While I wasn't intimately close with the art of battle, I was getting there. It was hard not to with all of the experience. My fighting form would probably be called wild and unrefined by anyone of greater skill, but it worked for what I needed it to.
I learned early that wild swings and unbalanced aggression was not the way to fight. Sure, it had its uses, but it wasn't the way to get better. Sotis wild aggression was the thing that you needed in a fight and all offense could often work, but not for sustained fighting.
If I had one enemy it would be fine. Or even a handful. At the numbers I faced, not so much. There was only so much one person could do and fighting with a raging fla was a quick way to burn out.
A raging fire still had its uses, but a properly stoked fla was more useful right now. Sustaining the burn over a longer period of ti for the most use. Experience and training added together with my Endurance increased the amount of wood to burn and allowed the fire to burn for longer.
Using a hamr was different than other weapons. It wasn't a sword to be used for slicing in refined art forms, nor was it a spear for quick stabs from range. Hamrs were similar to axes in a way.
Axes were unbalanced weapons mostly used for attacking. All of the weight was at the axe head and it had to be used as such. Swords were balanced at the hilt. They would feel different in the hand and they had different ways to swing them.
Most swords at least. There were exceptions and different styles of blade, but generally, swords were better balanced. Hamrs matched axes in this regard. The hamrhead held all of the weight.
While feints and different techniques were common with swords, hamrs were more straightforward. Calling it straightforward was not calling it simple.
With base human abilities, there was only so much soone could do with a hamr of this size. Its size and weight made most moves impractical. Now, with stats, normal conventions went out the window.
With my strength, I could maneuver the hamr better than what normal people could and my stats were designed for it. Asking Austin to swing one around would be the sa as giving a rapier.
I could use it, sure, but it wouldn't leverage all of my abilities. My strength was what made it possible. Hamr swings weren't the all-attack that so people might think. It was a balance of sorts, swinging versus defending.
Keeping the hamr swinging could work, conserving montum, but it had problems of its own. There were 4 feet of shaft to work with and it would be a waste not to use it.
It was similar to a quarterstaff in a way, but not at all. I could use it to defend and block attacks at my body, but there was the weight distribution to keep in mind. A quarterstaff didn't have a heavy mass on one end.
With the weight disparity, so things were better left unblocked. It was why I loved my armor so much. If I could ignore more attacks coming at , it would give more ti to attack.
Finding exactly which attacks to block and which to ignore was difficult. I had to learn to trust my armor and my fortitude. Even when I was using the axe before I had the sa problem. Fighting through the pain was another thing I had to learn. I couldn't be afraid of a little pain.
Trial and error were painful teachers and I had co to learn how much my forging could handle. How much of an attack I could afford to take without my armor breaking.
I learned the limit of my old armor and [Frost Armor] went and changed it. With my new skill, I had to relearn what the limit was. I was blocking attacks that wouldn't affect and that was a waste of ti.
It ca easier the second ti as I had more experience. Now it was even harder. [Montum of the Avalanche] worked to double all of my physical skills. That ant a constant increase in my Fortitude. [Fortified Body] also changed based on my fortitude stat which added to the complications.
My fortitude going from 100 to 200 made the balance of which attacks I could take constantly changing. It was sothing that I had to get used to and not sothing I would accomplish using the skill for the first ti.
All of my defense let ignore many of the spider's attacks. My boost was near its peak and my stats had never been higher. Instead of the steady wearing down that usually took place, I steadily got stronger.
It worked in reverse of normal convention. A quick peek at my stats left stunned. I knew they would double, but seeing it was different.
Strength - 422
Agility - 210
Perception - 68
Fortitude - 202
Endurance - 224
Vitality - 120
Intelligence - 24
Wisdom - 41
Acun - 26
It felt great. My body firing on all cylinders, mowing through the foes who stood before . After about the 50% mark my body was becoming uncoordinated again. It wasn't the stat disparity that did it, it was the unfamiliarity with the high stats. A doubling of stat points was too much to handle on my first try it seed.
