Devon whipped the curved sword out of his inventory and slashed the crimson tendril as he descended. With it severed, he shoved the sword back into his inventory and prepared for a rough landing.
Even as he fell, Devon heard the roar of rage from the lord of the mountain and instinctively felt what was coming. So when Voltar Pura emerged out of the ruin that had collapsed beneath it, open maw raised and ready to snatch up Devon's falling form, he was ready.
Activate magic; Galeforce!
Galeforce was one of the basic spells provided by the terminal shop. Devon had no faith in it as an attack spell, but felt it had several potential applications as a utility spell.
He felt an extreme gust of wind slam into his side, sending him through the air in an uncontrolled spin. The sound of the lord's mouth snapping shut could be heard as Devon was propelled away.
Devon landed in a tumbling mess on one of the stone plateaus that made up the mountain's upper landscape. He gritted his teeth as he rolled to a stop, bones aching from the abuse. Most of the fall's momentum had been canceled out by the sideways Galeforce, but the pain of using something that was technically an attack spell on himself wasn't insignificant.
Still, he'd live. The effects of the healing pill were still active, so minor injuries like bumps and bruises would quickly heal.
The bigger issue is…
Voltar Pura was clambering out of the pit it had created with its fall, though its bulky body clearly made the task an uncomfortable one. Still streaked along its body was the blood splatter of the pile of corpses it had scattered to the forest above. Now that he actually paid attention to it, it was odd that so much of the blood had remained on the lord's body even after their roughhousing.
Well, I'd expected it to have some sort of ability. All of the apes did, after all. I just hadn't expected this.
Blood manipulation hadn't been on his radar, but he supposed it matched the pattern so far. The apes had used what was available in their vicinity when they'd become enlightened as a basis of their abilities, it fit the pattern that Voltar Pura would as well. Flesh, bone, and now blood.
Still, the lord's control over that blood seemed extremely lacking. If Devon had been prepared for it, that tendril would never have been able to drag him off that cliff. Even at its most forceful pull, Devon would have been able to keep his footing if he'd expected it.
Voltar Pura also hadn't used the blood before now. Devon doubted it had the intelligence to fight skillfully as the bone architect had, so it seemed more likely the creature simply preferred to fight with its physical strength rather than its skill.
No, wait. If its control over blood is based on magic then maybe it doesn't use it because its arcane stat isn't very high. It's possible the monster isn't capable of using it effectively as a weapon. Well, either way, it's simply something to take note of and move on. This situation doesn't favor me, so I need to see if there's a tunnel I can take…
Devon was broken out of his thoughts by an ear-piercing roar. As he watched, the blood that coated Voltar Pura's body seemed to seep into the behemoth's scales until there was none left. Then its green hide took on a red-marbled hue, and the air seemed to grow hazy from the heat the monster radiated.
What the f-
Then it moved. Not with the lumbering motions it had displayed before, but with a speed he could hardly believe.
The lord dashed forward with almost blinding speed, angling its body to once again slam into Devon with its broad side. On instinct alone Devon threw himself to the floor, narrowly dodging under the monster's massive weight.
The stone roof of the ruin cracked and threatened to give under the weight and force of Voltar Pura as it spun around to once again attack Devon, and he was forced to give up on his idea of making a getaway. There was no way he could divert his attention off this foe for long enough to find a passageway on the side of the mountain.
It's blood doping. Pretty smart move for such a dumb creature.
His gaze locked onto the leg joint he'd targeted previously. The creature's physical power may have shot through the roof, but its toughness shouldn't have changed. One more hit to the joint should cause it to collapse.
Activate skill; Bone Breaker. Activate Magic; Adrenaline.
He felt his perception of time slow as Adrenaline kicked in. Few other creatures would interfere in this region of the mountain, and he would need all the focus he could get against this gargantuan threat.
Voltar Pura charged in again, this time with its jaw at the ready instead of a full-body tackle. Devon dashed to the side to avoid those deadly teeth, only to find the tail sailing through the air towards him.
He pivoted on one foot before dashing towards the lord's center of mass, its legs. Ducking low, he allowed the tail to soar over his head as he slid across the pebble-strewn ground. When the danger was past he found himself in the perfect position, right next to the leg he was targeting.
Strength flowed through Devon's limbs as he once again slammed his hammer into the joint of Voltar Pura's leg. This time he felt the bone within give completely, and with a sickening crunch followed by an even more sickening squelch, the bone broke before piercing through the side of the beast's leg.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Devon had to quickly jump away as the broken leg gave out and the colossal mass of the lord toppled right onto where he'd been standing. His thoughts momentarily drifted towards what would be the best way to finish the lord off now that he'd immobilized it, but those thoughts were cut short as Voltar Pura's body suddenly slid across the ground, slamming into him.
This damn thing, it kicked off the ground with its one good leg?
The impact did little more than knock the wind out of him, but more importantly, it knocked him over the edge of the plateau they'd been standing on. And so he fell off yet another cliff as Voltar Pura tumbled through the air behind him. This damn dinosaur was beginning to really annoy him.
Looking down, he managed to shift himself in the air to land on his feet as he landed on the slope a short distance beneath the drop. Pebbles rained down around him as he slid along the loose gravel slope.
At least it isn't another sheer drop I'll have to save myself from.
