Sarah's Story Chapter 048 - Overwhelmed

Svalbard was highly annoyed.

Even five minutes after the fight had started, he still hadn’t caught any of the three enemies attacking him.

This was the trouble with being a Tank.

You had to work in a team.

Sure, nothing the three did was working on him particularly well.

Whatever seal they had placed on him, did nothing to stop his cantrip Skills.

It had been frustrating, all those years ago, to be a year beyond his Choosing Day and realize he had a decent amount of mana and a rare Ice affinity on top of Water.

And trying to learn magic without a Class was even more frustrating.

At least, until he stopped trying to learn magic the way the mages did it.

Mages cast spells. Wizards did the same, with more preparation. Sorcerers, though, they relied more on Skills. And once he started treating magic the same way he treated his Skills, things got interesting.

Adding Ice to his debuff Skills made them even more powerful, and they were helpful everywhere except Ice-type environments. But that hardly mattered when his footing on ice was even better than normal stone, and he had plenty of [Ice Resistance].

Svalbard was unaware, but Sven had messed up.

The talisman he had prepared blocked Ice Magic expression and spells. Not cantrips tied to Skills.

Still, the fight had reached a stalemate.

His Skills ensured that his three enemies couldn’t retreat and couldn’t coordinate.

The three of them were so focused on him they couldn’t even work together.

Or, they shouldn’t have been able to.

The white-haired man, now on his second whip, was keeping his distance. His attacks were meaningless, and while not easy to predict, predictable enough. Running him down would go quickly.

The problem was the two women.

They were fast. Faster than he was. Close range fighters, so he should have been able to grab them and finish them quickly. They shouldn’t have been able to coordinate.

And as far as Svalbard could tell, they weren’t coordinating consciously.

But they also managed to stay out of each others’ way.

Even when he deliberately left an opening, only one or the other would take the bait. The other would then position to strike at any opening that formed when he retaliated, allowing the first to get away.

And the whip continued crack-crack-cracking the entire time.

It was a highly annoying situation.

But, like most fights as a Tank, the end was inevitable.

He would wear down his enemies’ stamina, they would start to make mistakes, and he would punish those mistakes. The longer the fight went on, the more his victory was assured.

If he’d had even one ally, the fight would already be over.

But, well, that’s what happens when you borrow money from everyone you know, and the bastards rig the deck on you.

Of course, the tables here in Asufal were much more fair.

He’d win his money back, repay his debts, and go back to Adventuring.

For sure.

Definitely.

One big win, clean slate, back to honest Adventuring.

Just gotta wear these three down, first.

Sarah was struggling.

It would have been a nostalgic feeling if her life, and her aunt’s life, and her teacher’s life weren’t on the line.

But for the past minute her father’s voice had been ringing in her mind’s ears.

If something’s not working, do something else!

Her hit and run tactics weren’t working.

Her throwing wasn’t working.

None of her Brawler tricks were working, and if nothing else, she could tell.

If Svalbard grabbed her, that would be it.

Will you Select the Avenger Class?

An intrusive thought.

Sarah panicked.

“No!” she shouted, but neither Sven nor Aunt Nadine reacted.

Will you Select the Avenger Class?

“No, no, no!”

Why was this happening?

It was like the Avenger Class was pushing out from the world of her soul, trying to make her select it when she was struggling most.

Brawler isn’t enough, will you Select the Avenger Class?

Sarah snapped.

And she did something very few people realized was even possible.

She willingly detached from her Classes.

They remained present, but disabled.

All her Skills faded.

Only the Class boosts to her Dexterity and Speed remained, faintly. Not as strong as they were before.

Sarah’s mind cleared.

Cleared for the first time since the fight began.

Cleared for the first time since her Choosing Day, even.

The urge to Choose her second Class faded entirely.

She landed less gracefully than usual and hopped back, away from the fight.

For just a moment, she used all her senses and took everything in, without the distraction from her [Danger Sense] and [Threat Awareness].

It was like that last spar against her father and mother before she Chose her Classes.

But it was also different.

She had allies.

But she could see that her aunt and the Bounty Hunter weren’t working together.

It was as if all they could see was Svalbard.

Just like she had been a moment ago.

Sarah leapt back into the fight.

Without her Brawler Class.

She had just one goal: create openings for her allies.

A gust of icy wind blew her pocket sand away before it reached Svalbard’s eyes. But it wasn’t until she tried to kick his ankle low and disrupt his footing while Nadine went high and Sven coincidentally lashed out at Svalbard’s wrist that Sarah caught Svalbard’s full attention.

