53***Realization

*boom* *clank* *crash* *swish* *boom*

*clank* *smash* *jab* *boom* *slam* *crash* *whip*

*BOMBSHELL BASH!!!!!*

*BOOM!!!!*

I landed an explosion into Sher's head, using the momentum to blast off of him and out of range of his next attack!

*TAIL WHIP!!!!!*

*crack!!!*

'Crap!!!' I felt the tip of his tail graze my breastplate regardless, shattering it into pieces in an instant!!!

*BOOM!* *BOOM!!!*

*ROCKET!!!*

*BOOM!!!!*

Gritting my teeth, I blasted myself downwards and to the left in quick succession, then flew at the undersized behemoth before me!

*Ping!!!*

My detect rang off, and I threw up my arm with a Medium Iron Shield and parried the blow to the side.

You Were Hit With Recoil

"ACK!!!" I gurgled a scream as a flash of pain from the attach breaking my arm while simultaneously getting hit by recoil bypassed the absorbers. My health fell all the way from full to red with that one maneuver!!!

Life Restored

My heath shot back up near instantly as the Glowstalk did their thing, only to drop back to half immediately later as I planted my foot in the ground!!!

You Were Hit With Recoil

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" I screamed out in effort as I pushed on my world moving practically in slow motion, and yet, not slow enough!!!

*EXPLOSION!!!*

*EXPLOSION!!!*

*EXPLOSION!!!*

*EXPLOSION!!!*

I erupted in his face, blasting as much e-attacks into him as I could, but with absolutely no change!

*RUPTURE!!!!*

*RUMBLE**RUMBLE**RUMBLE*

"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!" before I knew it, I was flung up into the air as the ground around me rose up in pieces at a deadly stomp!

*plod* *plod* *squish!* *plod* *plod* *plod* *plod* *plod* *plod* *plod*

Hp. Is At Critical! Find A Safe Point!

I groaned and tried to move, trying to think of a way out of this mess... only to find that I wasn't moving!!!

You Have Been Buried Under Rock. Movement Has Been Restricted

'Crap!!! This is the Buried effect of Rupture!!!' I thought to myself in panic!!! I felt my heart rate spike ridiculously as I scrambled to get some essence into me!!!

'I have to beat him! Or I won't get the data!!!' That one thought rang in my head with resounding conviction! If I passed this chance up, who knows if I'll be able to get it back!!!

*EXPLOSION!!!*

*JET BOOSTERS!!!*

I hit the rock on top of me with an Explosion, and managed to push it up just far enough to get out of under it! It's at times like these when I'm reminded that Explosion is still pretty weak....

'Jeeze, with all the fighting I'd been doing with my Explosion Mastery, you'd think I actually got stronger!!!' I thought frustratingly to myself while my now airborne body got flung under Sher!!!

*stun*

"..."

'... is it just me... or did the atmosphere in here get reeeeeeally tense all of a sudden?' I thought to myself with the split second of time I had to myself. The ending of that split second was immediately signaled as his foot came crashing down on me!!!

"Y-you!!!!!!" He stuttered in rage and what I would have called flustered had I known better! "Why you insolent, foul-blooded, Welter Rat!!!" He shouted at me while trying to trample me!!!

I popped an Explosion in my palm and rolled out of there as fast as I could!!!

*TAIL WHIP!!!!!!*

*whish* *spleck!!!*

"AAAAAArgrgrgrggrgrggrgbrlglgrgrlglgllggrgrlgrglrllglgrglglrlr!!!!!" I gurgled in agony as my arm turned to paste in a flash, dropping my health in the red!!! A second after, it grew back as my heath filled back up, but then it dropped right back as his tail flew in, taking my leg this time!!!!

*spleck!!!*

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I belted out in agony as more pain than I thought possible managed to pass the pain absorbers yet again!!!

'S***! I couldn't even hear that one this time!!!' I cursed in my head, not even remembering to curse Angus for the mental inconvenience!!!!

