SWOSH! Arad flew over the octopuses, glaring down at their queen with glowing red eyes.

“Stay away from me!” She cried, diving into the mud.

Arad landed and kept gliding across the dirt, quickly shifting his attention to the other octopuses. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

^I can’t keep this up. I will soon run out of mana. I need a plan to drag her out,^

“Arad! Come back here!” Amber shouted, glaring at him from the distance. “Don’t remain there for long, I can’t support you well,”

“I’m coming back,” He stared back at her. She was right. The further he went into the woods, the more trees got between him and her making it harder to aim.

^No, wait,^ Arad thought. ^If I can pull the knife from my stomach, won’t that mean I should be able to eat from my stomach?^ SWOSH! He slid between the octopuses slapping them one after the other, ^I’m running out of mana rapidly. I should give it a try,^

He tried. But couldn’t absorb anything. The action of taking things out is similar to puking so he can do it, but to drink a potion, he has to open it first inside his stomach, which he can’t do without access to his void.

Thud! Arad landed in front of Amber, his quarterstaff smoking.

“You insane idiot, get back here and fight properly. I need someone to protect me while casting spells.” She cried, pointing her staff at an octopus. Fire Ball KA-BOOM!

From the mud, the queen popped her head out with a smile. “My children, he’s almost out of mana. Rush them. If he falls, it’s our win,”

Merlin stared at Arad, and the queen was right. He barely has 10% of his mana left.

“Let’s retreat into the stairs. They can’t follow us there,” Merlin said, looking back.

“Gehehe,” Arad giggled, a long smile on his face. Everyone froze, staring at him.

“Buahahaha!” He burst laughing, “Me out of mana? Do you know who you’re dealing with?” He lifted his right fist, dropping it on his chest.

“Huh?” Amber stared at him, pounding his chest like a gorilla.

^What is he doing?^ Merlin gasped, and Amber pointed her quarterstaff at the octopuses, “Arad, stop messing around, and let’s retreat. Without your power, we can’t beat them in a battle of attrition,”

BAM! BA-BAM! BAM! BA-BAM! BA-BA-BA-BAM!

BAM! BA-BAM! BAM! BA-BAM! BA-BA-BA-BAM!

“Wait…” Merlin gasped, “This tune, the Drums of War written by Princess Isdis?”

^Did he learn a bard spell? No, I sense no magic from his actions.^

“GAH!” Arad gasped, trying to pull a potion out of his stomach. He can start that action, but the potion always gets stuck. Its neck is smaller than the body causing it to be unable to pass through its esophagus.

“Hehehe!” Arad giggled, hitting his chest as hard as he could.

The potion tried to get up, its neck stuck inside his esophagus. And with each hit, Arad increased the strength.

“Restrain his arms! Don’t let him keep this going!” The queen shouted, sensing that Arad was about to do something dangerous.

BAM! BA-BAM! BAM! BA-BAM! BA-BA-BA-BAM!

CRACK! From his continuous violent hits, the potion neck stuck in his esophagus cracked, spilling the content back into his stomach.

Merlin gasped, seeing Arad’s mana charge immediately.

SWOSH! Arad immediately flew back into the battlefield, slapping the octopuses left and right.

“This bastard,” The queen growled, “Even with all of his powers sealed away, he’s still a pain to deal with.”

Merlin smiled, ^An extreme life form. Dragons don’t think like humans. And that is why this labyrinth is scared of him. Just like me, it knows he’s someone to reckon with.^

“Tch!” The queen growled, “Fine by me! Come here. I will face you myself.”

She emerged from the mud.

“Arad! Don’t take her bait!” Merlin shouted, “She wants to drag you into the mud when you run low on mana,”

At some point, Arad would run out of mana again and have to retreat. It was obvious as day that she aimed for that moment to capture him.

“Shut your trap! Wizard!” The queen growled, “This isn’t your place to speak!”

“Want a one-on-one fight?” Arad smiled, “Fine by me!” He flew at her.

“You idiot!” Merlin and Amber shouted at the same time, baffled by Arad’s inability to see the trap ahead of him.

“You will lose!” Merlin screamed.

“Nah! I’d win!” Arad said with a smile, swinging his palm at the octopus’s queen.

“Hehe!” The queen giggled, sending her tentacles at Arad.

Arad spun his quarterstaff, dodging the first tentacle and gliding on it toward the queen.

SWOSH! She swung another tentacle at his head, but he deflected it with his fist.

GA! The queen screamed, seeing Arad’s palm rushing toward her flesh. SPLAT! With her other tentacles, she splashed the mut at him, dampening his slap.

“Two arms can never match eight in close combat,” She shouted, unleashing a barrage of bludging slams with her eight tentacles.

Arad swung the quarterstaff as he stood on his barrier, and deflected all attacks by using it like a sword. “I trained with someone that seems to have one hundred arms,” Arad glared at her with a smile, remembering how fast and unpredictable Alcott was.

CRACK! Arad smacked her in the face with staff, and she jumped back with her tentacles.

“It seems you’re stronger than we expected,” She giggled, “But I still have more to show you.”

Mud rushed from the ground and engulfed her body. Waves of mana started rushing out from the cocoon.

Arad immediately pointed his staff at her Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt Firebolt

He knew it was bad the moment he sensed the magic, but the mud acted as a protective layer against his fire. 𝘪𝘳.𝒸𝑜𝑚

SPLAT! Eight tentacles encased in hard scales emerged from the mud cocoon as it exploded. “Hehehe,” The queen giggled, “Let’s see if you can keep up now,” She stood in a humanoid shape with her tentacles extending from her lower back like tails.

CRACKLE! Lightning crackled from her tentacles as she looked at Arad with a grin, “Bewary, those sting,”

Arad lifted his fist, beating on his chest.

BAM! BA-BAM! BAM! BA-BAM! BA-BA-BA-BAM!

BAM! BA-BAM! BAM! BA-BAM! BA-BA-BA-BAM!

His mana recovered then his wounds healed as he broke potions down his esophagus. CRACKLE! Flames sparked from his skin as he stood facing the mud octopus queen with a smile.

“I’m the king of this land, and you aren’t one of my queens,” He glared at her with a grin.

“I’m the queen, and you’re going to be my king,” She giggled, pointing all of her tentacles at him.

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