Lazarus

  Primordial limit.

  Primordial 1.

  Paragon luck.

  Paragon strength 2.

  Presence detection 4.

  Regeneration 12.

  Centaur riding 5.

  Sex 8.

  Sword mastery 1.

  Blink 3.

  Resistance 1.

  Acid resistance 2.

  Poison resistance 1.

  Centaur pleaser 10.

  Forging 1.

  Copycat 1 (-------)

  Primordial blessing 1.

  Limitless Primordial 1.

  Primordial Pantheon (presence detection 4)

  Skill points - 0

  I was really getting sick and tired of this happening. Granted this was only the second time but still. Of course the harpy had kidnapped me again only she'd made a slight mistake. I wasn't as weak as I was st time.

  Blinking out of her talons and directly in her flight path, we collided and I made sure to grab her wing.

  Without the full use of them we both plummeted in a death roll. I wasn't going to let her get out of his one so easily. She panicked and her talons managed to catch my leg ripping a trail of blood through my limb.

  Letting out a grunt I smmed my forehead into her nose breaking it but also stunning her slightly. With her no longer fighting back I positioned us midair so that she would take the brunt of our nding. Hopefully her body is as soft as I think it is.

  The roof of a house was the first thing that decided to greet us on our decent and while it did wind me I was remarkably fine. The fall into the alleyway afterwards was a different story as I lost my grip on my cushion and nded heavily on my left shoulder.

  Resistance 2 acquired.

  Yip definitely felt like that should have leveled.

  Okay I really need to stop falling from heights like this or invest something in flying or some equivalent.

  I let out a groan pulling myself to my feet while quickly testing all my limbs worked. A bit battered and definitely bruised with a little scratch down my quad but all in all that went pretty well. For me at least, the harpy y in a heap her chest carved in and crushed.

  I really don't feel bad for that.

  "Dumbass." I mumbled taking a few steps to orient myself. I was currently in some alleyway in a location I didn't fully....

  I threw myself to the left as my presence detection pinged.

  I wasn't fast enough to fully dodge the bde aimed for my chest as it bit into my side but at least it wasn't a moral wound.

  Copycat 1 (Feather bde 43)

  Oh. That's exciting.

  I turned summoning the feather bde to my hands just in time to parry another strike from my assaint. Of course the harpies friend was here.

  She seemed surprised by the bde now in my hand but that didn't stop her pressing her assault. The feather bde was light in my hands and very easy to use but in the harpies wings it was a thing of mastery. I struggled to stop most of her blows and the ones I didn't stop created lines of blood along my exposed arms. It probably didn't help she had used this all her life and I was just learning on the fly.

  I tried to faint right but by the time I could counter she was in the air well out of my range.

  Regeneration 13 acquired.

  Well at least if this came down to a battle of attrition I had the leg up, that did take into account me actually nding a hit on her though. Something I have failed to do thus far.

  The harpy nded on the roof patiently waiting. What she was waiting for I don't know but it did give my regeneration some time to kick in and hopefully enough time for the girls to catch up. She tilted her head towards the pile of meat that use to be her friend.

  "Do you know who you just killed?" Gone was the high pitched voice she used in the market, now repced with something so cold it could freeze magma. I'd heard enough assassin's to know the sound.

  "Not a clue." I replied back offering a smile. I'd py the waiting game.

  "No matter. I cannot return home without your head. It's your choice of it remains attached."

  "Is there a third option? Something that involves you dying and me walking away?"

  I got a gre in return. Yeah didn't expect much. My new copycat skill decided this was the perfect opportunity for it to end and the bde disappeared from my hand. So I can only use it for a short time after being hit my it. Not the worst thing as it had just saved my life but very limiting, especially with blink still on cooldown.

  "Copycat." She whispered.

  And this is why you keep your skills secret. Gives you an advantage until they figure it out.

  I stretched my limbs getting ready for another round and the moment I closed my eyes for longer than a quick blink she was in front of me. By pure chance and a lot of thanks to presence detection I colpsed my legs dodging her swing that was aimed for my neck before rolling to put some distance between us. She followed sshing at any limbs I left in pce for too long.

  She was fast, a blur of feathers and speed that used her wings to hide her strikes as she jabbed repeatedly. Unfortunately for her even without the necessary skills I could hold my own.

  Evading a strike I slipped onto my knees bringing my fist into her chest only realising st minute it left my shoulder open. She couldn't get a fatal hit but it would cause some damage. To te to back out I threw my weight into the punch feeling something in her ribcage give way but no bde scratched my skin as she backpedaled, rising back onto the roof with shaky legs.

  She hadn't hit me even though she had an opening. Why? Seemed counter productive to killing me. Or did she not want to trigger copycat. It was a level 43 skill so maybe even without knowing how it fully works she didn't want to take the risk. That would mean she would only strike me if she knew it would kill me and pull back all her other ones.

