Chapter 428

A/N : Sorry for the delay. Small insight into my creative process here, the fight originally ended with Ajax unconscious, I didn't like that much of repeat of his last hard fight so I reworked the ending.

At this distance Ajax knew better than trying to land any meaningful damage with an arrow, the arrows he did fire weren’t even infused with mana but they were simply there to force the ettin to keep its shield up so that he could use [Mana Syphon] on it.

Unlike before the ettin took no chance as he swung his club around every single corner or rock to ensure there were no other traps awaiting it as it charged towards Ajax. Once the ettin went around a bend as it ran down the mountain Ajax stopped firing arrows and started applying poison to all his weapons.

Another of [Regeneration]’s downsides was that the healing worked as a sped up version of the natural process while also preventing any scars or permanent damage like loss of eyesight from taking root. This meant that as long as Ajax used his hemorrhagic poison the wounds wouldn’t close as fast and they would be bleeding profusely until the flesh would eventually reconnect.

As the boss came into view once more Ajax could see that the wound on its neck had already closed and all but disappeared, without a moment of hesitation Ajax uncorked his flask and downed his empowerment potion.

Unlike his previous fight against the worm this potion was meant to increase his physical aspects, boosting his magic wouldn’t be enough of a boost to overpower the boss’s caster side but a physical boost will put it on an almost even footing with its physical half. With this his countdown also started, he had three minutes to finish the fight before the potion boosting effect would run out and he had to deal with the backlash.

“RRRRAAAGGHHHH!” The warrior head roared in approval as it noticed Ajax charging into a melee confrontation.

The excitement didn’t last long as not only was Ajax faster than before his strength had also increased enough that a well aimed shield block was enough to get Ajax past the club and into range to damage the boss’s body.

Ajax’s sword didn’t cut all that deeply into the ettin’s thigh, most of the momentum having been used up in breaking the magical barrier, but the whole point of the blow was to simply land. Not only did Ajax inject his hemorrhagic poison into the boss but the edges of the wound glowed slightly purple from his [Curse Slash].

With only a three minute timer Ajax knew there was no point in preserving his stamina so he would liberally apply his [Curse Slash] while focusing the curse to weaken the boss as much as possible.

The elves had known that Ajax was a curse user, his fight in tournament semi-finals had made the knowledge common for all of the emissaries in attendance. What was not yet known however was Ajax’s ability to fuse his curse magic with his regular magic, one of the most potent combinations being the black flames that acted very much like uncontrolled flames that also spread curses to whatever they scorched. 

“I thought he was a stamina sacrifice curse user?” The accusation came quickly with more than one elf placing their hands on their weapons and ready to put an end to what they saw as a future tragedy. 

“He is a stamina sacrifice curse user.” the prince said, he didn’t reach for a weapon as he knew he had no chance against two ranger squads and Aranor so his only option here was words. “Pay attention to the moment he conjures the flames.” 

“He’s not using his Holy spells.” one of the rangers commented

“He knows it won’t work against the ettin?” Aranor asked. 

“He’s made that mistake before.” The prince confirmed with a nod and a smile as he remembered when Ajax learned that monsters didn’t always respond to pain the same way people did and most could and would ignore it during a battle. 

“Woah, you can do that?” one of the rangers exclaimed as they witnessed Ajax’s black flames unleashed upon the ettin's back. Having looked closely someone at his level could notice the fire spell and the curse slash activating independently before mixing.

“It takes impeccable timing, but yes curses can be infused into magic by mixing them at the right time.” the prince explained.

“Leader seven will be very interested to hear about this.” one of the ranger captains smirked as he imagined his friend’s reaction. The leader of squad seven was one of the few elves who hadn’t managed to unlock the use of mana skills, unlike most who suffer his fate he had pushed down the physical path in an effort to prove himself. Besides his usage of stamina sacrifice curse magic he was also known for taking advantage of his squads casters, from buffs and heals to attack spells.

“Do be careful when practicing.” the prince warned them. “Once the curse is infused not only will the mage no longer control the spell but the spell itself will not continue as usual, more than that each element interacts differently with cursed energy.” 

For the first time since the beginning of the fight the ettin was firmly on the back foot. Ajax’s paralytic poison had gained enough of a foothold to hinder the ettin’s footwork and with overly enhanced physical ability he was now buzzing around the boss slashing away with his sword and occasionally poking him with his spear.

