Elaria had not expected the boss to declare a challenge in such a… chivalrous manner. It was strange for a monster to behave in such a humanlike way, or perhaps it wasn’t, and she simply needed more experience in these matters to be able to properly judge the situation. Regardless, there were now two options for her and Luna. Either they accepted the kobold lord’s intent and faced him in a duel - whether battling it together was considered a breach of the rules she did not have the faintest clue - or they ignored it and simply continued to battle as they had done for the entirety of the dungeon.
Before Elaria could think things through and make the most rational decision available to them, Luna leapt into the ‘ring’ which was basically just the area marked out inside the disruptive patterns that had been affecting her magic. It was a worrying sign, implying that for the duration of the boss fight she would be unable to use her skills to fight, leaving her at a huge disadvantage. Luna had clearly made a decision for the both of them, realising that one of them needed to at least distract the kobold lord until they could figure out the rules for the duel and whether the patterns would last the entire time or continue to be an intermittent feature like they’d been until now.
Seeing the huge wolf enter the arena, the kobold lord grinned widely, flashing an impressive set of almost humanoid teeth but with four huge fangs, two on top and two on bottom, looking equally as deadly as Luna herself. It beat its chest twice, two echoing thumps sounding around the cavern causing it to shake dangerously. The kobold lord was only a little taller than the elegant she-wolf and the two made a ferocious pair, one mighty monster and one former monster turned loyal yet still wildly powerful companion.
“A mighty challenger indeed, our battle will sound through the caverns of the underworld for many years to come. Let us see if you have what it takes,” it declared, before crouching low and readying its claws for battle.
Luna also tensed her muscular frame, preparing for any attack the kobold lord could throw at her. In the end, it disregarded strategy and simply went for a direct charge, leaving furrows in the stone floor of the cavern with each heavy stride. The colossal wolf reared up on her hind legs to intercept the charge and the two collided with a thud that caused Elaria’s bones to vibrate a little. Just how high were their physical stats? She’d probably get turned to paste if she had to take one of the kobold lord’s attacks head on.
The stone around the two fighter’s feet began to crack and rend, distorting under the sheer pressure of the combined strengths pushing against one another for domination. Despite the intensity, Luna’s expression looked strangely content, as if this feeling was what she’d been looking for this entire time. To be honest Elaria couldn’t blame the poor beast, the monsters they’d encountered so far had been so little of a challenge that even she had been getting bored. It didn’t make sense to her. She couldn’t be so overlevelled that she was just steamrolling through enemies that should’ve been a challenge for someone with similar adventuring experience, right?
In the end, it wasn’t the wolf or the kobold lord who was defeated first in the contest of strength, instead it was the floor of the cavern that was unable to hold out against the might of the two, the area inside the makeshift arena shattering completely and forcing the two fighters to break apart and regain their footing among the rubble. The kobold lord began chuckling, throwing its head back and unleashing a deep throaty laugh that reverberated through the air around them. Luna growled in response, echoing the shared sentiment.
“It has been a long time since I received a challenger of this calibre. To honour your strength, mighty canine warrior, I will no longer hold anything back,” it roared.
That was a terrifying prospect. It had been holding back thus far? Luna had only barely held out against it in terms of physical strength during the first clash and now it was about to strike with even greater force. Elaria really had to figure something out fast before they found themselves overwhelmed. Her attention returned to the intricate patterns on the floor once again. They didn’t seem to be any sort of script or written language, at least not one that she could recognise from a glance. It was more like a work of art, the way the lines interweaved and squiggled reminiscent of a geometric masterpiece from the likes of Kandinsky or Mondrian.
Her mana was literally being cut off not quite at the source but right at the point of exit from her mana veins, preventing her from pushing it into any spells or attempting to shape a mana construct. The pure, gently glowing mana within her was vibrating slightly, attempting to resist the intrusion on her personal domain. It had to be some kind of spell or formation. The kobold lord didn’t seem like the magically inclined type, so it was likely created by the dungeon itself when it formed as a method of deterring unworthy intruders from clearing it.
None of her attempts to physically destroy the patterns had resulted in any change to the disruptive effect, so it seemed as if she would have to find a magical solution. Yet the source of her magical power was currently stifled. As an experiment, she tried to utilise a large amount of the mana stored within her Mana Skeleton, trying to cast a Firestorm with nearly all her reserves at once. Unsurprisingly, it failed, her mana unable to pass through the invisible exits in her mana veins and trigger the skill formation.
