The beast was fast.. far faster than he remembered it being. If Vincent had to guess, he would say it had definitely grown beyond level fifty since he had last encountered the creature.
After closing half the distance between them, the Fang curled into a ball and its momentum nearly tripled. Vincent clicked his tongue and sucked in a breath. It's strongest attack right off the bat. Heh. Wasn't he so lucky?
Bracing himself with his shield raised, and with all of his numerous abilities activated at once, he took the full brunt of the attack. His Aura wavered and flickered but he grit his teeth amd pushed through the pain.
He had to know where he stood. There was a jaw rattling shockwave of force followed by a mixture of debris and ash being blown into the air in all directions.
The Fang unfurled mid air and skidded to a halt on all fours. It turned to face the dust cloud that was covering his would-be victim. It was confident Vincent had been completely crushed, but kept its guard up just in case the man had miraculously survived.
However, when the dust cleared the Fang cocked it's head in shock. Vincent was standing perfectly still, more or less as he was before, with barely a scratch on him. Not only that but the Fang suddenly felt a stinging sensation on its side, looking down to see a small gash as if it had been clawed..
Vincent turned around, slowly inspecting himself as he did so. He looked up and laughed lightly at the Fang. He had only lost 300 health in that little exchange. Unfortunately with all of his skills active at once it had cost him a fifth of his mana pool. He decided to drop his unyielding guard and shadow step as they were by far his most mana consuming skills.
Even without the additional 5 times multiplier to his base defense from unyielding guard, he was left with a defense rating over 10,000, which wasn't that far off from their combined total of 15 thousand-ish anyways. Truthfully Vincent was a bit disappointed he couldn't combine the two multipliers of five and fifty but he could see how that would have been a bit ridiculous.
The shadow step was something he was a little more upset about losing. It became something of a hax ability when coupled with his Sixth sense. In most cases his Sixth sense would be able to determine if a blow was fatal or not, and automatically teleport him to safety if needed. The shadow affinity also helped him somehow avoid some of the damage even when he didn't teleport, warping his physical self around harm.
As it stood, his other abilities would have to be enough. He should be proud of himself because Vincent doubted there was any level one creature in all of existence with a defensive rating of 10 thousand percent or higher stacked on top of their strength stat. His Ancient slumbering tortoise was truly unlike any ability he had ever seen before. Even its energy flows were extremely off putting, seeming to layer themselves over and over and having very little movement at all. It was less like a typical 'flow' and more like a frozen 'wall' of energy. It was heavy and ungiving in every way.
His opponent, clearly having no qualms with having to put a little effort into its kill, bristled and began to emanate a quaint red glow. It then began to dash side to side, approaching Vincent at an angle. The creature rapidly zig-zagged as it closed the distance between them. With each bound and pivot, it launched a fireball at Vincent which he deftly parried with his sword. The flames crashed against the obsidian blade and were subsequently smothered. It was clear by their potency that each attack was meant to be little more than a half assed distraction at best.
The Fang blitzed past Vincent, who had just enough time to raise his shield. This reflexive action proved extremely intuitive as the crimson blur clipped the man's left side in it's passing. It was a glancing blow but it certainly would have been devastating if Vincent had not raised his guard. As it stood the impact forced his arm upward and to the side. It ripped away another 200 health but he couldn't dwell too much on it as his instincts earned him of danger.
The impossibly agile Fang wasted no time bounding off a large rock and targeting Vincent's now defenseless back. Off balance and exposed, he shadow stepped without even meaning to. As a consequence to this, he unfortunately lost all the momentum he had gathered thus far in the battle.
It was necessary however, he definitely needed to avoid an attack hitting him without the added defense from his shield or he would take serious damage. He'd probably survive but the Fang had shown time and time again that it had no qualms with capitalizing on a momentary misstep or a perceived weakness.
The Fang was both angry and confused when its prey disappeared and it smashed head first into the solid burnt rocks that comprised the ground. Scrambling quickly to its feet it located its target and launched a few more fireballs in the man's distraction. They did little more than block Vincent's view as the Fang curled into a ball once more and charged the man.
