Ajax couldn’t help but think that the fight had gone a little too well. This was a level one hundred and eighty floor boss and while there were a few moments when they were in some danger the fight still ended up fairly one sided, he hadn’t even had to use his Pseudo-Mythic Skill.
“Don’t give me that look.” The prince complained. “There was plenty of danger here, but the floor boss and the theme needed to line up well in order to actually threaten us as a group. All of us but Aurexion and you are above the level of the floor.”
Thinking about it from that point of view Ajax had to admit that the prince did have a point. At level one hundred and eighty without a good combination like the satyr having access to all those animals to corrupt having seven people work together even a floor boss wouldn’t stand much of a chance.
“Here you are.” Evelyn said as she brought Ajax a small bag. “Be careful, it's hot.”
Ajax was about to ask why she gave him the shattered remains of the core before he realized that he was actually going to be sticking around and while he might not be able to take them out those core fragments were extremely powerful alchemic reagents, though considering the core was shattered and it was Fire Mana they would be extremely unstable and explosive in nature.
“Don’t kill yourself with them.” Evelyn tone conceived her mostly joking mood and small undercurrent of actual worry.
“I won’t use them until I have a better understanding of the reagents I am working with.” Ajax promised her as he stored the core in his spacial ring.”
“Lets head back to camp.” The prince called. “Hopefully the change in floor theme didn’t destroy it .”
The relaxation could be felt in every step the team took on their way back. They all knew their job was done and they still had a few days to recover before they were leaving the dungeon. It wasn’t often that they found themselves in an area with such high Mana Density without a specific goal so they were all looking forward to it.
“Are you going to get started now?” Aurexion asked Ajax.
“Might as well.” Ajax nodded as he looked towards the other three champions that had accompanied him. “They are all physical fighters so they might have a few tips they can give me once they see what I am dealing with.”
On their way back the first monster they ran into was an alligator. Despite their relaxed mood the group was fully on guard and ready to deal with it before Ajax motioned to leave it to him.
“You sure?” The prince asked.
“I’d rather have some tips on how to best deal with my new Skill.” Ajax said as he took out a hammer.
The alligator had to have some danger sensing skill as it charged out of its ambush spot and rushed towards Ajax the moment he got ready to attack, not that it did much to help it. Ajax knew he would have to try harder to hold back now that there was no Curse Mana and no curses actively lowering his physical power.
As he activated his Skill and he felt the power flood his body as his Style Skill took over and his body went on auto pilot Ajax realized something he overlooked. Since his last activation of the Skill he had gained two Skill levels in [Mana Syphon], one each in Life Mana and [Physically Enhanced Battlemage Style], this was enough to push his [Absolute Body Enhancement] up a level increasing its output even further.
Now that she knew the Skill was coming Evelyn focused on Ajax. As a scholar and as a fighter she was very interested in a Pseudo-Mythic Skill, sadly as a mage that didn’t invest all that much in Perception she completely lost track of Ajax once he started to move.
The first thing everyone else noticed was the small crater Ajax left behind as he moved. The ground was dense with Mana and Ajax’s raw physical power was enough to do that even when he was cautious and trying to hold back.
Not wanting to destroy his weapon Ajax decided to use a Metal Mana [Augumentation], not only for the increased power but also for the increased durability, he could have gone for Void Mana as well as that would have stopped the momentum as a whole but the whole point was to get a better idea on how to deal with his enhanced physical power and dealing with momentum of a blow was a big part of that.
This attack was different from the other he had made while being boosted by [Absolute Body Enhancement], this wasn’t his first time using the Skill nor was he chasing a floor boss that would only get harder to beat with every passing moment, he wasn’t in a rush. Instead of putting all the pressure of stopping on a single leg Ajax neatly stopped to the side of the large head of the alligator using both legs to handle his own momentum before bringing his hammer down in an overhead strike.
A sickening crunch could be heard as the alligator’s skull crumbled like aluminum, blood, flesh, scales and teeth were launched away from the impact as the monster was killed in a single clean blow. Unlike his legs that had managed to handle the momentum the same could not be said for Ajax’s wrist, he had felt his right one snap while his left hand was only strained. The pain barely lasted for a moment before his Life Mana healed his body but a shred of phantom pain still lingered.
“Well?” Ajax asked after letting out a heavy breath. “What do you think?”
“I know why our prisoner was so scared of you.” Evelyn said as she tried to stop her hands from shaking. The whole point was to give Ajax feedback, since she had no experience with physical enhancement Skills she wanted to give her opinion on what she would do if she was the one to face him. The realization that he would most likely kill her before she even realized what had happened if he wasn’t trying to hold himself back and instead pushed his Skill sent a cold shiver down her back she was doing her best to suppress.
“Your form was awkward, was that just because you would have hurt yourself stopping most of your momentum on just one leg?” With the ice broken some more feedback started to come in. “I also noticed your wrist snapped on impact there but you already healed it back.”
“That’s correct on both accounts.” Ajax nodded.
“First thing I would do then is switch over to daggers.” That was the first piece of advice Ajax got. “I know the hammer, axe and spear are your go to weapons but the difference in weight and balance the daggers make should make it easier to get a handle on your Skill.”
“Don’t use your bow.” Once it started the advice started flooding in. The physical champions were overflowing with excitement and the possibilities of such a powerful enhancement Skill as well as Ajax’s healing. “You’ll snap the string for sure.”
“Instead of changing your stance can you use your [Telekinesis] on yourself to help handle stopping?” The prince also joined in. “Or is that too much of a strain?”
That idea brought Ajax up short. He had made the choice not to include [Telekinesis] in the combination because it would limit the Skill too much and he thought Vibration Mana would be a better fit but the prince was right, just because it wasn’t part of his Pseudo-Mythic Skill didn’t mean Ajax couldn’t use his [Telekinesis] on himself to help.
The entire way back the champions focused on showing Ajax different forms they had learnt over the centuries. As physical fighters all of them had had their weapons fail on them at one point or another and while they always had spares the spares weren’t always good enough to handle their full power so they had to accommodate.
“You need to get hit.” Aurexion’s idea brought them all up short. “Ideally while your Skill is active. The best way to solve some of your issues is with some endurance Skills.”
“We’ll start on that tomorrow.” Ajax said quickly after he saw the eager look on the prince’s face after he heard Aurexion’s suggestion.
For the rest of the day Ajax focused on [Meditation] to recover the Stamina and Mana he used up as well as prepare for his alchemy session during the night.
“If you’re looking to learn how to better handle your Skill try using [Empowering Restriction] to increase your durability.” Evelyn advised him, there wasn’t much she could do to help him. Ajax hadn’t shared the five Skills he had used to create his Pseudo-Mythic Skill and even if he had she didn’t have Life or Vibration Mana. The only thing she could help him with was figuring out ways to take out mages but Ajax had already proven more than proficient in that area.
A shiver went up the prince’s back as he heard Evelyn’s advice, not because of the idea of Ajax using [Empowering Restriction] to make himself tougher. His mind instead went to the small crater he had seen on the battlefield. That mark was left by Ajax not being able to keep hold of his axe after he slashed his enemy in two. This delve alone had +7 to all stats, let alone the previous one. Thinking of what Ajax might be able to do after he exited the dungeon, drank the Stat increasing potions his brother had sent and if he was to use [Empowering Restriction] to increase his power instead made the prince more and more sure this war wouldn’t last too much longer once Ajax stepped back out on the battlefield.