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[450m]

[Lv. 478]

Active Items:

Blue Ogre's Armor Set [+1800 Defense]

Blue Ogre's Axe [+1550 Strength]

Active Skills:

Body Hardening

Extreme Strength

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The mutant up ahead is what I came to see.

Activating my All-Seeing Eye, the mana radiating off this new monster is almost double that of the ones that were just defeated.

I air-step faster and faster up the mountainside, whizzing past small trees, and pools of water, clearing rock faces in a matter of seconds.

I accelerate upwards, even faster through the thick mana-dense air until reaching another clearing, now over halfway up the entire mountain.

The creature I'm searching for is already in mid-sprint, running at me with a glistening silver axe between both of its hands and thick armor to match it. This Ogre seems to be almost exactly the same size as the previous ones I faced but with a few major differences.

Firstly, it's color. The blue skin covering the mutant's body is incredibly dark, from a distance, it almost looks black.

The mana swirling around its body is much brighter white and using my perception skill, I can tell the shielding that's layering this monster is on a level magnitudes above the base mobs.

Its shining metallic axe reflects the blue glow from its eyes while running at me on a flat section of the mountain trail.

I glide down to the ground and grip my sword.

The white stone and green shrubbery beneath its feet fly off to the sides, uprooting small trees and causing craters to be left behind after every step. Thin wisps of blue magic residue are left in its tracks.

The air pressure around me shifts and I burst into flames activating all of my buffs and creating a thin pink layer of mana shielding around my body and sword, realizing that this opponent is definitely a class above the rest.

I haven't even let out a strike yet, but I don't think a single hit will be all it takes to defeat the Mutant before me.

Both my feet hit the hard rocky surface and I start ruining at the approaching monster with a grin plastered across my face.

There are less than 30 meters between us, and all I can see or think about is the fight that's about to take place.

It lets out a roar, swinging its axe downward while swirling blue and white magic flows from its arms to cover the silver blade.

I do the same, shifting some of my bright pink MP to cover my sword while jumping up, and swinging my blade. I charge the center with 1500 MP worth of dark black flames.

Both of our weapons stop in mid-air, less than a meter away from each other as the dense blue and pink layers of mana collide.

An ear-shattering twang is released that echoes all the way down the mountainside, sending a light purple shockwave through my body, and the Ogre's.

Fractions of a second later, there's a bright white flash of light and I feel my sword make contact with the monster's axe.

I let out a loud laugh then grit my teeth as the monster roars back at me.

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My eyes meet its stone-cold gaze. I feel my muscles straining to hold my sword steady.

Digging deeper, activating my plunderer skill, I use the blue mana all around me to charge up more of my own. More and more black fire leaks from my blade, it starts to cover the axe that I push against. Air-stepping forward for more force, clenching my jaw, and pushing the massive metal axe backward one millimeter at a time, victory is right before my eyes.

As I begin to get the upper hand, the Blue Ogre starts to glow with a gold tint and pushes its axe back down toward me. I'm losing ground all of a sudden because of its extreme strength skill.

Our level gap isn't that large... This monster must have some insanely high natural strength stats.

At this revelation I jump back, air-stepping up into the air to take in the sight before me. The monster carries through, thrusting the massive axe into the ground below where I previously stood.

Rock breaks and fragments of light blue aura fly around the scene leaving residue on everything it touches. Almost immediately, the monster turns back toward me to show off its white overgrown fangs and keeps its gaze laser-focused upwards, waiting for me to fall.

I nod slowly.

"Not bad..."

It was a pretty strong clash and felt good to actually be countered by a monster for once. Unfortunately, I'll still have to wait a bit longer for a fight that really pushes my limits.

It may be strong, but the Mosnter's speed and agility are horribly low.

"Dungeon Walker."

Using its own plundered mana, I concentrate nearly my full MP bart into a concise attack. Channeling all of my energy into the tip of my sword, then teleport down to the back side of the Ogre to thrust my sword deep into the gap in its armor right above the neck.

There's an explosion of white and blue light, followed by red and black flames erupting from the beast's body that finishes with an agonizing roar.

As the monster turns in anger, swinging its axe around to swat me away, but I teleport out of its range to drink an MP potion and wait for the fiery debris to clear.

As it does, I see a furious flaming Ogre with blood gushing down its armored body with blue eyes glowing brighter and brighter.

It mimics the style of mana control I just used on it, moving the swirling energy around its legs, torso, and arms into its axe.

This leaves its body exposed, but creates a weapon of mass destruction...

I can hear the loud buzz of dense energy coming my way and estimate that there's over 70k MP being wielded carelessly in its blade. The rest swirls around its body in weak spirals.

With crimson liquid draining from its neck at an alarming rate, the Ogre makes an effort to take me out without wasting any more time. I respect its attempt, but it's going to need to be a bit more intelligent to pull a feat like this off.

"Dungeon Walker."

I blip behind the charging monster and let over 2000 MP worth of mana-imbued flames into the back of the bleeding monster's already injured point to finish it off once and for all.

Fire, flesh, and swirling magic fill the air as I teleport backward again to get clear of the impact zone.

A final cry from the mutant can be heard until it's snuffed out and interrupted by the ringing sound in my ears.

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

I grin, deactivating my skills while barely watching the massive cloud of debris settle to the dungeon floor.

All of my strength buffs and two nearly full power strikes to take it out. If this monster was any smarter, it probably would have taken a lot more...

I walk over as the pieces of scattered flesh disappear from the white rock, small pools of blood-stained water, and lush green plants. Then, right in front of me, less than 10 meters away another white gem sits on the dungeon floor.

It feels just like the other two shards I collected from the Ogres on the mountainside opening below, but it's almost twice the weight. It glows brighter white and the blue magic that seeps from it is much darker.

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Blue Ogre's Essence [Shard]

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Blue Ogre's Essence [Shard]

Info: A shard of the Blue Ogre's essence. Excess mana from a Blue Ogre Dungeon has been contained in crystal form.

Class: B-

Type: Consumable

Durability[MP Output]: 99.4k/99.4k

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I expected as much, but it's still surprising to see such an increase in the MP output in a single crystal.

This one is getting on borderline dangerous levels, and may not be safe for consumption just yet...

I throw it into my item storage for safekeeping though, it could possibly be used for some kind of crafting recipe in the future. That's what Abby's intel from the Association said before we got here.

It could have just been a cover-up in the report to keep anyone snooping from coming out here, but I'd like to check with an experienced crafter to make sure.

I shrug, then turn back to the canyon down below me. Activating my enemy detection skill, I can see that my teammates are just about to meet their targets.

"I have a bit more time... Perfect."

Air-stepping away, I make my way up to the top of the mountain to set more valid teleport points for my Dungeon Walker skill to travel.

Over the next 15 minutes, I take out 2 more sets of base-level Blue Ogres while making my way down the other side of the mountain, collecting their 4 shards and placing them in my item box.

The new exp I gain from these new fights brings me up to level 432. With 6 shards ready for consumption, and 1 mutant's shard in my storage, I teleport back to the edge of the canyon to start flying down the smooth sloping path.

My teammates are waiting for me down below and their enemies have all been defeated.

We have less than two days to make it to the capital. It's time to make the most of our time left. This farming session is about to get serious.