That thought was blown out of his head as a cascade of pebbles from above threatened to swallow him entirely. He jumped away from the slope and the avalanche that Voltar Pura was raining down on his head with its own fall, and landed on yet another plateau. The lord didn't manage to make such a graceful transition and slammed into the surface of the plateau with the full momentum it'd gained in its slide.
The roof of the ancient structure cracked before the ground beneath Devon's feet gave way entirely. He fell into a dark space amid a hail of pebbles and rubble alongside the thrashing form of the lord.
As soon as his feet touched whatever could be considered ground, he dashed away towards the wall behind him. He didn't want to be buried amid the stone avalanche, so he sat and waited for the rumbling to cease.
But the one responsible for this disaster wasn't nearly as content to simply wait for the dust to settle. The lord burst out of the growing pile of rubble with a roar that bounced off the walls and threatened to burst Devon's eardrums. Then it charged him.
What the-!
Devon barely had time to react as the lord barreled towards him in the tight space. It charged through stone pillars and fixtures as though they weren't even there before smashing straight through the wall Devon had taken shelter next to.
Sunlight lit the space around Devon as the wall fell away, once again revealing the visage of the mountainside. However, he didn't have even a moment to appreciate the view as he had to follow the lord through the hole it had made. A second later the roof of the abused structure collapsed where Devon had been standing, sending even more debris down the mountainside around him.
He landed on another slope, and as he slid down he analyzed the lord in the slowed time of Adrenaline.
The bone that was protruding out the side of its leg is no longer visible. Does it have a healing ability too? No, the wound is still there clear as day. But it isn't bleeding at all… Ah, I see.
Based on his observations, Devon could only presume Voltar Pura was manipulating the blood within its own body to force itself to continue moving. It had forced the broken bone back into position and was now manipulating the blood within its leg to simulate normal function. If he had to bet, he'd say that probably hurt a lot. Which might explain the seething rage in the monster's eyes.
He leaped to the side as Voltar Pura tried to snap him up in its massive jaws atop the next plateau. With bated breath, he watched the oncoming avalanche that had followed him reach the lord, but that breath caught in his throat as the lord whipped around and slapped a large part of the rubble with its gargantuan tail, shattering the larger pieces and sending the bits flying towards Devon with terrifying speed.
Devon had to cover his face with his arms as the shotgun spread of rubble came at him. He was still airborne from leaping to the side, so he couldn't dodge properly, not that he could dodge such a wide spread of hail anyway. Several small pieces pelted his arms and left cuts all along his body, but one larger piece slammed into his gut, knocking the wind out of him as he finally met the ground.
If it can force even a shattered leg to work then what can I do? I don't have a blade large enough to sever the limb completely, so my strategy of disabling the beast is out the window.
He thought over everything he'd seen so far. Ideally, he'd like to make distance and come up with a new strategy at a safe distance, but he knew Voltar Pura wouldn't allow that. There was simply no way for him to look for an out as the damn monster kept bringing the side of the mountain down on his head.
Blunt damage alone wouldn't be enough, the thing simply had too much mass. His blade was too small to do anything more than leave shallow cuts. He'd already tried using the environment against the beast, to no effect.
I'm just going to have to bet on my theory that its arcane isn't very high.
It was something he hadn't wanted to use, no matter what. It was simply too flashy, too eye-catching. But in this situation where fleeing meant a high likelihood of getting buried under an avalanche of rubble… all he could do was use everything available to him.
Activate Amplification Gem. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement II.
A giant bolt of lightning split the sky as rubble continued to rain down around them. The intensity of it caused electricity to arc out from the massive pillar of light and strike a lone withered tree sitting atop the plateau, causing it to explode from nature's raw might.
Devon took his hammer up in both hands and prepared to face the lord head-on. He felt the energy coursing through the weapon in his hands, and he was sure that if he'd used an amplified Lightning Imbuement on any other weapon it would have exploded by now like the ivory sword had.
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Val Kazar
The sight on the mountain was a spectacle that Val Kazar was sure the entire tutorial could witness. He couldn't see the specifics of what was fighting, but the avalanche of stone made it clear that they were extremely powerful. The beings within the tutorial who could endure such a contest of might could be counted on a single hand.
It must be Eve. There's nobody else on this island who's reckless or strong enough to engage such a creature.
A flicker of his thoughts made Val Kazar think of the one he needed to kill above all others, but he dismissed that notion. Even if the human was strong enough to defeat Zane, the idea that someone with a level less than 40 would engage a level 60 enlightened creature was preposterous. There was simply no reason to, the risk far outweighed the rewards.
No, Eve made much more sense. She'd managed to make it to the level 50 threshold, and the system had no doubt given her a preposterous quest as an attempt to challenge a being with such absurd potential.
Val Kazar desperately wished he could go up there and slaughter the woman in the aftermath of the duel that was currently tearing up the side of the mountain, but it was no more than wishful thinking. To do so would cause the system to curse him, and he was no more ready to accept that than he was to send someone in his stead. There had already been too many vishan deaths to take such flippant risks. The chief would be along soon enough, and he would deal with her.
He was ready to turn away from the spectacle and continue with his routine training when white thunder split the sky above the mountain.
It can't be.
Zane had listed three definitive signs of that human's appearance. Two identities, a signature weapon… and lightning on a clear day.