The curse of weakness was spreading all over the ettin’s body along with the hemorrhagic poison, every swing or stab Ajax executed was backed by [Curse Slash] or [Mana Augmentation]. Both Ajax’s Mana and his Stamina reserves were being drained very quickly. 

The onslaught only ended when the boss finally managed to finish a cast. Ajax was very much surprised to find the boss had gone for an element he hadn’t encountered in combat before outside of elementals. The ettin’s entire body released high pressure steam pumping violently outwards. 

Unlike the few steam elementals he had faced before who also contained a decent amount of Life mana this steam was a pure mix of Fire and Water, the spell as a whole however also added Wind which forced Ajax to disengage.

The spell had to have been extremely mana intensive as Ajax could feel how big of a chunk his [Mana Syphon] had taken out of it, despite that he had still suffered some nasty burns on his arms through his armor, enchantments and even [Mana Skin], thankfully the damage wasn’t debilitating.

As soon as he noticed that the burn damage didn’t truly hinder his ability to swing his weapons Ajax forewent healing it, he didn’t have the Mana to spare and more than that the constant pain and small amount of damage produced by his every movement actually slowed the drain on his Stamina thanks to [Berserker]. 

As much as Ajax wanted to dash straight for the ettin he held back and tried to use a Wind spell of his own to clear the steam. While he knew the position of the boss thanks to his [Sense Mana] he couldn’t track the boss’s body outline. 

Ajax’s caution had paid off as the Wind spell revealed the boss too late for Ajax to dodge the swing of the club. Ajax barely had enough time to bring up his shield and tank the blow feeling the rocks crack beneath his feet under the pressure.

“He can tank a blow!” Elara was shocked.

“It wasn’t empowered by magic.” Aranor explained. “It’s how the club remained hidden in the steam, I’m also pretty sure his arm is broken.” 

Aranor was right, Ajax’s shield arm hung limply by his side even after the shield was returned to his spacial ring. Ajax had already started using Light mana in an attempt to mend the break and regain use of arm before he noticed something had changed. He stopped healing his arm and charged straight towards the boss.

The boss’s heavy use of mana had finally caught up with it. Ajax had been using [Mana Syphon] on its mana barrier since the fight began and after that last spell even the ettin’s prodigious mana pool was starting to run dry. While the boss didn’t dispel its barrier it did stop infusing its mana into the ground below its feet.

Ajax didn’t know if the boss felt safe because of the mana it had released into the ground before or if it forgot that he was specifically using his [Mana Syphon] to prevent the ettin from shaping the rock but he now had an opening where his mana alone affected the ground beneath them. 

Down to his last five hundred mana Ajax used two hundred of it to split the earth beneath one of the boss’s legs while at the same time building a small step to launch himself off of as well.

The ettin was caught completely off guard by the sudden tilting of his body, more than that Ajax’s oddly angled jump hadn't even made sense to it until Ajax’s sword powered by one hundred and fifty mana took one of the boss’s heads clean off.

The change was immediate, Ajax felt the boss’s mana barrier being quickly devoured by his [Mana Syphon], the mage was dead, all that was left now was the warrior. Unfortunately for Ajax his potion had also run out and a wave of exhaustion hit him like a tsunami, but he wasn’t ready to give in just yet.

With the boss’s leg still trapped in the whole Ajax surged forward, he knew he had gotten lucky, if he had killed the warrior the mage could have used the staff to repurpose the remaining stamina into mana and most likely overwhelm him. 

The ettin’s final head was protected by the metallic helm but without the mana barrier acting as an outer shell Ajax finally had a chance to use his hammer. He didn’t have enough mana to empower a strong enough Void attack to ensure it would go past both the helm and the ettin’s undoubtedly thick skull, fortunately he didn’t need to. Ajax pushed as much mana as he could into his most recent Legendary acquisition, Vibration mana. 

More than that he also stacked [Precise Blow] on top of [Vibrating Strike], he could feel the muscles of his unbroken arm protesting but [Limit Suppression] allowed him to hit so hard that his muscles tore even before the hammer blow landed.

The gong like sound of metal striking metal marked the end of the fight. Unlike his fight against the worm Ajax had managed to remain conscious but he was splayed out on his back without the power to move a muscle as he could feel the bruise form down his hammer arm where his muscles ripped apart.

None of that mattered to him however as his lips struggled to lift into a smile as his eyes took in a sight only he could see. The Achievement confirmed that the boss was dead.