I whipped out my two heaviest shields, a Heavy Wooden Tower Shield and a Heavy Stone Shield, and prepared to spring up and out, but was instantly stopped in my tracks!!!!

*SHATTER!!!**spleck!!!*

'... Eh?' My mind went blank as my arms, legs and shields turned to fragmented dust within one move!!!!!

"Ahhhahhhhhhaaarrrrggrggrggg!!!!"I belted as pain I never even dreamt of before pored into my unprotected mind!!!! I felt my mind's subconscious slipped into a frightening mix of rage, depression and anxiety as I looked upon my opponent!

'...win...' I thought in a desperate flash.

'Win....!' I used every once of will power I could get my hands on to get myself motivated. If they think I'm going out like this...

...then they've got another thing coming!!!!

'I MUST WIN!!!!!' I screamed in my mind. Pushing off the ground and back into standing position!

Then I saw Sher's life bar!

"I-i-i-i-i-it's f-f-full?!!!" I said out loud, making him pause and look at his heath.

"Ah, so it has. I see you managed to bring my life low enough to get my Restore to activate." he stated in brief amazement.

'R-Restore?!!!!' I thought to myself in despair!!! Restore is a passive skill that restores a percentage of one's hp. after 1% of damage has been done! That means that all of my effort up to now..

'...only accounted for 1% of his life?!!" at that thought, I lost it.

"Perhaps you'll be more fun than I ... hmm?" Sher stopped talking mid sentence and looked at me stonily while my mental state dissolved!

'Win!!!! WIN!!!!!! I MUST WIN!!!!!' That one thought played over and over in my mind and I started felling a felling I was all too familiar with. My body was losing control...

only this time... my mind was going with it this time!!!

'KILL!!!! KILL!!!!! DESTROY!!!!! MUST! KILL! THIS! BASTARD!!!!!!!!'

'Do you want to do it?' a voice started in my head, calm, tranquil, and soothing.

'Do you want the power to kill all that lie in your path?' it asked, and I started liking the idea before the pitch even came!

"Aren't you angry? Angry that you had no choice in choosing this path, or the inconveniences that come with it?!" The voice continued! A rage like no other sparked my veins as its words pushed me on.

My mind could feel something... something that's mine....

And I wanted it back!

'You didn't want this. It was never your intension to walk the Way of the Shield.' It continued, feeling closer and closer to a friend who wants to help, a barer in my injustice at this.... this shield!

'Wait.... what injustice?'

"*OOF!!!*" *splurick!!!!!*

My body flew back in literal pieces as Sher Tail Whipped me into the wall!!!! All that was left of me was a torso with a head!!!!!! That hit cleaved off all of my limbs, and yet I'm still alive!!!! I felt my gut drop at how strong he was.

"A shame. I thought you'd be different..." He stated in mild disappointment. "But no matter. It was inevitable to say the least"

'Wait, inevitable?! What does he mean?" I thought to myself, the gears starting to turn in my head.

"Don't listen to her! I can show you your true power!!!" the voice continued to try, but I was long gone, lost in thought at new lore possibilities!!!

'What is he talking about?! "It was inevitable"? "I thought you'd be different"? Does this mean he's seen players like me? Or could it be...' my thoughts went into rapid fire and as my body grew itself back and I stood back up, the storm just got thicker!

'Could it be that something that I am, was - or probably still is - some important piece to the lore?! Is it my character's lineage?!! It is a strange mix after all. Or could it be..'

"I have but one question for you to think of as you re-await your reanimation." Sher continued, snapping me out of my musing trip.

"What do you fight for?"

At that I stopped dead in my tracks.

"What do I fight for?" I asked in confusion. "What, you mean why do I play? Isn't it obvious? I fight... for... lore..."

At that, a notification went off and I glanced at it for a second. My eyes went wide as I look around at my surroundings.

"Where... the heck... am I?"