The annoyingly persistent Knight

John did his best to dodge the blows as they came, even with the limited space on the bridge. He and Red would take turns attacking the Knight, whittling down the health bar John couldn’t even see. Not to mention that the Knight was heavily armoured, and the highest amount of damage inflicted on a single hit so far had been a measly twelve. ‘If not for Red, I’d be long dead by now,’ John thought. ‘Or maybe alive because the Knight already let me pass.’

As the fight drew on, John began to feel ever more thankful for his increased Endurance. But he could feel his body gradually losing steam; however, the Black Knight’s blows were as powerful as ever. The outcome of the battle was clear… unless John took a risk.

Keeping an eye on what Red was doing, John braced himself, ready to Evade the Black Knight’s next attack. As the greatsword came crashing down, John sidestepped into his opponent’s defences. At the same time, Red leaped into the fray and raked a clawed hand along the Knight’s right shoulder, ripping off the black plate attached to reveal the chainmail underneath. John activated Counter, and his schiavona honed in on the exposed weak spot, and John put as much **** into the blow as he could muster. The chime of the critical hit combined with the satisfying shing as the sword cut cleanly through the Knight’s mail and then his arm. The severed arm fell onto the woodwork, and all three of them stopped dead in their tracks to look at it.

“Alright buddy, you gonna let her pass now?” John asked, confident that the fight was over.

“‘Tis but a scratch!” the Black Knight replied with guts, heaving the two-handed greatsword with his left hand.

“A scratch?! You lost your fucking arm!” John cried, easily stepped out of the way of the now rather clumsy attack.

“No I didn’t,” the Black Knight stopped again and pointed to where the severed limb lay a few feet away. “It’s right there.”

With a callous kick, Red sent the arm spiralling into the river water below, never to be seen again. “Oh, looks like you lost your arm.”

“An arm won’t maketh a diff’rence!’ the Black Knight declared, lunging at Red with his greatsword held high. “I’m invincible!”

“You’re a loony,” Red snorted, calmly stepping out of the way and slicing through the other shoulder plate.

Apparently, she didn’t need John’s help in severing the arm either; she had the strength to do that part with her claws as well. ‘Is she really only level 10?!’ John thought in awe as he casted Observe to check.

‘A Berserker? Well that explains her increase in power,’ John thought. She was still in a semi-human form, leading John to wonder how high her level would go in a fully transformed state.

With the Black Knight now disarmed, the battle was surely over. Yet the Knight still seemed intent on fighting, hopping energetically from side to side.

“Look, you stupid bastard, you’ve got no arms left!” John exclaimed with a mixture of frustration and pity for the guy.

John hadn’t particularly wanted to fight him in the first place. The Knight had a certain charm about him, and John couldn’t help but respect him for his dedication and perseverance, so seeing him in this state was almost heartbreaking.

“It’s just a flesh wound!” the Black Knight insisted, charging at John with his head down.

Sighing in exasperation, John just pushed the charging Knight to the side, sending him sprawling onto the floor as his footing was lost.

“Beshrew thee and thy filthy tricks!” the Knight cursed, hopping back onto his feet in an impressive show of lower body strength.

“Why won’t you just give up?” John sighed.

“Honour, valour, and fortitude. These art the codes a knight liveth by!” the Black Knight replied charging again. “Hiyaah!”

John cast Evade before activating Counter, the slice of his blade severing the Black Knight’s legs. John grimaced as he performed the act, taking no pleasure in it.

Skill Level up: Counter is now level 4
MP activation cost reduced to 10

Boss Defeated: Sir Izix the Black Knight
+600 xp
+$315
+The Black Knight’s Zweihänder
+Token of Humility

The Black Knight looked between them, now just a head on a stump. Honestly, John was surprised the boss was even conscious at this point.

“Well?! Cometh hither so I might have at thy ankles!”

John groaned and pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “Look buddy, I’ve already got the xp and item rewards for defeating you. You’re done, ‘kay?”

The Knight seemed to consider this for a long moment. “Alright, we’ll call it a draw. Thy maiden may passeth.”

“Right… like you could stop me either way,” Red snorted, her wolf-like features retracting under her cloak. She stepped past the Knight and towards John, looking at him with a weary smile before teetering forward and collapsing into his arms. There wasn’t a spot of colour in her skin, and her breath came out in ragged bursts. “Sorry… I seem to be in need of a kip,” Red said as she slumped into him, ****.

John grew uncomfortably aware of Red’s breasts pressed against his chest, her warm breath on his neck, and his own growing boner. Turns out it can be quite the awkward thing to have a girl **** in your arms. John carried Red as gently as he could off the bridge, easing her down onto solid ground so that she was leaning against a small boulder. She was still breathing regularly, so that was a good sign. He watched Red carefully for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the bridge; there was another person who probably needed attention.

“Are you going to be alright?” John asked the Black Knight as he stepped back onto the bridge. The question sounded stupid, even to John, but he voiced it anyway: the Knight had defied John’s expectations several times already.

“Fret not, valiant adventurer!” the Black Knight replied in a booming voice. “A day’s rest and I shalt be fit to square again! ‘Tis the Goddess’s blessing.”

“Right…” John sighed; the Knight didn’t exactly seem too affected by the loss of his limbs. “Well is there anything I could do for you?”

“If I may asketh a small favour from thou; could’st thee face me northward so that I may watcheth for challengers?”

“Uh… sure,” John replied, heaving the Knight into position. He didn’t bother pointing out that the guy was in no state to fight. “Also, I seem to have your sword. Do you want it back?”

“Nay! ‘Tis the Goddess’s will for thee to beareth it! May’t serve thee well in battle!” the Knight replied, and he probably would have waved his hand too, if he had a hand to wave that is.

“Okay then,” John said, wondering how much the sword would fetch on the Abyss Auction. “See you,” he said to the Knight, patting him on the greathelm.

“Farewell!” the Knight said simply, resuming his stout stance as best he could under the current circumstances.

John couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he returned to Red’s side. The girl still showed no sign of stirring, however, leaving John to shoot the breeze for the time being. Of course, John had rewards to sort through. First things first, John checked out his new sword.

Seventy damage was no joke, and it was enchanted to boot. The hard-hitting enchantment meant that a strike was likely to break a bone, or several, upon impact. The other was fairly self-explanatory, though John had to wonder why a sword would need an ‘aerodynamic’ enchantment. Unfortunately, the two-handed greatsword didn’t suit his current playstyle. ’Abyss Auction it is, then.’

The second item John had received was the Token of Humility:

That explained why John hadn’t been able to see the Black Knight’s level previously. A quick cast of Observe on the Knight revealed he was, in fact, only level 15 with some outrageously high physical stats and next to no points in his mental stats. Anyway, the usefulness of the Token was abundantly apparent. John decided that he’d wear it on the ‘human’ setting at all times unless he was grinding, in which case he’d switch to the Token of Greed. It was also pleasing to see that his Observe window was showing more information as the skill levelled up.

As John closed the window, he noticed Red eyeing him, now fully awake. “Y’know… you look to be as barmy as the Black Knight,” she giggled.

John smiled, relieved that she seemed to be okay. “Yeah, I guess I would look kinda dumb,” he agreed. “Pity there’s no way for me to show you what I’m doing,” John scratched his head thoughtfully as a thought occurred to him.