Chapter 50: The Difference Experience Makes

My boots scraped against the ground as I struggled to keep my balance, while the Doom Axe trembled in my hands under the pressure of the dwarf’s attack.

Damn! He’s strong.

I had felt his strength when our weapons collided earlier, but blocking a full attack at close range was a completely different experience.

The impact had nearly forced my arms apart, and I could feel the strain spreading through my shoulders. My strengthened body had allowed me to withstand the strike, but I couldn’t simply rely on my physical attributes to overpower him.

Before I could recover, Thors twisted his wrists and dragged his axe sideways.

The movement forced my weapon away from its defensive position, leaving my upper body exposed. He immediately followed with a downward strike aimed directly at my head.

I threw myself to the side.

The broad blade crashed into the ground where I had been standing, sending chips of stone flying through the air.

A few struck my legs, but I barely noticed them as I scrambled to regain my footing.

The dwarf had recovered from his swing almost immediately, and I knew I wouldn’t have much time before he attacked again.

I needed to counter while he was still recovering from the missed strike.

Planting my feet, I swung the Doom Axe toward his exposed flank and channelled mana into the weapon.

The runes along its surface brightened, shifting from their faint glow to a vivid blue as lightning gathered around the blade.

A sharp sizzling sound filled the air, and the power flowing through the axe made my grip tighten instinctively.

Thor’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the change.

He abandoned his attempt to pull his weapon free and raised the long handle across his body, positioning it between himself and my incoming strike.

His reaction was quick enough to stop me from landing a clean hit, but I had already committed to the attack.

The Doom Axe struck the handle of his weapon with a heavy crack.

At the moment of contact, the lightning surged through the point where the two weapons met.

Blue-white energy burst from the runes and spread across the dwarf’s axe, illuminating his hands and the ground beneath us.

The sudden flash was bright enough to make me squint, and the air filled with the sharp smell of scorched metal.

For a split second, everything between us disappeared behind the burst of light. Then the lightning crackled violently, swallowing both weapons in a web of blue-white energy.

The dwarf grunted as electricity crawled over his gauntlets, but he held his ground.

The lightning crackled against the metal covering his hands, releasing a series of sharp sparks, yet he showed no sign of losing control of his weapon.

I tried to push forward, hoping to overwhelm him before he could recover, but he was quicker than I expected.

He shoved me away with the shaft of his long axe, using the leverage of both hands to force me out of striking distance.

I stumbled backward several steps, my boots scraping against the ground as I fought to regain my balance.

The impact had left my arms tingling, and I could feel the strain in my shoulders from blocking his earlier attacks.

Before I could properly adjust my stance, Thors gave me a mocking grin.

"Is that all you’ve got, goblin?"

He didn’t wait for an answer.

His long axe swept toward my knees, the broad blade cutting through the air in a low horizontal strike.

I jumped over it, knowing that allowing the weapon to catch my legs would leave me at his mercy.

However, the moment my feet left the ground, I realized I had made a mistake.

Thors had anticipated my reaction.

Rather than trying to follow my movement with the blade, he stepped forward and brought the opposite end of his weapon toward my exposed stomach.

The blunt end struck me squarely in the abdomen.

The breath left my lungs in an instant.

My body folded around the impact, and I struggled to draw air as pain spread through my stomach.

I barely managed to keep my grip on the Doom Axe before the dwarf followed with a rising strike, using the momentum of his weapon to drive the blade upward toward my body.

I raised my axe to block, but I was in no position to absorb the full force of the attack.

The weapons collided, and the impact lifted me off my feet before sending me tumbling across the ground.

I rolled over my shoulder, scraping my arms against the rough surface before finally coming to a stop.

Pain spread through my shoulder, and for a moment, I could only lie there, struggling to catch my breath.

"Damn it."

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand, using the Doom Axe to steady my balance.

My stomach still hurt from the blow, and my shoulder throbbed from the impact, but neither injury seemed serious enough to stop me from fighting.

I had taken worse damage in my previous battles, and the legacy had strengthened my body considerably. Even so, the exchange had made one thing painfully clear.

Thors wasn’t someone I could defeat by relying on raw power alone.

The Doom Axe could unleash lightning powerful enough to threaten opponents who were physically stronger than me.

My new skills also gave me the ability to move faster and strike harder than I could before awakening the legacy. However, none of that mattered if I couldn’t land a clean hit.

Thors had spent years fighting opponents who wielded different weapons and abilities, and his experience showed in every movement.

He understood the reach of his long axe, knew how to control the distance between us, and seemed to recognize my intentions before I had fully committed to an attack.

Meanwhile, I was constantly reacting to him.

Whenever I tried to approach, he used the length of his weapon to keep me away.

Whenever I attempted to attack from a different angle, he adjusted his stance and forced me to defend myself.

Even when I managed to catch him off guard, he recovered quickly enough to prevent me from taking advantage of the opening.

I was beginning to understand why he had made Orgrun look so helpless.

The dwarf wasn’t merely powerful.

He knew...