Chương 70: Jaguar (3)

Rowan let out a grunt as he rolled across the earth. His landing had been… less than ideal. Given how he'd been pushing off a moving jaguar, though, he hadn't expected anything else. Still, his toughness allowed him to endure, and as he came to a stop, it only took him a moment to prepare himself. He would probably be a bit sore the next day, but his opponent had it much, much worse.

The jaguar's hind leg—which had already been injured by one of his mana darts piercing through it—had been crushed between his two flails. As the beast turned to face him, its leg remained limp as it was dragged across the forest floor, unable to move on its own. The cat's greatest advantage over Rowan had been its speed, which had allowed it to dodge most of his attacks and might have even helped it land blows he couldn't defend against. Now, though, it was gone.

Just like the level 9 thunderous jaguar he'd fought, the creature before him almost seemed weaker than it should've been. It was level 15, but despite its great speed, it offered about as much challenge as a level 12 or 13 enemy in the tunnels.

Rowan didn't know if that was because the bloodspawn were more powerful than usual or just because his current opponent's species was just particularly weak, and while he would've liked to find out, there was no way he could do so until he found a different type of enemy to test himself against. Of course, he couldn't forget about the beast's special attack.

He still had no idea what it really was, only that it was somewhat sound-related and had managed to shatter one of his mana blades in a single blow, so he would have to be extra careful. While he was sure he could remain at a distance and continue bombarding the injured jaguar until it died, he had something he wanted to test: the mana sword in his hand. It looked almost the same as his daggers, only larger, but its composition was of an entirely different kind of mana.

Since it was made out of mana compressed through the technique he'd learned from the presence in his chains, the blade itself was a ticking time bomb. He'd been sending a small stream of mana toward it throughout the entire fight to keep it from deteriorating too much, but now he stopped. Of course, while he could feed it mana to stabilize it and not let it explode, he could also accelerate the rate of deterioration. He couldn't do it through [Mana Manipulation]; he just wasn't yet skilled enough for that.

But he could do it by hitting things. It sounded strange, but that was all there was to it. Something about striking the semi-stable condensed mana against something else caused the structure of it to break down more quickly, eventually leading to a full collapse and explosion. Rowan hadn't noticed it until just earlier, when he'd been testing out making blades from the condensed mana, since he'd never really struck the time bombs against anything.

The most he'd done was toss it into the ground amidst a horde of enemies. As he approached, he remembered something and channeled regular mana into the handle of his sword, forming a foot-wide, circular barrier to protect his arm and, hopefully, the rest of his body from the blade exploding. Then, with everything out of the way, he approached the massive cat. As he'd been thinking about his new sword, it'd remained crouched, slowly circling from a few dozen yards away.

Unlike just a few minutes earlier, when it had been looking at him like he was nothing more than a plaything there for its amusement, it was now watching him with caution and, perhaps, fear. After all, the little human it'd thought was food had just shattered its leg. Not waiting any longer, Rowan pushed off the ground with all of his strength, the earth beneath him exploding as he launched toward the jaguar. As he shot through the air, he held his glowing blue blade out in front of himself.

He tore through the air, but despite his speed, the cat still managed to dodge his strike, stumbling to the side. It didn't matter, though. He was close enough that he could keep attacking. And now, the beast would have even less time to react to his blows. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. It was strange, fighting with the mana construct. He usually fought with his chains, daggers, and, back when he had it, his mace. Now, though, he was using a sword.

Realizing that he didn't exactly know what he was doing, Rowan tried to keep it simple, using basic slashes and stabs as he got a feel for the blade. Of course, that wasn't all he was doing. No, his chains—including his two flails, which had unwound—danced about him, whipping at the oversized cat when it attempted to strike at him. They didn't do too much damage, but they were still enough to lightly injure the jaguar.

