[Arms of the Swarm]: Grow another arm from your body to strike at an opponent. Maximum of 4 extra arms allowed.

  - [Enhanced Technique]: Arms grown with [Arms of the Swarm] spawn with an ethereal copy of your main hand weapon. Arms grown with [Arms of the Swarm] inflict [Fear] with each strike.

  A single, large beetle-like arm sprung from the Threshen’s back. It had an ethereal version of the twin axes he had in his main hands, and it swung that axe in a circle as Gideon and Arthur moved in to capitalize on him losing his feet. For Arthur, all it meant was a simple block, but Gideon didn’t fare nearly as well. Knowing he wasn’t even close to fast enough to dodge, he took the attack on the haft of his enlarged mace. Though the attack didn’t break the haft, it pushed it in far enough to land the hit on him anyway, sending him flying back.

  Although they were quite a distance away, the monsters were beginning to notice the commotion behind them. They broke away from the walls of the city a few at a time, steadily turning into a stream as they moved to support their leader. Either unnoticing or uncaring, Arthur pressed the Raid Commander again.

  The Threshen the party was fighting also had a title that further improved his capabilities with the Fear condition.

  

  [Fearmonger]: You’ve struck fear into the hearts of many creatures. Enhances all skills related to the [Fear] affliction. Causes the effect of [Fear] to activate more often regardless of damage threshold.

  Although the various items that would allow counterplay to the Fear condition were denied to planets within The Quine Event, Arthur had a counterplay of his own. Though he didn’t know to use it at first, as soon as he and his allies gained the infliction, he’d activated his suite of skills.

  

  [Unflinching Will]: Grants the user resistance against damage over time effects. Grants the user resistance against immobilizing effects. Can be broken by an enemy higher level than you. If [Champion’s Mantle] is active, resistances are slightly enhanced and grants a diluted version of this skill to allies within area of influence.

  [Champion’s Mantle]: Grants minimal healing over time. Grants 1.5× [Audacity] stack gain.

  The effects of Arthur’s skills had been active since they’d gained the affliction, and since then, it hadn’t procked a single time. This confused the Threshen warrior, as it was long passed time he should’ve gotten an opening. In fact, it should’ve activated many times on all the recipients by now. Resistance didn’t mean immunity, however, and it activated on Arthur for the first time as he and the Raid leader traded blows.

  The immobilizing effect of the Fear affliction worked similarly to how Ema had been using the Seize skill until now. It would freeze the afflicted for varying periods of time based on the damage threshold, but in the hands of an expert in the craft, a single moment was enough. Recognizing the spasms of an individual under the effects of Fear, the Threshen warrior didn’t miss his chance.

  

  [Savage Barrage]: Aggressively strike an enemy with many hits. Damage scales off of melee damage, with the last strike inflicting [Fear] on the opponent. Duration of [Fear] scales off of exposure to [Bloodlust].

  Sasaki Ema’s Seize skill was still on cooldown, so there was nothing to stop him from savaging the knight. A heal over time and a shield snapped into place around him just as the attack started in an attempt to minimize the damage.

  

  [Lifeguard]: Grant yourself or an ally a shield that absorbs physical damage. Shield hp is determined by the magical damage of the user, not the recipient. Shield lasts for 5 seconds, with moderate cooldown.

  [Greater Refresh]: Grant yourself or an ally healing over time, lasting for 20 seconds.

  Although Ema was a support class, her magical damage was tied to her intelligence stat, meaning it was quite high. Quite high wasn’t the equal of the Raid leader’s stats at over level 60, however, and it broke almost immediately when it encountered his axe.

  Arthur was mauled by the biting edge of his opponent’s axes over and again. It tore through his armor, cutting into his flesh with each strike. The Threshen’s dexterity stat was nearly at 400, and his Panic Drinker was increasing his damage by 4 orders of magnitude. Not only that, but as Arthur was inflicted by Fear, he was receiving greater damage from his attacks. The axes buried themselves in his chest, legs, arms and more as blood exploded from each blow.

  The final strike landed, blasting Arthur back with the force. While he wasn’t normally easy to move because of his high weight tolerance, that would only be so if he was actively contesting the force application applied to him. He fell down hard next to Ema, who began healing him immediately as Gideon engaged the Raid leader again.

  “We can’t keep going like this…” Arthur said as Ema healed him. The Greater Refresh skill was still active, but because his health pool was so much larger than Ema’s intelligence stat, the effect was even smaller than normal.

  “What do you think we should do?”

