“I don’t think I can snap her out with words.”

“Bark!”

I jumped back to get out of her striking range. It was futile as she followed me and swung her sword again. I raised my shield and blocked it. Impact traveled around my entire body despite my heavy shield.

“I won’t last long if I keep blocking.”

I pulled my sword. I swung it and met with her sword. A loud sound filled my head as I was thrown back by her strike. Even though my stats were higher than the last time I fought against her, she still overpowered me.

“Clang! Clang!”

My ears hurt due to how loud our weapons clashing were. She attacked relentlessly and without giving me time to breathe. Even she was panting. Blood was dripping from her fingernails because of how tightly she was gripping her sword. Blue mana escaped her body. Her magic crest was covered with ice. Said ice expanded every time she swung her sword. If this kept up it would cover her entire body.

As I kept blocking and dodging her attacks for over 2 minutes I realized something: While her attacks were sharp as ever, they were simpler and weaker than they should be. Her being weaker was normal as she probably haven’t slept for at least several days. But simpler… She wasn’t herself. Her attacks were probably products of her body moving according to what she trained for years.

“Shit!”

I said as a thrust attack nearly pierced my heart. However, white mist escaped from Gökbörü’s mouth and solidified into an ice shield. While it didn’t block it fully, it slowed it enough for me to block it. I guessed he used Ice Wolf’s Breath to create it.

“Thanks!”

“BARK!”

Even though he was on my shoulder and I moved fast, he didn’t seem to be having trouble staying there.

This is not good. I have to neutralize her without risking her life.

A horizontal slash cut through my armor. While I managed to back away without it cutting too deep it was bleeding.

Neutralize her without risking her life my ass! I wasn’t sure if I could defeat her even if I gave my all. I activated Armor Collapsing Claw.

(You activated Armor Collapsing Claw at its highest setting. Your blows will deal 15 percent more damage for 64 seconds.)

Why were numbers different?

Upss. No time to worry about it. A swing of her sword nearly split my head into two just now.

Purple energy covered my sword. Looking at her blue energy-covered sword, the energy covering our weapons was different. I guess that’s the difference between pure mana and a skill. Our swords once again clashed but this time I didn’t bounce off. While I was still clearly weaker than her, at least I didn’t lose balance when we clashed. If I combined that with the strength boost of Monstrous Strength stopping her was possible. However, I had to finish it during the duration of Monstrous Strength otherwise strength penalty would make things even more complicated.

Wait. Didn’t I get one more skill? Hey, show me that!

(Mana Erupt: By infusing mana into your body or weapon and expelling it violently you can increase your speed and destructive power. Beware: Due to the immense amount of power created by this skill reckless use can lead to horrible consequences.)

Damn. What kind of warning is that? Even Monstrous Strength, a skill that belonged to monsters and put a lot of strain on my body didn’t have that kind of warning.

But immense amounts of power, huh? I couldn’t help but smile. That’s what I needed right now. So, consequences be dammed, let’s try it out! I recalled the sensation I felt during that void. Just as I tried to focus an ice shard slammed into my stomach. Thankfully it was dull but it still hurt. I need some time.

“Can’t you block those ice shards?”

I asked Gökbörü. Please say yes. Please say yes.

He whimpered apologetically.

Fuck. He was just born seconds ago so it was expected.

Fuck it, we do it live!

She charged towards me. Her swing was wide and full of power. I raised my shield and let the impact push me back. I moved with the impact and created some distance between us. I focused on my sword and my right arm since it held my sword. I already felt the energy(mana) once. I found that feeling again. I focused on pushing it on the path I wanted.

A brighter purple light violently flowed out. It was like opening a coke bottle after shaking it. It looked wild and uncontrollable which made me slightly worried. I raised my sword high and swung it. That purple energy escaped my sword and flew toward Blanche. Even though she created an ice shield, it wasn’t strong enough to block all of it. She flew back.