Then, as it swung a massive paw toward him, he fell back on an old trick he'd figured out while trying to take down the broodmother. Before him, the chains wrapped around one another to form a barrier of steel. But rather than holding them stiff in the air, he made them slightly malleable, not exactly weak, but enough that they could be moved by a fast blow. His opponent didn't know this, though. Its paw struck the barrier of chains and continued straight through, slowing down only slightly.

Then, before the cat could react and free its leg, Rowan clenched his fist, commanding the chains to constrict and lock down its paw. The cat roared and hissed and stumbled about, forced to walk on only two limbs as it tried to free itself. Its size helped it resist when he pulled on the chains, but it just wasn't strong enough to escape its bonds. The jaguar swung at him, its paw carrying the same heavy feeling that he'd felt when his last opponent had used its special attack.

This time, though, Rowan knew what to expect. Smiling, he yanked the chains wrapped around its other leg. It had already been balanced precariously, but lifting up one of its limbs to attack was too much. All it took from him was a quick tug, and the next moment, the beast was on the floor. Its massive paw crashed into the earth beneath it, releasing whatever its strange sound attack was. Immediately, the earth shuddered, the dirt of the forest floor churning and shaking.

Rowan just stepped away from the cat, letting the attack run out. Once the vibrations finally ran out, an area easily seven feet in diameter had been affected, the packed soil looking freshly tilled. It didn't seem that impressive, but Rowan knew that if the blow had hit him, it would've seriously messed him up. Then, not letting the opportunity go to waste, he darted in and slashed at the creature's head with his blade of mana.

Despite its state, the oversized cat still managed to bring up one of its legs, putting it between itself and the glowing blue sword. Not bothering to change the blade's direction in an attempt to avoid the beast's paw, Rowan just kept swinging. The mana construct slashed into the jaguar's flesh, and it cut deep. In his fights against the bloodpsawn, he'd been able to cut through their flesh, but this was something else entirely. It was like a hot knife through butter. Or at least it was until it hit the bone.

A jolt of discomfort shot up Rowan's arm as his blade met the cat's ankle bone, coming to an abrupt stop. The creature's toughness may have been low, but it seemed that it had enough points in the stat to prevent him from slicing all the way through its arm. Ripping the mana construct from the beast's flesh, the jaguar let out a yowl of pain. A moment later, it snapped at him, trying to grip him in its jaws while he was unprepared, but Rowan danced away, not letting it get close.

As its maw was still wide open, a chain shot forward, wrapping around its face and forcing its jaws shut. It lifted its head, trying to roar, but it came out weak and muted. Then, dodging another pathetic swing from its now injured leg, Rowan darted in, this time attacking the beast's flank. The blade sank into the beast's flank, cutting through it with ease. It bit deep, continuing until it struck the creature's ribcage. Then, it exploded.

Despite knowing it would happen, Rowan was still unprepared for the sheer force that burst from the blade. He'd known it would be stronger than when he'd tested it with a dagger, since the weapon was bigger, but it also seemed that the wood of the tree he'd stabbed had absorbed a lot more force than he'd realized. The jaguar's flesh, however, wasn't nearly as durable. As flesh exploded into a haze of bloody mist, Rowan felt himself blasted back, soaring through the air.

A moment later, the chain connecting him to the beast's leg was pulled taught, bringing him to a halt before he slammed into the ground. Rowan grunted and got to his feet, steadying himself. He was a little dazed, but he would recover quickly. The jaguar, on the other hand, was faring far worse. Ignoring the injuries it already bore, the creature now had a gaping hole in its side, the flesh on its flank completely gone, exposing white bone beneath. But the bone wasn't perfect, either.

A web of cracks ran through the cat's ribcage, with some parts of the bone missing entirely. With a breath, Rowan threw the handle of his sword to the side. It had served him well, the barrier preventing the exploding blade from injuring him, but now that it was damaged and bladeless, it had no use to him. Instead, for the first time, he drew the blade at his waist. The sword felt foreign in his hands, its weight and design different from those of his mana constructs.

It didn't matter, though; the jaguar was in no state to fight back.