Having already predicted this exact course of action the moment he saw the fire balls he raised his shield, first blocking the fireballs and then the thundering impact of the Fang. He grit his teeth as the strength of the beast forced him to take a step back. The impact felt like it had bruised his lungs and ribs, just like every other attack he'd received. Honestly, Vincent was amazed his arms hadn't been broken yet.
Congratulations!
Dodge (Common) has increased to lvl 86!
Sword and shield (Common) has increased to lvl 81!
Parry (sword) (Common) has increased to lvl 76!
Shield bash (Common) has increased to level 76!
He'd lost a little over 700 health that time but that was no concern really. He still had a combined total of over 20,000 HP with all of his bonuses and skills. The fact that it was trying harder and harder meant the Fang was getting desperate.
Clearly not wanting to lose any of its momentum the large fiery creature reared its head and pounced, swiping left and right repeatedly as Vincent struggled to maintain his grip on his shield. Each claw swipe was like a sledgehammer against his shield arm. 'Jesus christ..' He cursed internally. 'Does this thing have infinite stamina!?..'
From around the edge of his shield he was using Piercing thrust after piercing thrust to try and get the heavy beast off of him. Thick vines ripped up and scratched at the beast's underside, causing small scratches that bubbled due to his toxic infinity.
His shadow manipulation and Sanguine toxicity coated the tips of his thorns for extra penetration and lasting damage that would take time to heal. Using the intense heat of the sun to his advantage the man's skill; Radiant light, reflected off of his shield to blind the beast. His telekinesis, Absolute timing and Lucky break ensured all of his attacks hit their mark and allowed him to minimize the damage he received while maximizing the damage he put out.
Congratulations!
Planta/Plante (Rare) has increased to lvl 76…
Maelstrom whirlwind (Rare) has increased to lvl 57…
Shadow manipulation (Rare) has increased to lvl 61…
Pain tolerance (Epic) has increased to level 25..
Vincent had never put forth so much effort into anything in his life as he did in this moment; controlling all of his abilities and resisting the Fang's onslaught. Every muscle was aching, even the mental ones, but he felt great and his skill levels rose rapidly under this prolonged besiegement from such a powerful opponent.
In spite of all his efforts Vincent was sure his damage was negligible at best but he was having more fun than he'd had in a long time.At the same time Vincent couldn't help notice the beast seemed to be enjoying itself as well. Just as he was beginning to sweat from a loss of stamina the Fang disengaged and jumped several feet back. Clearly it was infuriated that it's attacks weren't killing the pest before it. Furthermore the constant barrage of multiple small but powerful skills mixed with Bleeding heart had begun to take its toll on the beast.
Large, infected gashes ran across the Fang's underbelly and sides. Ice and mud hung off the tips of its crimson coat. But none of the damage was lasting and the beast was healing even faster than Vincent did. Before his very eyes the hazy red energy of the environment seemed to seep up from the ashen ground and expedite the recovery process. 'Cheating bastard..' He thought as he ironically popped a healing potion.
On the surface they seemed relatively even but Vincent frowned as he noticed something peculiar. The Fang had definitely been giving just as good as he got, as it had been doing a considerable amount of damage to the man given his defenses. Bleeding heart had been active this whole time and sure he was only taking half damage as expected, but it didn't seem as if the Fang was receiving an equivalent amount… Vincent was positive that his defenses, at least, were superior to this creature's, so the Fang should have been taking way more damage from the reflected portion of its attacks.
Observing the flows of energy around the beast while it had been attacking him he could only come to one horrifying conclusion. The Fang's primary element was fire, and therefore most of the damage the creature received from its own attacks was based.
It seemed as if Bleeding Heart also took into consideration the types of damage shared because the Fang was taking severely less damage and the fire affinity even healed him a bit. After receiving a gash, a little flame would swirl arpund the edges of the wound and stitch it closed slightly. For every 100 points of health Vincent lost, the Fang barely lost 50. He chuckled nervously. By his calculations this was not sustainable. If not for healing potions he would have probably lost within the next 5 minutes of the fight.
