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The Implock – Chapter 102 – “Embodiment”
🕑 Added 2022-05-22 00:15:52 +0000 UTC∼ Embodiment ∼
Chapter - 102
Toppling over, a loud boom shook the cavern, stalactites and rubble falling from the ceiling in a hail of debris. The golem that had just fallen over, cracks and fist-sized indentations riddling its body as it slowly regenerated, groaned in a distant hum as it laid on its back.
Battered, bloodied, and beaten, Nyx by the mouth of the cavern also had seen some damage, the setting sun silhouetting his abused body. Nevertheless, his face donned a bright, bloody smile. This body. This strength. It was intoxicating. For the gods' sake, he was fighting a golem; hand-to-fucking-hand. A golem. A fifteen feet tall monstrosity of solid rock. And he was winning...
Well, he wasn't actually sure he was winning. Couldn't really gauge how much left in the tank that the elemental had left. After all, he had been beating on this monster for nearly an hour straight without suffering real damage. But besides his broken ribs... knuckles... and he was pretty sure blood was leaking out in places blood never should...
So, all good.
Nyx shook his bruised and swollen hand. Having taken advantage of the terrain to trip the elemental had still come at a cost. This couldn't go on for much longer. Although this was a one-sided beat down, Nyx had ended up doing more damage to himself than the golem had just by attacking it.
But he had wanted to see his new body's limitations. And limitation seemed not to be in the vocabulary of the Vainlord. Nevertheless, all this work - incessant pummeling of a rock - had proven less than fruitful. Shocker, he knows. And while the golem looked worse for wear, he knew it would keep regenerating its stone body at a slow and steady pace. Faster than he could destroy it. Nyx could only wonder how much health it had.
On the bright side though, the mana within it had dulled significantly, and Nyx had a suspicion that as long it had that mana, it would keep regenerating. But based on how long it had taken already to simply get to this point, he knew that he wouldn't last much longer. At least, doing it this way wouldn't be enough.
Checking his mana, Nyx confirmed that it had mostly regenerated to full. Being sparse with his spells and taking the time to let it passively restore his stores, he had managed to recover it after the extensive testing of his new trait [Arcanic Rake]. And now that he had truly gotten a feel for his new body, there was only one thing on the agenda he was missing. What also hopefully could put an end to this fight.
Mana started to roil within Nyx, turning his core into a small maelstrom that fed mana into the spell he was casting. The amount of energy spinning around was more than he had ever used before in one go. And not by a little. But even as the spell was forming, the runes etched in his mind taking shape along the skin of his body as if tattoos, his body began changing.
His muscles bulged, mana surging to every inch of him. From head to toe. Arms elongating, fists enlarging, tail bulking up - it was as painful as it was invigorating. But most of all, he felt himself brimming with raw power. More than ever before. [Embody] was better than he could've imagined. He had assumed the form of his familiar, gaining a massive boost to strength and dexterity. Though it was only a partial bonus of Fisty's at the skill's current level, the change was significant. He pulled up his status.
Five attribute points in exchange for fifteen points of mana and severe strain on his mana channels didn't seem like much at first glance. However, that was far from the only thing [Embody] did. He had truly assumed the form of Fisty. Not only meaning his every single strength point meant more in the grand scheme of things, but this bonus was merely a 'minor' one. Ten percent of a stat could quickly become a lot. Not to mention - how much was a 'medium' bonus then - a 'major' bonus - or even, an 'extreme' bonus.
The possibilities. The raw potential of this skill...
Nyx was lost in his thoughts when the warm glare of the sun suddenly seemed to disappear. However, his danger sense kicked just in time to avoid the approaching boulder headed straight for him. Having retreated fully out of the cavern now, Nyx saw the golem behind the settling dust. It had finally gotten back its lumbering legs. Now throwing boulders of all things. It appeared it’s had enough of him, patience having worn thin - and that was saying a lot for what was essentially a sentient rock...
But Nyx wasn't focused on that. Rather, he watched with interest as the golem made another boulder by literally scoping it out of the ground. It was as if the stone itself melded to its touch. The process was oddly satisfying, and Nyx would've kept watching if it wasn't for the second boulder already heading his way.
Nyx's muscles curled, ready to unleash the stored power at a moment's notice. Even just with a single point in dexterity and a handful more in strength, he felt faster than before. Maybe, faster, wasn't accurate. More intense, rapid. Springing forward and hurling himself across the ground as if a cannonball, the boulder flew right over him. The only thing the golem could do in time to meet his charge was to throw a haymaker of a punch - which to its surprise - Nyx met with one of his own.
What had just moments before been certain death for the demon, Nyx took head-on. After all, those fifteen points of mana hadn't just gone to empower his body. [Arcanic Rake]. But his fists too were brimming with raw magical power.
The shower of rubble that flew in every direction as the golem's arm exploded riddled Nyx. The demon tumbled across the ground and came to in a heap of stone and dust. The golem had been downed once more, but this time looked like it wasn't getting back up. The light of its eyes had dulled and it struggled to move its massive frame, chips and chunks of rock cascading off it at the mere movement.
Nyx managed to prop himself up with his hand - the only one that responded to him. The other was shattered, broken in more places than he could count. Although fixable and not crippling to someone like him anymore, it wouldn't be seeing any use for a couple of days. It had been worth it though. To match and overcome the golem's raw strength was something he'd do all over again, even knowing the consequences and pain he now felt.
Approaching the golem, he stared down at it, noting the elemental's faint ethereal gaze on him. It was dying. It no longer had any mana to regenerate - so Nyx put it out of its misery. Well... could elementals even feel pain? It sure had seemed like the golem had been more pissed than hurt by his every attack. Oh, well. Nyx shrugged then his tail descended, crushing the giant's head into the rubble with ease now that the magic wasn't holding it together.
Comments
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Isiah Debarros
Thanks for the chapter
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