This old man is going to learn today.

  Sir Vonda swallowed, reag for her magical mace. Whatever this foe was, it was no doubt immuo mundane ons, so she would o use her mace to strike it. However, the fact that it was so eager to use spells of the fiery variety, caused her to grow cold.

  “I haven’t had a good fight in a while,” Dunes said, gently swinging his bde, trying rid himself of his nerves. Whatever this foe was, he was great. Fag such a foe was a great honour.

  “You too, Dunes,” Adam said. “Step back.”

  “What?” Dunes asked, daring to throw a look to Adam. “You wao step back from a battle? Have you fotten who I worship, Adam?”

  “You and Vonda o step back,” Adam said, keenly aware that this old man was familiar with fme based spells. He couldn’t subject Vonda to such a thing.

  “I ’t do that,” Dunes said, stepping forward fidently, feeling the adrenaline run through his veins. His sword, aptly named Dunes’ Sword, felt light in his hand. “If I back down now, how I say I am a humble follower of Lady Arya.”

  The old man s the mention of the name, but he remained waiting, patiently. As long as he showed good faith, then that woman wouldn’t try to bother him about what happened here.

  Adam pced a hand on Dunes’ shoulder. “You o look at the bigger picture, Dunes. If something happens to all of us, it’s up to you and Vonda to make sure everyone else is okay.”

  Dunes clutched his bde tighter in hand, his eyes falling back to the old man, who was allowing them to set up for the fight between them. He then looked back to Vonda, and to the younger members of their party. He and Vonda were both leaders, chosen by Adam himself. Though they hadn’t formally split off their parties, it spoke volumes about Adam’s priorities.

  “We might lose this battle, but we o win the war,” Adam whispered, patting Dunes’ shoulder as the Aswadian stepped back. He was under no illusion that this was going to be easy, though he was fident. However, there was another matter to deal with. “Fred. Do you want to step out too?”

  Fred hadn’t expected the question, though knowing how Adam was like, he wasn’t surprised o. Adam had found Fred back then. He had been roasting uhe sun, deep in a pit of despair after having lost everything during the massacre. He had spent a decade trying to find himself until one day, when he decided to give himself to the earth.

  He had spent a year with Adam, and through his versations with Vonda, and seeing Adam’s shenanigans, Fred wondered deeply about his position in this life. He looked to the old man, before looking back to Adam. He had been g with the fear earlier in the day and it had revealed to him something he hadn’t expected.

  ‘I want to live.’

  Fred raised his sword, pointing it towards the old man. He had been given the will to live, but he was not the type of person to run away from his debts. “I will fight, Adam.”

  “Fight, not die,” Adam said. “Vonda, would you mind handing him the sword which is strapped to Zeus’ side.”

  ‘Zeus?’ the old man thought. He swore the name was familiar, but wasire sure where he khe name from. He waited patiently, allowing Adam to hand Fred the magical on.

  “Lifebde,” Adam said, accepting the bde from Sir Vonda, allowio retreat. “I was going to hand it over when you officially accepted to work under me, but I think now’s a good time. It’s a Basihanced on which holds three charges and heal you a little with each charge.”

  Fred wasn’t going to refuse, not when he was so unnerved by the old man. He was allowing them to prepare, as though it made no differeo him. The type of person who did that was either extremely foolish, or extremely powerful. Once he touched the bde, he could feel its magistantly. This on didn’t require ao attuo it, which surprised Fred. He wondered if it only held three charges, those which did not recharge, but since Adam had passed it to him, he decided he should use them all if it came to it.

  “Are you ready?” the old man asked, watg as they took their positions, allowing them to draw closer to him.

  Adam held Wizard’s Axe in hand. “I appreciate you waiting, mister. I’ll be sure to hold back from killing you.”

  “There is no need,” the old man replied, tilting his head back slightly, looking down at the group. “I will not die to children like you, even if some of you are Iyrmen.”

  ‘Damn, this guy’s fident,’ Adam thought.

  “You may make the first move,” the old man said, holding out his own sword, with the handle made of gold and ruby, the bde long and thin. He brought his free arm behind his babsp;

  Adam’s brow was full of sweat as he felt the pressure. He had all but guarahe lives of the others behind him, but he was still fighting with a handful of his closest friends, and his brother.

  ‘There’s no other way.’

  Adam willed his magic forward as he shouted. “Explosion!” His Mana rushed from his heart to his fiips, and a bead of fire shot forward, before engulfing the old man in a sea of fire.

  Mana: 15 -> 12Spell: Fireball8D6 = 19 (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)Damage resisted!0 damage!

  Adam hadn’t rolled so poorly before for his Fireball, and though he was about to call forth another Fireball, he saw the damage it had dealt. ‘What?’ His heart pounded in his chest. Summoning two Fireballs was the ohing which he kept in his back pocket, something which could deal with most threats. ‘No damage at all?’

  “Careful!” Adam shouted, frozen in shock as the fme began to dissipate. “He’s immuo fire!”

