Azure: Gunner

Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of flyers rely on a combination of magic and biology to stay aloft. This restricts them to staying relatively near the ground, as mana rises from the earth and disperses into the atmosphere. It also significantly curtails their ability to range far into lower-mana zones, as the most powerful examples tend to be the largest, heaviest, and most reliant on mana to stay aloft.

In combination, these two factors prevent our townships from being wiped out by flyers on a regular basis. Were they able to soar at unlimited altitudes, it would be virtually impossible to detect them before an attack. As it is, they are still the most likely type of monsters to surprise any defenses.

The same phenomena that aid our safety overall greatly increase the dangers of humans attempting flight for themselves, however. The relatively narrow band of the ‘flight zone’ makes it easy for airborne predators to spot and engage anyone attempting to replicate their mastery of the skies. In addition, many earth-bound species have a limited ability to attack at range and/or the willingness to track and follow flyers until they exhaust their mana and are forced to land.

- Bonnie, Level 41 Beastmaster, Bonnie’s Bestiary

I screamed in fear and anger as I raised my shotgun, hardly needing to aim at the massive head as I ripped through my magazine, knowing it was futile even as I pulled the trigger. Around me, Spells and arrows lanced out, splashing harmlessly off the enormous beast’s scales. My hand flickered, grabbing shells from my bandolier two at a time and ramming them home.

WEEEOOH-WEEEOOH-

The alarm blared for a moment, briefly drawing the attention of the titanic monster away from us.

“INTO THE HALL!” I screamed. “GET IN THE BATHROOMS AND SHOWERS!”

Those were the only rooms in the building with windows too small for any of the creatures outside to get in. We had to hope that the instructors could take down the giant terrordactyl before it returned its attention to us. We quickly cleared the now-exposed common room, the rest of my team taking up positions at the near end of the hallway.

Zaire filled the bottom half of the corridor with two back-to-back Earth Walls, and I took position behind it with Jayce at my side. Raylan hung back, his pistol in his hands, looking furious at his helplessness in this fight. Even Zaire couldn’t do much unless one of the monsters landed, since his best Spells were limited to striking things on the ground.

I dimly realized I should be shaking in fear, or something, but my hands were steady as I checked my gun, ensuring I had a full load. I infused Force, hoping it would be effective against any of the lightweight Tier 0 creatures that might come in through the gaping hole where the ceiling had been.

I’m not letting us lose anyone else the way we lost Alex!

Thinking of the fallen Archer reminded me of something. I concentrated, mentally reaching into my Inventory and finding the box of explosive slugs I’d received for reaching Level 6. I opened my empty pouch and dumped the shells into it, wishing briefly I’d tested at least one at the range so I would know exactly what they did.

Now that part of the building had been ripped away, the sounds coming from outside seemed amplified. Mostly we could hear the deafening shrieks of the terrordactyls, occasionally mixed with the crackle of lightning and other Spells going off. The ground shuddered, and then an explosion of sound hammered into me and I staggered.

The awful noise was so loud that I fell to my knees, screaming in pain, yet I couldn’t hear the slightest bit of my voice against the staggering volume of the hissing shriek. Impossibly, the noise increased in volume, and I felt blood running out of my ears as I blacked out.

I slipped back into consciousness as the ground shuddered beneath me. I winced at the horrible pain in my head, wondering briefly why I couldn’t hear anything. Then I realized my eardrums had burst. I looked around, seeing Zaire’s Earth Walls still standing in front of me, so it couldn’t have been very long. Next to me, Jayce was cradling their head in their mismatched hands, a pool of vomit on the floor in front of them.

Raylan and Zaire were still unconscious, as were several of the other students in the hallway behind us. I thought about using a healing potion to try and recover my hearing and kill the wretched ringing in my ears, but then I wouldn’t be able to use another one if I got a life-threatening injury later. I felt the ground shake again and tensed.

The enormous head of the terrordactyl crashed through the thick stone wall in front of me, a few scattered runes flickering weakly in a futile attempt to resist the unbelievable force. I watched in awe as the stone exploded away from the huge monster. Its head alone was as big as the entire quadrosaur that had nearly killed H’ruk and Tara. I couldn’t help but Identify it, though I knew nothing I learned could possibly make a difference.