Throughout the destroyed room, the young man fended off the persistent dwarf, though found the hammer-wielding warrior to simply be an anomaly. Without taking a breath or slowing in pace, Ajax chased after him, relentlessly swinging his dense weapons around with arms that never seemed to tire.
As one of the massive slabs of steel soared for his head, Noah ducked down with the howling wind passing through his hair.
[Mega-Chop]
Using the complete opening he had, he swung his axe with his utmost, sending the heightened force at pinpoint range, yet the armor endured. The breath was knocked out of the dwarven tester's lungs as his boots slid on the tile, though he remained upright all the same.
'I'm starting to think this guy is straight up invincible…Can't be the case, but how is he shrugging off everything I throw at him?' Noah questioned breathlessly.
Room-rilling laughter boomed from Ajax, slapping his protected belly, "That's a nasty swing you got there! Without my armor here, my guts would be spillin' out like a gutted fish! Too bad for you this armor is the real deal!"
"Yeah, how about ditching it? Not really a fair showing if we're working with totally different gear here, is it?" Noah called out.
From what he gathered, the dwarf was a complete addict to the concept of fighting; he tested the limits of that. There was some silence following his call out–the first time the dwarf-giant seemed to be quiet, if even shortly.
"You're taking it that way, eh, lad?" Ajax scoffed, following with a laugh. "When it comes to a real fight, every bit of a warrior's arsenal is a factor, whether it's the size of his hammer or the toughness of his steel!"
"Sure, if that's how you want to think about it," Noah shrugged, brushing off the veteran's words.
"Think about it…how?" Ajax hesitantly asked.
"Y'know, just that, that's the way somebody who relies on their gear talks, is all. I mean, I totally get it," Noah held his hands up. "You totally earned your gear and all that, it's just that–you definitely know I'd kick your ass if you didn't have it."
There were no words in the chamber, just for a moment before the dwarf let his hammers drop on the marble with an audible "thud." With clear aggression, the warrior tossed his helmet off his head, revealing a prominent, handlebar mustache beneath with a spotless complexion.
It only took a moment for the dwarf to completely strip himself down from his impervious armor, left only in his briefs. Beneath the sturdy steel was a body chiseled by battle, and a forest of body hair that seemed to curl as the dwarven giant flexed.
Ajax grinned with confidence, "Y'think I rely on my armor, d'you, lad? See a scar on my body? The fangs of all sorts of beasts, the blades of warriors from every which way–nothing's gotten through!"
"Oh, yeah?" Noah said, flipping his axe in his hand.
"Oh, yeah!" Ajax responded, picking up the dense hammers with a delighted grin pressed on his lips.
As the hammer-wielding man now in his tighty-whities took the first step forward, Noah answered with an immediate fireball into his left hand, tossing it forward quickly–BOOM. It exploded into sparks and smoke, though the laughter of the dwarf came through as the broad silhouette emerged.
"I'm of dwarf and giant blood, lad!" Ajax yelled with a grin. "I eat magic for breakfast!"
'That's a no-go, then,' he realized.
Both knees were bent, ducking beneath a wild swing, then jumping up with an empowered leap as the second hammer swept for his legs. Before his feet could touch the ground, he had a complete opening, swinging his blade on the unprotected chest of the dwarf–
[Strengthen]
He tempered his axe-swinging arm, bringing the trusty edge across the hairy pecs, yet–it simply passed over with a sensation like grinding against metal. Instead of backing off, the warrior that brimmed with confidence instead puffed his chest out with a grin, pushing the axe away.
"Like I told you, lad," Ajax said, flexing each pec. "Not a scar on this body!"
Noah didn't respond to the words of bravado, only taking in what he found out; one, simple fact was learned: half-baked attacks weren't going to cut it. One worry was dismissed in his hand–the idea of accidentally killing the dwarf.
'I'm not going to cut through him by accident, that's for sure. So, no point in holding anything back–I need everything I've got, in one swing, if I wanna break through,' he planned, clenching the wooden handle.
Any thoughts he had were forced to be in unison with evading, as he slid back as the hammer crashed down. He jumped up, quickly countering with a kick to the giant dwarf's chin before flipping back onto his feet.
While the kick retaliation was more meant to give him space, he found the half-naked warrior stumbling a bit with some drool dribbling at his lip.
"Aaah," Ajax uttered before quickly shaking his head, "Aha!"
Without missing a beat, the maniacal adventurer was chasing him with wild swings again, forcing Noah back to constant evasion. As he moved, he processed the peculiar moment, ducking beneath a passing slab of steel.
'I saw it–he was dazed. I put nothing in that kick, but I saw it for sure–he felt it. That's it…He's got a body as tough as diamonds, but his chin, it's made of glass,' he realized.
A certain ferocity fueled each of the dwarf's steps now, who sprinted with his hammers not seeming to weigh him down one bit.
"Alright, lad! Try not to die now!" Ajax shouted enthusiastically.
With violent haste, the imposing dward-giant arrived before him, bringing both hammers overhead. This time, the hunks of metal forged for the act of crushing hummed with a mystical grace. Around each hammer, the air fluctuated and contorted.
[The Snake's Eye]
He shut one eye, viewing the certain death before him at his leisure. Flipping the axe around in his hand, it moved as if the air was composed of oil, slowly drifting into his grip within the moment of heightened perception.
Taking a step closer, every minuscule movement made his eye burn with greater intensity. It had to be one move, committing to that singular action before the hammers moved at full speed again.
[Strengthen] [Enhance]
He used the bottom side of the axe like a club as perception returned to normal. It was reinforced to hardness not unlike a stick of steel, smacking right against the underside of the dwarf's chin with a solid "crack."
"Buuaahh–?" The slurred sound left the warrior's lips.
There was caution and hesitance as Noah watched the once rowdy figure now stumbling back, his head tilting and looking every which way, groggily mumbling. After some threats that really came out as nothing more coherent than a baby's babbling, the unbreakable, almost nude man collapsed onto his back.
[EXP: +30,000]
[Level 9 Reached.] [Current Experience: 11,700/25,000]
[Body: 1100] [Spirit: 1100]
["Close-Quarters Combat" Proficiency Up +30] [80/999]
"Haah," Noah exhaled tiredly, wincing as he caressed his bruised stomach. "I passed."