Master Of None

Chapter 168 - 168. Slip And Slide

" Hey brainless, thanks for the heads up you would take two down at once. All my hard planning fell to pieces." Walker approached Gil punching his shoulder.

" Oh yea it's my fault your new spell that we've never seen made every single one target you and Su. what was it I heard Laurence say? Oh, right, fire boy." Gil returned Walker's punch with one of his own.

"Ugh stop flirting you two, Walker you need to get the snow imps stored away, I swear they are still looking at me." Remey shrank away from the nearest snow imp hiding behind her.

"This is a brotherly bond, you're just jealous we get along so well while you are too hot tempered." That was when Remey started chasing Gil around. The two were definitely going to tire themselves out before the group even got near the two frost penguins.

"Leader Midnight has dragged the Imps in to one pile, please store them away. I will make sure those two stop their trouble." Su as reliable as ever took the pressure from Walker as she put on her scolding face, those two were in for a good lecture. Su also may have been a bit jealous that Gil had shown off his new skill and she had no way to show off her new fire resistance.

Elise was cleaning off Stella's talons, the snow imp she had dropped was hardly recognizable at this point. No matter how many times this happened Walker could never see himself being used to it. However the fact that avian type monsters had this fighting style opened Walkers eyes to a wider world of combat.

Monsters of different elements would obviously play to their strengths, as would anyone in a life or death battle. Stella was an avian type monster, she could fly, because of this she was able to drag enemies in the air and let gravity do the work for her. This must be the same for earth based monsters as well, they could create quicksand or something similar to drag in prey to their demise. Water type elemental monsters could most likely use water to drown and trap enemies, The possibilities were all there just waiting for Walker to analyze and create countermeasures. This was one of many moments that remind him of just how young and inexperienced the party really was. They may have come far in such a short time but that seemed to hold them back more than help. They could easily fall victim to a situation an older adventurer knew to avoid.

While he stored the snow imps bodies away Walker thought on this. Meanwhile Onyx and Midnight were doing their own bonding. " Sister I did exactly as you said, I hid on your back then crushed the the prey. It didn't even scratch me." a few growls and huffs from Midnight later Onyx replies, " No sister i would never doubt you. I just feared if I did not capture the other prey it might try to harm you". Midnight blew a slight bit of steam from her nose after hearing this, "Yes sister I understand no one will ever beat you. When I grow bigger I won't need to bind them, I will crush them for you with a swing of my tail." This answer seemed to excite Midnight who started to prepare for the next fight.

The two were having their bonding moment so Walker decided to let them be. Instead he decided to make sure all the embers from his fire bolt spell had gone out, it was not any of their intentions to start a fire. Just because it was cold did not mean the grass wouldn't burn.

After they had all taken a short rest they focused on to their next target, the frost penguins. They were occupying an area not too large in size but was well traversed causing a significant amount of trouble. Normally if they were just nesting in the area they could have been chased out with force, however since the pair was actively defending the territory and causing injury they needed to be slain.

Since the party wouldn't need to worry about a possible ambush like with the snow imps Gil was positioned in the back. They also remained as one group so they would not be easy targets for the frost penguins piercing beaks. Walker did not want Riley, Elise, and Laurence jumping in to this battle. He was worried that the penguins could utilize their speed to quickly take them down or seriously injure them. Tamers had the great benefit of not being alone but the huge downside of not using other gear to defend themselves. Therefore the three were told to strictly remain behind Su, Laurence would bring out Bengal in the worst case scenario.

Easily making their way to the area the penguins were the party mostly took merchant routes. It was obvious to see that the routes were being bypassed due to the frost penguin threat. Narrow paths in the grass and snow had been flattened, these would be the trails the penguins often slide around on while patrolling and attacking. They had oil coated feathers that repelled water so sliding around was often very fast for them. Add on their ideal body shape which had very low air resistance they could build up decent speed to pierce an enemy.

"Eeewwwaaa" The group had just started to approach a wider part of the route when a loud cry drew their attention. Just a little away from them two monsters were just seeing them group approach. This was the pair of frost penguins, their blue black feathers shining reflecting the sun. Their dull orange beaks were incredibly pointy being covered in a clear layer of ice. Yellow wispy feathers came off one of them differentiating the male from the female. Walker would have taken more time to analyze them but after just a moment the two flopped on to their bellies and started picking up speed towards the group. Using the water mana in the snow to build it up faster.

"Su get ready they are building up a lot of speed." Using his multi buff skill Walker made sure that Su had the proper backing to block both of the frost penguins attacks. "Gil can you slow the one in back down?"

"You got it." Gil notched an arrow tracking the penguin with the yellow feathers. Releasing the arrow it flew the distance to the penguin but just as it would have landed in to it's back the penguin took a sharp turn. They were fast and could dodge! Gil refused to give up and started to prepare another arrow, he may have missed his target but he had created some distance between the two penguins.

"Remey you'll need to be fast, the second Su stops the first hit get in there with a hammer fist to try and knock it down. Midnight you're her back up, if it's not knocked out in one hit crush it." The pair needed no more encouragement, they had trained together for their daily quests previously and had gotten extremely comfortable fighting together.

The first frost penguin picked up intense speed heading right for Elise, Su was already in position. The sharp beak slammed in to her shield with a sickening crack. The frost penguin he hit so hard that Su stumbled backward slightly, however the penguin had no chance to take advantage of this, its beak had splintered due to the intense force. This was a losing battle for a strong spear against an impenetrable shield. Flailing in pain the frost penguin was left wide open, Remey took the advantage and jumped up wards letting her clasped fists home down with extra force. Her hammer fist left her equally vulnerable but had devastating blunt force.

The thud of her fists on flesh made the ground tremble slightly, the penguin became completely stunned. The second penguin with yellow feathers tried its best to turn and attack Remey but it had been forced off course by Gil's steady assault. Midnight fell in to her roll supporting Remey, Using her claws she shredded through the penguins surprisingly soft feathers. The frost penguins gave up plenty of defense to gain speed and attack power, this now put them at a massive disadvantage in close combat.

Gil finally managed to properly land an arrow on the approaching penguin which squawked out in pain. This gave Remey and Midnight the notice they needed to return to Su's protection. Walker sent a fire bolt toward the oncoming penguin which was now enraged by its injury and the loss of its mate. Increasing its speed to a much faster pace than the first penguin had Su knew Walker's attack would miss. She placed herself in front of Walker who had drawn the attention of the penguin. Walker's fire bolt flew past its target, bursting with a small pop on the ground. Su slammed her shield in to the ice and snow on the ground, she wanted to use it as a base for support. She put all her weight behind the shield for the next oncoming attack.