Dungeon Diver: Stealing a Monster's Power

Chapter 71

*CRACKKK*

The High Orc roared as it broke free from its ice prison. The dark red aura around its body gave off an immense power that definitely was not present before.

I looked back to see Rei standing close behind us with her arms crossed. Maria had turned back to the beast looking ready to attack again. Her base magic stats are naturally boosted about 2x that of an average person, but I can't help wanting to jump in and help her.

She yelled the moment I took a step toward her.

"I got this. Trust me Jay!"

I gritted my teeth and stared at the beast in front of us.

"Fine. I'm right behind you though."

She nodded and began to glow bright blue.

The High Orc charges at Maria and she does the same. It swings the massive Mace over its head in a fit of rage.

The second before impact, Maria created a thick wall of ice in front of her and sprints off to the left. While continuing to glow red, the monster breaks straight through the wall without much resistance. Ice chunks fly everywhere and the battlefield is temporarily covered in a vale of small ice fragments that look almost like snow.

*SHINGGGG*

I hear the distinct sound of a blade hitting flesh and see Maria fly out from the dissipating cloud of snow. The monster roars and I see a large chunk of Ice stuck in its back in the shape of a sword's slash dripping blood.

Maria took out an MP potion from her item box and drank it while squaring up with the beast again.

I released the grip on my sword slightly.

"I guess you have this under control."

She grinned and ran at the monster again, It fell for the same trick. After smashing through Maria's wall of Ice it creates a blind spot for her to attack. The beast is clearly stronger, faster, and has much higher defenses. Tricking it into making optimal conditions for a surprise magic attack is the only way Maria could win. It seems like she's fought opponents like this in the past.

I looked over to Rei and she smiled admiring her young protege at work.

I watch in disbelief. Earlier, I saw the skill "Berserker" when I used Appraisal. This commonly refers to an increase in strength and endurance. It seems to be the case, but I'll just have to test my theory when I get to face one of these High Orcs myself.

Maria continues to create massive Ice Walls and the monster keeps destroying them. She lands cheap shots whenever possible leaving Ice residue behind after every slash. It's clearly hurting the beast, but very slowly... She's drank 4 MP potions so far, and landed about 10 good hits on the High Orc. It's slowing down as the ice magic seeps deeper into its body.

The game of cat and mouse continues. Maria makes walls, and the beast knocks them down. This only leads to the walls of Ice being blown into more pieces and the eruption of snow gives Maria even more cover. The more hits she lands, the more effective each one becomes leaving deeper icey wounds all over the Orc's body. Doing so just makes it more angry and irrational continuing an endless loop.

With a final slash to the back of the head, the monster finally falls to its knees. Maria takes this opportunity to release a large amount of mana into the beast and covers it completely with Ice. She doesn't stop until it freezes solid. With a confident downward swing of her blade, the High Orc shatters into a thousand tiny pieces.

Maria drinks her 7th MP potion and turns to Rei and Me with a big grin across her face.

"I just gained 23 levels. Now that was a good fight!"