The wind howls. My two companions and I stare at our three enemies with an intense stare. The atmosphere gets heavier by the second, as we try to gauge our enem-
"Nith, please tell us what the plan is." (Jess)
"I WAS HAVING A MONOLOGUE, JESS!" (Me)
But it was not only Jess, who was having none of my monologues. The whales in the sky decided to put their meal off for a few minutes and now look at us with a hateful gaze.
"BRAINSTORMING! I'll take the big one, while you guys take one of the small ones each!" (Me)
"That is not much of a pla-" (Jess)
"I want the left one!" (Risa)
Realizing, that she doesn't have a choice anymore, Jess prepares herself to fight. Both of them start by floating off the ground and approaching their enemies carefully. While Risa may be eager to fight him, she has a good sense of danger it seems. That possibly comes from her counterpart she merged.
Jess, meanwhile, pretty much just has common sense and wouldn't run face-first into a whale who came out of pure space.
By now, they're about 20 meters up in the sky, waiting for the other to make a mo-
"Jeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss?" (Me)
Startled, she looks down to me.
"Huh? What do you want?" (Jess)
"Moby Dick is too far up. Mind doing me a favor and shooting me up into the sky?" (Me)
Even with my "Leap" skill and my other buffs, I'm not sure if I can reach the big one by jumping. While the little versions of him are at an easy height for me, he decided to position himself way further in the air. Maybe because it's more advantageous for him like that, or because he's just a dick.
I notice his gaze on me. We both meet our eyes, as he smirks mockingly, realizing that I have no way of getting up there.
"SEE THAT?! A WHALE IS MAKING FUN OF ME, CAUSE I CAN'T FLY!" (Me)
'And I'm definitely not a bit aroused.'
'You disgust me.'
'I SAID THAT I'M NOT!'
At that point, I could swear I heard a snicker from him.
"GO BACK INTO THE FUCKING WATER, YOU OVERSIZED DOLPHIN!" (Me)
You successfully used "Provocation"!
The whale's smile vanishes just as quickly as it appeared. The cold feeling of a metal plate engulfs my back, as Jess reacted to my inquiry. But before I get shot by her into fucking space, I notice that I have to take a precaution.
"Fu fu fu, thou shalt realize, that it hath been a mistake to anger me! As soon as I acquire my true form, thou shall experien-" (Risa)
Risa sounds as excited as ever while talking about the future of her enemy. But as much as it hurts the very essence of my being, I have to take precautions.
"Risa! No true form!" (Me)
Her head snaps at me, immediate disappointment written all over her face.
"What?! Whyyyyyyyyyyy?" (Risa)
'NITH! STOP MAKING THE LOLI SAD!'
'I'M WORRIED ABOUT HER!'
"The last time you went into mayhem mode, you couldn't move for the next 8 hours! And we got here a bit more enemies than one fucking tree. So, no true form!" (Me)
"Hmpf! This one does not need to go into her true form to obliterate the enemy! I... I will just fry it!" (Risa)
It's clear that she's trying to hide her disappointment. She dodges my line of sight by looking the other way with her arms crossed. Up until now, I have never experienced anything worse than this.
"PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME! MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT!" (Me)
"Why are you never concerned when I'm mad?" (Jess)
"Because it's hilarious if you are, and not to speak of the gap moe... Now, Jess, if you wo-" (Me)
Without even waiting for my cue, I get catapulted into the air. The sudden force makes me lose my breath for a second, as the wind brushes against my face. But this feeling doesn't last for long with the incredible speed that I'm going at, so I arrive right above the whale in just a matter of seconds.
Before, I didn't even know that Jess was already at a level, where she could muster such a force with her magic. While Risa and I were in the dungeon, she seems to not have lazed around and increased her skill on her own a little bit.
Doing that would seem obvious for others, but for Jess it's the opposite. She does her best to stay as safe as possible, and increasing her skill level on her own goes contrary to her beliefs. She realized that she has to do something to survive on her own in the worst case.
But let's go back to the important matters now.
"YEAH! I'M HIGHER THAN YOU NOW! HOW IS IT DOWN THERE, HM?!" (Me)
The whale turns around in the air, staring at me. His three rings start to rotate around him rapidly like a gyroscope.
