I was glad I had redirected the blow as the crystalline claws sliced through one of the tunnels, leaving glowing green caustic residue that was liquifying the stone. I did not want to be touched by those. I used my Void Rend to summon my blades. With that claw dude so close, there was no way he could avoid my blades. Or so I thought as once I unleashed my barrage, the bastard vanished. I had launched five blades in total. The first had been aimed right at his neck, and the others had been launched across the room at random. Now imagine my surprise when not only did one of these emberfang elites teleport, but the one with the sword straight up countered it! He swung his blade, its markings glowing bright as he knocked one of my blades upwards, causing it to slam into the ceiling. The other Emberfang royal guard easily avoided the remaining blades.
The one with the sword grinned at me as he looked at a tiny chip in his blade. Then all hell broke loose, and he charged towards me. I looked to see if any of the others were joining the fray when I noticed a prickling sensation from behind me. I reacted instantly, trusting my instincts. I ducked just in time as I heard the whooshing sound of something moving fast through the space where my head had just been. That clawed bugger had re-entered the fray. I was about to turn and slice his exposed abdomen when I saw the swordsman had finally caught up and pushed off the ground, moving to the side. I let go of my sword and whirled my body around, catching it with my tail and swinging as hard as I could, aiming to remove the swordsman's hand as his blade travelled downwards. My blade was millimetres away from his wrist when it was violently wrenched out of my hands, and an arrow made of green energy collided with it. I cursed as my sword was spun end over end before embedding itself into the tunnel ceiling.
I growled in frustration, taking a single step towards the archer when I felt my Earthbound Instinct warn me of something rapidly approaching. I turned to face my foe, only to find the dual axe-wielding emberfang mid swing, clearly aiming for a decapitation. I caught both his wrists and used a weapon I hadn't used before. I slammed my head into his; one of my horns tore a gash across his cheek, whereas the other entered his eye socket and punched deep. I ripped my head back, expecting him to fall limp as I was sure I'd punctured his brain. Instead, the brutish monkey let out a cry of pain. This was quickly silenced as I noticed his throat begin to glow. I let go of his wrists and leapt upwards, just in the nick of time. The axe wielder unleashed a torrent of liquid fire from his mouth. It behaved like water as it flowed forward, but it was clearly fire. It radiated heat and danced like flames. I was glad I'd avoided it, even if my scales had some secret heat-resistant ability. I did not want to test how it fared against that ability, especially as I saw the liquid flame pool and start to burn through the stone floor. From my place on the ceiling, I quickly glanced around at my enemies. The axe wielder was catching his breath after that devastating attack, but the swordsman and teleport claw dude were rushing towards me. The one that really bothered me was the one wielding the glaive. He just watched, his simian features betraying no emotion. He just watched and waited. If he wasn't going to join in, then all the better for me.
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It was time to bring this fight to an end, I thought as I cast Earthen Arsenal. I summoned all the rock around me to form into a mess of coiling spiked chains. I sent them forward, imbuing them with a single purpose to capture my prey. I also used my Beastial Dustveil. Creating a cover for my chains in the form of a serpent-shaped storm or debris and dust. I noted that the glaive wielder still hadn't intervened, even though he was also caught in the storm. I didn't have time to focus on him as the claw-wielding fellow had teleported to the roof of the cave, where he had a direct line of sight to me. I manipulated my Dustveil spell to dislodge my sword and bring it back to me. It wasn't the easiest as I had to fight the spell's destructive nature, but through sheer willpower, I succeeded and just in time as the claw emberfang teleported to my location, attempting to skewer me on his claw.
It did not end well for him. He was so focused on getting to me, he didn't notice the void blades coming his way until the last second. He attempted to teleport away, but I grabbed hold of his wrist, angling his claw away from me. Just as I thought the ability or spell failed, I had thought that since he hadn't used his teleport ability with any of his compatriots, he could only use it on himself. A guess that had plenty of holes, I realised, but it had worked, and that's what mattered. He looked at me with terror in his eyes as all five blades took off his limbs and head: one down, four to go.
I did not have time to celebrate as my Earthen Instinct warned me of a fast-moving projectile. I twisted my body to the left, my eyes widening as a beam of green light screeched past my face and punched a perfectly circular hole about as wide as my head into the wall behind me. I looked back in the direction it had come from and saw the archer grinning manically, the sword wielder and the injured axe wielder standing beside him. His bow's glow started to intensify, and I realised what was coming. I called all my chains to bear, sending them towards him while also using them to create a wall. I did not need to see my targets to kill them; I just needed to get close enough.
