I charged forward into the flames and sliced at Hecatoncheires with my claws. He threw one of his many arms up to block me; my claws tore through it, ripping it from his body. I grabbed Hecatoncheires with my paws, then slammed my tail into the ground to force us both into the air.
D-dang, this guy’s heavy…! C’mere, you big, fat hunk of rock!
…Wait. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall. If I could hit him with both Celestial Fall and Earth Fall, that’d definitely speed things up a bit, but…
I didn’t even finish the thought before Hecatoncheires disappeared into black mist again and my arms swung through empty air.
…Yup. Thought so. Dragging Hecatoncheires into the air or throwing him off balance meant nothing when he could just get away with Shadow Dance.
Hecatoncheires passed behind me with Shadow Dance, then reappeared with his sword raised. But I was expecting it: If Hecatoncheires was anything, he sure was predictable. And I wasn’t about to let him land a hit so easily.
‹Gravity.›
A black ring of light appeared around me and spread wide. It caught Hecatoncheires before he had time to retreat, and he dropped to the ground like a—well, you know. We weren’t that high up, so there was a good chance using Gravity at maximum power would be a waste of MP. But if I managed to deal a bunch of damage, this could be a viable strategy against Hecatoncheires’s predictable movements, not to mention a way to avoid his massive sword.
The moment before he hit the ground, though, Hecatoncheires vanished into black mist once again, then reappeared a second later. There was no impact sound from the fall.
Great. So Shadow Dance negated fall damage too. If this were a fighting game, that skill would be banned.
I doubted Hecatoncheires would take any physical damage in his Shadow Dance form. Maybe magic damage would work, but it’d be really hard to hit him while he was moving that fast. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t land a single blow.
My higher magic meant I was much better suited to break through his defenses. He had max magic resistance, but he also had max physical resistance, so there was no difference there. But between his lack of aggressiveness and his Shadow Dance, I doubted I’d be able to hit him with Gravidon. I could move with Wormhole and cut him down when I got close, but…no, that one was out of the question. I couldn’t use it to travel very far, and it also cast a suspicious light where I reappeared. Besides, it took too long to activate. There was no way it’d work against Hecatoncheires.
To be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when my “legendary teleportation skill” Wormhole would actually come in handy. It was just too situational, and running was way faster anyway.
It occurred to me that maybe I could use it to outwit Hecatoncheires and enter the tower directly, but when I tried to pinpoint the coordinates of my destination in my brain, I felt my skill end as soon as I got close to the tower. It must’ve been protected by some kind of warding spell. Or maybe the area inside was a whole different dimension… Well, I guess this was for the best. I wouldn’t want to be trapped inside the tower without knowing what was inside and with no way of getting out. And I hadn’t been expecting much from Wormhole anyway.
Okay, new strategy. I couldn’t expect to defeat Hecatoncheires by blind luck; I needed to go over my skills with a fine-toothed comb and find an effective way to attack. At this point, I threw all concern for saving MP out of the window. Before I worried about that, I needed to find a way to win this fight.
‹Ideal Weapon.› This was an Oneiros skill that allowed me to conjure a weapon suitable for combating my enemy.
Well…it drained a considerable amount of MP, but this skill had the most potential out of any of ’em. This was going to be a long battle either way. If I could keep my weapon safe, it’d be put to good use. I didn’t need just any weapon either. I need something big, heavy, and strong enough to smash through the hardest rock. Not a slashing weapon, no. I needed a bludgeoning weapon, the best one I could make.
Hecatoncheires had one weakness: His uneven stats that favored defense over anything else. He compensated for the imbalance well with his skills, but with the right Ideal Weapon, I should be able to smash through his weak points.
A massive hammer appeared before me, shining with blue-purple gradient from one end to the other. Carved flower petals decorated the handle. It made for a beautiful and elegant weapon.
Oneiros Mallet: Value L (Legendary). Attack: +130. A giant hammer that glows with a faint bluish-purple light. Made from the bones of the Dream Dragon, who rules over the world of dreams. It is said that these mallets are used by angels to strike the drums of heaven. Any blow from this weapon instantly reduces the target’s physical resistance and defense.
I quickly used Dragon Mirror to change my paws into hands and grabbed the Oneiros Mallet. It offered me some reach, which meant it’d be much harder for Hecatoncheires to counterattack than when I fought with my claws.
Hmm. Oneiros Mallet, huh? An Oneiros weapon specialized in breaking through defenses. Not bad.
I’d never wielded a big war hammer like this before. Well, there was that one time I smacked the shell monster Shin with one, but that was about it. I was a little out of my element, but I’d just have to swing it with all the strength I had. I decided to put my faith in this thing. If I couldn’t make any progress trying to deal damage with this, then this fight with Hecatoncheires was already lost.
I bounded toward Hecatoncheires, swinging my Oneiros Mallet in a wide arc. The hammer flew past his raised sword and struck him soundly in his torso with a resounding boom. The impact knocked Hecatoncheires back a fair distance—much further than I’d managed with my paws.