Is it a stripper dancing on a pole? Is it a fireman riding the pole down to hurry up into action?
No!
It was me swinging around on my spear, using the momentum this monster-like man bestowed me with his punch to turn my flying roundhouse kick all the faster and stronger.
'Flying? Wouldn't it be rather dancing?' I thought for but a second, before my attention had to snap back to reality.
I managed to land the heel of my foot squarely against the man's ear. A place that was both easy to target and fragile enough to either kill the man on the spot or, at the very least, bring him down to his heels.
Human skull… Is actually far harder to crack than many would think. As the ultimate defense of the most fragile organ of the human body, it was the only shell-like bone structure within a human body that fully encapsulated said organ.
But just like medieval armors, as great as it was for protecting against whatever trauma predators could bring… Its rigid structure made it a tough nut to crack, but it hardly offered any resistance against bludgeoning damage.
Still, my heel connected, pretty much ending the fight…
That is if it connected with the man's ear. But judging from a spray of sparks that flew off from the place where I struck, that wasn't the case at all.
'Well, shit.'
This moment of overconfidence came to cost me dearly.
"Got ya," the husk of a man twisted at his waist, somehow carrying on the momentum from his earlier strike.
I desperately pulled at the spear, hoping to twist my body mid-air… But with only my hands on the spear and the weapon being stuck in a single point, my best proved to be too little.
"Guh…" A dull sound came out of my mouth when the man's fist landed directly on my gut, the force of the punch squeezing all the air out of my lungs.
But then again, just like my lack of stable footing prevented me from any opportune maneuver… It also meant that the very moment I let go of the spear's handle, the damage the man's strike could do was pretty limited.
Still, I literally flew back a few paces while the whole center of my body screamed out in dull, mind-numbing pain. I then crashed into the ground, rolling on it three times before finally killing my momentum. And to make matters worse, this man…
This damned man opted not to press the advantage, avoiding another trap I've managed to prepare on the go!
"That's a nasty-looking knife in your hand," the man spoke with glee in his voice as his eyes drew towards the blade. He then crossed his hands over his chest, looking completely unmoved by the quick exchange.
"Well, tough luck for me I guess," I kindly replied.
Normally I wouldn't waste my time on debating during combat, but right now, stalling for time wasn't all that bad idea.
'I mean, what I'm trying to do now is a pretty bad idea, but well…' I squinted my eyes and looked even closer at the man than before. 'While I'm not out of options yet, he might be just strong enough to force my hand.'
My physical ability couldn't match the man's raw strength. I was fast… but not fast enough to fully overwhelm him either which was the main surprise about the man when taking his extremely solid and bulky build into account. And from the looks of things, he could utilize mana in ways perfectly aligned with how the mana of this world operated, something I could only do so in the future, after properly studying the local magic.
That didn't mean I was out of options. Those options that I had left, however, were all what any sane person would call an overkill of an overkill.
"You know what," the massive man spoke again, "I don't think either of us have anything to gain from this fight," he stated, either trying to trick me or… proving that his mass not only served to hide his surprising agility but also mask the fact he wasn't just some idiotic thug blessed with muscles at the cost of his brains. "So how about we both call it quits here rather than finding out who can outwit the other?"
'That's… interesting,' I thought, slightly lowering my eyes.
This man's proposition aside, wasn't it curious how he used the 'outwit' word? Not overpower, outmatch, outbattle, or any other word that would point at his superior physicality.
He spoke about outwitting the other. And that likely meant, again, he was either trying to trick me or… He didn't think he had enough strength or skill to defeat me in a direct confrontation!
'Is it a trick or am I still unaware of just how my body grew?' I thought… Only for the visual representation of that bitch-of-a-goddess voice that I've muted to flash in the corner of my eyes.
[Talent: A collection of basic weapon arts[5]: Amateur(77)>Novice(21)]
[Talent: A collection of specialized weapon arts[3]: Amateur(44)>Amateur (66)]
Before I could even make the decision to do so, my brain ran the numbers and recognized the pattern.
All my experience increased in multiples of eleven!
With that in mind, several scenes flashed before my eyes.
The moment when I perfectly executed an upward kick to send one of the adventurers flying just high enough for his head to peek out beyond the limit of the barrier, only for the horde of monsters I've gathered to tear his entire body into pieces.
The moment I threw my hatchet to finish off the other man before he could engage in the actual fight.
And then, the moment when I actually endured if not absorbed this massive man's hit.
The first kick was perfect, the hatchet throw was ordinary and the defense against the punch came last.
Assuming the first one was critical or something and thus the experience reward doubled… Then it took exactly a hundred points of experience to break past the amateur stage of my collective talent!
On the other hand, the ear-kick I managed to perfectly execute was either another critical… or just my pole-dancing move was good enough to classify as a learning experience as well.
I could feel I was now considerably stronger than before facing the adventurers. Yet, rather than gaining some sort of levels as it would often be the case in stories like this… I was simply gaining talents?
"What say you?" The man shouted, starting to grow agitated by my lack of response.
I took in a deep breath.
"Nah, I'm good," I then replied before shaking my shoulders. "What's more, I'm not the kind of idiot who would miss this opportunity to grow stronger," I added as I relaxed my stance and spaced my feet apart while lowering my center of mass and pulling out my dagger-wielding hand up to the front.
Rather than accepting the invitation, my opponent simply scratched the side of his head before casting an extremely short glance up the path.
"If it's just some sparring you want…"
"No, I'm going to take your head. The moment your group left me, my mother, and the rest of the caravan to die, you've sealed your fate."
The man's face grew tense as he realized there was no negotiating with me. Still, rather than just tense… I could see a hint of confusion in my opponent's eyes.
"I can tell just how confident you are," the man lowered his head and sighed before shaking it to the sides. "What I fail to notice is the source of that confidence."
The man's head grew still only for his eyes to lock directly on my face.
"That's why, even if you want to fight, I don't really see any need to indulge your…"
"I will have your head," I repeated calmly, still posing with my dagger even though I've long abandoned my plans of fighting the man directly.
Again, I wasn't the kind of idiot who would engage in unfavorable fights. I wasn't the daredevil who would accept equal matches either, unless absolutely necessary.
And in this place, with the lingering might of the ancients all around me and even the craftiest of my physical attacks proving to be insufficient… What could be easier than becoming just another point through which the mana of this plateau would flow out?
'The risk… is manageable.'
I knew not the inner workings of the magic of this world. That's why, unleashing the magic I knew bore the risk of upsetting some sort of balance and bringing out consequences far beyond what I could imagine…
But then again, when surrounded by nigh inexhaustible source of magical energy, was there really any reason for me to fight the man squarely and fairly?
"And you are going to present it to me yourself," I then added, less to rile the man up and more to spark his curiosity.
"Once again, you seem confident, but I don't think I can agree with how you picture this situ…"
"You will fight with me and once I grow tired of playing, you will cut your own head," I pressed, only to then lean my head over my right shoulder and allow myself a small smile.
The frame of the spell was now ready. All I had to do was pour the mana of the plateau into it and then hope it wouldn't become a disaster of a nuclear stage.
"And you will do so because it's the only way you have to stop me from removing this road's barrier and condemning the rest of your group to certain death," I stated, finally dropping the act and stuffing my knife back into its makeshift scabbard while standing up straight.
"Or do you think they can handle the horde that's coming their way?"