Chapter 49 – A Desperate Situation

"A thousand health points," Petra breathed as she identified the creature standing before them. It was sideways on so it hadn't yet seen the group of Blue-Ranked Contestants and seemed very interested in the man it was holding in its hands. The citizen whimpered because each time the Jötnar Warrior heard a sound from the man, it shook him violently until he stopped. It was like watching a gorilla trying to learn; the Jötnar Warrior was clearly not the sharpest sword in the armoury.

It was a grotesque scene as blood dripped to the ground from the citizen, from some unseen wound. Titus knew immediately why Jordan had readied himself. They had been sworn to protect the people from these vile creatures, and this was not a foe they could simply ignore and walk away from.

The Jötnar Warrior's massive frame loomed over them, casting a long shadow that seemed to encompass the entire surroundings. Its monstrous stature hinted at the immense strength it possessed. Thick, hulking muscles rippled under its rough, stone-like skin, suggesting a creature born and bred for combat. Its limbs were thick and heavy, reminding Titus of ancient tree trunks.

The Jötnar Warrior's head, adorned with wild, unkempt hair, crowned a face that exuded a primal, almost feral aggression. Its beady eyes gleamed with both curiosity and cruelty, as if revelling in the fear instilled in its captive. Lastly, intimidating tusks jutted from its lower jaw, adding an extra layer of menace to its already imposing appearance. This creature was a force to be reckoned with, a formidable opponent that would require every ounce of skill and strategy from the Blue-Ranked Contestants if they were to stand a chance against it.

"What do we do?" Titus whispered as quietly as he could, allowing his friends to hear him but not draw any early attention from the monster. If they could go into it with the element of surprise, then all the better.

"Why don't we try something a little different this time," Petra replied. "After all, we've got some new skills, haven't we?"

Titus nodded, understanding exactly what Petra was talking about. A second later, she faded away into invisibility, calling upon her latest skill: Active Camouflage. She would have five seconds to do what she needed to do.

"Hey!" Jordan called out as soon as Petra had made her move. "Time to learn your lesson!" And with those words, he called upon his own skill.

Jordan had taunted the beast a second after Petra had disappeared, but with her agility and speed, it was long enough for a number of things to happen all at once.

The Jötnar Warrior turned his head to find his new target, and this was a target that he had no choice but to focus all of his attention on. In doing so, the creature dropped the citizen to the hard stone ground, and he landed with a loud thud. It sounded bad, sure, but it was never going to be worse than being a plaything for the hulking beast.

Then Petra reappeared behind the monster, Stiletto at the ready, and she struck out without hesitating for a second. Her thin dagger pierced the Jötnar's skin in the lower portion of his back, but if it hurt him, he made no bones about it.

Then the monster roared. Not because of his new cut, but because he was now charging directly at Jordan.

"It's resistant to poison!" Petra screamed as Jordan readied his feet. There was no way that he was going to be able to withstand a charge from this thing that was a few times larger than even him. This was going to be bad, because even if Petra's poison caused such a small amount of damage over time, it would have meant there would be an end in sight - another battle of attrition. But this, this meant that they were going to have to fight, and against something so big, so strong… this battle was going to suck. Big time.

"Jordan!" Titus cried as he watched the Jötnar Warrior bridge the gap between it and his friend in a flash. It wasn't particularly fast, it was just that its legs were so long.

But Jordan was ready. Raising his shield before him, he waited until the very last second, the moment when the Jötnar would impact him and bowl him over. And then something strange happened. Jordan swung his shield in an upwards strike, and the moment it hit the onrushing monster in the stomach, a loud thud rang out so loudly that Titus almost had to close his eyes.

Jordan was not bowled over. In fact, he remained stood in place, his shield held high, and the Jötnar Warrior had been thrown a handful of feet back away from the Defender, like he'd run into a solid stone wall.

"That's shield bash, then!" Jordan shouted. "Pretty glad it worked like that, actually…"

It boggled Titus' mind that his friend had decided to test his new ability in that moment and with so much on the line, but at least the outcome had been a positive one. He was sure that this fight was going to be the hardest of their lives, and if Jordan had died instantly, then apart from everything else victory would've been damn near impossible.

Jordan was no Warrior and he'd always protested as much, but the situation called for each of them to do anything they could to damage this hulking enemy. With that in mind, Jordan leapt atop the Jötnar Warrior. Bringing his new axe down to bear on the creature's chest as he fell, Jordan didn't spare a moment's thought for his own safety, even if he did look comically small atop the Jötnar.

But the effects of the shield bash didn't last long.

Petra leaped onto the Warrior too to throw in a few stabs with her own Stiletto. It wouldn't poison the creature, that much was already clear, but chipping away at its mammoth health pool was something they needed to do as quickly as possible.

Titus even managed to step forward and land a blow with his own sword before the Jotnar managed to come to its senses, and both Petra and Titus danced away before it could do anything in response to their coordinated flurry. Well Petra danced, Titus kind of waddled.

