A Learning Curve - Etrian Odyssey 4 - Boyxboy

Chapter 10

AN: Thanks so much Ame_Tasogare for commenting on the previous chapter!

Ngh, sorry, short chapter...Everything seemed to be against me this week. I'll spare you the details. It's just been one of those week. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy reading!

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Chapter 10:

Reacting purely out of instinct, Baldur clutched the monster codex tightly against his chest as he lowered his head, bracing for impact. However, instead of tremendous pain, he instead heard the sound of a sharp metal clung followed by something grasping onto his shoulder in a desperate and somewhat harsh grip.

"Logre!"

Suddenly, Baldur was shoved to the side. No, he was thrown to the side.

"Hold on!"

Baldur then found himself held up in Logre's arms as the older man picked him up effortlessly and carried him away. "B-but..." What had happened?

"Roxbury!"

At the sound of Mahalah's horrified cry, Baldur lifted his head up and quickly looked around in a frantic manner. He immediately understood why Mahalah sounded so upset.

Where Baldur had been standing only moments ago was Roxbury, pinned to the ground with only his shield between him and the gapping jaws of that monstrous dragon. He was using both his arms and one of his legs to brace himself against the shield. His weapon, a spiked mace, had somehow been flung to the side and out of reach.

Not that he had the time to actually use it. How could he when the monster's teeth were scraping wildly against his shield? Of which was offering only the inconsequential of protection. It, however, was the only thing stopping the monsters from wrapping its jaws around the fortress. It was constantly thrashing its head around, forcing Roxbury to continuously readjust not only the position of his shield, but his grip on it as well.

An expression of sheer concentration was on Roxbury's face as beads of sweat appeared on his brow. He was using all his strength and mental capacity to stay alive.

"Logre, do something," Baldur ordered with a surprisingly amount of desperation in his voice the second Logre set him down upon his feet. "He's going to get killed!"

A deep scowl appeared on Logre's face as he studied the enormous beast. He muttered something under his breath as he dropped the large bag he always carried and opened it up. He then pulled out his driveblade, the darken and harden metal glinting in the light.

Holding it in one hand, Logre stood up to his full height. "Isiah, Falkner, watch his highness for me."

"I'll give you some cover fire," Falkner responded as he reset his bow, placing a surprisingly amount of bolts within the string.

"Hurry up," Isiah muttered between his whispering of healing spell. "I can only do so much from a distance."

With a stony expression, Logre vaulted toward the dragon, not worrying about the arrows that were whizzing around him and bouncing off the creature's thick skin.

"The others," Mahalah murmured as he shook his head in fear and disbelief, his eyes frantically searching their surroundings. "Bryce, Varuna, Nitish, Achyuta and Zoran. Are they all right?"

"I can't see any bodies," Isiah stated with little emotion. "I'm sure they're elsewhere on the floor."

"Please..."

The sharpness of the driveblade may have not been enough to cause major injury, but it should have been enough to gain the creature's attention, even in short bursts. But it wasn't doing anything.