56 Jack of all trades, master of none 2 (1/2)

Right now, I was at a clear disadvantage, the more time I spent on finding a solution the more stamina and mana would be replenished. There is no way to exploit her character flaws as before, her current character is way too calm and composed for something like that.

My main cause of concern was that my position is given away, by the experiment I am going to conduct. I should avoid the trying to melt the icicle currently, that are currently embedded in the soil.Melting those would lead to their downwards movement and that should be avoided at all cost.

The option of melting the surface was the easiest and yet the riskiest option. If I am too low the process would take too long and before I could see any effect she would have recovered all her mana. If I get too close, then the melting would go way faster, but I am quite sure, that they heated area would stick out like a sore thumb in this world of ice.

Every option using my burning hair as a direct source of heat is out of the question. Maybe I should use my hair as a medium to limit the surface area that is melting and keep my distance that way. Right now, I am fully covered in earth, but if I were to dig away the soil covering me, I would get caught immediately. Because the ice in itself is very clear and easy to see through and with a pseudo light bulb on my head and it gets a bit too easy to spot me.

Luckily my physique is not as gigantic as it used to be, so I do not need that much space underneath the earth but I still have to move occasionally in order not to get pulverized. I will dig a small gap to the surface with my sharp nails and then watch what kind of reaction happens when I throw a burning hair at it.

At first, I decided to move to a different location while moving slowly to make sureI do not get noticed. After finding a suitable location, I dug a small connection between my hole and the surface, with one fingernail. The hole was just wide enough so I could see with one eye. I could eliminate any form of light leaking, by pressing my eye right into the hole.

I started the first experiment by throwing a single hair, at the ice surface and of course, nothing happened.Next, I threw a hair, that I just set ablaze right at the surface. But the first problem appeared right of the bat, the hair was not burning long enough before falling apart.

The solution to that problem was solved, by covering the hair in that wonderous slime and then before the slime can change the properties to light it on fire. The only problem I noticed after throwing it at the surface, that it was indeed burning a little too well. In fact so well, that enough Ice had melted, that I was forced to flee before the next icicles covered my former position.

I still have not a single idea, what that slime is, but its effect on combing 2 materials is pretty useful.Especially if it improves its efficiency by several times. The only disadvantage is that I have to be fast to produce them otherwise the slime will change the property of the hair and the burning effect returns to normal. I did not consider piercing my body with those hairs to apply the slime as a hassle anymore.

Even though I could melt the ice, I could not produce enough of them to be able to contend against that onslaught of ice shrapnel. It was pointless to engage in a direct confrontation if my tools are that limited in number. But for acting as a diversion, they are a perfect choice. Now I just have to think, how I can come close to her without looking like swiss cheese in the end.

As I was thinking a drop of water fell down on me and a seconds later a deep grin covered my face. That single drop answered many of my unanswered questions and the best thing, it is the key to getting close to her. Though the answer was not one drop of water, it was a bit more.

For my plan to work I need a lot of my arm hair, so I was forced to spent some time solely ripping out my arm hair. But after having gathered enough it was time to start.

I climbed on the surface and began to run as soon as possible. I did not have to wait long as the fight began once anew. Despite the constant bombardment I still have to be wary of how I dodge because she began to anticipate my behaviour. But that kind of tendency would work in my favour.

As I was running I began to occasionally throw a burning normal hair at her. She launched a wave of her attacks as a precaution and without any suspense, the hair was destroyed in an instance. I repeated the process with 2 burning hairs but after her first experience, she did not use as much ice as before.

I repeated that process several times and she began to use just the minimal amount of ice to counter it. Occasionally I began to throw them to her feet or above her. She did not even care about those and continued to throw her spells. She had yet to get a single hit in, but she knew it was only a matter of time as she got closer and closer.

While I was jumping and running around avoiding the magic, she stood perfectly still and kept on watching me. Her current position was surrounded by icicles that would pinpoint any movement from the underground and the ice on the surface made it hard for me to close the gap.

My plan was quite simple, use normal hair to condition her that it may seem like an improvement over the other hair, but not strong enough to warrant her full attention. Next miss some hair, here and there to further increase the image that my precision is fading and to complete the trap position the improved hair all around her.

Now I just had to wait, until the last act can begin. The problem was, that I could not risk going underground again, otherwise, she would know something is up. Sadly it was unavoidable to escape this bombardment unscathed. The first small piece of ice pierced through my body without any problem. It was soon followed by numerous very small pieces that punctured me all over my body.

Not even 20 seconds since my first wound had passed and I am already on the verge of losing, I have to stay focused. As a last resort, I could light my whole arm on fire, but that situation would not end well if I cripple myself for a moment of serenity.

If it gets through my body with ease no bone would stop it and therefore a direct hit to the skull would be fatal.

I clicked my teeth in annoyance, I have to change my plan yet again. I guess that I can kiss my nails goodbye for the rest of the fight. After embedding my fingernails into my flesh, I was forced to endure several shrapnels piercing my body. Her look had not changed even once, it did not matter what I did.

She just threw many small ice pieces at me over and over again while trying to anticipate my movements. There was no need for fancy moves, it was the result that mattered.

After 10 seconds that felt like an eternity, it was finally time to extract my fingernails. Full of slime, I lifted my hands and lit them ablaze. There was no time for regret, as the next volley was already heading for my face.

She saw right through me, that I had been trying to guard my head as best as I could. There was no time left to think as my fingernails had moved in front of me and began cutting through all the ice. Though it was hard to move I was able to clear many ice shrapnel that would have hit me otherwise.

The ice was evaporating just coming into contact with my nails. Neither side did back down, as this standoff continued. It was getting easier by the minute as my brain got used to the task and I gained proficiency in using my nails.

Her next move would prove me wrong as her output speed had increased greatly once again, so much so that I was not even able to move from the spot as she covered my whole surroundings with her new firepower.

I began to truly despise that kind of character, who wants to test my limit over and over again. As I was desperately trying to survive this ordeal more and more wounds began to cover my body. There were so many particles flying through the air, that I just could not keep up with them and had to settle for clearing away the ones that aimed for my vitals.

I was losing blood all over the place as an unmeasurable amount of small wounds had appeared at my body.As a result of the circumstances, I missed a piece of shrapnel and it landed right in my right eye and tore right through it. I was lucky that I moved my head away by reflex. With my vision being impaired, the former slim odds of my survival plummeted.

Sensing the opportunity was right, she even increased her output once more, but this time everything was focussed on my current spot. I had no other choice, then to do a leap of faith to the right. My former position was now a deep pit.