PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

This young hunter seemed immensely insignificant compared to the beast he was facing, but the expression on his face showed that he was eager to see his enemy drown in his own blood.

The tiger perhaps having lost patience or having come to the realization that his enemy no longer possessed the power to hurt him again, in an incredibly brazen and arrogant manner he began to gather a large amount of mana on the barbed vines that jutted out of him. your back.

Taken off guard and with no way to take cover or interrupt the tiger’s actions, Desmond watched with great seriousness as the tiger preparing a powerful offensive.

′′ This will not be a burial place for an Astryd. ′′

With those words leaving his lips, Desmond connected with that serenity that reigned in his mind at this moment and while he focused on her he executed the rising mana storm ability in tandem with the reverse spiral mana ability both at their maximum power.

Unlike previous occasions where he used both abilities to gather mana from the atmosphere and mount a defense with it, Desmond performed these abilities on a third ability that he had learned during his elemental epiphany; the water mirror.

So Desmond invoked a water shield and manipulated it to form whirlwinds of great intensity chaotically running in all directions, Desmond knew that trying to block a shot from the creeper tiger was simply a fool’s dream so he used two abilities that He was already mastering to modify the water mirror into an amplified and improved version of the reverse mana spiral whose specialty is not to block shots but to deflect them.

By art of fate or a simple chance both enemies finished gathering their strength and executed their abilities simultaneously so that a shield of whirlwinds made of water made an appearance in front of Desmond at the same time that the tiger fired at his direction a rain of wood spikes several times more intense than before.

.....

Due to the bad aim of the tiger, several of these shots were to meet nothing more than empty air instead of hitting Desmond, but soon several spikes hit Desmond’s defensive barrier; At the moment of impact, Desmond felt his control over the ability weaken as it rapidly lost stability and structure, soon Desmond knew that despite his defensive focus the tiger was simply too powerful for him.

Resorting to his last ace up his sleeve, Desmond didn’t think he would be forced to use it so soon, but with no other options, Desmond could only use it first and worry about the consequences later.

′′ Overload. ′′ Only a whisper left Desmond’s lips before the barrier that was about to collapse rapidly stabilized and began to deflect the spikes fired by the creeper tiger.

It took Desmond only a couple of seconds to feel the price of using his innate ability when a stream of pain ran through his body, knowing that he was surpassing the mana capacity his body was capable of gathering and channeling Desmond was forced to slightly reduce the intensity of his defensive barrier or he would face the possibility that the price to pay for keeping it would kill him before the tiger did.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Desmond, the tiger’s ability was also in its final stage, so when Desmond under the intensity of the barrier, only two more spikes hit it; the barrier was unable to deflect both shots completely so they soon bypassed Desmond’s defense and grazed Desmond on both his right thigh and his left torso.

A sudden rush of pain overwhelmed Desmond from the areas where the edges of the fired spikes managed to wound him, as soon as he came out of that state where his senses were dulled by pain Desmond noted to his dismay that the dark-edged creeper tiger was already he was preparing another attack.

At least that seemed from Desmond’s point of view, the tiger firmly placed its front claws as if trying to cling to the ground with all its strength and then with an intense twist of the back of its torso did something that took Desmond with your guard is completely down.

The spiral tail of the tiger that used to be as tight as spring began to rotate so that, as its long increase was untwisted exponentially, brandishing it like a whip, its reach was so much that if Desmond did not do something soon, it would be pulverized. by the tip of the tail composed of a huge solid wood plate.

Taking just a fraction of a second to react, Desmond performed a backward leap powered by a blast of mana in his legs, thus managing to dodge the blow by just a dozen centimeters, as Desmond fell, he was almost forced to kneel on one leg due to To the pain of the wound on his wounded thigh.

But the tiger was not finished, in the time it took Desmond to regain his posture with difficulty, the tiger took a great leap forward and repeating his previous movement executed a reverse tail sweep; Relying on the same muscles that allowed it to keep its tail compressed like a spring, the tiger was able to deliver this second blow with much more force, speed and range than its previous blow, making it clear that this was its true killing move.

Desmond knew the moment he saw the incoming attack that with his current abilities he couldn’t dodge that blow, he simply did not have the time and strength to get out of attack range; at least not with his current capabilities, but it would be a different story if he could surpass those capabilities.

′′ Overload. ′′

Using overload for the second time in this battle, Desmond this time did not use it to amplify his ability to control and conduct mana but rather overloaded his own cognitive processes in such a way that he could perform an action that should be impossible for him to perform or control with his current capabilities.

Desmond executed three consecutive, coordinated, and synchronized bursts of mana to hit the muscle area of ??his legs only microseconds apart, the first burst charging his muscles while flexing his legs, the second when they were flexed and the third when they were flexed perform a jump back.

The tremendous mana surge in his leg muscles allowed Desmond to leap at unprecedented speed out of the attack path of the Creeper Tiger’s whiptail.

But Desmond again paid the price for using such a dangerous skill when a paralyzing headache almost completely stopped his ability to think at the same time that a strong tearing sensation came from his legs now too numb with pain to even transmit it.

AAAAARRRRGHH *

On his knees barely supporting himself, Desmond found himself breathing haphazardly as he leaned against the grass with his hands to avoid collapsing; he could only thank his good luck that this particular attack took the creeper tiger longer to recover because he had to slowly tangle its tail again.

As soon as he regained his vision and his ability to think, Desmond realized how reckless his previous move had been and how much he had to end this battle soon or he would end up dead either in the maw of the creeping tiger or in the hands of his innate ability.