I drop down on the whale. Normally, you would just dodge me and fly elsewhere, while watching me drop to the floor. But there's one fun piece of information, which is crucial for the battle against him. While he can move fast around his center of gravity-
"-this fat piece of lard is actually slower than my uncle Eric." (Me)
'Who the fuck is Eric?'
'Wait for my book to be written!'
Looking around the whale's surface, I notice again how big this monster is. It's as if I'm on a never-ending plane, while the winds play around with my hair. A very peacefu- the whale shot a slice of space magic at me.
"You know, I'm really starting to dislike you, Moby. You're one of the most badly raised monsters I have ever encountered. It's like you're-" (Me)
He shot another one at me.
"Now you're just being cocky!" (Me)
Due to my sense for mana around me, I could've actually dodged the first slice, but after seeing how the whale just slapped the shit out of my beloved harpoon, I realized that I do need the "Berserker" buff after all. The attack that hit me, caught me full-on and immediately tore my back open. A big chunk of my spine and several other innards show, splurting blood. I send mana out as fast as I can to stop the bleeding.
"Do you realize, that that could kill someone? Be a bit more responsible while playing!" (Me)
'CAAAAAARL, THAT KILLS PEOPLE!'
"The voice in my head agrees!" (Me)
From the rings surrounding the whale, a flurry of spacial magic comes flying at me. Due to the nature of the rings being all around him, the attacks come from every direction, making them difficult to dodge. Their speed doesn't make it any easier. Even though I'm faster than most of your average dudes in this world, the never-ending barrage makes it annoying.
"Now, be a bit more well behaved, or else you will get a spanking!" (Me)
But he continues nevertheless. I tried being civil with him, but he won't listen. So I'll punish him!
'You literally lured him here with food and then threw a harpoon at his face.'
'That's not the point.'
While dodging, I activate every buff I have available now. But, now that I'm hurt, "Berserker" does his part as well. My initial STR stat of 110 rises quickly to a bit above 350, giving me the biggest increase in strength to date. Coupled with the other boosts in defensive stats, I'm on more even grounds with the whale now.
"LoOk aT Me, i'M gEtTiNg StROnGeR aGAiN!" (Me)
'Did you just mock your own abilities?'
"I just want something cool, woman..." (Me)
'At least you're jacked ripped! Arnold Schwarzenegg*r looks like a pre-schooler in front of you.'
"Aww, thanks! I'd still sell my soul to the devil for a cool power." (Me)
*
----------------------------------------
*
Location: Hell
"No." (Satan)
*
----------------------------------------
*
Back to the cliffs of Dover.
"My spidey sense is telling me that I've been rejected again." (Me)
'Weird sixth sense buddy.'
'Oh, shush you!'
With that weird feeling of loneliness in my heart, I sprint to the whale's tailfin. The attacks don't subside meanwhile, but due to them having a peculiar pattern, it gets easier every time I dodge them.
Which does not mean that it's effortless. There are still some edges of his magic hitting me here and there, but my enhanced defense keeps the damage to a minimum. I still get cuts all over me, but they're not much of a threat.
These cuts make me even more conscious of the battle I am in at the moment. Since the Arachmot, I haven't felt as excited about a battle as this one, since the whale poses a way more deadly situation.
My pulse rises at the thought.
I can feel my heart beating in my chest.
My body becomes hot with the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
And within a short timeframe, where I danced across the whale's surface, I arrive at my destination.
"WHALE WHALE WHALE! WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?! YOU CAN GUESS THREE TIMES FOR WHAT'S ABOUT TO COME!" (Me)
Immediately, three more blades cut through the air around me. The amount of attacks increases, as the whale realizes that I'm finally about to do something to him.
"Wrong answer! Man, that was fast... want another try?" (Me)
Another attack.
"I'll take a wild guess and say that's a no?" (Me)
Without a hint of hesitation, I embed my fingers inside the skin of the whale for stability, which shouldn't feel worse than a stab with a toothpick for him. But at that point, the whale seems to have concluded, that he doesn't want me on his skin anymore and starts rapidly spinning around his own axis.
If it weren't for me, having prepared for it, I would've fallen down at the first sign of him moving.