Even realizing this, it would do him no good to deactivate Bleeding Heart now, since there were no other targets to cast it on and he would begin taking double damage. He grit his teeth wishing he would have foreseen this problem. 'Stupid!' He cursed internally. 'What a rookie mistake. I knew better..'
Narrowing his eyes he pointed his sword and a massive tangle of barbed vines exploded from around the Fang. Each of the thorns was coated in his Sanguine toxicity empowered blood once more. They stabbed and constricted, curling themselves around the Fang.
Unfortunately they did little more than annoy the beast. The heat of its flames burnt away most of the attack's potency before it even reached the wolfish creature. What few cuts he managed to make on the wolf creature bubbled and began to rot but the thing had a ridiculous Vitality apparently, because it's healing seemed to keep the toxic poison from spreading overmuch. At the very best they balanced out.
It roared, ripping its head side to side as it forced its way free from the entangling roots and received little for its troubles. As the beast's anger rose, the heat emanating from its body also steadily rose.
It fixed Vincent with a glare and roared, launching a much larger fireball than in its previous assaults. Vincent frowned as the flames from the attack quickly began to consume the air around him. He didn't want to lose the momentum he had gathered thus far so he grit his teeth and raised his sword and shield. His shield pulsed blue and from its center it began unleashing a spiraling torrent of water to combat the fireball. The attack shrank a bit but not as much as he would have liked before it smashed into him, forcing him to stagger.
The beast saw an opportunity and launched three more fireballs each the size of the last. With a roar and a stomp Vincent pushed his Earthquake and shockwave abilities to the max, erecting a wall of jagged stone before him. The stone quickly became superheated to the point of turning red and beginning to boil but it held.
Vincent sighed in fatigue before his Sixth sense screamed at him to raise his shield. He did so just as the Fang exploded through the wall, once more curled in a ball and moving at insane speeds. It managed to angle itself in a way such that it struck Vincent, pinballed itself off of a rock behind him and then struck him again in his unguarded back before he knew it.
"Gah!" Vincent gasped, being thrown forward with the momentum. Blood and spit flew from his mouth as he tumbled to a stop in a pile of limbs and gear. He got up groggily and checked his status. That last attack had hit him with only the defenses of his armor and skills for protection and he had suffered for it, accumulating nearly 2000 damage in that one attack. How fucking high was the Fang's strength stat?
Congratula-..
'Shut up.'
Biting his cheek while he healed, Vincent sent a message through their soul connection and felt a ping in response. He had gotten really good at communicating with his companion through their soul bond in the couple of years they'd been together. The two of them had worked together to create a skill that would allow the user to heal someone from a distance for this exact occasion. Typically Vincent or his companion would have to lock onto an energy signature for such a thing to work, but due to their intimate connection with another they could heal each other from across infinite distances…
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Mercy of the revered patreon (Legendary) An abnormal healing ability unheard of within the Nexus. Allows the user to directly heal the Soulspace of any living life form provided he or she can perceive the energy signature of the intended target. Due to the 'Legendary' rarity gain a massive boost in range and health exchange efficiency per level. (Active skill) (consumes health in a base rate of 1:2 ratio)
Even though his companion only had half his health, this new skill in conjunction with Rejuvenation was enough to give Vincent a full bar. Not only that but…
Back in the cave, his companion wiped its brow. It had been steadily healing Vincent throughout the duration of the fight while maintaining complete tranquility. With mild difficulty the plant creature used Plante to lift one of the several potions left for it by its master and carefully drank its contents while maintaining its focus.
Instantly feeling better it perked up and began to focus once more on its task. Aside from healing its master the creature was currently cycling through each and every one of their massive list of skills much like Vincent himself. Since most of Vincent's careful planning rarely ever really worked out, he had to come up with some last minute insurance policies before he fought the overwhelmingly powerful Fang.
The natures of their goals over the course of this battle were entirely different. Vincent was trying to increase the overall efficiency of his power and adapt mid battle enough so that he could overwhelm the Fang. Saving that he would at least try to store enough power for a final kamikaze move.
