Tia had insisted he understand each member’s strengths and weaknesses firsthand, and Vason’s strength was his defense. With Bulwark active, and with his armor enhanced by Haymi’s magic, the man was frustratingly difficult to harm. Even a surprise attack would’ve had trouble penetrating all those layers of defenses.
Clang. Clang. Clang!
“Frontal attacks are going to have a hard time. But if you had no other choice, what would you do?” Tia asked from the sidelines.
If I didn’t have Leap or Dance… “I need to deal with that shield. I’ll never get through with that in the way.”
“Right.”
Vir had an idea. They were currently on a beach, and he had an old trick that seemed to always work.
Calling a quick timeout, he knelt to fix the laces on his boots. Then he lunged at Vason, taking the man by surprise. Except the warrior was ready. He brought his shield to bear, but then Vir ducked low and punched straight at Vason.
The man didn’t bother to move—Vir was too far to make contact. At the last moment, Vir’s fists opened, spraying a shower of sand into Vason’s face. Though he wore a full plate helm, it offered little protection against the fine sand.
“Agh! Sand?”
Vir had to give the man credit. Even blinded as he was, he kept his shield in front, anticipating Vir’s next attack.
But as good as his instincts were, he was unable to predict accurately. Using this opportunity, Vir knocked Vason’s shield aside and plunged his katar up against Vason’s neck.
“Alright! Now both of you against me,” Tia ordered, twirling her spear. “The first thing to know is that humans fight very differently from monsters. Sadly, I can’t turn into a monster for you, but I can mimic some of the attack patterns I’ve seen them use before. I want you to work together to take me on.”
“C’mon, Aprabomb! With our combined might, defeating Tia will be a cinch!”
“I’m not a bomb,” Vir muttered. Tia had had the brilliant idea of sending Vir charging in, katar blazing, to occupy their enemies. Previously, Tia had taken that role, but with Vir’s katar, he could attack far faster than any of them could. With Leap and Dance, he could evade enemy attacks, allowing Tia and Vason to flank and destroy their opponents.
At least, that was the idea, but it was one thing to come up with a plan, and another entirely to execute it in perfect harmony with your team.
Tia began by activating Haste, allowing her to move even faster than Vir when he Micro Leaped.
“Use whatever Talents you like!” Tia said as she flitted around them.
“Aprabomb, go!” Vason roared as he activated Bulwark.
Vir rolled his eyes. “Fine. But if we lose, you owe me one.”
“Ahaha. You got it, friend! But if we win, the first drink’s on you!”
“Deal.”
Maybe I oughta lose on purpose… But if he did, both Tia and Vason would chew his ears off. That option was strictly off the table.
“Haymi? You ready?”
“Go for it,” the convalescing mejai replied from her log nearby, where Neel kept her company. They kept these duels brief to avoid stressing her too badly; using magic took a toll on her recovery.
Deploying Prana Blade and activating Micro Leap, Vir matched Tia’s agility, striking with a flurry of attacks.
After endless hours of repetition, he’d finally begun to grasp the timing of Haymi’s Enhance Speed orb. The real issue was alternating between quickened and mundane attacks—the way he used his muscles and positioned his body varied drastically between them.
She’s really fast, Vir noted. But she’s only attacking with simple strikes. Guess she’s trying to imitate an agile beast.
Whenever he Leaped to her, she’d simply run away, jabbing at him with her spear. The weapon’s long reach kept Vir from getting close. Where Vason’s shield protected him, Tia’s weapon acted like a shield of its own.
“Apramor! I can’t help like this. You need to pin her down! Let’s attack from both side—Wait! Don’t act alone!”
“I got this!” Vir shouted back.
There was one critical weakness that all spears possessed. Unlike swords, their blade was only on their tip. Get close enough, and the weapon would be rendered useless.
Vir pretended to retreat while he charged a fully powered Leap.
Tia struck him with her spear, but he activated his Talent before she could react, surging right up to her.
If he was fighting alone, he’d have gone in for an attack—which likely would’ve missed.
But he wasn’t alone. He grabbed the shaft of her spear, pinning her in place, and awaited Vason’s charge.
What now, Tia? Take Vason’s attack, or abandon your weapon?
Only Vason was a moment too slow.
“Apramor, back away!” Vason replied, but Vir was unable to react in time.
Tia darted forward, smashing into Vir and taking him to the ground. Vason, not having expected such a move, charged right past where she’d been.
Straddling Vir, she then did something no one could’ve expected. She snapped her teeth together and lunged for Vir’s neck, stopping just short of it.
“There. If I was an Ash Beast, I’d have bitten your neck off.”
Vir just stared at her, too shocked to even reply. Then he burst out laughing.
“Hey! I’m being serious here!” Tia said, pouting.
“Sorry. Just didn’t expect that. If you really were an Ash Beast, I could always escape with my shadow ability.”
“Hmm. True. Still have no clue how that works. But it’s fine, I won’t pry.”
“T-thanks,” Vir said. “Now, do you mind getting off me? Haymi’s giving us dirty looks.”
“O-oh,” she said as she stood up, blushing. “Sorry.”
Vir took her hand. “Guess this one’s our loss, Vason,” he said.
The warrior hung his head. “Guess so. Guess so.”
“That was a good show, Apra, but you need to synchronize better with Vason. He was trying to match his movements to you, but you need to coordinate better with him.”
“Yeah… sorry. Still working on that.”
“It’s fine,” Tia replied. “We’ve all fought a lot together, so we kinda understand each other without having to communicate. Until you get there, make sure you’re both aware of each other at all times. Ash Beasts rarely use complex attacks. They’re fast and they’re sturdy, but by working as a team, we can take them down.”
“I really thought the Aprabomb would work,” Vason said, scratching his head.
Maybe it can.
“Vason,” Vir said, huddling next to the warrior. “Can I have a word?”
He explained his plan, ensuring Tia couldn’t overhear.
“Yes? Oh. Oh! That’s a fine idea, Apramor,” Vason replied. “Yes. Let’s go with that.”
“Done strategizing? I’m up for a rematch if you are. Haymi? You good?”
The mejai waved tiredly. “I’m good, but let’s call this the last one, okay? Oh, and please don’t mount Apramor again. I’m afraid I might ‘accidentally’ cut your magic at the worst possible moment, Tia,” she said with a smug smile.
“Uh, noted…”
“Let’s go,” Vir said, facing off against Tia.
This time, the first thing he did was Leap away, allowing Vason to charge.
He’d had a realization after the last fight—until now, Vason had been responsible for keeping the enemy occupied. True, Tia’s Aprabomb strategy with Vir blitzing the enemy could work, but not against such an agile opponent.
They’d been chasing their prey instead of letting her come to them. Vason simply wasn’t as agile as Vir or Tia, and so such a strategy was doomed to fail.