But Jordan didn't move fast enough.

The Jötnar Warrior was either still taunted by the large Defender or was simply lashing out at the closest thing to it, but Jordan was on the wrong end of a forearm swipe that sent him hurtling through the air and landing with a loud 'oof' ten feet away. It was only a small miracle that he'd been too close to the Jötnar for it to bring its curved sword to bear.

Jordan had lost twenty health points from that single attack, and as Titus analysed the creature he could see that for all their combined efforts, and giving everything they had at that moment, they had managed to reduce the Jötnar Warrior's health by a total of fifty points. Fifty.

The Jötnar stared at Jordan as the Defender struggled to right himself. Getting back off the ground in heavy plate armour looked to Titus like a task in itself, but he wondered how much damage Jordan would've taken had he not been wearing the heavy plate.

Nonetheless, the Jötnar growled and readied for a second charge.

Titus did the only thing that he could think to do in that moment: he focused all of his energy into his newest spell and spent the two Mana to conjure up a fireball, throwing it with all his might straight at the Jötnar.

But again, the fireball he managed to will into existence, the small, round glowing ball of flames did not flash across the field of battle at breakneck speed to impact his intended target; rather, it again sauntered forth from his hands, listed lazily back and forth before finally deciding that the Jötnar was probably a good target.

The Jötnar actually stopped the moment Titus had cast the spell, either sensing that there was a new threat on the battlefield or simply wanting to see what was about to happen.

And then it laughed.

The sound was guttural, primal even, but as the tiny fireball moseyed along towards the huge monster, it simply stood there and laughed. A moment later when the spell finally hit its intended target, the Jötnar let it happen, and Titus watched as its health pool reduced by a single point, causing it to laugh even harder. But now the creature's attention was solely on Titus, and Titus was downright terrified.

Titus stood frozen for a moment, the mocking laughter of the Jötnar Warrior reverberating in his ears. The realisation that his spell had been almost entirely ineffective – again. Reducing the monster's health by a mere point was a harsh blow to his belief that he was going to survive this battle. But it wasn't just the ineffectiveness of the attack that stunned him; it was the creature's reaction. The Jötnar had laughed, a sound so alien and chilling it sent shivers down his spine.

"We need to regroup," Petra shouted, her voice barely audible over the Jötnar's continued chuckling.

Jordan, having recovered from his rough landing, agreed. He pushed himself up, his armour clanking with the effort. Despite the hit he had taken with his resolve seemed unshaken. "Titus, keep your distance!"

"Same as always then? Just keep out of the way? How's that working out for you?"

Jordan didn't respond, but he didn't have to because the Jötnar Warrior, its attention now fixated on Titus, began advancing towards him with deliberate, slow, and heavy steps. Each footfall caused the ground beneath Titus' feet to tremble slightly.

Titus began to back away, keeping his eyes locked on the approaching behemoth. His mind raced, trying to formulate a plan. The direct approach had failed; they needed a new strategy, and fast. But there was nothing that he could do alone. No skills, no abilities, and no tricks.

But Titus wasn't alone and his friends reminded him of that fact. Petra quickly darted around the Jötnar, trying to draw its attention away from Titus. It was clear that she couldn't inflict much damage if she attacked, but if she could help buy some time for them all to think, it would be worth it.

Jordan, meanwhile, had positioned himself between the Jötnar and the recovering citizen. His shield raised, he was ready to protect the innocent at all costs.

Titus took a deep breath. He knew they had to be more tactical if they were going to survive this. He couldn't rely on his magic; he had no real skill with a sword, so the only thing they could do was try to keep the Jötnar wrong-footed and hope for an opening.

Petra did everything she could to draw the attention of the Jötnar as it continued its lumbering approach towards Titus, almost like a death march. Every thunderous step it took shook the ground, its massive form casting an ominous shadow over Titus as it drew closer and closer. The creature's mocking laughter had ceased, replaced now by a low, menacing growl.

Titus began to back away, his mind racing through every possible option available to him. He felt a surge of frustration at his own helplessness in this dire situation. He had nothing, but he wasn't just going to stand there and be a victim.

Petra was still doing her best to distract the Jötnar, darting in and out of its line of sight and landing stabs and slices each time she passed, but her attacks did little damage, certainly not enough to end the beast. If anything, she was simply mildly annoying the creature.

The Jötnar was just feet away from Titus now, and although Titus was still backing away slowly, the distance was dropping too quickly for him to make a proper escape. He watched as the huge beast raised its deadly curved sword high into the air ready to strike.

The huge, curved sword that the Jötnar held high in the air seemed even more deadly when Titus could only see its sharpened edge. It was like within that razor-thin blade he could see his entire life flashing before his eyes and he knew that there was nothing that he could do about it.

That was, of course, until he heard a second roar from Jordan.

