Lucious swallowed deeply, sweat covering his entire back. They remained in a gridlock.

The Ghouls kept attempting to circle him, one from the back and one from the front, but since Lucious did not entirely like the sound of that idea, his movements had to match the Ghouls. Repeatedly he went in for shallow cuts, stepping back, repositioning, keeping the Ghouls at his front. They were patient, knowing each moment passed as a moment in their favor. Lucious tried not to tense up, relaxing his muscles whenever they contracted at the Ghoul’s movement. Tensing would only waste his energy.

Time was running out. Lucious gave a quick glance to his left side, to survey the battlefield. The Chef’s group had grown to a crew of 7, fighting just as many Ghouls. They were losing.

The Ghoul closest to him, on his left corner, inched forward, as the other Ghoul inched to the right.

Lucious tensed, smiled, then relaxed. He repositioned himself. Running was not an option, as they were faster, and inching backwards all the way to the Chef’s group, as humorous as the idea sounds, would undoubtedly end up Lucious in bumping into an eager, and extremely hungry, Ghoul.

Lucious peeked at the right. The group of people that attempted to escape were surprisingly holding their own at the door, using chairs and other miscellaneous objects to keep the Ghouls at bay. There were 8 of them, they were losing as well. Few people had survived around him, and their victim would fall, Lucious would probably be the next target.

The Ghouls once again got closer, inching forward.

Lucious nodded, that’s all the information he needed to gamble.

Lucious repositioned himself to the left but did not step back, allowing both the Ghoul and him to stay in striking range. The right Ghoul was not, and at that moment, Lucious once again glanced to the left.

The closest Ghoul on his left side went for a thrust at that moment, it’s left hand flying directly at Lucious’s bare knuckles. The other Ghoul took that to step to the right, attempting to position itself for a strike.

Lucious couldn’t block it directly, but since the Ghoul as attacking from extreme range, it was relatively easy to parry the strike. Lowering the point of the blade down and slightly positioning it to the left, the Ghoul’s thrust hit the knife’s flat end at an angle. That by itself wasn’t enough, as the direct force of the blow would have broken Lucious wrist, but by tensing his muscles at the moment of impact, as he simultaneously twisted his upper body to the right while adding forward momentum by stepping forward, Lucious was sufficiently able to redirect the force of the blow, allowing the Ghoul to trip past him. Sliding to its left side, Lucious brought his knife up and slashed across the Ghoul’s front neck.

CRITICAL HIT 100% DAMAGE INCREASE!

Major Damage to Blood Circulation -20% MAX HP/SECOND.

The Knife went a good two inches in, sliding across its neck cleanly. The Ghoul’s right hand instinctively attempted to cover the wound. Making use of his great Agility, Lucious took another step forward and pushed the blade at the sides of its head as he turned to face it. That thrust, however, would not penetrate the beast’s skull without sufficient power behind it, and though Lucious had the agility and dexterity, he did not have the strength to penetrate a skull without using his entire body.

The Ghoul, however, spun its body, attempting to swipe across with its left hand. Instead, its right eye had turned right into the pointy end of Lucious’s knife, the momentum impaling it until the back of its skull.

Devastating CRITICAL HIT 200% DAMAGE INCREASE!

Devastating damage to Central Nervous System -75% to All Creature Effects.

Level 6 Ghoul Killed

At that moment, Lucious was very thankful for the predictable nature of these Ghouls. The swipe did impact Lucious’s shoulder, but since the beast was lightweight, most of the power came from its muscles, not its weight. The swipe had given Lucious a laughable 2 damage.

In addition, it had given slight momentum to the left, which he gladly took. Pulling the blade out of the creature’s eye sockets, Lucious re-positioned himself it behind as it fell to the floor.

Funny enough, while Lucious was cutting up one Ghoul he was also playing peek-a-boo with the second one. Throughout the four seconds it took for the exchange to happen, the right positioned Ghoul had been attempting to catch Lucious’s sides. Since Lucious repeatedly moved to the left side, on the other hand, it had no success.

That had been all according to the plan. Now all Lucious had to do was flick his eyes again, feigning distraction, and the stupid beasts will go in.

What was not according to the plan, however, is that while the dead Ghoul was halfway to the ground, the second one had actually used it to jump across, heads first, up a good 7 feet in the air.

Lucious was utterly surprised. He stood, face blank for a moment before his ingenious battle talents made him duck.

The Ghoul missed Lucious by about a couple feet, landing face first into the marble floor behind him. An audible crack was heard.

That, was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. Lucious was about 5.2 feet high, with a low center of gravity. No kind of living creature needs to jump to reach his face.

Pitying the sad thing, Lucious promptly put it out of its misery with a few thrusts at its unprotected back.

Level 8 Ghoul killed

You have pleased the Gods with your Entertaining Performance. Winning a battle while being outnumbered by mightier foes has rewarded you with a 300% Increase to Experience

You have unlocked The Out-Numbered Perk

The Out-Numbered ®

10% Increase to all Stats and Proficiencies for each additional enemy beyond the first.

Rejoice! For you have gained one of The Fools Perks. Your death shall be gloriously enthralling.

Level Up!

Utilizing Speed, Technique, Tactics, and Will, you have gained +3 Agility, +3 Dexterity, +3 intelligence, 3+ Will

You have pleased the Gods with your Progression, rewarding you with additional Attribute points +3 Agility.