Ultimate Level 1-Chapter 419: Outclassed

Chapter 419 – Outclassed

As the kaleidoscope world around Max shattered, the roar of the arena filtered through first, his eyes locked upon the wolf that was already moving.

You know the plan. Stay on the defense and only take openings you’re certain of. I’ll handle the harassing side.

He didn’t need to say a word, Bob already knowing he agreed as he assumed the stance Tom and Dexic had drilled into him hundreds of times.

Faster than any other opponent he had faced, Kazrak was upon him, and the improved stats he had from the weapon and a few items of clearing the tower floors paid off, allowing Max to parry and block both axes as they cleaved for different parts of his body.

[ Regeneration ]

His sword arm ached from the parry, having to take the brunt of the attack since his shield deflected the other strike.

The size difference between them was bothersome as Max was forced back a few steps, unable to stand against the blows that never stopped.

His skills struggled to keep up, and he immediately knew that Kazrak had a legendary ranked axe weapons mastery and a higher dual-wielding skill.

It was a struggle to protect himself, his shield skill not up to par with the attacks that never let up.

Frost Nova went off, followed by a Fire Nova. Neither seemed to affect the predator he was facing, a smile across his face as he used the reach and size to overwhelm Max.

“You’re good, but I’m better,” Kazrak growled. “Those spells aren’t going to do anything to me! Show me some real tricks! I know you have more!”

His taunts fell on deaf ears as Max skirted the dirt field they fought on, doing his best to keep moving at an angle lest he get pushed up against a barrier and find himself in trouble.

Stone boulders appeared in the air and more rocks were freed from his storage space as Bob continued to fight back, testing what limits the wolf might have and if there were any weak spots in his defenses.

Every stone that struck shattered against the silver body of Kazrak.

His skill continued to reshape the pieces, sending them at the wolf’s eyes, trying to at least interfere with his vision.

Meanwhile, Max understood how different this fight was from that of Igarras.

She had been strong, but her size had limited her ability to stay on top of him like this. He had been able to use that to hide and maneuver away from her claws and mouth. Kazrak didn’t have that weakness.

As the first minute rolled by, and Bob’s lightning spell connected, causing the slightest slow down in the wolf’s attack speed, they were well aware of why everyone who had faced this monster had died.

Give me a minute. Be ready.

Max sensed the spells as they went off, teleporting away, up into the air, landing on an ice spear, and jumping quickly to where an air one was before finding himself smacking into a barrier as he leaped up again.

The pain wasn’t nothing, though the disorientation of the moment was.

We are in trouble.

His skill was right, landing on an air wall that appeared under him the moment his upward rise had been stopped.

An object streaked toward him, and his shield moved to where it was, catching and blocking the axe that had been thrown at him.

Move!

Everything happened so quickly it was almost impossible to know if Max moved on his own volition or with Bob’s warning as the other axe came at his feet, destroying the perch he had been on.

With less than four inches to spare, he jumped onto an air spear and sped off around the low ceiling of the arena, seeing that after the axes had struck, they vanished, appearing in Kazrak’s oversized hands.

They set this height at 100 yards… everything about this place is designed to box us in and limit our fighting.

Kazrak threw another axe at him, but it was easily dodged as Bob managed the movement of the spell, keeping them away as the wolf chased underneath.

We can’t stay here forever, and we both know he can jump up here at any moment. He is toying with us still.

Bob was right, the sound of laughter coming from below as their opponent never let both axes go simultaneously, sending one and having it reappear before sending another.

He isn’t leaving himself undefended, not that I’m certain we could do any damage to him. He is stronger than me. I believe he’s faster as well.

What’s worse is he is smart. He set a trap, and we were caught in it.

The game of wolf and man went on for minutes, and neither of them could do anything. Every spell Bob sent at their opponent was dodged, deflected, or simply tanked by the metallic body.

Each of Kazrak’s axe attacks was avoided, and eventually, the wolf moved to the center of the arena area and stood there, both weapons held at his sides and eyes locked on him.

“I was worried you might do something like this!” their opponent shouted. “So I’ll tell you right now, in a few hours, the arena will shrink, continually growing smaller until there is nowhere for you to fly around.”

Kazrak let out a long howl and then went silent, apparently content to bide his time.

Can that be true?

I don’t want to say no, but the truth is we didn’t spend the time or effort to learn about this world as we should have. You needed to return home to your friends. Any other visit was cut short for the same reason. Most likely, he is not lying, and we cannot risk it either way.

Well, let’s change things up.

Max swapped out for his legendary bow and started firing arrows at the wolf, seeing a slight reaction come from the beast as a solid string of arrows assaulted him.

After one slipped by his axes, which parried them, Kazrak put away one axe and held up his hand, protecting his eyes and allowing the rest of the arrows that were sent to shatter.

None of the magically created arrows even made a tiny scratch, and Max smiled as he continued the barrage, waiting for a moment he hoped might work.

[ Empowered Ranged Attack ]

[ Arrow Volley ]

One moment the enchanted arrow, formed by his bow, was speeding toward the boss, transformed into an empowered one and suddenly split into twenty, each of them streaking downward.

Kazrak reacted immediately, moving sideways and holding up his axe, which was still out.

