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Taking each attack in, Matt guessed that most of the skills being used were enchanted into the weapon, and his armor had a physical boosting enchantment, allowing the man to fight at a breakneck pace for so long without worry.
Just as his team was finishing off the group from the Clans and rushing to join him, another team came out of an adjoining tunnel and immediately peppered them with attacks.
Spells and arrows rained down on Susanne, Aster, and Liz, while Matt and the Sect man were relatively unbothered, being slightly outside the range of the other fight.
The man Matt was fighting stopped his advance and said something in the Sects’ language that Matt couldn’t fully understand without his AI, but it generally translated as mocking or gloating.
Matt cut low as the man charged with his shield held high, but the man jumped up and dodged the strike, then jumped again with a ripple appearing under his feet. [Puddle Jumper] was a rare skill to be seen in actual combat, and Matt was completely caught off guard, taking a cutting blow on his back that thankfully didn’t bypass a burst of [Cracked Phantom Armor].
Wanting to end this fight as quickly as possible, he flared [Mage’s Retreat] at max power for an instant, then rushed forward and swung his blade at where the man would jump next if he decided to cast [Puddle Jumper] again.
His guess was correct, and Matt caught him on his leg, drawing blood from the Sects delver for the first time.
As the Sect fighter tumbled to the ground, Matt lunged forward and chopped down, but his blow was caught by the glowing shield, and he took a counter strike to the knee where the man kicked out.
Matt wasn’t sure if his opponent had expected his leg to break from the blow, but [Cracked Phantom Armor] didn’t react as if it was anything but a normal blow, and the failed attack allowed him to cut down twice more at his assailant.
Neither blow landed on anything but the man’s shield, but he was able to cut large gouges into it until, finally, the third blow disrupted a rune in the item. In response, the shield glowed brighter and brighter.
Knowing what was about to happen, Matt backed up rapidly and had to roll to dodge the shield as the Sect fighter threw it at him.
As he came out of the roll, he nearly impaled the man, but apparently, his claws weren’t just for the offensive, as he was able to grab Matt’s blade and twist it out of his grasp.
Seeing that it was a futile cause, he let the blade go and grappled with his opponent.
They twisted and vied for the top position for a few moments, but Matt was able to gain the advantage.
The other man was a good ground fighter, but Matt was stronger, and after getting the mount, he started launching punch after punch on the man’s face and upper chest.
His opponent seemed happy to trade blows while he relied on his magical armor, trying to cut through Matt’s [Cracked Phantom Armor] with his claws that were glowing with flame once again.
Matt was growling in anger, as he had to direct all the spell’s second layer into his abdomen to prevent himself from being disemboweled.
He could feel [Cracked Phantom Armor]’s mana cost slowly increasing with each blow and used the anger to fuel his attacks. The man’s claw swipes did more damage than they should have, and it was forcing him to spend more and more mana on the spell.
Finally, something broke, and the stalemate ended.
Matt’s punch broke the Sect man’s armor enchantment, and his face exploded in a wash of blood as Matt drove a second, then a third blow down on the man.
He was going to finish him off when the man’s claw finally broke through [Cracked Phantom Armor], sending a wash of agony through his chest.
Rolling free, Matt grabbed his nearby sword and cut out at the man, but before they could properly reengage, another team came out of a nearby ruin and attacked both of them.
Matt took a crossbow bolt in his already wounded leg, even through both his magical and physical armor, and felt it hit but not break the bone.
Seeing that now a second team had been attracted by the fighting, and hoping to get an easy cleanup, he cursed.
Striking out twice with [Mana s***h], he used the proper skill in his spirit this time, causing the skill to be larger and faster. Matt cut a massive [Fireball] in half and sent the team scurrying in two directions to dodge his strike.
Rushing the others just as the Sect man mirrored his action, Matt cast [Bulwark] to block a massive, glowing crossbow bolt that exploded on impact and destroyed his skill. Matt thrust his longsword forward, and right before the blow was about to be blocked by an upraised shield, he cast [Acrobat’s Finesse] and [Willow in the Wind], using the increased proprioception and flexibility to twist his blade and change its point of impact.
Instead of being blocked by the woman’s shield, his blade slithered past her shield and punched straight through her shoulder armor.
The crossbowman took the charge and launched a second bolt at Matt, and this time, it punched right through [Cracked Phantom Armor] and his physical armor. It was only stopped because he flared [Barbarian’s Hide] at the last second.
The bolt was lodged in his chest when it exploded, sending Matt stumbling back.
With his three layers of defenses, the bolt was only half an inch inside him, and most of the explosion was outside of his body, thus washing over his armor harmlessly.
It still enraged Matt, and as he pulled his blade back into his hand with his Concept, he cast [Sword Twin] and allowed the two magical blades to dance out and harass his attackers. He had been saving a number of his strongest skills for these tougher fights against fellow delvers, as he assumed most people did.
- Writer
