Chapter 39: Iron Dragon (3)

Then a warrior with flaming sword approached him from behind, trying to sneak in an attack from his blind spot. Thadius turned on a dime to unleash a full powered Dragon Claw.

“Flamin-” the Spellsword’s words were cut short as four slashes raked her torso, causing him to flip from the strength behind it. The woman died as she hit the ground, but Thadius didn’t receive any experience from the kill. Nor did he receive any fame. The woman must have received damage from another source before she ran into him.

Thadius fought anyone that approached him. He showed no mercy to Travelers while removing NPCs from combat. Shouts and screams filled the air along with the smell of blood and iron. He lost track of time as he fought, but after a while, only a few were left standing.

Near the end of the battle, an arrow flew through his Aura, and Thadius raised his shield to block it. Half the arrow pierced right through his shield, and the arrowhead glowed an ominous red. It glowed just like the knife that had sent the Necromancer flying.

’Shit!’

Thadius threw his shield without a moments delay. It flew through the air, sailing back into the direction of the archer that shot at him.

Thadius pushed his Aura completely from his body to hide himself. Then he sprinted for the archer, hoping to get to him before he could shoot anymore exploding arrows. Fortunately, fate was on his side. His shield exploded in mid-air, and the force of the blast brought it crashing onto the head of the archer.

[Your expert aiming has unlocked a new skill.]

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[Throw LV.22 Novice

Able to use objects as projectile weapons. Damage increase with level.]

The archer was still dazed as Thadius made his presence known. “Stand up archer! If you wish to face me, then face me while my eyes are on you!”

Thadius pressured the archer little by little with every step he took. The archer, who’d regained his senses, struggled to nock an arrow with his unsteady hands.

“I’m coming for you archer! You’ll have a few moments to attack before my blade reaches you!” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

The archer dropped to one knee to balance himself and to save his rapidly depleting stamina for the shot. Thadius sprinted for him with barely 10ft(3m) of distance between the two. Then the archer fired his last shot, only to watch it sail over Thadius as he slid on his knees in the sand. The showdown ended with Thadius looking down on the gasping man.

He raised his sword to deal the final blow to the Traveler, but the distant banging of drums stopped him. He immediately sheathed his sword and reigned in his Ambient Pressure. Then he helped the shivering acher off the ground.

“That last shot would have killed me it I hadn’t dodged it. Your eyes gave you away though. You’ll have to work on that.” Thadius said as he brushed the man off and patted him on the back.

“A-as if I could aim properly under all that pressure!”

Thadius laughed as he picked up his shield a few feet away. It was covered in deep scratches, and there was a gaping hole from where the archer’s arrow had pierced through.

“There’s a blacksmith that can take a look at it when you get back inside.” the archer said to him as he turned to head back for the gates. Thadius nodded to him in thanks and made his way back in the opposite direction. He passed the arena hands on their way out to collect the dead and the unconscious.

70 people had been reduced to 8 in less than an hour, and all of the winners were taken to see a priest inside the gladiator’s compound to heal. After the gash on his face was taken care of, Thadius asked for directions to the arena blacksmith.

He was taken down a side passage, not far from where he entered the arena, by one of the organizers . The end of the passage opened into an enormous space with dozens of forges and blacksmiths swinging their hammers at white hot metal.

They stopped at one of the first forges, where a bald dwarf was checking on the temperature of the flames.

“A competitor? What can I do for you?” he asked gruffly.

Without a word, Thadius handed over his shield to the man.

“Shield huh? Shouldn’t be too long before I have it in fighting shape.” he said as he hobbled over to his forge.

“How much will this cost me exactly, Mr.?”

“The name’s Durnon. And It won’t cost you a single coin. The coliseum takes care of the repair fees. So just take a seat, and I’ll be done if a jiffy.”

Thadius sat on the floor near the edge of the forge while the dwarf set to work. He had gained quite a few levels from the last battle, and it was about time he actually used some of his stat points. Since he’d first leveled up from killing Corban, he didn’t think it was actually necessary to use his stat points since he was already far above his counterparts stat wise. Yet, in the battle royal, he’d learned that fights won’t always come down to one on one.

