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Chapter 616
🕑 Added 2026-01-03 04:04:36 +0000 UTCKhalysstra P.O.V.
Looking at Ajax and Aurexion squaring up I couldn’t help the worry I felt. Ajax was taking a moment to get used to the new gauntlet I had made for him. The enchantments should help direct Mana better and help him move it properly giving him that extra bit of leeway with [Spell Direction] so that he can more seamlessly incorporate it into his fighting style.
Him clearing a level one hundred and twenty floor on his own however is a great achievement. Looking at him now is the only reason I am letting this fight go on with him missing an arm and all. Initially I had hoped the difference in age between him and Aurexion would have allowed the bond to form that way because of his youth but clearly I underestimated how quickly humans mature. He will have to prove his strength to Aurexion and he will have to do it while missing an arm.
I use [Eye of Insight] on both of them, it's a little surprising to see that Ajax noticed me using it but his privacy Skill isn’t strong enough to stop my Legendary Skill from getting both his level as well as his Stats. I compare the baseline both him and Aurexion are starting from.
Ajax is only level sixty four where Aurexion is level eighty. Having cleared a level one hundred and twenty floor boss I am happy Ajax seems to be taking Aurexion seriously even after he clearly identified his level.
In terms of Stats thankfully the difference isn’t as bad as I feared. Clearly Ajax has also pushed his racial ability quite far if he’s already gained this many Stats but this upcoming fight will be tough for him. Sixteen levels is already three hundred and twenty Stats but the difference in their total Stats is about six hundred. More than that Aurexion’s stats are heavily focused on his physical Stats along with his Intelligence, he relies on his body with brief uses of powerful magic for devastating effect. Ajax’s balanced build might have some large issues handling that.
“Alright, I’m ready.” Ajax said as he tightened the buckles on his armor. I can see he isn’t all that comfortable with the gauntlet just yet, it’ll feel different than his old armor and some of the enchantments were broken when he replaced the piece with my gift but I am sure he will find it more useful, especially since he would need it to make up for the loss of an arm.
“I’ll let you make the first move… human.” It's a good thing Aurexion's ego is giving Ajax an extra advantage, I just hope his currently influenced personality doesn’t repulse Ajax from forming the bond. “Show me what you can do and that you deserve your evolution to an Ascended race.”
I feel a sudden change as Ajax starts pulling in Mana from all around us as well as feeding a decent amount of Mana himself. This might help close the difference between their physical Stats but I know it's far from enough.
When Ajax moves he is fast. It’s easy to see Aurexion be surprised, he might have the Stats but he doesn’t have the experience that comes with that level of power, his growth might have been meteoric for a dragon before his seclusion but it wasn’t filled with danger only challenge.
Stats are a representation of power through the System but different bodies react differently according to their size. Aurexion might have more Dexterity than Ajax but that doesn’t make him faster, the size difference between them means that Ajax is faster, he might be even without the boost from his Skill.
The same however is also true for their Endurance. I see as Ajax thrusts a spear into Aurexion’s shoulder only to barely have it crack the scale, the tip penetrating a couple of inches at most. Even the Ice Mana infusion he released with the strike isn’t all that effective against Aurexion’s Endurance but I do see it affect him a little. His claw being just slower than it should be as he swipes for Ajax.
“Is that the best you can do?!” Aurexion challenges Ajax as he moves to attack, he might be slower but his Perception is high enough to keep up with Ajax and with his large claws he can launch an attack that Ajax can’t fully dodge.
Just as the difference in their Stats is easy to see as the fight continues, so is the difference in Skill, only this time it isn’t going Aurexion’s way. I have to wonder just how many Skills does Ajax possess to use as many spells as he has in the last minute to keep himself safe from Aurexion’s reckless attacks.
The amount of Mana types as well as weapons that he uses, playing to each one’s strength and switching them out between strikes. Moving from offense to defense seamlessly as he dances around Aurexion’s claws and fangs. The fight has been going on for almost two minutes yet none of them have taken any real hits. Ajax because he deflected any that did connect with his shield and Aurexion through his sheer power and intensity, not letting Ajax set up a more powerful spell.
“Enough of this.” Aurexion’s growl is low as he turns on his own Stamina based boosting Skill. It’s only a Rare Skill but it will only widen the gap between their physical Stats. On top of that I see him using a spell for the first time in this fight, his Rare Smoke Mana as he releases a cloud of thick smoke through his nose to hide the claw.
That’s odd. The smoke cloud seems lackluster in comparison to what he should be able to do, a quick look with [Sense Mana] lets me know why. Ajax’s boosting Skill doesn’t just boost him with the Mana gathered but it also lets him actively steal Mana from the surrounding to gain that boost. He disrupted Aurexion’s spell weakening it greatly but not enough, the smoke cloud still managed to provide the cover Aurexion needed to land his first clean hit.
