Some time later, they reached the site of the roaming monster. As a result of Jonathan’s immensely enhanced senses, it turned out to be almost five miles away. Because they had slowed down so as not to alert the creature, it took almost five minutes to reach it, an eternity at their level. However, Jonathan was glad that they had taken the effort.
A titanic abomination of a monster lurched through the twisted woods of the realm, each footstep shaking the earth. It looked like a mix between a man and a crustacean, with thick, plated armor and massive claws. It stood almost fifty feet tall, and marched along on four legs, looking like a strangely warped centaur. Jonathan quickly scanned it.
Alpha Krakyzes Wanderer(Boss)
Level 274
Health: 85456/85456
Status: Healthy, Amorous
Jonathan quirked an eyebrow at the last part of the description, and idly let his eyes wander across the monster. They almost bulged out of their sockets when he saw the creature’s, well, anatomy. It was immensely gifted, and spiked. It seemed that this particular monster was looking for a mate. Not wanting to imagine the physical act of mating between this creature and another similar one, he simply began to gear up for battle.
“That’s a big bastard,” Hushar said, raising an eyebrow. Not only was the creature tall, but it was massively muscled as well, wider than a small building.
Jonathan simply grinned, in light of what he had seen earlier. “Indeed it is,” he said. “In more ways than one,” he added softly at the end.
The monster periodically paused, and tilted its armored head to the sky, sniffing at it, presumably seeking a potential mate. However, it would never get its wish, not if Jonathan and the others got to it first. The Krakyzes continued to roam, letting the three men get in closer, looking for an opportunity to strike.
Hushar led the assault, sending a blade of stone hissing through the air at one of the monster’s back legs. It was sharply tapered, with a large shelf of rock at the back, and a razor sharp blade at the front, allowing the attack to have both weight and penetration.
The monster realized that something was wrong almost immediately, but it was too slow to move its massive body out of the way. Still, it moved terrifyingly quickly for its size. Rather than striking one of its lightly armored joints, the attack crashed into its heavily armored foot, which was shaped like a five pointed hoof. Shards of chitin flew off, but the attack did far less damage than it would have normally.
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Edgar followed this with a spike of wind, aided by his ability to control his attacks midair. A dense spear of condensed air formed, propelled forwards by his will. This time, it struck the original target, lancing through the monster’s ankle joint.
He snapped his fingers, and the spear turned into a disc of air, trying to cut through the monster’s leg. Instead, it lacerated the flesh, but was unable to get through the armor. By this point, the Krakyzes was enraged, and a dense fog of red energy started to form around it. Energy pulsed up from the earth and into its body, causing it to swell with muscle. A bellowed challenge was issued, the sound reverberating across the marshy plains, almost deafening the three men.
Jonathan thrust his palms forwards, summoning a black hole between them. Then he pulled his club and mace off his back, and charged the monster. He knew that the weapons would likely shatter against the creature’s shell, but it would net him significant experience in terms of his mastery.
“I’m going for the head!” He shouted to the others, who nodded.
With his advanced penetrative abilities, he was better suited going for the kill. The other two meanwhile would be better served weakening the monster.
Rather than stand still to receive the attack, the monster charged, seemingly in a berserker rage. Red light flared around it, and its claws gleamed. The ground began to shudder, more than could be explained by the creature’s mass, and grew softer and softer, throwing off Jonathan’s stride. However, at that moment, the black hole hit home, and detonated in the center of the creature’s muscled chest. Chitin cracked apart, revealing soft flesh within. The skill tore at the creature, but most of its power was already spent, and all it did was mangle the outer layer of skin. However, it had revealed a weak spot.
Jonathan leaped forwards, his weapons glowing with power as he imbued them with his Void energy. The rock that made up the blunt armaments held surprisingly well, but that was more due to Jonathan’s will than anything else.
The weapons slammed down into the patch of revealed flesh, sending a reverberation through the Krakyzes’ body. The creature bellowed again, and snapped out with its massive claws at Jonathan, trying to bisect him. As the claws traveled out, a secondary set of muscles was engaged, propelling the tips to truly egregious speeds. They blurred shut almost faster than he could react to, and the only thing that saved him was a reflex burn of stamina that heightened his perception enough to push off the beast and escape. The air shuddered as the claws slammed together, and he felt the shockwave in his bones. Had he been in the path of that attack, his armor would have crumpled, and his bones would have broken.
Instead, he pumped more Void energy into his weapons, and charged in, timing his strikes with the efforts of his allies. Edgar and Hushar attacked the slightly weakened leg once more, relying on Jonathan providing a distraction.
A blade of rock hammered into the joint, and a moment later, a gavel of wind slammed the projectile home, cutting into the flesh with ease. There was a groan of pain from the monster, and it teetered slightly, drunk on its berserker rage. At that moment, Jonathan struck with all of his might, channeling Maw of the Void through his weapons. Their edges started to decay rapidly, but he could always have Hushar make him more. What was more important for now was that he eked out as much mastery as he could from his fight.