As vertigo sets in, I raise my arm with the whale's thicc behind as its target. At that moment, "Unarmed mastery" sets in, giving me another 24% on my already stupid stat increase, making me nearly cross the 400 STR mark. My blood boils, as every fiber in my body expands and simultaneously tightens. This paradox feeling gives birth to a slap with the POWER OF ZEUS!
"THOU SHALT FEEL MY WRATH!" (Me)
'SMITE HIM, OH POWERFUL THUNDER!'
I activate "Ember" as well, just for that little bit of additional burning damage, and pat the whale with full force on the back.
My arm breaks the sound barrier at such a short distance and collides with the whale's skin. His whole body stops moving as it's beaten in one direction. Moby Fat's rear side bends to my will, as it moves down due to the collision with my hand. The skin explodes, leaving blood spurting everywhere and practically bathing me in it.
The whale screams in pain since a good chunk of his hide has just been ripped apart by one slap.
Congratulations! Due to achieving an outstanding feat, "Unarmed Mastery"s skill level has increased!
Achievements: Doing substantial damage to a being of near higher class without weapons. I mean, what lunatic would fucking slap a whale?
"Unarmed Mastery" became level 15!
Buff increased to 38% when using no weapons!
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"HEY!" (Me)
My shout goes in Jess's direction, who's busy piercing her own enemy with several spears. While she could be way more creative with her choice of weapon, I guess this is the one she's most adept in.
As she hears me, her head doesn't even turn in my direction, sweating profusely as she's trying to focus.
"WHAT?!" (Jess)
"YOU SEE THIS?!" (Me)
I point at the obvious hole in the whale's posterior. Even the attacks have ceased a bit, showing that the whale has a few other problems than me making jokes.
"WHAT ABOUT IT?!" (Jess)
"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET IF YOU DON'T STOP BEING SUCH A COCKY FUCK ALL THE TIME!" (Me)
She starts to visibly sweat more, which I can only see because of my stat boost. She gets pale at the thought of receiving such a spanking herself, resulting in a slight nod, before going back to what she was doing.
'And that's how you discipline your waifu.'
'I love your relationship advice.'
I notice how her own attacks have decreased, as a big part of her mana goes in direction of the 3 rings surrounding her enemy. While this might sound like a good plan, there's a teeny tiny problem, which won't let her do it that easily.
Her effort is visible, but the rings don't budge. She dodges the whale's attacks while flying, but doesn't manage to do anything else while she's at it.
The cause of that is the natural disposition our current enemy has. The "Spaticecta" is one of the more advanced monsters, which we haven't really encountered before. The special thing about him is, that he's naturally more attuned towards mana with the "Space" attribute and even has it integrated into himself. It makes the usage of space magic more effective in his case and also has a lot of perks around it. The metal rings around him consist of "Spatiantite", which contains mana that has a disposition towards the "Space" attribute.
Both of them make a perfect couple, which makes it difficult for Jess to use the metal herself.
Meanwhile, the whale is even more experienced with handling that kind of metal, since it spends its life eating other metals and using Spatiantite to grow its amount and size of rings.
But being infused with the "Space" element does not only make it easier for them to use magic in that category. It also naturally enhances their physical abilities and mental ones. Additionally, it means he can make the mana from the metal vibrate at the same frequency as his own, making every attack of his disperse on his skin, which is the reason why he doesn't hurt himself with them.
Although that does fuck all if you get slapped by a lunatic with a bit too much strength.
'I'm hurt to be described like that! It was a legitimate attack!'
At that moment, the whale starts shooting again.
The attacks are more severe and more in numbers than before, giving me no chance to slap him once more. I continue running around, dodging while punching whale with the most force I can muster while moving quickly. The impact is not nearly as heavy as the first slap I did, since I don't have time to take a real swing. Nevertheless, I still get in some pretty little punches.
With every punch I do, his growls get louder.
Bruises start to appear all over the place, aggravating the ol' Moby with each time I hit. The punches don't rip open the skin as the slap did, but rather send a shockwave through his body.
But that's all there is to it. Without a pause, I can't do any substantial damage to him, other than a few boo-boos. Except I get creative again.
"AND MAAAN, I'M THE PICASSO OF HURTING MONSTERS!" (Me)
In response to my shout, the whale's eyes dart open. Again, he knows that I'm gonna do something bad to him.
