a Troll, so I couldn’t know if this was common, but the smoke coming off the beast only made it look more menacing as Jen tried her best to find a weak spot.

  After a couple minutes, Jen slowed, noticing nothing was going through.

  “He’s a bit special,” Gerard said uncharacteristically. “His skin is tougher than what you’d expect at that Rank. I had to buy him off a guy, and he was supposedly eating mostly rocks, metals, and minerals constantly.”

  Jen didn’t seem to pay attention as she considered what to do next.

  Changing the size of her left sword, Jen changed her stance as she made some distance between her and the Troll.

  Time ticking, she rushed the monster again. Looking as confused as it did when the fight started, it bent down as she came close to grab her with both hands.

  Faster than it could grab, she side-stepped both arms and attempted to plunge her right sword into the side of its left forearm. Somehow, this worked better than her sword since it didn’t shatter, and it looked like the hilt made its way through the skin.

  We cheered proudly at the fact she’d been able to pierce so deep into its skin.

  Celebrations were short-lived, however, as the monster used their closeness to grab Jen’s left arm with its own right hand. Noticing she’d been focusing too much on her attack, she quickly tried to pull back, but the giant hand of the Troll found purchase around her arm.

  Looking panicked, Jen let go of her right sword altogether as we watched it shatter and disappear into motes of light. The troll ignored the lights, picked Jen up and yanked her closer as it started to squeeze.

  Using her body as leverage, Jen tried her best to thrash herself away but couldn’t budge the grasp of the troll. Winding up with its newly freed hand, Jen stopped thrashing as she noticed it wasn’t working. The sword in her left hand was still manifested, and it was now close to the troll’s face. Noticing this, she caused a flash of light to ignite in the face of the Troll.

  Despite being lifeless, the monsters still showed characteristics from when they were alive, and the Troll was caught unaware as its eyes were emblazoned by a torrent of light. The shock of it all caused it to lose its grasp as several of its fingers became unfurled from around Jen’s arm. Sensing an opportunity, she used a newly manifested sword in her right hand to cut at the remaining finger around her arm.

  This worked, and Jen quickly fell away from the monster.

  Half her allotted time was gone, and as I watched her create distance from the Troll again, I worried for her chances. Her left arm looked bruised beyond belief, and I knew she might not recover in time to use it.

  The monster still wasn’t recovered from the light, and some others around the room weren’t either, as they cursed her surprise flash. By now, I’d gotten used to the assault, able to dispel the worst of the effects quick enough to refocus on the fight.

  Jen still looked determined to win, rather than just survive, as she stood in front of the monster. Watching the sword in her uninjured hand, I could swear I saw it become a little brighter.

  Charging again while she had a slight advantage, Jen looked like she wanted to reach the chest of the monster as she stabbed high up at its chest. This almost cost her the fight, as the troll recovered enough to thrash its hands in front of its body. With its arms in the way, the monster was well equipped to guard the red weakness in its chest.

  Changing tactics, Jen ran around the monster again, looking for weaknesses. To her credit, she’d empowered her sword and was now cutting much deeper into its flesh. Whatever she was doing seemed to take a great deal of energy, as she seemed to slow down as she took another swing.

  The smoke rose again as the monster healed. Jen knew to stay away this time, though, as she put all her focus on cutting into the back of the troll’s knee instead.

  One cut, two cuts, three cuts, then more. She didn’t stop. Smoke rose quickly, but her cuts got deeper and deeper until the monster fell onto one knee. With the beast now crouching, Jen then went to the other knee until that one also collapsed.

  The fight was far from over, but Jen looked to be making progress as the troll’s knees both fell to the ground.

  Facing the back of the monster, her sword didn’t stop moving as she now took aim at the back of the troll’s neck. Using its hands to protect its neck, the troll now had nothing to hold up its considerable body, causing it to fall face-first into the ground.

  Jen only looked more determined as she manifested her second sword again and slashed into hands and neck together, trying to decapitate the troll. The troll’s innate drive to stay alive was present, it seemed, as the smoke from other injuries slowed considerably and the smoke from its hands and neck noticeably increased.

  The troll knew it was in danger.

  Jen impressed me again as she seemed to speed up, eager to end the fight. She looked to be getting somewhere as the monster's fingers were all chopped away, and the neck was exposed, despite the troll’s best efforts.

  The ten minutes were likely up by the time Jen finally cut through the neck of the Troll.

  Jen, however, wasn’t finished as she saw the monster still moving. The ten minutes were over, but Gerard didn’t seem to care as he looked just as fascinated to see Jen finish his minion.

  Taking her attention off the neck, Jen’s hands rose before joining. Both swords turned into one as Jen pointed the much larger sword down towards the back of the troll. Jen’s entire body pushed downwards as she put every ounce of her remaining energy into driving the sword into the back of the monster.

  While the red glow was much less on its back, she’d been fighting for so long she must have intimately known where the weak spot was. And as we all watched the sword slice through thick skin, she struck the right area, and the Troll finally stopped moving. Smoke stopped appearing from its body, and the motes of light from Jen’s broken weapon created a bit of a show as it twirled with the smoke flying above her stage.

  Several people’s jaws were dropped as Jen’s body disappeared from the stage.

  I rushed to Jen to help and found that she was having trouble standing from the loss of all her energy. Even then, I knew Jen would have kept going if she needed to.

  Her goal was to be the best SWORD Affinity user in the kingdom. At that moment, the group of high-Ranking Du
ngeoneers around the room probably would have believed it could happen.

  I felt proud as I helped her walk back to our friends. They were all thrilled she’d not only survived but had won! Finally, exhausted but still proud, she took the praise in kind and took a seat beside where we’d been standing.

  I looked at the girl I’d fallen for and took in how truly lucky I was.

  Tao never stood a chance.

  *****

  “I’m next,” Britta yelled up at Gerard as she stretched.

  “Bring the healer. You’ll be doing your test together,” he said, causing Britta to deflate a bit.

  Britta looked back at Cassie and noticed she was already moving towards her.

  “I’ll have to go up eventually, may as well be now. So, let’s go, don’t get soft on me now,” Cassie said, moving to the projection plates.

  Zane looked a bit worried, but held his tongue as they appeared on the platform.

  The spectators were still watching, and they even looked a bit more attentive after Jen’s display.

  Jen looked just as on edge as she had during her own fight as she watched both reach the stage.

  “Same deal, last ten minutes, and you pass,” he said curtly.

  With no room for discussion, both girls stayed quiet as another giant monster appeared in front of him.

  As wide as Gerard was tall, the monster seemed slightly inflated already when it appeared, and I recognized it as a Bhino. The Bhino only grew more prominent as his Skill was applied, and the monster stood. Standing seemed like a chore for the large monster as it slowly rose to its feet. And where the wolves had been 25 pounds each without their blood, this monster still weighed around 300 pounds.

  The monster’s torso was a patchwork of scars and bruises from when it had been alive, with some fur located across its body and primarily on its legs. It had three horns on its head, with a pronounced point at the end of each. Its eyes were large, and its nose was long, making its length longer than some small carriages.