Jumping down from the wall, I took my time approaching the beast. [Identify] was unhelpful and came back with something I hadn't seen before.

[?? – Level 25]

Question marks were a new feature. The power disparity along with the rank disparity made it so that I couldn't even see what the thing was called. I got its level, though, which seemed backward. You'd think it would tell me what it was and not its level if I was only going to get one of them.

When I originally assessed the likelihood of my axe failing, taking into account fighting this thing wasn't considered. The rock armor covered what had to be just as hard scales underneath and hitting them wouldn't be good for the longevity of my axe.

Jesus, I might as well start making hammers, it's what they end up as anyway.

I had nothing against hammers, it's just that I was more familiar with an axe. I could make it a lot bigger. If I didn't have to worry about the balance of the blade, I could create a hammer heavy enough to match my strength.

Creating an axe that heavy was getting increasingly difficult. I didn't want to swing around some light toothpick of a weapon when I had the strength to spare. I would have to forgo the spike and make it double-headed for stability.

I could make it thicker so it would last and I could use more metal for increased damage.

Thinking about it made me excited to start making it. Plans swirled around in my head and I started envisioning a massive Warhammer. I wouldn't have to stick to human standards like people in the medieval ages did, I could make it match my inhuman strength.

If I made the face of the hammer too big it would lessen the impact of my blows. I would have to find the sweet spot through testing.

Ending the thoughts on my next weapon, I centered my attention entirely on the boss. Seeing how it manhandled Austin, I activated [Barbarian's Rage] before even crossing blades with it.

Underestimating it wouldn't be a good way to start the fight.

I felt my blood pump quicker and my body strengthened from the skill and fought the emotional effects that were brought with it. After testing the skill and training to fight through the side effects, the rage was more of a backseat driver than what it first was.

It was still there and I could tap into it if I needed it, but I kept it at arm's length. I was the one who needed to be in control and I didn't want to be governed by the skill.

With the boost applied, I charged at the boss. I needed to stop it from reaching the wall and it was treating the trench as little more than a speed bump. The trench did not affect the beast and it easily stepped over the hard work we spent days digging.

I was the only thing between it and the wall.

I powered up my axe with [Heavy Blow] and [Penetrating Strike] watching it start to glow, wincing at the inefficiencies of my skills as the axe glowed brighter.

My control was better but still not enough. My limit had increased and I could run 4 skills at the same time. The four I was currently using were the two offensive skills I just applied with [Fortified Body] for defense. [Rage] took up the last slot.

I had been experimenting on ways to upgrade the skills I already had but nothing came to fruition. I didn't really understand how they worked fully and the skill I already upgraded felt more like a fluke than anything to go off of.

When I upgraded [Power Strike] into [Heavy Blow] I was desperate. I tried to put everything I had into the skill to make it more powerful and I wasn't in the best state of mind when I did it.

I hadn't been able to replicate the feat since. Seeing the description for the upgraded [Penetrating Strike] on the list of available skills as [Frostbite], I attempted to do the upgrade manually.

I wouldn't have to waste a skill slot on it if I could do it myself. As wishful thinking as that was, nothing came out of it. I just couldn't get the skill to do what I wanted it to.

Filling it with mana and getting it to disperse into what I hit wasn't that hard to figure out, it was the lasting ice damage that was stumping me. Something about my mana wouldn't do it.

Just shoving mana into something wouldn't work. My mana didn't carry any inherent effect and I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. Trying to use it to freeze something didn't work. My mana wasn't entirely Ice Mana.

It was like the mana I absorbed from the air was neutral and as it entered my body it was colored by my affinity instead of becoming my affinity. It was like a watered-down version of the real thing.

I didn't know what I was doing wrong though. Was my affinity too weak or was something else the problem? Did I need an Ice law to convert my mana into real Ice Mana?

One thing I did note was the longer I went without using mana, the higher the 'solution' was concentrated if we were using the same watered-down analogy. I was curious to see what would happen if I absorbed actual ice mana to start with.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

All the mana I regenerated was taken from the surroundings and the only thing here was earth, nature, and plant mana. Wood mana if you went into the forest.

To make a long story short, I couldn't upgrade my skill manually. At least not yet.

So it was with the two skills that I had used with the previous 5 waves that I attacked the boss.

I could see Austin running back toward us from where the boss had launched him and knew I only needed to hold it off.

The lizard extended its body and made to bite me, to which I responded with a heavy downswing with my axe. The resounding clang from the clash rang through the air and rattled my ear drums. I felt the vibration travel down my arms from where I held the axe.

Damn, this thing's tough.

I hadn't expected much, but seeing how little it was affected was disappointing.

The strength of my swing halted its attack but did little else. No wound was left and it didn't seem like the armor was impacted in any way.

After its failed attack with its mouth, the boss spun around to hit me with its tail. I had seen this move when Austin went flying and knew it was coming.

[Fortified Body] was active and I crouched slightly to brace for the impact. Not a single part of me thought to dodge. I knew it was too fast and if Austin couldn't do it, I sure as hell couldn't.