  “I think… we have to cut him off from his skill somehow.” Arthur explained his plan to Ema, who looked at him with clear hesitation.

  “Are you sure? If it doesn’t work, it could get really dangerous for you!”

  “If it doesn’t work, just let the shield drop and we’ll try something else. For now, we have to do something!”

  Gideon fought back against the Raid leader viciously. He was now the recipient of all of Ema’s buffs. Along with the defensive buffs of his own North Polarity, he was able to take the occasional glancing blow. He was under the effects of Greater Refresh, and used his Orbital Belt as more of a shield than an attack. It interposed rocks hardened by the skill to soften the regular attacks that would otherwise had put him in the same position as Arthur. The monsters from the ring around the city were drawing nearer, their roars of anger and stench becoming easier to hear and smell by the moment.

  “Gideon! Get back!” Arthur yelled, as he attacked with a 3rd Method shield tackle. It landed squarely on the Threshen’s side, sending him sliding back. While the Raid leader’s strength stat was respectable, it wasn’t close to as high as his dexterity stat. His weight tolerance couldn’t be put into dexterity, but Arthur’s could be put into vitality. That being said, the interaction between who could move whom against their will was a contest of force application versus weight tolerance. Arthur’s force application was greater than the Threshen’s weight tolerance because his strength stat scaled to a greater degree as a side effect of moving weight tolerance to vitality. As a result, Arthur could move the bug man far easier than he could move the knight.

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  After the Threshen regained his footing, a huge, polyhedric bubble began to form around him and Arthur.

  

  [Expanse Bubble]: Create a large barrier encompassing an area. Longer uptime results in mounting mana cost. Shield HP equals 80% of max MP, with an additional 5% per positive and/or negative effect currently employed by the [Greater Keeper].

  He looked around as the bubble closed around them. As the final bit of the top was joined, he felt something snap from within.

  

  [Panic Drinker]: 4 ? 1

  The bubble had cut him off from the other combatants, making him vastly weaker. He inwardly chuckled, admiring their gall to trap one of their own in here with him. He wasn’t sure what their plan was beyond cutting him off from the other individuals inflicted with Fear, but leaving their tank here alone with him was a mistake. Although the knight had some peculiarities he intended to probe him about, once he killed him, there’d be nothing to stop him from tearing through the rest of their party.

  The Threshen sighed. He’d had quite a bit of fun, but it was time to bring things to an end. While he was almost sure he’d win a duel with the knight, almost sure wasn’t sure enough. It was time to call upon the elites of his horde.

  Camille ran down through the building with all the speed she could muster. Aside from the first day of the apocalypse, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d run this hard. As she burst through the door, she looked about wildly.

  There were people all over the streets, despite the warning the Socials put out. People were rushing back and forth, but most of them headed towards the wall where the fight was taking place. Camille moved through the crowds, trying her best to be gentle while moving quickly. She made a note in the back of her mind to work on roadways in the future.

  Walker, still behind her, was far less gentle. While he wasn’t too rough, he pushed and shoved people out of the way as he tried to catch up to Camille. She slid and shifted through the roiling sea of heads as she got closer and closer to her destination. Her legs burned, breaths coming hard and sharp as anxiety filled her at the possibility of being too late. She moved faster, pushing harder through the multitudes of people until, without even noticing it, she made it to the wall.

  It was thick and concrete, almost like how dams were made in the old world. It had ladders at regular intervals all around the interior, allowing people to climb up and stand on top of it. One of the maintenance-type classes had an Earth attuned offshoot that allowed for control of concrete substances, which was how they built such a massive structure. Climbing to the top of the wall, Camille looked about the area below.

  By now, various brave individuals had made their way out to assist the party fighting the boss monster. Both teams and solo operators dotted the horde, fighting hard to break through. While there were still an extreme amount of monsters, they were notably less than before. She saw the ones not fighting back against the city’s denizens stream towards the clearing in the middle distance, where she spotted her quarry. A large bubble was encasing him and the knight, slowly creeping upwards as the bug monster looked about curiously.

  Camille stretched her hand out in a grasping motion. Her eyesight focused on the monster until it was all she saw… and her hand trembled when she realized she was too far away to activate the skill.

  “N-No…!”

  She leaned forward as far as she could go, half of her body leaning over the edge of the wall. She even extended her fingers, her eyes wide as she pushed herself even further over the edge. Negative emotions twirled inside her like a hurricane of knives; frustration, fear, hatred, sadness, revenge and more, causing her eyes to well up.

