152: A Battle of Wills, Part Two

A Battle of Wills, Part Two

It quickly became clear why Tamira had described this as a battle between spirits.

It was not just owed to their ghostly appearance, or the fact that it may have been literally true, but also due to one simple fact.

With both of their stats being entirely equal, motivation, determination, and ambition could all be the difference makers. 

And, now, after hearing her opponent tell her that she had no idea what cruelty was like anger, coupled with the intense desire to see this guy's head removed from his shoulders, was pushing Neve to move faster. 

The many, many fights she'd gone through with Erin flashed before her eyes and Neve tried to mimic the moves she saw in her memories. 

The orc swept the ground with his warhammers, looking to try to stop Neve's advance. Making use of her incredible agility, however, Neve jumped over him. 

She held her claws out and raked his face, doing minimal damage but briefly stunning the man. With that came a moment of opportunity and Neve capitalized by using {Dragon's Divine Bite} on his back. 

Her claws clamped down on the right side of his lower back, letting go just before he could have taken Neve's torso off with a quick spinning attack in response. 

The stacking damage buff from the claws was now at 50%. 

Even once she finished fully stacking the buff, Neve wondered if the damage these weapons did would be enough to break through that 100 Endurance. 

[Eh, whatever,] Neve quickly thought, however. [If it isn't, that just means I'll have to pound this fucker into the ground!] 

The orc swapped one of his hammers for his staff once again. Neve could have simply done the same and cast {Barrier} to protect herself from whatever was coming her way, but she feared that the damage buff might go away if she swapped weapons. 

Deciding against it, Neve settled for strafing to the right as a series of massive, oversized arrows appeared over the orc's head and launched themselves at her. 

The healer ran around her opponent, forming a ring as the arrows landed on the water-like floor. Once the projectiles stopped coming, Neve gave him something to dodge as well. 

She got as close as she could first. This was a very telegraphed move and she knew there was a high chance that it would be avoided, so she put the work in to minimize that possibility. 

Once she was close enough, just in range for the ability to affect her opponent but not close enough for him to counter with his hammers, she used {Dragon's Divine Call}. 

This was a move Erin hadn't used much, mainly because most of the enemies they'd fought since acquiring it were of a higher level than her. 

Dragon's Divine Call

{Cooldown: 10 seconds} 

{Put forth a roar that shakes lesser foes to their core. Any enemies below your level will 

gain the {Fear} status effect. Grants 25% increased damage to the user until the end of combat.} 

{Fear: Reduces Strength, Speed, and Precision by 10 each.} 

The reason she used it was because she was curious as to how the spell would work given that they technically did not have levels. 

The {Barrier} spell functioned under the logic that every use of it was 100% effective due to this fact. What if a similar thing happened with this Technique? 

A draconic roar escaped Neve's lungs. She watched the orc before her flinch. His eyes briefly went wide as the sound reached his ears. 

[It worked!] 

Now, their spirits weren't quite as balanced anymore. 

With a 75% damage buff, Neve ran up, intending to make good use of it. The orc swapped out the staff he'd just used for another hammer and ran to her as well, looking to meet Neve head-on. 

His thick arms dragged those hammers toward Neve, looking to slam them down on her head simultaneously.

With a smirk, Neve raised her hands in response. 

She caught both weapons mid-swing. 

The force made her bones shake, and it hurt quite a bit to do this, but the mere fact that she could made the resulting pain much sweeter. 

"What?" The orc let out in a whisper.

Neve kicked the orc back and put some space between them. The sudden difference in strength between both fights sunk in, and that brief flash of worry that Neve had seen when she roared a moment ago became his fixed expression. 

[Stack the odds,] Neve told herself. [Tamira probably meant for this to be a fair fight. I need to try my hardest to prevent this from being that.] 

The healer ran toward the orc once more. She could feel it in the air. Victory was just a few steps from being achievable. 

Perhaps sensing that his defeat was within reach for the healer as well, the orc began backing up, bringing out his staff once again. 

