A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

"I won't let you!" Eldrian chased, passing the shadow quickly. He summoned a dozen fire spears that he threw through its body. The damage was pathetic. Chipping only a hundred HP from the shadowy blob. Not even equal to the mana Eldrian's spells had cost.

It did, however, bring the shadow to a halt. Eldrian immediately refilled the area with light, leaving no shadows for the blob of darkness to hide in. 'As I suspected, it is actually absorbing the surrounding light. Last time I couldn't quite confirm what was happening.'

This time Eldrian could. The demon was pulling all the light into itself. However, it was incapable of ridding the mana of the will Eldrian had infused into it. As such, it had to sacrifice its own mana to cancel things out. Slowing itself as it did.

Sadly for it, Eldrian had far more mana than it.

'Finally got your full details.' Eldrian smiled, mana sense having broken through the Night Terror's intrinsic resistance to being observed. It had taken less time than Eldrian had suspected. He felt that the light he had summoned had something to do with that.

[Nychterninos Tromos (Alpha); Demon - Kozran; Light trapped]

[Tier 5 ; Level 33]

[HP: 6238/6813] — [Mana: 652/725] —  [Stamina: 2725]

[Attack: 1642]

[Agility: 435]

[Physical Resistance: 66/99 — Light trapped]

[Magical Resistance: 44/88 — Light trapped]

[A creature of the night, a demon who feeds on unwary travelers. If you ever face one at night, pray that you have light. A source that can not be extinguished in a gust of wind. One which will burn even in water. Else pray for a swift death, as this is what a Night Terror will certainly gift you.]

[Light Trapped: Surrounded by powerful light, the demon's natural resistances are lowered and its mind slowed.]

[Master of Shadows: ???]

Sharing the info with Ceph, Eldrian jumped back. A spearlike shadow occupying the space where his heart had been mere seconds ago.

Twisting into a blade, this same shadowy appendage moved horizontally. Eldrian pulled out one of the shields Ceph had made for him in Avgi. A wooden shield of Alderleaf. However, at the last second, Eldrian jumped. Leaving the shield behind, supported with ether.

'As I thought.' The shield had blocked the shadowy blade, however, only where it contacted the shadow. The rest continued to move, bending as if an elastic band. If Eldrian had not dodged, it would have surrounded him and cut him in half.

As for the shield itself, it now sported a terrible gash across its center. Cracks worming at the edges, at the verge of collapse. Storing it back in his inventory, Eldrian shot another barrage of fire spears. Doing little to no damage.

With it, however, a barrage of light rays pierced the shadow from behind. A screeching shriek of pain filled the air as multiple shadow spikes flew from its body. Forcing both Ceph and Eldrian to jump out of its reach.

'Nice job, that did some good damage.' Eldrian shared, Ceph's attack having robbed the demon of a couple hundred HP.

'Any idea what that ability of it means?' Ceph asked, making sure there were no shadows in his surroundings.

'No idea, just make sure there aren't any shadows,' Eldrian replied, refilling the area once again with light as he spoke. Trapped in the middle of the two, the dark blob constricted. Returning to its normal form.

'It almost looks like a slime,' Eldrian thought. In a small blob around the size of a soccer ball, the demon lay amidst the summoned light. Waiting for Eldrian and Ceph to act.

They also took this time to think things through. Getting in close was a no go. The demon's ability to morph and stretch its body into deadly weapons at will was terrifying. However, Eldrian found that it was too slow. Despite knowing it was a bad idea, he stepped forward.

'Ceph, I'm going to spar with it for a bit. Keep the area lit.' Eldrian didn't just want to test himself, he also wanted to study the demon's abilities. He felt that if he could adapt its morphing ability to his own spells, he would gain a massive strength boost.

Of course, Eldrian could already do this. What he sought in this fight was inspiration and technique. As he moved closer, he spread his mageia through the area. Taking it all in and forming a mental picture of the battlefield through his mind's eye.

'Two, please analyze the situation and make sure there aren't any shadows or tricks.' Just to be careful, Eldrian added Two onto the job too and also started recording things through his interface.

Charging forward, the blob of darkness sent a shadow spike at him. Eldrian dodged. The disparity in speed was simply too much. Almost twice as fast, Eldrian felt no danger. Even as the demon added more and more shadowy appendages.

This continued for a few minutes, the Night Terror sending up to seven appendages chasing after Eldrian. They even moved through one another without interference, bringing forth attacks from truly unexpected directions.

Eldrian would, without a doubt, have been killed if not for his ability to sense his surroundings by spreading his mageia through the surroundings and being faster than the demon. Only thanks to both these facts was he able to continue fighting. However, he couldn't go on the offensive.

Sensing danger from below, Eldrian jumped back. However, the other appendages chase him. Using magic, he blasted himself out of the demon's range. 'So, it is tunneling its appendages under—'

"Ceph!" Jumping as high as he could, Eldrian summoned a blast of wind next to his friend and blasted him to the side. Several sharpened shadows flying by where Ceph had been a second ago, returning to the blob of darkness amid the lightened street.

Ceph recovered quickly, using the momentum from the blast to take to the air, where he flapped his wings to stabilize. With a mix of wind blasts and ether supported item steps, Eldrian maneuvered himself onto Ceph's back.

"I guess we now know what's its ability is." Eldrian mumbled. The demon didn't have as limited a range as it had led them to believe. And it could even split its appendages and keep control of their split parts. Much like how Eldrian controlled his spells, only far more refined.

It had waited for them to lower their guard, but that hadn't worked thanks to Eldrian. Well, thanks to Two noticing what it was trying to do underground.

"You really need to teach me how you do it." Ceph commented as he kept them around twenty meters above the shadowy figure trying to escape their light.

"Don't know what to tell you. Just spread your will through the area." Eldrian replied.

Ceph knew what Eldrian meant, but he couldn't cover a large area. A few meters around his person was the maximum he could maintain, and even then, it was strenuous. He couldn't constantly keep an area filled with his will.

Considering that Ceph was an alicorn, it should have been the other way around. 'He really is... unique,' Ceph thought, noting the causality in Eldrian's voice as he spoke.

"It's trying to escape." Ceph commented.

"I know, but don't really know how to kill it without holy magic." They could continue to whittle it down, but it would take them far too long. Especially since its earlier shriek had apparently been a call for help.

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