Clyde exhaled sharply, his grip tightening on his Elderglass sword as the lingering pain in his head finally dulled to a manageable throb. The pain that finally receding allowing Clyde to regain his clarity again. He gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath at whatever the hell had just slamd into his mind.
But whatever the hell had just struck his mind was gone for now. He had no ti to dwell on it.
The monster stood just a few ters away from him. Embers and ash drifting lazily around its hulking fra. Its body looked like it had been forged from the very essence of this ruined world, a form of burned rock that pulsed with molten veins of orange light.
The surface of its skin looked like it should be lting, but instead it was solid, dense, and looks pretty strong.
It had the massive thick-limbed form of a gorilla, with disproportionately large arms and a hunched posture that made it seem ready to lunge at a mont’s notice. But there was sothing off about it — sothing disturbingly human.
Clyde t its molten eyes. But behind the heat and behind the monstrous exterior, he saw a flicker of sothing human. A recognition or a mory, or a shadow of what this creature once was.
A human turned into a monster.
Clyde’s stomach twisted, but he shoved the thought aside. It didn’t matter. Whatever this thing had once been, it was an enemy now.
He shifted his stance, feeling the heat pressing against his skin, even through the protective mantle Hamr had crafted for him. This was not a place where most people could even survive. He needed to use his own advantages.
Fortunately, he had acquired a useful skill few days ago. A water-based ability called the [Tidebreaker].
It will make him have a greater chance of fighting in this hellscape and the monsters inside it.
The two stared at each other for a brief mont, the embers and ash swirling between them.
Then, Clyde decided there was no point in waiting.
He charged with all he got with intent to kill.
The monster reacted instantly and also hurling itself forward with terrifying speed for sothing so massive.
The ground beneath them splintered and cracked as they clashed.
BOOM!
The mont they collided, the ash and cracked ground around the battlefield erupted.
Clyde swung, his Elderglass sword carving through the air with a sharp whistle. The monster reacted instantly and raising one massive arm to block.
BUGH!
The glass like blade struck its hardened skin, sending a spray of molten embers cascading through the air. Sparks hissed against Clyde’s mantle as he twisted his grip and wrenched his sword free from the creature’s body.
The monster retaliated with a powerful swing of its arm. Clyde barely had ti to duck, feeling the force of the attack whip past him in a hot wind.
The sheer power behind it could have shattered a solid stone instantly. He then pivoted sharply and slashing at its exposed side, but the monster turned with terrifying speed then using its other arm to crash down toward him.
BOOM!
Clyde rolled backward, narrowly avoiding being crushed.
The mont he landed, he pushed off the scorched ground, using his agility to weave through the monster’s relentless strikes.
It fought like a brute but not without intelligence. Each ti he feinted, the creature imdiately adjusted. Each ti he tried to find an opening, it shifted its stance, forcing him on the defensive. That makes the monster so troubleso to deal.
Then, with a sudden burst of movent the monster lunged at him, using its powerful legs to propel itself forward.
Clyde barely managed to twist his body, sidestepping as the beast’s enormous fists slamd into the ground where he had just stood.
BOOM!
The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the ruined earth, shattering the blackened stone and kicking up a cloud of glowing embers.
Clyde didn’t hesitate to attack back. He leaped forward, bringing his blade down in a powerful arc aid at the creature’s back.
The Elderglass sword hit its back, cutting into the molten flesh — but it didn’t sink as deeply as he’d hoped. The monster’s rocky hide was even tougher than it looked.
Before he could jump back, the molten beast twisted with shocking agility and lashed out with one massive fist.
Clyde barely managed to raise his sword in ti but he managed to block it. The force of the blow sent him skidding backward, his boots carving trenches into the scorched earth. His arms trembled a little bit from the sheer power behind the strike.
The monster didn’t let the montum of his seemingly victory stop. It ca at him again, its enormous fists pounding the ground in a furious onslaught. Then when it arrived in front of Clyde, the monster imdiately lashing out in mad attack.
