The Iceborn who stood before me wasn't an Iceborn. It was a fearsome beast. Merely unleashing its menacing presence exerted a strong pressure on me, pushing me back and I almost hit the forcefield barrier that surrounded the arena.
He was tough—way tougher than I gave him credit for.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The heavy sound was heard when he—with his gigantic body, began walking towards me, his speed gradually increasing with each step. Gaining enough momentum, he punched with both arms on his right. I was nimble enough to evade just in time and he hit the ground where I was standing a moment ago. Sharp shards of ice erupted from the spot he had hit.
"Dark Strom!"
I cast my magic spell, and the magical prowess emerged from the staff I had selected earlier, spiraling like a vortex of dark energy.
He sure was tough. However, he wasn't agile enough that he could dodge my attack. The spell hit him. He stood there firmly, crossing his two arms to block the attack. The impact was grave and seemingly he was affected. But then, with his remaining two hands, he materialized something.
The next thing I saw was a strong blizzard coursing towards me. It blocked my sight, preventing me from detecting his next course of action.
As I tried to clear the blizzard away, I saw that he had already vanished. He was in mid-air. Perhaps it would take a little amount of time to locate him. Thanks to Shika who screamed 'above you' from outside the arena, I was able to prevent the delay and launch my attack again.
"Night's Protection!"
Even if I had materialized the protective shield, his attack still landed on me. I skedded backward, sustaining the damage he had put on his attack.
[Health reduced: 70; Current Health: 1790/1860]
"That still took a lot," I murmured at the system panel as I stood back. Looking at the Mutated Iceborn, I tried speaking to him, "Defense and Offense at the same time? Pretty impressive! Not everyone had that kind of skill, you know."
His expression didn't change and remained as before—menacing and grunting while showing his teeth.
'Oh, he's a beast. The wildest one can ever counter.' I spoke inwardly as I smiled slightly. 'Not that I had hoped he'd understand me.'
If I could communicate with him, I might've bugged his brain with my bragging. It always worked on players, leading them to lose their focus and concentration. However, it wasn't applicable to him—not that it mattered anyway.
In any case, I continued with my plan. Normally, I wouldn't make a plan in advance. Always tried seeking a way out while being in the process. The plan I had made was to assure Shika and Zariel that we'd win.
I stomped the staff—the magical item, on the ground and moved forward from the position, leaving the staff stuck on the ground behind.
[Item: Lunar Staff (Grade-B), has been selected]
Yup, it was the same staff as before.
Holding the staff, I closed in and the Iceborn was about to land his attack on me. I bent backward, dodging the wave of his hands, and prepared to attack his torso.
"Dark Strom!"
It almost penetrated his body. But it didn't leave much effect on his torso.
The attack failed. He was about to attack me. As I was very close, it was slightly hard for me to fall back.
"Shine!"
The Lunar Staff shone brilliantly, blinding his eyesight for a split second. Yet, he managed to land his attack anyway.
Both of my shoulders were crashed by his four punches from both sides. The force exerted by him was so immense that I felt both of my collar bones had been shattered and had touched each other.
Before I could understand properly how he managed to get agile that quicker, a pain surged through my body and mind, tearing the muscles and nerves all at once.
I coughed blood.
[Heavy injury sustained]
[Health has been greatly reduced]
[Health:1240/1860]
If I had sustained that much, I had to make him suffer twice. I was in his area of effect, and so was he. I chuckled with blood pouring out of my mouth.
"Dark Insolation!"
[AOE (Lv-2) has been applied]
[Enemy standing in the area of effect of the wide-range attack will sustain an additional 10% damage]
[SEA (Lv-2) has been applied]
[The efficiency of the skill effectiveness has been increased by 10%]
The blast was insane. Even though I was affected by it, I got what I wanted nonetheless.
The additional attributes had done a great job aiding me. Not only did it increase my attack effectiveness, but it also increased the damage sustained by the Mutated Iceborn. He felt the same tragic pain that I felt.
His arms loosened and I slipped throng. Sliding beneath him, I stood at the exact opposite of where I had stuck the staff earlier.
[Skill Gauge: 68%]
"More 32% to go my final attack." As I murmured, I planted the second staff like before.
Shika knew what I was attempting. As it appeared, however, Yuukimura couldn't comprehend my tactic, which was beneficial for me anyway.
[Item: Lunar Staff (Grade-B), has been selected]
I pulled another staff from my inventory. It was necessary. I still needed to plant more two that would make a cross pattern over the arena. To execute my plan, I needed to do it ASAP!
As he was still recovering from the blast that almost shattered him, I had no issue planting the third staff. Getting the fourth staff from the inventory I, now, needed to stick it as well.
However, before doing so, I needed to recover my health while I had the time. I pulled a potion out of my inventory, but…
[Failed! The Arena Barrier does not allow you to use it in healings]
Dammit!
I frowned as I bit my lips, seeing the prevention. Yuukimura might have already anticipated this. His grinning chuckle said it otherwise.
No problem.
I had other methods and that was to take the Mutated Iceborn before I ran out of health.
"Dark Strom!"
I attacked him, giving him no time to regenerate as I tried approaching my aimed position in the meantime.
"Dark Storm!"
I attacked once again, then another and another.
"Dark Strom!"
"Dark Storm!"
"Dark Storm!"
Each attack hit him quite accurately—and got the notification I was hoping for.
[Skill Gauge: 100%]
[Ultimate Skills of the Class: Mage (Tier-6), are now available]
Sweet!
As I was about to reach the position, a wall of ice emerged from the ground, blocking the way and preventing me from taking the spot.
I looked back. He had already recovered and, now, he was rushing towards me with different magical attributes on his four different arms.
The first one struck.
I evade, bending my upper body.
The second one struck.
I dodged, falling back—almost near the ice wall between that stood between me and my destination.
The third one struck.
I tried dodging it too, but it left a scratch on my temple as it struck the huge wall, trembling it vigorously.
I wish I could say the same for his fourth attack which landed just on my torso, coursing an unimaginable pain through my body. The ice wall was shattered as I was penetrated through it.
[Warning: Health has dropped below 500]
[Health: 480/1860]
[Fatigue: 61%]
"Zanthrix….!!!" Shika screamed.
Of course, she would. I knew she would, but it felt blurred as my ears were being deafened by the impact.
"Dammit! It took 760 of my health?!" I, somehow manage to stand.
The difference in our strength was high. Even so, a good strategy could beat a monster like him. I knew that. I was confident about that.
"Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!"
I didn't lose my sanity, yet I still laughed deliberately. He had threw me where I was trying to get. I struck the ground with the final staff, completing my preparation for my trump card.
"Dark Imprisonment!"
As I called out, the four Lunar Staff shined, surging with dark energy as they cast their magic upwards. The point where they met and merged with one another was exactly the point where the Mutated Iceborn stood beneath. The merged ray then fell on him like a snake, tying him with dark shackles all over his ice body.
It soon started absorbing his strength too. One of the ultimate attacks of my mage class. He couldn't move, giving me an opening to use my final strike.
"Summon Zariel!" I screamed out.
Since I was a Summoner—though secondarily, I could still summon her. After all, it was only healing that was prevented, not the class-based skills.
A second passed.
Then another.
And another.
I stood like an idiot, and the shackles continued sucking his strength. However, Zariel didn't appear.
Strange!
Zariel wasn't the type to make delay whenever I called for her.
"Then why isn't she appearing?"