Water elemental

Next, Allen would head straight through the Misty Lake Shore to Dalaran. Although taking that route posed some danger, it was still better than entering Alterac. Leaving Lordaeron had already been troublesome enough. If he had to enter Alterac and leave it again, he probably would not reach Dalaran even next year.

Fortunately, he had already asked the mercenaries about it. There were only some Murlocs and Sahuagin at the Misty Lake Shore. They were fairly numerous, but most stayed along the shore. As long as he carefully avoided the shoreline, there should not be much trouble.

Three days later, Allen finally left the territory of Kaltz. As he traveled farther, signs of habitation along the road gradually grew more frequent. When he reached the Misty Lake Shore, he saw thick mist drifting over from the lake, carrying damp air with it. Neither in his previous life nor in this one had Allen lived by the sea or a river, so he was unused to the dampness. It gave him the illusion that he could barely breathe.

Looking at the thick mist ahead, Allen knew he could go no farther. That was Murloc territory. He hurriedly took out his map and checked it, then began making a detour along the lakeshore after confirming his bearings.

After passing through a small grove, he suddenly felt a powerful fluctuation of magic rushing toward him, accompanied by dense moisture. Allen immediately covered his mouth and nose with a cloth. He stopped beneath an old tree, considering whether to go forward and investigate. With magical fluctuations that strong, something was clearly happening ahead.

Just as Allen decided to turn back the way he had come, a tremendous rush of water sounded beside him. In desperation, he rolled clumsily to one side. Before he could recover, the enemy attacked again. This time, it was a Frost Arrow. It was small but looked extremely sharp. He was certain that unless he did something, the armor he wore would not protect him. His only fate would be death.

He had no choice, for there was nowhere left to dodge. He raised his staff, and a Wind Blade immediately shot from its tip. With a crack, the Wind Blade collided with the Frost Arrow, producing a harsh sound. Seizing the opening, Allen immediately got up and darted behind a tree. Seeing that its enemy had not been killed, the monster let out a terrifying cry of rage. In truth, it was less a cry than the sound of rushing water. Only then did Allen get a proper look at the monster's entire body.

Allen did not even know whether this monster could still be considered a living creature. Its whole body was filled with flowing water. No, its entire body was made of water, with the currents in its upper half branching into two hands and a head. It had virtually no face, mouth, or eyes, only something that resembled a head. There were also two things on its hands that looked like runes or magic circles.

The sight of the monster immediately reminded him of a water elemental. It looked exactly like the water elementals described in books. There were actually many varieties of such water elementals throughout the world. The most famous were Sea Elementals, Raging Water Elementals, River Water Elementals, and Fresh Water Elementals. The one he had encountered happened to be the most common Fresh Water Elemental, which was also the weakest water elemental. The conditions needed to produce one were very simple. Wherever there was powerful magic and, as it happened, a water source, these water elementals would generally appear.

Water elementals had many origins, and those formed through different causes often varied greatly in strength. The water elemental he faced now seemed to have formed naturally. Since this place was close to Lake Lordamere, there was certainly a water source. As long as magic was present to sustain it, a water elemental was sure to form. Naturally formed ones had virtually no awareness, however, and only knew to attack living creatures they encountered. Besides, this water elemental was only a little over a meter tall and was not yet very powerful. Had it been any larger, he probably would not have survived long enough to dodge.

Hiding behind the tree, Allen began recalling the weaknesses of water elementals described in the book he had read. Water elementals were made entirely of water, and ordinary attacks did little damage to them. They could not be treated like creatures of flesh and blood; he had to find their weaknesses. The book Allen had read mentioned only two weaknesses. The first was its Mana Core. It was an elemental creature, unlike a creature of flesh and blood whose body supplied the energy needed to move, so it had to possess an energy core that powered its movements. Once that core was shattered, the water elemental would collapse into a mass of water on its own.

Unfortunately, this core was extremely difficult to find, because a water elemental's energy core was transparent and hard to distinguish with the naked eye. Moreover, the core did not remain in a fixed position. It constantly moved with the currents inside the water elemental's body, making it far too difficult to hit.

Allen had to consider the second weakness. According to the book, water elementals generally attacked with their two hands. When attacking, a water elemental activated the runes on its hands to form magic, which was why both hands bore Water Elemental Magic Runes. As long as he could destroy those magic runes, it would no longer pose much of a threat.

