Somewhere in the universe, in a castle surrounded by a thousand magical formations of stars and planets. There sat a silver-haired beauty. Her long hair was braided and fell freely down her bare back.
The woman stared with exasperation on her face at the water mirror, which depicted a sleeping Ramiel with women.
" That insolent bastard! Why does he act on women like a sticky fly! " - Although the woman was angry, she was actually glad that the man was alive. She had never missed a day of watching his actions all this time.
However, all good things must come to an end at some point. Together with the cold gust of wind, the woman's face became indifferent. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide the fury in her eyes. Sometimes, some emotions cannot be controlled.
In front of the silver-haired beauty, a richly decorated chair appeared. Its backrest was made of reptile skin, and the armrests depicted waterfalls. If one looked at it closely, one could see thousands of microscopic galaxies living their lives.
The woman stared at them with exaggerated hostility. There was silence in the room. Finally, after a few minutes, the sound of wind brought with it a shape-shifting voice. It was impossible to determine whether it belonged to a man or a woman. Its timbre and tonality changed with each passing second.
" Have you considered my proposal? "
The silver-haired beauty's lips twisted, expressing the most sincere contempt.
" One day. That's how much I can stop them. In return, you will hand it over to him. "
With a movement of her finger, the woman tore the space. From the crack, she pulled out a pair of twin swords. They were hidden in a purple sheath, the surface covered with runes from the Age of Exodus. These runes moved without a clear pattern, sometimes forming forgotten words.
" Are you sure about this? Do you want to use my debt for such a thing? " - The changing voice could hear clear mockery and disappointment.
" It's not your problem. If you don't like it, find someone else. But I would advise you to hurry up, as far as I know, you are running out of time. "
The silver-haired beauty was furious. It was up to her how she would demand repayment of the debt.
" My dear, I have more time than you think... After all, someone helped me a lot... "
" Shut up! You have no right to talk about him. " - The woman roared, and the whole palace shook. Thousands of magical formations around him began to glow, accumulating astronomical amounts of mana. Everything was prepared to attack.
" If you hadn't abandoned him, then... everything would have been different! " - Uncontrollable bloodlust escaped from the woman's body. However, the whole situation didn't make the slightest impression on the mysterious being. After a while, the melodious wind blew again.
" If you want it... I will do it. "
The magic weapon disappeared from the woman's hands in the blink of an eye. No one knew where it went, but one thing was for sure: it had something to do with the mysterious wind.
After a while, the chair lost its depth of color and disintegrated into millions of pieces. There wasn't even a trace left of the strange existence.
After ensuring the intruder had left her property, the woman returned to her old posture. She rested her face on the edge of the well. Her watchful eyes looked longingly at the sleeping man. Her pink lips moved, but no sound came from them.
~~~~~~
Ramiel stood confidently on firm ground, fully prepared for the battle ahead. A simple spear rested in his right hand. However, one shouldn't be fooled by its appearance. It was made of a material that increased the impact by microscopic metal vibrations. This weapon proved to be highly effective in piercing monsters' hard armor and chitin. It was extremely heavy, but its combat power compensated for this.
Ramiel's body was covered in light armor that shimmered in the cave's pale light. The armor was a bit loose because Ramiel lacked muscles, but it served its purpose. The runes engraved on it provided increased mobility and a powerful single-use spell. It was Ramiel's emergency board in a no-win situation.
With the help of Leach's skills, all of the man's stats fluctuated around 120, the only exception being mana, which Leach cannot yet increase. Ramiel lamented this, but there was nothing he could do about it.
The man looked behind him one last time. Behind him stood his small army. Two Condemned Sloths and four The Condemned Wolves were directly behind him, ready to charge at any moment.
Behind them, Caera confidently held her bow taut. The bowstring rubbed against her cheek, and a sharp eye had already tracked the target. The woman, like the former hunter, was ready to unleash hell. All it took was one sign of a man.
Next to her, Asme gave her all. Sweat poured down her beautiful face. Her hands trembled under the pressure of mana.
Casting an illusion spell from such a distance wasn't the easiest thing to do. The woman had to concentrate fully, completely exhausting her reserves of mysterious energy. The task would have been impossible if the monster had been intelligent. Fortunately, its mind had been damaged during the mutation.
When the spell was ready, Asme gently nodded to Ramiel. Without waiting, the man gave the order to attack.