His claws drew blood and I could see pieces of Ajax’s armor fall away as he was launched into the trees. His Life Mana already at work healing his wounds. Aurexion didn’t follow up, looking down on him just waiting for him to get back up.
“Fine then, let's see how far I can really go.” Ajax’s words surprised me, his Mana expenditure rose massively, more than that my [Battle Sense] told me he had also activated a Stamina boosting Skill at the same time.
Ajax exploded into motion, I could still track him but it was clear Aurexion lost him for a second there as Ajax moved around to his side and using a hammer landed a powerful strike one augmented with Vibration Mana of all things. If there was one bright spot for Aurexion it was that he hadn’t used [Spell Direction] to amplify the power of the augmentation.
The shockwave released on contact resounded throughout the forest. If the sidhe had actually left instead of skulking around trying to learn more they would surely be on their way back as they would have heard the impact as Aurexion was sent flying, the blow clearly doing some internal damage as blood started to drip from his mouth.
“Now that’s more like it.” Aurexion seemed oddly pleased despite the blow he took.
For the next half a minute Ajax seemed to take total control of the fight. He was moving so fast Aurexion’s strikes couldn’t get close to landing when accounting for the constant spells he was using to speed himself up or slow Aurexion down. At one point I’m sure he used [Telekinesis] to move himself out of the way. More importantly however he was landing blows, blows that were doing real damage to Aurexion this time. But he was burning through both Mana and Stamina at massive rates.
I thought Ajax might actually stand a chance at winning for a moment before [Battle Sense] set me straight. Instead of just taking it, Aurexion set up a combo of his own. A massive amount of Mana gathered as he prepared to unleash his breath attack. I was tempted to interfere but I knew it wouldn’t land.
“Sorry about this.” I directed my words towards Ruinflare as Aurexion’s breath destroyed a chunk of his territory. Even with Ajax’s Skill weakening it Aurexion had a much better hold on his breath attack than his smoke screen keeping the spell structure intact despite the Mana being drained from it.
It didn’t come as a surprise to me that Ajax managed to dodge Aurexion’s flaming breath. It was something Aurexion himself had planned for and I could see Ajax’s surprise when Aurexion used his tail for the first time in the fight.
Despite Ajax’s increased speed the fire breath had forced him into the air and not even his [Telekinesis] was quick enough to get him out of the way of the tail swipe Aurexion had put his whole body into. Even the movement that gave away his breath attack was a trick to hide the wind up for the tail swipe.
Aurexion’s tail swipe caught Ajax head on and smashed him into the ground. Empowered by his boosting Skill I was a little worried and moved to heal Ajax from where he cratered into the earth unconscious.
Comments
Arrogant Savant
Hm, Auxerion is a more sustainable physical-focused fighting skill with bursts of magic. That works out pretty well with Ajax's weaknesses.
Arrogant Savant
You both gets skills from each other aswell as bonds counting towards solo acheivements (meaning they still count as a solo acheivement with you + a bond).
BookDragonling
What are the benefits of finding a Bond again? I could understand if it was just a powerful animal companion that you could basically train/control. But Bonding with a sapient being seems weird and this arrogant jerk of a dragon doesn't seem worth it. Sure, the dragon might be powerful but I wouldn't trust him to have my back. Is there some other benefit to getting a Bond that I'm forgetting? Feel like it's been a while since any specifics was talked about, so I definitely don't remember.
Kanye
I'm pretty sure it was a squad captain
Silver Beard
If they bond...Will they share full status and then will Aurex keep Ajax secrets later if he gives it up. Whole deal feels like a placeholder for Shifty and Ajax to both reach 100
Arrogant Savant
The fact that Ajax basically just got last stand is really working against him, the low skill levels are obviously making it inefficient. I just hope he can get helpful tips from the Gryndor champion (or was it squad captain?) who also has the skill that fast track the skill levels.
Jaklelope
Tyftc
Raymond Mouton
Thanks for the chapter. Happy New Year !
Some Guy
Thanks for the chapter
Arrogant Savant
He got illusion resistance but not mana
Bob Bryan
See this is part of why I said ajax should be mastering smoke/sand/snow/mist/steam mana. For distractions and the like. Plus what happened to illusion mana ajax was working on. I dont think he got it but I dont remember him working on it for a while. Could he mistaken.
Arrogant Savant
I see I wasn't the only one expecting the "void mana to the head move" lol
Caiban
No void mana? I mean sure not against his head they dont fight to the death but against his organs? Also i still want a stat sheet update! ^^
TerrestrialOverlord
TFTC...this is how long the ogre fight should have gone. I want to see that stat sheet so bad, for all the increases since Ajax left home...Keleros edging us like a boss...
