Chapter 178: Fighting the Primal (1/2)
Mike dodged to the right, and immediately had to start running through the knee-deep water along the outer edges of the room. The stag was stitching a line with its stone javelins, creating a continuous rain of fire like that of a machine gun. Disturbingly, the spells were launched silently, so only the sounds that echoed through the circular chamber were the projectiles impacting on the wall behind him, and his own sloshing efforts to move quickly through the pool.
[What the hell? Did I change genres again? Am I in an action/adventure video game now?]
Getting annoyed with the water impeding his movements, he stopped, threw both of his hands forward while sinking his will into the liquid, and created a massive wall in front of him, which he promptly froze into a solid barrier.
His momentary feeling of accomplishment was quickly overturned as several stone projectiles punched through the ice with terrifying power, forcing him to duck into a roll.
[Serious, what the hell? Does this thing have unlimited mana?]
The constant stream of fire stop briefly, long enough for Mike to peak through one of the holes in his barricade. The stag had raised one foreleg in a graceful, elegant manner. As he watched, it brought the limb down hard. A premonition of danger had him launching himself to the right again, this time with the aid of Air Magic.
After slamming it into the ground the stag's hoof created an expanding cone of jagged, stony spikes, which quickly engulfed a quarter of the room. The remains of his ice wall were completely destroyed. Had he remained there, it would have left him skewered.
[Whew. I can see why most adventurers would have problems with a monster like this. I guess I need to take this seriously.]
With a wave of his hand, he sent a roiling cloud of boiling steam at the stag, more as an effort to distract it than anything else. While its vision was momentarily blocked, he quickly chanted his upgraded version of the stone javelin spell, pumping it full of mana.
The cloud of steam was met with a wall of water that emerged out of thin air. Evidently the monster could use more than just Earth Magic. Undeterred, Mike took aim at the area he recalled the stag occupying and let loose with his four humming spears made of dark obsidian.
They quickly punched through the wall of water, displacing large sections of it with the force of their passage. This gave Mike a chance to watch the stag's response. He was already preparing his next move, suspecting that his enemy wasn't out of tricks just yet.
Unsurprisingly, the stag was able to dodge three of them with a quickly executed sidestep. However, it was forced to deflect the last one with its antlers, which proved to be its undoing. The sheer amount of force behind each of the spears, thanks to the large amount of mana Mike had poured into them, was not something that could be parried so easily.
With an audible crack, one section of the stag's antlers broke off, eliciting a heartrending cry of pain that echoed through the chamber. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Mike threw himself forward and placed a hand on the wounded creature's forehead, directing his mana and will into it.
According to the Beast Taming guide, this was the most direct method of taming monsters. Assuming the user had a strong enough will and potent enough mana, it could forcibly create a bond between both parties. Unfortunately, when he had tried it on the dungeon monsters before this, it had failed.
Mike wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but it had felt like he was attempting tie one end of a string to a puddle of water. It was clear that something was there, but he didn't have anything to connect it too, like the dungeon monsters were missing something that would allow the bonding process to take place.
While the stag was significantly more potent (its spirit, mana, or whatever felt more like pudding than water) it also lacked the connection point, confirming his suspicion. Monsters from the dungeon almost appeared to be artificial magical constructs, which imitated living beings, but were fundamentally different. If that was the case, it made sense that he couldn't use Beast Taming on them.
[However, if they are basically high spec biological robots, there should be a way to hijack them as well. Maybe something worth investigating at a later date.]
He didn't quite have the luxury of experimenting at the moment. Once his attempt at taming failed, he was forced to dodge backwards once more, as the stag lashed out with its remaining antler. The two of them were left facing each other on the small mound.
Not wanting to expose himself to another round of heavy fire, Mike summoned a stone spear, before launching himself forward. Strangely enough, the stag stepped forward to meet him, elegantly blocking his attacks while countering with a combination of kicks and slashes with its antler.
After a few exchanges, Mike was actually getting pushed back. The monster seemed preternaturally skilled, almost as if it could read his every movement, and it was taking all of Mike's concentration to avoid being skewered on the sharp horns. Finally reaching his limit on patience, he decided to try another strategy. One he'd been planning on trying since his duel with the Eternal Blade.
With a shout, he summoned a nimbus of lighting around himself, forcing the stag to take a step back. Flexing his will, he channeled the power into his body. His limbs crackled with energy, and he felt his hair stand on end. Blinking once, he focused on the monster.
The world seemed to slow down. He could see the beads of moisture falling from the stag's fur, moving at a snail's pace in their route to the ground. With a start, he realized he could actually see the passage of the arcing energy that was dancing across his limbs. The stag was attempting to rear, and bring its hooves into play, but it was almost pathetically easy to avoid.
He pushed his spear forward, momentarily confused by the sudden difficulty of the action. It felt like he was moving through molasses. Nevertheless, it didn't take much planning to simply point it in the right direction.
[This must be what it feels like to operate with enhanced speed. I can see why those elves felt so haughty. I doubt anything could really stop me like this.]
Watching his thrust strike home, Mike took a moment to use Appraise on his enemy. It had been the first time since entering this floor of the dungeon that he'd had the breathing room to do so, and he wanted to know the identity of the monster, before it disappeared.
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Avatar of the Primal
Age: N/A
Race: Avatar
Class: Avatar
Title: Lord of the Wilds
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