Varunax

Ayaan looked at the Varunax who stood in front of him. He sized up the monster. His Primal awareness, the new skill that he got to detect is screaming about the threat this guy posed.

Varunax was a towering humanoid monster.

His head retained a humanoid shape, with a strong jawline and noble, chiseled features. That almost looked human.

His skin was a sickly bluish-green, eerie luminescence of deep-sea predators. The texture was partially smooth but marred by jagged scars and patches of darkened, barnacle-like growths.

His eyes glowed with a bioluminescent blue, eerily pulsing with abyssal energy. They are slightly larger than human eyes, adapted for the crushing depths he now inhabits. When angered, they flicker with streaks of violet energy.

His long, flowing hair resembled dark, drifting tendrils of ink, ever-shifting as though

His chest and arms are massive and muscular, sculpted by years of combat and reinforced by his unnatural transformation. His frame is covered in patches of hardened, scale-like armor that seem to pulse with abyssal power.

He wore, what looked like the rusted remnants of a knightly armor—barnacle-encrusted pauldrons, a shattered breastplate, and vambraces corroded by time and seawater.

Instead of legs, Varunax possessed a long, powerful tail reminiscent of a great sea serpent. It was covered in dark, jagged fins that resembled torn banners, each one lined with bioluminescent streaks of eerie blue light.

He held two tridents in either hand. The left one- Its edges were serrated like a predator's teeth, designed to maim and tear.

The right one- Sleek and razor-sharp. Its spearheads ripple with spectral energy.

Varunax was both majestic and horrifying. Ayaan felt a faint sense of excitement gripping his mind. He took out his Black Iron combat knife and the Black Iron Alloy Sword. He got ready for the battle.

As if it in response, Varunax also swung his tridents and what happened next, stunned Ayaan so much that he wasn't able to process it for a moment.

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It spoke. The monster…Varunax used words. Not some incomprehensible hissing noise or some weird grunts. It actually used words that Ayaan could understand.

His shock was so potent, it seemed like even the primal awareness took a break for a moment.

Varunax dashed forward like a flash and stabbed his trident down.

Ayaan barely reacted and blocked the attack with his sword.

*CLANG*

He then swung the combat knife, aiming for its body. But the second trident blocked the attack.

'Water Bullet'

From the knife edge and the edge of the sword, two water bullets conjured at the same time as they shot.

This is what he got from the Level up. To shoot multiple water bullets at the same time.

Point-blank range. They shouldn't miss it.

Varunax twisted the tridents and in the process moved the knife and the sword away.

Both water bullets went past him. Not a scratch appeared on his body.

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Varunax's eerie voice invaded his mind. Ayaan's hands were still locked along with his weapons in the tridents. Varunax twisted the tridents even more. In a fluid motion, he bent Ayaan forward and swept its tail.

The huge tail tried to sweep Ayaan's lower body. Ayaan reached quick enough to jump, making the tail miss. However, Varunax reacted quickly enough. With the weapons still locked in, he slammed Ayaan to the ground.

*BAM* *SPLASH*

Ayaan felt the brunt of the attack with his face.

[HP-2]

He let go of both his weapons.

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Ayaan got up and created some distance between him and the monster. His mind raced. Just from the brief exchange, Ayaan understood a few things. The intelligence of this monster is unlike anything Ayaan has ever seen before.

It's a proper creature with complete sentience and intelligence.

Then the moves. The way it moved… its different from any monster he had ever faced. Its experience was clearly shown in that brief exchange. Not only was it familiar with the tridents, it also knew how to be sneaky with the attacks.

Its movements appeared so smooth and refined. As if they were practiced thousands of times and used in hundreds of battles.

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Varunax spun his twin tridents and two streaks of black water conjured around them. He swung the right trident as if he was throwing it.

The trident still remained in his hands, however the streak of black water shot forward. Like an arrow.

The attack was fast. Not fast enough to corner Ayaan, but fast. He dodged the move and was greeted with another streak of Blackwater.

Varunax inched forward slowly as he threw the streaks of blackwater. Ayaan on the other hand, was around ten feet away and kept that distance between him and Varunax.

Whenever Varunax stepped forward, he moved to the side to keep the same distance.

Just like that, both of them are making circles on that small island.

Ayaan was tensed. He couldn't relax even for a moment. Those streaks of water appeared much better than his water bullets.

He was thinking about how to approach the other party.

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Varunax's tone laced with disappointment reverberated. Ayaan didn't look the least bit concerned over the taunt. He couldn't get a read on Varunax and he didn't want to make a move until he did.

<.

*SWOOSH*

The streaks of black water came at him with multiplied speed. Each point of the trident, created a streak and all six of them attacked Ayaan, coming at him in six different paths,

Ayaan couldn't find a path left or right, so he could only dodge by jumping vertically. He jumped high enough. However, Varunax clearly saw through this.

*SWOOSH*

Six more streaks appeared and this time, they surrounded Ayaan. He already had limited mobility mid-air. He couldn't control himself. He was about to be hit. He gritted his teeth, the forearm guards opened up into their shield forms.

*BAM*

The shields blocked the attack, but the residual force made Ayaan fall.

*SWOOSH*

Varunax covered the distance during this moment and swung his trident at Ayaan.

He blocked it with the shield once again. The force was powerful, but the shields blocked it.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Just like that, the exchange turned to close combat. Varunax's movements were precise, rapid, and overwhelming. Ayaan on the other hand had to use his agility to the fullest as he danced around him. Still, he wasn't able to dodge the attacks.

Instead, he had to use the forearm shields to block most of them. The tridents which are usually weapons for two hands… they appeared to be perfect one-handed weapons on the hands of Varunax.

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