The shock didn't last long enough for Hunter to strike a second blow. The imp brought its trident around and used it to parry the teenagers trekking pole with a muted clang. Hunter knew that if he gave the imp time, he would use his trident's tines to stab him. Instead, he made his best Sparta impression and kicked the small enemy in the chest. For a moment, Hunter felt a pang of regret. It felt like he was kicking a child in the chest. If it weren't for the fact that this child could throw fire, he might have hesitated.

The imp gasped as it was thrown backward by the force of the kick. Hunter didn't wait for the imp to get up and capitalized on his sudden victory. Evidently, the imp's ability with magic far exceeded its physical capabilities. Hunter didn't have either, but he could sense an opportunity when it was presented to him.

He ran closer and began to use his feet to stomp on the imp's body. His first few attacks were able to dislodge to trident from the imps grasp. He scooped it up while continuing to rain down blows on the small imp. He noticed that his attacks weren't truly harming the creature, but his overwhelming physical strength was enough to keep it on the back foot. It gurgled as he continued to stomp as if his life depended on it. He wasn't dumb enough not to realize that his life likely did rely on it.

When he picked up the trident, it was small enough that it felt like a Halloween costume prop. The Archive quickly identified it for him. Well, it tried to. The level still seemed to be above his own.

Minor Greed Imp's Trident (Lvl ?): This poor-tier trident is used by imps to prod and annoy their prey. Although it has sharpened points, it does very little damage to sentient creatures. Its actual value comes from its greed. Every hit has the chance to steal energy from the target. Its sharp points will add minimal damage. Due to its demonic origin, familiarity with this weapon will not precipitate skill growth.

Just touching the trident was enough for a chill to go through his body. His stomach twisted, and he felt a bout of nausea coming up. He pushed through the uncomfortable sensation and used the trident to smash the tines into the small imp's chest. He wanted to leave it there and go back to kicking the shit out of his enemy, but he couldn't quite bring himself to remove his hand.

Instead, he lifted the trident and started using it to stab the imp again and again. Every few strikes he felt vitality flush into his body. He made enough strikes that his dwindling health was able to rise to halfway. Despite the energy provided by the imp, it didn't look like the attacks were phasing it at all.

The demonic creature chittered and looked annoyed, but Hunter could sense that he couldn't do any actual damage to it. Even between stabbing, it looked like the wounds were slowly closing. In the short term, it didn't matter to the human. Every hit was another breath of life, and he didn't want to waste the opportunity.

As Hunter went to stab the creature once more, it started screeching. The discordant sound felt like there were three different screams layered upon one another. The teenager dropped his trekking pole as he staggered back from the prone creature. He slapped a hand over one ear and attempted to do the same with the other.

Even then, he didn't want to let go of the trident. Hunter could feel blood dripping down the sides of his neck, and he couldn't find the strength to resist the demon's attack. He groaned through the pain and dismissed the multiple pain resistance notifications that he received. Luckily, the assault on his senses didn't cause his already tiny health bar to shrink further, but it was debilitating.

Thankfully, the sound cut off once the demon rose to its feet. It wheezed with heavy breaths while it clutched its ruined flesh with an oversized hand. Hunter was shaking off his disability as the imp seemed to flick one hand like it was warming up for a pitch. The motion caught the teenager's gaze as his eyes were naturally drawn to the glinting gold bracer on the imps forearm. He realized that he wanted that item, but he couldn't understand why. It was like he was starving, and that piece of equipment was the last pizza in the entire universe. It wasn't just that he wanted it. He needed it.

It was only because of his fixation on the bracer that he caught why the imp was behaving so erratically. A tiny emerald in the bottom of the bracer began to glow. A clicking sound emanated from the item, and then a viridescent fire flowed from the gem until it created another spectral fireball. Hunter started to break out into a sweat. He knew that he wouldn't survive another direct hit from the fire. His health hadn't fully recovered despite the effects of the trident.

The imp snarled like it had realized the same thing. It lobbed the fireball with a sneer, and Hunter had to leap to dodge. He was careful to keep his trident outstretched so that he wouldn't gore himself on the landing. He could only imagine how embarrassing it would be to see the Archivist with a trident stuck in his chest. He wasn't sure if he had visited heaven, but it certainly felt like it.

As he leaped away from the blast, he felt it detonate behind him. As flames began to lick up the side of his body, he ignored the chime signaling another fire resistance level up. He saw his health start to go down, but it stopped before it reached about a third. He got to his feet, feeling the burned flesh in his leg protest at the movement. When he turned to face the imp, he saw that it had run out of gas again. What was even more surprising than that was the fact that the trident in his hand started to twitch.

It almost dragged him bodily toward the flames that were still flickering on the ground.