Chapter 56
Enjoy The Meal, You Bastard
Adom's instincts kicked into overdrive as the Naga's massive form bore down on him, its fangs bared for a lethal strike. Utilizing his [Quick Reflexes] skill, the world around him seemed to decelerate, granting him the clarity to perceive the imminent threat in excruciating detail. With the air as his canvas, he artfully manipulated the currents around him, crafting an impromptu aerial dance that whisked him away from the serpent's deadly embrace, not once but twice, with the grace of a leaf caught in a gentle breeze.
But the Naga was relentless, its primal intelligence undeterred by Adom's evasive maneuvers. As Adom's feet grazed the forest floor, the serpent lunged once more, its speed astonishing for a creature of its size. Adom, barely touching down, conjured a burst of intense flame, a fire spell that roared like a furious inferno, repelling the hissing serpent with its searing heat.
Adom, cursing under his breath at each narrow escape, wove through the Naga's assaults with a symphony of spells—ice to slow, wind to evade, and earth to shield. Each movement was a calculated risk, a step danced on the razor's edge between life and death.
Despite the disparity in their levels, Adom fought with desperation and cunning. He knew the odds were against him, facing a creature of level 20 according to the system with his own strength at a mere level 14. Yet, he refused to yield, his every move a testament to his resolve to not become the Nāga's meal. Being unable to die, he couldn't imagine how harrowing it would be to get swallowed by the reptile. "You bastard," he spat at the serpent, his voice laced with defiance, even as he dodged another venomous strike.
As the battle raged, Adom's eyes caught a glimmer of opportunity—a blind spot in the serpent's defense. Its left eye, clouded and unseeing, betrayed a vulnerability amidst its formidable might. With a plan forming in his mind, Adom prepared to exploit this weakness. He recalled the spell he had used to leap over the gates, a fortifying enchantment that had amplified his strength and speed. This time, he focused the spell's essence on his arm, then envisioned a thick barrier of pure essentia to encase his fist, shielding it from the impact to come.
The forest held its breath as Adom waited for the serpent to strike. With a burst of speed, he maneuvered to the creature's left, evading its deadly jaws by a hair's breadth. "You want something to eat? Have this!" Adom roared, his voice echoing through the trees as he unleashed his empowered strike. His fist, sheathed in a glowing cocoon of essentia, connected with the Nāga's head with a thunderous impact. The force of the blow sent ripples through the underbrush, causing leaves to tremble and branches to sway as if in shock.
Adom's heart raced as the sound of their confrontation reverberated through the forest, a beacon to any who might be tracking him. He knew the noise was a risk, a signal to his unseen pursuer, but the current situation left no room for caution.
Despite the strength behind Adom's strike, the Nāga recoiled only momentarily before fixing its venomous gaze back on him, rage burning in its remaining good eye. The punch had only made it even more angry. The serpent hissed, a sound of fury and defiance, as it prepared to strike again. Adom, facing the beast's undeterred wrath, couldn't help but smile, a fight with a level 20 enemy would sooner or later end up with him in its stomach. "You're a tough one, aren't you?" he taunted, his smile a silent acknowledgment of the serpent's resilience.
As the fight raged on, Adom's mind raced for a solution, a way to escape this deadly dance. He knew he couldn't defeat the Nāga outright, but perhaps he could outsmart it. With a daring plan forming, Adom prepared for one final gambit.
As he dodged another venomous lunge, Adom's [Aetheric Echo] pulsed through the underbrush, a silent sonar mapping the terrain and its hidden threats. Amidst this chaos, a new element entered his calculated fray—an aura, distinct and unmistakable, just what he was looking for, the signature of a sorcerer closing in on their position, probably his pursuer's. "Great, a spectator to my little dance," Adom mused, a wry smirk playing on his lips despite the dire circumstances.
