CHAPTER 21: AWAKENED CLASH

Balthazar pushed aside the broken desk he’d crashed into with his eyes burning with more than just killing intent. The air thickened around him as if the temperature itself had started bending to his will.

He twirled a dagger lazily, then let it hang at his side. "That should be enough foreplay." his voice reverberated in the courtyard.

My chest tightened. He wanted to take this to the next level. My odds were already pretty thrash against his blades, if he brought out his real power...

He raised one arm, with his eyes gleaming with a sadistic anticipation.

"Skill..."

"Primordial Flame..."

The space around him exploded in heat. Fire erupted from his hand, not orange and weak like a torch, but reddish gold that cracked the tiles and bent metal around.

I staggered back, shielding my face from the furnace blast.

’He’s a pyromancer?’ I muttered under my breath with eyes wide in awe.

Balthazar grinned through the blaze as his daggers glowed molten white as they absorbed the inferno’s heat.

"Arm yourself..."

The heat bore down on me, flames licking the floor around him and smoke curling into my lungs with my skin prickling like it was about to blister.

But instead of panicking, I forced myself to be still. My heartbeat slowed and breath steadying. Charging him head on with my elemental dogs would be suicide. His flames would incinerate them before they touched him, I needed something else that would be of more help defensively.

And then, out of pure instinct, my fingers moved. My hands formed the sign almost on their own as I tried to channel my Arcane energy outward.

"Naga..."

A Swirl of purple and black cloud ripped open beside me, vibrating the air with pressure so much so that it waved my hair in every which direction and even blew Balthazar’s flames the opposite direction.

Ding!

~Your Pet Naga has been released~

~Level Grade three [intermediate]~

~Arcane Reserve: 999/1000~

~998/1000~

~997/1000~

The cloud expanded, stretching into the shape of something monstrous. Naga’s massive serpentine body slithered free of the portal, its scales shimmering with Arcane patterns. Its fangs glistened as its tongue flickered out, tasting the smoke filled air.

The serpent uncoiled with terrifying grace, circling me in a protective coil, its eyes burning with killing intent that locked straight onto Balthazar.

The Reaper actually froze for a moment, daggers lowering as his gaze widened. "What... is that?" he muttered, genuine surprise flashing across his features. "A summoning? But... no. Pets usually stand by physically beside their tamer, they don’t... emerge like this."

His lips twisted into grin, excitement sarking in his eyes. "What kind of class are you? Mage? Pet Tamer? Or something else entirely?"

The fire roared higher around him, "...Interesting."

"Whichever class you are... you and that great serpent, come at me!"

Naga hissed violently out of irritation, it sensed my animosity for him and it instantly had a vendetta against him. Its body tightened around me like a shield. I also stiffened my grip on Cobra’s Tongue as the air between us and Balthazar sparking with an intensity that could burn or shatter at any second.

"You’ve lasted longer than I thought," he said with his eyes locked on me. "Most noobies that try to prove something crumble after the first cut. But you..." his grin widened asd he slashed again, sending a wave of sparks that Naga easily deflected the blow. "You’ve got teeth, I’ll give you that."

I held my ground, Naga circled, shielding me from the heat of Balthazar’s storm. Then the system’s ding rang in my head.

Ding!

~Naga has granted you its skills~

I nodded with a breathe and stiffened my grip on my dagger, "Snake Art: Scale Guard"

I instantly felt a subtle surge through me and scales pickled across my skin with a cold alien like resilience seeping into my muscles.

Black and violet scales rolled over my skin, hardening like armor. Balthazar’s next strike landed square across my chest with a loud clang sound and sparks exploded from the impact but his blade skittered harmlessly away without causing any harm.

His eyes widened as his slashed again and again relentlessly with killing intent, but not a single attack pierced through.

"You’re kidding..." he muttered, his breathe hitching. Then his menacing grin returned with a sharp edge. "Ha! This just got fun!!"

Before I could answer, Naga surged forward with its deadly fangs wide open as if it wanted to swallow Balthazar whole.

Ding!

~Your pet Naga has activated a Snake Art~

~Snake Art: Coil Choke~

The great serpent wrapped around Balthazar in a blur, its body tightening with bone crushing force. The Reaper cursed with a painful moan as heat flared around him with the coils contracting tighter and tighter. His daggers clattered against the scales, sparks erupting endlessly from the useless attack on Naga’s grip.

"Got you..." I muttered, with hope flaring for the time since this fight started.

But then Balthazar’s voice echoed steadily despite the crushing pressure he was on. "Impressive... but let me show you why fire always wins."

He raised his head backwards and fire erupted from his nostrils with a sound that felt like a furnace exploding.

"Skill..."

"Inferno core!"

The temperature rapidly spiked in that instant and the courtyard typically turned into a blazing kiln. Naga wasn’t a fan of intense heat, I knew that all to well. It shrieked with its scales blistering and body thrashing in agony. The coils loosened and then with a violent hiss, the serpent released him and slithered back with its body smoking.

"Naga!" I called out with concern as I placed a hand on the creatures head in an attempt to comfort it from the pain it was going through.

Before I could react again, the system cut through my panic with a shrill alar,

Ding!

~Warning: Arcane Reserves Critical~

~300/1000~

Shit! My vision was starting to become blurry and my body was beginning to tremble under the weight of exhaustion. I immediately and instinctively dug into the pouch hanging tightly on my waist, pulling out a handful of Anti-arcane stones. With a desperate motion, I swung them into the air.

Crack!

The stones shattered in midair as I began to absorb them. A crisp dust of raw energy seeped through my body and into my veins and within a second it reached my heart and it instantly went to work in converting it to Pure Arcane energy.

Another second later, my body steadied and my vision sharpened.

Ding!

~Conversion complete~

~Arcane reserve: 1000/1000~

~999/1000~

~998/1000~

~997/1000~

"Assimilation that fast...?" Balthazar’s voice was hushed at first, then sharp with excitement. His grin returned in full with a wolfish glare. "You are more than I thought aren’t you? Interesting!"

His daggers ignited again as he hurled two barrage of fire balls at my way, which I easily evaded with Naga’s help and the flames went on to burst into the classroom behind me.

My hand immediately went to work as I flashed another summoning sign again and the same purple black vortex tore open beside me.

"Elemental Dogs: Cryo!"