Odyssey of the Blind God

Nial might be unable to see the Boss monster of the two-element dungeon, but he could clearly sense its outlines owing to the distinct mana fluctuations it released.

On the first evaluation, it was almost as if the Boss monster was just a larger version of the Ratmen with horns jutting out of its head.

However, that was not the case and it was more like a large part of the horned bipedal beast's body that had the facial features of a rat was, in fact, manifested from earth transmuted mana!

The physique of the Boss Monster was bulky and Nial felt that it had a striking resemblance to the physique of a furry Minotaur, which was a beast he had first read about in a book in Katu's library.

This was interesting, but also a clear indicator that the Boss monster was not only able to use an elemental affinity but that its physique was not to be underestimated either.

Yet, contrary to his earlier doubts about the Boss monster having a light affinity that was intertwined with the darkness affinity which radiated from the dungeon portal, it looked like the Boss monster had a completely different affinity!

Other than that, it was strolling through the enormous cave, without any subordinates.

There was not even a single Ratman, let alone petrification rats around it, which was truly confusing, and Nial began to wonder if they had encountered a rare boss instead of the Dungeon Boss.

However, before he could even start expanding on this theory he quickly retracted the Fang glaive, while Jack took a step forward.

Taking out two daggers, he went into one of the most basic fighting stances that were taught by the military.

Yet, the way he stood coupled with his body language and demeanor turned him into something that was similar to what Nial had sensed from Master Junades.

It was almost as if a relatively inexperienced Combat master was standing right next to him, which was weird, but oddly enough, affirmed by Jack a moment later.

"I didn't bind an ability to my mana core yet, but I have an Innate ability, called [Weapon Master]. It increases my proficiency with weapons, and my reflexes are much faster than that of others!"

By telling Nial this information, he revealed everything necessary for him to consider fighting together. It allowed them to build trust, and gauge how strong their partner was.

Unfortunately, Nial knew that he paled in comparison to Jack and his prowess.

The information about him would be rather demotivating, which made him remain quiet about the time he had awoken his origin or the fact that he was not proficient in fighting, at all.

Instead, he simply replied while trying to summarize his strengths in a few words.

"I've got no ability either, but I do have great mana perception and strong senses!"

Jack had hoped for Nial to have a strong ability, but even after revealing that this was not the case, the calmness with which the young blind man was standing next to him allowed Jack to remain calm too.

Though he had a powerful ability, he was not confident to fight against the beast he presumed to be the boss or a rare boss of the dungeon, not alone.

However, with Nial, who had reacted even before him, by his side and the other comrades he had in his small group, defeating the rare boss shouldn't be too much of an issue.

"Lea, use your poison to prepare long-range trajectories, Mark, I'll rely on your aim, and Nino, I want you to restrict its path with your fire affinity, just as we practiced during the last few months, alright?"

Distributing tasks within his unit, he quickly chalked out a plan and his team members readily prepared themselves, the moment they were dragged out of their train of thoughts.

Meanwhile, the other Originals could only stare at the five young men and women that were already fully occupied, accepting the fact that they were just about to face a beast that was much stronger than them.

In fact, Jack and Nial started preparing themselves for the battle too immediately after Jack's instructions had ended.

Both of them started to circulate mana through their body, almost at the same time before they pushed their feet up from the ground, accelerating their speed at a shocking pace and rushing toward their opponent without any signs of hesitation.

Jack was once again astonished by Nial because it would be hard to tell that Nial was blind if one didn't see his white lifeless eyes.

Nial had learned to overcome his disability and move as any ordinary person could see.

He would also go as far as to say that Nial's movements were better with fewer unnecessary steps than his own, which allowed the young blind man, who looked like he had never been trained by a professional, to run as fast as him.

Under normal circumstances, this would have annoyed Jack, and his useless pride would have forced him to challenge Nial.

However, right now Nial was a perfect and trustworthy ally, and the stronger his ally, the better their chances of survival!

Jack knew that he required the strongest possible ally because the Horned Earth Ratour, which was the name of the boss, was a beast that was feared owing to its physical strength and its high proficiency in the earth affinity.

This allowed the Horned Earth Ratour to fight against higher-ranked beasts while being comparable to an Original at the 4th Origin rank.

Being at the 4th Origin rank, and able to defeat a Boss Monster that had the mana fluctuations and also the same amount of mana as an Original at the 5th Origin rank, the Horned Earth Ratour shouldn't exist inside the two-element dungeon, to begin with.

Unfortunately, it was a fact that it was standing right in front of them, and because of that, Jack was glad that Nial's reflexes and instincts allowed him to reach a fraction of a second before him.

His mind seemed to be calm too, which allowed Jack's earlier impression of Nial to improve another notch, making him completely forget about his blindness.

Both of them turned their attention to the Horned Earth Ratour who was now standing less than 20 meters away from them.

