NOVEL NEXT Chapter 80: Agility Boost
"Who the hell do you think you are?!?" The yell came from a burly figure that was covered in mud.
The man ran towards him, closing in too fast for Geth to cast a Barrier. It had to be noted that he wasn't as fast as Filthy, let alone Blade.
He didn't have time to dodge the incoming ax, but he had plenty of time to block. His staff came up to meet the ax... and he never felt the expected impact.
Thorn had already shifted his body weight and spun in a full 360, completely avoiding the staff and driving his ax into Geth's thigh. Blood spurted out as the man withdrew his weapon and jumped back a few paces, standing beside Blade. Both of them took a tick of damage from Corruption Aura.
Geth watched as his health dropped by over 90 points. It wasn't a massive number, but he would only be able to take twenty similar blows. The wound in his upper thigh was sunk deep into his muscle, though stopped long before it could reach the bone.
"What the fuck is this!?" Thorn yelled angrily. "That blow should have cleaved him in half!"
Blade glanced over at his companion. "Be glad that you can even hurt him. Most of my attacks do two or three damage at most."
Thorn looked over at Blade with wide eyes before glancing back at their enemy.
"This must be that guy sitting on top of the Leaderboards." Blade then told him. Even if he was a natural fighter, Thorn wasn't bright enough to put the pieces together.
"Geth!" Blade called out.
'Ahh, so he realized,' Geth thought, raising his eyebrow quizzically while maintaining a defensive posture. The wound on his leg had already stopped bleeding, much to the bewilderment of Thorn.
"What business do you have with us?" The man called out. "As far as I'm aware, we haven't struck any enmity with you."
Geth nodded at the man's observation before responding. "You're right, not directly. Some of your men tried to take away some of the women under my protection. On top of that, we happened to run across your... prostitution ring." He really couldn't think of what else to call it.
Blade cursed under his breath and looked angrily at Thorn. It was something the man had already begun before they met, he wouldn't have followed him if he didn't allow it. Geth didn't miss the look, but it didn't matter. If Blade had allowed it, he should die too.
Thorn turned beet red, becoming angry as he realized the man in front of him had taken his Dungeon away. He didn't wait for any more of their chit-chat.
The man kicked off of one leg, barrelling towards Geth, like a bull who had seen red. Geth cast State Change in front of him, but the man leaped over the mud and came into close quarters.
Thorn's ax swung quickly down towards Geth's head, he didn't have time to block. He shifted himself to the side, the ax skirting by his ear and burying itself into his shoulder. This time, over 130 health faded from his HP as blood began splashing around him.
During this time, Thorn had suffered two more ticks of damage while Blade had completely vanished. The ax was pulled from his left shoulder, blood spraying as the metal slipped away. His left arm dangled limply by his side.
Geth barely had time to block the next blow, adjusting his staff just in time to block the blade coming at his side. As he did so, a strong blast of lightning struck him in between the shoulders, 53 damage flashed before him.
Luckily, the lightning jumped and hit Thorn who was standing right in front of him as well. The damage that Thorn took was minuscule, but the numbing effect he received allowed Geth to back off.
'My magic resistance must keep me from feeling the numbing sensation. His Strength is high, but he isn't that fast. If I can match his Agility, I've won.' Geth thought. As he did so, a large formation stretched out from beneath him.
Mana flowed from his mind and into the formation, it wasn't long before the effects took place. Geth's Agility jumped from 35 to 69 in a matter of moments. He could feel his senses becoming more alert as his speed increased.
At that moment, Thorn fought off the numbing effect and jumped forward. His ax swung down towards Geth's head again, quickly changing directions and heading for his chest.
Geth smiled as he blocked the blow, causing him to slide back a few feet. Thorn was surprised but pressed on.
Geth blocked blow after blow while throwing up Barriers to block the Boss' strikes. Thorn's HP constantly decreased due to the damage from Geth's Corruption Aura. It didn't take long for him to start sweating as his health dropped under half.
Thorn started to grow concerned. Even his blocked hits were causing a little damage but the man had too much damn health for it to matter.
On top of that, whatever this dark mist was kept depleting his hp. The other man's wounds had already stopped bleeding, the one on his thigh closing up. For the first time since coming to this world, Thorn began to feel weak.
With that feeling of doubt biting at his conscience, he began making mistakes. At first, they weren't noticeable, but Geth started noticing. He managed to land a hit or two with his staff, causing 20 to 30 damage and large bruises.
Coupled with his Aura, the man's health began to deplete faster. Geth did notice that as his health dropped under 50% and then again at 30%, Thorn's attacks became increasingly stronger. Blocking the man's attacks was starting to numb his arms and he was taking more damage.
Geth continued pushing until Thorn crossed under 15%, at that point the battle took a turn. Thorn's Agility and Strength both seemed to double. There was no longer any chance for him to block, the most he could do was make sure that the ax didn't land anywhere vital.
'Left, left, right, from up top.' Geth tried his best to keep up, but he couldn't move fast enough. As his health dropped under 1200 he cast Restoration, instantly closing most of the wounds he'd sustained. Seeing this, Thorn became even more ferocious in his attacks.