  The others were ready to charge in once Adam had finished his frenzy of Fireballs, but he was froze stuck. They all watched as the fire began to dissipate, revealing the old man once more, his forehead tattoo glowing as some of the fmes circled towards it before it disappeared.

  It wasn’t that the old man had taken no damage, for after having a Fireball engulf him, he seemed so much more powerful.

  “It has been quite some time sineone dared to use fire against me,” the old man said, a patronising smile painting his lips. He could feel his strength return to him. Though he was still fier dealing with the two Iyrmen, he o expend some strength to heal himself, but the fmes which ed around him began to rehe strength he had spent.

  “Damn it!” Adam shouted as he and his panions darted forward towards the old man, whht up his bde to defend himself.

  Onward Soar: 1 -> 0

  Fighting Spirit: 3 -> 2

  Attack - Wizard’s Axe, FnkingD20 + 8 = 18 (10)D20 + 8 = 19 (11)Miss!

  Attack - Wizard’s Axe, FnkingD20 + 8 = 20 (12)D20 + 8 = 27 (19)Critical hit!Mana: 12 -> 9Ability: Divine Smite4D6 + 8D6 + 8 = 46 (2, 3, 3, 6)(1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5)46 damage!

  Adam’s axe was going to strike the man’s chest, but the old man shifted his feet, and Adam almost tumbled past the old man, whose bde caught the bde of the other Half Elf, f the Guardian babsp;

  ‘I missed?’ Adam thought, though he quickly spun around, to strike across the old man’s back, barely managing to strike across his back. His blow was empowered by his spell, and though he had mao deal a great amount of damage, which was empowered even by Jonn’s aura, somehow it seemed as though he hadn’t struck at all.

  Jurot, full e, cut along the old man’s side with Phantom, but he could feel just how hardy the man’s skin roviding eveer prote than his e. He had mao strike with great force, but it was as though his bde had almost bounced off the skin.

  Lucy’s greataxe, Great Destroyer, which was eveer tharoyer, mao sm squarely into the man’s chest, a didn’t cut even a hair’s width into the man’s skin. She, too, was within her rage, but the shock of it almost brought her out of it.

  ‘He’s strong!’ Lucy thought, quickly realising the extent of her foe’s strength.

  The old man’s bde blurred, having deflected a number of his assaint’s attacks with ease, before he pushed Lucy back, the tip of his bde almost pierg her shoulder. The self procimed Demon Lord skid backwards, having lost the bout of strength with only a simple jab.

  Kitool leapt off Lucy’s back, her Seekerstaff swinging down, striking the old man across his head, though she could feel her on bend from the force. She spent her energy to try and freeze the old man in pce, but he paid no attention to her as Jaygak appeared, Stormdrake in hand, crag with lightning. She sshed downward, though her bde was caught by the old man’s sword, which fought the lightning with its fme, though it still crackled against his cheek and skin.

  It had been so long since he had felt Stormdrake’s lightning, and in that moment, Fred had approached. The young man, whose thoughts were about living, struck the old man before him, his attacked fuelled by Jonn’s aura as he mao cut the old man thrice. He, like Adam, could go beyond his limits for a moment, and he had done all he could to strike his foe.

  Seven Experts had each spent all they could against the old man, and though he had dodged a few of their blows, he couldn’t escape them all. Yet, as their ons cttered against his body, trying to break him, they had not yet mao draw blood from him, nor had he broken into a sweat.

  “I believe it’s my turn?” the old man said, while the others were making to ssh towards him again. He leapt up through the air, floating in front of them all. His eyes fell to Adam, whose head tried to follow the blur of the old man’s body.

  Dexterity SaveD20 + 4 = 20 (16)

  His tattoo fshed for a moment, before fire engulfed the entire group, almost reag the sed group which stood at least twenty metres away. The fmes surrouhe group, and Adam grit his teeth as the fire engulfed him. ‘Thank the Gods for Jonn,’ Adam thought, the aura from the Half Elf managing to assist him in his save.

  Jaygak hadn’t mao du time, but with her natural resistao the fmes, she had mao stave away most of the heat. This fme was not something any of them could have withstood, not uhey had mao step aside or had somehow mao defend from most of the fmes. She heard Kitool drop behind her, followed by two others.

  “Adam!” she shouted, peeking up from her shield to see the old man, who still looked fine. “You o take Lucy-,” she tio shout, only to stop. Though she was against a great foe who had almost mao deal with her in a single blow, she dared to look back over her shoulder.

  It was not surprising that Fred had fallen, for he had very little ability to deal with with such great fire, his agility not quite up to the standards of the others. It was surprising that Kitool had fallen, as she was the most nimble of the group, though the fmes had overcame her.

  However, what was most surprising to those ihick of battle, and those who were watg, was that a Half Elf had fallen.

  The fmes surrounded Lucy, but her natural resistance fought away most of the fmes. Jurot’s rage had mao deal with most of the fire, though he had also mao du time. Jonn had raised his shield in time, and his magical aura had mao allow him to suffer less from the heat.

  Health: 65 -> 0

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  I rolled EXACTLY 65 on his damage roll.

  Yes, a 20 did indeed fail.