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  Things changed after I leaped back out that broken window, or I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I changed how I approached the fight. While I had always taken my opponent’s level seriously, the first few exchanges I’d had with Paul lowered my respect for him quite a bit. That respect had returned after his sneaky little summoned beast attack.

  After jumping back onto the street, I resolved that it was time to stop playing with my food. As opposed to actively trying to keep my distance from the axe-wielding man and punishing his attempts to close in on me I went on the offensive. He was still a much higher level than I, and had his Ironbark Endurance ability active. This meant I couldn’t rely on my spear to finish the fight in a single strike. That was a little annoying, especially since I hadn’t had an opportunity to reload my gun since purchasing ammunition for it. I doubt the pistol would have had any more success in finishing the level eight man in a single shot, either, but it would have helped me wear him down a lot faster.

  I think he meant to say something, but abandoned the idea as I charged at the big man as soon as my feet touched the ground of the street. He raised his axe and stepped forward to meet my assault. From there Paul lashed out with a diagonal cut that was intended to either hack through my neck and collarbone or failing that clip my stomach or upper thigh as I ran.

  Of course, I was seconds ahead of the giant and easily faked ducking in one direction, only to practically glide to the other. As I had a spear and he had an axe, I was already in range to attack him before his diagonal slice was even launched. Naturally, I scored multiple hits on his arms and chest, and then continued to do so as I moved past his clumsy attempt to eviscerate me.

  Next, I activated [Peerless Advance], which was what I had finally decided upon as what I was going to name Iron Vanguard Assault. It still did the same things as Iron Vanguard Assault. So I gained a brief period of damage reduction and surged quickly forward. I used the sudden burst of explosive speed to both reposition and land a long cut across his midsection under his ribs.

  Paul had no hope of keeping up with my movements, and before he could do anything to defend himself, I had landed half a dozen spear thrusts to the man’s back. His defensive ability was still keeping him alive, but I could tell the numerous shallow cuts were beginning to take their toll on him. They didn’t cause the giant man to bleed anywhere near as much as I thought they should, but he was bleeding.

  I think Paul knew he was weakening as the big man went ahead and activated what I assumed was his final form. In my world, he would have had a bit more style about it and said some line that he or a poet in his employ would have prepared ahead of time. The people in this city didn’t seem to possess that level of showmanship. Certainly, none of the people I had fought at least.

  Anyway, my HUD flashed with the indicator of a new ability being activated by the big man, whom I had just sent stumbling with a barrage of attacks to the back. In fact, the warning on my HUD informed me he used the same ability three times.

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  I was a little concerned by what my HUD was showing, but I was a lot more concerned by the wave of energy that exploded out from the man. It deflected my next thrust and forced me to adjust my stance, lest I be forced to slide backwards. What followed next was an explosion of heated steam that blocked Paul from my view. I didn’t know what exactly, but I saw the beginnings of movement amongst the thick steam and dodged backwards.

  It was a good thing I did, as the same axe I had been casually avoiding swung down at my head. There was one difference I should mention, though. Now the axe was at least a hundred times the size it had been. Paul stepped from within the smokelike steam, and when he did, my HUD was forced to recalculate a few things. Where before it had read

  Now what it said was

  Paul, who was now a true giant, rather than just a giant of a man, shot me a wink and drew back his axe for another impossibly huge swing. Don’t ask me to explain how the Tall Tale ability functioned, as not only was the warrior huge, but his clothes and weapon had grown with him.

  I could already tell he was making the mistake of worrying about collateral damage to the buildings on either side of the street from the way the giant positioned his axe. While I’m sure the store owners and fleeing people appreciated it, I knew it for what it was. A weakness in a life and death situation, and one I could exploit.

  After giving the giant’s form one last appraising glance, I threw myself from the center of the street onto the sidewalk and then back through the shattered window into Mr Wu’s El Naturale. He screamed obscenities at me, but I didn’t have the time or inclination to teach the old man some manners right now. Instead, I dashed through the store confident that Paul wouldn’t swing his axe down and destroy it.

  “Oh, come on don’t turn into a coward now!” Came the booming voice of the giant from outside. I understood what he was thinking; that I would simply hide until his ability ran out. He needn’t have worried on that front, if I was going to defeat my daughter’s lover, I fully intended to do it while he was at his strongest. It was just a simple matter that if he was going to shift into a more powerful form, I felt it was only appropriate that I did the same.

  As I ran from the broken window to the store’s true front entrance, I let out a sharp two-fingered whistle that could easily be heard up and down the street outside for quite some distance. In response, a small icon in the shape of a tiny red bunny appeared in the lower middle of my HUD. There was a giant library of things I could have chosen to act as the icon for when Red Hare was activated and on his way. On the day I selected this one, however, I had only been looking for a few minutes when I came across this one. I hadn’t shown Red himself as I knew the horse spirit would feel annoyed at it, but as an in-joke, I thought the adorable little figure was quite funny.

  With a leap, I flew into the air and met the horse-turned-bike. It had twisted itself at the same time I had jumped so that I landed on its saddle and facing the correct direction to ride my steed. Oh heavens above, how I had missed fighting together with my horse against a truly dangerous enemy. These moments were absolutely why life was worth living, and remaining the strongest was worth striving for.

  With a roar of my bike's engine, the pair of us reared back on only the back wheel, before slamming the front of the bike back down and charging towards Paul’s massive form. For his part, the giant had spotted me again and began to enact a charge of his own.