Clyde dodged, weaved, and parried, each clash sending tremors in the air. The heat radiating from the creature was suffocating, his mantle only barely keeping it at bay now. The monster itself radiating its own heat.
For a few monts, it was a battle of sheer physical prowess. Clyde now only relied on his speed, his reflexes, and the razor edge of his Elderglass sword. But every ti he attack the monster’s body endured. Every ti he dodged, it adapted.
Then, in a blur of motion, the creature suddenly leaped high into the air — higher than anything that size had the right to.
Clyde’s eyes narrowd as its shadow lood over him with both of its massive fists raised.
And then—it ca crashing down like a teor.
The ground where Clyde had just stood was obliterated.
BOOM!
The earth ruptured beneath the force of the impact, chunks of molten rock and shattered debris launching in all directions. A shockwave rippled everywhere, sending a thick cloud of dust and embers rolling across the battlefield.
A wide and deep crater now scarred the already ruined land. Its edges glowing red - hot from the sheer heat of the monster’s attack.
The beast stood at the center of its destruction, hunched and breathing heavily, its massive fists still buried in the broken ground. Its molten veins pulsed sending fresh waves of heat into the air.
Then it lifted its head slowly.
Clyde stood at the edge of the crater, untouched.
His expression was flat as always. His sword rested loosely at his side, the Elderglass gleaming faintly despite the surrounding haze. Beads of sweat traced its way down his cheek but there was no sign of panic or hesitation even after what the monster just did.
He wasn’t struggling.
The monster let out a guttural snarl, its molten eyes locking onto him. It had expected Clyde to be crushed, reduced to ash like everything else. But he wasn’t even fazed.
Clyde exhaled and rolling his shoulders. The force of that last attack had been sothing. If he had taken that hit head-on, even with his stats and level right now, it would have been bad. Not fatal but will still hurt.
Now when standing there, Clyde watching the monster’s frustration mount.
He had tested his physical ability at this stage of output of power.
But no it was ti to stop holding back.
Clyde slowly raised his sword. His grip tightened around the hilt. A faint mist curled around his fingers, cool and crisp against the suffocating heat.
It was ti to see how the monster handled his [Tidebreaker] skill.
A shimr of blue light flickered to life around Clyde. Water ford from nothing and swirling into existence as if drawn from the very air itself. Even though it was impossible cause the air was so hot it almost not containing any water.
Thin streams coiled around his body, flowing like living tendrils before settling into a faint translucent layer and beco a barrier of pure liquid.
The suffocating heat that pressed down on him suddenly lessened. The water shield absorbed the worst of it, turning the hot air into sothing almost comfortable.
Clyde exhaled, feeling the change into cold air that feel so good.
Then, he channeled his magic into his Elderglass sword.
The blade drank in the power. Water surged along its glass-like blade and making it shimr with deep azure hues. A thin veil of mist curled from the edges, reacting to the sheer contrast between the sword’s chilling aura and the burning air around them.
The molten beast tensed. It didn’t need intelligence to recognize the danger — water was its natural enemy.
Its molten veins pulsed with urgency and it lowered its stance, ready to move.
Clyde wasted no ti. He swung his sword.
A crescent of water blade tore through the air, surging forward the monster. The liquid slash cutting through the thick haze of embers and ash with terrifying speed.
The monster reacted instantly.
With a powerful lunge, it threw itself to the side. The water blade passed through the space it had occupied a re fraction of a second ago and slamming into the ground instead.
HISSSSSSSS!
The mont the water touched the scorched earth, a violent reaction erupted. Steam exploded outward in thick rolling waves and hissing.
The monster landed a few ters away, its molten eyes narrowing. It remained crouched and scanning the mist.
The beast grunted and prepared for another assault.
Then the mist parted.
Clyde erged.
And he was fast. Faster than before.
The monster barely had ti to react before Clyde was in front of it, closing the distance in a flash with terrifying speed.
His Elderglass sword, still infused with the power of [Tidebreaker], glead as he swung straight for the creature’s molten head.
---
Reviews
All reviews (0)