Apinsig
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Chapter 152 Homesteading in a fantasy world
🕑 Added 2023-01-24 19:46:55 +0000 UTCWe were in the last boss room before my solo fight with the minotaur. I was thoroughly hating this boss. It was a lizard type which wasn't the problem the problem came with one of its abilities. It constantly emitted a poisonous fog, and the resistance potion was barely keeping up.
On top of that the fog was filled with mana and energy and I was having a hard time seeing through it, so I was having to rely on my regular sight which made me have to rely on the lights that my raiding party cast.
I was glad that I figured out this weakness of mine before I fought without anyone else to support me, but I also couldn’t spend any time figuring out the solution because the fucker was quick. It was so quick that our main tank had trouble blocking all of its attacks mainly because the tail of the monster seemed to have a mind of its own and for some reason, the shield didn't work for any tail attacks.
This should have given me a good opportunity to see how good the other tank was but again my vision was so bad that I had to concentrate everything I had on my side of the monster to block any of its tail attacks towards any fighters that were close to me.
I wanted to cut off the tail, but we couldn’t. If the monster loses it, it will go berserk and we will lose this fight. So, I just hunkered down and concentrated on defending while my anger built. This fight was so infuriating that it was hard to keep my power in check. When the boss finally died, I was glad that I was able to keep my discipline up and no matter how bad the next boss room will be I will be glad to fight off some of this anger.
The next trash mob room was easy like any other but before the next room, I could see many drinking potions or using some objects to boost themselves. People were getting ready to give their best and I knew that I was already ready to beat that fucking minotaur to the ground.
I was half listening to the inspirational speech that was going on I was more focused on getting ready. Not only did I want to beat that minotaur to the ground I also wanted to test my defensive capabilities. I could feel myself going into the zone as we walked closer to the boss's room. When we finally made it in I took everything in.
The floor was covered with rock and to either side was a raised plateau, flat and empty, perfect for a fight. Both of the minotaurs looked similar, and they both wielded a great cleaver that was taller than me. From the report, I knew that the minotaurs were about 11 feet tall and built better than any bodybuilder back on earth.
Then there was the boss in the middle. It was finally the proper-sized boss to what I imagined the others actually should have been. It was about five stories tall and looked like a rottweiler with two heads.
Its howling was the most intimidating thing I have heard especially because one of the heads started a bit late, so it sounded like a constant echo. I could feel the main tank releasing his ability and see the huge boss monster focus its attention on him. Next, I could see the second tank use some sort of a scroll and I could see the minitour that was on the right side of the boss start to charge him. It was finally my turn.
“YOU OVERGROWN COW LET'S ONE V ONE.” I pointed to the plateau and after a moment of hesitation, the minotaur started to walk towards the plateau mimicking my action. I was a bit surprised that it didn’t rush towards me but I guess it was intelligent enough to understand what I meant and I guess it was compelled to dual me properly.
I could see the entire raid party laying into the boss, but it was going to take a while before they could kill it. That thing was just too big and its damage resistance was extensive. The minotaur was about 100 meters from me, but I took my sweet time getting ready before I gave it a small nod and I got a similar nod in return. The next moment it rushed me trying to end me with one blow.
It was time to test if I could keep the minotaur occupied until the main boss is dead. I was pretty certain that I could kill it fast, but it would take everything I have and that wasn’t why I was hired. So, I didn’t move but prepared my abilities and concentrated on seeing if everything I have done would be enough. My weight was pushed to its limit and I activated my armour damage absorption ability.
All of this required lots of energy, but I didn't push any of my abilities to their limits so while the cost was heavy it was reasonable and calculated so I could keep fighting for a long time. The blow came and it was a strong one pushing me back several meters, but the shield and my abilities did their job. But I could feel the hurt that was in my hand. I won’t be able to take that kind of a hit for much longer before my hand breaks.
So, I didn’t take those kinds of attacks anymore. I started to use move so I would only take glancing hits which were a lot easier to handle. I was honestly expecting myself to have a worst time, but I guess my trait kinetic absorption was also helping a lot and it seemed to have a nice synergy with my armour damage absorption ability. I could feel the synergy, but it was hard to understand why it was there. My trait was supposed to only work on my body and my ability was only meant to work with my armour, so I didn't know why they were interacting.
It took me a few minutes to finally understand what was happening. I needed to thank the minotaur for the constant attacks that helped me figure it out. It was my armour enhancement ability that was creating a bridge for the trait and ability to support each other. It was happening because my armour ability also worked on my skin to an extent which was a part of my body of course. It was a weird but welcomed development.
The fight went on and I was able to store lots of damage. In fact, I was so able to store so much that my armour should be falling apart but my body was a lot better vessel to store the abilities energy and I was just able to accumulate it thanks to the synergy. I could feel that there was still a limit, but this creature would need to attack me for at least another hour before I would reach my limit.