It was like an avalanche of snow and ice crashing down on her.

“You.”

That was all he said.

But Sarah could tell, could feel his Skills activating on her specifically now.

She could feel her focus being drawn in against her will.

She could feel the urge to drawn in close, bring this to a one on one fight…

And she leapt backwards, and started running around, looking for a better angle.

She pulled back willingly.

But…

Svalbard had caught on.

Somehow, the younger woman had found a way around his [Discord] skill and started coordinating with her allies.

And so he shouted again.

[Stunning Shout]

All three enemies staggered, and the older woman’s ears started bleeding from having been too close.

And Svalbard was already moving.

[Slippery Dash]

Many people erroneously think that Tanks can’t move during a fight. And certainly can’t move very fast.

This is incorrect. Knowing which attacks to tank and which attacks to dodge is an important part of being a Tank. And being able to move quickly in reaction to enemy movement is also important.

The Tank and Fighter dashed to where the younger woman lost her footing from his shout and tackled her, slamming her into the wall. Knocked out, she bounced off the wall and back in front of him, where he was ready to strike.

His club descended.

The first of his three enemies would die, here and now.

***

A woman’s feet pounded the pavement stones.

Her daughter was in danger.

Had been in danger for minutes now.

She was running as fast as she could and it felt like swimming in molasses.

Homemaker Class Skill [Mother’s Love] has reached level 65.

[Mother’s Love] was a minor buffing Skill. A minor buffing Skill. Even at its current high level, it could only do so much. Mainly it assisted in emotional regulation and empowering other Skills.

Helen rounded the corner and saw her daughter on the back foot, and a large man swinging a club at her.

Time didn’t slow. If anything, it accelerated.

[Self-sacrifice]

The air felt like knives as Helen pushed through it, moving faster than ever before into the path of that club. Without holding anything back, she slammed her left arm into the club, and winced as bone broke.

But the club diverted.

[Parry]

Helen didn’t stop there. She kicked him back, but somehow the man used that momentum and managed to slam into both her sister Nadine and some other man, laying them both out. Her eyes flicked down.

Ah, that was it. Ice on the ground.

But in the moment she had, Helen first made sure Sarah was alright.

[First Aid]

[Home Medicine]

[Diagnosis]

Sarah was knocked out by a blow to the head. But otherwise she was fine.

Helen laid her back down gently, then stood tall and glared at the bald man, her left arm dangling limply at her side.

Svalbard frowned. His aggression management Skills should have kept anyone else from interfering with their fight unless they were his ally.

No matter. He’d deal with this woman too.

Helen felt her mask slip.

All her anger and frustration spilled out.

A vicious glare contorted her face.

She was going to kill this man.

[Mother’s Love]

[Home is Where the Heart is]

[Family Protection]

[Home Safety]

[Homemaker’s Domain]

[Brawler’s Domain]

[Battle Aura]

Helen started glowing with a golden-white light. Svalbard readied his shield. And then she moved so fast it was like she’d disappeared.

[Technique: Fist of Raging Water Dragon]

An impossibly heavy punch dented his shield and pushed Svalbard back, but not off balance. He just slid a little on the ice.

Now time seemed to slow. But the attacks rained down faster than ever. Punches and kicks slammed into Svalbard all over, pushing his defenses to their limit. It was almost overwhelming.

Almost overwhelming.

He was a Tank.

And then the woman made the fatal mistake of trying to sweep his legs.

[Technique: Low Kick]

[Steady]

[Sturdy Footing]

It was an admirable leg sweep, to be sure. It just wasn’t going to work on Svalbard. He slammed his club down, but the new woman, like that other one, rolled and dodged to his side and behind him. He whirled around—

And Helen had a broken whip in her hand.

[Rope Mastery]

There was a blur of motion, and Svalbard should have been able to keep up. The blows were no faster than before.

But the whip hindered him at every turn.

It delayed his blocks, and gaps in his defenses opened up, and the glowing woman struck them unerringly.

Svalbard started to take damage.

And just like how a single branch falling on a mountain can start an avalanche, things accelerated from there.

Bam bam bam bambambambamBAMBAMBAM!

WHAM!

Svalbard gasped as he found himself on his back, and the woman was descending on him with her fist raised and her eyes glowing red against the overcast sky.

“Alive!” Nadine shouted.

CRASH