Once the monster went through his body, Sami clenched his teeth as pain similar to sharp needles started firing throughout his body.
Soon, small drops of blood fell from his nose. "What the hell is happening to me?" he muttered to himself.
[Condition → Body breaking down at 50%]
Guess that answers that; instead of draining mana, his spells break his body down if used too much.
The Gbahali roared, breaking his thoughts, before spinning around with its tail outstretched.
Sami was quick to jump back away from the Gbahali, dodging the attack.
Ignoring the pain, once his feet hit the ground, he summoned shield particles to wrap around his hand.
He didn't know if it would work, but using the extra force, he charged forward and buried a punch into Gbahali's lower back.
The Gbahali stumbled forward, a gasp of pain escaping its mouth. Turning around, the creature snarled as it recovered and dashed toward him.
After that, everything blurred together. Sami stopped thinking; instead, he reacted to every attack the monster hurled at him.
A deadly dance between rivals ensued as Sami started adapting to the monster. He learned to deflect with the Shield and dodge the follow-up attacks by rolling to the right.
The Gbahali attempted to catch him out of his roll with a tail attack.
Sami dodged the attack and countered by throwing a punch(wrapped in a shield) at the creature's lower back.
The monster roared in pain as it stumbled forward. The Gbahali barred its teeth; it spun around and charged at Sami.
The Gbahali faked a slash with its remaining hand before quickly switching to a kick.
Sami barely had time to get a weak shield up in time. It was enough to hold back the attack from injury, but not strong enough to stop it fully, and it was sent flying back.
Luckily, he could land on his feet.
The Gbahali charged before Sami even landed.
He quickly grabbed the knife, wrapping multiple shields around his entire right hand. "I'm tired of this fight; I'm tired of dealing with you, fuck you, you stupid, ugly son of a bitch!" he roared.
The Gbahali matched his roar with a powerful kick.
Sami dodged by using a shield to jump over the tall monster and making more and more shields to get higher in the air.
The Gbahali tried to climb up after, but fell onto its back when it disappeared.
While in the air, he started spinning, both hands on his knife. Sami's body began to glow brightly as he picked up momentum.
The Gbahali tried to stand up but got hit by the attack before it could move.
"PIERCING BLOW!" Sami screamed.
Multiple shields shattered as each layer struck the Gbahali's head; soon, the only thing that remained was his knife, which broke when the blade struck its head.
BAM!
The Gbahali landed backward on the ground.
Unable to stop his momentum, Sami landed on top of the Gbahali (which wasn't a comfortable landing). His hand throbbed, but thankfully, the Gbahali was not moving.
Sami rolled off its body, and the hard scales were really painful.
After this is over, he is going to spend all day figuring out information on this pop-up screen. He stumbled to his feet, his body slightly sore.
Sami gave one last look at the blood pouring out of the monster's head. Then began making his way to the woods; Sami hoped he was going in the same direction as Lyra's body.
A roar came from behind Sami. He turned to see the Gbahali standing up, his heart dropped; his breath came quickly as he tried to move, but his legs ignored him.
It was as if Sami's whole body shut down; his legs began to shake badly. He knew that he wouldn't last in another exchange with the monster.
"I command thee, yield, Binding Chains," a deep voice chanted out as a bright red chain circled the Gbahali, forcing it down to its knees.
The Gbahali froze, its red eyes swiveling towards the source of the voice, trying to fight against the chains holding it against its will.
Standing at the edge of the trees was a figure, hard to make out in the dark. The figure's posture was rigid, and in their hands was an old-looking staff.
As the figure approached, relief washed over Sami once he realized who it was. "Grandfather!" He yelled, quickly running to him.
Mercer glanced at Sami, for once, with a look of pride on his weathered face. Before returning his attention to the Gbahali, his grip tightened on the staff.
Behind Mercer limped Lyra, her top armor gone, leaving her in just her shirt.
Sami blushed at the sight of the sweat-soaked shirt clinging to her skin. He was excited to see that Lyra wasn't too injured, and she had survived along with him.
Mercer quietly walked past Sami, raised his staff, and a light formed a sharp edge at the end. Swinging it down, he cut the head off the Gbahali.
Blood splashed everywhere as it died.
Sami had a smile on his face, happy that he survived his first monster fight.
[Quest Completed: Slay The Gbahali]
[New Title: Novice Monster Slayer]
[Bonus Damage → +10% damage to enemies]
[Damage Reduction → 10% less damage from enemies]
[Excedia → Helps with leveling up. Gained from training, defeating enemies, and heroic acts (villains operate under different parameters)]
[6 Skill Points awarded → Used to level skills or evolve maxed-out skills]
[Gained O.R.A.C.L.E → Magic Grimoire that allows users to see their own stats, and learn all skills.]
'I'll have to go over everything on a different day,' he thought, rubbing his temples, feeling overwhelmed by information.
Lyra playfully bumped Sami's shoulder. Breaking Sami from his thoughts, the boxes disappeared from his sight.
"So, grandfather, huh?" she questioned with a teasing grin.
"Haha, yeah," Sami replied awkwardly. "I never really had the chance to mention it before, you know, with the whole monster attack and all."
"Master Mercer would always take time off during the summer," Lyra explained. "We always wondered where he went. It makes sense now that he is coming to you."
"Yeah, remember that village you mentioned? My parents died during that invasion," Sami explained, his voice a little shaky. "M-my grandfather and I, during his summer visits, light candles to honor the lives lost that night."
"I didn't know," Lyra finished lamely, unsure how to respond to that somber revelation.
Sami didn't get a chance to say another word as a large shadow approached him.
Mercer stood, his cloak blowing in the wind. His one eye was glaring down at Sami, his aura imposing.
Sami tried to offer a weak smile, but he stopped when his grandfather flared his nose.
His grandfather moved with surprising speed, faster than the Gbahali and Lyra both; a fist connected sharply with the side of Sami's head.
BONG!
"Idiot!" Mercer barked, his voice low and furious.
Sami stumbled back, clutching his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
Lyra gasped, her face in shock at the sudden violence.
"Grandfather? What the—?"
"Don't grandfather me! Why would you stand there and talk in the middle of a battle! Worse yet, you weren't even paying attention to your surroundings?" Mercer yelled.
Sami stumbled backward at the intensity of his yelling. He felt scared, as if saying one wrong thing would get Mercer to hit him again.
"Grandfather," Sami began, rubbing his head from the pain, "I didn't know you were there for-"
Mercer hit him again, making him scream out in pain. "Only an idiot would talk when an enemy is near. I taught you tactics and how to hunt. Next time, do better," he interrupted.
"I'm sorry, grandfather," Sami cried, doing my best to hold back the tears threatening to spill.
"Sir, it's not all of his fault…" Lyra trailed off as Mercer turned to look at her. The look in his eye caused her to gulp.
"Don't get me started on you!" Mercer growled, fully glaring at her as she squirmed under his gaze. "Not only did you entertain his conversation, but it got worse. You decided not to switch weapons sooner, wasting precious time and energy when you could've beaten the Gbahali sooner."
"You're right, sir. I enjoyed playing around when I should've ended it," Lyra said apologetically.
Mercer just shook his head as he began muttering to himself and walking away.
Lyra and Sami looked at each other before quickly following him.
The body of Gbahali turned to full ash as they began their journey out of the woods.
Red eyes from the forest watched them, smoke blowing out the creature's nose as his eyes narrowed at Sami.
"Finally found someone that can break this curse," the creature muttered to himself before being dragged back by chains into a blue circle.
The last thing seen was the bull's horns; the circle closed after its body passed through.