The defence wasn’t easy I needed to be constantly on the move and be mindful of every attack coming against me. The minotaur wasn’t stupid and tried everything to circumvent my shield or to try to hit it straight on so it would get its damage through at least a little bit. It was hard to keep up all the time and eventually, one of its hits did get through and hit my side.
The fucker had closed in on me and did the elbow strike. Luckily for me, that was mainly blunt damage, and I could absorb quite a lot of it, but it still sent me flying. I was glad that I was able to switch my weight fast and seeing me fly off the minotaur was momentarily frozen. This gave me enough time to get up and prepare for another one of its strikes.
I was now more mindful and the next time it tried this attack I was able to dodge it, but those attacks started to come faster and faster and then it started to add other kinds of attacks. When it tried to sweep my legs, I was a bit insulted as he telegraphed that attack making it easy to skip away from it. It seems that the monster was unfamiliar with any other kind of fighting except for the huge cleaver that it was wielding.
It was finally time for me to attack it back and each one of its clumsy attacks was the perfect opportunity for a counterattack. So, the next time I saw an attack coming I struck. I didn’t use any of my stored-up kinetic energy because I was afraid it would do too much damage, but I also wasn’t afraid to use my weapon ability to its limit. This turned out to be the correct decision as I was just able to give it a shallow wound on one of its legs.
If I had used my core energy it would have been a lot more devastating wound, but I couldn’t risk the monster dying. Another few minutes and I could feel my physical body starting to tire. While I did still have plenty of energy in the tank the constant movement at my maximum speed was exhausting. I kind of wanted to use my hast but I would still need to fight after this fight, so it was unfortunately not an option.
It seems that I would need some sort of an ability that would speed me up but that will have to wait. Then I heard the first signal that meant that the main boss was soon going to die. My heart started to beat a bit faster glad for the fight to be coming to an end. I took a blow to the shield but this time I didn’t just let it glance off but pushed against the cleaver unbalancing the monster.
It activated its rapid attack abilities but instead of falling back like I usually did I pushed in. I pumped more energy into the shield than I had for the entire fight and its strikes didn't hurt that much anymore. My sword which usually sat on my shoulder was now ready and powered up for a thrust. My actions had surprised the minotaur and I was able to get my sword halfway into its belly.
I pulled it back fast as I saw one of its hands let go of the clever so he could grapple me. I took a step back out of its range, but my blade was already swinging. Before it knew what happened I slashed at its arm that was extended trying to grab me. I also pushed more energy into the weapon than I ever have before, and the sword didn't let me down. I was still surprised that I didn’t hit the bone but I was certain I was damn close.
I now had to back off a bit more because it was still able to wield its clever with one hand and now its range was a bit further than when it attacked with two hands. I let it look at its wound because I needed to wait until the second signal that would notify the boss's death. When it finally figured out that I had done real damage to it. It bellowed in rage and charged at me.
I only had to dodge it two more times before I heard the 2nd signal, but it turns out I didn't need that signal as I could see the minotaur growing stronger the very next second. I didn’t waste any time and charged. It readied its block, but I didn’t mind. I pumped core energy into my sword and all the kinetic energy that I had stored up. I had expected my sword to push his cleaver aside and continue to strike the monster but to my surprise that didn’t happen.
Everything was so fast but I was able to register how my sword cut through the monster cleaver when it was about halfway through it. It didn't stop and just kept going. I had aimed at the minotaur's hip while moving the sword diagonally upwards.
My strike cut through the monster in a perfect line. The first thing to happen was the arms and the cleaver falling to the ground. It took the monster a bit longer to fall apart and even longer for it to figure out what had happened before it finally died.
I looked towards the raiding party, and I was met with surprised eyes and readied spells as I was supposed to back off so they could start attacking the minotaur. These weren’t green fighters, so they quickly turned towards the other minotaur and with the combined attacks of the entire raid party the monster was killed fast. There was a moment of pause as nobody could quite believe that they had done it but then cheers erupted and I cheered with them.
That last hit was the most satisfying thing I had ever done but then exhaustion hit me, and I sat down. A few moments later spells hit me, but they were refreshing and soon my exhaustion started to alleviate. I concentrated on my energy pool and I was glad to see that I was still half full. It was finally time for my first energy-restoring potion and I drank it gladly.
The entire raid party took a longer break than usual and by the end of it the potion had worked its wonders and I had about 25% more energy. During that time I had joined the others and I was graduated on an amazing finish. We eventually heard the command to move out and I got up and cracked my neck ready for a few more fights.
Comments
I really like the single POV
Straven
I've got to say you honestly to me at least do a damn good job on the main characters thoughts/actions/feelings/feel over all and just his overall state that honestly does make me feel like he's a wizened old fucker that just manage to live through a ton of crap and thus built a ton of exp and that all lead to some massive dev's with work in this 'other' world. Thank you for another great read mate, thanks!