"You know... I should stop with the shouting. I think that's kinda sabotaging myself..." (Me)
'You're like every shounen-protagonist who shouts the name of his attacks...'
"But don't you think it's kinda cool?" (Me)
'...I would do the exact same.'
"How I longed for a kindred spirit.~" (Me)
The rapid spinning starts again, making the whale look like a fucking Beyblade from a third-person perspective. If I wasn't burying my hands in his skin, I would fly off. But due to his neverending attacks, I can't really stand still at one spot.
So I do what every sane person would do!
I put every single ounce of power I have in my legs and jump as high as I can, with the metal rings as my target.
The soft ground I'm standing on takes a bit of jumping power away from me, but I still rocket towards the middle circlet with enough speed to reach it eventually. The cold metal touches my hands, as I try to hold on tightly. Several shots of space magic hit me directly on my upper body, but, this time, it's not limited to slices.
Bullets, spears, blunt balls all with incredible speed hit me, making my health deplete rapidly, but I still hold on tightly. The different kinds of damage make my body go haywire, trying to defend against it with everything it can. Meanwhile, I start to build up power with my arms, aiming to yank the attack device towards the whale's body.
The muscles on my back and arms overexert themselves, and the ring takes on speed. The whale's attempts to stop me, by attacking me directly don't do much, although I lose a lot of blood. But the anemia gets drowned in the adrenaline that permeates my body.
As soon as the metal in my hands starts moving, I feel something like a serrated blade rip my fingers apart, which are kinda important in holding onto something. I try to push my target down faster than my fingers are cut off, but I don't get the chance to do that. The thin fingers get cut off quicker than I can accomplish my goal and I fall down, not even on the whale, but with the ground as my destination.
"And that's why you should never play with knives, kids!" (Me)
I activate "Regeneration", which stops the loss of HP faster than I can just by stopping the blood loss. My body regenerates extremely slowly, starting with the most severe wounds.
Like a missile I collide with the ground, throwing up dust. I stand up, pat the dust off my pants, and take a look around the battlefield.
Warning! Health in critical condition! Only 10% HP left!
Risa doesn't seem to have any problems with her foe, since she can easily fly around her enemy while shooting her black flames which are extremely difficult to get off. Contrary to the physical attacks of Jess, she can easily crush the whale's thicc skin and fat, damaging him severely. The fire has already burned several holes inside the whale's body, leaving only a weakened attacker behind.
Although the whale should have an advantage in controlling its own kind of metal, Jess seems to have taken control of it with extreme effort. One of the rings floats around her, while the other two seem to still be around the whale, but rendered useless.
"Hey, Jess and Risa! Good job, girls!" (Me)
Both of them look at me, one of them exhausted to the bone, while the other one is more relaxed than the other one.
" *Huff Huff* Thanks..." (Jess)
"Fu fu fu, such small fry is nothing for me!" (Risa)
I show them my two stumps for hands.
"I would give you two a thumbs up, but you know..." (Me)
I wriggle the base of my thumbs around, empathizing that they're... well... gone.
"PFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!" (Risa)
"DON'T SHOW US THAT!" (Jess)
Both break out in laughter, interrupting the serious mood for a bit, which always makes my heart go all doki-doki.~
But I can't enjoy that for long, as I go back to facing my own asshole.
'EEEEEEEWWWWW, DON'T DESCRIBE IT LIKE THAT!'
'I will describe him however I want, and I want to describe him as my fishy, smooth asshole!'
'COME ON MAN!'
It's noticeable that the whale is already tired as well, since he doesn't even try to snipe me from here with any of his magic. He just stares down at me from way high up.
"WATCHA STARIN' AT?! YA WANNA GO, BRUV?! WANNA THROW SOME FIST-" (Me)
I stare at the stumps that I'm threatening him with.
"WANNA THROW SOME PALMS?!" (Me)
But he doesn't move. He stays in his safe zone, even though I just gave him a few lovingly blows until now. The impact of those punches must have hit a few organs of his, since the internal bleeding already coagulated into a pool of blood inside his belly.
Although such internal damage would be fatal for most-
'Says the guy with the spine sticking out.'
