'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'
With a sharp inhale, Arthur stood straight before quickly shifting into a battle-ready stance, steadying his breathing, and letting the fear slowly settle
Having steadied his breathing, he let his Od come to life as he activated his magic skill. The magic energy pulsed within him, as his body emitted a faint glow.
A sudden plume of mist poured out of his skin, rapidly exiting his body and quickly blanketing the entire area in a thick fog, that obscured vision. This was followed by a slight drop in temperature as well.
Obviously, he wouldn't be able to see the creature, with such a thick fog however, that wasn't an issue, simply sensing the monster's mana would allow him to know its movements or at least track it.
Luckily for him, the beast was distracted by its meal, as long as he could kill it before it had the chance to notice something was missing, everything would be fine
A grin threatened to split his face, should his first Quest end with him felling a Griffon, that would place him even above veteran Explorers with greater years of experience than him.
With the creature's vision obscured, Arthur acted quickly, as once again his Od thrummed and he felt a tingling sensation beneath his skin.
Out of all his elements, water was the one he was most proficient in, with fire being his weakest, since the Griffon had a great affinity for Wind, he chose not to use it.
The cool down on his water element was in effect meaning he was left with lightning.
Much like fire he wasn't as proficient with it compared to water but he was good enough, the only thing he couldn't do with it at the moment was use it to increase his speed.
'So a lightning spear will do'
The spear should be faster than its perception, enough to catch the beast off guard, even if he doesn't deliver a killing blow, it should be enough to slow it down for a final hit on its head.
With an exhale, blue lightning crackled to life as it rapidly arced all over his body, he mimicked the stance of a certain lance-wielding hero as a pure azure spear formed at his hand, crackling and buzzing with intensity and power, his fingers wrapped themselves around the weapon.
Of course, touching highly condensed plasma with bare hands was not an issue as it was a byproduct of his own power.
With steel in his eyes, Arthur was ready to let loose the lance, his senses telling him the clumb of mana was still where it was before he let out the mist, still eating its meal without a care.
'Per–'
His thoughts were cut short by a sudden ear-piercing squawk, that should have ruptured his eardrums. The monster's screams were accompanied by a powerful gust of wind that blew away the mist that impeded its vision, the creature registered the threat immediately before it moved.
Arthur never got the chance to launch his spear, instead, it fizzled to nothingness as the Griffon struck his chest plate, the power behind such an attack didn't just throw him back, it tossed him, flinging him like a stone thrown by a slingshot.
Luckily his DRI had tanked the attack and he took no damage, since it was a Greater Damage reduction item, making it a high-tier item it also had a faster cool-down
He felt a dizziness and had blurred his vision but he knew he had taken no damage, his blurred vision and dizziness were simply due to the disorientation of being flung through trees.
The effect window for the breast plate may have been a measly three seconds but its cool down was also just as quick so the creature's next at shouldn't do damage either.
"Fucking Hell"
Arthur managed to get to his feet, however, he felt a sense of regret, as he realized he should have worked to get a bit more money to afford more DRIs.
Damage reduction Items didn't stack, just because you had two equipped didn't mean you would be able to take twice the damage. Only one of them is active when you take an attack.
However, having two or three equipped helps quite a bit, especially if your opponent is throwing non-stop attacks at you.
With only one DRI at your disposal, you run the risk of being vulnerable when a monster attacks during the item's cool-down period.
Honestly, he couldn't help but wish to laugh, this was something he was taught, yet he overlooked it.
He heard another squawk from the creature and he could tell–
Arthur suddenly tossed himself to the ground, rolling on the dirt and evading the monster's claws, letting it fly past him, wind rustling nearby trees.
He cursed the fact that he lacked a sword, as it was now too far away and he did not believe he would be able to reach it.
Regardless he had to fight, standing on his one knee he clapped his hands together as he turned towards the direction of the Griffon.
One advantage he had, was that the monster had to fly up in order to keep its momentum before swooping down again to attack much like an eagle, so this gave him a moment to breathe.
His eyes looked for the monster in the sky, searching for it and to time his attack for when it was close enough.
In just a few seconds the a brown blemish on the sky blue background, became visible, and the typical cry of the monster reached his ears once more.
With his clasped hands, mana began to build up as he slowly pointed them at the creature, drops of water slowly coalesced between his hands, while wind spun around his hands.
[Piercing stream] was one of the first attack moves he ever developed, the moment he learned he had a magic skill that allowed him to manipulate water, he would have loved it more if it were blood but that was just his inner fan talking.
The move although it would be fast and powerful enough on its own however since he's facing a Griffon, adding wind to it for an extra boost wouldn't hurt.
The Griffon's form, steadily became bigger and bigger until Arthur was able to make out its entire shape, he narrowed his eyes and waited another second.
He knew his attack wouldn't be enough to finish it off, however he didn't need to, he just needed to inflict damage and slow it down significantly, that is when he'll start fighting to kill it, right now he simply needed to bring it down to his level.
The creature got close, close enough for Arthur to see where to aim. Sweat dripped from his chin and with a sharp inhale he attacked.
