Another dodge brought Hank sideways out of the path of the lava He trusted his stats but that didnÆt mean he was fool enough to try and wade through lava to fight against a foe An individual who attempted that could very reasonably be called unhinged
Besides this was not simply lava Along with the superheated molten stone and metal came an image of the planetÆs core a place of impossible heats and pressures Hank hadnÆt tested his theory but he suspected that the lava was also impossibly dense and heavy Underneath the cooling flows of rock he suspected the ground was cracking and buckling as it tried to support it
The air between them sparked half heatwaves and half a conflict between their two very different images
As the monster pivoted Hank continued to fire his repeater His Mana flowed down to empower each shot although he didnÆt have much hope of landing a significant blow like this He aimed and hit the exact location he wanted even while firing almost five bullets a second The sparks drew a grid pattern across the thingÆs armor methodically testing for weaknesses in the ravine like cracks that ran through the armor
Tsk might be stone but the seamstress made these stitches mighty fine
The wild image of adventure and bravery intensified around his body The sky pressed down on his enemies The longer the fight lasted the more the tension seeped into his nerves and drained from his body With the grace of a liquid cat Hank aimed and fired one last repeater bullet
The small reinforced hunk of metal crafted by HankÆs own hand and covered with small Mana Engravings to enhance its power punctured the left eyeball of the giant worm It roared and forced itself out of the ground revealing that its wormlike head followed a long neck to connect to the body of a stumpy centipede
From its narrow eyes it was clear the monster believed it could easily overpower him if it could just catch him
Why you gotta be so loud Shit if I had my horse Hank spat to the side The temperature in the area increased by a good ten degrees just as it revealed its true form Hank could see the glow of molten lava peeking out between the cracked armor plates along its body And then the monsterÆs image erupted out of the entire surface rather than just the mouth bringing with it another abrupt uptick in heat
HankÆs gaze sharpened as he activated Golden Irises of the Unbowed Sheriff The whole of the monsterÆs body came within his senses including the tight mass of power that sat within the beastÆs chest right at the position of a heart If he wanted to pierce through and damage that He stowed his repeater away and pulled out the revolver
After his image provided a dramatic tumbleweed rolling across his path Hank Howard took a step forward and prepared to kill the monster
Need some help
Hank glanced sideways at Randidly Ghosthound who stood arms akimbo and considered the writhing form of the lava worm The other man remained extremely powerful and unassuming just snapping into existence along the edge of the battlefield Hank grimaced and shook his head to the other manÆs offer Preciate the kindness but I want ta take this un on myself Easier if my horse were here ta kick the attitude out of im but IÆll manage
Besides part of HankÆs entire motivation for the fight was to improve himself If he simply relied on Randidly he wouldnÆt be able to advance at all
And HankÆs nose could smell the need to be stronger in the air He didnÆt have much time
But already the Ghosthound shook his head emphatically Not that sort of help Honestly well it might hurt more than help But it will give you another chance to fight against this enemy without its image being so Randidly gestured at the air and the bubbling ground I think my Fatepiece should be Leveled enough to offer it to an ally but IÆm warning you that the results could be strange
I could live with strange Hank said after a few seconds If the Ghosthound had seemed more sure he might have still denied him just out of principle But the expression of uncertainty on his face made Hank shrug inwardly And the man very obviously wanted to try out his Fatepiece whether or not it would actually help
Hank felt the strangest touch a tug at his image as though someone had tied a thin thread around the core of his body He blinked the sensation not what he had expected at all But he acquiesced to the tug He allowed himself to be pulled along Beneath the ground the monster rumbled out a sound of confusion
To HankÆs shock he felt the creature agree to whatever this was as well
Even more shocking was HankÆs body beginning to move without his input but he relaxed as he realized that he simply reversed his movements over the last several seconds or rather several minutes The ground firmed up as the heat departed HankÆs rifle bullet reformed inside of the wormÆs body and then quickly retreated back to his gun He pirouetted and leapt back on top of the foe sucked in several revolver shots to heal its eye and then leaped away
By the time the reversal ceased Hank had already pulled back all of the testing repeater shots with which he had started off the battle One last overwhelming Dodge Roll pulled Hank a little bit closer to the eruption point of the monster The air felt positively cool and refreshing against his skin as the strange power wielded by the Ghosthound ceased and the battle between the two could start over
This time IÆll take the shot at that heart before Hank stepped forward with aggressive intentions but the worm reacted just as quickly Instead of rearing up and roaring at him as it had done previously the worm shot him a single glance and then burrowed into the ground Mid draw of his rifle Hank paused
You varmint Did you jusÆ run Hank spluttered out the words
But as soon as he spoke he felt the change in the ground The worm had left the surface but hadnÆt gone far The ground began to radiate an uncomfortable amount of heat The stone and metal began to shift colors as it deformed and melted Once more the burning image of the worm began to dominate the environment
Underneath it the dangerous chemical fire aspect brewed itself into a more potent force
Rather than stay on the surface where Hank had previously hurt the thing it went underground and now attempted to simply melt rock around him until he died His lips curling Hank glanced over at Randidly Yea next time IÆll be fine without your help
Chapter 2344
Neveah stood at the edge of her cottage calmly eating some leftovers from Lowanna and EnmyaÆs date night Their happy ending meant that quite a bit of the paella had been left forgotten on the table which Neveah was only too happy to monopolize The metal spoon scraped against the clay bowl as she attempted to scoop out every last morsel she could find Even she felt a stirring of surprise as she tasted the food that Randidly had made pouring himself into a meal for a night
He might not have a related Skill with any Rarity worth recognizing but the methods Randidly Ghosthound had learned from Nrorce transcended the System With quality ingredients he just needed to avoid distracting from their natural appeal rather than needing to enhance it
After one last bite she set the bowl down on the nearby table and returned to her previous activity watching Devick manifesting her image the crimson furred Malice swinging the cursed scythe back and forth A grey and ominous fog followed after every swing hinting at the crackling destruction that occurred every moment Yet even that wouldn’t dissuade a watcher from losing themselves in the shifting pivots of Devick’s form Put simply the woman was graceful and beautiful in a way that made Neveah vaguely envious Each movement flowed smoothly to the next so the black grey of the scythe and the red of her hair seemed to be dancing Even in battle she seemed more art than a living person
Unfortunately Neveah shared too many traits with Randidly to possess that sort of effortless allure while she fought Rather than graceful the two’s movements could only be called efficientÆ Efficient pushed to the limit but rather unspectacular in methodology
At the same time the beauty wasnÆt the reason for the observation In a much less flattering way Devick could be described in a single word suicidal Her image had been irrevocably altered by holding onto the blade that Westrisser had so carefully forged The dangerous energies remained increasing the imageÆs power but Devick embraced the inclusion too fully