Exploring Jotunnheim and fighting an ice giant sorcerer (chapter 53)

After a short distance, he came to what appeared to be the end of the cave. With a deft slice of his marrow devourer, he cleaved through the rock, revealing a stone door. "Interesting," he murmured, consulting his compass, which now displayed several items. "A treasury," he deduced, intrigued by the possibilities as he descended a staircase carved for giants, the steps much larger than human scale. It was evident this place was constructed by beings far larger than himself.

As he descended further, the cave transitioned into something more refined, resembling man-made architecture. The stairway widened, the ceiling opening up to a grand chamber fit for giants. When he finally reached the expansive opening, ten colossal statues loomed before him. These statues, shaped like ice giants, wielded stone swords, their frozen features eerily lifelike.

Upon stepping into the vast chamber, the statues' dead, cold eyes began to glow with an ethereal blue light. Cracks appeared in their stony forms, emitting the same eerie glow as they slowly came to life. The stone swords they held cracked further, transforming into icy weapons. One of the statues immediately swung its sword at Oliver, who swiftly parried the strike with his own weapon, the force of the impact forcing him into his hybrid form.

His long hair elongated, fangs and claws sprouting forth, Oliver braced himself against the force of the giant's attack. The impact of the sword against his shield only served to empower it further. With a swift and calculated strike, he cleaved the ice sword in half with a satisfying clang. "Hmm, nearly 400 kills on this sword is doing its sharpness some wonders," he remarked to himself, assessing the blade's effectiveness.

The remaining stone giants advanced, their heavy footsteps shaking the entire chamber. Oliver deftly switched to the Abominable Tyrant Conqueror, a bone club adorned with a fearsome T-Rex head. Parrying another sword strike effortlessly, he then countered as another statue attempted to crush him with its stone palm. A swing of the club staggered the giant, immobilizing its hand momentarily.

An idea sparked in Oliver's mind. " this should work. I wonder how much damage it's going to do," he chuckled, stowing away the club and opting for the adamantium shield. Bracing himself for the onslaught, he allowed the stone giants to attack him for the next nine minutes. Each blow against the shield only served to power it up further, as if storing the kinetic energy for a grand release.

When the tenth minute struck, Oliver received the final blow, absorbing the impact with the shield. In an instant, a devastating pulse of energy exploded outward from the shield, radiating with Oliver at its center. The pulse pulverized the stone giants one by one, shattering them into rubble. The force of the pulse also damaged the cave's structure, unearthing hidden traps and revealing hidden compartments within the chamber.

As the dust settled, a lone ice giant stood amidst the destruction. Clad in a fur robe and adorned with bone accessories, the giant held a bone staff, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. He stood behind a glowing blue sphere, cracks beginning to form on its surface. The atmosphere crackled with residual energy, the air filled with the scent of ozone and stone dust, as the remnants of the statues lay in ruins around Oliver and the wounded ice giant.

The ice giant sorcerer regained his senses amidst the chaos of the now devastated cave. Anger flashed in his eyes as he surveyed the ruins around him, yelling, "MY DUNGEON, MY HOME! YOU... YOU SHALL PAY WITH YOUR SOUL, YOU CRETIN!" His hands glowed with a vibrant green light, forming a swirling sphere of mystical energy. "Oh, magic," Oliver remarked, recognizing the danger. In an instant, he vanished from sight.

"YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO HIDE, MONGREL!" the giant bellowed, his eyes scanning the cave with an eerie green glow. "YOU SHALL FACE THE SORCERY OF MUTHRA AND ETERNAL TORTURE!" he continued to rage, his voice echoing through the cavern.

Suddenly, Oliver reappeared, clad in the sorcerer killer attire. His elongated hair floated around him, his form shadow-like, and his eyes glowing a piercing blue. "FACE YOUR DEATH!" the ice giant roared, hurling a massive sphere of green magical energy at Oliver. To the giant's surprise, Oliver didn't even flinch.

The giant's expression morphed from triumph to confusion as the green energy settled, revealing Oliver standing unharmed in his original spot. With a satisfied smile, Oliver marveled at his untouched body. "Huh, it's really amazing," he chuckled softly to himself, seemingly unscathed by the powerful attack.

Furious, the ice giant unleashed a barrage of spells at Oliver—icy storms, dark pulses of magic, a crimson band meant to ensnare. Yet, nothing seemed to affect Oliver. Each spell dissipated harmlessly upon contact with his form, leaving him unscathed.

"WHAT... WHAT ARE YOU, CRETIN?" the ice giant bellowed in a mixture of anger and fear, his once confident demeanor crumbling. Oliver continued his steady approach, unfazed by the onslaught of magical assaults. "No, no, stay away from me!" the ice giant pleaded, desperation seeping into his voice.

In a final act of defiance, the ice giant split into five duplicates, each firing a relentless beam of green magical energy at Oliver. Yet, the beams simply passed through him as if he were a specter, causing no harm. As the illusions faded and the ice giant sorcerer knelt, exhausted, a magical circle formed beneath him.

"No, this shall not be the end of Murthra! WE SHALL MEET AGAIN, MORTAL!" the ice giant shouted, his voice weakening. A blinding light enveloped him as a teleportation spell began to take effect. However, before he could disappear, an elongated, sharp spike suddenly impaled him, piercing through even the semi-transparent shield that surrounded him. "Agghhh!" the ice giant writhed in agony as he fell to the ground, life slowly ebbing away from his massive form. Oliver stood nearby, unharmed, as he observed the sorcerer's demise. "And not even a scratch," he mused, examining himself. He couldn't help but be impressed by the sorcerer, true to its name, for withstanding every spell the ice giant had hurled at him.

After finishing admiring his sorcerer killer outfit, Oliver shifted his attention back to the surrounding cave. Mountains of gold, various materials, and the ice giant sorcerer's hoard lay before him. "I really do need more storage," he mused to himself. With purpose, he began collecting the gold and jewels, along with the magical materials scattered around as well as magical totems contains spells "i should start learning magic" he mused to himself. Finally, he turned his attention to a peculiar blue sphere resting on an altar. "Hmm, why is this on an altar?" Oliver wondered aloud. Still in his sorcerer killer form, he picked up the glowing blue sphere, causing it to flicker momentarily before he decided to take it as well. After a thorough check of the whole area, he found nothing else of interest and moved on.

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Another chapter, anyway, question of the day:

A: Would you rather have a sword that can cut through anything, even the fabric of space? ANYTHING

B:  a crown that is indestructible, immune to outside interference of any kind, and can allow you to create a domain in which you are absolute? (The crown's name is the Crown of Eternis.) this is the skill of the crown: When worn by the user, the Crown of Eternis allows the generation of a domain within a 100-foot radius. Within this domain, the user becomes undying and gains absolute control over everything within, down to the atomic level. The user reigns supreme within their domain, where their will is law. The domain manifests whenever the crown is worn. ]