'Shush, I'm explaining things!'
-the more space-attuned nature of his makes it survivable.
"Jess, dear?" (Me)
At this moment, Jess learned a very specific thing.
Since Spatiantite, the metal that forms the ring around the whales, has the space attribute, and Jess can control the metal to her will-
"WHAT THE FUCK?! SINCE WHEN CAN I DO THAT?!" (Jess)
She's shooting space blades.
'And that is why I think that the powers she got are OP as fuck.'
'Awww, look at her go! She's having fun...'
"WOOOOOOOOW! Jess, since when can you do that?" (Risa)
"FUCKED IF I KNOW!" (Jess)
"Hey! No bad words in a conversation with the chuuni-loli!" (Me)
With every single magic attack she shoots, a slice gets cut off, creating tasty whale sashimi. Since the frequency of the space-attributed attacks is now a different one to the whale's natural mana, they can finally hurt him, which makes Jess the whale's natural nemesis.
'I just want to make a quick comment to the author: I'm still just punching things.'
(Author's note: Comment taken.)
"Jess? I know that you're having fun, but could you do me a solid and shoot me up once more? The whale is giving me eyes again, and I want to know if he wants to fight or go out for dinner." (Me)
"Oh, sure thing, Nith!" (Jess)
"Wait, what the fu-" (Me)
Again, without letting me finish, she catapults me towards Moby. The process repeats, where I feel every single current of wind while approaching him for a second time.
'That was literally the first time she was nice to me...'
'I'm... I'm kinda getting a fuzzy feeling...'
'Trick and Jess, sitting in a tree!'
'Fuck, I wish...'
This time, I manage to land directly on one of the rings. The barrage of attacks has already started again, but it has weakened, due to the constant blood loss inside the whale's body. He just doesn't have the energy to do much more.
My defense can now protect the feeble life-force that I have left, as I wrap what's left of my arms around the circle-shaped Spatiantite. Once more, I force my body to do my bidding.
If it weren't for my time in Hell and hence my "Pain resistance" being at MAX Level, my body would have long given up. But the skill also includes the resistance to exhaustion, which is apparently just another type of pain.
"Always stay positive!" (Me)
I activate "Berserker" once more. Now that my health has depleted way more, the buff has increased to 121%, reaching nearly the level of "Orc's strength". My heart races at the moment, as every muscle is forced to move against their will.
My STR stat has now reached over 450, more than quadrupling my initial stats of 110. Strength flows through me, which I haven't felt in this body before, reminding me of the time I was an omniscient being.
Congratulations! Due to having achieved an outstanding feat, you received a new skill!
"Please be something cool, Please be something cool, Please be something cool, Please be something cool, Please be something cool, Please be something cool." (Me)
Achievement: Have more than 10 times the usual stat points for your level (in this case STR)
Congratulations! You received the skill "Turtle's Defense"
Due to having the complementary skill "Orc's Strength", the skill's level rises!
"Turtle's Defense" (Lvl 15): Temporarily boosts your "Endurance" stat by 85%! (Percentage will increase with level)
Get fucked
'...hey buddy... wanna talk?'
'I'm about to cry.'
'You know, I'm still pissed at you for stealing my body, but man... I'm sorry...'
'Please don't talk right now...'
Manly tears escape my eyes. The world is an awful place.
"WHALE, ENOUGH BEING SAD!" (Me)
I activate my new skill for good measure, and for the sake of not dying.
With the stat boost in strength that I just got, I finally manage to pull the ring down, even under the flurry of attacks that I'm now in. But with the weakened whale and my new skill, the attacks do nearly no damage anyways. At this point, I could be a literal fucking tank.
As I slide downwards, with the ring under my armpits, the other side of the sheer hunk of metal goes the opposite direction. And since I'm aiming for the rear side of the whale, there's only one direction where the metal is aiming to go.
"You know, my dear friend white whale..." (Me)
I land on the ground, while the whale's magic still tries to pull his device back. But merely by me, pulling hard enough, he doesn't manage to.
"At times like these, I like to quote my favorite singers." (Me)
With me, landing on the whale's back, the other side reaches his face. Or, to be more precise, the area right in front of his mouth.
