Chapter 234 (1/2)

Randidly’s spear blurred as he thrust it forward, aiming for the center of Bertarn’s mass. Although he couldn’t out endure Bertarn, if he could give his Flesh Eating Virus a chance to do his work, it would make his long term viability much more realistic.

Unfortunately, although Bertarn was caught off guard, he hadn’t totally lost his focus, and was able to bring up the shaft of his spear, knocking the thrust away. So Randidly simply raised his hand and pointed, undeterred.

“Incinerating Bolt.”

Bertarn’s eyes widened in recognition just as Randidly raised his hand, but it was already too late. Or at least Randidly had assumed so, but he appeared to have underestimated Bertarn’s Agility. Twisting wildly, Bertarn made it so the bolt of fire only clipped his arm pit, sizzling his skin and filling the arena with the smell of burnt flesh, but largely preserving the structural integrity of his musculature.

‘Well, let’s push a bit harder than, shall we?’ Randidly thought to himself.

“Pierce the Skies, Shatter the Earth!”

Behind Bertarn an image of a mountain was already starting to form, and he was rapidly regaining his balance, even as Randidly struck several times in quick succession after the Incinerating Bolt. The only choice was to up the tempo.

Randidly’s body hurtled upward, and Bertarn calmly stepped backwards, avoiding any of the damage. But then, at the apex of his jump, Randidly flexed his arms and flung his obsidian spear downwards, creating a monstrous projectile reminiscent of a ballista. Bertarn’s calm eyes scanned the descending spear, and he raised his spear to meet it.

But then his face twisted in a scowl, and he roared his fury, the mountain behind him wavering slightly, stuck between formation and remaining a mirage; he had been pierced from below by roots while his attention was elsewhere.

Even though the roots were annoying, his powerful physical body meant that the wounds were rather shallow. He stopped his feet and shook his legs to rip through the roots, but at that point the spear arrived. Most of the momentum that was to be Randidly’s when he fell to the ground had been transferred to the spear, so when the spears clashed, there was a huge noise and explosion of force.

Bertarn gritted his teeth and stumbled backwards. Midair, Randidly used the White Phantom’s Half-Step, moving rapidly closer, touching lightly down on the ground right in front of Bertarn. Without even a flicker of hesitation, Randidly stepped forward, under the raised spear of the towering Bertarn, arriving in front of him.

But Bertarn was still a powerful spear user; he quickly sniffed out that Randidly was approaching rapidly, even if he didn’t know what his plans were. Bertarn brought his spear down in a blow that had the air screaming. Displaying a remarkable amount of Grace and flexibility, Randidly spun away, avoiding the cracked battle ground and arriving only scant inches away from Bertarn’s side.

The corners of his mouth quirked up in a smile as Randidly watched Bertarn’s head swivel around to glare balefully at him. Truly, only one battle a day was best. That way he could spend his mana freely, without worry.

“Circle of Flame.”

The fire exploded outward, burning Bertarn’s skin further. Roaring, Bertarn managed to grit his teeth through the pain and concussive force only after two steps backwards, finding once more his stance. The mountain seemed to solidify, becoming increasingly real, ravines and ridges revealing themselves across its stony surface.

Randidly activated Burning Footsteps, due to the amount of mana he had to spare, but also to inflict a small amount of constant damage to Bertarn, should he be able to stay near. Although his Physical Defense stats were high, Randidly suspected that he was much more susceptible to magic damage.

An image of a large clock appeared behind Randidly, and low hysterical laughter could be heard echoing. Around Randidly a cloak of darkness seemed to descend, shrouding his features and his exact position.

Randidly’s roots, those that had earlier inflicted only a small amount of damage on Bertarn but distracted him at a critical point, lifted Randidly’s spear and handed it back to him. Immediately, Randidly slashed forward.

The mountain behind Bertarn seemed to tremble, and now it solidified, rocks beginning to tumble down its side, forming a rockslide. Bertarn’s eyes burned as his powerful strike rumbled forward to meet Randidly’s.

Randidly grinned. The clock ticked ominously.

“The Idiosyncratic Cut.”