  Out of nowhere, she felt a hand on her back. She suddenly realized she was leaning a great deal over the edge of the wall, and someone could easily push her over it. Before she could pull herself back in panic, she felt something cold yet comfortable rise inside, like the feeling of a cold drink in summer.

  

  [Extended Range Magazine]: Grants skills and ranged weapons enhanced reach. Amount of range granted based on skill or ranged weapon based on default reach.

  “Good… I was wondering if I could use that on someone else,” Walker said behind her, shifting his cigarette in his mouth. He sounded like an old world action hero. “Don’t just stand there gawking at me, do it! NOW!”

  Camille’s eyes sharpened despite the mist in them. She focused on the bug monster again, reaching her hand out in a clutching motion… and she felt her skill’s jaws clamp shut on the Raid Commander.

  

  [Denial]: Inflicts an enemy with [Embargo]. Inflicts an enemy with [Interference].

  [Embargo]: Afflicted entity is unable to use items.

  [Interference]: Afflicted entity is unable to communicate with allies.

  Denial was a skill that she’d gained from her class. She wasn’t a fighter, so she’d taken a more administrative class choice. Even so, it’d given her access to this skill, which seemed more the type that an assassin would want.

  She’d wanted to use this skill on the Raid leader several times, but it had seemed to always be prepared for it. Almost like it had inside men, it always knew exactly when she’d left to get in position for when they made an assassination attempt on it. When she’d arrive, it would already have called all its elites to it. Now, however, with this surprise attack from the outside, she could finally catch the monster unaware. As she stared at it with utter hatred, her eyes went from misty to teary.

  The Threshen warrior went deathly still. He looked at his condition again, disbelief clouding his eyes.

  

  You have been inflicted with

  [Embargo]

  You have been inflicted with

  [Interference]

  He started for a bit longer. His head creaked to the side agonizingly slow. He saw the city wall closest to him, and on top of it was a woman and a man. The woman was leaning over the edge, her hand in a clutching motion pointed at him. He locked eyes with her, the hatred from her liquid-filled eyes searing into his very soul like it was its own skill. He looked to the man, behind and to her side. He was taking a drag on something he’d learned was called a “cigarette”, the stick of nicotine held lightly between two fingers. While the smoke slithering up from its end partially obscured his handsome face, it did nothing to mask the loathing in his sharp eyes, no less great than the woman’s next to him.

  The Threshen laughed.

  He laughed long and hard, a sharp chittering sound like the clacking of bloody teeth. He’d originally planned to drink a potion after calling for his reinforcements, but now both things were denied to him. By such a weak human.

  He was still in his guffaws when the knight walked closer to him. He saw that while the human knight’s armor was still damaged, his wounds were healed. That would make what would come next all the harder, but there was no point in lamentation. He strode forward, still laughing while twirling an axe in one hand.

  “Quite the situation you’ve gotten me into here. I didn’t expect simple humans to push me so far.”

  The knight froze for half a second, as though shocked that the Threshen warrior could talk. He got over it as quickly as it came over him. “It’s called teamwork. I don’t expect someone like you to understand what that is.”

  While his voice was clearly modulated, it was neither guttural nor gravelly, like the Threshen expected. It wasn’t even particularly deep; he sounded like a growling puppy.

  “And what do you mean by… ‘someone like me’?”

  “You don’t need me to explain that to you. You already know.”

  The Threshen chuckled. “Humans always did overcomplicate things. Is it so wrong to participate in a System sanctioned Event?”

  “There is nothing complicated here. You’re a serial killer. A murderer. You hunt the defenseless for reward and children for sport. You may not be a ‘monster’… but you are of their kind.”

  “Is that so? And how many people have you killed, ‘hero’? I know you. You and your friends were the ones who slew my people in Ragoth’s Obelisk. From what I heard, you didn’t have an ounce of hesitation then. Tell me, hypocrite… how did your first kill feel?”

  “I’ll stain myself as many times as I need to stop you and yours. Nothing you say will deter me. I am not the one who started this, but if I have to… I will be the one who ends it.”

  The Threshen laughed again. “Empty words from an empty ego. Though you do know things you shouldn’t yet. Before we end this, tell me… who are you? How were you able to kill Ragoth?”

  “Do you surrender?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then there’s no point in telling you my name.” the knight shifted into one of the stances he'd trained with so much as he spoke, lifting his blade. “Because… I’m going to kill you.”

  The Threshen’s laughter became raucous as he assumed his own martial posture. “Excellent. Come then, murderer. Let’s see if you hold anything other than hypocrisy in your actions.”