" Caera, now. "
The elfess released the bowstring, and the long arms of the bow strained to the limit, propelling the deadly projectile. The arrow flew toward its target in the blink of an eye. In flight, under the influence of Caera's spell, it turned into a deadly lightning bolt infused with the element of space. The spell consumed more than half of the woman's mana reserves.
When Ramiel was at a safe distance, he kicked the ground in pursuit of the projectile. Immediately following him was a small army of monsters...
Although the arrow's flight lasted only a few seconds, everyone, without exception, watched the projectile's trajectory with bated breath. After all, the first strike is the most important.
The lightning struck the body of a huge scorpion with a bang. A furious screech came out of its mouth, and one of its legs bled blue blood. There was an unpleasant smell of burning in the air, irritating the nostrils.
The furious monster charged forward, emerging from a cloud of dust. The unexpected attack during the afternoon nap had sent him into a frenzy. However, this was only the beginning of his troubles.
As his head emerged from the smoke, his eyes widened in horror. He saw a spear coming at him with dizzying speed. Seeing no way to avoid the attack, he covered himself with his tail, deflecting the dangerous weapon.
Sparks flew out from under the sharp spearhead. With a loud rasp, the weapon flew upward, leaving a vertical cut from which a thin trickle of blood flowed.
Bidding farewell to the crisis, the monster let out a cry of satisfaction as it lowered its guard. Mindlessly loosening it turned out to be a big mistake. But no one could blame him. After all, no one would expect to meet a degenerate like the former hunter.
Out of the shadow of the spinning spear came Ramiel, surprising the scorpion. He caught the weapon in mid-air, twisting his body into a powerful thrust. The spear moved forward with a noise of bursting air. Its blade was shrouded in an element of darkness, giving it even more penetrating power.
The perfectly aimed attack struck the same spot as before, activating the Cursed Condemnation. A message about the imposition of a negative status element appeared in Ramiel's mind. It wasn't a knockdown, just a slight weakening of the defense, but the man wasn't expecting anything extraordinary. After all, the skill didn't consider the stats gained with Leach.
When the spears were drawn, a fountain of blood gushed from the monster's tail. Ramiel used its back as a springboard, building distance. The enraged scorpion refused to let the aggressor escape. With dizzying speed, it turned 180 degrees to face Ramiel. Its claws, covered with a thin layer of frost, attacked its victim in flight.
Remaining calm, Ramiel parried the incoming attack with a horizontal spear cut, saving the body from dismemberment. Landing safely, the man improved his grip on the weapon, preparing to deflect the incoming attacks.
The former hunter's spear moved with deadly speed, redirecting fatal attacks. His movements were graceful. From a third-person perspective, it looked like a deadly dance. The man dodged all attacks with the smallest possible margin of movement. In this way, he conserved most of his strength.
Ramiel bent down, deadly pincers jammed above his head. He felt the temperature of the air above him drop rapidly. If he had been hit by one of them, he would have been turned into an ice sculpture at best.
Ramiel thrust the spear in front of him with a deft flick of his wrist. The blade sliced through the crystal armor covering the monster's joints. Using the Double Blade, he imbued the weapon with the element of lightning, sending crackling bolts into the open wound. The metal spear acted as a great conductor, wreaking havoc inside the scorpion's body.
Suddenly, the crystals on the creature's back lit up, and with them, huge amounts of mana leaked from the mutant's body.
Ramiel's sixth sense warned him of impending danger. He tried to remove the weapon, but it was jammed between the crystals. Having no choice, Ramiel dropped the spear, stepping out of the shadows a hundred meters away. His escape turned out to be the right decision because the area around the scorpion was covered with thousands of icicles of ice. If Ramiel had stayed there a moment longer, it would have become a living shashlik.
Fuck... why does it have to have regenerative abilities.
Ramiel cursed his luck. A new layer of crystals slowly covered up the damage he had inflicted on the scorpion. This didn't bode well. If the ex-hunter wanted to kill this monstrosity, he had to do it in one exchange of pleasantries. A battle of attrition wasn't an option. Ramiel might be able to drag out the battle until Leach stole enough stats, but Asme was running out of mana. If his generator in the form of Night Rippers was destroyed... then the battle would be over faster than it began.
Ramiel sighed, extending his hand in front of him. The exact same spear materialized in his right hand. However, the magic of space is baffled. The former hunter often thanked himself for deepening his affinity with this element. If it weren't for this, his death counter would certainly not have stopped at ten thousand.
