Conquering His Cold Heart

"huuuuuu" Findlay let out a restrained breath, calming his emotions before bringing up the dungeon menu. The war ursa had given him a moments reprieve so as to gloat; he'd be stupid to not utilise such a time effectively.

Though he lacked a spatial ring like Frost and Maya he had been granted the ability to retrieve things form the dungeon vault. With a few clicks a brand new battle axe roughly equal in quality and materials as the one he just lost appeared in his hands.

The process of retrieval was slower than a spatial ring and required him to use the dungeon menu thus he couldn't retrieve his spare axe mid-flight thus he had to use the ice spike earlier.

Don!

The butt of the heavy axe crashed against the ground. It was in pristine condition and at least 20% heavier than his last one. A little harder to wield but should suit his current needs perfectly. Findlay needed to breach the gap between adept and advanced axe mastery after all.

A less wieldy weapon should force him to understand the connection between him and his weapon that much more, a risk he was willing to take.

Frost had prepared a few battle axes for him, same with Khuno but with halberds. Each of which had slight differences i.e. different material makeup or weight that would suit different situations. A heavier axe in this case though slower to attack would contain more force, something that was clearly needed if he wished to cleave through the war ursa's bones.

The war ursa's gloating swiftly stopped the moment it saw the new axe and heard the heavy don as it crashed against the ground.

"Roaaaaarrr!" It roared in protest before firing off with its long range red claws however given its wounded and maddened state the accuracy wasn't quite as on point. Unfortunately this actually made dodging harder.

Findlay frowned before raising up his axe, it was time to test how it felt in battle.

"[Mountain cleave]" Findlay activated his greatest axe skill covering the weapon in a dense beam of azure energy before slashing downward within immense ferocity.

Smash!

With the added weight and the use of a skill the red claws shattered into pieces, a few fragments passed by Findlay's cheek, leaving minor scratches but with the health potion still in effect these wounds healed almost instantly.

"Well that felt good." Findlay smiled wildly as he raised the battle axe back up and rested it on his shoulders. The balance of the weapon was very similar to his previous one even with overall greater weight it also had a similar texture along the handle. He easily connected with it, perhaps even more so than his primary one. The weight felt more in line with his current strength.

The war ursa launched another five red claws at the smiling Findlay not realising that its wounds were affecting its skill's strength nor Findlay's current state.

Findlay saw the five red claws but didn't run or dodge instead he reared up his battle axe once again and struck down.

Clash!

There was certainly a difference without using [mountain cleave] but he no longer felt pinned and two seconds later the red claws shattered once again under his new axe.

A strange expression appeared on Findlay's face as he retrieved his axe and looked deeply at the heads. He felt something when he struck down, a nagging feeling that pointed out the flaws in his swing.

His wild smile stretched from ear to ear as his gaze drifted over to the war ursa who looked as though it had seen better days. A limp leg that was nothing more than a mangled mess, its jaws still bleeding profusely and blinded in one eye. The once intimidating threat that was the war ursa was so badly wounded that it appeared to be barely hanging on, Findlay did that.

"Again, hit me again!" Findlay loudly demanded, wishing for the war ursa to send another set of red claws his way as training material.

"Roar!" Infuriated further by Findlay's attitude the war ursa reared up on its single working rear leg before viciously swiping with its forepaws, creating 10 red claws each stronger than the previous ones. It put a fair amount of energy into this attack, a little too much in fact.

The war ursa suddenly stumbled and collapsed onto its belly leaving it in a very vulnerable position but Findlay was a little preoccupied to take advantage.

'I just had to go and open my big mouth.' He cursed himself internally as the spectre of death wrapped around his limbs and even his heart, filling him with fear. This attack was fast, strong and incredibly deadly and he no longer had the chance to dodge, he had to take it.

He gripped the shaft of his axe and stared dead ahead, seeing nothing but thick, sharp red claws formed of energy flying his way. Every fibre of his body was screaming either run or that this was the end of him. His axe would not be able to stop these claws and he'd end up carved up into dozens of pieces, scattered across the snow…..at least with his current strength.

There was no better opportunity to force him over the threshold, just like how frost fared in his clash with Rock. While enduring an overwhelming force with his glaive he punched through and achieved adept mastery as well as his first skill. Findlay simply needed to do the same, the risk however was incredibly high.

A single misstep and he was dead, but it was this risk that made it possible in the first place. His body needed to be filled with dread and be forced to overcome death.

A fiery gaze filled with determination could be seen in Findlay's eyes. He braced himself against the snow, shuffling in for a better foothold while raising his new battle axe up high above his head.

"[Enrage], [mountain cleave]" He activated his skill combo, granting him extra physical strength as well as empowering his battle axe.

Energy surged out from within Findlay, a light red mist covered his body filling him with intense aggression. His eyes turned a deep shade of blood red similar to the war ursa's and his muscles bulged out with snake like veins. Whereas an azure coloured energy spread out across his axe, forming a dense beam around the blade edge, greatly increasing its sharpness and crushing force.

Findlay used these skills to their upmost, putting in all he had.

As Findlay began cleaving downward time slowed and that nagging feeling returned. He subtly followed the directions given by that feeling and as a result his axe sped up and grew in force. His connection with it seemed to grow more in tune and an invisible wall started to breakdown.

His eyes released a glint along with his axe before he made contact with the ten crossed red claws sent out by the war ursa.

Boooooooommmmmmmmm!

An incredible boom reverberated through the battlefield as the axe and red claws made contact. Plumes of snow were blown away from the surrounding area and many monsters still fighting in the muddy waters couldn't help but turn their heads towards the loud explosion.

There they could see Findlay with his entire body tensed and bulging holding back the ten red claws with his battle axe. The red coloured energy and the azure energy grinded against one another with neither refusing to give in. Their fierce clash sent sparks of energy flowing out and the area around started to twist, the force involved was strong enough to affect the surrounding mana.

Findlay was breathing hard, and his feet were being gradually pushed back but his eyes revealed a mad glint, and a bright smile adorned his lips. He could feel it, the door was breaking down and he could feel the light of knowledge washing over him.

His body felt reinvigorated, and his axe became lighter, the force pressing on him from the red claws no longer felt so terrifying.

'This is advanced mastery.' He had broken through; his gambit had paid off.

Stomp!

With his newfound strength Findlay took a forceful step forward before roaring out and tensing his arm and back muscles even further.

Smash!

The terrifying red claws shattered apart revealing the vulnerable state of the war ursa.

Findlay recalled his battle axe and stared at the war ursa with a cold and calm look in his eyes. The rewards from reaching advanced axe mastery continued to wash over him. He smiled with satisfaction as new knowledge filled his mind.

"With this I should be able to break those bones of yours."