Clad in armor, Samuel confronted the thaid as it came rushing toward them at full force. The old man moved with a grace that belied his strength as he rained blow after blow on the beast while he danced and circled it.
However, he had a difficult time fending off the thaid despite the formidable strength of the stone gauntlets he wore and the protective shell that encased him.
The man was sent stumbling backward by the recoil of each of his attacks, whereas the thaid had no trouble withstanding the majority of his blows.
It appeared that each of his attacks was bouncing off the creature's thickened skin. In Erik's mind, there was no question that Samuel's punches were powerful, but the beast was incredibly resilient.
Sweat was dripping down the older man's forehead, staining the stone of his armor, and his face was a mask of concentrated effort and strain.
The sound of the mighty blows he traded with the beast resounded disturbingly throughout the laboratory as they were exchanged. However, the beast was unrelenting, and the combination of its monstrous size and lightning-fast speed proved to be an overwhelming force.
"Run!" Samuel shouted over the din, his voice straining against the roar of the battle, his eyes never leaving the snarling face of the thaid. "Go! I'll hold it off! You can't possibly face it!" he added as he realized his comrades were useless against the beast. Besides, their reason being there wasn't to fight the creature but to fend off the Acidspitter Arthropods.
Protests were voiced in response to his command; however, an air of finality to his tone cut through the confusion. Samuel was holding his ground, giving the others enough time to make their getaway.
The room was filled with the sound of his orders, which prompted the others to take action. They wanted to stay and fight, but they knew their place was not here, not when the man best equipped to deal with the beast was having trouble doing so on his own.
The villagers, torn between their desire to help and the requirement to follow orders, started to retreat while casting lingering, worried glances toward the figure engaged in combat. As they stumbled out of the laboratory, leaving behind a fight that was still going strong, the image of Samuel encased in stone and slaying a monstrous beast was seared into their memories.
As Erik watched Samuel fight the beast, there was an unwavering determination in how he looked at the older man. He was aware of the instruction to run, but his entire being fought against the concept of doing so.
The issue was that he could not check Samuel's statistics; otherwise, he would have become aware of the fluctuations in mana, which would have led to the discovery of the biological supercomputer.
Though, he did analyze the humanoid thaid. The young man had hoped Samuel would be strong enough to kill the beast, but it appeared he was not powerful enough. He was incapable of and unwilling to abandon Samuel to face the monstrous humanoid thaid on his own.
His hands tightened into fists, and his determination grew stronger by the second. As he channeled mana through his neural links, they burst into life and began functioning as usual. It felt like an electric charge was running through his veins, which in turn caused his skin to tingle and raise the hairs on his arms.
During the past month, Erik's stat increased a lot thanks to the many new neural links he made. That was the main advantage the Biological Supercomputer brought.
That meant he could increase his strength by using the Xeridon Anteris brain crystal power. The problem was that doubling 40 strength points required much less mana than doubling the 75 he currently had.
If he did so, the mana he had available wouldn't last long before he ran out, and even in that case, the strength he would gain wouldn't be enough to face the monster.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
Besides, Erik doubted he could cut the monster with his flyssa, not by using the sharpening power. However, there was a limit to what a D-ranked power could do. He needed Nathaniel's power and its concussive force.
He decided to use Nathaniel's power to fight, which granted him the speed he required in single bursts rather than causing him to continuously waste mana, as would have been the case if he had used the Xeridon Anteris brain crystal power.
He charged forward, concentrating solely on the beast in front of him. He knew this would be a brutal fight, and the most he could do was give Samuel some opportunities to kill the beast, but he didn't waver in his resolve.
His heart pounded in his chest, but he didn't back down. He was well aware of the shocked expressions on the faces of the villagers as they watched him run headfirst into what appeared to be certain death, but he didn't care about their reactions.
Samuel caught sight of him from the corner of his eye and cursed. "Erik, no!" he roared, but it was too late. Erik was already within reach of the thaid.
His first strike was nothing more than a test, and it was directed at the creature's flank to see how it would react. The strike was sudden and surprisingly powerful, but the thaid did not flinch in response.
Although Erik was aware that the force of the impact was traveling up his arm, he did not feel relieved by the feeling. The thaid struck back with a vicious swipe, but Erik could sidestep it just in time.
"FOR FUCK SAKE!" Erik yelled as he successfully sidestepped the beast's attack. That was the closest moment Erik had been to death.
Samuel did not let the chance to step in pass without seizing it. He attacked the thaid with a roar and launched himself at it, diverting the attention of the monstrous creature away from the younger man.
The grotesque form of the creature was pummeled by his stone-enhanced fists, which landed blows that reverberated throughout the wrecked laboratory.
"Erik! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Samuel bellowed over the din of battle, his voice thick with concern and frustration. "Get the fuck out of here!"
The stern command of the elder resounded throughout the room, but the palpable sense of dread that he conveyed caused Erik to become hesitant.
He dithered between the natural urge to fight and the rational choice to flee the scene. It caused him to pause when he saw Samuel grappling with the monstrous thaid, with each of Samuel's punches causing the beast to stagger backward.
"Erik!" As Samuel struggled with the monster, he let out another yell, this time with a hoarse voice from the effort. "Leave! Now!"
"I can't just leave you, Samuel!" Erik yelled back, and his voice reverberated off the crumbling walls of the abandoned laboratory. The relentless thumping of his heart against his ribcage and the pounding in his ears drowned out everything else, leaving him unable to hear anything other than his dogged determination. "You can't fight this thing alone! You need help!"
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