Not only that, he was constantly reminded that he was still green behind the ears when it came to actual combat. When his ankle had been caught, why didn’t he just kick the rogue off of his leg with all his strength? He may have been able to move just enough to shield himself from the arrow that scratched him. There were many things he could have done, but until he could gain enough experience on the battlefield, he would have to rely on his stats and abilities to keep him safe. So now was a good a time as any to apply his stat points.

“View status.”

[

Available Stat Points: 530

The Iron Dragon, Hand of Tegaia

CLASS Sword Scholar

NAME Thadius RACE Human

FAME: 2207 LV. 54

ALIGNMENT Good +784

HEALTH 15700/15700

STAMINA 20540/20540

VITALITY 1570 STRENGTH 3052

DEXTERITY 1842 WISDOM 912

INTELLECT 1598 LEADERSHIP 0

CHARM 223 FAITH 684

FIGHTING SPIRIT 5077 ENDURANCE 147

CHARISMA 16

MAGIC RESISTANCE

ICE 99% FIRE 0% EARTH 0% DARK -10%

WIND 0% LIGHTNING 0% HOLY 15% WATER 0%

+Weapon mastery skills gain x10 EXP

- No experience from lower level enemies

+50% EXP from higher level enemies

+100% EXP and from solo boss kills

+Bewitching smile

+Divine White

+NPCs intimacy raises faster

]

What he found himself needing in the battle royale, was speed. Mainly, the speed to react to unfamiliar situations. So he was definitely going to invest heavily into dexterity. On the other hand, he also wanted to raise his intelligence. He hadn’t really been using it all that much, but it was one of the skills that could be easily boosted thanks to his class. It would be a shame if he needed it later on and it wasn’t as high as it should be.

With those thoughts in mind, he invested 200 points into Intellect and the rest into Dexterity. Since the number of points he invested into both were doubled, it was equivalent to investing 100 levels worth of stat points, leaving his Intellect close to 2000 and his Dexterity a little over 2500.

By the time he was finished applying his skill points, the dwarf was walking over to him with his shield and a confused look on his face.

“Is there something wrong?” Thadius asked with concern. Carson had said his shield could be repaired normally, but he was still worried that it couldn’t be done without some extraordinary measures.

“It’s nothing really... I could have sworn this shield was made of iron, but the iron I used didn’t take hold. So when I used steel it- Here, have a look for yourself.” the dwarf said as he handed Thadius his shield.

The soul-bound weapon had gone through considerable change. The first thing Thadius noticed, was that it was lighter than before, despite having been repaired with steel. It was also a tad bit larger. The shield had covered most of his torso before, but now it completely defended his chest and abdomen. Should he need to block from the front, the shield would adequately protect his vitals.

In addition to the weight and size, the composition of the shield had also changed. The front of the shield was still bald and plain; however, if viewed from the side, there was now a ultra thin layer of iron that was sandwiched between two layers of steel.

“How did you make two layers in such a short amount of time?” Thadius asked curiously.

“I didn’t. I was only going to patch the hole and fill in the scratches. Then your shield just sort of… absorbed it. It’s the strangest thing…”

’So the shield had flat out refused the iron ingot and settled for steel instead? That doesn’t explain the lighter weight...It didn’t change when I leveled after fighting the Chaotic player. So does it grow when I apply my stats? `

[

Thadius’ Battle Buckler

Type: Shield Durability: 1475/1475

Quality: Normal Defense: 1480

The shield of the Iron Dragon Thadius. Tested, not long after its forging, in the arena of the Grand Coliseum in Todos. Even after it was hacked by swords, slammed against armor, and punctured by an exploding arrow, Thadius picked it up from the blood stained sand. More tests are yet to come.

+Always infused with Holy Fighting Aura

+Shield skills level 5% faster

]

The name and description had also changed with its evolution. Thadius felt a tingle down his spine as he thought of how epic his shield would be in the future. And all he had to do was use it.

“Thank you for your work, sir. Should I need anymore repairs, I’ll come straight to you.”

“Please do. I’m extremely curious about that shield of yours. Might I ask who forged it?”

“That depends...can you keep a secret?” Thadius smiled as he looked down at the man.

“I’m a dwarf. Whatever you tell me in my forge is just between us.”

“This weapon was soulforged by the the blacksmith Carson.”