The spirit’s antlered head immediately pivoted to the intruder; its focus broken. On the other side Magnus stood nervously with his legs shaking. He was determined to fight before but that thing was much more terrifying when its attention descended on him. This spirit was stronger than anything he ever fought before. In fact, it seemed to have only grown in Level.
[Newborn Spirit of Decay – Level 17] – Tier 0
With that development, he didn’t have that much hope in defeating that thing anymore. Well, the window to retreat and hide somewhere until someone found this dungeon was over. Either way, with his luck it would probably months at best until someone found this place and rescued him. Magnus let out a laugh. If that happened, he could throw away all hope of climbing to the top so it was probably a good thing and if he wasn’t at the top someone could just swoop down, snap their fingers and wish him out of reality for all he knew. That was it. If he wasn’t standing at the peak, he wasn’t truly safe anywhere. What did it matter if he died here or later? This whole fight was just a calculated risk. If he lost it would be over. No more suffering. But if he won, he would most likely be the first one to conquer a dungeon on Earth. Surely there was some reward for that.
The sound of a single plucked note could be heard, as if the universe itself acknowledged his conviction.
His legs no longer shaking, Magnus looked the spirit in its one good eye. Echoes of millennia lost secrets were hidden in the one eye but his mind was made up. A twisted grimace somehow manifested on the beast’s cervine head. It wasn’t delighted by his interruption. Not knowing what to expect, Magnus got into position, shifting his center of gravity lower and stretching his right hand with the knife in front of him. It would be best to keep as much distance as possible. Those claws didn’t look blunt enough for Magnus to want near him. He didn’t dare so much as blink as they both stared at each other. With the monster having stopped absorbing that giant drop of blood and getting power, Magnus knew he wouldn’t be making the first move. It wasn’t like he was built for offense so that only played into his cards.
The spirit blurred and [Danger Sense] screamed. Reacting immediately, Magnus stepped back and slashed with his knife. The jagged claws missed his neck by barely an inch, a little too close for comfort. His close brush with death wasn’t for naught however as his knife hit its neck in turn. If not for Magnus’ new ring doubling his perception, his head wouldn’t be attached to his body right now. A little wake up call to say the least. As adrenaline started to flood his veins pushed down the terror threatening to overtake him. Unfortunately, the roadkill looking monster didn’t even so much as flinch at the gash decorating a third of its neck and it continued its attack, using the claws at the end of his other arm as a dagger and stabbing into Magnus’ side. He would prefer his liver to last a little longer so with the help of [Danger Sense] he managed to twist so the claws only grazed him and that combined with [Slashing Resistance] and [Toughen] meant that the attack left only a minor cut. Still, it was only a testament to the spirit’s Strength that it managed to inflict such wounds even with how feeble its body looked.
The way it fought reminded him very much of the Ent Assassin he battled with only recently, only stronger and even faster. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be having any help soon. To add to his plight, a nasty rotting smell caught his attention. Cursing internally, he glanced down and found the source. Necrosis. The flesh around the wound was rotting sending out the horrible smell. Worst of all, it didn’t seem to be a poison, so his [Greater Poison Resistance] was functionally useless in this fight. Instead, a strange almost slippery energy filled the decaying flesh. A bummer to say the least. The new Skill [Expel] felt very appropriate to use right now but it wasn’t time yet. Something told him this was far from the last time he would be getting hit and if he activated the Skill too many times, he would end up exploding from mana saturation.
The spirit took a step forward and slashed out upwards with its right arm. Magnus instinctively dodged right straight into the waiting claws of the spirit’s left hand. Pain flared from his side as the necrotizing flesh got rent by the slash. That thing was smarter than it looked, smarter than him when it came to fighting. No wonder considering that he was fighting for only a few days. His lack of experience wouldn’t stop him from retaliating however, and he brought his knife up into the underside of the spirit’s left arm while pivoting his left foot backwards to get away from its other arm. He was hoping to somehow disable one of its arms perhaps even sever it completely. Feeling his muscles rip from activating [Devastating Blow] at its highest output, he struck. Unfortunately, it was his knife that gave way first chipping at its tip and slipping out from his grasp from the momentum. Magnus wasn’t completely hopeless as thankfully the spirit didn’t come out unscathed, several cracks spread out from where the bone and knife met. One good hit and it would be one arm short. Even so it was surprising how tough its bones were.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Without a weapon, Magnus retreated back dodging another slash in the process. He would have to be extra careful now that he was unarmed. Fighting to control his breathing which was getting ragged from the pain spreading on his side, he examined the wounds. The yellow pus streaking down his belly persuaded him to finally use [Expel].
