Big Boi

George was not kidding around when he said the Sandman today was much bigger compared to the last time I saw him.

Back in Chinatown, he was easily able to fit and move inside the compact streets with his body that was only a few times bigger than the average human but right now, I was looking at a roughly 20 meters tall Sandman who even towered over some of the buildings he was walking past.

Every step he took left small cracks on the pavement down below, while miscellaneous stuff like lamp posts, bus stops, and hot dog stands were being picked up and thrown around, causing damage to the surrounding buildings.

Thankfully the police had done a good job emptying the area as virtually no people could be seen left on the streets. Only a few stragglers who either didn't have the time to successfully escape or were simply too stubborn to listen to the police and leave were left around taking cover behind anything they could find.

The police, of course, were remaining as well, with numerous cop cars chasing after the giant Sandman and helicopters hovering all around him in the air, attempting and mostly failing to dodge the projectiles thrown at them by Marko.

Helicopters were falling from the sky like flies, and unfortunately for them, my webs were nowhere near strong enough to hold up entire helicopters, so I decided to just ignore most of them, only pulling out the occasional person when I could.

Using observe on Marko, I see that his level has remained the same since the last time we fought, but his health has increased drastically, presumably thanks to his much bigger size.

[HP - 18462/ 18600]

I can't be 100% sure as observe doesn't yet show me my target's stats, but seeing as his health has increased with size, I suspect the rest of his stats have increased as well, which is quite a plight.

With Sandman found, the plan can start. I must get his attention and bring him to the battle site George has prepared.

However, this task has been made much more difficult than I first imagined. Around Sandman, there is a raging sandstorm that nobody dares to get close to as even the cars and aircraft are staying a certain distance away in order not to get caught up in it.

Regretfully I don't have the luxury they do to keep away and have to dive right in to get close to Marko. At least my costume saves me from any sand getting in my eyes or other parts.

Pushing into the sandstorm, I immediately notice that I am losing health every second that goes by. On the edge of the storm, far from Marko, it's only a few points per second, but by the time I get right next to him, I am already losing 10 to 12 points per second.

This is still manageable as my recovery rate is 150 health per minute, and I can cast 550 mana into my magic shield every minute to protect myself, but I better try to stay near the edge as much as possible and avoid taking unnecessary damage since healing it back will be nearly impossible in the current situation.

Noticing my approach, Marko turns to me. "Little bug, I knew you would show up again."

"Well yeah, obviously, you are destroying my city, old man. I couldn't just leave you to play alone now, could I?" I say, circling around his head, "And didn't I tell you spiders arent bugs?"

Marko sneers. "Why wouldn't I call you a bug? The current me could crush just like one, and you could do nothing to resist."

"I challenge that theory of yours. You called me a bug last time, but didn't you end up fleeing all the same?" Saying this, I activated my taunt skill to make him forget about his previous objectives and just focus on me.

At the same time as I cast taunt, I lunged downwards to dodge a giant fist aiming at me. According to the system panel, the taunt had been successful, luckily. The skill has yet to fail me, but I was a bit afraid that Sandman's huge size would boost his stats, and he might somehow be able to resist the skill's effects.

A growling voice sounds out behind me. "If you are no bug, then stop running from me and fight me!"

Yeah, sorry that ain't happening. Ignoring the enraged Marko shouting at me, I start web-slinging forward while dodging numerous bullets of sand being shot at me. From here on, things should be pretty straightforward.

Just continue using taunt every few minutes to keep him focused on me while luring him to our final battle site just on the edge of the city, where he will be defeated.

Super easy, nothing could go wrong.

…

Oh no.

After nearly 10 minutes of being chased by Marko, we are about halfway toward the destination, but suddenly things change as the sandstorm clears up completely.

That wasn't a problem for me whatsoever as the storm has been a nuisance, to say the least, but following the clearing of the sand, I feel my Spider-sense going off stronger than ever before, and in the corner of my eye, I catch a massive hammer heading my way.

I dive down to evade the sweep of the hammer and even speed up my momentum by shooting webs at the ground and pulling myself downwards, but I was still not fast enough to escape the attack altogether.

Marko's attack only manages to hit my legs, but that is enough to take out the entirety of my shield and a quarter of my health bar, not to mention changing my momentum and sending me flying to the side.

[Physical Damage Reduction skill leveled up!]

Maybe I should get hit more? Nah, never mind, I should count myself lucky for even surviving that.

My legs hurt like hell from the attack, but I manage to ignore that for now. Now flying sideways from the hammer sweep, I manage to land myself 'somewhat gracefully' on a wall and leave behind only a small crater in the side of the building.

I'm not given much time to rest as my spider-sense fires off again. This time a giant sword is heading in my direction, looking to cut me in half with a stab. I am, however, able to react to this one and pull myself out of the way, quickly escaping to the top of someone's balcony with one quick web-sling.

Looking back at Marko, I see he has grown in size even more, probably by absorbing all the sand previously used for the surrounding sandstorm. The scarier change, though, is the transformation of his hands.

Whereas before, he had two human-looking ones, now they have transformed into weapons made out of the sand, with his right arm becoming a sword and the left one a hammer.

This almost seems like phase 2 of a boss fight, doesn't it?

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