Ambush

Various creatures ducked out of the path as Michael came barreling through. His scaled reptilian feet hit the ground harshly as he rushed through the dense forest. Up ahead, he could vaguely hear the sound of discussion.

"-your possessions and we'll let you go." A snide voice spat out in the distance. With his enhanced senses, Michael could see Eudora and Brutus standing in the middle of a clearing with five people surrounding them. The speaker was one of the five that surrounded them, each of them wielding a weapon. Their leader leaned on his broadsword, bending imposingly over it with a mocking smile.

"We've already paid your boys the monthly fee, Roid! Let us go!" Eudora retorted, holding her blue staff forward, ready to conjure a spell at a moments notice. Brutus also held his hammers forward, a light aura covering the hammers.

'Hmm, seems like they're being extorted... It's best I wait and see what happens.' Michael thought to himself as he watched the situation from within the tall bushes. His sharp yellow eyes scanned the five men that surrounded the pair of adventurers.

[Human]

-Rank - D -Middle

-Growth Stage - 3/3

-Overall Energy Level - 700

-Rank Elevation Impossible.

-----

[Human]

-Rank - E - Middle

-Growth Stage - 3/3

-Overall Energy Level - 390

-Rank Elevation Impossible.

-----

[Human]

-Rank - E - Late

-Growth Stage - 3/3

-Overall Energy Level - 460

-Rank Elevation Impossible.

-----

[Human]

-Rank - E - Late

-Growth Stage - 3/3

-Overall Energy Level - 455

-Rank Elevation Impossible.

-----

[Pure Elf]

-Rank - F

-Growth Stage - 2/3

-Overall Energy Level - 100

-Rank Elevation Possible.

-----

Among the five that surrounded Eudora and Brutus, one was a young Pure Elf. His gunmetal hair stood out against the deep browns and bright greens of the forest. His eyes kept darting around and his arms twitched nervously as he stood. He was a standing ball of teenage nerves.

What struck Michael was the fact that he recognized the young Elf. The young Elf was an important figure in the story line of the game, although he was quite young right now. Far younger than what Michael remembered. When the Elf was introduced to the game, he was already well past his youth, a former military general of a certain army.

Right now, the Elf was just in his teens. If Michael's memories served to remind him, he could always recall the Elven general always mentioning the regrets he had from his past.

Michael's eyes shot wide as a sudden possibility crossed his mind.

'Could it be that this is before the game was released?!'

If that was right, then it was quite possible that Eudora and Brutus lost their lives in this very forest.

"There's no need to play dumb, sweety." The gang leader drawled as he smiled in a sickly manner. "We both know you have what we need. Cough up the spoils you gained from your little treasure hunt."

"There was no treasure. Just rats, bats and lizards!" Eudora replied, stressing on the lizards. Michael winced slightly as she mentioned that. They were lizardmen, not lizards.

"If you're not going to speak, then there's no need wasting time on you." The leader swung his sword from under himself, letting a coating of flames spread over the large broadsword.

"Stop!" The Elven teen yelled out just as Roid lashed out, but was paid no heed.

"Infernal Slash!" The gang leader yelled out, projecting a slash of pure heat at the adventurer duo.

"Deep Sea Blue" Eudora whispered, the small blue gem on the tip of her staff pulsing with a blue glow. A blue wave of water rose up from the earth and nearby trees, shielding Eudora and Brutus from the scorching heat.

"Fancy trick." The gang leader, Roid, clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Flaming Serpent!" He yelled out another spell, flicking his broadsword again as the red jewel embedded in the hilt of the sword glowed brightly. A serpent made entirely of fire coiled around the blade of the sword as he bolted forward. In an instant, he collided against the blue shield, the serpent of fire around his sword fueling his attack.

"DIE!!!" He roared at the top of his voice. The burning flames covering his blade reached an all new height, engulfing the bubble of water. Just at that moment, a gust of wind shot out, slamming into the open side of Roid, cancelling his spell and pushing him away from his victims.

"Roid! I paid you to guide me to the ruins, not to kill innocent adventurers!" The young Elf gritted his teeth, holding a small silver wand in his hand. The wand emitted a constant pulse of power, raising soft swirls of wind around him.

"Sit aside, pretty boy. It doesn't matter how the job gets done, as long as it gets done." Roid snapped at his Elven employer.

'I better step in before its too late. It'll be bad if I lose two capable helpers.' Michael thought to himself. His serrated tongue slid past his sharp teeth, the dark purple poison coating it glinting in the evening sun.

Before Roid could strike again, Michael struck first, his tongue darting out of the shadows and toward Roid. Just before it was able to slash him, Roid dodged, twisting at an impossible angle before distancing himself from the spot where he previously was.

"Who's there?!" Roid yelled. Even with his senses as a D ranked mage, he wasn't able to sense anyone while he was actively searching. It wasn't too surprising as Michael had immediately activated one of his abilities the moment his strike missed - Dark Cloak.

The shadows from the surrounding vegetation gave him enough leeway to use this ability. Normally, without the cover and abundant amount of shadows being cast by the vegetation and setting sun, this ability would have been rendered useless, but luckily, things were set in his favor this time.

Michael stalked his prey through the shadows, constantly on the move to avoid being in one position for too long. He would have rushed in, but there was more than one D ranked fighter against him, along with some other E rankers. He wasn't too sure if the Elf would be on his side, or if he would just remain neutral through the fight. Surely, Eudora and Brutus would try to help, but there were currently not in the best conditions and so they wouldn't be of much help.

It seemed there was only one course of action to take, a risky one, but still one worth taking in this situation. He wouldn't have much time with the ability, but if he leveraged his advantages well enough, he might be able to take down some gang members while leaving the rest to Eudora and Brutus.

Without wasting a beat, Michael activated 'Overload'.