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I heard a loud boom as the archer unleashed his attack. I had hoped the wall of chains would stop it, but when I started to see green seeping through cracks in the chain wall, I used Earthen Arsenal to rip out a chunk from the floor below me and formed it into a spear. I slipped into the hole just as the archer's shots broke my chain wall apart. I watched as the archer tried to peer through the hole they had created. I manipulated my Beastial Dustveil, causing it to coil, increasing the density of the dust and debris in the air and making it much harder for them to see. As the archer got too close, I unleashed a tectonic maw that slammed shut around his head before he could react. I grinned as his body went limp and collapsed to the ground. Two down!
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The swordsman took a step back as his companion's body fell to the ground. The half-blind axe-wielder, however, charged towards me, screaming out in…wait a minute, he was screaming out in English! It was weird hearing the language again, almost nostalgic, except that he was using every obscenity and directing them at me, but hey ho. I had so many questions, but unfortunately, he couldn't answer any of them, especially after I leapt from my hole in the ground and rammed my blade under his chin and out through the top of his skull. Three down!
The swordsman looked terrified now, and I kept noticing him glancing towards the glaive wielder. As I stepped out of the wall of chains, I dismissed my spells. All around me, everything began to turn to dust as I approached my prey. I felt something within me shift, something I hadn't felt in a long while. The beast inside was stirring. I didn't think that Monstrous Hunger would rear its head so early. I guess being pushed so hard in combat accelerated things. I debated retreating with one of the corpses to recover, but I did not want to lose my momentum, and besides, these guys were fast and dangerous enough to get into my space, which would put Kiko at risk.
In the end, the decision was taken from me as the glaive wielder blurred, then reappeared beside the swordsman. The two clasped hands, and then I was treated to the weirdest spectacle. The two emberfangs began to glow, causing me to step back. I was not ready for a liquid fire bath. But instead of unleashing a torrent, the two just continued to glow brighter and brighter. That's when, for the first time in my new body, I started to feel an uncomfortable heat like a too-hot bath or sipping a freshly made tea. I looked at the glowing pair, and that's when I began to notice other details. The walls were running, the air was hazy, and I could smell the all too familiar smell of magic. Thick and sweet like a confectionery shop, it felt like sniffing a line of powdered sugar. Then it was over.
Where there had been two emberfangs instead were two skeletons, and above them was a glowing orb with an almost glass-like appearance. I took one step towards it, and it shattered, revealing a cackling figure sitting within its remains. This was an emberfang unlike any I had ever seen. He was at least a head smaller than any of the variants I'd met so far. He wore loose black trousers that looked like the ones I was forced to wear when I had to do karate as part of a rehabilitation programme. He paired this with an open black trench coat with a red flame motif on one side. Around his neck, he wore a silver chain; strapped around his waist was an honest-to-goodness katana; and to finish his weeb edgelord ensemble, he wore the obligatory fedora.
I would have laughed at the absurdity of the whole thing if my title hadn't revealed the true nature of his items.
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Trousers of the Twin Current
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While wearing these trousers, the wearer gains the following benefits.
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- Movement speed is increased by 20%
- Wind and fire-based abilities gain an increase in power of 50%
- So long as the wearer keeps moving, their speed increases by 2.5% per second.
- Wind and fire-based abilities gain an increase in power of 50%
Trench Coat of Smouldering Drafts
While wearing this trench coat, the wearer gains the following benefits.
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- 20% of all melee damage taken is converted into fire mana.
- Prolonged combat intensifies the coat's flames, increasing both fire & wind damage.
Silver Chain of the Furnace Gale
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While wearing this chain, the wearer gains the following benefits.
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- Fire affinity increased by 35%
- Fire affinity spells have their mana cost halved.
Katana of Scorching Crosswinds
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An attuned wielder of this Katana can use the following abilities.
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Searing slice:- The wielder can unleash crescent-shaped waves of fire and wind affinity mana from the blade.
Patient Mark:- After a target receives ten cuts from this blade, you can cause them to detonate, causing fire and force damage.
Iaijutsu- Firestorm Draw:- Drawing or sheathing the blade unleashes a forward burst of flaming wind.
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Fedora of the Inferno Draft
While wearing this hat, the wearer gains the following benefits.
- Wind and fire mana can be used interchangeably.
- Fire attacks ignore defence.
Set Bonus for Mantle of the Living Gale
When the full Regalia is worn, the wearer enters a state of sustained elemental convergence during extended combat.
- Any fire or wind technique benefits from both affinity bonuses.
- Mixed-element techniques are 50% more effective.
This guy was decked out in the most broken shit I'd seen so far. Perhaps it was a bad idea to laugh at him. For all I knew before the system, he could have just been such a weird, lonely teen who struggled to express himself, and now he could live out his weird anime fantasy in a new world. Who was I to judge? With my thoughts clear, I readied myself to speak with the edgelord progenitor of the emberfangs.
"Yokoso!" the little edgelord said, putting on the fakest deep voice I'd ever heard.
It was at that point that I could no longer hold in my mirth and erupted in howling laughter.