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The System wasn’t joking about immense power. It also wasn’t joking about horrible consequences since my shoulder felt like I just had a horrible bench press day. If I used this skill with Monstrous Strength my shoulder probably would have ripped off my body due to the amount of energy I created.

This skill was similar to how earlier power armors worked. They had rockets built into arms and legs which you could fire to gain momentum. It was as stupid as it sounded and caused more damage to the user. I didn’t get to use one and I was thankful for that.

“Still, beggars can’t be choosers.”

Maybe it could be used better in this world if I increased my Vitality and Defense stat enough but for now, I had to use it sparingly.

“Growl.”

Gökbörü growled as if to warn me about Blanche getting up. Her forehead was bleeding but her eyes were still empty. Her arm was nearly fully covered with ice now. It hung on side of her body. She couldn’t use it now?

“Crackle. Crackle.”

Blue lightning sparks flew everywhere.

“Oh, fuck.”

Guess we are entering the second stage. She swung her sword even though there was a lot of distance between us. I took that as a sign to dodge. It was a good call since lightning struck where I just stood. She stomped her foot to the ground. Ice spears grew towards me.

“That’s not fair! Using two elements is not fair!”

Despite the protest of my right shoulder, I used Mana Erupt again to break human-sized ice spears coming to pierce me.

“Bark! Bark!”

Gökbörü barked towards my right. Without looking in that direction, I threw myself to the ground. Her sword whistled above my head as I rolled on the ground. Seeing me dodge her attack she stomped her foot to the ground again. Ice spear came out of the ground. I activated Monstrous Strength. Power filled my muscles and I jumped in the air to dodge them.

Gökbörü was still on my shoulder. I didn’t know how he stayed there but I was glad since I could barely take care of myself now.

“Can you pull out my daggers? Two is enough!”

I shouted as I landed on the ground.

“Woof!”

He slid on my back to my hip level as my sword met with Blanche’s. Lightning jumped from her sword to mine, shocking me. My sword’s or my armor’s conductivity must be bad since I didn’t die but my right arm went mostly numb. I let her attacks push me back while Gökbörü climbed back to my shoulder with daggers in his mouth. I moved my shield’s strap to my wrist to free my left hand. I grabbed one of the daggers but a small block of ice smashed into my hand, making me drop it.

“Ehh, fuck it.”

I kicked it with my foot as it was falling. It flew into the air, making Blanche back away. If she didn’t, it would have pierced her throat.

(Indomitable Marksmanship ranked up to D rank. Correction increases.)

However, with her backing away she created enough distance for me to swing my sword full force.

“Sorry, Blanche. This will hurt you more than it will hurt me. Try to survive.”

Mana Erupt, Armor Collapsing Claw, and Monstrous Strength. All of them were active and I used both of my arms. Damn. It will hurt me as hell too, right?

A purple wave of mana violently lashed out, covering Blanche. I heard a deafening noise as both of my arms were engulfed with pain. Dust covered my vision and the room we were in shook.

I fell to my knees as the duration of Armor Collapsing Claw’s and Monstrous Strength's duration ended. My vision was shaky too. I used Armor Collapsing Claw around three times at full force which took 60 percent of my mana. I also released Mana Erupt twice. While I didn’t know how much mana it took, I guessed it wasn’t a small amount.

Nearly all of my mana was exhausted, the strength penalty from Monstrous Strength, wounds Blanche gave to me, and backlash from using Mana Erupt were too much. For the first time since I arrived in this world, I felt this tired.

“Can’t lose… Can’t be weak….”

A weak voice filled me with terror. Before I could get up, a blue flash of lightning struck me. Air left my lungs. I tried to raise my shield but my arm refused to obey my order. I watched Blanche’s sword travel toward my neck in slow motion.

“Guess this is the end. For real this time.”

Just as I thought this, something jumped from my shoulder. White fur filled my vision to meet Blanche’s sword head-on.

“No!”

I couldn’t even scream that as he was thrown away. His blood splattered on my face.