[Piercing stream] was unleashed, its speed and power boosted by the wind, the air whistled as the stream of water pierced through the atmosphere, reaching Mach-level speeds.
Its aim going directly for the creature's left wing hoping to pierce straight through its bones. Without its flight and speed, Arthur could effectively ground it and bring it to his domain.
The thin stream of water traveled uncontested, wind at its back and its aim true.
Until…
The beast dipped slightly, wing evading the attack, letting it fly over and into the horizon.
Arthur's own shock was short-lived, he had waited for the monster to be close enough to aim for its wings but also far too close for comfort.
The creature's steel-like claws crashed onto him with a force greater than a bullet and his form was launched above the treeline and flying through the air.
His breast plate held however he had felt the pressure of the attack, as long as he wasn't taking damage he believed he had a chance.
Of course, Damage reduction items were not invincible, that is why they were called damage reduction. They didn't negate damage they reduced it, this meant that if the damage is greater than the item can handle then the item would break.
High-tier DRI were great as not many monsters had the power to break them, however, Arthur could not be certain that an A-class monster like the Griffon did not have the capability to break such items.
This was why the young man felt a second bout of regret at his lack of preparedness.
As his body flew through the air, rising vertically at an angle, he knew he couldn't use wind or water to slow himself down once he began to fall, meaning fire was the only option despite his low proficiency at it.
"Wait? Where is it?"
His eyes immediately darted all over the sky searching for the monster, however, he could see nothing.
"Fuck!"
He quickly scrambled and flailed in the air to get himself upright, flames flashed from his hands as he prepared to try his best to control himself once he began to fall.
Unfortunately, a distant squawk reached his ears and his heart drummed at his chest, fear showing itself in his eyes.
The Griffon had launched him up, planning to then collide onto him and send him crashing onto the ground, turning him into a bloody paste on the dirt.
When you're attacked, a DRI will activate and remain active until its effect window runs out, if its 5 seconds, the item will be activated for five seconds, it doesn't initiate its cool down until the five seconds are up.
Unfortunately for Arthur, after that last attack, his breast plate was now in a cool down, not only will he take damage from the Griffon's attack but depending on the speed of his descent….
Death.
Two options were available to him, either dodge by propelling himself with fire or let the attack land and use the fire to slow his descent just enough for the cool down to end.
Obviously, the second option was a bit too risky for comfort which only left the first option, however as previously stated, Arthur lacked the control needed to propel himself using fire, and with Wind still in its cool-down down he had no other options.
'Come on fire, don't fail me'
He begged as the flames shot out of his palms, spewing fire like a flame thrower, unfortunately, that was the extent of it, the fire lacked enough power to propel him any significant distances or fast enough.
There was also the fact, the Griffon would most likely adjust accordingly to ensure it hits its target.
'Come on!'
With a bit more focus, Arthur tried to concentrate his fire, trying to form it into more like the flame of a torch before shooting it out at greater power, enough to move his.
Unfortunately, he was unable to accomplish that, in the span of only a second, the Griffon was upon him, claws ready to kick him down with as much power as possible.
"Faaaahhhhhh!!"
He screamed defiantly in a last effort to push himself and perhaps by luck or by effort, his body moved evading the creature by a hair's breadth.
His body flew through the air, and he heard the Griffon seemingly crash onto the trees below, having been moving too fast for it to be able to stop itself. If it dies from that crash landing it would be a miracle but unfortunately, such things are impossible.
Arthur crashed through the trees, breaking branches and rustling the leaves before he felt himself hit solid ground with a painful thud that forced a groan out of his mouth.
The young man let himself lie there, feeling a sense of exhaustion and fatigue, he doubted it had been more than ten minutes since he encountered the Griffon yet, it felt like it had been at least an hour or two.
"I need to hide"
Hiding was the better option mostly because the Griffon has keen eyesight, moving in a location that's mostly green and brown was not ideal when facing a monster like that, he needed to blend in and stay still.
Unfortunately, there was a downside to that, the Griffon already had its fill from the Salamander, meaning as of right now it's not really hungry but it won't let prey escape so easily. This means it will spend the next couple of hours circling the area waiting, it will most likely leave once it gets hungry enough or if the sun begins to set.
'I'd rather not have to stay here that long'
Sleeping in a forest wasn't something that was unfamiliar to him, he and his mentor had done so several times in the past however His mentor was also known for not sleeping, and unfortunately without him…
'Fuck!! I'll need to find a safe spot otherwise I'll have to spend the whole night fighting off the nocturnal types'
It was here that the young man realised another mistake he had made, and that was the fact that he had made no preparation for the possibility that he might be stuck here, he didn't set up a camp at a secure location.
His holding sack, had a blanket, some extra clothing, and a loaf of bread. He didn't expect that he would have to camp and he believed that this was going to be an in-and-out job.
A quick and easy Quest to brag about whenever he sees his mentor again however now it's obvious that he was mistaken.
A wave of disappointment washed over him, the realization that he didn't prepare as much as he needed to struck him again, and a pit formed in his stomach.
"You Fucking idiot!!"
.....
A/N: Ok, this flashback is longer than I realised, but I assure you, next chapter it's over. Definitely had fun writing it tho.