Lupus on the other hand was trying to take advantage of the system's generous boons which were granted during the battle. The plant man's intentions were to create a very specific skill that would give his master a slight edge not only in this fight but in his development and power overall. Thankfully the boost from this fated encounter affected Lupus as well, even though he wasn't technically fighting. It was probably due to them sharing a piece of one another's souls, he figured.
Vincent's body was nigh indestructible already so this particular ability was meant to be a power up for their minds..
Back with Vincent the system dinged with a notification. A shit eating grin plastered itself across his face. "That little bastard.. he made me a new skill. He's never done that before, Hahaha!"
Congratulations! Skill: Diverging perception (Epic) achieved!
Diverging perception (Epic) Allows the user to divide his attention among multiple tasks while more easily maintaining maximum efficiency. Due to the 'Epic' rarity, each skill level will reduce the strain of splitting the user's perception by a moderate amount. Grants the perk: Higher level intellect I (Passive skill)
Perk: Higher level intellect I. You are now considered a first level intellect. You have taken your first steps on your journey to the truth. Good luck. +25 perception. +25 intelligence.
Congratulations! Your skill Diverging perception (Epic) has increased by..
Congratulations! Your skill Diverging perception (Epic) has increased by..
Instantly the constant lightning bolt of agony that had taken root within him since activating all of his skills began to recede. Not only that but he couldn't help but notice his efficiency had risen by 1%
Honestly he was flabbergasted. Lupus was a Goddamn genius! It occurred to him that the plant-like being was an altogether peculiar individual. Whereas most of the time the primary benefits of a skill cane from.. well.. the skill itself. This particular skill arguably came with a much more powerful perk.
On paper it looked as if the skill was what had allowed him to better use his skills but truthfully it was still at infant levels and provided little benefit overall.
His higher level intellect however.. gave him an immediate boost to his mental capacity as well as something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Whenever the system mentioned the 'truth' something clicked within Vincent's mind. Something that he still didn't fully comprehend. It was as if his mind was being suppressed before and now it was slowly becoming unfettered by the system. Like he had forgotten an important math equation and now that he remembered it, everything was falling into place.
He breathed a breath of relief as his companion's energy continued flowing into him through their connection. His health now full and his mana not too far behind, he decided it was time for a change of pace. Now he would take the fight to the enemy. He dropped his Ancient slumbering tortoise and grinned before running directly at the creature. The giant flaming wolf for its part merely analyzed the man as he closed the distance between the two of them.
The Fang certainly wasn't going to complain if it's meal wanted to bring itself closer to his clutches. Besides, compared to its own speed, Vincent wasn't all that impressive. However the true intention of his attack lay underneath his speed and the rather underwhelming Aura generated by all of his skills.
Truthfully Vincent had gathered quite a bit of kinetic force within his maelstrom whirlwind at this point, which he could have probably used to boost his raw power. But he knew it still wouldn't be enough… Continuing to let all of his abilities gather momentum for him, the wild haired man lunged at the Fang who was cocky enough to give him time to both begin charging his unwavering strike and to activate his Ancient slumbering tortoise.
The Fang struck out with a lazy claw swipe that Vincent easily deflected with his shield. Vincent's sudden boost in inertia and weight was clearly beyond anything the wolf had ever encountered before. The beast wasn't prepared for its claw swipe to be so easily deflected, even if it was half-assed.
While the wild eyed creature was off balance Vincent dropped the slumbering ancient tortoise once more and followed up with a heavy shield bash that connected to the Fang's head and dazed the creature. Vincent perfectly timed his movements in a way such that, while the Fang was damaged and unable to defend itself, he was just reaching the limit of his ability to charge his unwavering strike.
Sucking in a breath, he pulled back his sword arm and swung his blade with all of his might. The creature roared as Vincent's attack struck true with the force of a speeding train. The impact visibly flowed through the wolf's body, carrying him a meter away and carving a trench into the dirt. As the dust began to settle the Fang stood shakily on all fours. Most of the heat around its body had dissipated and blood dripped freely from his snout but it was far from fatally damaged.