There were also new sensations I had to work to block out. My vitality worked through my system faster than before and I could feel my body knitting together in a way I hadn't felt before. My perception doubling let hear more than before and feel more than before. I had to block it out before I got overwheld. The sensations were... unsettling. It let feel my body and those around in weird ways.
When the spiders suddenly ended I was surprised. I had lost track of ti and there were no more monsters for to fight. It made slightly frustrated too. I was in the zone, getting better with my hamr and getting accustod to my new stats.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The lull in battle let take in my surroundings and what I saw shocked . Body parts were everywhere, spider legs oozing green blood scattered around with bodies crushed and deford. Ice coated with the green substance embedded in corpses with the use of [Shatter].
The boss wasn't here. It was on one of the other sides.
[Montum of the Avalanche] only built up while in battle and I didn't know how long my skill would last as I was technically not in battle, so I rushed toward the other side.
Jonathan's side was the worst off and I could see monsters getting through. I even saw a body on the ground, not getting up. It was sothing I expected but it still hurt to see.
Even with all of the training I put everyone through, it was battle. Not everyone would make it.
I was about to step in and help when another explosion sounded out. Now that I wasn't in battle, I could see what it was. The boss was climbing over the wall while Hal tried to hold it off.
It looked like a spider out of horror stories. It stood at over 10 feet tall and had a bulbous sack that was bigger than a car. Its eight long legs ended in sharp spikes that it was using to climb over the wall.
When the wave first started I feared that the other spiders would do the sa but they failed. Their legs couldn't find purchase in the stone. The wall was enchanted to not be climbable.
The boss disregarded that sentint. With its size, it could reach the top of the wall and try to pull itself up where the other monsters were too small. Every ti the boss got close to pulling itself over, Hal would shoot it back down.
I had no idea how long he had been doing this but he looked haggard. He was slumped over and looked like he could barely stand in the stand we built for him.
Not wanting my boosts to go away and seeing the target I was after, I rushed in. Austin and the rest of those who fought the bosses with were still busy, but it didn't matter.
I alone could hold it off at least. Killing it was another matter though. The boss was stronger than what its level indicated and treating it as a normal level 37 was a mistake. Bosses were stronger than normal and it had a Law of its own to defend with. I wasn't sure which yet, but I would find out.
Being 7 levels below the boss wasn't that bad in all honesty. My skills and abilities were enough to hold their own against much stronger opponents. My boost from [Avalanche] would make strong enough.
I launched myself at the boss and brought my hamr down on the leg it was using to climb the wall. The resulting impact launched the intruding appendage off of the wall.
What surprised was the minimal damage I did. I expected my strength to be enough to crush the leg. Granted, I only used [Frostbite] for the attack, but still. The chitin had a way of dispersing the damage and evening out the load. I could tell I damaged it, just not as much as I anticipated.
The spider hissed at before doing sothing I didn't expect. Given its size and long sharp legs, I expected it to use them to attack . Like the stone lizard who used its body to attack. Instead, it created an orb of green liquid in front of its mouth that it then shot at . Not expecting that kind of attack, I couldn't get out of the way fast enough and it splashed over my right side.
It didn't carry much force with it but its use quickly beca known from the sizzling I heard. My armor was lting and wherever the liquid touched started corroding. It started to lt holes through my ice armor and reach the tal underneath.
I tried to use my law to prevent the ice from lting, but it wasn't working. It was like sothing was fighting and it had equal strength.
Ah, shit. It had an Acid Law. I wasn't sure if they were Acid Laws or Corrosion Laws, but my sizzling right side didn't give much ti to contemplate.
The acid was sothing I hadn't expected it to have and would make this fight a lot more difficult.
As it ate through my armor, the boss readied itself for another attack. Not wanting to let it hit , I threw up a wall of ice using [Ice Fortress] to intercept the attack.
