Redo! Last Chance for a Dying World!

Filthy began targeting the creatures that were flying through the air. Three arrows tore through their targets before the monsters could hit the ground.

Most of the beasts were dead or unconscious. Filthy could see that their chests and ribs had been caved in.

The creatures that were Level 30 or higher were different. They had deep, dark grey bruising, but they still managed to get back on their feet.

There were still 5 of them, and they were furious. Once the beasts were fully standing, Filthy could feel something change in the air.

A rich earthy smell took over the area, and the ground began to quake. The earth itself began to churn as the bulky creatures stooped down.

Filthy sprinted over to the shorter man, appearing beside him in an instant.

"Don't dodge until the last second." The short man spoke after a brief glance at Filthy. He didn't explain his words. There was no time. 

The five monsters suddenly stood tall. A massive, spiked, earthen wall sprouted before them and began to move forward.

It was swiftly making its way directly towards them. The wall was at least 40' tall and covered the entire width of the clearing.

'The only way to dodge is up.' Filthy glanced at the injured man next to him, wondering how someone with only Strength could dodge.

Filthy started to move, but the man grabbed his arm and shook his head. He wasn't sure what the guy was getting at.

Naturally, he was very cautious. There was something familiar about this guy that told Filthy he should trust him.

After a brief mental struggle, he decided to stay in place. Just when the spike wall was about to reach them, the man turned into his larger form again.

His two maces swung forward and struck at the same time. The enormous wall let out a groan as it cracked across the bottom.

It reminded Filthy of a vehicle running into an immovable object. The wall slammed into the man and toppled!

"Jump forward, NOW!"

He did as instructed. The two jumped between the top and bottom sections of the wall just before it collapsed. Debris and giant tree limbs fell as the structure came tumbling down behind them.

He noticed that the man was back down to 20% health for some reason, and he was panting heavily.

Filthy was quick to fire arrows towards the now visible monsters. The projectiles let out a small burst of Mana as they hit their targets, causing them to slide backward.

It was as if he were firing bricks instead of pointed objects. The piercing damage was heavily reduced when he used this Skill, but he wanted to buy time for the other guy to catch his breath.

...

SwolePapi watched as the archer seemed to endlessly pull arrows out of his quiver. He recognized the guy. He was the stepdad of one of his friend's kids.

There would be time for introductions later. The creatures were being held back, but they would be able to cast that wall again soon. Swole couldn't do anything without getting in close.

"Let them come to us," He spoke up so that the archer could hear.

The man glanced over at him and nodded, canceling his Skill. The next few arrows pierced into the beasts' chests while they quickly closed the gap.

Swole ran directly towards them, activating his Blood Berserker Skill again. His body grew in size as he looked down at the creatures.

He began to quickly lose health, pushing him below 100 HP. Swole swung at the closest Orc with one of his maces, striking it hard in the chin and knocking him into the air.

The next Orc managed to land a hit with its club, but he stood firm. He swung both maces at this creature, catching it in the side and crippling its arm.

Swole's HP jumped from under 100 to over 250 in just those few powerful strikes. He continued to beat the Orcs, and with the assistance of Filthy's arrows, quickly took the group down.

As the last Orc dropped, Swole promptly canceled his Skill, which had cost him another 50 HP in just that brief moment of not fighting.

'Damnit,' He thought. 'I still struggle to maintain that form for long.'

He turned around to talk to the archer. When he did, he found that the other guy was standing right beside him!

"Holy shit!" Swole exclaimed. "Warn somebody!"

"Sorry about that. It's become a bad habit of mine." The man replied. "You look familiar. Did we work together somewhere?"

"Nah. I'm friends with your stepson's dad." He replied.

A look of realization struck the other man's face, and he laughed, "I knew I recognized you. Stark talks about you a lot. He calls you "The short tattooed guy."

Swole shook his head. 'Is that really what everyone knows me for?'

He offered his hand out to the archer, "My name here is SwolePapi, but you can call me Swole."

"Filthy," The archer replied while taking his hand. "And your friend is going by Geth. I'm on my way back to meet him now. Would you like to join?"

"Sure, I keep seeing that asshole's name on the top of the rankings. Maybe he can help me conquer another Dungeon."

Filthy raised his eyebrows at that, "Oh? We are working on taking the entire Local Region. Do you have a party already?"

"Nah, just myself and my wife. She's in a Skeleton Dungeon that we conquered not far from here with two of our kids."

Filthy nodded and then thought about what he said. 'So Skeletons too, huh? I wonder what other creatures are out there.'

"Well, come on, I have a small group waiting nearby." Filthy started to walk out of the clearing, then stopped. 

"On second thought... We should grab these cores first. Do you happen to know where they are located?"

Swole looked at him, "Nope, this was only my second time facing the Orcs. This group followed me from their Dungeon."

Filthy let out a sigh, "I guess we have to get our hands dirty then."