Chapter 44: Damn That Hurt

Raegar leaped from the branch, descending like a phantom. The wind howled around him as he plummeted toward the monstrous serpent, his eyes locked onto his target. ''This attack won't kill the beast, but it should slow down at least,'' he muttered. As he closed the distance, he channeled Wind Aether into his blades, the weapons humming with raw, untamed power. Then his blades pierced deep into the serpent's hide, and in the same instant, he ignited the Fire Aether. The fusion of elements triggered an explosion, a roaring detonation of flame and wind that erupted from the wound like a storm breaking free from its cage. The force sent shockwaves through the ravine, splitting stone as the monster shrieked in agony. Raegar quickly Flash Stepped out of the shockwave's radius, but the blast still sent him flying. The snake let out an earth-shaking roar that nearly paralyzed him. He shook his head before sprinting into the trees while it started searching for him with a massive gash on the side of its body. Moments later, he had to jump to the side as the side lunged at him, causing a dust cloud to erupt as it crashed into the ground. Raegar dashed toward a nearby mountain and started using Flash Step to get up the peak. When arriving at the top, he spun around and noticed the snake passing him by, which made him sigh in relief. He shook his head and summoned his daggers before putting them away as he scanned his surroundings. 'Looks clear, at least I can rest for a while,' he pondered before starting a fire in a small opening that would keep him warm as the cold weather moved in. Raegar sat by the crackling fire, the scent of sizzling monster meat mixing with the warmth of freshly toasted bread. His body ached from the chase, muscles burning from the brutal clash, but he knew he couldn't afford to let his guard down. Tearing off a piece of bread, he muttered to himself while eating, ''Is that thing the dungeon's boss? Now it hates me with a passion... and it will find me.'' He shook his head and continued eating while waiting for the meat. Moments later, the snake's roar echoed in the distance, which made him smile as he thought. 'Now I can kill some monsters to open the entrance.' Raegar devoured the last of the monster meat and bread, and his hunger finally sated, though the weight of his situation never fully left him. As the night sky descended above, he felt a strange sense of disorientation. The stars flickered overhead, almost too perfect, and the cool night air seemed unnervingly real. Confusion clouded his thoughts for a moment, then it hit him. ''This damn dungeon,'' he muttered under his breath. ''It mimics the outside world.'' He looked at the sky above, the rustling wind, and the faint sound of nocturnal creatures. It was all an illusion designed to trick the mind. Sighing, he pulled out some blankets from his pack and wrapped himself in them, making his makeshift camp. The dungeon did not need sleep, but Raegar knew better than to press on without rest. Even the most relentless mage needed to pause. Soon enough, the exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep. Thanks to the crevice, he found none of the wandering monsters could find him. While sleeping, small amounts of Aether poured into his body and started filling his pools as his body recovered. When Raegar woke up the next morning, he felt refreshed before standing up and drinking some water thanks to his dry mouth. He wiped his lips while muttering. ''Let's go kill some monsters.'' Following that, he traveled around the forest for days, killing any creature he could find and avoiding anything above Tier Two as some of them he could kill, while others were much stronger. Raegar would hide when the sun went down and the powerful monsters came out to hunt. During one rough night, he witnessed a Bigfoot-like creature taking on a group of Wendigos and tearing them apart with ease. Many creatures were stronger than him, but he would ambush them using fire and wind to injure the monsters until dying. This became the go-to tactic when dealing with Tier Two beasts, which worked well. Days blurred together as Raegar stalked through the dungeon, hunting in the shadows, constantly on edge. His latest prey, a pack of Dire Wolves, had barely registered before the ground beneath him trembled. 'What is that?' he thought while looking around. Raegar instinctively reached for his weapon as he turned around. The monstrous serpent was lunging at him with a deafening roar, its jaws snapping open. Time seemed to stretch as his heart pounded, but he unleashed a Lightningfire Blast beneath his feet. The spell launched him to the side just as the snake's head collided with the earth in a thunderous impact, sending debris flying in all directions. ''Fuck! Where did this thing come from?'' he snarled, barely catching his breath. Without hesitation, he snapped his fingers, and a dozen Stormfire Bullets shot from his palms, whistling through the air toward the serpent's exposed eye. The barrage of crackling energy slammed into the creature. The serpent's pain-filled screech echoed through the forest, but Raegar wasn't giving it a chance to recover. In an instant, he Flash Stepped behind the creature, 'Now it's time to show it what I can do,' he thought with a nervous smile. He coated his daggers with a layer of fire and drove them deep in between the scales of the creature. The heat ignited its flesh, causing his smile to grow. Before it could react, he activated Wind Aether. This unleashed a devastating explosion that tore through the snake's body, sending shockwaves rippling through the ground. The beast's roar of agony was almost deafening, but it wasn't done. With a savage flick of its tail, the serpent swung it with brutal force, catching Raegar square in the chest. The impact sent him flying, cracking his ribs and shattering bones as he crashed through the trees, his limbs rag dolling in the air. The world spun around him as the stinging pain of broken ribs rushed through his body, causing him to grit his teeth, but his mind remained focused. He crashed to the ground with a sickening thud. ''Damn that hurt,'' he muttered before climbing to his feet. Raegar's instincts screamed at him to move, but by the time he reacted, it was too late. The serpent's colossal head shot toward him like a speeding boulder, its jaws snapping open to swallow him whole. He barely had time to brace before the force of its strike slammed into his side, sending him careening through the air. His body twisted uncontrollably, spinning wildly before crashing into a massive tree with a sickening crack. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, and for a moment, all he could hear was the ringing in his ears and the pounding of his heart. His body ached in ways that felt like it would never end, but he fought through the pain, scrambling to his feet. ''I need to get up before it attacks again,'' he mumbled. Just as he stood, the serpent lunged at him again, its maw wide open, ready to swallow him whole. But luck was on his side for the moment. The tree he had crashed into stood like an immovable wall, blocking the serpent's attack by mere inches. Its jaws snapped shut around the trunk, sending splinters flying as the ground trembled beneath them. Raegar smiled when seeing this and quickly stabbed the roof of the mouth of the monster. While doing that, he pointed his hand down its throat and cast Lightningfire Blasts inside before using Flash Step to appear on the branch above as the explosion erupted, which sent the snake into a wild fury. The serpent's body writhed in agony, thrashing violently as the pain from Raegar's attacks overwhelmed it. Its massive form twisted and flailed, uprooting trees and splintering rocks in its fury. But then, its eyes, those burning, hate-filled eyes, shifted to Raegar, locking onto him with a murderous focus. ''Shit!'' he yelped, barely leaping off the tree as it lunged at him with terrifying speed. The serpent's head hit the trunk, causing the ground to quake and snapping the tree in half as if it were paper. Before he could regain his balance, a massive tail whipped toward him, a crushing force that would splinter his bones. His heart raced as he instinctively poured used wind Aether to push himself out of the way and dodged the attack by mere inches. The tail carved through the air where he'd been standing, sending gusts of debris flying. But the snake was no fool. It was faster. As Raegar landed, he barely had time to react before its tail whirled back at him again, and this time it came at him even quicker. 'What's going on?!' he thought in a panic. 'It's getting faster!' [Drop some powerstones, comments, and gifts to help the novel grow; I appreciate all the support you can give]