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Over half of the arrows were either dodged or blocked but it appeared at least four struck, the tiniest of damage noticeable as they pierced his skin barely before he swept a hand over where they were and caused the pieces to fall off.

“Impressive! You do have some tricks!”

Well, he can be hurt…

Not really. Each of those wounds is already healed. Yes, they went through, but it was nothing more than a nuisance. It's like a bee sting that one feels but does no real damage.

Still, if we go all out… I might be able to cut him.

And if he cuts you? If one attack gets through, we lose strength. For how long, I’m not certain.

Storing his bow and pulling his sword and shield back out, Max sighed, knowing Bob was right and their options continued to become less and less by the moment.

He’ll know about my ability to shrug off blows that would typically kill me. It’s uncommon, and we both know that part probably concerns him. So what could he really be trying to do? Test his weapons? See if he can wear me down? Slaughter me nonstop? Everything we’ve considered before is going exactly as we planned, except for the shrinking arena.

So you’re willing to go all out, and I’m willing to sacrifice the power I have… remember we cannot endure like we did with Igarra. We play smart, use our skills carefully, and try not to die.

That last part is one of my favorites. I guess we’ll see how this goes.

Summoning Fowl’s hammer, he took a deep breath and then jumped toward Kazrak.

A smile appeared on the wolf’s face as both axes as Max descended toward him.

“YES!”

As the wolf cried out, weapons moving to connect with the sword and hammer he wielded, Max couldn’t help but grin back.

[ Ultimate Form ]

[ Berserker ]

[ Power Strike ]

[ Rampage ]

[ Magical Strike ]

[ Ghost Strike ]

[ Quick Attack ]

[ Intimidation ]

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

The shout that came from his mouth didn’t affect his opponent, nor did he expect it would, but instead, it was a way for him to release some of the frustration and rage he felt.

Appearing behind Karzak as the black blades were about to bisect his growing body, Max swung with both weapons, watching as the wolf turned, already appearing to know what would happen next.

The silver body shimmered as both of his weapons connected, his newest one transforming into a hammer.

One moment the wolfkin had been towering over him, twice his size. Now when Max struck, both flat pieces of metal came downward, connecting against Kazrak’s shoulder blades due to his added size.

His opponent let out a grunt, stumbling forward as three attacks, all hitting faster than most could ever hope to dodge or see, connected.

In an instant, Kazrak was on one knee, a single axe bouncing across the dirt. He used a hand to catch himself from going face-first into the white dirt.

Beneath him, an indentation appeared from the force of what he had been hit with, and Max continued the assault as Bob did his part.

In that brief moment, his partner summoned a ball of lightning and used the moment to strike.

[ Spell Burst ]

Kazrak’s body began to twitch when the electrical energy struck, all while being assaulted by a never-ending barrage of hammer strikes to his lower back.

The sound of metal on metal rang out across the floor, and as the seconds flew by and Bob sent another bolt of lightning at their opponent, an eerie howl came from their opponent.

Around them the ground began to tremble and turn into a foggy mist.

Bob?

Keep going! Something is happening, and he is hurt.

True to his skills statement, there was blood on the white dirt. When the wolf had let out the howl, blood flew from his mouth, the first one to stain the arena floor.

In the span of four seconds, his weapons never stopped moving, and then everything changed.

A backhand came toward him, its speed now matching his own, and the damage that should have limited Kazrak’s movement seemed to have no effect.

Holding up Fowl’s hammer, he blocked the strike and was forced back a step as the fist crushed into it.

The green mist started to appear around them, and the wolf turned, eyes no longer silver but red, rage seeming to exude from them as he laughed, swinging the axe in his right hand.

Both weapons came together, parrying the attack, realizing they finally saw their opponent's real strength.

The offensive moment turned defensive as strikes came at them, easily twice as fast as before, the missing axe now in its rightful left hand, each one attempting to strike true.

Switching out Fowl’s hammer for his shield, Max felt the shift in the battle and then saw what was happening around him.

Nothing appeared on his sonar, yet in the green mist, shapes had appeared.

Over fifty different specters, all six-foot-tall images of wolfkins, turned toward him and started to attack.

With a swing of his hammer, Max connected, a loud wail coming when the creature started to dissolve, but when he tried to block another with his shield, it passed through it, touching his arm and sending a jolt of pain through it.

[ Cursed ]

[ Atrophy Curse - Movement speed has been decreased. ]

Move now!

While trying to jump upward and out of the way of both axes, another touched his back, pain coming through the contact.

[ Cursed ]

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[ Atrophy Curse - Movement speed has been decreased again. ]

We need to—

I know!

Laughter came from his opponent's mouth, blood dripping down from the edges and the sharp canine teeth.

“Well done! Time to suffer!”

Kazrak’s right hand snaked out, the axe gone and snatched the bottom of his leg as he had lept upward.

[ Harden Body ]

[ Bulwark ]

[ Armored Warrior ]

Everything happened quickly as the wolf spun and slammed him into the ground.

As his body impacted, a small crater formed, yet he was given no time to rest in it and instead whipped upward and down again elsewhere, the wolf using the rebound of his body to speed the attack.

Bob!

I know!

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