It started to sizzle and lt as well and wouldn't last more than a few attacks. The skill slowed down its corrosion and saved from getting more of the liquid on . This boss was going to prove difficult if it continued shooting acid at .
I jumped down from the wall to get more room to dodge the globs of green liquid. I wasn't as fast as Austin but I could if I was ready for it.
The boss continued to shoot out acid and everywhere it hit started sizzling. Every attack I made barely affected it. Its legs had strong chitin covering them that was hard to damage. It felt like my hamr was hitting jello instead of the hard chitin it appeared as.
[Frostbite] was getting through and I could feel the ice mana hindering its movents, but it wasn't enough. It was disintegrating quicker than normal and wasn't doing as much damage.
Using [Heavy Blow] was the only thing that caused lasting damage. With the skill, my swings beca strong enough to bludgeon the legs of the spider. Chitin started to crack from the blows faster than before.
The boss noticed that I was weakening it and changed its approach. Any ti I got close, it would shower the area in liquid. I wasn't able to attack it without getting covered in it.
Our standoff lasted a few monts before a large fireball ca flying in matched by an arrow of wind not long after. Rachel and Hal joined in on the attack. Hal spent the ti I was fighting it recovering as much as he could.
With holding it off, they were free to attack it from the wall. Austin joined in not long after and I saw Jonathan hobbling over to help. I wasn't sure how Jonathan's stone would hold up to the corrosion effect. With my stats so high, it was better if I tanked it in case sothing went wrong.
"Jonathan let tank, it has a strong corrosion effect. Don't let the liquid hit you!" I shouted to the new arrivals.
We had fought together enough to be able to switch roles with ease and Jonathan started strafing the boss. He stood back and launched the few ranged skills he had while I held the monster's attention.
Most of his skills were tanking related but he had a few he could use from range. I got him to buy [Earth Spike] for this very reason. Everyone should have at least one way to attack from range. He also had [Earth Manipulation] he could use to throw clods of rocks at the monster from range.
Throughout the fight, I got battered and burnt from the liquid I couldn't dodge, but the boss was worse off. The five of us wore it down and started crippling limbs.
The damage built up and the chitin wasn't strong enough to hold forever. My heavy hamr blows weakened it and Austin's spear was able to pierce through.
After it lost its first leg it beca enraged. Started firing off skills faster and moving more frantically to dodge our attacks.
After the second leg was removed it got even worse and before we could get the third, a wave of green exploded out of it. It splattered out in every direction and there was no way to dodge.
Austin and I got covered in it while Jonathan was far enough away to throw up so defenses. His earthen constructs were quickly lting.
The acid ate through the rest of my ice and started lting my skin. It brought a wave of pain that made stifle a scream. Austin was worse off and he was rolling on the ground in pain trying to get it off.
I felt [Barbarian's Fury] activate and the pain quieted in my mind. My stats rose even higher.
[Heavy Blow] ca down on the leg we managed to weaken and I crushed through the natural armor. The spider coated in acid but I could hold out. My endurance and fortitude were enough to carry through.
Now that I abandoned defense, I was on a tir.
I battered at the remaining legs and others did the sa. Austin recovered with a potion from his belt and joined back into the fight. Fireballs ca in and arrows penetrated weak spots.
All of its eyes were either burnt or pierced with arrows.
Without sight, it started to attack wildly trying to ward us off. There wasn't anything it could do against our relentless assault.
My hamr ca down again and again on weakened limbs as my body stead from the acid covering my skin.
Austin got under it and stabbed up through its underbelly. Jonathan hindered it with clumsily manipulated earth. He wasn't the best with [Earth Manipulation] but he was trying.
All of us worked to bring it down.
I wasn't sure who delivered the killing blow but a notification chid and the boss fell still.
My body felt like it was dunked in a vat of acid and held there, but I was still standing.
The wave was over and there were only 8 more to go.
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