"It seems that you have found your enemy… what is the plan now?" Jake asked after he approached Myrna and her group.
"... We can't fight that thing," Myrna said while clenching her fists to control her anger.
"Do you think that you can escape now after causing me so many problems?"
"This guy… he sure talks high and mighty considering that he is taking prisoners to use their mana," Jake said while frowning. "It has been a while since I found someone so stupid…"
It looked like Jake's words pissed the enemy since he pointed his hands at him and then used Mana Cannon. Instead of running away, Jake jumped toward the attack and then used his sword to block it. Jake felt his body getting crushed by the sheer pressure of the attack while he was being pushed backward insanely fast. However, at least he bought enough time for Myrna and her friends to move away from the range of the attack.
The skill Harden has leveled up.
The skill Harden has leveled up.
The skill Harden has leveled up.
…
When the attack ended, Jake's whole body was emitting a lot of steam, and he had a hard time standing still… As expected, the dungeon masters were insanely strong. That wasn't a fight that humans should pick now…
"Let's retreat!" Myrna shouted.
Everyone began to fly in the distance, but they couldn't just show their backs. The range of the mana cannons of the mega iron golem was at least ten kilometers and it could move as fast as their lightning bolts. A single mistake and they would be wiped out.
Jake began to follow the others in order to cover their retreat, but it didn't take long for the dungeon master to attack again. Without much of a choice, Jake went to block the attack again. Still, this time, Myrna approached and then used her magic to enhance his sword with ice. Jake recalled that dream and then added the power of his dark flames to the sword. In the end, the weapon was covered by a dark crystal that looked pretty ominous. Fortunately, the effects of the enemy's attack decreased tremendously.
The dungeon master watched Jake silently and his weapon… the dark crystal wasn't there before, and Jake didn't look like he suffered much damage… while the enemy was pondering about that, Jake and the others moved away. Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, considering that their attacks were a real pain in the ass, the mega iron golem and the other super iron golems began to chase them.
? "Don't look at them too much. The enemy will realize the plan," Jake said when he approached Myrna. "Just focus on running away, and I will cover our back."
"This probably isn't the time to ask about that, but what is the deal with the dark flames?" Myrna asked.
"No time to answer," Jake replied when he felt the danger approaching.
The super iron golems began to fly to the sides… the enemy was controlling them now, and the blocking frontal and side attacks by himself would be more than a little difficult for Jake. He had to do something about that…
"I guess relying on numbers even at this point in the battle is the only thing you can do," Jake said as loud as he could.
In the end, Jake didn't think much since he didn't have much time. Logic says that those who rely on indirect means like using monsters to do their bidding most of the time wouldn't fall for cheap taunts. However, much to Jake's surprise, the enemy made the super iron golems slow down. He was getting carried away with the power he obtained…
"You have guts for a simple human born with no useful physical traits… considering your nature as a parasite. I will sure to use you as a core for a pretty interesting armor. Your dark flames will make my newest creation become quite something."
"That so? Well, come and try to capture me, then," Jake said.
Instead of a single beam of energy, the enemy began to fire multiple of them at Jake. He gave him the chance to let him block, but the irregular intervals of the attacks made Jake unable to block them with precision. It didn't take long for Jake to realize that the enemy was trying to crack the dark ice by hitting certain spots…
At some point, the enemy fired a beam that missed Jake but then turned around to hit him in the back. He felt like a hole had been opened in his armor and on his back, but Jake withstood that… he had to keep focusing on the mission. That being said…
"Not attacking will make the enemy think that something is off…" Jake thought.
Still, what could Jake use now aside from his plain mana blades and dark flames? Even that powerful combination that managed to kill many enemies was useless against the might of the mana cannon. Before Jake could find an answer, he saw a small flash of light coming from the enemy, and then he turned to block the next attack, he clenched his teeth since he knew a bit one was coming.
The powerful attack easily pushed Jake backward and made the durability of his weapon fall significantly. Still, when he was about to reach the others, Jake's instincts took over his body, and then he used Deflect. However, instead of trying to Deflect the attack right back at the enemy, Jake launched it to the side, right where one of the super iron Golems was. The monster was destroyed instantly…
You obtained 125.000 coins.
Your intelligence increased by 30 points.
The shock made the enemy stop with the attack and also made him stare at Jake. He never saw anyone parrying a magic attack, much less an attack of that level… Such a skill wasn't supposed to exist. Still, it wasn't like Jake didn't pay the price. For using a skill that wasn't supposed to exist and for using it at w high level, Jake used too much stamina, and he felt like the veins in his arms were about to explode.
"I didn't use stamina, but I definitely used a skill… How come I didn't learn that, then?" Jake thought while he was using some potions to recover his stamina.
Jake could only think of a single possibility… That was one of the ???? Skills That he had yet to learn…
At that point in time, the whole group was about to reach the starting point. So, they slowed down since the enemy wasn't so sure if he wanted to keep attacking and chasing Jake. There was something about him that he couldn't understand, and that was quite unnerving.
"I guess the idea to parry a magic attack wasn't the only thing that helped… Something else also happened, and I can only think of one of those skills," Jake thought.
Jake considered it a few times, but considering their nature and their numbers, those seven skills represented the seven deadly sins. Still, something was off. He wasn't a glutton and had Hyper Body, which was probably the skill that represented Gluttony. He only liked to eat good food, and that was why he learned how to cook. That couldn't be the same as that… Considering the dreams… Maybe they were related to the sins. However, that possible version of Jake wasn't that crazy or driven by the seven sins, at least not yet.
"Come to think of it… The first dream showed me eating dragon hearts just for the power they offered," Jake thought. "Hunger for power is also a type of hunger, I guess."
While Jake was thinking about that, the enemy finally realized that Jake and the others were taking their time running away. Thanks to that, he noticed that something was off… Since he didn't have any invaders, he forgot that they could escape using the Teleport option of the system… Eventually, the enemy decided to retreat, and then Jake and the others moved to attack them.
"What can you tell about the mission?" Jake asked.
"They are still working there…" Myrna replied.
The situation changed in a way that they knew that it could happen, but there wasn't much that they could do. Most likely, the prisoners were unconscious. Thus, they couldn't use the system to escape.
If Jake could think of how he pulled that parry, perhaps he could stop the enemy completely, but without that… Fortunately, the enemy was big and heavy, so mobility wasn't their forte… While making a dark flames spear and feeling like someone was trying to open his head with a hammer, Jake prepared to attack, but the spear was only half of the size of the previous one. Nevertheless, Jake fired it at the enemy.
The mega iron golem was unable to turn around and block the attack but still was able to fire a beam of energy from the Cannon on both hands to stop the spear. However, much to the enemy's surprise, the attack pierced the beam quite fast and then hit the back of the enemy. The mega iron golem soon made some mana being purged from its body, and that moved the dark flames as well, but at least it made the gigantic enemy stop.