Not wanting to give the creature time to recover, Vincent fired a few comets at it. Even though the creature negated the fire damage, he was willing to bet the ice was unpleasant, and the physical force from the attack itself was probably enough to hurt like a bitch when the comets hit the Fang directly in its eyes. Of course that was only a distraction.. The man grit his teeth as his focus was split yet again, causing a sharp stab of pain behind his eyes. Even with his new diverging perception he was pushing himself far beyond his mental limits at this point.
A purple interdimensional gateway swirled to life beside the straining Vincent. From out of the portal floated a small glass vial which was filled with a vibrant, violet liquid. It was uniform and potent in appearance. The beast was still reeling from Vincent's strike and shaking it's snout side to side in an attempt to refocus its blurry vision after being hit so hard in the head. This in turn meant he never even noticed when Vincent grunted and flung the glass vial at the beast with his telekinesis…
The glass vial exploded across the Fang's head and torso.
"Gwuaaaaah!"
The effect of the Heretic's Atrocious Venom was immediate as the creature began to roar and buck wildly. It stomped and clawed, causing cracks and tremors all across the clearing as steam rose off of the beast in clouds.
Acting fast, Vincent swiftly unsummoned his sword and shield and held his arms out in front of his palms together as if he was about to fire an energy blast. In reality that wasn't too far off from his plan really… He had lost some of the kinetic force he'd gathered with that last, charged, unwavering strike but not enough to deter his plan. He still had close to half the maximum energy he could currently wield.
In the space before his outstretched palms he began to gather ice, plants, lightning, water, earth, shadow, light, wind, and acid.. he thought about the air he controlled and how he could manipulate it with aerodynamics and his maelstrom whirlwind. Naturally he incorporated that wind element into the concoction of course, but there was more to it than that.. the more momentum and energy he gathered the more it seemed as if there was a heaviness he didn't really notice before, as he had never pushed his abilities so far. There was something that was making it simultaneously more difficult yet also easier to keep it all together as his kinetic momentum ticked upwards.
He began to grunt loudly and closed his eyes in concentrated effort. His brow furrowed and he started sweating profusely. He knew he had to hurry because the Fang would recover enough to attack soon. The Heretic's Atrocious Venom had melted away large portions of the beast's fur and had even begun to corrode its flesh and external organs. At this point it was beginning to look like a massive, grotesque zombie-dog.
Vincent used the wind around him to circulate the nine elements in front of him, faster and faster until they began to form a tight, effulgent ball. It was difficult to manage all the energy at once, especially as he slowly added all of the momentum he had gathered within his maelstrom whirlwind to the mix. Suddenly he was grateful he hadn't been at max capacity with his gathered energy prior to beginning this attack or he may have lost control already..
The lightning energies clashed harshly with the water which reacted strongly to the earth so forth and so on.. The only thing he didn't use was fire as the Fang seemed to heal from that and he didn't want to risk losing any potency here. Furthermore, straining to hold the abilities already manifested before him, he was sure if he added the excitement of fire then the ever growing attack would explode in his face.
All of his skills worked in unison to gather more energy together. It was as if his body was a powerful engine and his skills were the various intakes that would fuel it's combustion. His heart pounded in his ears. His anger, excitement, fear and determination all blended together in an indiscernible sea of emotion that fueled his powerful desires, giving shape to reality in the form of a powerful combination of abilities. Yggdrasil rose behind him and its roots dug deep, sucking energy from the Nexus around them to strengthen Vincent's constitution. It was only because of that extra bit of strength that his body wasn't torn to shreds by his own power as he pushed himself further and further beyond his limit.
This was what it meant to use the system to its fullest. To inherently understand and take advantage of the relationship between emotion, skills and the flows of energy the system gave people access to. To Vincent the system was little more than a complicated tool that he would stop at nothing to subjugate. With it.. he would become powerful enough that nothing ever hurt him again.. he was so tired of hurting..
He glared at the growing mass of volatile power humming in the air in front of him. Even if the foundations of all of these separate energies before him weren't inherently compatible.. Even if they fought against him to retain their individuality.. They were a part of him like everything else he created or consumed. He may not have been able to control the rest of the world but from his own existence he demanded obedience.