His friend had spent another three Stamina on doing what he could to save Titus' life, and now Titus knew that Jordan had no more Stamina left in the tank, there would be no more Shield Bashes or Taunts, so if this battle didn't end soon, there would be nothing left for them to do.

The Jötnar Warrior had frozen mid-swing like it had been magically petrified, and then immediately it swung around to charge at Jordan without hesitation. This time it was Jordan who had no tricks up his sleeve.

Titus could only stand and watch as his jaw dropped at the sight of one of his best friends about to be soundly defeated, simply because he had tried to help one too many times.

The Jötnar raised its weapon again and like it had been the plan all along, Petra appeared in mid-air leaping directly at the creature, her Stiletto outstretched.

The Jotnar didn't have time to readjust its charge and before it knew what was happening, Petra had penetrated the beast's hand with her dagger. The blade passed through the Jötnar's skin and came out the other side beside the handle of the great curved sword. The Jötnar did the only thing it could then: It howled.

It howled so loudly that again Titus felt like he wanted to cover his ears, but instead he watched as the Jötnar stared at its bleeding hand and the small hole that Petra's weapon had made.

Instinctively the creature swiped out to swat Petra, but she danced away again like she had springs on the bottom of her boots.

Barring the instinctive counter though, the Jötnar was still taunted by Jordan, and it turned its fury back in the Defender's direction with no choice but to.

Jordan couldn't do anything but raise his shield and cower behind it, awaiting the final killing blow. At least the Jötnar didn't go to pick up its discarded weapon and went to attack empty-handed.

But that wasn't necessarily a good thing, as Jordan would find out a moment later when the Jötnar lifted the Defender clear off the ground by his shield – the thing currently strapped to his forearm.

"Now Titus!" Petra practically screamed from the far side of the Jötnar. "The legs! Go for the legs!"

The Jötnar was fully occupied with trying to shake Jordan from his shield, and half bemused at the fact that the puny human was somehow managing to cling on to it. So both Petra and Titus leapt into action and aimed their attacks at the back of their opponent's legs. The knees, the ankles, anything that would cause pain and a decrease in manoeuvrability would do.

Petra made her attacks first, being both closer and quicker to the Jötnar, and her Stiletto sliced through the creature's skin a lot easier than Titus' sword would a moment later.

The effect was clear though. The Jötnar howled again and again with each strike, and it tried and failed to all at once hold Jordan airborne and step away from the two belligerent humans that were relentlessly cutting into it.

And then the impossible finally happened. The Jötnar fell.

It didn't fall as in it died, it fell more literally than that; it fell to the ground, its huge legs giving way beneath it thanks to the multitude of wounds that had made their way through its thick skin. Evidently someone had cut through something important, a tendon perhaps, or maybe just muscle. Whatever was the cause, the effect was apparent and immediate.

Jordan managed to roll away from the Jötnar Warrior just in time to avoid being crushed beneath its overbearing weight, something that would've caused more complications all by itself if it had happened. But now the Jötnar was on the ground, on its back, and flailing its arms around itself wildly. It could certainly see what was happening all around it, but its reaction to actually being dropped to the ground told Titus that perhaps this was the first time it had ever been done to the creature.

Petra looked anxious as she made to time her next attack so that she could dart between the flailing arms of the Jötnar. It was obvious that one hit from one of those things was going to be devastating, sword or no. But Titus watched as his friend eventually made up her mind and darted forward. Within a second, she was stood over the giant creature and she had pierced its skull with her sharp Stiletto.

But the Jotnar still wasn't done. With over six hundred health still remaining, Titus could only wonder what they would have to do to finally best the beast.

And then Jordan re-entered the fight.

Leaping in from as high as he could and swinging his new axe down with all his might, the Defender decided to cause whatever damage he could to help.

Titus watched as a chunk of the Jötnar's health faded away to nothingness, like its deep red blood spilling out onto the ground was a visual indication of the health pool that only the awakened could see draining away.

The Jötnar was the perfect example of how the world worked – just because you had some health left in your health pool, it by no means meant you were still able to stand and fight. Titus wondered what kinds of notifications the Jötnar was getting as he joined in with his friends, raining down blow after blow, cut after cut, and slice after slice on the now helpless creature.

Once Petra had moved her attacks to completely obliterate the Jötnar's eyes and Titus had slit its throat for the tenth, or perhaps eleventh time, he knew that even if it did still have a healthy two hundred HP left, the rate at which it had begun to drain all by itself told him everything he needed to know. The Jötnar was bleeding out, and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.

They had won.

They had faced an opponent far stronger than all of them, and they had beaten it.

Titus hadn't even used either of his two skills to any effect, and it kind of made him feel even worse about having them and his Capacitor Class. It made him feel even worse about the Class because even with a small amount of growth, both his friends had come on leaps and bounds, and he was still standing there, sword in hand and not really much use past that.

You have gained 35 experience points.

XP to the next level: 69