However, there was a definite change in response. When she’d attempted to cast a spell previously with just her own mana pool, the disruption had felt overwhelming - completely crushing her mana back into her body with punitive force. This time, when she used a larger amount of mana, it was almost like a tug of war between her magic and the outside interference. It was clearly an issue of magnitude. Elaria groaned loudly, head in her hands. She’d only just managed to prevent herself from dying due to a mana overload and even that was partly through a stroke of luck - the acquisition of her Mana Skeleton.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Now that she knew the solution, there was at least one trump card she could hold in reserve in case the situation became dire. Elaria was loath to test it out immediately for two reasons, the first being that the pain that came with overloading her mana veins was simply too agonising and she had no desire to go through it once more. The second was that so far Luna had been successfully holding her own against the kobold lord and actually seemed to be enjoying their battle, so why spoil the fun just yet?
At that moment, there was another resounding thump as the kobold lord struck Luna, sending the wolf flying to the edge of the ring, dripping blood from a deep gash in the side of her ribcage. It looked like a nasty wound but the determined beast held firm, eyes staring defiant challenge back at her enemy. The kobold lord hadn’t dealt the blow for free, its chest sliced open from shoulder to the centre of his abdomen, blue blood matting in its fur armaments. Neither baulked at the injuries which would have likely killed a weaker opponent, instead looking ready to clash once again and seek a lethal blow.
The patterns on the ground flashed off before they could resume battling and Elaria immediately went to work. When they’d fallen from the cavern containing the brocks, she’d managed to crudely fortify Luna’s defences through an external application of her mana as a sort of shield, the mana construct similar to Compression Blow but slightly tweaked to absorb and redistribute force rather than compress and expel it. She was unsure if even this would count as interfering in the duel, but it was the best she could do on short notice bar actually joining the fight herself.
With her now much refined control, she weaved nearly 100 points of mana into a threaded film that covered the wolf’s entire body, reinforcing her natural defence as well as giving her the ability to store and redistribute some of the kinetic energy from the kobold lord’s strikes. It was a masterful effort from a person so new to the art of magic. If any of the supreme mages were able to witness Elaria’s growth from her reckless beginnings to now they would likely be horrified at her rate of progress. The Chain named her newly created skill.
Due to your actions you have acquired a skill!
Kinetic Armour
Reduce the impact of physical attacks through redistribution of the kinetic energy which can be infused into the wielder’s own strikes.
The cavern shook once more, the third clash between Luna and the kobold lord underway. Despite the huge increase in the boss monster’s strength after his declaration, the powerful wolf wasn’t at a disadvantage. In fact, after Elaria’s Kinetic Armour had come into play, the kobold lord was now on the back foot, its muscular figure covered in a mess of cuts and bruises while Luna was relatively unharmed and continuing to dish out claw swipes and vicious bites in a ferocious frenzy. Elaria was satisfied with her contribution and hoped that Luna would be able to finish the kobold lord off in this manner so she wouldn’t need to go through the excruciating experience of overloading herself with mana once again.
Alas, like all childish dreams, this one was too good to be true. The kobold lord looked to be right on the cusp of falling from its accumulated wounds, practically every inch of his body covered in blood and bruises, when he unleashed an ear splitting roar that shook the cavern to a breaking point and forced Luna back, even shattering the Kinetic Armour with the shockwave of sound. Rocks fell from the walls and ceiling, a common occurrence by now yet still dangerous, Elaria being forced to use her mana to form an Earthen Shield for her and Luna both to protect them. When the crashing and rumbling stopped, she let the shields break apart and they were greeted with a completely transfigured arena.
What was a flat and simple colosseum style battleground was now an uneven and rocky warzone, pitfalls everywhere and sharp ledges jutting out from the walls at odd intervals. The kobold lord had leapt from the ground to stand on one such ledge, lording over its new domain. Unlike its rather composed and statuesque demeanour from before, it now had the look of a wild animal driven to the edge. Bloodshot eyes, wild matted fur and bulging muscles that looked about to explode, its whole body glowing in a demonic red hue. It didn’t speak this time, simply leaping from above to initiate combat once again.
Elaria hastily reapplied Kinetic Armour, using double the mana this time and leaving her with less than half of her entire pool. It wasn’t enough. When the kobold lord struck Luna, Elaria felt as if she was experiencing an earthquake. The cavern shuddered and she fell on her ass, hastily guarding her head from the shower of rubble that the impact sent flying. There was a sickening crunch as something smacked into a nearby wall and Elaria looked in horror to see Luna lying limply against the stone, spine twisted at an unnatural angle and consciousness fading from her eyes.
The dust settled and Elaria rushed over to her companion hurriedly checking to make sure she was still breathing. Thankfully, Luna was still alive, but might not be able to hold on for long. Heavy panting breaths and sticky hot air alerted her to the imminent threat and she had to leave Luna for now and focus on the kobold lord. Goddess damn it all she was going to have to do it again. Elaria took a deep breath and reached out for the natural mana that surrounded them and it trembled, excited to feel her touch once more.