He yelled as his emotions reached a climax and the energy in his palms began to slip from his grasp. 'Not yet.. just a few more seconds..' The man gasped internally. He felt like he was on the cusp of creating a powerful new ability if he could just maintain his grip.
The foundation was there; he was just missing one final piece. As the ball of various elements began to rotate faster and faster, it was as if it got both harder and contradictorily easier to keep the energies compressed.. it grew heavy with centripetal force that threatened to wretch the energies from his grasp at any second.
Vincent's mis-matched eyes widened before slamming shut with effort. It wasn't the weight that made it difficult to control… It was the amount of unstable and conflicting energy within. The particles of supercharged matter revolted against one another refusing to conform. The colliding energies repelled one another like opposite ends of a magnet causing them to slam into other elements even harder so forth and so on until the sphere was spinning wo fast it began to look like one uniform color.
Originally he thought that the growing weight and pressure of the attack was a byproduct of the effort of keeping the growing energies contained but.. he was starting to think that the heaviness he felt was actually the foundation of what allowed him to maintain any semblance of control.
It was like keeping water in a bucket with centripetal force by swinging it in circles.. He began to notice something about the energy in the air that he hadn't at first. As the speed and weight of his unorthodox attack grew, a new type of energy outlined the gathered ball of elements. It was small, transparent and dark so he barely even perceived it and yet.. Now that he knew what to look for he discovered that it covered everything in a small fine layer as if it had always been a part of it all.
Outlining the dark energy was a gooey, translucent silver. He couldn't help himself as he idly wondered if this sort of attack would be this heavy back home where the gravity wasn't quite so dense… Suddenly something clicked. Vincent's eyes snapped open and he laughed as the ball of energy exploded with force, nearly tripling in size. It almost looked like a miniature black hole..
One would expect that the energy would become far more difficult to control due to the sudden influx of potency and weight.. But in fact the exact opposite was true. The strange ball of energy had become much easier to manipulate. That heavy weight brought it all together and gave it stability.
Congratulations! Skill: Gravity manipulation (Epic) achieved!
Gravity manipulation (Epic) Allows the user to manipulate the Vector of Gravitational energies within the Nexus. Due to the 'epic' rarity, scope and strength of the manipulation gains a large boost per skill level. (Passive ability)
Congratulations!.. error…
Recalculating.. synchronization detected…
Congratulations! New skills and a perk have been created due to the abnormal synergy of two or more of your skills!
Skill: Magnetism (Uncommon) achieved!
Magnetism (Uncommon) Allows the user to manipulate the magnetic fields around them as well as any and all types of metal, even those that do not typically possess a tendency to align with magnetic fields. Due to the 'Uncommon' rarity gain a small degree of control and range per skill level. (Passive skill)
Skill: Wrathful Flame (Legendary) A combination of three or more elemental energies focused into an amalgamation of black fire. Potency and mana cost of attack grows with each added element. Due to the 'Legendary' rarity user gains a massive bonus to reciprocity of all energy types per skill level. (Active skill) (consumes 2000 mana)
Congratulations! New perk: elemental mastery achieved!
Elemental mastery. Gives the user varying degrees of control over the flows of different types of elemental energies they have already mastered. User can mix any combination of energies without fear of rejection stemming from incompatibility. Due to the incredible synchronization of your energies, gain a +25 to all stats.
He grinned as the heavens above clearly favored him heavily on this day. It wasn't a moment too soon as the Fang had long since gathered its wits and had furled into a ball. As it blasted toward Vincent he summoned his sword and shield once more. The now pitch black ball of pulsing energy was spiked on the top in a manner that resembled flames. It floated perfectly still before him and for a moment the man couldn't help but to stare in awe. He honestly couldn't believe the degree of control he had over the explosively powerful combination of 10 elements before him.
He was sure he could add more elements and power to it if he had more time like fire and the magnetism maybe, but unfortunately the Fang had given him all the extra time he would get. The dark, potent energies of the wrathful flame began swirling rapidly into the length of his blade. He charged an unwavering strike for a brief second before unleashing everything he had gathered over the course of the battle in a single black arc of energy that impacted the cannonball-esque Fang mid air.