"I WANNA BE A COWBOY, BABY!" (Me)
I yank at the ring once and run even further along the back of the whale. The other side gets pulled along, first colliding with the whale's teeth replacement called "Baleen" and then entering his mouth.
"YEE-HAW!" (Me)
At first feisty, was the beast. The whale immediately tries to shake me off by flying around his own center of gravity again, but now that I have a decent footing, it's no problem for me to stay on top of the whale.
I push the ring down, making the whale go in the same direction due to the pain I inflict on him by doing so. The wind brushes through my hair, as I ride the space whale graciously.
"HEY, GIRLS! LOOK AT THIS!" (Me)
Both of them seem to have just finished their fights, as both smaller versions of my trusty steed now lay down on the ground, unmoving.
They slowly look in my direction and finally see how I'm riding the whale directly towards them.
"Please stay away." (Jess)
"I want to ride that too!" (Risa)
On full course to the ground, the whale realizes that he's in quite the predicament. The attacks start to increase again, but that doesn't faze me anymore as we both approach the ground as fast as the whale goes.
Which is not very fast, but I'm getting it to the ground nevertheless.
As the devastating impact sets in, heaps of dirt get thrown around, creating a ginormous cloud of dust. The landing is incredibly bumpy, which would normally not happen since I have magic fingers in the aspect of space-whale riding.
"But my fingers are literally cut off at the moment, so I have a good enough reason." (Me)
The whale's face gets embedded into the ground and slowly comes to a halt in an over 60 meter long skidmark.
"We have arrived at the Cliffs of Dover. Thanks for flying with Nith airlines and our crew wishes you a beautiful holiday." (Me)
In a hurry, I jump off of the whale. He is still breathing, which is because of his incredible life force, so I can't really beat him in one go. I still have some things to do.
"Hey, whale." (Me)
He seems to be struggling to move.
"Remember the first thing you did, when we met about 20 minutes ago?" (Me)
A feisty gaze meets mine, as I pick up the ol' reliable with both of my stumps, which have already grown tiny fingers again.
Harpoon of tenacity
"I just said that I like to quote people, right?" (Me)
Another attempt to struggle out of his own hole results in nothing.
"In this case, I'd like to quote my uncle:" (Me)
'Oh no...'
The chain attached to the harpoon rattles behind me, as I get closer to my target, who has been cocky this whole fight.
"Have you ever been penetrated by a meter-long metal rod?" (Me)
'What the fuck has your uncle been up to?'
'Get me a doll and I can tell you where he touched me.'
Behind me, I hear Jess and Risa approaching through the cloud of dust and dirt. Both of them have ragged breathing, which is probably because of their exhaustion of mana.
"Cool! Can I ride it now?" (Risa)
"No, Risa. You aren't as stupid muscly as him. You won't be able to steer him." (Jess)
"Awww..." (Risa)
Without even giving me a chance to respond, which she has done often recently, she turns Risa down. Which would be unforgivable, if she wasn't right.
"And now, kill that thing quickly. I want to go home and take a bath." (Jess)
"But I wanna make it with drama!" (Me)
Her clothes are already sticking to her skin, as even her skirt is soaked in sweat. A fight with magic powers is more tiring than it would sound like.
I approach the whale's eyes, as he gazes upon me. The cloud around us starts to settle and our surroundings get visible.
"Any last words?" (Me)
His eyes dart around the place, looking for something to help him. But there's nothing that would do so.
But contrary to my expectations, his eyes catch something and lock onto it.
"...I've got a bad feeling..." (Jess)
Suddenly, the whale's skin starts to change.
"Oi, I said last words, not last move!" (Me)
From one moment to another, the pale white skin of the whale turns into a crimson red.
Immediately, I try to stab the whale into one of his eyes, but he disappears faster than I can hit him. He used space magic in the fraction of a second to teleport away from his current position, only to reappear a few meters behind us.
Right where his children died.
*ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR*
The atmosphere around us goes haywire, as the space magic permeates the air and even goes as far as to bend space around us.
"I know that this is not my place to say anything..." (Me)
"You've got to be taking the piss." (Jess)
I feel a rise in mana inside the whale, which follows with an immediate increase in power.
"...but I really want to ride that thing now." (Me)
"SHOTGUN!" (Risa)
"FUCK!" (Me)