[Expel is now Level 2]
Cool blue energy flashed throughout his whole body gone as soon as it appeared, taking the vile black mana with it. Black gunk poured out of his wounds and the flesh around them visibly took on a little color. Sadly, the worst of the decay was already too deeply rooted in his flesh so it stayed. He would have to finish this quickly so he could take his potions.
Taking the risk, he activated [Mana Perception]. Luckily, he wasn’t blinded like before but the plan to find its core and destroy it was quickly over. As it turned out, the spirit didn’t actually have a core. Instead, its whole body shone with an intense light outshining even the relatively bright environment around it. Good news was, that the place where its bone was cracked was a little dimmer, even looking like it was leaking mana. He suspected if he shattered it completely it would be like slitting a major artery.
With [Mana Perception] still turned on he saw vile mana gathering in front of one of the spirit’s outstretched arms. It gathered into a small spike shape resembling a nail and shot out like a bullet. The ever helpful [Danger Sense] screamed. Even with the increased Perception, Magnus couldn’t even react. A sharp stinging pain followed by the fiery spread of decay bloomed in his right leg. Glancing at it only served to stress him more as he saw his veins around the spike turn black. Gritting his teeth, he kneeled and pulled out the nail to stop it from pumping even more mana into his system but making sure not to lose the spirit from his sight. Luckily for him, it was just standing there, its mangy face twisted in what was a poor imitation of smile. Most of its teeth were missing and the few of them that were left were black as ink. Through the gaps, Magnus could see dozens of maggots writhing inside its mouth. He could feel acid bubbling up into his mouth but he just swallowed it back down and stood up.
Unless things changed very drastically, he wouldn’t be winning this battle of attrition. The issue wasn’t with the spirit’s physical power. As it was, it was barely doing any damage by itself. It was the slippery energy that didn’t care how high his Endurance was. The only way to win would be to not get hit at all or take out the spirit as soon as he could heedless of any non-lethal damage. Considering the first option was impossible for him with his Stats, he would have to try the second option. He just had to find the right opportunity. Circling the grinning monster, Magnus looked for even the most minute changes in Mana.
[Mana Perception is now Level 8]
Even with the enhanced resolution the spirit wasn’t doing anything with its mana that Magnus could see. It was just waiting. The spirit knew that it only had to wait for him to succumb to the decay. Magnus was dancing in the palm of its hand. Still, it would inevitably do something if a safe enough way to defeat him opened itself up. Or if it thought there was a way. He used [Expel]. Flooded with mana again he winced but kept his eyes on the spirit.
There.
The mana inside its arm was shifting. Not having enough time to double check, Magnus went into a roll. Before the System, he wouldn’t dream about doing something like this, especially not on the hard cave ground. But that was before he had increased his Endurance by more than five times. Something rapidly whooshed above him so he quickly got back up to his feet and ran, activating [Dash]. The spirit was frowning as it realized it fell for his lie. It may be smart but it looked like it wasn’t good at not letting its emotions show. Magnus grinned like a madman. This time, with one of its arms cracked, he would win this exchange. It would be only a matter of time before he won the whole fight if he managed to disable one of its arms completely. Of course, all of it was hinging on the hope that the spirit couldn’t just rapidly shoot its spikes without a cooldown. Considering it didn’t try to shoot him when he was plucking out the first projectile out of his leg, Magnus was hopeful
It brought its arm up. Magnus’ eyes narrowing, he tried sidestepping while keeping his momentum. Its singular eye shone with a sinister light and the disgusting grin returned. The pain in his leg and side rose to new levels, making him lose his footing and fall forward. The pain overcame his mind. It was accompanied by a writhing sensation, as if something was digging around in his necrotized flesh. He could barely stop himself from shaking much less even think about standing as sinister footfalls slowly closed in.
Soon enough, they stopped and Magnus glanced up. If he could jump, he surely would as his and the thing’s eye met. Kneeling right in front of him, a little too close for comfort was the spirit. It stood unmoving except for the writhing worms underneath its skin. Lying on the ground, unable to move due to the pain, Magnus could only watch as it reached for his head with its gnarled hand, taking its time as it grinned at his suffering.
Closing his eyes, Magnus prepared himself. He wasn’t brave enough to look death right in its eyes. So, this was the end huh? He would expire inside some random dungeon, alone, waiting until someone inevitably found his rotten corpse, wondering how he got here so early after the Integration. Not much different from bleeding out in some dilapidated house he supposed. All of these last days were for nothing then. All the fighting, all the suffering. Why couldn’t he just die back in that house? Why did he even try?
“Go Magnus! Go on and survive!” a gentle voice whispered into his ears.
“M…. Mom?” Magnus asked, his voice trembling as he opened his eyes.