Sam’s heart was beating in anticipation as he climbed up the last few feet of the mountain, before stepping out onto the top. It had taken over an hour, as this was the tallest mountain of all, but it had been worth it. The beam of light was intensely bright from here, and it seemed to be drowning out all the sounds around them, even though it was completely silent. At the very base, a blinding light could be seen, and this was the source of the beam. Sam squinted so that the light did not damage his eyes, and was able to make out the faint outline of a hammer. Only, it was the size of a horse. Even setting aside questions of weight, that was far too unwieldy to use in battle. Unless the light was larger than the hammer for some reason, then it was really that large.
Sam started to make out more details as his eyesight adjusted. The beam of light was not actually just pure light. It was a continuous stream of lightning, so focused that it seemed to be standing still. There were no clouds directly above, and from what Sam could tell, the beam just kept on going into the sky, with no clear end in sight. There was no valley here, just a large flat area that looked as if it had been turned to glass to intense heat. It was matte black, and only the center, a ring of golden metal, was different. The hammer rested on a large pedestal there, and Sam could see that the ground beneath it was bent slightly.
With a look at the others, he scrambled down the mountain. This side of it was far shorter than the others, and it seemed like the hammer had been placed in the caldera of this mountain.There were no caves or monsters in sight, just the hammer. Behind him, the others crested the top of the mountain, and stood there in awe like Sam had a few minutes earlier. A moment later, Sam tentatively set his foot on the black substance. It held, and he walked forwards towards the hammer. It was calling to him, and he needed to answer the call. It was not some sort of mental manipulation, just the natural magnetism between his body and an artifact of this power.
A minute later, he was standing in front of the hammer. The light was almost blinding here, but as he stepped even closer, it suddenly vanished, and he was left looking at the hammer itself. It lay there, a behemoth of silvery metal, and crackled with lightning. Sam started to reach for it unconsciously, and laid his hand on the hammer. A jolt of searing agony ran up his body as the lightning was discharged into it, and he tried to let go, but he could not. The hammer started to rhythmically pulse, and each pulse sent more and more lightning into him. Sam screamed in pain as his skin started to melt, his armor conducting the lightning straight into his body. There was one last surge, and then the hammer went dormant.
Sam was down in the double digits of his health bar, but he was still standing. He pulled the hammer up with his hand, marveling at how light it felt. It had found him worthy. It shrunk down as he lifted it, and it was suddenly the size of his mace. A surge of power rushed through his body, and he felt energized beyond belief.
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The ground shook as he did this, and suddenly a crack opened up, and a tidal wave of elemental energy rushed out. This was the power that he had felt earlier, lurking under the mountain range. It split the sky with a thunderous bang, and a thundercloud formed over the mountain. A lightning bolt the thickness of a man struck down next to the pedestal, and a being emerged. It was wrought completely out of lightning, with the brightness of it depicting the features of a person. It stared at Sam, before speaking.
“Who are you, to claim my hammer?” It said, impaling Sam with its potent gaze. Sam did not answer, instead settling back into a fighting stance. This was an incredibly dangerous creature, and he would not be distracted by its words. Behind him, the others formed a semicircle, and prepared to fight. As the creature spoke, Sam fired off an analyze at it. He didn't expect it to work, but to his surprise, using it on the powerful creature broke through some threshold within him, and the skill leveled up. Then he realized how much trouble he was in. Perhaps it would have been better had he not been able to see the lightning creature’s information.
The Hammerwraith, Guardian of Mjolnir
Level 75
Lightning Elemental
Not only was it 26 levels higher than him, and into another Rank to boot, it was a sapient creature, meaning that it had access to the same sort of System interfaces as they did. This would be a far harder fight than any of the monsters so far. Even worse, its aura was far beyond what it should have been if it had only been a normal level 75. This monster was beefed up on titles and thresholds galore, and it even had a Dao Fragment. The System really was not messing around when it set up the Seven Seals.
“Cowards. You use my words as an opportunity to analyze me? I hope that you found my level to your satisfaction, interloper,” the Hammerwraith said, its voice rumbling through the stones beneath it. Without another word, plates of crackling electricity formed around its body, and a spectral hammer appeared in its right hand, an exact copy of the one in Sam’s hand.
Jeffrey fired off a supercharged blood ball, but the monster batted it aside with ease, before sending a bolt of lightning out of its left hand towards the man. Jeffrey narrowly dodged, and when the lightning bolt hit, the ground for ten feet in every direction exploded upwards, before crumbling to dust. It did not spare Jeffrey a single glance however, all of its attention directed towards Sam. He was its target, as he held the hammer.
With a thunderclap, it flashed forwards, appearing in front of Sam, before swinging its hammer down in a blurry crescent, too fast for Sam to properly see. He managed to cross his mace and hammer together in front of himself, just in time, and the Hammerwraith swerved, avoiding attacking Mjolnir. Instead, its hammer came crashing down on Sam’s mace. With a shattering noise, the weapon broke in half, and a shockwave of released power exploded outwards, sending Sam flying back into Pyotr. The Hammerwraith seemed unaffected however,too powerful for such a paltry explosion to harm. However, Sam had found its one weakness. It was protective of Mjolnir.