Morgan reveled in the power and agility he had. After being surrounded by people for the last few hours, gaining the Loner buff and the increased movement speed from Lord of the Dance (in shadows) felt like he was a new person. The fresh smell of earth and sea salt filled his lungs as he rose into the air. Goblin arrows and javelins fell short as he soundlessly rose, scanning for the wyvern. Its dark, sleek shape moved quickly through the air. Two more of the smaller wyverns had been shot down by arrows or magic from the defenders.

  As if sensing Morgan approaching, the enormous wyvern twisted in a tight pirouette and faced him. Blood and thick saliva trailed from its wicked teeth. Bits of armor and skin still clasped in its sharp, hooked talons. It rose, pausing briefly, to spread its immense wings wide in a display of dominance. It looked like a large bat and lizard mixed, with its leathery wings actually being attached to its forelegs. There was nothing bat-like about its long tail and predatory angular head.

  It stared at Morgan with red, primal, bestial eyes. It had no intelligence, just pure hunger and hatred. Finished sizing up Morgan, it pumped its large wings with a tremendous grunt of effort, bringing it quickly closer. Morgan lazily floated Broken Fang at the ready. The wyvern was quick, but had a lot of inertia in its large, heavy body and went flying past as Morgan slid to the side. He struck out as he adjusted to come in right behind the wyvern as it passed, causing a wide gash at the base of its tail.

  The wyvern’s thin, nimble tail did not have the same problem with inertia that its body did. A small stinger at its tip struck him in the thigh as he finished his cut, piercing deep to the bone. Morgan was shocked by the pain and then concerned as the pain faded and his entire leg went numb.

  Morgan replied sharply.

  Concern furrowing his brow, Morgan focused on the wyvern. He had to end this as soon as possible, no more trying to dodge and make fancy cuts. He could feel the numbness reaching up to his stomach and down his other leg. Spinning, he faced the wyvern as it also turned to face him. Morgan reverted to his tried-and-true technique, ‘Me Missile’. As he fell forward, he straightened his body behind Broken Fang, presenting as small a target as possible. The wyvern attempted to dodge, but it was much less agile than Morgan. He slammed into the side of the scaly creature, feeling Broken Fang slide through the armor with almost no resistance.

  Then they were falling. Morgan dismissed his blade and changed his fall into a slow drifting float down to the wall. His breathing was labored, and his entire body was numb, but he was still conscious. He was going to miss the wall. Still fifty feet above the wall and a few feet out, he lost the ability to focus his gravity and plummeted. A large hand darted out, grabbing his shoulder.

  “Gotcha,” Remy grunted as Morgan slammed into the wall and lost consciousness.

  Morgan woke up with a start. He was still on the wall, propped up in the tower. He couldn’t move but could see and hear the defenders shouting and firing arrows.

  he asked.

  Sophia answered.

  Sensation gradually returned. He floated himself into a stiff-legged standing position and moved out onto the wall to look over the battlefield. Small pockets of violence remained where skirmishes were still being finished, but mostly the fighting was over. Remy was surprised to see Morgan as he turned, issuing orders to the archers on the wall.

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  Morgan put the weight back onto his shaking legs as Remy walked over, a huge smile on his face.

  “Got yoself a thick skull,” He drawled, looking Morgan up and down. “Glad you aint dying on my watch.”

  A frantic man crested the top of the steps coming up the wall. He was panting heavily. “Someone…Someone called for a medic?”

  “Ahh,” Remy looked at him, then back to Morgan. He slowly said, “It was for him, but he is feeling better now.”

  With a dejected sigh and slumped shoulders, the medic turned and walked back down the stairs, muttering curses under his breath.

  It was with great relief that Morgan saw Katherine among the defenders reentering the main courtyard. They gathered in the courtyard to check on the wounded being treated on makeshift cots, gathered in the corner under the large red cross symbol. There were healers doing many glowing spells and some wrapping bandages. There were fifteen wounded and four dead. Two men from the Academy sector were wounded, minor wounds, and luckily, no one was killed.

  Katherine was in high spirits as they walked back. She had hit level twelve and could not stop thanking Morgan for the staff. She hadn’t seen Morgan fight the wyverns or his fall from the sky. Morgan checked his own experience. He was at 98% to level Twenty. He would have to go out tonight to finish that up before dawn. The whole fight he had only gained five percent.

  Sophia informed him.

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 37, Dex - 39, Con - 30, Wis - 18, Int - 22.::

  ::Uncommon - Ambidextrous - Your left hand knows what your right hand is doing ::

  ::Rare - Lesser Blind Sense - Sense within ten feet of you.::

  As they walked, Morgan was disoriented by the new sense kicking in. It seemed like he could ‘see’ an outline of people and objects as they passed. Katherine beside him showed a faint outline in his vision. He closed his eyes and could still see the faint outlines as they moved. He had to adjust to the unfamiliar sensation. After making it back to their sector, Morgan let Katherine know he was going to go out into the city to scout. With a knowing look, she patted him on the arm as she entered the building.

  Flying out to the city, Morgan was stunned by the amount of damage to the structures. Some larger buildings now lie in toppled ruins or burned-out husks. He finally found what he was looking for. An entrance to a cave that looked like it was made with large stone bricks, completely foreign to the surrounding area.

  Morgan said,

  Sophia said,

  Avoiding the enormous winged shapes that slowly patrolled the skies, Morgan drifted along the streets, a foot off the ground. Two rifts of goblinoids later, he had hit level twenty.

  ::Congratulations! You have reached level Twenty. Random Skill available.::

  ::You are the forty-third person in this world to reach level Twenty. Title Granted.::

  ::Title Granted - Better Late than Never - Increase experience gained in a group by 10% if you are not the highest level.::

  Sophia politely reminded him.

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 37, Dex - 41, Con - 30, Wis - 18, Int - 22.::

  ::Epic - Strength Slasher - STR +2, Decrease targets movement speed by 10% when you damage them. ::

  ::Rare - Combat Caster - You can cast spells while fighting.::

  ::Uncommon - Pitcher - You can throw objects very well.::

  Satisfied, Morgan returned to the Citadel. He was upset that he was so far behind where he had been, but he was determined to get better and stronger. His skills recently were nothing extraordinary, but he had a feeling he was getting the karmic balance from having such overpowered abilities at the start. He settled down in a meditation position on the roof of the building to enter VISTA to practice with his new abilities for four hours before dawn, and his recruit training.