The situation was far from ideal. With a Nāga on his tail and a sorcerer on his trail, Adom found himself in a classic 'out of the frying pan, into the fire' scenario. But where others might see despair, he saw opportunity. "Two birds, one stone," he thought, his plan forming amidst the whirlwind of evasion and counterattack.
Despite being weaker, Adom was still faster and more agile than the Nāga, he taunted the serpent, his voice laced with a sarcasm that was almost too calm for the situation at hand. "Hey, I'm not exactly a feast, you oversized belt," he jeered, narrowly avoiding a strike that would have spelled his end. "But I've got a treat for you, something far more... tantalizing." The Nāga intensified its attacks, its body moving with serpentine grace, each strike more deadly than the last.
Adom seized the moment, leading the enraged serpent on a deadly chase through the forest. His [Aetheric Echo] pulsed again, keeping tabs on the approaching sorcerer, now merely 300 meters away and seemingly aware of the impending danger. "Let's see how you like being part of the action," Adom muttered. The plan was simple, getting the Nāga to the sorcerer's location and manage to make them fight each other, then, if possible, this would weaken them both and he would wait for one of them to die before killing the other one himself. Of course, this plan relied on the sorcerer's might, if he found them to be far stronger than the Nāga, he would simply run away and let him take care of the serpent, by the time they were done, he would have put enough distance between them and would hide his magical signature.
The chase was a spectacle by itself, with Adom weaving through trees and underbrush, the Nāga's massive form bulldozing through obstacles in its single-minded pursuit. Adom's spells were a blur, a symphony of elemental fury and strategic cunning designed to harry and confuse. Each cast was a calculated risk, drawing the Nāga closer to the sorcerer's location, turning the predator into a weapon.
Adom found his pursuer, a cloaked, masked and hooded figure, in a clearing. The person, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Adom and the massive serpent in hot pursuit, froze in shock. Adom, with a smirk, utilized the chaos to his advantage. "Looking for me?" he taunted, moments before the Nāga's massive form lunged between them, its jaws snapping at the air where Adom had just been.
The pursuer immediatly began to cast a spell, but Adom was quicker. He launched a volley of precise air blades, not to harm but to disrupt the casting, sending the figure stumbling back. The Nāga, fixated on the new, closer target, hissed in anticipation, its forked tongue flickering in the air.
Adom used this distraction to circle around, positioning himself with the Nāga between him and his mysterious follower. "Not so fun being the prey, is it?" he shouted over the creature's roars. The Nāga, sensing the shift in its prey's focus, turned its massive head towards Adom, eyes burning with primal fury.
But Adom was ready. He had prepared a dense essentia shield around his right leg, the energy crackling with intensity. As the Nāga charged, he dove to the side, using the creature's momentum against it. He struck again at the Nāga's blind spot, his shielded leg connecting with a thunderous impact that sent shockwaves through the ground.
The Nāga reeled from the blow, its body coiling in pain, but it was far from defeated. With a roar, it lunged again, faster than before, its entire being focused on crushing the persistent thorn in its side.
Adom, realizing the futility of a direct confrontation, shifted his tactics. He began a deadly dance, weaving through the Nāga's attacks with fluid grace, each move calculated to draw it closer to his real target. "Come on, you overgrown worm," he taunted, his voice laced with adrenaline and irritation.
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The pursuer, despite being fully aware of the peril, did not attempt to flee, but the Nāga was relentless, its attention divided yet deadly. Adom seized the moment, casting a blinding flash of light to disorient both the Nāga and the figure, using the confusion to close the distance between them.
With the gap closed, Adom faced his follower, their eyes meeting for a fleeting moment before the Nāga's shadow loomed over them both. Adom grinned, "Surprise, enjoy the meal, you bastard," he said to the serpent, though his words were meant for the sorcerer, a hidden enemy turned unwitting bait.
But Adom's eyes widened as the sorcerer, with a fluid motion, extended their arms, fingers dancing through the air as if plucking the strings of an unseen harp. The air vibrated, shimmering with a surge of potent essentia, and in a heartbeat, the massive form of the Nāga was ensnared in glowing chains, ethereal yet unyielding.
