26 Chapter 26 (1/2)
Chapter 26
”Am I seeing things?” Oak had pulled up short from the mobs, as the group all paused. ”Or did the dickens get bigger?”
”That's what she said.” Rue broke into a fit of giggles, and James found himself chuckling and blushing at the same time. Alright, so she hadn't been the most helpful during the tutorial, he found her company was definitely preferred over the silence of loneliness. He was all too used to that in the real world.
”Yeah, they definitely got bigger. If I had to guess, I'd say they are now African Dickens, instead of European Dickens.” The entire party, and Rue, broke into laughter. Whatever Z was referencing, was apparently funny. James made a mental note to look it up later.Z stepped up next to Oak, and slapped him on the back. ”Maybe try not to get pecked to death.” He pushed the poor tank forward, as Oak shot Z a pained look.
”Why do I always have to be the tank?”
”Well, you actually have a class that can play the tank role.Plus the most hp, and the highest defense…you kinda did this to yourself buddy.” Z shrugged his shoulder as he spoke, and the others nodded in agreement. ”My highest stat is dexterity after all. Do you really think I could be a tank if all I did was dodge?” The rest of the group chuckled as Oak started muttering under his breath.
”You all owe me a round of drinks.” Oak, finally resigned to his fate, grumbled as he stepped forward, raising his shield.
”We aren't stopping for drinks till Old Man Jenkins is dead. So yeah, I'm sure we will have plenty of copper to buy ya drinks by then, especially as you keep us safe.” The rest of the group broke out in laughter as the ranged dps member took up their stances, preparing to launch their attacks.
”I hate you all so much.” He took another step closer, and all five dickens turned to look at him, stopping their mindless pecking of the ground. The dicken closest to Oak cocked its head to the side, and let out a questioning cluck.
”You guys are going to kill that lamb first, right?” Oak was of course referencing the sacrificial lamb that was absentmindedly chewing on some grass at the back of the dicken flock. Oak hadn't drawn near enough to it to draw its agro.
”Eh, we can try.” Z was glancing from the dickens, who were still staring at Oak, to the lamb. ”Though it might be easier to-”
”Moooooooooooooooooooo” The unmistakable cry of a mad cow caused the group to flinch, and James watched, amused, as Oak's face drained of color. Well, all the color save for the blood still splashed across his face. The group had forgotten to clean him up in their excitement to continue farming.
”New plan.” Z started running to the side, as he bow leveled at the first dicken. His arrow flew true and smashed into the dickens chest. The dicken let out an angry cluck, and scratched at the ground, its eyes narrowing as it viewed Z. The rest of the flock began ruffling its feathers.
”You keep the Mad Cow busy, and we will clear these mobs.” James could tell Oak wanted to complain, but he shook his head, resolve crossing his face as he turned towards the sound of the Mad Cow. The beast was steaming, heading full speed towards Oak and his group. With one last sigh, the warrior ran towards it, a battle cry ripping from his mouth. James was torn between which fight he wanted to watch more. The one on one against a mad cow, or the new and improved dickens and lamb. The dickens and lamb won by a small margin.
”Bet you 10 resource points he solo's that cow.” Rue was grinning as her eyes flicked towards Oak, who had just slammed into the mad cow. The warrior was level three, James wasn't sure he could take on a Mad Cow all by himself.
”You're on.” James accepted the bet mainly because he was curious what exactly Rue would do with resource points. It was also only an hour worth of resources, and James had just hit climbed over 100 again. He could risk 10.
”Try to restrain some of these.” Z cried out as he let another arrow fly. It grazed the lead dicken's wing, and James could guess it hadn't done much damage. That was two strikes on the front dicken. Z needed to be careful.
”On it.” Faust started chanting, his hands moving in an intricate design, and a few seconds later, vines shot up beneath the flock of dickens that had been chasing Z. The fines snagged three of dickens, who promptly began pecking and slashing at the accosting vines. Their larger beaks and claws were going to make quick work of that snare.
”Thanks.” Z paused as the lead dicken neared him, and he and Elm both launched arrows at the dicken. Just as the arrows neared, the dicken spread its wings and its powerful legs launched it off the ground. The arrows both sailed underneath the dicken, barely grazing it. That was four.
”What the-”
”Cluck?” Rue replaced Z's comment with her own as the dicken, followed by the remaining un-snared dicken, both took flight. James broke out in laughter, both from her comment, and the anticipation. He knew what was going to come next.
Just as the two dickens soared over Z, two eggs dropped onto the poor archer. The eggs both smashed into his face, and open mouth. They exploded in yolk and fire, doing 5 damage a piece to the archer, and leaving behind scrambled eggs across his face. Devastating and tasty.
”You chose gren-eggs?” Rue was laughing hysterically as they watched Z turn and blindly launch another arrow. It sprouted out of the first dickens chest, dealing a good amount of damage James could tell, but just falling short of killing the dicken. On top of that, it activated Flock Together. Poor Z.
”Hey Z.” Med Ic's hands were glowing as he looked at his leader, and a golden light surrounded the archer, healing him from his damage. To James's amusement, the scrambled eggs remained for the archer to wipe off himself.