The two opposing forces clashed against each other with unimaginable intensity. Continuous shockwaves rocked the area and a steady gust of wind was being expelled from the epicenter of the two attacks. Vincent shielded himself with.. well his shield and glared through the piercing winds, trying to focus on keeping his attack from dispersing against the force of the Fang's own.
The Fang slowed to a near stop, his rotations all but ceasing. Unfortunately, Vincent's attack ran out of momentum first and the creature barreled through the blade of erratic energy. Luckily for Vincent, after having lost so much momentum, it was child's play for the human to shadow step away from the area before the Fang could land its attack, so he avoided taking any damage. All in all the whole thing amounted to a stalemate with extra steps.
The beast unfurled and skidded to a halt and Vincent let his shield and sword arms hang loosely at his sides. The two panting combatants faced one another with a glare. Both were exhausted but refused to yield, as smoke drifted lazily off the Fang and a cool, electric blue energy coated Vincent. The Venom he splashed on the beast had lost most of it's potency at this point but it had served its purpose.. Nearly a third of the beast had been melted.. Naturally the beast had prioritized healing it's blazing red eyes so they were still intact. But most of the rest of it's face, chest and forelegs had been liquefied to the point that Vincent could see exposed muscles and bone.
Vincent grimaced hoping the creature couldn't sense the dread rising in his chest. His new attack was potent, and the fact that he could combine it with his unwavering strike or other such attacks would prove invaluable when he had mastered it. However.. It took way too long to charge and he had lost nearly all of his mana and momentum in that one attack.
Currently his mana totalled over ten thousand with all of his bonuses and stats combined. The Wrathful flame itself, with ten elements added on had guzzled over half of the precious blue energy. At the moment he was sitting comfortably with at least 100 uses of crimson essence left between him and Lupus so he wasn't worried about dying or running out of energy. Unless of course the Fang had some kind of ultimate attack he didn't know about. Damn thing probably did.
Even still, having to take a potion every two or three skills was draining in other ways entirely. Burning through the totality of his mana even once was extremely taxing on the body and mind. Even if the numerical values were restored, there was a lingering, unexplainable weakness that persisted.. Like that drained feeling one would get several hours after running a marathon or working out for an entire day.
Vincent chuckled tiredly. Despite the hopeless situation he couldn't help but feel amused at the irony of it all. He truly had grown powerful.. but the dilemma he now faced was similar to the one his Orcish friend, Gildarts had nearly 2 years prior. The Fang couldn't pierce his defenses enough to outpace his healing and Vincent didn't possess an attack powerful enough to deal fatal damage to the creature.. beyond that it's fire was at least a third of the damage Vincent received from each attack. (which was a testament to the Fangs power as his fire resistance now sat at a cozy level 73, having grown three levels from this fight alone.)
That same damage in turn healed the Fang, not by much but enough to be a noticeable pain in the ass. This fight could end up stretching on indefinitely and then another faction would certainly come to take advantage of perhaps not just the Fang's exhaustion, but Vincent's weakened state as well. He really couldn't afford that.
He racked his brain for a solution to the problem. If he had more time he could probably create a skill powerful enough to actually injure the beast, or maybe even grow proficient enough with his elemental mastery to kill it with that new skill.. but he didn't have time. And there was no way to create more.
Unless.. there was? He scanned the blue window for the hundredth time. His eyes ballooned outward in stark realization. He laughed hysterically and couldn't help but smack his own forehead. How could he have been so stupid? Whether the system had meant to or not it had left one of his trials available to him while the rest were grayed out. Was it because the Fang was a sort of 'special scenario' similar to the terror of the jungle? Or was it because his primary element was fire? He didn't have time to think much more about it as the Fang gathered a large plume of flame in its muzzle.
Trial(s) available:
The Flaming Lord of Despair Appears!
He initiated the trial just in time to see the Fang release a massive stream of white hot fire in his face before disappearing.
End of chapter 24.