The serpent's furious writhing ceased almost instantly, its massive body bound by the spell's unbreakable grip. It hissed and spat, a primal rage in its eyes, but the binding held firm, an invisible force stronger than any physical shackles.
Adom stood frozen, not by fear but by sheer astonishment. His mind raced to calculate, to analyze this unexpected turn of events. A quick glance at the sorcerer's level through his [Level Knowledge] skill confirmed his worst fears—level 36. The disparity was staggering, a chasm that lay between his own abilities and those of the sorcerer.
In that moment, Adom's survival instincts kicked into overdrive. The initial plan to flee in the case of this very scenario, to use the ensuing battle as a smokescreen for his escape, crumbled under the reality of the sorcerer's overwhelming power. He could not put enough distance between him and the sorcerer if the fight with the Nāga was only going to last a few seconds. But then again, if they were this strong, why bother tracking him? Why did they not just catch him when they could? With no time to waste in questions, His mind began weaving a new strategy, a daring play that could turn the tables in his favor.
The fundamental challenge of maintaining multiple spells was a known bottleneck for even the most powerful sorcerers. Adom's plan hinged on this very limitation. If he could provoke the sorcerer into casting defensively while also dealing with the Nāga, it might just strain their focus enough to create an opening.
With the Nāga momentarily out of the equation, Adom shifted his attention to the sorcerer. His movements were deliberate, a silent challenge as he circled the bound serpent. He needed to provoke, to push the sorcerer into action, to force them into dividing their attention between maintaining the binding spell and defending against Adom's assaults.
Adom's first move was a feint, a simple bolt of concentrated essentia aimed not to harm but to test, to prod at the sorcerer's defenses. As expected, the sorcerer countered with a flick of their wrist, a barrier of shimmering energy deflecting Adom's attack with ease. But this was just the beginning, the opening gambit in a high-stakes game of magical chess.
The sorcerer, their hood and mask still casting their features in shadow, seemed to assess Adom with a newfound interest, perhaps recognizing the cunning behind his actions. They stood their ground.
Adom knew he was walking a razor's edge. Each spell he cast, each maneuver he made, had to be calculated to exert pressure without overextending his own limited reserves. His attacks became more varied, a mix of elemental conjurations designed not to overpower but to harass, to distract, to force the sorcerer into a defensive stance.
As the dance of spells continued, Adom kept a wary eye on the Nāga, the serpent's rage simmering beneath the surface of the binding spell. He needed it as an unwilling ally, a wildcard to disrupt the sorcerer's focus at the critical moment.
Adom's attacks grew more frequent, a relentless barrage that forced the sorcerer to continuously cast defensive spells. With each conjuration, Adom carefully observed, waiting for the moment the sorcerer's concentration would waver under the dual demands of offense and defense.
And then, amidst the cacophony of their duel, the Nāga, bound and furious, became an unwitting participant in Adom's strategy. With a calculated blast of wind essentia, Adom directed one of his feints not at the sorcerer but at the ethereal chains that held the serpent. The spell was weak, insufficient to break the binding, but it was enough to make the sorcerer divert their attention, to reinforce the spell that held the Nāga at bay.
This was the moment Adom had been waiting for. As the sorcerer's focus split between maintaining the binding spell and defending against Adom's relentless assaults, the strain became evident. Their movements, once fluid and assured, now carried a hint of desperation, a subtle but unmistakable sign of the growing burden of multi-spell maintenance.
Adom seized the opportunity. He intensified his attacks, not in power but in complexity, weaving together simple spells in intricate patterns that demanded the sorcerer's immediate attention. A flicker of light here, a gust of wind there, each spell individually inconsequential but collectively a maze of distractions.
The sorcerer, caught in Adom's web of deception, began to falter. Their counter-spells, though still powerful, were slower, less precise. The binding on the Nāga wavered, the glowing chains flickering as the sorcerer's control frayed under the relentless onslaught.
