章 84: Sentrav’s hut (II)

Liam flourished his swords, performing skills in high sequence.

Dorn's body trembled as the holy marks exploded above her head. Her sharp claws dug into the ground as her eyes reddened dangerously.

Suddenly the alligator retreated, scurrying back into the water. A faint light could be seen on the surface as Dorn's small horn began to glow.

A moment later a large ball of water close to a meter in diameter separated from the surface.

It levitated in the air, flying towards Liam.

The veteran knew that there was no use in trying to escape. The water would follow him everywhere and the wooden hut was unfortunately locked up.

Thus, he readied himself as the ball of water stopped high above his head.

Suddenly it exploded with a loud bang. The fog stirred chaotically, the wind shaking the surrounding trees.

Small dots of blue light appeared on the ground, indicating danger. Liam didn't dare to step on them.

Like a dancer he moved smoothly amidst the tall grass, twisting and turning his body to avoid the water filled with magic raining down everywhere.

However, it was impossible to avoid all the extremely dense drops. Liam gritted his teeth as he watched his HP being shaved away.

[-35!]x5

The situation continued for a few seconds. Liam glanced at the remaining duration of holy tempest, making sure that it didn't run out prematurely.

Luckily Dorn crawled back onto the coast a moment later, eager to rip the pesky intruder apart.

Liam took his chance before the boss was completely out of the water to close the distance. His swords cut at the monster's head to apply two holy marks, which he directly triggered with brutal strike.

To his own surprise Dorn suddenly stopped. Brutal strike's stun had surprisingly affected the enemy despite it being of lord rank and having a much higher level.

There wasn't much Liam could do, though. He only managed to get in two more attacks before Dorn regained her movement, hurrying back on solid ground and snapping at her opponent.

Liam watched the alligator's movement closely. Seeing the first sign of an attack he didn't doge backwards, instead closing the distance.

Dorn's jaws snapped at empty air once more. Her jaws weren't dexterous and had difficulties attacking towards her sides. Before she could turn her body, vicious attacks cut into her flank.

Liam's skills came off cooldown, allowing him to deal a huge amount of damage.

"Roah!"

Dorn wailed in pain. Her horns lit up with a blue light which quickly turned to a deep red. Her body pulsed as mana gathered around her, spreading an invisible pressure towards her surroundings.

Liam gritted his teeth as he recognized the signs of a berserk state.

Dorn's speed suddenly exploded. She spun her body around with uncanny movements, her large jaw clamping down on Liam's thigh.

[-480!]

The veteran decided not to dodge, suffering a large amount of damage. In exchange he was able to retaliate abruptly.

[-50!]

[-25!]

All of Dorn's attributes were strengthened, decreasing the effects of Liam's attacks.

The alligator entered a mindless stage, throwing out attack after attack. Liam didn't dare to receive the next two hits, narrowly dancing around the threatening jaw.

A moment later Dorn stopped. She raised her head, producing a gurgling sound, before opening her mouth wide and spraying a green liquid in a wide cone shape.

Liam had been waiting for this moment. Instead of defending he jumped right into the attack, arriving before Dorn.

The green liquid didn't deal any damage but quickly stacked poison on the enemy.

Liam ignored his status as he sent another wave of skills, taking most of Dorn's HP.

The alligator seemed to feel the threat of death even in its rampaging state. She stopped her skill. Seeking safety she retreated back into the water.

Noticing three large spheres of water separating form the surface, Liam felt a drop of sweat run down his neck. Before the skill could arrive, he hastily took out a bottle of antidote from his inventory.

Ignoring the burning sensation, he downed it in one gulp, neutralizing the poison stacks.

A moment later the surroundings shook. Water rained down on Liam. It was enhanced with powerful magic, visibly blurring the surroundings.

The rain was incredibly dense. Liam did his best to avoid getting hit but still lost more than three hundred HP.

With only one fourth remaining the veteran didn't dare to take any risks. He pulled out another health potion, downing it while Dorn crawled back on land.

Two pairs of eyes met, electrifying sparks flickering between them.

Liam breathed evenly, keeping his attention on Dorn. He planned to wait for her attack before finishing her off.

However, the alligator didn't play by the rules. Her horns were enveloped by a red light, shooting two reddish water bullets at Liam.

Cursing inwardly the latter barely managed to dodge. Two holes appeared in the tree trunk behind him.

Realizing that it was pointless to wait for Dorn to come closer, Liam had no choice but to dash towards her.

A rapid bite awaited him. Liam dug his heels into the ground to stop his momentum, letting Dorn hit empty air.

Next, he instantly swung his sword for an attack, followed by a [Brutal Strike].

Dorn suddenly tumbled backwards. The madness in her eyes receded as she lowered her body to the ground.

A sound which was supposed to be pitiful came from her mouth.

Others might still be caught up in the heat of battle, not comprehending what was happening.

But Liam immediately came to a stop. He checked out Dorn's status, noticing that the opponent had only a single HP left.

The tension left Liam's body as he put his weapons away. The fight ended automatically. In Liam's vision Dorn's name changed from red to green as the alligator slowly got up.

She looked at Liam with a conflicting expression without moving further.

One nephilim and one alligator looked at each other.

"Dorn, I'm on my way to find Sentrav.

But I need an object which he holds dear. Can you help me?"

The alligator tilted its head slightly as if pondering. She opened her maw wide. Retching sounds could be heard. Suddenly a small black key fell out covered in slimy salvia.

Liam smiled wryly as he picked up the object, only daring to touch it with the tips of two fingers.

Dorn watched reluctantly as Liam walked towards the door of Sentrav's house. She trudged behind him, always keeping a certain distance.

As Liam inserted the key Dorn flinched but didn't try to stop him.

Thus, the player could finally open the door, entering a spacious room.

Apparently Sentrav know how to live a leisurely life judging from the first look into his house. A spacious living room revealed itself.

Although it was dusty and the furniture suffered under the humidity, one could still imagine how Sentrav sat in his comfortable armchair in front of the large fireplace reading one of the old books from a shelve nearby.

Parts of multiple powerful creatures were proudly displayed on the walls.

Liam scanned the room quickly before stepping through an arc, reaching the kitchen.

Immediately a shimmer of light fell into his eyes. It danced around a large pot, obviously marking it as a special item.

Liam didn't hesitate long, picking it up and checking its properties.

[Sentrav's Pot

Category: Quest

A large iron pot. It isn't anything special, but many powerful creatures ended up in it thanks to the food-loving Sentrav.]

As soon as Liam picked up the pot, his quest updated telling him to return to Alotrs.

But the veteran wasn't quite done yet. To Dorn's displeasure he searched Sentrav's house, finding a bronze treasure chest in the bedroom.

He received an elegant weapon of blue quality. But unfortunately, it was a spear which no one among his party members used.

Thus, he could only begrudgingly put it away, waiting until enough people reached level twelve to sell it at a good price.

However, his search wasn't done yet. Liam went through a door branching off from the living room.

He arrived in a spacious room filled with materials from rare and powerful creatures.

Even Liam who had seen most of Crunaboul felt impressed as he studied the colorful tailfeathers, sturdy bones, or sharp horns.

Unfortunately, all of these treasures were tightly locked away behind extremely study glass which was close to unbreakable for the current players.

The time one would waste to get one's hands on the materials were simply not worth it.

Liam was quite certain about it as he knew someone in his past life who did painstakingly steal all the materials here.

But in the end, he had neither the skills nor the recipes to make use of them. He could only put the treasures aside until the late game when he finally turned them into profit.

However, in one corner of the room there was an inconspicuous object which surprisingly wasn't locked away. Liam picked it up with a grin on his face.