One of those elites came into his path about ten minutes later, a massive creature that looked like a red scaled armadillo. Its plated exterior blazed with a fiery light, and its eyes seemed to glow from the inside. Spikes graced its form, wicked, jagged protuberances that were longer than Jonathan’s hand.
It spotted him a moment later, and a grating noise erupted from its mouth, perhaps the creature’s version of laughter. It leaped up into the air and then curled into a ball, bringing its scales in tight to its body. Boosters of flame erupted from its back and it started rolling towards him, building up speed as it went. If not for the sheer size of the monster, it would have been quite comical. If it hit him, it would pulp him against the rocks.
He dove out of the way, using his stamina abilities to carry him to a safe distance. It ate away a good chunk of his reserves, but upon seeing the monster turn on a dime, almost hitting him, it proved to be worth it.
The creature flashed by, illuminated by the jets of flame that propelled it, and Jonathan had a brief moment to plan. Seizing control of his mana and elemental energy, he weaved together a powerful Void Cannon, sending it racing after the creature. With a dull thump, it was knocked off its feet, a few scales blasted off its form. However, it was quite tough, and the attack did little more than cause it to drop its spherical shape.
The creature went back on all fours and whipped around, pouncing at Jonathan with all its claws extended. They looked like they had been made for digging, but could also be used to rend flesh and bone just as easily as rock. Heat billowed off the monster in waves, and Jonathan was forced to bear it, even as it stung his already burnt skin.
His healing factor was working to repair the damage that the elemental had done, but some of it was still there. The creature came down like a meteor, and Jonathan flitted backwards, eyes slitted in concentration. The earth shook as the twenty foot long beast landed, and Jonathan used the rippling earth to propel himself up into the air. He rocketed towards the beast from above, sending his power into his fists. Purple light flared, mingling with the red power of his runes. A patch of nothingness formed on top of the aggregation of power, and his fist cocked back to send maximum power into the blow.
Although he could have just as easily used his left hand, he still preferred using his right one. Seeing as he had perfect ambidexterity, he did not need to practice with his off hand.
The monster reared onto its hind legs, snarling at him. However, it seemed to be confident in its power, and it sent one paw hurtling upwards to meet his strike. Metal clad fist met claw, and the two attacks struggled against one another in the air. However, Jonathan’s energy pulsed past the physical boundaries of his strike, and as the monster had no energy to match it, it rippled down the creature’s arm.
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With a series of crackling pops, its bones shattered, causing the limb to crumple under Jonathan’s onslaught. It was propelled into the ground, letting out a screech of pain as it landed. The monster curled up into a ball a moment later, starting to build up speed once more. This time, Jonathan was too close to easily dodge.
One of the spikes slammed into his armor as it passed, leaving a scratch on the armor, and breaking his arm. With a hiss of pain, he rolled to the side, avoiding further damage. This was a very annoying monster to fight as a melee fighter. His magical skills were powerful, but only a mage who had specialized in their craft from the very beginning would have been able to hurt this creature severely with sheer magical might.
He still used his other skills to the best of his ability however, and another Void Cannon slammed into the patch of torn scales that the first one left. It was only a glancing blow, but because of the damage already dealt to the area, it managed to draw blood.
Jonathan tried to send off another one, but the creature whirled around in time to face him, and rolled his way. With a muttered curse, Jonathan was forced to throw himself to the side, narrowly dodging the creature’s attack. He had hurt it, and it had a clear preference on which side it places its weight, but he doubted that it would leave its ball form from now on. He wondered how it was able to see him, but that was probably a question best left for later.
The monster rolled his way yet again, but as it moved, Jonathan realized that there was a slight seam where both sides of its body met. Within that seam was a small portal to its more vulnerable insides. It would be hard to hit, but ultimately worth it.
As the creature rolled in for another strike, Jonathan extended his mana out from his left hand in a thin blade of energy, gathering power in his other hand as he did so. The armadillo rolled in, distracted by the energy gathered around the right gauntlet. However, that allowed Jonathan to strike.
With a grunt, he drove the energy blade into the thin crack as it came into view, stabbing it through the head. With a roar, the creature faltered, and Jonathan stabbed deeper, twisting the blade as it went. The monster barreled into him, crushing him into the ground. However, his blade eventually found the monster’s brain, killing it. Essence entered him, but not enough to gain another level.
He lay there for a moment, and let his skin knit back together somewhat. When he felt that he was up for movement again, he got to his feet, and continued on his way, leaving the corpse of the monster behind him. Then he paused. The scales of the armadillo had been incredibly tough, and they seemed like they would be great crafting materials. What if he brought them back to the city with him? He had forgotten that everything in this place was Tier 2, which meant that it would be beneficial to his city.
Shaking his head at his earlier stupidity, Jonathan raced back to the corpse, and began to tear off scales. Now that the monster was dead, it was marginally easier for him to do so, as it did not resist. Still, it was quite hard to tear the incredibly durable scales away.