It had yet to move after throwing one earth spike towards them as a clear warning to not bother it.

Yet, Nial and Jack attacked it before the Horned Earth Ratour had come up with the second step of its plan.

As such, it followed its instincts and manifested a batch of earth spikes in mid-air which it shot toward Jack and Nial.

The speed at which the earth spikes flew towards them was blindingly fast, and Nial could barely evade one, while another earth spike blocked his advance, forcing him to deflect it by moving the Fang glaive accordingly.

Meanwhile, Jack was able to slash through the earth spikes easily as he swiftly moved his dagger. But, then suddenly an earth wall shot out of the ground, right in front of him.

It was only a thin wall, but it forced Jack to halt in his tracks, giving the Horned Earth Ratour the opportunity to initiate the counterattack.

Using this opportunity, it shot towards Nial, who was deemed as the weaker opponent of the two. Manifesting earth spikes while advancing ahead, it shot them towards him, forcing Nail to retreat while deflecting the attacks.

Though he was unable to see, his other senses were much stronger, but even then it barely allowed him to make sense of the entire situation.

This was because his mana perception had to perceive the few fast-moving earth spikes followed by the Horned Earth Ratour's advance.

However, that was less of an issue for Nial than Jack, who had perceived Nial's struggle as he deflected the earth spikes.

Moving around the earth wall, Jack was now approaching Nial from the side, but he knew that he would be a little late owing to the gap that had formed between them.

Yet, at this moment, Jack was able to see how Nial's movements changed completely, making him much faster, and agile.

His body language reflected his increased confidence, and most importantly, a higher level of control than before.

From moving like a relatively good amateur martial artist, Nial's movements now rivaled that of someone he had seen in a video once, a long time ago, astonishing him greatly.

But that was not the only welcome change in his demeanor as Nial not only deflected the earth spikes easily, but the Fang glaive transformed all of a sudden, turning into a seemingly normal spear that had a lengthy blade.

Using the Fang spear, Nial thrust it towards the Horned Earth Ratour that had emerged in front of him. His entire mana was circulating through his body as his mind was rattling.

The moment he had noticed that the Horned Earth Ratour was targeting him, Nial had sensed that death was looming over him, and it was almost as if his entire being perceived the sudden appearance of the Grim reaper, whose cold blade was digging into his neck.

There was no way Nial would have perceived this, and stayed idle.

Because of that, he had forced himself to release his entire mana, while utilizing one of the more difficult movement sequences, without short breaks in-between.

Thus, his movement looked smooth and graceful, almost like a dancer making it look like he had suddenly gained a higher understanding of martial arts.

However, his body felt as if it was breaking apart at the same time because he had pushed his legs against the ground, in order to allow his remaining body to face the brunt of the Horned Earth Ratour's attacks.

In fact, Nial was not able to pierce the Ratour with his spear even once, because it seemed to be able to move with much higher flexibility than its body suggested.

Despite that, it was barely able to deflect his attacks, using earthen gloves that enveloped its claws in order to prevent them from being cut off by the razor-sharp tip of the Fang spear.

Fortunately, Nial was not alone when the Horned Earth Ratour made its way through the bombarding attacks of his spear thrusts, almost flinging the Fang spear out of his hand.

With three earth spikes manifested, and its fist punching out to hit Nial, the Horned Earth Ratour attacked viciously and Nial realized that it would be impossible to evade everything, without being hit by at least one or two projectiles.

Nonetheless, this was something Nial accepted, owing to the fact that the Horned Earth Ratour was fully focused on only him, completely forgetting about the existence of Jack, who had already appeared next to the Ratour.

Slashing out with one of his daggers, he cut through one of the earth spikes, while his other dagger was approaching the Ratour's thick arm, cutting into it without any mercy.

Because of that, the Ratour's punch was delayed, and Nial could evade one of the earth spikes, while the other one tore a sizable chunk of his leather armor before it brushed past his abdomen.

His body gave an involuntary shudder at the near miss, but he couldn't stop right now because Jack was already moving ahead.

At the same time, the Horned Earth Ratour circulated mana through its body which increased its physical strength considerably as it flung Jack through the room, and deliver its delayed punch.

Through this, Nial was pushed backward, and he could only endure the impact, because the attack of the Horned Earth Ratour had weakened owing to the injury it had sustained.

However, this was rather disadvantageous, because Nial had to face the onslaught of the Ratour without anyone by his side…or so he thought.

It was just at the moment Nial thought that he had to go all-in, that his Odyssey Seed showed signs of pulsating once again as an itching spread through his body.

Though, it was just a moment later that the itching disappeared and he saw an incoming attack. It was a volley of fireballs and poison-soaked arrows that soared through the air making the two youths shout.

"Sorry for acting so late, you guys were in the way!"

**

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