Ring-outs were no longer in play. The fight only ended in death, surrender, or incapacitation. A powerful barrier was put up to shield the audience from the fierce battle, strong enough to withstand the force of a dragon’s breath. The combatants could go all out without reservations.
“I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a Black Cat. I know how powerful your race can become.”
“Just what I was hoping for.” Fran pulled me out of my sheath and readied me, swinging me a couple times. Gaudartha felt the charge of mana coursing through me and grinned.
“An enchanted sword? And no ordinary one by the looks of it.”
“You’ve got cool armor, too.”
“This is my battle armor for when I go to war. A Godsmith crafted it with Identity Protection, Self-Repair, and Magic Resistance. Not quite a Godsword, but still powerful.”
What the heck?! I mean, I might have been made by a Godsmith, too, but this guy knew where his armor came from. Godsmith equipment was gonna be tough to crack. My confidence in my strength only served as a reminder that Gaudartha’s armor might have some tricks up its sleeve, too. I had a bad feeling about this!
“I shall make this fight brief! Awaken!” Gaudartha shouted.
His skin turned an ashy gray as the beastman grew even more beastly than before.
“Gaudartha Awakens his evolved beastman blood! I’ve never seen anyone Awaken before a fight! Is Fran that much of a threat?! We’ll see in a second. Begin!”
Gaudartha was Awakened now. Unlike Zehmet, his stats remained the same. However, most of his skills were dramatically powered up. Fast Regeneration was at Level 8 now, and Steel Body, Heightened Reflex, and Iron Hide were added to his skill list. As if that wasn’t enough, a thick current of mana pulsed through his body.
Name: Gaudartha
Age: 44
Race: White Rhinoceros/Black-Iron Rhinoceros
Class: Marauder
Level: 72/99
HP: 1256; Magic: 422; Strength: 654; Agility: 267
Skills: Intimidate 8; Brute Strength 8; Punch Arts 5; Punch Mastery 5; Presence Sense 3; Fast Regeneration 8; Brute Force 10; Club Arts 6; Club Mastery 6; Mining 8; Regeneration 10; Abnormal Status Resistance 7; Blink 3; Mental Status Resistance 7;
Elemental Blade 8; Rush 7;
Axe Arts 10; Axe Mastery 10;
Advanced Axe Arts 6; Advanced Axe Mastery 7; Mana Sense 3; Spirit Control; Steel Body; Goblin Killer; Heightened Reflexes; Dull Pain; Dragon Killer; Tough Hide; Iron Hide
Class Skill: Awaken; Wave Blast
Titles: Protector; Great Mountain; Dungeon Conqueror; Dragon Killer; A-Rank Adventurer
Equipment: Earth Dragon Horn Greataxe; Earth Dragon Scale Armor; Fire Gland Cloak; Decoy Bracelet; Poison Sense Ring
“Hrrngh!” He attacked as soon as the bell rang. Gaudartha swung his axe, shedding shockwaves. They were quite controlled as they approached Fran, but even Gaudartha’s restrained opener was enough to kill a C-Threat monster in one hit.
Let’s go, Fran!
“Hm.”
Explosion!
I threw out a Fireball spell to block. It crashed into his shockwaves, creating an explosion and kicking up smoke and dust. I teleported us a short distance away, right behind Gaudartha.
“Tch!”
Targeting his neck, Fran pressurized her sheath and slashed. Our smokescreen made for the perfect ambush, and it went without saying that she had already applied Elemental Blade and Vibrofang, among other buffs. She was aiming to kill.
Gaudartha remained still, even when my blade was lodged in his neck. I felt the dull sensation of his flesh and bone as blood sprayed out of the cut.
“Gah!”
Dammit!
But it was too early to celebrate. Before I could decapitate him, I was stalled by his barrier, his thick hide and muscles, and his powerful armor. His defenses absorbed most of the impact. Fran’s one slash only went halfway through Gaudartha’s powerful neck. We would need to repeat this attack for it to be fatal. His defense was absolutely monstrous, but this was our only chance.
Let’s see if he can survive my spike form!
I sought to attack him from the inside, but before I could transform, Gaudartha made his move.
“Wave Blast!” Gaudartha shouted.
“Gaah!”
An explosion of mana erupted from his body, knocking us back. He was completely calm, despite having a sword cut halfway through his neck. Even his nerves were made of steel! His Wave Blast not only created distance between us, but also took out half of Fran’s health and most of my durability. The move was more powerful than his opening slashes.
“Urgh!”
“Hnngh!” Gaudartha followed up with some shockwaves, spitting blood.
“Umph…”
Greater Heal!
“Huff…huff…” Fran stabilized herself at a safe distance and healed the damage to her lungs.
You all right?
“I’m fine.”
Just as I’d thought, we couldn’t afford to get hit even once. Gaudartha displayed amazing control in how he recovered from what should’ve been a lethal blow.
There go our plans of killing him with one hit…
He’s a lot tougher after Awakening.
It’s that Iron Hide of his. It’s like he put on another layer of armor. As if his superior plate wasn’t enough! We’ll have to figure out a way to take it away.
“Okay.”
I put the points I had been saving for just such an occasion into a certain skill. It was the only way we could survive this battle of attrition.
You’ll have to chip away at him while dodging his attacks. It’s going to be rough, but try not to die.
Got it.
And we don’t know what his armor can do, either. Keep your guard up.
“Hm!”
While we licked our wounds, Gaudartha had healed completely. “Graaaah!”
“Tch!”
How is he already fine?!
The giant leapt toward us with a speed unbefitting of a man his size. His terrifying regenerative capabilities had perfectly healed the gash in his neck. They continued trading blows—Fran with her thousand cuts and Gaudartha with his giant swings.
Gaudartha mostly used Axe Arts, followed up with Wave Blast. If it weren’t for the barriers protecting the audience, hundreds of them would be dead by now. Blocking that kind of attack head-on would knock a ton of durability off my blade, so Fran focused on dodging.
Meanwhile, she chipped away by exploiting the little gaps in his armor, but it wasn’t working as well as we’d
