Primordial Lust System

An impasse of some sort seemed to have been created by the two clashing forces before that illusion was shattered.

Boom! A mini shock wave erupted before Aurelian was sent flying back, his figure crashing against the dungeon wall.

"Argh, fucking hell!" Aurelian cursed, struggling to get back on his feet. Based on the appraisal not being able to get a read on the opponent's level, he had already surmised the goblin chieftain had far surpassed him. The only question was how much, and the first clash gave him all the answers he needed to know he was courting death.

As if to affirm that thought, his eyes flicked to one of the wristbands hanging on his hand, watching it flicker faintly before vanishing.

A fatal blow had been blocked, and with it, a terrifying realization dawned on him: the beast before him had the ability to instantly kill him, and without the wristbands, he would have been long gone.

Still, he didn't have time to wallow in his life decisions before a guttural growl echoed in the dungeon. The goblin chieftain, infuriated at his survival, charged at him, its speed blurring before him, and before he could make out what was happening, its mace was inches away from sinking into his face.

Pupils dilating, his body moved instinctively as he jerked backwards, twisting his waist at an impossible angle.

The mace roared past where his upper body once was, before hitting the dungeon wall and sending rubble flying.

"Ha!" Aurelian smirked, watching the mace embedded in the dungeon wall, momentarily stuck, granting him an opening.

With a thought, another slew of blades materialized behind him, but before he could send them forth, the goblin chieftain seemed to sense his intent. It switched its attention from the stuck mace to him, raising its arm no different than a wide barrel before bringing it crashing down on his bent back.

"Oh, no you fucking don't!" Aurelian groaned, leaning back fully before sending his body crashing to the floor, effectively dodging the blow.

But before he could get smug about it, the goblin's hand crashed down, and with it a rippling shockwave emanated from the ground below, sending cracks spreading in his direction. Before he could dodge, his figure was sent flying back by the shockwave as he rolled across the dungeon.

Still, his eyes never losing sight of the target, he issued a command, and with it, the blades hovering in the air shot forward, their surfaces glimmering with the untamed desire for destruction from the caster.

"Let's see how you'll block them this time without that stupid mace!" Aurelian groaned, tracking the movements of the blades as they crashed into the beast's thick skin.

"Huh?" he breathed, his eyes widening at the sight.

Barely sinking in, the blades seemed to hit a wall of some sort.

"This can't be right," he muttered, eyes squinting. He could see the blades corrode parts of the goblin's flesh, but the pace was a bit… too slow.

"How tough is your fucking skin, you bastard!?" he spat under his breath, watching with growing alarm as the goblin finally retrieved its stuck mace before heading toward him. The blades hanging on its body were shaken off with a few shrugs before falling away.

Another slew of blades formed behind him instinctively before he sent them charging straight at the goblin once more, trying to overwhelm the opponent with numbers.

His plan didn't quite work out very well, as the blades were crushed into streams of energy by the goblin's mace as it relentlessly charged at him.

"Argh, man, how am I supposed to win if you keep playing like this?!" Aurelian breathed, watching the goblin close in before smashing its mace at his head.

The speed was faster than anticipated; he could only watch as a barrier of some sort erected itself before him, momentarily blocking the blow before another wristband disappeared.

As the fight ensued, he couldn't help but frown, noticing a glaring problem in his combat ability. He had been overly reliant on his talent, almost investing everything in it with no failsafe.

It worked out well enough when he was farming lower-ranked goblin mobs, but against opponents such as this who seemed to perfectly counter him, it became very apparent.

Still, it didn't exactly turn out to be hopeless. His eyes tracked the movements of the goblin, and as he dodged and tanked some hits, a pattern soon unfolded before him. With the goblin's fighting technique being so direct, it wasn't that hard.

Slowly, his movements began altering, his mind partially syncing with his body as he entered full-on concentration mode.

The attacks he tanked lessened considerably, the wounds piling on his body also stopping, and before long, a smile graced his lips. He could feel it.

Switching up his battle style, a sense of excitement bubbled up within him as his body lunged back, scaling two metres in an instant.

The spot he had previously stood on was obliterated by the massive mace.

The same continued multiple times—dodging death by a hair's breadth each time. Before long, the smile stretching across his lips exploded into laughter as exhilaration surged inside him.

"Advance, retreat, dodge, duck… miss, roar, smash the ground…" Aurelian breathed, reciting the attack patterns, the beast's intelligence working against it.

While other beasts fought mindlessly, making their moves unpredictable, this one seemed to have a set of attacks ingrained in it. While deadly, it quickly turned useless once the pattern came to light.

Of course, that was assuming one survived long enough to deduce them all while fighting for their life—not quite an easy feat to replicate.

"And… now!" he snapped, watching the goblin growl as it shot toward him, its mace already swinging at his head.

He stood still, and when the goblin appeared too close, he dodged at the last possible second, watching the mace swing at empty air.

And in that brief instant, a window of opportunity opened—one he didn't hesitate to utilize.

Multiple blades materialized before him, but instead of shooting toward the chieftain, they spun rapidly as he muttered, "Vortex of Doom!"

The suction force pulled in the goblin, aiming to drag it in, but the resistance was too much. The longer it stayed activated, the more energy it siphoned off him.

But he wasn't dismayed. He could see the spinning blades slice chunks of flesh off the goblin, followed by deep cuts into its body, until he couldn't bear it any longer and the Vortex of Doom snapped shut.

The figure of the chieftain soon came into view, its body not as awe-inspiring as before. Gashes ran across its body, slick red marks all over.

Aurelian, on the other hand, smiled unhinged. He could feel warm streams of energy rush into him, parts of his wounds healing.

And as they did, he spat out a mouthful of blood before turning to the goblin, mumbling, "Round two, then." His eyes lit up, hope flaring in them.

Maybe the fight was winnable.