บท 27: Face to face
The cave floor felt like ice under my feet, as I stared down my maybe-death.
The cave was cold, made colder by me being all but naked, but I had more pressing concerns.
"You came unarmed to a frog fight," I told the War Shadow standing menacingly in front of me.
"But let it be known that I am merciful, so I shall throw my weapon away as well. Let our battle be legendary!" I spoke as I threw the Frog Shooter I held in my hand to the ground.
It flopped like a fleshy brick to the ground, croaking in pain yet barely able to move.
Having its hind legs severed tended to do that to a creature.
The Shadow remained completely unimpressed by my show of insanity, content to move slowly toward me, like a predator stalking its prey.
It paid no mind to the handicapped frog I brought with me. Not a single second did its attention waver from me. The frog might as well have not existed.
Coupled with its complete lack of reaction to anything I said...I liked what I saw.
My stats were not, could not be up to par with this thing, not yet at least...but there could be no progress without risk.
The fight began suddenly as the Shadow's bladed hands cut through the air, faster than even a frog shooter's spiked tongue.
I sprang into action, jumping high to avoid the deadly swipe.
In mid-air, I could see the monster's dark form clearly.
I kicked out, landing a solid hit to its side. The monster didn't even fucking flinch, but I didn't really expect it to.
I propelled myself backward, evading claws that would have severed my leg by a wide margin. Alas, one step forward was all the shadow had to take and I was once again in its striking range.
I jumped and dodged, my agility keeping me alive and breathing. "I've had smoother dates than this," I muttered as I narrowly avoided a swipe.
Its movements were as frantic as a bull in a china shop, yet paradoxically efficient. Vicious. Deadly.
I didn't counter, I couldn't counter, even as small rivulets of blood started pouring from many tiny gashes on my body.
My agility was good, my Dexterity even better. Unearthly really, for someone with three days of delving experience, but against a monster whom even the eldest of rank 1 adventurers couldn't underestimate... I was simply not up to par.
The Shadow didn't show any shred of mercy nor any semblance of humanity as it continued to swing its bladed fingers toward me.
It didn't become impatient
It showed no hesitation as I began jumping up and down around it, using my enhanced legs to the best of my ability to propel me from the walls to the ceiling and down again.
No fear, no apprehension, no bloodthirst.
It was a machine, with the simple objective of tearing me to shreds.
My improvised hand-to-hand combat style gave me very few options besides going within arm's range and kicking, clawing, and punching, and I knew full well what would happen should I try that.
A losing battle, this was.
A one-way trip to Jesus or his Danmachi equivalent.
...or it would have been if the shadow's mental prowess matched its speed...that is to say, if it wasn't dumb as a sack of bricks.
The War Shadow's rampage suddenly halted.
A bony, spear-like tongue had pierced through the mass of its shadowy flesh, tearing through the back of its shoulder and emerging from the front with a sickening squelch.
Black blood oozed from the wound, spilling down its dark form in thick rivulets, staining the ground beneath it. For the first time since our fight began, the dark monster stood still, stunned, by the unexpected assault.
It tried to turn, its featureless face darting toward the source of its pain. The crippled frog I had brought along, stood just behind it, barely alive.
Its bulbous eye was clouded, its body shivering with the effort of its attack. But even in its weakened state, the frog's predatory instincts surged to the forefront. It couldn't care less that its tongue had pierced the War Shadow; its only focus was on me.
I watched as it strained to reel its tongue back in, muscles twitching with effort. For a moment, the scene was almost comical—two beasts locked in a battle of confusion and instinct, each too mindless to realize they were obstructing one another.
'Truly, friendly fire is a bitch'
Knowing that deeper into the dungeon the intellect of the monsters would rise didn't diminish my good mood. That was for future me to deal with.
The War Shadow looked back toward me, the damage evident as black blood continued to pour from the gaping wound, pooling at its feet. It wanted to lunge at me, to finish what it had started, but the frog's tongue held it in place like a leash.
Then, with a heavy, wheezing croak, the Frog Shooter collapsed. Its tongue went slack, sliding free from the War Shadow's wound with a wet, slurping noise. Whether it was unconscious or dead, I couldn't tell, nor did I particularly care now that it finished its job.
The Shadow didn't seem to care or comprehend that one of its arms became unusable, but I was more than happy to explain it with my fists.
I landed lightly, sliding back to regain my footing. Blood smeared across my knuckles as I struck again. The monster's only hand slashed through the air, narrowly missing me.
It was still faster, it was still stronger, but if I couldn't deal with it, crippled as it was, I honestly deserved to die.
"Is that all you've got? I've seen toddlers with more precision." I taunted, and the monster showed no signs of comprehension, as it ought to be.
The cave walls seemed to close in, echoing our brutal dance. There was no desperation in its movements even now, but it could no longer keep me at bay.
I saw an opening as it overextended. With a quick leap, I delivered a solid punch to its core. The monster staggered, its dark form rippling as if struggling to hold itself together. I pressed the advantage, my fists landing blow after blow, allowing its blades to bite deep into my forearms.
Blood mixed with the shadows as I continued my assault. The cave floor, once smooth, was now a chaotic mess of red and dark blood.
Finally, with a powerful strike, the shadow monster crumbled into a puddle of dark sludge. "And that's how you end a performance," I said, catching my breath.
The cave was eerily silent now. "Now, what's with these weird smells I am sensing? Is a party coming toward me?" I muttered, looking away from the wreckage and into the darkness of the dungeon as I grabbed my prize.
A tiny, crunchy magic stone.
My soul sang with hunger as I felt my skill activate.
'Truly, it has been too long'
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A.N :
I've been reading Quests on Spacebattles and wanna try my hand. I will put here the traits our MC can choose every time he reaches a milestone. All combat will be done through dice rolls and traits and stats will give boosts to said rolls.
Anyway, check out the War Shadow traits :
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1-Black Blood :
"The Shadow has no heart to pump this viscous fluid through its flesh, yet it flows nonetheless"
-Air isn't needed anymore as long as the MC has Magic remaining in his body. Drowning becomes impossible and destroyed lungs aren't a problem for a few hours. If the heart is destroyed though...
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2- Shadow Flesh :
"It rips, it tears, it falls, but the Shadow marches on"
-All internal organs besides the heart, the lungs, and the brain become redundant and get turned into Shadow Flesh. This does not affect physiological processes. Everything can heal with enough time. Scales with Endurance
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3- Featurless :
"They have no face, for they are no one"
-A dark bony cowl grows on the MC's head, twice as durable as any other bone, offering protection to the head. All senses are slightly enhanced despite the mask covering the eyes, nose, and ears completely. Scales with Endurance.
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The choice with the most votes gets chosen. Lets see how this goes.
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FangYuan1234
FangYuan1234 Sorry for the delay, started being a DM in DND for my gf and my creative craving was quite sated. We did Naruto and Lord of the Mysteries so far and honestly it was damn cool. I'm thinking of doing some DC as well.
I also got into pokemon fanfics so there's that.
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