Chapter 426

Chapter 426

Aranor P.O.V.

The boy’s luck strikes once more, an ettin. Those two headed behemoths are some of the most straightforward floor bosses, not only that but depending on the type it might be a perfect match up for him as well.

“What type?” I ask as we all head towards the source of the previous bellows.

“Hybrid.” the scout answers.

Well, the boy’s luck doesn’t seem to be quite that good, a pure mage would have been an ideal match-up for him even if it is the most dangerous ranked version by the Adventurer’s Guild, and for good reason.

“Do you think the hybrid is a better match up or the warrior?” I ask the prince.

“The mage would have been the best.” The prince agrees with my own assessment.

Ettins are basically dual classes in the same body. This might initially seem like two warrior classes or two mage classes would be far inferior to a warrior and mage combined in the same body but that’s not always the case. Each type of ettin has its own niche.

Two warrior classes might seem to have a lot to complement each other at first but that is a clear example of short sightedness. A pure offensive berserker combined with an indomitable guardian can cause a world of issues. This combination is however the easiest ranked by the Adventurer’s Guild for the simple fact that a group of five or more has a much easier time containing it.

The mage is on the other side of the coin, two mage classes. Nobody out there underestimates this version, the creature can have one head channeling massive spells while the other pumps out continuous casts, multiple different types of mana and most dangerous of all spell overload, despite its humanoid body this version retains the monster ability to cast magic in the same way Ajax does allowing it to fire dozens of spells at once . While this version is by far the most fragile and fights against it always end in under two minutes it almost always causes casualties.

Finally there is the hybrid. It is more of a misnomer however since unlike a true hybrid like Ajax it doesn’t have to sacrifice the physical or the magical getting the full benefit of both. Both the warrior and mage half of the creature would be a balanced version of the class unlike the extremes the classes take with the other variants. It’s biggest strength come from the augmented magic it casts to empower the physical attacks, much in the same way Ajax fights.

“I think the warrior would be harder for him to fight, though not by much.” The prince answers the question. “Inside the dungeon at least.”

I agree with him that it's close, I’m not sure what being inside or outside the dungeon has to do with anything. Despite being only level one hundred and ten the ettin will have Ajax beat in all stats, it will come down if Ajax can overcome that gap with his skill and Skills.

It's not long until we catch sight of the creature, we can clearly see it on the other mountain peak as it wanders aimlessly. “Do you want to fight it on the side of the mountain or in one of the valleys?” The ranger captain asks.

“On the side but low enough that I can jump down to the valley below without wasting too much mana.” Ajax answers instantly, I can see his eyes tracking the creature so intensely I wouldn’t be surprised if he trips over a rock.

“I cloaked us.” I nod towards the mage. “We can get much closer now before it can find us, no closer than a hundred yards though, it will sense the disturbance in the mana at that range.”

Unlike the warrior type the hybrid isn’t encased in armor but all of its vitals are covered. The creature is easily thirty five feet tall and in its hand is a massive bone club that is easily fifteen feet long, a direct hit from that would be enough to seriously threaten anyone present here, even me.

Still in shock all of us pull back as the illusion drops and we all feel Ajax start to summon up his mana for a powerful opening shot but that’s not what I’m focused on now.

“If he kills it by himself the staff is his.” The prince’s voice marks the start of the argument we all knew was coming from the moment we inspected the staff.

“That’s-” The ranger captain doesn’t get more than a word out before he is interrupted.

“He will be head of landed ducal House, this is his boosted delve and he is fighting a floor boss more than twice his level alone.” The prince’s voice is cold. “If he kills it alone the staff is his.”

“What’s so special about the staff?” Arianwyn asks.

I take a brief moment to explain. ““WHAT?!”” Both her and Elara are shocked, as well they should be.

“What if we have to intervene?” I ask, there is at least a 50% chance Ajax won’t be winning this fight. I need to lay the groundwork.

“You can take the staff, in whatever condition it is.” I am very much surprised the prince is willing to concede the staff. “And you pay Gryndor ten times the cost of the materials.”

I almost choke when I hear that, the amount of high quality wood and the gem stone would be at least ten thousand gold coins. The staff is surely worth the one hundred thousand but the deal is to pay that much regardless of the condition of the staff.

“Done.” Elara says before anyone else has a chance.

“Elara...” Arianwyn is a bit shy as she tugs on her friend’s hand, the royal family is in no position to be paying out such a sum on a whim. “That might be a bit too much.”

“My family would buy, we’re in a position to take that bet.” she says with confidence. “Though I doubt we’ll have the chance to claim it since Ajax will kill the ettin, I’m sure of it.”

I turn my focus back to Ajax as he finally releases the arrow, I am surprised at how little mana is there compared to what he usually puts into his opening shot. To no surprise the mage half of the ettin senses the arrow in time and the arrow hits a shield right it front of one of the two heads and stops dead before falling to the ground. An instant later one of the ettin’s eye balls bursts in a shower of blood.

“RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHH!”

“AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!”

With a bellow of rage and one of pain the battle begins as the ettin charges after Ajax who is already lining up a second shot while also retreating down the mountain towards the valley.