Rising Up The Ranks, Part 1
It was all going so damn well at first.
Sure, Kallum was talented with his bo staff, managing to parry or block most of my attacks aimed at his vitals. The dude was good at protecting his vitals. He even got a clean hit in my gut during our opening salvo, which was just more proof that I couldn't underestimate novices who'd reached the rank of journeyman. However, that one hit was all he could manage in our two-minute clash. Meanwhile, I'd carved wounds all over his arms and legs by the time we disengaged for the third time.
That's when I heard a wolf's howl so loud that I could feel its echo throbbing against my ears. With my equilibrium disturbed, I lost my footing—and Kallum didn't fail to capitalize on it.
A bo staff that could only hit me once was suddenly striking me everywhere, and I could sense my health dropping rapidly without even glancing down at my status bar.
"Kallum! Kallum! Kallum!" the audience chanted.