With a roar that shook the very air, the Nāga broke free, its massive body coiling in readiness as it fixed its venomous gaze on the nearest target—the sorcerer. Adom, though wary of the serpent's deadly intent, couldn't suppress a triumphant grin. His plan was unfolding just as he had hoped.
The clearing erupted into chaos, a deadly dance of predator and prey, with Adom and the sorcerer both evading the Nāga's furious strikes. The sorcerer, now forced to contend with the dual threats of Adom's cunning and the Nāga's brute force, cast spell after spell in a desperate bid to regain control.
The sorcerer stood defiantly in the face of the enraged Nāga, their hand raised in a gesture that spoke of imminent destruction. Adom, his senses heightened to their peak, recognized the sign—the precursor to a spell of devastating light, a laser capable of cutting through the densest matter like a hot knife through butter.
The air itself seemed to hum with anticipation, charged with the raw essence of essentia as the sorcerer began to channel their power. Adom watched, his heart a drumbeat in his chest, as the sorcerer maintained a shimmering barrier around themselves while their body seemed to ripple with enhanced strength. This was the moment Adom had been waiting for, the pinnacle of his strategy.
As the Nāga, driven by primal fury, lunged forward, its massive jaws agape, the sorcerer's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "You wanted this, beast!" they exclaimed, their voice obviously modified. Adom's eyes narrowed, his focus razor-sharp, as he witnessed the sorcerer's final preparation for the spell's release.
Adom immediately conjured a blade of pure essentia around his hand, its edges sharp enough to cleave the very air. He unleashed a fire spell towards the sorcerer, a strategic move to disrupt their concentration further and weaken the barrier that shimmered like a mirage around them. The fire spell hit its mark, causing the barrier to flicker and falter, revealing a vulnerability that Adom was poised to exploit.
Time seemed to slow, the world reduced to a tableau of potential violence and raw energy. The sorcerer's beam of light erupted forth, a blinding column of destruction that raced towards the Nāga with unfathomable speed. The light was pure, incandescent, a searing line that cut through the darkness and the tension with equal ease.
Adom darted forward, propelled by his enhanced speed, his every sense attuned to the critical moment of impact. Even as he moved, the world around him appeared to stand still, the light beam a glowing scar across the forest's face, and the Nāga's fate sealed in a single, devastating stroke. The beam sheared through the serpent, a clean, brutal decapitation that left no room for doubt or survival.
Adom's focus was unwavering, his target the sorcerer, now momentarily exposed. The hole in their faltering barrier, directly over their chest, was all the invitation he needed. With a surge of determination, Adom thrust his essentia-sharpened hand towards the sorcerer's heart, the action a blend of precision and desperation.
The silence that followed was deafening, a pregnant pause in which the world seemed to hold its breath. Adom's hand pressed against the barrier, the essentia blade mere inches from its mark, when the sorcerer's scream pierced the stillness. "Rey!" The name, a cry of recognition or accusation, was the precursor to a burst of repulsive energy that emanated from the sorcerer like a shockwave.
Adom, caught in the maelstrom of power, had just enough time to cast a protective barrier around himself. The repulsion spell hit him like a physical blow, a force of pure essentia that sent him tumbling back, his plans thwarted, his attack unfulfilled.
Adom's back collided with the rough bark of a tree, a dull thud echoing through the silent forest as he slid to the ground. The decapitated head of the naga landed nearby with a grotesque squelch, its lifeless eyes staring into oblivion. Pain lanced through Adom's body, but his mind was racing, not with thoughts of the pain or the naga's demise, but a realization, he clearly heard the sorcerer call his made up name, the one he told the adventurers, and there was only one adventurer among the group who was a sorceress."Zara?" Adom gasped.
The sorceress, panting and crouched, removed her hood and mask to reveal her distinct blue skin and elegantly curled horns. "You almost killed me, you fucking idiot," she spat out, her voice strained with exertion and a hint of underlying anger.