Marcel rolled across the dirt, ignoring the stones that bit into his back. Before he got up something big swooshed over his head and slammed into the tree where he was standing just a second ago. Splinters exploded over the clearing.

“Careful of the tail,” Confuz shouted from the back.

Marcel stopped himself from commenting on the other man's helpfulness. He sprang up from the ground and stepped back, trying to create distance between him and the beast.

Not for the first time since the fight started did he feel impressed by the sheer size of the beast. And wondered why they picked that fight.

The thing in front of them looked like the sabertooths Marcel had seen in museums and on the television sometimes. The clear difference though, was that the sabertooth stood high enough to make some smaller horses look small. Add to that the fact that the beast had a spiked tail that was heavy and strong enough to splinter wood without much of a problem, and their foe was one of nightmares.

Not for the first time he wondered why they had taken the quest. But then he remembered the reward. Remembered that he was homeless at the moment.

His thoughts were interrupted when a flaming arrow zipped past him. It thundered into the beast's side, not leaving any visible effect. Like everything they tried so far.

"It's no use. We have to put up more effort."

Up until now the beast had pushed them back pretty much. They had invaded his territory and the thing seemed keen to get them out again.

Mesmeranda was an archer and hailed salve after salve of arrows into the beast's side. The few that penetrated didn't seem to bother the beast much though and were simply shrugged off.

Much like Marcel's attack with his spear. The beast hide was simply too thick for their weapons.

It was Will who did most of the carrying so far. As a mage he was able to throw spells at the beast who seemed to do much better than physical attacks.

After seeing the man bundle a small ball of energy in his hands and shooting out magic missiles from that, Marcel was more than a little disappointed in his own class.

Unfortunately he wasn't the only one who had noticed Will's superior ability in the fight. The beast itself started targeting Will after the first swarm of magic missiles landed and leapt after him.

Since then Marcels and Messy’s job had simply become a distraction for the young mage.

Marcel didn't let the moment slip though and rushed towards the momentarily distracted beast. His heightening skill was running full time since the beginning, but now he also activated his [Water Tentacle] skill. With his increase in wisdom and the extra skill levels he had gotten after the goblin fight, he now could keep both activated at the same time.

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Marcel charged. When he got into range of the beast, he turned into a giant zone of damage. His spear zipped forward, slashing and thrusting wherever je found openings. When he was pressured back, his tentacles didn't miss the option of retaliation. The razor sharp limbs of water left dozens of tiny cuts along the beast's fur.

Over time its fur turned from a bright brown into a darker, almost black shade. The amount of blood loss was staggering.

Still the beast showed no signs of slowing down. It lashed out with his tail again, this time Marcel managed to sidestep the attack. He activated his [Thrust] skill and retaliated. "[Thrust]: Imbue your weapon with mana enhanced power. Unleash a single mighty strike."

The skill was now but relatively simple. It enabled him to focus mana into the tip of his weapon and enhance his next strike. Concentrating as much mana as he could in that brief time, Marvel unleashed a forceful attack.

His weapon buried itself deeply into the beast's leg. It howled in pain and turned towards Marcel.

The moment it did, another arrow thudded into its neck. This one exploded in a wave of flames upon impact, scorching the beast.

It drew its attention away from.Marcel, which he used to land another thrust attack, further immobilizing the leg. The beast howled.

Now it was fully enraged.

Marcel's mana was low and the fight dragged on. The beast seemed to catch a second wind and pounced at Mesmeranda. The woman managed to agily leap out of the way but caught herself a deep gash on the thigh.

It became a drag and a slugfest. Marcel wondered if he would've been able to hold on without his increased dexterity.

But things went south.

"Are you oom?" Marcel shouted in between stabs.

"What?" Mesmeranda screamed back.

"Is his mana empty?"

"No, he's focusing." She forced out between her shots, hastily trying to keep the beast distracted.

Marcel turned to Will and saw he was really deep into concentration. His eyes were closed and his face was scrunched up in the effort. Some instinct told Marcel he was gathering mana. If he would’ve had time to tune in and listen, he might’ve caught it. But the giant tailed cat proved enough of a distraction from that.

Reacting too late, Marcel barely managed to bring up his spear to block another slash of the tail. For a split second he thought he might manage to hold against it. Then the world underneath his feet fell away and he was thrown through the air, landing in the dirt a few meters away.

His head hurt like it had been hammered on and his back like he had been hit by a brick. Marcel managed to roll himself over only to see the giant cat pouncing towards him. This time though, he realized he would have no one to save him.

He barely scraped out of the way, making the cat hit the dirt.

Then he gave it a thrust for good measure.

A second later a giant thunderbolt hit the cat. It sizzled, spasmed and let out a cry that almost pierced Marcel's ears. Then it fell to the ground smoking. Marcel looked back to see Will staring at the beast. His gaze was hard, and electricity crackled between his hands.

For good measure Marcel placed another few spear thrusts into the carcass. The first few he did out of carefulness, but after the third he got into a rage, continually hammering his weapon into the giant cat's flesh. Only when it stopped moving completely, and when his clothes were drained in blood did he stop.

“It’s over Marcel,” Mesmeranda said softly, drawing him away from the body.

“Sorry,” Marcel looked at his blood soaked hands. “Something came over me.”

“It’s natural. We all had moments like this in our first few adventures. It’s the thrill of the battle and the rush of mana in your body. In the battle your mind turns blank, and sometimes it catches up afterwards. The reaction then can be pretty overdrawn.”

Marcel took a deep breath and nodded.