Punishing Appretence’s Overextension

"My power compels you, begone!" The Drow unleashed a shockwave of darkness! Not only did it deal decent damage and push the enemies away, but it also stunned all of them, Apprentece included.

For many assassins, an ult that pushed the enemy away would've been a terrible design. However, Drow was a ranged assassin, therefore Nia immediately followed up on her ult with basic attacks!

WHISH! She fired a black arrow, drilling it deep into this bully's chest!

[Ha! This is what you deserve!] Nia pretended to be all high and mighty when in truth her hands shook terribly. She understood all too well the danger she walked into, yet she nonetheless pressed the offense...!

"Nia, I told you to clear the minions first," Yuel reminded.

"O-Oh! Right!" Nia exclaimed. [Why did I just shoot the Orc!? It was a waste of time! I have to get rid of the minions first...!]

She had no chance of surviving any of this while the enemy army was still alive. These little guys will come after her as soon as they recover from the stun, so she absolutely had to get rid of them first...!

Thankfully, the damage from Force of Rejection was enough to one-shot all the bowmen, just as Yuel's calculations suggested. This was the only reason this whole super-risky play was even feasible in the first place.

[Ok, so next I have to target the swordsmen!] Nia fired another black arrow, this time properly aiming at one of the swordsmen. WHISH! The arrow pierced the soldier to death!

And, as for the other swordsman- BAM! The tower fired a giant bolt, deleting the guy from the face of the earth!

[And, that's it.] Nia nodded in satisfaction. [The area is clear. How do you like this, you bully? In your face! Now, I can- AH!?]

WHISH! A metal snake leapt at her! It was the Orc's scourge! 

[Already attacking!?] Nia gasped. [Is he not even gonna try to get out of the area first!?] She turned pale for a moment, but then suddenly remembered. [Actually, Yuel warned me about something like this…!]

But, it was too late to remember such a crucial detail now. The scourge had already struck home, deleting 10% of her HP and stunning her in place. She was down to 30% now.

[T-This is bad. Very bad.] Nia shuddered as the Orc raised his arm again, then WHISH! He whipped at her again, this time deleting nearly 20% HP in one fell swoop!

[C-Curse the balancing team!] Nia yelled internally. [This damage is so hax!]

Alas, no matter how much she cried about it, the devs wouldn't come here and fix this bug. Nia had no choice but to confront her opponent under the terror of this broken damage.

Fortunately, Nia wasn't alone in this fight. She had a trusty partner who was going to help her overcome this difficult hurdle. And no, it wasn't Ben.

BAM! The tower fired a giant bolt! It crashed straight into the Orc, deleting 15% of his HP. In just one hit, that scary guy fell from around 80% HP to nearly 60%.

[O-Ok, good. We're good. Y-Yeah!] Nia swallowed hard. She couldn't be at ease despite the tower's amazing support fire. After all, her HP was hanging by a thread here.

[Scary. Scary. Scary!] Nia shuddered. [One more hit and I'm done for! But, Yuel said this might happen...]

["I'm not going to pretend it'll be an easy fight,"] Yuel warned back then. ["Depending on how the situation develops, you might find yourself with almost no HP. But, as long as you hug the tower, it's not you who needs to be scared; it's him."]

[R-Right!] Nia aimed her crossbow. [He's the one overextending here. So, if he keeps doing that, then...!]

WHISH! She fired a bolt at her opponent! Bullseye!

Unfortunately, her small bolts couldn't even begin to compare to the Turret's deadly missiles. Therefore, Apprentece didn't even bother dodging and raised his arm again.

WHISH! The scourge cracked, leaping straight at Nia! However, this time, she was fully prepared for the attack.

[N-Nope!] Nia rolled aside, closer to the Turret. [Phew. Scary.] A shiver ran across her as she recovered from the roll. That dodge was really clutch. Nia almost lost all her HP back there.

Nonetheless, she survived. Despite how scary the situation was, she was still very much alive!

[I-I can do this! Even with no HP at all, I have a chance. Yeah.] Nia aimed her crossbow again. However, before she could fire- BAM! The tower unleashed another giant bolt!

It crashed on Apprentece like a meteor, deleting 20% HP. The enemy was already below 40%.

[Ok, getting closer...!] Nia gulped. [I should be out of his range now, so I can just shoot. It's scary, but I can defeat him...! ]

There was no immediate danger of being counterattacked, so Nia fired another bolt. However, Apprentece's response was completely unexpected.

WHISH! He used his Dodge Roll, but not to dodge Nia's bolt or to get out of the area. No, he rolled toward Nia!

This roll tactically placed him between Nia and the exit in the most optimal way possible. From this position, he only had to take a couple of steps in order to leave the area. And, from this distance, he could also reach Nia with his scourge! WHISH!

"Wha-!?" Nia gasped so hard that her soul almost left her body!

[I-I'm dead...] Her brain processed the result faster than it actually happened. She won't be able to sidestep this scourge in time. It was over...