The man walked slowly toward the monster. His current tactic was to activate the Cursed Condemnation over and over again, hoping for something good.
Maybe I can draw poison or an effect that limits movement. Without that, my chances of winning are dwindling...
Tightening his grip on the weapon more firmly, he moved forward. Showing a good sense of balance, he leaped over the ice icicles, gaining momentum. Ramiel didn't know what happened, but the scorpion didn't move.
Perhaps this is a side effect of the spell?
Ramiel didn't take any risks. Instead, he threw several knives. The moment the weapon's blade made contact with the crystals on the monster's body, the latter exploded, freezing everything in the area. The man stood on one of the icicles and watched the situation.
After the explosion, the monster's huge body moved, dropping the remains of the crystal. Not even a second passed, and new armor had replaced the old one. The scorpion stared angrily at Ramiel, waiting for him to move. The monster's tail was put on high standby, prepared to pierce the man at any moment.
So it was a trap... pretty good, but too easy. A smile appeared on Ramiel's face. He already knew that this was going to be a good fight. Not only is his opponent strong, but his fighting instincts are commendable.
Ramiel wasn't a battle maniac, constantly looking for stronger challenges. The man simply enjoyed a good fight. He enjoyed it but never overdid it. After all, he wasn't immortal or invincible. If he couldn't win, he always tried to retreat, saving his own skin.
Tired of the stalemate, Ramiel dashed forward, watching the mutant carefully. Becoming five steps from the monster's attack range, the man whistled. The scorpion, sensing no danger, moved forward. Flexing its muscles, it launched a deadly attack aimed at the victim's heart.
However, when the stinger was halfway through, it met a slight resistance...
The pierced flesh unexpectedly exploded, scattering sticky ooze everywhere. The scorpion's movements slowed down slightly, and smoke rose from the areas covered with the black liquid.
Taking advantage of the situation, Ramiel redirected his spear attack into the ground.
The scorpion's tail was immobilized with a loud crack between the rocks. The monster sent wide open pincers at Ramiel, ready to rip the man to shreds. The scorpion was sure of victory, but then the annoying insect jumped on the limb that would seal its fate.
The monster wanted to throw it off, but then two wolves attacked its mouth. Wanting to save its eyes, the scorpion left Ramiel alone to deal with the uninvited guests.
Using its massive jaws, it crushed the two attackers at once. Its mouth was bathed in blood, and parts of its entrails dangled from it. The bodies of the two wolves writhed in agony beneath the scorpion. The poor creatures howled in pain as they bled to death. In a fit of rage, one of them tried to get up and attack, but the lack of hind paws combined with the falling entrails was an insurmountable obstacle.
The wolves' sacrifice wasn't in vain. The short window of time Ramiel got was terrible for the monster. Standing on its back, the former hunter took a swing. With one precise cut, he chopped off the scorpion's wounded leg. A fountain of blood gushed from where the limb had been.
The monster roared in pain, losing its balance. It tried to throw Ramiel off, but the latter held on by slashing and stabbing the monster's body. With each attack, more and more crystals spilled from the scorpion's armor until the flesh tissue was exposed. As you can guess, this was only the beginning of the mutant's problems.
Hearing Ramiel's voice in his head, the little snake stung the monster and applied all its venom. At first, it had difficulty penetrating the skin, but thanks to the man's savage attack, which stripped the scorpion of its annoying armor, it succeeded.
Ramiel, feeling the agitated mana, grabbed Sarron and retreated. Escaping, the man chopped off one more of the monster's limbs and disappeared into the shadows.
Moments later, the entire area within an 80-meter radius froze. Small particles of ice floated in the air, trapping even dust. At the center of the explosion was a colossal monster. This time, instead of crystal armor, his body was covered in a layer of ice, and the places where blood was pouring froze.
Ramiel looked at the mutant in awe. If he hadn't retreated in time, he would surely have died.
The man didn't know how effective the poison would be, but several notifications appearing in his head made him feel better. Despite the loss of half of his mana reserves, Ramiel's face showed a wicked smile.
| The curse was imposed - rage |
| The curse was imposed - foggy mind |
| The curse was imposed - hallucinations |
| The negative status effect was imposed - impaired regeneration |
| The negative status effect was imposed - bone fragility |
" Ready for a second round? "