  Well that certainly gives me an advantage. She also teleported when I took my eyes off her so hopefully it was just the blink skill and it's now on cooldown although she did something simir when she first attacked.

  She growled down at me as she produced a potion and drank it. Her ribs seemed to crack back into the correct position so it must have been some type of healing potion. I really hate when a boss heals during a fight. It's the worst kind of game design.

  Well time for round two I suppose.

  The harpy seemed to agree except this time her shadow stretched and morphed becoming a copy of herself before splitting again until it looked like triplets were looking down at me. So she had some shadow clone jujitsu crap. Wonderful.

  The two clones dropped first each coming from a different side with their own feather bdes. I dodged to the right purposefully nicking my hand and the bde as it passed.

  Copycat 1 (Feather bde 20)

  Better than nothing.

  The bde appeared in my hand and I wasted no time breaking through the guard of the closest clone, severing it's head. The second came at me without pause and I returned to the defensive. It was nowhere near as fast as the original with each strike almost visible in its execution. I didn't even have to watch out for faints or trickery.

  That was until the original appeared behind me just as I committed to a strike towards the clones belly. Reflexes I'd honed over the years allowed me to stop my attack in time to block it but her sword cut cleanly through my own.

  Of course. Arath had mentioned the difference in levels were a huge thing and I'd copied her clones level twenty not hers. I'd made a huge mistake and she knew it.

  Time seemed to slow as her bde sliced through my own continuing its path towards my throat. I was off bance from reacting to her appearance and couldn't evade. She had me dead to rights. Checkmate.

  However just as the bde started to cut into my neck a hand grabbed my shoulder and I was thrown backwards well out of the harpies bde. Ha. Arath took her sweet time almost had me there.

  The harpy stared at the new arrival and I realised through presence detection the person standing beside me wasn't a centaur.

  I turned to look at my saviour finding pink hair and a body comprised mostly of mist. The djinn I wished for freedom?

  "We'll call it even then." I said more surprised than the harpy at this turn of events.

  The djinn nodded a dagger orbiting her hand. She seemed to want to fight and I wasn't opposed to having an ally right now. She also held out a sword towards me yet her gaze never left the harpy.

  I took the offered weapon feeling the familiar weight of the steel. Oh this would do nicely.

  The harpy tisked as her shadow stretched into another two of those clones.

  "You want to the original or the copies?" I asked the djinn, the dagger in her hand suddenly stopped with the bde aimed at the original.

  "I got the copies then."

  My partner disappeared from my side reappearing in front of the harpy. She didn't wait around.

  I took her lead bringing my bde up to parry a clone that was about to strike in the djinns blind spot. I didn't need to worry as it turned out because instead of dodging or blocking the original harpies bde the djinn simply took it, the feather bde passing harmlessly through her. Neat trick.

  Refocusing on my opponents I spun my bde around my back, blocking the second clone without looking before bringing it back around to the first. It felt good to finally have a weapon. Not that the clones were very skilled, I was definitely showing off a little bit as I blocked a strike and hit the clone in the head with the pommel of my sword. It backpedaled and I used the chance to cut the seconds arm off.

  Without a weapon it charged me attempting to bite my wrist so I gave it an easier target, by braking it's teeth. And it's face.

  Paragon strength 3 acquired.

  Well that's handy. My punch literally turned it back onto a shadow.

  The remaining clone recovered from being stunned and came at me again. Deciding to do something a little differently I parried it's jab ditching my weapon to the ground and started hammering into its stomach trying to hit it as many times as possible without killing it.

  A nce of pain shot through my side but I ignored it in favour of my current task.

  Paragon strength 4 acquired.

  Ha it worked, speed farming. The clone gave way into dust before I could get another level but I'll take the two.

  The djinn and harpy were still locked in their fight neither side getting the advantage as the djinn wasn't physical enough to be attacked and the harpy was actually the better fighter of the two. It did give me some time to evaluate myself and I'll take it.

  The nce of pain turned out to be a dagger sticking out of my left thigh. I'd guess the harpy threw it at some point. Shows me for taking my eyes off her.

  Too many mistakes Lazarus you use to be so much better than this. Has hiding behind Araths skirt made you weak? No I growled myself. This world is too different. My skill gained from practice has nothing on someone who has dumped skill points into a skill to make them better. I just keep thinking I'm better because I use to be a hero.

  Use to. The words hit me harder than the dagger. Well this fight has been humbling at the very least. Those that don't learn tend to die quickly so stop moping and do something.

  Grabbing the sword I left on the ground I pulled the dagger out of my leg wincing at the blood that followed. It didn't hit anything vial but that didn't stop it hurting like a mule.

  "Time to finish this." I mumbled to myself willing my legs to move forward.

  "I agree husband." Arath growled slowly walking past me with her glowing armour and a kite shield bigger than my whole body in one of her arms.

  Kayaletts hands found their way around my sides and slowly pulled me back away from the fighting. A soft green glow enveloping my wounds.

  The cavalry had arrived.