Chapter 125: Just Cut It Off
Chapter 125: Just Cut It Off
"Boom!"
The brilliant explosion that once again appeared in the camp before everyone's eyes was likely unforgettable for everyone involved.
The moment Shien and Baydr clashed, both of their terrifying magic power impacted with tremendous force.
"[Mental Impact]!"
Baydr released his attack at Shien mercilessly as Shien charged at him. An invisible and formless wave of magic power transformed into a blast of force and exploded in Shien's mind.
That was high class mental magic. Not only could it destroy one's will, it could also shatter one's mind. Although it might not do any physical damage, anyone struck by it would at best lose their consciousness, and at worst it might even destroy the recipient's memories or even soul and thus turn into a vegetable. In such a case, it was no different from death.
Normal defenses were useless against these kind of mental attacks. This type of magic is famed for being hard to defend against. Not only is it hard to deal with, it's even hard to judge how to deal with in the first place.
Since it directly affects one's mind, will, thoughts, and even soul, it's very hard to do anything about baring certain special magic items or skills.
Baydr believed that Shien had some kind of defensive measure. Since his own [Enmity Lightning] couldn't do any damage, the only other method was to strike at the mind instead.
Indeed, Baydr's observation and decision was correct. Mental magic was indeed beyond the purview of the [Magic Resistance] skill.
Since it's magic that didn't cause any physical damage, how was the skill supposed to weaken its damage?
Thus, facing that kind of magic, normal magic defense skills are actually more effective than resistance type skills.
However, these magic that doesn't cause physical damage are generally considered within the realm of "abnormal statuses".
In other words, although [Magic Resistance] doesn't have any effect against mental magic, [Abnormal Status Resistance] does defend against mental magic and attacks.
Thus, Shien only felt a roaring sound in his head before everything cleared up. Not only did he not lose consciousness, he also used the opportunity to increase his speed and perfectly close in on Baydr as he finished casting.
This was the effect from [Close-Quarters Dodge]. As one dodge, it utilizes every factor to use the quickest, best, and most effective method to close in on the enemy.
Thus, Shien slashed out while Baydr was completely unprepared.
"Rip!"
Shien cleanly cut through the magic curtain around Baydr with his [Magic Sword] like he was cleaving through a black curtain of water. Thus, Baydr, once protected by defensive magic, was now completely exposed to Shien's sight.
"Tsk...!"
Baydr clicked his tongue, annoyed, but he didn't loose his cool. Instead, since he realized that magic didn't have any effect on Shien, he decisively chose to engage in close combat.
"Die! Human brat!"
Baydr growled out like a wild beast. A hand tore through the air like a sharp set of claws toward Shien's head.
"Clang!"
With a clear ring, Shien quickly swung his sword and parried Baydr's claw swipe.
"Roar...!"
Baydr wildly swung his arms as if he was a beast. The nails on both his hands extended and became long and sharp. Those hands were like the claws of ghouls, shining with a cold light, and tore at Shien furiously.
"Clang clang clang clang clang...!"
The next moment, the sound of constant clashes rang out.
Facing those unceasing claw strikes, Shien instead seemed to have seen through every single attack. He simply used the smallest motions possible and parried each and every blow.
With the [War God] skill, Shien's abilities in close combat was unquestionable. Plus, Shien's [Two-handed Sword] skill was also max level, so how could he possibly lose in swordsmanship against Baydr's merely level 6 [Sharp Claw] skill?
Shien just gave Baydr a smile and spoke.
"Your nails are too long. It really does need trimming."
As he said that, the magic power covering Shien's sword grew, making the light from the [Magic Sword] even stronger.
"Clang!"
When Shien swung his sword again at Baydr's claw strike, the long and sharp nails on Baydr's hand were sent flying.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
Shien's sword moved according to his will, and with casual motions and perfect cuts, he had cut away all of the claws on Baydr's hands among the sounds of metallic clashes.
Only then did Baydr realize that his hands had become completely bare. His nails were now smooth and trimmed.
"A beautician's manicure. Now bad eh?"
Shien gave the now panicking Baydr a terrifying smile.
"However, this hand really is too old. It's quite ugly no matter how much I fix it, so it might be better to just toss it. Let's just cut it off."
With those words, the [Magic Sword] in Shien's hand glided forth in a flash and swung down toward Baydr's hands at a near perfect angle.
"Rip!" "Rip!"
With a pair of tearing sounds, enormous spurts of blood shot into the air.
"Aaaaahhhh...!"
Baydr screamed out in pain. He acted as if struck by lightning and retreated in a hurry.
Baydr's hands had already fallen onto the ground, having been completely separated from Baydr's body.
This scene had completely shocked Balon and company who were watching from afar.
"He... He actually had the upper hand in battle against Baydr? And he even cut off Baydr's hands?"
Balon, Alrith, Leon, Eudrice, and the rest felt dizzy at the sight.
That was a level 84 elite demon!
For him to have been forced to such a state by a level 10 newbie adventurer?
How's that even possible...?
No one could believe the sight that they're seeing.
Even Lumia and Melika were completely dumbfounded.
Seeing that, Vivian and Diere exchanged a look.
Although the two of them knew that Shien was definitely not nearly as simple as what he had shown on the surface, they never imagined that Shien would actually be this strong.
In reality, the current Shien was quite strong even without using the Holy Sword.
At the very least, compared to how he was back when he was level 10, Shien wasn't just a little bit stronger.
It wasn't because his level rose, but because afterwards, Shien had learned a number of skills.
Shien had also maxed out all of those skills in one breath, so the amount of improvement they gave Shien was obvious.
And Baydr might be very high leveled, but he wasn't nearly as hard to deal with as Leisha.
Leisha, who had learned spacial magic, could easily dance around Shien even if she couldn't beat him. If she wanted to run, Shien could basically do nothing to stop her. In Baydr's case though, none of his magic could do a thing to Shien, and he couldn't even run away. Thus, the current result was only natural.
Of course, Baydr had his own difficult parts.
For example, even now, with his hands severed, he just grit his teeth, his magic power surged, and those severed hands of his started regenerating.
That was naturally due to the effect of the potion Baydr drank.
"Just who the hell are you...!?"
Baydr roared and shot a terrifyingly powerful fire spell at Shien. Flames rose along with the temperature and swallowed up the surrounding area.
However, Shien just walked through those flames casually. Finally, he moved past the flames and appeared once more before Baydr.
"I'm your grandpa!"
As he cursed, the sword in Shien's hand swung forth with crimson light.
"Rip!"
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
The sound of pained screaming accompanied that of flesh tearing and continued on for some time.