The lightning had left me off-balance, in a state of disarray. My mind was lost with the sudden blast, for a moment leaving me wary of not only my surroundings but also my opponent. I had learned quite a bit from battling, not only in the Pagoda but also in the Citadel. The first lesson any budding warrior would require to survive would be that it was not just a one on one match up between two forces, but a dynamic struggle to endure against the elements as well as an opponent. The match I was fighting was no different, not only fighting against the metal goliath but also against the lightning that fell around.

It was due to my unsettled mind and unsteady footing that I barely made the correct move. The light blade arched towards me, and in a state of disarray I stumbled over a loose boulder and dropped to the ground. The edge of the scythe-like weapon callously cut through the weak packed dirt, catching gravel and tossing small stones into the air. I scrambled away from the weapon, rolling and re-gaining my footing. Both daggers in my hand made deep imprints, my white knuckled grip tightly holding the plain steel handles.

“Damn man,” I sighed as I watched the metal man. There was no puncturing the steel shell of the man, not at least by glancing blows. I needed to have direct attacks, I needed far more than just to strike and slash at the man with my small daggers. For once, in the first time I had ever been on the Althanas server, I wished I carried a sword like the next cliché character. Though I had chosen not to degrade myself to that point, not to be another sword swinging hero or dagger wielding thief. It seemed that the choice to avoid cliché was my downfall.

Instead of throwing myself towards the man, instead of taking an offensive means and pushing the pacing I decided to continue my slow mindset. There was nothing I could do yet. Defensive stances and counter-attacks were going to be my means of survival, I could only hope that they would serve me well.