But how could he strike the runes on its hands? Although this water elemental had little reason, it still knew to protect its weaknesses. Unfortunately, this was an unexpected encounter, leaving him little time to think. Before he could devise a solution, the water elemental had already begun attacking him. It circled around in front of him and immediately fired a Water Bolt. Unable to find an opening, Allen could only fend it off as best he could.

The water elemental did not attack quickly, and its movement was slow as well, but its attacks were highly lethal. So far, it had used two kinds of attacks: Water Bolts and Frost Arrows. Allen could still withstand one or two Water Bolts, but a single Frost Arrow could pierce him clean through. Under no circumstances did he dare take a Frost Arrow head-on; he could only dodge. Besides that, this water elemental seemed capable of slowing an enemy's movement and attack speed. When Allen once blocked its Water Bolt with his sword, he felt a bone-chilling cold spread through his entire body, as though the temperature of the whole world had dropped. At the same time, his body began refusing to obey him, and his movements inevitably slowed.

After that, Allen refused to take any of the water elemental's attacks unless he had absolutely no choice. He began playing hide-and-seek with it. Whenever it was about to attack, he immediately rolled from behind one tree to another, then used the opportunity to look for an opening.

The battle continued for another five minutes. Whenever he intended to attack the water elemental's hands, it immediately fired a Frost Arrow, as though certain that he would not dare take its attack. Each time, he had no choice but to dodge again and miss his chance to strike. In this fashion, another five minutes passed without progress.

To be honest, under normal circumstances, he would have been confident that he could wear this water elemental down. But its slowing attacks also seemed to accelerate his stamina consumption. Every movement demanded more effort than usual, leaving him in utter misery.

Allen realized that he had to end the battle immediately. Otherwise, once his stamina truly failed him, it would already be too late to stake his life on an attack. He dodged the water elemental's attack again and hid beside a tree. He panted heavily, his forehead covered in sweat, clearly close to his limit. Meanwhile, the water elemental had shrunk somewhat. But water elementals were mindless monsters. Unless the energy in their bodies ran out, they would never stop.

Allen knew he had to make a choice. Until then, he had still held out hope of escaping, but after the water elemental slowed him, he could only rely on the terrain to evade its attacks. The moment he fled, its Water Bolt would pierce his back. Seeing no hope of escape, he could only stake his life on the fight.

Finally, as the water elemental prepared to approach and attack as before, he seized the moment and hurled his sword straight at it. The Water Bolt struck his sword, failing to force him to dodge again as intended. Taking advantage of that moment, he charged toward the water elemental with all his strength. Just as before, it fired a Frost Arrow at Allen.

Allen had anticipated this. He immediately aimed the staff hidden against his chest at the water elemental and unleashed a Wind Blade. Just as before, the Wind Blade blocked the Frost Arrow. This time, the water elemental had no chance to attack again, because Allen had already reached it. In an instant, he drew the dagger tucked into his belt and launched a furious attack on its hands.

Perhaps it was the stimulus of fighting for his life, but Allen swung his dagger even faster than usual. When the dagger struck the runes, it felt as though he had hit stone, and purple sparks flashed. The runes instantly collapsed. The immediate result was that the water elemental's arms turned into ordinary water, splashing all over Allen.

The water elemental roared in fury, producing waves of thunderous noise like a tsunami. But Allen would never let such a good opportunity slip away. He hacked wildly at it. Even if the water elemental could restore its body, doing so took time. Unable to attack, it could only watch as its enemy struck it again and again. However much it roared, its enemy paid no heed.

Allen gradually went from swinging his dagger without any method to deliberately whittling away at the water elemental's body. It was true that water elementals were made of water, but magic was the crucial reason they existed. The water elemental had been steadily consuming magic throughout the battle, and now that it also had to repair the damage Allen inflicted on its body, its supply was no longer sufficient. Its body began slowly shrinking until it became a shapeless mass, unable to take humanoid form again.

Even then, Allen did not let it go and kept attacking, because he knew that monsters like water elementals would rise again through magic unless they were completely destroyed.

Just then, he spotted something transparent in the mass of water. With quick eyes and hands, he scooped it out. The instant Allen pulled it free, the water elemental collapsed into water as though it had lost its energy, then seeped into the ground.

Seeing that the water elemental was finally dead, he collapsed to the ground as though he had exhausted every bit of his strength. Now he did not even want to move. He lay there, panting heavily, and recalled what had just happened. That had truly been dangerous. If that water elemental had attacked just a little faster, he probably would have been the one to die.