I raised my axe to meet it and was in the best position possible to deflect the blow.

It happened in a blink, one second I was hearing the tail whistle through the air, and the next, a thundering impact shook me to the core. My bones ached and my arms lost feeling in them from the impact.

I was pushed several feet back and only barely kept my feet. I angled my axe so the blow would deflect up over my head and that was the only reason I didn't go flying. The downward force kept my feet on the ground.

The boss seemed stunned that I didn't get launched into the air like it did to its previous two attackers.

It took it as an affront and increased its effort to send me flying.

The boss was so quick I could do little else but defend. My axe handle was groaning from the trial I was putting it through and the only reason it hadn't splintered into a million pieces was the mana I was running through it.

I had to deflect every swipe and bite to miss my body by mere inches. If I got the angle wrong and took a blow straight on, I would lose my footing.

Even by deflecting the blows, the boss was pushing me around the battlefield. Every impact sent me sliding back, every blow pushing me further away.

I was doing my best, but my skills were barely up to the task. I was usually the one in the power position, using my strength to overwhelm foes. It didn't feel good to be on the other shoe.

Any chance I got to attack just clanged off its rocky exterior causing no lasting damage. It was worse than facing the boar. I had underestimated the impact evolving to F rank would have.

The only thing I was doing was keeping its attention. It seemed even though I didn't pick [Iron Guardian] I was still the tank. Jonathan needed to hurry up and level up so he would be the one doing this.

The hail of blows continued and I barely weathered the storm. My hands hurt from holding the axe and it was difficult to lift my arms. Even using [Ice Wall] didn't offer the respite it once did.

The one time I tried to use it, the tail smashed through it with little difficulty. Even reinforced as it was with [Ice Manipulation].

My axe wasn't made for this. It was an attacking weapon, not something to be used as a shield.

Thinking quickly, I picked up the pieces of the broken [Ice Wall] with [Ice Manipulation] and made a shield.

It had been a while since I used one but I still knew the basics. Using as much mana as the ice could hold I tried to defend.

The ice didn't have [Heavy Blow] and [Penetrating Strike] to augment its strength, so when the tail came around, it shattered into pieces. The tail continued and impacted my chest so hard I nearly blacked out.

My feet left me and I was sent tumbling across the ground. Gasping for breath, I tried to fight away the darkness encroaching on my vision. The air vacated my lungs and wouldn't come back.

I was left heaving, trying to gather my lost breath back.

The sudden feeling of losing the ability to breathe was so jarring I didn't even notice my breastplate flying off. Dented, and rent from my chest from the powerful blow. The straps couldn't take the strain and snapped.

The backplate, with nothing to hold onto, fell to the ground. I was left with no chest plate while I gasped on the ground.

Gathering myself as quickly as I could, I made to stand back up. The power of that blow was enough to cave in the wall with enough time. I needed to get up.

I marshaled all my energy into getting back up.

Watching the boss lumbering toward me, I could almost feel the smugness it undoubtedly was feeling. It had launched the gnat that had been annoying it and was now coming to finish the job.

Getting my feet under me, I readied myself to continue.

I let go of my axe at some point and was left weaponless and without armor.

Without a better idea, I gathered back up the ice I could to defend myself. Knowing that it didn't work last time, I needed something more. Ice powered with [Ice Manipulation] wasn't enough.

Trying to send [Heavy Blow] into the ice failed and all the other attacking skills wouldn't activate. It wasn't an attack I was trying to make and the skills refused to cooperate.

The only thing I could think of was [Ice Wall] but used on the piece I was holding.

My first attempt to use the skill created a wall right in front of me instead of going into my ice shield, creating a normal ice wall.

It didn't matter if it wasn't what the skill was made for, it was my skill and I would use it how I needed it.

My second cast flowed where I intended it to and I felt the ice in my hands strengthen with the mana from the skill.

I knew it still wasn't enough based on how easily the boss shattered my normal ice walls.

The wall was too weak to hold up to the difference in ranks.

Austin was launching skills at the boss while it tracked me across the field and projectiles clattered against its natural armor. Nothing was going to stop it from reaching me and I needed to come up with something to defend against it.

If a wall wasn't enough, I'll build a castle. No, not a castle, a fortress.

Using most of my remaining mana I pushed against the confines of the skill. My practice with [Ice Manipulation] gathered all of the ice in my surroundings and merged it into what I was attempting to do.

I didn't have enough ice. Gathering it all wasn't enough.

Using [Hail] to create more, I pushed [Ice Manipulation] to the limit forcing it all to merge into what I wanted.

If a wall was too flimsy then try to break a fortress.

In my spirit, I felt something in the structure of the skill give way. [Ice Wall]'s skill structure expanded with a familiar feeling I had only felt once before.

The mana flowed in without fighting against the confines of the skill and the ice took on a new color. It increased in density and glistened with a pure glow.

After the skill stopped fighting me, it helped merge all the ice into the defense I needed and it was just in time, I could see through the less cloudy ice the tail already in motion coming to destroy it.

The notification chime was drowned out and I could only hope it was enough.

Giving it my all, I watched the tail descend.