Jason was tempted to continue hunting the Giant Electric Axolotls, only tempted though. He didn’t see any spark of sapience in their eyes, but as a whole were well past too clever. This could either mean some heightened instinctual teamwork or what Jason would actually bet on, something guiding them.
Not controlling them, mind you, but guiding. The difference is a little loose when dealing with non-sapient beings, but Jason could tell. Why this was important dealt with a key piece of guesswork. That of the man behind the curtain, or as is most likely the case here, the variant giant electric axolotl.
If that was the case, then Jason did not want to touch it with a ten-foot pole. While others might not feel all that bad about killing a monster like that, Jason knew this wasn’t just a game. The Guild can figure it out. Sure, if it was just instincts then he would have missed out, but a sapient monster was just way too rare.
So with that in mind, Jason moves on from the lake. He wasn’t going to completely give up on hunting. The axolotl evolution can’t be too common and likely that large grouping had more to do with the guiding influence.
This soon proved true enough as the forest returned to life and Jason stumbled upon a Giant Electric Salamander resting under a tree on a moss patch. A salamander that going by the sparks present across its body even while resting, was quite a shocking experience to fight in melee. Good thing Jason had his own way of charging up to counter it.
The act of imbuing his body with Energy didn’t go unnoticed and the salamander was up and ready to fight. Jason, of course, was more than willing to oblige it. Though for the first time in a while, something shocking happened.
The static charge did more than just attack, it provided an actual defense. Not against physical damage, so in theory, Jason shouldn’t have had a problem. It did however defend against enemy powers. A likely adaptation to protect against the axolotl variant, which also worked quite well against Jason’s Energy.
This meant that if Jason had just tried to punch the salamander, it would have worked just fine barring the electric burns. With his body enshrouded in Energy? Well, that doesn’t work quite so well with his attacks being stopped a fingers width away from actually connecting. The good news was this worked both ways so when the salamander took advantage of his shock and tried to bite off his leg, it didn’t work.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Not that their attacks were doing nothing. Damage still was getting dealt. It just was like they were both wearing some really effective armor. An enormous downside for Jason when up until now most of his success at hitting above his weight class involved weak points. Here, even with the use of his attack skills, not much changed as the salamander was able to defend against them as well.
At least it was until Jason switched from War Stomp’s Never Ending Threads to the Runic Bloom. Stamina apparently didn’t count as an opposing power like Energy did. This ended the fight quickly as Jason proceeded to curb stomp the giant electric salamander into the ground.
One slight problem with this method, though. As Jason looks down upon his defeated foe, it is clear there isn’t anything there to salvage. The runic bloom’s razor sharp petals had reduced the hide to shreds and the electric based organs didn’t fare any better as they were placed near the skin.
Jason stands there for a while before bursting into laughter. If he had just kept wailing away at it with punches and kicks, he would have likely ended up with the most intact body he had ever come across. While the kinetic force was transferred, it did so after being dispersed over the entire body. He just had one slight problem with this.
He would have died first. For most people, such a dispersed attack would barely phase them. It might not even bruise their skin. Jason wasn’t so lucky and had just learned he shared one strange weakness with the common slime. While usually a slime was easiest to defeat by breaking the core or removing it from the body, there was a third way. Dispersed damage attacking the entire body would disrupt the slime.
Jason’s void body was the same. When the salamander had bit him, the pressure dispersed across his body all at once and shook him to the core. Not a pleasant experience, to say the least. He hadn’t quite understood what the pain had represented during the battle, but now all this knowledge was filtering into his mind and was making him laugh even more.
Any other person would take a similar attack over an arrow through the shoulder any day of the week. Jason, on the other hand was 100% onboard with the arrow now. While it would be painful and likely do more damage, the wound would also heal rapidly as most of the damage is on the inside.
Jason sighs as he realizes the amphibious foes around here just aren’t meant for him to hunt. To get the one hide from the axolotl is more than lucky and he should cut his losses while still ahead. So he did.
While Jason wouldn’t claim to be some cold and calculating machine, he also wasn’t a fool and knew when a situation wasn’t going in his favor. Those damn axolotls came shockingly close to killing him and then the salamanders seemed custom built to counter his strengths.
Worse, he couldn’t let Lily out to train. There weren’t any other major threats in the area, likely from the axolotl kill squad and She didn’t have the mass to do anything to the salamanders. After all, her main attack was to charge her claws and fur with Energy and the static shields basically only cared about how much force hit it.
If you liked what you read, consider supporting me on , checking out all of my other stories, and joining me over on my ! Your support is what lets me keep writing so don't forget to rate, review, follow, and favorite!
And if you just want to keep reading ? The patreon has 2 free chapters you can read right now. Besides that, there are hundreds of chapters available to the various patreon tiers!
My other stories: , ,