Various spells began to fly out from his weapon. The desperation he felt was showcased in the variety of magic he used in hopes of stopping her. 

He conjured runic traps in Neve's path, though they were useless given that she saw them appear and knew where they were placed. He sent flying, icy, blue discs her way, that Neve dodged nimbly, moving in a way that she'd never be able to outside of this place. And the orc erected walls of flame all around himself. But, Neve had already gotten a taste of these flames at 50 Endurance. It was laughable to think that she'd hesitate to move through them now at 100. 

It still hurt, of course, but Neve pushed through the pain, knowing this would be the best chance she got to land another Technique and finish stacking her damage buff. 

"Aergh!"  The orc grunted with frustration, trying to back away as Neve dashed at him from the front. 

He swung the hammer he'd kept, but it was not fast enough to stop Neve from dishing out the next blow. 

She used {Dragon's Divine Swipe}. Her right hand's claws became coated in flames. They slashed through the outer layer of her opponent's abdomen, leaving flame cauterizing the wound. 

The orc dropped his staff, holding the wound Neve had just created. The damage bonus these skills provided was fully stacked. 

Neve couldn't stop herself from talking a little. 

"How's that feel?" She asked, venom dripping from every word. "You think I don't know what it's like to have everything taken away from you!? You think I don't know what it's like to watch the world end? Fuck off!" 

Looking down at the injury Neve had just inflicted, the next time the orc's eyes met Neve's, there was a new expression being displayed. 

Understanding. 

"... I suppose there is a reason we've been placed here together. Very well," he said, standing up straight. "I will take your anger head-on, then." 

On that note, he ran at her once more, and Neve was more than happy to do the same. 

[His stats are lowered. My damage buff is stacked. I can end this right here!] 

The orc raised another wall of flames in the middle of his stride. Neve did not run through this one, not wanting to end up walking into a trap. Indeed, as she went around the wall, she found the orc slamming his hammer down on the spot where Neve would have been had she tanked the flames like she had before. 

"Agh!?" The orc quickly tried to pull his hammer back up but Neve was at his side before he could do so. 

Her claws dug into his right shoulder. 

The 100% damage buff made his Endurance look far less impressive. 

She ripped his arm off. 

A spurt of blood reached Neve's face. The orc put some distance between them as his hammer fell to the ground. 

He cast that same flame wall spell directly under Neve, this time. She failed to react in time, burning briefly before she stepped away. 

[Fuck!] 

She couldn't hesitate now, though. 

Victory was so close she could taste it.  2

Desperately, the orc threw more of those ethereal arrows her way. 

Neve clicked her tongue. 

She understood what he was trying to do now. He just wanted to keep her as far away as possible. 

[Ah... If I can get one more good hit in, then... Maybe...] 

She needed to bet on this strategy. Victory was too close to hold anything back now. 

Charging at the orc in a straight line, Neve took one of those arrows to the chest but pushed through regardless. 

She reached him, dealing one more grievous injury to his own chest as she raked her claws across it. 

A valley of flesh formed from that cut. The orc stumbled back. Neve's eyes widened. 

[There! Buff or not, the next hit should end this!] 

It was risky, but Neve felt this was a good way of getting a killing blow. 

She swapped out her claws and brought out her staff. 

The orc cast {Barrier}, thinking she was about to use some conventional magic on him. Instead, she summoned Erin behind the man.

[I'll apologize later.] 

The orc reacted before Erin could do anything, turning toward her and casting that same spell at her, sending an arrow through Erin's head. 

With the summon killed as quickly as she'd been summoned, he turned back around only to find claws sinking into his throat. 

Neve put everything she had into this. The man reached up and bashed her over the head with his staff as he coughed up blood. 

Furious, Neve yanked. 

And, the orc's head came off. 

His terrified eyes stared back at her. 

The void around Neve turned white. 

And, as she held the head of this floor's boss in her hands, an EXP message appeared. 

It was done. 

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